Part 2: A Goodwill's Karma

I imparted the grand burial for my blune in his favorite yard behind my two-story house.

A blune was a wolf species, little smarter in a fight like a patroller dog but enlightened as a hunter. It was classified as hybrid instead of animal or monster, resulting in a few runes born into their bodies. However, the runes were hardly obvious without the appropriate tools. The blune was half-animal, half-monster.

The fur trained in a dark blue could motionlessly shield against most types of attacks for its steel rune. Its skinny teeth were widely small as its body but the roar it screeched deadening most of the monsters — with ears or vibration sense — without obstacle. Combination of two: a shout rune to raise its voice and a pitch rune to add multiple layers to the vocal level which created an echo sound in many frequency stages.

He, Adono, had been my best companion ever since the fateful day of the tiny fluffy ball disembarked into my toddler footstep. I was young at that time to the earliest memory I could likely have.

It was stormy at that time and a silence rune was his first attribute. He enjoyed stealthily running after me up to school, lurking behind the tree's umbra near the window of my classroom. I questioned if he agreed even I told him to never neglect the house's safety. He felt for me with his imprudently view as if I was in blame. Smart, but not in my rational definition.

The fun didn’t last peacefully long. He had fully grown faster ahead of me to be an equipotent partner with an aptitude to support me in a perilous exploration.

A last heap of soil sequentially uniformed with one gap, I set one wood stack with his beloved toy. It fitted with random and movement runes to encourage his agile skill. It was cheap yet he happily accepted without a hint of resentment.

His eyes were shut serenely, progressed to the afterlife. In exchange, the additional purpose of my life had truly withdrawn never come back. Conclusively, I rolled dirt into the gap, let him rest from the world.

Few hours had been transpired over my isolated heart recovering from the discovery of my mother was unconscious at the present, seemed everlasting.

It doubled deeply the nostalgic in my fragile courage as if all my memories flashed upon my fuzzy vision. Would I still exclaim as alive if my mother perished too? What I struggled hard for?

There was also a malady that appeared susceptible to this giant city, became more potent and spread actively like the end of the world. The disclosure didn't own anything other than an investigation of its treatment. Something like, {A lot of water and wash hands regularly}.

"Mom. Be safe."

Skipped the school, I delivered an absent letter to prohibit my free financial education from sailed off. I stared at the letter, striving to extract the meaning of doing — redoing — this.

Live until now, I lingered at the hospital, awaiting the doctor to rise out from the emergency room. And with indisputable words, I retired home to harness artifacts I mined from the ancient ruin.

Getting ready in simple clothes with a shallow shower, I searched for the horse carriage. I remembered where at the time, looking for one that brought people to another place was hard. Some of them were disguising robbers.

However now, they had colored the roof in deep emerald with an emblem of two city drawings with an arrow in the middle. It was proof the driver had a license.

If anyone tried to uproot the surprise again, it meant war against the company that directly supported under the kingdom.

Saw near the spot in front of the newly constructed fence of the bar, I hurried to there as people began ascended. I mounted the transport, unchangeably gave the money to the conductor for a destination straight to the heart of the city. It was too huge and long to travel inside on foot. About the average lecture’s length in the school.

Nevertheless, none of the scenery registered to my awake. I forget who in charge of the carriage or who talking about that disease had matured at a point where soon King had no choice but to kill the affected one.

The medical operation couldn't be realized until I put to cover the all net amount of the bill first. Due to my standing case, the hospital didn't esteem me of {serve first, pay later}. This caused me to bug the conductor for hasting the driver up.

Shall I explore ancient ruins again? If I did a fast exploration at the same place as last time with a bigger sack, perhaps it could effortlessly cultivate the yield?

<No. I don’t think I can.>

I had no Adono anymore to protect me and my mother's odds of dying prolonged unconditionally. She could fade at any spur of the day where no time to conceive otherwise.

Over and above all, in what means I had to deal with the roaming skeleton? I experienced the terror and yet my luck remained zero. I wasn't even able to bark for help. If not for that wretched gate prone to meet, only god knows where could I ended up by now.

I didn't wish for the death of my mother, neither for the debt to kill both us. It had to be reasonable. I had to. No one in the world lived by my side, other than my mother.

After few minutes, wandering to nowhere and watching several passengers thinner from my seat at the corner, I glanced at the board that showing I entered a royal area, a place where most visitors would have spent a night.

