Chapter 23
Regis Pov.
"Hurya!"
Lili yelled as she thrust her icy sharp fingers into the orc's fat belly. The orc's flesh offered little resistance to the armaments inspired by the war shadows' knife-like fingers, and it reached its magic stone.
But the dungeon wouldn't leave a single monster alone on purpose.
But Lili clearly sensed, as the Imps immediately jumped at her back when the porcine monster burst into ash. The ambush tactics were embedded in their beings, urging them to action.
But I wasn't bothered nor alarmed at the sight. Lili had gone a long way over the course of this last month under my tutelage.
Without moving, the ice coating her arms sublimated and rushed to her back where translucent butterfly-like wings formed. Wings that fluttered for a moment and released ice particles into the air before they beat with strength propelling Lili into the air while pushing the particles in the imps direction.
Soon enough, the imps were on the floor. Their hands around their necks and coughing their lungs out as the sharp particles of ice shredded their lungs.
Lili maneuvered mid-air and shot the imps down with her little crossbow. Icy bolts that were generated in the crossbow chamber from the mist as fast as she pulled the string met their mark and made them puff into ash.
Sensing no more enemies around, the little pallum turned around and glided over my way.
As she landed softly in front of me, I could only clap the flawless execution.
"Well done, Lili. That was excellent." I said with a proud smile.
"Ehehe," She laughed awkwardly. "It's nothing. I only did what Master Regis taught me." She looked happy at my words.
"You've worked hard for it. You can be proud of the strength you've gained Lili. In fact, It's important that you do." I said.
"Lili understands." She replied, but the fact that she was not looking me in the eye and the slight grimace on her face told me that something was bothering her.
But what could it be? Her progress was excellent, a month ago, she passed out after killing a simple orc.
She just cleared a whole sector of the twelfth floor. Granted, I made sure that she didn't find an Infant dragon, but she dealt with all the other monsters on her own.
A feat that would take an experienced party of Level 1 adventurers to do safely.
She should be pretty satisfied with herself.
I might as well just ask. "Lili, is something bothering you?"
She jumped slightly at my words. "Nonono, Lili is doing well."
"Lili…" I deadpanned at her, obviously unimpressed at her poorly hidden lie.
"Urgh." Eventually, it seemed like my dead-like stare was enough to break her.
"Lili is doing well. It's the truth! Lili… just didn't want to trouble Master Regis more than necessary. Master just looks way too tired nowadays. Lili doesn't want to be a burden." She said rapidly, her back hunched and her expression partially hidden by her cloak.
Umnnnn…
"Lili… be honest. Do I really look that bad?" I'll be the first to admit that the last month had been stressful and that I was definitely not getting as much sleep as I should. But I made sure to take care of myself as much as I could.
"I could start calling you Master Panda if you want, Master Regis." She replied, before instantly regretting it and going back to having difficulties looking at me directly with what I could now recognize as guilt.
Ugh, I should really sleep more if even Lili was starting to worry about me.
It just was so difficult! What with my nightmares having spawned the rumor of a lunatic mage trying its best to release powerful magic in the middle of the city.
The Ganesha familia has been on my ass every night since then too…
I sighed and stood up from the rock I was resting on. "Anyway, it's getting late so let's go back. I'll see what I can do about getting some rest."
"Un!" She said, looking more animated before she stopped and perked up as if remembering something. "Ah! About that Master Regis. Lili has managed to secure a spot on the grape farm of the familia. So we won't be able to meet for the next week." She said with enthusiasm.
"Do you really have to say that so happily, Lili?" I said dryly.
She looked confused at my reply. Then her eyes widened. "Nononono, it's just that way without me taking so much of your time, Master Regis can find a way to rest." She said.
"I see. Are you going to be okay?" I asked concerned. Lili's situation with her familia wasn't exactly the best.
"Hmm? Ah yes, that's why Lili was happy. Working on the farm had always been one of her safe havens in the familia. No one ever messes with her near Lord Soma's precious grapes."
"Oh, I see. But Lili, if this is something you've sought out to give me more free time, you shouldn't have bothered. I would still enter the dungeon either way, you know?" I said as I continued walking towards the entrance of the room.
"Lili's aware. But, while Master Regis' condition was a reason. Lili also wants to spend some time working on her weakness." She replied.
"Your water generation problem, huh."
"Yes, despite all your help... Lili still hadn't managed to generate water with her magic." She replied, looking a little ashamed.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Lili. To begin with, the spell you've based all your magic on didn't let you create mass. The fact that you've learned to use the water in your immediate surroundings is already excellent." I said.
It was the reason we trained in the misty floors of the dungeons. That alongside her sensing being based on water vapor meant that this place was where Lili was not only at her strongest, but also where she improved the fastest.
"Still, Lili worked hard… Stupid spell…" Unfortunately, Lili didn't seem convinced.
I was going to try to reassure her when a scream diverted my attention. A scream that was quickly followed by a roar that echoed across the entire floor.
I directed my senses towards the scream, although I already had an idea of what was happening.
The numbers in my mind quickly painted the overall picture. A party of five, tired and scruffed from a hard day in the dungeon, seemed to have been caught off guard by an infant dragon on their way back towards the surface.
Their tank's shield seemed to have broken, and their mage seemed a spell away from mind down. He probably had to bail them down when their frontliner's equipment broke in a previous encounter.
I tuned in, just in case. "Carla, take Cid and go. I'll distract him!" "Jake! You'll die!" "I'll figure something out! Go!"
The catgirl archer who was keeping the mage upright was right, he wasn't equipped to deal with the fire aura from the draconic monster.
Having confirmed that they weren't going to be able to deal with it, I decided to intervene.
A quick lightning formula gathered some iron sand from my enchanted pouch, compressed and fused it into the form of a bullet.
Then, I coated it with a layer of ice to quench it and ensure that it didn't disintegrate before reaching the target. Happy with my projectile, I shot it forward with my version of the railgun.
A sonic boom echoed across the room, although I muffled it for Lili and myself.
I didn't feel like dealing with ringing ears.
The bullet penetrated the dragon's magic stone with pinpoint accuracy, the monster's huge frame puffing away seconds later.
As the dragon died, I couldn't help but sigh a little depressed.
This was, unfortunately, an almost daily occurrence. Adventurers getting over their heads, not having done enough preparation or simply having bad luck.
