Earth: The Second

The Past of Mercenary

“Hmmh…” Rika’s eyes feel heavy, as she finally awakens from her dream. She realizes the bright sunlight coming out of the window, and the loud sound of birds chirping. “Hoaahm…” She yawns, as he tried to move to form her slumber position, only to realize the person that is sleeping beside her.

A twenty-ish-year-old male with bright white hair, sleeping soundly beside her. For once in a while, Rika can see his actual body that had always been hidden beneath his clothes. 

His muscle structures definitely resemble a structure of a human, with many details that are showing the difference. For example, his dark body color, giving the impression that his torso is made out of steel, with the exception of his neck and face.

“Eh, Adma!?” Rika half screamed to see his face first thing in the morning, especially this close.

She tried to remember everything that happened the previous night. As long as she knows, they aren’t having an alcohol party, so it will not possible for them to have that sort of ‘experience’, but if that is the case what is actually happened?

Rika’s face going red like a tomato. She imagines how they looked like sleeping beside each other the previous night.

“...That is very embarrassing…” mutters Rika.

suddenly, a movement came from Adma, as he also getting up on the bed.

“Ah, Rika, good morning, sorry to borrow your bed,” he said, doesn’t realize the confusion that happening inside Rika’s maiden heart.

“Adma… A-are we… Sleeping together last night?” she asked stammered. 

“Oh, sorry about that. You are the first to sleep last night, so we decide to not wake you up. Both Gon and Hepaetus for some reason take the other room and say that we have to share a room together.” replied Adma.

“Oh… I see...” Rika’s head is looking down. She is glad that nothing really happened last night, but she is also kind of...disappointed.

“Actually I planned to sleep on the chair but you seem struggling so much in your sleep.”

“Eh? What do you mean struggling?” Rika knows that she dreamt about her past, especially the first time she experienced falling from the tree which resulted in her phobia.

“Well, your breath is short, and you looked like grasping air. I guess you’re having a nightmare, so I stay closer and make my heating up a little bit so you won’t get cold,” replied Adma, still starring at Rika. “Anyway, I heard that talking about your dream is a way to not having another nightmare. So yeah, want to talk about it?” Adma seems genuinely concerned about Rika, which makes her smile a bit.

“It’s nothing really! I just remembered the time in my home, when I fell from the tree. And I suddenly connected it to what happened at the mountain yesterday… so…”

“Ah…” noticed Adma, he remembers how different Rika becomes after she is pushed to face her trauma. At the same time, he admires Rika’s toughness in suppressing her fears.

“I think it is good that you have the bravery to face your phobia. Not everyone can do that after all,” commented Adma. “Also, what happened yesterday had already been left, you don’t need to be afraid again,” add him.

“Sure, sure,” a grin appeared on Rika’s face, she got up from the bed and opened the window, letting the fresh air come inside. “Anyway, It seems like I have passed out before I hear the plan for today, so, where are we going?” Rika showed her brightest smile to Adma. The cyborg replied, that he is glad to see the energetic Rika.

Meanwhile, outside of the room, Hepaetus looked cynically at the person in front of him. Gon is bending his body with his ear sticking to the door of Rika and Adma’s room.

“The hell are you doing?” said Hepaetus Gon just put his finger to the mouth, giving command of ‘be quiet.’

“You know eavesdropping is unpolite, right?” asked the Master Forger.

“Come on! I’m waiting for the development happening between them! I heard that they do something together last night!” said Gon.

“Either they did or didn’t, we can’t intervene with them,” replied Hepaetus again. It’s true that last night they are purposefully making Adma and Rika spend the night in the same room. But that is all they did.

“I don’t agree, it’s a huge shame that Adma not taking a chance,” said Gon.

Unknowingly to him, the door had already been opened, and a female figure is standing beside the mischievous merchant.

“Oh, what chance you’re talking about I wonder?” asked that girl.

“Of course the chance that both of them getting together! We are talking about passionate youths after… all…” Gon’s answer stopped when he realized who he is talking to.

Rika had appeared from the room with a hand crossing her chest.

“...Teacher?” she speaks silently, with a distasteful stare at her teacher, and a massive killing aura.

“Good morning! Did you sleep well? We are from the room service would inform you the breakfast is ready on the ground floor!”

“Don’t run away, damn it!” Rika’s hand moving to slap her teacher, but he managed to dodge it, and hurriedly walked downstairs. Still not satisfied, Rika is also heading downstairs with his fist clenched.

