Riku blinked at the blonde hunter in front of him. She looked at him blankly, clearly expecting a different reaction.
"Ahem, thanks for making sure no one got hurt." She said, clearing her throat.
"Oh, uhh, no problem. At least you took care of the spirit." Riku smiled and turned, leaving. 'Well yeah, because if you hadn't taken care of it, I would be the one getting hurt.'
The woman whose child Riku saved ran towards him. "Excuse me? Excuse me, mister,"
Riku had no idea he was the one being called until he felt someone take his hand in theirs. His brows shot up and he turned. "Oh, hey there ma'am," Riku said with a smile.
"I can't explain how grateful I am to you for saving my child. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you." The woman kept on squeezing his hand, thanking him profusely for his clumsy act that saved her son from the spirit.
"It's okay ma'am. At least he's safe now." Riku said, nervously rubbing his scalp. "Just… make sure to keep him close next time."
She nodded vigorously, releasing his hand. Riku suddenly felt a weight on his leg. He looked down to find the boy, hugging him. "Thank you, mister," the boy chirped before running back to his mother.
Riku smiled sheepishly. He had just been treated like a hero with the same useless class. He realized the power surge from earlier was now completely gone, though he could feel his core slightly filled again. This helped answer a question he was so curious about: His Nega energy source was none other than fear.
Riku exhaled and clenched his fists. He still had a shot in this world. He turned to leave when he suddenly found the blonde haired girl from earlier right in front of him. "Aaaahh!" He flinched, placing a hand on his chest. "Geez, you scared me there."
She stared him dead in the eye with a pout. Riku blinked. 'What's with that face?'
"You have no idea who I am, do you?" she muttered.
"Uhh, nope. Not even a little bit." Riku replied flatly, shaking his head
She gritted her teeth and decided to turn away from him. "Hmph. I don't know you either," she shrugged.
"Oh, okay." Riku nodded. After a few seconds he decided to try walking away, if it was okay.
"Seriously? You're in Lowtown and you don't know who I am?" She called out behind him.
Riku turned and walked back to her, forcing a smile. "You want me to ask? Fine. 'Hey there, who are you?'"
She stared at him like he was an insect squashed under her boot. "Kayra," she finally introduced.
"Riku. Nice to meet you."
"Mm. So, Riku, what a… unique power you have there." Kayra noted out, though there was a hint of sarcasm beneath her feigned interest.
"Unique? That's one thing to call it." Riku spat out like he had just been insulted.
She waved a hand dismissively. "Designer or not, I'm interested in you." She admitted, then quickly clarified before he took it the wrong way. "Interested in your brain to be precise. Not… I know you understand, don't make me speak too much."
Riku sighed, clearly not understanding where she was going with this. "You're an officer in the Ascendancy right?" he asked, trying to move the conversation out of the weird zone.
"Huh? Pffthahahaha," Kayra started laughing.
Riku looked at her with a blank expression. "What's so funny?"
It took her a few seconds to get a hold of herself. "Ascendancy? Over my corpse. I don't work for the tower," she said, her expression now deadpan.
*The tower is a common name for the Ascendancy among locals.*
"Really?" Riku raised a brow. "Why? I mean you're quite talented with the sword and all."
"I don't feel like joining them, that's all." Kayra shrugged. "Let me guess. You failed your evaluation test today."
Riku's eyes slightly went wide before it fell into a look of disappointment. "How did you know?"
"It's all over your face, mister," Kayra frowned. "Plus, the fact that you're a designer gives it away. It's usually mocked as the toy maker ability."
"Tch," Riku cursed under his breath. How much did they really underestimate this class? "I'm not a toy maker. The ability's called…" he trailed, thinking of something to say. Anything to make it less pathetic. "It's called 'The Architect's Design.' Yeah."
"Uhh, okay, mister 'Architect.' Let me treat you to lunch. I know a place where they've got good meat pies, though it's not comparable with the city's." Kayra said, clapping her hands together.
"Ohh," Riku stood, his puzzlement increasing. She definitely wanted something from him, he thought. "Uh, why exactly are you being nice and offering lunch to someone you just met less than an hour ago?" he asked, wanting to know her motives.
"Hm?" Her face went expressionless. "Is it bad for me to be nice to someone I just met?"
Riku could feel a sudden change in the air, a shiver going through his spine. She was scary. Really scary. "Uh, no. Not at all. That's, uh, sweet of you." He forced a smile. "B-but I think I'll refuse this—"
"I insist," she interrupted, smiling back and turning. "Follow me," she said, leading him into an alley. He had no choice now, did he? "Actually, I'm just trying to help you."
"I don't get it." Riku replied.
"Consider this your first lesson."
"First lesson? In what?" He prompted, utterly curious.
"In not dying of course," she said sharply. "The world's too dangerous for someone like you, and that head of yours is too priceless to be on a corpse."
"Oh," Riku looked down. So she truly was interested in what he had upstairs. 'Since I don't know how to fight in the first place, I could actually gain a lot from this, right? Besides, she didn't ask for a favor, though I can tell it's gonna come in the near future,' he thought.
"Alright then. I'll appreciate that." Riku finally muttered.
"Of course you would." She laughed a little, leading him to a stop in front of a wooden door.
This was a massive opportunity for him, and he was definitely going to make the best out of it.