POV Hadwin Harper

It's hard to wrap my head around it.

A telepathic corgi, a psychopathic one-armed young man, and a mysterious redheaded woman all sit around a simple table.

The corgi persistently begs for food, while four purple arms made of mana hover around him, attempting to snag any unattended food.

The young woman eats slowly, continually teasing the young man without a hint of concern for his silent resentment, which is visible in his eyes despite his unchanging expression.

Nathaniel just sits there. From the place where his arm used to be, a new one grows, made of mana. Its pale blue light shines, and he moves it around, bending it at the elbow, twisting the wrist. Even the fingers move, making it all look incredibly difficult.

They all seem accustomed to each other's company, looking almost like a group of siblings. And I'm just sitting there awkwardly.

Occasionally, Nathaniel glances at me for a moment but doesn’t say anything.

"Nat! You suck at this. Look, it's simple!” The young woman continues to tease him while two mana arms float around her, behaving exactly as normal arms would.

And she does it with such ease.

(Asshole!) The corgi continues to shout his new favorite word. Even though his mana arms aren't as perfect as the woman's, they come close.

They both continue to tease the young man, who watches them quietly with curious eyes.

At this moment, he doesn’t seem like the homicidal man I've always taken him for. He appears more like an older, patient brother being teased by his younger siblings.

Biscuit, you're a good boy, but enough is enough. No more of your favorite snacks.

Also, move your mana arms a bit slower so I can observe them better. They're not as good as Ruby's, but it's easier to learn from slightly worse versions than from her nearly perfect ones.

And Ruby, just wait. I swear I'll steal the entire batch of sweets you're hiding in the living room. I know you're saving them for later and that they were super expensive.

My revenge will be terrifying.

I notice Hadwin watching me, but I don't acknowledge him and let him continue observing.

Right now, I don’t know what to do with him. He seems to have been sent here by Ruby's master, so hurting him is out of the question. I'll just wait and see.

I have time; there's no need to rush.

The afternoon slowly turns into the night. At some point, Ruby brings some alcohol and encourages us all to drink it. It tastes like a mix of strawberry and basil. It's cold, and I really enjoy the taste. As I continue to sip it, I observe the people around me as time passes.

At some point, the corgi falls asleep, and Ruby leaves.

I end up in the room with Hadwin and Biscuit's head on my thigh. I continue to caress him while my mana arm clumsily holds the glass of alcohol, and I drink.

"Will you hear me out?" Hadwin asks.

Our eyes meet for a second. He's serious. I nod and wait curiously for him to continue.

“It's about the deal I want to make with you.”

Interesting, does he think that I would be interested?

“Allow me to explain.”

I remain silent, so he continues.

“I used to be a policeman,” he pauses, and seeing no reaction, continues, “damn, you’re not making this easy.” He sighs, “I met people like you.” Another pause, “Let me correct that. I met people that I thought were like you.”

I caress Biscuit’s head and slowly sip from the glass held by my mana arm.

“But you're different, and I'm still not sure how to categorize you right now. Trying to kill you was probably a mistake on my part, still, I want to make you an offer that would benefit both of us.”

He takes a big gulp of his drink and looks at me.

“Until the end of this floor and for the entire duration of the next one, I will work with you. I will deal with people for you, and help you so you can focus on your training and leveling as much as you can. I have a lot of experience in this kind of stuff, so you wouldn't be on the losing side. You could see it on the first floor. I'll also share all the information I have with you.”

I notice that he hasn't specified what he wants from me in exchange, likely to make the offer sound even more appealing. He's probably predicting that I'll behave similarly to how I did on the first floor, allowing him to extract some use from me as well.

It's a tempting offer. All I have to do is give up my revenge.

Well, it was a pathetic attempt on my life, and up until then, he was more helpful than annoying. I also have already beaten him, which made me feel better

"Okay."

"Okay?"

I nod.

"Okay," he repeats, then laughs helplessly.

“Now, tell me about these 500-year-old healers."