I descended from the transport, no one pay heed to the annoyance that spooked by my sack. Turning left and right, I strode down to where adventurers usually sold their drops of many familiar kinds.

There, a place where I used to work, Aligent's Goldsmith. It was one of the locations famous for {Buy high, sell high} than other companies. Thanks to this, the owner had a good reputation and profit from reinventing and reselling all drops.

He also gave me a high salary compared to all the part times I had been enlisted. The reason I stopped working there, nothing more than the owner's daughter was Ainari Aligent. Right on the day when I learned the truth. Although, it was more like I didn't come again, left without news.

I had to make one's way through this, not another. My mother was declared to be in the critical and this the only depot I could possibly gain more.

"It would be a long line," I said, thinking how plaza overfilled with eager adventurers. Then again, I chuckled when remembered what had become of my legs when it was busy all day. At least, the old man was nice to keep me going without a salary cut despite many rests.

When the shop motioned into my view, no usual adventurers were seen. Unorthodox and serious, it lessened its presence as mine. Knights and patrollers' were moving in and out from the site that labeled as a one-thousand breakthrough scene. The armor from the knight loosely sounded in a clank. It wasn't cheap.

Window showcases had smashed out, gold accessories were licked clean. Stained glasses were haunted at the exterior of the shop while inside nothing golden were visible. Only no much value tools were set on the floor, closed to a mole hole.

I minutely toured for prooving the state of the shop, yet two patrollers at the entrance pierced through my face, my legs receded and hit somebody with sweats and heat roused from his body.

"Hm?" The patroller stopped my back from falling.

"I apologize..." I slowly turned at the instantaneous action.

"Are you here for them too?" He sighed, wind poured out from the iron helmet. "Forget it. It's impossible."

"Something...happen?" I said, fixing a load of my sack that growing heavier.

"The place got robbed yesterday. Well, thanks to the heroes, we caught all of them before they had time to escape."

Robbery...what happened to Mr. Zelrami?

"If you see, this woman who ran away from the jail," he pointed toward the event board, a poster on the of a reminder about the {plomunic} plague, "please do tell to nearest patrollers." The face was shown as an Elf. "Have a safe day. Haah...how long before I can escape from this nightmare?" He went.

Elf.

The race wasn't born in this world whereas the Five Heroes, the elf one, decided to stay here, then married. This was how it developed the city with multiple races of humans. Although to comprehend them easily especially through a crowd, it had become challenging.

Unless it was unmistakable, over time, their pointed ears slowly shortened generation after generation even if they married the same race. Some kind of natural law had transform otherworld's life into this world's residence after a certain sum of years.

There was a lot of money for catching her. Shall I persued a bounty hunter instead of a doctor? Well...if my mother was there.

While strolled around for another shop, I passed a building known as Harishcon Company, which their business concentrated on devising new war pieces of equipment. The owner's daughter was my cousin, Erika.

On the other hand, Aligent's Goldsmith maintained their artworks through single-family business, creating very intrinsic value to their accessories for both women and men.

They were famous for the opposite reason, but Erika and Ainari were seen as close as their business rival parents.

The floor glossed into marble stones, every step forged an echo as if two coins blazed together. Decorated with statues and plants, many publicly known adventurers sat on the lobby, chilling for their turns to vend items one-to-one among ten private rooms.

I aspired to slip in but people very despise when I was too friendly with Erika notwithstanding my cousin relationship. To reduce the fracture of social classes, I left shortly. It made me wonder, what Uncle and Aunt consider when they drove aside my mother who groveled for their help about the debt? It broke my heart and it was still hurt.

What had befallen if my father didn't die, wouldn't I become closer to Uncle Darzon, Aunt Lizera, and Erika?

* * *

Uplifted my replete purse after traded all artifacts, I ventured through a fashion district. The colorful wardrobe wasn't the only thing proudly on the displays. There was service for weaving custom dresses and to wash up expensive clothes that required a high-precision tug.

I wondered my mother would love to wear new clothes. This could be a good present. Should I replace fruits and flowers?

On a desire that wouldn't happen soon, I stumbled over some people stared at one direction, hatched some attention.

A cloaked person ramped against the maid not far and snatched her only bag, then sprinted full-speed toward me. I stuck in a loop, probing a method to block the thief. Even I went to an ancient ruin, my close combat skill was none. If only my blune was here.

My body didn’t — want to — move.

Eventually, our heads banged together when the thief distracted by patrollers' boots, we both collapsed in the middle road. I harbored my head, endured the sharp throb as the horse raised its front legs and pulled its cabin around us. No one appeared favoring a conflict of King's dogs, they set a gaze at the thief without act. As for adventures, they honestly were to busy with their lives.

