Elli’s Perspective
I’ve been laying low and watching from afar ever since I used my summoning magic. Unfortunately, I’m not able to use it often since it takes so much of my mana. Even now, it left me unable to fight or even stand.
I need to help Kazuki. He’s clearly pushing himself too hard. There are wounds all over him. Why does my mana have to be out right now! Please be okay, Kazuki! I watch as he desperately tries to break the metal defense of the bandit. He’s clearly in pain, but yet he’s still trying so hard. Is he trying so hard for me? I don't get it. Why do you keep helping me so much! Why do you care about me?
Suddenly Kazuki’s body lurches for a moment, and then he falls over.
“KAZUKI!!”
Please don't be dead! I slowly claw my way over to where Kazuki is. I’m unable to walk, so I drag myself across the ground. He’s passed out and covered in blood. Actually, it seems though that he is still bleeding. I rip off pieces of my clothing and use it as bandages. I do my best to put pressure on his wounds to prevent him from bleeding out. I need to get help, but I can’t move. It pains me that I have to just sit here and wait. I slowly try my best to sit up next to him, watching over him.
I’m impressed by him, well, ever since I met him, I’ve been impressed. His attitude, his mindset, so much about him, is so refreshing a-and he called me cute. That fight just now was not the fight of a mere copper rank adventurer.
To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from him when I first met him. I was just desperate. Then we went to the guild, and with so little information, he created a plan to accomplish our goal! Even if it was still nearly impossible, thinking like that is not something I ever thought of for myself. It’s common for adventurers to fall into the flow; I never expected him to try something so different. To turn his back to money and instead focus on ranking up. I was always blindsided by the small gains. I’d never even considered it.
He defended me against Mr. Oratio and showed that he honestly did care for me. And now, to go so far to protect me in this fight, risking his life for me. The anger on his face when he protected me, he really does care for me, doesn’t he? I feel so strange having someone, a human, care about me after so long, after so many people have only given me the cold shoulder. He took me where I am and has given me his kindness.
What’s going to happen to us at the end of the week? He said he has things he has to do. Where does that leave us? Is he just going to leave me? I don't want that! It’s true that when I first asked for his help, all I wanted was to make money to save mom, but things are different now. I don't want to just be an adventurer; I want to be an adventurer with him! Is it wrong of me to cling to that hope? Come on, Elli, it’s only been a day. He probably doesn't actually care about me. He was probably just being nice.
“Idiot, why’d you have to make me care about you so much.”
After a short rest, I can finally begin to move again. Using my staff to stabilize myself, I’m able to get up. Then I realize that we left one of the bandits alive, just knocked out. It’d be a problem if he woke up and killed Kazuki while I was out getting the guard’s help. I’ll have to kill him.
He’s a terrible person, I shouldn't worry about it. All I have to do is take my knife and smoothly cut his throat, simple, right? Kazuki, how were you able to do this? I hold my knife to his throat, but I can’t seem to apply any pressure at all.
I can’t take another person’s life! Even if he is a bad person, he still has a family somewhere, right? There will still be people to mourn him. Surely, I can just keep him alive, right?
As I hold the knife to his throat, I notice that his eyes are slightly open. He’s awake. He slowly reaches up and grabs the knife, he’s clearly wounded and weak, but I am too. He’s slowly trying to move and force the knife into me. He manages to reach the knife to my neck. I won’t give in. I push the knife towards him as hard as I can. We continue to struggle against each other in silence for a while.
Finally, I manage to win the struggle, and the knife plunges into his neck. A warm liquid oozes out. He’s dead. I… Just killed a person. I should have just killed him from the start, I showed hesitation, and he almost killed me because of it. My hesitation solved nothing if only I had been like Kazuki.
After finishing the job, I walk out of the alleyway and into the street. Many people freak out a little because I’m covered in blood, and my clothes are ripped, but I have to get the guards. I quickly run off to try to get help.
The guards listen to my plea, and they accompany me to the scene of the battle. The guards quickly secured the area, and some people come and load Kazuki onto a stretcher before being taken to be treated. The bandit’s bodies are investigated while I sit to the side, wrapped in a blanket, trying to calm my mind. After a little while of resting, a huge man with quite expensive looking armor approaches me. I notice around his neck an orichalcum dog tag. This is an adventurer of great distinction. He gives me a kind look as he talks. Someone of his stature seems to have no real concern that I’m a half-elf or a copper adventurer.