What the heck are they? This is the first time I've heard of them.

It sounds so cool!

The older man just sighs quietly before he explains.

I enter the room next to the one where we were drinking. Ruby sits there, close to the fireplace, sipping from a bottle next to her. The bottle is beautiful, like a brilliant diamond cut into a stunning shape, with a small amount of red-colored alcohol inside.

“That was nice of you, to forgive the poor old man,” she smiles at me as I sit down next to her in front of the fireplace.

She offers me the alcohol, and I take a small sip.

I've never tasted anything better in my life.

“I see you like alchemical wine,” she smiles as she retrieves the bottle and continues to sip from it, looking at me.

“I don’t even want to know the price,” I reach out, and she hands me the bottle while smiling playfully.

“Yes, you don’t want to know.” After I take a sip, she grabs it back and stares at the fire inside the fireplace.

For that moment, she looks so lonely, so weak.

But then the moment passes, and a smile forms on her face - a smile that often seems so fake.

Then she moves closer and lays down with her head on my thigh. She looks up at me, and this time her smile seems more genuine and cheeky.

“I think I understand why Biscuit likes lying down like this so often. It's surprisingly comfortable.”

I sigh. At this point, I might get offered a class called 'Novice Body Pillow'.

“Tell me, Nat. Do you want to know my real name?”

Please, don't call me Nat.

“Not really.”

She's still smiling, but I see it's not as genuine as before.

“That’s so like you.” She lifts her hand and pokes my nose, similar to how I boop Biscuit’s nose.

It doesn't matter what her real name is. I will always remember her as Ruby. A poor woman imprisoned and used by the system or maybe not even real. Just one of the multiple copies of Ruby. One of many.

“You have a scary look on your face.”

I guess? Somehow it doesn’t feel good. I don't like it.

“Nat, don't ever become like my master, please,” she says after a short pause for thought. Her face is serious as she looks at me, holding my head with both her hands while laying down on my lap.

She makes me look at her, “Don't let yourself be seduced by her power, by her mana. She's so lonely, so cold, so scary. I wouldn't like for you to become like that.” She pinches my cheeks, “Just stay the way you are now. Maybe try to smile a bit and show your affection to other people more.”

That just doesn’t sound like me.

She pinches harder.

Oi, that hurts.

I try to grab her hand, to move it away, but I can’t budge it an inch. She is so much stronger.

I sigh and let her continue to pinch my cheeks, and she smiles victoriously. After a while, she stops, bored by my lack of reaction.

A quiet laugh emanates from her.

“We have an entire room free. There are so many places to sit at, yet we are so close to each other.”

You're the one to blame.

“It feels comfortable, you know.” She adjusts herself, making herself more comfortable while the fire continues to crackle in the fireplace. She picks up the bottle, takes a sip, and spills a tiny bit of alcohol. She then laughs a bit. “Oops, I just spilled alcohol worth one gold.”

Cold sweat starts running down my back. Worth how much?

“You're a good listener,” she closes her eyes after putting away the bottle and her voice becomes quieter and softer, “I know you won’t tell anyone, and your presence is so calming. You're so incredibly weak, yet you always seem to know what you want and what to do. I'm jealous of you.”

She pauses and out of nowhere says: “Pet my head the way you do with Biscuit, and I'll subtract 10 gold from your debt.”

I immediately start doing so, gently caressing her red hair. She shudders under the first touch, but then a small smile appears on her lips.

I like this smile. It feels much more honest than any smile she's shown up until now. She's like a small child pretending to be strong, but I know the truth after spending some time together. Deep inside, she's just another unhappy soul, too weak to be true to herself.

Lately, she's been nice to me and even taught me a few things, so let's give her a little extra. I lean closer to her ear and whisper, “I will never forget you.”

She freezes, her eyes opening wide, almost scared, surprised and not knowing how to react. I burn that view into my memory and cover her eyes with my hand.

I will never forget this lonely young woman who likes to pretend she's brave.

Not even if she's just another fake, one of the many.