- I want to book goblins for her - I started, and pointed at the girl. - For as soon as possible.
- That's what I thought - said Will with a smile on his face. - I can squeeze you for tomorrow with five other small groups. The dungeon is booked by...
He needed a moment to look through the large book on his desk.
- Some guys I don't know - he finally said. - Oh, no, wait. They are with the guy... What was his name? Andy! You remember Andy?
- Yep. I do - I replied.
- So yeah, you can't have the dungeon, but what you find in the forest is yours, as long as somebody isn't killing it already. Too bad I can't go with you, because I have to stick here, but not for long!
- You have a replacement?
- Yes. Good old Brutus will be taking over for a month. If he does well, then we will be switching among ourselves. I also talked with Nadzieja, and she might be joining too, since less, and less people need her help with learning archery. And - he added with his index finger in the air - as soon as we get school established here, Dusting is visiting for a month.
- That's great news! - I couldn't help but smile.
- Yes! - he agreed - And the school might happen even as soon as next week. There should be the first scientists coming, and some of them are prepared to teach, but you know... Nothing is set in stone yet, and they will need time to get accustomed to everything.
Tihana wasn't happy, judging from her expression.
- I brought some alien junk for them - I said. - From my little trip.
- Alien junk? - she seemed surprised. - Where you did even go?
- To a place, nobody who already doesn't know, shouldn't know about.
- Exactly - said Will.
I came closer to high five him, as Tihana rolled her eyes.
- You are worse than teenagers - she pointed out.
- Yes. We are adults - I agreed.
She rolled her eyes again.
- Ok. Let's go, we are blocking the line, and people outside probably want to kill us.
- See you later - Said Will, and waved, as we moved towards the door.
The line outside got silent again when I opened the door, and nobody said a thing until I didn't leave.
We went to the city center, and I bought us some pizza, drinks, and a bit of grain for Tam, then I took them all on one of the roofs. We sat on the edge, with the chicken behind us, packing the seeds, and we shared the food looking at the city from above.
The sun was shining brightly, making everything look bright. You couldn't even look at the windows in the buildings, because of the deflected light. For me, it was still hard to believe how it all changed and now looked more modern.
The streets were mostly empty at this hour. Some people walked here and there, with a purpose. Mostly heading towards or back from the gate hall.
She needed a moment to think before she said anything. I waited patiently as she stared into the space in front of her, slowly chewing the pizza.
- It sucks, and it's great. I can't watch anime here, but people are nice. I have a bed to sleep in every night, and I dint have to worry about food or clothes. The training sucks, but sometimes I have fun. It's just different, but for the first time, I'm feeling like I'm doing something. Like I can do more, so much more. It makes getting up in the morning easier. Before that, there was just waiting for another episode of another story...
- I get it.
- You do?
- Yeah. I had it too, briefly, but then they beat the shit out of me and it was all just about survival. Trust me, you can be so much more than you are now. Just don't rush things. The beginnings will suck. Everybody around you will be stronger, and they will earn more, but you need to persist and push forward. When they will fuck around, you will be hunting, and you will slowly beat them. That's what I did.
She looked at me, and smiled, then she shoved a piece of pizza into her mouth.
- In a year you won't be just a nameless homeless girl from nowhere. You will be somebody people outside will respect, and you will help many. Like superhero.
She didn't respond for a while, chewing a mouth full of food, but eventually, she dealt with it.
- Yeah. I want to leave my old life behind, and build something new here. Earn tons of money, and make my own anime.
I snorted.
- That's your dream?
- Why not?
- I'll let you play the role of a pet or something.
I snorted again.
- Never going to happen. Even the main protagonist is below my pay grade.
She smiled at me, genuinely. It made me feel this strange warmth in my heart.
- You are just afraid you wouldn't be able to pull that off. Pets are cute, and you are a mean bully.
- No. Pets are... - I looked at Tam, he was observing me very carefully, clearly listening to the conversation. - Very cute, yes. Very cute. And I'm too much of a badass to play a pet. No bully, but badass that's the world you wanted to use.
- You know... This is the first time somebody didn't ridicule my idea of making anime. Thank you. You are a cool dad.
- The coolest. Now tell me the plot, and I'll tell you how much it sucks.
She did, and it was terrible. I laughed my ass off, pointing out the bad ideas one by one. We spent hours discussing her story, but since our sits weren't exactly the most comfortable, we changed the places, and returned to Boris's house, to talk some more, and play a bit with his son.
The day came to an end with 24 360 290 points remaining on my account, and 21 class points.