One day had passed since I wasn’t alone anymore. Soleil was still sleeping. I didn’t eat. I took one bite but I immediately rushed out of the cave to vomit. It tasted foul. Can’t be bothered. Every time I think of eating something, it leaves me like this. It’s been like this ever since the day I went to the city for the first time and I saw that dog-person getting whipped. Didn’t get any sleep so I spent the entire time carving. I shoved my shoulders with herbs and made sure to make my shirt tight enough for them to not go anywhere while they do their thing. I made wooden utensils. 2 plates. 2 knives. 2 forks. 2 cups. And 2 bowls. Also scrapped everything from the skin so now we kind of have a new blanket. The moon was beautiful. And it was so bright. It was illuminating the forest in an amazing way. I decided to go to the lake to grab water and to wash the utensils. I took my time washing the things I did. Made sure they were good enough to be used. I always liked to do manual work like this. In middle school, I used to do a lot of projects with clay. I know it’s different from this but it’s relaxing.

I came back and Soleil was still resting. Now that I have 2 bowls, I made sure to bring water on one while the other was being used for the cheap self-made mortar and pestle. I don’t know how effective this is but I’m gonna make sure she has it. Meanwhile, I buried the wolf meat that I had laying around. There was no saving it properly so it’s better to do it before it starts to rot.

“Hmm…”

Look who’s getting up. Was actually getting worried.

Time to get to work. I start boiling the water and while it boils, I crush the herbs. Eh, hot enough. Having an Appraisal skill would be so useful. But can’t do anything about it. Just gonna let it rest for a while. I also made some form of ointment and applied it to her and to myself. My some form of an ointment, I mean I crushed herbs that I remember seeing in the book and I decided to call that paste and ointment. My shoulder went a bit numb so I can’t really feel anything so I kinda need to know how it feels on her.

“Morning. Or… evening. I guess.”

“What’s this? It’s warm. Cough. Cough.”

“It’s wolf skin. Don’t touch the outside, it’s still a bit sticky. And here, drink this. I don’t know how or if it’s going to work at all but it’s all I can do at the moment.”

I handed over the homemade ‘cold potion’. I don’t know if I can even call it a potion. Serving a potion in a bowl if anything was… unique? She drank it but the face she made was hilarious. She looked like a kid who had a lemon for the first time.

“Is it that gross? I didn’t taste it.”

“It’s so bitter. What is it?”

“Medicine for your coughing. I don’t know what do you have and how serious it is. And that’s the only recipe I memorized. I already have enough herbs to make it for a while, so it’s going to make do for the time being until we can get you a doctor. Oh, and I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“Well, you were sleeping for a while so I had to rub some ointment on your wounds. I know how you elves are about getting touched but I figured it would be best to do it even if you would admonish me later.”

For some reason, something clicked in her and she immediately got up and run towards me.

“WHY DID YOU JUMP IN FRONT OF ME? YOUR SHOULDER? ARE YOU OKAY? DOES IT HURT? Autch, autch, autch, auuuuuuu, my stomach.”

Her body is completely sore and she decides to run like that? Is she dumb?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Lay down and get some rest. Stay warm. I’m going to get you more water and see if I find something edible for you to eat. Worst case scenario, there’s a blade there. It’s not fancy. In fact, it’s awful, so don’t rely too much on it.”

It was a quick trip since I saw some edible mushrooms near the cave. I remember them because of the coloring. They are bright red and purple spots. If I didn’t know, one would assume they would be poisonous. Thank god I spent all that time in the library. I came back quickly with fresh food. I roasted them a bit and gave them to her. If something she had food and water for the whole day.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I don’t eat.”

“Why?”

“Everything tastes foul to me. So there is really no point. Water is enough.”

I was moving my finger around the air randomly. I look crazy but I was actually checking my stats and they were still awful but at least I was level 2 now. Soleil was level 4

“Why did you jump?”

Again this conversation?

“I didn’t.”

“Why did you jump?”

“I didn’t jump.”

“Why did you jump in front of me?”

