Chapter 19

"P-pleased to meet you… Sir Satoru."

The young 10-year-old green-eyed girl said bowing her head in an elegant and noble way.

"Satoru will be enough, Lady Lakyus. Renner's friends are my friends too."

He said in a gentle tone.

"T-then please call me Lakyus!"

She said with renewed energy at his friendliness.

In that moment, Hilma came back with some tea and cake she elegantly laid on the table. All except Satoru began to eat. As soon as Lakyus put the cake in her mouth, her eyes widened in shock and began to shine.

"D-d-delicious! This is the most delicious cake I have ever had! Satoru! Where did you get it? Not even the royal cooks' food can compare to this!"

Renner was surprised at Lakyus' outburst. She had never acted like this before. 'Is this the true Lakyus? Has Satoru managed to bring out her true colours?... Yes, it must be that! You are truly the only beautiful thing in the world Satoru… my Satoru…' Her mind began to lose itself in her fantasies.

"Well, I made them with my magic."

Explained Satoru. Lakyus' eyes widened in shock.

"Magic can do that! So cool!"

She exclaimed with the wonder of a child that discovered a box of candies.

"Well, I'm the only one here who is able to use this magic. It seems like the magic casters of the Kingdom are a bit too old school."

From that moment on, the conversation continued as it always does. Renner spoke about what happened in the court.

Since she met Satoru, she began to pay extra attention to all that happened so she could give all valuable information to him.

"Did you know Satoru? Lakyus took a liking to the last blade you sold to the Warrior Captain. You should have seen her eyes as she looked at the blade."

Renner said, finally addressing the reason why her handmaiden was there. Said handmaiden blushed.

"P-princess!"

She said out in embarrassment.

"Oh there is nothing to be embarrassed about. A passion is a passion. I once had a friend who had a passion that many considered wrong and laughed at him for it, but he never hid it from others. He didn't care if the whole world laughed at him. He would still continue to cultivate his passion no matter what."

Satoru said. Lakyus, while still embarrassed, looked at him in amazement, probably imagining what type of friend Satoru could have.

'My Satoru truly knows his way with words. That is something I still have to master,' Renner reminded herself.

"What was his passion Satoru?"

Asked an excited Lakyus. Satoru hesitated a moment.

"Ah… uhm… it is not something young girls should be informed about…"

The excitement disappeared from Lakyus face as a pout appeared.

"Ah, well if you are interested in blades… what about this?"

As Satoru said that, his gloved hand disappeared in a dark void. Both girls' eyes widened in surprise.

After a moment, he extracted something from the dark void and placed it on the table. Lakyus jumped up from her chair as a mad grin appeared on her face and her eyes shined with a greedy light.

What Satoru put on the table was a sword. The hilt was made of a white mineral she couldn't recognize with a gloving ruby in the middle. The blade was bluish, the same colour of ice. It shone with a pale light as if the blade was producing it.

Renner never saw such a thing before. She even saw the Kingdom's treasures a few times before, but none of them looked as good as this one.

'Satoru is truly amazing! He even possesses such artifacts and he takes them out like it is nothing. It makes me wonder what else he is hiding… a mysterious magic caster of incredible talent and wealth… My Satoru, I must reach you as soon as possible!'

"I-is this orichalcum?!"

Lakyus exclaimed with excitement in her tone that Renner had never heard before. The green-eyed girl slowly approached the blade with her hands.

"Yes, the blade is made of orichalcum. The hilt is made out of white Rectural stone. Almost indestructible. It is enchanted with various spells. The most important are those of the ice element imbued into it and its ability known as [Servant of Cocito]. It allows the user to summon a small army of ice monsters that will fight for you. It is a 4th tier spell but a good placed [Fireball] is its worst enemy."

Satoru explained the details about the sword as Lakyus touched it, treating it as if it was a relic from centuries ago.

"D-did you create this?!" Asked the young girl.

"Oh no! I didn't. I found it years ago in an old ruin far away from here. You see Lakyus, I'm quite the collector. If I find something unique, I will have it no matter what. If I had the right materials, I may be able to replicate this sword, but it would be an insult to its uniqueness and history."

He said. Lakyus eyes now looked at him with what Renner deduced was admiration. 'Stay down Lakyus. I like you, but Satoru belongs to me!'

{Three days later}

{Hilma's P.O.V.}

Hilma was now sure of it. Satoru didn't know anything about her. He didn't offer her a place in his business to make sure he could watch her closely. He didn't offer her a comfortable bed and delicious food to trick her.

He did all of that, because he truly believed that she was an abused prostitute, who could only sustain herself through that type of job.

He wanted to give her the chance of having a new normal life. If she didn't observe him before, she would think that it was all a trick. A lesser man would have already abused her and forced himself on her.

But Satoru was no lesser man. He was no pigman like the others. And his compassion didn't come from the fact he was weak and knew the hardship of weakness, no… he was strong.

So strong she couldn't even comprehend how to compare him to the other people she knew. His compassion came from his heart. His gentleness towards all no matter how rude they were or who they were was genuine. This was…

In only three days, he had changed her. At first, she tried everything she could to seduce him, but it didn't seem to work. In the meantime, she continued to work in his shop. He wrote a contract for her.

He called it an employment contract. She would get 5% of the whole monthly earnings. Considering how much people spent there each day, it was quite a lot.

She calculated it and it would be around twenty times what she would earn as a high-class prostitute. But money was only part of why she liked her job. She felt good everytime she convinced someone to buy what she presented.

It felt good to be able to sell something other than her body. She was good at it; she was so damn good at it! She wondered many times what could have been of her, if she hadn't been born in that environment, and now she was sure she would be doing something similar to this.

"It's finally over. Thank you for your work today."

Said Satoru as he closed the door.

He, of course, was the other half of why she enjoyed her job so much. She found herself at ease around him. She was scared and intimidated at first, but that was gone now. She found out he was one of the first people she could get along very well with.

The realization of all of this came to her mind only today. After all, today was the day she had to make a choice. A choice that will decide the rest of her life.

If she didn't report to Eight Fingers before tomorrow, they were going to assume she was dead and act accordingly. They will send someone else, and they will discover she is alive and well. Once they learn that, they will put her down alongside Satoru for her treason.

She could try to capture Satoru and bring him to them. It was the easiest way out. She will rise and finally reach the power she desired. He didn't suspect her. She could easily stab him in the back.

They began to tidy up the shop and soon her opportunity presented itself. She was ordering some enchanted daggers. He was just two meters away, busy with some scrolls, turning his back to her. One of the daggers in her hands had a paralyzing enchantment imbued into it. 'Now it's the time!'

She grabbed the paralyzing dagger and turned toward him. She took a step forward. Her heart was pounding. It has been a good time, probably the best three days of her life. But all good times must come to their ends.

She felt like the shadow of a hand on her shoulder. A big gloved comforting hand. She raised her dagger, ready to strike. A voice, deep, gentle and strong entered her mind.

'You did a great job… I truly appreciate your help… no one should suffer for the sins of their parents…' The dagger fell on the ground as tears began to flow down her face.

Her knees gave out and she fell on the floor. Now she was openly sobbing. Immediately, Satoru was startled by the noise and turned to see her sobbing on the ground with a dagger next to her.

He immediately knelt to her level.

"Are you hurt? Did you cut yourself?"

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