An Opportunity (Aletha: Part 21)

"Seven days?!" Aletha yelped with shock. "H-How am I going to give you that in seven days?"

As a result of the man's request, Aletha fell into anguish. Her clammy hands sweated, her body remained unstill, and her heart paced rapidly.

Moreover, her anxiety increased with each second the man was in the room, turning her head away from him, knowing very well that she didn't have such a payment. The man stood unphased, looking back to the window and crossing his arms.

"How am I going to get that?!" Aletha screamed, pulling and twisting her hair in worry.

"Though I am not obligated to answer such a question. In truth. I don't know." The man answered as he slowly walked over to the door, fixing his collar and hair. "Figure it out. The owners of the train will only come to the assumption that you have the payment already. As I said, if you can't pay for the damages within the seven-day deadline…."

Walking out the door, he finished his sentence with a calm tone.

"...you will be sent to Astait's Prison."

* * * * * * *

Before long, the "visitor" left the room, leaving Aletha worried and anxious.

She stroked and rubbed her eyebrow. She pinched her skin at the throat in stress, rolling from one side of her bed to the other as she constantly thought about how she would obtain such money.

"How will I get that many Gincoins? I don't understand." Aletha mumbled as she rocked her body back and forth. "There's no way I can make that much money in time! I don't have any companions who can help me. I… don't even have contact with money itself! This is awful!"

As she kept the pillow on her face, trying to suffocate herself at the thought of paying such a debt, the door to her room creaked open again, revealing five people.

"Aletha!" A young, high-pitched feminine voice said. "Are… are you alright?"

Behind Doctor Talia were her desired visitors.

A young woman with a long-ruby haired ponytail, a young man with silver hair and hopped earrings, and a petite girl with crimson eyes and gray hair.

Alai, Ubel, and Dina.

Though she may not have known what had happened after she had passed out, she was relieved to find their faces healthy.

"Alai!" Aletha said with a welcoming gesture and relieved smile. "There you are."

As Doctor Talia brought in four more seats for the visitors, sliding them next to Aletha's bed, Ubel leaned over to her and asked with a concerned tone.

"Are you alright, Aletha? We had to wait a day until we could come here."

"Yeah!" Dina said with a loud voice, disregarding the other patients beyond the walls of Aletha's room. "We had to talk to this little girl, walk all the way, and carry your silly self toward a village. Man, it was so taxing!"

"Haha. Yeah… Then, we carried you to a horse carriage and escorted you to Linuxinia Hospital." Alai added as she kept her eyes locked on Aletha's, tilting her head slowly and cracking up a relieved smile. "I'm glad we made it in time."

Although the debt request was still attached to her mind, Aletha carelessly pushed that thought aside for this short reunion with her friends. She was now hearing that even Dina, who seemed untrustworthy at first, assisted Alai and Ubel in bringing her to the hospital, bringing hope into Aletha's soul. Her eyes were soft, filled with an inner glow as she saw her friends conversing and giving their full attention to her.

After a few minutes of discussion, Aletha laid her hand against her heart before gesturing to the group with a beautiful smile.

"I… I… thank you, guys." She said, expressing her absolute gratitude to the group. "Thank you for escorting me here. Your commitment, care, and friendliness… just gave me hope and made me trust you all."

Upon her grateful expression, Dina, Ubel, and Alai's faces lit up with smiles of love.

"You bet!" Dina said, keeping her voice at the minimum tone of a bird.

"No problem," Ubel uttered humbly. "I can not allow any friend of mine to collapse like that without receiving proper care."

"It's what friends are for!" Alai added with a swift and giddy gesture. "So… Do you think you can get up and go outside again?"

Immediately, Aletha's eyes lit up. She bounced up to her toes and gave a bright-eyed look to Alai and the others, shaking with anticipation.

"Absolutely!" Aletha yelled as she stretched both her arms upward. However, as the thought of the debt request continued to yank and pull her mind, her giddiness calmed to neutrality, and she looked down. Just as the four of them walked out the door, Aletha gulped down a breath of anxiousness and said.

"But… before I do that. I have another problem."

"Really?! Are you kidding me?!" Dina shouted rudely. "I thought we fixed all your problems? What? Now we have to wait even long--

"Hey! Manners!" Alai interrupted with a gentle push at the gray-haired girl. "Let the girl speak."

