Chapter 278: Calista
His free hand went toward his storage ring as he took out a cloth and wiped away the blood dripping down her face.
"Mhmm?"
The catkin girl turned her gaze up, only to see that same gentle gleam in his eyes.
"B-But I can really pay you back-"
She attempted to tell him once again that she could reimburse him, but it didn't get far before...
"No but's. I can fix such a small thing as easily as this."
Following such a statement, Azmond slightly moved his hand before a light blue energy flowed out of his palms.
*Swish*
The blue energy enveloped him in a thin filament of bubbles before it suddenly popped!
Pop!
He appeared outside of the bubble with a small smile on his face and clean clothes.
...
"You see? I told you I could fix it as easily as that," Azmond uttered before he made his way back to the girl.
"We-Well, that is good" The girl murmured with a slight hint of relief in her voice.
There truly would be no way that she would be able to afford the cost of... well, anything.
She lost everything after her Big-Sis and Father left her alone.
Calista had nothing and no one
And just as she was about to enter another depressed state, a soft yet firm hand made contact with her head.
*Pat*
"Say, girl, what is your name?" Azmond asked.
"M-My name?" Calista repeated with a shaky tone.
"Yeah, you know, like what your parents called you?"
Azmond was a little confused over the apprehension present in her voice. Was her name such a touchy subject?
'But I guess it does make quite a lot of sense, considering her 'background''
On that note, the first thing he did after healing her was look over her status with his Discerning Quantum Eye, and through such an action, he was able to figure out a lot of 'interesting' things about Calista.
"..."
Calista became more than a little nervous when she heard him bring up such a question, but she had already been rude enough to the man, so she couldn't not answer him.
"My name is Calista," Calista mumbled with a soft whisper.
Her head turned down as she started to play with her fingers.
The only thought on her mind was whether or not the good-smelling man would recognize her name.
But contrary to her thoughts, all she got was a bright smile as a response before he started to speak again.
"It's very nice to meet you, Calista. My name is Azmond," Azmond responded, followed by a few more head pats.
Calista was a bit taken aback by the head pats, but she was instead focused on something else.
"Mhmm Azmond Azmond"
She enunciated his name a few times, as she liked the way it rolled off her tongue. Although it was a little hard to say...
"Haha~ you're an odd one, aren't you~?"
A light chuckle escaped Azmond's lips as he observed the girl attempt to pronounce his name.
"It's my hair and eyes, isn't it?"
Calista gently touched a piece of her hair before a melancholic aura leaked from her expression.
All the problems in her life originated from her hair and eyes. But even despite that, she never entertained the idea of dying or changing her hair color.
After all, her white hair and eyes were the only things she had left of her mother's existence.
Furthermore, her Big-Sis had white hair and misty eyes like hers. And she made it through her childhood just fine.
And if she could do it, then Calista believed she could do it as well!
"You are most definitely an odd one, but not because of your pretty hair and eyes. No, you're odd because you are odd. That is all," Azmond said with an appealing voice.
"Wha? That doesn't make any sense" Calista questioned with a confused expression.
What Azmond was telling her was practically incomprehensible! How could she be odd simply because??
However, she wouldn't deny that she liked it when he called her hair and eyes pretty...
"You really think my hair is pretty?" Calista asked under her breath.
"Of course, I think it's beautiful," Azmond replied with a nonchalant voice.
He didn't quite understand why she would ask such a silly thing, for anyone with half a brain cell could tell that she was an exotic beauty in the making.
It was as if he thought she was asking an extremely obvious question.
After all, upon healing her up, he had Boundless take her into the bath and give her a good cleaning. And it was due to such a set of actions that she came out as an entirely different person.
If before, her hair and face were grimy and covered in dirt and blood, then she now had a flawless and pristine appearance.
Calista's once-dirty appearance had transformed into something beyond adorable! As she had long white hair that reached her waist and misty gray and white eyes, which would definitely be a sight for sore eyes if not for the constant glumness in them.
Her present appearance could be summed up in one word:
Cute!
"So, mister Azmond," Calista began.
"Drop the mister. Just Azmond is fine," Azmond interjected with a correction.
"Uhmm Ok-Okay Mi-... Azmond," she stuttered with a flushed look on her face.
Her hands started to become more active as she attempted to prevent herself from getting scolded, but, luckily for her, Azmond was there to change the subject.
"Anyway, what were you going to ask?"
"I-I was going to ask you when you would be dropping me back off again..."
Her words came out in a strained tone as her two big round eyes traveled up Azmond's towering figure, waiting for his answer.
It wasn't like Calista wanted to leave, but she didn't want to feel like a leech. Plus, she had been nothing but a bother to him, so it would probably be for the best if she were to leave her where he found her.