Chapter 221: She Rescues One More
The group was led to a deserted location in a derelict part of town. Nearby could be seen an abandoned cemetery that was in dire need of repair. A small chapel stood, partially collapsed in on itself.
"Ugh. No wonder why no one rescued him. Even if someone heard a cry for help here, they would instantly suspect it to be a ghost or a ghoul." Jasmine shuddered.
"Wait, these things actually exist?" Robin asked, surprised.
"Well, considering that spirit magic is at least semi-confirmed, my own personal opinion is that ghosts are made of the spirits of those who either were or had potential to be spirit masters." Jasmine replied, semi-interested.
"Ghouls, however, are a cause for concern, as they are a source of deadly poison that only holy water can dispel. They take little damage from magic unless it is light magic. So, unless one has a healer or light magic user, the only other option is to completely burn their remains in a furnace. Otherwise, they'll continue to regenerate."
"Is that so?" Robin asked, looking about the graveyard.
"Mmmn. That's right." Keith agreed. "I've had to deal with a few of them myself. In the end, we managed to completely eradicate them with kilns made of earth, and ground fire."
"Ground fire? ....you mean lava?" Robin asked, confused for a moment.
"Lava is what the heroes referred to it as, so that is also a name for it." Keith nodded.
The raven flew right up to the half-collapsed chapel, calling loudly back to the group.
"Boukki! Boukki!"
"It seems he is stuck in here..." Robin noted.
"...is anyone out there..?" a voice faintly called through a small opening.
"We're here to rescue you. Are you all right?" Robin asked.
"There is water and moss here, so I am not in any danger." Came the reply. "More importantly, what news is there of the city? I heard sounds of fighting and beasts in the distance?"
"Yes. It seems the black merchants guild was keeping magic beasts below the city, but for some reason they escaped into the sewers." Christian replied.
"The sewers?! Those blasted fools! I told them not to take on such a double-edged risk!"The voice exclaimed. "Did they manage to escape?...is there any news of rescuing a child?" At the sharp scolding tone, Felix's eyes started to water. It was definitely his father. He opened his mouth to speak, but Robin held up her hand, shushing him.
"There were many that have been rescued." Robin said, her eyes narrowed cautiously. "And all of them were found bearing an illegal slave crest on them. Mister, did your family get kidnapped by those brigands?"
"...." The voice paused. "What ...did you say? I believe I misheard that they had illegal slaves. What has happened in the six years I've been buried here?"
"You did not hear wrong." Jasmine declared. "I personally saw every single one of them branded with a forbidden slave crest."
"I see..." the person sounded crestfallen. "I know it's probably an unworthy question of mine, but among those slaves, did you perhaps find a young boy named Felix? It has been six years since I've last seen him."
"There were no lads named Felix among the slaves." Jasmine replied. "All of the black merchant guild members have been captured. the guild is no more."
"What! Then, benefactor, It doesn't matter if you let me out now or later, but can you please find someone to check the underground hideout!? This is very important, there's someone still down there!" The man begged.
"There are magic beasts roaming about the city, and you want us to dive down to the root of the source? How bold of you!" Robin replied.
"It's my son! My son is still down there!" He pleaded. "I'm begging you! You can have all that I own, if only you rescue my poor son!"
Felix felt surprised. He remembered his father saying that if a single one of his treasures was broken, he would not be able to make up for it even with his life. And now his father was trading these very things in exchange for the life of his worthless son?
"You've already been here for six years. How much property do you think you'd have left?" Jasmine saw what Robin was doing and played along. Felix once more opened his mouth to speak, but Chelsea patted his shoulder, hushing him with a smile.
Felix wated to tell his dad that he was here, that he was alive. But, seeing this person ask him to be quiet, he decided to wait just a little bit longer.
"There is a secret room! No one knows aside from me and him." The man said. "All of my belongings are secured there as well. I was trying to build up enough wealth to be able to fund a way to accomplish my son's dream...but if he's dead, then all that wealth is useless....I can always earn more money, but a man only has one life, which is priceless. That's why, please...I am begging you..." The man's voice cracked with emotion.
"...old man...." Felix finally managed to work around the sudden lump in his throat. "Old man, I'm right here! It's me, your son!" He called out hoarsely, tears streaming freely down his face.
"I suppose we don't need to return any of this, now..." Chelsea mused, as she looked at the rare storage bag that they had found to stuff all the goods into from the underground room.
"F-felix? But....how?" The shock in his voice was clear.
"Honestly, do you think we'd have known to come and rescue you if it weren't for your son asking us?" Robin replied, a wide grin on her face. "But, now that I have seen your character for myself, I can somewhat rest assured. If you had been a vile character, I'd have thrown you straight to jail from here."
Christian noticed Robin's hand was shuddering. Despite Robin's words being harsh, he noted that not once since Robin had arrived had he killed a single person. Assassins, Kidnappers, the Trader...none of them had perished. Even if Felix's dad was the worst kind of scum, Robin had no intention of killing him. At worst it would be a lifetime of imprisonment.
The only ones Robin had killed were....Ogres, a wyvern, treants, a few goblins by association, and some magic beasts. All of them were killed, not because they were after the hero. They were killed due to being a direct and immediate threat to the lives of innocent people.
How could Robin not see how kind he was? In a world where death was a common enough experience in foreign lands, leaving an opponent with their lives was considered being extremely generous. Christian's opinion of Robin became much more firmly entrenched. Robin was kind. He just somehow couldn't see it, right now.
"Please stand back, sir. We need to open up a way through these stones." Robin warned as she unsheathed her sword.
Under Chelsea's guidance, the stone rubble was cut through like a hot knife through butter. An opening large enough for a man to crawl through was quickly opened up. Already the last purple pink glimmers of twilight were beginning to fade. Robin had let a light ball float up to illuminate the area.
The man who crawled out was almost skin and bones. If it weren't for the light of emotion in his eyes, he might have been mistaken for a ghoul by other men. Instead, he just clasped Felix in his embrace, murmuring.
"My son...my son..."
"Dad! Dad!" Felix cried in his arms.
It was a very touching scene to everyone who saw it. However, along with the happiness Robin felt at witnessing the reunion, she also felt bitterness. Because such a happy scene was something she could never experience for herself. These two in front of her had merely lost sight of each other for a time, but as for her? Her parents were gone forever.
She turned aside, ruthlessly stamping down on the sparks of jealousy that had blinked to the surface for a moment. It was good that the two were reunited, and that was all that mattered. But now, it was best to head back, as the night had fully arrived.
"A graveyard is no place for a party," She suddenly said. "Especially not in the darkness of night before the moon has risen. Let's go. I'll treat."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone