The Hero Should've Known Better

Chapter 13: Junil

Junil blinked. That conversation was... easier to start than she expected. Truth be told, she expected the Demonfolk girl to recognize her.

"Mine? It's Junil. I'm the Healer of the Hero party."

The Demonfolk girl blinked twice, then smiled. "Jun-ar! A Heal-ar of the... party? Right?"

"Yes, that's... right."

Junil was not the judgmental type. But, from the way this Sollar pronounced her words and her phrasing, Junil had a sneaking suspicion about something in particular.

"Is this your first time on the rail engine?" Junil asked.

"My first time, yes!" Sollar exclaimed. "Going on this rail thingy! It's fast and I can see everything moving by so quick, it's fun!"

The Healer figured it out. This Demonfolk girl, to put it simply, appeared to certainly be not the brightest of the Demonfolk.

She was a simpleton. That made Junil relax a little.

The Demonfolk girl peered out the window again and pressed her nose against the glass. Her breath began to fog up on the window.

"So..." Junil said. "Where are you going, Sollar? I know we're going to New Frontierland, but do you plan on going elsewhere?"

Sollar's gaze didn't leave the landscape, but she continued speaking with Junil.

"I'm going to the Capital-place!" she proclaimed.

"You're going to the Capital?"

"Yes!" Sollar replied.

Junil cocked her head. Was this Demonfolk girl an indentured servant? It wouldn't make sense for her to be a traveling laborer... and she should've already had a job, considering that she had worked on the rail line earlier.

"What are you going there for?" Junil asked. "Work, I'm guessing? It's a bit of a trip to travel if you're just looking for work."

Sollar glanced over at Junil. An infectious smile was plastered over the Demonfolk girl's face.

"I'm going to meet my older brother!" Sollar exclaimed.

Junil, in turn, smiled. A family reunion; of course. She imagined that the Demonfolk indentured servants in the city would have relatives that meet from afar, since the servitude contracts typically didn't allow for them to leave for a visit.

"Your brother? I see, he works at the Capital?"

Sollar's expression of happiness was replaced by one of puzzlement. "Work? He doesn't work... I don't think so?"

Now it was Junil's turn to be confused. "He doesn't? Though..."

Junil was about to ask why he'd be at the Capital then, but paused. The simpleton Demonfolk girl probably wouldn't know how to answer that question.

"...What do you know about him?" Junil asked.

Sollar smiled, once again.

"My brother, Luth-ar. He's the greatest brother ever!"

Junil's mind paused.

Luthar?

"Oh, he's a good brother!" Sollar continued. "He brings me things always, and he even made me Shov-ar!"

As in, Luth? Did she hear that correctly? Or was 'Luth' just common to see in Demonfolk names?

As Junil was in thought, Sollar pulled a shovel out from beneath the seat in front of her, where she stashed it.