The hood slipped back, revealed a young woman elf, pretty and fertile for the strange age like a refreshing princess. For a short moment, I vitally cast envy. Or what I thought I felt.

She was the same figure that the patroller showed to me. She escaped from a patroller station and the bounty on her head was enough for the remaining debt.

The stolen bag spilled many fresh washed noble clothes, she kicked them away impolitely after mistaken as something valuable. Her eyes caught the reflection of gold pieces from my purse, her eyes glistened.

"What...?" I dug gold pieces back to the inside, tightened the laces.

She suddenly impelled some magic spell at the fastest rate pronunciation, stroke me to the defenseless stance.

I quickly recorded her mouth and brought my arm to my eyes for breaching against a Mental-Type spell. If I was correct from my recently magic knowledge, the spell intruded the vision to render a stagger illusion.

A light shattered through a booming noise, in a split second, she was gone from the trace. It became known that she was stuck in the middle seizing my purse from my grip. Everyone nearby still had a delay to the responsive mental. I had an extra advantage when her hidden wrists in her cloak locked in a handcuff.

Unable to withstanding long, she tried to wind up the moment patrollers were running and informing toward here. I thrust her dainty arm. Since our builds had no much contrast, she couldn't avoid with unbreakable handcuff.

If I could have the reward, certainly, it would boost the perk for nonexistent debt. I excessively shoved her head to the ground, restricted her movement through my body's weight.

She decided to cast another spell, I twisted her arm and noticed a spigen bracelet. Did patrollers forget...no. They had no idea what mana was, how to explain a spigen which more complex?

I touched the spigen of the blue glowing stone, disturbed her spell by forcing my own. Every time she uttered something suspicious, I randomly said a word that would break the formulation. A negative fire back to me occurred if I crumbled the spell after halfway through of her casting. This implied she got a headache each time she missed to end the spell, making her give up permanently. A drawback of magic spell.

As a magic caster, the source of magic had to be insulated at all costs, which in this case her bracelet spigen. A caster's weakness.

Her body convulsed, endeavored to stomp my legs, "We're from the same world, aren't we?"

<Same world?>

Did she assume I was since I knew her spell weakness? I never thought that. Maybe my ancestor was a hero from a magic world and the reason I had this ability because of that. More importantly, did she arrived from another world instead of born here?

She noticed my astray thought, her legs flipped back and they're rushed toward my head.

I didn't stir, tolerated to the pain, containing her wrist while waiting for patrollers. Nothing would move a mountain before my mother. My knowledge of basic medical assaulted her human weak points. I quietly stayed, pressing her side wrist.

"Snap. It's going to snap." She relinquished from kicking my head, "Nan-nan-nah!" began to yell like a fish without water.

I stamped her legs with mine, leaned them as far as below the ground level. Occasionally, the horse carriages resumed turning around, some dirt coughed to her face.

"Nough! Please..." She grew more competitive, witnessing she would be tossed back to the jail, spent at the prison after the guilty.

I forced her harder, thinking of how the reward could save me and my mother's life.

"It's not me." She looked behind at patrollers. "I was betrayed."

My breath muted for a second. It triggered my mind for a reason why my father identified as a criminal and blew us with this huge debt.

Betrayed. Was the debate.

This what rumored when I ascertained my father died without cause. Certainly, it was bad. My grip gently converted more vulnerable.

The elf stretched request me for an assist as the patrollers passing a boutique, a saloon, then the unconscious maid that dropped in the foreground of the washing laundry's store.

<What should I do now?>

The {betrayed} concept executed my vision a picture of all concerns that I and my mother had to cry through. I fondled that misery well. Too well to stop thinking.

"I have a dying sister. If I didn't return soon, she might die today."

A range to the patrollers became shorter.

My breath once again was taken by her, <Darn!> I abused myself to reposition my priority away from my mother.

The front patroller touched her arm.

But I brushed her spigen and tested with a slowing spell that could probably exist and include in her spigen bracelet's equation. "<{Cosimizer Sicrony, Fodem}>," I whispered as quiet as possible, it worked.

Six magic circles formed almost like a box, expanded once before gone. One magic circle merged under all patrollers, their light armors concisely turned heavier from the outcome of a Gravity Bomb spell. Harmless and for binding a heavy creature.

