Chapter Summary: After the animal incident, the Animal Tamer and the Painter haven't talked to each other for a day. Nozomi wants to step in, but the guild master suggests she unwinds first. Minaka visits the guild and brings her out. Together, the two of them complete job requests, official and unofficial.
Chapter 6: All About The Present
The lobby has never felt this empty before. Usually, that little squirt would be here, drawing alcohol bottles and drinking away on the spot, talking in slurs and delusions. Or Reign would sometimes be around, fetching food from upstairs to bring to his underground ranch. Whenever those two are in the same room, it's like a scene from a comedy series, where Reign tries to get rid of the bottles while Hiroto cries over them. But now, Woe's outside doing who-knows-what, and Ms Vanessa rarely comes out of her room. It's just me here.
I didn't see those two out of their rooms either. Maybe it's because I came out here in the early afternoon, but it was hard to fall asleep. It wasn't even due to my body. Ms Vanessa somehow took care of that. Throughout the night, my mind could only think about how they could resolve this conflict and how I could help them with it. Unfortunately, I couldn't really think past my guilt.
"Ara, Nozomi. You are here early." Ms Vanessa trots out of her room, donning a light purple feather boa around her neck and a long black dress with shiny yellow stitches at the collar. Just how many pieces of clothing does she have to change into? I've been wearing my farm attire since I came here!... Provided I do wash them every night after I shower.
"Just couldn't sleep..."
"No sleep? Is the incident from yesterday plaguing you?"
I shake my head at first, then nod. With how she words it, it's like I'm having nightmares because of it. "Kind of. I've been up all night thinking about yesterday, wondering about how I can help ease the conflict between Hiroto and Reign. I know I've only been here for a short while, but-"
"Nozomi." She cuts me off, directing my attention to her expressionless look. "Believe me, those two will come around eventually. There is no need for you to help them."
"But-"
"No buts. Instead, you will help me do a job, given how free you are right now." She digs into her dress' side and pulls out a letter wrapped with a pink ribbon and some golden glitter sprinkled on top of it. Before I can say anything, she tosses it to me and walks away, leaving me alone once again.
That... was something. I don't know if I should be mad that Ms Vanessa told me to leave them alone or happy that she gave me a job to do. Sigh, at least I can go do something instead of hanging around an empty lobby. Unfurling the roll of paper in my hands, I read through the note.
"Hello! My father's birthday a̶r̶e̶ is tomorrow,
and I need to get him a niceee gift!
He's a g̶e̶w̶u̶l̶ jewel collector, so I want to get him a biggg d̶a̶m̶o̶n̶ diamond ring.
But, I can't go out of the house alone, and Mum doesn't want to bring me out.
Could you bring it over? I'll pay you upfront. Here's my address-"
I nearly fall off my chair. The kid actually wrote it down! Why are they writing down their address in a letter and giving it to strangers? I mean, I know none of us would do anything malicious with this information, but it's still not a good habit to develop! Tsk, I'm throwing in some free advice about privacy along with that gift.
With a huff, I tuck the letter in my pants' pocket and return to my room. Inside, I tug at my drawers, revealing my chubby little blue pouch. It was filled to the brim with whatever savings I had before coming here, plus the money from the bodyguarding job. It's quite a lot; most of it coming from Mr Trevor. He paid us a handsome amount of jewels for the job and, even after the split, I could still feel the money's weight in my hands. Ah, labour's sweeter when rewarded! Taking the whole pouch, I shove it in my other pocket, shut the drawers and walk out to the lobby. The emptiness greets me, but I pay it no heed.
I reach for the door handle-
SWING!
"Ow!" A cry escapes from me as I stumble backwards, holding my poor nose with both my hands. The doors just slammed into my face! Oh, my nose, I hope it's not broken... Who's visiting the guild at this hour, and why can't they have the decency to knock first?
"I'm so sorry!" A familiar voice speaks from outside as the doors open fully. Standing at the entrance, with an ash-red ponytail and in white casual wear, is the Cinderella girl from yesterday. What's her name again? "I didn't mean to - Oh, it's you, Ms Nozomi."
"Hi, uh... M-Minaka, right?" My voice deepens from clamping my nose.
"Yes! I came by to visit the guild, just as I promised yesterday. Are you heading out?"
"Mmhm, off to do some shop- I mean, a job request. Which is shopping. The others aren't hanging out in the lobby right now, so it's empty inside. Do you want to visit later instead?"
