Chapter 36: The voice
Hajin stood there in silence, his eyes fixed on nothing while the golden light from his ring slowly faded. The word ’help’ was still echoing in his mind, sounding faint but desperate.
’Someone is talking,’ he thought, looking around the room.
"Hey," he turned to Juna, "can you hear that?"
Her ears twitched while she stood still for a few seconds, "hear what?" she asked, wrinkling her nose.
"Nothing?"
"No." She looked at him. "What are you hearing?"
He didn’t answer because the voice came again. It felt like it was pulling him forward and he couldn’t ignore it. He ignored the dwarf standing in front of him and started walking deeper into the store.
"Hey," the dwarf barked, turning around to follow him, "where do you think you’re going? We were in the middle of a deal, lad."
Hajin didn’t stop, moving past display shelves and glass cases while the voice grew clearer with every step.
"Oi," the dwarf called out, "I said where are you going? The register is back that way."
Juna followed a few steps behind the dwarf, looking confused but she didn’t try to stop him.
The corridor narrowed as they moved past the maintained sections. The shelves here were older and warped, covered in a thick layer of dust, this was the junk section.
The dwarf caught up and planted himself in front of a shelf with his arms thrown wide.
"Alright, that’s far enough," he said, "there is nothing back here worth stealing. Half of this stuff has been sitting here since before I bought the shop and appraisers have already called it junk."
Hajin walked around him without saying anything.
The dwarf stared at him for a second before following again, "I am talking to you," he said, his voice getting louder, "this is my store, you don’t just walk into the back without permission."
The voice was very close now, making him stop.
The sudden halt made the dwarf nearly crash into his legs and stumble back. Juna pulled up beside them with her hand on the short blade at her hip.
He turned his head slowly. The voice was clearer here with the noise gone, even if he couldn’t catch the specific words. He moved down the shelf and his fingers trailed across the dusty surfaces.
One step... two... three and his hand came to a stop.
A ring sat on the shelf, pushed all the way to the back. It was small and unremarkable, made of a dark metal that had dulled to a flat gray. It had no glow or pulse of enchantment, looking like something someone had just dropped and forgotten.
’The voice is coming from inside it,’ he thought, reaching out and picking it up. It was pretty cold to the touch, more than he expected while the dust on the shelf left a perfect ring-shaped outline.
The voice changed the moment his skin touched the band. It had been murmuring before, but the instant he lifted it, the voice stopped.
There was a long pause of silence, then it spoke, and this time the words were clear.
"...can you hear me?"
The voice sounded small and fragile but Hajin was cautious, not responding while he holding the ring up to the light, turning it slowly between his fingers.
The voice went quiet again, "...of course not," it said, and it sounded very sad, "no one ever does. I’ll just stay here alone forever."
He stared at the ring in his hand as he realized how soft and feminine the voice sounded but more than that, it sounded completely exhausted.
’Juna can’t hear it,’ he thought, ’and neither can the dwarf but I can?’ He wondered if there was a reason for that, closing his hands around it and looking back at the dwarf.
"I want this one," he said.
The dwarf blinked, "that?" he said, pointing at the ring, "that thing?"
"Yeah."
"That dusty piece of garbage in the back of the junk section?"
"Yeah."
The dwarf stared at him, then at the ring, looking completely confused.
"Kid," he said, "the appraisers looked at that thing many times. It has no enchantment, mana signature or any value. It’s just a ring which you could get from a street vendor for a copper."
"Well, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so just let me buy it and worry about it’s worth," he said with a smile, showing he has not intention of backing down.
The dwarf’s eye twitched, "but why?" he asked, looking exhausted, "give me one reason."
Hajin looked at the ring sitting in his palm. Inside it, the voice had gone completely silent.
"Because I want it," he said, "so, how much?"
The dwarf let out a long sigh and shook his head, "five coppers," he said, "and I’m overcharging you."
Hajin pulled the coins from his pocket and set them on the shelf. The dwarf scooped them up and walked back toward the front of the store while muttering to himself.
Juna watched the whole exchange without a word. She looked from the ring to Hajin’s face, her ears flat against her head.
"What is that?" she asked quietly.
He slipped the ring into his pocket and felt a faint pulse of warmth.
"I don’t know yet," he said, "but I think it’s been waiting here for a long time."
’If he thinks it has value, then I am sure it has value, I don’t why but I just trust him... dammit, I am really getting soft around this human,’ Juna thought, roughing up her hair.
They headed back to the front of the shop, where the dwarf was already behind the counter with his notepad open and a sour expression that said he had given up fighting the situation entirely.
"Right," the dwarf muttered, looking Juna up and down one more time. "The flashy combat outfit. Give me thirty minutes and don’t touch anything while I work."
Juna sat on a bench near the window while the dwarf disappeared into the back room, the sound of metal clanking and tools scraping starting up almost immediately.
Hajin leaned against the counter, pulling up the system panel out of habit while he waited. The stream was still off from last night, and he left it that way, scrolling through his inventory instead.