I always tried to help where I could. But… my curious ass once asked Miss Eina about the numbers.
They were bad. Like, horrendously bad.
Then she brought me to the cemetery of Orario. It was the size of an entire district.
I always thought that the hunter must have exaggerated his stories about the dungeon. The number of people he saved. But if anything, I felt he downplayed it severely.
The number of people I felt dying every day… The people I didn't sense dying to this senseless death machine every day.
Sometimes I wondered If whatever I did even had an effect…
I sighed.
Anyway, with the good deed done for the day, I turned around and continued making my way back. But, before I could take a step, two tiny arms reached around and hugged my waist.
"Huh, Lili? Not that I mind the hug, but is something wrong?" I asked as I put a hand on her head and gently started caressing her hair.
She looked up, her eyes catching the light and glowing slightly.
"Master Regis looked sad." She said, her voice muffled. "Hugs make Lili feel better."
"I see," I said as I knelt and hugged her properly. Her hair prickled my face and I shivered when her breath caressed my neck. She didn't smell particularly nice either, what with all the fighting and sweating she did.
But, she was right. I felt better now.
"You're right, Lili. Hugs are nice."
"Hehe, right? Master Regis should hug Lili more when he feels sad." She replied happily as we separated and started walking back and ignoring the adventurers who were trying to get our attention.
Lili and I had come to an agreement that we would try to keep contact with other adventurers to a minimum. Lili because she didn't particularly like them and me because I didn't feel like dealing with their inquiries and the consequent pestering about joining their familia when they realized I was unblessed.
Eventually, we left behind the misty floors, Lili leaving the fighting to me as she was tired, and entered the caverns of the ninth floor when Lili broke the silence.
"By the way, Master Regis. Lili just had a thought."
"Hmm? What is it?" I asked curiously.
"Couldn't Lili just solve her water problem if she had a pouch like the one Master uses to store his iron sand?" She asked earnestly looking at the pouch attached to my hip.
No, she couldn't. I almost replied instantly.
It was an idea that I had already thought of and dismissed.
My enchanted objects only worked when I was around, and while I could teach her my methods. They were limited by what the enchanter could do.
Since Lili couldn't generate water or twist space on her own. She wouldn't be able to enchant the ability into an object.
I refused to teach her divine runes, that was a disaster waiting to happen. And I had released all the poor enslaved souls that the witch had used for her own magic objects. So that was out as well.
But as the idea rolled around my mind… an image started to form.
Even if Lili could not solve her water problem with enchantments, it didn't mean that it was useless.
The image of Lili wearing a fully enchanted ice armor appeared in my mind. All the different pieces were enchanted with the different physical characteristics of every monster she ran across.
Inspiration struck me from the last remaining pieces of my childhood that remained inside of me.
I wanted to see Magical Girl Mecha Lili.
I wanted her to be able to reach for the skies if she so wished.
I wanted the gods and Orario to look upon her and be in awe.
Yeah, I knew it was childish. But I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face.
"Lili is happy that Master Regis is happy. But, for some reason, Lili doesn't like that smile. It spells trouble…"
The image just made me smile, so my mind took the idea and ran with it. Running and searching through my Tome the best techniques for Lili.
Besides, there was a chance that she would find an answer to her water problem with enchanting, it wasn't like I couldn't be wrong.
Belief was power, after all. So, if I as her Master said there was a chance…
"Lili is really not liking the gleam in Master Regis' eyes…"
After compiling all the enchanting techniques and methodologies I had, I wasn't satisfied. None of them fit Lili completely.
"And Master is not listening to me…"
So, I started reworking what I had at full speed. Barely paying attention to any monsters that died to ice spikes the moment they approached us.
"At least he's still aware of our surroundings…"
Taking into account everything I knew about Lili's personal reality, a specialized formula soon formed in my mind and a grin formed in my mind.
"Lili thinks she needs an adult…"
Which was when I realized that Lili had been saying something to me.
"Hmm? Lili, you said something? Anyway about your question, I think you're right and that there's some potential in your idea, I'll be more than happy to teach you about enchantments." I said with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm.
Lili's smile was looking a little shaky there.
But she seemed to be willing to learn, so I started teaching her.
//////////////////////////////////////////
Regis Pov
The sun was winding down for the day as I dragged my sore body forward toward one of the scariest feeling places in the city.
As I walked up the steps of the place and the warm buzz of noise coming from the patrons inside reached my ears, my muscles tensed in protest as I froze for a moment.
The feeling of a mountain watching me crashed against my senses. The enormity and density of the aura triggered my flight or fight instinct before I relaxed and reminded myself that I was safe.
Breathe, Regis.
Just like the last time I came, I took a breath and did a cursory search among the patrons. Not seeing any problematic people, I stepped in properly and walked up towards the origin of the power I had to diminish my senses for.
That aura came from the matron herself—calmly polishing a glass behind the bar, of course.
"I see you've come back alive, boy." She said, "Although you look like you would be happier if you were dead." She mercilessly continued.
"And I see you're as charming as always, ma'am." I replied with a wry smile and sat on the seat in front of her.
Not that she was wrong, I was exhausted.
"Get me whatever is going to give me more energy. Also, something to drink, please. I don't care as long as it's not alcoholic. " I said as I let my face drop on the table, my hood leaving me in darkness and letting me rest my eyes.
"Got it. May! A number 3! And have Norn bring it out when it's ready!" I heard the absolute unit of a woman yell towards the back.
"Understood ma'am." A muted voice said from the kitchen behind the behemoth of a dwarf.
The sound of bottles and glasses clinking with one another reached my ears and I allowed myself to just be.
The past month had been grueling. The lack of any kind of decent sleep and almost daily marathon-like walks to the dungeon and back had been… physically and spiritually taxing. I should probably have asked Lili to not delve into the dungeon as often as I did.
But the truth was that exploring the dungeon was the lesser of two evils.
I much preferred to deal with monsters than with gods while waiting for my deity.
"Here you have your orange juice, kid." I heard her say as she placed the glass next to me.
"Thank you, ma'am." I replied.
"You'll never put hair on your chest if you never drink, you know that right?" I heard her comment.
I rose from my slouched position. "You just want me to get tipsy to make me spend more." I accused her in a playfully dry tone.
