NOVEL NEXT Chapter 280
- Shari -
"You are going to leave us!?!" (Nia/Okin)
So much for the two of them taking this well.
"Nia, please. I promise we're going to come back, but you need to understand that we have certain duties to perform. We are agents of the crown." (Shari)
"So this is how you're doing it? You take someone, turn them into a fucking slime, and then you just leave?!" (Nia)
Seriously, I find that unfair to a degree.
"You know, I'd as well like to stay, or at least return swiftly. However, while I'd prefer to dodge most of my responsibilities, our status protects us. And you too! If we can achieve an official status in our country, well, I doubt everyone will suddenly become accepting, but at the very least, we might not get hunted down on sight. Would be a good thing, for all of us, right?" (Shari)
"Mhmhm. Sounds a bit too good to be true. I mean, I could do whatever I want, go in all the human places, and none of them would act against this. That's a bit much." (Liqu)
"Still, it could work. Right now, this is an actual possibility." (Shari)
"That's hope, right? Yeah, hoping for something can be nice at times." (Liqu)
I know very well that false hope is shitty, but not having any dreams and never being able to work towards anything better in your life, that's just bleak.
I prefer my proactive stance in this regard over giving up right from the start.
While certainly not being thrilled, Nia also doesn't seem to have good arguments against my reasoning.
Yet now Okin joins in.
"Nia, if they leave, what are we to do?" (Okin)
The way he's tugging at her arm, I grow slightly concerned that she might get startled and... you know.
Yet it doesn't happen, which is entirely positive.
At least, far more than the look I still receive from Nia.
Hell, and I thought that borderless slime eyes would be expressionless.
"You don't need to worry. I am going to prepare some arrangements for you." (Shari)
"Arrangements? Like what?" (Nia)
"Well, for example, that I'm about to leave the shop in your care while I'm gone. That's already something, right?" (Shari)
I'm quite sure that orphans don't get to live everywhere rent-free.
"Yes. Thank you." (Nia)
It's more defeated gratitude, but I'll take what I get.
"Also, you do remember Tamarah, that alchemist, right?" (Shari)
"Yes?" (Nia)
"Well, she agreed to regularly work with you. Maybe she'll even teach you a thing or two. But even if not, working together with her should provide you with a steady income." (Shari)
I know that satisfying a slime's consumption can get quite expensive, but this should help out in this regard.
"...Right." (Nia)
I seriously don't get what she's still upset about.
I don't want to pat myself on the shoulder too hard, as it would collapse under the impact, but I probably did more for these two kiddos than anyone else ever before.
Honestly, would a bit of elated appreciation for my person be asking too much?!
I know, you shouldn't be a good person only for the sake of receiving praise, but it would still be nice.
Well, I'm not one to give up.
This girl is the one I probably spent most of my time with during this stay in town.
If anything, I want a proper farewell.
So I decide that today we'll eat together for once.
Of course, Liqu is instantly with me on this.
Not only because of her inclination toward my person, but also because she apparently really likes to partake in this kind of social event.
Which is enough to consider this settled.
Not like the kids actually had a vote.
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Might be good for them to have some interaction aside from each other.
So we all come together.
I made sure to fetch some spare provisions after returning from our mission.
Nobody was very inclined to tell me I couldn't.
Yet most of it is only dried jerky.
The contained energy is simply not all that great.
All the time during the meal, Nia stays eerily quiet.
I've already got a bit of a gist for this girl, and holding back isn't really like her.
Though, I can kinda understand that it might be embarrassing for her to "eat" in front of her brother.
However, that one doesn't seem to mind his sister's new eating habits, so she should grow more comfortable in this regard.
However, instead, she remains absentminded, and I can't help but feel like there's something weighing on her, but I know this mood.
If I'd just straightforwardly ask her, there's no way she's going to tell me anything at all.
Hm, I would need a setting where she would have no other choice but to talk.
Oh, I know!
"Hey, Nia! How about we spend the night with a bit of a teaching session? Some alchemy to help you get a bit more experience in the craft." (Shari)
After all, neither of us really needs to sleep, so we may as well do something productive with our time.
"Really?!" (Nia)
Apparently, this got her interested.
"Just the most basic ones. The sooner you can make them yourself, the longer the stocks will last once we're gone. Getting a bit of proficiency before then should be good for you." (Shari)
Yep, learning alchemy ought to really do her good.
Not only because she'll be able to use ingredients to provide healing potions and other convenient stuff that saves peoples' lives, which should help her gain a favorable reputation, but also because we have a far easier time gathering said materials required for this craft than humans do.
After all, slimes have really unfair advantages at foraging.
A tracking sense, unidentifiable by monsters, rather steady walking speed.
Yep, gathering stuff like clearsprout should pose no issue.
She simply needs to become more proficient at the production portion, as gathering ought to come naturally.
