Chapter 5
Within Orario, the Gale Wind's rampage begins.
Out of all the things–not people, things–I missed in this world, the most I probably missed was my beloved MAXX Coffee, the drink of the gods. Well, not literally, of course. If coffee was the drink of the gods like how they depicted it in those Western fantasy novels, I'd have burned up upon consumption. That being said, the sugary deliciousness of MAXX Coffee was unparalleled. It was one of the 7 Wonders of Japan. Hydrating, sugary, and delicious, it was the ultimate restorative drink.
So of course, when I happened to catch the scent of coffee while passing through the marketplace today, I couldn't resist checking out the stall where it originated from. The merchant there told me that it came from across the seas before arriving at Melen, Orario's extension to the sea, where then he purchased a couple bags, hearing that it was a rare, hard-to-acquire luxury drink. However, the guy had no clue how to use them. Fortunately for me, I did, which was why I found myself paying 10,000 Valis for two 5-kilogram bags of coffee beans. That was 1000 Valis per kilo, and just 300 Valis was enough to run yourself a delicious, fulfilling meal at the Hostess of Fertility at night, since the prices were adjusted to rip off–errr, graciously accommodate adventurers. While that price might've sounded rather extreme for a simple drink at first, the merchant had, in reality, unintentionally screwed himself by assuming that every drink would require a great deal of coffee beans.
Ahh, if only everything in Orario could be exploited like this for my benefit.
Of course, the merchant's judgement was completely wrong.
Every kilogram of coffee yielded at least 100 cups or so, and that was if you used beans in excess. Even if I were to make only 100 cups from every kilogram, then that would mean that every cup of coffee would only equal to 10 Valis–an extremely cheap, affordable price for the happiness that a caffeinated drink could provide.
Even though I was breaking character, I couldn't stop a giddy smile from appearing over my face. Oh, how I've missed you, my sugary, milk-laden drink. Caffeine heaven, here I come!
"Hikinya, are you okay, nya? You look like you're about to do something bad, nya." Anya casually remarked as I walked in through the backdoor. "Did you murder a person, nya? Is that a body bag, nya?"
"Calm down. Those are just bags of coffee beans."
"Koe-fee beans, nya?" Anya cocked her head inquisitively. "What are these koe-fee beans, nya?" Please stop butchering the pronunciation, Anya. You're making my ears bleed. No person should ever have to hear someone say 'koe-fee', ok? Of course, I did my best to correct her.
"Cough-fee, not koe-fee, Anya. These are for making a delicious drink." As I spoke, I rummaged in the kitchen cupboard for the appropriate tools. Another point that made Orario a crapsack city–not only was it missing an air conditioner, it also didn't have anything close to a coffee machine, or even a coffee grinder. As such, I was resigned to making coffee through two ways: either by hand-grinding the beans, or by making coffee directly without modifying the beans at all.
There were, of course, pros and cons to either one. To begin with, grinding the beans into powder only sped up the brewing time from hours into mere minutes. It actually did little to affect the taste and texture of the coffee. That would be affected by the roasting(which was already done) and the amount of milk and sugar added to the final product. Another problem that I would encounter is the lack of coffee filter paper, which would've strained the gritty dust left over from the process almost completely. Instead, if I chose to use that route, I would have to very carefully pour it to avoid getting dust in my coffee, which was never fun. On the other hand, brewing coffee from whole beans would usually take at least an hour, if not more, and that wasn't exactly time I could spend loitering around. I wanted to get my coffee fresh and ready to take with me, and not wait there wasting time before I finally got it, by which I would've mostly woken up. The only benefit would then be the buzz of caffeine, which was still a benefit in and of itself, of course.
I weighed the options in my mind. Longer brewing time, but much less effort in the long run? Or more effort now, and way more time saved in the long run?
The answer between the two was clear as day.
Which was why I found myself rummaging around Mia's cooking tools shelf to find the mortar and pestle set she had. Powdered drinks was truly the ultimate form of luxury; fast, cheap, and convenient. As long as one had hot water and was a decent pourer, they wouldn't get any of the grounds in the cup. Of course, there was then the problem of milk and sugar, but I was sure I could eventually find powdered milk, and sugar wasn't exactly a big deal. If I worked hard and learned the optimal ratio for my coffee, I could recreate those insta-coffee packets… but this time, the sugar and milk levels would be optimal or perhaps, if I was lucky, equivalent to MAXX Coffee, not cheapskated like in regular packs where there was only a little bit of both, not even close to the true deliciousness coffee could have.
Finally finding the set, I pulled it out. The pestle was about the size of a large bowl, and the mortar was about as thick and long as a sausage. Both were made of smoothly worn stone, indicating constant use.
Now, for the clincher, I needed to actually grind the beans into powder. Unfortunately, this was the part where the 'effort' I mentioned earlier would take the greatest toll; this would take quite a while unless I found help. Fortunately, there were some options which would drastically shorten the time it would take for me to grind all the beans into coffee powder.
Allow me to introduce people who worked alongside me, who could potentially be interested in the drink, and didn't cost anything to hire at all–in other words, my fellow workers. Or rather, one particular catgirl in particular who was Level 4 and also my Dungeon combat instructor.
"Whatcha doing with those tools, Hikinya?" Anya cocked her head curiously as she stared at my setup. Seeing her inquisitiveness, I couldn't help but recall the old adage, Curiosity killed the cat. Or in this case, Curiosity subjected the cat to a great deal of labor for which she would earn a measly amount for her efforts, thus transforming her into a corporate slave. Sorry, Anya, you're the sacrifice to a new world for my caffeine fix, and I don't have any problems about that at all.
"It's the process I'm setting up to make a delicious drink." Hook.
"A delicious drink, nya?! Can I try some, nya?" Line.
"... Only if you help me."
"I'll help, nya!" And sinker.
"Alright, for starters, grind all of these beans into fine powder. As fine as possible." I passed over the mortar and pestle, then pushed Anya towards the 5-kilo bags before returning to Mia's cupboard to search for airtight glass jars in which I could store the beans in. Returning with multiple large jars, I unscrewed each of them open before gluing on two pieces of paper which had "Coffee–do not use in cooking–Hikigaya" on them. Setting the jars down next to Anya, who was furiously grinding the beans at hyperspeed and pretty much reducing them to fine dust, I also told her to leave the powder in the glass jars once it was fine enough to be easily dissolvable in water, and repeat until all the beans were in the same powdered state.
Next, the actual brewing equipment. Taking out one of the smaller pots and filling it with approximately 600 milliliters of water, I set it on the stove and turned on the heat before putting a lid on it, intending to bring it to a slow boil.
"Munya, I'm…" Finally stopping in her work, Anya set down the mortar and pestle with a loud thud! on the table as she fell into a chair. "Finally, done, nya. So… exhausting, nya." True to her word, the jars were filled with the coffee dust. She was even better than a factory machine. Praise Anya and the power of cheap, efficient Level 4 labor!
Alright, now it was on me to do the rest. As the water hit a boil, I measured out 6 spoonfuls of coffee powder and quickly dumped it in, turning off the stove immediately after and putting a lid over the pot. 4 or 5 minutes later, as I watched the pot, I noticed as Anya's ears perked up and her tail lifted as she straightened in her chair.
"That smell… what is this, nya? It's…" Anya squinted as she tried to puzzle apart the scent. As for me, I couldn't even smell it. A cat person's sense of smell was truly much sharper than a human's. "An earthy smell, nya?" She tilted her head, puzzled.
If Anya could smell the coffee, then it was probably ready. Would it be good, though? Only time would tell.
As I lifted the lid off the pot, the smell of coffee wafted into my nose. It was strong, dark, and most importantly of all–it was energizing. The caffeine was there, all right. As the smell washed over me, another giddy smile broke out on my face. I couldn't help it; it was just too good. This might not be MAXX Coffee, but it was coffee. Enough milk and sugar would do the trick.
