Understanding Sarina’s confusion, Vahn attempted to give her a very brief summary of his past and abilities. In the midst of this, the girl sleeping at his side gradually stirred, her eyelids flickering for a moment before grabbing the cold compress on her head.
“Well now, look who decided to join us…”
Though she had already noticed someone sitting next to her, the auburn-haired girl startled when she heard Vahn’s deep yet gentle voice. The only thing that prevented her from immediately trying to run away was the strange feeling of comfort that had spread through her body, suppressing the fear, pain, and hunger she had become accustomed to since her arrival in the Divine Realm…
Seeing the girl bolt to a seated position, a sad smile developed across Vahn’s face as muttered, “It would seem you have suffered quite a bit. Don’t worry-”
Rather than wait for Vahn to continue speaking, the auburn-haired girl interrupted, asking, “W-Who are you? What do you want with me…?” in a wary tone.
As cheesy as it might sound to the average listener, Vahn softly replied, “You can call me Vahn. Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for what I want…well, it would make me happy if you were happy.”
Borrowing a worn yet refreshing page out of Tiona’s book, Vahn pushed up the sides of his mouth with his fingers, playfully contorting his face into an intentionally silly smile.
Though a concerned frown appeared on her face, the auburn-haired girl seemed to understand he wasn’t a threat as she quickly relaxed, shoulders and head slumped as she meekly replied, “There is no happiness left for me in this world…”
“Hmmm…”
Noticing the girl’s aura diminish quite a bit as she was speaking, Vahn quickly sorted his thoughts before extending his hand and manifesting a golden apple out of thin air, saying, “Eat. It’s hard to be optimistic on an empty stomach. You’ll feel better once you fill your belly.”
Though it wasn’t actually necessary to eat in the Divine Realm, going long periods of time without food or water affected the mind and body. This was especially true for those who had only been in the Divine Realm for a short period of time. Thus, having confirmed the girl hadn’t eaten anything in quite some time, Vahn figured he might as well address her empty stomach before moving on to anything more complicated.
Staring at her reflection in the remarkably shiny apple, the auburn-haired girl was surprised to find that she was actually salivating. This was an inherent property of the apple, and, while it was a little underhanded of him, Vahn didn’t mind making use of his ‘Gifts’ if it was to help people…
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[Golden Apple]
Rank: B
Function: An irresistible golden apple that captivates anyone who sets their sights upon it. Just a single bite is said to fill one’s belly and bring happiness. Eating the entire thing, core included, is said to replenish stamina, removes abnormal status effects, and cleanse curses.
———————————————–
Before she even realized what she was doing, the auburn-haired girl had already taken several bites out of the apple. This caused a warm and fluffy feeling to spread from her stomach as memories of her past, specifically happy memories related to her mother and father, caused tears to swell at the corners of her eyes.
“There, there…it’s okay…if you want to cry, go ahead and cry. Just remember. No matter how sad or painful things get, there is still happiness to be found in the world. If you’re unable to find it in the present, you need only look to the past. It is memories like those that give us the strength to create happiness in the future…”
Though it earned him another pouty glower from Sarina, Vahn gently caressed the auburn-haired girl’s head as she continued to eat the golden apple. Instead of engorging herself upon it, however, she was now taking progressively smaller bites. She seemed to equate eating the apple with being happy, so, fearing the moment would escape her once the apple was completed, she attempted to draw it out for as long as possible…
…
..
.
“Feeling better…?”
Staring up at the man who, even now, continued to caress her head, the auburn-haired girl slowly nodded before replying, “Thank you…” in a meek tone of voice.
“Don’t mention it.” replied Vahn. Then, with the best smile he could manage, he retracted his hand from the girl’s head before asking, “So? Feel like introducing yourself? As I mentioned previously, my name is Vahn. As for this little one here-”
“Sarina. My name is Sarina.”
Though it was a little awkward since they were seated on opposite sides of each other, Sarina made a show of grabbing Vahn’s arm as she introduced herself in an audibly hostile tone. This caused the auburn-haired girl to appear afraid, so, before things could get further out of hand, Vahn adopted a stern tone, stating, “Sarina. That’s enough. You followed me with the intention of helping people. Is this how you behave towards someone who just experienced a trauma…?”
Surprised by Vahn’s tone, Sarina quickly released his arm, a nervous and apologetic look on her face as she exclaimed, “S-Sorry! Please forgive my rudeness…!” before promptly bowing her head.
With his arm freed, Vahn was able to caress both girls’ heads, chuckling lightly as he said, “That’s a good girl. Now, how about you introduce yourself, little missy? It would also help if you explain why those men were chasing you but I won’t force you to disclose anything you’re not comfortable with discussing.”
Though she was still more than a little nervous, the auburn-haired girl sheepishly replied, “My name is Nono…Nono Nalnanananu…”
Blinking in mild surprise, Vahn’s smile became somewhat wry as he asked, “Nalnanananu…?” just to confirm she hadn’t added a few extra syllables. In response, the auburn-haired girl simply nodded, mild confusion visible in her eyes as she asked, “Is it…strange…?”
