Chapitre 11: A soul that sparked hope (P.5) - Chapter 7
"H-Hiroki, why did you do that?" Aya asked with a forlorn expression on her face.
She knew that Hiroki was helping her by making her stronger, but to actually make a bold deal like that?
Aya wasn't sure what to do with her situation anymore. It made things much more difficult for her…
~I'm sorry for taking control of your body so suddenly like that, but I had to stop you from giving him all of our money.~ Hiroki told Aya with a rather judging tone in his voice.
"B-but…"
~Aya. I don't know what your exact situation is, but I can reassure you that whatever he has promised you, he is lying. I've known people like him before, and I can say for sure that I know what people who will try to use you look like.~
But despite the facts and confidence that Hiroki had at the moment, Aya was still desperate about her situation, which had gotten much harder than before. And Hiroki was well aware of what his sudden act had done to the situation, despite not knowing Aya's full backstory.
"...What will I do now…. There's no way I can get three thousand gold coins in a day…"
Aya said to herself, her body almost going limp from the amount of stress she was experiencing.
~I didn't want to pry into your personal life, but can you tell me what your relationship with that merchant was? Do you owe him some kind of debt?~
There were moments of silence before Aya looked down at her own hands, which were full of bruises from constantly using her dagger or picking herbs.
"....no…. I have to pay him in order to get back my parents…."
Hiroki went silent for a second when Aya gave him a brief explanation of what was going on. He saw how there were other humans chained up like some sort of criminal. He was aware that those humans were being treated like nothing else but slaves.
'I see, so she was being tricked after all…. That merchant must know that Aya is unable to pay that kind of price. And from what I've seen until now, his true objective with Aya was....'
Hiroki concluded in his own head before returning his attention back to Aya.
"What am I going to do…? Even if I work for ten or twenty quests without rest, I won't be able to earn that much money." Aya's head leaned forward with eyes that only had sorrow and defeat.
~That is only if you were on your own.~ Hiroki confidently responded.
"Huh?" Aya raised her head before realizing what Hiroki was trying to say to her.
~Didn't I say that I would be helping you? So cheer up and don't give up because we haven't lost yet.~
Hiroki continued speaking to the teared up girl on her head.
~I didn't say those things to that fat dandy just to make it harder for you. I did it to help you out. With my help, you will be able to become stronger — no, you will be the strongest.~
Aya sniffed one time while trying to wipe the tears that were forming on her eyes.
Even though he had promised to help her grow stronger, she didn't expect him to help her even with her personal problems. She felt like she was being way too selfish, even though she thought about asking for help from Hiroki.
But she couldn't do it... She thought that if she asked for too much from Hiroki, he would break the promise that they made to each other. That's why she was relieved to hear him tell her that he was going to help her through everything.
"Siff… hehe~ You are very weird." Aya softly giggled as she tried to regain her composure. "Calling him a fat dandy."
Once Aya was back on her feet, she continued heading towards the guild, where she would deliver all of the materials that were requested on the quests that weren't public to the guild yet.
She was immediately met with the same receptionist on the main desk who has been trying to help her with the quests. However, the moment Aya pulled out two bags with Wabbit horns and several herbs, the receptionist gave a surprised expression.
"Aya…. You gathered all of this?"
The receptionist asked as she and a colleague by her side were appraising the stuff that Aya had given them.
"Um, Y-yes, I did." Aya struggled to speak for a moment before giving a proper response.
"This is…. very unexpected." The receptionist expressed her thoughts while looking carefully around the stuff that Aya had gathered.
"Is something wrong?" Aya worriedly asked the moment she saw the unsettled expressions on the staff's faces.
"No….. it's completely the opposite. You brought not only the required materials…. But you also have brought some rare herbs that could fetch a high price..." The receptionist explained with the same kind of surprised expression.
Aya's eyes were brightened with color the moment she heard those words. Hope and courage were beginning to grow back inside her with the achievements that she had accomplished.
With the confirmation that the receptionist had given her, Aya was sure that she was beginning to get some of her goals achieved.
It was only a matter of time before she would be able to pay the slave merchant the money she needed.
After the staff of the guild were done getting a proper valuation of all the things that Aya had brought in here, the same receptionist girl came.
"Here you go, Aya." She said as she handed over a new card to the excited girl. "Because you managed to complete one E and one D-ranked quest, the guild has determined that you are able to be ranked to E rank."
Once Aya grabbed the new card, her eyes sparkled.
"And this will be your reward for all the materials you've brought. Three gold coins, nine silver coins, and twenty copper coins."
Even though they weren't enough to fully pay back the merchant, Aya was happy that she was able to earn this much money on her own.
She grabbed the bag of coins and tightly hugged it to her chest after being able to earn that much on her own. Even though a bit of sadness could be seen in her eyes, she was still happy.
"Thank you very much."
"This was all thanks to your hard work, Aya. So there's nothing for you to thank me for."
The receptionist warmly smiled at Aya, who was bowing down at her while clenching her own bag of money.
"Even so, I still want to thank you for helping me." Aya continued bowing down.
Both of the two girls who were in front of Aya couldn't say anything else other than warmly smile at the determination and kindness that this girl held.
Not many adventurers showed gratitude towards the staff of this guild, which is why both of the girls were also very glad to have someone like Aya in this guild.
~You seem close to her… ~
Aya suddenly flinched for a moment before wryly smiling at the two girls in front of her.
Since she didn't want to stand out because of the voice in her head, she turned around in order to get out of the guild.
But right before she could walk out of the building, she bumped into someone who seemed to be much bigger than her. While he had a sharp chin, his face was filled with many scratches and past injuries from the battles that he had been through.
"Agh! I am very sorry!" Aya apologized as she bowed down once again.
"Watch where you're going, yo—"
However, the person who bumped into her didn't seem to be that understanding, and yelled at Aya without accepting that he might be at fault. But the moment he caught a glimpse of Aya, he fell silent.
"It was my fault, you can go."
Then, without saying anything else, he apologized and walked away. Aya, also with a rather surprised look, saw how his attitude suddenly changed.
~hm….~
"Is something wrong, Hiroki?" Aya whispered to herself while hearing the voice in her head.
~No, it's nothing.~
Since a lot of stuff had happened today, Aya decided that it would be safe to head back to the abandoned house to rethink all of the plans with Hiroki and figure out a way to raise three thousand gold coins for the slave merchant.
She knew that if it was Hiroki, he might be able to help her out somehow. After all, he was able to rank her up and protect her from all who wanted her dead.
But while she was walking back home, she noticed that on the small street where she was walking, the whole place had become very quiet.
~Aya. Stay calm, and don't reply to me.~ Hiroki suddenly spoke to her.
Aya's eyes widened for a second before she continued to keep walking, as Hiroki had suggested to her.
~We are being followed.~
However, what Hirok said next almost made Aya freeze in place. But she decided to continue walking despite the fact that she didn't know what she was supposed to do.
Should she run away? Yell for help? Or maybe use force to fight off the person who is following her?
However, what she didn't expect was a shadow appearing behind her back, which immediately closed its distance from her.
"Eh!?"
Aya gasped as she turned around to see who had been following her. But right before she could see who it was, she was knocked out and carried into the stalker's arms.
"You sure were a pain in the ass…. Aya."
The guy who was carrying Aya stated as he let out a troubled sigh.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone