Neptune's purple eyes slowly opened, and was immediately greeted by the familiar wooden ceiling of her room. She blinked slowly, wondering what happened, then she shifted slightly, pain shooting immediately from her back. As if on cue, she had was struck with a sudden realization.
She was beat up and exhausted from the rescue attempt last...last...
What day was it?
Neptune breathed slowly, she slowly reach up to check on her body and noted the bandages heavily wrapped from her chest up to her torso, and a red tint seeping through the bandages. There were also bandages wrapped on her left thigh, and a large band aid on her right cheek. Geez, she totally did a number on herself.
The purple haired character sighed then turned her head to the side, where she was greeted by the sight of the young girl she had brought back, sitting on a chair beside the bed. Light purple eyes stared back to Neptune's own, her hair looking like it has been washed, as she looked way better from when she saw her, and her clothes were a simple grey oversized T-shirt, stopping just below her knees, making it seem like a dress.
Neptune continued to stare, then jolted in surprise when the little girl immediately jumped out of the chair and dashed out of the door with her tiny frame. Confusion was evident on Neptune's face as she tried to asses what happened, but then it seemed like someone heard her when the purple eyed child came back while pulling someone by the hand.
Vert came into view with the little girl struggling to tug her hand towards her.
"H-Hold on little one, what ha-" The elf stopped mid sentence when she saw the purple haired character looking at her. "Heyyy, how's it hanging?" The patient drawled, as Vert immediately walked towards her and helped Neptune sit up and rest her back on the head rest.
"What in the world happened to you? Last time I was here, I saw you limping using IF as your support, and that was four days ago. And when I was just about to have my afternoon tea, I have IF barging in my room to tell me someone was in need of my attention, I can't believe that someone was you." The elf said with a frown. Vert turned to look at the child. "Little one, kindly bring Compa here?" The little girl looked at Neptune and reluctantly nodded as she made her way towards the door.
"She has never left your side." Vert said, while Neptune looked at her in confusion. "The child just now, you did brought her here, right?" The purple haired character nodded. "Well, it's the reason I'm in this state to be honest. I was on a quest for extra credits when I came across some slave traders."
The elf's eyebrows furrowed. "Slave traders?"
"Yeah, they talked about being late for their client or something, and then..." Neptune drift off her sentence as she tried to remember what happened next, but to no luck. What happened next was like a big space of white in her head. How odd.
"Neptune?" The elf's voice snapped her out of her daze, to where she shook her head.
"Do you know something about this?" She asked Vert, who shook her head vaguely. "Not quite, but I do hear some rumors about the notorious slave traders, saying that they raid some houses and kidnap the children." Vert frown. "The worst thing I heard about them was that they kill families and leave the potential 'product.'"
Purple eyes widened at the information, the sudden weight on her chest made her felt like she was choking. Pity was written all over hear face, while Vert just stared at her, void of any emotion. "A-are you serious?" Vert nodded, then she proceed to place a hand on top of Neptune's own.
"What are you- oh." Relief instantly wash over the purple haired girl and the elf did some type of relieving spell on her. "This will numb the soreness you're feeling right now." Vert sat there in silence for a few seconds, whilst Neptune enjoy the reliving touch, when the elf opened her mouth.
"Don't be mistaken, Neptune, they are just rumors." Vert assured. "Even if they are real, I won't let those types of actions ever cross my kingdom." The elf said in a serious tone. "If I may ask, do you know where they are now?"
The question made the purple haired character look at her, raw confusion swirling in her eyes. "I...no...I can't remember." Vert stared at her, and as if on cue, Compa, along with IF, walked through the door with the little girl walking behind them.
"Nep-nep!" Compa shouted in relief as s she half run towards Neptune. "You're okay! And you're still bleeding!" The peach haired girl shouted as she looked at the bandages on the purple haired girl's torso.
Neptune chuckled at her friend. "Compa, geez, I'm-"
"No you're not!" Compa shouted suddenly, startling all the other people in the room. "You're not fine, you almost died, Neptune. Again." The peach haired girl said, her voice wavering. Neptune blinked, then she looked at IF, who shook her head and smiled at her gently. "I-I'm sorry."
She didn't know that someone would react the way Compa did. It's not like she's known Compa for a prolonged period . Then she heard sniffles. "I'm sorry, I'm just really scared when I saw you passed out in front of us. There was a lot of blood...A-and you stopped breathing, Neptune. I-If it weren't for Lady Vert you would've-"
"Hey," The purple haired girl whispered as she placed a hand on top of Compa's head, petting it comfortingly. "I'm sorry for worrying you. Both of you." Neptune looked at IF, and returned her gaze towards the peach haired girl. "What matters right now is that I'm fine, and I promise you both, I'll stay away from extreme trouble."
"R-Really?" Compa croaked, as she lifted her head, her face shown doubt as she looked at Neptune with her teary eyes. "Really."
IF joined the both of them and placed a comforting hand on Compa's shoulder, she smiled. "You don't break promises now, Neptune. Because if you do, I'll kill you myself."
"Hey! I just promised you guys that I'll stay away from trouble and here you go trying to get rid of me?! Compa, put a leash on IF!" That earned her a playful punch on the shoulder. "Hey! No punching the injured!" They trio laughed while Vert giggled at their antics. But they have yet to address the elephant, well, the little girl in the room.
Neptune found her gaze towards the little girl standing uncomfortably beside the opened door. She beckoned for her to come closer. "Hi kid," She said, while the child looked at her reluctantly. "Wanna come closer? I promise I won't bite." Neptune said reassuringly, as the little girl looked at Vert, who nodded encouragingly.
What happened next surprised Neptune. The child ran towards her and hugged her tightly, causing the older purple haired girl to groan in pain. The sound caused the little girl to instantly pull away, as if she had touched something hot, fear evident in her eyes.
"N-No, I'm fine, see?" Neptune said in a soothing manner, as she breathed in slowly. "You just...You just took me by surprise." The little girl nodded slowly, then stared at Neptune's own purple eyes. "Want to do it again? Gently this time." The child walked towards her once again, and carefully wrapped her little arms around the older purple haired character's torso.
Then she heard the little girl mumble something in her chest. "What?" Neptune said, asking to repeat what the little girl had said. The little purple haired girl pulled away slowly, as if realizing what she just did, she pulled away once again and bowed her head in shame.
"F-forgive me...master..." The little girl said in her small voice. The remaining people in the room stared at the child, as the little girl shifted uncomfortably underneath their gaze.
Neptune was the one to break the silence.
"Huh?"
...
It's been two days since Neptune's recovery, and the first thing she did was stretch her limbs, thankful that she had finally left the confinement of the bed. Despite her recovery, Compa told her to still take it easy as the wounds in her back could still reopen, which of course the purple haired girl groan in annoyance.
IF too had seemed to watch over her, helping her with quests as simple as gathering herbs and watching over a shop. Those boring quests. But Neptune couldn't complain, at least not yet, since she admitted to herself that she does need to take it easy.
Vert, on the other hand, had somehow made her visits in the tavern more and more frequent. She would be there just to chat and drink her favorite tea, she would join the trio for dinner in her easy days, sometimes taking on a quest, and checking to see if the tavern is in need of assistance, which surprised IF and Compa as they could never make the literal ruler to help them in such task, but Compa's grandfather was okay with it, shocking the other two more.
And it was easy to say that they had forged a friendship.
Neptune sighed as she walked out of the potion shop, stretching her limbs as she did so. She had just finished a quest, it was one of those look out for the shop and you have a reward kind of thing, which actually has a generous sum of credits. Of course, with 350 credits? It isn't actually that large, but it was just decent. Combined to the credits she earned form eradicating 'Kuma,' gathering herbs with 110 credits, watching another shop with 250 credits, she was proud to say that she now has 1,210 credits, and add it from the left over starting money she had, she has 1,860 credits all in all.
She stifled a yawn and looked at the sky for any indication about what time it was. Neptune noted the pink hue mixed with orange in the horizon, the sun was setting, and another indication that it was almost evening was that the lamps are now slowly being lit by some kind of magic since the source of light was actually a fire.
Neptune removed her gaze towards the sky and looked down to which the little girl she had rescued stood just a little bit behind her. The kid was looking at her with her light purple eyes, her hair was slightly disheveled, her clothing was still an over sized shirt, an old shoes of IF when she was still little, the purple haired character seriously need to buy her real clothing, and that she was really quiet.
Well it's not like she's utter any words since the time she woke up, all she did during her recovery was sit beside Neptune's bed and stare at her, and other times she would take breaks when Compa would send the both of them food. To be honest, it was quite uncomfortable with someone staring at you intensely.
But forget about all that, what got Neptune's emotion all stir up was when the little girl would look at her for any type of approval before she does anything. An example, back to where Compa had deliver them food, she would always look at Neptune with that command or signal that it was okay to eat, another was when she was looking really tired she looked at Neptune with those eyes, waiting for her signal to sleep. And when Neptune reluctantly nodded, not really sure what to say, the child hopped out of the chair and lay down the cold floor.
Neptune had actually waited for the child to fall asleep before she carried the little girl towards her bed, since she kept on refusing to lay down the bed. She was actually a little stubborn.
It somehow hurt the purple haired character that someone would ask her if it was okay to sleep. And it was really a wonder on how long this little girl had become some else's slave before or how long was she kept by the slave trader.
"I think we need to buy you some clothes." Neptune said, while the little girl only shook her head, as if to say that she doesn't need it. "It's fine, I just got paid a while ago, so taking just a little bit won't be a problem." The purple haired girl didn't wait for the little one to protest, instead she led them to the clothing store just down the district.
On the way there, she could see some of the vendors closing their own shops, others were in walking through the streets and night taverns have started to open up, as a handful of people started to go in each one. Leanbox doesn't only have the reputation of having one of the most rarest mineral there is in the world, but of course it's also proud of it's winery.
Well, it's not like it's a surprise, the ruler of the kingdom is an Elf, and she's read somewhere, back when she was recovering, that elven winery is one of the sought out alcohol in all four kingdoms. Neptune doesn't really know what had happened to her to read books when IF brought her books and basically forced her to read, and since she was in the process of recovery, she thought 'It's not like I have something better to do.' Not only has she read something about Leanbox, but the remaining also the remaining three. Namely Lowee and Lastation.
Kingdom Lowee was located at the north of Leanbox, notorious for it's harsh cold weather, Lowee has low amount of population, only having up to 2,089 people, compared to Leanbox with 15,679 people. Another thing about Kingdom Lowee, was that it was a home for scholars and mages. The kingdom was said to have deciphered one of the most hardest language and was actually using it, making them one of a kind.
Their ruler, Ruler Blanc, was one of the most highly intelligent scholar to have ever existed. Ruling at the age of 10, she was able to build a harmonious kingdom with the help of an oracle, making her the not only influential to other people, but also frightening.
Kingdom Lastation, on the other hand, was located in the North east of Leanbox. It was home to beastmen folk, and is notorious for it's machines and for the kingdom being the only democratic kingdom in all four. Also having one of the rare mineral called 'Black heart,' makes them on par with Leanbox. It wasn't like Lowee doesn't have the rare mineral, but no one from the kingdom know it's existed, hence it was not mentioned that they have one. With a population greater than Leanbox, it is home to 20,563 people, making them an overcrowded kingdom.
Their ruler, Ruler Noir of Lastation, is not one to be taken lightly. It was said that she has aided in the Great Kingdom Warfare and had emerged victorious. Wielding her well known legendary halberd called 'Soul Devourer,' and her exceptional magical affinity, she was known for able to cast powerful fire magic, that would put Ifrit to shame. Hence, she was dubbed as the 'Black Phoenix.'
There was actually another kingdom called 'Planeptune.' Which was odd since the page was ripped apart, containing things about the said kingdom.
