NOVEL NEXT Chapter 122: Connections
"You weren't able to enter any of the Dungeons...?" asked Vahn, seated nearly opposite Riko in one of the lounge's booths.
"Not for lack of trying..." groaned Riko, closing her eyes and exhaling an exasperated before meeting Vahn's gaze and revealing, "But everyone I asked told me pretty much the same thing, that it wasn't safe and that I should come back once I'm older."
"Well, they're not wrong..." appended Vahn, causing Riko to puff out her cheeks before he added, "But circumstance doesn't always permit people the opportunity to take their time and develop slowly. Depending on the world they're born into, children even younger than you can be fighting on the battlefield of full-scale wars."
Though the image of Tanya was the first to appear in his mind, Vahn was principally referring to the setting of Naruto. The Kakashi that had come to the Tower alongside Minato was only twelve, the same as Riko, but he was already on the cusp of becoming a Jonin. Had Riko been born in the world of Naruto, specifically within one of the hidden villages, she would already have 2-3 years of combat experience under her belt...
Adopting a broad and hopeful smile, Riko brought her hands together and asked, "Then, if it's not too much trouble, do you think I could accompany your Party into a Dungeon? I...I'm not much of a fighter...but I'm confident in my cooking, drawing, and cataloging new things..."
Seeing Riko go from hopeful to timid, hanging her head and pressing the tips of her fingers together anxiously, Vahn exhaled faintly from his nose and responded, "Of course, you can."
Not expecting Vahn to agree, Riko flushed in embarrassment and said, "I can also squeeze into tight places and—"
Ostensibly processing what Vahn had said, Riko blinked in surprise and raised her gaze to find him smiling at her, her expression confused as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "What did you say...?"
"I said, of course, you can accompany us," responded Vahn, offering an affirming nod as he reasoned, "You wouldn't even be here if I hadn't had a hand in the Tower's creation. And I can't just ignore such an earnest plea. It would bother me to no end."
Inhaling a deep breath, Riko appeared to inflate with happiness before she abruptly slapped her hands on the table, stood up, and bowed deep enough to smack her forehead on its wooden surface, her pigtails flipping forward to smack it as she exclaimed, "Thank you for the opportunity! I'll be sure to give it my all!"
"I'm sure you will..." responded Vahn, his smile cramping as he asked, "Is your forehead okay...?"
"It actually hurts a lot..." admitted Riko, raising her face to reveal watery eyes and a faint red bump developing on her forehead. Fortunately, it was nothing Vahn's Wound Transfer couldn't deal with, a faint sigh emanating from his nose as he commented, "You should take better care of yourself. Here, eat this."
Confused by the sudden disappearance of her pain, Riko reached up to rub her forehead with her left hand while simultaneously accepting the Crimson Bapple Vahn offered with her right, asking, "What's this...?" in a curious tone. She had seen similar fruits in the markets of her world, but those were smaller and had yellowish tops, brown spots, and streaks of green.
"It's called a Crimson Bapple, and if you eat ten of them, they will give you strength on par with the average adult male," explained Vahn, causing Riko's eyes to widen to their limits. Then, before she could argue that she couldn't accept something so precious, he expressed, "I have many more where that came from. Besides, even if you possess great determination for a girl your age, you're still very young. I won't call you a child, but it's okay to ask for help and to accept it when given. Just trust your instincts when it comes to people who seem suspicious."
"Yeah...there are some pretty strange men who like to creep around the orphanage and the entrance to the First Layer..." remarked Riko, exhaling an awkward laugh before taking a crisp bite of the Crimson Bapple.
"Oh, wow! It's so tasty~!" exclaimed Riko, her eyes widening to their limits a second time. She had been astonished by the variety of delicious food and drink available in the lounge, but the crunchy, slightly tart flesh and refreshingly sweet juices of the Crimson Bapple compelled her to cup her cheek and smile happily.
"And, as I said previously, there's plenty more where that came from..." appended Vahn, feeling Riko's happiness as his own, causing his smile to soften. She would probably get embarrassed or turn bashful if he said it aloud, but he found her reaction both precious and adorable—something that should be protected.
'I'm not sure when she ventures into the Abyss, but I should prepare her as well as I can...' thought Vahn, conceiving of a meal plan and training regimen to see Riko through the Abyss's dangers without leaving her with too much trauma. He could potentially prevent her from delving into it by having Sis send her mother an invitation to the Tower, but since she had been preparing to venture into the Abyss her entire life, Vahn didn't want to deny her the opportunity to gain experience and grow as a person...
Interrupting Vahn's thoughts, Riko sat back and exhaled a contented sigh with her hands on her stomach, having barely finished half of the Crimson Bapple.
"Oh, wow...I don't think I've ever felt this full..." remarked Riko.
Knowing that Riko was one of many orphans in the Belchero Orphanage where she had been raised, Vahn's brows tensed as he asked, "What do you normally eat?"
"Hmm? It varies depending on what everyone brings back, but we usually eat potato and onion soup with bread," answered Riko, sporting a smile as she appended, "If we bring back something especially valuable, we might get meat or fresh fruit, but it depends on the market. More often than not, we receive merits, a kind of voucher that can be redeemed to avoid being strung up or punished if we get into trouble."
