/*Sorry for being MIA. Have been under the weather and floods too here */
"Manager, the only thing I could retrieve was this. I hope with this mana core, you can help the families of the deceased," Aric said as he fished out the mana core. From Elowen, Aric knew that this mana core was precious and would have fetched them 100 gold coins at least.
100 gold coins was a huge sum of money for ordinary people. Another reason he produced the mana core was that if he had kept it, some greedy men might have targeted him. Though he wasn't afraid of them, that didn't mean he would invite trouble.
The manager and Albert were flabbergasted when they saw the mana core. The manager's eyes held appreciation as he looked at it, and he even asked them to use the mana core to pay the families.
"You have surprised me. I will put your name in the top recommendation as the next bell boy," the manager said.
"Killian, you will do no such thing. Aric is already traumatized, and there is no need for him to run headfirst into trouble," Albert intervened.
"Albert, you can't shelter this kid forever. He will have to open his wings and leave the nest one day. Besides, the boy needs the money," Killian said. That was the name of the manager of the Adventurer's Guild.
"What money?" Albert was confused, as he was sure that Aric was richer than Albert himself, so he didn't understand why Aric would need money.
"Ah, Uncle, what he means is that I need to go out too. Thank you, manager, for the recommendation. I won't join for the next few days, and only when I am perfectly fit will I consider it," Aric said. Killian was happy to know this, but Albert was confused about what Killian meant by the money part. He was curious, but he didn't ask Aric.
He cared for Aric, and also because Aric was a cash cow in his eyes at the moment. He wouldn't let anything happen to him. He should have understood before when Killian came for the inquiry of Aric. He would have stopped Aric from undertaking such a mission because there was no need for that.
But the arrow had already left the bow, and he couldn't stop Aric anyway.
"Aric, are you sure that you want to use the mana core for the families of the deceased? From what I know, only Roderic had a dying mother, and none of them had a family registered under their names," Killian asked.
"I am positive," Aric said.
"I am proud of you," Killian said. He himself was happy about the mana core because he would also receive a commission from the core. The healer then asked them to go out as she needed to check on Aric. She had eyes of appreciation when she looked at Aric. It was rare that a young man like him would have such strong morals.
"You can go home, but you can't move around. You need to get healthy first," the healer said after she performed what looked like magic. The healer was surprised that Aric had such a strong body and recovered within a matter of hours. Children of his age would take at least a day after going through such a traumatic experience.
Aric nodded in approval while Albert promised to take him home and make sure that Aric was well-fed and looked after. Aric was soon discharged, but as soon as he walked out of the small 'hospital,' he was met with people surrounding him and cheering for him. As usual, he was confused.
"Did you really come through all of that snow early this morning?"
"How did you battle the snow leopards?"
"Did Roderic survive? What happened to him?"
Aric didn't know what was going on until Albert said that now Aric had become a local legend among the guards. Distant Wind had never seen anyone with such determination and will. And thus, his legend had spread a bit. Suffice to say, Aric was embarrassed because what he had done couldn't be termed as heroic.
It was just an act. Killian and Albert came forward to placate the small group of people and tell them that Aric was tired and needed rest, to which the people understood. Some even offered to take Aric in a horse carriage for free. Albert jumped at that offer before Aric could say no.
Albert literally lifted Aric off the ground and took him inside the carriage that had just arrived. Killian refused to follow as he would have to deal with the mana core urgently. It left Albert and Aric alone in the carriage.
"William, thanks for the ride," Albert hollered from inside the carriage to the man who was driving.
"I was going home anyway, and once I was a bell boy too, so seeing someone performing such heroics made me very happy. Aric, if you have any problems or face any dire situations, you can always come to me," William said through the small window in the carriage. The carriage was quite spacious and airy. Though it was nothing like modern cars in terms of luxury, it was quite well put together and tidy.
Aric had never seen such hospitality from a city, nor did he expect it. He was doing things to make sure that nothing came back to him and also to gain sympathy. Hospitality was not something he was expecting. He also could see that Albert genuinely cared for him.
A part of it was driven by coins, for sure, but as a human being, he had shown enough empathy to Aric. Maybe it was time to popularize pizza. It wasn't such a huge recipe anyway. William was interested to know what had happened, and Aric happily reiterated the story to him.
William gave them a ride to get the juicy details from the source, and Aric could at least do that.
---
Read 18 chapters ahead on my p@treon,com/thelightedghost