The end of the underground adventure went by quite fast after the ringing reached Hannah’s ears.
First, there was the spurred action of the Party to reach the Sub-Boss to regroup with Henry who had so obviously jumped away from them. Only, as it turned out, there was no need for such a thing when the big ginger-haired man jumped right back to them.
There was a bit of banter between him and Lee Ping, but that ceased moments later.
Right after that Henry returned to dealing with some of the Royal Guard Ants around them, and considering he was still Buffed by Lee Ping’s actions, he took care of those effortlessly. With their demise, the Party gained a bit of freedom, but it would not last long because the death of the Queen stirred the remaining ant-shaped Nightmares into a fervor to exterminate the culprits.
Luckily, the Party had no plans to deal with that exact scenario.
As such, the moment there was wiggle room, Lee Ping turned to face Hannah and Behold floating beside her head. “Quick! Stash the Gun in your Inventory and focus on the Quest Screen. Then accept its Reward!”
Knowing it was urgent, Hannah stashed the COLT with one motion before centering her sight on the upper part of her vision where a diamond-like thing flashed for her attention. It was a mild flashing, but the moment Hannah focused on it, it presented a brief burst of radiance before vanishing, and in its place, a Quest Screen appeared.
----------------------------------------
System Alert!!!
*
Quest Complete!
*
Quest Title; From Hatching to Immediate Acting!
*
Quest Description; Barely there yet instantly thrust into a full-on Combat Zone filled with menacing bugs, eagerly salivating at the thought of eating you piece by piece but preferably whole. Fortunately, you were blessed with decent Party Members to do the heavy lifting for you.
*
Quest Goal 1; Survive! ✅
Quest Goal 2; Locate one Sub-Boss! ✅
Quest Goal 3; Defeat said Sub-Boss! ✅
*
Quest Reward 1; D-Grade Aura Skill Token!
Quest Reward 2; 10 D-D Coins!
Quest Reward 3; Return Token!
*
Congratulations User; Hannah Blackwood! You have accomplished your very first Quest!
Press ✅ to receive your rewards!
----------------------------------------
Naturally, the most obvious change was the reveal of her First Reward.
The other two were as the initial Quest Screen detailed, so with no new things to occupy her attention, Hannah quickly pressed the indicated button. In an instant, new DING! DING! DING! sounds echoed into her awareness. Only, when it was over, the rewards did not magically appear in her hands as she'd assumed.
No, it took one notice at the System Alerts to see what had occurred.
Though, in Hannah’s defense, it did take her a second or two, or maybe a few more, to remember that part even existed since she'd learned how to ignore it as it kept spamming ‘User; Your Spirit Grows! User; You have earned 1 D Coin!’ in her head after every kill she managed with her COLT.
Either way, when she did check the System Alerts, Hannah discovered the truth.
User; 10 D-D Coins have been added to your Inventory!
User; A Return Token has been added to your Inventory!
User; D-Ranked Aura Skill Token has been added to your Inventory!
“How?”
“Simple.” Hannah heard the man with the pretty face reply with haste. “Ignore it, however. Instead, focus on pulling out your Return Token from your Inventory. Hurry!”
Nodding to the request, Hannah pulled a few times with her right hand in a specific motion. It took a few tries because she was unfamiliar with the item and its appearance. Nevertheless, when her right hand registered its appearance, and her brown eyes settled on the small black sphere, she had to admit that she expected a Return Token to look a bit more… special.
“Good… Now focus on it and imagine yourself returning to your frozen body!” Lee Ping explained. “When you're done with that part, invest one PP inside it and it should activate!”
Once again, Hannah nodded and closed her eyes, only the moment she did, a familiar voice reached her ears. “Wait… Before you return, let us exchange Contacts!” Cain announced, but just as Hannah was about to give a reply, Lee Ping did it for her. “Ignore him! Focus and use the Return Token!”
Just like that one time, he had forced Hannah to shoot and kill her first Nightmare, Lee Ping’s words nudged Hannah to do as he asked, and when she did, the black ball in her right hand exploded with black light only to swallow her existence. Only, as if it knew, to not leave Behold behind, the black light enveloped it too before both Master and Summon vanished from the depths of the Emergence.
Naturally, with Hannah gone, Lee Ping and the others were left behind. Yet, the same instant she vanished, a relaxed expression reached Lee Ping's beautiful face.
