Chapter 10

Man, I really needed to gain some muscle.

"Cmon, you're almost there!" Whice hollered from the top of the cavern.

"Yeah, just, hang on a sec," I panted while scaling up the vine. "It's just…my everything's killin' me…"

The dhampir sighed in resignation. "We desperately need to work on your training regimen once you're healed."

I swallowed at her response. While I was extremely weak and scrawny compared to your average seventeen-year-old, in my opinion being naturally underweight with asthma justified it a bit.

"Hey...at least I'm a fast sprinter..." I reasoned, finally pulling my weight up to the grass. "Ahhh…"

"Get up slowpoke, we gotta check on Doppio." Whice leaned down to stick out a hand for me.

"Yep, getting up-" I exhaled while she helped me on my feet. Not too far off from us was a flickering purple dome containing a damaged gremlin mecha.

"Is Doppio in there?" Whice gestured to the shield, eyeing me expectantly.

"Yeah, she's in there."

After a painful limp session we finally reached the bubble as Whice experimentally poked it sending ripples throughout.

"By the way," I started. "That shields pretty weak now, but it still might be hard to-"

*Shlk!*

Whice quickly pulled her rapier from the bubble and sheathed it, the force field promptly flickering out of existence.

"...I guess that works."

"Doppy!" Whice cried out, rushing towards her friend. She cut the straps securing the chemist to which the limp body fell in her arms. She briskly put her head on Doppio's chest and listened. "...Oh thank the Gods she's still breathing."

"She might have a pretty bad concussion from" I sucked in a deep breath upon glimpsing Doppio's arm. Whice glanced at me then at the limb, her eyes going hollow with shock.

Doppio's arm…was bent the other way at the elbow.

I had to break my gaze from the sight. Seeing a bone bent that out of shape made me sick to my stomach.

"Let's take her back to the village. It's not too far off." Whice huffed while lifting Doppio's good arm under her shoulder.

"Yeah, the faster we get ther-woah woah!" I quickly caught the pair starting to tilt over. "I'll carry her, you still also need to lean on me."

"I guess I bit off more than I can chew…" Which chuckled. "You sure you can carry us both though?"

"Well it's not like there's any other options." I smiled back. "Besides, I'm not that weak."

Oh how very wrong I was.

"Okay, maybe I am that weak-, hngh!"

I trudged forward with Whice leaning on one side and Doppio on the other. My already burning muscles wanted to commit suicide from their combined body mass.

"Sorry for just bein' dead weight right now," Whice apologized. "I wish I could do something even remotely useful."

"Ah, it's out of your control." I grinned through the aching. "Plus you've saved me so many times, so it's nice to help you for once."

"Heh, you have some surprising shades of humility when it comes down to it."

"I mean, that's just basic human decency. Am I really that much of a hardass all the time?"

"You have your moments, but that lead persona hides a heart of gold when it matters."

"'Lead persona, huh?" I chortled. "Gotta admit, that's pretty accurate."

Our amiable mood died when Aubernbeuge came into view from the forest. Smoke billowed from the charred cottages with many completely collapsed.

"Oh no…" I murmured in horror as we entered the village. Its people were wearily moving about, salvaging what they could and rounding their dead. Many of the townsfolk bore injuries equally revolting to Doppio's with some much worse. A deep crimson drew my eyes to a sizable bloodspatter against a cottage side. I numbly looked down to see a man laying limp against it with what must've been his head smashed like a raisin. Charred bodies were one thing, but actually seeing a pulverized skull with leaky grey matter is something else. My stomach tried forcing its fluids back up my throat, but said fluids were already vomited out from Ozech's stone punch.

"Hey, look at me." Whice said meekly, slowly turning my head towards her. "It..." her blue eyes briefly broke contact, struggling to find the right words. "It doesn't help to brood over it, think of all the lives you saved."

I lowered my eyes in guilt. "'Saved'? All I did was struggle to keep myself alive. I didn't save anyone."

"Um, hello? Are you forgetting the person next to you?" her eyes shifted to Doppio. "Without you Ozech would've brutally murdered her, or even worse."

I felt my nose wrinkle in disgust upon flashing back to his offer. "...I suppose you're right."

"You know I'm right." Whice corrected. "Now let's go get fixed up." I put on my best smile, to which Whice gave the slightest nod in response. After some walking and assistance from the townsfolk we turned a corner to see Scipio hunched over on a rock anxiously twirling his thumbs. He noticed us and smiled in relief, almost to the point of tears.

"Guys!" He started, excitedly standing up to jog towards us. His smile faded to a mixture of worry and shock as he saw the girls' conditions. "Doppio…" His eyes went blank upon seeing his sister's arm. "Is she…"

"She's alive." I hastily sputtered to calm his nerves. "But she still got pretty hurt from the crash."

Scipio took his sister off me. "We need to get you three treated immediately, especially the girls." He swept up Doppio into a princess carry and turned around. "Follow me, I'll take us to the injuries camp."

I stared in slight jealousy at how easily he carried his sister. "Damn, I couldn't do that if I tried."

"Don't worry, we'll be muscling you up in no time." Whice playfully poked my chest in response.

"Ow!"

"Erp...sorry."

I sat on the log completely zoned out in the embers of the campfire. A few hours have passed since Ozech's assault on Aubernbeuge, the two moons and stars giving the countryside a serene beauty. I spent those hours doing what I could to help the villagers, my exhaustion and headaches were no excuse when even the elders were lugging debris off their deceased. Smooth lofi played in my ears, helping to take my mind off of all the horrible things I've seen today. Harbor LP took me back to 2016, getting on the school roof with friends, watching the suns-

"Murnax!"

"Coming Mom!" I bleated without thinking, a sudden hand on my shoulder scaring the living daylights out of me.

"'Mom'?" A nasally voice snickered. I slid off my headphones and craned my head up to see Scipio next to me.

"Sorry, force of habit." I mumbled trying to mask my embarrassment.

"I called your name three times, but seems like you were completely out of it." Scipio shrugged.

"Sorry, I was. Anything you need?"

"Doppio's awake."

I felt a sense of relief wash over me from his words. "Oh, that's good! How's she doing?"

"Pretty well considering her broken arm and concussion, wanna go see her?"

"Of course." I nodded, painfully sitting up from the log. As we walked to the cabin Scipio looked me over before stating the obvious.

"You still look like hell man. Have you taken Doppio's healing potion yet?"

"Barely did right before I had some porridge. Everything's just bruised from eating shit twice and taking a pillar to the stomach." I chuckled.

"Eating...shit?" Scipio's face scrunched in disgust at me.

"Figure of speech!" I quickly stated, raising my hands apprehensively. "Basically hitting the ground really hard really fast."

"Man, your euphemisms are weird." The alchemist snorted.

"All euphemisms are weird." I smirked back.

Our talking died down upon stopping at one of the many cozy cottages.

"Doppio's in here." Scipio stated as we entered the house. This cabin was much smaller than their previous quarters, only basic furniture and minimal decorations strewn about.

I whistled as we walked through the halls. "Not as homey as your original, but still pretty nice."

"We've had to make do since Whicey collapsed our entire cabin." Scipio sighed. the entire atmosphere around him literally became dark blue with dreary lines as three darker lines appeared next to his head.

"Yep, she'd totally do that." I deadpanned. Woah, anime physics were going full force here, I could feel the sweatdrop on my temple.

Scipio stopped at a door to the right and opened it before peeking his head in.

"Hey Doppio, Murnax's here."

"Well let him in already!" a voice playfully chided.

"Yeah yeah…" her brother motioned me in with a resigned smile.

Sitting up from her bed was Doppio in simple but comfy looking pajamas. Her raven hair was let down in a more relaxed style compared to her crazy twin tails, but still fairly spiky. She wore a pair of backup glasses with a bandage around her head and her re-set arm in a sling. Seeing her injuries sent a pang of guilt through my heart, direct reminders of how I was the indirect cause of them.

"Hey there...How ya feeling?" I awkwardly asked.

"Actually pretty great given my injuries!" She grinned ear to ear and flashed a peace sign.