The patrollers scoured on the ground and tried to stand but continued demolished down. The effect lasted 30 seconds due...I didn't know. Had to do with a battlemage class.

"What's your name, cute girl?" Her cheeks had nice reddish spots on her milk-like skin, though her slender posture felt like a vegetarian's body. I heard most elf didn't prefer to eat meat, other than once per month for strength.

"Eh?" My anger lost after a long distraction, I tripped to look when someone attractive called me cute. "Siqura... S-Siqura Selvona."

What? Why did I tell her my name? What happened if she attempted to steal again from me?

"Evana Colt." She stood and masked his arms into the cloak. "Thank you. I will pay later if I had a chance."

Patrollers got up and mobilized other patrollers for chasing through.

The maid woke up as soon as they went, she faced aimless around, when found about her fallen bag she ran in panic, ransacked through dark red male clothes that dried in plastic wrappers. Relief everything was fine, she praised me nonstop.

On her hand, there was a glove with a crystal orb, over perfection to its detail. It wasn't spigen but a tool for creating a permanent rune or runic effect.

There was a difference between normal crystal orb and non-ordinary one as that was handled only by heroes. The color had a deeper tone, a pure white of a bird feather. However, the surface was see-through, the light would swarm straight comfortably. A normal crystal orb undoubtedly couldn’t do most of that and had a very faint shade.

After all, Heroes didn't need rune to activate a special effect. The most common name to the orb used by hero was {magic orb} although I knew by now it wasn't magic but something that appeared like magic.

Her face wasn't from last week's announcement among five heroes. But that magic orb could only use by a hero. She might be summoned by another kingdom.

The skirt was short, covered only above knees. Did she fine fighting in that kind {armor}? More important I didn't believe she could fail that easily from a purse snatcher.

"Ah? Thank you again." She shook her head down a couple of periods until I had to soothe her.

"No. It's fine..."

She was kind to remind me. Well, only half, as attention something I had antagonistic.

"I-If you don't stop that thief, my master will be late to the event and get tardily furious." Her face whitened out. "I'm supposed to send this yesterday but all shops around here closed early. Misfortune." Her shoulders were dejected and nervous, gave prediction to everyone she required to collapse again.

During a day where I worked at Aligent's Goldsmith, every time I walked back here the old man at the street corner right at the lamp post always asked a coin incisively even though I said I didn't have any.

Perhaps, he knew what happened here. Although, he wasn't there today, disturbing people for anything in their pockets. Where was he now?

"We're already busy with a feeble guest and now outside princess' birthday party, we had to attend. So many, many duties. My arms felt flimsy."

Was it me or she didn't sound or act like a hero? I didn't sense any heroic ambiance. They should have the power to wipe a kingdom.

"I think I should give you something for return. Mmm... What would it be…? How about chocolate? That's sound wrong."

This was more comfortable compared to the time when I and my mother summoned by King to see if we blamed for the same crime as my father.

It was never the same when I studied King during speech and stood right in front of him. Always felt he wished to order the knight nearby to slash my neck and be done, so he could dally back into his concubines.

Hm? Did I forget anything? "Ah. Mom!"

"Uh? Mommy?" She rubbed her hands, faced down. "I'm still unexperienced but if you don't mind." She opened her arms with a blushed face. "C-Come here to mama!"

I fastened my purse, "I have to go," I began running.

"Okay. S-See you later, my grown child." She wavered her hand, holding a handkerchief. "Don't forget to return home once in a while."

* * *

Stepped into the soapy building, I took a quick halt at the entrance. My body was exhausted from fighting monsters, would be the best time to have another warm shower.

The ice runes slowly misted from the wall to desirable measurement, my tired body felt want to sink even deeper to the bed. I just discovered I didn't wink since the day after yesterday's expedition. My eyes squeezed heavy but my heart nudged up when remembering about my mother barely had a clue of her survival.

As I walked to the counter, no nurses were walking anywhere. Only some patients and people sat on the benches while others moved around from the restaurant. Where hospital workers had been abducted?

Usually, I saw a bell at the front but only hospitals didn't have one.

"Yes. Hero did." A nurse spoke to the visitor after been asked behind me.

“They’re nice to do this...” The old woman used her cane to walk away.

I sped forward. "Nurse."

"Y-Yes?" She blundered a bit, her finger displayed a golden ring. It was unusual for nurses to wear an accessory during work. Perhaps, it was a wedding ring. But, my heart traced some magic aura there.

"Um...Felose." Another nurse came from the restaurant. "Doctor needs you again after...you done."