“What a rowdy teacher and student,” commented Hepaetus.

“Speak for yourself, aren’t also playing with Gon’s scheme?” said Adma which suddenly appeared from the room.

“Oh, you have awakened? Good,” said Hepaetus, ignoring Adma’s complaint. “I curious about something, but we hardly have a moment to speak together. But Adma… what is actually happened to Clara?”

Hearing that question, Adma goes silent for a while, remembering the fate of that friendly AI.

“She has been terminated. For humans, it’s the same as the act of killing, as she has ceased to exist,” says Adma.  

“Terminated… Is there no way to fixing it?”

“No… It’s already too late…” Adma shaking his head.

“I see, that is very regrettable though,” Hepaetus walked in the direction of the stair, to the ground floor, leaving Adma who is wondering what Hepaetus is thinking.

“Aren’t you sad that she has gone?” asked Adma. He doesn’t know where the urge to ask this question came from.

Tilting his head, Hepaetus sees Adma from the corner of his eye. “The only thing that I regret, is that I can’t operate my fetchers for the time being.”

“...” Adma does not reply, he struck to the place he is standing right now.

He remembers her last moment, and how that machine is very fond of her new master. Even in the end, she still thinks highly of Hepaetus.

But what about the masters? How did their feelings about all of their belonging? Are they just objects that will be thrown away after they have no use again?

In the end, Clara’s heart will never reach Hepaetus that never treat her as a living being in the first place. Something that Adma can never change either.

***

After finishing their breakfast, the group is splitting up to gather information according to their own fields. Gon will head to the merchants and bars, Hepaetus will ask the adventurers, Rika with common people in the market, while Adma is asked to put a request at the Adventurer’s guild.

On the way of the guilds, he passed through the plaza from yesterday. Adma’s eyes locked toward that one place where he has seen people are gathering to buy human slaves.

And yes, they are there too, today.

“Cheap slave! Useful Slave! Will take your belonging in the dungeon, and save your life if necessary!” shouted the peddler.

Different from yesterday where people are crowding around his campaign, today the people are a lot less. Adma noticed the girl had been gone, and that’s only left the male with very little to offer.

Nonetheless, people are still gazing, at the seller and his ‘merchandise’. It’s clear that They are not seeing slaves as human.

“It’s suffocating, isn’t it? to be treated as a tool like that.” 

Adma is startled because he knows the owner of this voice. Big muscly body, wearing black armor, and giant sword as big as his body. The one that obtains the title ‘Mercenary King’, and probably the strongest adventurer too.

“Boss of the Black Claws…” mutter Adma, cautiously.

“Oh? You remembered my group name’s too. I feel honored.” he replied.

“So this is the place where you run off too, huh? Looking for another dirty job for the nobles?”

“Bah!” laughed Boss. “In a place like this, there aren’t single nobles. Even if there are, I bet that they won’t have much money like Udeka was,” he replied.

“You ran away last time we fight, I suggest that you are not acting thought again today,” threaten Adma.

“Relax, I just want to chat a little bit,” said that man, which surprised Adma a little. “I used to be like that too, you know?” Boss said that as he pointed out the pitiful sight of that slave.

“At the age of nine, I remember getting loaded into the carriage cage full of other humans. I vaguely remember, but they seem like bandits that purposefully attacking settlements. The next time I remember is that I was put on display, together with other kids. We’re bought as bulk by a group of mercenaries as baggage carriers, or suicide soldiers. Magically, I survived through all of that.” 

Reminiscing his past, as a slave, Boss looked like a different person to Adma. As long as he knows, Boss always leaves a bad impression, from a barbaric that kills for money, noisy, and hot-headed. 

But this time, he looked like a much wise person, especially with how he looked to the slave over there. But Adma quickly rejects that thought, he doesn’t want his judgment clouded by sympathy.

“So you’re an ex-slave… What do you feel about that person?” asked Adma.

“He won’t survive,” replied Boss, which raised questions for Adma. “With just a glance of his body, you can see that he is in pain inside. Probably, the remnants of fighting when they going to take him as a slave. Even I’m killing that peddler and cut off his b*****e, it will be useless.”

Right after Bos said that that male is coughing on the ground. a splat of blood coming from his mouth, and then he dropped, motionless.

The only screams for him are coming from his owner, that acts like he just lost another merchandise.