I lost consciousness for a moment. I'm thinking about a minute or less was the duration of my short blackout. I guess being hit hard in the head and chest was registered as shock by my body and I blacked out. Good thing that my specs were augmented beforehand otherwise I would be out for a whole day.
I already regained consciousness but I didn't open my eyes and stayed still in my position. The reason was that I can't really move due to the sore feeling of my head and the aches in my chest from being hit by Kiralne.
I can still hear the murmurs of the people inside the inn's dining hall but they seem different somehow. They sounded hyped-up about something. Ah whatever! I need to get my injuries healed. If only I could resist this painful feeling in my body.
I felt someone picked me up and carried me to a certain direction. Oh no! Please let it not be Kilrane please, please, please...
"Hey~Filly. I'll be going back to my room in the fourth floor okay~"
No!! That sweet voice befitting of an elf, and tone almost as carefree as mine!! Its her! Why her of all people?! Can't the rest of you guys carry me and not this hostile and suspicious elf!? Hey, you Filly. Tell her to put me down!! I am not sure of she is an enemy or not but with her knocking me out and making me feel a lot of pain, she's already registered in my psyche as a dangerous person.
"Oh... um sure Kira, but... please take care of Krey... though I didn't know he was an amazing mage he is still a kid so I hope you won't hurt him."
Heeeh~ isn't that bunny onee-san's voice? So her name was Filly huh? Wait no! What did you say Filly?! Why are you allowing this elf to take me away?! Look at me, I didn't do anything wrong y'know?! Can't you judge that from my innocent face?! This is bad! She said 'her room on the fourth floor' so this inn is where she lives in? Such bad luck.
Her knowing about the necklace given to me by Frelinia is in itself troubling. That means keeping a low profile until I get stronger may not be possible. Other factors can come into play, I realize that now. The question now is... is she a friend or foe?
"Of course. I'm gonna do the opposite actually~."
Those words helped me calm down a bit. At least I know she won't do anything bad to me while at the inn but then, what happens after? I really can't think very well as result of getting hit in the head. I fear it will hinder my reasoning in the future.
As she said that, I felt her walking once more while carrying me up the staircase. I had the strength and resolve just enough to open my left eye but what I saw... caused me to close my eyes in fear and did my best to be as still as possible. T-that face was too scary!!
Although the first thing I saw was the beautiful face of Kiralne, the expression that adorned it was... dark and perverse. Her eyes glazed over and some drool was present at the side of her mouth which curved into a perverted smile. Overall giving her a look like she's obssessed or close to lunacy. I myself know that I am not a perfectly sane individual. Throw me into a puddle of blood and guts but I would not flinch a bit. Threaten or harm me and I will retaliate calmly. As long as I know I can handle what is thrown at me, I will not be afraid. That was how I was able to live my life on my own.
But... I absolutely can't take anything horrific or creepy! If I encounter such things, I will immediately run away. No questions asked. And right now... t-that face I saw w-was similar to the f-face of the woman in 'T-the Grudge' only this time its more yandere. It was both horrifying and disturbing to me! I-if I see it again I'm not sure if I will last long...
As I waited for the worst to happen, I heard the sound of a door opening then lightly closing as moments later I am laid on a comfortable spot somewhere with something soft under my head.
...
Wait... maybe she's gone? She must have thought that I would be unconscious for a couple of hours right? I don't know if she's here in the room or not, but I will not use my buff skill [Heal] of the light element to alleviate the pain in my body. Too risky. She might have not left and is around somewhere.
I'll have to endure it and wait until I can move somewhat. After 30 minutes or so, I slowly opened my eyes and what beheld me was twin peaks of perfect proportion and the graceful visage of my adversary.
Seeing that she's in close proximity, I realized that my assumption was wrong and was instantly on guard against her. Quickly trying to analyze my predicament and plan the sequence of spells to get away from Kiralne's grasp, she opened her mouth and said-
"I am not your enemy. Don't panic." (Kiralne)
Hearing those words, I calmed down but kept my guard on. I wanted to say ask her something but she beat me to the punch.
