Satsuhiro came into the room a few minutes later.
"Come over here," Satsuhiro said. "That portal could start spawning demons any moment now. We need to prepare."
Ash looked back at Kaori's sleeping figure. After a moment, she nodded.
"Coming."
She followed Satsuhiro to the living room where Metsumi was preparing everyone some dinner. She sat down at a table with Satsuhiro opposite her.
"So, as you heard, Blessings and Curses are available to anyone with a strong enough connection to a deity. And, since you've been seeing Magia in your dreams, you should have that already."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," Ash replied. "What do I have to do?"
"They should have plenty of those types of spellbooks at the castle. I'll go get them for you. After that, pick out the ones that you can cast right now and try to learn at least a few. Now, something to know, like you saw with the blessing Takomaro used, the incantations are longer than normal spells, so most of them aren't practical for real-time combat."
"What do you mean?" Ash asked.
"Basically, I'm saying you should look for Blessings and Curses you can use before fights start."
"... Okay." Ash nodded. Her mind started to drift towards Kaori, but she shook her head, trying to focus. "What else do I need to do?"
"Just that, for now. Once you've learned enough of those, you can resume your weapons training with Keiko. Hopefully, you'll be a bit stronger before the next big fight comes to us."
"It's probably a good idea for you to get to know the city a little bit," Metsumi walked up to them with a smile. "After you're done eating, come with me. We'll take a little walk."
"How big is this place?" Ash asked.
"Not nearly as big as Jade, but there are still a few important places to know about," Metsumi responded. "Finish up first, we'll go once you're done." She placed a plate full of salads in front of her.
"Alright, I'll be back soon then," Satsuhiro stated and turned around, walking out of the house.
"Have fun!" Metsumi called out and Satsuhiro apathetically waved goodbye.
Taking a bite out of the vegetables in front of her, Ash thought back to what Niven had told her just as they'd left.
He, or it, or whatever, wants to fight me personally. Next time, she resolved, next time It'll be different. Hopefully.
---
This city was so bright, Ash felt like she had to squint as she walked to prevent her surroundings from burning her pupils. Jade was mostly white and gold, the colors of the Jewel Empire. Pearl reminded Ash of the swirl of colors she would see when Magia would reveal herself in her dreams.
What the hell am I looking at? She thought as she looked around. It's like they told the dipshit who painted this place 'hey, go crazy'.
"So... Are we done?" Ash asked.
"We literally just started!" Metsumi replied.
"This is so weird," Ash said, passing a few citizens who gave her strange looks. "Uh, where are we again?"
"This is the Old Plaza," Metsumi explained. "It's said that this was the foundation of the city and that everything else was built around this spot. That's why there are so many people around, it's kind of the big marketplace in Pearl."
Ash was all too familiar with this sort of area. The Jade version of this place was where she'd spent most of her time asking for coins. In fact, it was almost like she could see herself sitting just up ahead, laying on the ground, staring up at the sky, and waiting for the day to pass.
"Wait..." Ash's jaw dropped to the floor.
She wasn't imagining it.
Just up ahead, past a small fountain, she saw a half-demon, asleep on the ground, between two small buildings. The half-demon, someone who looked like a young boy, was using ragged shirts as sheets.
Ash froze on the spot.
"Ash?" Metsumi turned around. Then, tracing her line of sight, she saw the half-demon as well. "... Are you okay?"
"I... I don't even know," Ash replied. "I haven't seen another half-demon in so long."
"Do you want to go say something?" Metsumi asked.
"What?" Ash raised a brow. "N-No, I mean, what would I even say? I just... I'm surprised, is all." Ash sighed.
"Hey, come on," Metsumi said softly, "what's on your mind?"
"I just, well, I don't know. It's weird seeing someone else like this," she explained. "It's always felt like it was just my experience, you know? Like I was the only one like this."