She laughed and said, "Well, I have a business to run." Then her voice deepened in concern. "But no, that's not the reason. You're severely sleep-deprived, kid. A good drink could help you with that."
"If only it was that easy." I sighed "But no thanks. I don't think drinking will help."
"How come?" She said, puzzled. "I've seen more than a few insomniac adventurers three times your age that were haunted by the horrors of the dungeon sleep peacefully after a good drink."
I knew that she was just concerned and wanted to help, but she didn't know my situation.
It didn't help that to be able to control my magic I needed a clear head. Meaning that drinking would be the equivalent to disarming myself at best, and an absolute disaster and danger to everyone around me at worst.
The problem was that the matron was kind, and experienced. Which probably meant that there was a chance that at some point she would spike my drink.
How troublesome…
What could I say to get her to make her understand…
"After what happened last time, I kind of swore off drinking." I said with a reminiscing stare.
"What happened?" She asked curiously, sensing an interesting story.
"I kinda set my village on fire."
She raised her eyebrows in surprise for a moment, before she narrowed her eyes and alongside the feeling of an avalanche about to fall on me, she continued. "I'll only say this once, don't you dare set my restaurant on fire, boy."
I simply shrugged off her aura. "I'm not a pyromaniac ma'am. I need constant focus to keep my magic under control. So as long as you don't spike my drinks, everything's going to be fine."
"Magic?"
Hopefully, that would probably be enough.
Mia Grand was an intimidating, hard, blunt, and obscenely strong woman, and I had been to the Hostess of Fertility a few times already and I liked the place.
As long as one was respectful and paid, it could be said to be one of the safest places in Orario.
While I was inside her restaurant I felt like I could let my guard down. At least a little. I didn't want to lose one of the few havens I had in the city.
Mia was about to say something more when the door behind her opened.
A girl, wearing the customary green maid uniform of the establishment, entered the room pushing the door open with her shoulder and trembled as she looked at the different patrons and flinched at every other loud laugh or noise before she faced the bartender.
"Ma-mama Mia, who s-should I s-serve this to?" The familiar silver-haired girl tied in twintails asked, referring to the absolutely enormous plate of spaghetti bolognese she was struggling to carry.
She gave the impression of an abused dog who was ready to bolt at the first sign of danger. Which unfortunately wasn't that far from the truth considering that she was a rape victim I saved a month ago.
"Ah, Norn. It's for your friend. Over there." Mia said, pointing towards me with her thumb.
"My f-friend?" She asked before her eyes found mine and widened. "Mister Regis! You came!" She said with joy, her fear vanishing as a beautiful smile lit up the place.
I tensed slightly as I felt the other patrons glare at me, the hostility in their aura brushed against my senses before I ignored it.
"Hey there, Norn. How are you doing? Is your sister treating you alright?"
"Un! Men are still scary, and I still don't remember what happened… But my sister Syr, Mama Mia, May, and Anya have been taking care of me. They have been teaching me tons." She said as she plopped my meal in front of me and sat next to me making sure to not make contact.
"I see. I'm glad you're doing well." I said, meaning it. When I first met her, it was a shock to me. It was the first time that I had seen someone's AIM die and become blank like hers had.
"Un. Thanks to you Mister Regis!" The girl said, practically radiating gratitude as she joined her hands in front of her chest and gave me a blinding smile.
Cute. Way too cute, I felt like I needed sunglasses.
"I didn't do that much. The credit goes to your sister and the good people here at the Hostess of Fertility." I shook my head and said while giving the merit where it deserved to go with a tilt of my head towards the matron.
The matron returned my gesture with a tender smile towards Norn.
And I wasn't kidding about not deserving the credit.
While it was obvious that she was still burdened about what happened. Her androphobia was the more obvious symbol and her AIM was still weak, but I could tell that it was recovering fairly really quickly.
To tell the truth, I considered her a miracle. When I left her with the Ganesha familia, I was fairly sure that she would never recover.
Sometimes, trauma destroyed people. The complete destruction of one's personal reality shouldn't be something someone could just shrug off.
I could accept her gratitude for taking her out of a bad situation. But her recovery was all on them.
It was one of the reasons I liked coming to the Hostess and was sure that the people here were good.
Seeing her doing better and better each time gave me hope for the future.
Turning towards my plate and picking up my fork, I stopped for a moment.
"Oi, Mia. Do you think this kind of portion is normal?" I said dryly, referring to the absolutely enormous plate of spaghetti.
My usual respectful tone was nowhere to be seen. I knew I said I wanted something that gave me a lot of energy.
But one thing was a big portion. The other was this mountain of carbs. Did this woman think I was a balloon? Because I would definitely burst if I ate all this.
"Watch your tone, kid." She said while I quickly spun a magnetic formula over my head to repel the ladle that was about to make contact with my head.
Her arm bounced back and her ladle sparked slightly.
"How much are you going to charge me for this, you greedy dwarf?"
The matron looked confused at her ladle before she shook her head and said. "Well, it's triple the normal ration. So, it's quadruple the cost."
"Ha?! How does that make sense!" How did this woman run this place?! Did everyone follow whatever she said because she was strong?
I heard giggling from the side. Tilting my head I saw the adorable sight of Norn covering her mouth with one hand, a tear threatening to fall from her eye while holding her tummy with the other.
"I mean, after seeing our adorable Norn laugh like that. I think I should charge you even more." Mia said, her gentle smile from looking at Norn turning cheeky as she faced my way.
The nerve of this woman.
Although, as much as I wanted, I couldn't contradict her.
That was precious.
"I'll pay." I ended up saying.
It wasn't like I was lacking in money and being able to eat in peace was worth a lot more than whatever she would end up charging me.
Seeing that my plate was getting cold, I started eating. However I could, because while it was delicious, I felt like I was eating while simultaneously playing Jenga so that the tower made of pasta didn't fall to the ground.
I even had to use wind magic a couple of times.
Really, how did normal people eat this without all of it just falling to the ground?
A couple of pairs of eyes watched me as I ate…
"Mmmmm, not that I mind. But don't you have anything else to do?" I was starting to get a little uncomfortable.
Norn diverted her eyes, while Mia just laughed and squinted her eyes at us. "I'm just observing your magic, I had never seen someone use it like you do. Besides, Norn still has to accomplish her mission."
