Chapter 115 - New Party Members 1_2

"Lostria?"

"How do you know my name?" The woman asked me. At the same time, she gave me a sharp gaze with an arched brow.

Confusion, anger, and a hint of hatred emanated from her voice and the light in her eyes.

Whoops! I did it again. This lousy month!

"Did I just call your name?"

"Yes! And you also said it with an expression and tone as if you knew me well."

"You probably misheard," I replied as I opened the last iron bracelet on Lostria's left leg. Then, in haste, I said, "You are free now, take a rest while I free the other women."

I moved my legs to leave but...

Lostria grabbed my shoulders tightly.

"I didn't hear wrong! If I'm wrong, try to repeat the word you said earlier!"

"... Lollia?" I said to Lostria.

"I believe you said Lostria," Myu said. "I have a sharp hearing so I can't possibly be wrong."

"Wha..."

How could you do that, I yelled at Myu but inwardly. I didn't make a sound but I glared at her, a little hateful.

I'm trying to sweep away my mistakes but why are you revealing them directly?

"Is it just me or can you see it too?" Lostria looked at Myu and then looked at me. "This girl isn't an expert at keeping her mind, right?"

"Don't say so," as Myu spoke, she freed a woman from the iron bracelets. "This lovely girl is so adorable when her tail and ears move around stiffly in her lie."

"Don't call me a lovely girl! And I didn't lie." I replied with a little annoyance.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when Lostria's attention was distracted, I moved away. The woman said, "hey" to stop me but I ignored her.

Lostria didn't chase me because she fell to the floor. She was just sitting there and she looked so frail.

"Then, what should I call you with? You haven't even told me your name."

"You didn't give me a chance to introduce myself. I'm Eclaite."

"That's a beautiful name," Myu said cheerfully.

"Come back here, Eclaite! I still haven't gotten an answer on how you know my name," Lostria ordered.

I ignored her once more and pretend to focus freeing the woman in front of me.

"Oh! She fainted!"

Myu's screams made me move my head spontaneously. There, I found Lostria lying with her eyes closed. Her breath was so soft.

I'm worried. Therefore, after I finished freeing the woman, I approached Lostria and checked her condition.

"You care so much about her. Seeing this, I want to ask, why should you go to such great lengths to deny that you know her?"

"I...  I don't know for sure either."

Why am I trying to avoid Lostria? According to my knowledge, she is a Quest Giver who will give players a Quest titled Wings of the past.

Completing that Quest would give the Players an Airship.

An airship!

Isn't that the one thing I really want? Then why am I trying to stay away from Lostria? Is it because her Quest is difficult to complete? Or could it be because the monsters that appeared in the Quest were quite powerful? And I'm sure the powerful Boss Monster isn't the reason why I stay away from Lostria either.

Hmm... Am I staying away from her because she has a heart-wreaking story?

...

I didn't get an answer to those questions even after the Healers come and do their duty to heal these poor women.

Our job in this room is done. I, Ruciel, and Myu are rummaging this Airship again. However, even after we had been rummaging the Airship for a few hours, we didn't find anything else that can be said as interesting.

The adventurers and crew had already found the treasures stored in this Airship. They had also killed and captured the remaining Sky Pirates who are in hiding.

In the end, we didn't do much and this episode of the Sky Pirates' assault ended.

Ruciel and I returned to our cabin. There, I met Kimi, Alan, and Chloe who were worried about us. Of course, we said we were fine to soothe them. Then, the kids started asking us to tell them what happen.

So, we told a story.

And yes, Kimi scold me harshly after she found out about the episode where I boarded the Sky Pirates' Airship alone.

After that, our journey to Cadebre went smoothly without any more obstacles.

Arriving at Cadebre, our Airship captain named Renestra immediately took care of the aftermath of the attack by the Sky Pirates.

He along with some people who had a big role while fighting against the Sky Pirates came to the Patrol Knights headquarters to make a report on what happened.

Yes, I was one of the people who reported with Renestra. And I can say, I spent a lot of time at the Patrol Knights headquarters.

What about the rewards?

I got the reward promised by Renestra. I also got the bonus earned from the sale of the Sky Pirates who become Slaves, the treasures they owned, and their Airships.

I got 36 big gold coins.

About the women we found?

They were handed over to the Patrol Knights. The authorities will assist those women. And I heard, they're going to help those women to go home. If those women had nowhere to go back, patrol knights would send them to church or would house them until they got a job.

As for the women who are broken. They will be given medical treatment before they go through the stages I mentioned earlier.

Lostria?

For now, I don't want to deal with that woman. I'm still confused about what I want to do. Should I take the Quest she has or ignore it?

So, with all of that was done, I can say we got to Cadebre.

The thing we did when we arrived was going to an inn. We'll rest for a day or two before doing anything else.

I want to relax but...

"Okay," I began. "Why are you following me?"

We are currently at the Tavern of the inn that I and others are staying in. As for my question, it was aimed at the two women sitting in front of me.

"I follow you because you're a lovely girl," Myu gave her reason.

"You haven't told me about how you know my name yet," Lostria replied.

Yup! For some reason, since that episode, these two women continued to follow me around.

Yes, Lostria refused the help provided by the Patrol Knights. She chose to leave and decide what she would do after getting her belongings back and some of the money given by the Patrol Knights to her as a kindness.

As for Myu... Just like that girl said, she's following me because I'm a lovely girl? Honestly, I don't know what she wants. She continued to follow me without showing any signs that she had any intention to leave.

Yes, I told them not to bother me and to stay away from me. They fulfilled the request but one night later, they went back to me.

I clasped my head in confusion to deal with the two women. I thought for some time and...

"Myu, give me a clear reason or I'll certainly ask you to leave!" I told the masked girl firmly.

Then, I saw Lostria. "As for you, Lostria. I know you because I also know what you know."

I waited for their answers after saying the decision I made.

"Honestly," Myu began. "I am an Adventurer who is looking for people to form a Party. I don't want people with ordinary abilities and after I see you fight, I want you to become a member of my Party."

"No, I won't join your party. I have a business I want to do. I also don't want to be under someone else's orders." I gave Myu my rejection and excuses of mine.

And thanks to that, Myu became sad.

"You know what I know? What does that mean?" Lostria asked shortly after my issue with Myu ended.

In order to handle this woman, I decided to take the Quest she had. That's why...

"I'm talking about an Airship called the Red Comet. I'm sure you know this."

Lostria immediately stood up and hit our table the moment she heard what I was saying. And just like before, the girl looked at me sharply.

"How do you know about the Airship?"

"My father had many secrets and that was one of them."

My father?

Yes, even though I don't like it, I use the jerk as an excuse about why I know so many things.

Why would I do it, wouldn't Haruka be an option?

Because the jerk has a complex, dark past, and is full of suspicious things. That could be a good reason why he had so many secrets and knowledge.

As for Haruka, mama has been dead a long time ago and she is a Slave. People won't or will find it hard to believe if I say, mama has a lot of secrets.

"Do you know where the Airship is?" Lostria tried to extract information from me.

"Yes, I know it."

"What about the key?"

"I know that too."

"Are you going to take that Airship?"

"Yes, I'll take it."

"No! You can't!" Lostria shouted. She then approached me and grabbed my collar with both hands.

"May I know the reason why I can't take the Airship?" I asked her.