“How many times do I have to repeat?”

“STOP LYING AND TELL ME THE TRUTH.”

“MY BODY MOVED ON ITS OWN BECAUSE I AM AWARE THAT I BROUGHT YOU TO A SITUATION THAT YOU DIDN’T HAVE ANY REASON TO BE A PART OF. THAT’S WHY. ARE YOU HAPPY?”

“But you saved me… Why? You got hurt. I’m an elf and you are a human.”

“Oh, for fuck sake.”

“Why? We hate you and you hate us, so why? It makes no sense and no matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with a valid reason.”

“Listen, little elf, whatever problems humans and elves have between each other, I don’t give a fuck. I don’t care about elves, I don’t care about dwarves, I don’t care about those wolves, I don’t care about humans. I care about me and me only.”

“But you are one of them.”

“Them?”

“The summoned souls.”

“So you really knew who I was.”

“…”

“So?”

“I heard the man back in that storage talking about you. That you have finally arrived. And in the day that he brought you in he was happy and singing.”

“What else?”

“I overheard them saying what you did.”

“Of course you did.” Great. Now she really is going to think that I did something to her while she was sleeping.

“Why did you do it?”

I simply look at her straight in the eyes. She quickly averts her gaze. Of course. I sigh and keep fiddling on the HUB trying to find useful stuff but nothing that would help me now showed up. We stayed there. Only the fire crackling would break the silence. Until she decided to speak again.

“How old are you?”

“17. You?”

“21.”

So it’s my time to annoy her.

“So, what’s it like?”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“You know. Being Darkstorm.”

She opened her eyes wide. Then looked away from me.

Bingo.

“How did you know?”

“I had my suspicions. Only got assured when I saw the bodies of the wolves.”

“What do you mean?”

“I read bits here and there about the bodies of the people Darkstorm had killed. Since you didn’t have a proper weapon this time, the lacerations weren’t as deep but the method was the same as I read. So I put 1 and 1 together.”

“Are you going to hand me over to the authorities?”

“What are you on about? You killed a couple of slave traders. Big deal, who cares?” Soleil was dumbfounded. She still doesn’t realize that I don’t care. “In my book, you are much more of a hero than the ones who were summoned from another world.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You killed slave traders and carriers. You saved hundreds if not thousands of peoples from living what you lived. Even if some of them were captured again, at least others could live another day. I don’t know why and I don’t care but at least you did something.”

“But I killed.”

“Yeah. And nobles on that fucking kingdom have been killing slaves for fun. I just wish you hadn’t been caught so you could go around and kill some of those fuckers.”

I’m getting way too exalted. My mind keeps going back to those people throwing rocks at me. That kingdom and every person that lives there can die for all I care.

“Yurem.”

“What?”

“Why do you hate that kingdom?”

“Why do you care?”

“I want to know. You are human. You are a summoned soul from another world. Yet you did those things. I want to know what crossed your mind when you assaulted the princess.”

“…I didn’t do it.” I quickly covered my mouth. It slipped. Fuck. Ah, the hell with it. Why do I have to play the bad guy in this cave? We are both criminals.

“Yurem. Can you tell me your story?”

“Fine… But drink your medicine. Stop fidgeting the bowl around. I know you only drank half of it.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because of the way you’re holding it. You’re moving it around in circles which makes the liquid rotate so you need to apply a certain pressure on your hands so it doesn’t stop flowing. And by the amount of force you’re making, I assume you only drank half. So, drink it. Before I flip the blanket and you get glued to it.”

She quickly gulped everything down with much regret and I handed her a glass of water. Then I spoke. I told her everything from day 1. From how I arrived, to the way the King behaved, to my training, to the event in the city, the reason why I can’t eat, to my trial and how I ended up in front of her. She never interrupted, she listened and even let herself get more comfortable in bed. I felt relieved. Like some weight was removed from my chest and shoulders.

“… and now we are here.”

“I don’t understand one thing.”

“Why my sister didn’t say anything?”

“Yeah.”