"Magic?" "Mission?" We asked simultaneously. "What magic?" "What mission?"
Norn and I looked at each other and laughed at the coincidence. "What is your mission, Norn?"
"Ah!" She blushed. "Sister Syr told me to t-touch you next time you came by."
"Your sister asked you, huh." I had heard a lot about Syr these past few days from Norn, but I had never actually seen her.
"Y-yes." She said a little nervous.
According to Norn, while she usually was a maid here at the Hostess of Fertility, she helped around at a few understaffed orphanages in the city which was the reason I still hadn't met her.
Considering how Norn admired and attributed most of her recovery to her. And how the various usual patrons often asked for her well-being.
I was inclined to believe she was a good person.
As to why someone like her would ask her sister to touch me…
It could only be to help with her fears. I was aware that Norn had difficulties speaking to men since that night.
As the one who saved her, I was the only exception. But even then, ever since I met her Norn had never gotten close enough to touch me.
I guessed what Syr wanted was to use me to try to help Norn get used to men again.
Oh well, I didn't mind helping her.
"I see, here you go." I said, slowly bringing my hand over, and offering my open palm.
"Ah, y-yes." Norn looked at my hand for a moment, then slowly inched hers toward mine.
The closer her hand was, the more it trembled and the slower she moved. Until finally, when no more than a few inches separated them, she stopped.
Her hand– no, her whole body was shivering, her pupils were dilated and despite the glimmer of determination in her eyes, I could tell that she was moments from either passing out or running away.
Seeing that she was one step away from succumbing to her fears, I decided to try to give her some support.
I set the fork down and glanced at Mia. The Level Six's eyes were locked on her waitress like a hawk ready to intervene. Slowly, I raised my other hand in a calm gesture—better to signal than risk getting killed by startling the tense woman.
She gave me a warning look, but seeing that she was paying attention to me and wasn't likely to startle her, I continued with my little plan.
In the end, when it came to helping someone emotionally and giving them some courage. There was only one thing that I could do with my magic.
If anything else, seeing Ryuu's magic had taught me as much.
So, I connected to my Tome and searched for a certain soundtrack that I had recreated from my first world.
A miniature vortex spun in my palm, my magic reshaping air and memory into song.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfaBr7EuZCE
Norn flinched slightly as the music reached her ears. But, thankfully it seemed that the soothing music helped her snap out of her precarious state.
"Ah, M-mister Regis." She said, her trembling diminishing slightly.
"You're safe here, Norn." I said softly. "You can take my hand and nothing will happen to you. I promise."
"I k-know." She replied, gripping her own hand, trying to still the tremors. "I-it's just, my b-body just doesn't move."
"That's fine. You can take your time." I said softly, as I began running my AIM reading formulas at full tilt and tried to imitate Ryuu's AIM.
Synchronizing my AIM with hers through the music to show my sincerity and transmit my intentions.
As the song approached its climax, I said. "Come on Norn. You can do it."
The girl looked at my eyes and nodded.
Emboldened by the music and the moment, she reached with both hands and clasped my hand between them.
I smiled at her. "There you go. It wasn't that bad, was it?"
She didn't respond for a moment, her bangs covering her expression.
Then she shook her head, her twintails bouncing around before she raised her head and with a smile on her face said. "No, Mister Regis' hand is warm."
"I see. Well, congrats, that's the mission accomplished, right?" I said, as my song finished.
"Ah, yes." She replied startled, as she realized the silence in the tavern. She looked around and was faced with the heartwarming smiles of most of the patrons.
Then, one of the adventurers cheered. "There you go! Congrats girl!" Soon enough, most of the tavern was cheering and congratulating her.
Norn's face turned red, her blush quickly reaching her ears. "Ah, ah!" Then she started making weird sounds and looking like a mouse about to be pounced by a cat.
"When is the wedding? Because it was just me, or was that surprisingly lewd?" An idiot said, before having his face smashed by a tankard, courtesy of the mountain in human form.
"Aaaaaa!?" Norn blurted out another strange noise, this one oddly reminiscent of a steam train building pressure. It seemed to be her limit because she let go of my hand and ran straight back to the kitchen.
I couldn't help but to shake my head and let out a chuckle at the silliness of it all.
So, as the customers returned to their meal, I returned to mine.
"The nerve of these people." Mia hissed at the idiots who started teasing and catcalling Norn.
"Well, people will be people no matter where you go."
"I know." She sighed.
"Kid."
"Yes?"
"You're a natural, right? I don't sense a falna in you."
Not seeing any reason to negate it, I said "Yeah."
She had a look of realization. "I see… I can't give you a room here. I don't want my place destroyed, but you can come eat whenever you want even if it is closed. Here you'll always have a plate waiting for you."
"I… I see, thank you." I replied.
She gave me a gentle smile and put a hand on my head. "No, thank you, kid. You did good today."
"Does that mean–" "No way, you're paying for five today."
"Wha–? How? I thought you said I had to pay quadruple the amount. How did it go up?"
"You got to touch one of my waitresses. A privilege no one else had until today. Be grateful you're not a smear on the ground."
"Ha?! But she was the one who asked. You were watching!"
"And that's the reason you're still alive, punk. What was up with the music? Were you trying to seduce my cute Norn?"
"What?! No! I was just trying to help her."
"Sure, let's go with that."
In the end, I rolled my eyes at the woman who was having way too much fun and left it be.
Sometimes, some battles were not worth the trouble.
So, I returned to my meal.
////////////////////////////////////////
I left the Hostess of Fertility to the glowing streets and the starry sky of Orario, with my stomach full and my wallet emptier than it should be.
At the rate that women's greed was leveling up, Mia's profession would change from bartender to bandit, I swear.
Not that the falna had specific classes beyond development skills. Well, not that I wasn't aware of them, at least.
As I crossed the threshold of the restaurant and left the loud aura from Mia, I released my senses at full power. Just to be jump scared when I heard a familiar melody a few meters away.
"Holy shit, Ryuu! How long have you been waiting here?" I said to the elf waiting in the alley next to the door of the tavern. "You could have entered, you know."
She gave me an unreadable look and said, "Follow me."
Puzzled at the odd interaction, I could only follow.
We traversed a couple of alleyways before we took to the roofs, the darkness from the night cloaking our forms from the civilians and adventurers below.
