Chapter 3

Speaking The Truth

It had been a few days since Erin had arrived in this new world and had taken up residence with the kind old woman, who had offered to help her. The lady had introduced herself as Eba and she was running a rather small restaurant that served simple comfort food, like soups and other such meals, called Eba Bowl.

Ever since she had started to live with Eba, Erin had begun working as a waitress and kitchen assistant in the old woman’s place in order to earn some money and repay the kindness she had been shown. The work didn’t pay all that much, but it was at least progress in the brown-haired woman’s eyes. The main reason for the poor pay was mostly due to the lack of customers. The restaurant wasn’t as high in quality as most of its competitors, which led to only a few people coming there every so often. There was also the small fact that no alcohol was served at Eba Bowl, which further cut down the already small amount of customers.

However, even with the lack of constant flow of people coming in, the place had managed to earn itself a couple of regulars that came there almost every day. Erin had quickly become familiar with these customers, who in turn had taken a liking to the new addition to the restaurant.

The regular customers included a father and daughter duo, which was made Ryan Hollings, an older human male, who was still in quite good physical shape despite his age. His daughter was called Holly and she seemed like a regular young lady with flowing blonde hair and a pretty face. These two were especially kind towards Erin, who had told them about her situation of being homeless, and that Eba was now taking care of her. The duo seemed to also have some sort of a special interest in the new waitress, but she herself had no idea what it could be.

Right now, it was just another day of working as a waitress for Erin, as she welcomed customers, took their orders and brought them their food. The brown-haired woman had a bright smile on her face, as she worked, which helped her earn better tips from the customers. This was important, as she needed to save up quite a bit of money for her future travels to find Devin or one of his friends. Not only was there the cost of travel itself, but Erin was certain that other expenses would surely come up as well. This is why she was carefully saving up almost all of her money, which she made from her work.

Having made up her mind to find her old friends again in this new world, the brunette had sworn not to give in to any temptations until she did. For her, finding Devin and his group was far more important than anything else in the world right now. She needed to do everything she could to not only help Eba and her town, but to also possibly make up for her past mistakes.

“Gotta say, Erin, you’re working hard as usual,” Ryan said with a smile, as said woman was cleaning tables that weren’t currently occupied. “I was a bit surprised when I saw you for the first time and old Eba said she had hired you as a waitress. I always imagined that she either didn’t have the money or just couldn’t trust anyone.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hollings,” Erin replied with a smile as she finished wiping a table clean and picked up some dirty dishes. “I was honestly surprised as well, when Mrs. Eba offered me a job, but I’m not about to complain.”

“What surprises me the most is the work attitude that you show,” Holly added. “Most people working in similar jobs as you only care about making a quick buck, but you seem to actually care about doing your best. That’s honestly commendable.”

“Well, I don’t want to throw away the chance Mrs. Eba gave me. I feel like in order to repay her I need to give this my all. Besides, I do have experience from doing similar work, so I know that a positive attitude is a key in this business,” the brown-haired woman explained while thinking about her experience while working at different restaurants. “By doing my work to the best of my abilities, I am not only ensuring that I’m not getting fired, but I also have a good chance to get some nice tips. That’s important to me, since I really need the money.”

“I get that you’re in the need of money, but don’t let that blind you too badly, okay?” Ryan lightly warned. “There are a lot of people who may seem nice and all, but deep down they’re looking to exploit you in any way possible. I’d watch my back, if I were you.”

“Thanks for the warning, but I think I can handle myself,” Erin said. “Besides, I’m only working for Mrs. Eba, so I doubt I’m in any kind of danger at all.”

“You shouldn’t be so trusting. You never know whom you can truly trust these days.”

Erin didn’t really give Ryan’s warning much thought. As far as she knew, she was as safe as one could be. The brunette had a home with a nice old woman who treated her well and she also had a job. All she really needed to worry about was saving up enough money to go and start on her journey.

The brown-haired woman couldn’t help but have a sad smile spread over her face. While she was happy that she would be getting a chance to properly apologize to Devin and the others, she could only wish that there wouldn’t be any need to apologize in the first place.

“Erin, may I talk with you for a moment?” Eba suddenly called out to her new waitress. “I need to talk to you for a bit.”

“I just finished cleaning the tables in the dining area and I was about to go and start washing the dishes,” the brunette answered. “But I think I’ll be able to spare a quick moment, if you need me.”

