The wind blowing across the hills north of the Ivory Citadel carried a crisp, almost sweet scent, unlike the heavy, sulfur-laden air of the First Circle.
Diana was crouched near a bed of white stones, using her silvered harvesting knife to carefully extract a root of Moonlight Herb, a rare plant that grew only in the shade of mystic ores.
A few meters away, Rhea used her own daggers to strip the bark from an ironwood tree, gathering thick resin into a wooden bowl.
There was none of the desperate urgency of the early days. No high-level monsters roared a few meters away, nor was there the impending threat of spawning without a penny in her pocket. It was a day of steady, rhythmic work, focused on stockpiling simple and intermediate raw materials so Diana could train her alchemy and leatherworking at night without spending money at the market.
"I found three more clusters of Fire Mushrooms near that rock, Diana!" Rhea called out, turning with a smile that caused her silver ears to perk up.
Diana looked at the hybrid girl.
Rhea wore the dark blue overcoat they had bought days ago, practically adjusted so as not to hamper her movements. Her fair skin, once marked by the despair of the cage, now possessed color, and the buoyant way she moved across the rocks showed the wolf girl was, for the first time in her life, genuinely comfortable.
Diana felt the corner of her lips curl involuntarily. A tiny, almost imperceptible smile slipped onto her face before she could mask it.
She cleared her throat quickly, adjusting her coat collar and regaining her usual firm posture.
"Bring the mushrooms." Diana said, attempting to sound stern. "And watch out for the spores. If you inhale that dust, you'll spend three hours sneezing fire."
"Will do!" Rhea laughed, skillfully gathering the mushrooms before walking over to the rock where Diana was organizing the inventory.
The two sat by the bank of a small stream of crystal-clear water that cut through the valley. The sound of running water and the rustling of purple leaves created an environment strangely calm for Hell.
Diana opened the thermal pouch, tallying the day's harvest: eighteen medicinal roots, ten vials of resin, five pieces of gray iron ore, and three lesser beast hides hunted along the way.
Proficiency in [Alchemy] had naturally risen to Level 2, and [Leatherworking] reached Level 2 as well, unlocking new recipes for polishing oils and reinforced straps on the System panel.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
As they cleaned their tools in the stream's cold water, the silence between them turned quiet and welcoming.
Rhea looked at her own reflection in the water. The girl ran her fingers through her silver hair, her gaze suddenly drifting distant, nostalgic, and tinged with an old pain.
Diana, ever attentive to the smallest details, noticed the shift in mood right away.
"What is it?" Diana asked, stashing her harvesting knife. "Is your leg hurting again?"
"No… it's not that." Rhea shook her head slowly, letting out a long sigh. She hugged her knees to her chest, looking at the bubbles forming in the stream. "I was just… thinking about my brother."
Diana tilted her head slightly. It was the first time Rhea had mentioned anyone from her family prior to being captured by slavers.
"You have a brother?"
"I had… or I have. I don't know." Rhea said, her voice dropping to a raspy, trembling tone. "His name is Fen. He's two years older than me. When our tribe in the mountains of the Third Circle was destroyed by bounty hunters… he hid me inside a snow cave."
Rhea squeezed the fabric of her overcoat, her amber eyes welling with painful memories.
"Fen fought three hunters alone to give me time to run." Rhea continued, a silent tear rolling down her fair cheek. "They beat him so badly… he bled so much… but he didn't tell them where I was. In the end, they put a collar on him and dragged him away. That was the last time I saw him. A year later, I was captured by another group and ended up in that cage in the First Circle."
Silence returned to the stream bank.
Diana listened to every word in absolute silence.
Inside, a cold, possessive, sharp wave of anger burned in Diana's chest. The thought of someone having beaten and chained the brother of the girl who now walked by her side infuriated her in a way she couldn't rationally explain.
