Lightchaser rested the tip of her sword lightly on the slender shoulder of the little Moon Fox and asked, "Your choice?"
Ever since the Oak Owl had started speaking earlier, the Moon Fox had been deep in thought.
Now, she gave her answer. "I want to buy myself back too. But I don't want to leave Gilane. I can copy the most expensive gemstones for you—until the gold you earn from them is enough to pay for my freedom. After that, if you're willing, we can keep working together. No matter how much profit you make from the copied items, I'll only ask for 50 gold."
Lightchaser asked, "You don't want to leave your 'family'?"
She said the word "family" in a tone so strange, laced with such mockery, that even the kids could hear the disdain behind it.
The Moon Fox's tail drooped onto the ground. She murmured, "They've done their best to take care of ."
Besides, stuff like abandoning law and justice... it didn't sound like anything good anyway!
Lightchaser raised a brow but said nothing. She shifted the sword tip to the Candlebeast's shoulder. "Your choice?"
The little Candlebeast looked up nervously, eyes still holding a trace of fear and resentnt. He couldn't forget what had been done to him, couldn't be like Rita and simply cast aside all emotion.
"I'll make magic food for you for one month," he said. "And I promise that for the next five years, whenever you find , I'll turn food into magic food for free. Just… please find a buyer who's not too strong, so I'll have a chance to escape."
Fat Goose didn't want to stay with the treasure hunter, but he didn't want to return ho either. So he took a third path—use his own value to buy a chance. Let the elf earn so coin and magic food, while he looked for a shot at freedom.
Three kids. Three completely different answers.
Lightchaser's mood could only be described as pleased.
She sheathed her sword, eyeing the three children with interest.
She liked when life surprised her—and this, undoubtedly, was one of those monts.
"Rember my na. Lightchaser."
"I accept your choices."
…
The first day of year 167 in Kasilanar.
Maple Syrup sat on the steps outside the gem shop, her head swinging side to side as she searched the faces of passersby, hoping to spot a few familiar ones.
It wasn't until noon that soone finally appeared around the corner—it was the one with the tail.
Her clothes were dirtier now, and her drooping ears and tail were dull and dusty. She held sothing in her arms, her expression low as she walked slowly toward West Street—her ho was in that direction.
"Hey!"
Maple Syrup called out. The little Moon Fox caught her gaze and, after realizing she was being addressed, walked over.
Maple Syrup frowned. "Why are you alone? Where are the other two? Did a treasure hunter co find you yesterday?"
Mistblade hugged the thing in her arms tightly. "They left Gilane."
"Are they okay?" Maple Syrup asked.
Mistblade wasn't sure. Lightchaser hadn't told them whether their decisions were good or bad. She shook her head. "I don't know."
"Will you still go to school?" Maple Syrup asked again.
"I don't know."
Seeing Mistblade on the verge of tears, Maple Syrup grew uneasy. She pointed to the device in Mistblade's arms, trying to change the subject. "Is that a new ga console? My mom bought a bunch, but I've never seen that kind before."
Mistblade couldn't hold back any longer. Her tears finally fell, splashing directly onto the console.
"That was a gift from Rita."
She was the first real friend Mistblade had made in this strange world.
Maple Syrup panicked and shoved her bottle of Moo Moo Milk into Mistblade's arms. "Here, you can have it."
Mistblade's lip trembled, and all the emotions from the past two days surged up at once. She burst into loud, ugly sobs.
She hadn't been this prone to crying before, but sohow, after everything recently, she just couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears ca smooth, like a skill she'd mastered—and she didn't even bother wiping the snot.
At the worst of it, she even whipped Maple Syrup a few tis with her tail.
Maple Syrup's scalp went numb. She regretted calling out to her at all.
…
Rita and Fat Goose had left Gilane with Lightchaser.
In her possession were three magical tools copied by Mistblade. These were worth at least 2000 gold each on the market.
She needed to sell them before the copied items vanished.
Just the gold from these three items would've been enough to buy Mistblade's freedom.
Mistblade had even tried to buy back her two friends as well, but Lightchaser refused.
Not only did she refuse, she seed genuinely annoyed. Her voice had turned cold when she asked Mistblade, "Do you always like carrying other people's burdens? Whether it's a garbage family or strangers you barely know, who are just slightly more than that?"
Even as Mistblade's figure disappeared into the distance, Rita was still thinking about that question.
But she could tell Lightchaser was in a bad mood, so she stayed silent. Fat Goose did the sa.
In truth, they didn't have much energy to worry about anything else.
Lightchaser's walking pace was absurdly fast. Even with the ability to fly, Rita had to go all-out to keep up. Fat Goose had to rely on speed-boosting magic bread just to manage.
Maybe it was skill. Maybe it was sothing more. But within just two hours, Lightchaser found a traveling rchant caravan. Far from the camp, she drew her long sword and, with a flick, trapped Rita and Fat Goose inside a transparent barrier.
She left them behind and vanished, heading off alone to sell the magical items.
Watching her disappear, Fat Goose finally spoke. "You really want to stay with her?"
Rita nodded. "Yeah."
"She's dangerous, and cruel. She gets mad over nothing."
Rita looked at the boy she'd only known for a few days. "You're the one being reckless. Even if the new buyer Lightchaser picks is easier to deal with, what happens after you escape? Are you going to wander alone like I did before?"
Fat Goose fell quiet.
Rita sumd it up, "For us, everywhere is dangerous. I just chose the danger I like most."
A flicker of doubt crossed Fat Goose's eyes, but it quickly faded. He asked, "Don't you hate her? She broke our spines. Cut our tendons. Slashed us twenty-one tis."
Rita looked toward the elf in the distance, just now accepting a sack of gold from the rchant caravan.
This ti, she didn't answer.
…
Lightchaser lazily took the gold from the rchant's hand, opened the pouch, and glanced inside with disinterest.
The pudgy rchant grew nervous, thinking sothing had gone wrong, eyes fixed on the elf in fear she might suddenly draw her sword.
Lightchaser stalled for a whole two minutes. Just when she was about to storm off and discipline the kids for being slow, she finally heard the Oak Owl's answer.
She was speaking to the little Candlebeast.
"I don't know, Fat Goose. That's not sothing the current has the right to think about. It's aningless."
"She shattered my fantasy of this world and woke from a ridiculous dream."
"She mocked our stupidity, but never treated us like children. She didn't try to trick us with easy lies. That's exactly what I needed."
"You've got spine. But I care more about her strength, and what she can teach ."
"I don't want to keep pretending I don't care by saying, 'What else can I do?'"
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