"Yes. And also…" Doctor Talia added as she dropped her notepad on the ground. "Please lower your voice. Other ill patients here are experiencing diseases and cases far worse than this. If you resist, I will have no choice but to expel all of you from the hospital."

With that warning, Dina fell silent and sealed her lips shut, twiddling her thumbs.

Aletha squinted her eyes at Dina with a sneer, disbelieving in her rudeness. With each thing Dina expressed, her trust in her would slowly disappear. But for now, Aletha still recognized the energetic girl as her friend. In reaction to the warning, Aletha crossed her arms and released a playful chuckle, waving her hand as the three paid attention to her.

"It's okay. Dina didn't know." Aletha said as they began walking across the hallway toward the staircase leading down the floors of the building. "Now, about my problem. For some reason, I have to pay a debt of around eight hundred thousand Gincoins for damages because I was in a winged train's destruction."

"Eight-hundred thousand Gincoins?!" Dina yelled abruptly, completely disregarding the doctor's warning.

Doctor Talia and all the other doctors rushed over to Aletha and the group with an aggravated tone due to Dina's ignorance.

"Leave this hospital immediately." A male doctor ordered as he crossed his arms. "We have no time to mess around with patients that refuse to listen to the rules. Leave now. Or else we will call security."

With that warning, Aletha, Ubel, Dina, and Alai were forced out of the hospital's main doors, forced to feel the sun's warm rays shine on them once more.

* * * * * * *

"I can't believe you didn't listen," Ubel said with a sneer, tapping his foot on the ground repeatedly. "Now look where we ended up."

Dina quickly positioned herself apologetically and bent down, biting her lips as the chaotic sounds of Linuxinia City blossomed in their ears.

"I'm sorry!" She said with wobbling puppy eyes. "I should have been quieter."

Following her apology, Alai and Aletha facepalmed and sighed, shaking their heads in disbelief and knowing Dina knew of her mistake.

Nonetheless, at least now the group was located outside in Linuxinia City, free to wander and roam around while also having another problem latched onto them. Every corner of the blocks overflowed with traces of life and joy. Merchants hollered out from their restaurants, and announcers and children screamed random things, with a storm of footsteps entering their ears.

Before they parted from the hospital, Aletha was curious about just how tall the building was. She tilted her head upward and watched as the stone, wood, and iron tower continuously expanded and stretched into the sky like a spire. The hospital dwarfed the city in comparison, casting its shadow out to a portion of Linuxinia City.

Consequently, Aletha was exquisitely stung at the sheer size of the hospital.

"It's huge!" She screamed with sparkling eyes. "I never knew the hospital was so high up!"

As Alai came in from speaking to other people walking around, she snapped her fingers and stood next to Aletha. She leaned her mouth to Aletha's ear and added as she straightened her posture.

"Yup. It's the best hospital this world has to offer." Alai informed as Ubel and Dina looked around the many establishments surrounding them. "Actually, from what I can remember… The Nation of Linuxinia is also known as The Healing Nation. It's where all healers or future healers go to learn the ways of health and potions."

"Are you serious?" Aletha said with her mouth dropping down in awe. "That's amazing! That explains why there are so many healers here."

"You're really lucky. Ha ha." Alai claimed with a wink. "Anyways, tell me more about your problem. You said something about debt, correct?"

While Alai and Aletha wandered the city with Dina and Ubel, looking at the many shops, hotels, and parks, they discussed the debt problem more.

"Yes. I did." Aletha answered as she saw a carriage pass by. Scratching her chin, she kept her focus on Alai's glistening crimson eyes and continued. "Not long before you and the others arrived in my room, a strange man appeared and said I was in debt. He told me that if I didn't pay them the damages within the deadline, they would send me to Astait's prison!"

Upon that mention of the place, Alai's eyes widened in shock, and she gasped. But to stop getting strange looks from the others, she calmed down and took two deep breaths before hastily leaning over to Aletha's ear and whispering.

"Astait's prison?! That's the worst prison in this world!" She said as she led Aletha over to a more non-populated area. "It's where the worst of the worst go. People have said that no prisoner had ever escaped there! If you are sent to that prison, there's probably no chance of any way you can get released!"

