NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Deal
Chapter 17
Author's note: wrote the first half at night, after my part-time job, so it came out as not so great.
"Cursed cycle?" Kale hesitantly inquired, her voice audible and low.
"Yes, the Cursed Cycle—a cycle in which the weak and helpless are crushed, exploited without mercy," Moon said, his body radiating intense light akin to the sun itself as he looked on. "Innocent and honest, thrown aside, discarded, some even thrown in prison or executed just because of their very nature."
Kale quietly muttered, "But even...."
But Moon did not let her continue. "It is not possible to erase all evil since it is part of all living beings. Is this what you were trying to say?"
"…Y.es," Kale hesitatingly said.
"Kale, we live in a world in which gods, dragons, and devils live. There are beings out there older than even the stars themselves. Do you think there is anything impossible in this world? The only thing that restricts one from doing what they wish is a lack of power. And I will reach the very pinnacle of power to do what I desire." Moon said. His words were filled with conviction and belief.
Kale sat petrified in her seat. Her mind was confused and muddled as she digested Moon's opinion—no, his belief and conviction about his aspiration and his desire.
"I don't care if your opinion and belief align with mine or not; just remember, every minute, every hour I waste in this place, is a time that I could have used doing something better," Moon said, his voice reaching every nook and cranny of the small hut.
Kale sat quietly after that, her head down and her shoulders slumped. Her eyes were hidden behind her hair as she sat on her chair.
Seeing Kale's reaction, Moon wondered if he had been too harsh—but he wouldn't take back his words. For every word he spoke was from the deepest reaches of his heart, with not a single falsehood or lie visible in any words.
Here, he was trying to stay afloat in the power struggle of the city while trying to hide the fact that he was an angel by hiding or covering himself when inside the village or close by and most of the time living outside the city in a cave with only a bed as the only furniture. A thing that would be entirely unnecessary if he were in heaven. There he would be flying in between the clouds while fully spreading his wings, getting taught by angels who already paved and walked the path that he was walking. There he wouldn't have to go and train himself like a blind person navigating through a maze; instead, he would have a person guiding him, helping him, and even protecting him.
"In a few days, find a chance to connect with the Mink clan and propose my plan to them," Moon said as he got up from his couch and started getting out of the hut.
Meanwhile, Kale, after Moon left, sat on the chair for almost ten minutes. Her mind was a swirling mess as she looked at the past few months. She and her daughter lived a life of luxury for the past few months, where most of the time they were flanked by bodyguards and bought or enjoyed everything the village had to offer, eating the best food and sleeping on the best bed. Granted, they didn't just sit idly, since they managed the shop and trained. Katu mostly trained in the spear, while Kale trained in magic. Her magic, which mostly stagnated over the past few years, improved just like in her youth, just like when she studied under her teacher in the past. About two weeks ago, she reached mid-class, a thing which just a year ago she thought impossible since she didn't have any magical books or any money to buy decent equipment. Heck, even Katu reached mid-low class.
In stark contrast, Moon, because of his appearance and the implication of the truth about the fact that he was an angel, was revealed as always living in the shadows. He slept in a cave far from the village most of the time, without enjoying the fruits of his labor except for one bed that she smuggled out of the city, and trained day in and day out without any rest. Despite this, his growth in strength was lackluster; at least that was what Kale heard from him. Every time he faced a problem in his training, he would have to sit down and think it through by himself. The help the magical book and totem could provide was lackluster since they are all about mana, different from holy energy.
"The very pinnacle, huh?" Kale quietly muttered as she got out of the hut. Going towards the city to check up on business while sending a message to the mink clan to propose the deal Moon made. "I wonder if you can reach it."
After a few days, she managed to secretly converse with the mink clan and managed to appoint a place in which she could converse without anyone's eavesdropping.
The agreed place was a hill quite a few kilometers away from the village, where a cemetery used to be. But because of the fact that only the poor or unfortunate are thrown or discarded here, it became a place of scorn and disgust. Therefore, three clans buried everything in the cemetery and, in its place, planted a bunch of trees.
One of the things the three clans did that Kale personally liked, although she never voiced it.
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Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
Ding Ding
A wooden clock with a massive body akin to a tall, small closet rang loudly, and its bell sound filled the room where Kale sat. From a third-person perspective, the room where Kale sat looked like a fancy office that the lords in ancient times had. Granted, some of the craftsmanship of the furniture does not meet the standard, but the massive carpet is located in the middle of the room, the fancy chair and table are on the edge of the room, and the side on which a massive window lies is all outlined and became the main reason why this is akin to an office from an ancient noble time. And behind that massive table sat Kale, her hair combed into a businesslike style.
"It is time," she quietly muttered as she got up while grabbing the jacket that was hung over the chair she sat on. Her heels, which were not that tall but still considerable, rang as she walked out of the room.
tic tac tic tok
When she got out of the room, two bodyguards who sat beside the door walked up to her. "Miss, should I call Bernard before we depart?"
