Author's notes:
Hello,
Honestly I've lost track of time so I have no idea if this is on pace or late. That means its very late most likely, and very short at the same time haha...
Hopefully this fairly low stress chapter brings some smiles to your face as the young trio attempt to navigate the world.
Cheers!
Chapter 39: Adventures Outside Orario
Heathcliff:
Body aching, Heathcliff shifted slightly. The movement sent ripples through the blanket that covered him. Rather than a comfortable bed, the man found himself lounging on rocks in the dungeon.
Not of his own volition, Heathcliff had merely listened when Freya suggested he head here instead of following the raid deeper. His location: the sixteenth-floor corridor where he had once died to a minotaur.
Curious as to what he would find, Heathcliff covered his body with a cloak that blended into the rocky floor and laid in wait. Hours ticked by in silence, leaving him with nothing but his thoughts.
In such a situation, even a genius like Kayaba would admit he was bored. He had often imagined living in another world as exotic and dangerous. A place that was truly alive and this world was. Most of the time. Right now, however, even being in the dungeon couldn't alleviate the sensation of wasting time.
Back in the real world, his life had been continual work. Every day, and most of the hours within them were dedicated to fulfilling his aims. Developing the various technologies required to make the Nerve Gear a reality and then joining Argus and beginning development of DOO.
In this world, Heathcliff had once again thrown himself into work. Monitoring the connection, his security preventing people from shutting down his project. That transitioned into learning how to fight once his access to the old world deteriorated. Trapped here now, Heathcliff had thrown himself into becoming a proper adventurer. Fighting until his body gave out during the day and then devouring books on fighting and tactics at night.
That was why this situation was so new to him. Never before had such a large amount of time gone by that he'd had nothing to do.
Except that time with Rinko… His overactive mind supplied.
As always, when he thought of the woman, a strange feeling of guilt welled up within him. Heathcliff wasn't naïve enough to call what they had love. Yet at the same time, there was an unusual regret that he had never expected to feel. He had done everything he needed to, everything he wanted to, and yet… It still wasn't enough.
Pausing here, Heathcliff tilted his head quizzically at these oddities. Such deprecating thoughts were unlike him.
Chalking it up to the long period of no stimuli, Heathcliff refocused on the hallway before him. There were no other places to go down there, so if something happened, it would have to go past him.
Heathcliff spared a thought for the raid, wondering how that was doing. Would his presence have changed anything? Probably not. As a clinically dispassionate thinker, Heathcliff was well aware that the current captain of his familia was far more suited to such a task.
Crack!
Blinking in surprise at the strange noise, Heathcliff focused upon the hallway. Squinting his eyes, he could just make out that something had changed on the far side of the hallway.
"Looks good."
"Yeah, let's go. Most of the rogues should be travelling with the raid. We'll get into Rivera and take all the shit left behind!"
Heathcliff stayed silent throughout the muffled exchange. Shortly after, the sound of breaking rock echoed again. The dead-end wall of rock crumbled to the ground revealing the figures of two men. One of them was wielding a giant maul that had been used to break the rock wall. Stretching behind them was a dark corridor that Heathcliff could not see far down.
One thing was certain, Freya had been right. This was the secret base of evilus. A possible second exit from the dungeon that they used to avoid detection.
Lying in wait, Heathcliff watched the unsuspecting men approach his hiding place. While the cloak worked wonders against monsters, the more acute senses of adventurers would quickly differentiate the material from the surrounding rock.
Tightening his hand around the leather grips on the back of his shield, Heathcliff felt his heart rate accelerate. It was a thrill that could only be found in this world. The sensation of knowing that your life is on the line. Sword against sword ringing out in a fantastic concerto of noise. The sound it made when the beautiful sword skills crashed against each other.
…Sword skills?
Mind blanking at the strange thought, Heathcliff missed his best time to act.
"Hey, what's that?"
As the man looked to his companion for confirmation, Heathcliff struck. Leaping out from under the concealment, his shield smacked solidly into the man's face. His eyes rolling back into his head told Heathcliff he wasn't getting back up either.
"Shit!" The one with the maul cursed. Bringing back the weapon, he tried a giant overhand swing in the tight corridor. As the head of the maul scrapped the roof, slowing it down, Heathcliff moved to the side.
He used his skill Divine Sword almost without thinking about it. It took some of the fun out of it, but he figured he was too old to get good at fighting by himself. The skill was a shortcut to make him the best. Using it, he would be the final boss and…
Final boss…?
Once again, Heathcliff froze slightly. These events were growing increasingly frustrating. Like there was something he should be remembering but couldn't. As if the important information was contained in last night's dream, just slightly out of reach in his waking state.
"Gragh!"
As the man tried a second horizontal swing, Heathcliff focused entirely on the fight and brought it to a swift conclusion. One swipe of his sword split the handle just under the maul's head. A bash by his shield sent the man hard into the rocky wall.
"Uff! Tough guy aren't…"
The sentence was never finished as the man found the point of Heathcliff's sword on his neck. "If you want to live, you'll be answering my questions. Truthfully."
Bell:
"Umm… Remind me why we're doing this again?"
"Err… Well…" Makoto supplied hesitantly.
Navigating the mountains, Bell walked at a snail's pace at the head of the three-man group. Their path was leading them slowly back to the road below.
Slowing them down was the fact that the sun was still rising. Waking up early to execute their plan led to struggles navigating the rocky terrain. If it had been just Bell and Makoto though, their pace would have been faster. Tripping along behind them was the former prostitute, Haruhime.
Still wearing her red kimono, the fabric was stained along the bottom from mud and dirt. Despite the small rations and hard sleeping, her eyes were shimmering with wonder as she insisted on soaking in everything.
Bell bet she hadn't even heard his question, so lost she was in admiring the new environments. Even as he stared back at her, she stumbled, only Makoto's constant vigilance catching her before she tumbled headfirst into a thorny bush.
"Oh, thank you Mikoto, I didn't see that dip there. Oh look, berries!"
"Ahh…" Bell muttered indecisively. Ever since agreeing to find a way to bring Haruhime back to Orario, she was like a new person. Eyes full of energy as she took in her surroundings and the world she was experiencing for the first time. It was easy to see the girl that she used to be. The one Mikoto and the others of Takemikazuchi familia would free from her mansion to play with.
Now Haruhime was trying to avoid the thorns as she extracted the yellowish-orange berries from the bush. "Ouch!" Each failed attempt generated another innocent yelp of pain. Slowly though, her collection of food had expanded into a handful.
"Umm… do you know what those are?" Mikoto asked.
"Nope!" Haruhime answered happily. "They look good though!"
"It may be better if we don't," Bell spoke, not wanting to contradict Haruhime's good mood and the effort she put in. "We don't have the supplies to cure poison."
"In that case, I can do it." Mikoto offered. "I received abnormal resistance upon levelling up."
"No need! These are tasty!"
Bell groaned as the sound of crunching interspersed Haruhime's words. He had promised to protect the girl… But could he protect her from herself?
Mikoto also tried a berry. With a thoughtful look, she nodded at Bell. "We should be alright."
Laughing weakly, Bell waved toward the approaching trail below. From their high vantage point it was hard to tell how far away it was. If they could get there in under an hour, they should find someone to deliver a letter to Hestia. If they ran into an Ishtar familia scouting group though…
Nerves beginning to bunch, Bell barely noticed as Haruhime gave him a couple of the berries, her face going red as their hands touched momentarily. Scarfing them down, Bell had to admit that the risk may have been worth it. With no time to grab supplies, they had eaten very little. Bell's stomach gurgled in recognition as the food sparked his dormant hunger.
"Ah…" Haruhime muttered from Bell's side. Holding a hand over her stomach, the excitement in her eyes died slightly for the first time. "I hope we find someone on the road with food."
The right person, Bell supplied mentally. That had been the crux of their disagreement and why they were in the mountains in the first place. Apparently, the gates of Orario weren't a big deal for Ishtar familia;therefore, if the familia was looking for them, they couldn't travel on the main roads.
Upon choosing to return to Orario, returning to the road became a necessity. They had to find a merchant caravan, or even a new adventurer coming to the city that they could pass a message through.
Bell had wanted to come by himself, but Mikoto overruled him saying it was too dangerous. With Haruhime agreeing and not being strong enough to stay behind on her own, the three of them were headed off together.
The only consolation Bell had was that they were likely to run into a scout group of mostly level ones. In that case, the two levels twos, with the possibility of a level-up from Haruhime should prove victorious.
As the sun finally broke the mountains to the east, the road was right in front of them. The dusty path carved silently through the valley to the east and stretched back to Orario in the west.
"Umm… What now?" Bell asked. They had a pretty good view both ways and could see no one. The empty road only served to dampen the building the anxiety that a fight was coming.
"I guess… we walk?" Mikoto supplied, sounding no more certain than Bell.
"Haha…" laughing weakly, Bell didn't like how both girls glanced to him to make decisions.
I'm not a leader! He yelled silently. That was the goal, but Bell knew that he was far too inexperienced to be one right now. Both of the girls were older than him, yet for some reason still deferred to him.
"Umm… It's a little riskier but let's head back to Orario. I think there is an intersection in that direction we can wait at…?"
"Good idea…" Mikoto murmured, nodding in agreement. "If we see anyone coming, we can cover Haruhime. Ishtar familia wouldn't be expecting to find us heading in this direction."
"Wow Bell! You're so smart!" Haruhime's eyes shone brightly, eliciting a blush from him. Bell wanted to protest that he only sounded smart because of Mikoto. He hadn't thought of those things.
"Sir Bell, if I may be so bold…" Mikoto pressed. When Bell nodded hesitantly, she continued. "Take often says that a good leader relies on those around them."
"Umm…"
"S-So please feel free to ask us if you are ever unsure."
Cheeks flaming, Bell's gaze averted to the dirt. After a few more seconds, he forced his eyes back to Mikoto's and bowed slightly. "T-Thank you for the input."
"Hey, Mikoto," Haruhime whispered to Mikoto as the three of them got underway. Her voice was just loud enough for Bell to overhear. "I thought you liked Take, but you and Bell…"
"T-There's nothing between us!" Mikoto groaned. "It's just embarrassing to offer advice!"
"Ah, forgive my intrusion… Although quite a few of the amazons in Ishtar familia had more than one male that they string along. Is that your plan?"
As Bells ears burned from the girl talk, Mikoto's reply as impossible to miss.
"N-Never! T-Take alone is the one for me!"
"Hehe, I don't know why but that makes me happy…"
Speeding up, Bell felt like an intruder to a private conversation. Feeling Mikoto's gaze on the back of his head, Bell knew that Mikoto knew that he had heard everything. Unable to face the girl, Bell felt like a failure for the second time in as many minutes.
As another half an hour passed by, the scenery slowly changed. The mountains faded behind them as the ground levelled into open plains. Seeing it from this side, Bell was surprised by how much distance they had covered the previous day. Forgoing sleep they had managed to get a large distance from Orario before deciding to turn around.
Unknown to Bell, at the same time the raid group entered Babel and began their descent into the dungeon.
"Hey… Is that a group?"
"…Huh?" Muttering stupidly, Bell's head whipped back and forth quickly. "I don't…" Words cutting off, Bell found it. A caravan that had been blending into the swaying grass appeared from what seemed to be nowhere.
"Oh, they are going in the direction of Orario!" Haruhime said, "let's ask them!"
"R-Right…" Bell wasn't sure if he was the only one surprised by the appearance of a caravan, but either way, they walked toward it. The group was just getting under way. Even as the horses pulling the three wooden wagons started to walk, they were adjusting straps, and double checking how the wheels rolled. One group of the merchants were tossing what looked like tarps to each other from the ground into the back of the last wagon.
Bell stopped awkwardly behind them a few metres away. One of the merchants had looked right at him and then gone back to work as the wagons moved extremely slowly. Looking back at Mikoto and Haruhime, the two girls shrugged unhelpfully and waved him forward.
Feeling slightly abandoned, Bell stepped up and cleared his throat. "Umm…"
"What is it?" A merchant sighed. Tossing the last of the tarps into the cart, he rubbed his hands together as he turned around to stare down at Bell. Like him, the man was human, but clearly much older. His chin was covered with last night's growth and a scar disfigured the bulbous nose that dominated his face.
"Uhh… Are you headed to Orario?"
"…Maybe." The merchant's eyes narrowed. Some of his companions that were standing around put their hands on the pommels of their swords.
Just noticing the various armaments, Bell took a half step back. Of course these people would be armed. There are monsters everywhere in the wild. He knew that firsthand.
"W-We want to send a letter to someone in the city…"
Rather than looking appeased, the guard shifted into a more defensive stance. "City is four hours away at our pace. Moving fast you can make it in three, maybe two if you run. Don't need us."
"B-But…"
"Please Sir!" Mikoto came to Bell's rescue. "We weren't planning on going all the way to the city ourselves. It's just a message…"
"Hmm…" Holding up a hand, the man called out to his companions to watch them as he left to fetch someone else.
As he walked away, Bell shot Mikoto a grateful look. "S-Sorry about that. I assumed he would have helped…"
Mikoto smiled at that. "Not everyone is as kind as you, Sir Bell."
"Haha…" Laughing weakly, Bell was unable to formulate an answer before a grumpy dwarf approached.
"Ya want to send a message to the city with us, eh young'ins?" Stroking the haft of an axe, her voice was gruff and unforgiving despite the positive words.
"Yes," Mikoto confirmed.
"Alright. 20,000 valis and make it short."
"W-We don't have that kind of money…" Bell replied shocked. "W-Why is it so expensive?"
"Because you're super suspicious," the leader of the now stopped caravan growled back. "Three armoured figures showing up in the early morning? No siree, you aren't making fools of honest traders like myself. You think I haven't heard tales about all the metal traders getting ambushed outside Orario?"
"M-Metal traders?" Bell wondered.
As he did, Haruhime walked up. Eyes quivering in desperation, she pled to the caravan leader. "P-Please, this is very important! We don't have the money on us but if get inside the- Uff!"
"AHH!" An unknown feminine voice screamed.
"…Huh?" Not understanding what had just happened, Bell was shocked as Haruhime got rocked by an incoming figure. The girl was left laying in the dirt moaning, her luxurious tail had been exposed and was getting sullied by the dusty path.
Another person was laying beside her and… "Eep!" Making a panicked noise, Bell covered his mouth as his eyes homed in on what he was seeing. His old god would have called it 'the promised land'.
The person who crashed into Haruhime was definitely a woman and faceplanted into the dirt. The dress she was wearing had flipped up revealing the unstained pink underwear beneath.
Even as she struggled to regain her feet, Bell's eyes refused to move away from the curves and pearly alabaster skin that had never seen sunlight before.
"Urgh… My head…" Haruhime moaned.
Shrugging, the caravan leader looked briefly surprised but quickly got it under control. "Look, you can ask this person." Without even a farewell she turned around and got the wagons moving with a yell.
"Ah but…" Finally able to remove his eyes, Bell could do little more than stare helplessly as they departed, the dust rising in their wake quickly obscuring the finer details.
"S-Sorry!" An unfamiliar voice rang out.
When Bell looked back at the scene of the crime, the vision of paradise had disappeared. Bell had no time to dwell on it as he took in the visage of the girl that had risen. She had deep, dark blue eyes and a cute, petite nose. But the finer details of her beauty were lost on Bell as he stared in horror at the slender ears that rose to sharp tips.
I saw… an elf's… I'm dead.
Barely before the elf had helped Haruhime back to her feet, tears of pain in her eyes, Bell threw himself onto the ground. "I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to look!"
"Huh? W-What are you apologizing for?"
"I-It was an accident!" Bell continued, unsure where he was going with this.
Head to the ground, Bell missed an interaction between her and Mikoto. Eventually, Mikoto's soft voice sealed Bell's fate. "Umm, when you hit the ground your dress flipped up…"
"Oh…" The girl answered. "P-Please get up, it isn't your fault. I was careless and ran into you."
As instructed, Bell slowly clambered to his feet. Meeting the girl's eye, it looked like she wanted to say something. Her eyes contained a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
"S-Seeing as no one is injured, I'll be on my way. I'm very late and I should have been in Orario yesterday alread… EH!?"
Grabbing at her hands, Bell looked at with pleading eyes. "P-Please help us! We need to send a message to our friends in the city!"
"Grr…" Pulling her hands from Bell's grasp, the elf pouted in a cute way. "Staring up my dress, grabbing my hands… Are you an enemy to all women…?"
"Haha…" Bell laughed nervously at the muttered words he probably wasn't supposed to hear. The laughter promptly froze the elf's gaze came to his. They were steely with a sense of determination.
"Fine. Write the letter and tell me where to deliver it." The girl snapped. "…Quickly please!"
"Uhh…" Bell muttered, retreating a step. Under her gaze he got the feeling that she was stronger than him. Far stronger. To the point that he wondered how someone had possibly reached such a level in the short time since every high-level adventurer was wiped out.
"W-We don't have any writing materials," Mikoto pled with the elf.
"…I see."
Grumbling, the elf pulled the oversized pack on her back off. This time the mutterings were too quiet for Bell to distinguish. He got the feeling though that he would begin running away if he could.
"Here, quickly." The girl gestured.
"Is that…" Mikoto asked.
"A pen," Bell agreed surprised. The new system of writing was quite new and rather expensive. While more convenient than a quill and inkpot, the devices were magical items styled after the late Perseus' novel design.
"Altima has made quite a few advances in their magical items," the elf supplied with a cocky grin. "Now hurry!"
"Umm…" Muttering to himself, Bell laid his own pack down and tried to write on the somewhat uneven surface.
Dear Hestia, Bell started. "Or should I make it out to Kirito…? Eep!" Feeling a glare on his neck, Bell left it as it was and continued.
We have decided to bring Haruhime back to Orario and win her from Ishtar in a war game. Please help us make this happen.
Getting this far, Bell noticed a problem in their plan. "Uhh, where should we meet them? We can't just wait here…"
"Are you serious?" The elf sighed tapping her foot. "If you can't enter Orario go to Melen. Its close to the city, just south on the sea."
"T-Thank you!" Bell squeaked back.
You can find us in Melen. We will make our way there shortly.
Sorry,
-Bell
Ending the letter quickly, Bell screwed up his name by puncturing the paper over a soft spot in his bag. Handing the letter to an impatient elf who snatched the paper and folded it.
"Now, who do I give it to? They better be easy to find…"
"E-Eina!" Bell squeaked. "She works at the guild."
"Easy enough," the elf nodded. "Farewell."
"W-Wait!" Haruhime called. "Who are you?"
"Huh?" The elf looked surprised. Blinking her face fell somewhat. A dark look shadowing her eyes. "I don't know anymore. My name though, is Lefiya."
Before she could get bogged down by any further questions the elf began taking off down the road. The speed quickly reaching a level that Bell knew he would be hard-pressed to hold for any length of time.
Haruhime rubbing the back of her head appeared to agree. Bell just hoped that she wouldn't run into anymore innocent people.
"So, to Melen?" Mikoto asked.
"It would appear so…" Bell agreed. His stomach was a knot of guilt. Putting their intention into words had felt extremely selfish. The raid on Ishtar familia had been bad enough. Asking them to pick another fight with the massive familia was borderline suicidal.
All Bell could do was cast another glance to the west at where Hestia would be waiting and send with it his apologies.
Mikoto:
"On your right!" Calling out to Bell, Mikoto's body was slick with a cold sweat as she attempted to navigate the impromptu fight.
Cutting across the plains had quickly left the road behind. Now, many hours later, in the middle of nowhere, without a single settlement in sight, monsters were attacking.
The creatures are affectionately named Feral Gophers by the few locals who knew far better than to invade their nests. Each one was a bundle of brown fur about half a metre from snout to bushy tail. Completely out of place were the two massive front teeth that could crunch shut with the force to pierce armour.
Existing in large packs, the group of three had unwittingly walked straight into the middle of their nesting group.
The first encounter had left Mikoto with an injured left arm. She had gotten lucky getting the appendage between the creature and her face as it had sprung from its hole. Bell's quick reactions had killed it before the creature could chew through it.
Now though, Mikoto could only use her skill, Yatano black crow, to purvey the encroaching monsters. With a short chant, the skill would activate and reveal the presence of a monster that she had encountered before. Mikoto could sense them like black dots in her mind, swirling beneath her feet in their burrows.
They swarmed from every direction, constantly searching as their number rose from six to a dozen, back down to ten as they entered and left her detection range. She couldn't even begin to hypothesize what their true number was.
Wielding her katana in front of her, Mikoto's face was contorted into a grimace as continual pain pulsed down her left forearm. She had taken far worse injuries before, but this one despite being mostly superficial heavily impaired her ability to use the two-handed weapon.
"T-This is crazy!" Bell protested, his head on a constant swivel. Haruhime was a step behind him, cowering in fear.
Mikoto could imagine their fear. These monsters were masters of ambushes. There was maybe half a second warning before they jumped out; the creatures didn't even require burrows to do so.
So far, Mikoto's skill had saved them as least twice as Bell was able to turn around and impale another one with Mikoto's guidance.
"Hwargh!" Swinging her blade, Mikoto did her best to restrain her wince as her arm protested. Mid-swing, the monster broke through the soil and lunged up at her. Its beady red eyes expanding in shock as it met blade instead of defenseless adventurer.
"We can't stay here!" Mikoto panted to Bell. "I'll run out of mind at some point."
"O-Okay. Should we make a run for it?" He replied nervously.
"We may have to…" Mikoto replied hesitantly. Her inexperience with her skill was crushing her confidence. She was getting dizzy tracking the black dots in her mind weaving through tunnels she couldn't see beneath her feet.
"Umm… Should I cast?" Haruhime asked.
"Y-Yes please…" Bell made the decision.
"Behind you Haruhime!" Mikoto shouted as she girl tried to compose herself.
"Eep!" Throwing herself to the ground, the potential magic was cancelled before it started. A Feral Gopher lunging for the vulnerable girl until Bell's knife opened its throat.
"N-Never mind! Let's run!" Bell changed his mind.
"Why are they so mean!?" Haruhime complained as she tagged along slowly. Running in a line, Haruhime was sandwiched between the two adventurers.
"Because they're monsters!" Bell yelled back.
Despite the tense atmosphere the interaction brought a small smile to Mikoto's lips. "Just be careful!"
Even as they took off in a random direction, the presences below them kept up. It was clear the monsters could run faster than them as two of the dots kept pace, flanking them.
Focusing on the monsters behind her, Mikoto missed the others. Blinking in shock, she realized that they were surrounded.
"Bell in front of you!"
"Read… EH!?" Bell's voice broke as not one, but three explosions of dirt were followed by brown-haired monsters. "Fire-!"
"NO!"
But Mikoto's scream was to late.
"-bolt! Firebolt!"
With two strikes of magic and swing of his knife, Bell brought down the three beasts but created a far worse problem.
"Oh… Oops."
"Oops!" Mikoto cried. Even during the brief conversation, the energy in the magic blasts had set fire to the dry grass and begun to spread.
"Wow! Your magic is so powerful!" Haruhime chimed in.
"Don't so sound so pleased!" Mikoto groaned, feeling like the only sane one there. The only upside to Bell's attack was that the monsters had begun second guessing attacking. They realized better than the humans apparently the wrath that a wildfire on the plains could inflict.
"So… What do we do?" Bell asked, still standing in place.
"Put it out!" Mikoto screamed at the confused boy and awe-struck girl. "I'm going to make sure the monsters are leaving."
Hoping the two of them could at least do something, Mikoto whirled around. She was barely in time to meet a lunge from an enthusiastic Gopher.
Her katana clanged ineffectively against its large teeth. Wincing, her arm twinged in pain as she was rebuffed.
Holding her blade ready, Mikoto didn't bother trying to lunge at it. The creature was too frightened to try and fight her head on.
"So… How's the fire going?"
"Uhh…" Bell muttered.
"I'm afraid Bell is much better at starting them then putting them out…"
Rolling her eyes, Mikoto knew she had to make this quick. Sheathing the katana, she reached her hand toward her back.
"Kyuuu!" Seeing her defenseless, the monster took the bait and leapt.
Wait for it…
Pausing momentarily, Mikoto didn't flinch as the giant fangs neared her face. Once it was on top of her, she moved. With a move so fast her body seemed to blur as she withdrew a smaller knife and rammed it home through the monster's chin.
Red eyes confused by the change; the monster died before it hit the ground. Utilizing her skill once more, Mikoto surveyed the area for monsters. Seeing this one die as well, the rest took off back the direction they'd come.
With the threat of death by pointy teeth averted, Mikoto whirled around to begin warding against the death by being burnt alive.
Laying eyes on the progress the two had made confirmed Mikoto's suspicions. "…Yupp, we're dead."
Haruhime was crouching beside a small plant blowing on it. Her efforts were only stoking the blaze further. The more it grew, the harder she blew. Bell meanwhile was kicking at the plants throwing burning debris into the air. Together, the two of them had only increased the size of the oncoming wildfire.
"Haha Bell, it seems your magic was too powerful…"
"Don't compliment him!" Mikoto screamed at Haruhime. "We… We need to…"
Pausing, Mikoto grabbed at her hair with her uninjured arm. Racked with indecision, Mikoto was unsure what she should do. Flee? Try to put it out?
"I-I'm so sorry Mikoto!" Bell pleaded, frozen in place as he stared at the various spreading fires.
"Urgh…" It was hard to stay mad at the repentant boy. Mikoto bit her lip in consternation. As apologetic as Bell was, it didn't help Mikoto make up her mind. As she hesitated, a familiar sensation washed over her: magic.
"Ice crash!"
A feminine voice rang out across the plains. The effect was rather anticlimactic as balls of ice formed and fell unto the ground. Thankfully, as the fire melted the ice, the water began to quench the encroaching inferno.
"Dangerous… Very dangerous to play with fire on the plains…" A masculine voice chastises them. As Mikoto squinted through the smoke that had begun to spread, a tall shape approached, a smaller one hovering behind.
Emerging was a hume bunny male, his hands tucked deep in the pockets of a thick trench coat made of a dark brown leather. His ears and hair were a matching light brown, his nose sniffing occasionally at smells Mikoto could not sense. Behind him was a younger girl, also a hume bunny, but with black hair and fur. The wooden staff in her hand identified her as the mage that had doused the fires.
"T-Thank you very much!" Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oh no problem, no problem at all…" The man replied with a small smile, leaning back on his heels. "So, what brings you here? We rarely get visitors."
"T-Thank you so much!" Bell squealed; his voice pinched from fear. As the boy bowed deeply, Mikoto watched the man's eyes twinkle in humour.
"As I said, pay me no mind. Where are you from? Where are you going?"
"Melen!" Haruhime chirped, sidling up beside Bell. "Then those nasty monsters attacked us!"