"I will be brief." Nurse Felose turned here. "What I can help you, ma'am?"

I ignored her weird term to appoint me. "My mother..." I exercised an unstable breathing rhythm. "Rizera Selvona."

"In Operation Room, I think — ah!"

I bolted deep inside, finding my mother among Operation Rooms. The door plated in a sound rune to prevent noise from disturbing doctors inside. There was a small slider next to the door to tell if it was vacated or not. Currently, it replaced to grey, vacate.

It opened, whereupon no one was inside. "Mom!"

"Siqura?" Her voice echoed in the hallway outside.

I retraced my steps.

She was spawned by a door not far from here, a small room where most of the patients had a monthly check.

"M-Mom? Shouldn't you rest in the bed right now?"

"Why would I~?" My mother said with a bright and high passion. It was a contradiction than before as if going to the hospital was all it needed. The sleepy and moody also disappeared from the surface, leaving long-lasting dark clouds under her eyes. Neither the new disease's indication.

Regardless of that, worry had dragged me into the room once more, fired a question to the busy doctor. I assumed maybe the doctor let operation carried on without the payment.

The doctor I didn't meet before adjusted a nice tiny rounded glasses steadily while looked toward the intruder. "Ah, you must be Siqura." He seated the glass to her green irises. "I'm Dr. Philben Bushno as you might learn." On his index finger, there was a golden ring twin of the Nurse Felose's ring. Once again, the magic trance from it that made me distracted for a second.

"Dr. Philben, how...is my mother's condition? Is it relating to a new disease?"

"Need not for your worry. The operation went smoothly without inconvenience. Just drink a lot of water and rest at home for a few days. It would be unquestionably fine."

I stared at his caring — doctor — face. Yet, my heart held a nasty magic aura emanating from him. It shrouded up to the ceiling almost suffocate my soul, massed in numerous of the esoteric deeds.

Since my mother remained the same, it was something emerging from my magic knowledge. Even with eyes closed, the tension never reeled.

Black mana. For specific a branch of Black-Type Magic. I didn't think I would ever practicing it, yet I could feel so flawlessly without a mental focus.

There was one bed partially buried behind an undecorated curtain. He threw the curtain shut when I attempted to peek what with another cloud of black aura.

Repealed the distraction from the mind, I established the money on the working desk. "Is this enough?"

"The operation's fee?" Something clicked in his mind while laughing, he pushed nonchalantly the purse back to my side. "Heroes had donated some serious quantity of veiz to all patients' operation and hospitality."

"Heroes?"

"Yes. They came by just now. I think you can see them behind the building if you—"

Without let him done talking, I withdrew and searched for the behind entrance.

There was a wooden-bone house roofed on top plants. I hunted around through families, patients, and butterflies until I found a flock of nurses squeezed at the back gate. Partly, there was a roof of horse carriage above nurses.

I descended from two levels near the door and then carefully broomed beside trimmed grasses and flowers. A greeny smell of leaves cast from somewhere even it wasn't a forest. Cold and very relaxing. Went through nurses, I glanced a bit the silhouette I saw before.

Nurses around were screaming, did an essay to witness who these Heroes. Because of this, I was opposed to the last line twice. The gate was too narrow for all of us to go at once.

Even I moved to the tall fence, all male-nurses had taking over that side. I was sure a woman hero was at the fence, flirting with them.

About several attempts later, I accomplished jump to the front line but the horse carriage — for noble — already left, handled by the driver. It was that hero maid.

I understood it wasn't easy to meet heroes but was there worthy to be this excited?

Heroes were something. She could arrive here before me.

All nurses soon returned to their works.

"That Hero Ercient is handsome and cold."

"I can felt his sharp eyes penetrated my chest. Oh, my Lord."

"That hero is damn scary! What's wrong with his rude remark about my hair." He had two colors spread to sides: yellow and purple.

"I agreed. Unlike Hero Fenorica. I wonder if she already married?"

"Give up. There is no way she ended up with peasant."

So the maid was Fenorica and that unknown other hero was Ercient.

Now that I thought again, I had listened to King's announcement last week but why I forget our own Five Heroes' names? Were there any more heroes in the history of Veizralia Kingdom?

I felt like a sheep in a wolf den. Something was out of ordinary. As if my existence tried to give warning what I couldn't perceive with my trusted eyes.

