The Glass Warrior [Weak to Strong LitRPG]

Lucas didn't know exactly what he was expecting, but he was still left baffled by how everything unfolded inside the bar.

He had prepared for the worst, ready to rush in and rescue Aysha if things went south and anyone caught on to her tampering with George Hastings' drink while he was distracted. But nothing happened. As planned.

Aysha looked slightly nervous to Lucas's keen eyes, but no one else seemed to notice. In fact, both men were so captivated by her appearance that they hardly paid attention to anything else. Lucas had to admit she had gone all out, wearing a brand-new dress and earrings. He even suspected she might have applied a touch of makeup.

George quickly monopolized the conversation, leaving Nicholas to sulk in silence. The younger man did not take kindly to being sidelined, especially when it became clear that George had taken a liking to the elf. Nicholas sat there with a scowl, and it was apparent to Lucas that the only thing stopping him from lashing out at his sponsor was the fear of George's guards.

Under different circumstances, Lucas might have found the entire situation amusing. But every time George's insidious hands brushed Aysha's arm, an unsettling feeling churned in his stomach. Unconsciously, his expression began to mirror Nicholas's, and his grip on his binoculars tightened.

It took Lucas a few minutes to realize the source of those feelings, and when he did, he panicked. His mind immediately went back to Maria and the events on the third floor of the tower.

That had been a minor incident, he didn't really care much about her, not in any significant way and yet he had managed to make a mess of it. Fighting monsters was one thing; navigating romantic feelings was an entirely different beast.

Besides, Aysha was his friend... an elf princess, no less. Not to mention way out of his league. Nothing good could come from entertaining such thoughts, so he sternly reprimanded himself.

Still, every time George leaned closer to her, Lucas's grip on the binoculars tightened again. By the time the ordeal was finally over and the three of them went their separate ways, Lucas let out a sigh of relief.

After Aysha was out of sight, Lucas shook his head and chuckled at his foolishness. He had overreacted. He didn't foster any romantic feelings towards her; he was just a concerned friend letting his imagination get the better of him.

The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. In all the time they had spent together, he had never thought of her that way before. Why start now?

Shoving the troubling thoughts aside, Lucas allowed himself to feel a flicker of pride. Everything had gone smoothly, far better than he had anticipated. Reaching out to Aysha for help had been a stroke of genius. He couldn't have pulled it off without her.

With that, his greatest obstacle was well on its way to being eliminated, and not a single drop of blood had been shed on either side.

…

The next morning, Lucas met Aysha at Hilda's shop, and he had to admit he felt a little nervous despite convincing himself that his feelings were purely imaginary However, the moment he saw her, his unease melted away. She was just Aysha, his friend and nothing more. There was nothing to be concerned about.

"So, how did it go?" Lucas asked after exchanging greetings with her and the others.

Aysha frowned. "Extremely boring. George is even worse than Nicholas; he just kept going on and on about himself. But I got the job done—he didn't suspect a thing," the elf said. Then, after a pause, she added, "Are you sure this thing can't be detected? I've heard the mayor was a really powerful figure back in his day. If he were to come for us—"

"I've heard that too, but it's very unlikely the mushroom will be detected," Lucas reassured her. "And since I planted the evidence in the healer's office, we've got nothing to worry about. On the off chance someone gets suspicious, the healer will be the obvious culprit."

"Now we just have to wait," he continued. "According to the book, he'll start showing symptoms in a couple of days—memory loss, confusion, that kind of thing. Full deterioration will take longer, though—weeks, maybe months."

"We have to wait that long before opening the shop?" Aysha asked, sounding disappointed.

"Not necessarily. Even though the process is slow, I bet he won't be able to keep track of all his business dealings pretty soon. Let's give it a couple of weeks. If we open the shop before he's completely incapacitated, it'll look more natural."

Aysha nodded, and Hilda expressed her heartfelt gratitude. The alchemist hadn't forgotten what George had done to her grand-nephew and seemed eager for revenge.

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"I guess we can go look for our maps now, assuming your friend hasn't run off with your money," Aysha teased with a smirk.

"He wouldn't," Lucas replied confidently.

"If you say so," she said, shrugging as they rose to leave.

…

Finding Tim in the bustling market was easy; his vibrant red hair stood out like a beacon. He greeted them enthusiastically, as usual, and wasted no time handing over their maps.

"You got it for two thousand?" Aysha asked, carefully unrolling her map to confirm it was the one she needed.

"Actually, the old man sold it to me for 1,700 after I told him it would be good publicity to have the only elf in town using one of his maps!" Tim said, returning three hundred coins to Aysha. Lucas quickly pocketed the money.

"I guess you owe me the rest," Lucas said smugly, grinning at Aysha. She rolled her eyes but paid him back without complaint.

