He was in complete bewilderment. It seemed to him that they knew each other quite well, but now she did not even know who he was. Maybe it was just a joke, but then why? Maybe the Sword Princess was right.
«Maybe Raven was only in my head, just like Kane is now. No, it can't be, because others interacted with him, and I could interact with him, just like with everyone.» – The more he thought about it, the more tangled he became.
– Here's your order. Enjoy your meal, Kopii.
Kopii was pulled from his thoughts by a bowl of noodles.
– Thank you.
Casting one last glance at the departing Syr.
– What a bad outfit, too covered up.
– Shut up, you're in the way of my thinking.
– What, no way… you can think!!! Kopii, let me give you advice, as your better version: don't overestimate yourself; thinking is not for you.
– … why doesn't anyone remember Raven? Don't you find this whole situation strange?
– No, I don't care about you, or the dead, and possibly already forgotten by everyone corpse. Why should it bother me?
– Well, what else could I expect from you.
He said in disappointment, starting to eat.
– What to expect? That I speak the truth. Kopii, understand, you're making a mountain out of a molehill, and you always do that, with any problem. You should learn from me, and then everything will be fine.
– I'm not making…
– No, you do it constantly. Look, for example, the Sword Princess. You should be glowing with joy that such a girl has become attached to you, because of ordinary words for us, but not for her; in short, you should just relax and calm down. You did everything possible: you told the truth, and she didn't believe you; it's not your fault. Understood… or is that too smart for you? And most importantly, you can use this to your advantage.
He fell silent. However hard he tried not to listen to Kane, in some moments, he was actually right, and he understood it. But he still stuck to his principles: it was better to overestimate his problems than to underestimate them, and then regret it for the rest of his life; he did not want that.
All the following time, while he ate, Kane did not speak again.
Paying and leaving the "Benevolent Mistress", he immediately headed home.
Bang.
Before he could react, someone ran into him, but he managed to stay on his feet. Before he could say anything, she apologized and ran away.
«Well, whatever,» – he thought, not dwelling on it.
Seeing a sweets stall, he decided to treat himself, but however hard he tried, he could not find anything.
– Where is my money!!!
Starting to turn around, looking back at his path, in case he had dropped it. But, seeing the crowd, he immediately understood that if his money had fallen, it was definitely gone.
– Ahahahaha.
– Shut up.
He barely whispered, and, sad, headed home; on top of that, Kane laughed at him the whole way.
– Just shut up already; it happens to everyone, there are failures.
– Only to you can this happen, to such a loser. Hahaha.
– …
He simply decided to put up with Kane's behavior, since he could not influence him in any way, because he was only in his head.
If only he knew how to get rid of him, he would not hesitate for a second.
Some time later.
He was returning home again, and again someone ran into him. Then the next day as well. And every time, he heard the same apologetic voice. And Kane mocked him more and more.
«Next time, I won't let myself be robbed so easily.» – he thought, listening to Kane's laughter, for the umpteenth time. He was gaining more and more confidence that he would not leave this just like that.
– Oh, I can't, hahahaha. Three times in a row, like a sucker. Ahaha.
– Just shut up already; I won't let her do this to me again.
– We got up from the dungeon kind of early today, and we forgot to go see Naaza again.
– Do you think you can change the subject?
Seeing how his plan was ruined at the root. Which spoiled his mood. He thought about how he could catch the thief, while at the same time entering the basement.
– Aaaa aaaa aaaah!
He screamed, seeing a sudden face in front of him in the darkness. On instinct, he attacked the stranger, but it masterfully dodged and managed to lay him on the cold floor in a second.
He began to resist harder, but the stranger's grip was monstrous; but when a familiar smell struck his nose, he stopped resisting and relaxed. Feeling this, she released him; getting up from the cold floor and dusting himself off, he looked at her with a fixed gaze.
– What are you doing here?
– Hahahahah, look, he said it as if he hadn't screamed like a little girl a few seconds ago.
Kopii asked this question out of politeness; of course, he knew why she had come.
– You know.
And so another day passed; nothing new. The Sword Princess, not hearing an answer, left, but said she would return, and he did not doubt it.
– Do you think we'll find that girl? And how will we know it's her?
–… What do you mean? Are you really that stupid? We remembered her voice, so the rest is easy.
– Well, it's getting dark soon, so we won't have to wait long. There she is.
Kopii whispered, jumping on her and grabbing her arm. Now he could examine the girl more closely; it was a rather small body with chestnut hair and eyes.
Bang.
– Ow!
But he could not admire her for long, as he received a blow to his most precious part!
– Hahahahahhaha, how the hell, Kopii.
He had underestimated her, because he was sure that her peak was level one; lack of money had served as motivation for theft; if she were higher, she would not be doing such things. If she even attacked him, he would have won without a problem; because of this, he had relaxed. Which led to the current situation.
«A blow below the belt, how low.» – He thought, falling to his knees from the strong pain. – «I lost again. I've become stronger, but I still lose to the weak.»
But he quickly recovered from the consequences of the blow.
– Shut up!
Unable to bear Kane's laughter, he shouted, hoping that he would shut up, but his hope collapsed when his laughter only intensified. And with mixed feelings, he went home.
He simply did not know what to do with himself; he just lay on the bed, while the Sword Princess sat and ate what he had cooked.
«She's eating me out of house and home.» – He understood, but could do nothing about it; she was many times stronger than him.
– Well, fine!
Kopii exclaimed, getting up and heading for the exit.
– Where are you going?
– To update my stats.
With these words, he left the Sword Princess, who cast an interested glance at him but said nothing more, continuing to eat his food.
Quickly running to the Blue Pharmacy.
– Not expecting me, but I'm back!
Flying into the Blue Pharmacy, he shouted. But seeing the customers casting strange glances at him. But he did not care about those glances. He was so popular that he had gotten used to all kinds of looks.
– Hi, Naaza, how are you?
– Fine.
– That's good. Well, I came to see Miach; is he here now?
– No. But he'll be back soon.
– Yes. Well, then I'll wait.
He rejoiced; anyway, he had decided to take a day off today, so he had nowhere to rush. And staying alone with the Sword Princess was stressful for him.
– Did he go to the store? Or just for a walk?
If Miach went somewhere for a short time, it was either for a walk or to the store; but if he went to his friends, he could disappear for a whole day.
– He's at the Denatus.
– Ah, yes… Hmmm, what's that?
– …
– …
He looked at her, and she looked at him. Under her gaze, he felt stupid, which made him start to doubt whether he had asked something wrong.
– It's a gathering of gods, held once every three months. Questions are decided there, and also titles are given to adventurers who have recently leveled up.
– Ah, I see…
She sighed, looking at Kopii's smiling face; she did not understand whether he understood or not that soon he would receive a title. But the more she looked at him, the more she understood that he had understood nothing. But before she could speak, his face lit up with understanding.
– A title! I'll get a title. Hahaaaa, seriously!
He rejoiced; since childhood, he had always dreamed of his own title, and now it was happening. Now some name would be given; he only remembered two titles, the Sword Princess and the King of Mercenaries, the only titles left in his head.
Seeing his joy, she only smiled sadly; she guessed what he was thinking right now; she did not want to upset him and simply decided to stay silent.