"Doppio's broken more bones than we can count in the past, but she always comes back twice as strong." Scipio folded his arms with a confident smile.

"Yep, I'm one tough woman!" his sister fist pumped the air with her good arm.

"That's good to hear." I smiled back. "Ozech's finally dead now, so you can rest easy."

"Thank the Gods." Doppio slumped back on the headboard in relief. "How exactly did you beat him? Scipio gave me a rundown on what happened but I wanna hear it straight from you."

"It's a long story," I sheepishly scratched the back of my head. "basically Whice and I turned him into a shish kabo-"

"Doppy!"

"Wah!" I jumped from a blur of movement to my left. A bandaged figure in the same pajamas rushed up to the chemist.

"Hey, you're still injured Whicey! Don't move so hastily!" Scipio fretted.

"I'm so glad you're okay." The musketeer ignored him and hugged Doppio as close as possible without harming her.

"Glad you're alive too, Whice." Doppio smiled in relief.

Whice pulled back with misty eyes and a shaky smile. "We kicked Ozech's ass through every level of hell for ya."

"I'm glad you did, but besides that,"

*SMACK!*

"What were you thinking?"

"..."

Scipio and I stared slackjawed at the two girls before glancing at eachother. Doppio just….bitch slapped Whice.

The dhampir sluggishly turned her head back to face her friend, an equally bewildered look on her face.

"...Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me, what the hell were you thinking, bursting through the floor like that?" Doppio berated. "Ozech was just about to leave!"

"I-, he was molesting you, Doppio!" Whice angrily responded. "You really think I'd just sit there and let him shove a hand between your legs?!"

"Well thanks to your brazen entrance over forty people are dead." Doppio retorted. "Not only that, the Church will obviously take wind of Ozech's disappearance, sooner or later they'll piece together that he was killed here."

"Hey, blaming each-"

"Stay out of this/Shut it, Scipio." Both girls spat.

"Still, I can't believe you just allowed the Order to oppress you under it's thumb!" She rested an elbow on her palm and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why in the hells didn't you fight them off with your machines?!"

"Oh? You really think we'd be able to fend off an endless barrage of soldiers?" Doppio shot back. "Sheer numbers always come out on top, Whice. Tolerance was the only option, and now we have to abandon our village because of your impulsiveness!"

The dhampir rudely snorted. "Okay, let's say I tolerated that bastard and did nothing. Would you really have agreed to his horrible deal?!"

"Yes. If it'd protect the townsfolk then I would've accepted anything."

Scipio and I were stunned at Doppio's response, but Whice only rebounded harder from it.

"Well I won't. I won't just stand by and watch an insane zealot harass my friends and this village!"

"And because of that Aubernbeuge is in ruin and many of my friends are dead!"

"..."

"Fine." Whice stood up from her friend and walked towards the door. "If you want to be subjugated by the Church and live a life of oppression, then fine by me." She paused at the doorway staring straight ahead.

"I can't help lost causes."

I watched her exit the room with a solemn expression. Despite my desire to speak up and stop their fighting I would've likely been shut down as fast as Scipio. After a few long seconds I exhaled and started to walk after her, but Scipio's hand on my shoulder stopped me.

"Let her be. She needs some time alone."

I looked back at him with a slight frown. "What she needs right now is someone to be there for her. I've done the same thing too many times and I regret every single one."

I broke away from his grip and followed after her with a knot in my chest. Fuck, why did this have to be so stressful? I guess it's a given, being isekai'd to a crapsack realm means dealing with crapack problems. I couldn't really take sides here, on one hand Whice's actions were reckless and indirectly caused this whole mess, but on the other I couldn't really blame her for wanting to do what's right and protect her friend.

I turned the hallway to barely catch a door closing. Slowly walking up to it I raised my hand to knock before hesitating. Should I really be doing this? If anything I understood painfully well how important personal space was. Conversely, I knew just how painful that isolation could be, even if you tell yourself it's what you want.

After a soft exhale I lightly rapped on the door.

*taptaptap*

"Hey, Whice. Can I come in?"

"..."

"I'm not expecting you to talk about it, just….know I'm here, okay?"

I waited a couple seconds to no response and started walking back, only to stop from a slight door creak. Looking back Whice was peeking through the crevice like a child who just had a nightmare.

"You can come in, okay?"

I nodded and turned around after her. As I entered a little flicker of light came to life before being tossed into an oil lamp. The room was dreary and boring, wood log walls surrounding us with a simple bed and desk in the corner. Whice walked over to said bed and sat down while I pulled out a chair and followed suit. We stayed there silently for a couple of minutes, the silence thick in the air save the occasional sniff.

"Doppio's right. It is my fault."

"Huh?" I intelligently responded.

"I've ruined this town's future because of my recklessness, because I couldn't put up with the Ozech for even five minutes."

"Hey, the town's future isn't ruined, alright?" I got up from my chair and sat next to her. "Maybe the location, but not the people. It's like you said, if it weren't for us-, mostly you in fact, Ozech would've killed near every person. I mean, look at me, I'd be ground char siu if you didn't swoop in."

"Char siu?" the mamono dryly questioned.

"It's a kind of Chinese pork, cause I'm half Chinese-, forget it. What I mean is you saved me and so many others, don't overlook that."

Whice curled into a ball and buried her face deep in her knees. "Still, all those casualties would've been completely avoided if I didn't act so brashly. Those deaths are on my hands."

An uncomfortable pause infested the room while I tried to find the right words.

"...Listen Whice," I rested a hand on her shoulder. "Where I come from there's a saying that goes: 'For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost, all for the want of a horseshoe nail.' It means that a seemingly brash or small detail can cause unexpected consequences. The battle may have been lost because of the nail, but Ozech was the one who started the battle in the first place."

"I'm the one who started the battle in the first place." The dhampir said while holding back tears of shame. "I picked a fight right as he was leaving, and everyone's suffering because of it."

I mentally slapped myself from her point.

"Er, that may be true, but you're taking all of that bastard's blame. He was the one who killed those people, not you. I can't say you're without fault, but I'll be damned if you actually think you have the lion's share."

Whice sniffled in response. "You really think so?

"I know so."

"I…suppose you're right."

"You know I'm right." I said before giving a small laugh. "Wow, didn't expect to have the same phrase exchange twice."

"Heh, maybe we're more alike than I thought." Whice wiped away her tears as her lips quirked into a small smile.

"Or maybe you're just rubbing off me more than I thought." I shrugged with a grin before standing up. "I'm gonna turn in for the night, you should too. It's been a long day."

I started towards the door, but a delicate tug on my sleeve froze me in place. I looked back to see the beauty clinging to me like a lost child.

"Could you…stay here?"

"Um, okay…for how long?"

"Jeez, don't make me say it out loud, dummy." She murmured with a heart-melting pout. "Preferably…the whole night."

I swallowed hard at her request. The whole night? That raised all sorts of red flags. Last time I slept alone with a girl I almost got raped, and while I trusted Whice would never go that far she was still a Mamono with-

"Well?"

"Hah? Oh, um…"

A soft warm feeling wrapped around my hand, her sharp eyes now feigning their foxy looks to puppy plead with me.

"Please?"

"...Okay. Just, please don't try anything weird."

"I won't, cross my heart." she drew a little x over her chest.

With that we both got ready for bed and tucked in for the night, Whice on the right and me on the left. Despite my pounding heart my exhaustion eventually took over, Whice's shallow breaths lulling me into a dreamless sleep.

*THUMP!*

My consciousness was rudely jolted awake by the loud sound beyond the wall. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes before noticing the empty spot next to me.

"Guess she got up already…" I yawned, stretching my limbs and groping for my glasses. Seriously, what was all that yelling? It wasn't Whice or Doppio, nor was it Scipio. The voice was deep and…southern.

I grit my teeth upon realizing who the voie belonged to. Grabbing my blowgun I hastily trudged out the room and near sprinted down the hall. What the fuck is Dale doing here?

