Chapter 20

Chapter 20: The three share their past

Vincent started to understand what he needed to do in order to learn something in this world.

It was to know and understand the things he desired to learn.

The inspection ability was something always available in games, thus easy to understand. The result was its most basic version, but that’s a good start.

Vincent understood how healing in games worked. Now he had to understand how it could work in real life.

He had a long and frustrating day ahead of him.

A day of doing nothing but to figure out how it could work. Only when night arrives could he try to learn.

“What does this minor heal do?” Vincent decided to ask Ester for pointers. Her father knew about healing, after all.

.....

“Hmm... Minor heal is... ” Ester stopped. She looked unpleasant as if something happed revolving around this spell.

“It brings bad memories, but you saved my life.” Ester was acting like this was a reward. As if she didn’t want to say.

This subject had something to do with her sadness, it seemed.

“Minor heal is a spell from the healer class. Healers are sought after by nobles. If healers don’t accept an invitation, then bad things would follow. Threatening and blackmail would be the most common.” Ester frowned while saying specific details. As if she experienced these things first hand.

Suddenly, Vincent remembered how her father had learned to create minor healing scrolls.

‘Wouldn’t he be also invited to meet a noble?’ he thought.

“Minor heal can heal cuts and can cleanse certain types of weak poisons or sickness. It can’t remove curses, most poisons, deep cuts, broken limbs, and missing limbs. Also, when used, the body will get tired, depending on the healing.” Ester seemed knowledgable as she mentioned a list of what it could do.

“So it’s like first aid. Are there stronger versions?” Vincent raised his browns filled with curiosity. The list of what it can do was very accurate.

“Yes, however, the proficiency in casting the spell is also important. A beginner and a master using minor heal will have different potency. One heal less, and the other heal more. As for scrolls, the potency of the spell inside depends on the materials used.” Ester revealed another sad expression mentioning these things.

“I understand. If this subject is making you sad, then please stop.” Vincent had lived most of his life with sadness, a cheery smile like the one Lupa sometimes made was what he desired the most. Not more sadness.

Ester wiped her face and left outside alone.

Lupa became overjoyed to be alone with her mate. She cuddled with Vincent as if he was a soft toy. How could he think about healing now?

A few hours passed, then Ester returned.

Vincent wanted to find a subject to remove Lupa from him. He couldn’t think with the alluring Lupa embracing him all the time. Like a predator not wanting to let go of its prey.

However, it was going to touch the subject Ester didn’t like.

“Ester, what will we do with gray wolves and Trek’s body? Will this cottage become yours after his death?” Vincent included himself if there would ever be a reward, he wanted in.

Starting broke in his adventure of survival was not a great start. This world could have different procedures, so he wanted to learn as much as possible.

“We might be able to sell the gray wolves for a silver each. But I’m not sure.” Ester didn’t seem to be very knowledgable. Well, she didn’t seem like a huntress.

Ester crossed her arms and placed her hand on her delicate chin, wondering how to answer. Then said, “The document of this property should be kept at the village lord’s office... ”

Ester raised her brows in shock as she suddenly realized something. With a worried voice, she blurted out, “Wait! Does that mean I don’t have a home anymore!”

Ester’s face kept getting gloomier by the second. Lupa wanted to help brighten the mood, so she said, “This place is broken and might collapse. Why you sad? It’s fun sleeping outside.”

As Ester heard this, her face became worse. With no money to fix the cabin, the worry of it collapsing filled her thoughts.

Vincent could understand how Ester felt.

Vincent was young when he couldn’t live in his home. His relatives feared his infection, and no one took him in.

Forced to live in the orphanage, his personality changed. He met a few others like him, but all received this treatment as well.

No one adopted them in his time there. That is why he called Kevin his savior.

Unfortunately, the infected children weren’t like Vincent. One by one, they got sicker each day. Some died, and some waited for their time to arrive.

To not have a home was a memory he wanted to forget. Kevin thaught him that a home is where ever his family was.

Lupa became a part of his family through strange luck, so he had his home embracing him tightly.

“Let’s think this through. Was this cabin yours or his?” Vincent wanted to use all the storied he had stored in his mind to find a way and help Ester.

“Trek built this cabin using his name with my money. I ran away from home and was in hiding. When I met him, he was chopping wood. He appeared to be a good person at the time because I collapsed sick and hungry. Then he helped me get better... However, money corrupted him.” Ester felt sad for trusting such a scum, but she gave him all the money it seemed.

“That bastard became a drunkard and a gambler, but thankfully he couldn’t touch me because of the magical contract. Trek never shared a coin, and I had to secure food myself.” Ester didn’t seem to have lived a happy life.

