Chapter 45

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<hr class="wp-block-separator">\nThe young boy looks pretty exhausted as he stopped resisting just shortly after.\n

Sybilla took the coin purse from the boy’s hands and checked its contents.\n

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[And why are you carrying this much?]\n

[Err, well… I kind of feel bad letting you pay for everything.]\n

[Are you sure you aren’t thinking ‘letting women pay for a guy like me is kind of lame’?]\n

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Guh… She really can say the words I can’t really put in my mouth with such a straight face…!\n

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[Don’t mind it. It’s mostly your money anyway.]\n

[…What?]\n

[It’s from the rewards for slaying the fire dragon and the magic stones of the living armors.]\n

.\n

Oh. I just remember but didn’t I left all the reporting and management to her? I just can’t walk with my chest up high into the guild with my class as a Dusk Magi.\n

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[Aren’t you guys big spenders? That’s why I’m the one managing the funds but… Yeah, I kind of feel bad for you too. Surely, it must have been uncomfortable for a guy being treated by a girl, no? So, here.]\n

.\n

Sybilla holds out her adventurer’s tag after saying so and taps my own before she activated a magic to transfer money in between.\n

After I check how much did she transfer… I was faced by digits of that numbers I’ve never seen before.\n

.\n

[I’m not really the type to fuss on things over and over so I hope you’ll pay everything for us from now on, Russell. I look forward on how you’ll charmingly treat us for every single time.]\n

[ah… yeah, got it.]\n

.\n

I was still trying to recover myself from the shock of suddenly receiving a ridiculous amount of money when Sybilla turned around to face the young boy.\n

.\n

[Well then… Leaving you to this town’s soldiers as usual should be fine but-]\n

.\n

Sybilla started to sit down and took a closer look towards the young boy.\n

The young boy stares at Sybilla as well and they just interlocked their gazes without saying anything.\n

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Then, Sybilla suddenly moved her hand on top of the boy’s head as she caress the hood covering it. It looks like a head pat.\n

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[Emmy-chan, keep holding on to this child’s hand and raise him up.]\n

[Eh? Haa…]\n

.\n

It looks like Emmy doesn’t get what Sybilla’s up to. To be honest, me either.\n

Sybilla then moved her face closer to the young boy and spoke the following words clearly.\n

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[If you do what I say then I won’t turn you to the guards. I’ll even let you go today.]\n

[…Do you seriously think I’ll believe that?]\n

[If you won’t then I’ll just hand you over to the guards. The guards here in Seiris are particularly strict so you better start thinking of your own safety.]\n

.\n

It appears that the boy is rather familiar with Seiris’ guards as hesitation started to appear on his face.\n

Looks like he now realizes that he has no other choice but to obey as he reluctantly nods his head to Sybilla.\n

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[Well then, let’s start moving towards our next destination.]\n

.\n

Emmy and I look at each other before we decided to follow behind Sybilla.\n

.\n

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As I’m having my doubts where would we go next, the place Sybilla stopped at is… a clothing store.\n

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[Hold on.]\n

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Sybilla looks at the boy from head to toe before entering the store and immediately chose a set of clothes and paid for everything before going out.\n

Nobody even tried any clothes on.\n

.\n

[On to the next one.]\n

.\n

The goddess just went out on her own pace without even listening to our replies as she kept moving forward.\n

Not just me and Emmy, even the boy can’t help but tilt his head.\n

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[.…Is that person always like that?]\n

[Well, yeah.]\n

[…Weirdo.]\n

[I couldn’t agree more…]\n

.\n

After I say so, the boy chuckled slightly under his hood… Or so I think.\n

I don’t intend to close the distance between us but… this is probably better than being hated.\n

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It’s now Emmy who called out to the boy as we follow Sybilla’s back.\n

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[Did you grow in an orphanage or something like that?]\n

[…Until recently. Until one of the sisters temporarily went out and the remaining sister took all the money and ran away.]\n

[How is that…]\n

.\n

That was heavier than I thought.\n

…Perhaps the reason this kid is trying to steal from well-off looking adventurers like us even though its dangerous is…\n

.\n

[We’re here.]\n

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Disrupting my thoughts is Sybilla stopping over in front of the next shop which is… no, isn’t this our inn?\n

Sybilla just abruptly entered the building leaving us bewildered.\n

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[And, we’re back.]\n

[Welcome back, everyone from Dusk’s Oath… The other… one… is?]\n

.\n

Upon looking at the young boy who’s wearing a hood that can’t be called anything but filthy making it obvious he’s from the slums, the receptionist wasn’t able to hid his frown.\n

