Kill A Lover

Hermes was hoping to rest after his training and maybe hang out with the sweet healer of the guild, and he didn't welcome the sudden interrupting. He frowned even more when he saw who his guests were. Still, it could not be compared to the feelings I had.

In a rather poorly designed study compared to the V.I.P room, Roen and someone I definitely didn't expect to see were waiting for Hermes when we walked in.

''Greetings Hermes,'' Roen said and nodded slightly to greet me. ''Lady Rosa came to our door this morning seeking help. The temple never refuses anyone who asks for help. She is a victim of a vicious creature, and I decided it'd reasonable to ask the guild for manpower.''

As Hermes asked the details of the incident and Rosa replied, I became more and more doubtful of my mental health. Rosa's voice was shaky and her blood red hair was a mess. She was a perfect mourning widow with under eye bags and a black dress.

''As I said, I was paralyzed during the attack. I was confused and unable to make a sound, then I heard him,'' she hesitated as if speaking was hurting, ''He's my knight. He was. He came with me when I came here running from my family, from a forced marriage, he swore to protect me at the cost of his life. If I knew his words would come true...''

At this point, she was already burst into tears and her words meant no more than sobs and groans. Cleric Roen tried to help her with the blessing of help, and although I'm not sure if this will be beneficial or harmful since he's a cleric, Rosa seemed to finally calm down.

''I heard him talking about a fox and demons, trying to call a healer,'' she said. ''I found myself covered in blood between his arms, and, and, he was...'' and she burst into tears again.

While Roen and Hermes were discussing what they should do, I waited silently, thinking about my situation. The female demon, seen in a nearby village some time ago, was the biggest suspect. There was no reason for anyone to think of any possible connection between me and the demon.

''Except for Ender and Rosa,'' the fox said.

Rosa hadn't looked at me once all this time. She didn't seem to know me. If I hadn't leveled up and got her soul thanks to the quest reward, I would have believed everything she said was true.

''Technically, everything she says is true,'' the fox said.

Come to think about it, she wasn't lying. ''But why did she seek help from the temple? Having Roen and sacred symbols around gives me goosebumps. She, too, must have felt it.''

''What's better to do than playing the victim when there is a dead knight? With her ability to fool, I'm sure nobody will suspect she sacrificed her beloved knight. Demons usually don't ask for help from the temple. You two are the exception,'' the fox said. ''When will you put her soul in a shell?''

''I do what?''

''Souls need shells. If you don't find a shell soon, hers will start to deteriorate.''

This was a new piece of information for me. Before I could ask what a shell is, I noticed the so called mourning widow's gaze and eliminate the possibility that she might not recognize me. Her expression was serious, her eyes were glowing with the calculations that passed through her mind.

When Roen turned to her, she turned into a helpless young lady again. ''Adventurers will try to get permission from the captain to enter the forest and search. Also, I will bless the town and invite the whole town to pray.''

The fox cursed in demon language at Roen, Rosa, and, I guess, the rest of the world. ''Thank you for everything Cleric,'' Rosa said with a soft voice, avoiding eye contact with the cleric.

Standing up, Roen and Hermes shook hands, ''Not to mention, please,'' Roen said to Rosa. ''You should go back home and rest now. There is nothing else we can do for now.''

Suddenly, an expression of dread appeared on Rosa's face. ''I... I don't want to go back. Please, don't send me back there. There was blood everywhere and... and I...''

''It's okay dear. You can stay at the temple,'' Roen said in his most caring voice I've ever heard.

''I want to stay with her,'' Rosa was looking at me.

Hermes shrugged helplessly and Roen looked at me with a blank face. ''I guess it's normal that she wanna stay with another woman instead of us, after all the things she went through,'' Hermes said in an apologetic tone.

''Sure, why not?'' It didn't seem like I had another choice anyway.

The fox stirred uneasily, ''Really? You let her stay with you?''

''You sounded like I had a place of my own to stay. I'll let her go after I find out what her problem is.''

Roen later said goodbye, saying that he would come back to arrange the collective prayer. Hermes left us to inform adventurers of the upcoming demon hunt and contact the Captain. Since there was no place to take her, I led Rosa to the cafe near the guild and ordered myself a whole chocolate cake.

''Well,'' I said to Rosa, ''What is the deal? What do you want from me?''

''Give me my soul back.'' There wasn't even a trace of her role as a helpless lady. Tears and sobs had disappeared the moment we were alone.

I laughed, looking at her grave expression. ''I don't think I will. Try to give me a reason.''

''If you don't give me my soul back, I'll tell Roen what happened. What really happened.''

I waited for a second to enjoy the chocolate melting in my mouth, ''You won't if you're not a retard. Do you think they let you go knowing what you are? A bitch who sold her soul and sacrificed her knight?''

Her eyes weren't as confident as before, but her voice was still arrogant, ''You did this to me. I did nothing wrong. They'll believe me.''

Sighing, ''Yeah, sure. Did you really kill a man who made an oath to stay by your side?''

I saw traces of regret on her face. Maybe she really loved the man. Maybe. Then the regret turned into anger and there was no one but me to direct at her anger. ''He was doing what he swore to do and I was doing whatever it takes to survive. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you.''

''Darling, you'd be dead if it wasn't for me.'' I was beginning to understand why Malice didn't expect me to wake up.