Chapitre 12: Completing My First Mission— 2
ELENA POV—
I need to buy the ring, but what ring? I mean how does it look? I don't know anything about its look.
I thought, Status, can you tell me how the ring looks?
[It's a red-coloured ring with a gem on top of it. Also, it has tapered shoulders.]
Hmmm, I can't say the second part, as it definitely would be weird if specify this about ring. So, let's just go with the second part. I said, "I want a red-coloured ring with a gem on top of it."
Tom said, "A customer who knows what see wants. Good. You are lucky, I do have a ring like this. It's the only one I have." Saying this, he pulled out a box from his drawer. He handed me the box and motioned me to open it.
I opened the box and took out the ring from it. I mentally asked, Is this the ring?
[Yes, host. This is the ring.]
Yes! I smiled and asked, "Yeah, I want to buy this ring, Tom. How much do I need to pay you for this ring?"
Tom replied, "That will 200 dollars, young lass." What! I don't have this much money with me. I just have 180 dollars left after buying the train's ticket.
Reluctantly, I asked, "Could you please reduce the price a bit? I don't have enough money to buy this."
Tom shook his head and said, "No, lass, I can't give you this ring at a more discounted price. I have already reduced the price of this ring. The price which I told you, is the reduced one. If you can't pay for this, buy something else from here. There are countless things available here which cost less than this ring."
"No sir, I just want this ring. Please sir, I am not asking you much. I am just requesting you to reduce the price by 20 dollars or so. I have only 180 dollars with me."
"I am afraid, I can't agree to your request."
"If I may Ms. Lena, I can buy this ring for you as a thank you gift for helping Andrew," interjected Ivan.
"NO! No need for that," I yelled with venom lacing my tone. Both Ivan and Andrew were taken aback by my sudden outburst. Fuck! It seems I reacted a bit too strongly. But I don't want any goodwill from Ivan. I took a deep breath and calmed down myself.
I whispered, "Sorry for my sudden outburst. The thing is I don't want any type of favour from you two. I didn't help Andrew to get a reward from you, Mr. Ivan." Andrew looked like he wanted to object but a single look from me and he didn't say anything. I didn't even look at Ivan to see his reaction as his reaction matters to me the least. I continued, "If I can't buy this ring, then so be it. Here, take it back." I handed the ring and the box back to Tom.
So, this is it. Maybe, I... I can't change my fate after all, maybe I can't change anything. I will just be a simple cannon fodder who will pave the way for the heroine and her entourage. Heck, I can't even buy a simple ring, what am I even expecting from me? I am the same pathetic loser who would die gruesome death. This, this is the reality. I can do nothing. The only thing I can do is sit back and accept my fate.
I tried my best to hold back my tears but tears started to flow down my eyes. The other three people in the room were surprised by my tearing up.
"Don't cry, Lena. My brother can buy it for you. Take it thinking as a gift. If not from him, then from me. I can buy this ring for you in place of him," said Andrew, anxiously.
Ivan agreed, "Yes, Ms. Lena. Think this gift is from Andrew."
I shook my head and disagreed, "No, I-I am n-not t-aking it from Andrew either. Please, don't demean my kindness. I didn't help you expecting something in return." I couldn't take it any longer. Do they think that I helped Andrew expecting something in return? I am not like that. I don't need either of their money.
"No, Ms. Lena, we are not de—"
"You can take it, young lass," interrupted Tom. I looked up at him in surprise.
"I can? But why?"
Tom smiled, "Yes, take this ring, lass. For me, this ring is not worth someone's tears. I have countless rings with me and trust me, red is not pretty. So, you can take it at the rate of 140 dollars."
Both Ivan and Andrew were surprised and so was I. My eyes widened in disbelief, "But I have 180 dollars, you can all of it. Why are reducing the price of this ring so much?"
"Just take it, kid. Use the remaining money to eat something or you can save it."
"But—"
"No, I don't want to hear any buts from you."
I wiped my tears and said, "Thank you. Thank you, so much. I don't know how to thank you." Truly, I was very grateful to him.
"Not that we are grateful for your help, but I want to ask one thing. Why are you helping her? You don't even know her," asked Ivan, sceptically. What the fuck! Why the hell is he interfering in my business?
Tom just laughed and said, "Young man, you and your brother are rich, I mean very rich, right?" Ivan nodded, "I could tell that by your clothes. See, for you 200 dollars is insignificant but for her, it is a big amount. I don't know but some reason she wants this ring. She is desperate to have it. So, I helped her. I am not rich but I am more financially stable than her. So, 40 dollars loss is not a big thing for me," he took a deep breath and continued, "it's what kindness stands for. You know, showing kindness is not equal to disrespecting. It's a medium to prove ourselves as a human. Showing kindness shows that we are still humans, not some monsters or something. I heard you three people talking about how this young lass helped this little kid without excepting anything in return. This is what I am talking about."
Confused, Andrew asked, "So, you mean kindness is something that involves money. I mean, you charged less money for this ring from Lena and Lena helped me without expecting some rewards. So, is kindness equivalent to the money involved in it?"
Tom replied, "It's a good question kid. Sadly, kindness is often confused with monetary transactions. The answer is— no. Both of them are different. Kindness is not often in the form of money. To show kindness, you don't need money, sometimes a simple gesture, a simple help, even a simple thank you can suffice what you are feeling and what you are portraying. It can appear in multiple forms. You don't need to be poor or wealthy to show or receive it. It is something that don't even need words to covey itself, much less these paper notes."
It seems there is still hope for humanity. Although this kindness will somehow cease to exist during the apocalypse. Then, I thanked him and handed him 140 dollars and bought the ring.
[Put on the ring, host.]
Doing as what the status said, I put on the ring on my finger. After putting, the shiny texture of the gem became dull and then again, it became shiny again.
[*Ding* Mission: Objective- 1: Completed]
[*Ding* Side Quest: Completed]
[*Ding* Rewards: 150XP]
Yes! I did it! I have completed my first mission. All of my dejected emotions from earlier vanished somehow. Maybe I was wrong. No, I am wrong. I have attained the very ring which was destined for the heroine. I can, I will change my destiny.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone