Upon my return, I notified Will about what I agreed upon with The Great One. He was very thankful.
Then I did my best to cut myself off from any violence. Instead of going hunting, which probably would be the smartest option, I started to learn how to cook. I would study the recipes, watch videos online, and then put the knowledge into practice, making all kinds of stuff. Tihana seemed to enjoy me being more around, especially when it came to quite fancy dinners.
Even Tam, if he would come out from wherever he was hiding in the garden, was enjoying the stuff I made.
I'm bragging here a little bit, but with my coordination, and skillset, I was easily able to do stuff that would take others years to learn. I, on the other hand, became a master of those skills in no time.
On one of those days, I headed out after breakfast, to buy groceries. Nothing seemed out of ordinary. With the hunters' departure, the access points became more available, and I was once again using them because a trip to Loistavadvaar was bringing thoughts I had to fight hard with to push out of my brain.
After the assassination, I would have random flashes of the alien's face popping in front of my eyes, out of nowhere. I would even dream about what happened on Quel'kabar. It was hunting me, but the everyday tasks granted me asylum from those feelings and thoughts.
With bags full of cooking ingredients, I turned to go back to my home. Then I noticed something. A person who looked so damn lost among other people in the city center, that that very person just couldn't go by, unnoticed by me. Only a moment later I finally realized that it was Celestine. She had a massive backpack on her back and was looking around with anxiousness painted all over her face.
It was so surprising, that I just headed toward her. She didn't even notice me until I said out loud:
- What are you doing here?
My words made her focus on me, and a second later, after her brain clicked, she gave me a big smile filled with relief of finding a familiar face among strangers.
- It's you! Oh, thank god! I-i mean... Hi! - she jumped slightly, then her face would go red as she realized what she did and became embarrassed.
- Yes, it's me. What are you doing here? - I repeated my question.
- Uhm... - she clearly found it hard to explain from the beginning, which led me to think the situation she was in, wasn't that simple. - I decided to earn some money as a hunter.
- But what about your shop?
- Oh... It's so hard to keep it going, that I decided to close it for now - she explained, averting her gaze, which led me to believe she was either hiding something, or straight-up lying to me. - After talking to you, becoming a hunter sounded so good, that I decided to come and try.
- Yeah, but there is a whole process of becoming one. You need to apply, then go through training, and then you get your license - I explained.
If not for Will, I wouldn't know any of that, but the fact that I was speaking with him quite a lot after my return from exile, made me learn all of those things. Mainly because he was complaining a lot about it.
For her, the situation looked quite dire. To get admitted you needed either to know somebody high up in the Arc hierarchy, be wealthy and/or influential. There were also soldiers training in the city, but that was a separate issue. If you had none of those things working for you, your chances were equal to zero.
I had no idea if she didn't know that, or was counting on me to pull some strings. Either way, I decided to be cautious around her.
- Oh... I didn't know that - her expression changed drastically.
I noticed the panic in her eyes.
- Do you even have a place to stay here, in the city? - I asked then.
- Well... I thought about staying in a hotel or something... - she explained.
If not for the bags in my hands, I would probably facepalm at the moment.
- There are no hotels here. And if the Indian government catches a trace of you trying to become a hunter, you won't even find a place outside of Arc either. It's quite the competition here. All the governments want to have as many hunters from their citizens as possible. You could get a room in the barrack of the training center, but if you are not accepted for training, it won't allow you inside.
- Please don't tell me I have to go back - she said, and her voice broke.
Tears appeared in her eyes.
What happened next was probably heavily influenced by what I had to do very recently, and how I felt about it. I had to feel that I needed to do something good because of my sin, otherwise, I have no idea why I said what I said. There was also the fact that it was my words, that made her do what she did.
- I have a free room in my place. You can stay until you figure out your situation. If you want, that is.
Her emotional state changed dramatically once again.
- Thank you, thank you so much - she said and took a quick step forward, probably to hug me, but instead, she almost tripped, catching her balance at the last moment.
I've never seen her so red after that. It looked so adorable, that a chuckle escaped my mouth.
- Come. It's this way - I said to her, then, with a bag in my hand, I pointed in the right direction.
We walked, surprisingly, in silence. Probably because of how much embarrassment she felt after almost tripping in front of me. It looked like ti made her unable to squeeze out anything from her mouth.
I noticed that the bag she was carrying had to be quite heavy since she clearly had difficulties walking after a few minutes. Normally I would probably propose to carry it for her, but I still was feeling uncertain about her, so it didn't even cross my mind.
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