However, why does she again look so dejected?!
"Gone." (Nia)
Still, the plan stands.
So I take my book and start instructing her about the most basic staples our shop offers.
Healing potions and stamina potions basically sell in bulk and should therefore be included.
From there, I'll go to related ones to add a bit of variety to her repertoire.
Yet for now, the most important is that she memorizes the ingredients, ratio, and my work process, which might be slightly usual.
My feelings of responsibility aside, I won't leave Tamarah's compendium with them, as I really worked hard to be able to afford it.
Spending my time teaching her is already enough.
That's what I'd like to say, but unfortunately, Nia doesn't make the kind of progress I'd like her to.
It seems like she just doesn't get the hang of it.
"No, Nia. If you dissolve too much of the clearsprout, the effect will be gone. Also, you need to prepare the container more carefully. Not to forget the amount of waterveils you're adding is far too high." (Shari)
The healing potion should be easy.
I got at least the gist of it quite quickly.
Yet she always seems to have issues handling the plants.
I guess my herbalist training really paid off in this regard.
However, I at least would've expected her to get it right after the third attempt.
"Glrlsshh! It's just too difficult!" (Nia)
"Don't say that. Your core should be able to absorb the information. You just need to put a lot of effort into focusing." (Shari)
"I do! It's just not enough! I just can't!" (Nia)
Damn, why is she upset with me?
I mean, I'm doing that for her, so it seems unfair to say the least.
Now she's growing sullen again.
"We can still keep trying. I mean, it's not like I could take all the ingredients with me anyway." (Shari)
Hah, seems like my "just keep trying" approach doesn't really raise her spirit.
I know when it's better to stop pushing and instead decide to keep quiet till she'll have caught herself again.
Earlier than I thought, she seems to have come to a solution and speaks up.
"I..."
At least a little, before stopping again.
"Yes?" (Shari)
"I want a linking!" (Nia)
Ehm, what!?!
A linking?
Only to make me push the thoughts straight into her core?
Doesn't she feel just as weird as I do about doing so?
She must.
So why would she go that far for some mere recipes?
Especially with the risks there are to doing this.
"Didn't we talk about this before? Linking has the risk that the impression can be too intense, and your personality might be affected. Teaching you the absolute basics of your body was a necessity, but it shouldn't be used as a general option to dodge studying." (Shari)
"Do I need to beg you?! I'm not that much of a fan of this myself, but if you're going to leave anyway, we should make the most of the time you're still here! So come on and help me! Please!" (Nia)
Damnit.
She seems fairly set on this.
Is it really so important to her to be able to sell potions?
Why can't she make use of this determination for studying?
"Fine, but only hand contact. We're not going further than this. And we'll recede our minds as much as we can." (Shari)
I'd like to set her up as well as I can, so if it will help her out, I'll put my qualms aside.
Liqu is right in so far that I carry responsibility for Nia now, with as much as I did.
Being able to make a bit of money will be good for her, and I don't have much else to offer in terms of proficiency.
Reading, herbalism, and basic alchemy is about all I have for her in regards to having a peaceful occupation.
So I hold my bare arm out towards her.
She stares at it for a moment before taking it with a strong sense of determination.
The moment her hand squeezes mine and the liquids merge, the connection is established.
"Okay, then let's-" (Shari)
Before I can get to elaborating on the intricacies of alchemy, I get sidetracked.
Not because I want to, but because Nia's mind is fully bared to me.
Moreover, she's not content to simply wait for me to notice, but floods me with a confusing, jumbled mess of emotions: sorrow, joy, anger, love, anxiety, hope, loneliness, fear.
From one moment to the next, I gain insight into all her thoughts, feelings, and longings, as we jointly experience them.
Thus, what I am forcibly made aware of, strikes me deeply, and I cut the connection, Nia lacking the ability to hold me.
"N-Nia…" (Shari)
What I saw shook me to my core.
"What is it? Are you gonna blame me for my thoughts?" (Nia)
Well, those thoughts...
And don't pretend that such a link wasn't on purpose!
I can literally remember that you planned this!
"I can't help it, okay?! I thought you would stay!" (Nia)
"But I can't! I need to go!" (Shari)
"You came into my life, changed everything, and now you're just leaving?!" (Nia)
"I have to go!" (Shari)
"You're leaving me alone!" (Nia)
"I'm not your mother, Nia!" (Shari)
That's it.
That's what is prevalent in Nia's core.
She...
Apparently, she sees me as someone like that.
Nia just stares at me.
Right before her eyes start to flow in literal currents down her face.
Then she turns around, walks to the cellar, and smashes the door behind herself.
"Wham"
"Slotsh, slotsh, slotsh"
From the sound of it, she literally drops down the stairs.
"Don't slam the door on me, young lady!" (Shari)
...
Hah, I'm terrible, aren't I?