She shakes her head. "N-No, no. I only came here to meet you." Her eyes avert for a moment. "M-May I accompany you on your shopping?"
My words get stuck in my throat as I release my grip on my nose. Do I want Minaka to come along? After yesterday's magnificent sky-exploring with Terizla, I thought that would be the last I would see of her. She's not undesirable to be with, not at all. It's the opposite. I liked the little twinkle in her eyes whenever she got excited, her soft voice when she spoke, even the little jitters. But, the guilt and shame are still there. If she knew Terizla was one of our animals, would she still be so friendly and eager with me?
"Ms Nozomi?"
"Ah! Sorry, zoned for a moment." I take a breath in and look up to meet her eyes. "Sure, what's the harm in company?"
Minaka smiles warmly, bringing her hands together. "G-Great! Thank you so much! I'll wait for you by the side-walk, so take your time."
And with that, she left me by the guild entrance. My hand runs through my messy hair as I glance up at the sky, wondering if I made the correct decision. Well, where really is the harm in accompaniment?
As always, the streets were swamped with people chattering and buying their needed items from the shops and stalls, shouts of discounts occasionally topping the people's conversations. Grier Town may not be the largest town in the Penninsula, but it is more spacious than most. It houses about four groups: the peasant, the middle-income, the rich and the royal family. Each group has a designated residential area in the town. Peasants live in slums, middle-income live in the marketplace, the rich live in the 'heart of town', and the royal family have their own royal house. The residents only ever leave their areas for purposes, like shopping or visiting. There was not much contact between the groups, which gave rise to much prejudice amongst the people. Thankfully, it didn't escalate to anything violent and has only remained verbal.
That said, I still couldn't stand people mocking each other because of their different income levels.
"What do you p-plan to buy, Ms Nozomi?" Minaka asks, bringing me back from my train of thoughts. She was walking close to me, probably in fear of losing each other in the crowd.
"You don't have to address me with 'Ms'..." I reply dejectedly. At least she wasn't calling me 'Ms Lancaster' anymore.
"O-Oh, right. I forgot."
"It's okay, don't sweat about it. Anyway, I've got a few gift items in mind to buy. One diamond and three mystery gifts."
Minaka's eyes nearly boggle out of her head. "D-D-Diamond?!" She quickly cups her mouth, looks around for a moment, then continues in a softer tone. "Isn't that really expensive? I-I think it costs about 180 000 jewels."
I freeze in my steps. "Repeat that?"
"180 000 jewels. That's the lowest price of a 1.0-carat diamond here in town."
A dizziness spell overtakes me when I hear the price again. T-That much? I strolled out of the guild with a wallet size of 400 000 jewels, and now she's telling me that I have to pay out half of my literal life savings just to complete a job request? Does my client even have that much money to pay me back? When I take my wallet out again, the little blue pouch opens with a click and reveals the same amount of money, now feeling lighter in my hands.
"T-That's a lot of money. 100, 200..." As the young girl counts the money in my wallet, I look ahead at the approaching trinket and jewelry shops, sparing one last look at my hard-earned money. It's all going to go down the hatchet after this shopping spree.
We push through the crowd and into the jewelry shop, nicely named 'Gemheart'. The shop's interior was packed with rows of products, ranging from necklaces to rings to earrings covered with glass boxes, occupying the sides and center. Price tags lay on the soft cushion, along with the jewelry, in a font size so small, you would have to press your face against the glass to even read it. What a deceitful marketing technique.
Red carpeting makes up the flooring, while black-painted wood covers the walls not implanted with windows. It really gave off an affluent feel, nearly making me feel like a trespasser walking in here. Unlike me, however, Minaka seemed to get accustomed to the shop's wealthy air quite quickly as she marveled over the jewels at one section of the shop.
"T-This is a bona fide ruby! Never would I have ever thought my eyes could feast on such a radiant jewel!" She gleefully claps her hands together, twinkling eyes staring in wonder at the shining red gemstone. In fact, she was so absorbed that she didn't even feel the stares from the owner and me. Geez, what about these gemstones are so great? They're just glorified rocks.
I take a look at one of these rocks, namely the listed diamond ring. The pure white gemstone refracts the light with its rough edges, glistening at almost every angle. Despite its small size, it was rather eye-catching, blinding even, as I find myself taking a closer look at it. My reflection appeared on the glass, but it didn't stop me from staring at this diamond. There was something about the little gemstone, either its pure white coloring or shining beauty it was pridefully showing off. Its magnificence was radiat-... Okay, I'm starting to see the appeal behind these glorified rocks.
