Village Head's Debauchery

This time around, he had the opportunity to see the massive well in the Village Square. When he saw the long line and the buzzing atmosphere in its area, with people eager to get their water, pay, and return to their huts, he finally understood why the Village Chief was adamant about having Fifi resume her position at the well. 

He would probably do the same if put in such a situation.

Although he had no idea about the difficulty of building a well in the Village—since the Village only had two, one of which could only be operated by Fifi, while the farm had plenty, which were all regulated—he could guess that it still had something to do with the Vylkr vines. 

He decided to place this thought at the back of his mind and learn more about it, as he was sure such information would come in handy when they began building the settlement for the Prismerion race.

Nonetheless, due to the lack of available goods to buy in the Village square, Orion began to consider the idea of creating products just for fun and testing how much profit it could bring in. He might assign this task to one of his partners, thinking about building a family business for the sake of it. 

He had nothing to lose, except for a small amount of wealth, which he could make back within a few weeks.

"Sura!" Suddenly, a voice sounded behind them, causing them to halt their steps. 

They turned back and saw a middle-aged man and woman running towards them. 

Orion raised his brow in surprise, as he could tell from the woman's long black hair and the man's deep brown eyes that they were related to Sura. He didn't have to guess much, as the resemblance was evident for anyone with eyes to see correctly.

Orion turned his head to look at Sura and frowned, noting the expression on her face. He remembered discussing with Sura when Ursa and Lyra had come to the hut about visiting her family. 

She had informed him that she had already seen them and that there was no need for another visit. Despite suggesting she could send fruits to them from their wealth anytime she wanted, things seemed different from what they were.

The moment they arrived before them, the woman hugged Sura and began to sob, "Where have you been? Why didn't you tell your father or me anything before you left? We thought that you had abandoned us to work on the farm," she said tearfully. 

"Who are you?" the man asked cautiously, eyeing the fabrics and several sacks carried by the individuals before him. He recognized the materials and assumed they were wealthy. 

However, he couldn't fathom why they were with his daughter.

Before Orion could respond, Sura quickly pushed herself away from her mother and said, "They are my sisters, and he is my husband," pointing firmly at Orion as she faced her mother, as though trying to make a point.

Immediately, the woman's eyes opened wide in surprise alongside the man, who looked too stunned to utter a word.

"Is… is that why you didn't bother returning home, because you have found a partner?" The woman asked, her expression suddenly filled with realization.

Even the man beside her couldn't help but sigh as though he understood what was happening.

Sura nodded in response, "Yes," she affirmed, "I don't see why you should care, though, since you didn't believe I would get a partner."

The woman sighed immediately. "I only said that to get your mind off it because I was angry about how docile you had become and how you were always worried about whether or not you were going to have a partner even before your graduation ceremony."

"I thought maybe you would focus more on accumulating enough wealth to afford Kushi and live a good life; however, it seemed I was wrong. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said that in the beginning. Will you forgive me, Sura?" the woman asked with a pleading look towards Sura, sparing only a nod at Orion before her full attention was focused on him.

"Humph! It's too late…" Sura wanted to say, but Orion immediately interrupted her.

"I've been wanting to speak with Sura's parents, and since you are already here, why don't we talk privately in your hut?" Orion said with a warm smile.

Although he understood that Sura's mother was at fault for saying such a thing to her, he also realized that it was unhealthy to overlook such a situation in the future and the potential consequences it might bring to Sura and his unborn child.

The man nearby immediately sighed in relief. 

Before his wife could say anything, he promptly said, "Thank you. Let me lead the way to our hut."

Orion nodded in response. He turned to Ursa, gesturing for her to hold the bags since she was the strongest in the group. Orion then distributed the other bags to the rest of the women to carry so they could quickly head back to the farm and enjoy the rest of their day. This was especially true for Caretaker Shani, whom he didn't want to drag into this since she had taken a day off.

After watching the women return to the farm, leaving only him and Sura, Orion turned his attention to Sura's parents.

"Let's go," Orion said.

The man immediately nodded, grabbed his wife's hands, and turned around to lead the way forward.

Meanwhile, Sura had a displeased expression as she followed behind Orion. Obviously, she didn't want to go anywhere, but she could only trail alongside him since Orion had already decided.

…...

"Don't you feel a lot better now?" Orion asked with a warm smile as he looked at Sura, who nodded with several tired sighs escaping her lips.

Sura currently felt as though the conversation that had just taken place between Orion, her, and her parents had lifted a heavy burden off her chest.