“Makes 2 of us.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Go to Asparia. It’s going to take a while for us to go there but I plan to save some money. As soon as we get there, we’ll get you a doctor, medicine. Then I’ll buy some gear and I’ll find a way to break the slave contract with you. Then off you go.”

“Huh? What?”

“What?”

“You’re leaving me there?”

“I told you. When we were fighting I realized that it’s unfair to make you fight when this world did the same to me. I’ll just have to lay low until all of this finishes and I go back into my world. From what I read from Astaria, you’ll be safe there. Don’t know if you can leave a normal life but… it’s better than being a slave.”

“I guess you are right.”

“Now, get some sleep. I’m kind of tired of looking at these walls. I’ll stay on guard.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep as well?”

“I’m good.”

Of course, I’m not good. I only manage to get a nap here and there. They usually last 10 minutes at max. Look at her. Spent the entire day sleeping and in less than a minute is back at it again. Her blonde hair, even if filled with knots, is now clean. It’s actually beautiful. Who am I kidding? Soleil is actually a really beautiful woman. I already had reached that conclusion but seeing her peaceful face now just reassured my opinion.

The dawn arrived and with it a soft breeze. You could hear birds chirps and the rustle of the leaves right outside the cave where we were resting. The cave was warm. The bonfire was kept burning away for the entire time. A bit after Soleil fell asleep, I decided to go to the place where we fought the wolves. I skinned most of the parts that I could use and left the rest there. Lucky enough, no monster showed up to eat them. I was scared that it was the case. Since I was outside the cave, I took my time to go to the lake, wash away the impurities of the wolf pelt. Got some water on the bowls that I took with me and also collected some herbs and mushrooms for breakfast. I tried to make some tea with the leftovers of the herbs that we didn’t eat and it wasn’t that bad. While the wood was crackling, I kept myself busy. The mushrooms were already being roasted and I was making more ‘ointment’ for our wounds. Soleil’s medicine was already done. All she had to do was drink. I can move my shoulder a bit better. It still wasn’t on point but can’t really afford to complain so I just rub some more ointment and move on. The pelt wasn’t really in that bad of a shape so I decided to keep at least one more for us to use and sell the rest. It could fetch us a bit of money since we were on the 0. We ran out of wood. There is really no point in going out to find more. As soon as she wakes up, I’m filling the bag with everything I can so we can go to the city market. I made 2 weird looking scarves so we can go into the city without being assaulted. I used the most damaged pelt we had. There is no way I’m going to use a good quality one. It smells awful but it will suffice.

I hear some rustling to my left. Stretching both arms in front of her and then blinking fast, she turned her face to me. Then slowly she managed to get into a sitting position.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m better, thanks. Cough. My throat is just a bit sore, my ribcage is not hurting as bad. The paste you applied did the job.”

“Drink this and rub a little more of this.” I handed her the remedy and the ointment. I grabbed one plate filled with mushrooms and a shady-looking salad and placed it next to her. “Sorry, the menu is the same as yesterday.” She wasn’t using the bag any longer so I picked it up and I start folding the wolf pelt trying to fit everything in. The bag wasn’t that big. It was a normal backpack but it got to the point where it could break any moment since it was overstretched. It was old anyway, I’m not going to cry when it gives in but I’m going to need a replacement.

“It’s good. Are you still not going to eat anything?”

“I had some herbal tea. I’m good for the time being.”

“That’s not… I won’t pry. Apologies.” She handed over the rest of the ointment and her remedy cup. I make a small pile so I can carry it to the lake.

“Hey. I know it’s going to be gross and a bit nauseating but we need to put these on. I want to go to the city to sell the skins of the wolves you killed. It’s in very good shape so I think we can make a quick buck.”

“It’s not a problem. Do you need me to do anything?”

“As soon as I finish this, I want to go to the lake and wash the utensils so I can put them in the bag. If you want, you can start putting down the fire and fold your costume blanket. We are not going to sell that one. I already have another so you can place it on the floor so you don’t rip the overcoat.”

“Understood. Anything else?”