“Why?”
“Should have thought of that sooner!” Lee Ping replied nonchalantly, totally ignoring the Sanguin’s tone.
Centering his attention on Sandy and Mira, Lee Ping gave another order. “I’ll take care of this side, you girls go first.” That said, he immediately conjured his blue/white flames to give them the needed time to actually leave.
Indeed, just like Hannah, a few moments later a black light enveloped them, though not before Sandy glanced in Henry’s direction to spew out a rather naughty goodbye. “WAS FUN, BIG GUY! WE SHOULD MEET UP! I’D LIKE TO SEE JUST HOW BIG YOUR REAL SWORD GETS!”
“HO… ” Echoed from Henry’s directions, only, just as he wanted to say something in return, from the corner of his left eye he noted the black light enveloping Sandy. “Ha… Seems she's been hiding more than just her sense of adventure.”
Ignoring the obvious in the air, Lee Ping spoke up again, loudly, of course. “Henry! Cain! Protect me for a second! I want to make a big splash around us! We will use that time to leave.”
With the promise made, Henry closed in on Lee Ping.
Cain hesitated for a moment. His expression displayed a clear scowl at being denied something as simple as Contact information between Dreamers. Regardless of his thoughts, however, he had no intention of being left behind. So, he followed the last command of his Party Leaders and grouped with Henry to protect Lee Ping for a bit as the man in question conjured his FoxFire into a talisman that seemed to radiate power and the purpose of annihilation.
The moment it was complete, the Talisman exploded and swallowed everything around them, burning everything it touched to ashes, well… everything but Lee Ping, Henry, and Cain.
A few moments after the explosion of FoxFire emerged and reached its maximum conflagration, both in width and depth, three black lights appeared in its center only to vanish seconds later.
----------------------------------------
Using a Return Token was nothing like what Hannah had expected, not that there was much she could expect since she had never used one before. Regardless, the moment the black light enveloped her, and her Summon, Hannah felt her awareness black out before reverberations rattled through her very being.
Reverberations which produced a peculiar phenomenon that could not be mistaken for anything else.
CRACK Crack Crack
Indeed, it was as if a mirror had been shattered, only each crack took a few seconds to manifest before the last one made its presence known to shatter the last shard and toss Hannah back to proper reality, where things moved and behaved as they should, like the van in which she had been riding in, the people inside it, or the people outside it.
Truly, seeing the world back in motion again delivered a sense of freedom and liberty within her, yet, at the same time, sensations of disillusion and confusion made Hannah finally realize just how absurd the thought was to witness the world go still in the first place.
Nonetheless, experiencing those feelings at the same time somehow produced a sense of vertigo.
On their own, they would have done nothing, but since Hannah was back within her fleshly body, that sense of vertigo transformed and magnified itself before intruding on her midsection, right where her stomach lay.
For Hannah, the result was an imminent threat of barfing the contents of her stomach.
Urf Urf
“Calm down!” Hannah heard the man with the pretty face utter before his hand clapped on her bent back. “What you're sensing is but a mild sensory disorientation. It will pass within moments. In truth, you're a bit lucky since only your Dream Body is experiencing everything. By the way… Your… Kind of squeezing your Summon there.”
Processing those statements, Hannah centered herself before swallowing down the stomach bile that had reached her throat. That done, she proceeded to the last part of the man’s message, the part where Behold somehow found itself squeezed between her thighs and her stomach, especially when she had unconsciously leaned forward to potentially avoid splattering herself with bile.
“How… Wait…” Hannah murmured before remembering that before being joinked out of her body, Behold had been in her lap.
Then, her brown eyes blinked a few times in wonder. Namely, if Behold felt the same way she did. Specifically, if it perhaps felt barfing like her, only right on her skirt and school uniform. When Behold trembled for a second, fearing a mess, Hannah instinctively but swiftly grabbed Behold by its head tentacular limb and shoved it away from herself.
With the van being the way it was, there was plenty of space between her and the seat before her, so Hannah made Behold hang just above her knees while she shifted her legs to avoid the outcome.
“What are you doing?” Lee Ping asked genuinely at Hannah's behavior.
“I don't want my uniform to get dirty.” Hannah replied when she sensed more trembling from Behold.”
“From what?”
