Everyone was stunned by Phina's response. This man was going to make her kill her friends before forcing her to commit suicide, yet her only response is to feel sorry for him.
"A-Alright, I'll leave dealing with the Sparks to you, Marrow." Fardo said awkwardly as he got up to leave. He was going to send a poor and innocent soul like her to her death, just to save himself from having trouble meeting his wife. Kara was a noble. Not even other nobles dare to try and kill her, not to mention that her father was acquainted with 2 Royal Families. At most, she would be roughed up a bit. No one in their right mind would accept a job to force themselves on her, let alone kill her. Only fools would do such a thing, and the powerful people were no fools. The ones with actual power knew how to enjoy life, so not a single one of them would throw their lives away for a single job.
"Don't worry, I'll get them off our backs." Marrow smiled confidently. While Fardo was an experienced man, Marrow had more experience, connections and political power. He was sure that no sane Family Lord would burn all bridges with him even if Phina had KILLED the young Spark girl, let alone insulted her a little. After all, Marrow might be an inexperienced fighter, but he was top-tier doctor, and an even better alchemist! He alone held more value in the eyes of the Royal Families than an army of Intermediate-rank fighters. How many 6-1 families begged the Royals for an increase in grade in exchange for servitude? Yet Marrow considered himself to be on the losing side when he made the deal with the Royals from Listerous. Marrow had earned the title of a grade 5 noble, an entire town under his control and a highly secure house and lab, yet the elixir recipe he traded held more value than that. He could only bite his tongue and accept due to them not accepting anything he put on the table afterwards.
"I'll bring the young man here so that you can thank him." Kara smiled at Phina lightly. "What was his name again?"
"William Acu-...hehehe. Sorry, sorry." Phina said as she giggled lightly. "It's just A...cuter name. Hahaha!"
"What's up with you?" Kara chuckled lightly as she saw Phina laugh.
"His last name is Acuter. Acuter! Haha!" Phina kept laughing.
"Your sense of humor is what got us in this mess, so try to reign in the best medicine." Jack said as he left the room.
"..." Phina stopped laughing. "What a buzzkill. Anyway, I'd actually really appreciate it if you could bring him to me. I really want to thank him."
"William Acuter...where have I heard that name before?" Kara held her chin as she searched her memory. "Oh, I think I know him! He was known as the God of Deals before he disappeared a few years ago!"
"Acuter...hehehe...was the 'God of Deals'?" Phina asked as she tried to hold her laughter.
"You might think that it's funny, but a huge number of nobles think it's a giant pain in the ass! He was getting offers from grade 1 and grade 2 Families to join them as their trades' general manager, but he turned all offers down on the basis that they wanted him to let go of his last name and take their respective Family's name instead. The kid had a talent unlike any others, it was like he could read the person's mind and give them a series of offers that would net him the most profit." Kara retold the tale her father had told her. "After being bombarded with not only offers, but also with threats, the young teen vanished of the face of the planet! No one could find him for a few years...until you did."
"Who would've thought? That guy was actually someone so important, yet he actually carried me all the way over here." Phina's laughter stopped, replaced with a gentle smile. "Now I want to thank him even more."
"You really think it's him? He might be impersonating William, or he could've just used the first name that came to mind since he was so scared of you." Kara giggled mischievously.
"How did you know that?!" Phina asked as her face flushed from embarrassment. She'd be heavily creeped out if she found a random person in fancy clothes staring at a dagger covered in dry blood.
"He let you go and ran like his life depended on it. We couldn't even catch his name before he was gone." Kara laughed lightly. "I guess the young man couldn't handle being around a powerful, not to mention older, woman."
Phina flinched at the word 'powerful'. She looked at Kara with worry then she looked at the ground as she sighed, "It happened again..."
"What did?" Kara asked in confusion.
"I...I lost control...just like when I almost hit you." Phina looked at the fake sky above her in guilt. "I almost killed her. I saw a little of her face when I slashed her eye...she was so young. I didn't need to think about what I was doing. My body just...did it. It was as if it was reflex, and not just conscious movements. When I stabbed at her neck, I didn't think much of it. But when I saw her face, it was like I was woken up from a dream...but not completely. It was like a lucid dream, where no matter how unachievable something might seem, I was able to do it."
"Seraphina." Kara stood up to face Phina and almost whispered, "There should be no shame, guilt or regret in protecting your life. If someone tries to kill you, it is only fair that they should be ready to lose their life as well."
"I just think it's not fair." Phina said with conviction. "Some things and some people pushed whoever is in front of you to that point. What if all they needed was just a small push? What if you kill them, when all they needed was a single sentence...a single word? Won't that be a shame? Won't you be filled with regret? Won't you be awake at night from the guilt?"
"..." Kara was speechless. She never thought of it like that. If Fardo had taught her anything, it was that if someone is stupid enough to raise their weapon at you, you should kill them lest they infect everyone around them. Even her father had told her that there was no shame in surviving, yet is killing the enemy the same as surviving?
"Have you killed someone before?" Phina asked still looking at the altered ceiling. "Have you seen the look of absolute fear in your opponent's eyes as their life flashes before them? Every up, down, joy, sadness, guilt, fear, regret in their life...all it takes to end all these emotions is a swift stab to the neck."
"N-No. I haven't killed anyone yet." Kara said honestly. 'What right to I have to guide her when she has more experience than I do? From a singe night nonetheless.'
"Do you want to see?" Phina asked.
"What?" the woman was stunned.
Phina turned her head to look Kara in the eyes. "After I recover, let's buy a criminal slave. You can kill a criminal right? Let's test it out. Each of us will kill one. If you can kill the person, you win this bet. If I win...let's just hope I don't."
"Are you serious?" Kara asked with shock.
"Of course." Phina said coldly. "You've killed monsters in the forest before right? What's the difference between a criminal who killed a human and a beast who killed a human for food? Neither has the morals, principles or heart of a human. Both are scum you should kill with no hesitation...I think...I hope."