This chapter is pretty big, previously it was 2 different chapters, but in order to make things flow better, I fused tomorrow's chapter into this.
So I won't post anything tomorrow, I'll focus on my other Novels.
Hopefully, it was worth it and you'll all like it.
A lot of exposition and background this time, I wonder what you'll think of Fray?
(PS: Even I dislike him)
Anyway, see you all later, I'm taking a nap!
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/A bit before, upstairs…/
/Chatter.../
"... Well then… I'll be leaving now miss Yumi…" Fray said with a thin smile
Fray was a handsome man, to say the least, his short blond hair coupled with his exotic green eyes and roll of white teeth made him the picture-perfect prince charming.
Adding his casual yet elegant clothes, a white t-shirt and a pair of brown pants, together with his shortsword strapped to his waist and his chiseled muscles under all of that made for quite the eye candy for most girls...
There was a reason why he won so many ladies' hearts, all of this would already make may fall, but with his confident disposition brewed over many years of mental training under a Veteran Mercenary, and his refined tongue, few girls would resist him.
Much less, Village girls...
Those were his favorite, the easiest of targets, he could approach them, spend some good time with them after softening them up, leaving the next day while making them remember him forever, longing for him...
He liked to say he was every Village lady's, first love... He was like Spring... No, he wanted to be Spring.
But Yumi wasn't smiling in the slightest, in fact, she seemed fed up with this situation, as if she couldn't stand his presence anymore.
"If I'm not mistaken, I told you to call me Miss Dudencell, at most Miss alchemist, so quit it with the nickname."
'It irks me every time I hear him saying that... I've heard some of the newcomers call me that, and albeit it bothers me greatly, for some reason, I feel 10 times worse when he says it...'
'10 times is too little, for the newcomers, I just feel they're being impolite, with him, I feel it's a straight-out insult.'
'I think I've asked myself this question 10 times by now… But where did this idiot come from?'
"Miss Duden... Yumi." Fray said as he tried to get her attention, only to fail as she started to grab a few alchemical tolls from a few shelves
'I can't falter here, she'll frown at first, but over time... She's tough on that's for sure, but I've seen worse.'
While Fray thought of the past, Yumi did the same, thinking about what happened a few minutes earlier as she closed her eyes, completely ignoring the man behind her…
…
Close to an hour ago, Dale appeared in front of her pharmacy, holding a massive man a small bloody trail stained the roads as he walked silently…
The people looked at him with confused gazed, some of the Villagers asked him if he was alright, but he always replied with a carefree smile, he was okay, but the being he was dragging around wasn't.
Not believing what she was seeing, and feeling extremely concerned as she saw the blood-stained on his clothes, Yumi couldn't do much apart from telling him to come inside the Pharmacy as she let her brain process the situation.
Midway through that, Dale explained to her what had happened, putting Muddan's body on top of a large cloth on the ground since there wasn't a bed or table large or strong enough for this guy.
Dale apologized a few times during his explanation, he felt as if he was giving her too much work, so he helped her as much as he could, from applying simple first aid to helping her clean the wounds since his back was quite full of dirt...
He didn't only do it for that either, he was also protecting her, he couldn't let her be when this man's reasons were unknown, so at least until she finished applying first aid, he would stay by her side, listening to her talk on and on…
She was thankful for that as she knew that deeming how busy he was, he could've just left this giant guy and left, but instead, he helped her settle the trouble with a smile.
His curiosity about alchemy and his willingness to listen also made him a great partner, turning this awkward procedure into a rather fun experience as they laughed and chuckled at each other.
Much to Muddan's displeasure... But he wasn't up so no one would know.
In the entire Village, few would be willing to listen to her, especially with such a look… So this made her glad and happy.
After they finished treating the giant warrior and putting on a bandage around his terrific chest, they decided to take a few minutes to rest.
"I'm sorry to give you more trouble…" Dale said apologetically once again as he looked at Yumi
She shook her head, she even looked at him with a small frown, displeased.