Keeping my face close, I eye the price tag for the small diamond ring. It read, in an absurdly small font, '180 000 jewels'. Oh, thank the higher-ups that this ring managed to clock in at the lowest price possible. That's just under half my savings! I remove the glass box, place it on the floor and gently pinch the precious jewelry up onto my hand. Somehow, it felt heavier than my wallet. Minaka comes over at this point, cupping something in her hands as well. "Did you get the diamond ring?"
My hand unfurls. The petite young girl stares at it again for a good 5 seconds. "No wonder it's the most famous gemstone! The glimmering edges, the clear colouring, the-"
"You're really interested in jewels and gemstones, huh?" I cut in, earning a yelp from Minaka as she shies away from the ring.
"Sorry. They're just so mesmerizing to me. The beauty, the value and even the very structure of the gemstones..." She stammers, glancing at her hands every now and then. Whatever she's holding in her hands, it seems to be quite important to her. "L-Let's just get these paid for first."
We head over to the payment counter. The owner sits behind the wooden counter table on a stool, grumbling something about 'deliveries' and 'late'. When he notices us, he straightens up and gives us his business smile. "Welcome to Gemheart. What are you buying?" he greets gruffly.
As I place the diamond ring on the countertop, Minaka puts a small blue box as well. "What's that?"
"S-Secret." She puts a finger to her lips with a wink.
"A diamond ring and-... Say, are you two mages from Luna Bird?" My eyes widen immediately, a smile growing on my face. He's heard of us! I can almost see our guild on the path of recognition, leaping from one step to the other. The looks on the others when I tell them this, I can almost savor them!
"Yes! How did you heard of the guild? Was it through people?" I lean forward, causing the owner to scoot back a bit.
"Close enough. I heard from one of my associates, Mr Trevor. He said he recommends the mages from your guild if any work needs to be done." That sort of description sounds like we're a charity service. Well, beggars can't be choosers in reputation. Anything that gives us jobs is good enough for me.
The owner pulls out a parcel from underneath and places it on top. "This is one of my customer's orders. It came in two days ago, and the payment for it has already been fulfilled. All that's left now is the collection. However, they haven't arrived yet, and I can't neglect the shop to deliver. Can you deliver it for me?"
"But, this is an unofficial request of the guild-"
"If a reward is what you're after, then I can offer a 50% discount to your items."
The word 'discount' echoes continuously in my mind. I spare a glance at Minaka, who shares the same look of surprise like me. A half-price discount at a jewelry store is a rare occasion, only ever reserved for eventful days! I may not be an avid shopper, but hearing those three words sounds like an angel playing the harp, an offer too good to pass up on. Well, I'm sure Ms Vanessa won't mind if I take one request on my own, right?
"Alright, I accept your offer." I say with a matter-of-fact tone.
The owner pushes the parcel towards me, along with a slip of paper. He points to the new item and says, "That there is the address of the customers. They reside in the slums, so it may make finding them difficult. Also, if you even think of stealing the contents, your guild will be immediately reported for theft. I will make sure the royal knights show up in front of your doorsteps."
"N-Noted..."
With his request in mind, we left the shop with the parcel and another job in our hands.
What a scary individual! He threatened us like it was nothing, thinking we would actually steal a parcel. How lowly does he think of the guild? Us mages won't stoop that low to whisk its contents away for small monetary gains. Wait a minute...
"Oh my god, Minaka." I quickly turn to her, much to the other's startle. "I'm so sorry for roping you into the job. Do you want to go home first?"
She shakes her hands wildly, a desperate look replacing her earlier shock. "N-No, no! It's okay, I don't mind coming with you. It seems fun to do."
Delivering items is an enjoyable thing to do? Well, I don't think I should dwell much on that idea since she could genuinely want to come. Sigh, I can't keep stringing her on like this. I have to confess to her sooner or later, even if it means the consequences aren't going to be pretty or I lose her as a friend.
We take the constructed path to the slums. The further we walked in, the less crowded it became, the lesser shops we saw until we reached the line of difference separating the marketplace and the slums. I hate to call it the latter, but no other word could describe this place. It looked the same as yesterday; the houses, the ground, even that old rickety stall was still standing at the exact spot. Minaka seems interested in the place as she takes her time looking around the place like we're in foreign territory.
