Chapter 305 - Reinweils (3)

Amelia was a strong woman.

Not because she could use Aura or possessed several rare, high-tier Essences. I had never once seen this woman afraid of anything.

But now...

"..."

That same Amelia was trembling. Whoever that father in the kitchen was, she should have had no reason to fear him anymore.

'Is it trauma?'

It wasn't beyond my understanding. I'd experienced something similar myself long ago.

Even knowing in my head that it was safe, I hadn't been able to ride in a car for years. If I smelled something burning in my sleep, my eyes would snap open, and I'd have to wander the entire building looking for the source.

Regardless of your will, it was etched into your subconscious.

THWACK!

That this was something to fear.

"... Are you all right?"

Amelia didn't answer my question, so I took her trembling wrist.

"Emily."

Only then did she answer, as though she'd finally come to her senses.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't hear you... What did you say?"

"I asked if you were all right."

"..."

Right. So she wasn't.

Amelia only spoke again after the noises from the kitchen died down.

"... You shouldn't have had to see that."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

I hadn't seen anything. And even if I had, I wouldn't have thought it was anything shameful.

"Whew. Those bitches get me so worked up every damn day."

Just then, a man emerged from the kitchen. He had a solid, somewhat trained build, but he was only about 170 centimeters tall. Unlike what I'd imagined, he looked utterly ordinary, too.

"Didn't you go a bit too far today, barkeep?"

"Too far? Those ungrateful bitches don't even know how to be thankful. Enough of this tiresome talk. Let's drink."

The man sat at the table of a customer who seemed to be a regular and started drinking and chatting. Amelia watched him from our corner for a long while before she began.

"That man was my adoptive father."

"Adoptive father?"

"It's a common story here. Children who've lost their parents need somewhere to stay, and the city is full of people willing to take them in."

"Full of them, huh..."

I felt like I already knew why. It certainly wouldn't be some noble motive like wanting to give abandoned children a home.

Amelia had specifically called it a "common story."

And most stories like that were hyperrealistic.

"It's a kind of symbiotic relationship. The children receive protection until they're old enough to work, and afterward, the adoptive parents get cheap labor."

In this city, an adoptive father held all rights over his adopted children, and those rights were absolute. At least until the children grew up and became adults.

Killing their adoptive parents or running away wasn't an option, either. That would set a precedent. Others would retaliate against them, calling them ungrateful wretches.

"... I see."

"Still, my sister and I had it a little better. Our limbs were all intact, and we were so healthy we never fell ill. That meant we could stay together."

"How old were you then?"

"Five. My sister was three years older than me."

According to her, it hadn't been bad at first. Unlike when they lived with their birth father, who had been injured in the Labyrinth and grown weak, they got proper meals and weren't cold.

Well, they were put to work doing all sorts of chores even at that young age...

"Even that wasn't particularly hard. Everyone lived that way, after all. I even thought I was lucky to have a sister I could rely on."

Back then, Amelia had vaguely imagined that they would grow up like that, and once they became adults, their lives would finally begin.

"But things didn't work out."

"... It was all my fault."

It happened when Amelia was around nine. While she was helping out at the tavern, a drunk tried to strangle her to death.

Because she'd spilled some food.

"My sister was the one who stepped in."

Her sister saw what was happening while serving customers and ran into the kitchen. She picked up a kitchen knife, walked slowly toward the drunk, then attacked him from behind, precisely slashing his carotid artery.

"I only learned this later, but apparently none of the explorers in the tavern sensed her presence as she approached him from behind with the knife."

The drunk didn't die that day, though. He received treatment with a potion in time to keep him alive. But the incident revealed a young girl's talent to the world.

"The next day, someone came on the lord's behalf. They offered to make the incident go away if he handed my sister over."

Surprisingly, their adoptive father refused the offer. Instead, he emptied his pockets to pay the drunk for the potion and compensate him, settling the matter himself.

There was only one reason he went that far.

It was the rational choice.

"From that day on, my sister became a 'beater.'"

Their adoptive father had decided that, since the girl had talent, raising her properly would earn him far more money than making her work in the tavern.

"And she really was talented. Barely a year after she joined a plundering team, her contributions earned her a share of the spoils, however small."

Once that happened, their adoptive father had another thought. Since the two children shared the same blood, perhaps Amelia had talent, too.

"Soon afterward, I became a 'beater' as well and joined a team of plunderers, practically sold off to them. It wasn't long before they recognized my talent, too."

Amelia skimmed over what followed, and I didn't pry. I didn't need to ask to know what sort of lives the Reinweils sisters had led as beaters.

They must have endured and endured, relying on each other as the only family they had left in the world.

"Anyway, that's how my sister and I ended up in the pyromancer's gang. Even while we're in the city, we're still worked to the bone at the tavern."

With that account of her life from early childhood into adolescence, Amelia finished her story.

"Well? Has that satisfied some of your curiosity about me?"

"Yes. That's enough."

I'd already heard the rough outline of what came next when we were making our plans.

These sisters dreamed of the day they would become adults and gain their freedom. But their hopes would be crushed by a commonplace tragedy about three months from now.

My hand clenched tight.

