Chapter 25: Selfish Quest.

Chapter 25: Selfish Quest.

If you want to read up to 20!! chapters ahead go to /cornbringer

Discord invite: https://discord.gg/XHduApz

Don't forget to check the auxiliary chapter about Adam. It's like an info chapter.

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[Adam POV]

I rushed back to Cordelia's house on the outskirts of Magnolia Town and filled her in on Porlyusica's offer to help with her disease, without going into any detail about the creation of an artificial body.

Mostly because I honestly didn't even know how to explain that one.

After filling her in, her skepticism was more than palpable, and I didn't blame her for that at all, she didn't know me, I mean, this was quite literally our second meeting ever, so it was more than understandable for her to be wary of anything I said.

However, before I could begin to convince her, a powerful wave of magic and emotion surged through the area, and I recognized the source immediately.

Gildarts.

His aura of conflicting emotions, a swirling mix of joy and sorrow.

I guess he tracked me down and figured things out.

"I appreciate your offer, but..." A deep sigh escaped Cordelia's lips as her eyes, dulled by illness and pain, met mine with an expression of utter exhaustion. "But there's no cure for what I have."

How could I help someone that has already given up?

...

Then again. Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

I slowly shifted in the direction of Gildarts, whose energy felt heavy and weighed down with sadness that at the same time clashed with his own joy.

Maybe I wasn't the one that could help her.

"I'll be back," I sighed, before disappearing out of sight with a Shunpo, zipping out of her house, and making my way towards Gildarts.

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[Gildarts Clive POV]

I watched Adam leave Cordelia's house in a blur of motion, before coming to a halt in front of me, his eyes meeting with mine, confirming what I had already suspected.

"I have a daughter, huh?" I chuckled, my voice trembling as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"You do," Adam nodded.

"How... How bad is Cordelia?" My throat tightened as I asked that question.

"I don't think she has more than a month left," Adam said, his voice somber.

"I see," I sighed, before turning my gaze towards the horizon, pondering my next move.

Perhaps I could save her?

I was no healer, but I was strong, strong enough to find anything Porlyusica might need for her.

"That being said, I think there might be a way to save her," Adam continued as if reading my mind.

"What?"

"I can't really explain, because I don't really understand the details behind it, but if we take her to Porlyusica and find what she needs, we might be able to save her," Adam replied with a tired sigh.

The brat had already gone to Porlyusica?

He barely knew Cordelia...

He really was a good kid, wasn't he?

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if everyone believed he was my brat.

My eyes lit up and my smile widened as I asked, "Then what are we waiting for?!" If there was still a chance to save my dear Cordelia, I was ready to take it without hesitation.

Adam's eyes locked with mine, and with a sigh, he replied. "That's the thing, Gildarts before we embark on that, we need to bring her to Porlyusica in order to extend her life as much as possible," he paused, glancing at the house behind us. "I tried to convince her, but I failed."

I looked at the brat and nodded.

"That's enough!" Porlyusica barked, as the loud of something cracking sound filled the room.

A broom over someone's head if I had to take a guess.

Pushing that thought aside, I pushed the door open; the echoing creak of the door announcing my presence.

"Kid, ready?" Gildarts asked.

I nodded, turning my gaze to Porlyusica. "Do you have the list of things we need?"

Porlyusica sighed and glanced away, her face drawn with exhaustion, as she wrapped her fingers around the edge of the counter beside her and hung her head. "Yes, it was hard to make," she said in a low voice.

I feel a 'but' coming.

"But, some of the things we need aren't easy to get, and involve terrible risks." At this, her voice grew heavy, and her eyes darkened with seriousness.

Oh.

That was the 'but'.

I thought she was going to say that some of the things we needed didn't even exist.

But that?

I already suspected getting the materials would involve some manner of risk.

I mean, that's basically a fucking given when it comes to these things, I had played enough RPGs to know that.

"Ok," I shrugged.

"Look, I appreciate the--" Cordelia opened her mouth to speak, but Porlyusica stepped forward and pressed a strip of gray tape over her lips.

Porlyusica loomed over the young girl, eyes blazing with fury. She slammed her wooden staff onto the ground, sending dirt and pebbles flying. Her voice was deep and rumbling like thunder as she snarled, "Listen here brat and listen well, in here, you obey my rules! Whether you like it or not, and I will heal you, is that clear?!"

This woman was scary.

"Ha!" Gildarts beamed at that.

"As for you," Porlyusica turned to Gildarts who shrunk under her gaze. "Next time you bring a terminally sick patient to my house like she's a sack of potatoes, I will give you a colonoscopy with her wheelchair! Have I made myself clear?!"

Fucking scary indeed.

"Yes ma'am!" Gildarts nodded frantically, using both of his hands to cover his backside.

"Now leave!" Porlyusica growled, using one of her brooms to kick us out of her house in the only way she knew, with violence.

"Is it me, or is Porlyusica downright terrifying?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"No, it's not only you, that woman fucking terrifies me, and the old man, and everyone who has met her," Gildarts replied with a small shudder.

Good to know I'm not the only one.

"So, the list?" I asked, gazing at Gildards.

"Here," Gildarts said as he pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolding it.

Peering at the list, both of our eyes widened at the seemingly endless rows of items, each one carefully written in an immaculate hand, with very detailed instructions.

"You do half, and I do the other half?" I asked, thinking of a way to save time.

"That would save us a ton of time," Gildarts nodded slowly. "Let's make a copy of the list, and tackle this shit together."

I hummed at that, breaking the list in half for each would save us some time, however, we could do better than time. "What if we... subcontract some of the guild members to collect the items marked as easy by Porlyusica?"

"That... would save us a lot of time, at least eighty percent of the list is marked as common with little to no level of threat," Gildarts nodded, approving of my idea.

"I'm pretty sure together we have more than enough money to pay the guild for that," I nodded, looking over the list. "And with that out of the way, we could focus on the... red items of the list."

The ones marked down as downright suicidal to collect, according to Porlyusica.

"Thanks," Gildarts smiled softly, his usually hard expression shifting to reveal a vulnerability that was so uncharacteristic of his usual demeanor that it took me by surprise.

He seemed like he'd shatter if I touched him right now.

"Don't mention it," I replied with a shrug.

I wasn't doing this for the thanks, I honestly had no reason behind my actions other than... why not?