I burst through the door prepared to bash someone over the skull, surprising two people in the process. My panicked state turned to confusion when I saw what was going on. Sitting in the middle of the room was Dale chained to a chair with Whice holding her sword to his neck.

"Morning Murnax."

"Well I'll be damned, if it ain't good ol' Shitskin hims-Ack!"

"Shut it." Whice glowered, pushing her rapier up against the glaring incubus's jowls.

"What's going on, why's Dale here?"

"I'm interrogating him on the Enchères de Mari's whereabouts, the biggest slave auction in the world." Whice clarified.

Dale's handsome face twisted to a sleazy sneer. "Heh, I ain't gonna snitch."

"Oh really?" Whice smugly replied, stomping hard on the cowboy's foot to elicit a pained grunt. "I wouldn't be so sure, we've only just started!"

She grinded her heel hard for extra emphasis. "Plus, I think it's only fair you get a good beating for hurting Murnax."

"Wait wait," I intrejected. "Why exactly are we trying to find this, 'Enreches de Mari'?"

"To free the slaves of course." Whice responded as if it were common sense. Well, I guess it technically was common sense, but it wasn't really about the why and-halt, going on a tangent again.

"I mean, yeah, I know it's the right thing to do, but shouldn't we-

"You really think you two shits can do anything about it?" Dale interrupted. "Even if I did tell you where it is, your chances of actually freeing the-mmf-!"

"Shut it strawberry paste." Whice deadpanned, shoving a leather boot in his mouth. "You were saying?"

"Uh, one more thing." I walked up to Dale and set my headphones on his head, turning up Ram Ranch to full volume.

"Probably better that he doesn't hear what we're talking about." I shrugged. "Anyways, It's noble to do so, but don't we have bigger things to worry about? Like preparing for Druella's invasion or looking for the missing Drifter?"

"I see where you're coming from, but dismantling this slave auction also ties in with our goals." Whice explained. "Thousands of captured men will be sold off as husbands to Mamono, and our intelligence district has gathered that Druella plans to buy them in bulk."

"Is that not normal?"

"No. Usually Druella only gets a handful of notable men, but this time she plans on buying out the entire can only mean one thing: incentives."

I rubbed my stubbly chin in thought. "Incentives….like getting more monsters on her side?"

"Bingo. She wants to get as many husbands as possible to enlist as many monsters as possible. If that happens Lescatie will be completely outnumbered the day of the invasion."

I swallowed hard at her explanation. "How many guys are we talking about?"

"A sizable city's worth. Enough to increase her official army by at least a third."

I swallowed even harder. "Yeah, not good."

Whice curtly nodded. "Hence why we need to figure out the spot and liberate the slaves." She jerked a finger to the Incubus jamming to my headphones. "This asshat knows where it is, so we gotta get him to spill."

Whice removed the boot from his mouth as I took my headphones off.

"I'll use any means necessary to make you talk." She started. "Last chance to tell me where it is."

"Hey kid, what's that song called, it was actually quite hootin'-Ow-ow!"

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Whice menaced while fiercely pinching his cheek.

"Relax woman, I just hadda tune blasted in my ears for the better part of a minute." The cowboy hissed.

"Tell us the location."

"Fuck you."

*SLAP!*

I winced at the sudden noise of smacking flesh, both from surprise and somewhat-sympathy. His head stayed locked for a bit before slowly turning back to Whice.

"Cheek pullin'? Face smackin'? What are you, my Momma?" Dale mocked. Even with the large red handmark on his face he donned that same shit-eating grin I hated. "It's gonna take a whole lot more for me to talk. I'll never buckle on my manly pride."

Whice stared daggers at him before donning a worrying grin. "Your 'manly pride', huh?" She drew her rapier and hovered it over Dale's pelvis. "I think I can remove that myself."

Dale's haughty face dropped to fear, but just as quickly covered it up with a determined frown. "Do whatever you want, I'll never sqeal."

"Whice, are you serious?" I piped up. "Isn't that a little extreme, chopping off his…jewels?"

"Eh, bastard deserves it." She shrugged with indifference. "Kinda poetic justice, a man who sells sex slaves never gets to do the deed again himself."

