"That's pretty cool! How did you do it?"(Zero)
"Wow! Is there anything I can help with?"(Zero)
"Man, you work hard! I haven't met anyone like you ever since coming here!"(Zero)
From that point onwards where Noah went from one house to another, Zero followed him ensuite. At first Noah didn't care about him as he kept healing, helping people around the houses for free, but as time passed, the impressed guy was so impressed that he started asking a bunch of questions here and there.
"Can you be quiet for a moment, please?"(Noah)
Noah glared at him for a moment, making him turn silent before Noah sighed and continued with the work. It's been 5 hours, and he was done with helping 13 people along with extra tasks surrounding the house. Because he was used to most of the work, his efficiency increased in it as well.
Zero usually stood there observing him, and at times helped him with holding stuff or talking to the people in case they were disturbing him, so it wasn't like he was totally hopeless. Just that… did he not have any other work to do?
By the time Noah finished fixing the flowers of the 13th house, Noah stood up, bowed politely and then walked outside with a smile on his face.
[Excellent Work! You have received +10 Karma!]
"You really enjoy this, don't you?"(Zero)
Noah turned to him and pondered about it before nodding. But then he asked something that he had on his mind,"Zero. Don't you have anything to do? Is it okay to waste your time following around me?"
Partly Noah wanted Zero to go away, and partly he was curious about this guy who wasted hours just to watch a priest do the work. But honestly, there wasn't any particular reason to ask him to do that directly. Zero was the master of his own choice, and Noah doesn't like interfering with others much.
[He seems like a curious kid. Just that… it's kind of awkward for his age. Most of the people around his age join the adventurer's guild or something else to earn and make their own name. Perhaps he wants to be a priest? Could be possible.](Elios)
'Even then. Why me? He could have gone to the temple for that.'(Noah)
"Me? Not really. I don't mind watching you do the work. It's a refreshing experience that I don't see in the real world."(Zero)
"Real world?"(Noah)
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Just do your work. And if you have anything to ask for, just tell me. I will do it for free."(Zero)
Noah was skeptical of the kid and the way he spoke, but since there was still work left to do, he left Zero on his own before continuing with the work.
And just like that 4 hours passed before Noah finished the work. Just like always he got a dozen fruit packets with him along with varieties of grains and such. And just like previously, Noah took that to a nearby alley giving it all to children present there.
"Damn! Aren't you something?"(Zero)
But this time, there was an observer who was watching Zero's work, praising him at every turn. His eyes looked at Noah with admiration before Noah sighed. Looking at the sky, it seemed there was a few hours before the day would end.
Now the question was what should Noah do now. He can't meet Ameliana before 10, and it is probably about 6 PM, meaning he had 3 hours to kill with barely anything to do.
"You seem like you wanted to do more."(Zero)
He then saw Zero's smiling face before he nodded honestly. Wasting 4 hours didn't sit well with him right now. Tomorrow he will hopefully take 40 or more requests. Perhaps, 50? He can just return the ones he can't do back to the Yuna.
Zero then stared at the empty space in front of him. And then pondering about something, he looked at Noah and asked,
"How about I hire you for healing a few people? There was a task that I had to do which would require me to heal a bunch of people. You think you can do that?"
Noah was skeptical at Zero's words but then pondering about the pro's and cons of it, he agreed to it. Smiling, Zero then began walking deeper into the alley where they just gave the children some food.
Silently following him behind, Noah simply observed Zero as he took a couple of lefts and then a couple of rights, walking for about 10 minutes before he reached what looked like a back entrance of a house.
"Keep Quiet, okay?"(Zero)
Zero made a gesture to lower the voice before taking out a strange key and then slowly opening up the door.
[Is the guy going to break into someone's house?!](Elios)
Elios was surprised to see the turn of events, but Noah decided to observe for now. If he really was going to do something bad, then he would simply stop him. But right now, he doesn't have enough information to determine what's right or wrong.
Slowly Zero and Noah entered the house, and walking silently, Zero then took Noah towards what looked like a basement of the house. And since Noah has hunted a few basements in the past few days, he already started getting a hunch where this was going to.
Walking down to the basement, Noah saw about a dozen people lying unconscious on the floor in a corner, each of them tied with a rope and a certain black mark on their forehead. It looked like a seal of some sorts.
"Huh? Who are you?"
"You?! You are the brat from the morning!"
"This bastard!"
"Hehe… another sacrifice. And it looks like there is a priest with him too."
"Isn't he the famous Snow Priest? How lucky."
Down there were 7 thug like beings, each of them having a trace of dark magic on their hands. Even the restaurant owner who kicked Zero outside this morning was there. The one Noah gave a silver coin to.
And observing them, 2 of the thugs with weapons stood up with a disgusting smile on their faces before taking a step towards them. And Zero, he simply turned at Noah before speaking,
"Just wait for a few minutes. Let's continue our talk after that, shall we?"(Zero)
Only this time… his smile… didn't seem like that of a child. But a seasoned warrior that had been through many experiences.