I had the fine wiped from my record and with that, my name was also cleared. All that was left was… Well… I guess nothing. I managed to convince my escort to stop by a tavern on the way back to their guild hall, but apparently, none of them drank alcohol… So I only stayed for one before feeling more depressed and leaving early.
It was probably for the best… Drinking to clear your mind wasn’t just ineffective and something you would regret, but it was addicting too, at least from what I heard.
Either way, I ended up getting back in the carriage and taken back to the guild hall. As hard as it was to stop thinking about it all, I was happy we had won, so that gave me a bit of a boost to my otherwise bottomed-out morale. I had thought I was fine… Or that I would be, but in the end, I just felt even more depressed than I did going into the trial. ‘At least We will be back soon… Maybe a bath will take away this cold feeling…’
I wasn’t expecting a parade or anything. Honestly, all I really wanted was a hot meal and a warm bed. I suppose a bath would have been nice too. When I got back though I had to skip all of that to go straight to the leader, and when I arrived, she seemed so angry that I was a bit afraid of getting close enough to actually talk to her.
Letting out a loud scream that echoed with a lion's roar golden light started bursting out of her like brilliant wings and the sky began to catch fire. It gave me chills.
I decided it would be best to just step to the side for a moment and hide behind one of the large pillars, but before I could fully get behind one to properly hide myself she turned and saw me, making me freeze stiff.
“Chika! You’re back!”
“Uh… Yeah…”
“What are you doing?”
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I slowly turned to look at the pillar I was creeping toward. ‘So close…’ After realizing the awkward position I froze in I quickly corrected my posture and tried to laugh, but it only highlighted how nervous I was. “I was trying to hide from you because you seemed really mad and I was scared.”
She narrowed her eyes, looking at her staff for a moment. “That’s odd, I don’t remember using my truth-telling barrier…” Her eyes fixed back on me. “You’re just like that huh… No surprise Plutia likes you so much.”
The sky slowly took on its original color and golden light softly began to disperse taking on a more fuzzy feeling, as opposed to the jagged edges from before.
“I am mad, but not at you so don’t worry.”
I swallowed, slowly relaxing as the air started to feel more calm. “Speaking of, where is Plutia? I thought you two were working together or something. She still owes me too.”
Her stride picked up and she quickly approached me, “Worry about that later, how are you feeling?” She grabbed my hands, making me want to pull away.
I managed to keep my poker face though. “Right now? Like you’re too close…”
She let go and took a big step backward. “A-apologies… The last thing I want is to make you more uncomfortable. I just figured after the way that the trial went…”
“Yeah, can we not talk about that? You must have wanted to see me for something right?”
She turned to the side and let out a sigh. “Things aren’t looking too good. At this rate, Alden will get off with a few years doing paid labor or something… Even if he was found guilty I’m sure some of the people would want to try and downplay it to make the Great Market not look so bad. But all that being said, I really just called you up here to see how you were doing…”
I sighed. “If that’s all you wanted then shouldn’t you have come to me? I’d be doing better if I was eating right now instead of standing here…’
She slumped over pouting. “You really are a very direct person… Fine, go and eat. I can tell you think this conversation is just a waste of time.” Her pout suddenly turned to a light chuckle. “It’s funny really, considering how much everyone else tries to fawn over me.”
“Well, you are a big shot.” ‘I mean, it makes sense.’ I turned around and began walking toward the door, only to realize she was following me.
I walked faster, but then she did too. Eventually, I made it all the way to the door and we both stopped. “What are you doing?” I whined.
She just giggled again. “Only kidding. I thought it would be fun to see that cute expression you just made. I won’t actually follow you.”
“Right…” I turned and walked away, still double-checking over my shoulder, but true to her word she stayed in the grand cathedral.