Entering the city, Raven, looking around the surroundings, said:
– Look, Kopii, how beautiful it is here! Much more beautiful than I imagined!
– Well, I'll be going, Raven, – Kopii extended his hand in farewell.
– Huh? So soon? – Raven was surprised, extending his hand to him.
– Thank you again for saving me. – Kopii replied, already walking away.
– No thanks needed! I'm a future hero, after all! Good luck! – Raven shouted, waving to the departing Kopii.
Raven followed him with his gaze until he disappeared into the crowd. Because of his shout, several glances were directed at him, but Raven paid them no attention, rejoicing that one of his goals had been accomplished.
«This is only the beginning!»
Kopii walked past the familiar houses and the same merchants. For the first time in a long while, his soul felt at peace. During these two weeks of the journey, he had not been able to accomplish his task, but that was not so important. After some time, Kopii finally reached the Blue Pharmacy.
«At last, I'm home.» – He smiled a tired but happy smile.
Hearing the ring of the bell, Kopii rejoiced without realizing it.
Kopii saw Naaza in the same place as always. He waved his hand at her.
– Hi, Naaza, I'm back. – Kopii said, approaching her and looking into her as always sleepy eyes. Kopii noticed how Naaza carefully examined him.
– Hi, Kopii… And where? – Naaza asked, looking into Kopii's eyes with a question.
– In short… – Kopii described everything that had happened to him during the journey; of course, he did not tell everything. Naaza listened attentively, without interrupting. – That's how it all was, Naaza.
Naaza silently pondered the boy's words.
– Alright, Kopii, I understand… The main thing is that you're safe. – Hearing the ring of the bell and looking at the visitor, Kopii saw an unfamiliar man. He cast a fleeting glance at him and then immediately looked back at Naaza.
– Well, Naaza, I won't bother you, I'll go rest. – He said, heading for the stairs.
– Alright, rest. Take a potion to recover faster.
– No need, my wounds have almost healed, so I won't waste a potion, – he said, climbing the stairs. He wanted only one thing – to lie down on his mattress. For two weeks, he had slept in very poor conditions. Entering his room, he undressed and looked at his clothes.
«Should I throw them away or give them back at our next meeting?»
All his clothes were torn, and so Raven had given him his own. He was a little shorter and of a different build, so Raven's clothes were rather tight for him. But he had no choice.
Kopii decided to leave it for later and simply tossed the clothes into the wardrobe. At last, his long-awaited bed! It was soft and a little cool.
«What bliss.» – He thought, realizing how much he had missed this. And before even a minute had passed, he was asleep.
Waking up, Kopii felt rested. Without wasting time, he put on his equipment.
«Now this is clothing, I get it!»
Such clothing did not restrict him at all. Taking his arrows and bow, he left his room and unexpectedly ran into Miach.
– Good morning, Miach-sama.
– Good morning, Kopii. – A smile appeared on Miach's face. – Naaza told me everything. I wanted to check on you yesterday, but you were already asleep.
– I was just very tired, Miach-sama.
– Yes, I understand.
– Are you already heading somewhere? – Miach looked at the boy questioningly. – I think you should rest. You've only just returned from such a dangerous journey.
Miach felt guilt over Kopii's journey, for it had been his idea. He had told Naaza to send Kopii to that place to gather herbs. He had wanted to keep Kopii safe, but it had turned out the opposite; but who could have known it would turn out this way.
– Ah… But if you want to go down into the dungeon, then be careful, Kopii. – Looking at the determined expression on his face, he understood that he would not stop him.
Kopii shook his head.
– No, Miach-sama, I'm not going into the dungeon today.
– Yes. – Miach rejoiced, and at the same time it puzzled him. – Then why did you take the bow? – Casting a glance at the bow on the boy's back.
– Ah, this… well... – This question made him think, and he decided to tell the truth. – I just wanted to refresh my archery skills today. I'll go outside Orario and shoot at wild animals. After all, a moving target is much better than a stationary one.
