Recalling that night, Eídal couldn't help but repeat in his mind:

'Yes, this is definitely going to be difficult'.

"Well?" the heroine pressed.

Her short hair and imposing stance made her figure even more intimidating.

"Uhm, well... This... Ahem." Eídal broke into a cold sweat. This is bad, he thought. He had never imagined it would be impossible to keep his cool.

"Can't you speak louder?"

"...Uhm..."

Though he hadn't forgotten how to talk, the long time spent in a deep sleep was taking its toll. The same thing had happened in the tavern earlier. Right now, he couldn't even manage a proper conversation.

"A waste of time," the heroine concluded, causing Eídal to swallow hard. Everything depended on this moment.

'It's time to use one of the four thorcams!', he thought.

He had prepared it beforehand: a small piece of wood twisted in the shape of a snail shell, with three tiny leaves attached at the end. Its size was no larger than two fingers, fitting neatly in his palm like a coin.

This particular thorcam had the enchantment of [Contain Emotions].

Remember, thorcams are objects of exchange: to use their abilities, one must offer something of equal value. The most important thing about a thorcam is its name. Knowing its name reveals the ability it holds and what must be given in return to activate it.

In this case, the thorcam Eídal was about to use was called [Contain Emotions]. As the name implied, it granted the ability to contain, alter, or shape the user's emotions.

Activating a thorcam didn't require any chant or spell, only willpower. Desire, as some called it, was the on-off switch. Once connected to the thorcam, it became an extension of the body.

'I want to run, but I can't. I'll do this for my family!'

Eídal used this thought to link with the thorcam in his hand. Suddenly, an imaginary screen appeared before him. The heroine seemed unaware of it.

This was the second time Eídal had seen that screen. The first time it happened, he had nearly jumped out of his skin.

The screen was divided into two windows, side by side. One displayed the main emotions and the other, the secondary ones. Eídal glanced at them from the corner of his eye. Fear, aversion, and surprise were the most prominent.

He scrolled through the numerous emotions displayed, having practiced this before. With his mind, he navigated the options and turned off the negative ones. Then, he increased the intensity of joy and confidence in the main emotions, and pride and pleasure in the secondary ones, which had been at zero.

When he closed the screen, the trembling in his hand had stopped.

"If you won't speak, I'll end this," the spear-wielding heroine said, waving her hand as if shooing away a fly.

Would that simple motion be enough to finish him? Eídal didn't want to stick around to find out. So, taking a deep breath, he cut her off:

"Well, well. You can't expect someone to talk when they're being threatened. Don't you think you should be a little kinder?"

'Wait, did I just say that?'

The playful tone, no—the very intent—felt completely different.

◇◆◇

"Turns out you can understand human language."

The heroine's words were sharp.

But Eídal didn't hold back either:

"No, you can't be nice, can you?"

"Cut to the chase. What's that in your hand?"

"Hm? You mean this?" Eídal revealed the contents of his right palm. It wasn't the snail-shaped thorcam, but a small blue pouch. "Would you believe me if I said it just ended up in my hand by accident?"

'A-alright! This is going pretty well, right? Right? Right?' he celebrated inwardly.

Thanks to the thorcam [contain emotions], he was managing to hold a normal conversation after so many years of dormancy.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"That's a pretty cheap excuse coming from a thief."

The heroine's voice deepened further, prompting Eídal to shut his mouth with an awkward "Uh-huh." The heroine looked every bit the part of a stern teacher.

"...M-miss. Ahem. Even though I don't know your name yet, calling me a thief is going a bit too far."

"What are you talking about?!" interrupted the girl he had bumped into earlier.

"Did you not even notice?" the heroine scolded, pointing at Eídal. "This tiny thief took your purse. See?"

"Huh?!"

They were talking about the small blue pouch Eídal was holding in his hand. While hiding the fear creeping inside him, Eídal forced a smile. Since his encounter with the heroine, he had already used three thorcams in total. The one that allowed him to contain his emotions was the third.

To be precise, the second one was the one he had used to take the girl's purse. It had the enchantment [steal objects]. As the name suggested, it allowed the user to steal an object someone else was carrying.

It's important to remember that thorcams worked through exchange: to activate their abilities, you had to offer something of equal value, but of a different nature.

To use a thorcam, you needed to understand what it required in return. The key lay in the name of the object, which had to be replaced by its opposite.

For example, in the case of the thorcam called "steal objects," its opposite would be "give or gift objects." This meant that if you wanted to use this thorcam to obtain something from someone, you had to gift them an item of equal value in return. That was the idea behind the concept of "equal value, but different nature."

