Polymath Redux

Chapter 20: Will you grant my wish?

[Get the demon!]
[Yeah!]
[Aim for the horns!]
[Where did she go?]

The screams and laughter of children could be heard throughout the alley, as a lone girl hid behind stone columns in fear. Visibly trembling and tears dripping past her face, even though the only differences between her and the other children were her horns they had picked that specific trait to torment her. 'Demon' they would shout out as they threw rocks and drove her away, sometimes even pursuing her to beat her down even more.

Though filled with malicious intents the real problem did not lie with the children, but their intolerable parents who spoke ill of the demons. Though even that wasn't wholly unjustified as the root of the problem laid with the invasion of the center continent by the demon lord. Had it not been for him the demons would not have been antagonized so.

Like this, the orphan known as 'Rena' had spent the majority of her childhood, simply running away from the torment and scorn of others. Barely getting by eating scraps and whatever she could rummage. She had hated her life and contemplated suicide over and over but she could not go through with it, it was too painful and sad to die like this. Surely one day someone would come to rescue her? Her knight in shining armor... no she didn't need anything like that, all she wanted was some benign company.

Yes... if there was just one person to talk to, perhaps this cycle of sadness and anguish could be vanquished from her. Like this she had lived her life, spending every night crying herself to sleep, wishing that someone would treat her like a normal girl.

However every time she touched one of her broken horns she knew that could not be. They hated her, so much that they had taken one of her horns, it hurt the first time and she knew that the children were only influenced by the adults. She couldn't hate them from the bottom of her heart but she did cry for them and herself.

'Help'... if she kept wishing then maybe someday...

...

Rena's darkened vision started to heal and opening her eyes the much dreaded sunlight had come through.

"Nngh..."

She made a sour face as she slowly let the light in and her eyes adjusted. Morning had come... so how long had she been out of it? In the first place, what had happened? She remembered that her inn was demolished by some rough men and that she was stabbed through the chest, so how was she even alive?

Digging through her pained memories of that time she tried to come up with an answer but all she remembered was the scent of blood and smoke; It had clouded her memories.

She looked around to see where she was... 'A camp site?' she asked herself looking around she saw a neatly made campfire and she was sleeping comfortably inside a tent.

"Awake?"

A voice asked her, turning to it was Irina.

"Ah..."

She remembered what had happened, Irina had fed her some of her blood and that helped her survive just until Mordred had come and healed her up. She peered down to see what happened to her chest, if there had been any wounds? No, almost as though it was just a bad dream not even a scar had remained.

"Thank you very much, Miss Irina."

She thanked with a smile.

"You don't have to thank me, you should thank my master for saving you. All I did was help you hold out until he arrived."

"I see... but if it wasn't for you, I still would have died. So please accept my gratitude."

It did not escape her glance but there was a small flash of a smile beneath Irina's expressionless persona.