"Melen?" The man frowned. "You are off course to end up there. Running into Feral Gophers should have told you that you were too far south."
"F-Feral Gophers?" Bell repeated. "Those things are scary…"
"No doubt, no doubt…" The man trailed off, his eyes running over them.
For a reason she didn't understand, Mikoto shivered as he looked at her. Once he looked away to continue questioning a lamenting Bell and Haruhime, Mikoto felt a second gaze on her.
The girl behind him was staring her way. Leaving the man to Bell and Haruhime, Mikoto approached her. "That was your magic, right? What familia are you a part of?"
"…"
Meeting silence, Mikoto stopped awkwardly. What's with her? Just as Mikoto's social tolerance was reaching its limit, the girl spoke.
"I understand… not."
The broken speech and poor grammar were hard to understand. Mikoto thought she understood though. "You don't speak this language?" How!?
Many of the different species had once had their own languages. Some, like the elves, continued to use theirs. In general though, everyone spoke the human language. It was a remnant from the dark ages when the invasion of monsters across the world forced co-habitation upon the different races. Requiring a means of communication, the language spread through every civilization.
To meet someone who didn't know the language… was weird.
"Only… words I…" Her face twisted with frustration. Mikoto could only sympathize with the girl. It must be horrible not being able to communicate your thoughts.
"My name is Mikoto." Gesturing at herself, Mikoto repeated her name again.
"Cli'Wil." The girl replied happily, pointing a finger at her heart.
The word was heavily accented and Mikoto doubted her ability to pronounce it. Nonetheless, she smiled back that they had understood each other.
Before Mikoto could ask anything further, the man she was travelling with snapped some words. The language was fast and flowing. The foreign sounds slid over Mikoto's hearing without bestowing any meaning.
The girl's ears folded down over her head. Any enthusiasm from before wilted away.
"Umm…"
Before Mikoto could ask the man what he had said, he smiled at her. "Please don't worry about the girl, she's a little slow. Your friends just agreed to come with me back to our camp. Let us depart."
"H-Huh?" Stuttering, Mikoto whirled over to Bell and Haruhime. The pair were looking extremely relieved to have a destination and a guide. Bell's face relaxed, like a weight had been removed from his shoulders.
"I'm so excited to see where you live," Haruhime chirped. "What's it like? Are you nomads?"
"Of a sort," the man replied easily. "We just happened to be close by when we saw the smoke. Thankfully, we got here in time to quench the fire."
"Hey… Bell." Mikoto nudged the boy.
"Huh? Uh, yeah?"
"Doesn't this man seem a little…" Mikoto got cut off as the person of her words turned around and flashed them a smile.
"Say, Bell was it?" The man spoke. "You're the leader of the group, right?"
"Y-Yes, Sir!"
"Good, good, well you'll be pleased to know that I have enough room for you and your ladies to spend the night. Would you like one room or two?"
"M-My ladies!?" Bell blushed brightly. Mikoto caught the awkward glances he shot at her and Haruhime. "T-Two rooms is plenty…"
"Good, very good… Come walk with me and we will discuss other preparations… Man to man, you know?"
"Y-Yes Sir!" Bell squeaked out once again.
Mikoto clamped her teeth shut unwilling to say anything. There was just something off about this person. From the way he avoided questions to the way he stopped the girl from speaking earlier. Mikoto couldn't place it, but her stomach tightened with apprehension.
"You… Okay?"
Turning her head, Mikoto saw that the Hume bunny girl had approached her cautiously. Her eyes were focused on the man's back where he was talking to Bell and an eavesdropping Haruhime.
"Yes, thank you…" Mikoto replied. Seeing another opportunity to ask, Mikoto grabbed at it. "Hey, this man… Who is he? Err… I mean, what is he like?"
"Like…? He likes…. Umm… Gold?"
"Ah…" Mikoto saw how she was misunderstood. "No, I…"
"And here we are!" The man announced loudly, spreading his arms.
Distracted, Mikoto focused on the land in front of them. To her eyes though, all she saw was the knee-high yellow grass they'd been trudging through for the past five minutes of so.
"Where?" Haruhime asked for them.
"You don't see it? Ah, well I shouldn't expect an outsider to see through the camouflage."
Mikoto squinted at the scenery. She was growing slightly frustrated until… There! Walking towards the distortion she had picked out, it was still 100 metres away or so. Getting there within a minute, Mikoto smiled.
"It's the tarps from earlier! They blend in with the grasslands!"
"You're right!" Bell gasped. "I totally didn't see that!"
"Amazing Mikoto!" Haruhime lumped on the praise.
"Ahaha…" Heating from the praise, Mikoto's previous misgivings flowed away unheeded. "These tarps are amazing… These wagons are so hard to see."
Now that she was closer, Mikoto could see the entire camp as it was. There were no permanent structures, only a circle of a dozen or so wagons. The exteriors pointing out were draped, but once Mikoto walked between the gap in a pair of wagons, the inside looked like a normal camp.
On one side, the horses were picketed, the beasts responsible for moving the assortment of containers these people called home. Sitting around the campfire in the center of the ring was a small group of people. Seven or so men, five of which were hume bunnies as well. The others looked like humans.
"Don't got much in the way of chairs unfortunately," the man spoke from behind them. "You learn to squat pretty quick out here."
Taking another look at the ring of people, Mikoto confirmed his words. None of the men had a chair underneath them. Resting comfortably on their heels, nothing propped them up.
"We don't use chairs much in the far east either," Haruhime spoke. "We sat on our knees usually."
"Huh. Just in the dirt? Sounds mighty uncomfortable to me."
"Oh no," Haruhime rejected him. "Only on pads or cushions. Sometimes wood."
"Hmm… Anyway, make yourselves comfortable. We ate our midday meal just a few hours ago. If you are hungry though we could probably…"
"Yes please!" Haruhime spoke.
"…Got it."
The reply was rather curt, but with a wave toward the fire, the man stomped off, presumably to grab some food for them.
Turning to look for Cli'Wil, the Hume Bunny, Mikoto didn't see her. "Huh?" Exiting the circle of wagons, Mikoto saw only the endless grasslands. Wondering where she possibly went, Mikoto shrugged and followed Bell and Haruhime to the fire.
The ground had been cleared of anything that could catch fire. It was beaten dirt, thousands of footprints that overlapped had flattened it. It was clear the group had been in this location for a good while.
Trailing behind, Mikoto watched as Bell and Haruhime awkwardly sat on the ground. They looked like children next to the men who had a far higher vantage point due to their squatting. Strangely, none of the men greeted them. Calling upon her far eastern upbringing, Mikoto sat on her knees. The ground was hard, but no worse than the floor of the small shrine that they had all slept in.
"Here." The man spoke. In his hands were three bowls. Taking it hesitantly, Mikoto's empty stomach gurgled. The smell wafting from it smelled strongly of spices.
