Arc | Chapter. 19: Medal of Bravery (Patreon)

Chapter. 19: Medal of Bravery

I blinked looking at the five knights standing guard, all while the centermost one knelt before me offering what seemed to be a small golden pin, one whose design were two golden wings taking flight. The man continued much to my confusion.

“This is a pin that represents your integrity for upholding your ideals even during the most difficult times,” he explained. “Even though you’ve just recently become an adventurer you have stood for what’s right and saved the life of a knight.”

I slowly nodded as Ceylon finally got to my side, she simply stared with surprise.

“A Medal of Bravery…?”

I raised my brow. “Is it a big deal?”

“It’s⁠—”

“It’s one of the highest awards that can be given outside of the military,” the knight said standing up. “Saving me even though it risked your life is an act of kindness and integrity, it’s an act of bravery.”

“You’re the knight I saved?” I raised my brow as he nodded in response. “Do you still think I was in danger?”

He shook his head. “You chose to spare me even though I attacked you, you saved me from the scum of the Black Market in spite of the possibility of triggering their animosity, that is integrity, and that is bravery. All I ask is for you to not get involved with those of the Black Market.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”

The other five knights immediately raised their swords on guard against me, and Ceylon pulled my sleeve.

“Arc!”

Though I paid no attention to anything as I waited for the knight in front of me to say something, and after a moment, he spoke up.

“Why can’t you, are you involved in their affairs…?”

“No, the leader of Blackcrest’s Black Market is indebted to me, I intend to keep that connection for whatever I may need in the future, whether it is an artifact, a weapon, food, supplies. As for whether he is part of the Black Market or a saint, I don’t really care.”

The man slowly nodded, and with a wave of his hand the weapons were lowered.

“For now, you’re clear of being affiliated with the Black Market, but you should be aware that that connection might cause misunderstandings in the future,” he said with an odd tone.

“I’ll deal with them when the time comes, for now the connection is not detrimental to me. If the Black Market becomes a detriment to me then…” I shook my head. “I’d also deal with it.”

“I see.” The man nodded, walking up to me. “Then that just shows you are indeed a person of integrity and have the bravery to stand by those values, as for whether our ideals or goals are different from others, we shouldn’t be ashamed of that. Will you accept this medal?”

“Does it give me some kind of privilege?” I asked, raising my brow.

“It gives you recognition by those that see it,” he solemnly answered.

“Then no⁠—”

“Arc!” Ceylon reproached me.

A sigh left me. “Fine, I accept the Medal of Bravery.”

The man nodded and immediately got close to my bosom, holding my jacket and trying to pin the golden medal, only for him to fidget with the ice cloth for a few seconds, unable to secure it. I shook my head as I nudged the ice to become softer and finally, he fastened it to my jacket.

He nodded, unfazed by the ten-plus seconds of awkwardness.

“Thank you for your actions, with that we shall take our leave.” With a nod, he turned as the knights opened a path for him to walk through.

Then, the whole platoon left as I just stood there with Ceylon, right outside the restaurant. To be honest, I didn’t know what to think of it. Shaking my head I took a piece of vanilla candy and plopped it into my mouth. The soft taste brought a small smile to my face.

“You know, I think any other person would be considerably happier to get a Medal of Bravery than to eat a piece of candy…” Ceylon said with a small sigh.

“Well… I’m not any other person,” I said with a smile. “Besides, awards aren’t my kind of thing.”

“I can see that…” Ceylon shook her head. “I guess, it does bother me how easily you got one, I did dream of getting one once upon a time, so now I guess the dream doesn’t feel as magical.”

I thought for a moment on what Ceylon said, she also seemed sad. I didn’t think that my actions would make her feel that way, and at the same time, I hadn’t apologized for her injury even though it was my responsibility to protect her.

With a small smile, I knelt in front of Ceylon and took the pin from my jacket much to her surprise.

“Ceylon, I do think you’re just as brave as me. So when you get your own medal, give me this one back.” I pinned it to her shirt, as her eyes grew wide. “But for now this is your medal, and also an apology for failing to protect you. I’m sorry you got injured.”

She slowly nodded. “I⁠— thank you… This is a bit…”

I could see her getting a bit emotional but I shook my head as I stood up.

“It’s fine Ceylon, you can give it back when you get one.”