"Before you say something, hear out my request." (Kiralne)
While saying that, she took a deep breath and I watched the magnificent tremor of the two peaks. Distracted by this historical moment, I absentmindedly nodded my head as I try to firmly engrave the scence that is usually viewed in anime, deeply in my mind while gathering the rest of my thoughts. Come to think of it, if she's very close doesn't that mean that the thing under my head be her thighs..? If so, isn't she giving me a lap pillow right now? Wait if I look at it from a certain perspective, don't we look like siblings with a close relationship? It seems nice but I won't be fooled by such shallow fantasies!
"Krey, will you become my disciple?" (Kiralne)
...
......
Huh? Huh?! Is there something wrong with this girl's head... it probably is with her scary expression in the staircase and easy-going attitude that's similar to mine but unlike hers, mine is permanent... so fuck yeah!
But there's something wrong with the development here. Shouldn't you first apologize to the person, a kid, that you hurt!? Are you heartless!? Or just dumb despite your strength?
My silence was determined as hesitation and Kiralne spoke once more with a confident voice while putting on a light smile.
"As an SS-rank adventurer, this serves as proof of my power and it is benefi-" (Kiralne)
"I REFUSE!" (Krey)
I don't need any tutoring from anyone thank you very much. Though I need some insight on close combat, magical warfare can serve as a guide for me since I've gotten the knowledge and all secrets of this world's magic from "All-Magic Awakening" and a bit more extra, courtesy of Frelinia.
"Wh-" (Kiralne)
"If you want to know why I refused, there are three reasons." (Krey)
I say while holding up my left hand with three fingers raised. The discussion is hard to take seriously as I am lying on her lap with her looking confused and flustered as I broke out of her pace and dragged her to my own.
As expected... her over-bearing manner of conduct can be countered as long as I keep going at my pace in the conversation. Based on the scary and perverted look on her face earlier as well as my speculations of her conceited ego as someone powerful and factoring that she might be much older than what her looks suggest as elves are naturally long-lived, I therefore conclude that she might have developed something akin to a case of superiority complex.
If she's not an enemy then I'll have to establish that I'm an 'equal'. She wants something from me, that's my bargaining chip. Now let's see if I can get any benefits from this transaction.
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"I don't need you as my master. I have my master's notes to teach me for that. Also I don't trust you and I have no guarantee that complying to your demands will not hinder my goals. Finally, you're too suspicious and I'm reluctant to agree with someone who knows my secrets."
I said coldly. I hope that the thing she wants is important enough to bargain for it. I know its not just for the reason of becoming her disciple.
Thankfully she looks conflicted as she if is coming to a hard point in her decision. Finally, she sighed deeply and determination surged up in her eyes.
She turned to me then... kissed my forehead. Eh? What is she doing? Is something REALLY WRONG with her head? As I was worrying about that, Kiralne spoke-
"This is the "Kiss of Vow" my clan has performed to those who owns "Frelinia's Band". Hereby, I swear that I will not hold enmity or hinder you in anyway and protect you as the last of the Vitavare elves."
When she said that suddenly, I felt a burning sensation in my head and then I began... to feel something. What is this...? Sincerity, anxiousness, annoyance, embarrassment, determination, happiness, sadness and pride. My mind is being bombarded by these emotions. What is happening to me?!
"The thing you are experiencing right now is called "Soul Bonding". You are reading my emotions at this very moment. It is to ensure trust exists between us. My clan, the Vitavare clan were once the protectors of the wielder of "Frelinia's Band" the holy artifact of the goddess of life, Frelinia. Now we are no more. A chosen of the Vitavare clan will be the one who performs "Soul Bonding" with Frelinia's Champion. I am the last Vitavare Elf. And as tribute to my clan ancestors and the goddess, I will be your protector."
When she said that I received another bombardment of emotions, only this time it is much more intense. Happiness, sadness, despair, anger, determination, shame, piety, pride, and reverence. Each more intense than the last, all a mess in my head
When I look at her face, I can see a resolute expression in her face... This is an awkward situation.
