Another Stupid Isekai

I started the day by finishing the food left in my backpack. There wasn\'t much, but enough for few bites. Then I went to look for Hatta. I found him in the tent, with Marcella. He was helping her to take care of the wounded.

- Good news - he said as soon as he saw me. - Nobuo woke up during the night. He healed himself, but not completely. The crystals we had prepared were not enough.

- I\'ll bring more.

- You could help with your magic too - said Marcella.

I nodded in response and started helping. I used most of the life energy on Nobuo, though.

- I want you to know that your help is appreciated by everybody here - said Hatta. - I know those last few days had to be terrible for you, and yet you are here, helping.

- You are also here and also helping.

- You know what I meant.

- I know... Hatta... I\'ve been pushing it, but I believe it\'s time. I need to see her.

He sighed.

- I knew you are gonna ask sooner or later. We burned Nadia\'s body, just like the others. There was no time to bury them, and we couldn\'t leave the rotting corpses on the streets.

- Do... Do you have her ashes?

- No. It was a rushed decision. We burned everybody all together. I\'m sorry Peter.

I just nodded. Words couldn\'t pass through my clenched throat. Few tears dropped on the ground.

- We gathered the ashes and put them in a clay pot. But those are ashes of everybody and some wood...

I kept nodding. He went silent after a moment.

- I... I\'ll go bring some more crystals - I finally said, then left.

He didn\'t even try to stop me. Marcella did though. She grabbed my arm, as I was about to get out of the tent.

- At least get some food with you. You need the energy to walk and fight.

I ended up following her words and filing my backpack with provisions. Then I left. I headed straight to the goblin cave, thinking about the last time I spoke to Nadia. I yelled at her, to go back to the barracks. If only she had listened to me and never got outside... But she didn\'t. I felt like I killed her, and it just devastated me. I couldn\'t even properly say goodbye.

After the first goblins showed up, I could extinguish my anger a bit by slaughtering them. I finally reached the cave, cleared the guards, and dealt with the horde. Shadows picked out all of the stones, as I went inside.

I mase some fire in my hand, to lighten up the darkness, enough to look for Ki\'rai. She was there, waiting for me in her goblin form.

- Morning Ki\'rai - I said.

She looked at me, twisting her head a bit to the side.

- What? - I finally asked her.

-I know it\'s morning. I don\'t know why you tell this to each other. Can\'t you see the sun already rose in the sky?

That brought a little smile to my face.

- It\'s a way to greet ich other. You can also say hi, how are you, and other things I can\'t think of at the moment.

- Greet?

- You don\'t know what does that means?

She shook her head.

- It means to recognize somebody. It\'s a way of telling them you know they are here. You are being polite this way.

- But they can see, so they know that you know, don\'t they?

I let out a short chuckle. It was so hard to explain.

- They do, you are just being polite.

- Polite?

- It means you are being nice to somebody. That\'s how you get friends. You are nice to them. Polite. Like for example... I was polite to you yesterday when I gave you food.

Her eyes lighted up a bit on my words.

- Do you have more?

I smiled.

- Yes I do.

She didn\'t say anything after that, just waited, so we ended up having this strange stare-off. I have up eventually and took off my backpack, to look for those dried fruits. I gave her a handful. She grabbed them immediately and started eating.

- You should say thank you.

She froze, then looked at me for a moment.

- Thank you - she finally said.

Her words brought me a strange joy. I had to bite my lips to stop myself from smiling.

She finished her food shortly after, and just went deeper inside the cave. I followed her, quickly making up the distance she gained by taking me by surprise.

- Wait. Why are you going so fast? I thought we will be able to talk, at least a bit.

- We can walk, and talk at the same time.

- Ehh... So, Ki\'rai, how old are you?

- How old? I\'ve been born eight years ago.

- Eight years?

- Yes.

- And what you\'ve been doing uptill now? Roaming the outside?

- I\'ve been training in the facility, and when I was finally ready, I was sent to the outside, to scavenge the crystals. That\'s how I found about you.

- So your masters also need the crystals?

She didn\'t answer.

- How about a different question? What do you think we were pulled here, into this world?

- I\'m not allowed to answer those questions, and yet you keep asking them.

- Why not?

- My masters will answer them for you when you prove your worth.

I sighed.

-Then... Then how about this one. Do you think there will be another invasion? Should we evacuate from the city?

- He already send you a dream, with his will. Fulfill it, and you will be safe. Isn\'t it obvious? He could kill you by sending more monsters, but he didn\'t. You survived his trial by fire and proven yourself. As long as you won\'t repeat your mistakes, you should be safe. Just do what he wants.

- He wants the device upgraded...

- Yes.

- But why?

- He is the only one who could answer that question for you, Peter. Maybe my masters\' also could give you some information.

- Maybe?

- They know a lot, but not everything. Focus on the hunt for now.

I sighed and kept following her.