She slowly nodded. “I’ll… do my best…”

I smiled. “Then let’s go back to the inn, and tomorrow hm…” I thought. “We prepare to leave Blackcrest?”

“I think… we should explore the town for a bit tomorrow before leaving, it’d be nice for you too. Plus it’d be nice to see you paint something.”

I raised my brow. “Sure, are you not hurried on your side?”

“Well…” She scratched her head. “I mean, considering we can travel at lightning speeds with your skills, not really…”

“Alright, then let’s go back to the inn.” I extended my hand and Ceylon shook her head.

“Can we just walk?”

I blinked but ultimately nodded, and so we just headed to our place for the night. On our way there Ceylon got a surprising amount of stares, and it was all due to the Medal of Bravery, which surprised me. Then again, I didn’t know how important or prestigious it actually was, but she seemed happy.

It didn’t take long before we got back to the inn, where as soon as we entered we were met with nothing but confusion by the receptionist. However, nothing was said as we went to our rooms, and found food there.

“Oh…” Ceylon blinked. “I forgot to cancel the order…”

On the table there were two bowls of soup that seemed to be lukewarm at best. Ceylon seemed to be contemplating something before nodding, and sitting down at the table in the middle of the room.

“Are you going to join me?” she gently asked me.

I nodded, and joined her to eat the soup.

It was enjoyable to me, food was enjoyable. It didn’t matter if it was a delicacy or something that commoners ate, anything was better than the raw meat from monsters. It took a few minutes but we both finished our plates and at that moment, Ceylon removed the pin from her shirt.

“You know, I really cannot accept it,” she said bitterly as she slid it to me. “Not only was it awarded to you, I also haven’t done anything to actually deserve it.”

I nodded, taking it and stuffing it into my pocket. “It really isn’t something I’d wear, but if it’s not something you can accept, then it’s fine.”

“Thank you.” Ceylon smiled, then she stood up, taking my plate and hers outside of the room.

And she returned, yawning. Just like that the day ended as we gave each other goodnights, and turned off the lights.

◇ ◇ ◇

I dreamt of clouds, of buildings that touched the skies, I dreamt of a quiet plain full of gravestones, I dreamt of seeing my grave⁠—

I woke up somewhat startled, I rarely if ever dreamt, but now it seemed to be common. It was logical that I’d be considered dead back on earth given my disappearance, though getting a grave…?

I shook my head. “No way…”

And a long breath left me as I relaxed.

“Arc, are you okay?”

I turned and saw Ceylon staring at me from her bed, looking at me with some concern and also confusion. There was a moment of pause, as I felt lost, maybe somewhat unstable, but taking a breath I finally calmed.

“I’m okay, just a strange dream.”

“Right, let’s just leave and enjoy the day then?” Ceylon asked. “That way you can forget about it.”

I nodded. “Let’s do that.”

◇ ◇ ◇

It took a few minutes to go outside, even though I was always ready to travel at any time that wasn’t the case with Ceylon. Though it wasn’t something that bothered me. Before long, we were walking down the bustling streets of Blackcrest.

We got some stares, or I did, my clothes seemed to have an infinite draw of attention, but I wasn’t planning on changing them. Or it was probably because of how white I looked, but at the end of the day it didn’t matter too much.

Instead, we swung by a street vendor and bought what seemed to be skewered meat, which I enjoyed with much happiness. Ceylon also said it was great, which was a bonus.

And after that, we simply wandered around, taking whatever landmarks there were such as a statue at the center of Blackcrest. It was one made of black metal, it portrayed an armored man whose protection was lined with felt, a long flowing cape, and a smile that looked towards the sky, all with a greatsword sitting across his shoulders.

And at the base, it read:

Hero of Arlas, Uwell

I blinked.

“What is Arlas?”

Ceylon was surprised for a second but quickly explained. “It’s the name of this world. Uwell is the hero that saved it from extinction many centuries ago. I don’t know the full extent of it, but this is a story from over five-hundred years ago. Legends say he was at least SS Tier.”

I nodded. “Huh, so he’s probably dead.”

“I mean, I do hear that B Tier individuals live over a hundred years, so I wouldn’t be so sure,” Ceylon said with a small frown. “Huh, must be nice to live that long.”