“Let’s go to the back for a bit then,” the granny said and led Erin to the back of the restaurant where they wouldn’t be bothered.

“Is something wrong, Mrs. Eba?” Erin immediately asked, worried over what could be troubling the old lady. “I’m not going to be losing my job, am I?”

“Oh, heavens no!” Eba quickly answered, which calmed down the young woman. “It’s about something else. I was just wondering if you were planning to tell me about those people you knew. The ones you told me could help our tow.”

“This is about that again? Like I’ve said already, I would love to tell you, but I can’t,” Erin explained. “Not only am I certain that you would think that I’m crazy, I don’t want to possibly cause a scene by letting someone else accidentally hear about it. Not to mention, I don’t want to give false hope, in case I won’t be able to meet up with them.”

“Dear, I understand your reasoning to some degree, but I was honestly hoping that you had a better opinion of me,” the old woman said with hurt in her voice. “You should understand that I took up quite the risk when I took you in and decided to trust you. I kind of wish you could show the same amount of trust towards me as well. It probably doesn’t mean that much to you, but it does mean a lot to me.”

Erin was honestly taken aback by what Eba just said to her. She herself had never seen things like that and had just been focused on earning enough money for her journey, but what the old lady said was true. Eba had taken up quite a risk, as she had no real reason to help Erin when she had arrived in this world with basically nothing on her. Not to mention, the granny had also been trusting enough to let the brunette into her business to earn money, which is something a lot of people would never even consider. Erin owed Eba a lot for her current situation, which could have been a lot worse had they not met.

If she couldn’t even tell her about her plans, would Erin ever be able to repay the kindness that she had been shown?

“Alright, I’ll tell you the truth,” the brunette said with a small smile. “I’m sorry for hurting you, but I really felt like I couldn’t tell you. However, I want to make sure no one else hears us, so I’ll tell you the truth after work tonight. Is that alright?”

“That is quite alright, dear. We’ll talk later tonight then,” Eba answered happily. “I’m glad I could finally convince you. I hope this doesn’t trouble you too much.”

“Oh, not at all! I just wasn’t confident about what I was supposed to tell you. That’s all.”

Both Erin and Eba went back to the restaurant to finish up work for the day. The day didn’t get all that busy, as most of their regular customers had already visited, leaving only a couple of customers that came for a quick visit. It didn’t take long for the brown-haired woman to finish the tasks set for her, leaving her with only one more thing to do for the day. To tell the truth about herself to Eba.

Once she had finished cleaning the kitchen, which was her last task in the restaurant, Erin walked back to the dining area to find Eba sitting at a table with a cup of tea in her hands. She also had a teapot along with another cup set on the table as well, waiting for the brunette.

“I see that my preparations weren’t for nothing,” the old woman said with a small smile and took a sip from her cup. “I was worried that you would do something to avoid this conversation.”

“While I originally didn’t want to have this talk, I’m not about to break a promise just to avoid it,” Erin said as she took a seat at the table with the old lady and poured herself some tea. “I owe you way too much to just disrespect you like that. I could never do something like that to you.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Eba said with a smile. “Now, I believe you were supposed to finally tell me the truth about the people you told me about. The ones that are supposed to help our town. I hope you don’t mind me being a bit curious, but I’ve never heard of such people. While there are those who would gladly fight against Gibbot in order to overthrow him, none of the ones I know of are quite like you’ve described.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of the people I’ve talked about. You just never knew that they could actually help you out,” the brunette explained as she drank her tea. “My friends are in rather high positions in the government, so I’m certain that they will be able to help out.”

“Are they now?” the granny asked with a raised eyebrow. “Just who are they then?”

“You and I both know them by different names, but I’m certain that they are the same people,” Erin explained. “The people I’m talking about are Devinolux, Golorath, Jormulox, Keneroth and Roslynn. The leaders of the world.”

For a moment, Erin simply waited to see what Eba’s response would be, only to receive silence. The old woman simply sat still with no changes happening to her expression. The brown-haired woman started to wonder if her revelation had been so shocking that the poor lady’s heart had stopped.

“Uhhh… Mrs. Eba?” Erin called out. “Are you alright?”

“Just fine, dear… Just fine…” Eba finally said as she poured herself some more tea while her hands were shaking violently. “I was just not expecting THAT as your answer.”