“From Behold barfing on my… on… my…” Mid-sentence, Hannah finally registered something as being wrong, especially when she sensed more trembling from her Summon, only for the same Summon to open its sole eye and echo out a weak ‘Beho’.
“Oh… Right… It has no… Nnn… Nevermind!” Hannah uttered in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.
Lucky for her, there was an excellent distraction in front of her.
With Behold back in her lap, with the command to stay there, Hannah closed her eyes to fully calm herself down. Nonetheless, it did not quite work because images flashed in her mind. Images of everything she had gone through, and everything she had done while down there, or inside there, or whatever it could be described as.
Indeed, it was as if her brain only now had the opportunity to process everything she had experienced, for good or bad.
One thing that stood out the most to Hannah was the fact that she had used a gun to kill. Worst of all, it had become a routine down in the depths. A routine that no doubt had been repeated enough times for her to acquire a lot of D-Coins.
Reminded of them, Hannah opened her eyes before fishing for her D-Card to see just how much she had earned as that literally translated into her kill count. But then, just as her hands roamed in search of the device, Hannah noted something in her visual field.
Quickly focusing on it, she brought it forth.
----------------------------------------
Character
.
Name; Hannah Blackwood [Level 6]
Species; Spirit
Spirit Age; 0 [Spawn]
Spirit Trait - Brown [Unyielding Will]
Physical Species - Human
Physical Gender - Female
Physical Age; 15 [Adolescent]
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Titles
.
Dreamer
Novice
Dreamon Trainer
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Affiliations
.
None
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Status
.
Vessel - 10 [+]
Instinct - 10 [+]
Will - 10 [+]
Logic - 10 [+]
Insight - 15 [+]
Ego - 18 [+]
.
Free Stat Points - 0
Special Action Points - 0
Ability Point - 0
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Resources
.Health - 10/10
Stamina - 7/10
Regen - 0.5 [x3]
Focus - 3
Flow - 2
Power - 1/18
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
External Resources
.
Dream Coins;
Grade E - 431
Grade D - 15
Potion of Power Regeneration - Timer; 16 min - 34 sec
----------------------------------------
“Fff… Four hundred and thirty one?” Hannah almost shouted out.
“What?” Lee Ping interjected before his mind swiftly found the possible culprit for the girl's behavior, especially now that she had calmed down and processed what she had accomplished. “Mmm… Not a bad haul for your first time. Then again, there is not much else to be earned otherwise within Swarm Zones.” Lee Ping shook his head. “Probably would have been even more if you had not switched to capturing some of the ants halfway through. You basically wasted a lot of PP while trying it.”
“I… But… I… I killed so…”
“Let me stop you there.” Lee Ping interfered again. “You're probably stressing over it since it's your first time and you just left Combat, but you have done nothing wrong. Understood!” Lee Ping conveyed, yet even without hearing a response, he continued. “Nightmares exist for you and me, and every other Dreamer, to defeat.
To defeat. To overcome. To consume. All in order to grow.
The only difference between the meat your mother bought and cooked for you and what you Experienced down there is the lack of an intermediary doing the slaughtering and packaging for you in order to make everything much more appealing to the eyes.
No… Ignoring the consequences of what could occur if an Emergence is not closed, what you have done is the proper and righteous process of eating your nutrients, where you personally went after your nutrients before preparing and eating them.”
Unsure of just how to respond to such a statement that belied a different viewpoint of what she had known so far, Hannah tried her best to process it. Still, the more she tried, the more she recognized that Lee Ping’s analogy struck true. After all, she had earned Coins and Experience for every kill, thus enabling herself six Level Up’s, with one more awaiting her undoubtedly.
Nodding softly, a simple epiphany reached Hannah, though, in the same instance it came, it got tossed away by Lee Ping’s sarcasm.
“Wait… There is one difference.” Lee Ping suddenly realized. “Without me to protect you and the Tool I gave you, you would not have gained any of that nourishment.”
“Speaking of Tools,” Lee Ping added. “I think it's time you returned what you borrowed from me.”
----------------------------------------
Taking out the NTT COLT LM 10 from her Inventory, disconnecting, and ignoring the System Alert about an Item de-equip, Hannah gave the gun back to its owner.
Although, seeing it leave her hand and vanish in Lee Ping’s did make her a bit sad. After all, after having used it for the last ten-plus hours, he'd grown used to its presence.
