Arc | Chapter. 86: Unexpected Encounter

Chapter. 86: Unexpected Encounter

Ceylon didn’t know why she reacted the way she did… or well, she did. She just didn't want to admit to herself that she had been this insecure about Arc not caring as much for her as she did for Arc. It was… such a stupid and dumb insecurity, but the notion of it being dispelled made her feel incredibly emotional.

All this time, she had been worried about being denied⁠— Arc was a Hero, she had her own goals and things to do, meanwhile Ceylon just wanted to tag along⁠…

Wasn’t that ridiculously unfair to Arc?

This entire time Ceylon had felt like that, but she had been accepted. All her worries had been put to rest right then and there, and it was nothing but cathartic relief. She was glad… all her insecurity had vanished just like that, and now all there was was calmness. One that made her restless heart feel at ease.

She had never expected this, nor for the talk to lead to this.

In the end, she just focused on relishing in the emotions she felt. Perhaps it was due to her lonely childhood, but right now she felt so weak, so vulnerable and so good. She had never thought she’d be able to rely on someone like this, but here she was, crying onto Arc’s arms.

A person she had met not too long ago and yet felt a stronger bond with than with anyone else. Arc’s embrace, one that she normally found cold, felt so warm now. It made her happy, it truly did. So much time stressing about it, and it turns out that there was no reason to stress out about it.

Perhaps… it was far-fetched but…

Ceylon truly felt like Arc was her family. Perhaps it was a thought she shouldn’t indulge in too much, but for now she chose to embrace it and simply enjoy the moment.

◇ ◇ ◇

Ceylon didn’t know for how long they hugged, but she eventually parted ways. She didn’t cry all the way, but she felt happy the entire time. Now, she felt a happy warmth all across her body, her face felt heated and her nose was tingling. It was… something she never expected, but she was happy now and that was all that mattered.

She looked at Arc who had a small smile on her face, though otherwise she looked the same. Ceylon couldn’t bring herself to meet her eyes, speaking quietly.

“Thank you…”

“What for?” Arc asked, her tone amused.

“Well for… accepting me and stuff…” Ceylon trailed off.

At that moment she heard a chuckle, and Ceylon suddenly felt a weird sense of indignation as she raised her head.

“What’s so funny⁠—”

And she paused, everyone present on the street was looking at them. Or rather, at her. Her crying, her emotions; they had all been in full display for the people to see. At that moment, her mind paused. Everyone had seen her. T-This was… Ceylon suddenly couldn’t muster anything to say as she felt her face grow heated.

Then, Arc tapped her on the shoulder.

“Don’t be embarrassed, come on now.” Arc smiled. “Let’s go to the adventurer’s guild.”

Ceylon blinked hearing the friendly voice, then a moment later Arc pulled her hand through the fabric. Her hand was pulled, but Ceylon was confused, she… hadn’t seen wrong right?

Arc paused and tilted her head at her.

“Are you not coming?”

“Oh…” Ceylon paused for a moment, suddenly becoming nervous before nodding. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Arc flashed her a smile, and that was all Ceylon needed.

This… her tone, her expressions, it was different. Arc seemed more… Ceylon didn’t want to actually say it outloud, but Arc seemed more… human. That smile was sincere. It was… not something she expected.

Arc blinked. “Do I look weird or something?”

“No,” Ceylon replied instantly before smiling. “Let’s go Arc.”

Without hesitation she took the lead towards the Adventurer’s Guild, now sure of what she had seen. And the realization truly made Ceylon happy.

“Alright.”

Arc agreed with a smile, and soon they both went on their way.

* * * * *

I had quite some time to process my feelings⁠— as for people staring at us. I didn’t really care, not right now anyway. What mattered to me was understanding the weirdness I felt; I certainly knew it was some form of affection, but it wasn’t… I didn’t really want to do anything with Ceylon other than enjoy her presence.

So I guess, after exploring whatever I could even potentially feel, I realized that I had felt this feeling before. And I knew what it was.

Love. Familial Love. Though, rationally I felt like it was a bit extreme to feel about Ceylon in such a way, and especially so fast. So I just kept it to myself and decided to let Ceylon do what she wanted to do⁠— whether it was to accompany me, or start her own company, or even become an adventurer. It didn’t matter.

All that mattered to me was the same as before, with the added bonus of realizing how much I enjoyed Ceylon’s bond. Unfortunately, Ceylon wasn’t my actual family or anything, which maybe was for the best, however I was more than happy to just enjoy what was happening and my current feelings.