"Thank you."
Bell and Haruhime were both hungry as they took theirs and dug in right away. Pausing, Mikoto analyzed the contents. She had expected a stew, but the food was dry. Inside was meat that was spiced heavily, mixed up with what looked like pieces of grass.
"Eat," the man commanded. "We don't have access to much water here, we use the moisture in the plants to stay hydrated."
"I see…" Picking up a piece, Mikoto went to nibble on it when she felt a gaze upon her. Searching for it, Mikoto quickly located a pair of black eyes from the wagon across the way from her. It was the girl from earlier, Cli'Wil.
The motion was small, but it was distinct to Mikoto's level two eyes, a small shake of the head.
As Mikoto put the food back in the bowl, the man noticed. "Aren't you hungry? You should eat either way. Stay hydrated."
"No. I think I'm alright for now. I'll eat later."
Putting the bowl down on the ground, Mikoto drew the attention of Bell and Haruhime. "It's really good! Try the meat!"
"A little chewy for me," Haruhime admitted honestly as she tried to gulp down more. "But yes, quite good!"
"I-I'm just not hungry…" Mikoto spoke. Her stomach grumbled its displeasure and signalling her deceit.
"You should just try it," the man spoke again, his voice hard. "It's quite rude to deny food form a group welcoming you into their camp. Especially when you people were foolish enough to almost set the plains on fire."
Mikoto wilted at the harsh, albeit totally deserved words. However, they did nothing except convince her that she was correct in not eating. She wasn't sure why but…
"Ah… Gah!" Haruhime's bowl clinked against the ground.
As it hit, Mikoto was on her feet. As she clenched her left hand, she was reminded of the injury she'd taken from the gophers. It had started to heal, but her fighting potential was reduced.
"What did you do to her!?" Mikoto roared. As she spoke, the men at the campfire stood up. Each one had a weapon in their hands by the time they were straight up.
"W-what's happen… Happen…" Bell's words came up slurred. As he rose to his feet, he held a hand to his head. Wobbling for a moment, he crashed to the ground beside Haruhime.
The man didn't bother making an aggressive move. "Here's a deal for you. Sit back down and eat, nothing will happen to them. Can't say the same if you fight."
"Nothing?" Mikoto shouted back, "you poisoned them! How dare you claim that nothing will happen!?"
"Now now," the man waved his hands conciliatory. "a mans got to make a living, yeah? We won't touch em, get a better price when they're well cared for."
Remembering the story that Haruhime had shared, Mikoto's face twisted into a grimace. "Slavers. Why? Why are you doing this?"
The man looked confused for a second. Sighing, he shook his head. "Guess children wouldn't understand. But Orario's the center of the world. They have all the money. Therefore, if you want some, deal with Orario."
"Then grow vegetables, or something!" Mikoto continued.
"Nah, too much work. A couple pretty girls like you and we're set for a month. Maximum pay, minimum work. Suits us just nice."
Tsking, Mikoto had heard enough. "You have sacrificed your morals and decency for easy money. You are despicable!"
With the sound of metal sliding against leather, Mikoto drew her katana from its sheath and pointed it at the man.
"Surrender and let my friends go!"
"…and then what?" He asked back with a smile unconcerned. Gesturing to Mikoto's unconscious friends, the man continued. "They are never going to recover unless I give them the antidote in the next three hours or so. Even if they would, I don't think you have the spine to kill us. Give it up girly, you can't stop us."
"W-What!?" Mikoto recoiled back. She was stunned by how affected she was by his words. Her options were extremely limited. Almost the only way out was to begin killing them until they surrendered and agreed to cure her friends in exchange for their lives. Mikoto refused to do that.
"Don't be an idiot." Stepping forward calmly, the man was within two metres before Mikoto remembered to level her blade at him. The tip of her sword was resting on his chest. He didn't even blink. "An innocent girl like you is going to kill me? Carry that with you rest of your life? I don't think so. Listen, the girls in the pleasure district live like queens. See a couple people every night, lavish yourself in luxuries during the day. Why, can't say I wouldn't do it myself if I could!"
"S-SHUT UP!" Mikoto roared. "You have no idea what the place has done to us! How much she hated selling her body! An asshole like you could never understand!"
Finally, Mikoto's impassioned speech got a reaction. Eyes widening slightly, the man staggered back and tsked. "Whatever, fine. We have nothing to fear from some naïve girl with her mother's sword." Suddenly, his tone changed, the words emerging from his mouth incomprehensible.
The other men encircling her reacted in a second, waiting on the command.
Mikoto didn't need her eyes to sense the two that lunged at her legs, trying to bring her down. Considering multiple options, Mikoto did what they least expected and jumped straight back between the two.
"Nani!?"
"Hayai!"
Mikoto didn't understand the foreign words, but she understood the surprise in their voices. Whirling around, she targeted the closest.
Feigning high with a slash, Mikoto went low as they flinched their blade into position. Driving her elbow forward, she connected hard with his gut.
"Gahh!" Emitting a painful howl, the man was blown backwards across the ground and didn't rise again.
"Oops…" Muttering to herself, Mikoto wondered if she overdid it. These men were surely not level two adventurers, giving her a major advantage. She couldn't tell based on the brief encounter if they had falna at all.
Ignoring additional shouts of outrage, Mikoto swept her blade in a parry. She batted aside two attacks simultaneously with no apparent effort.
Leaping into the air, Mikoto took a second one with a heel to his head. The Hume bunny's body arced over five metres before crashing hard into the ground, sending up a puff of dust. A small trickle of blood leaked from his mouth.
Seeing two of their men go down with one hit each, the others regrouped into a tighter knot. Massing together, they charged Mikoto as one.
"Umm…" Mikoto was astounded by their stupidity. What did they think was going to happen here?
Sheathing her katana, she met the frontmost one head-on with a punch.
"AHH!"
Their lines were shattered as the one Mikoto hit flew backwards, scattering their formation. A third one down, four left. Not letting the two at the edges get away, Mikoto grabbed them by their collars and slammed them together.
Five down.
"Enough." The man's voice cut coldly. "I see I was wrong about your combat potential. I guess you really did survive the Feral Gopher fields…"
"So you surr…" Trialing off, Mikoto's eyes widened. He was holding up Bell's unconscious body, a knife to the boy's throat.
"I don't want to do this," the man explained, his voice sad. "They don't pay as well for boys although this one's pretty feminine, so he'll be higher than most. Don't lose me that money by doing something stupid."
"Tch," Mikoto couldn't believe her stupidity. She had forgotten to protect her friends! She never would have made such an elementary mistake against monsters.
"Now my boys are going to tie your wrists. Let them."
Mikoto paused, but in the end she nodded. She had failed.
"Haha, now that's a better look! Keep that up and I'll make a – gargh!"
