"Wh-what's wrong?" Ailiya said blankly.
"Emmm, it's not a big deal. It's just that the owner of the house where we're staying, she... seems to want to commit suicide?"
"???" Ailiya was stunned for a moment. After a delay of about two or three seconds, she sat up with a jolt, without any doubt towards Saifei'er, and directly got out of bed and rushed out of the bedroom. Then she saw the girl in the living room, holding a small knife, pointing it at her own neck.
"Wait!" Without any hesitation, Ailiya rushed over and snatched the weapon from her hand. "You... what are you doing!?"
The girl with dark circles under her eyes stood there blankly, seemingly not having reacted at all to what had just happened.
Kaxi, that was her name, very ordinary, without any distinguishing features. But she wouldn't complain, because she was just an ordinary person born into an ordinary family. But one night, a year ago, she woke up thirsty to get a drink of water, and then accidentally witnessed her parents being murdered.
A guy dressed in black broke into her home and, in front of her, cut off her parents' heads.
Kaxi was so scared that she fell directly to the ground, making a noise. Her house was not big, there was nowhere to hide, and she was naturally discovered by the murderer. But strangely, the murderer just looked at her once and then left, without killing her.
But no matter what, what happened that night became a nightmare in the girl's heart. Almost every night when she slept, she would dream of the same scene, witnessing the entire process of her parents' death again and again. This scene constantly tormented her spirit.
The room where Saifei'er and Ailiya were staying was actually Kaxi's parents' room. She cleaned it carefully every day, which was why it was so clean.
And this was also why the village chief recommended Saifei'er and Ailiya to stay here. Kaxi happened to have a spare room, and it also allowed the child to earn some extra money.
As for why Kaxi initially didn't want to accept money? It was because she had already wanted to commit suicide and felt that accepting money was meaningless.
Facing Ailiya's questioning, the girl's eyes were somewhat dazed. She said calmly, "I... just don't have the courage to live anymore..."
Actually, Kaxi's decision to commit suicide tonight was also related to Ailiya. Before this, she had already been tormented by nightmares, and Ailiya was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
The smile Ailiya showed when she insisted on giving her money, in Kaxi's eyes, was as dazzling as the sun. But for someone who had lived in a dim environment for a long time, suddenly seeing the sun could instead hurt their eyes.
For Kaxi, Ailiya, this stranger who suddenly appeared before her, was so beautiful, had such a good personality, and was also a powerful adventurer (in the eyes of ordinary people, all adventurers are mysterious and powerful).
But in comparison, her own life was so bleak. This strong feeling of inferiority directly ignited all the pain Kaxi had accumulated over such a long time. After being startled awake from nightmares multiple times, the scene before them occurred.
Ailiya didn't know Kaxi's experience, but she still said, "No matter what, you can't choose to take your own life! Once a person dies, there's nothing left!"
Kaxi said calmly, "But I've already lost everything..."
Ailiya said, "Then you should try even harder to live! Go find other valuable things or pursuits!"
Just like that, these two started arguing about the topic of suicide. Ailiya racked her brain, trying to persuade the other party to live, but Kaxi seemed not to hear, even trying to snatch the knife from Ailiya's hand, but naturally failed.
Kaxi said, "It's no use. Even if you stop me now, I'll still commit suicide after you leave. I've already made up my mind..."
Hearing this, Ailiya said even more, "Then I won't leave. I'll stay here and watch you until I convince you to give up on suicide!"
At this moment, Saifei'er, who had already gotten dressed and come to the living room, couldn't help but show a speechless expression. She really wanted to say to Ailiya, 'Are you sure? What about the escort mission?'
But this question was meaningless, because she could feel that Ailiya was serious now. This was not strange, after all, Ailiya was a Holy Knight.
One day a year ago, a blonde girl, witnessed by her parents, shouted an oath and pulled out the stone sword from the village:
"I shall treat everyone with integrity, never lie, never deceive!"
"I shall help all the weak who need help! I shall lend a hand when they need it!"
"I shall bravely face all evil forces, never retreat, never give up!"
From that moment on, Ailiya became a Holy Knight, gaining the two spells 'Light of Healing' and 'Holy Strike'.
Therefore, when Ailiya encountered a weak person who needed help, if she deliberately did not lend a hand, it would be equivalent to breaking her oath, and she would lose this power.
But conversely, Holy Knights who can gain power from their oaths are people of extremely firm will, and it is almost impossible to make such people break their oaths.
So, if she encountered it, Ailiya would definitely help, doing her best to help.
It must be said that Ailiya's words at this moment, 'I'll stay until I convince you to give up on suicide,' were very, very cool. Hearing this, Kaxi's lips trembled slightly, and a few tears even appeared in the corners of her eyes.
But the actual situation was that these words were spoken by a girl who had just woken up, with messy hair, wearing pink pajamas, with bare feet, and her hands on her hips.
Emmm, adorable.
Kaxi's tone fluctuated for the first time. She trembled and said, "But... but... you don't even know what I've been through..."
Ailiya walked over and placed her hands on the other's shoulders. "Then tell me! If there's something painful, it might feel better to talk about it!"
After a moment of silence, Kaxi slowly recounted what happened that night, the entire process of her parents being murdered in front of her.
Hearing this, Ailiya, who had just had a firm expression, couldn't help but waver a little, but she still said, "But even so, you should try even harder to live! Your parents surely wouldn't want you to die like this, would they? Go out more, meet more people, and encounter more interesting things!"
At this moment, Saifei'er interjected for the first time, "Then how about this? A person always needs something to look forward to in life. Does the murderer who killed your parents have any distinctive features? We'll help you get revenge, and you just live well and wait for us to bring you the corpse of your enemy."
......