Back to the Bar

After Ursa was calm enough, he didn't waste his time with the two men who had already passed out. Instead, he quickly ran over the large wooden box that those two used to keep the girl, opening it forcefully with his bare hand. He ignored the tingling pain he felt from doing so, knowing that the first priority was the girl. After about a minute, he finally managed to pry open the box, just to find out a little girl who was about half of his age who was so tensed as she expected one of the two kidnappers would greet him.

Looking at the trace of tears on her face and her dirty hair that was tangled with dirt and dust, Ursa felt a wave of sadness for her. He noticed how frightened she was and quickly untied the gag that covered her mouth.

"It's okay, you are safe now." He said gently, trying to comfort her. He also loosened the ropes that tied her hands and feet, knowing that it must be uncomfortable for her. "Don't worry, I am here to help you. Everything is going to be alright." He reassured the girl after seeing the slight doubt and fear flash on her face. In this kind of situation, making sure the victim was safe was his priority.

The moment she felt her limbs were freed, the girl finally started to relax, and with a hoarse voice, she decided to ask, "Who are you?"

Ursa paused his work instantly at the question, not knowing what to say. While he just did everything spontaneously for the mission the system gave, he was still conscious enough to realize that giving away his identity would be dangerous for him. After all, if he was correct, he just offended Golak Mayar, a veteran council who had a lot of connections in this city, and once his name arrived at Golak Mayar's ears, it would be easy for the old man to know everything about him, so he had to be careful here.

Still, he knew that he had to be recognized for the reputation points, so after pondering for a moment, he said shortly, "Just call me Vega, okay?"

"Um." The little girl nodded, wiping the dry tears from the corner of her eyes. "Thank you, Mister Vega."

There was an awkward silence around those two in the next few minutes. It wasn't like Ursa didn't want to ask anything of the girl, but he couldn't waste his time here. First, he rummaged all the things those two kidnappers brought, from a small pack of tobacco, two pieces of silver coins, a candy, and most importantly, a phone that probably recorded all the conversations they had with their boss. He still remembered that the mission from the system wasn't just to save the girl, but also to expose the evil-doing of their boss. So, even though he didn't know how to open the phone's lock screen, he was sure that it would be valuable in the future.

After that, he also used all the ropes that were used to tie the little girl earlier, and his victims were those two men. It was ironic to see them who just a few minutes ago threatening the little girl now was helpless on his knee as he tied them both over the electric pole close to him. Fortunately, this alley was close to the intersection that connected two big roads, so he didn't have to feel guilty that something bad would happen to them.

After doing all of that, Ursa finally nodded in a satisfied manner, happy with the result of his work. Then, he turned back to the little girl who now was not tensed anymore and stared at him curiously before he patted her head fondly. "Don't worry, I will bring you back to your father. But before that, maybe, a bowl of warm soup and a glass of water will be good for you."

He laughed merrily as the girl blushed furiously when they both heard her stomach growling pretty loudly. Inwardly, though, those two were relieved for a completely different reason; Ursa for having succeeded to complete the hardest part of his mission, and the girl for being saved and out of danger anymore. With that in thought, they finally left the dark alley here, with Ursa leading the girl back to the Dons bar once again.

-0-

Aliyya Sunni didn't know what to think of the man in front of him. She berated herself for still being wary of him, knowing how ungrateful it was for her to feel so. After all, the man in front of her just risked himself to save her from the two mean kidnappers when he didn't even have to, and he even also promised to bring her back to her father. That was definitely not something that she thought would be possible when she realized she was getting kidnapped earlier this morning.

However, her train of thought was stopped instantly when she smelled something rich and creamy from the pot the man – Vega – was busy with, and when she heard her stomach growl once again, she blushed furiously, hoping that the man didn't hear that just like before. Unfortunately, she knew better than that, especially after hearing the man's chuckle.

"Don't worry, little girl. I don't know how long you've been kidnapped by those two, but I am sure they didn't provide you with anything good, right? It is nothing embarrassing to feel hungry after being tense for most of the day. I know if it was me, I would be starving. Oh, here."

Aliyya nodded gratefully as she received the food from the man. She could feel her mouth watery at the rich smell of the food, and while usually, she would never eat something so heavy like this late at night, she excused herself this time, thinking that it was a special occasion.

As she stared at the plate in front of her, she was confused as this was the first time she watched such a unique combination on a plate. There, she could see meats, potatoes, carrots, onions, and even apples, and the dark… Gravy? Sauces? Whatever it was poured on top of the food was pretty intimidating. However, with a little encouragement from the man, she took a big scoop of the food and shoved it into her mouth, and her eyes widened in astonishment at how flavorful it was.

"It is that good, right?" The man just chuckled after witnessing her exaggerated expression. "That is a traditional curry from my father's hometown, which I intend to sell in this place. What do you think?"

For that, she widened her eyes in shock. "This is a curry?!"