“You’re Elli, right?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“I’m Tark, the adventurer’s guild master here in Beckton. I’d like you to come with me back to the guild.”
“Right…”
Of course, they’d question me, considering the gruesome aftermath of that fight. I hope the guild doesn't find us guilty of a crime or something. That would be the last thing we need on top of our already grievous wounds. I feel a little lonely leaving Kazuki, but I’ll take care of this and let him rest.
After a long walk, we reach the guild building and head inside. The adventurers lingering about stare in confusion at the sight of me, a half-elf covered in blood, rags, and a blanket, being escorted by the orichalcum rank, master of the guild. I’m taken to a back room of the guild, the guild master’s office. The office is relatively small, but it is definitely luxurious. The seating around it looks very comfortable. On the wall are various trophies from monsters that the guild master presumably fought. He gives me another kind glace as he speaks. Something about him puts me at ease.
“Please have a seat.”
The guild master gestures to a seat in front of his desk before sitting down at his desk himself. I comply with his request and sit across from him gently.
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“This is turning into quite the ordeal, you know. We’re doing what we can to keep things under control. Your cooperation is very reassuring.”
The guild master slightly tips his head into a bow. Why is he bowing to me?! The guild master is bowing to me. I feel very odd over this situation.
“Sure, of course, I’ll cooperate.”
“Can you start by telling me about the fight?”
I slowly recount the battle. How we were taken to an alleyway and how Kazuki defended me against the bandits. How he swiftly defeated the first two despite me being taken, hostage. How I used my summoning magic as a backup to distract and defeat one of them. How Kazuki fought hard and defeated the last bandit and lost consciousness and how I had to kill the last bandit. The guild master responds with a worried look.
“I see. It must have been a truly terrifying situation. Still, to think that you two were able to defeat those four criminals, you guys are quite skilled. Do you know who they were?”
“No, they just attacked us out of nowhere, but I did recognize one of them from a shop in the slums.”
“We’ll take care and investigate it immediately. If you found the organizations’ headquarters, that would help us quite a bit. The criminals you fought were members of a criminal organization known as the demon’s horn. Does this one look familiar?”
The guild master pulls out a rough drawing of the last criminal that Kazuki fought. As I look at the piece of paper, I notice that it is actually a bounty quest. Actually, its rank is listed as mithril. Wait, seriously, Kazuki defeated someone that was supposed to take a mithril adventurer to defeat?!
“Deri, lieutenant of the demon's horn. His bounty was marked for mithril due to his [Metal Skin] ability, making him extremely difficult to subdue. Of course, if he hadn't had that ability, he wouldn't be ranked that high. Nevertheless, defeating him is quite a feat. Naturally, all quests dealing with bounties are for gold rank and up by default due to the nature of fighting human beings. In some cases, that means they are easier than other quests that rank, but fighting humans takes a lot of psychological strength as well.”
I suddenly let a worried look creep onto my face.
“So, now what? Are we going to be punished for taking on someone with a mithril ranked bounty when we’re only copper rank?”
“Hahaha, of course not! You guys had no way of knowing that they were under such bounties, and even yet, you did a big favor for us by defeating them. However, it would still be quite a problem for copper ranks to have defeated such an enemy. If nothing else, you’d be a target.”
“But still, it happened.”
“It did, we can’t change that, but we can change your ranks. I will be treating the bounties you completed as special quests, which having completed them earns you guys quite a hefty reward, compared to what you’re used to!”
“eh?”
The guild master gives a wry smile and lets out a chuckle.
“Three enemies had existing bounties on them, one mithril rank and two gold rank. The final enemy did not have a bounty. Still, evidence was found linking him to several murders and disappearances. That brings your total reward to three gold, 23 silver, and a prestige gain of 713! That means you are now a mid-silver rank adventurer.”
“Wait, whaaaatttt?!”
I stand up. I’m honestly a little shocked. With this money, I’ll be able to cure my mother. Kazuki really did it! It didn't even take a week; it didn't even take a full day!