“I can help you gain levels,” I said, raising my brow. “B Tier shouldn’t be a problem if we can find the monsters⁠—”

“It’s fine, it was just a passing thought.” Ceylon shook her head. “Besides, that overextends the commitment of helping me find the Hermit.”

“Right.”

I wanted to say it didn’t matter, but it was clearly something I couldn’t force onto Ceylon either. And so after that short conversation we moved on to explore different places, but in the end, I found myself holding a small notepad and a pencil. All while Ceylon smiled.

“You should try drawing me, Arc.”

I nodded, somewhat awkwardly. For a moment, it felt like I was back to earth, drawing in class and people trying to see what I was sketching, only for me to never want to actually show them. It was the same kind of feeling. Awkwardness.

But still, it had been years. It wasn’t something I should care about now, even if my drawing was bad, it was to be expected.

Taking a breath, I began to sketch, first I drew a circle, then a cross to show where the face was facing and where the eye-line was. I loosely extended a line downward and drew the simple shapes, then proceeded to draw in the details; chin, shoulders; the general body.

Then, I drew more and more until…

“Huh…” I blinked.

It was… kinda bad. Deformed. I had been sculpting through the five years, it was a mindless process that I was actually quite fond of, and more than anything I would also say I was good at it. So the fact that my drawing disappointed me was a bit… bothersome.

Ceylon took the notepad from my hands and her eyes went wide, and she immediately chirped.

“This is really good!”

“Is it…?” I asked not believing what she was saying and she just nodded.

“It really is!” she piped up. “Thank you, it’s much better than I could’ve imagined.”

I blinked. “Right, you’re welcome, Ceylon.”

If I was honest, it still bothered me, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Especially given the fact that I didn’t really like drawing all that much in the first place, or rather the enjoyment came and went. It was a very weird thing. In the end, perhaps I’d give it another try, but it would take a while.

A small sigh left me as I stood up. “Well, we should go to the Adventurer’s Guild, even if we leave tomorrow, I’d like to figure out how it works.”

“Oh, yeah.” Ceylon nodded. “I’ll explain what I understand from the guild on our way there, then.”

The guild was actually in the central plaza with the statue, but we were actually near the edges of Blackcrest, which was the place where we bought the notepad. So there was actually a lot of information that I learnt.

First was that adventurers had two sources of income, selling monster parts, and the other was requests. Monster parts weren’t actually that valuable unless the monster was at least C Tier, and even then it depended on the monster. At the same time, certain branches wouldn’t even buy materials from a monster that was too high of a Tier.

So if I tried to sell the legs of the Emera Spider here, I’d be met with a hard resounding no.

And so, that left requests, which were basically posted across the land. They could range from escorting to killing monsters. There were a variety of them, and according to Ceylon you could even send a request asking for someone to take care of your house should you go on vacation, or even finding a lost pet.

Almost everything was possible to request, which I found interesting.

And now, I entered the guild along with Ceylon, though looking around, I couldn’t help but raise my brow as I saw no request boards or anything of the sort. So, with no choice I headed to the nearest receptionist, this time a woman that seemed to be in her 50s.

“Hello, how may I help you?”

“I’m looking for a request? Hopefully one that involves killing monsters, in…” I turned to Ceylon. “Where are we heading?”

“Northwest,” Ceylon answered awkwardly.

I turned back to the receptionist. “A request that involves killing monsters in the northwest.”

She nodded. “Those are in high demand right now, but let me see if I have something.”

With those words she began to look underneath the desk. I noticed that next to me was a hooded person, one that was taller than me with their arms crossed clearly waiting for something to be processed. And at that moment someone from the back stood up, he was clearly drunk, yet clearly was heading towards me.

“Why is a girl like you trying to take ourr work?” he slurred as I turned in horror.

Not again… I tightened my fist, this time telling myself I’d only knock the person out rather than send them flying across the guild.

“Where are youur parents? Where are you taking yourr sister, huh?” He finally reached us, as he frowned. Almost pushing against me and bumping into the hooded person by accident. “Whaaat, are ya not going to reply⁠—”

And the hooded person reached for the man's head and instantly slammed him against the counter with an explosion of wood and blood.

Ceylon squeaked in horror and I blinked processing what just happened.

Then the figure turned to me, a woman.

“So you’re Arc, huh?”

And they too reached for my head.