Friend, My Ass
"Here…" Arran said as he threw the bag of medicine at Hiki's face. "Those are all Aria's stash medicines. Just find your own medicine." He said curtly.
"Grr, I can't believe we have to ask them for help." Hiki grumbled softly. Even though there were lots of medicines at his house, it was too far away if he had to carry Rei there alone. So in the end, he and Rei were forced to go to their hut first.
Rei himself was actually still conscious, but his body was also starting to weaken due to the poison of the cat monsters earlier. Though fortunately he still had the strength to clap Hiki's hand when he almost forcibly fed him with the wrong drug.
"But she fainted just from using magic earlier?" Hiki asked then. "That's a little…"
Leyna looked like she didn't want to answer. But after she finished changing Aria's compress, she finally replied. "From the beginning Aria's magic wasn't actually strong, so she sometimes gets like that when she uses it too much." She said.
"Especially because of you, she also hasn't rested at all these few days." Arran added.
Even so Hiki didn't seem to feel guilty and just folded his arms in confusion. "I don't know much about magic, but if she fainted immediately after just using that much, wouldn't that be too little?" He said to Rei. "Although smart, she really belongs to the weak type." He added.
Because he was sipping his medicine, Rei was silent when he heard that. But actually he also found it a bit strange to see Aria passed out just from using, how much? Three kinds of magic in a row?
'The weak type… But how come she's that talented?!' He thought differently.
Even though he did tell her to learn some magic from the book, he really didn't expect her to be able to use several at once already.
But Mika, who had been silent because he needed to get their three younger siblings to sleep first, finally also looked at Rei and Hiki with a sinister look too. "But exactly what job did you offer Aria?" He asked.
Rei looked like he didn't want to answer the question, but as they all stared at him, even Hiki included, he finally replied, "I'll answer it if she's the one asking it." He said while hinting his gaze at Aria.
Even so Mika still said again. "Can't I just replace her?" He asked then. "Aria can't do dangerous work."
"How many times do I have to tell you that the work isn't like that?" Rei replied. "If I only need a normal magician, I can do it by myself."
"But it sure isn't a normal job either, right?" Added Arran too.
Starting to feel displeased at being interrogated, Rei's gaze also sharpened. "It's at least fucking better than being a thief." He said, which almost made Arran punch him if only Leyna didn't stop him.
"Friend, my ass. You know you have no self-awareness, right?" Reply Rei again, somehow starting to get angry too.
"You all stopped doing your magic shows with her for the sake of becoming thieves! Even to the point of leaving her alone to take care of your siblings. But in the end what? You actually troubled her half to death like that!"
"Even if it wasn't me and Hiki, one day this would still happen, and you're lucky I didn't kill you on sight!" Rei babbled so much until his face became somehow red.
But because he also immediately felt tired again, he stopped what he was saying and chose to start standing even though Hiki still needed to help him.
"Anyway, if you still want to think of her as a friend, just let her work for me." He said again. "Someone as smart as her doesn't deserve to just live in a shit place like this, especially with such so-called friends."
After that Rei and Hiki were about to walk out, but right when they were at the door Rei turned around again. "Ah, and tell her I should be back tomorrow morning. So tell her to pack her things quickly."