The three had gathered because of the book of heroes. It was like a gathering of unfortunate souls made by fate.

“Could you tell me about the magical contract? As you know, I know nothing.” Vincent asked as he became interested in what it could do.

“We had a magical contract that would end after ten years. It was going to end next month. It stated that the two parties must not in any way or form harm the other party until the contract ends.” Ester explained how useful such a contract was.

“However, this contract was created by my father. He also added a specific condition. At the end of the contract, the two parties must share half of everything. If not, then the refusing party would suffer a horrible karma curse.” Ester explained something that confused Vincent.

Did she run away? Or did her father prepare for her to run away? These were questions currently running in a circle in his mind.

“Can I ask if you could tell me the full story. I know it hasn’t been long since we met, but why did you run away? Did the nobles, as you said, blackmail or threaten your family?” Vincent felt like this was dragging too much. He needed Ester to tell her story from the beginning.

Ester flustered and took a step back. She averted her eyes, took out his watch, and fiddled with it. She was nervous as her actions were easy to tell.

Vincent and Lupa looked at each other. With a simple nod to two waited for Ester to muster her courage to speak.

A few minutes later, Ester offered a trade-off. Her story for his.

Vincent started with his.

Lupa couldn’t know the difference between both worlds because of her previous life. But Ester could tell the difference.

Technology brought fort many changes and ideals. This world had its own magical technology, instead of electricity and steel.

Two different incomparably things yet similar to what could an ingenious person create.

The two understood how Vincent had a hard past like them.

Lupa gently patted his shoulder while Ester could understand the pain of losing his parents.

Next, it was Lupa to say her tale. She didn’t add much other than she never ate a human, and was proud to be pure.

Lupa even grinned while boasting about this fact. As if this was a voucher for her to gobble him up.

Her human decency needed to improve as she was always saying every thought that passed through her mind, both good or bad. The sooner, the better she needed to learn.

Lupa also mentioned being afraid of something, but no matter how much Vincent and Ester said to ease her mind, Lupa didn’t reveal.

Deadly silence followed for a few minutes as Lupa kept her mouth shut. Then cunningly buried her head under Vincent’s arm to stop talking.

Vincent couldn’t move, so only his face could show what he felt. Unfortunately, he could feel her soft touch and soft silky ears.

Vincent could only curse why he didn’t lose the scene of touch as well. The tease was too great for his racing heart.

“Ahem... ” Ester cleared her throat to draw attention to herself. The two cuddling lovebirds seemed to be living on their own planet, and she needed to bring them down.

As all attention was on her, Ester told her story starting from the beginning.

At the age of thirteen, Ester had to leave her home in another kingdom. She was born in the Berlucia Kingdom, while this place was on the edge of the Selos Kingdom.

Vincent frowned when the kingdom’s name was said. It was the kingdom that killed Kevin, a kingdom he loathes.

Then Ester continued how after her father, who was a scribe mage, had learned minor heal scroll. As this happened, a Barron sent for an immediate summon.

It seemed this Barron didn’t want to hand her father to some else. It was first come first serve after all.

A thing the nobles fought for as healers became exclusive to these nobles, by will or force.

Her father had no choice but to accept the invitation. Later he had to serve the Barron. What happened, her father didn’t reveal.

Her mother was a dancer, and like Ester, her hair color was red. She also had a class but never used it, a sigil mage class.

Ester mentioned how the sword inside the great gray wolf as an heirloom her mother once received. However, she didn’t want to say what it was given for.

The three had lived happily until a villager was injured and required healing, so her father used a healing scroll intended for the baron.

He villager was healed enough to survive from closing his deep wound by half. With many herbs and remedies, he got well.

However, that was the start of their downfall.

It seemed her father had breached the arrangement made to the Barron.

At the same time, the Barron was enraged. The costly scroll was used on a peasant, one who wasn’t important to the Barron.

As weeks passed, their family was getting besieged by strange rumors. Some said how they were involved in vile atrocities, while others about working with demons.

The villagers started to shun them in fear of the rumors.

Ester couldn’t go out because of her flexible body. The children knew how good she danced and how much she could contort her body.

.....

Some started to believe the rumors and harras the family, while others called their daughter a monster created by wicked magic.

Strangely one day, her father gave her a healing scroll, a magical pen, and a magical contract. Her mother gave her a bag of food and an heirloom short sword.

It seemed her parents knew something bad was about to happen.

Ester stopped her story as her eyes poured tears from the horrible past. Vincent and Lupa felt sad by how bad her life was.

But this seemed to be the intermission as the story about Trek wasn’t told.

From one simple act of kindness, her family’s life flip upside down. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.