“We’ll do what we can to smooth things over as best we can to avoid you becoming a target. Now, before you get too excited, you may want to check in with your friend. He’s pretty seriously injured. You should head out and check on him. He’s up at the church of order.”
“Thank you so much, guild master!”
“You can just call me Tark. I look forward to seeing what rank you can get to.”
I leave the guild walking quickly. I need to see Kazuki and tell him the good news! I know he’s injured, but I can nurse him back to health. He’ll need me to help him with everything, and then we’ll get so close to each other that he won’t leave me at the end of the week. I run down the street headed for the church, almost ignoring my creeping exhaustion.
I finally get to the church of order. It’s a very glamorous white building. Humans really take their churches seriously. The sun is just beginning to set in the sky. I get to the door and knock. The sound reverberates throughout the area. A nun comes to the door, but her smile goes away when she sees me. Churches, in particular, dislike elves, so I generally avoid going near them.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
The nun looks at me with a slight frown.
“My friend was injured in a battle today. The guild master said I could find him here.”
The nun looks over me, up and down before speaking.
“Well, if the guild master said so, your friend certainly is here. What is his name?”
“Kazuki”
“Oh, you’re friends with that adventurer. I have to warn you, though, he is pretty beaten up. It’s not exactly a pretty sight.”
“I have to see him. He’s special to me.”
I let some of my feelings slip. I mean, Kazuki’s the one who said that to me when we were eating lunch. The nun lets out an amused sound.
“Hoh”
The nun takes me in and leads me to a small room. There is a bed with red sheets on it. The sheets were originally white, but they are now covered in blood. His right arm looks completely broken, twisted in several directions. It barely resembles an arm anymore. He’s covered in cuts, more than I remember, while the bleeding has stopped. It’s truly a terrifying sight that hurts my heart. His face, however, seems mostly intact except that his eye is bleeding. It truly did take everything out of him to defeat the bandits.
“He’ll live, but he won’t ever be an adventurer again unless he gets further treatment.”
“There’s a way to help him?”
“There is, but it’s not going to be cheap to pay for [High Heal]. I doubt someone like you can afford it.”
“How much?”
“Three gold.”
That’s the same price as the medicine to save my mother. I have enough to heal one or the other. This choice is too hard. I could leave Kazuki and instead use this to heal my mother. I’ve only known him for today. No, that wouldn’t be right. Just because I haven't known him for long doesn't mean that I could betray him like that. I’m sure if I just used the money to heal my mother, he would understand. No… I know what I have to do. There’s only one right answer.
“Please heal him.”
I take out three gold coins and hold them out. The nun’s eyes go wide. She was not expecting me to actually have the money. The nun then looks at me with a graceful smile.
“I understand. We’ll get this adventurer healed up. Come here again tomorrow night, and it will be done.”
The nun takes the three coins and walks away. Sorry mother, Kazuki earned this. It would be wrong of me to use it on you instead.
I slowly walk out of the church and back into the streets. It is now nighttime.
Kazuki… I’ll finish your plan. Just you wait, by the time you’re up and moving again, I’ll have already saved my mother! I should return home for now, though. After a long and slow walk below the twinkling stars, I finally reach my house.
The house is relatively small and worn down, but it is still my home. I put the key in the lock and enter the building. As soon as I get in, I’m suddenly knocked over to the ground.
“Oneechan!”
My little sister Mari has suddenly knocked me over in a hug. I wasn’t expected to be out so late today. She’s all over me. I can tell that she was worried.
“I’m home, Mari.”
Suddenly, Mari notices the blood that is on my clothes.
“No, Oneechan! Don’t die.”
“It’s okay, Mari, it’s not my blood.”
“What happened, Oneechan?”
“There was a fight with some bandits, but a friend saved me. However, he got himself hurt really badly, and I’m really worried about him.”
“I’ve never heard Oneechan talk about a friend before!”
“Well, that’s right, until today I didn't have anybody to call a friend. Hehe, my first friend.”
“Do you like him?”
L-l-like him in what way?! Indeed, I want to be around him and to adventure with him. B-but in that other way? For him to sweep me off of my feet and kiss me gently. I turn red and grasp my face. Oh my god, maybe I do like him in that way.