>

>

I'd better store the keys in System storage later.

>

Description has been successfully obtained. >>

>

She threw it at the floor, breaking it.

A melody played in the background.

>

Description acquired. >>

>

>

An interface was now showing her a list of the Containers owned.

°°°

Consumables:

High-speed frontflip x1

Memory Eraser 7h x1

Passive:

Description

°°°

She tapped on High-speed frontflip, and a pop-up window opened up.

High-speed frontflip

Spin to win, at the speed of light!

Pretty unique description, I must say.

What about the rest, then?

She tapped on top of both Memory Eraser 7h and Description.

Memory Eraser (7h)

No descriptions modules found.

Description

Top text

Bottom text

Yeah, all of them are unique in their own right.

She sighed and closed the interface, pressing on the X on the top right corner.

"System, can you store the keys in the storage?"

>

<< Item: Keys moved to storage. >>

>

Oh right, there was a fee.

"What's the fee then?"

>

I see.

Anyway, let's check if this dude has anything interesting on him.

She investigated the fresh corpse behind her but found nothing.

Whatever, let's get out of here.

She opened the door of the cellar, reaching a long, dark corridor.

This place sucks.

No wonder that guy has been pulling shit like that for ten years.

The building it's basically an abandoned prison.

Looking inside the other cellars, she noticed a large number of corpses.

Most of them have been here for a long time, years, I would say.

Those, for example, are almost entirely decomposed.

Ew, this place is probably a paradise for worms.

After examining the ones that got her attention, albeit without touching them, she resumed searching for a way out.

The more I walk, the spookier it gets.

The floor feels dirty, the air stinks, and the walls are immense.

I am probably underground.

This corridor shows no sign of ending yet.

I can only hear the noise of my footsteps and my breath.

Several thoughts crossed her mind while she proceeded until finally, she managed to spot a staircase going upwards.

Oh! A staircase.

Now relieved, she stopped for a second and relaxed her mind.

Whew, I was getting anxious, but it looks like luck is on my side.

Alright, let's get out of here.

Returning to the surface, she exited the abandoned building and returned to Ray.

It was late afternoon.

The streets were empty.

The shops were closed.

A single girl roamed the streets.

So it can also be like that, interesting.

I wonder if the tavern is closed too, I should go check it out.

I am hungry, thirsty, and tired.

I want to rest.

Even a rock is enough.

Arriving at the place, she opened the door and headed inside.

But she wasn't alone.

A curvy blonde girl was sitting on the ground in front of the door.

Isn't that the boo- bandit of back then?

Fine, I will be sleeping outside, time to run for it.

The curvy girl gripped her right arm firmly and politely said:

"We need to talk."

Oh shit.

I am dead.

I messed up, didn't I?

I shouldn't have stolen the carriage, right?

I am getting locked up somewhere again, right?

"Don't worry, I am not planning to harm you." said the curvy girl.

"Oh my, where are my manners.

My name is Ars. Nice to meet you."

She can't kill me here, can she?

Why is no one here?

-"Tch, do what you want to do with me, I don't care anymore.

I am hungry, thirsty, and tired.

I have no energy left.

I will not oppose you."

I have no choice but to take this outside and wait for the right moment.

My body is falling apart, however, I should still have enough energy to knock her out.

"I already said that I have no intention to harm you, therefore I won't do it."

"You said you were hungry, thirsty, and tired, didn't you?"

Ars took some bread and a bottle of water from her bag.

"You can have those."

-"Eat the bread and drink some of the water yourself first, then we will talk."

Ars completed the request.

"See? There's no poison in them, they are safe."

I have no choice here, damn it.

-"Fine, what did you want to talk about?" said the girl avidly consuming the meal.

"After you are done with your meal follow me, I don't want to stay here more than required."

It seems she is honest.

The girl nodded and quickly finished her meal.

"Good, follow me."

-"Wait a second."

"What is it?"

-"Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes."

-"How did you know that I would be here then?"

"Simple really... I didn't."

"I gathered information, changed my appearance, and asked around."

"Then, when I was about to head back, I saw you entering the tavern, so I figured out it could be a place of interest,"

"and it seems I was right."

-"So basically a gamble."

She isn't a fool.

I need to be cautious.

-"What abou-"

"I will answer all your questions later, we really can't stay here any longer."

-"Fine."

The girl followed Ars wordlessly until they reached a house on the outskirts of Ray.

"Welcome to our hideout."

It was a wooden building of modest size.

It seems like an ordinary house to me, but it doesn't really matter.

"I will go in first."

-"Yup."

The two girls went inside.

Against all expectations, the interior was really luxurious.

Expensive furnishings were all over the place.

Tables, chairs, couches, and paintings.

Everything was sparkling.

But even more surprising, was the attitude of the bandits.

They bowed their head in unison and roared:

"Welcome back, leader!"

"Guys tone it down. I have brought a guest today."

-"Hello."

Now I feel bad for calling them losers, they seem to be good people.

But I can't let my guard down.