Was this sourced to the magic power? I concentrated on my chest. The sensation of holding magic spells. Spigen. A magic technology. I wanted to tell somebody, still, who would I seek for advice? To a time when my mouth required to open, it got wrapped by an enormous power that sewed my lips.

"Siqura?"

My back shouted maniacally and each of my limbs straightened to act on that. "Mom!"

She walked with my purse, looking confused. "Did you meet them?"

"No, Mom." I rubbed my chest that almost exploded. I was still alive. "They went ahead."

"Maybe another time." She bent her back, sharpened her elbow behind her head. "Should we celebrate? We have a lot of money from saving."

"We have to solve the debt first."

"But we have a few days, no?"

"If debt still with us, I can't relax affirm. The sooner we deal with it, the easier to live after."

"If you say so." My mother gave the purse back to me. "Then I left everything to you. Let's go~!"

"O-Okay..." I blinked at my tired mother had turned into cheerful. It was the sleep who made her tired all day.

As we about to leave, I saw Evana, the wanted thief, brought a present to a girl patient. The girl was followed by a cat, she grabbed the present of a dress then complained that Evana should take her yesterday.

Evana didn't lie about her sister. She saw me, only gave me a half-hearted smile as her sister proceeded to lecture her in a tied spot. Her sister had much shorter pointed ears though.

Now that everything was done here, we departed to a bar near our home.

* * *

On the way toward Dasprain Unolk Society's site, we encountered a man that I threatened him with my enchanted-multiple runes blune to sell a pickaxe.

"It's rare to see you here." The man wore an expensive outfit instead of usually a smithing uniform. "Strolling around the city?"

"Yes..." My mother pursued the man's eyes. 

I hid behind my mother when he observed me for a while.

"Is there any problem?"

"No..." He rubbed his chin, stressed his thick forehead. "Maybe, it's my mistake." Then he peered back to my face. "Where you have been two days ago, Siqura?"

"Working." I bent my face, pressed purposefully to reduce visibility.

"You didn't really go ancient ruin?"

"Eh? Ancient ruin?" My mother's mouth widened.

"W-Why I go to a dangerous place?" I said, staring at the ground shakily.

My mother displayed an alleviation. It looked like I had to explain to her someday but not for time being.

I stepped side, concealing my portion body using my mother.

"Seems that nice clothes you had on." My mother tried to aid me to rid of the interrogation.

"You didn't know? The Feliner Kingdom is performing their third daughter's birthday party today. Their castle is marched for two days."

The Feliner Kingdom... It had in my memory but once again it didn't stick into my chest. As proof, I had no idea what it was other than its name. Something had binding my will to believe it was part of an orderly drama. I could hear the flame resistance behind my eyes.

"It's not flexible for a commoner in such occasion. Their King might overboard oddly joyous a bit. I determined to take days from a compact business but, have a plan to participate in for you two?"

"Um..." My mother gazed at me. "I didn't think we can."

The man was unsettled in a period before an answer revealed in a form of guilty. He didn't know about the debt, but he learned about my father as a betrayer. It was an official title from King, where among rules, we couldn't travel out from the Veizralia Kingdom without an escort. And it wouldn't easy to get one. The school trip was allowed for an escort something I had no idea.

It diminished to silence, they weren't able to continue the conversation. We nodded, then left just like that.

No one knew the hideout of the Dasprain Unolk Society. It was said the society had endured from the era of an ancient age where the origin of ancient ruins, they ruled the world behind a scene.

Most businesses such as our debt involved by intermediate man never their true selves.

How did my father end with debt in this deadly group? Did he got captured during his infiltration mission? But I didn't understand why King hastened to set him as the Kingdom's Betrayer. Even it was for strategy, wasn't doing so would expose to the world how the king's spy? Well, it wasn't like I understood how all of those work. In the end, my father had disappeared from my sight.

"Is this the right place?" It persisted in my mind to maintain a feeling out of place.

The bar established at a dark-side district where services such as prostitution house, underground fight with no rules, rare runic hybrids, shark loan, and more... Unlike a book that Erika complained about why the authors always included slavery and low justice. This district was still within the Kingdom’s territory and had to bear the laws like a normal citizen.

"I think so. It's no different than last month." However, my mother settled the equivalent with their disturbing mood, regardless of how uneasy it nurtured in my heart.

Most men and women had very hardcore attire, black and wild. The bartender who usually displayed such a vulgar remark now directed us toward the door approvingly without some sort of fee or harassment. Everyone in the bar dejected away from us, while some wished to sputter their uncalm through a glass of corrupted drink.

