DAKU
"Yum!" Kana exclaimed as she took a spoonful of mushroom stew I cooked into her mouth. I remembered Miss Hanaka told me that it was her favorite, so I tried to make her one. After all, she deserved it after everything she'd been through.
"I hope it tastes just like how your mother makes it," I prayed.
Kana's expression shifted from intense joy to bittersweetness, and I couldn't help but be mad at myself for bringing up such a sensitive topic. The table went silent, and it was making the atmosphere weird. Even Shiro noticed how the mood around him shifted.
"You and your mouth, Daku," Grosi commented.
"It's fine, Master Grosi." Kana regained the smile she had earlier and looked at me as if I wouldn't know that she was just faking it. "It tastes just like how my mother makes it, Mister Daku."
Apologizing to her would just make things worse, so I decided to open up a new topic that we could focus on and divert our attention from what happened just a while ago.
"Kenshi and I will be gone for days," I started. "We'll be taking a dungeon-clearing quest at the Tragifa Valley."
After mentioning the said location, Grosi's brows met at the center. An expression that he knew what we were up to.
"So you've finally found one?" he asked. He then took a bite of the bread he was holding before fixing his eyes on me.
I nodded. I was about to devour the last food on my plate when Kana slammed her hands on the table and stared at me.
"I want to go, too!" she declared. She had this determined look on his face, and by the way she gripped the spoon and fork, she was eager and serious about it.
But I couldn't put her in danger again. She already had enough near-death experiences, and bringing her into one would make us murderers. I promised to protect her, and I was going to do that.
"No," I replied while shaking my head in disapproval. "It's far too dangero—"
"But I can help you! Remember, I can fi—"
"A no is a no," I warned and stared at him in full serious mode. Her shocked and disappointed expression replaced the face she had earlier.
"I'll go pack some things now. Shiro, have Kana help you with the dishes."
"Yes, Mister Daku," Shiro agreed. His shaky voice told me that he was worried.
I left the kitchen and went straight to my room. Conscience and guilt followed me because of what I did to Kana. I knew she was already involved in this fight. She was a victim of these people. They killed her mother. But that didn't mean we had to endanger her when we could protect her instead.
I hoped Kana would understand my decision. It was difficult for me to say "no" to her, but it would be most difficult for me and for everyone if she got hurt because of my stupidity. I bet Kenshi would do the same if he were in my position.
Upon arriving in my room, I immediately grabbed the satchel that I always used and packed the necessary things to bring. It was just two days ago when I saw myself preparing in this room to rescue Kana, and now here I was again, doing the same preparation but for a different purpose.
***
"I'll be leaving now. Please take care of the shop," I favored, and Shiro agreed enthusiastically. "And Kana..."
I watched her avoid her eyes at me. I knew she was upset and mad at me, but I had no choice. I couldn't afford to see her getting hurt again. A promise was a promise.
"...we'll be back," I continued.
I just sighed and proceeded to walk toward the door. I paused for a minute, hoping Kana would change her mind and talk to me before I went, but I received nothing.
There was no helping it, and so I left the shop. I went straight to the adventurer's guild where Kenshi would meet. And there he was, in the same spot and position as yesterday.
I thought of trying to ditch him again today, but knowing how keen this person was and how he noticed me yesterday, doing the same trick twice would be a stupid thing to do.
Kenshi noticed my arrival and walked beside me. As expected, everyone dug their dagger-shooting eyes at us as if we had done them dirty. We both ignored them. It was the best thing to do.
"You're here again!" Delilah greeted us when we approached the counter. "I assume a quest interests you?"
"Sort of, but someone has taken it already."
"Is it possible for us to take the same quest and join the first party?" Kenshi asked.
Delilah's forehead creased. "What quest are you talking about exactly?"
"The dungeon at the Tragifa Valley," I answered. "I know Keiro and his team have already taken the quest, but we would also like to do it."
"You already know the rule that a quest can only be taken if no one has taken it. So technically, it's impossible for you to take the same quest."
"Is there really no other way?" I plead.
"Actually, there is, but it won't benefit you in some ways."
Delilah told us about how we can go inside the dungeon without breaking the guild's rule, and they called it "Exploration". Exploration is when adventurers are hired to navigate and scout the area for possible threats and loot; however, one must secure an Exploration Request Letter from the employer.
"So basically, you two are not allowed to make the letter because you are the employee," Delilah emphasized. "If you can find an employer to hire you, only then can I give you the exploration permit."
"Found ya!" a high-pitched voice of a kid roared in the place and got everyone's attention, including me and Kenshi. And it was Oanya. "Looks like Jihar predicted it right! You two are really here!"
"Oanya? What brings you here?"
"To give you this!" Oanya held out an envelope and handed it to me.