“Uh… see if this is okay for you. For the time being.” I handed the weird-looking bone-knife that I was using to carve. It already has some dents on the tip but it’s still quite sharp. “I don’t know if we going to face more monsters until we reach the city. I’ve been very lucky so far but luck also runs out so… yeah. See if it’s good enough for you.”

She grabbed it and gave 3 quick slashes through the air. “It will suffice. Do you have a weapon for yourself?”

I point down to my legs. I’m not good at using weapons and I’m bad at fighting. But I’m sure as hell that I can kick stuff. I still need to learn magic. I have so many things to do, it’s bothering me. I leave the cave and quickly reached the river. My eyes are getting heavy. I haven’t slept since I woke up in that weird warehouse or whatever that was. Those 10-minute naps aren’t cutting. I pat my face with a bit of cold water so I can stay awake. Okay. Let’s do this. Onto the cave, so we can go to the city.

“Is everything re…” I let the utensils fall. The fire is out and Soleil is nowhere to be seen. “Na, she wouldn’t…” She was still at the party, so there is no way she tried to run. If I order, she will be shocked. Wait, why am I even trusting her? Fuck sake. My backpack was still there. I put everything in there and I put it on. And I run out. Where to? Where would she run? I was about to start running when suddenly I hear something.

Creak.

And there she was.

“Where were you?” I was upset but I wasn’t showing it in my voice. Perhaps only in my eyes because she wasn’t meeting them.

“I went to the site where the wolves were.”

“And why?”

“This.” She reached for the pocket in her pants and removes 2 huge fangs. “The fangs from the Alpha Wolf are good material so you can sell it for a nice prize. Since we need money.”

“Why didn’t you wait for me?”

“Well… we lost time because of me… so, I thought we could make haste and share tasks. Perhaps I was mistaken. I apologize. If you must, do punish me. I am still your slave, after all.”

“…” I know she was right. We wasted a lot of time. And she did something good but I couldn’t shake the feeling of her running away. “Na, you’re good. My bad. I just… Nevermind.”

“The thought that I would run crossed your mind as soon as you got back and you didn’t see me.”

Now she meets my gaze. I actually thought she would be mad but her eyes told me the opposite. We both have this problem that I proudly named ‘Pokerface syndrome’ where we always have the same expression and our eyes usually do the talking. I rearrange my bag and I just start walking towards the city.

We are at the entrance of the Royal City of Astax. With both scarves on, Soleil and I finally go through the massive entrance and hastily make our way towards the City Market. I remember Ciara talking about a shop that was available only to buy loot from adventurers. It’s an easy way to make sure you get paid quickly and without question but I don’t want to sell stuff underpriced, which would be the case since shops with a ‘No Questions Asked’ policy are commonly known for being a scam. An adventure we shall have. To the tailor we go.

The tailor shop was quite old and looked abandoned. The only reason I know that it wasn’t, was simply the fact that I saw 2 people leave the place. The door was open but it’s not like I want to scare whoever is behind the counter and get hit by a spell or a needle or something like that. Cautious we shall be. And so I knocked.

“We are open. Hey.” A lady who was crouched under the counter quickly rose up and made us signal to enter. She was probably in her 30s. She didn’t look old but she had this mature aura surrounding her. What probably meant that she was probably a tad bit stronger than both of us.

“Hey. Are you interested in buying wolf pelt from the wild area outside of the city?”

“Sure! It’s always good loot. How much you got there?”

I put my bag on the table and I start taking the furry skin out. I remove it carefully so it doesn’t rip or, with my luck, so the fur doesn’t get stuck on the zipper.

“That’s more than I was expecting.”

“Well, do you want to name a price? Rather sell it directly to you than going for that loot shop around the corner.”

“Oh? So you didn’t even try?”

“I think that business should be built on trust between both parties. So if you give me a fair price for these, next time I have more of the stuff, you’ll be my go-to customer.”

“Eh. I like your style, kid. Tell you what, it was your first time skinning these bad boys, am I right?”

“What makes you think that?”