With one hand holding the parcel, I use the other to slip the paper out of my pocket. "Let's see here... 288 Cinx Street 098807? How are we supposed to find that place?"
"Let me try."
WOOSH!
A gust of wind blows the paper out of my hand, carrying it up in the current. The two of us immediately turn to it as I reach out for the darn little note. I nearly touch the flimsy paper before it flies further away from my grip. No!
"Blood-Make: Rope!" I spare a glance at Minaka, only to see a splatter of blood from under her arm shape into a long, red rope with a loop at the end. It solidifies instantly. Then, she proceeds to throw it as hard as she can towards the paper. The loop goes over it and, with a yank, it secures the note! We both sigh in relief.
"Whew. Would've been bad if the note flew to who-knows-where." I say, holding onto the rope. A rough surface meets my hands instead of the smooth, liquid feel I expected. With a single tug, the paper flies back to me and, I slip it out of the loop. "That was quick thinking from you, making that rope to grab the note!"
"M-Mmhm..." Her voice quivers slightly. She seems to be noticeably paler than usual, with sweat trickling down her forehead.
"Are you okay? You don't look that well."
"Just feeling slightly f-faint."
"Don't push yourself, okay? We aren't in a hurry to deliver, so you can rest, if you want." I step towards her, stuffing the note into my pocket to have a free hand on stand-by. However, she shakes her head and waves me off.
"I-It's okay. We shouldn't let the nice man wait any longer."
Is she referring to the shopkeeper? Other than the discounts, I don't see any positive traits radiating off him, shouting 'nice'. Minaka disperses the rope back into its liquid blood form before letting it dissipate into red, glittering particles. Then, she reaches into her skirt pocket and pulls out a rather big bandage, rips the plastic off and flips her right arm up. On the underside of it, a gash lays openly.
"Where did you get that wound?!" I rush over to her side and inspect the wound. Upon a closer look, it didn't seem to be leaking blood anymore. Instead, it almost looked as if it was... patching itself up? The ends of the wound were sealing themselves up, albeit not quick enough for it to be a miraculous regeneration ability. Still, that doesn't mean this wound is okay!
Minaka gently places the bandage on the open gash, covering almost all of it. "This was from earlier. I-I had to cut my arm to get the blood for my magic." My face immediately pales. "I-It's painless!... mostly. I always make sure I don't cut any vital arteries or veins when using my magic, so I'll be okay."
I only sigh as the idea for her gift already pops up in my mind. When she settled her wound, the two of us continued on our delivery spree, navigating through the slums with unclear instructions on which-is-where. This time, the paper stayed in my pocket while the address was ingrained in our minds.
Soon, we found ourselves walking into a signboard labelled 'Cinx Street' after what felt like a week of walking around in the same place. The slums are expansive, yet the houses were all constructed with uniform structures and materials! The only way of differentiating between neighborhoods was with these signboards, some of which had been vandalized by kids! I have never felt this strong of an urge to punch a head that wasn't Hiroto's.
We took a right turn into the street and scanned every number bolted on the mailboxes. They didn't follow an order or a pattern, so we had no choice but to check every mailbox, chanting the number under our breaths.
"38... 288... 423... 76... O-Oh, I found it!" The young girl squeals softly, patting my shoulder with a light touch. I immediately stop my chanting and turn back to her, following her gaze to one of the mailboxes. Sure enough, the number '288' was imprinted on the metal surface, clear as day. "L-Let's hurry and deliver it."
We head over to the door of the house and press the doorbell on it. The sound of a clocktower bell chimes inside as a pair of footsteps approach the door. It opens inwards and, a lady in her forties sticks her head out.
"Yes? Who are you two?" She asks with a wary tone, eyes looking up and down.
I bring the package forward. "Hi, I'm a mage from Luna Bird. I'm here to deliver a package to you from 'Rise and Shine'." I say, advertising without a hint of shame.
"Oh, right. The collection day was due today. Yes, sorry for troubling you, mage." As she takes the package from me, her eyes suddenly lock with mine and narrows. "... You seem familiar. Did you visit the slums yesterday?"
My heart drops into the pits of my stomach. The woman must have been present during the wyvern incident, though it doesn't seem like she remembers me fully. A little lie should get me through this mess... My eyes flicker towards Minaka, then back at the customer in front of me. Pulling a smile, I tilt my head slightly to the side. "Nope! This is our first time coming here."
My chest was punching my poor heart into submission.
"Anyway, we should be going now! Spread good word about my guild!" With a quick wave, I grab Minaka by the arm and pull her away from the house, not letting the woman say a word.