"…Huh?" Tilting her head, Mikoto watched surprised as the man slumped to the ground, his eyes rolled back in his head.
Emerging from behind him was Cli'Wil. The young Hume bunny had a confused look on her face; unable to believe what she had just done. The blood spot on her staff spoke to how hard she had swung.
"Take me… away."
"You got it," Mikoto smiled at the young Hume bunny. The men that had been approaching her began inching away all the while muttering to each other in confusion.
Mikoto sent them a glance, but decided they weren't a threat. Approaching the still stunned Hume bunny girl, Mikoto spoke slowly. "Can you heal them?"
The girl frowned, her lips forming silent sounds as she tried to translate Mikoto's words and then find the answer. "Not needed. Wake up… sometime."
"…Okay, I trust you." Smiling at the Hume bunny, Mikoto tried to convey the sincere feeling. Looking around the wagon circle, an idea came to Mikoto. One far better than sitting in the enemies' camp waiting for them to come to. "Hey, Cli'Wil, can we hitch up one of the wagons and take off towards Melen?"
"Yes!" The girl replied happily and took off towards the equestrian animals that were standing around happily.
Staying with Bell and Haruhime, Mikoto watched anxiously to make sure no one stopped the girl. She moved through the tasks proficiently. Her hands were practiced as she selected an animal and guided it to the hitch. Attaching the leathers before removing the wheel chocks and beginning to store the tarp.
When Mikoto was confident they would get out, she scooped up Haruhime and Bell and carried them with her. One under each arm so that she could drop them quickly if she needed to fight. Making her way to the wagon, Mikoto opened the door and lightly tossed Bell inside, hoping his status would protect him. Carrying Haruhime more gently, Mikoto entered the dark space. No lamps were lit within the darkened interior.
A cot was barely visible along one wall, chains with manacles attached to a nearby wall that hung down upon it. Besides that there was a small kitchen. A portable magic-stone stove and a variety of implements for ingredient prep. Inside, the space was more confined than Mikoto was expecting.
Leaving Bell and Haruhime there for the moment, she peeked her head out. "Hey, Cli'Wil, are you ready?"
"Yes… Mikoto."
As the wagon got underway, Mikoto jumped out and closed the door behind her. Jogging ahead, she caught up to where the Hume bunny girl was driving. Grabbing unto the edge, Mikoto flung herself up so she could sit beside her.
"Thank you for helping me. I would have been in trouble without you."
"You are welcome," she replied matter-of-factly, looking pleased at having generated the complete phrase.
Having numerous questions she wanted to ask, Mikoto struck up a conversation with the mysterious girl as they drove into the setting sun.
Bell:
"Urgh…" Holding a hand to his hand, Bell groaned against the waves of pain. His head felt foggy and unfocused. Struggling to lift his head, Bell eventually laid it back down. "Just five more minutes…"
With that attitude I'll never catch up!
Feeling the mountain that was his goal pressing hard on him today, Bell forced his eyes open. He didn't have time to rest. People were counting on him. He had to get to the dungeon early and…
Thoughts cutting off abruptly, a wave of fear brought clarity. Pushing through the disorientation and pain, Bell sat up strongly. The space was dark and foreign. He was certain that he'd never been before.
Thoughts of the events prior were vague. He had been eating and then… "Haruhime!" Yelling the girl's name, Bell frantically searched the interior. Releasing a sigh of release, Bell found the girl's body beside him. She appeared to be sleeping.
"Hey, Haruhime, are you okay?" No response. Shaking her a bit harder, Bell tried again. "Wake up please. I think we may be in danger."
Moving to try and stand up, the room shifted. Losing his balance, Bell crashed into the ground. Or he would have if Haruhime hadn't been there.
Huh, that was surprisingly soft.
Reveling over his good fortune, Bell missed Haruhime beginning to stir.
"Ahh, what's happening… W-Wait, B-Bell!"
"Ah, Haruhime, you're awake!" Bell replied happily. Using a hand to push against her body, Bell raised his head to smile at her in the darkness.
"B-Bell please inform me of your intention first instead of starting while I'm unconscious. N-Not that I'm saying you can't, but I would appreciate the time to mentally prepare myself…"
Blinking, Bell didn't understand the words. "Start what?
"T-The session of course!" Haruhime blurted. "You're already grabbing my…"
"Your…" With growing trepidation, Bell's level two eyes were barely able to make out Haruhime's eyes and hair that shone with golden brilliance. Interpreting the distance from there to where his left hand was propping him up… Unconsciously, Bell's left hand gave a small squeeze.
"Nah!"
"S-SORRY!" Screaming, Bell launched himself backwards. Not accounting for the narrow dimension of the interior, Bell collided with the door and kept going.
"Gya!? GYAAA!"
Releasing multiple screams, Bell's fear was reignited as he felt his body begin to enter freefall. A moment later he collided hard with the ground. Moaning, Bell wondered if the ordeal was karma for the sins he was committing. First that elven girl and now Haruhime… He had screwed up a lot for one day.
After a couple seconds, the world stopped spinning. His right shoulder that he landed on still ached painfully. Outside now, Bell noticed that the sun was minutes away from fully setting. More importantly, Bell found why we had fallen on top of Haruhime. He had been riding in a wagon. But why?
Bell's thoughts remained unanswered as it came to a jerking halt. A short while after a pair of figures had jumped down and ran toward him. Preparing for a fight, Bell's tension loosened as he saw Mikoto.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I guess so…" Bell muttered.
"You tried to break out, huh?" Mikoto added self-deprecatingly, "I guess I should have stayed with you and explained when you woke up."
"Umm…." That would have been helpful…
Bell couldn't elaborate by the time Haruhime exited the wagon. Her face was red as she held her arms crossed across her chest.
"Haruhime?" Mikoto asked, "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes, of course I am!" Haruhime retorted a little too quickly.
"This word is… Lie, yes?" The hume bunny following behind Mikoto asked.
"Err, yes. Although it is impolite to point it out…" Mikoto agreed, scratching her cheek in embarrassment.
With all three of them blushing profusely and one confused Hume bunny, Bell frantically changed the subject. "S-So, what happened?"
Mikoto's face soured as she dove into the tale. With each word, Bell's head sunk a little lower. By the time she got to exiting the camp and making their way to Melen, it had touched his chest.
"I-I'm so sorry Mikoto. I really failed you…"
"D-Don't worry about it…" the girl stuttered back. "You were tired and hungry…"
So were you, Bell thought numbly.
Bell was shocked that he hadn't learnt his lesson from the fight against Ishtar familia. Just because he wasn't in the dungeon, didn't mean he wasn't in danger. He'd managed to make a plethora of errors in less than a day.
Getting lost so they didn't arrive in Melen, running them straight into a nest of monsters, setting the grasslands on fire, not questioning the intentions of the suspicious man, eating food proffered by the suspicious man before checking it. That long list wasn't even including the errors of the early morning.
