Chapter 9: Farewell?

That day I kept staring my eyes fixed on the screen for the whole night. It was only until the birds started chirping that I realized that I hadn't got even a brink of sleep.

Why?

Because I was waiting patiently to buy something at its lowest possible price. It went without saying that it was profits that I was after.

I was desperate. I wanted to move away from here as soon as I could. The longer I stayed... the more dangers I would be exposed to considering that most of these children in this city were rich in mana. You can find some cowards preying on weak people like me anywhere you go.

But it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

Even if I had a rough idea of when the prices were supposed to fall and rise, I didn't knew the exact day and time. I had to scare at the screen for days waiting for the fateful day.

Well... it would have been an easy ride if things ended with just that.

The problem was that there were quite a few times when I had misjudged my memory and made wrong choices incurring some heavy losses. It was pitiable but it was unavoidable considering my memories of these days were hazy because of the traumas I had to go through. There was only so much I can expect from this muzzy memory of mine.

But even more than all of that...

*Tring* *Tring*

Somehow the doorbell rang distracting my focus from my screen. For the first time ever I turned around my head only for my eyes to be assaulted with a piercing pain as the sunlight flashed on it.

Ugh, was I staring at the screen for too long?

I got up from my seat rubbing my eyes as I peeked through the window as to who it was.

I could have ignored it, but I probably wanted a break from my mindless staring.

"Ah, that's Rika, isn't it?"

Rika and I weren't that close yet, at least in this life.

Then perhaps, did someone from the school sent her? I could only wonder.

Well, considering that I didn't appear for even a day at school for the last month it wasn't too absurd for someone to ring my doorbell. I was just smartly avoiding any trouble caused by those ruffian kids. The point was that even if they were kids they had powers that could easily push me to the edge.

But wouldn't they be sending Eri in that case? After all, she lived so close by.

"Hmm, strange..." I couldn't help but stroke my chin.

She didn't have to stand there for long. As my mother did come out to greet her with a smile... but as soon as she noticed the dress code, that smile turned into a frown.

The frown was something I had already expected.

Mother, probably didn't want to deal with anything that was related to me anymore. When she saw the uniform that I used to wear, she felt repulsed. I was the black sheep that she despised.

This was also one of the reason as to why I was so desperate to leave this place. Everyday here was literally killing me from inside out.

*Sigh*

More often than not, I have the urge to go out somewhere and just not come back home. But considering that I had to work on my computer for so long, I don't have the option to do that.

As I lamented at how unfair fate had been to me... a knock soon came on my door.

*knock* *knock*

"So she was sent here instead, huh?"

No one would probably send a young girl who came as a guest directly into a guy's room all alone without even a cup of water to drink. But mother probably didn't want to deal with any of it and just showed her the way.

While it was completely a different scenario when it came to Eri, but Rika and I hardly knew each other. Mother should have put more thought into it at least.

Letting out a sigh, I opened the door and greeted her.

"Hello, Rika."

I put up a business smile.

It felt awkward as hell. In the past life, I was close to Rika and I knew a lot about her. And it wasn't the kind of friendship built over on booze but one that was based on trust.

But now I have to act my part as if we are complete strangers and I don't know how to do that. I am possibly the worst actor or at least that was what Eri used to say.

"Whoa, you are sweating buckets. Is a cute girl too much for you to handle?" she chuckled.

There she did it again. Actually she is pretty good at teasing others. But deep down she is quite a rational fellow.

But even in that kind of scenario what she claimed just now was wrong.

I mean it would have been a different scenario if it was the real 'Noya' she was dealing with. But I am different. I am someone who came from the future.

Needless to say that I found Rika's charm childish as best. I mean how could she even hope to charm me with a body that hadn't even matured at all?

I shook my head.

"There you go getting all narcissistic again. Are you sure about what you say, Ms. Sefl proclaimed 'cute'?"

"What! You..." her cheeks turned red like two ripe apples.

Actually it wasn't just her. I had the same opinon even when it came to Eri.

I mean I wasn't saying that she was any less cute. But compared to racks that the adult Eri had... hers felt childish at most.

"Anyway, jokes aside. What can I help you with?"

"Hmph! Do you have to keep me standing outside? How rude."

"I mean if you want to come, then you are welcome. But beware, my room is kind of messy."

"Whatever"

I could only wonder why she trusts me so much, but it wasn't like I was going to do something weird in the first place.

She came in and helped herself to a seat.

"Say, why aren't you coming to school, last month? And there are also dark cicles under your eyes. What the hell have you been up to? It's not like you would have had to study if you had come."

I left a sigh.

"Well, you know my score at the coming of age, don't you? What is there even for me in school after all of that? And besides I am planning to..."

"Eri misses you."

I was made to swallow my own words before I could utter them. I could only stare blankly at Rika in a daze. Well that seems to be some bad news to me.

"She doesn't share her troubles. But her eyes are always fixed on your seat you know?"

I am sure that Eri already knows why I have already holed myself here. But she seems to have some lingering feelings towards the whole thing.

But I can't help her. Or rather, it would be better if she were to forget about me.

*Cough*

"Well, if she misses me she could always drop by. And I am sure she knows why I am not coming to school."

And here I was being quite a hypocrite myself. Although I knew why she wasn't willing to face me, but I didn't want to accept it to Rika and blamed her for everything.

Rika rolled her eyes seemingly a bit annoyed.

"Well, what do you want then?"

"Rika, I am not sure if Eri had told you this. But I am not going to live here anymore. I am moving out somewhere where there are possibly no dungeons at all. That would be the safest considering my low mana. It would be better if Eri gets used to me not being around."

I didn't want to outright reveal where I was going so I kept the information to myself.

Rika nodded.

"I am aware of that. But that's not what I am asking, am I? What I want to know is what do you want to do."

What I want to do? Well that was clear. I was moving according to my own plans in the first place. And that is what I had ought to do.

"What I want..."

But even if I knew what I had to do... for some reason I couldn't answer her question at all. It was as if I was questing my own plans as if they had some big hole in them which I couldn't really identify.

For some reason, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, tomorrow is the last day of school. After that we would all bid our farewell. Don't you want to meet her one last time before moving out?"

"Well..."