"Yeah…" Aletha said, trailing her words off with an anxious shiver. "That's why I want to find a way to accumulate eight-hundred thousand Gincoins before the deadline. I still have a brother. You know, if he finds out that somebody sent me to Astait's Prison, he would be devastated!"

As the sounds of birds chirping and the flowing waterfalls wedged in between the natural lush walls of the city filled their ears, Alai gave her a wink and easy nod before patting Aletha's back and replying with a modest tone.

"Ha ha! Don't you worry, Aletha?" She said as she saw Ubel and Dina return from the shops. "With me by your side, we can find a way to pay your debt within the deadline."

"R-Really?" Aleha mumbled with unsure eyes.

Thrusting her chest out, Alai bounced up and nodded with a snap of her fingers.

"Yup!"

Placing her hand on her chest, Aletha showed a smile that had a genuine build, lighting up her face with gratitude.

"Thank you so much!" She said as she bent down to Alai. "If only I can repay you."

"You can repay me with your pretty smile," Alai answered with her wink. "That's it, nothing more."

Upon her request, Aletha's face flushed red. She gulped down a breath of fluster and sighed deeply, saying in her head.

(She really is friendly.)

With all her joy and gratitude at that moment, Aletha raised her prominent cheekbones into a broad smile, her eyes danced and sparkled like the many people around the city, and she thanked Alai with a bubbly voice.

"Okay!"

* * * * * * *

"So, Alai. What's next on our agenda?" Ubel asked as the group stood at the center of a block, watching the many carriages and people pass by.

"We're going to try and find a way to pay Aletha's debt!" Alai enthusiastically replied.

"Oh right, I remember her mentioning the debt." The silver-haired young man said as his eyes flashed with realization. "But… just how are we going to do so?"

A silence broke in between his question.

"I'm not sure," Alai said, shrugging her shoulders. "We'll just have to look around the city and find out for ourselves. Isn't that right, Aletha?" She finished while nudging Aletha's shoulders.

"Right!" Aletha hollered joyfully with wide gray eyes.

"Understood. Then how about we split up?" Ubel suggested as he raised his hands to an informal gesture. "We'll wander the city and try to find any method to pay for Aletha's debt. Once someone has found a successful method, return to this place and ring this bell."

As Aletha, Alai, and Dina paid close attention, Ubel grabbed the bottom of a golden bell atop a podium underneath a tree at the center of the square block. He then rang it for demonstration purposes, alerting everyone within a seven-kilometer radius. Ubel continued as the people resumed their daily duties.

"By ringing this bell, it will alert everyone in the group to return here. If one of us rings this bell, it will imply that you have found a method to pay for Aletha's debt." Ubel said with a nod and a tap on his foot. "This, in return, will lead you to show us where you found that source. Any questions?"

After a long silence, staring at the eyes of Aletha, Dina, and Alai, Ubel clicked his teeth and said.

"Okay. Then get to it!"

And so, the group split up to all corners of Linuxinia City in search of any method to pay for a debt as taxing as Aletha's.

* * * * * * *

Alai approached the first section of the city, near the docks. She figured that if a bank were to be close by there, there could be a chance to find an opportunity to receive a loan. Despite her best efforts to use her exceeding social skills and converse with the many people of Linuxinia City, it ultimately led to failure.

On the other hand, Dina chose to go to the further outskirts of the city. She needed to be more knowledgeable about what she was doing, bouncing around from person to person, asking for payment. Dina even tried to persuade the guards for anything that would pay for the debt.

But because of what she did when it came to Linuxinia Hospital, her effort led to failure.

Furthermore, Ubel went to the wealthiest part of Linuxinia City, the far east. There, buildings of residency ranging from the richest to the poorest came to fruition. Ubel was intelligent. He tried to exploit the area's residents by using his appearance and natural features as some tangible form. Although he was lucky in most parts, invited to homes, and even scoring flawless "victories," there was no chance of persuasion regarding the richest, inevitably leading to another failure on his part.

Lastly, it was Aletha's turn. Instead of going to the wealthiest area, she decided to go to the more rural parts of Linuxinia City.