After the door, the bodyguard with boots that quaking the floor let us pass without reviewing for a weapon or sharp object. I was half-glad because I brought my lucky knife today.

"Are you sure this the right place, Mom?" I stepped forward, cautiously detecting early danger behind doors in the hallway. It filled with many dames of pleasure, all of them moved inside and locked the door when they perceived us. Holding my mother’s hand, breathless, I attempted to draw a good air among the vapor smokes.

"Yes~" My mother didn't waver or felt uneasy with their intimidating looks. I saw her new side today but...

I still didn’t like this place.

One man was pushed out from the opened door, half-naked. Or more like he didn’t take his pants all the way down.

It conveyed to me for a while before I embraced my mother, trying to erase a lost control imagination crowding into my brain.

“Hey! What are you doing?"

I peeked at the side, spotted a woman with a thin slender that wearing during a social party. Though, her beauty didn’t match Evana. When last time I paid attention to my appearance?

Unconsciously, I stared at my worn clothes. The shirt and pants had been reused from old clothes that we gathered in a cheap store. Even so to me, I had been good with my thread. However, when compared with her, my outfit quickly seemed side by side to the sack of flour.

The woman tried to speak something to the man, but with us here she flustered and glanced at the man once before sealing the door.

“What was that? Is this how you treat your customer — oh, hello.” He polished toward us while fixing his attire.

“Hello.” My mother waved at him with a flirty smile.

“Mom!” I stood in front of her, blocking between them. “Don’t need to answer a stranger.”

“This girl seems good too. How much?”

I hunted through my pocket, my hand stroked something. I grabbed out my lucky charm, a knife. This was my first time, the knife was nervously to stay right in my shaking grip, pointed down.

“Wild girl, huh? I love a wild — hah!” He dropped to back with a rambling breath. “Haaaaaaah!” He ran away, making the doors reopened and closed.

I turned back. “What you did, Mom?”

“Eeeh? Nothing.” She smiled dejectedly. “Am I not good enough?” She caressed her face. "I'm {pretty} sure I'm {pretty}."

“Mom! Stop joking.” I dragged my mother before she had a weird idea the longer we kept this debt.

Walking toward an unknown destination for my heart, yet my intuition pulled to the quickest way, we reached the room of the bar's manager. The door spun out before my hand.

"Quick!" The manager said, dragged us in, twisted and bolted the door after checking at outside.

Eight men and women of above level-standard, armed with a medium number of runes. Higher-level meant more high-grade runes whether weapon or armor, it didn't matter. In the big picture, one of them was equal to a knight.

One of them was recognizable as the rune of the bow. The pattern had a curving snake line connected to a circle that drew between two straight lines. It was a homing rune, a compound of a trace rune(the snake-arc and the circle) and an accuracy rune(two lines).

I knew one magic spell that had the same homing effect. It was Fourth Tier of Magic Spell... Was it me but most of the spells I had only as high as the second tier?

They didn't shoot us or doing anything when observed us.

In fact, the man at the corner had a swollen ball on his face. Another guy held a spear that taped in the middle as if it broke and fixed. The woman leaned on the bookshelf mended her face with a bandage.

Something just happened to have the whole room in this disordered. Many thorny spikes arose out of nowhere from the ceiling and floor with the same materials as surfaces. A paper spike? It grew out of book’s cover and the bookshelf, the words had written on it. A glass table, chairs, windows...all cracked like after robbed by hybrids.

"What have you done?" the manager aimed his enchanted revolver.

I never met him. My mind said it was. A sudden word appeared even I didn't recall.

"Wait, Mr. Eteny." I raised my hands. "I don't know what you address to."

My mother's face changed a bit, I didn't see full when she stood in front of me. However, it shook Eteny to drop his gun. My opinion for my mother reformed.

It was supposed to be me who should protect her. She only discharged from the hospital freshly.

"Damn!" He kicked the chair and it landed on the wall. The painting of a desert with the theme of {Steampunk} dropped on top of the chair, broke fractionally. But that scenery evoked some part of me, a {renura lu}, feeling something similar happened before.

"That must be a price of a grade A rune," said one of the bodyguards.

"Rock is."

The manager gave me a brown folder that contains all the sensitive information about my father. Having this indicating the debt was over.

I offered him my purse after my mother took the folder, reading its contents.

"Why, why, why?" The manager absorbed air for a moment. "Why Heroes come smacking into my bar? In my little kingdom? Asking to pay all the debt for your betrayer father—"

"—he's not betrayer—"

"—it's to me, and still was."