"I told you several times already, I'm okay with this, it's my job after all! So no more sorry, if I hear it one more time I'll punish you!"
Smiling, Dale nodded, saying, "I know, you're the best." as he got up from his seat.
Fondling her hair, she said in a low tone:
"That isn't true, there is still much to learn… I'm just doing the minimum... What I can."
Dale made sure to re-affirm his will:
"Bare minimum is an understatement, your work has improved everyone's condition ten-fold, and for that, I'm sure everyone would be more than glad to say the same."
He looked at her and said once more, "You're the best." making her blush a bit more.
"Although I do agree with you… There is a lot to learn, but we'll get there eventually, together, aren't we?"
Yumi turned her face to the side, slightly embarrassed.
"Hm?"
Seeing her like this made Dale a bit weird, he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted:
"A-Alright... Thank you..."
"But I'll also say that there's no need for you to say sorry… You just followed his wishes, you shouldn't be let down for hurting him."
Dale was quick to retort.
"That isn't the problem, I'm saying that because I…"
'Feel a bit guilty for giving you so much trouble all the time I come to visit…'
But Yumi raised her finger, telling him to make silence.
"Just like you, I'm acting according to the situation, it's just some superficial wounds and a few broken bones, and taking his sturdy body, he'll recover in no time…"
"I'm thankful you came to me first, because had you gone to someone else they would've simply directed you here regardless, and by that time, his injuries might've worsened, and my job would, in consequence, worsen."
Albeit she knew that wasn't the truth, Muddan was incredibly resilient, the chances of him worsening were pretty low, but that would weaken her argument, so she kept silent.
She looked at Muddan, a pensive expression forming in her eyes.
"He's merely sleeping right now, I must give it to him, we moved his body so much and his injuries are surely painful, but he barely even twitched. He's like a still log in the forest…"
Turning her face to Dale, she asked:
"I wonder if all Karkavans are like this."
"Then we're two, hopefully, we'll find that out soon enough."
"Yes..."
'Uhh... What do I say now?!'
"Before I leave though... There have been a few things on my mind..."
Just when it seemed everything was going to end suddenly, Dale smiled, asking her a few more things, such as her take on the newcomers and what she thought of the players in order to break the ice.
And after a few minutes of talking, Dale left, or better put, he was dragged out of the Pharmacy by a very angry Tina, and from there, you know the rest, Dale went to the Mercenary Guild to meet with Misgurd since the others were busy, and this led with him meeting Zaw and their crusade to find Fray, the Pimp.
…
/End of flashback/
"Sigh…"
'Things were so great… Why did this weirdo have to appear?'
'I was resting after applying first aid to the Karkavan warrior, just waiting for him to wake up since Dale asked me to notify him of that…'
'And then, perhaps I would've been able to talk a bit more with him...'
'But this guy showed up midway through.'
'A perfect day was ruined just like that...'
She glanced back slightly, but for her utter despair, that man was still there in deep thought as he laid his back against the wall.
Why was he still there?! Perhaps that is a question only Fray would be able to answer.
"Sigh..."
'At first, he was okay, he was formal and polite, saying who he was and where he was from, also giving me a decent reason to be here, saying he was visiting the town and saying hello to the residents…'
'If he had left there, I would've honestly believed that he was a nice and respectfully young man that was here merely to greet me and that was that, end of the story.'
'If he had come some other day to ask me the same things he asked me later... My response would've been completely different.'
'But the longer he stayed, the fewer reasons he had for being here.'
'Yet somehow, he never left, always finding some sort of excuse to prolong his already overly long stay despite me giving him several good reasons to step out.'
'And this strange feeling started to rise on my chest…'
'Just what does he truly want? He couldn't have been here simply for greeting, that was merely an excuse, one he never touched upon after we introduced ourselves...'
'I thought this to myself several times in my unending boredom...'
'But it became clear soon enough… Just as soon as I mentioned Dale that is.'
'At first, he was distant, asking about our Elders, who they were, and what they did...'