"Nyaaaa, what a nice smell, nya~" Anya sighed contentedly.
Picking up the ladle I had set to the side, I slowly filled two large mugs, being sure to avoid scooping up the coffee grounds. That would be disastrous. Handing one of the cups to Anya, I picked up my own and reached for the sugar jar.
As I stirred a liberal amount of sugar into the steaming coffee, Anya, meanwhile, lifted the cup to her mouth. Oops. I forgot to warn her.
"Ah, wait, you should've–"
"Ugghhhhhh, bittttter, nyaaa! This tastes bad, nyaa!" Anya shrieked as she spat it out. "Horrible, nya! What type of monster are you, nya?! How can you drink this, nya?!"
"Do you see me drinking this, Anya?" I glared at her as I continued to stir the sugar in my cup. "Add milk and sugar to make it more drinkable, you reckless cat."
"Uuuuuuuu… this was the most horrible thing I ever tasted, nya…" Anya murmured as she took the sugar container and applied a similarly large amount of sugar to her cup.
"Don't worry about it." I opened the refrigerator, taking out the gallon-glass jar of milk, and filled the rest of my mug with milk. The coffee's color was now much, much more similar to that of MAXX Coffee.
As I raised the coffee to my mouth and took a deep sip, I was overwhelmed by the sugary, milky, familiar taste. Was this… heaven?
"Nyaaaa, deliciNYAA?!" Anya didn't even finish her sentence before the ground jolted violently beneath both of us, sloshing the coffee off the top of our cups and spilling it over the ground. Noooo, my coffee!
"Earthquake?!" I asked Anya.
"We don't have earthquakes here, nya!" Anya shouted as she raced outside the kitchen. Setting my cup down, I quickly followed her outside. Outside of the Hostess, her face was illuminated by a pale, beautiful light. "That's… " Her voice died as she stared in the direction of the light.
Following outside, I saw what she was seeing. A pillar of light stretched from the ground in a sector across the city to the heavens, glowing with an pure, ethereal power not of this world. However, even as I craned my neck to see it, it was already disappearing into the infinite blackness of space, the column dissolving into motes of light that soon faded away.
"A god's return, nya… a god has been sent back to Heaven, nya." Anya murmured quietly. "But… who…? And how…?"
~~This is a Line Break~~
All the clues pointed towards Evilus.
… Yeah, it sounded like a crappy name from one of Zaimokuza's manuscripts, to be honest. Except it was a real organization.
The backstory went along the lines of this: some 9 years ago, the Zeus and Hera Familias were banished from orario, leading to a power vacuum once Loki Familia and Freya Familia took over, resulting in chaos, and the formation of Evilus, who proceeded to raid factories in broad daylight and kill anyone who tried to resist.
You know, they were the typical templated villains working to achieve the generic goals every villain wanted to aspire to: causing destruction and spreading despair across the city. They were also known for wearing lots and lots of white and, in general, terrifying the ordinary Orario citizen with the mere mention of their name.
They would've been the perfect light novel antagonist if it weren't for the fact that apparently, they were actually very competent at what they were doing, given the fact that Orario had been thrown into what many were calling a "Dark Age" and the fact that they had managed to orchestrate several large-scale massacres, according to reports about a Nightmare on the 27th Floor.
And since we had our light-novel-esque pseudo-antagonists, it probably made sense that one day, I'd find the light-novel-esque pseudo-protagonist person. Or people.
I'm calling it right now, it was either going to be a kid with lofty ideals, secret potential, and a hero's aspiration, or a dark anti-hero looking to wipe away the stains of their past. There were no in-betweens.
~~This is a Line Break~~
"Hey, Hikinya, how's it go–nyAAHA?!" Anya's passing greeting was interrupted by none other than herself as she tripped over absolutely nothing before gracefully landing on top of the pot of stew she was carrying, splashing it all over herself and the floor.
