"I did what?"
"You rose from the dead."
Even after Ethan repeated his words, Emilia still couldn't grasp what he meant by that.
"So you mean there are members from the fanatics group you mentioned earlier who came to me and revived me, right?" She returned with another question.
It didn't mean that Emilia couldn't comprehend the words left from Ethan's mouth.
Did I really do that unconsciously? Am I some kind of undying powerful mage during pre-amnesiac time?
It's just that she still couldn't comprehend the sheer power that was residing inside her own body, so this kinda statement made her baffled and wanted to confirm it a second time.
"No, there was no one at that time other than the dying you and the bystander me," Ethan answered thoroughly.
Emilia, who heard the answer clearly, had a second burst of amazement upon her own ability. Her mouth gaped slightly, closed and opened a few times, but no words came out to comment on this absurdity. But only one word she could say.
"Woah."
Having an ability to return from death? Of course anyone would be baffled by it. It is automatically considered as immortality. The thing that certain humans back on Earth, nonetheless of era or time, desired and pursued with every method they can think of.
Ethan sneered, cutting off Emilia's daze.
"That was the only reaction you can do? If it was anyone else, they'll be screaming on top of their lungs shouting 'I am immortal, I'm unkillable!' like that. Why such little reaction though? Is it because you were so surprised and the only thing you can say is 'Woah'?" he asked, with a slight entertaining tone in his voice.
Confronted with the question, she gave a moment of deep thought first before answering it.
"Well, having immortality does have its advantages, like being able to escape death all the time and have a long life. Though I don't know if mine literally won't die and won't age at all, or I still can die at old age but it took a long time, it comes with a price."
"And what's the price?" he asked.
"Ummm…. Well, the price can be varied like being traumatized being the only survivor in a huge war, forced to be an undying soldier, tortured in the most gruesome unimaginable way but still won't die, or used as a researching specimen. So, yeah. At that time anyone will be cursing at their own immortality and hoping they don't have it in the first place."
"Very attentive I'd say. Your first thought upon your ability is its pros and cons. While everyone will only care about pros, you still considered its cons," Ethan said while nodding, satisfied with her answer.
Hearing the praise, Emilia couldn't help but to grin with a shy expression on her face.
Then, the silence came. They sat by the fire, not exchanging any words. Silent, but comfortable for them. The campfire continued to crackle as it burned, but this time it became dimmer as there was no more wood to burn off. Ethan's head looked up at the sky. He stared at the two moons up above.
"So…. What will you do after this?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"..." Emilia stayed silent.
Outside she appeared to be calm, but it was opposite inside. Only chaos in her mind currently.
Thrown into another body in another world is one thing, but having no guidance at all in this alien world…. It scares me. I knew no one. Monsters are real and breathing. I don't know this body's capabilities. It was purely luck that I have the reviving ability. I'm glad Ethan found me, if not, the current me will be wandering aimlessly searching for human existence. I'm lost. I'm alone in this world.
She curled up and hugged her knees, acting like a protection method from becoming more stressed. Sensing something was wrong, Ethan looked at Emilia. Seeing her down expression, he knew Emilia was troubled to come up with any goals on forward cause she was having no memory of anything currently. So he gives her an option.
"Wanna come with me then?"
Emilia jolted. Then she stared at Ethan, surprised by his offer.
"Are you sure?" she asked, doubting if it's true or just a bad joke.
Ethan nodded slowly, with a hint of genuine smile on his face.
"Yes." he confirmed it.
Emilia gave a shaky smile to Ethan along with tears in her eyes. She couldn't decide if she wants to smile happily or cry gladly because she isn't alone anymore in this new world. She has someone that can guide her. With a hoarse voice, she opened her mouth.
"Thanks, Ethan."
Tears rolled down her cheeks, passed her smiling mouth, released all of her previous fear of loneliness. She finally got a companion that she can rely on. Seeing her become more cheerful, Ethan sighed in relief. Seeing her depressed face earlier made him remember a certain someone that's dear to him, and that made his heart ache.
"You shouldn't accept any invitation from any stranger you know. They might be up to no good intentions." Ethan joked.
Hearing that, she couldn't help but chuckle.
"I know. I only accept yours because I know you're not bad people."
Ethan lifted his right eyebrow, slightly confused by Emilia's somewhat overly positive image of him.
"Anyway!"
Emilia shot up, standing with her left hand on her hips while the right one swiped away her tears on her face. She then tilted her head slightly while looking at Ethan.
"What do you do for a living?" she asked.
"Well…."
Ethan stopped midway as he grabbed something from his leather pouch. It was a small cube, around one inch each side. Emilia stared curiously wondering what he was gonna do with the mysterious cube. Ethan, who saw her curious eyes, began to explain it to her.
"This is monster repellent." Ethan said as he brought the cube closer to Emilia.
Emilia leaned closer to inspect the cube. It was purple with the hint of red glitter in the center of it. She also smelled something familiar from it.
It smells kinda…. Spicy?
Her nose began to irritate a little bit after that smell entered her nose. Seeing her reaction, Ethan continued.
"What you smell is Lici powder, a spice that grows in humid tropical areas. It has a little high resistance to heat and is harder to burn when exposed to fire. The majority of monsters hate its scent so it was effective as monster repellent material."
Emilia nodded as she absorbed the knowledge.
It smells like capsaicin—the chemical compound in chili peppers back on Earth. It makes sense. The heat-producing molecules would irritate a monster's olfactory receptors.... Maybe. Yeah, I think so too.
"What coating around it is solidified Fairy dust."
Both Emilia's eyebrows lifted in shock. A fantasy creature that she is familiar with really does exist in this world.
"Fairy dust? How did you guys obtain it? Do the fairies also do trading?" Emilia asked eagerly.
But the answer she received next will send a huge shock to her.
"They've gone extinct actually. Like 400 years ago like that. And this dust can be found at what used to be their habitat. So it can be considered as their remaining," Ethan answered flatly.
Emilia's eyes shot wide.
"What?! How?!"
When Ethan mentioned fairy, she was hoping to meet them and see it for herself. A tiny human-like magical creatures, of course she curious. But now that she knew they've gone extinct, her hope completely faded away to dust. Like the fairies.
"About that, it was unknown. Nobody knows how they became extinct. Because fairies don't really interact with the outside world, they have their own realm. So no one knows what really happened on that side," Ethan answered as he threw the cube into a now smaller campfire.
The fire turned colourful for a moment until it returned to normal. An irritating smell filled the air but still bearable to both of them. But then Emilia felt something different. A little nauseating feeling crept through her body. She swayed for a moment before she regained her balance, adjusted quickly to the feelings.
"When Fairy dust was burned, it distorted a mana flow in a small radius. Making a monster that relied on mana perception confused if it entered the affected area. So humans with mid to high sensitivity to mana are also a little bit affected by it," Ethan explained.
Emilia then sat on top of the log, next to Ethan to rest her body after the nauseating feeling. Ethan looked at her momentarily before turning his head back to the campfire.
She is quite sensitive to mana I see. It'll be a huge help if she can also use magic spells.
"Anyway back to your initial question," Ethan said as he sighed wondering why he was so excited explaining a typical monster repellent to the girl she just met.
His right thumb then pointed to himself.
"I work as a merchant. More specifically a travelling merchant. I went around many villages or towns to sell my goods. So, nice to meet you," Ethan introduced himself, again.
Emilia then looked at him with a genuine smile.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Emilia. Your new amnesiac companion. I'll be in your care."