'But he just wanted a reason to single out Dale, since compared to the other Elders, Dale was indeed an exception, and that was everything he needed, to see how everyone else was and then ask the big "why".'
'Why was Dale the exception? So I started to tell him what he did...'
'He started being understanding, trying to agree that Dale's actions so far had been for our greater good.'
'But then, he started to switch to a more doubtful approach, asking me if I was sure, and then comparing it to some famous person from up North… As if I cared or knew who they were.'
She closed her eyes, releasing another turbid breath...
'Yet he did have some right, after all, he isn't from here, being doubtful is okay… But to such a degree? I don't know how they live in the North, but everyone there must be Legends given how "knowlegeble" he is.'
'Either that... Or everyone in there is failure to the point Dale's actions become Mythical... Heh.'
She shook her head, she can't generalize the people just because of a single annoyance.
'Anyway, he then became skeptical, not believing my words or what he heard before coming here… In fact, I believe he did believe me, but he refused to, not because he couldn't take it, but because he simply had another reason in mind, he just needed a reason.
'I have an inkling of suspicion that he is frustrated with something and that he came here to complain… As if I was his mom to hear his ramblings...'
'But that wasn't the end of him, despite all of that, all of this was his build-up for something…'
'And then, if everything he did wasn't rude enough, he started to be straight out disrespectful of him, despite never meeting him before.'
'It really bothered me, the way he talked and acted as if he was somehow superior or that his meaningless position in an organization I care very little about mattered or that it somehow justified his actions towards him.'
'As if he was some sort of Master...'
'Don't get me wrong, uncle Misgurd is very dear to me and I care deeply about him, but I care more about him as an individual than his position in this Guild that never really did anything for us.'
'All these years, it was my uncle, Misgurd, acting, not Misgurd, the Branch Head Master.'
'It was also at that point that I became assured of his reasons, he was here to meet me because of my connection to Dale, not to meet me out of formality.'
Her expression turned dark.
'He wants to sour our relationship by changing my own opinion of Dale, wanting to turn me against him for some reason.'
Her grasp over the beaker started to tighten...
'And from the moment I understood that it was the moment I lost all interest in him, I just wanted him to leave me alone.'
'But who am I? I am an adult woman, not some kid, this level of annoyance is more than tolerable.'
'Instead of making everyone's relationship with the Mercenary Guild sour over this bastard's actions, I choose to remain quiet and let him leave after he had his full.'
'Since once he does so, he won't have the chance to meet me again anytime soon, because the first thing I'll do after this green monster wakes up is complaining to Uncle.'
'And after that... I even lost my mood to talk with Dale... Sigh...'
She put her beaker down before she injured herself.
'Simply put, I-Do-not-want-to-meet-him-again.'
'If Uncle can't understand something as basic as this, then he can't blame me if I take some more… Severe actions next time.'
'And the Gods may protect his soul if he does tries to fight back.'
Yumi continued to tinker away with her beakers and kettles, waiting for the annoyance to go away.
"..."
Fray, of course, understood right away that he was being ignored, that he had overextended his stay.
He had a name for this sort of situation, he called it, a 'Lying Apple'.
Sweet on the outside, bitter on the inside.
A total fail, this was what he had currently achieved.
'Heh, it has been a while since I saw someone like her… A long time since I was refused so thoroughly even after having a lot of prep time.'
'Albeit, I must say, I took quite the risk there, poking the hornet's nest time and time again instead of leaving while I was still on top…'
'Nevertheless, I couldn't let it be, I needed to know her opinion of… The man called Dale.'
'But now… She's completely against me.'
'Although… This is not a bad situation, I've determined her position, she's just like the others...'
He bit his lips, his eyes sharpening.
'Why is everyone so damn into this guy?!'
He clenched his fists.
'Whatever, I'll see him for myself soon enough.'
'A guy that did sooooo much… I truly want to meet such a great dude!'
'Fought this… Thought of that… Helped them with this… Did that… His dick must be hu~ge.'
'Wait a bit lady, I'll…'
/Creak…/
But midway through his delusional thoughts, the door behind him opened.
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Notes