"Sadly, that's not the case," Metsumi said. "Demon paranoia spreads all across the world. And, with these portals opening up now, I'm sure it's only getting worse. So, is there anything you want to do?"
Ash stared at the figure in the distance for a few seconds. Then, she tore her eyes away.
"No, no. I... Let's keep going." She kept her head low.
"If you say so. Oh, look!" Metsumi pointed at a merchant who was selling some decorations.
Most of them were flower-based, some bracelets, some necklaces. Metsumi was only interested in one item though. A rose-colored flower crown.
"Huh?" Ash asked.
"Satsu got me one of these a while back ago," Metsumi said, smiling. She looked up at the person selling them. "How much?"
"5 crowns."
"Here," Metsumi passed a couple of coins and the merchant gave her the crown. Quickly, before Ash could refuse, she placed the crown on Ash's head.
"W-Wait, I..."
"What? It looks cute on you!" Metsumi grinned.
Ash rolled her eyes, blushing a little. I don't know if I have a "style" or whatever, but I sure as shit know this ain't it.
"cough Where do we need to go next?" Ash turned away, but she didn't take the crown off.
"Well, I'm glad you asked."
As Metsumi dragged her to the next spot, Ash looked back at the half-demon on the floor. Sorry. The older woman took her to a tavern-like building, where leather cushions covered every piece of furniture and a dark oak counter held multiple classy glass cups. A worker saw them enter and leaned over it.
Metsumi walked straight to that place and Ash followed.
"What'll you have?" The man asked.
"Two ales," Metsumi stated, placing a few crowns on the wood.
"Coming right up."
She sat down on a stool and Ash sat next to her.
"I... Sorry to waste your money, but," Ash started as cups were brought to them, "the drinks won't be doing much."
"Hm? What do you mean?" Metsumi asked.
"I have this trait, it's called Iron Stomach," Ash explained. "I got it from eating nothing literal trash for a large part of my life." When both Metsumi and the man gave her a strange look, Ash waved a hand. "I had to, some days I'd literally have nothing to eat. Whatever, the point is, it makes it so that I can literally eat anything and my body converts it to be, like, nutritious or whatever."
"So...?"
"So, and I'm saying this because, believe me, I've tried," Ash said, "alcohol doesn't do anything. The whole drunkenness is treated like poison, and my body converts it to the point where it's basically like drinking worse tasting water."
"Oh." Metsumi blinked. "Wow. That's... Damn."
"Heh, what? Is not being able to get drunk really that big of a tragedy?" Ash asked with a chuckle.
"Maybe," Metsumi shrugged. "I don't know, I feel like sometimes you need a bit of drunken craziness to get through a rough day."
At that, Ash raised a brow.
"I can't say I can imagine you having a bad day. Ever since I've met you, you've been, uh, all positive and shit."
"Everyone has bad days, Ash," Metsumi replied with a slightly sad smile. "I had one recently, I'll have you know."
"Hm?"
"When Satsuhiro and Keiko rushed out of the house to go save you and Kaori when you were in the ruins. Opah and I were left alone, and... Well, I trust Satsu and his power, but every time he leaves, a part of me does worry, you know? I mean..." She looked down into the glass cup and chugged back its contents before continuing, "Saviors don't tend to live very long. Every time he goes out, I have to accept that he might not come back."
Hearing that made Ash look away, as she couldn't handle the gravity of Metsumi's dark expression. Here she was, distraught because Kaori had taken an arrow to the thigh, and meanwhile, Metsumi had been dealing with this sort of worry for years.
Ash looked back at the woman for a moment and thought, I don't think I could live like that.
---
Kaori
Where...? Kaori looked around. She was in a black, cold space. There was no one, and nothing, in sight. The last thing Kaori remembered was being in a small room in Pearl's castle when Takomaro had told her to close her eyes so that he could lift the curse. Oh, right. She thought. The curse.
Looking down at her own body, she could faintly see herself. She was naked. She couldn't tell if the wound was still there or not.