That done, Hannah stared at the man with the pretty face once again, fully expecting the man to mention the debt she had made by consuming his Potions of Power Recovery. However, even after moments passed, no words regarding them left his mouth.
Being what it was, Hannah stayed silent about it.
Then, the only thing left to do was await her arrival at the Rose Peach Bordello, and with every minute that passed, she was closer and closer to it. Still, as Hannah stared outside the window, and the people either driving or walking somewhere, the more she was reminded of what she'd just gone through. Nevertheless, when her wandering gaze settled on a little girl and how she held her mother’s hands, a gnawing sensation manifested in her stomach, like a thousand worms eating at her flesh thus making her sweat and shiver.
“MOM!” Hannah yelled out after having forgotten about her own mother for the last ten or so hours. Quickly standing up from her seat, thus causing Behold to drop from her lap and down below the van seat, naturally totally surprised as it happened, she looked over her seat at her mother’s sleeping face. “Mom…”
“Quiet down!” Lee Ping called out with his eyes closed. “Nothing has changed for her since we got pushed inside the Emergence. Nothing at all. Also don't even bother asking me how or why that is so. I want to relax and unwind. You should do so too.”
Without a word more, the van's insides turned quiet once more.
At least, as far as a moving vehicle could turn quiet.
Before being seated once again, Hannah stared at her mother for a few moments.
Nonetheless, while she was doing that, the two men in black seated behind her mother stared at her. with a somewhat confused expression, as if they failed to understand the conversation between her and Lee Ping, much less why she suddenly cried out, almost like an afterthought in forgetting that one’s gas stove remained lit.
Noticing their gazes, Hannah smiled wryly for a second before nodding at them and settling down back on her seat to await their arrival. Only, this time, it was Behold who made a scene under the simple preconception that its previous order had been revoked by its Master. So it simply used its tentacular limbs as guiding posts to float just above Hannah’s legs.
Then it observed around to sate its own curiosity, after all, unlike the depths of the ant-maze, here its blue eyes could see and witness many things.
So many things, in fact, that it clouded its mind.
More new Master-like being, though still bigger than her. More even when its blue eye gazed outside the van window at the passersby.
The cars and the buildings projected novelties as well.
Yet, if one thing had to be picked as the most peculiar, then it would be the colors. Red. Blue. Yellow. Green. Brown. Violet and so many more. Much more compared to its old nest, inside Hannah’s Dream Instance, and at least a hundred times more compared to the dark and dreary tunnels of the ant-maze.
Indeed, it was only now that it truly understood its entrance into the new glorious, and expansive world. It was only now that it realized what it would have gained if it had succeeded in eating its Master’s Soul.
“Beho…”
Hannah heard her Summon produce before its left tentacular limb touched the glass window barring its way outside.
Just as Hannah was about to admonish its desire for the outside world, Hannah stopped herself. She remembered a few words from when Henry had been arguing with Lee Ping about his solo kill of the Sub-Boss. When the big ginger-haired men argued about the fact that Behold’s Null had done more than just anull its ongoing Evolution.
Taking those into consideration, Hannah’s harsh remarks failed to leave her mouth. Nonetheless, something had to take their place. “You can look all you want, but don't leave my side!” Hannah orders her Summon. “Also… When we leave this van soon, don't touch anybody else. Understood?”
Hearing and feeling the command, Behold had no choice but to ignore the outside in favor of its Master.
“Beho.”
There were a few things Hannah could have done while waiting for the driver to reach the Rose Peach Bordello, with the prime example being Leveling Up, as undoubtedly she had earned enough new Experiences to gain at least a few Special Action Points.
Somehow, however, she felt like not doing it.
So she did not, and simply gazed with Behold onto the passing cityscape.
About twenty minutes passed by due to trafficking slowing their progress.
Still, no matter how slow, Hannah had arrived at the Red Light District of Oaktown City, at least, the crossing sporting the large sign at the entrance. Nevertheless, in the same instance, Hannah saw many men in black uniforms blocking its entrance. Man with guns that pointed not at some kind of monsters but at passing humans.
It took a moment for Hannah to remember that there had been some kind of supposed gas leak, so the district had been shut down for a bit. Only, now that she knew more, now that she had experienced things no normal human ever would, Hannah had this epiphany that there had to be more to this supposed ‘Gas Leak’.