To Diana's mind, Rhea belonged to her. The girl was her ally, her subordinate, her scout, and someone she had chosen to protect and invest in. And any violence committed against Rhea's past felt like a personal insult to Diana's own authority.
Diana reached out her hand and rested it firmly on Rhea's shoulder.
The hybrid girl looked up, surprised by the firm, warm touch.
"We're going to find him." Diana said.
The sentence was spoken with a certainty so absolute, so cold and unshakeable, that Rhea froze.
"What…?"
"We're going to the Third Circle eventually." Diana stared directly into Rhea's dark amber eyes without hesitating for a second. "When we have enough power and money, we are going to look for this brother of yours. If he's alive and chained, I will buy his freedom or rip the throat out of whoever holds the chain. If he's dead… we will make whoever did it pay every single cent of pain."
Rhea's amber eyes went wide, her chin trembling. "Diana… you… you would do that for me…?"
Diana quickly turned her face away, clearing her throat and attempting to reclaim her arrogant posture to disguise the genuine affection that had prompted her words.
"Don't make that sappy face, Rhea." Diana said grouchily, crossing her arms. "Having two beast hybrids with high Agility working for me is an excellent long-term investment. I simply refuse to leave a valuable resource in the hands of some miserable noble."
Rhea looked at Diana… and let out a soft, clear laugh full of emotion.
The wolf girl knew perfectly well that Diana was inventing mathematical excuses to hide how much she cared. Unbothered by the human girl's grouchy tone, Rhea leaned in and hugged Diana from the side, burying her face in the shoulder of her leather jacket.
"Thank you, Diana…" Rhea whispered, her warm tears dampening the fabric. "Thank you for being in my life."
Diana remained motionless for two seconds, entirely unaccustomed to affectionate physical contact. She raised her hands in midair, unsure of what to do, until she let out a defeated sigh and gave two light, awkward pats to Rhea's silver hair.
"Alright, alright… enough mushiness." Diana grumbled, though she didn't push the girl away. "Let's finish packing these plants before the sun goes down."
—Aww…
The System's voice echoed in Diana's head, the screen flashing in the corner of her vision with gentle text.
—The greedy villain promised to rescue her brother-in-law… I mean, the wolf's brother. What a touching moment. I almost cried here in the interface code.
"Shut up, trash can." Diana cursed mentally, her heart feeling strangely light.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Late in the afternoon, loaded with two bags full of medicinal roots, resins, and ores stockpiled for upcoming crafting sessions, Diana and Rhea returned to the Ivory Citadel.
They stopped briefly by the supplies market and sold only the excess of simple hides they had hunted, keeping all the rest for personal use.
The sale of the hides yielded another 1 Silver Coin and 10 Bronze Coins, adding seamlessly to the treasure stored in Diana's leather pouch.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[INTEGRATED FINANCIAL BALANCE]
Previous Balance: 9 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze Coins.
Sale of Excess Simple Hides: +1 Silver Coin and 10 Bronze Coins.
[NEW NET WORTH: 10 SILVER COINS AND 60 BRONZE COINS (1,060 Bronze!)]
Over ten silver coins safely accumulated.
Back in the cozy room at The Ivory Refuge, Diana spread the stockpiled ingredients across the workbench, while Rhea prepared hot tea for them both.
The dynamic between them was no longer that of a master and a frightened servant, nor that of two strangers brought together by chance. It was the true camaraderie of two allies who trusted each other with their lives.
Diana looked toward the window, where the city's magical lights were beginning to ignite under Hell's purple sky.
Tomorrow would be the day to return to Master Volkan's workshop to pick up the Dark Crystal Chestplate and Corrosive Daggers. And with their new Field Boss-level gear in hand, the path to Level 10 would finally be open.
Final Notes:
Writing this chapter gave me such a warm feeling inside, and Rhea's brother... remember that name, that's the only thing I'm going to say. And yeah, bit by bit, Diana is starting to see the value in people, emotionally speaking.