CHAPTER 82: LET’S MAKE A TRADE

Mika sighed then, his eyes drifting briefly toward the village before returning to her.

"Anyway...enough with the introductions. It’s about time we talked about the real issue at hand."

"The real issue?" Mina tilted her head. "What issue? If there’s something important to talk about, wouldn’t it make more sense to speak with Grandpa? He’s the leader of the village."

"That was the plan at first." Mika admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "But honestly, it’s pretty clear that no matter what I say, I won’t be able to get through to him, or to most of the others in the village. They’ve already made up their minds about me. You, on the other hand..."

His gaze softened, almost amused.

"You’re much more reasonable. Easy to talk to. So I’d rather explain things to you."

The words made her heart skip. She straightened proudly.

"Then go ahead! Tell me what you have in mind. Since I’m the one you’ve chosen to talk to, I’ll act as the representative of the whole village and speak with you instead."

Mika’s lips curved upward again.

"Alright then, Miss representative. The issue is..." He paused for a moment, then said plainly. "I don’t actually want the ancient relic your village has."

"To tell you the truth, just like you were all forced to hand it over by your God, I was also kind of...forced to come here and collect it."

Mina’s eyes widened, her voice rising in disbelief.

"What? That can’t be true! The relic is supposed to be a powerful treasure! Even if no one really knows exactly what it can do, my grandmother told me that our first ancestors used it to protect themselves from the demonic beasts. It’s important!"

"I’m not saying it isn’t." Mika replied calmly. "I’m not looking down on it at all. I just have no need for it, so I don’t want it."

"...Especially when taking it would mean stealing something from your village. I don’t want anything that would come at the cost of someone else’s suffering."

Her lips parted slightly as her eyes softened.

"You really are a nice person." She murmured, almost as if surprised by her own words. "I guess I...really did misunderstand you earlier."

She looked down for a moment, then met his gaze again with a small, sincere smile.

"I’m sorry. For the things I said to you before."

"Knock it off." Mika said with a wave of his hand, his tone turning almost playful again. "You’ve already apologized once. That’s enough. Keep doing it and even I’ll get tired of hearing it."

That earned him a quiet laugh from Mina, her earlier nervousness replaced with something warmer, an odd mixture of respect, comfort, and a growing sense of curiosity about him that she couldn’t quite put into words.

Mika’s smile then softened as he leaned back slightly, his tone shifting into something more thoughtful.

"And that’s exactly why I’m in a bit of a dilemma." He admitted. "I don’t want to take your village’s treasure...but at the same time, it seems you don’t have much of a choice about giving it away."

"And if I leave empty-handed, I’ve failed the job I was sent here to do, so I was honestly confused about what to do next."

He paused, then his lips curved upward again.

"That is, until I remembered something you told me earlier."

Mina blinked, tilting her head. "Something I told you? What exactly did I say?"

"You..." Mika said, pointing at her. "...gave me the perfect solution without even realizing it. When you complained that you were being told to give away your treasure without me giving anything back in return, it hit me."

"Why not make it a fair trade?...Instead of you just handing over the relic, I could give you something in return. A barter deal. Both sides benefiting."

He glanced at her meaningfully.

"That is unless...you don’t actually want to give it away at all, and it’s some priceless heritage you absolutely have to keep."

Mina immediately shook her head so fast her hair whipped around.

"Not at all! Not at all, at all!" She said quickly. "I mean...yes, I want to protect it because it’s ours, but honestly? It’s not even useful to the village anymore. No one knows how to use it. I wouldn’t mind giving it away as long as we got something good in return."

Mika chuckled softly, eyes narrowing in amusement.

"You really are a smart girl. You know when to protect something and when to use it to your advantage."

Mina puffed her cheeks at the comment, though she looked pleased.

"But the problem is...I don’t actually know what to ask for. Or even what you could give me..." Her brows furrowed in thought.

And to this, he waved a hand dismissively. "Don’t think too hard about it. You can ask for anything."

Her eyes went wide. "...Anything?"

"Anything." He confirmed with a nod. "I was chosen by your Goddess herself, remember? You can imagine the kind of power I have. So no matter how absurd your wish is, I can make it happen."

Mina’s face lit up, excitement and panic mixing in her expression. She then muttered under her breath, almost to herself.

"Oh no...what should I do? There’s so many things the village needs..."

She began pacing in place, ticking ideas off on her fingers.

"Maybe I should help Auntie Tata fix her leg, she’s always complaining she can’t work properly."

"Or...maybe repair the houses from the storm last week, half the walls still have holes in them."

"Or maybe...new weapons, so the men can fight off cursed beasts better."

"Ooh, or maybe something for the crops, if the soil was richer, we’d never go hungry again..."

She trailed off, chewing her lip.

"Ahhh, there’s too many things! I can’t decide."

And hearing all the idea that she was coming up with, Mika just shook his head and said, "You’re going about this all wrong."

That made her stop and stare. "Wrong? What am I doing wrong?"

"Well, Mina, a deal between two people, you don’t just ask for the bare minimum." Mika said, his tone almost lecturing but still teasing at the edges. "You aim for the maximum benefit. You should be greedy, ask for something big, not just small favors like fixing a leg or patching a roof."

"For example, if I was in your position, I would be asking for a fortress in the sky or magic strong enough to rule the world."

He waited, half-expecting her eyes to light up with amazement at the thought.

But instead, Mina simply shook her head.

"I don’t need all that. Though..." She admitted with a sly little grin. "...being the princess of a flying castle does sound tempting."

"So you do like the idea?" Mika raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe a little." She shrugged. "But I’d still rather use the chance to help the people in the village. I want to make things better for everyone, not just for me."

"...But the problem is, I can’t choose. There are too many things that need fixing, and I don’t know where to start."

While Mina was still confused about what she should ask for, Mika found himself staring at her a moment longer than he meant to.

Her words...surprised him.

Most people, when offered limitless power, would at least think about using it for themselves. But here she was, thinking only about her village, her family, and the people she cared about.

His respect for her deepened and he wanted to properly help out such a promising and selfless young girl like her.

So, finally, he leaned forward slightly, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips.

"In that case...how about this? Instead of picking one thing...I’ll give you a better offer."

Her eyes widened. "Better? What kind of offer?"

"What if I told you..." Mika said, lowering his voice just enough to make the words feel heavier. "...that I can give you the power to grant any number of wishes, as many as you can think of, within one minute?"

Mina’s throat bobbed as she swallowed hard.

"Any...number of wishes?" She echoed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mika nodded once. "One minute. No limits."

Her eyes went wide as the weight of the offer sank in. She could barely believe what she was hearing...