"But still, that's just horrible." I argued. "I think it's pointlessly cruel."

"But being pointlessly cruel is the point, Murnax." she countered. "Wasn't it pointlessly cruel for him to beat you within an inch of your life?"

"Yeah, but there's a big difference between getting beat up and getting castrated, Whice."

"I'm doing it."

"No!"

I tried to stop her, but she simply stuck out her free hand and held me from afar. The scene probably would've been pretty funny if she wasn't about to pull something horrendus.

The dhampir slowly raised her sword above her head. "You have till the count of three to fess up or the balls come off. Three…."

"Don't you fucking dare Whice." I growled through my thrashing. Dale just stared at the ground in silence ready to accept his punishment.

"Two…"

"Stop it! Now!"

"One…"

"No!"

"Zero!"

The thin sword came down in an instant, and I could do nothing to prevent it. However the blood spatter and agonized scream I expected never came. I looked down and saw her rapier hovering over his completely unharmed crotch.

The dhampir let out a loud sigh and sheathed her rapier. "Gotta admit, you have balls of brass."

Dale peeked an eye open to see his gonads unsevered, another shit-eating grin spreading on his face. "Heh, should've known a softie like you was too pussy to go through with it."

"Oh I still got ways to make you talk, it's just scare tactics are always the most fun." The Musketeer retorted with a rogue-ish smile.

"Wh-, Why the hell didn't you drop a hint or something?!" I shouted in anger

"And risk him picking up on it?" Whice turned her impishly-sexy smile to me. "A wink or something would've been way too obvious, plus your reactions made it a lot more authentic."

I let out a sigh of frustration. "If you actually went through with it I would've never forgiven you."

"You really think I'd be cruel enough to chop off someone's baby-maker?" The dhampir tittered. "I'm still a Mamono, so I regard love and pleasure as supreme. To remove one's organ meant for lovemaking is especially inhumane to me."

"Whatever, let's just get back to interrogating Dale." I huffed, wanting to change the awkward subject.

"Okay okay." She raised her hands in surrender. "Mr. Brass-ball's one tough nut to crack, but I have an unbeatable method to make him talk."

"Please don't call him Mr. Brass-balls."

The dhampir turned towards the Incubus with an ominous shadow highlighting her eyes. "I've interrogated many people before, and not a single person has endured this technique. I hope you're prepared."

Dale just smirked at her. "Bring it, Bimbo bitch. I won't say a damn thing."

"I warned you."she shrugged, reaching her hands to his sides to…tickle him.

"The fuck're you doi-pfFFFHAHAHAH!" the cowboy laughed hysterically at her hands. "STOP, STOP!"

"Not until you give us the location." the Musketeer teased through her relentless assault.

"HAHAHAHUEH, NO! IWONTBUCKLE!"

"Locationn~"

"HEHUEHHAH-, OKAYOKAY IT'S DRAGONIA! THE LOCATION'S DRAGONIA!"

"How do we know you're not lying?" Whice said with a devil's grin.

"THE MAP! IT'S-IT'S GOT INVISIBLE INK ON THE REAL LOCATION, I SWEAR!"

With that she finally relented. "Ok, but if you're lying expect at least an hour of tickling. You barely lasted ten seconds."

"I'm-I'm not lying, I swear…" Dale panted between breaths.

Whice looked at me and giggled at my dumbstruck face. "Didn't expect that, did ya?"

"I'm not sure what to be more surprised at, the fact that you tickled him or the fact that it worked."

"Don't underestimate my hands." Whice teased while opening and closing her fingers, her mood didn't last long though. "Dragonia…"

My brain racked itself for the familiar name. "Shit, that massive city ruled by the Queen of Dragons?" I put a hand on my forehead in stress. "We can't go up against an entire nation…"

"I doubt Dragonia is officially endorsing the Encheres de Mari." Whice deducted. "If they were then there'd be no reason to keep it secret."

"Now ya know what I mean on how stupid it is to try and liberate the slaves." Dale sneered. "Dragonia's the largest Mamono city in the world, there's no fuckin' way you'll succeed."