“Here.” Pointing at one of the edges, she explained that it was the mark of someone who wasn’t sure of when to start ripping off the skin. But for the first time, it was more than great. She gave me a few tips on how to skin so next time we could get a bit more value on the pelt. “But hey, I can’t use all of it but don’t feel bad. Like you’ve said, business is about trust right? And like you, I don’t like those guys from those loot shops. They end up overpricing stuff but since we need the materials… It’s a bit troublesome. So you are saving money. So let me tell do this for you in exchange. I’ll give you 50 silver for the 4 pieces.”

“How about 75?” 50 was a generous offer but well… I need money.

“Eh, so you’re not that a fragile little kid, ain’t ya? 55.”

“Oh, I’m not fragile, all right. 70.”

“Are you sure you want to play this game with me, uh, little kid? 60.”

“Deal.” I didn’t want to stretch the rope too much. Pull enough and get out of it. I smirked at the lady and she smirked back. She knew what I was doing and just went for the bait. She was underpaying and I assumed I asked for too much. She already had the 60 silver in hand. Eh, ain’t you a sly lady. Pulling me around. “Can I take a look around? I kind of want to buy some clothes and I wanna ask you a couple of things if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, what do you have in mind, kiddo?”

Kiddo. Okay. First, little kid. Now kiddo. Okay. Breath in. Breath out.

“Let’s say that I do end up become a regular seller of yours. Do I get some kind of discount?”

“Eh, first time here and already begging for scraps, are ya? Fine, I’ll take the bait. What do you need?”

“My companion here, she needs some shoes and I was looking at these high boots. They look sturdy enough to handle trips on the wild area.”

“You only need footwear? I can send you another way, kiddo. Mine ain’t that great for fighting. I mean, I only have basic stuff, they can handle bites from the wolves you killed and a bit of poison from Wildsnakes but other than that, I don’t recommend it.”

“I’m not planning on going far enough for the time being so what you have will do. Besides, you are not just a seller, you did these, right?”

“And what makes you think that?”

“Well, I’m sorry to say lady, but your shop is a mess.” Soleil opened her eyes wide when I said this. “If you were only selling, I’m pretty sure you would clean this place up. But even if all of this is a mess, the clothes and footwear here are stupidly clean, which means that it’s being made with care.”

“I’m not gonna lie, kiddo. I was ready to knock your head out when you started shit-talking my shop here. But I can’t really be mad at ya for telling the truth, can I? Yeah, everything that it’s here? Made by me.” Puffing out her chest like she is showing how proud she was of her kids, she gave me a soft smirk. “But now it’s my time to ask you a question. Why you 2 walking around with those lousy made scarves made of the same pelt that you sold me?”

I would be lying if I said that I didn’t see this coming. I already have the money so the worst thing she can do is run us out of the shop.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Ya said it yourself, didn’t ya, kiddo? Business is about trust. And I don’t wanna lay down with someone whose face I can’t fully see or name I don’t know. Spill it.”

I look at Soleil and give her a nod. Again, the worst that can happen at this point is she tries to fight us. Be we are near the door so we just have to run. Soleil nods back and positions herself in a way that we can make a run for it. And so, we remove our scarves.

“I’m Yurem. One of the summoned souls. She is my slave, Soleil.”

“Eh, so yer that kid that assaulted the little princess, ain’t ya? I thought your hair was similar, ya know. Shame I didn’t find ya earlier.” She was searching for something under the counter while staring at me.

“Hey, lady. We don’t want any problems here. We already have what we came here for. So let’s not do something rash.”

“Eh?” She finally shows her hands only for them to have a sewing kit. “What, you think I was gonna attack ya or something? Na, kiddo. That trial was bullshit and now that I’ve talked with ya, I know that. You wouldn’t be that stupid to attack the missy and sleep in that same castle.”

Are my ears deceiving me? Is this a trick? No, the lady isn’t laying. She still has that smirky smile on her face and she only has sewing needles and some black sewing thread.

“Hand me those ugly things. Lemme do something better for ya.”

