Chapter 17: Conditions

When I opened my eyes in the morning, the first thing I saw was red. When my mind cleared, I noticed that it was Eirlys' hair, which was over my face. Looking down, I noticed that she was clinging to me like a little koala bear. The sight made me smile involuntarily. That's when I heard a voice coming from the cat watching me on the side of the bed.[You look happy being cuddled by that little girl], she said in a sarcastic tone, but I didn't take any notice. I couldn't free myself as she was tightly clinging to me, so I decided to wait for her to wake up. After a few moments, she also opened her eyes and stared at me blankly until she noticed the situation and pulled away from me. She looked embarrassed that she had used me as a cuddle pillow. I didn't mind, so I greeted her:"Good morning, Lys." As I refreshed my memory, I remembered that's what I used to call her, but these past few years, as she proclaimed herself my subordinate hand and left hand, I started calling her by her full name. Hearing what I called her, she showed no reaction, but I could tell she was happy that I was calling her that again."Good morning," she returned my greeting.After the morning greeting, I was on my way. I know better than anyone that time is priceless, so I started getting ready to leave. I had already said everything I needed to yesterday, so once I was ready, I said goodbye to Eirlys, who was a little reluctant for me to leave, but still knew she couldn't stop me, so she just returned a nod at my departure.Once outside the base, I headed for the area in between, where the merchant who claimed to be looking for his son was located. The capital can be divided into three parts: the central area, the intermediate area and the peripheral area. The central area is where the nobles and rich merchants live, having all the comforts and necessities that a person needs.In the intermediate area inhabited almost the entire population, being mostly commoners and normal merchants with the necessary for their comfort and covered with basic needs, although not as luxurious or high-end as the central area, it was comfortable to live in that area. And lastly, the peripheral area or the slums was where all the unemployed poor people, orphans and the dregs of society gathered; it was a lawless area and everyone who lived there aimed to improve their quality of life by moving to the in-between area.When I arrived, unlike the slums or peripheral area as they call it, it has a richer and more abundant environment than where I came from. There were tall buildings ranging from 2 to more than 20 stories; in the poor area there were only a few and all of them were in a precarious state. The capital, the further downtown you go, the richer the environment.The merchant I was addressing is not particularly wealthy; his headquarters was in the outermost parts of the intermediate area, which said by itself how wealthy he was. As I approached the store, I noticed that it was a run-down potion store. I walked over to the store to check out the situation.I opened the door and walked in. The man standing at the counter with a blank stare did not react; he was too distracted in his thoughts. Looking around the store, I noticed that there were only low-rank potions that only worked on normal people and some one-star potions with different effects.He didn't seem to handle anything better than that. These types of stores are easy to find and there was nothing special about them. I turned my attention back to the man and noticed that he had green hair, just like the missing boy, but that's where the similarities ended. He had brown eyes, a pale complexion and was thin. When I finished analyzing the situation, I caught his attention."Hello.""..."The man didn't respond to my greeting, so I was more forceful."Plas!"I clapped my hands loudly in front of him. The man, surprised by my sudden action, was startled and fell out of his seat. Well, I guess it's my fault for surprising him. The man realized what happened and got up pretending nothing had happened."Ehem, I'm sorry, dear customer, I was a little distracted and hadn't noticed you."He cleared his throat. He seemed to take in my sudden appearance. The man was quick-witted and, despite my age, noticed that I might be a potential customer, as I was still dressed in the items I wore during my hunt."What can I offer you? Here are common and one-star potions for all situations."He seemed desperate to sell, but my words were bound to disappoint him."I'm sorry, I'm not here to buy anything. I'm here to talk about the missing boy."The man was disappointed with the first part of what I said, but when he heard the rest, he hurried close to me, his face inches from mine."You know something? I can reward you with whatever you want, even if necessary I can give you my store."Taking a little distance from the man who seemed desperate to find the person, but my purpose in coming here was not that; I already had an idea from seeing the man's appearance, but I'm going to make sure."Calm down, let me ask you a question first, what is your relationship to the missing boy?"The man, knowing he was getting ahead of me, took a deep breath and answered my question."He is my son, my only son. If you know where he is or have any information about him, I will provide you with a reward."Leaving aside what the value of what he might reward me might be, that I am his father surprises me. The puzzle in my mind is coming together and I can take this to my advantage. So, initiating a calculation of the pros and cons, I made him a proposal."If your son was captured by the black market traders and possibly sold at the big auction..."Hearing my answer, the man's face lost color, but he asked me to make sure."Are you sure that information is correct?""Yes, I saw it with my own eyes when it was being taken away."Although it is a lie that I saw when it was being taken away, it is true that it will be sold at the big auction. The man had despaired because the possibility of seeing his son again was greatly reduced, and it seems that he doesn't have enough money to buy him back. If he did have it, the kidnappers would probably return it to take the reward. I don't know if in the past life he found out, but he definitely couldn't buy him back. So I went to the negotiations.Putting mana on my chest, two star lights began to light up, piercing even through my clothes. The man, who was rambling to himself, noticed the sudden change and looked towards me and noticed the starlight coming out of my chest. The man had a look on his face as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing; he couldn't believe that such a young boy was a two-star awakened. Once I had his attention, I proposed:"As you can see, I am a two-star awakened. I know where your son is and I can rescue him, but I have conditions.""..."The man, who was processing my words, once he understood what I said, hope returned to his face."Please save my son. He is the only family I have left in this world," he desperately pleaded with me."Calm down, as I said, I have some conditions.""Yes, of course, anything."Although a two-star awakening is no big deal in the big picture, the man was grasping at any possibility."My first condition is that you adopt me.".