Kale nodded to the tall kobold bodyguard as she walked past them. "Call him and, remember, try not to start a fight." She muttered as she walked, her heels clacking on the wooden floor being the only sound that was produced in the quiet hallway.
After she walked away from her bodyguards, she took a right turn and opened a secret door. A trapdoor that will open when a person taps the floor in the right sequence.
From there she got out of the building while wearing a black hood that she got along the way. Then she quietly started walking towards the agreed-upon place. Along the way, a few figures started following her, their height varying quite a bit. Some as tall as 2.5 meters, some even as short as 1.5 meters. But Kale was not worried since about a third of the people following her, which was three, were her own. While the rest were probably mink or other clans. Nevertheless, she continued walking quietly, and when she walked out of the city, some of the people following her left. Few still followed her, but midway, when she was about a kilometer away from the city, her bodyguards stopped them.
So she alone walked towards her destination, but not straight towards it; she circled a bit to make sure that the people following her were truly gone before walking toward the meeting place. When she made it there, she saw only one person sitting beside a massive tree. The massive body of the tree was blocking the wind that would otherwise blow into the dark figure who sat, shielding him from rain and wind. The leaves on the tree made a rustling sound as they swayed back and forth. Some animals, like owls, cooed as they sat in the darkness.
"You are late," the figure said as he turned towards her. The hood fully blocked the faint moonlight falling on top of him.
"Had a little detour along the way, apologies." Kale slightly lowered her head.
The figure waved his hand. "None taken, so what important thing do you want to discuss?"
Kale quietly slid two steps to the right as the wind rushed straight toward her face. "I have a proposal for you and your clan. I will support you within the limit of my capabilities without holding back."
"Oh? Why the sudden change? I thought you were going to keep trying to maintain your neutrality." The figure put a hand under its chin as the figure leaned on the hand. Through the stretched hand, a white fur could be faintly seen.
"In exchange, I want your clan's support and a magical artifact capable of teleporting one across dimensions; it doesn't matter if it is a one-time use."
"Mmmm, magical artifacts are becoming quite rare in recent times, you know, and artifacts capable of teleportation across dimensions are so rare that I could even count the number of times they appeared in the city on one hand." The dark figure started tapping its finger on the ground as he sat.
Tic Tic
Kale remained expressionless as she waited, her eyes betraying no nervousness or panic as she looked on. "Mr. Phamt, should we meet again when you discussed this with your father?"
The shadowy figure who Kale referred to as Phamt waved his hand. "No need for it; I alone am enough. My clan has collected quite a few artifacts over the centuries that it has existed, and among them, there is indeed an artifact capable of teleporting one across dimensions, specifically to the human world."
Kale's expression faltered slightly upon hearing it. Just the slightest bit, barely enough that a normal person wouldn't notice under normal circumstances, but unfortunately, the figure immediately noticed it. "But you should know, potions won't suffice if we are trading an artifact of this scale. We will need more than that."
Her eyebrow unconsciously furrowed as she sensed him leading her on. "What do you mean by more? Please elaborate."
"Oh, nothing, just a tiny help from the person behind you will suffice." The dark figure's eyes started glowing in the dark as he slowly folded his hands.
Kale slightly furrowed her eyebrow, not because they knew there was someone behind her back. No, that was already an open secret from day one, when she first opened the shop with bones of middle-class beasts on display. It is the fact that he is proposing that he would be willing to trade if Sir Moon helped them. And from what she knows about them, that tiny help that he said would not be a tiny, not-so-troublesome help instead. It would be a favor equal to the value of what they propose, which in this case would be, in her estimation, fighting or killing a high-class being.
"I will need to discuss this," Kale answered while narrowing her eyes at the figure.
The dark figure just waved his hands calmly in response to her. "Go ahead, I am not that in a hurry. Let's see, how about a week from now? It should be plenty of time."
Kale nodded her head curtly. "Yes, it would be enough. Have a good rest, Mr. Phamt." Kale bid her farewell as she turned around and started walking away. But Mr. Phamt, after she took a few steps said. "Do you bear the grudge against the clan?" His words, almost a whisper, were delivered to her ears. Causing Kale to stop dead in her tracks. "Don't worry, my personal feelings won't affect the decision much," she uttered as she walked away, the wind embracing her from the back as she walked away.
"Won't affect much, huh, so it will still affect it." Phamt shook his head as he stared at the fleeting back of Kale, the owner of the biggest potion store in the city and one of the richest people. "I guess I should also leave," he muttered as he got up with a spring, dusting his clothes as he got up, and started walking away. But after walking a few steps, he stopped and looked behind himself, feeling like someone, or something, was looking at him, so he looked around a bit but didn't see anything but trees and some small animals. After which he shrugged it off the next second, deciding to trust the fact that he had already surveyed the surroundings several times before her arrival and his abilities over his instinct.
Which was in and of itself a mistake since about a kilometer away, Moon could be seen looking at him quietly. His form was covered in a makeshift dark blanket with only his pupils visible. "Not a single lie, huh?" He muttered as he sat.