“You’re not going to drag us out here?” Excellent question, Soleil.

“Why would I do that, miss elf? It ain’t gonna pay my bills or feed me. But the stuff you brought me can do just that. I don’t care about the crap the royals spit. Bunch of pretentious pricks could all end up like the missy princess for all I care.”

“I knew that we would get along but not to this extent.” This lady is my new best friend. I don’t even care right now. If this was a video-game or an anime this lady would be in all of the top 10 Waifus.

“Yeah, yeah, stop blabbering about that. I’m just doing this for myself. I don’t want any trouble in my shop because of you 2. I don’t have any beef with ya but my store is my life. Ain’t gonna risk it for ya.”

“Old lady, let’s make a deal then. We get you some supplies and you give us discounts on clothes for now. We can’t get you high-quality stuff but we can manage some more pelt for you. If you are willing to teach me a bit more about skinning, I can get you more. If you feel like it, obviously.”

“You lot that desperate for money, ain’t ya? Fine, kiddo. Let’s make a deal. I’m not very fond of you having an elf for a slave but that ain’t my business to tell. Place the order yall want. I’ll make you a list of stuff I’m needing.”

I extend my hand and we shake on it. However, she starts to grip me with way too much strength. “I ain’t no old lady, you stupid little kid. I’m 32, I ain’t old.”

I’m not gonna lose this. But she is going to break my hand. But… but… “If you are that pressed about defending your age, then perhaps you are an old lady.” Those words simply slipped up out of my mouth. Soleil covered her mouth with her hands. The lady fixed her gaze on me and raises her left fist. I close my eyes, waiting for the punch. But… it never came. She punches her table and starts laughing.

“Yer a funny one. I’ll let it pass. The name is Harlow Dixon, kiddo.”

“How about you start calling me Yurem instead of ‘kiddo’, then?”

“What? Are you that pressed about denying that you ain’t a little kid? Perhaps you really are one.” Don’t smirk at me??? What’s with that logic, I’m 17. I’m young. But it’s better if I stay quiet this time. Don’t wanna risk getting my ass handed over to me. Time to take the L on this on.

I end up making a lot of requests. A new outfit for Soleil. I gave her the freedom to ask what she wanted. She is the one using it and I do prioritize if it’s good enough for combat. As long as those criteria fit, I don’t care what she asks for. She ended up asking for some high boots, some shorts with pockets, some high gloves, some sort of cape that would interlock with her scarf, a shirt, and a vest. It was quite the ordeal but it’s for her to wear, so I can’t complain. I just asked for a scarf. I chose to let her decide if she wants to use the scarves we were wearing or not. In exchange, she asked for more wolf pelt, snake eyes, and snakeskin. If we find some, she would like some large feathers that belonged to a winged-beast called Gutlich. They are common but we never once saw them.

I talked with Harlow about the price of our little order. ‘After you come back with my stuff’ was the answer. No complaints on my part. Next order of business. She sold me an old bag for a couple of bronze coins. The money of this world was separated into bronze, silver, and gold coins. I had no bronze coins at all so she pretty much made me open a tab. 100 bronze coins would make 1 silver. 100 silver coins make 1 gold. With our dirty gear and our gross scarves equipped it was time to go to the guild. Making quests was a quick way to fetch some money. The process itself was quite easy. Just had to fill a form with my name, age, and a couple more meaningless information. Those kinds of forms also are used as a lie detector so if you try to impersonate someone else or try to lie about your identity, you would be caught on the spot. So, I cheated. Mistral Truesdale, registered adventurer, ranked iron, at your service.

Next phase: We had a bit of gold, time to go undercover to the weapon shop of the dude that I tricked last time. It was the closest around. We didn’t have much time, so I wanted to buy some decent blades for Soleil, a knife for me, and buy some groceries. It’s not like I can keep going without food and only going for herbs it’s a no go. I need to organize myself, I still need to head over to the church so I can finally have the countdown for the Spawn. Why is everything around me so hazy? Why is everything spinning?

“Yurem?”

THUD