Well, technically, there was just another earthquake, but that was no excuse to be spilling perfectly good food. As our gentle(lol), benevolent(lol), and kind(lol) boss will now demonstrate–
"Just what are you doing, you idiot!" There was a sharp WHAP as Mia's fist cracked across the top of Anya's head, the catgirl letting out a cry of pain and clutching her head as steam rose from the top. It looked almost gag-like. "You just wasted an entire pot of stew!"
"I'm sorry, nya!" Anya flinched as Mia raised her fist again, but Flova came to the rescue.
"Now, now, Mama, there's no need to–"
THUNK
"Ughhuuu!" By rescue, of course, I meant that Flova offered herself up to the slaughter. I offered up a silent prayer. Thank you, Flova. I'm sure that your sacrifice was worth it in the end.
"Don't push your luck," Mia warned as she held up her fist. Truly, the iron fist of Mama Mia spared no one. Except for me, but it was better not to mention that in front of two of Mia's victims.
Flova rubbed the back of her head, tears welling up in her eyes as Mia barked off instructions. "May, see to it that we can get another pot of stew on as soon as possible. Hikigaya, I want you out and purchasing supplies, on the double."
I peeked outside. It was raining pretty heavily. "I don't think that–" I noticed Mia's glare and the menacing way she was cracking her knuckles. "Your wish is my command." I faux-bowed towards Mia, who in turn smirked and tilted her chin upwards with an air of superiority.
"Hikinya's such a suck-up, nya," Anya muttered before there was another sharp THWAP and she yelped in pain.
"Hikigaya." I frowned as I turned back. Mia's tone had changed. "It's dangerous out there these days. Keep an eye around you at all times." I paused as I picked up the backpack before nodding in response to her warning. I'd have to bring my sword.
I stepped outside of the Hostess's side door… straight into the rain. It was pretty heavy today; water splashed down from the sky in torrents, battering the few commuters that were still outside at this time of the day.
I suppose this was the time to mention another gripe I had with Orario: umbrellas didn't exist here. As a result, everyone would either just stay indoors while it was raining, or just weather–heh, weather–the rain out without even bothering to cover their heads, which, of course, did wonders for their health.
Wonders, for example, such as the Level 4 Anya coming down with a fever and a cough, and the rest of the staff(primarily me and Flova) having an absolutely hellish experience.
As a result, I now tended to carry with me a large, black, waterproof cloak that covered me from head to toe.
Of course, the first time I tried it on, I just couldn't resist flinging it over my shoulders, closing my right eye, and pretending that the silver longsword slung over my back was actually a greatsword described to be "too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron."
Lowering my voice to a gravelly whisper, I did my best to channel the inner Apostle-hunting Black Swordsman within me. "If one can't live their life the way they want, they might as well die."
Heh heh heh… stupid.
The rain continued to fall, rivulets of water running down the walls and the streets as I dashed through Orario's alleys on my way to the Marketplace.
Normally, I would've taken a route from West Main directly to Babel before taking Southwest Main to the produce supplier(it was safer, after all, with a lesser likelihood of any bandits or thugs roaming the area), but Anya's slip-up had left me no time for such half-baked travel methods.
I broke into a sprint as I ran westwards before turning to my left and ducking into one of Orario's side alleys. My mind raced as I tried to calculate the time I needed.
Let's see… normally it would take me at least 18 minutes to get back by walking. If I cut down this distance by half, I could shave at least half of that time off, so I'd get 9 minutes. If I maintained a light jog like that from stamina training, I'd have 7 minutes. Good enough.
Flova's shortcuts were really handy. Shady, no doubt, but handy. The fact that she could, when we started, consistently reach the suppliers before me by over 3 minutes every time was a testament to her speed… or her cleverness.
In this case, of course, it was her cleverness. Her knowledge of the shortcuts that traversed the backstreets of Orario was amazing.
Wait.
I blinked slowly as my light jog slowed down into a walk.
There was something wrong.
My boots ground against the cobblestone streets with a skrtch skrtch skrtch as I slowly turned an entire circle around me, examining my surroundings.
Something was definitely wrong.
