Chapter 142 - Vol. 3 - 15

Metsumi had spent a few minutes with this woman. Currently, there was a glass cup of dragon grape wine in front of her, that Metsumi was taking leisurely sips of. Beside her, the woman finished her own glass, the two of them still chatting. 

"Oh?" Metsumi asked. "You're from Jade?" 

"Yes," Ayami replied, nodding with a pleasant smile. "Though, I've spent so much time outside of the capital that I feel like I barely remember any of it." 

"Maybe you could tell me a little," Metsumi suggested. "I've been stuck in Jade for a while, I'd love to hear about the other cities." 

"Well, where do I start?" Ayami asked. 

"Have you ever been to Amber?" 

"A few times," Ayami replied, leaning back in her chair. She looked away, as though she was recalling her times there right in front of Metsumi. "The last time was several years ago though. Even so, I still remember most of it." 

"What was it like?" 

Of course, Metsumi already knew, since Satsuhiro had been there before. She was just making conversation though. Although this woman's energy was fairly low, she seemed pleasant enough to be around. 

"I could tell you hundreds of things I saw, and yet, I don't think it would do it justice," Ayami chuckled. "Strange creatures, magic, and even stranger people. I feel like Amber is the sort of place you can't have described to you. You need to be there." 

Around them, the others at the inn were starting to get rowdier as the day went on. Metsumi snuck a few glances around, thinking this was strange for the business-focused city that Onyx was. 

She figured nighttime had to be arriving, as more and more people were coming to the inn, but heading into the backrooms. 

"So, you arrived here recently?" Ayami asked. 

"Today, actually," Metsumi answered. "Seems the city's changed a bit though since I last came, I don't remember seeing any place like this."

"It's relatively new," Ayami explained. "Though, it seems like a lot of things are changing these days." She sounded apprehensive about that fact.

"Hm. I'd say," she grabbed a bottle she'd purchased and poured some of its contents into Ayami's glass. "Instead of being scared of that, we'd be better off celebrating." 

"Is that so?" Ayami asked. 

"Sure. Change can be scary but as long as you change with your surroundings, I think it can mark the start of something wonderful." 

"Heh. I wish I'd heard that when I first moved out of Jade." Ayami kept her hands on her lap, smiling at Metsumi. 

Metsumi winked. 

"Maybe the gods put me here because you needed to hear it now," Metsumi stated and Ayami laughed. 

"Oh my, you should be careful, such a sentence can be interpreted a number of ways. A few of them not very appropriate for two married women, no?" Ayami asked, but she didn't seem angry. 

"Sorry," Metsumi raised her hands defensively, with a smile. "Force of habit."

"... You're fairly good with words though," Ayami noted. "Are you a poet?" 

"No, I'm just someone who likes talking to people," Metsumi shrugged. 

"I see." 

At that moment, Metsumi heard someone speak from behind. 

"Mom?" She heard her daughter's voice and turned around, finding a sleepy Opah standing just a few meters away, her eyes half-closed. 

"Oh, sweetie," Metsumi quickly picked her up and placed her on her lap. "What happened?"

"A night..." she mumbled the rest of that word but, Metsumi understood. 

"Aw," Metsumi hugged her close and Opah wrapped her arms around her. 

She then noticed that Ayami was looking at her strangely. Wide-eyed, somewhat blankly. The woman seemed shaken by Opah's sudden appearance. 

"This is my daughter," Metsumi stated. "Opah. Opah, this is Ayami, say hi." 

"... Hi." Opah tiredly replied and Metsumi smiled up at the woman. 

"..." Ayami shook her head, and then gave a smile in return. 

"Hello." 

---

Ash

"So, how does that thing work?" Ash asked Kaori as the group walked through the busy streets. 

"I can turn it into a few different things," Kaori replied. "A shield, a hand, a blade. I sure wish it was a little lighter though." 

"Wait, and they gave you that shit for free?" Ash asked. 

"The Council paid for it," Satsuhiro stepped in, "apparently." 

"They actually did something!?" Ash was stunned. 

"Well, throwing money at things doesn't require much effort," Satsuhiro shrugged. 

Ash looked back at Kaori who was still looking at the arm she'd received. It was bulky and awkward looking, but Ash could tell that Kaori was surprised to have received such a thing. 

"So," Ash said. "What now?" 

