-------------------A BIT EARLIER...-------------------------

"Mika, what's up?" Amoria called out as she and the assassin settled into the quiet of the guild's empty room.

"I won't... beat around the bush," Mika began, her voice faltering as she swallowed hard.

Amoria's concern intensified as she observed the raw emotions etching the assassin's face.

"...Please... Van... needs your help," Mika whispered, her gaze dropping, shame tinging her features.

Amoria's eyes widened in shock, her hands instinctively clenching into fists on her thighs.

"Van...? What's going on?" she stammered, struggling to grasp the urgency of Mika's sudden plea.

"Please... just help Van. You might be the.... only one who can reach... him right now," Mika's voice broke as tears began to fall, her body shaking with each sob.

Without hesitation, Amoria stood and wrapped her arms around the assassin, comforting her with gentle pats on the back, as one would soothe a distressed child.

"There, there... I'm here," Amoria reassured her, feeling a twinge in her heart at the sight of the usually stoic assassin overwhelmed by emotion.

"Mika... and Rika did something bad to him... Please... go to him," Mika's voice was barely a whisper, muffled as she buried her head in Amoria's shoulder, her tears dampening the fabric of Amoria's outfit.

"Shhh... it's okay... just tell me what happened, okay?" Amoria's voice softened, a calm reassurance as she continued to pat her back, trying to ease her distress.

The master assassin then burst into tears, her arms tightly wrapping around Amoria. Her sobs were awkward and rough, the voice of someone who had never allowed herself to cry before.

"It's okay... I'm here..." Amoria whispered soothingly as she patted Mika's head.

Mika wept on her shoulder, her voice muffled and broken. She explained that she and Rika had been slaves for the past ten years, coerced by Salem to seduce Van and lure him into captivity, making him another slave of their master after he killed Arutol. She recounted every step of their deceit, the details painfully clear, up until they reached Salem's dungeon. There, Salem had revealed everything to Van, sharing all of his secrets and taunting him cruelly.

Mika continued, her voice trembling, revealing how, for some reason, the slave mark didn't work on Van. He managed to break free, kill Salem, and liberate both her and Rika.

Choosing her words carefully, Mika omitted any mention of the demonic tongue or Van's actual stats, keeping those details to herself.

"And now... Van is at the cemetery," she continued in her weeps, "He learned of Magus's death. Please... Just go to him. Rika is there... making sure no one interrupts..."

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Her plea hung in the air as she clung herself to Amoria.

Amoria's mind raced, her heart clenching with anger and sorrow as she pieced together the full extent of Mika's torment under Salem Dyke. Her eyes blazed with fury at her own ignorance of her friend's suffering.

"Amoria..." Mika's voice cracked as she pushed Amoria gently but firmly away from the embrace. "Please, go."

"I won't leave you alone," Amoria protested, placing her hands firmly on Mika's shoulders. "You've been suffering all this time!"

Mika held Amoria's gaze, "We... Will be fine. We're trained to endure torture, however..."

Her lips pursed, her body betraying a sligh shiver as she looked away.

"Harsh it may be," She finished.

"...But Van doesn't have the tools for this. By the way he spoke, and behaved..."

'.. And reacted, only by us touching him..' She thought inwardly, frowning as she recalled the tears coming from his eyes just by being hugged for a prolonged duration.

"He has been through a lot these past 20 years. And what isolation he struggled with... We made it worse. Please go. I will be fine," Mika insisted, her voice steadying, "I will make sure you are uninterrupted... And I'll let the others know."

Her words hung heavily between them, a plea for understanding and action that Amoria could not ignore.

"...Alright... But talk to me afterwards... Please."

------------------------- PRESENT. After Van and Amoria had entered the apartment ---------------------

'She and Rika still haven't shown up...' Amoria thought with concern as she drifted off to sleep.

A new day dawned, and Amoria woke early, before the sunrise. The worry in her heart eased slightly as she rose from her bed and prepared for the day in the bathroom.

Shortly after, she emerged to find her daughter also awake.

"So unusual... Why are you up so early, Lizzy?" Amoria asked, her curiosity piqued.

"A-ah... It's just..." Lizzy stammered, her eyes flicking briefly toward the door leading to Van's room.

"I want to work for Aunt Marcy today. Starting early... There was a lot of leftover work!" she explained anxiously.

Amoria raised an eyebrow.

"Really...? It's not something else?" she prodded.

"U-uh... Really, it isn't...!" Lizzy asserted, mustering a forced smile.

'Mom likes that guy... I can't just tell her I don't want to see him... I just have to hold out until the Academy starts. Then we won't have to see each other,' Liz thought.

"I see... Are you sure you want to leave so early? I was thinking of sending Vanny with you to get acquainted with the guild..." Amoria suggested.

"N-NO!" Lizzy blurted out, then quickly tried to cover her reaction.

'Ah... I see how it is now,' Amoria realized, giving her daughter a knowing look.

"I-I mean... I wouldn't want to bore him with that. It's really tough work, after all... And he must be tired—"

"Yes, yes, Lizzy. I understand. You can go after you finish up," Amoria murmured with a sigh, leaving the bathroom and returning to her room to dress.

'Yes...' Lizzy sighed in relief as she entered the bathroom to prepare for the day.

'...I guess I'll have to walk him there myself...' Amoria thought with a satisfied smile.

A bit later...

"Van...?" Amoria called softly, her voice just loud enough to rouse him from sleep.

"Uh... Amoria...?" His voice was raspy, his throat dry from a long night's rest. It was now late morning, several hours after Liz had left.

"Sleepyhead..." Amoria pouted, a hint of disappointment in her tone. She had hoped to tease him a bit more upon waking.

"I slept... Well," Van muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Comfortable bed you got here,"

"Glad to hear that. I've left some new clothes for you. Get changed. Marcy needs some help at the guild, and I thought you'd be perfect for it," Amoria said, her smile broadening as he sat up.

"Oh, sure," he agreed calmly.

"That was a quick response," she noted, her eyebrows rising slightly, but her smile remained.

"Well, I don't really have anything better to do. I was actually thinking about heading to the guild myself to earn some coins by doing quests," he said as he stretched.

"Oh, you won't be doing quests... Just get changed and come with me?" she said, leaving the room.

'I see... Or maybe I don't. Never mind. I wonder what she has in mind,' Van thought as he prepared, donning the new set of clothes Amoria had left for him.