As we were returning back to the jewelry shop, the atmosphere between us was quiet and still. After the little talk with the woman, I didn't feel up for conversing with anyone for the time being. Minaka was being reserved, as she usually would, but it felt a bit tenser. Maybe she sensed something was wrong back there or something. I didn't know. I couldn't even look at her to read her face and see if she did.
We stayed this way until we entered the shop again, where the shopkeeper was waiting with a bored expression on his face. "Did you deliver the package?"
'Does it look I have anything on me?' was a sentence I tried my hardest to suppress, going for a polite "Yes" instead. The shopkeeper can clearly see that my hands are empty, or did he believe I stuffed a medium-sized package into my pockets?
"Hm, not bad. Anyway, here are the two items you ordered with a half-price discount." He places two boxes, one red and one blue, on the countertop. "The diamond ring's inside the red one. It costs 90 000 jewels now."
Taking the wallet out, I swiftly pull out the required money, place them on the countertop and tuck the box into my pocket. I barely hear the owner call for Minaka to collect her item before I wordlessly pass by her and leave the shop. Only a few steps out of the shop, and my guilt just slams into my back like a brick, nearly bringing me to my knees. What was I thinking? I just left Minaka behind like that without any reason or even a half-assed lie. I don't even have any right to be angry, lest at her when she was a bystander and a victim of yesterday's incident. Acting all friendly with her and dragging her into my job when she doesn't even know... That's just downright cruel of me.
I look back at the shop, just as the door opens outwards. Minaka hadn't seen me yet, so I could just slip out of her sight and never interact with her again. She's not going to want to see me after all of this. Yet, my legs refused to move, even when the chance of leaving all of this behind was clearly there. Was I going to finally tell her? Or am I just here because I feel bad? I didn't even know the answers to either of those questions.
The opportunity slips away as the door fully opens, with Minaka timidly walking outside. The moment she saw me, her eyes lit up and, she came over. "Y-You haven't left yet?"
I gulp down the lump in my throat. "Can't leave without saying goodbye, right?"
"Yeah."
The silence blooms between us again. I was about to speak up when the young girl brought the blue box to my face. "I-I got this for you." My eyes widen as heat and cold simultaneously flood the back of my neck. "I wanted to get you something as a thank-you gift for s-saving me from the wyvern. I felt bad that I couldn't get anything for you yesterday, so I wanted to bring you out to shop, see what you like and b-buy it for you." She opens the box. Inside, sitting on the fluffy cushion, was a gold bracelet with a medium-sized ruby attached. "T-This may be embarrassing to hear, but you are my s-savior and one of my few f-friends in my life. So, don't feel b-bad about the ruby."
The soft smile on her face was tempting me to lie again and not break it. How easy would it all be if I just lied instead of telling the truth? Fortunately, I knew the consequences of that action already.
I close the box. "I don't deserve this gift."
"B-But you don't have to feel bad! I want to give this to you!" She seems so frail and panicky like my words could cut her like paper.
Nevertheless, I continue. "It's not about the ruby. It's about the whole incident from yesterday. Remember when I told you, 'don't thank me just yet.'?" She nods her head. "I really didn't want you to thank me because... because my guild is responsible for letting Terizla escape yesterday."
When the look of shock dawned on her face, with the slight widening of her eyes and a tinge of blue washing over, I nearly bit down on my tongue. No, no, I can't get cold feet now! "We were all hunting down the animals that escaped, one of them being Terizla. Know that I didn't mean any harm to befall anyone, but it doesn't excuse me for almost letting you lose your life that day. I'm deeply sorry for it. And know that I understand if you hate me or my guild. All I ask from you is that you don't report my guild." My hands clasp together as I look away from the young girl and to the ground instead. How selfish of me, asking a favour from her.
"... T-This is a lot to take in at once." She says. "I-I don't know how well I processed it all, but if there is one thing I do know, it's that I-I don't hate you or your guild, Ms Nozomi." My neck snaps to her, disbelief overwhelming me so quickly that I barely have time to cover it.
Before I can ask her why she stops me with her hand. "E-Even if Terizla came from your guild, that doesn't mean y-you didn't save me. And sure, we can s-say it all would never have h-happened if they never escaped. But, if Terizla didn't pull us both to the sky... I would h-have never met someone as caring and wonderful as you. S-So, if not for saving me, take the gift as a symbol of our f-friendship instead."
