* * *
Walking back through the streets of Frol town was Aya, a not-so-ordinary girl with white hair.
Despite the fact that she would appear normal if her hair were normal, no one would guess that she was being possessed by an unknown being inside her.
Many townsmen and a few passersby would glance at Aya because of her white hair. And combined with her rather dark clothes, she stood out even more to some adventurers, who found her rather suspicious.
Some would even think that she could be a demon, but the fact that she was walking in the middle of town without a care about hiding her secret left them a bit dumbfounded.
But even if she was a demon in the first place, none of those traders dared even approach her at all.
After seeing how Aya was trying to ignore those twisted looks from everyone, Hiroki used her arm and pulled the hoodie off her cloak in order to hide the color of her hair. Even if a few had already seen her hair color, preventing those eyes from seeing it was much better than having them wide open.
~You have the guild's vouch. So in case someone asks about your hair, you can just prove to them with your adventurer's card that you are human.~ Hiroki reassured her from within her body.
"..."
Aya kept quiet while trying to get things clear in her head. Many things had happened to her until now, which is why she didn't fret in front of any of the judging eyes of the townsmen.
She had convinced herself that as long as she was going to get stronger, nothing else mattered to her.
While Aya was returning to her inn through the same busy streets where many traders were doing their jobs, many people could be seen yelling or shouting at something that would bump or avoid them.
Aya already saw this from afar, wondering why a select group of people walking down the same street were calling out to something.
She stood still for a moment in order to see what was bumping on so many people at once before seeing a small figure of a brat running between open free space until it finally bumped towards Aya.
Aya didn't flinch, nor was she pushed away from the young figure that bumped into her, as she didn't feel any threatening intent from it. However, the moment she looked at who was responsible for that, her eyes widened for a brief moment, as if trying to understand the whole situation.
Who had bumped into her, was a young little girl with dirty, ripped clothes. Her hair, which was filled with dirt from months of being unclean, had taken on a faded dark color after looking at yellow stains that revealed that her hair was actually blonde.
Both Aya and this young girl, who was half her age, locked eyes for a moment. While one pair of eyes showed fear of what had to come, the other ones showed surprise and anguish.
"Hey! Where did that little brat head to?!"
"Get back here!!!"
Two angry voices were heard from afar, causing the young, dirty girl to flinch in fear before running down a dark alley where no one would enter. Those dark alleys were places where most of the shady business occurred and a place where homeless people would try and live their lives.
Perplexed by this sudden scenario, Aya looked to her side before hearing someone call out to her.
"Hey, you there! Did you see a small brat come by here?"
The voice came from an adventurer, together with a few other swordsmen who were clearly pissed off about something.
Aya, who was trying to keep a low profile and not get herself involved in them, simply pointed in another direction while keeping her hoodie from falling off.
"Thanks! Let's go! She shouldn't have gone too far!"
He harshly responded before running with all his might with his team while trying to avoid hitting anyone around him.
Aya looked at them before directing her sight towards the dark alley where that little girl had entered.
~Do you know that homeless girl?~ Hiroki suddenly asked, making Aya a bit uneasy about how to answer. Even though the ghost inside her was rather curious to know than pissed about her rushed action.
"Ah… no."
~Oh, right. I'm sorry if that question sounded rude. I was simply curious to know since I've never seen you feel this angry….~
Aya, who was caught a bit off guard by the way Hiroki could know how she felt all the time, clenched her fist before realizing that her waist was feeling rather light.
"...the fake pouch... It's gone!" She said while trying to see if it had fallen off.
~That girl must have stolen it from you when she bumped into your body. That's why those adventurers were looking for her. She must have stolen it on the way here.~
"Was that why you told me to keep all of my money inside my cloak's storage and keep a fake poach instead?"
~Yes, and also to keep a low profile since dimensional storage is something very rare. And I'm sure that many people would kill to get their hands on it. Especially merchants.~
"I understand... but still..." Aya looked back at the dark alley while she was quietly speaking to the ghost inside her.
~Do you feel bad that she didn't steal anything worth from you?~
"..."
Even if Aya wanted to hide it, Hiroki somehow understood her very well. That's why she remained silent when the question was presented.
~If you want to give her a coin or two, I'm not against it. My advice would be to mind your own business, but if you really want to check this out, then go ahead.~
"You won't get mad... because of this?" She softly asked, a bit unsure of her actions.
~Why would I? Hiroki positively replied, bringing a bit of light and warmth into Aya's cold eyes. ~Even if you were to make the wrong choice, I would be there for you. So don't hesitate to do what's right.~
A small, yet genuine smile appeared on her face as the hood of her cloak blocked sunlight from entering the eyes of her lowered head as she walked down the dark alley.
The dark alley was just what anyone could imagine. A moist, cold, and dirty place that most people would rather avoid by any means necessary.
And walking through this dark, narrow part of the street was the same white-haired girl, wearing a dark cloak covering most of her body and her unusual hair.
Rats were seen running around after eating some trash, and many young voices could be heard in the distance.
Aya picked up those sounds very quickly, which is why she carefully reached the path where they came until she noticed several other children in the same kind of condition as the previous girl. They were all eating leftovers or trash that had been thrown away by the locals.
Aya, who saw the weak and fragile bodies of those children, on which bones could clearly be seen on their skin, clenched her own fist before accidentally stepping on a mouse that was right beside her foot, causing the little creature to screech for a moment and making all of the hungry homeless children flinch in fear from that sound.
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Aya apologized with her hands up, showing to the kids that she didn't mean any harm. "I didn't mean to scare any of you."
However, despite the peaceful approach, none of the kids loosened up. They all hid behind one another before the same girl who had stolen Aya's fake poach stood up for all of them.
"We already know that you want to sell us to them!"
The girl shouted with courage, yet there was fear in her eyes as her body was clearly shaking from adrenaline.
"Even if you kill us, we w-won't go with you, so please leave us alone!"
"Who is 'them'?" Aya questioned, having a guess on who would be interested in selling abandoned children.
"D-don't play dumb! You know I'm talking about the mean masked men who want to sell us!"
The brave young girl's voice trembled as she tried her best to protect the rest of the children in there.
Aya, who wasn't expecting that kind of answer, looked to her side in order to hide her face from the kids.
"Hiroki?" She quietly whispered.
~I know what you're thinking. But I doubt it's related to the same slave merchant's group since you already killed the main finger in their group. Even if there was a big gain in this, a shady business like his is not likely to survive for very long. That is for as long as there isn't another cold-hearted relative of his.~ Hiroki carefully explained.
When the abandoned kids noticed the strange behavior of that hooded girl, whose face couldn't be seen from a distance, they picked up rocks as their legs were shaking.
"L-leave! O-or we will u-use t-this to protect ourselves!" The young, brave girl threatened with a rock in her hand.
"Ah, no. I'm trying to hel–"
Aya tried reassuring the kids but was interrupted by a rock that came flying onto her chest.
But that wasn't the only thing that was thrown towards Aya, as many others were on their way to her before all of the abandoned children started rioting against the girl with a dark cloak.
"Go away!" "Leave us alone!" "Don't come here!" "We aren't s-scared of you!" "We are a lot more in numbers than you!" "Get away from here!"
Aya still did not fear or feel any pain from those incoming rocks as she stood still from the amount of them being thrown at her, despite the fact that some of them had reached her face, injuring the lower part of her lip.
~Aya?~ Hiroki tried making the girl snap out of it.
"I'm sorry, let's go…."
She apologized to the ghost inside her before turning away from the young kids throwing rocks at her and leaving the place.