Pleased that Ayame seemed hyped for his suggestion, Nero rose to his feet, already ready to go. “Indeed!” he affirmed as he scooped his coins into his pouch, nestling them against the plush of the Horned One for safekeeping.
“Every day is a special occasion, because being alive is special! It's important to try and live life fully while you still have it...you know?” Nero suppressed any hint of wistfulness in his voice. Fortunately, the little girl's next comment reeled him back from introspection.
“Stealing? Hardly! I give them money, they give me my stuff. Red said I earned this money by helping out the ice queen on her job. That's good enough for me!”A few steps had already been taken before the dark mage realized that his shadow was, for once, devoid of Ayame. Puzzled, he turned back to find her unmoved and strangely reluctant. Nero raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her declaration.
“Truly?” Some light was shed, however, as Ayame's stomach gave her away. Why would the child lie to him? Was she tired of being his friend? For a moment, Nero adopted a downcast turn of his eyes, and his smile became more indicative of masked pain.
“Ah..no problem! Takes a little while to get used to me, I know. I'll, uh, go and get something on my own. See you later!” Waving, Nero turned around and sauntered out of the guild hall, into the growing dusk. He walked slowly, more burdened by fatigue and stress than he would have liked to admit, but also so that Ayame could follow him if she changed her mind.
In truth, Nero wasn't very hungry. Living off so little for so long had hardened his appetite, so the carrots and other snacks from an hour ago filled him pretty well. Instead, he looked for something else. Making a beeline for the edge of Magnolia, he exited the city and walked a hundred feet or so up the nearest hill. After finding a sheltered spot beneath a tree, he unzipped his pouch and dug around in it for a small sheet of cloth. He threw this down on the ground, and held out his hands, enacting a curse upon it. The Law of Escalation caused the cloth to grow in size by nearly fifty times. When it touched the ground, Nero employed his Law of Embodiment to transform the soil in the immediate area into a woven material identical to the cloth of the sheet. The dark mage removed his cloak and his amulet, wrapping the former around the latter several times until it resembled a purple pillow. Without further ado, Nero slipped in between the fabric ground and the new blanket, placing his head upon the pillow. All this was executed with a practiced hand; clearly, this routine had been performed often. Relaxed now, Nero sighed and removed his pouch and then his glasses, placing the latter inside the former and setting them both among the tree's roots. He lay flat on his back, looking with blurry eyes at the final rays of the setting sun.
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