Its form was akin to a gauntlet. It consisted of five wooden rings, one for each finger. Holding these rings together were thin roots, like fine threads, that connected them to a sort of bracelet, also made of wood, worn on the user's wrist. Two long green leaves extended from the sides of the bracelet.

Eídal wore this thorcam on the back of his right hand.

The [steal objects] thorcam was tricky in its own right because when attempting to exchange something, the thorcam couldn't determine the true value of things. There were objects that, even if they were trash, could hold immense sentimental value. If it took that into account, you might end up trading gold for a handkerchief.

Because of this small valuation gap, the [steal objects] thorcam used a simpler concept to determine the worth of items: weight. In other words, to obtain (steal) an item from someone else, you had to (give) one from your own inventory that had the same value (weight) as the item you wanted.

The magical item also displayed a sort of screen where you could choose which object you wanted to replace. There was a limitation when selecting an item: to activate it, physical contact with the object or, in its absence, with the being carrying it was required.

The thorcam screen [steal objects] offered several helpful functions; for example, it could tell you what kinds of items the individual you were targeting had and whether the weight of what you intended to steal matched what you were offering in exchange. In this case, Eídal had simply picked up stones from the street to match the weight of the blue pouch.

When the girl checked the pocket of her clothes, she exclaimed, "Huh?! What's this?!" and pulled out a handful of small stones.

"But how?... I didn't even see it," she muttered.

"It was pretty quick," the heroine added.

Eídal sighed in admiration. To be honest, even he hadn't noticed when the thorcam had swapped the stones in his hand for the girl's pouch. By the time he stood up, he could already feel the purse. That meant the heroine's senses were on par with the thorcams'.

"I'll just finish this," the heroine concluded.

'This is bad. I need to calm down,' Eídal thought. His nerves were proof that he still hadn't overcome his traumas.

"What are you willing to sacrifice for your family?" His master's question echoed in his mind. So, gathering his strength, he spoke:

"Haah. I already said it was an accident. When I fell, don't you think it's normal for the body to grab onto something? It was a reflex."

"That's your excuse?"

"I-I've already apologized... Ahem. By the time I noticed, I already had this thing in my hand, but when I tried to give it back, you showed up."

The crowd, which had surrounded them, began to murmur:

"Hey, shouldn't he just bow his head? Doesn't he know he's talking to a hero?"

But Eídal responded:

"Hero? I'm not the kind of person who gets passionate about those things. I was just heading out of the city. I'd appreciate it if we could clear up this misunderstanding. So, shoo, shoo."

Eídal waved his hand as if he were shooing them away. His attitude made the heroine frown, her well-defined eyebrows knitting together, but the other girl, embarrassed, interrupted:

"J-just give it back!"

"Then catch it," he said.

The heroine caught the pouch Eídal had tossed into the air and muttered, "Yeah, continuing this is annoying." She handed the pouch to the girl, who nodded in thanks.

"Try to take better care of your things."

"Haah! As if you should be the one saying that. And you..." The girl looked intensely at Eídal. "You didn't try to steal it, right?"

In response, Eídal merely shrugged. The truth was, he did it because his heart couldn't bear the pressure of being the center of attention anymore. For his own peace of mind, he needed to end this here.

"I hope we don't meet again."

"Same here!"

Ignoring her companion's shout, the heroine watched Eídal leave in silence. Meanwhile, the crowd also began to disperse.

'Finally! It's over. Haah, that was tougher than I thought. I'm glad I rehearsed beforehand,' Eídal thought, remembering how he had used the two drunks from the tavern to refine his performance.

Then, from the bottom of his heart, he offered a prayer for them: 'I truly hope they enjoy their liquor.'

As he passed by the heroine, he whispered:

"Just try to relax," adding more emphasis to the last word, "hero..."

With that, he moved ahead of the group and continued at a brisk pace until he entered a side alley off the main street. To be honest, he was too scared to look back.

The first step, which he called "the introduction," was complete. Now, all that remained was to force a cooperation.

'But a cooperation without merits is impossible,' he thought.

That's why Eídal had shown two things here: his ability and his disinterest in matters concerning the heroes. Now, he wasn't just someone with potential—his lack of intimidation by them made him seem more reliable as an ally. At least, that was his thinking.

'I remember Íngrid once said: "If someone shows interest in you, you'll be on guard; but if they seem indifferent, you'll start to relax. That's a good way to approach dangerous people."'

It was incredible how, even now, she was helping him.

'I could've used the other thorcam too.'

He had placed it on the girl. It was the thorcam with the enchantment [track objects]. Now, following them would be easy. Without the heroine realizing, the groundwork for her downfall had been laid during this annoying incident.