Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 72: I’m no expert on the subject, but I’d say he suffers from friendzone.

Unlike the capital city, Denir city is not so modern. Specifically, speaking about the construction of its houses and buildings. In the capital, 2 out of 3 houses are made of concrete, while here the probability changes to 1 out of 8, and all the others are made of wood.

But the most important thing I would say is... 

'There are very few red dots in this city.'

"Hmm... They usually come back at 4 p.m. They are about to arrive."

"I see. Thank you."

At the adventurer's guild, I asked about Alessia's previous companions, and that was the answer I got. I calmly leaned against the outer wall of the guild and looked at everyone who entered, so that I could identify them.

Sometime later, I saw them approaching.

[Richard] [Archer Lvl 13]

[Cael] [Adventurer Lvl 11]

[Fernando] [Warrior Lvl 12]

[Damien] [Warrior Lvl 12]

[Bernard] [Lancer Lvl 11]

Richard has blond hair and green eyes, and he is very handsome. Cael has black hair and a light black beard. He carries a sword as his weapon. Fernando is ugly, and he is the one who carries a sword and shield, as well as full-body armor. Damian carries a saber, is a handsome man with white hair, and is very tall. Bernard has long black hair tied in a ponytail.

They are all, in themselves, tall and thin, some more and some less. Their average age is 20 years, and they have a muscular body. They possess the aura of an experienced group, to the point where even someone slightly ugly like Fernando has a charm that attracts women.

If you add Alessia to the mix, it sure is a flashy group.

"Excuse me. A moment before I introduce myself, I would like you to read this letter."

I pulled the letter out of my pocket and handed it to Fernando, who seemed friendlier than the others. He received it with an expression that said, 'A letter? How strange...' but his reaction quickly changed when he read the outside of the letter.

[From Alessia Addari to my dear friends]

""!!!""

Seeing the expressions of those at the front of the letter, the others came forward to read it and were also surprised. Close together and side by side, they read the letter in silence. Sometimes I see them smiling, and sometimes they make sad expressions.

'I don't know what the letter says… I just hope it says that she is very much in love with me and that last night we practiced making children. That way they won't have any illusions about my wife. Ah... one of them looks more shocked than the rest.'

I meant Cael.

'I'm no expert on the subject, but I'd say Cael suffers from friendzone.'

Alessia described them all as friends, almost like brothers. I didn't see a hint of love interest from her, so Cael must have gotten his hopes up all by himself.

'Shall I call him 'in-law' to finish him? Will it be overkill?'

"Emir, thank you for saving Alessia. Even though we don't even know each other, from today on, I will consider you a great friend. Thank you again."

Without waiting for an answer, Fernando came up to me and hugged me. Not only he, but the next second the others also came up and hugged me, with very complex feelings in each one of them.

Of course, other people must have witnessed our hug in a very masculine way, as something done by alpha males...

'Seriously, you can stop hugging me. People are looking at us weirdly. Damn it, have you ever bathed? You smell like a dead animal! Please, someone, save me!'

"This calls for a celebration! We'll drink and eat till we can't stand it anymore!"

""Yessssss!!!" They all shouted.

"Yes" I shouted in a lower tone... Well, actually, I whispered it.

I have terrible memories of being around men while intoxicated. After all, last time I almost died from an arrow.

"Alessia wrote in the letter that she's at your parent’s house training," Richard said.

"Yes, they are former adventurers, and when my mother performed a practice fight with her, she said she wouldn't let her leave the house until she improved her skill."

"Hahaha, I see."

"Your mother is pretty strict, isn’t she?" said Bernard cheerfully.

"Yes. I would say she'll force you to repeat something hundreds of times until you get it right."

On the way to the tavern, we chatted casually. Several of his questions had to do with what was written in Alessia's letter. What surprised me is that they really knew a lot about what happened between her and me… I don't know how Alessia wrote so much in so few pages.

"This is going to sound a bit out of place but... how much was Alessia sold for?"

When Cael felt the mood was right, he asked that question. I could see many emotions running through his eyes. As I look to the side, I realize the others are silent, waiting for my answer. Apparently, they all wanted to hear this, but they were just waiting for someone to dare to ask.

"120 gold coins"

""!!!""

First, I thought to give an excuse to avoid saying her price, since I know Alessia cares a lot about them and knowing this will only cause them harm. But I said it because sometimes it's necessary to be harsh, especially when dealing with past tragic events.

'Only in that way is it easier to heal the wounds.'

"An unattainable price for us." Richard sighed.

"We did our best. We should be thankful that she found in her master the love of her life," said Damian, trying to encourage the others.

Emir: "!!!!"

'Love of her life? What did she write in that letter? Why didn't I read it?! My stupid knighthood! I thought I had nothing left when I finished the knight’s test! Ah, ah, when I have free time, I will crush the rest of my remaining knighthood. Otherwise, I won't be able to unleash my pervert's courage!'

"Here you have." I handed a cloth sack to Fernando and said, "That's my gift for introducing me to the love of my life. Without your help, Alessia wouldn't be where she is today."

If it weren't for them, who spent enormous sums of money to make Alessia a normal slave, today she would be a religious slave. Most likely, she would have been sacrificed to the God Solus.

"I am glad to hear you say that," Fernando said.

But the moment he opened the cloth sack, he immediately froze.

"What's wrong, Fer? Why-...?" 

Richard also froze.

"What..." Another one.

In the end, the amount of money shocked everyone.

Originally, I was going to give them 11 gold coins, which corresponded to the reward for the thieves I fought. But, together with Alessia, we went back to exterminating thieves using the scrolls. And I decided to also give her friends this last reward since it offers the most money.

Specifically speaking, 23 gold coins.

'I still have some remnants in my inventory… Another day I'll collect the reward to get the money back.'

"This amount-...."

"You already received it; that money doesn’t belong to me anymore," I interrupted him.

"... ... ... Ha! Thank you. Alessia found a good man," Fernando said.

'No, no. She likes bad men. She's a masochist after all. If I were good, I'd be like Cael, suffering from Friendzone.'

Fernando handed the cloth sack to Cael to keep it in his inventory. The latter received it with furrowed brows, as if he didn't want the money. But when he saw everyone was staring at him, he sighed and recited the spell. Seconds later, the money was put away in his inventory.

***

We walked for a few minutes until we got to the tavern and went inside.

The casual conversations increased in intensity with the beer loosening their tongues; they started to tell me in more detail about their family’s illness and that of Alessia's mother.

"...When we were 10 years old, our families' illnesses suddenly increased in intensity. We looked for any job that would give us the money to buy the medications, but nothing was more profitable than entering the labyrinth."

"It was around that time that we met Alessia. Since the person who sold us the weapons knew her, he advised us to team up with her. Although she was younger than us by two years, knowing that her mother had the same disease, we accepted her on the team."

It's not strange to see such young children enter the labyrinth. After all, it's easy money if you know how to fight monsters. But it's also a path that leads straight to death with just a slight mistake.

"What disease was it?"

"Until our parents’ deaths, the doctors could never give a concrete answer. They only said it was a disease that slowly destroyed the lungs."

"It is not contagious by any means, yet there were about 20 cases in the city. Our family and Alessia's family were among them... The worst of it all was that, since it was not contagious, no one cared what happened to them, and in the end... They died."

With these last words, they went back to drinking.