CH519 Nati’s Perspective

With the reveal that she’d been tricked out in the world and her temporary teacher heading off, showing no sign of wanting to stay any longer than he needed to, Nati was left alone with her two companions, both of whom had their own feelings on the matter.

Xilly hadn’t been shy in showing her opinion on the human, or his people as a whole while he’d been there, and Zallith was undoubtedly fuming over the idea that any mortal would call themselves a friend of her grandfather’s, leaving them both deeply negative after the encounter, forcing her to try and brighten the mood, even as her own thoughts began to poke at her.

“Why don’t we head out for dinner now? I could use the change of pace.”

Even though she’d asked it as a question, she was already walking, not giving either time to answer as she thought over what had just happened, along with other, connected events.

While knowing someone had just succeeded in scamming her wasn’t exactly thrilling, it wasn’t the end of the world either. While not a priest, oracle, or apostle, she was without a doubt an important figure in her grandfather’s faith, and as such was funded in a way that would mean money would never be an issue, with even more coming in for both the awakened skills she had and the things she would make and sell. Anything she lost wasn’t going to be some major blow, instead ending as just a bit embarrassing.

The fact that someone had to swoop in to help only made it worse, with the final nail in the coffin being just who had been the one to do it.

She wouldn’t deny that she had not been showing Ben the kindness she should have as someone who had been invited to teach her by a god. Both Xilly and Zallith had strong opinions about him before he’d even arrived and as her two trusted, if not a bit troublesome, friends, she’d accepted their opinions, letting herself get infected by them, with it only made worse once the idea was put in her head that he and her grandfather might have been hoping she’d become his lover.

But how true was that really?

During his time there, Ben had been what she would best describe politely professional, friendly for the most part with only a few times where he’d let any annoyance slip through, but if she were to be honest with herself it would be unfair to hold that against him. There were definitely times that they’d taken the least charitable stance on what he’d say or do and while she wasn’t sure how much of what he’d done should have been interpreted through the lens of her memories, she couldn’t deny that much of her reactions had come from a desire to keep him at a distance, lest she learn her concerns had been true.

And maybe that had worked. Maybe the reason she hadn’t felt him trying anything was entirely because her actions had made things abundantly clear, stopping that problem before it could sprout.

Or maybe she’d misread the situation, taking in the biases of her companions and letting them keep her from making her own opinions, leaving them mistreating someone who had just been trying to do the teaching he’d been sent to.

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She couldn’t help but sigh thinking about it, with the only other opinions she could get on the topic coming from those who had already made up their minds.