Not the whole truth, of course.
– That's right, Kopii. Well, I won't keep you. But still, Kopii, be careful, even if they are weak. Never relax. – Miach did not see how Kopii's face grew serious after his words.
He had understood this perfectly on this journey. Those slavers had been weaker than him, but even so, they had managed to catch him. Kopii squeezed his bow in anger.
«If it weren't for that feeling, I would never have gotten out.» – Kopii thought, going down to the first floor.
– Good morning, Kopii, – Naaza said, preempting him.
– Yes, good morning, Naaza. – But before Kopii could say anything, Naaza thrust a healing potion into his hands. – I told you my wounds are insignificant. – before he could finish, Naaza interrupted him.
– No, Kopii, you will drink it right now. This is my order as the captain of the familia. – Kopii did not argue with her. Opening the potion, he drank it in one gulp. – Don't forget to rest, Naaza. – Kopii said, heading for the exit of the Blue Pharmacy.
He was so happy that he could not hide his ear-to-ear smile. He liked it when Naaza and Miach cared about him. He liked it very much.
– Naaza, – Miach said, coming down the stairs. – Did you notice?
Looking at Miach and pausing for a couple of minutes, Naaza replied: – Yes, Miach-sama, he has changed…
She had been able to feel it, and her feelings rarely deceived her, so she could trust them. And the first thing she had understood when she saw Kopii was that he had changed. As if he were a different person.
– Well, that's not surprising. But look, he found himself a friend; even from this journey, there is some benefit. What was his name again? – Making a thoughtful face, trying with all his might to remember the boy Kopii had met.
– Raven.
– Yes, Raven, I knew it… I'll be going, Naaza, the pharmacy is on you again.
Kopii left Orario. He did not know where to go. What animals lived where? But deciding not to think about it for long, he headed in a random direction, going deeper and deeper into the forest.
For half a day, he walked through the forest, but he could not find anyone; not a single animal came out to meet him except birds.
«Where are they? Did they conspire or something?»
– I've already gone quite deep into the forest, but I still haven't met anyone except these stinking squirrels. – Kopii stopped, looking around, and continued on his way. And finally, after some time, he met his first animal. It was a hare.
«This is my chance!»
Kopii drew his bow.
«I must understand…»
Releasing the string, Kopii hit the hare. He felt that thirst again, but as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished just as quickly. Kopii squeezed his bow in frustration.
«How am I supposed to learn this if it only appears for a second? Should I go into the dungeon and kill there?» – he thought. But Kopii understood that this was a rather foolish idea, for after any monster, the thirst completely seized him.
And that could end very badly.
Kopii sighed, realizing that his training was turning into torture. He picked up the hare, deciding that at least some use should come from this outing. Having lit a small campfire, he began roasting his catch, reflecting on how to deal with his thirst. But the more he thought, the less he understood what to do and how to solve this problem. He had too little information.
Thus one week passed. Every day, he went hunting to understand how to control the thirst, but it yielded no results.
«Every day it's the same… Fruitless!» – Kopii shouted in despair, throwing his bow to the ground.
Kopii had only one solution left – the dungeon. Kopii thought it was better to kill monsters outside Orario, but the more he thought about it, the more he leaned towards abandoning this idea. After all, if the thirst seized him again, who could stop him? Ordinary people? Only one thing remained for Kopii – to descend into the dungeon.
Kopii walked through the streets of Orario. Walking through the noisy streets, he pondered.
«A week wasted…» – Kopii sighed, regretting the lost time, but he could do nothing about it; wishing that he had already done it was pointless, he understood that, but he still regretted the loss of time. Kopii was so deep in thought that he did not notice how he bumped into someone. Raising his gaze, he saw a man with gray hair and gray wolf ears.
When the man turned to face him, Kopii noticed a blue tattoo on the left side of his face and saw arrogance and superiority in his orange eyes.