To Lucas's surprise, Tim had proven himself to be an exceptional negotiator. It seemed Lucas had underestimated him yet again.

"What about mine?" Lucas asked, eagerly taking the map with the intricate dark ink that obscured most of the drawings.

After briefly scanning the map, Lucas confirmed it was the real deal, exactly what he had been searching for. He would have liked more detailed information about the lords and princesses buried in those tombs, but he could always consult the big tome in the library for that, so it wasn't a big deal.

When no response came to his earlier question, Lucas glanced up and saw a somewhat embarrassed Tim scratching his head.

"Sorry, si—Lucas," Tim corrected himself quickly. "I only managed to lower the price to one thousand. Despite my best arguments, the old man who owns the shop insisted that you had been rude to him before, and he refused to lower the price any further."

Aysha did her best to hide her smile, while Lucas could only sigh at the outcome. Perhaps he had been a bit rude, but the old man had been asking for it with those ridiculous prices. Oh well, you couldn't win them all.

"Don't worry about it, Tim. Thank you for your help," Lucas replied sincerely before asking the boy to step aside for a moment so he could speak with Aysha in private.

Once Tim was out of earshot, Lucas quickly brought Aysha up to speed about offering the boy a job at the shop. The elf readily agreed it was a good idea, especially after seeing how useful Tim had been with the maps. With her approval, Lucas called the boy back over.

"About that job I mentioned, it's all sorted if you still want it, of course."

Tim's enthusiastic reply left no doubt in anyone's mind. Lucas smiled and gave the boy instructions to head to Hilda's shop, telling him to mention that Lucas had sent him and that he would be working for her from now on.

Before Tim left, Lucas handed him his old equipment set, which made the boy even more excited. He thanked Lucas repeatedly, practically bouncing with joy. The set was still a level above Tim's current capabilities, but it would no doubt prove invaluable once he could use it.

Lucas also gave him a week's wages in advance, knowing he wouldn't be around for a while. Aysha insisted on contributing her share, as she would own part of the shop once it was up and running.

After Tim had departed, Aysha turned to Lucas with a question.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?"

The question caught Lucas off guard. They hadn't really discussed their plans in detail, but he had assumed it was a given that both of them would be away for a while, otherwise they wouldn't have needed such expensive maps.

Scratching his head, Lucas replied, "I'm not sure yet, but I'm not planning to be away for long. Maybe a week or two."

Aysha nodded silently, saying nothing as they began walking with no particular destination in mind. It was only a few minutes later that she spoke again.

"I need to look for something, and I don't know how long it will take. I'll try to be back before two weeks are up, but..." she trailed off, hesitant.

"What is it?" Lucas asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…I have to look for my parents," she admitted, frowning. "There are a couple of cities on the way. I'll check to see if I can find them there."

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked, surprised. He knew her history with her family was complicated, and this wasn't something he had expected. But Aysha nodded resolutely.

"I don't really want to see them," she admitted, "but they're my parents. I need to make sure they're okay and let them know I'm fine. I owe them that much, at least."

Her voice softened as she added, "But before I go, I want you to know I'll be coming back. I'm not abandoning the store."

"Don't worry, I believe you," Lucas assured her. "But will you be able to get back after meeting them? I mean, if the city's full of elves..."

If Lucas remembered her story correctly, the royals from her world had drained their planet's core as a power source, ruining the planet in the process. As a last-ditch effort, they began building rockets to escape, but they knew the rockets wouldn't be ready in time. When the system informed them that escape was impossible, the royals decided to keep the peasants in the dark, letting them believe there was no need to accept the system's offer and that they would all escape together.

At the last moment, Aysha had felt guilty about the scheme and tried to warn everyone. By doing so, she had made enemies of the other royals and even the peasants, who resented her for not warning them sooner.

"You're right—it'll be dangerous," Aysha admitted, "but I'll be cautious. Not many people know my face. Father didn't like letting me and my sisters appear in public, so only other royals would recognize me."

"What about the ones you told to accept the system's prompt?" Lucas asked curiously.

"When I gave my warning, I did it over the radio," she explained. "It was the only way I could think of in such short notice. Anyway, I can always dye my hair or wear a cloak, I'll find a way. And after everything is done, I'll come back."

Lucas nodded, though he couldn't shake a feeling of worry for her. Aysha was one of the best fighters he knew, but throwing herself into such a dangerous situation still seemed reckless.

"If you find the right city, send me a letter to let me know you're okay," Lucas suggested. "I heard they're starting a message system between cities any day now."

Aysha smiled warmly. "I'll be sure to do that, then."

After a few more minutes of walking and a few shared words, they parted ways. Both had things to take care of before leaving, and there was no point in delaying it further.

As soon as they said their goodbyes, Lucas headed straight to the library. It was time to figure out where his next stop should be.