Before long, we reached the walls of Orario.
I gathered the wind around me, altering the air's density along my path to guide my final jump onto the parapet.
With a last little hop, I cleared the parapet and faced Ryuu, who was already waiting for me. Her eyes were laser-focused examining me.
"Ryuu? Is something wrong?" I asked as I started getting a little nervous.
While she could be taciturn, she usually wasn't like this.
"For the next week, you're not going with me at night," she said, her tone final and without emotion.
"Eh? Did I do something wrong?" I didn't remember screwing up that badly to have her ditch me.
On the contrary, I thought we were going alright. Since that night at the witch's place, we had been discovering and eliminating Evilus adventurers and sympathizers almost every night.
While we hadn't yet routed them in its entirety nor found their base, we had plenty of clues and tracks to follow. In general, I thought we were making steady progress.
But she shook her head. "You've been the best comrade I could have asked for. But–" She palmed the hilt of her sword, and as my instincts tingled, she disappeared.
My iron sand burst from my pouch, a tendril forming quickly to parry her thrust, but it was too late.
I could feel the warm wood of her sword kissing my neck.
"One month ago, you could have parried this strike." She said, her voice so emotionless that for a moment I felt the familiar embrace of death.
Willing my body to not tremble, I replied. "You just took me by surprise."
"The day we met, I also took you by surprise!" She replied immediately, this time with emotion as she scowled at me. "And yet, despite having just come from a long journey. You reacted! You parried! Y-you lived!"
I didn't have a reply to that. Because she was right, I was just too damn tired. So much more than a month ago.
Even if I had streamlined my formulas significantly, even with the dungeon as a resource that had allowed me to increase the strength of my magic. It was undeniable that my reaction time had gotten slower.
Overall, I had gotten weaker.
"I won't have any more of my f-friends' blood on my hands," she said, her voice trembling as desperation welled up in her eyes. "Please, Regis—just rest. If you keep going like this…"
I returned my iron sand to my pouch and bit my lip in frustration. I didn't want this. I didn't want to leave Ryuu alone. I didn't want her to worry about me, she already had enough on her plate.
I had a project working to allow me to sleep, even with the nightmares, but it depended on Frey and he was still learning his part in it.
"Ryuu, I… I'm sorry I worried you." I apologised looking into her watery blue eyes. "But, I just can't sleep, and–"
"I know!" She said, her free hand gripping her elbow. She looked frustrated and guilty. "I've known for a while that you've been suffering."
"What d-do you mean?" I said, suddenly having a bad feeling.
"Ten thousand people trapped inside a dungeon by a god. An innocent and lonely boy fought through the dungeon shouldering the hate of some of those people. Meanwhile, there's a girl who supports him and tries to get him to open up. That was what your song back in the Hostess was about, right?" She said as she averted her eyes and looked away from me towards the fields outside the city.
Wha--? That was the plot of Sword Art Online… More or less. But the fact that Ryuu was able to get that much information from just a fragment of the soundtrack.
I might have underestimated her ability.
Wait, she had been listening to my AIM for over a month…
"You're not wrong. Ryuu… how much do you know about me?" I asked, and looked down, not wanting to face her either.
Did she know?
Dread and shame crept through my body as the weight of my sins suddenly pressed down on me.
The kids at the orphanage were sacrificed because of my greed. The innocent lives I took in a blind rage when I tried to avenge them. The villagers died because I wasn't strong enough. All the people lost to the chaos monsters my presence summoned into this world. And the poor kid… the one I wore like a suit because I wasn't smart enough to find another way.
If she could read me like a book, then…
"I can't read into auras as well as music, but I know that you've lost everything, again and again. And that you've suffered again and again. To the point that I can't even imagine.
"I've lost almost everything once and if it wasn't for you, I know I would have broken.
"Above all else, for some reason. I can tell that you believe you deserve it.
"I don't know how it happened, the facts I know about you are confusing. I don't know how you could have gone through so much while you lived in that village. The timeline, your strength, nothing makes sense."
She didn't know.
Her ability could read my emotions and maybe a little more, but she didn't know. Relief flooded my body at the thought, and I immediately hated myself for it.
"I…" I tried to talk. But I couldn't. The words just wouldn't flow out of my mouth.
What could I do, defend myself? Deflect? Spill everything?
I didn't know, I was a mess. I was so tired. My mind couldn't even maintain a simple formula right now.
Even if she didn't know exactly what I did… She knew enough.
She'll pursue the truth until she's satisfied and then…
"But that doesn't matter." That snapped me out of my pessimistic illusion.
"Eh?" I faced her as she looked at me with a smile.
"What matters is that the view I have of you and how you view yourself are different.
"Ever since I met you, all you've done is help.
"You pulled Lili out of despair. You patrol the streets each night, doing more good than half of Ganesha Familia put together, I've also heard of the mysterious invisible mage that saves everyone it can on the upper floors.
There are rumors about you everywhere. Little by little, the people of Orario are regaining their hope, and it's because of you.
And above all else, you've saved me. You saved this idiotic little elf from losing sight of what truly mattered.
So, please. Regis. Tell me something. What can I do to help? What is it that haunts you every night?" She pleaded to me and as much as her words consoled me, on some level they just made me feel worse.
Because even if she said that, if she knew the truth. Would she still say such kind words?
I didn't do all that to be a hero, I just did it to try to atone. To bring balance to my karmic scale.
If she knew that on some level I wasn't that much better than the witch we slayed. Would she still say the same?
When she learned the truth, would such kindness turn to hatred and betrayal?
I was a coward, I couldn't look at her in the face.
I heard her sigh and then mutter. "I'm not good at this. My words won't reach him." Then she said "In the end, it was like Kaguya said. I'm just a brutish little elf. I'm sorry Regis, but you give me no choice. " What did she just say?
Suddenly her AIM resonated loudly to my senses, her aura strengthened and crystalised. So much so that I could hear her music without honing my ability on her.
No wait, I was not hearing through my ability.
My ears were hearing it!
The song wasn't the song that I usually heard from her AIM. It was the song of her familia, the one she used to slay the witch.
I raised my head, but before I could move, her sword was already resting against my forehead.
I felt the embrace of death a second time in the last five minutes.
The blade hummed against my skin, but somehow, it didn't cut me.