She offers the blue box once more with quivering, cold hands. This time, I couldn't find the words nor thoughts to describe this overflowing relief that was drowning me. All at once, my stress and guilt were subdued by the young girl's forgiveness, telling me the words that my ears wanted to hear. She doesn't hate me and still wants to be my friend. All that worry over my potential loss of friendship was just thrown out of the window.
I take the blue box from her slowly, feeling the smooth surface rub against my fingertips. The object of our newly-formed and official friendship rests in my hands, and it was more precious than the actual gem itself.
"By the way, how much did this cost?"
"Um... 200,000 jewels."
"What?!"
After a day of shopping around the marketplace, Minaka and I parted ways in front of the guild. Despite starting my day grumpy and stressed, it ended on quite a good note, as I managed to clear everything up with the young girl and even hang out with her. It felt more like a break from the guild rather than a job. Nevertheless, I still needed to mail this diamond ring over.
Our mailbox can be found in front of the guild, where we stack our spare cardboard boxes and some markers next to the wooden pole if we need to do some emergency mailing. That said, walking all day made my legs tired, so I obviously can't go fetch the cardboard inside the guild.
Yup, that's enough of an emergency. Definitely not because I'm lazy. Why are you looking at me that way again?
Pulling the red box out of the grocery bag on my arm, I place it inside one of the smaller cardboard boxes, take a marker and scribble down the address. "Still can't believe the kid actually wrote it down, though... There, done!" A part of the words and numbers had been cut off by the line in the middle but still looked legible, so the mail person should have no trouble with it. I set the box near the mailbox.
Alright, that's one job out of two done.
As I enter the guild, Woe's presence surprisingly greets me in the lobby, the man himself polishing his sniper guns with a wet, white cloth. His ninja clothes had a white powdery splatter, turning the dark purple to a lighter tone.
"What happen to you?" I ask, pointing at his stained outfit.
"Cleaning duties at the affluent's home and raucous children." He simply says as he sets his sniper on his lap. "Ms Vanessa had assigned it to me in the morning and told me it was of utmost importance. Had I known there were kids involved, I would not have brought along my gun..."
I don't know if the guild master is Santa Claus for assigning jobs out of the blue or the Devil for handing us humiliating ones.
"Where did you come back from?"
I hold up the grocery bag in my arm. "Mostly delivery jobs and shopping. I swear, my wallet suffered more than me today! My entire life-savings, spent and gone in one day! But, I did get gifts for everyone. Here's yours."
Bringing the grocery bag to the table, I rustle the bag and pull out a small-sized cowboy figurine. It was a fully-coated black cowboy leaning against a horse with two pistols in hand and one long gun beside him. Visiting the trinket shop was the best choice I ever made because it had all the items I wanted to buy for everyone. This little guy was sitting by the cashier too.
Woe accepts my gift, staring at the cowboy for a short while. He runs a finger across the horse, then the cowboy's hat, before finally touching the small guns on it. "You have my gratitude, Nozomi. I will be sure to pay you back for this wonderful gift."
"It sounds like you're going to beat me up for it... Anyway, do you know if Hiroto and Reign are in too?" I look over to the hallway where my room is, the little squirt's one being a couple of rooms away.
"Ah! Yes, the information had slipped from me earlier. Last I had seen Reign enter Hiroto's room half an hour ago, and they hadn't seem to have left yet. I propose they are still making up after the argument yesterday?"
"Really? That's great news!"
A smile etches onto my face. I can't believe those two are already taking the first step to resolve the fight. And I was losing sleep over the fact that Hiroto and Reign might never talk to each other or even be in the same room. Well, well, I shan't disturb their 'alone time' together... They can receive their gifts later.
After conversing with Woe a bit longer about his cleaning job, I left the lobby and went back to my room with the heavy plastic bag in my arm, setting it down next to my bed. Today wasn't as eventful as the past week, but I still felt tired nonetheless. I guess emotional tire is the same as physical tire, plus the shopping around during the busy parts of the day.
Then again, shopping is still tiring even if it's not busy.
As I settle onto my bed, I disturb the bag again to take out Minaka's gift for me; the Ruby gold bracelet. Even under the dim lighting of my room, the bracelet still shone brightly, looking more and more precious with every passing second. I don't think I can wear this out, especially if I go out to fight. Breaking this is going to break my heart and hers...
Maybe I'll just leave it in the box.
Lying on my pillow, it didn't take long for sleep to take me away. But this time, I'm going to relish it.