"In recent news Queen Deonora's been trying to shy away from more extreme courting methods, I doubt she'd want to host the world's largest slave auction." Whice contemplated.

Dale's sneer only widened. "Who knows? She's been looking for a husband for centuries, maybe she's allowing the auction under everyone's noses."

The dhampir rolled her eyes. "Okay, I've had enough of you." As fast as light she haymakered him square in his already shattered nose, knocking him out cold.

"Jesus Whice!" I recoiled in surprise.

"Can't have him listening in on us, plus he cracked three of your ribs. A fist to the face is minimal payback." She held her chin in a worried expression. "But this isn't good, of all places it had to be the biggest Mamono kingdom in existence."

"Well for one we should immediately contact the-, Initium Novum, you call it?" I added. "Wouldn't they be able to give us support?"

"Depends, they're swamped trying to predict the arrival spots of future Drifters as well as plotting against both the Church andDemon Lord."

I folded my arms in thought. "Still, freeing those slaves will put a major dent in Druella's plans. This should be a big priority to them if they wanna stop the invasion."

"True, the Initium Novum does have the population and power of a small country." She pulled out a map from her booty shorts and uncurled it. "Whether they can reach it in time is another problem. It'll take about a month to get there, just in time for the auction."

Her eyes widened in excitement when glancing at the map. "Ooh! On the bright side we need to head that direction anyway to get your weapon."

"My weapon?"

Whice placed down the map on the table and pout her finger on a stonehenge-esque drawing. "It's said the fourth Drifter's weapon is located in the Tomb of Nazarick, right here."

"Tomb of Nazarick?" I nervously asked. "Is the Lich who rules over it named Ainz Ool Gown by any chance?"

"Where'd you get that?" Whice snickered. "Stupid name. It's a noble from another age named Claudette Wickes."

I laced my fingers together and cracked my knuckles. "God, I don't wanna deal with a horny undead corpse."

"Hey, at least she'll be a cute horny undead corpse!" Whice joked. "Besides, you have me, and you're the worst matchup for her being a walking magic nullifier."

"More like a dampener." I corrected. "I'm highly resistant but not immune to magic, and that place will be swarming with the undead."

"Again, you have me." Whice confidently jabbed a thumb to herself. "We'll be fine."

"Okay, so, first we go raid a Lich's tomb for my weapon then start a slave revolt in Dragonia?"

"Yep! It won't be easy but that's not saying it won't be fun!"

"All I see is stress and near-rape attempts along the way." I said dejectedly.

"Oh quit your whining." Whice lightly slugged me on the shoulder before attaching to my arm. "Besides, I hear that Dragonia's lights at night are quite romantic."

I turned my face away to hide my heating cheeks. "Yeah, if I'm not busy getting chased by a meathead Wurm."

That thought immediately soured her flirtatious mood. "I guess there will be a lot of forward monstergirls there…"

While she was pouting my stomach let out a large rumble. "Have you eaten anything? I for one am starving."

"I haven't eaten anything either."

"Then let's go get some porridge." I lightly smiled before turning towards the door.

"Yeah, porridge!" The arms around me suddenly yanked as the girl rushed past me, practically dragging me out the hall.

"Woah woah Whice! I'm still bruised every-, aw forget it."

After eating and taking a very sucky medieval bath, Whice and I were at the forest's edge loading our horses for the long trek ahead. We weren't the only ones packing, the whole village was gathering their remains to migrate to who-knows-where.

"Do they really have to leave also?" I asked while staring out into the ruins. "Couldn't they just tell the Church we held 'em hostage or something and Ozech died a brave death chasing us off?"

"If only the Order was that gullible." Whice huffed while lugging some camping gear on her horse's back. "They tend to care more about conviction and divine punishment than reason."

Reminds me of a certain World Government from a manga….

"Yeah, should've figured as much." I said while secured some bags to my horse's side.

"Wait!" A nasally voice called in the distance. I looked over to see the Kensuke Aida expy furiously dashing towards us with a frowning Saturnz Barz Noodle trailing behind, taking her time.