Anyways, the two purple haired girls opened the door of the store called 'Sews,' and Neptune suppose that it was a nice name for a clothing shop. The bell rang as they entered, and was immediately greeted by the rows of outfits, dresses and clothes.
The little girl shifted closer to her 'master,' when she noticed someone emerging from inside the shop. "Helloo~" A woman with green eyes and brown hair, wearing a simple green dress and spectacles, said in a lethargic manner. "My name is Elise, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Oh, uh, do you have something that would fit her?" Neptune asked, whilst Elise looked at her as if she was being serious. "We don't sell things for slaves."
Neptune's eyes widened at those words, the little girl behind her shifted even closer to her, almost hugging the backside of Neptune. The purple haired girl placed a protective hand on the little girl's head. Did she see this kid's mark on the back of her right hand? To be honest, Neptune didn't actually notice tatoo until this morning when-
Then the owner giggled. Baffling the purple haired character.
"I'm just pulling your leg, I don't actually give a shit. Of course I have something for such a cute girl like yourself." Elise said with a gentle smile. Neptune looked at her in disbelief. "That's not a really nice joke."
"So was I, but still my mom decided to keep me," Elise said with a wave of a hand. "Anyways, little girl, follow me." The little purple eyed girl looked at Neptune, her purple hair covering her left eye, as she was conflicted in begging for Neptune to not leave her and waiting for her signal to follow the woman.
"Hey, it'll be alright. I'll be here waiting." The little girl stared at her with doubt, thinking that as soon as she followed the woman, Neptune would leave her all on her own. It pained the purple haired character to see that look in her visible eye, it screamed as if begging, but Neptune pat the little girl's head reassuringly and it seemed to relax the younger girl.
"I promise."
Elise watched the interaction, and smiled when the little purple eyed girl reluctantly walk out of the older girl and slowly walked towards her. Neptune watched as the two of them disappeared somewhere in the store, and sat on the stairs leading up to the second floor. Her eyes wander around the store, whistling and humming to herself for a few seconds before deciding to check on her skills.
"Status."
Neptune
Level: 6
Class: ?
Race:?
Skills: Appraisal lvl 5 (passive), Quick Step lvl 5 (passive), Quick Evade lvl 4 (passive), Pin point lvl 1 (active), Cross Combination (active), Corrosive resistance+, Fatigue resistance 2+, Storage, PRIDE lvl 2 (active/passive)
AG: 16 STR: 20 INT: 12 DEX: 22 DEF: 18 LUK: 6 MP: 4
There wasn't any change, except for her Fatigue resistance. But what got her attention the most was that her skill PRIDE had leveled up. Really, the skill was super mysterious, not only does the appraisal skill not analyze the skill, it's was an active/passive skill. Meaning she wasn't sure when it will activate, but she could also activate it.
She has actually tried PRIDE skill when she was bedridden, but nothing happened. Actually she can't use it at all, so how come it had leveled up?
Neptune heard footsteps coming to her direction, she blinked twice to close her stats and lifted her gaze to where Elise and the younger purple haired girl was standing.
The little girl was out of the tattered worn out oversized shirt, and instead was replaced by a white and purple hoodie, almost similar to Neptune's, but this one was sleeveless, she also wore purple skirt, stripped socks of white and pink, and a slightly oversized shoes.
"Aww, would you look at that. She looks like your mini me." Elise said with a chuckle. Neptune does have to agree with her, it was like looking at someone like her. Flowing purple hair and purple eyes, this little girl does quite look a bit like her. And the feeling of familiarity was weighing on Neptune.
'Neptune, scan her.'
A voice she hasn't heard ever since coming to this world rang through her ears. But that was all it took for Neptune to do as it says. Neptune activated a common skill that IF had taught her to check other people's stats.
"Scan." She whispered.
Nepgear
Level: 2
Class: Mage (slave)
Race: Witch (?)
Skills: Recovery+, Stream lvl 1 (active)
AG: 6 STR: 8 INT: 20 DEX: 10 DEF: 3 LUK: 10 MP: 20