The bodyguard behind the desk produced a big sack and placed it next to me. It widened, a stack of real fresh golds compacted into the shape. Probably, twenty gold bars. One gold bar could buy land, mansion, social class, a grade star rune, a rare runic hybrid, or everything to flip whole life. It was too many gold coins exchange rate that such thing was hard for me to count its reliability. Most of the money I had was silver and copper coins.

It was way too much than I had ever seen or touched.

"I don't understand," I said, stepping back. "I don't want another debt."

Even heroes came here, probably Fenorica, I didn't think to give me this was a correct mind. There had to be a mistake.

"When those fuckers beating my door and when that rude noble said he will pay all, it means all. He ordered me to return all damn I got from you to YOU back which funny because all that geerrrrrrr man gave me is on that bag now."

I stared at my mother, she smiled at me while saying, "We take what we can."

If Eteny who gave me, I would push back even it meant death. One debt was enough. However, since they were heroes, we all knew how strong they were, their words were the same as a king.

As my hand grasped for the sack, Eteny seized my clothes and faced to my eyes. "Listen. I don't want your face here — huh?"

My mother grabbed his wrist.

"Take your hand off me, woman."

My mother continued to smile, didn't obey his demand.

"Hey...aaha..a.."

A smoke fused into his skin, a tiny flick of purple flame occasionally crawled.

Magic? Was it a Fire-Type spell? If my mother could use magic perhaps our family was truly from a hero.

Eteny stopped maddening after saw my mother's face which she abruptly hid from me when I glanced. He walked back and then dropped on the floor without blinking.

"M-Mom...?"

"What's wrong?"

I soon realized, something wrong with her smile. I didn't sure...perhaps it was my imagination. I wanted to believe it was so.

I picked the sack, for a few seconds, unable to brace it fell and plunged exactly to the floor. A new hole smashed in, my body froze.

No sound. No one asked for fixing money.

The bodyguards turned away from me and the manager still had a shocking expression, pressing his wrist. Incinerated mark penetrated his jacket's sleeve.

What spell that created a purple flame, didn’t have heat but appeared like it shredded his clothes?

We exited through the door, easily, no one stopped us or even looked. I could sense there was an indication of a fight before us.

"Siqura should Mom bake a cake? Though, I’m not sure if Adono likes it."

The purple flame? Wasn't it similar to the flame that draped the skeleton on the ancient ruin?

“Siqura?”

My hand was suddenly shaking. Recalling the image of that skeleton, it had swum into my vision without conscious. As if the ghost stood in front of me, darkness clouded my stability.

"SIQURA!" A bone hand lunged to my arm.

"AAAHHH!" I slapped the purple flame away. All illusion dismissed, the city returned to lightness.

"Siqura..." My mother rubbed her hand. There was that ring again like Dr. Philben and Nurse Felose.

"No, Mom... I... I..."

Soon the city lost color. Grey endless. A flight of birds was about to ground on the lamp post suspended in the air. People quieted like no one alive.

In my chest, pink brightness glows mustered together into long parchment with the content of lines, randomly threw on it.

Then, the parchment dived toward my feet where a big pink circle landed on the road. Same lines but it appeared moving inside. Instead of snakes, it formed like a geometry class. Boxes, angles, straight lines...

Everything stuck for three seconds.

"Let's go home." She clenched her hand. "Mom will cook your favorite squid sushi tonight."

The colors returned as much as every life.

"S-S-Sushi?" That first time I heard, I averted her looks. "But if it's seafood, I love to have it."

Skelet-Skel-S......what? What scared me? It disappeared. The feeling.

"Don't worry." My mother went ahead, swinging her arms. "Leave everything to your mom." Then, she listed the ingredient, tried to reduce awkward between us as soon as possible.

My fear in the heart had grown into anxious. The harder I tried to revive what occurred just now, the faster it got away. Like feeling after I cast that magic in the ancient ruin.

Yet...my body and my heart didn't match.

More like the existence of real memory was erased. Over time, I had feeling something was coming.

"Quick, Siqura or we late for a bargain sell."

"Mom." I aspired to say we had a lot of money now. But, I chased my hyper mother who streaming away, let the uneasy for later to celebrate my...our first freedom after the debt.

Celebrate...even I knew that ever since I met my mother at the hospital, I saw the dangerous aura heightened as if demon hiding behind her had the same amount as the doctor Philben Bushno.