"Goodness, it's been hours, and they still haven't found anything?." Aletha mumbled as she carefully advanced through the rural towns and alleyways. Along her footsteps, she found many signs of graffiti and art everywhere along the walls. She saw paintings of clouds, mythical beasts, people, and motivational and offensive words all over the bridges, roads, and walls of homes.

Though the sun may have shone bright, Aletha felt uneasy, as if she wasn't supposed to belong there.

As she saw many poor people giving off strange stares at her, Aletha hurriedly sprinted back to the clean part of the city in rapid breaths. In addition to her fleeing, she noticed posters hanging up along the walls of the varying heights of buildings and towers, one of them standing out from the rest.

"Wait a minute," Aletha mumbled as she approached a purple poster decorated with words and vivid images. "Does that say…?"

Abruptly, Aletha's eyes broadened at the words plastered in bold at the center of the poster.

"CASH PRIZE: 1,000,000 GINCOINS!" It read with large pictures of golden coins flying across the page. Not only had the poster been accompanied by many illustrations of Gincoins, but also figures that seemed to have been drawn in a sprinting stance. A large map of Linuxinia was plastered at the corner of the giant poster, revealing red lines that had extended and swerved around like a race track.

As people gathered around the large, flashy poster, Aletha's fingers touched her parted lips in shock as she read the text below the bolded letters.

"Come and participate in a foot race of a lifetime spanning out across the nation! Join around a thousand contestants worldwide as you pace your way through the beautiful nation of Linuxinia! Let the world know who the fastest REALLY is!"

When she had seen the poster and the acknowledgment of a race, it sparked a memory in Aletha.

A half-ghoul girl with long light-black hair, crystal turquoise eyes, wearing two-layered clothing had stepped into the memory. Aletha remembered her mentioning…

://: "... to compensate for me saving both of you, you will have to participate in a foot race within the upcoming days. You must be trained by me, informed by the books I have prepared, and be fed healthy portions of calorie intake and induce in hydration."://

It was Emine who had said that.

Though events may not have worked out as the ghoul girl had intended, the mentions of that foot race came back to Aletha as if fate chose her.

As the memories faded, more people gathered around the poster, pushing Aletha away.

"So THIS is what Emine meant by foot race!" Aletha shouted with realization in her round gray eyes, pushing people back to read it.

"Get out of my way!" Screamed a stranger.

"Move it!" Another person hollered.

Ignoring the people, as Aletha continued to scrutinize every detail of the poster, she recognized another object illustrated on it...

...An illustration of a heart-shaped azure blue locket.

Suddenly, memories of a familiar dark-haired man emerged in Aletha's mind.

In a passenger car, where Phthonus screamed at Duron.

://"He killed DRIMI!":/

://"No, I didn't kill her but captured her soul in this necklace. The power that lurks inside her is so great that it has the power of a thousand suns."://:

Aletha remembered Duron providing his and Drimi's past to Aletha and how The Perfect Darkness' influence consumed Drimi. She remembered everything about it.

(Wait…) She thought as the memory of a strawberry pink-haired girl formed in her mind. (... didn't that vampire girl also tease me with her necklace? Did she lose it?)

Noticing the glossy edges and fabric of the poster, Aletha scratched her chin in speculation and mumbled.

"Now that I mention it, this poster does look fairly recent. C-Could it be that Rinnea lost the necklace? This is a two-for-one situation!"

After moments of pondering, Aletha shook her head and hurriedly sprinted back to the meeting area, knowing what to do next.

"If I win that foot race, it could solve not only my debt problem… but the possibility of getting Drimi back!" She screamed as she paced the roads hurriedly, pushing people out of her path. With that, she clenched her fists with a determined look, mumbling as she ran to the golden bell. "I HAVE to win this race! It could mean so much for Asahi and me too!"

Upon hopeful thoughts, Aletha grabbed the bottom of the golden bell underneath the tree at the center of the block. At first, she was hesitant. But having the thought of the foot race grapple onto her mind, Aletha took a deep breath and threw the bell with all the force she had.

(RING!)

As a result of the swing, the golden bell's ringing echoed across every corner of the city, greatly alerting the city's people, Ubel, Alai, and Dina, to Aletha's position.