“I know what I’m saying sounds crazy, but I swear it’s true!” the brunette tried to argue. “I have known those five for years!”

“Say what you will, but it still sounds unbelievable to me,” the old woman said while taking a sip of her tea and doing her best not to spill the hot liquid. “Do you have any idea how many people make claims about knowing famous and powerful people, only for them to be complete lies? I’m afraid you’re going to do a bit more to convince me about this.”

“I do have actual proof with me!” Erin declared and took the picture of herself and Devin’s group from her pocket. She gave it to Eba, who at first didn’t seem to recognize the people on the picture before her eyes went wide and her face turned pale. “Well? Do you believe me now?”

“I-I have to say that this is quite the proof…” Eba said so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear. “Just how is this possible? Who are you, when you have a picture of the five leaders of the whole world with you?”

“That’s… a long story,” the brown-haired woman said awkwardly, not willing to tell about the darker parts of her past. “However, you can see that I know them, right? Once I get in touch with them, I’m sure I’ll be able to convince them to help this town!”

“…Why would they of all people be willing to help this town?” the old lady asked with a confused look on her face.

“Because… that’s the kind of people they are, right?” Erin asked in return, somewhat confused by Eba’s reaction. “I mean, I saw the statues in the plaza. Those were made in their honor for all the good they’ve done, right?”

For a moment, there was an awkward silence hanging in the air, as neither person on the table spoke. Eba simply continued to stare at Erin with the same look on her face, until it seemed like she finally realized something.

“O-OH! Of course! You’re completely right about our great leaders for sure!” the granny suddenly said. “Those five sure are great people! Life has never been better than when they took over! That’s for sure!”

“Umm… I’m happy to hear that…” the brunette said, somewhat weirded out by the older woman’s strange antics. It seemed like it was forced for some reason. “Anyways, do you believe me now, when I said that I know people who can help you?”

“I do believe that you know quite powerful people, but this still leaves me confused,” Eba answered. “If you are actually acquainted with the leaders of the whole world, how come I found you on the street? If you’re so close to them, shouldn’t you have been in a way better position than that?”

“Things… aren’t exactly the best between them and I,” Erin began to explain with an ashamed look on her face, as she thought about the things she had done to her former friends. “You see, back in the day, I did something terrible to them. Something that I’m not sure can ever be forgiven. Because of that, we stopped being friends a long time ago.”

"What did you do?” the old woman asked. “Also, if your relationship with them is no longer any good, how are you supposed to get in touch with any of them, let alone convince them to help?”

“…I know what I’ve done is unforgivable and I am not expecting them to forgive me easily, if ever at all,” the brown-haired woman said while looking down. She then looked back at Eba again with determination in her eyes. “However, I’m tired of living in regret over my past mistakes. I am going to make up for what I did back then and set things right finally. I also know by experience just what kind of people they are. I know that as long as I get to talk to them, even just once, I’ll be able to reach an understanding with them. They are also kind people, who would never let something like the situation in your town go on, if they’re able to help.”

Silence fell over the table, as Eba simply stared at Erin with a look of disbelief. It was almost like the young woman had just made an insane claim, like the planet was flat or something like that. The look on the granny’s face was actually disturbing Erin, as she couldn’t help why there had been such a reaction.

“Umm… Mrs. Eba?” Erin called out to the elderly woman. “Is something wrong? Was it something I said?”

“…Don’t you even know-?” Eba began to ask, only to stop herself almost immediately. “I-I mean, there’s nothing wrong! I was just a bit surprised over all of this! Nothing else! You are right, though. If there’s anyone that can help our town, it’s those people! I look forward to you meeting again with them!”

“I’m glad to hear that...,” the brown-haired woman said, still somewhat put off by the elderly woman’s earlier reaction. “So, was there something else you wanted to talk about? It’s getting late and I would like to go to bed.”

“Oh, there’s nothing else! Go ahead and get to bed!” the old lady said strangely enthusiastically. “The things you’ve just told me have given me hope like nothing else! I may finally look towards the future positively!”

“If you say so….”

Even though she was still somewhat disturbed by the way Eba was acting, Erin decided not to think too much about it and started to head to her room. As she was walking away, she heard the elderly woman say one more thing.

“But to think you actually knew them… This is way better than what I could have ever anticipated.”