"Regis, you remember when you taught me about waves and sound right? I managed to use that to induce the speed my sword needed to activate my aero mana skill." I remembered teaching her. While I had given up on getting Lili and Ryuu up to standard, I thought they should at least understand the physics that governed their abilities.
Wait, if the song was enough to activate her skill…
"You should be dead. My sword should have gone through you. And yet, you remain unharmed. You're smart enough to figure out what that means." She said, her eyes crystal clear as they looked into my own.
"You used your familia's song…" I said.
"Exactly." She said as she dropped her sword to the ground and stepped towards me wrapping me with her arms in a gentle embrace. "I might not know what you've done or what might have happened to you. But my familia's justice deems you innocent."
"That… shouldn't be possible," I said as I let my fatigued body lean on her. Tears started spilling on her shoulder.
"And yet it happened. No matter what happened in the past, my familia and I decided that you're innocent." She said as she let herself fall against the parapet, dragging me along and resting my head on her lap.
"So rest, Regis. I'll look over you for the night. The same way you did back then, let me scare away your nightmares, just for tonight." Her voice teased my ears as my cheek felt the warmth of her thighs.
Despite how uncomfortable the stone floor was, with her field singing a lullaby to my own and the catharsis and relief that maybe, just maybe, when she learned the truth she wouldn't turn on me. My body truly relaxed for the first time in a month.
Then, when she started caressing my hair. I didn't stand a chance and fell asleep.
///////////////////////////////
Ryuu Lion Pov.
"He finally fell asleep." I couldn't help but sigh.
It didn't even take a couple of minutes, even when his heart should have been beating at full speed after my attacks…
Did he trust me this much, or was he just that tired?
I took his hood off and felt a little disgusted with myself.
"His skin was pale, and the dark bags under his eyes looked almost permanent."
"You idiot…" I brushed his blond hair aside. "Just one day. We could've managed just fine."
I had long since mastered my senses to the point where I could reliably discern the truth. I also knew for a fact that if Lili had gotten stronger, definitely strong enough to defend herself from her familia.
I placed my hand on his cheek, my thumb softly tracing the dark bags beneath his eyes. "Why do you have to go this far… What could you possibly have done to make you feel like you deserve this?"
He, of course, didn't answer. Although, at least, he seemed to be sleeping well at the moment.
I shifted my legs a little to better support his head. It was starting to get cold, so I took a blanket from my bag and threw it over him.
Making a few more minute adjustments for my own comfort, I rested my head against the wall looked at the stars in the sky, and reminisced about the last month.
From searching for clues in Evilus history, to interrogating shopkeepers and the different markets, to examining every last corner of Orario searching for their bases.
We really had done a lot in just one month.
We even managed to narrow down the location of their main base down to the upper half of the Daedalus district.
The only reason we still hadn't found it was that even with Regis' senses, there was something about that place that gave him headaches.
He always complained that the place was non-euclidean to him and it became exponentially more difficult to make sense of his ability the longer we searched.
With how exhausted he was in general, we always had to abandon our search before we found their base.
The fact that each day we had less time before he was overwhelmed was one of the reasons I staged this intervention.
It wasn't like it was difficult to convince Lili to give her Master some time to rest. She almost seemed ready to fight me when we met and complained that I was pushing him too far.
Regis curled up in my lap and started whimpering and thrashing slightly.
"Shhhh. It's alright, I'm here." I whispered as I petted his head. Seeing that it wasn't enough, I opened my senses and focused on his melody.
It was agitated, his usually carefully curated tune was in shambles.
Remembering his lessons and the talk we had last month about how our altering someone's AIM could affect their mind. I shifted my melody to one similar to his and then slowed it down.
Then, I ran through my mind the chant for Noah Heal. The runes of the spell appeared to the forefront of my mind which then I infused with my feelings of care.
You're under my protection and I won't allow anyone to disturb you.
Not even your own dreams.
The magic didn't actualize, for I didn't cast it. But, thanks to the exercise, our auras were in sync, and while in a full-on clash I would probably lose. I just wanted to shift his AIM ever so slightly to calm him and give him peace.
It seemed to work, as he stopped moving and his breathing evened up.
It wasn't easy though. Regis' aura fluctuated chaotically. Keeping my aura in sync with his was exhausting.
Whenever I lost my concentration, either the poor boy started to groan and thrash around again, or I went overboard with my magic and our fields clashed which released sparks and gusts of wind around.
It was really hard.
But, Regis had to deal with this when he helped me with the voices, and he did that while crafting an item to solve my problem. There was no way I wouldn't return the favor.
Then, when I started to get the hang of it, I started to feel something.
The despair, guilt, and exhaustion were so painfully familiar.
But they weren't mine.
With a start, I realized that our AIM fields — the auras emitted from our souls and personal reality — had synced. His feelings were bleeding into mine.
What did he go through? I wanted to know.
Gritting my teeth in concentration while maintaining my magic, when suddenly, I was in a dungeon.
An inescapable dungeon. I instinctively knew that there would be no escape from this place.
The oppressive nature of the walls, and monsters I had never seen appeared before me.
And suddenly, I was moving. But at the same time, I wasn't. Fire was released from my hands which incinerated the monsters before I felt myself dashing sideways leaving an icy copy of myself behind.
More monsters were coming. Ducking an arrow, the monsters were about to reach me, when suddenly I was surrounded by lightning.
'Shock Nova' I heard Regis' voice whisper the name of the spell that annihilated the monsters of the room.
Without the monsters around, I had the luxury to breathe and take a look around.
The first thing that I noticed was that the dungeon was manmade and incredibly cruel.
The holes in the ground, the magic circles the monsters had spawned from, the positioning of the monsters, their composition...
This place was designed to bring you to your knees, and something told me that this was but the beginning.
A swooshing noise coming from behind snapped me back to battle.
Teleportation too?!
I turned around as fast as I could, but by the time I could barely see a robbed figure, a dark chaotic bolt was already on my face.
The vision shattered. A gasp tore from my throat as I disassociated from the magic, heart pounding.
What was that?
That wasn't just a vision. Looking at the boy in my arms, I realized. It was his nightmare.
I didn't know what that place was, I had never heard of it. But, I was convinced that somewhere it had to be real. The amount of detail and realism… It was too much for it not to be.