Nonetheless, unlike what Hannah expected, the van did not directly enter the main street for the Red Light District. Instead, it passed the main crossing before rolling for a bit further down the road to take a smaller crossing within a smaller street.
No… It was more like an alley sandwiched between two large buildings.
Yes… It was after a few of those alley crossings that the van arrived at its destination. “We are here.”
----------------------------------------
“We are here!” The driver announced, instantly causing Lee Ping to open his eyes.
“Finally… Felt like it took forever.” He said, without any hard feelings behind it. No, it was closer to a statement. Only this statement, caused the driver to drop his head, as if ashamed at not being able to drive faster. Not only because he too felt like the traffic was unreasonably stuffy today, but also because Lee Ping could get him in trouble. “Greg, you carry Miss Blackwood again. Monty, you go rush to Aunty. Tell her to come to the main hall. Charly, you return to your usual post.”
That said, he stood up, opened the big side door, and left the confines of the van.
A few moments later, Hannah, Lee Ping, and Greg, who carried her unconscious mother, found themselves inside the Rose Peach Bordello.
Specifically inside the spacious main hall.
However, what bothered Hannah was the large number of security people spread around the main hall, stoically standing here and there as if protecting something from something. Though, with her and her mother being the only outsiders present, it felt like they were there for them. Luckily, Monty, who had rushed ahead of them, had done his duty. So it took very little time for Hannah to finally witness who had been pulling the strings of her and her mother’s life.
The moment she did, a certain image her mother painted of this old Madame, who ruled the Rose Peach Bordello, shattered.
Instead, a woman in her thirties replaced the shattered image.
A woman whose slightly round face, dark long hair, and curving body shape emanated elegance and maturity as she slowly stepped down the stairs.
Truly, the owner of the Bordello screamed mature allure that bewitched both male and female into adultery, especially with the red/white/black dress providing an impression of a foreign deity stepping down from the Heavens and onto the Earth.
Indeed, even Hannah, who had never felt a single bit of sexual attraction towards any other person, had no choice but to feel something toward this walking and talking honey trap.
Like a gobsmacked youth finally witnessing the glory, the wonder of just what it meant to be of the female gender.
Thankfully, whatever she was feeling did not last for long. Mostly because such things seemed to not have much influence against her due to her Unyielding Will, not that Hannah was currently aware of such a thing, but also due to the distracting tails flowing behind the lady as she stepped down the stairs.
Though, another distraction lay in the fact that the very same tails seemed to ignore the obstacles around them as if they could phase through solid objects. People too, as it turned out when one of the six tails simply passed through a guard as if he was not there.
“My… oh… My… What do we have here.” The Madame of the Rose Peach Bordello said as her black eyes examined Hannah and Behold who floated beside her. “If it's not the Young Miss of the Blackwood Family… and her Summon, I take it.”
With that said, she finally stepped off of the stairs and made her way toward Hannah before ceasing right before her. Though, in the few seconds she appeared beside her, both Hannah and Behold had these uncanny sensations of something prying at their very existence.
“I must say your eyes remind me of your father.” She added. “Soo… unyielding in their makeup.”
“Your father aside… I see you’ve met some obstacles on the way.” Technically, Shao Ping had noticed this before everything else. “Has my little nephew treated you well? Feel free to tell me. You see, I've been wanting to peg him down a bit.”
Shivering for a tiny second, Lee Ping defended himself. “I've been as courteous as I could, Aunty. Not to mention the sacrifice I had to make to ensure the girl's safety.”
Greg, who still held Hailey, Hannah’s mother in his arms, rolled his eyes. Though, this would not be the first time a conversation between them, or any of the other guests Madame Ping welcomed, flew right over his head.
“Definitely needs a good spank on his behind.” Madame Ping jokingly berated her nephew. “See how he's embellishing his accomplishments. Ai… Youths these days. Only thinking of taking the easy way out by buttering up their predecessors.”
Staring between the two, Hannah had trouble identifying what was exactly going on.
One thing she was sure of, however. Lee Ping barely held his ground before his Aunt. Yes… The more Hannah saw Lee Ping’s mouth open and close as if wishing to retort about his actual accomplishments yet at the same time failing to utter them, the more she was sure about this dynamic between them.
When she saw a single line of sweat going down his right temple, Hannah sensed him cave in.
