Chapter 79 - Vol. 2 - 44

Ash

"Wait, so," Kaori leaned close to Satsuhiro as she asked, "she trained you?" 

"She was one of the people who trained me, yes," he crossed his arms. 

The Savior in front of them made an amused face. She smirked a little and said:

"A part of me certainly expected to see you at some point, you always were quite the boy scout." Vermia tilted her head, "What I did not expect though was for you to have found friends, so, dear, care to introduce me?" 

Her blank eyes fell on Ash, and the half-demon raised a brow. 

"... These Saviors are Ash and Kaori, Ash and Kaori, this is Vermia." 

"It's a pleasure to meet you." 

Vermia stretched out a hand and, instinctively, Ash went to shake it. However, before their hands could touch, Satsuhiro stopped her, grabbing her lightly by the wrist.  Hm?  Ash looked at him and then back at Vermia. 

"Still so suspicious? I wasn't going to do anything to her, especially when she seems so interesting." 

"... And what exactly could you have done?" Ash asked. 

"Wouldn't you like to know~?" Vermia replied and then, the man dressed like a noble stood up. 

"Greetings, Saviors," he said. "My name's Anders, Lord of Sapphire." 

Unlike Nathan, where the Lord of Pearl was a man who appeared as though he'd be more suited towards being a soldier than a noble, Anders was a thinner and much younger-looking, white-haired man. He smiled at the group and bowed. 

"I do wish we were meeting under different circumstances, when I heard the tale of the 'half-demon Savior', well, I was fairly excited. I wanted to know your story, but it seems I will have to settle for knowing your skills in battle." He put his hands behind his back and paced around the room. "With the portal outside of the city, things are going to be lively here in the next few days. So, first question. How long do we have to prepare?" 

"Around a week and a half," Satsuhiro said. 

"No exact time?" Lord Anders asked. 

"I don't believe there is, but knowing that Sapphire is bigger than Pearl, it will take more time than it did there for the portal's influence to cover the city. We've likely got just a couple of days extra." 

"In that case," Anders said, "it would be best to begin preparations immediately. So, according to the reports, all of you were at the battle for Pearl. What do you suggest?" 

"Well... Unless you've got some more level 60s, I'll tell you the same thing I said to the lord of Pearl," Ash started. "Just evacuate the city. These things are way too strong. The portal buffs their stats to where they're pretty much all level 50." 

"Yes, we heard about this, though we did not know the particulars. Hence, we've already started to think about what we can do to overcome this statistical gap." 

"Oh?" Satsuhiro voiced some interest. 

"Indeed," Anders replied. "Stats are important of course, but they will not allow you to cheat death itself. These demons may be strong, but well-laid traps will work just as well on them as they would on any level 1 creatures." 

Ash sighed. 

Forget it. These kinds of people just won't listen. 

"The key is simple, the bridge," Anders stated. "You walked over it when you came in. Any and all enemies will have to do the same. We," he gestured at Vermia, "were planning to use it in the coming fight." 

"Nope," Ash said. "They've got demons that can fly so, uh, yeah that won't work." 

"Heh, we've seen them," Anders said, waving her off. "We're also thinking of options to deal with them as well. Do not misunderstand, we know what we're getting ourselves into. Overconfidence is likely what caused the battle at Pearl to go so poorly, and it is not a mistake we will make. I promise you that." 

To me, I'd say it's a mistake you're already making, but sure.

"I'd like to ask, what sorts of strategies do the demons use?" 

"Not many," Satsuhiro said, "it's mostly due to their overwhelming strength and numbers that they were able to take Pearl. However, it's safe to say that we will have to prepare to deal with ranged attackers while the siege is happening. And that the Lust Demons will try to attack from above at the same time." 

"So, it's an endurance fight?" Anders asked. 

"Overall, mostly. Also," Satsuhiro continued, "the farther they are from the portal, the weaker they become." 

"Hm. Then, of course, most of our forces will be positioned at the rear of the city. Assuming we don't lose too many of our forces before then, we should be able to hold them off near the Snow Garden."

"The... Snow Garden?" Ash asked. 

"It's a part of the city, you'll see it later." 