It's dangerous out there these days. Keep an eye around you at all times. Mia's warning rang in my head. I drew my sword out from under my cloak, holding it in a ready position. The blade gleamed silver in the rain, water splashing off of my cloak.
There was nothing. Not a sound.
Was it my imagination?
I kept moving, but kept my sword out as well, opting to stick to the side of one of the buildings.
It was another couple of street blocks after that I realized what was wrong.
There was nothing. Not a sound.
And that was what was wrong. A city as populated and large as Orario would never have been this silent on a normal day.
What was it? My grip on my sword tightened. I felt a bead of sweat slowly slide down the side of my face. Why was I so nervous right now? I was sensing something. Something that was wrong.
It was then that I saw the shattered ruins of a building opposite of the alley I was in, the sign of a familia I didn't recognize snapped in two at my feet. There was a perfect circle in the center of the structure, and the rest of the building had folded in on itself, shattered beams of wood awkwardly jutting out of the framework like broken bones.
There were also dead bodies. A lot of them. The lucky ones were intact, their faces twisted into horrible grimaces with bloodstains splashed across their bodies. The unlucky ones… it was enough to say that suddenly, even Mia's stew, which was one of the best things I've ever tasted, suddenly didn't seem as good anymore.
This place was a complete bloodbath. I'd heard of Evilus attacking places before… but this wasn't the typical hit-and-run I heard about. This…
I gulped as I looked from side-to-side. Blood splattered everywhere, bodies indiscriminately hurled about like ragdolls, and a building that had been bombarded so much that it had collapsed in on itself. This wasn't a hit-and-run.
No, if I had to guess, which I didn't, since the Hikipedia was a database of time-honored anime traditions–
DODGE! my instincts screamed, and I obeyed, throwing myself to my right with as much force as my legs could muster. There was a sudden CRA-CRACK as two shortswords almost materialized where I had been standing at in an instant, embedding themselves in the wall right up to the hilt.
A cold shiver ran through me as I knew where the sniper(s?) was aiming for. The knives were stuck where my shoulder and my chest would've been an instant prior.
My eyes caught sight of the lone figure standing on the rooftop, its glare felt even from where I was standing, and I instantly understood.
If I was caught, I would be dead faster than I could say "I'm innocent!".
No second thoughts. Just run.
I sprinted for the alley, mustering every single bit of strength in my legs to push off of the ground and towards the corner.
I never had a chance.
A sledgehammer slammed into my back, the wall flying forward to hug me faster than I could react. Wall-chan's embrace was neither loving nor gentle, and I landed on the ground with a wheeze, my limbs trembling as I struggled to get up.
Another blow found its way to my stomach and I could only gag as my back met the wall again, a dull throb of pain working its way up my spine as suddenly, a familiar shortsword pierced through my left hand and into the wall.
I screamed as the cloaked attacker twisted the sword in my hand slowly as they pulled it out. The world swam before my eyes as the figure slammed a foot against my right arm, the bones in my limb protesting with a groan of pain.
The pain and the dizziness and everything built up in my head until I needed to let it out, needed to, absolutely needed to–
I turned my head to the side and retched violently as the remains of my last meal came up.
The world seemed to grow into focus again as I recovered, my head lolling from side to side.
In front of me was a figure that could only be described as a grim reaper. With its blood-splattered green cloak and burning eyes, the figure's stare seemed to bore into my very soul. Inside its gaze was a multitude of emotions that could only be summarized with one word: fury.
They were muttering something under their breath, something my ears couldn't quite catch. It would've been nice if they could've spoken louder.
The figure was saying something. "Make them pay"...? Them?
I tried to talk, but only managed a brief cough and a dry rasp. My throat felt horribly dry.
"I have no words to say to you." The figure's voice was clear and ice-cold. It sounded vaguely like Yukinoshita, for some reason. Must've been the ice part. Wait, they sounded like Yukinoshita? They were a girl?!
"Die, knowing that everything you have stood for will fall by the hand of the Gale Wind." The figure raised her other sword, and then–
"We found them! That bitch that's been going after us! Get her!"
