For the past few days, Dillon has been a great friend.
If not for him, I don't think I'd have made it this far.
My only problem is that I haven't been as good an ally.
I want to help him out, but I just… can't.
Whenever he talks to me about his problems, I can't understand them because I never really lived a normal life.
I feel so guilty, like I'm a parasite.
But now, I have a way to change that.
Dillon overheard that our captors have a gold vault.
I can't believe how much money is in there, and to think it's all going to contribute to both of our lives.
That's if we escape with it, of course.
But that's not something to worry about, because I have a plan…
When one of the guild members leaves to scam a village, depending on how large and how guarded it is, a group of other guild members goes with them.
Thanks to Dillon's increasingly reliable eavesdropping skills, he overheard the guild members talking about their next scam, and luckily, they are going on a significantly risky mission to the Thelarian royal capital.
Ichkia.
This city is especially abundant with riches due to Thelaria's victory against an enemy nation, Lessria, from which they took many resources and stored them in the Thelarian vault, the largest goods storage in the continent.
which conveniently happens to be in Ichkia.
Back to the mission.
The entirety of the guild is leaving for Ichkia, except for Hades, who surprisingly happens to be the weakest of the lot.
Now Hades has been on tavern patrol before, and luckily, Dillon memorized his route.
Hades usually stands at one side of the barn for five minutes before walking around to the other side.
Since the barn is very wide, the slaves could quietly walk through the front opening and run to the side of the barn, which is the direction of the tavern, steal the gold, and escape.
But there is one problem: we never know which side Hades is on, and if one of us pops our heads out the side, his inhuman vision will catch them instantly.
Bless that poor soul.
So it's a cruel guessing game to decide which side of the barn we think Hades is on.
And unfortunately, there is only one way to beat it.
We send one brave soul to run out on Hades' side of the opening, and Hades kills them, which buys us time, and he will come to the entrance of the barn to punish us, but by then, we'll have already run through the back entrance to the tavern.
We will have to be extremely fast, though.
But luckily, there is a field we can hide in on the way to the tavern, ironically the one we are forced to work in.
Okay, I explained this plan to the other slaves, and tomorrow, it's time to act.
***
"Is everyone ready?"
I whispered to the other slaves; some nodded, some didn't respond, but none showed any negative response.
"Let's go, but first… Who's going to be our brave soul?"
I looked at the other slaves, waiting for a response, but got none.
There was complete silence, which was reasonable, but not what we needed.
Until someone spoke up.
"I will."
We all turned in the direction of the speaker, and my face paled.
It was Dillon.
"Dillon… I…"
I couldn't stop him.
If he didn't go, none of us would escape.
I hate myself for being so selfish.
But I just… I just can't let myself die.
The other slaves bowed their heads in respect.
And so did I.
I can't believe I'm going to lose my only friend.
I was never able to pay him back for all he's done for me.
But now I know that if he sacrifices himself for me, dying isn't an option anymore.
I won't waste his noble act by letting it be in vain.
It may sound cheesy, but Dillon will live in our hearts forever.
But before he dies, I need to know why he did so much for me…
"Dillon?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"Why… why did you help me?"
Dillon chuckled, wearing his signature smile.
"Because… I saw something in you."
"What… what did you see?"
"I see that you're going to change the world someday. I see that you're never going to give up, no matter what. And that takes a really special person."
For the first time… someone actually believes in me?
Maybe the world isn't just cruel after all…