* * *

It was past noon by then, and the number of people entering the tavern was gradually increasing.

"... Excuse me."

A girl approached our table. She was in her early teens, with long, curly red hair. Her face was slightly bruised, and she'd messed up her hair to hide it, leaving it looking very disheveled.

"Would you like me to bring you some more drinks...?"

The sort of thing staff usually said when you'd stayed in one place too long.

Order more or get out.

"..."

Amelia averted her gaze, unable even to meet the girl's eyes. I could understand how she felt.

"What's your name?"

"... Amelia Reinweils."

Right. Coming face-to-face with your younger self was bound to be uncomfortable. And knowing what lay ahead for her would make Amelia feel guilty, too.

"Let's go."

Amelia tried to leave, but I stopped her.

"Wait a moment."

I'd finally met Amelia in baby mode. I couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

"How old are you, kid?"

"Fourteen... sir..."

Oh-ho. If she was fourteen twenty years ago...

"So you were thirty-four."

At my mutter, Amelia whipped her head around and glared at me. Apparently, having her personal information leaked annoyed her.

"Thirty-four...?"

Amelia (baby edition) looked like she had no idea what I meant, but she kept a bright expression anyway, remembering she was in front of customers.

"So that's what you look like when you smile."

"Pardon?"

"Ah, I meant you should smile more often. It suits you."

"Oh, yes..."

While grown-up Amelia looked like she'd bitten into shit, baby Amelia looked flustered and didn't know what to do.

So that was enough teasing.

"All right, we're leaving now. Bring us the bill."

"Oh, yes!"

Any more and I might not be able to deal with the fallout, so I quickly paid and left the tavern. Then, just as we got back to our lodgings...

"... Perhaps you're right."

Amelia, who'd worn a sour expression the entire walk, murmured bitterly.

"What do you mean?"

"Listening to you reminded me. I had that conversation long ago."

Ah, so that was why she'd looked like she'd bitten into shit. I'd been certain she was pissed at me.

"Amelia."

"Emily."

"Ahem. Right, Emily. Want another drink?"

As I spoke, I took out some liquor I'd stockpiled in subspace. All of it had been carried by those plunderers.

"I'll decline. Drinking does nothing for me anyway."

"Because of your Essences?"

"Yes."

In short, her Poison Tolerance and Mental Resistance stats were too high for her to get drunk.

"Then why were you drinking at the tavern earlier?"

"That was... because not drinking in a tavern would look suspicious."

"Always have to have the last word."

"What?"

"Don't look so serious. What's so hard about having a drink with me? Drinking alone is lonely."

As I took out a bottle and poured a glass, Amelia asked,

"... Why do you want to drink in the first place?"

"We still have more to talk about."

Come on, did she think I was doing this just to drink?

I'd spent a while listening to her childhood story at the tavern, but there was something else I actually wanted to hear about.

After all, I'd already come out to her.

"More to talk about?"

"Why play dumb? We don't have any secrets from each other anymore."

"... Don't act like we're close. It's unpleasant."

"Really? Then I won't, so tell me. You didn't say anything about 'Nivels Enche' when we were making plans before. And I only heard yesterday that Auriel Gabis was there."

Back then, Amelia had refused to communicate with me. She would cooperate, but she had no intention of laying everything bare and relying on each other.

But seeing how she'd even told me about her past today, it seemed safe to say I'd earned a measure of her trust.

"What would telling you change? You think we can't change anything anyway."

Well, that was true. In fact, I still hadn't changed my mind about that.

But...

"Yesterday, you were crying and saying it was too late to give up."

"... I wasn't crying."

Tsk. Couldn't she let the little things slide?

"Were you not? Anyway, since you said you weren't giving up, I intend to stay by your side and help in earnest."

"Because that's how you'll get me to help you?"

"Well, I can't say that hasn't crossed my mind."

"Does that mean you have another reason?"

I answered honestly.

"I want you in my debt."

Amelia looked bewildered.

"... Why?"

If I listed them one by one, there were a ton of reasons. For starters, Amelia knew my weakness. I had to put her in my debt somehow to keep her quiet.

She was also strong. From what I'd seen, she seemed fairly good-hearted, and her experience made her someone I could rely on in certain respects.

So, to put it briefly...

"Honestly, our first meeting wasn't great, but I like you."

"... What?"

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea. I don't mean romantically."

"I wasn't... getting any wrong ideas."

"Then that's good."

I cleared my throat before continuing.

"Anyway, I know what kind of person you are now. If you owe someone, you'll make sure to repay them. That's why I want to save your sister, too, if I can. Then you'd grant any favor I asked."

"A f-favor? No, just what sort of favor are you planning to ask me...?"

Amelia backed away, watching me with wary eyes.

Sheesh. It wasn't like I was going to eat her alive.

At this rate, she'd get some weird idea for no reason.

"Amelia Reinweils."

I stepped forward to close the distance she'd put between us and spoke. I hadn't intended to reveal what I wanted this early...

But, well, there was no harm in staking my claim ahead of time.

"If I succeed in saving your sister, and once we're back in our own time, I resolve all the various restrictions, too..."

"... If you resolve them?"

"Then join my clan."

Damn right. A quest needed a reward.