Or so I would like to say, but I can't take all of them at once, damn it.

"Boss isn't that...?" one of them said, surprised.

"Yeah, she is the one that stole our carriage."

No one said anything.

I don't like this at all.

-"I will not apologize.

In fact, I have no reason to, since that carriage wasn't yours.

But, I won't deny that I disrespected you people."

She bowed her head.

An awkward silence ensued.

Then they burst out laughing.

Eh? What?

"It seems you had the wrong idea until now," said Ars.

"I didn't bring you here to ask for your apologies, but because I want to work with you."

"We did not need the carriage, you actually helped us by getting rid of it, since we already had taken all the goods stored inside."

"Since you are an outsider, I want to make a deal with you."

"You will help us with our activities, and in exchange, we will provide you with food, clothes, and weapons."

"What do you say?"

-"As activities, do you mean raiding vehicles?"

"Yep, and some other stuff too"

-"Stuff like what?"

"Turf wars."

That seems fun, not gonna lie.

Plus, I have nothing to lose right now.

Worst case scenario, I can just run away and get killed in the process.

But we will cross that river once we get to it.

-"I accept, may I add one condition?"

"Condition?"

-"As long as I don't reveal the hideout location or your identities, I am free to leave whenever I see fit."

"That seems pretty difficult but fine, after all, I am the one that brought you here.

However, if that moment comes, you have to tell me first.

I don't like people who flee after sealing a deal."

-"That's fine with me."

"The agreement is set then."

"From this moment onwards, she is one of us!" Proclaimed Ars proudly.

The other bandits started cheering, welcoming her.

"One of us!"

"One of us!"

"One of us!"

For now, this will work out.

This way, I can also learn more about this place, the rules around it, and maybe, even the phenomenon affecting me.

She smiled.

"Come, I will show you your room." Ars placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

-"My room? You are talking as if you knew I would join."

Ars stuck her tongue out.

"It was a gamble!"

She seems amusing.

* * *

The other bandits were talking about the new member.

"That girl seems fun, don't you guys think?"

"Ya are right, the way she bowed her head was hilarious. It seems she has guts."

"You guys didn't notice the most unusual thing." Said a grey-haired young man

"What do you mean, Eric?"

"It's the first time that Ars is smiling like that.

Isn't she usually way more distant?

She barely talks.

But this time, she tried to make that girl comfortable."

"Young missy is probably happy that she found someone she can socialize with of her same gender.

We are all males here, and you guys know that she often puts up a facade to encourage us.

But deep down, she always feels alone.

Well, this was the case until now, at the very least." One of them remarked.

They started laughing again.

Eric, on the other hand, was too busy thinking about what they just stated.

"I can't trust her yet, she is an outsider, and no one knows Ars better than me."

"If she tries to hurt Ars, it's my duty to kill her."

* * *

"So? What do you think?" said Ars, welcoming the girl inside the room.

Is this her room?

-"It's really spacious, but isn't this your room?"

"Indeed it is."

Oh, I think I get it now.

-"Ah, I see."

The girl looked around.

It was a really minimalistic room.

Two regular-looking beds, one wooden small table, a window, and a stone bathroom.

This is pretty weird considering that she is basically drowning in money.

Maybe she doesn't love fancy stuff that much?

Ars sat down on one of the beds.

"This will be your bed from now on.

I hope you will enjoy your stay."

That bed looks so soft.

After spending nights in the wild, I can't wait to lay down and sleep on a warm mattress.

But before that.

I want some answers.

The girl sat on the other bed, in front of Ars, and started speaking.

-"Earlier, while we were at the tavern, you said you would ask my questions once we were free to do so.

Is now a good time?"

"It sure is."

-"Then, here is the first question."

-"Why were we completely alone? It makes no sense at all, especially since the tavern seems like a place people would often use to hang out."

"I asked for permission from the owner, he is an...acquaintance." Ars made a brief pause.

-"An acquaintance?"

"Yes."

"I also wanted to talk to you alone, so I rented the whole place for one day."

-"But the door was open, anyone could've entered."

"I kept it locked until I saw you coming."

-"Why would you go to such lengths to talk to me?"

"The first time I saw you, you left a deep impression."

-"You mean as a thief?"

"As an individual. People usually wouldn't be so reckless to steal a carriage from a group of bandits, let alone naked.

The fact that you even were on your own while doing it contributed to making you seem like a weir- I mean, an interesting person."

Ars chuckled.

I mean, she isn't wrong.

-"To be honest, you left a deep impression on me too."

"Oh really? What did you think about me at the time?"

-"Boobs. They are huge."

Ars face reddened at the unexpected comment, but promptly recovered her composure.

"You really are a weirdo."

-"So it would seem."

They both laughed joyfully.

"You should go to sleep now, I have something I want you to take care of tomorrow morning."

-"Sure thing!"

"It was nice talking to you like this. If we have time, tomorrow night we could keep asking questions to each other. I want to know your story."

-"Sounds like a plan, 'night then!"

"Goodnight."