Then, the room was enveloped in bright white light. Kaori reached up to shield her eyes as a figure manifested in front of her. What? Then, she remembered what Ash had said about seeing Magia in her dreams.
And, as the figure began to develop the shape of a woman wearing white robes, Kaori's eyes widened.
"A-Are you...?"
Her question was answered with a hug. The woman embraced her, and Kaori felt a deep sense of happiness spread throughout her very being. She returned the embrace with a grin and a couple of tears as the woman stroked her hair.
Then, she pulled back and the two looked into each other's eyes.
She tried to say something, but Kaori couldn't hear her.
"Uh, sorry, I can't..."
Nodding, the figure turned around and raised a hand. Then, with a snap of her fingers, a map of the world appeared in front of them.
"Whoa..." Kaori watched in awe as the map zoomed in and focused on a small spot to the west. Lumina tapped her finger against it. "Uh, is that Pearl? That's where we are?"
Lumina nodded. Then, she scrolled the map down and tapped it just a bit of distance north. She pointed at Kaori, then pointed back at the spot.
"You, um, you want me to go there?"
Lumina nodded with a smile.
"Why?"
That question was left unanswered. Instead, the room began to fade and in an instant, Kaori found herself opening her eyes.
She was in some dark bedroom that smelled like no human had walked in here in ages. Oh, gosh, what the...? Coughing, she sat up.
"W-What?!" She heard a voice say to her left.
"Keiko?" Kaori asked.
"You're awake!" Kaori was nearly tackled by a hug from the blind girl. She laughed, hugging her back and seeing that she was still wearing her Savior armor.
"Yeah, so...?" She looked down at herself, checking where she'd been shot. The wound had indeed healed. Oh, thank the Goddess. "The wound's gone." She stated.
"Good, good, wow... You had us all a bit worried," Keiko said.
"Sorry. I-It was my fault, I didn't expect them to start shooting arrows at us."
"Nobody did," Keiko told her.
Kaori looked around.
"Uh, where is everyone?"
"Ash and Metsumi were out walking around the city. Satsuhiro's at the castle, getting some spellbooks for Ash to learn from."
"Oh?" Kaori asked, standing up. She stretched her back, earning a subtle crack as Keiko continued.
"Apparently, Ash has access to a special kind of magic. Blessings and Curses, Satsuhiro called them. So, he wants her to start learning."
"Oh, okay."
Kaori looked down at the floor.
Gosh, she thought. Ash sure is getting stronger every day, huh? I feel like I might fall behind if I don't do something. Then again... She stopped with a sigh. No, no. Don't think like that. You're here right now, and that's all that matters. Just... Just do what you can.
Then, she heard a door open in another room.
"Oh?" Keiko stood up. She and Kaori walked out of the room.
Metsumi and Ash were entering the house. Metsumi was carrying what looked like two bottles of wine. Ash though, was wearing a flower crown on her head, an image so absurd Kaori couldn't help but laugh.
She giggled as Ash saw her, the half-demon's violet eyes opened wide as they fell on Kaori.
"Ash, what the heck? That's adora-"
Before she could finish her sentence, she was being hugged for the second time now, since waking up. This time, it was the half-demon who had basically sprinted across the room to hold her.
"A-Ash?"
Wordlessly, the half-demon pulled back. They looked into each other's eyes and Kaori laughed again.
"I..." Ash shook her head. "Nothing, nothing. Just... I'm..." She coughed. "Whatever."
"Nope!" Kaori cut her off, standing in front of her. With a smile, she leaned in. "What's up?" She was enjoying seeing the hybrid out of her comfort zone just a little too much.
Ash sighed. Scratching the back of her neck, she muttered something.
"I'm glad you're alright."
At that, Kaori grinned, giving Ash a hug of her own.
"Hey, hey, you're still wearing your armor. That shit is spiky, back off." Ash said with a blush.
Kaori remained like that though, thinking to herself, Ash can be so cute sometimes.
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