Laughing in the most good-natured way he could manage, Vahn retracted his hands from the two girls’ heads before rising to his feet and answering, “Of course not!” in a spirited tone. Then, before either could make sense of his actions, he turned back, a luminous smile on his face as he extended his hands to the two girls and added, “It’s a wonderful name.”
…
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Since they had been garnering too much attention at their previous location, Vahn escorted Sarina and Nono to another small Cafe, this one attached to a rather pleasant-looking Hostel. There, he let the two order whatever they wanted before handing arranging two rooms, one for himself and one for the girls.
Having secured a place to stay, Vahn returned to the table to find Sarina and Nono trapped in an awkward silence. The former was still feeling guilty about her earlier behavior. As for the latter, well, she was just confused by everything that was happening.
Pulling up a chair to the side, rather than sitting beside either girl, Vahn picked up a small cheese pastry, biting into it before explaining, “I went ahead and booked two rooms. The two of you can share one. Unless, of course, you someplace else to be…?”
Though he had already checked Nono’s situation with the Law of Identity, Vahn wanted to give her the chance to explain things. It would also make things a lot easier if she directly asked for his help, as, after his most recent awakening, he was trying to avoid resolving everyone’s problems. He was a little tired of trying to fix everything himself, so, unless she asked for help and showed a willingness to take control of her own life, there wasn’t much he could do for her…
Turning melancholic in response to Vahn’s words, Nono hung her head for several moments before finally mustering up the courage to mutter, “I don’t want to go back…but…but I’m afraid something terrible might happen if I don’t…”
“Is it your Community…?”
Despite knowing the answer, Vahn still tried to lead Nono along so that she wouldn’t fall silent. In response, she nodded her head, explaining, “I was summoned seven months ago…in the beginning, everyone was very kind to me…they told me I had a powerful Gift and wanted me to become one of their fighters…but…but I don’t like fighting…”
Tearing up, Nono began to sniffle as memories of the last seven months resurfaced in her mind. She could still remember how well her Community had treated her when she was first summoned. A few of the senior members had even taken to referring to her as their Little Princess. They showered her with all kinds of praise, and, even when she made mistakes, they were always quick to console and encourage her…all the way up until they weren’t…
In the end, the only thing her Community had really cared about was her Gifts. Her future self was apparently an influential priestess back in her homeworld, one with the potential to even seal away the Gods. Unfortunately, they lacked the means to summon her more heroic iteration, so, with the intention of grooming her into a powerful weapon, they ended up calling upon her much younger self. What they failed to account for was the fact that she had only grown that powerful due to the hardships she had experienced and the other heroic figures at her side. Without going through all of those things, she was just a normal little girl. Someone who disliked fighting and only accepted their invitation out of naive curiosity…
Once her Community realized she was just a ‘useless brat’, their treatment became progressively worse. The only exception to this was her Leader, but, after everything that had happened, Nono didn’t trust him. These feelings only grew when he attempted to convince her to give up her Gift and simply become a Maid. He promised she would always have a place within their Community, but, when she tried to get him to agree to a Geass, a contract that bound people to their word, he immediately got angry and accused her of being a selfish brat who didn’t know what was good for her.
After that incident, Nono found herself isolated within the group of people who had promised to become her family. This ultimately led to the previous event, an incident that involved members of her own Community conspiring with a group of ‘Gift Hunters’ to try and steal her Gift. They wanted to force her into a Gift Game with extremely unfair conditions, warning that if she didn’t play along they were going to lock her away until she either gave up or committed suicide.
Instead of abiding by these terms, Nono did the only thing she could think of at the time. She ran. It didn’t matter how tired she was or how painful each successive step became. She kept running as if her life depended on it, because, in no uncertain terms, it did…
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After listening to Nono’s story and assuring her that everything was okay, Vahn allowed her to rest, ‘forcing’ Sarina to watch over her as he stepped out into the busy city streets.
In the end, Nono didn’t actually ask for his help. Instead, she wanted him and Sarina to leave so that members of her Community wouldn’t target them. She didn’t want anything to happen to them, so, in turn, Vahn had decided he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. Thus, after placing her into a very deep and peaceful slumber, he set out with the intention of settling her debts.
Fortunately, he didn’t have to travel very far. Members of the same Community were able to track their other members using various artifacts. Such items were originally intended for Gift Games that involved searching large areas or entering Labyrinths, but, at times like this, they could also be used by malicious individuals to track those who wanted to escape. Thus, without even needing to travel more than two blocks, Vahn found himself promptly surrounded by a group of individuals lead by a man with silvery-white hair and golden eyes…
“Well, this is convenient…”
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘Atalanta would like to know your location…’,’Kidnapping and grooming are evil…’,’Vahn could probably drown these asshats just by releasing his Gift Cards xD…’)
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