"I see..." muttered Vahn, doing his best not to frown as he pictured the conditions Riko and the other orphans of Orth were forced to endure. He knew they studied and prepared from a very young age to earn money for the orphanage by venturing into the upper layers of the Abyss, so the fact they were fed so poorly bothered him.
Noticing the change in Vahn's demeanor, Riko exhaled an awkward laugh and waved her hand dismissively in front of her face, stating, "Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. If it weren't for the orphanage taking us in, we might have been bought and sold off. And since I'm one of the only girls, I get a whole room. Well, it's actually a former torture chamber, but beggars can't be choosers...ehehe..."
"Tell me, Riko...why did you accept the Administrator's invitation...?" asked Vahn, deciding to cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Surprised and more than a little embarrassed, Riko avoided Vahn's gaze and pressed the tips of her fingers together as she sheepishly answered, "Well...the invitation said that I could become stronger and possibly have my wishes granted. That was definitely tempting, but the main reason is that I was curious. I mean...a big blue window appeared out of nowhere, and then a woman's voice began speaking directly into my head. I hadn't eaten anything strange before I went to bed, so I figured I had either lost my mind or that I had to learn more..."
'Right...she did have that kind of personality...' recalled Vahn, the tension in his expression easing as he regained a smile, offered an approving nod, and stated, "You're very courageous. But while things worked out for you this time, discretion is the better part of valor. When you eventually return to your world, you must remember to keep your affiliation with the Tower and your access to the System a secret. Just being able to keep and carry items in your Inventory is a covetable ability, so only reveal it to those you believe you can trust with your life..."
"R-Right..." muttered Riko, gulping audibly.
"As for your living situation..." started Vahn, his expression firming as he stated, "Leave it to me. I'm trying to avoid getting directly involved in the affairs of our affiliate worlds, but ensuring you and those around you can eat well is a simple matter."
Blinking several times in surprise, Riko asked, "Does that mean you will visit my world? You can do that...?"
"I can," confirmed Vahn, extending his right hand as he added, "Hand me your whistle. I will enchant it with a special property that alerts me if you find yourself in dire straits. I may not be able to appear instantly, but I will appear."
"Oh...o-okay..." responded Riko, swallowing even louder and a faint blush coloring her cheeks as she removed the battered red whistle dangling from her neck, signifying her status as a Red Whistle, a.k.a an Apprentice Delver.
Though he noticed Riko's reaction, Vahn just raised his right brow slightly and decided to disregard it. As for her whistle, he didn't actually enchant it. What mattered was that she believed he had. So long as she blew into it with the belief that he would appear, he would feel it, and Sis would be able to apprise him of the specifics.
"There you go. Keep it close..." said Vahn, adopting his best smile as he returned the whistle to Riko's care, causing a broad, glossy-eyed smile to develop across her face as she replied, "Right! I'll treat it like a top-grade relic and even wear it in the bath! Thank you very much!"
"You can probably leave it in our Inventory while you bathe..." hummed Vahn, causing Riko's face to turn an almost luminous shade of red from her neck up. Fortunately, around the same time Vahn asked her to hand over her whistle, the two people he had invited to join them had arrived in the lounge.
Approaching the booth with a cute, petite, and very nervous-looking cat girl with black hair and blue-black eyes, Roxanne, sporting a professional smile and modeling a predominately green, remarkably form-fitting outfit, cupped her hands over her lap and bowed courteously toward Vahn, her tone sincere as she expressed, "Thank you for inviting us. I cannot speak for Fran-chan, but I vow to work tirelessly to prove myself worthy of this opportunity."
Witnessing Roxanne's behavior, the dark-haired cat girl at her side, modeling similar but predominately white clothing with black accents, offered a bow of her own, stating, "Thank you for the opportunity..." in a flat, barely audible tone.
"Alright, first things first..." said Vahn, exiting the booth with controlled movement to not startle the two girls as he extended his hands to their throats. The black-haired cat girl, Fran, was yet another slave, but unlike Roxanne, she exhibited clear signs of mistreatment and malnutrition.
"No one deserves to be shackled or collared..." remarked Vahn, placing the duo's metallic collars in his Inventory.
Feeling a peculiar sense of relief and warmth, Fran reached up to touch her previously calloused and scarred neck, finding both her metal collar and wounds missing.
"From the moment you accepted the Tower's invitation, you earned the right to decide and walk your own paths..." asserted Vahn, offering an affirming curt nod before stepping to the side, gesturing to the booth, and adopting his best smile as he added, "But I would be honored if you were willing to join our Party, even if it's only on occasion..."
"On the contrary..." responded Roxanne, adopting a broad smile as she offered a second bow and stated, "If it's Vahn-sama, I will accompany you anytime and place. Please allow me to serve you—if not as a slave, then as a warrior and a woman..."
"I don't need servants, but I'm always happy to make new friends," stated Vahn, prompting Roxanne to rise to her full height and gaze up at him with glossy, reddish-brown eyes.
'I never expected to receive a puppy-eyed look from a grown woman...' thought Vahn, exhaling from his nose and habitually extending his hand to caress Roxanne's head, finding her hair both silky and fluffy...
...
..
.