The first ray of sunlight in the morning came from the horizon, and after a night of non-stop firefighting, the flames were finally extinguished. It was said that they were extinguished only because there was nothing left to burn.
Gard rummaged under the ruin of the burned house tirelessly, trying to find a trace of Mrs. Cain. However, after searching for a long time, there was nothing left except ashes and wood residues. He just wanted to find Mrs. Cain's remains or something else so that she could be buried properly.
Aurora lent a helping hand in Gard's search and carefully inspected every corner of the remains. She could sympathize with Gard's feelings and somehow feel envy for the Cain couple. There was still someone who cared deeply about them even after they left the world, unlike her, for whom not even her family cared whether she lived or died.
Thump.
Suddenly, her feet seemed to kick something and make a dull sound. She squatted down and took out a small iron box from a pile of ashes. Although it was slightly deformed, the contents inside should be unaffected.
"Captain Gard, I find this!"
Aurora called out and raised the iron box.
"What?!" Gard rushed over and took the iron box to check. "Isn't this the box where Mrs. Cain kept her most precious possessions?"
Gard stroked the ashes with his cuffs. Although the red paint and decorations on the outside were damaged by the flames, he could vaguely see that it was a particularly beautiful and exquisite iron box.
"Isn't this the storage box used by the noble lady? How could Mrs. Cain have this thing..."
Aurora looked at the iron box and muttered to herself. She had come into contact with something similar when she accidentally triggered a mission in the early stages of the game. Generally speaking, civilians do not have the right to use this kind of storage box.
"It seems that Mrs. Cain's identity is not simple."
The outer appearance of the storage box has been somewhat deformed under high heat. Gard pulled out the knife from his waist and ran along the seam, and after finding a place where it could be the lock, he began to use the knife to gently pry it open.
Plop.
After the iron cover popped open, the two saw a parchment lying quietly in the storage box, a crystal photo frame with a photo of Old Cain and Mrs. Cain, along with a platinum emblem with the pattern of an eagle embedded on it.
"Isn't this the family crest of the Blight family? How could it be on Mrs. Cain? Could it be that she has something to do with the Blight family?" Aurora frowned slightly as she stared at the badge.
The Blight family was one of the five noble families in Brigitt City. Aurora, who was once the leader of the top guild in the game, inevitably dealt with these families. As far as she knew, those who had the platinum badge of the Blight family were basically direct descendants. She didn't believe that the Blight family would let their children marry civilians.
While Aurora was paying attention to the badge, Gard opened the parchment and looked at it. His hands trembled as he read further down, and his eyes were filled with tears.
Captain, when you read this letter, I should have gone to where my husband goes. Please forgive me for being capricious. If the old man hadn't sacrificed himself to save me, I might have died on the night when I was twenty years old. All kinds of things happened later, and we went through many hardships before we settled down here.
If it weren't for my sake, it would be impossible for him to develop a greed for money, and he often troubled you, Captain. Here, I sincerely say sorry to you in his stead; he just wanted to get more money for treating my illness. But even so, not only did you not dislike it, you had even reached out to help us many times. We are really grateful to you here.
The old man has never been good at lying. With his temper, knowing that there is medicine that can save me, he will come back excitedly and tell me in person. Everyone knows how strong you are, Captain. Even a humble woman like me knows it. So, if you, who are so powerful, have lost your left arm, it means that the trip this time must be very dangerous. If only my husband didn't drag you down.
I am well aware of my illness. If it drags on, it will be very difficult for me to even move. If I am paralyzed in bed, you will not leave me alone. In order not to drag you down and for the old man not to be alone on the road, I'll take a step ahead. May the goddess bless you, Captain, to be in good health
Eira Blight.
Gard wiped away his tears, solemnly put the parchment roll on, and covered it. He wanted to bury the storage box in a beautiful place.
Aurora watched him leave silently; it was wise not to disturb him at this time.
"Then now... I have to deal with some things." She walked towards a place, and she had the impression that there should be a long-abandoned church nearby that she could use.
According to the route in her memory, Aurora walked around for more than an hour before finally coming to the door of the church. It was not convenient for believers to come and go here because of the remote location, so since the construction of the new church was completed, this place has been closed and abandoned.
Pushing open the rusty iron door, he walked straight in. The sun shone through the glass windows in the empty church, reflecting colorful lights on the ground. Aurora walked to the center and clicked on the system, pausing briefly on the sword spirit summoning, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and clicking firmly.
[Detected a strong soul crystal that meets the requirements for summoning the sword spirit. Do you want to summon the sword spirit?]
"Yes"
Upon her confirmation, the soul crystals in the inventory space disappeared in an instant, and a beam of light rose into the sky in front of Aurora. Flamme slowly walked out of it and walked in front of her, raising her skirt slightly with both hands and bowing with a curtsy.