"For now... can you turn the emotion reading off?" (Krey)
I said while feeling mildly annoyed and a bit overwhelmed. No matter how I see it... this a weird development!
______________________________________________________________________
I am sitting in a fancy chair while sipping a cup of tea in the facility known as the Adventurer's Guild.
My talk with Kiralne was a bit interesting. She is the last Vitavare Elf who serves Frelinia-san. For now I can trust her because of the "Soul Bond" and that she seems sincere about her promise. By the way, we turned off the emotion reading. As expected its too embarassing for your emotions to be laid bare in front of a stranger. I also didn't tell her that I was summoned and simply used my 'backstory' while adding some elements that can make it more believable. I'm not so gullible to tell such information.
I find it odd though that Frelinia didn't mention this to me. She said she has no servants. But here is one right now. Is she heartless that she didn't even consider Kiralne here? Or is she just a klutz and forgot about her due to the disappearance of her family? I hope its the latter.
Anyway, the content of our discussion was her being my guardian, which I completely approve. After all, having an unyielding SS-rank meat shield is reassuring. As well as a few other things which includes this. I will be registering as an adventurer with Kiralne handling the documents in promoting me to C-rank.
We went out of the Bunny Point in and said goodbye to the bunny girl innkeepers and Filly-san but not without catching attention.
Many tenants saw us when we were coming out and began pointing, whispering and wearing excited expressions. Luckily, the moron faction is absent. I'm too tired to deal with them.
At least Kiralne chose to pass alleyways and small streets to lessen the pressure of the public's attention. After 20 minutes, of non-stop walking and casting [Body Burst] two times to keep up, barely surviving the hellish walk with my pitiful stamina, we have arrived at the four-story building made completely of polished stone. And Kiralne... was inconsiderate. I think she is still angry at being caught off guard by my cold outburst that is unbefitting of a child. I think despite her being my protector she is trying to change and mold me somehow... sorry girl, I've seen too much psychological science documentaries to know what your doing and I'm telling you that its impossible.
If you think I will be beaten by this hellish walk, you can think again!
That's the reason why she is not stopping amd why I'm not complaining. This silent war will go on for a long time.
When we were entering the guild, naturally we were seen and with Kiralne at my side, getting attention was inevitable.
What I saw seems to be the stereotype of adventurer's guild I've read in light novels. A lot of people wearing all kinds of armor and clothing with a variety of weapons in hand. Different races, different ages and genders are here. The left side looks like a mess hall with many adventurer's sitting down while chatting or eating. The right side on the other hand are request boards with some adventurer's looking through them. The upper right looks like a bar/ a counter for ordering food. The upper left also looks like a counter but this time its for accepting requests as well as receiving rewards.
And just as it happened with the inn tenants, the surrounding adventurers saw us and are excitedly chatting about Kiralne.
Of course, me and Kiralne are of the same mind right now and I followed her as she moved with graceful strides towards the staircase leading to the upper floors. The peanut gallery split open to give way for us and we went to the third floor where I was asked by Kiralne to wait in a private reception room while she handles the necessary procedures for my C-rank adventurer status card. I need some form of identification for myself right?
While waiting for her, I checked the egg in my storage ring once again. Recently it was showing signs of hatching, it slightly moves every three hours or so. This started on the second day of travel with Sally and her bunch. I wonder if it was already incubating long before I received it. And by the way, this storage ring has no time-stopping setting like those inventories in games so things can rot or grow old inside my storage ring. They can still be subject to the passage of time. And inside the storage ring, I noticed a crack in the egg.
...
It's hatching! What is inside of it?! I seriously don't know what to expect of the creature inside. Over time the cracks became bigger and finally something broke through the cracks and made a gap in which it popped its head out. It was a...
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Author Note: Sorry for ĺate update. I broke my mom's laptop so my typing speed has slowed down due to using my phone to encode the story. I think the next update would be tomorrow. So here's a quick poll that is necessary for the story. Please choose what you think is best and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)