Sybilla saw it and approached him.\n

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[Perhaps I can trouble you for a bit? Ofcourse, I leave you displeased~]\n

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Sybilla leaned a bit closer as she looks at the receptionist and used her adventurer’s tag to tap the magic tool lying on the table in one smooth movement.\n

After giving him a close-up wink, the man immediately lost his frown as if nothing happened and just silently watched us pass by.\n

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The receptionist then peeked at the magic tool and wasn’t able to stop himself from widening his eyes.\n

He then raised his head and looked at the young boy full of smiles as he bows his head to him with his hand over his chest.\n

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[Dear guest, please enjoy your stay in the suite of Seiris’ number one hotel, ‘Seaside Rest House’.]\n

[eh…eh?]\n

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We follow Sybilla as we roll over our eyes with the receptionist’s attitude immediate turn around. As usual, especially today, we’re all moving in Sybilla’s pace.\n

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Just as we return back to the room, Sybilla looked and pointed her finger at me.\n

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[Russell, why don’t you go out yourself for a moment?]\n

[Huh? Why would I?]\n

[JUST – DO – IT!]\n

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Sybilla’s acting like I did something wrong as she put her other hand on to her waist and scold me… Make sure you have proper reasons for acting like that.\n

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[Okay. How long before I’m allowed to get back?]\n

[Maybe an hour. That would be fine.]\n

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As I hold the door once again to leave, Emmy suddenly ran over.\n

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[Then, I’ll go with him.]\n

[You’ll be staying here, Emmy-chan.]\n

[E, ee….?]\n

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This time, entirely opposite on how I was treated, Sybilla made Emmy stay.\n

…I don’t know anything anymore.\n

I don’t really understand but Sybilla definitely has her reasons.\n

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[Russell, you don’t really need to know why, right?]\n

[Why are you asking the obvious when you know how much I trust you after we got this close?]\n

[…N, yeah. That’s right.]\n

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It’s already rare for Sybilla to don’t fire back but more importantly, she suddenly started to get timid as she plays with the ends of her hair.\n

…What’s with you?\n

.\n

[mu~…….]\n

[What’s up, Emmy? Ah, right. Thanks for earlier. I really ended up relying on your help after all. I have to admit it’s kind of embarrassing for a guy to rely on a girl but… I hope I can keep on relying on your strength.]\n

[Ah, un! Ofcourse! Just keep on relying on me!]\n

[I think can rely on you as much as I can rely on Jannet’s head. Anyway, I’m off.]\n

[Take care!]\n

.\n

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Well then… It’s been a while since I got a chance to be alone. I wonder where should I go around first.\n

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The market is just crowded as if it’s still meal time even there should be many women who’s already at home cooking.\n

There are skewers stall nearby where ingredients are aligned and can be cooked and eaten on the spot.\n

There are others as well who don’t serve seafood, drinks, vegetables, and seasonings…. There really are a lot of them.\n

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I’ve just gotten full so I’m not really craving for food so I look at the far end of the market and try to find another marketplace.\n

It’s a place for craftsmanship, huh. Jewelries most with silvers and gold are all lined up.\n

…Now that I think about it, I haven’t given any presents to Emmy similar to these things before. She loved the tiara toy before so she’ll probably like these kinds of things too.\n

I’m not that really familiar with jewelries but… since I’ve received a big amount of money from Sybilla, then I might as well buy one.\n

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[I’ll take this one. Do you accept payments using tags?]\n

[Oh, ofcourse… For your lover, perhaps?]\n

[It’s not. Just a courtesy gift to show my appreciation.]\n

[Oh really, that’s fine, that’s fine. Courtesy gift it is. It’s nice to be young.]\n

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It feels like i’m misunderstood…\n

I bought one accessory and put it inside the leather bag tied to my waist and have the string tightly close it so I won’t get stolen again.\n

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As I was about to leave the jewelry store, I thought of getting one for Sybilla as well but… Nevermind, I think it would be fine even if I don’t give her one…\n

I can imagine her nagging and protesting though so I can’t help but smile.\n

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[I still don’t know any differences about accessories though… N?]\n

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There’s a person who appeared on the other side with a strange air around him.\n

No… That was… I probably saw him before somewhere.\n

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[…Did I meet him before?]\n

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I rubbed my eyes and took a second look and realized it’s a big man wearing a hood. He has a classy and noble air around him as he took two golden bracelets and took out golden coins from his bag to pay for them.\n

The man who feels like someone from a different world took the bracelets away into his bag and just left without saying anything.\n

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[Wealthy people really give different vibes, huh…]\n