I couldn’t really remember the last time I truly felt like smiling, but now here I was: smiling and feeling great about myself. It was hard to describe, because it’s not as if I was suddenly living the life, but it was just an improved mood I decided to bask in. I didn’t expect the feeling to last forever, but I was planning on enjoying it for as long as it did.

We walked through town, and before I noticed it we arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild. The atmosphere in the town seemed to be better, now that some days had passed after the attack from the Hero of Flames. It was rather chaotic on the day we set off to slay the dragon, which didn’t really help with the reaction we got upon returning.

As people had pointed out; we had returned the same day.

Some people ⁠— most people ⁠— had doubts about the success of the subjugation, especially given the wyvern variant that had been brought. But two days later, it had been confirmed, which sent further waves on the adventurer’s guild; that had been the main reason we took so long in the first place to do anything again.

Well I could’ve taken Ceylon to the Dark Forest and call it a day…

So, I guess Ceylon not leveling up was partly my fault which made me feel a bit bad, especially given my sudden heightened feelings for her. But, now I was going to make it up to her.

Without hesitation we entered the adventurer’s guild, some gazes were drawn⁠— a surprising amount of gazes landed on me as susurrations spread.

“Isn’t she that Medal of Honor holder?”

“Arc, right? Heard she successfully completed an S Tier request.”

“Yeah, but the damn Water Paladin was in her party, that’s not impressive!”

It was… weird to listen to. Ceylon seemed to tense as well, and so I decided to take the lead. Even with the ongoing atmosphere I felt relaxed enough to deal with it. So, I turned to Ceylon and smiled once more.

“It’s fine, I’ll deal with it.”

She nodded, relaxing slightly as we strode forward to the counter. The free receptionists had been staring at me the entire time, and when I arrived before one she seemed to almost ready herself before speaking.

“Ms. Arc, what brings you here today?”

“Arc is fine,” I said, feeling a bit awkward. “I’m just looking for any monster killing related quest? At least C or B Tier?”

“Oh.” She blinked, seeming somewhat surprised. “Just a moment.”

With those words, she ducked  behind the desk. The sight made me wonder if there was no better way to handle requests, but… well, I didn’t really care to ask. Perhaps they had had a different system some time long ago and this current system was the result of all the improvements they had made ⁠— it seemed likely.

I absentmindedly let my thoughts bounce around before an armored adventurer arrived at the guild. He wore a heavy black armor, his face couldn’t be seen, and⁠— he strode right in my direction. I could feel his gaze digging onto me in spite of being unable to see anything but pitch black darkness within his visor.

I raised my brow as murmurs appeared.

“Isn’t that the Armored Shadow? Peak B Tier adventurer?”

“Who?”

“You wouldn’t know him, he was active in a different city!”

Huh…

I ignored what was being said as the man stood before me, examining me before speaking.

“Ms. Arc⁠—”

“Arc is fine,” I corrected.

“Ms. Arc,” he began. “I have come here with a very simple request. And that is to ask you to do a test of strength against me.”

“A test of strength?” I asked, raising my brow.

“Arm wrestling,” he said simply. “Once we get it out of the way I won’t bother you ever again, how does that sound?”

“I don’t… know about that,” I said, scratching my cheek. “I’d rather not⁠—”

And I heard him chuckle. “Ms. Arc if you don’t want your secret to come out, you better listen to me.”

“My secret?” I frowned, feeling now bothered.

“Yes, you know what I’m talking about, what you don’t want the rest of the adventurer’s guild to know.” His voice was grave and I tensed. “So, what is it?”

I got even more irritated. How did⁠ some random person find out about me being a hero? That made absolutely no sense. I took a deep breath to ready myself for whatever shitfest was about to occur, and then the man leaned to whisper into my ear.

“If you don’t want the fact that you’re already B Tier to come out, then you better agree.”

And I blinked. “Ha?”

The man chuckled in superiority, and at that moment all my irritation turned into something else. I sighed and shook my head, turning to the counter deciding to wait for the receptionist. The man scoffed.

“You should rethink your choices, Frost Mage,” he threatened, grabbing onto my shoulder.

And at that moment I grabbed his hand, and turned⁠— flipping him through the air as I slammed him onto the wooden floor of the guild. The wood cracked as the entire guild grew silent, then with a snort and a stomp from my boot, his limbs were chained with ice that would melt after some time.

The receptionist finally peeked her head over the counter only to be confused about what happened, and at that moment the door to the Guildmaster’s office opened, and out came an old man with no hair on his chin or head and sunken eyes⁠— it was a familiar old man who let out a gasp upon seeing me, raising his voice for everyone to hear.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite Heroine, the Heroine of Frost!”