Perhaps you could take over as the new head shaman for the Port District.

Freya stiffened at the memory. She shook her head to get the prince’s words out of her mind. They were almost back at the train station, and she had one more important job to complete before they left. And she was going to leave. There were plenty of other shamans that could take over here. Closing her eyes, another unwanted voice entered her mind.

Why are you taking a job in the middle of nowhere? There’s plenty of open positions in good cities! You’re wasting yourself.

Her shaman master’s parting words six years ago echoed back. He grumbled similar things for a week before she left for Safka.

Freya huffed in her mind, Master Linik would be happy if I was the shaman here. Hm, no, he’d probably still complain since it’s not in east Oyosi.

Shamans working in the wealthy cities of east Oyosi, especially around the Solang Sea, were well respected and made a lot of money. But their duties were pretty boring, at least to Freya.

She looked at the ruined buildings around her, I don’t know what the typical demon activity is like around here, but usually, big established cities don’t have major demon problems. But I guess with enough mismanagement, anything is possible.

A part of her still wondered if the game was involved in the disaster. After all, there was a game dungeon linked to it. The trigger point seemed to be Aziza, the mayor’s daughter, accidentally picking up a Player Card. But how could the game know this would lead to: the shamans murdering Aziza, the mayor not funding them, the shaman’s retaliating negligence, demons invading the district, and finally the King’s brother dying in the city? How could that be predicted?

“Do you want to look for Aziza before we leave?” Heilong asked cautiously.

Freya blinked out of her thoughts. She didn’t realize they already reached the train station. The marksman was watching her with one eyebrow raised. Heilong hadn’t heard prince Toychi’s last words, but she had noticed Freya lost in deep thought since then.

“Yes, I’d like to see if I can do anything,” Freya said hurriedly.

There were plenty of other spirits still around the Port District, but Freya felt a sense of duty to bring the little girl to peace.

“Aziza is the girl who originally found the Player Card, my Player Card, right?” Hamra asked. She looked down at her hand. Just like with Freya, after touching the Player Card, the item had disappeared.

Freya nodded and unconsciously stared at the textbox above her head. The text hadn’t changed, only the color.

[Hamra Parpi]

[Lvl 25 Necromancer]

“It’s crazy to think you’re like, at least the fifth person to have that Player Card,” Nightscythe said to Hamra.

Heilong side-eyed him, “Was that necessary to bring up now? It sounds like bad luck when you put it that way.”

“It’s just interesting trivia.”

“Anyway,” Freya said, clearing her throat. “I’d like to talk to Aziza one more time. I’ll take a look around, and then we can leave.”

“Alright, we’ll wait outside for you,” Infamous Biscuit said, tactfully holding onto Nightscythe’s shoulder.

Freya nodded her thanks and headed inside. Nightscythe had high enough perception to see spirits, but last time he had done nothing more but scared the girl’s spirit. Scrimmancer and Hamra might be able to help search, but Aziza was the most familiar with Freya.

Aziza’s reason for haunting the train station seemed to be that she was waiting for her father to come back. So, Freya checked the first place they saw her: the boarding platform.

Sure enough, she immediately caught a glimpse of something unnaturally white. The white dress Freya first saw Aziza wear contrasted the dingy platform. She sat with her feet hanging over the edge and head turned to stare down the track, looking for any incoming trains.

Freya carefully approached her, simultaneously trying to make her presence known but not scare her off. Once she was less than two meters from her, she sat down on the platform. Aziza glanced at her, then returned to looking down the tracks.

“Will dad ever come?”

Freya hesitated, then said truthfully, “I don’t know. But I know he misses you and still loves you.”

Given all the evidence, the mayor loved his daughter. Her death left him disturbed enough to abandon his duties and leave the district.

“I need to tell him,” Aziza pleaded once again. She buried her face in her hands, “I need to tell dad I’m okay now.”

“Aziza, it wasn’t your fault. None of this was your fault.”

The spirit stilled at the force in Freya’s words.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” the shaman said, a hint of anger in her voice.

She was caught in a bad situation. Heck, even if the shaman didn’t kill her, if Sangen ever found her, he would have killed her to get her Player Card. The game really screwed her over. No one helped her. If I could have helped her…

“It’s not your fault,” Freya repeated. “You were never a bad girl. I know your father knows that.”

Aziza stared at her wide-eyed. A glassiness overtook her eyes. She clutched her dress. Suddenly, tears ran down her face.

The little girl burst out, “Then, then WHY ME?! Why did dad LEAVE ME?”

Crying at full force, Aziza stood up from the platform and grasped at Freya.

“He didn’t mean to leave you,” Freya reassured her. “He loves you. He knows it’s not your fault.”

There was plenty of logical things Freya could have said. But none of that would matter to Aziza. It wasn’t just her young age. Freya sensed that more than anything, the spirit’s guilt was holding her here. She wanted to be forgiven by her father, but that would be difficult for Freya to orchestrate. Also, there were many instances where allowing the spirit to meet their living loved ones turned sour for all parties involved. If she could plant at least the thought that her father forgave her, maybe she could rest peacefully sooner.

“Your dad knew it was never your fault. He was worried about your curse, but only because he thought it could harm you. He wanted the best for you because he loves you.”

Aziza sniffed and released her misty arms from Freya. Still sniffling, she said in a scratchy mute voice, “I hope curses never happens again.”

A chill ran up Freya’s spine. Aziza’s garbled words probably meant, “I hope I never get cursed again.” But Freya’s first interpretation was, “I hope no one else receives my curse.”

Chewing her cheek, Freya kept reassuring the spirit. But her heart swirled with conflicting emotions. Finally, she settled on the thought, I will do my best to make sure no one suffers your fate.