GATE: Journey in the New World Vol I

Arc 1: Coda Village Part 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Gate or Nihonkoku Shoukan as it belongs to its rightful owners.

Arc 1: Lands of Rodenius:

Chapter 8: First Contact: Coda Village Part 3

It was the constant aches that continued to plague his head.

Not even the softest pillow and coziest bed that he had laid on were enough to ease that pain. He wasn't sure if it was just his leg that was injured when tragedy struck his home, by the time, his hands moved around his forehead, he felt the familiar soft fabric of the bandage.

It only added to his confusion as he began to wonder if he had landed on something that would cause that mysterious injury. His memory was not helping him as everything was vague and hazy when he tried to recall every detail of the event.

Hodor inhaled deeply as he lay motionless on his bed. The light from the open window served as his guide as he surveyed the entire room. He had to admit that the room was more comfortable than his previous one in the woods. The fresh air that came in made a significant difference, providing him with a cooler environment.

He had never felt so relaxed and at ease before, and the elf man was grateful to the villagers who had provided him with this spare room, as well as to his daughter, who had been taking care of him for the past several days because the village itself was short on healers and nurses.

The image of her walking out the door in silent frustration lingered in his mind after what appeared to be a harmless joke about an ale to relieve his headaches and the phrase that came out of his mouth, which didn't help him all that much.

"What did I say?"

When he finally realized what he had done, it was too late. The naive tone in his voice was the final straw for the girl, as he witnessed the door slam shut right in front of his face.

He sighed as he remembered that moment. "Oh, I'm sorry, Elrena." He muttered, apologizing to his late wife for not knowing how to be a good father and all. He could feel the aches coordinating together just to keep him laying on his bed, but fortunately, his own father instincts were stronger than that, and the man was able to raise his body halfway and the next thing he knew, he was now resting his back on the wooden wall.

He sighed and took another deep breath. He had no idea it was so difficult to simply stand up. For a strong and sleek man like him, he should have been standing by now, but he was still trying to regain the sense that had left him before. He could smell the cooked and enticing aroma of a certain wooden bowl of soup placed on a small table next to his bed. Soon after, his memory came back to him, and he remembered how his daughter was struggling just to feed him properly as if he were a whiny toddler.

The bowl of soup was half-finished, prompting him to recall the precise moment his daughter walked out of the room without saying anything. As a result, it has now become a very embarrassing situation for him.

He kept taking in his surroundings, attempting to figure out where he was. He was so disoriented that he couldn't remember what he had done the previous day or the day before that. The only thing he could remember was walking on this empty highway with his daughter while the sunset was directly in front of him before his vision was obscured by darkness.

Hoder rubbed his eyes and rubbed his face as he resolved to finally leave this room in search of his daughter.

When he removed the blankets that had been covering his legs, he discovered that his old battle pants had been replaced by a regular pair. That also made him wonder about the person who had replaced his pants, which was quickly becoming an inappropriate thought.