Looking at Rose, he understood that it hadn't helped. He felt a bit foolish. "Ahem, ahem, but I admit my mistake in lying to you. But I did it for the common good."
Looking at him skeptically, she said, "And what good is that, if I may ask?"
"You weren't worried about me. So my lie is justified. You could at least congratulate me on setting a new record for leveling up."
Narrowing her eyes at Kopii's remark, she said, "Yes, excuse me for such a harsh start to the conversation. Congratulations on leveling up."
"Thank you." After a short pause, he continued, "Alright, I'll go, I don't want to distract you from work." Kopii wanted to chat with Rose longer, but the stares directed at him irritated him to the core. He didn't like having all the attention on him alone, which is why he wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
But Kopii knew that wouldn't help. Everyone knows him now. Wherever he goes, he'll be recognized. He couldn't relax anywhere. He understood that everything would return to normal over time.
Leaving the guild, the problems of his popularity faded into the background. Now, it was important for him to find a way to control his thirst. After Miyaha's words that his rapid growth might be somehow connected to his "copying" skill, Kopii came up with the most suitable hypothesis: where his thirst came from.
He simply copied this feeling from the monsters back in the dungeon.
"Or maybe I copied the will of the dungeon." Kopii had heard many times that dungeons are alive, so why not?
He exhaled, "If this guess is correct, then what does it change?" He always thought that if he learned how it appeared, all the problems would be solved. But it was quite the opposite: he found out where it came from, or he thought it was.
But he still hadn't found a solution. He had even more questions than answers. What if copying is a passive skill? These thoughts scared him the most. If it turns out to be true, a passive skill, won't he copy everything? He didn't want to copy everyone. If he copied the feelings of monsters, could he copy the feelings of other people without even knowing it?
But Kopii immediately dismissed these thoughts. If that were true, he'd copy Gedo's or Kanoe's greed, even those very merchants. They were all obsessed with money. But he didn't become like that. Then, maybe it was a false guess.
Or did he dislike such people, therefore, maybe I didn't copy them? But I don't like monsters either. Now Kopii was at a dead end: the more he thought, the less he understood how it happened.
Or maybe this skill is conscious? I just need to think, focus on something, and maybe then I can copy it.
"Yes, that's brilliant! I need to test it. But what do I need to copy?" Kopii pondered, standing in the middle of the street. His eyes darted around, trying to find something interesting. Merchants, people hurrying somewhere, some are walking with bags, some are just strolling. Some linger looking at him, but quickly return to their business.
An idea struck Kopii, his eyebrows rose, and a smile appeared on his face unexpectedly. "What if I can copy such a strong feeling that it suppresses my hatred and thirst?" The more he thought about it, the more he realized it was a very good idea.
But there was one problem. What feeling could suppress it? How strong does this feeling need to be?
"What are you doing here, Kopii?" Turning around at the voice, he immediately knew who it was.
"It's you again, Raven. Too many coincidences, don't you notice? You've found me two days in a row. Are you really stalking me?" Kopii asked, raising an eyebrow, looking at that silly and naive face, full of joy.
"Of course not, Kopii, it's just a coincidence. I was just coming home, I needed groceries." Kopii lowered his gaze and noticed the bags, which were filled to the brim.
"Did you find yourself a family?" Kopii asked, raising his gaze.
"No, Kopii, but I'm close to it, or at least I think so. Well, I already tried to join a family, but everyone rejected me so far. But I don't see anything wrong with that, what is the path of a hero without difficulties."
"I see." The more Kopii looked at Raven, the more he noticed that his face was turning red. "Isn't it hard for you to carry such big bags? You've probably been walking for a long time."
"It's not hard for me, it's a trifle for a future hero."
"But your face doesn't say that."
"You know, Kopii, it's just hot today, that's the problem."
"Okay, I'll help you." Approaching Raven, he extends his hand to take a bag, but Raven pulls his hands away.
"It's really not difficult for me." But he ignored his words, snatching the bags from his hands.
"You should be able to accept help, Raven. Alright, where to go? You probably live in some kind of hotel?" Kopii asked, waiting for Raven's answer.
"No, Kopii, you're wrong, I have a home."
"Home!" Kopii said shocked, he couldn't believe what he heard. He's only been in Orario recently, but he can already afford a house. He'd mentioned that his mother wasn't too poor nor too rich, but being able to buy a house in the most famous city…
"Where did you get so much money?"
"Money? Not really, I acquired it for free."
"What? What do you mean for free?" I asked confusedly.
"Okay, follow me, I'll show you and you'll understand everything yourself. Let's go faster." Kopii had no choice but to follow him.
"And by the way, Kopii, congratulations on leveling up."
"Thank you."
"You can't imagine how surprised I was when I found out that my only friend here was able to set a new record for leveling up. You're talked about at every turn."
The more they walked, the more Kopii understood how he could already have a home.
"Isn't this an abandoned area?" Continuing to look at Raven's back.
"Yes, Kopii, I spent a whole day trying to find a more or less suitable place. You can't imagine how difficult it was for me. Everyone came." Raven turns to Kopii: "Welcome to my humble abode."
"Isn't this a collapsed building?"
"No, Kopii, let's go." Approaching the ruins, he began to move the board away, and there was a passage down.
"Is this a basement?"
"Yes, you're as perceptive as ever. Is it possible to live in the basement of a ruined building?"
"Of course, it is, Kopii, if it has air and doesn't leak, then that's the best place, Kopii."
"But is this building allowed, do you think it's okay to spend the night where everything might collapse?" Kopii asked, descending down.
"I checked everything, Kopii, don't worry."
"And how did you check? Did you jump on it?" But Raven was silent for a while, but after a while, he spoke.
"Yes, it's not that important, Kopii."
"Are you serious?" Already entering the basement. "It's quite cozy here," Kopii noticed, surveying the room.
"Yes, I just did a general cleaning here. There was so much garbage here. Can you put my groceries there?" he said, pointing to the table.
Putting the things down, Kopii thought: wasn't this an ideal guinea pig for his copying? He was a pretty good person, if, of course, he wasn't pretending.
"Alright, as a sign of gratitude, I'll cook something, you can't refuse food, Kopii, it will be a sign of gratitude." Taking out the products and starting to cook.
Kopii didn't care about the food, he wanted to test his hypothesis. He wanted to copy Raven's joy. Staring intently at him, Kopii tried as hard as he could to focus on Raven, as if there was nothing in this world but him. Time passed, and Kopii never took his eyes off Raven.
"Are you okay, Kopii?" Raven asked, finishing his steak, looking at Kopii's tense face. "You're looking at me strangely, didn't you like the steak?"
"I was just thinking. But about the steak, it was quite tasty. Okay, thank you for the steak, but I have to go. Goodbye, Raven," he said, exiting the basement.
"Goodbye, Kopii!" Raven shouted after him.