Pfftt!
When Elena saw his expression, she burst out in a laughter and said, "It's alright. I was just joking with you."
Eric's lips twitched upon hearing this.
Shaking his head in defeat, he walked to the straw bed beside Riya's bed and laid down on it. Although he felt relieved that he didn't need to sleep next to her and be uncomfortable all night, he also felt a sense of loss.
'No. What the hell I am thinking?' He berated himself and closed his eyes.
Elena was looking at Eric as he went to his bed, a worried expression on her face.
'Why did he have that expression when I asked him to sleep with me? He shouldn't have that expression since I'm his mother.' She thought.
Suddenly, her expression changed when she recalled how his pendant gem was broken. 'Could he have found out that I'm not his birth mother?'
When this thought crossed her mind, tears appeared in her eyes.
Just as that demon told to Eric, Elena was indeed not his birth mother. She had found him in a forest when he was just a little more than one-year-old.
At that time, she had just given birth to Riya, and her motherly love was overflowing. That's why she couldn't bear to see such a young child die in the wilderness. So, she brought him with her and decided to raise him as her own.
When she found him, there was the gem pendant around his neck, and a letter stuffed in his clothes.
Recalling this, she took out the letter. Even though so many years had passed, the latter was still in a perfect condition.
She opened the letter:
Hello, I'm this child's mother… I'm forced to leave him here. The one reading the letter, I plead you to look after my son. I know I'm asking a lot here, but please, I'm begging you. Do me this favor. When he is old enough to take care of himself, you can tell him the truth and let him fend for himself. Also, please make sure he always has this gem pendant on his person.
The words scribbled on the letter were barely readable. It seemed his mother was in a rush when she wrote it. Another disturbing thing was that there were many blood marks on the letter.
Sigh!
After reading the letter, she sighed and put it away.
Ever since Eric turned 14 years old, she had been thinking if she should tell him the truth. But she feared she would lose him if she did that, so he never told him.
'Let's not think about it. I'll tell him when the time is right.' She thought before closing her eyes.
…
In the morning, after having lunch with Eric and Riya, Elena went out to look for a job.
As he watched her disappear from his sight, Eric clenched his fists and silently wished for two days to pass quickly and his system to start functioning so he could start his journey to become strong.
Standing by his side, Riya also had a worried expression on her cute face.
After a moment, she regained her calm and glanced at him, looking dazedly at Elena's departing figure. Not wanting him to worry too much, she waved her hand in front of his face to distract him. "Hello, what are you thinking about so deeply?"
"Oh, nothing." Eric snapped out of his thoughts and shook his head.
"Okay. Come, help me tidy the place." Riya said. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him inside the house and then started cleaning the place.
By the time they finished cleaning and tidying it, it was already afternoon.
After taking a bath, Riya took out an old, tattered book from under her bed and started reading it. Although they couldn't afford to join the academy, Elena had taught them how to write and read.
Unlike Eric, Riya loved to read and ask Elena to bring her books to read. Elena, who used to work in a small noble family, could bring some of the discarded books for her.
Suddenly remembering something, Riya glanced at Eric and said, "Oh, Eric, your friend Liam came a few times to meet you when you were missing. Since you have nothing to do, you can go and meet him."
"Alright." Eric nodded and went to take a bath. After that, he wore a clean set of clothes, said goodbye to Riya and went out.
After walking for half an hour, he arrived at another section in the slums. Unlike his neighborhood, this area had many huts and there were even some mud houses.
He stopped in front of one of the mud houses and knocked on the wooden door and called out, "Hey Liam! Are you home?"
A moment later, the sound of footsteps sounded from within the house before the door opened wide and a skinny youth in old yellowish clothes jumped at him.
Before Eric could react, he was already being hugged.
"It's good to see you alive. I knew you wouldn't die so easily, you bastard," Liam spoke in a fake sobbing voice.
"Damn man, what are you? A girl? Why are you hugging me?" Eric pushed him back, putting on a disgusting expression on his face. Inwardly, he felt warm to have such a caring friend.
When they were little kids, Liam was a sickly child, and no one liked to play with him. Eric also didn't have any playmates, so they met and soon became friends. From then on, they had been best of the friends.
As Liam grew up, he became good at socializing with other people and had many contacts. He would invite Eric to join some weaker hunting groups as helpers and earn some credits.
However, this happened once or twice in several months because both were weak and couldn't even lift hunters' heavy bags.
"Tsk, I was worried about you, you bastard." Liam smilingly punched his shoulder.
He then curiously asked, "But man, how are you still alive? I know those noble children. They are far too cruel, especially to people like us. I haven't seen anyone survive after offending them. Oh, I forgot. How did you offend them?"
Hearing his questions, Eric's eyes flashed with cold lights and his heart burned with anger when he remembered how he almost died for no reason.