'In Loving Memory of Kaiser Augusta'
It was 6:30 PM, the time of my girlfriend's long-awaited 18th birthday, however I stood in front of my grandfather's grave, far away from the party.
Well, ex-girlfriend now, though she doesn't know it yet. Not that it matters though, she probably doesn't care.
After all, she chose to organize that party over paying a moment to comfort me for my grandfather's death, the only family in this world I had left.
Though, even before that, she never loved me. She only wanted attention.
How I wished I realized that a year or two ago.
I had pushed so many people away who told me to leave her, I refused to believe them when they said she was only with me for attention.
In particular, there was my best friend since 3rd grade. I had picked the hoe over my bro. He was gone now because I thought he was just jealous over my relationship.
He was a lonely loser, never having a girlfriend, so I didn't believe him, but man… Looking at it from a third-person perspective now, it was incredibly obvious how little she cared for me.
I had always been the one to initiate conversations.
I had always been the one to plan and invite her on every date.
I had always been the one to check in on her bad days.
I had always treated her with so much thought and consideration, while she didn't give many things a second thought.
Sighhh. There's no use mulling over it now. I'm acting like I'm in one of those generic love songs that I used to mock.
I already told myself to move on, quite literally.
I planned on leaving this city, this entire empire actually. With my grandfather gone and breaking up with my girlfriend, there was no reason for me to stay in this place anymore.
On the contrary, there's many reasons for me to leave.
The main one being: I just want to.
This place may be where I grew up and experienced all my happy memories, but it's also the place of my most painful memories.
For the past year, I had slowly been feeling lonelier than ever despite being in a relationship with the girl I chased for years.
Especially in the past week, being completely neglected by the girl I loved and thought loved me, realizing the bridges I burned with people that genuinely loved and cared for me, it was so painful…
It completely overpowered all the happy memories, making me want to leave.
Moreover, I had always wanted to travel and explore.
Previously, I couldn't.
My aging grandfather was nearing his end, and I wanted to be there when he passed. And with his declining condition, he couldn't come along, so I didn't want to risk going out to travel.
Additionally, my girlfriend didn't like traveling; and obviously, she wouldn't come for my sake. As a result, I was afraid of her leaving me for another guy if I left.
How pathetic…
Ugh… I'm thinking about her again and making myself feel worse…
I need to get her out of my head.
***
It was close to 8 PM now. I had spent the last hour and a half walking to the edge of the city.
While I could've ridden a bus or other forms of transportation, I wanted the extra alone time to think and really gather my thoughts.
During my stroll, I felt my phone vibrating a few times. It was likely from my girlfriend. Her boyfriend not attending her birthday party was quite a bad look after all, which was all she cared about.
I didn't know for sure though as I didn't dare check it, afraid of possibly seeing messages of concern and worry, however low the chance. I just opened the first notification without looking, possibly leaving her on read to hurt her.
Having already made my choice to leave, I didn't want my resolve to waver in the slightest.
Entering a relic smith's workshop, I purchased a low grade storage ring. For travelling, and even just everyday life, they were really convenient… but exorbitantly expensive.
It ended up costing me 96 gold—over three fourths of my total funds and around 24 years of income for mundane people. (Quick math: 4 gold per year)
I had gotten the money from the sale of our— my house, netting me 80 gold. And with the rest of my grandfather's savings, I had acquired a total of 130 gold.
Entering into an adventurer's guild, I purchased a ticket for the caravan set to depart tomorrow morning to the Etern Empire out east. There was another 15 gold gone, leaving me with only 19 left.
The reason for its enormous price was mainly to pay Spiritbound for protection.
I sighed at seeing nearly all the money and assets my grandfather accumulated gone in just two purchases.
Suddenly, I felt a slap on my shoulder.
"Hey bro, why're you looking so sad. Broke up with your girlfriend?" Seeing my melancholy atmosphere, a middle aged man holding a pint of bear checked in on me.
Crazy… More than my girlfriend ever did.
"Yeah…" I replied in a low tone with a sad smile.
Surprise showed on his face for a brief second before giving way to a hearty laugh. "I knew it! One of these days I was going to guess right!" Despite the loud voice he announced that in, not many turned to look in our direction—used to occurrences like this.
Slapping me again, he comforted, "don't fret over it, kid. You'll get over it soon enough. Don't make yourself more miserable by getting hung up on her."
"I know, but she was almost a third of my life. It'll be hard…"
He nodded slowly with understanding. "I see… I don't know the feeling, but that must be rough."
Then, he placed a pint of beer in my hand. "I know this may not be the best approach, but just drink and forget. You'll be too drunk to care, and in the morning, you'll be too hungover to care," he said with a laugh.
After giving me a final, gentle pat on the back, he left.
"...Thank you," I mumbled under my breath.
I took a tentative sip of the beer while making my way to sit by myself at an empty table. The flavor was a mix of bitterness and faint sweetness. I was lost in its taste until I heard a name.
"Did you hear?!! Selene Cellow, the councilman's daughter, just formed a contract with a Domain Spirit! On her 18th birthday no less!" Someone blurted in a loud voice.
My gaze snapped in their direction, along with many others, though not with awe or admiration.
A contract with a Domain grade Spirit was a massive deal, especially for a small city like Edgelorn by the edge of town, only occurring around 1 in 1,000 Awakened, or 1 in 100,000 people.
Moreover, it happened on the night of her 18th birthday, right before she would've been forced to bind Lesser or Aspect Spirits, forever barred from possibly obtaining Domain Spirits.
I couldn't taste the faint sweetness in the beer anymore, the bitterness overwhelmed my tastebuds and mind.
It wasn't regret, even if she contracted a Domain grade Spirit, I would have still left her. I just had a growing sense of bitterness towards her… and the world.
Nobody liked seeing their ex do well, but more importantly for me, I just wanted to fucking get my mind off her. Why do you have to be so cruel and remind me, world?
Taking a large gulp of alcohol, I put my head down, scrutinizing the scratches that marred the table, trying my best to set my mind elsewhere.
I dejectedly sat like that for several minutes until I heard a voice coming from right in front of me, startling me.
"Hey there, pretty boy… I heard you just broke up with your girlfriend. How about I make you forget all about her~?" A mature lady said seductively, reaching out a hand to caress my face.
Instinctually, I wanted to pull back and firmly reject her.
Not only because I was a taken man not long ago, but also because I hated casual hook-ups in general. They only provided temporary relief to the body while making the mind feel lonelier the day later.
Considering that, especially in my situation, I should've firmly rejected her, yet I didn't.
Perhaps I just desperately wanted to try to forget Selene—even if just for a moment, or perhaps I was just horny, so I drank more, let her do her sweet talking, and bring me into a private room upstairs.