"What is this?" I asked, wearing a perplexed expression. I received the letter and looked at it in pure confusion.
"Jihar said it's something you need just in case. He never told me what exactly the contents of it are, but I'm pretty sure it's important," Oanya said. "Anyway, I gotta go. Still have some work to do."
I never got to properly say goodbye to Oanya because I was so confused about the letter. I didn't even thank him for delivering it to us.
"Are you just gonna stare at it or open it?" Kenshi questioned.
I slowly opened the envelope, revealing a folder letter inside it. I read, and my eyes gaped upon realizing what this was.
"Delilah, I think we just found an employer, or should I say, the employer found us?"
***
Kenshi and I left the guild, both holding an exploration permit. Thanks to Jihar's Exploration Request Letter, we were able to go to the dungeon without any problem.
But what amazed me most was the fact that Jihar predicted that we would go there. Because if he didn't, he wouldn't bother making the letter and asked Oanya to deliver it to us. Now I could tell why Jihar became a famous merchant. He was one step ahead of everything.
Before we started our journey, Kenshi and I decided to take a stop in the market to buy some rations. We bought bread, fats, spices, and lots more that we thought we could use in camping. When we were satisfied with our procurement, we headed straight to the gate where Yukio was waiting.
"Setting off on a journey again together?" he asked as he reviewed our papers.
"Just trying not to get rusty," I jested, making Yukio laugh.
"Smart," he complimented. "But is it really just you two?"
My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"It's not that I'm thinking that you two are...you know. What I meant is you could recruit more people to join you. You know what they say: the more, the merrier."
"We don't need more people. More people mean more responsibilities. One is enough responsibility already," Kenshi explained, and it irritated me about what he just said in his last statement.
"Excuse me? I'm not your responsibility, in case you don't know! I never asked you to!
"A-Anyway, you're good to go! Safe trip!"
I grabbed my paper from Yukio's grasp and strutted off out of the city's gate. After what Kenshi said, I don't think I could walk beside him.
How dare he say that? I never asked him to do that. So annoying.
***
The journey in the last two days was smooth. Today marked our second night, and by tomorrow, we would arrive at the entrance of the village.
A fire was already illuminating the spot we picked to spend the rest of the night, while Kenshi was busy preparing our dinner. I was still upset because of him. I just didn't like how they thought of me. I was indeed a healer, the weakest class of all, but that didn't mean that I couldn't look after myself.
Staring at the ground, deep in my thoughts, I was disturbed when a bowl of soup appeared in front of my vision. I followed the hand that was holding it and saw Kenshi looking down at me, wearing a stoic face.
"Gosh, I hate to see that face," I thought before grabbing the food away from his hand. I took a spoonful, and I hated to admit it, but the taste was heavenly. Probably the best soup yet.
"I'm sorry," Kenshi suddenly said, stopping me from taking another spoonful of the soup. I looked at him. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you need someone to look after you. I didn't mean it that way."
Kenshi gazed at me, and our eyes met.
"The reason why I said you are my responsibility is because you are the only one who can help me with my curse. And I don't want you to think that I'm using you, that's why I tried my best to protect you. It's the only way I can repay you for being my only healer."
This was the second time that Kenshi spoke longer than usual. And I understood him.
I thought he was done, but he continued. "And even though you are pretty capable of protecting yourself now, I still want to protect you. And I hope you'll let me."
I didn't know how to respond. I didn't know what to say. My mind couldn't seem to find the words. So all I did was nod. I nodded because that was all I could do.
Kenshi returned his gaze to his food. I did the same and focused on finishing the soup in my bowl. But I felt strange, like something was in my stomach. Was it the soup? My face was warm as well, and I felt like shouting at any moment. What is this feeling?
I closed my eyes and concentrated on calming down. This unknown and intense emotion growing inside me was making my heart race, and I needed to calm down to return my heart to its usual pace. It took me a lot of breaths before I got it back to normal.
I exhaled one last time and opened my eyes. But my heart raced once again upon seeing Kenshi's face up close to mine. He had this worried look until he placed his hand on my forehead.
"You're hot. Are you okay?" he asked.
I stared at him, speechless and in shock. My body wouldn't listen to me either. We just stared at each other as if we were in a staring contest.
All of a sudden and for no reason at all, my eyes travelled from his eyes onto his lips. And when I see it, its redness and plumpness made me want to kiss it—
"Waaah!" I screamed and pushed Kenshi away. My action surprised him so much that he almost fell if it wasn't for his hand, which anchored his body.
I diverted my face away from him when I face heat up even more. My heart raced up and my whole body trembled as I recalled the thoughts I had a while ago.
Why did I think such a thing? What made me think that I could kiss him?