“Cough… Alright… I'll admit it, Aunty.” Lee Ping said in his bid to wiggle out of the trouble he'd somehow stepped into without actually knowing what it was about because the one thing he would not do was antagonize his Aunt. After all, she was the main reason he was in this place to begin with. “It's just a few Coins… Nothing to be worried about. Anyhow… Just like you wanted, I have brought Miss Blackwood and her daughter.”
“See. Told you it was so.” Madame Ping declared and ignored the man with the pretty face altogether. Still, just as Hannah noted the woman focus back on her, out of the corner of her right eye, she saw one of the Madam’s tails rub Lee Ping’s left cheek as if saying ‘God Job!’. “Now… Let me see what is going on with your mother, dear.”
Similar to how Lee Ping had done it, this Fox Shifter before her, touched her mother’s forehead. Though, in her case, it was a touch-and-release case. As if, she had no need for prolonged examinations.
“Ai… ” Shao Ping barely held herself from uttering more. This is worse than he mentioned. She voiced in her head before craning her neck right at Hannah. “Do you want the good news first or the bad one?”
----------------------------------------
Gulping once, Hannah steeled herself for what was to come.
“The… The bad one first.” Hannah replied.
Nodding in understanding, Shao Ping told the daughter of her mother's fate. “There is a large chance you won't be seeing your mother wake any time soon, and by soon I am not talking about weeks or months, but years.”
“W… Why?”
“Soul Trauma.” Shao Ping explained. “By now you should know how Trauma works, or at least enough to know that not every Trauma received is the same. Some are heavier. Some are nastier. Some are downright devious enough to chill you down to your very bones. Your mother is of the last kind… probably. A Curse of some kind, I'd wager.”
“Curse?” Hannah repeated, yet she was not the only one who was surprised by the word.
“Long-term negatively oriented Abilities that latch, infiltrate and induce Trauma within a Soul from within instead of outside.” Shao Ping simplified down since there was more to Curses than simply it being an Ability. “Regardless. I can not sense what kind. Just that it was a powerful one, considering the echo’s it left behind. The point is this. Ignoring the Curses’ nastiness, the Trauma was heavy enough to instantly comatose her Soul into healing mode.
The problem is, with the Veil in place, nobody can help her directly, so all we can do is wait until she heals on her own, however long that takes.” With that said, the bad news was out. Preferably before the bad news spoiled the girl too much. “Now for the good news. Your mother will recover, however long that takes. The result of this will be her Awakening… well… Re-Awakening in her case.”
“Oh… Which Rank?” Lee Ping suddenly quipped from the side.
“An Old One at the very least.”
“Old one?” Hannah repeated the unknown term describing her mother.
“Above Level 60.” Lee Ping informed Hannah. “It's an old term, from before D-Cards existed renouncing one’s actual Rank.” Though, once it was said, in his mind, Lee Ping finally understood how the girl’s mother always resisted his Charms. “Also… Remember your question about age? Well. Now you can be certain that you're not older than your own mother.”
“Haha!” Madame Shao Ping laughed softly, as otherwise would display inelegance. “Back to the main point. Since your mother is in the process of Awakening, this technically falls under our purview due to the contract she had with us. Meaning… The Rose Peach Bordello will take care of your mother’s Shell while she recovers and undergoes her Awakening.”
“Umm… How… How much will it cost?” Hannah suddenly inquired.
“Don't worry about it.” Madame Ping said. “Even if I asked you to cover it, which I will not in this case, it's nothing you would not be able to cover with a few Quests here and there. Mmm… Unless this takes more than the allotted time frame of her Contract with us. Now… I am sure you're more curious about how we will take care of your mother’s Shell. Come follow.” She said and instantly made her way towards the end of the large hallway.
However, before she actually left the group, two of her tails wrapped around Hannah’s mother to carry her.
“Greg, you can take a break.” Greg, the security guy, heard the moment he noticed Miss Blackwood's body lose its weight only to simply float out of his grasp as if he had never held her in the first place.
“Right… I will Madame. Thank you, Madame.”
Despite the heavy news, Hannah had had a few hours to stew with the information that her mother was in dire straits. So, hearing about some kind of Curse, changed nothing bar increasing Hannah’s resolve to help her mother, however she could, even if that was to earn money… no, to earn Coins to help her Shell not rot away.