---An hour later.
A ghost-vampire hybrid was walking down a street. She looked just like an ordinary human yet there was a small creature in her cleavage, just a slime covered by some leather cloth.
Her crimson eyes darted left and right.
"Still mad at me for sparing him?" Jack squeaked from her chest.
Aria grunted in response.
[9 hours before Jeanne leaves.]
Jack had plenty of time to meet up with Jeanne; escaping the mansion was easier than expected. He even managed to snag a few gold coins from Ingelton unconscious body. So he decided to go shopping. After all Aria needed clothes better than the ragged ones she had.
"Aria?"
No response.
"Would it make you feel better if I told you, you can kill him when we become powerful enough?"
The hybrid gave another grunt but with less anger and more like a considering hum.
Countless shops were stationed on this street. The place was bustling with life and a different energy than Holia.
Merchants were calling out their wares, a dwarf was trying to sell a griffon-egg, and a pair of elves were bartering over a bundle of enchanted herbs.
One clothing shop stood out for its simple aesthetic: "Cicero's Outfitters – We sell fluff." The sign, carved from oak and weathered by seasons.
"Let's go there," Jack squeaked, and Aria complied, the ghost-vampire hybrid pulling the door open. A bell above the frame tinkled a cheerful greeting. The inside smelled of wool, leather, and beeswax.
"Welcome," an old woman said. Her greying black hair was tied into a messy bun at the nape of her neck.
Aria didn't speak, her ruby eyes scanning the racks. The old woman stared at Aria's slave rags, and the faint, spectral shimmer around her. But Aria didn't have a slave collar so it wasn't illegal.
"How may I help you dear?"
Jack decided not to speak; revealing his true nature in a public space was an unnecessary complication. Aria pointed to a set of dark leather trousers and a black, sleeveless tunic. Simple. Practical. The antithesis of silk and lace.
"Wise choice for traveling," the woman said, measuring Aria with her eyes. "The fabric is treated with crushed night-petal herbs to help repel insects and dampen your scent in the wilderness."
The woman pulled the items from the rack and handed them to Aria. The ghost glanced at her cleavage and then to a satchel. She wanted to carry Jack in there. It was more practical.
One of the changing rooms were available and Aria went to change. As soon as the curtains were drawn, a squeaky conversation erupted.
"You don't need to put me in a satchel like some hamster," Jack protested, peeking over her shoulder. Aria was already undressing.
Her pale skin seemed almost luminous, a stark canvas for the faded, cruel lines of old scars crisscrossing her back, a map of suffering she wore.
Jack's breath caught in his core. He'd seen glimpses before, but this was different. She looked so vulnerable, and the sudden urge to trace every scar with his tentacle was overwhelming.
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
Aria paused, her fingers hovering over the scars. "I didn't give in," she said.
She turned slightly, her crimson eyes meeting his. "They wanted to know where my little sister was. I didn't tell them."
The finality in her voice was heavier than any book he'd read on earth. There were stories behind her scars, and sadly they all ended in blood and defiance.
Several clothing articles later, she was dressed like an adventurer. All that was missing was a sword.
"It suits you," Jack said, bouncing on her shoulder.
A small smile appeared on her lips as she walked out of the changing room, the new clothes feeling like armor. She paid for them with Ingelton's gold and they headed for an restaurant. Not a cheap one, but one that gave them privacy.
They found a small corner. Aria immediately devoured a plate of medium-rare steak, not caring that some patrons were horrified of the sounds and her lack of manners. Jack ordered a bowl of soup for himself.
While he slurped the hot vegetable soup, he could hear people talking even with the door closed. That's how he learned that the Slime Slayer's name was Renin. Apparently she was here. That shocked him.
"Did you hear? The Slime Slayer is going to Uryen Forest to hunt some slime," one merchant said to the other.
The tension lessened. It seems that in all words blabbermouths always twisted stories. She was looking for him in the forest, but he was in Cyros. A small comfort washed over him that felt more like a ticking clock.
Aria finished her last bite of steak.
"Hey have you heard about the Slime Slayer?" Jack decided to ask Aria. After chewing a piece of meat, she swallowed.
"Only the stories people tell. They say she hunts King Slimes for sport. Yet the rumors about her being a demon are just church propaganda to dissuade anyone from idolizing a rogue slayer."
Jack's core quivered slightly. King Slimes sounded far more dangerous than him and cool. He hadn't seen anything like that in his evolution trees.
"Tell me more." He asked while dipping a piece of bread in the soup.
She shrugged, "That's all I know. I'm more preoccupied with the Vampire Slayer. He supposedly carries a sword forged from a star's core that burns the soul, not just the body."
The way she spoke about him wasn't fear; it was the cold, focused hatred of an animal that knows its natural predator.
"Was he the one that destroyed your home?"
Aria's fork paused halfway to her lips.
"My home wasn't destroyed, it was 'purified'," she corrected, her voice dripping with scorn. "As for the Slayer he didn't kill everyone. But he led the charge, burned my mother at the stake for practicing 'blood alchemy'. He cut off my father's head for 'consorting with specters'."
Her knuckles, wrapped around the fork, were white.
"I'm sorry. Your story just gets sadder and sadder," Jack said. He was surprised with himself for saying this.
Aria gave a faint smile. A genuine one, a rare and fleeting expression that transformed her from a feral predator into something more approachable.
"You'll help me kill him right?"
"I'll think about it," Jack said.
She raised an eyebrow, "You saved me and risked your life. But you'll stop there?"
Wanting to save Aria was partly because of her resemblance to his dad and the quest. But there was no quest now. He still liked her. There was a weird kind of familiarity with her, the same as with Jeanne but it was different.
[Ghost Hand: Allows user to summon a spectral, intangible hand for 10 seconds. Can interact with the ethereal.]
"Yes. I won't risk my skin for a quest that doesn't give a reward," Jack said.
He could feel her heartbeat quicken in the brief silence before she answered. For a secod he thought she was going to ask what reward he got from freeing her.
Instead, she had a hand on her heart, her pale white skin seemed to disappear against the painting on the wall.
"What reward do you want, Jack?" The words came out softer. Not with anger but with something else. Desperation.