Chapter 16 - Determination

Tears drenched my cheeks.

This is weird. There are two feelings in my heart and I don't know which feelings are truly mine.

As Giselle Gibson, I don't care about the death of this woman named Haruka. I don't know that woman and we don't have any relationship.

But...

As Eclaite, Haruka means so much. She was the second person to show kindness to her after her birth mother. Haruka's existence in Eclaite's life cannot be expressed in a word. 

And when I remember her helplessness when the jerk chopped Haruka... When I remember the fact that she couldn't help the woman... I can feel that all her emotions and soul are being grounded and then squeezed strongly.

"It's so painful." 

I lifted my hands and put them in my chest. I made a grabbing motion, tried to grasp something that didn't exist.

There's nothing I can do to change the past. This is the pain that will forever accompany me for as long as I live. This pain will never disappear, just like the pain that appears when Cerene dies.

I saw the reflection of my face on the water's surface in a wooden bucket. Pair of purple eyes without a light looking at me. And that eyes… that eyes without light made my desire for freedom grow stronger.

"I don't want to see that kind of incident happen again. I must protect Kimi from the jerk, I will protect my happiness. No longer, I let the others take away the freedom and happiness I have." I hardened my determination with that words. "Strength is something that I need to gain and to protect my freedom and happiness. As soon as possible, I have to be stronger."

I have to be an Adventurer to raise my level. There's no other way. 

I know this world is not an Ark Fantasy Online. 

As a Slave, I can't just hunt monsters. In this world or rather in this Heingarz Kingdom, there is a law that binds slaves. The law makes them unable to act at will.

And yes, I have to do something about this slave thing. If I didn't come to be a free person, my life will always be played by that jerk. And of course, I don't want that.

"No... This is not the time to think about being free, I didn't have the money right now. The first step I have to take is to become an Adventurer."

That means I need to find the jerk's seal. Did he hide that item in the house? Didn't he say I can use it at will?

Ugh, it's will be so troublesome to find it!

But I need it! The seal is a must if I want to make a Special Permit. With that permit, I can make limited independent decisions without orders from a Master.

That way, I can register as an adventurer. And... to avoid troublesome inquired about my identity as a slave, I needed a recommendation from an adventurer.

"There is no harm in asking for their help. but... before telling them about this, I have to do something to these swollen, red eyes."

I wiped away my tears and washed my face. I tried to fix my eyes with cold water.

Once I felt that my eyes looked decent, I went back to the living room. Then I was surprised when I got there, I found Kimi crying. Vier and Cabal try to calm the little girl down.

"What's going on?" I asked them. 

A little panicked, I walked up to Kimi and hugged her. As Kimi cried in my arms, I saw two adventurers asking for answers.

"We don't know for sure," Cabal began. "I told her a story about a fight on the third floor of the Foltian Great Dungeon. When I got to the middle of the story, the little girl suddenly cried."

Cabal and Vier saw a crying Kimi in my arms with a confused expression. And of course, they will make such expressions. After all, they don't know about the jerk or his expedition to the third floor of Foltian Great Dungeon.

"Ah... third floor. No wonder Kimi is crying."

"Is there anything wrong with the third floor of the Foltian Great Dungeon?"

I made a bitter smile when I got that question. Then I said, "It's about our dad, the je- ehem! Wielth. He said he'll explore the third floor of the Foltian Great Dungeon. Two months have passed since he left. Kimi just misses her dad." 

"So that's why..." cabal nodded as a sign of understanding.

"Wait a minute, did you just say Wielth? Wielth the Night Bearer?" asked Vier, who was shocked.

"I believe he has such a nickname. So yes, he is our father." I gave Vier an answer and a nod.

"Wielth huh, I never thought that Wielth the Night Bearer had two daughters," Cabal said. At the same time, he rubbed his chin. The man looked into the distance and seemed to be thinking of something. 

"He likes secrets. So it's natural for people don't know about his personal lives."

"You're right," Cabal replied. The guy gave me a stare full of questions before he sighed.

If giving Cabal some information that can put the jerk in trouble, I'd be happy to give it away for free. I even thought of a sale, ask for two info and you'll get two plus one free.

And when I think of that weird though, I feel a few tugs of clothes around my stomach. I looked down and found Kimi staring at me with teary eyes. The little girl tried so hard to hold back her tears from flowing.

"Big Sis, is father Wielth going to be okay?" asked Kimi in a trembling voice.

Before answering, I stroked the little girl's head slowly. "I don't know, maybe he's fine, maybe he's not. You should know, an adventurer is a dangerous profession. We have to believe he is fine. But we also have to accept that he will never come back."

"I can't accept that!" protested Kimi in a rather loud voice.

"You probably won't accept it now. That's okay. I just want you to understand what I said earlier."

The girl puffed her cheeks. She got upset and then...

Bite!

"Arh! hey! Don't bite my stomach!"

Spontaneously, I pulled the little girl's fox ear to tear her away from me. 

Kimi is a Beastkin. She has a fairly long pair of canines. Therefore, the girl's bite was so painful that it make my eyes water. 

It's pretty scary when I knew that she's not biting me with all her strength. If she does it, I'm sure, she could get a big piece of meat from my stomach.

"Naughty little girl!" I scolded Kimi. Afterward, I hit Kimi's forehead hard enough with my index finger.

The girl who stroked her forehead stuck out her tongue at me. Afterward, she puffed her cheeks once again. The little girl turned her face refusing to look me in the eye.

"Sorry about this, Mr. Adventurer."

"No problem, you don't have to think about it."

"Thank you." After saying that word, I told Kimi to sit back with a hand gesture. I wiped the little girl's tears before giving her a glass of lemonade.

After making sure she was okay, I started cleaning up the cutlery we used earlier.

Vier offered to help but I turned it down, I couldn't let a guest do what I was supposed to do. I'm not a shameless girl. After putting the cutlery in the kitchen, I went back to the dining room, and...

"Miss Eclaite, it's getting late. Therefore, we had to go back." Vier left the chair and Cabal mimicked him.

"What about your reward?"

"The dinner from you is more than enough," Cabal replied. "Oh yes! Have you ever thought about finding out what happened to your father using the help of the Adventurer's Guild?" 

"He explores the dungeon without taking a quest. He's doing Free Diving? Therefore, I'm not sure the Adventurer's Guild knows much about him."

"What about Searching Quest? You can make it." Vier gave a suggestion.

A little hesitant, I nodded my head. "You're right. Maybe it's time for me to make such a quest. I'm going to visit the Adventurer's Guild tomorrow."

"That's a good decision."

Then I escort the two adventurers to the front door. They took their weapons before they walked out of the house.

"Thank you for your hospitality and dinner. Good night, miss Eclaite"

"Wait a minute, Mr. Adventurer."

"Yes?"

"Can I ask for help? Can you guys give me the recommendation to become an adventurer?" 

The question I asked made two adventurers freeze.