I bit my lips, how could I have let it fester for so long? Why didn't I make him take a break before?!
But, it had been a busy month.
Between the search of their bases, cutting off the resources of Evilus and dealing with the Sekhmet Familia…
I should have let him rest earlier…
A little bit of guilt entered my heart which I quickly squashed. I couldn't allow my negative feelings right now. They may seep into my magic and affect him.
I wouldn't allow my own burdens on him anymore.
'Wouldn't you, you selfish elf? You only planned this because you heard the rumors about a new drug in the pleasure district you wanted to investigate. And you don't want him anywhere near there.' A tiny little voice in my heart reprimanded me for lying to myself.
Shut it!
Regis' weakness was his lack of mobility. Ishtar familia had over a hundred Level 3 amazons. While I didn't doubt he could fight them one-on-one, he would eventually run out of stamina.
There was no way I could let him enter that place as he was now. He would have been captured, squeezed dry, and enslaved before the week was up.
He deserved better than that. I wouldn't allow it.
'You didn't stage this for him, selfish elf. You just didn't want him near the Berbera.'
I grit my teeth. No. That wasn't all. Maybe part of me did. But—he needs this rest. He's earned it.
'You didn't have to wait a month to care.'
I… didn't have a response to that.
So I leaned forward and hugged his head and apologized.
"I'm sorry."
For being selfish. For not noticing– no, for ignoring your suffering.
"I'm sorry."
For abusing you, and using your debt towards my goddess even when I knew you were reaching your limits.
"I'm sorry."
I leaned back and looked at the sky. My eyes ached against the gentle light of the stars and asked. "Tell me, Lady Astraea. Am I doing the right thing? What more could I do?"
Of course, no one answered. But I liked to think that the falna on my back became a little warmer in response.
The hours passed. With my heartfelt and negative feelings out, I managed to enter a trance where maintaining my magic without probing too deep became second nature.
It seemed like the night would pass peacefully.
Unfortunately, it was not to be, as my ears captured the slight noise of footsteps coming from the stone causeway from my light.
Snapping out of the trance, I turned my head towards the sound. Immediately I felt a shiver going down my spine.
Strong, Level 5 strong.
My instincts screamed at me.
Carefully untangling my hand from within Regis' hair, I gently lifted his head from my lap. A quick search later, I grabbed his bag which I knew contained his clothes, and then put it under him.
"Frey, please, look after him." I whispered to the spirit. Who seemed busy, but answered affirmatively.
Then I grabbed my sword and after covering his body with the blanket I left sprinting towards where I sensed the strong presence.
I had to be quick, he had been sleeping peacefully for a while, but I didn't know when the nightmares would return.
Thirty seconds later, my boots scraped and squealed against the stone as a feminine silhouette appeared from the darkness.
Short blue hair and blue eyes. All on the stern face of a beautiful woman.
"The Gale?! Astraea Familia!" She said, as her eyes widened in surprise.
And I sighed in relief as I identified the Level 5 in question. Someone I knew fairly well for she was someone I had fought side by side in the past.
"Shakti Varma." I said to the captain of the Ganesha familia.
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise. When your goddess left, I thought the entirety of the Astraea familia was gone." She said, still processing my presence. Then she smiled slightly and shook her head. "But, apparently not. Then again you lot always exceeded expectations. Did anyone else…?"
"Only I remain." I shook my head.
"I see. My condolences."
We shared a moment of silence. Unfortunately, I didn't have that much time.
"Shakti, what are you doing here, at this time?" I asked.
"I could ask the same about you. You do know that the walls aren't a public space, right?" She raised her eyebrow.
I knew that, but with Regis' senses, he could only sleep in isolated places without being disturbed.
Seeing that I wasn't answering, she sighed and put a hand over her face. "If you must know, there's someone who has been trying to cast powerful magic all over Orario this past month. My familia had been run ragged trying to catch them. But they always see us coming and flee before we get there. I sensed magical energy, so I came to check it out."
"I see." So the reason Regis had been hunted down by the Ganesha Familia was because of his magic activating due to his nightmares… Dammit.
"I sensed the magical energy from where you came from, you wouldn't happen to know anything, Ryuu Lion?"
What could I say? Regis had been fleeing from the Ganesha familia for a reason. I didn't have all the facts. But even without them, if Shakti were to find Regis. She'll wake him up.
I couldn't allow that, not after all the effort I put in.
"No answer again. Well, it doesn't matter. I'll have to check it out myself." She said as she started walking past me.
"Ryuu Lion, what is the meaning of this?" She asked me as she frowned at my sword that barred her path.
"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to go past me." I gritted my teeth as I let her sense my battle intent.
She jumped back, raising up her guard, and narrowed her eyes at me. "Why? What is beyond you, that's worth fighting me? What's worth fighting a losing battle and becoming a wanted criminal for."
"It's someone precious to me. The only one besides my goddess I have left. So, I can't allow you to disturb him."
"Him? So, it's a boy."
I raised my sword at her.
"Are you sure about this? I don't want to fight you."
Seeing me wait for her move, she let out a resigned sigh.
"So be it."
My eyes were wide open. As we were on the wall there wasn't anywhere to run. So, I focused on my pendant and a fierce melody reached my senses.
It was the only reason I tilted my head sideways and avoided her punch. The displaced air swished against my ears as I instinctively lashed out with my sword. She easily avoided it by jumping back.
She was fast, my eyes barely registered that punch, if her melody hadn't telegraphed her strike…
"Huh, you reacted to that? You're stronger than the last time I saw you." She said with some wonder. "But that strike should have shown the difference in our status. You can't win."
She was right.
As a level 4, the chances of me defeating a level 5 one-on-one were abysmal. Or at least that would be the case a month ago. When I was shown that it was possible for someone unblessed to defeat first-class adventurers.
I didn't want to fight her, much less kill her. But I had little choice but to use it.
"Shakti, please leave, I don't want to hurt you. Whatever evil you're looking for, it's not here." I pleaded to her one last time.
"You believe that, huh? But, why and how?" She said her eyes narrowed. "The only thing you have that could hurt me would be your Luminous Wind. But there's no chance I would let you use it."
I sighed internally. No matter what I did, she won't leave. As always, my words won't be enough.
So I gripped my sword tightly as it started to sing.
"A song? Astraea familia?!" She took a step back as she instinctively understood the core of the song of my sword.