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I definitely don’t know someone like that.\n

I look at that man’s back then remembered it’s about time for me to return.\n

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There’s one thing I learned after getting back into the inn.\n

The reason why Sybilla drove me out.\n

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[You—so you’re a girl…!]\n

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What’s in front of me is a young girl with slightly short silky wavy brown hair glistening under the sunlight coming from the windows. She’s wearing the adventurer clothing Sybilla bought earlier.\n

The dirt smothered from her skin is now gone too since Sybilla used the inn’s bath to clean her up.\n

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[She’ll be way cuter with a long hair under my genius cutting skills but… Russell, I have to say I’m quite shocked you thought this child is a boy.]\n

[She’s quite strong you know. Besides, she’s covering everything from top to bottom.]\n

[Well, yeah. This child sure has some strength.]\n

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Sybilla then crosses her arms as she stood in front of the girl whose identity was mistaken and is sitting quietly as her eyes squirm all over the place.\n

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[First and foremost, I have some words for you, Eve-chan.]\n

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Oh, so that child is called Eve.\n

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[We look like well-off people, right? We have powers, money, and seemingly happy too, no?]\n

[…Ye-yeah…! You guys look like you don’t worry about anything – and can just buy all the good things…!]\n

[Well, yeah. But all three of us haven’t seen any of our parents even once.]\n

[e…!?]\n

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Eve closed her mouth shut from Sybilla’s response telling her that we’re similar in that we are both orphans.\n

Well, Sybilla isn’t an orphan but I’m not that insensitive to blow her up.\n

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[You must be thinking how unfortunate you are compared to us. But you see, that doesn’t mean you’re the most unfortunate in the world… It’s wrong to think that you’re allowed to take from someone else who you think is fortunate just because you’re unfortunate yourself. Because…]\n

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Sybilla then sat down and look into Eve’s eyes.\n

She then run her hand over her smooth hair.\n

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[It will definitely not make you feel happy too… I’m sure someone like Eve-chan… Un, someone like you who works hard to feed someone else’s hungry stomach will definitely regret it.]\n

[Ha-how did you…!?]\n

[I know everything. I’m the beautiful goddess Sybilla-chan after all.]\n

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Sybilla stood up after looking at the bewildered child took a bag of silver coins.\n

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[Eve-chan is strong. It will be difficult at the beginning but I’m sure you’ll definitely do well in the future. When that time comes, you can walk proudly with your head properly raised worthy of everyone’s respect.]\n

[I – I’m….]\n

[One of the world’s most beautiful guarantees it. You’re cute so you’ll definitely be a fine woman. As long as you can walk with your chest up high and confidence in your heart, I’m sure Eve-chan will find people who you’ll be able to rely on and will rely on you too. You can change the orphanage itself as well. That’s why…]\n

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Then, Sybilla took Eve’s hand and make her stand up to go out with her.\n

As we’re on the way, I can see the receptionist get taken aback with Eve’s new appearance… Yeah, it seems like it isn’t just me who thought of her as a boy, right…?\n

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After we made it outside, Sybilla used the bag filled with Silver coins and used it to hit Eve’s back.\n

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[Go forth and be an adventurer. Start with Seiris first dungeon! Eve-chan will definitely clear it without breaking a sweat!]\n

[Thi-this is too much… I’ve received too much from you already…]\n

[If you want to properly thank us then… Try to get back to us with the money you earn by yourself! First, use those silver coins to buy yourself a knife then use that hands to properly earn. Until then, we’ll just push you away.]\n

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Eve drops down her head upon hearing those words… Then, she put her hands on both of her knees as she bowed down and ran away to leave silently.\n

I can see some tears falling sparkling under the sun when she turned around and left.\n

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…I once again realize how fortunate am I despite being an orphan.\n

Even if we don’t have any blood relatives, as I have everyone in the orphanage, we’ve never really encountered any hardships.\n

But that child who’s much smaller compared to me back then is already working for children younger than her…\n

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Then here’s Sybilla… I realized again how capable she really is.\n

She really is a Goddess despite how much cheeky she usually acts. In such a short time she saved an orphan… Rather, I might as well say an entire orphanage.\n

I’m sure that child will be fine.\n

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I can hear sobs from Emmy who’s beside me.\n

I thought I’ve already dried out of tears of my own but I can’t really avoid myself relating to her coming from the same circumstance so I left them and returned to the room by myself so I won’t be seen.\n

I see the hood which represents its owner’s past in the empty room. I put it on the corner and recall the girl’s fleeting back as I lean outside the window to look once again to the city of Seiris from above.\n

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–Eve, do your best.\n

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