"Why don't we stop here for the night?" Mikoto asked. "It's getting dark and Melen is still an hour or so away."
"There isn't much room for us all though…" Haruhime pointed out.
Mikoto, even as her cheeks began to heat again, spoke calmly. "We'll just have to sleep together."
Bell watched as the Hume bunny following Mikoto reacted. The interpretation coming in slow motion, it was comical how her eyes slowly widened to bulging orbs, her jaw dropping in surprise.
"Is something wrong?" Mikoto asked her.
"I… Forgive me, I have not given my body before. I not realize it was… a requirement… I will do my best."
The Hume bunny bowed deeply, hiding her blushing cheeks.
"…Eh?" Bell squeaked.
"W-Wait!" Haruhime interjected. "Bell should sleep with me first if it's a requirement! He rescued me first!"
"Please stop!" Mikoto begged the two of them. "We are sleeping in the same room, not… you know!"
The hume bunny tilted her head. "But… is that not… sleep together?"
Bell struggled to follow the sentence that was missing at least half its words. Thankfully, Mikoto was there to interpret.
"It has two meanings! We are going to bed, that is all!"
"Two meanings… One word? Stupid language…"
"Hahaha…" Laughing weakly, Bell felt the disapproving gazes of both Haruhime and Mikoto on him. Bell wanted to argue that it wasn't his fault but… "I'll umm, sleep on the roof of the wagon."
"Sure," Mikoto agreed, a little more readily than Bell was hoping for. "Before that, I should tell you what I know about Cli'Wil."
Taking that to be the Hume Bunny's name, Bell sat up and waited for the story. Mikoto and the girl sat across from him, with Haruhime sitting on the wagon stairs a short distance away.
"She isn't the best with our language, but it appears that those slavers bought her from their shared home country many years ago. She belonged to a poor familia that couldn't make ends meet. By selling the girl, they got money to sustain themselves, and one less mouth to feed. The slavers didn't sell her to Orario once they noticed her magic and its potential."
The tale was sad so far, but Bell nodded along. That explained how she managed to use magic to put out the fire he'd started.
"She was used as bait to lower the girls' defenses that he was planning on catching. While they treated her well enough, she eventually wanted to leave and took the chance with us."
The story made sense to Bell. "Where does she…" Turning his head to Cli'Wil, he addressed her instead. "Where do you want to go?"
"Not sure… Home… eventually… Maybe." The girl answered sadly.
"I think she'd like to return," Mikoto muttered sadly, "but who knows if things are better there? And then they sold her in first place…"
Bell grimaced. It was a morose way to end the night of an overall bad day. However, as he watched the girl smile happily at Mikoto as the pair of them began to head into the wagon, Bell knew it wasn't all bad. They had managed to save a girl from a life of slavery and nearly as important, Bell had learnt a lot. Determined to internalize his lessons, he nodded stiffly to the girls before climbing to his bed for the night.
Staring at the stars, Bell was lulled into a peaceful sleep to the sounds of the girl's gossip echoing from beneath him.
Lefiya:
"Urgh…" Groaning, Lefiya could remember only once before that she had been this sore, and it wasn't a day she liked to think about. Her legs ached with each step, reminders of the massive distance she had travelled in one day.
From over 20 kirlos outside Orario, Lefiya had ran until she made it to the city. Stopping briefly at the guild, she had made it to Babel just after noon. From there, she descended again and again in pursuit of the doomed raid which she had been too slow to head off.
Finally catching up, Lefiya had thrown all of her mind into destroying the amphisbaena running amok. Even that had ended in failure. It was no wonder that she was reminded of that fateful day.
Another dragon, another failure.
Exiting into the main chamber of the twenty-seventh floor, Lefiya kept her head straight as the chatter cut off. Awed whispers followed in her wake. She could count on her hands the number of people here that she knew by name. Adventurers that would have been average upper class a year ago were suddenly thrown into the elite status. Lefiya was no exception to that.
"Ahh…" Halting, Lefiya met the eyes of one of the few that she did know, Astrid. She knew that haunted look. Lefiya saw it every time she looked in a mirror.
Another death.
Another dear companion that had left them behind.
"Your arrival was very convenient. Thank you, Thousand elf."
Lefiya winced at the formal tone. It was her fault. She had avoided the girl that looked so much like the absent Anakitty. The ache that emerged in Lefiya's chest every time the cat girl did something that reminded her of the older sister.
"What would you have me do?" Lefiya asked. "I can heal with…"
"N-No, just relax. We may need your mind to fight off any swarms that appear."
"…"
"…"
They were so awkward. Lefiya didn't have the energy to try and close the distance either. Nodding, she followed Astrid as the cat woman led her back to where the rest of the familia members on this expedition should be.
Growing distracted, she glanced around the crowd that was milling about upon the melted crystal floor. The result of her magic, the rehardened material swirled in dizzying patterns.
Lost in her thoughts, Lefiya ran into someone. Again!? Just glad she didn't tumble head-over-heels this time, Lefiya glanced at who it was. A figure in white was peeling themselves off the ground.
"Who would dare touch me!?"
"Umm…" Trailing off, Lefiya backed up a step as an elf rose from the floor. Like most elves, her facial features were perfect. Wearing a white battle dress with perfect black hair that hung below her shoulders, she struck a stunning figure. It was only because of the overwhelming beauty of the deities that her name wasn't known citywide.
Meeting Lefiya's gaze, the anger fled from her red eyes. "Oh, an elf… Forgive my disgraceful behavior."
"Ahaha…" Laughing weakly, Lefiya had forgotten how snobbish others of her species could be towards outsiders. It was a welcome change from the borderline hero worship of many of the others.
"…Do I have your forgiveness?" The elf pressed.
"O-Of course," Lefiya replied after a moment. "There is nothing to forgive…" Considering the elf's relieved expression, Lefiya asked a tentative question. "Do you know… who I am?"
"Umm, I am sorry, I don't…"
Sighing, Lefiya flashed the elf a relieved smile. She was happy simply to interact with someone that didn't tiptoe around her for fear of getting turned to ashes. Even better when they didn't dreg up memories Lefiya wanted to forget.
It was a rather unfair reputation Lefiya thought. She had been moody after everything went wrong, sure, but she never actually burned someone to ash. A few buildings, maybe, but no people.
"Ah, I am Filvis Challia, executive of Dionysus Familia. It's a pleasure."
"Lefiya Veridas, Loki familia. Likewise."
Sharing a brief smile, Lefiya experienced something for the first time in what felt like forever. A connection to someone else. Wondering if maybe she was starting to heal, as Loki promised her she would, Lefiya tried to keep the conversation going.
PS. I don't really envision the Hume Bunny language like Japanese, but seeming as its the language both of these series are written in, it seemed natural to use. (Complain to my laziness)