"Master."
---
Flamme - 16 years old – Flamberge Waltz's Sword Spirit (recallable)
Level: Level 6 (bound to player level)
Race: Abyssal
Attributes:
Attack: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Defense: ⭐⭐⭐
(Growth)
Favorability: 60 (trust)
---
Aurora nodded after checking Flamme's information. Sure enough, this time, there was no time limit for summoning after being summoned by using the strong soul crystal.
The next step was for Flamme to participate in the mercenary qualification certification. Since there were no suitable candidates to recruit, let your sword spirit fill the spot.
What kind of employee was the best? Of course, it was a free employee! Khukhukhu…
"Let's go to the Mercenary Association with me in the afternoon to help you obtain a mercenary identity certificate. Is it okay?"
Flamme nodded her head and answered curtly, "As master wish."
"Great."
Aurora was very satisfied with her attitude, reaching out her hand subconsciously to pat Flamme's head. The girl in the crimson dress just obediently let her master rub her head while she closed her eyes and hummed in satisfaction.
[Ding! Sword Spirit Flamme's favourability increase by 2]
'It's getting more and more like a dating-sim…'
Aurora smiled wryly and retracted her hand. Flamme, who sensed the warm hand leaving her head, looked at Aurora blankly.
Aurora pretended not to notice her gaze, turned around, and walked outside. Flamme followed quietly from behind.
It was fine at first when they were still in a relatively remote place, but once they entered the residential area, Aurora obviously felt all the eyes gathered around her. It wasn't pointed at her but at Flamme.
There was surprise, curiosity, appreciation, and awe, but more of it was fear.
After all, the two coiled black horns on Flamme's head told everyone that she was not human. No matter how beautiful she was, it was an instinctive reaction for someone to feel fear toward something so different from them.
"Come after me!"
Two children were playing; they ran and chased in the alley. The child in front was making faces at the child who was chasing after him. He didn't notice Aurora and Flamme's presence. When the boy passed by, he collided with Flamme and fell to the ground.
"!!!"
The people nearby let out an exclamation, and just when the child was about to cry, he looked up and saw Flamme's gleaming crimson eyes, which suddenly stopped the tears in his eyes.
Flamme squatted down and stretched out her hand to the child. The child closed his eyes in fear, thinking that he was about to be beaten, but the expected pain did not come, and he felt himself being pulled up by a pair of warm hands.
The boy opened his eyes tremblingly and saw that the girl was gently patting the dust off his body.
"All right? Hurt?" Flamme touched the child's head and asked softly in a choppy manner, her misty eyes were full of tenderness.
Although she asked in such a curt manner, the boy quickly understood what she meant and hurriedly answered, "No... thank you, sister!" The child blushed slightly, thanked her, and ran away shyly.
This situation completely fell into Aurora's eyes. She originally thought that Flamme was a troublesome girl, but she didn't expect her to have such a gentle side. As the quiet but kind Abyssal girl sauntered behind her, the corner of her lips rose unconsciously.
After this accident, most of the people saw Flamme in a different light, and their gaze became more friendly and amiable.
Towards the afternoon, the two of them finally returned to Gard's mercenary group's stronghold and happened to bump into Gard, who had finished handling the matter.
At this moment, Gard's expression was very haggard. When he saw Aurora and Flamme, he forced a smile. "Lady Aurora, let's go to the Mercenary Association to handle the transfer agreement in a while. And this Miss, thank you for saving your life last time."
"Captain Gard, is it really okay at this time?"
Gard waved his hand. "Milady also said that the chairman is not someone who is easy to deal with. Of course, the sooner this matter is resolved, the better. We can undertake the commission earlier to avoid the abolition of the mercenary group, and..."
He also relieved the tight frown before he looked up at the sky.
"I've thought about it. When the time comes, I will set up shop with these three brothers to do business. I have really experienced too much during this period...We don't want to witness and endure the deaths of people close to us in front of our eyes."
"I can understand."
Aurora also thought of her grandmother, the only person who had shown her kindness in her entire life. She remembered how she held her critically ill grandmother's hand tightly in the hospital when she was still a child and begged the doctor to save her.
But in the end, she could only watch helplessly as the light in her grandmother's eyes gradually dissipated. She couldn't forget that feeling of grief and despair until now.
"Okay, let's not mention this matter!" Seeing that the atmosphere had become subtle, Gard hastily changed the topic. "Lady Aurora, wait for me for a while, and I will go to the Mercenary Association with you after I tidy up my things."
After finishing speaking, he quickly walked into the stronghold, and after a while, there was the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets.
After more than ten minutes, the door finally opened, and Gard changed into a more formal outfit and came out.
"Lady Aurora, sorry for making you wait, we are ready to go now!"