I didn't correct her and simply tapped the stone floor with my vibrating sword, and her eyes widened as the stone that withstood the hordes of monsters since times immemorial pulverized under the gentlest of contacts.
"Oh…" She said, as she suddenly didn't feel as confident in her victory.
"Please Shakti, leave. I don't want to fight you. Someone like you isn't what my sword should be pointed towards." I begged her.
"Ryuu…, I'm sorry. But, I'm duty bound to check whatever is causing the disturbances." She said as her eyes hardened.
God's dammit.
I'll have to find a way to immobilize her. Shifting the music of my sword to a sharp buzz. I dashed forward. The Level Five mimicked me and dashed towards me, her eyes warily tracking my sword.
As I let any thoughts go and immersed myself in the melody of battle, lightning struck loudly behind me. It was so loud that it startled us, making us jump backward to make some space.
"What was that?" She shouted as she inspected our surroundings and was surprised when specs of snow started falling around us. "What is this? We're still months away from winter."
Which is when the magical aura comparable to a level 5 flooded our senses. The chaotic melody coming from magic was impossible to not recognize.
Regis!!!
Before I knew it, I was running back. Pouring all the agility and speed my falna granted me into getting there as fast as possible.
I found him there thrashing against the ground, his blanket was in tatters. Lightning and fire were flying everywhere while our supplies were being thrown around by gusts of wind.
Weaving around the unfocused elemental effects thanks to his song, I reached him and embraced him.
"Shhh. I'm here. Shhhh." Putting my all into my field, I quickly calmed him down.
"So, he's the origin of that magic." Shakti said from behind me.
"!!!" I cursed myself. Of course she followed me. I turned towards her and raised my sword in defense.
"You don't have to glare at me. After seeing that, I'm not going to fight you." She said as she raised her hands in surrender. "But, I would like an explanation. What's happening here? Is he in mind zero?"
I shook my head. "No, he's just suffering from nightmares."
"That's a joke, right? He couldn't possibly output that much power while asleep." She seemed disbelieving and taken aback at that.
Which I could understand perfectly. He still surprised me from time to time even after a month.
"He's a natural ability user." I ended up saying. I was reluctant to share what I knew about him, but at this point, I didn't really have any choice.
"A natural ability user… having nightmares" She breathed out and looked around at the damaged rock around us.
"Such strength. Oh… I see. No wonder…" Then she started laughing to herself. I tensed at seeing the usually stern woman break character.
"Oh calm down, and put that thing away." She said signaling my sword, getting her laughter under control and looking more relaxed than before?
Seeing my puzzlement, she explained herself, "It's just, it's funny. We've spent the whole month working ourselves up. Thinking that Evilus was up to something. We've been drawing up new patrol routes, meticulously studying the places where we sensed the magical build-ups and trying to extrapolate where they'll strike next, organizing everything, preparing ourselves for the worst. And in the end," She waved a hand in my direction. "It's just a kid suffering from nightmares. How can't I laugh at that?"
More than laughing, she was giving me the impression that she was trying to stop herself from crying…
Then, she let out a tired sigh. "It's not what I expected. But it's better than the alternative."
"I see." I said as I pressed Regis protectively against my chest. Anticipating and preparing myself to see what she'd decide she wanted to do next.
Eventually, "There's something that I still don't understand, though. Why are you up here? Wasn't there anywhere else you could sleep?"
"His senses are too sensitive. If he wasn't completely exhausted, he wouldn't be sleeping."
"What does that have anything to do with it? There's plenty of quiet places in the city, it's not like we adventurers don't have sharp senses."
"You should know better than anyone. If you sensed someone suffering right in front of you, would you be able to just sleep?"
That brought her up to a stop. "Wait, you don't mean. All those people that have started appearing at our patrol houses."
I nodded. "He's the one who brought them there."
She sighed with a hand on her face. "Of course he is. Well, that's another mystery solved."
"What are you going to do now that you know?" I asked, dreading a little the answer.
"Hmm? Nothing." She said nonchalantly as if it was obvious she would do nothing.
"Nothing?" I said, not quite believing what she was saying.
"Yeah, why do you look so surprised? He's a natural ability user, you know. I can't exactly force him to come with me. I know what happens when someone like him is forced into a familia." She said with a disturbed face.
"What do you mean like that?" I knew that Regis said that getting inducted into a familiar would be a fate worse than death, but he never specified.
She sighed at my question and shook her head. "It's better that you don't know. The only thing that should matter to you is that until he finds his deity, anonymity is his best weapon, and dragging him towards my familia headquarters and my god is the opposite of stealthy."
The image of a loud 'I am Ganesha' appeared in my mind.
I had to concede that she might have a point. "I see." I was still curious about what would happen to Regis…
"I'm still surprised that you would let us go…" Words have rarely worked for me in the past.
"Who do you take me for? I manage the biggest Familia that polices Orario, you know. I don't want to have to deal with the gods going on a manhunt for your boyfriend."
"He's not!" He was not my boyfriend!
'But he could be,' My inner voice said.
Shut up brain! I have justice to serve and a familia to avenge!
Shakti meanwhile continued, "Besides, it seemed that all this had been a huge misunderstanding. And apart from the colossal waste of time, the only thing I can reprimand you for is being up here, and I wouldn't fight you for something like this."
"I see. Thank you." I recomposed myself and bowed my head slightly in gratitude.
"Don't mention it." She waved away my gratitude.
Rude. Elves just didn't bow to anyone.
Then her lips twitched "Still I have to ask, it's the first time I see an elf be so touchy with someone else. If he's not your boyfriend… is there something you want to tell me?"
Then my face warmed up as I remembered our actual situation, more specifically our positioning. How I was holding Regis' face against my chest and I had been giving a lap pillow to him before.
"I'm protecting him," I said.
Her eyes laughed at me. "I'm sure, I'm sure. Anyway, I still have things to do tonight. I'll leave you two lovebirds to yourselves."
"It's not like that." I soundlessly yelled, but she had already jumped away.
It wasn't like that, I was just looking after him and physical contact made it easier to keep his aura in check.
As I adjusted his head back on my lap and covered him with the blanket, I reassured myself that I wasn't taking advantage of him.
I was just making sure he could sleep comfortably.
I really was just making sure.