[ Inventory ]
[ Chains of the Goddess (Growth Weapon - Rare) ]
[ Ring (Unknown) ]
[ Tusk of the Earth Render (Uncommon) ]
[ 3 deer cuts ]
[ 997 gold, 14 silver, 8 copper ]
’I still can’t wrap my head around it, I have so much money,’ he thought, staring at the number.
His eyes drifted to the wall of swords behind the counter. Most of them were standard guild-issue stuff, iron and low-grade steel, nothing special but solid enough for someone who needed a blade that wouldn’t snap on the first hit.
’I already have the chain,’ he thought, tapping the inventory section where it sat stored away. ’But having a backup sword isn’t a bad idea. The chain is powerful but it’s not exactly subtle, and there are probably going to be situations where I need something that looks normal.’
He pushed off the counter and walked over to the rack, pulling a plain short sword off the wall. A small price tag dangled from the handle on a piece of twine. Twelve silver, basic guild grade, nothing fancy.
He tested the weight and slid it into the sheath at his hip. It was nothing compared to the chain, but it felt right sitting there, familiar in a way that reminded him of the cheap blade the guild had given him when he first registered.
Juna watched him from the bench, her tail flicking once. "Another sword?" she asked.
"Backup," he said, giving the handle a light tap. "The chain draws too much attention."
She didn’t argue, just went back to staring out the window while the clanking from the back room continued.
A little while later, the dwarf emerged from the back carrying a full set of gear laid out across both arms that caught the light in a way that made both of them look up at the same time.
A fitted dark top with reinforced shoulders, built close to the body so it wouldn’t catch on anything during movement. Matching dark shorts with layered leather plating along the thighs thin enough to stay flexible but thick enough to take a hit.
Lightweight boots with flat soles made for speed, and sitting on top of everything was a pair of matte black gauntlets with reinforced knuckles and open fingertips, the metal plates layered over a dark leather base.
The edges of every piece had a faint silver trim that tied the whole set together, giving it just enough flash without going overboard. The whole thing looked like it was built to move fast, hit hard, and still look good doing it.
"Sexy but dangerous," the dwarf said flatly, setting the whole set down on the counter. "As requested."
Juna stood up from the bench and walked over, her eyes dragging across each piece while her ears slowly rose to full height. She picked up one of the gauntlets first, sliding her right hand into it and flexing her fingers, watching the plates shift smoothly over her knuckles.
"Changing room is in the back left," the dwarf said, gesturing over his shoulder. "Take your time."
She grabbed the rest of the set off the counter without a word and disappeared into the back.
A few minutes later, she stepped out.
The top fit close to her frame, the reinforced shoulders sitting just right without restricting her arms. The shorts hugged her legs snugly, the leather plating along her thighs catching the light each time she moved. The boots made no sound on the floor, and the gauntlets sat perfectly over her hands, open tips leaving her claws free.
She stood there for a second, not saying anything, just looking down at herself like she was seeing someone she didn’t recognize.
"How does it feel?" Hajin asked.
She flexed her hands, rolled her shoulders, took a few steps and turned. The whole set moved with her like it was made for her body, no catching, no resistance, just smooth motion from one piece to the next.
"Good," she said finally, and the single word came out softer than she probably meant. "Really good."
He smiled and pulled out the coins for the full set and the sword without asking the price of either, setting them on the counter while the dwarf counted them with practiced fingers.
"Pleasure doing business," the dwarf said, sweeping the coins into a pouch. "Try not to get killed. Dead customers are bad for reviews."
They stepped out of the shop and into the afternoon sun, the street noise hitting them from every direction. Juna kept looking down at herself as she walked, her tail swishing behind her in a way that told Hajin she was happier about the outfit than she would ever admit out loud.
He looked at her, then at the road stretching in both directions, and let out a slow breath.
"So," he said, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Guild first, or gate first?"
She stopped flexing her hands and looked at him, her ears tilting slightly to one side.
"Lunch first," she said.
He stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing, the sound coming out louder than he expected and drawing a few looks from people passing by.
"Yeah," he said, reaching over and roughing up the top of her hair with one hand. "Fair enough."
She flinched at first, her ears pinning back, but then something shifted in her expression. The tension in her shoulders loosened, her ears slowly relaxed, and a small, quiet smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.
Not the forced, nervous kind she usually gave when she didn’t know how to react, and not the defensive smirk she used when she was pretending not to care.
This was a real one, soft and unguarded, one that reached her eyes and made them shine a little in the afternoon light.
It only lasted a few seconds before she turned her face away and started walking, but Hajin saw it, and the warmth in his chest from that small moment lingered long after they disappeared into the crowd.
From the alley across the street, Maren watched them go.
His hand rested on the wall beside him, the other tucked inside his cloak where the dark crystal pulsed faintly against his palm. The purple veins had spread further since last night, crawling up past his wrist and disappearing under his sleeve.
He watched the way Hajin laughed, watched the way that beastkin girl smiled at him, and the anger in his chest burned hotter than the mana twisting through his body.
’Soon,’ he thought, his fingers tightening around the crystal until it dug into his skin. ’Very soon.’
He pulled his hood lower and stepped back into the shadows, the dark veins on his arm pulsing once before going still.