25 - A Doctor Named Miquela - Reina (1)

 

Just like the receptionist had said, the neighbors gave us dirty looks, but once they found out we were from out of town they were understanding.

They only suggested a few times that we change houses, nothing more.

After a week of shopping, the house was finally complete, so Ocien began a new search around the city.

Until then I didn't know what he wanted, he said he would seek help for me.

But what that help would be, I had no idea.

Cultivating steadily, I finally surpassed half of the Star going to the final stage.

After three weeks living in the city, one day Ocien arrived home accompanied by a girl in her early twenties.

"Reina, this is Miquela, the doctor I found to help you." – he said, introducing the stranger.

I greeted her out of politeness.

"Miquela, this is my partner, Reina." – he continued with the presentations.

Miquela made a small bow

"Doctor Miquela has agreed to sign a Mana Contract and will talk to you for a few weeks." – he began explaining.

I had heard about the contract, but I didn't know exactly what his role was in the situation.

"With this contract you don't have to worry about what you're going to say, you can put everything out there and she will be obliged not to reveal anything." – he continued with the explanation.

I finally understood the role of the contract, but I still wasn't completely comfortable opening up to a stranger.

"She has experience treating citizens who have had traumatic encounters with beasts and bandits. Despite being young, she is highly recommended by her superiors." – he declared, trying to assure me that she was qualified for what I needed.

Understanding what he wanted me to do, I immediately agreed, trying to think that it would solve all our problems.

"I believe first and foremost that she needs to know who we are, where we come from and our experiences so far." – he suggested seeking her and my approval.

I hesitated for a moment, but knowing that this was the best path we had at the moment, I agreed.

Miquela confirmed with a nod.

"My name is Reina, I'm from Almage and until a few months ago I was a 2-Star Warrior." – I said, trying to be succinct.

Miquela was surprised because she could feel my Aura easily.

I maintained the aura flow to hide my mana flow and thus not let others identify that I had awakened in two Paths.

I didn't know how strong she was, but she was definitely stronger than us.

"My name is Ocien and until a few months ago I was a 1-Star Warrior and Mage." – said Ocien, copying my presentation.

Miquela then opened her eyes wide, not knowing what to say, but she recovered after a few seconds.

"My name is Miquela, I am a 2nd Circle and 1 Star Mage." – she said, introducing herself in the same way we did.

"I'm originally from Aden and have spent the last few years training as a doctor in the surrounding towns, mainly treating people who have experienced traumatic events involving violence." – she concluded, confirming Ocien's presentation.

Ocien then looked at me and released both streams.

Seeing what he did, I did the same and Miquela, who was already a little stunned, almost fell to the ground.

Pulling up a chair, Ocien sat down at the table and motioned for us to follow him.

"As my participation will only be today, I think I should tell my story to put into context how I may have influenced Reina." – he began suggesting.

Miquela accepted the proposal, they had probably already agreed on this part.

"I'm from the city of Paales, my family has a certain importance in the city. My father was one of the candidates for Patriarch of the family, but he failed due to politics. Instead of marrying a Mage, he ended up marrying a Warrior, my mother, and this made him lose his future position as Patriarch." – he began to count.

I already knew the story, but it was still absurd.

"Since I was born, he has bet all his hopes on regaining power within the family with my help. When I awakened to my Paths, I chose the Path of the Mage to satisfy him and was sent to the Academy of Paales." – he continued with disgust in his voice.

Even after so long he still held a grudge against his father and I completely understood why.

"When the time came to break the barrier to 2 Stars I failed. No matter how many resources I absorbed, I could never break the barrier." – he continued with the story, now with a nostalgic tone.

The father invoked disgust in Ocien, probably for the decision to disinherit him, but the problems of the past seemed at peace with him now.

A small pang of envy crept into me.

"With that my father decided it was better to hide me and sent me to Almage so I could become a Warrior. The same happened when I reached the top 1 Warrior Star, I was stuck at that level for 6 years." – He explained with a slight smile on his face.

Miquela at that moment seemed even more incredulous than when we released our auras.

"With anxiety problems since I remember. I ended up suffering from depression and then I was disinherited at the age of eighteen, that's when I decided to take my own life." – his smile turned into a mixture of embarrassment and self-mockery.

Miquela adjusted herself in her chair, treating the matter seriously.

"While going to the city's south tower, I passed through the red district and found Reina selling her virginity to pay off her father's gambling debt." – His gaze hardened when she told this part of the story.

He would definitely teach my father a lesson if he ever met him.

"Reina had been my classmate at Almage School, recognizing her I offered to pay the debt. That day she recognized that something wasn't right with me and forced me to stay with her until I got the idea of suicide out of my head." – his look changed again, this time along with his voice, his tone was a mix of nostalgia and kindness.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the changes that Miquela continued to express throughout the story. This time she gave me a look that I couldn't really interpret.

"We soon entered into a relationship, lived together for a month, worked jobs that provided us with our basic needs, until one day we finally consummated the relationship." – at that moment his voice became complicated and his gaze looked away from me.

Guilt fell onto my shoulders again like an avalanche.

He was trying his best every day to make me feel good, all that effort seemed wasted on me.

"The next day everything changed, something awakened within us and our cultivation increased drastically. Knowing that this would happen again, we didn't consummate the relationship again and moved to another city to avoid attracting attention." – His voice started to get heavy.

He never blamed me for anything, never demonstrated anything against me. But I knew I was hurting him tremendously with my behavior.

"On an escort mission from Almage to Quakan we encountered a group of bandits and ended up taking the lives of some of them. I faced two, Reina faced one, all of those dying." – he said, emphasizing the fact.

Miquela shook her head, understanding the normality of the situation.

"This experience seems to have affected her, since then we have agreed to slow down our relationship and cultivate normally." – he continued, speeding up his voice.

Clearly he didn't want to remember the last few months we stayed in Quakan. He had been injured repeatedly on missions due to my mistakes.

"We did missions in Quakan, saved money and moved to Aden. I think that's all I had to contribute, now it's up to you to get into the details and figure out a way to overcome the current difficulties that Reina has been facing." – he concluded hurriedly to get up from the table.

He soon waved goodbye and turned to leave the house, but stopped halfway.

"Oh, before I forget. I will need to dedicate myself completely to cultivation and reach the 2nd Circle and become an Adventurer here in Aden as soon as possible." – he said as if he had something bad in his mouth.

Following the entire story he told and the last revelation, my heart beat in a different way. I felt tremendous guilt, I understood exactly why he said that.