I hadn’t been beaten up, only a couple of cuts and scratches and yet I felt destroyed. My confidence that I had just built up from beating those Orcs seemed to place me on cloud nine. I felt invincible for less than a day…
I wasn’t depressed though, no that was something else entirely. My eyes focused on the dried blood on my fingertips and an almost malevolent stare overtook my face. I stared, wide-eyed at my hand without any emotion besides rage.
“Still too weak…!!”
***
A new day had come and inside the dingy inn located within the bustling streets of Istoria, Rei jumped out of bed. The sun had only just risen and he had already hopped to action, grabbing his white tunic and a clean pair of pants.
He rushed out the door with urgency, like a man possessed, he raced through the Industrial District towards the border where ASH was located. The large marble pillars that shone excellency over the clean streets, ASH was always kept tidy and presentable.
Rei’s burning urge to meet with Kana was fueled with nothing but interest. He needed to know who she was, the person that attacked him that evening.
More than that, he needed closure on the words she left him with before disappearing. Those simple words ran wild through his mind and plagued him into an almost sleepless night. With nothing to do but stare up at the ceiling, he waited for sunrise when he knew Kana would be in and their conversation could begin.
“Oh, if it isn’t Kana’s kid! How can I help, young adventurer?”
The aged man who greeted Rei stood nearly six feet tall and slightly overshadowed him. His large frame and toned figure didn’t meet the description of a desk worker at all and left Rei with some questions.
He had his priorities set and didn’t act on his queries. Rei instead replied with a dry tone.
“Kana, please can I see her?”
“Oh-ho! I didn’t realise you two were like that…I’ll go get her for you kiddo.”
With a smile filled with vigour, the man complied and walked off to one of the backrooms where he returned a few moments later. Tracing behind him with a worried expression, was Kana.
“There you go, kiddo! Don’t think of doing anything in here though, else everyone’s going to find out~”
As the man disappeared out of hearing range, Kana leaned in with one hand blocking her mouth from those beside them.
“What’s the big idea, Rei? He told me that some guy that’s a suitor of mine, came looking for me! I was freaking out just thinking what I’d do if a stranger was standing there.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“A suitor? I don’t know where he got that from, all I did was ask for you by name.”
“So you’re not hopelessly in love with me?”
Kana returned to her usual relaxed demeanour after a few comments back and forth but Rei didn’t share her casual mood. He quickly cut through the friendly banter and returned to his reason for coming out to see her.
“Kana please–I need your help with something!”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her in close, emphasising just how serious he was being. Rei held no regard for how it looked to those around them. The eyes of interested watchers grew by the second as his hands remained over hers.
Kana’s face turned red as she suddenly felt the gravitation of the situation but also realised how it must have seemed to those around her. She pulled away, still blushing and took him by the hand towards the end of the hall.
“Let’s…talk somewhere in private…please.”
***
“Rei…I’m really, really sorry!”
Kana begged for forgiveness on her hands and knees, with her head planted firmly on the ground by my feet. She went as low to the ground as her shapely chest would allow.
I tried reassuring her that I was alright but she continued to say that it was her fault. It turns out that the incident of the previous night was related to what she had tried to tell me after all. Kana felt even worse the more I told her and eventually ended up on the floor by the time I finished filling her in.
“Kana please, you don’t have to apologise. You didn’t send her after me, right?”
“Of course I didn’t! I’d never do something like that, not to mention there’s no way I’d be able to get that money-grabber to do anything I asked.”
My eyes lit up with interest as she lifted her head with a response.
“But you do know her then…don’t you?”
Kana looked hesitant to respond but ultimately let out a silent nod.
“Sigh…I tried telling you yesterday but…I recently got a second client.”
“A second client? So does that mean, you have another adventurer under your care?”
Kana’s frown brightened as the corners of her mouth rose ever so slightly. There was clearly glee behind telling me that, I just didn’t understand how it led to such a horrible event happening to me. I waited intently for her to continue.
She went on to describe the woman I met in the alley, the same cream-coloured hair, lifeless eyes and other features I caught before she disappeared.
“She never stays longer than she has to, kind of like a ghost that comes and goes as she pleases,” Kana explained as she gripped the sides of her arms in a cold shiver.
“What else can you tell me about her?”
Kana went into a deep thought trying to find a response. “Well, the thing is…I don’t really know anything about her. Even her records are pretty bare, when we spoke she kept to herself mostly. I think that’s why I was assigned to her…” Kana finished with an audible sigh.
My body still hadn’t completely settled, if anything, all the mystery behind this woman made me even more interested. I didn’t know why I felt that way, why I needed to see her again. I just know that I did. I would, at all costs.
That memory of the disappointed tone she left me with… still ran through my mind, even as I spoke with Kana.
“What about her name?” I asked with determined eyes.
Sensing my sincerity, Kana was taken aback by the glare I shot her with and took a moment to regain her composure.
“That much I can tell you. It says here that she’s registered under the name…Vye.”