Interlude
“You have to believe me!”
A man in a robe with a stressed look on his face shouts in front of the town’s library.
“The Thief even threatens me with a dagger in my neck!!!”
“So… what is missing good sir?”
Two men in red uniforms stand in front of a guy who looked bewildered. They both held a javelin with full armor on their body. A yellow eagle logo is branded on a cloth hanging on their neck. The logo signifies the Northern Kingdom, which means that these two men were members of the official guards of PortHumming.
“This book!”
““…””
“No, I mean, a few nights ago a thief went into my room and threatens me with a dagger to ask for this book!”
The other guard starts asking questions. “And why is that book in your hands then?”
“I don’t know! I just found this book returned on the shelf this morning. I did file a report to your quarter three days ago!” The man still begged the guards to believe his story.
I was on my way outside the library when I found these three men bickering among themselves. I need to find books about healing spells so I could level up my skills and thank God I think I finally found some in this library. The library was big and full of books, it was probably one of the biggest libraries in the Northern Kingdom. Too bad the lack of visitors made this library look like a ghost mansion.
“So… basically the thief returned the book?” The guard continues to ask.
“Yes!”
“Case closed then.”
“No! I was about to get killed! KILLED! MURDERED!!!” The man in a robe shouts.
“Fineeee fine fine. Please describe what the thief looks like and we will try to see what we could dig from that.”
The man in the robe keeps shouting and the guards still don’t care about his plea, but I don’t think I could do anything to help them resolve the situation.
I took a few steps forward while circling around them hoping not to distract their discussion. The morning was bright and the sky is clear. I lost track of time while searching and reading the books and found myself sleeping in a corner inside the library. I now feel refreshed after the nap but feel a little bit hungry.
I should find something to eat… I think to myself
I walk for a bit and try to look for a food stall of some kind only to find closed shops everywhere. The town is silent even though the buildings were huge and dense.
Sigh… Just me and my luck I guess…
Then I found a market near the dock that still has some life on them. The first thing I try to check was a food stall, but my attention was brought to something entirely different. A few meters in front of me, I saw a girl with beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes walking around with a black cat on her shoulder. It is weird but it looked like she was talking and laughing with the black cat.
The girl was so pretty… and she also seems nice. Her dress is pretty cute! and her cat is super cute too!!! I wish I have a friend like that.
“Ah!”
And that is the moment I learned that you need to keep your eyes on the road at all times or you might get hurt. A pebble suddenly shows up out of nowhere while my attention was directed to the girl and the cat. I bring a few heavy books in my arms and it probably would make me look really silly if I tripped over. I just hope that this won’t hurt.
I closed my eyes and braced for impact.
…
I waited but nothing happened.
“You okay?”
“Huh?”
When I opened my eyes I was in the beautiful girl's arms. I don’t know how did I end up in this position but she held me in a princess-carry-like situation.
“Are you okay?” The blonde girl with beautiful blue eyes asks again.
Wasn’t she a little bit further away just now? How did I end up in her arms right now? No way…
My mind is still processing what is happening and I can’t seem to find the right words to reply.
“Nyaa~” The black cat meowed to my face.
“Ah! Right, sorry!” I stand up immediately after I’ve been in her arms for a while.
“I mean, thanks!”
“You should watch where you are going you know.” The blonde girl smiles.
“Where were you going anyway? This is a lot of books to carry by yourself.” The girl helped pick up the books I drop on the road.
Grooooooowwwlllll….
And my stomach just needs to shout now.
“…”
I feel the blood rushing to my head.
“Ahahaha… I see, here I just bought this from the store right there. Please eat it before continuing your journey.” The blonde girl picks up garlic bread from her shopping sack and offers it. The delicious aroma immediately fills the air around us and the still-hot garlic bread looks so divine to me.
“Eh? Ah? You don’t have to! The brown and round… and hot… and delicious bread is… yours…” I tried to reject the offer but I can’t turn my eyes away from the bread.
Chomp!
The bread was forcefully inserted into my mouth with her tiny hands.
“The bread store is closing around this hour, you probably won’t find anything this good even if you look hard for it.”
Gobble gobble…
“Thonkyosomch…” I offer my thanks while I gobble down the bread.
“Alright then, I wish you a safe trip. And don’t forget to watch for your steps!” The blonde girl starts to turn away alongside the cat.
“Gulp… Wait!” I gulp down a little bit of bread I had in my mouth and shout. The bread fell to the top of the books.
“My name is Clara, what is yours?” I asked the blonde girl.
“Hmm? My name is Cyan. And this cat is my party member, Anne.” The blonde girl with blue eyes answered.
When she turned to answer, an iron necklace with three-star shows up on her neck signifying that she is an Adventurer. She then waves goodbye with a smile on her face.
Still dumbfounded, I stood still on the road with stacked books in my arms and a piece of garlic bread on top of it, watching the girl and the cat on her shoulder walking further away from my direction.
“I think I wanna become an adventurer.”
I said the words to myself.
The world is big and full of many lives. Every single creature has a unique thought and the possibility that comes from it are endless. An Adventurer, as common as this job in this world is, is a title for someone who explores the world and kills monsters to finish quests. The reason for becoming one is different for every single one of them. There are those who seek riches, those who seek power, those who seek women, and even those who seek revenge. But, there are also those who dreamt of becoming one because another Adventurer inspires them to do so. Clara is one of them this encounter will forever change her path.