"Hm..." Anders tapped his chin. "Further preparations will need to be made, but, for now, I can make do with this information. I will need to send quite a few letters to bring the ideas I've got to life. All that said though, we've already prepared a space for Saviors to stay in. Vermia will take you to it. Settle in, and we will speak once more tomorrow to continue planning." 

"Very well then. Follow me." 

"Uh, it was nice meeting you!" Kaori said to Anders and the lord nodded. 

Vermia stepped past them, walking out of the room first. 

She didn't say a word as she led them back out to the cold air that filled the city of Sapphire. 

"The space we'll be sharing is a pleasant little building. I think you'll enjoy it," Vermia said. "I for one look forward to the time we'll be spending together. I'd love to catch up, Satsuhiro." Vermia said. 

Ash looked at her teacher, only to find that he had no intention of responding. 

"Ah, still hung up on... Well, I'm sure we can grow past that," Vermia said. "As for the both of you, would you like to go for some drinks with me later? I'd love to hear about how you got here." 

Ash raised a brow. Before she could ask if she was really that intrigued, Kaori responded instead. 

"Sure," the blonde smiled and nodded eagerly. 

Ash looked back and forth between the two of them. 

"... Okay." 

"Wonderful." 

"You might want to think about that again, she's..." Satsuhiro started, but Vermia cut him off.

"Satsuhiro," Vermia spoke with an entirely different tone. One that was like she was scolding a child. "I will tell them myself about my... interests, when the time is appropriate. I'd rather you not soil my image as a result of your own prejudice." 

Ash had expected Satsuhiro's response to be a stern "fuck off". However, instead, Satsuhiro simply looked away. Ash's brows went up to the sky thanks to that.  What? 

"As I was saying, this way. We've got a pleasant little place to stay at. You'll both love it there." 

---

Ultimately, Sapphire was, at best, moderately uncomfortable. At worst, Ash found herself missing the warmth of Jade dearly. Everyone she saw, most of them strangely having white hair much like her own, walked around with what looked like at least a couple of layers of clothing, all of them trying valiantly to stave off the frosty air. 

Every now and then, Ash would find people selling orange orb-like objects to citizens. She nudged Satsuhiro and gestured at one. 

"Heat itself is a resource in this city," Satsuhiro clarified. "Those orbs heat up rooms. They're worth a fair bit." 

Hm.  Ash noted that.  How do they work? 

"Ah, here we are." 

Vermia gestured at a wooden building up ahead. 

"This was a bathhouse up until I got here, now it's our home for the next week or so." 

What does that mean?  She asked.  Did she straight up kick people out? 

"This means we've got all of these facilities to ourselves." 

"Facilities?" Kaori asked.

"Yes," Vermia said, "this place has hot springs!" 

"W-What?" Kaori, who seemingly knew what that was, looked shocked as Vermia nodded. 

"Plus, it comes with some of the softest and warmest beds in the city. Surely, you will be enjoying your stay, I promise." 

"Did you hear that!?" Kaori asked. 

"Hm?" 

"Hot springs! They're like super comfortable, warm baths!" 

"Oh."  Well, I guess that's good. At least I won't be freezing my ass off all the time. 

They walked into the building and the first thing Ash saw was a skeleton. 

A walking skeleton. One that was standing in the middle of what she guessed was the living room. Instinctively, she transformed Lust into a sword and aimed it at the creature. 

"An enemy!?" She asked, stunned. 

And then, Vermia stopped her, placing a pale hand on her shoulder. 

"Huh?" Ash looked at her. She was smirking. 

"Calm yourself, that is no enemy." 

"What?" 

Only then did Ash notice the broom the skeleton was carrying. It was sweeping the floor. Vermia walked up to it, giving it a kiss on the skull and turning back to the group. 

"Voila, I suppose it would be better to let you know at this moment, just to avoid any awkward realizations later on. Ahem, I," she smiled sweetly, "am a necromancer." 

Ash, who hadn't heard that word before, made a confused face, but she looked over at Kaori and saw her face paling. 

"W-What?" Kaori stammered. 

"Indeed," Vermia said, looking back at her, grinning. "I hope you don't mind."