~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Pearl's POV)
-[4 Days After the Incident]-
I opened my right eye to see myself in some sort of room, not the same one as before.
It seems someone found me…
As the seconds passed, I started to remember what happened. I then began to question everything.
Why… Why… Why did it have to happen? What did I do? What did I do to deserve this?
Why, father… Why did you do that?
I tried to move my right hand, but I barely had any strength at all.
*Creak*
Someone walked into the room, and then looked at Pearl.
"Oh, Holyー You're awake!" An unfamiliar female voice spoke out to me. I tried to look where the sound was coming from, and saw a woman in a nurse's uniform, standing in the doorway.
She ran out of the room, and seconds later, a man walked inside the room.
"Hello, my name is Doctor Rowan, you were brought in by Madison, a knight. Do you remember who you are?" The doctor spoke.
I stared at him. I tried to answer his question, but no words came out. I felt tears welling up in my eye, and they began to flow. My entire body is aching, sore, hurting…
I don't want to… I want to be alone.
"Are you unable to speak?" Asked the doctor.
Pearl just stared at him with lifeless eyes. His look became depressed the longer he stared back, with him eventually coming over to her side.
He checked my pulse, which was low. He then removed the bandages, and checked on my left eye, which seemed to have been cleaned, disinfected, the area surrounding stitched up, and then had some sort of healing thing used on it. I couldn't see it, but I could feel the difference.
The doctor then said, "That's good, the swelling is going down in the left eye. The healing magic also seemed to help recover some of the lost skin and tissue."
I just laid there, not moving or saying anything.
I then finally managed to say something, weakly, but it came out. I said, "P-Please.. leave me alone… I-I don't, I…"
I started to cry again, my tears making me lose all the strength I had left.
The doctor looked at me with a sad expression, and then said, "Okay, but I'll be back to check on you soon."
With that, he left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Madison POV)
It's been 4 days since what happened to Pearl, and that man that did that to her is nowhere to be found. He must have skipped town, left right before I got there.
It's time I go check in on Pearl's condition.
-[The Medical Wing]-
I walked into the waiting room and the nurse inside recognised me immediately. She told me, "Come with me."
I followed her to a room, room 3-A, and opened the door.
On the bed lay Pearl, conscious, but she looked like she wished she was dead…
I walked up to her right side and said, "Pearl… I'm so sorry…"
She blankly stared back at me, dried tears across her face. I couldn't help but have tears welling up in my eyes. I can't imagine what pain she is going through right now.
The trauma of what happened… I can't bear to see her like this.
I sat down on the bedside chair and held her hand, she weakly squeezed back. The nurse left us alone, and I began to quietly cry.
-[4 Weeks Later]-
Pearl is being discharged today. She was told to stay longer to try and keep her from seeing that man again.
I stood waiting at the front door, and out came Pearl, wearing new clothing I brought her, with her robe over it, with a bandage covering her eye to try and prevent infection whilst it healed what it could. Her left arm now had a strange scar formed right down the forearm, where it had been broken. Her arm was in a cast and a sling.
She stared at me. Just, staring, nothing more, nothing less. I went up to her and said, "Hey, Pearl… Why don't we head back to the orphanage and let you settle in, right?"
She just stared at me, and we began to walk together.
-[The Orphanage]-
As Pearl went to her room, Rommel and I sat down in his room, discussing what we should do.
Rommel said, "Maybe we should just try and… I don't know."
I then told him, "Regarding the man that did what he did to her, I found out that it was her very own father. I had to check the residence register again to confirm it. I also checked with several witnesses that saw him carrying a child around the same size as her. I put a wanted poster out for him in the guild. His adventurer's card was also expelled, meaning that he is a fugitive."
Rommel then said, "So, if he tries to cross the border into any other country, or kingdom, he'll be met by the guards, and immediately arrested."
"Yes." I responded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Pearl POV)
Days went by. I didn't leave my room once, besides to use the restroom. Rommel would bring me some food, and water, but he never said a thing. He looked… conflicted.
Some nights I wouldn't be able to sleep. For, if I closed my eyes, I'd see his face again. I just curled up into a ball, and tried to forget that look he gave me. But, it never worked. Some nights, I would cut my right forearm to stay awake. If I dreamt anything due to falling asleep, it would always be that night.
Day nine…
My sword… it's next to the door now…
I went over to my sword, and looked at it. All of these memories, and feelings, inside of me, I want to just lash out and try to alleviate some of it. So…
I think it's time I go fucking kill something. And, if I ever see his face again, I will torture him, right where he stands. I exited my room and gained a notification from Kitsu.
<
Great, those seem useful.
-[The Guild]-
I walked up to the quest board to check for any quests. I can take a request only one rank above my own, and I spotted the perfect one for me.
[Investigate the nearby goblin infestation]
[Location: Quell's Cave, the forest]
[Rank Required: E-D.]
[Reward: 3 Silvers]
[Optional Bonus: Kill the infestation of goblins, harvest right ears; 1 small copper for each]
I walked up to the receptionist, and she acknowledged that I took the quest.
Let's go kill all of them, shall we?
-[The Forest]-
I am now in the forest, a couple of kilometres from the gates. It's currently 9:02 in the morning.
The cave should be somewhere around here, because I've already killed 3 goblins, so I'm guessing it's nearby.
-[58 Minutes Later]-
*slash*
That makes 9. I harvested the ear.
As I walked farther, I finally found that fucking cave. I walked in, and the goblins inside, who were guarding the inside of the entrance, started to surround me.
<[Fast Slash]>
And just like that, two are dead.
12 remain.
I used mana bullets to separate two others, and killed them immediately. The other 12 rushed for me, but I made use of my agility.
Step 1, throw my sword at one. Done.
Step 2, reclaim my sword and use it to kill the rest. Done.
And with that, I have killed 21 of them. Might as well check what they had in here.
<<[Sword Novistry] has levelled up! It is now level 8.>>
Cool, I guess…
I kept walking down through the cave, going deeper and deeper by the minute. More and more goblins showed up, and I mowed them down. During that time, I came to realise that every living object, whether human, plant, or monster, they all contain mana.
For example, when I try to use earth magic on a natural existing thing, like a boulder, it affects the boulder's mana, and reshapes itself with its newly gained mana structure.
So, in short, I realised that mana isn't just for magic, it's for everything, even the planet itself. So, I created my own original spell using those principles, {Mana Binding}. It makes it so the person caught in it cannot use magic, nor can they move. They can only break out of it if someone were to find the weak point of the spell, or were to kill me.
It seems overpowered… Well, I'll use it when I find him, and I'll make it so he can NEVER do anything like that again. I'll torture him, and then turn him over to the Knights in Ryubia, where he will be sentenced to jail, or even death.
Let's keep on exploring.