The cloaked figure whipped around just as a group of people with white headbands rounded the corner, rushing her. A quick count proved that there were more than 20 of them altogether.
Come on… think, think, think! You can't die here. Absolutely not. Think of a way out. Think of a way to escape. Escape this situation.
Dully, I reached for a potion on my belt, slowly tilting the vial of liquid into my mouth before opening another bottle and pouring it all over my hand. Inside me, a fire flared to life with a fierce warmth, coursing through my cold limbs.
Slowly, I staggered to my feet. My sword lay next to me, and I picked it up and began running, desperately trying to ignore the sharp pain that stabbed at my stomach every time I sucked in a breath.
I ventured a look before I rounded the corner to see that the white-headbanded people were being cut down by the cloaked figure like butter. Blood splashed across the walls as seemingly effortlessly, she scythed down group after group of them with each slash, her swords mowing down her enemies.
I didn't look back after that.
Fortunately, after taking as many possible twists and turns as I could in the backstreets of Orario, I managed to (hopefully) put enough distance between me and the grim reaper to escape.
The vegetables and produce I was sent out to procure were, of course, all but forgotten when I staggered back into the Hostess. I didn't know how bad it looked, but judging from the way the catgirls screamed and Anya gasped, it was bad.
I swayed in the doorway before the scenery in front of my eyes blurred, changing to that of the ceiling. Did I fall down…? I couldn't tell.
Someone was hovering above me. My eyes squinted, trying to focus. It was… Anya… ? Flova… ? Their faces blurred, moved, overlapped, morphed, changed, features blending together until I couldn't separate one from the other.
Suddenly, the face above me turned into Mia's. "Don't die on me, Hikigaya."
Someone was easing a drink into my mouth. Water? No, thicker. Slightly sweet, with a tinge of something artificial behind it. Medicine?
The world above me cleared. I floundered where I was, sputtering and gasping for air.
"That oughta do the trick." Distinctively, I heard Mia's voice above me. "Welcome back, Hikigaya."
"Hikinya, you're back!" Anya's delighted cheer rang through my head, and I winced. It was too loud. Really, too loud.
"How… long was I out…?" With slow, aching muscles, I managed to ease myself into a sitting position with Flova's assistance.
"Give or take, about 10 minutes, Hikigaya-san." Flova smiled at me sweetly, but I saw the relief in her eyes. "You weren't dying, but you were close to passing out from blood loss."
"Ah." I looked at my left hand, expecting it to be bandaged like a club. Instead, only a few strips of cloth were wound around my palm. "Huh?"
"Mama really splurged in to save you, nya! She used a low grade elixir, nya!"
Anya's words made me freeze. Mia used an elixir on me? A couple hundred thousands of Valis worth of healing supplies, on me?!
"Don't sweat over it." Mia loomed over me in the doorway. "Just eat up and replenish your nutrients." You owe me, but don't worry about it, just work it back.
I nodded gratefully, accepting the sandwich that Flova offered. Mia really was a good employer, in the end.
"Who attacked you, Hikigaya-san?" Flova's words made me pause midway through my sandwich. That's right. Just who would attack me, and more importantly, why?
I shook my head, trying to remember what the figure had said before I had escaped.
A phrase found its way to the front of my mind. Gale… Wind?
~~This is a Line Break~~
Gale Wind.
I numbly stared at the new bounty plastered across the Guild. Gale Wind, 80 million Valis. Level 4. Blacklisted for destroying 14 organizations, including 2 familias so far. Utterly ruthless, no victims of the Gale Wind had come out alive yet.
Barring me.
Coincidences upon coincidences had almost gotten me killed.
Was my escape a mere coincidence, too?
I hadn't slept as well as I had liked last night. It was all so real, the scene engraved into my memory. The rain, the knife that had been embedded in my hand, the cold, whispery voice of the grim reaper that had taken my life. I had woken up in a cold sweat, bandages crinkled as I bit back a scream.
That memory wasn't going to be something I could shake off so easily.
And for whatever reason, I felt it in my bones: One day, I'd run into that figure once again.