"Scipio, something wrong?" Whice questioned.

"There's….something else….I wanna give Murnax." Scipio panted with his hands on his knees.

"Something other than the tranquilizer fluid?" I asked.

"Yeah….here."

The chemist placed in my hand a sleek black tube of metal resembling a shrunken pistol silencer.

"What's this?"

"Focus some Shiryu into it and see what happens."

I angled the stick towards me and focused on the metal.

"Like this-"/"Wait-!"

*CLUMPF!*

"OW!"

The tube instantly extended to a long gunmetal staff hitting me right in the forehead. I stumbled back and cradled a newly forming welt between my eyebrows.

Ow.

"Ah, sorry….should've warned you first." Scipio sheepishly apologized.

A small pig snort to my side caught my attention. Whice was facing away from me with a shadow covering her eyes, visibly shaking and lips noticeably quivering.

"Hey, it's not funny!"

"Y-you're right. Not funny in the slightest." She curtly replied, turning her head even farther from me.

I ignored her and examined the metal pole Scipio gave me. "Did you make this? It's amazing!"

"Yep, such is the intellectual prowess of Scipio Sciciliano." the chemist gave a wide grin and pushed his glasses up with a finger causing a brilliant shine. Huh, gotta try that sometime.

I concentrated on the bo-staff again and the ends retracted in with a satisfying shick. Focused again, schicked back out. Back in, back out. Back in, back out.

After extending and collapsing it a few times I stopped and put it in my hoodie pocket. "Thanks so much dude, I'll always keep this on hand."

"Aw don't mention it." Scipio feigned bashfulness with a smug grin.

"You done yet Scipio?"

Said alchemist and I both jumped at the voice from behind. Doppio had snuck up behind us without notice.

"Y-yea. Just gonna say my farewells."

The younger sibling stuck out his hand to me. "Good luck on your travels, Murnax."

I grabbed it in a strong but friendly handshake. "You too, Scipio."

Whice walked up from behind and put a light peck on the alchemist's cheek. "Bye Scip-Scip. Don't attract any more girls while I'm gone."

Scipio definitely didn't feign bashfulness this time. "Heh, no guarantees…"

Now there was only one goodbye left to be said. The air was now tense and awkward from Whice and Doppio giving eachother a neutral stare.

"...Bye, Doppio. Be safe."

"You too Whice."

There was no malice from either, just a simple exchange of words. A sense of relief washed over me, but I wasn't dumb enough to show it. We both watched the siblings as they walked back to their village.

"She's still mad." Whice said dejectedly once they were out of earshot.

"Well….It has only been a day."

"I know, but it still hurts."

"Hey," I lightly slugged her shoulder. "I'm confident she'll forgive you. You're basically sisters."

"Oh? And what would you know about sisterly love?"

"A lot actually. I have the best older sister in the world and an equally amazing twin brother."

Whice looked at me in surprise. "Wait, you're a twin?"

"Yeah. Is it really that surprising?"

"No, it's just that…" her eyes shot downwards, hesitant to share with me. "Nevermind. Dragonia's a month's travel from here, and the Tomb of Nazarick's two weeks away. We should get going."

"Right."

I wondered what she was gonna say, but I wouldn't pry. In my hands were the collapsible bo-staff Scipio gave me, and the bottle of tranquilizer liquid I requested for my dart gun. That'd probably come wayy in handy down the line for aggressive Mamono and unsavory characters.

I adjusted the electric guitar on my back as we headed into the shaded forest trail. I had no idea how our next goal would pan out, but regardless a hardened sense of resolve quirked my lips into a small frown.

Bring it, Dragonia.

Merry Christmas everyone! Took my time on this chapter as well, but I'm still proud of it. Again I'm worried about pacing issues and dragging things out too long, I ended up deleting a whole section I deemed unnecessary. It hurt, but it was the better choice overall. I might switch to posting a chapter every two weeks instead of one, especially since I started another fanfic about Infinite Stratos (Which you don't have to but I'd be mega happy if you checked it out btw ;) ) Enjoy your time with your families and be covid safe!