"Now," Satsuhiro responded, "we go deal with those demons, and then we can figure out our next steps. Maybe handle Yumi's whole situation, or pay a visit to that alchemist and see if they've got anything we can use. After that, we'll see." 

"And where are the demons?" 

"Apparently, they've holed up in a small fort just beside the road. They've been attacking citizens who come to and from the city. It should be quick, but be cautious. Small, cramped spaces like the one you're headed for tend to produce mistakes fairly easily." 

Ash nodded and looked back at Kaori. The blonde was still looking down at that new arm of hers. 

"Hey," Ash said, drawing closer. "You okay?" 

"Mhm," Kaori nodded. "I'm alright. I'm just... surprised is all. I hadn't gotten used to life with one arm but, now, I feel like whatever progress I'd made has gone out the window." 

"Can you take it off?" 

"I'd rather not try," Kaori answered with a chuckle. "Gosh, it's so weird though." 

Ash took a moment. Then, she smirked. 

"Hey, think about it this way. At least now you can finger two people at once again." 

Kaori snort-laughed at that, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth. 

"Right," Kaori said. "Should have guessed that was where your mind was at." 

---

The group exited the city sometime later, looking for the demons on the road. Ash didn't miss how, every now and then, a few guards would give them strange looks. Most of them focused on Keiko, strangely enough.

An hour went by before they arrived at the fort. It was as only as big as the Savior House back at Jade, so Ash kept what Satsuhiro said about cramped spaces in mind as they walked towards it. Eventually, the group was standing outside an old military fort, where screams and animalistic growls were coming from. 

"Some people are still alive in there!" Kaori noted. 

"Yeah, now listen. Sadly," Satsuhiro said, sighing, "I can't be of much use in these sorts of things anymore. So, this is going to be on you three." 

Ash nodded. 

"So, just get the demons and get out?" 

"Yes." 

"Come on!" Kaori suddenly said. "It sounds like people need help!" 

And then, she ran inside. 

"W-Wait," Keiko replied, unsheathing her blade and following Kaori in. Ash took a deep breath and nodded to herself. 

Here goes nothing. 

And she walked in. 

Immediately, the sounds of blades slashing through flesh came to her ears. It was dark, so she couldn't see much. All she could make out were the walls, a few tables, and the demons that Kaori and Keiko were currently fighting. 

Sword. 

Ash transformed her Savior's Weapon as she saw Kaori get pinned against a wall. She was using the shield on her new arm to keep herself from being bitten in the neck. 

Level 25

MP: 50/50

Hm.  Ash thought, walking up to it.  Seems easy enough. 

She pulled back her sword and thrust it through the back of the demon's head, the blade coming out the other end. Then, she pulled it off of Kaori. 

EXP Gained: 50

"Thanks," Kaori said, panting. Behind Ash, she heard a demon squeal and she turned around, finding Keiko tearing through a few of them. Her skill was even more stunning to witness in real combat than it had been when she was training with Yumi. 

"HELP!" One civilian yelled as a demon was about to try to rip into them, and Ash ran towards it. She grabbed it by the head, threw it back, and stabbed it through its chest with her sword. 

EXP Gained: 50

Damn.  Ash thought.  The level gap is so big that even with the EXP buff, I'm not getting much from these. 

It didn't take much effort to dispatch the remaining demons. All in all, there were just a little over 10 of them in this place, and Keiko cleared most of them out before Kaori and Ash could even do anything. By the time the fighting was done, her golden blade was covered in violet blood, which Keiko cleared off before sheathing it. 

"Please, get us out!" 

Us?  Ash asked herself, looking back at the civilians they'd seemingly saved. There were four of them. A full family, it looked like, restrained and pressed up against a bloodied wall. Kaori went over and helped untie them as Keiko and Ash made sure the demons were done. 

"Oh my... It's her!" One of the civilians yelled. 

Hm? 

Ash turned towards them and found all four of the members of this family were looking at her, wide-eyed.  What the fuck is going on? 

"You're the half-demon!" 

"What?" Ash asked. "How the hell do you know who I am?" 

"We heard about you, you helped fight against the demons at Sapphire, right? Thank you! Thank you, Savior!" One of them nearly tackled her with a hug. She wrapped her arms around Ash like she was going to fall if she didn't.

Ash was so confused, she froze on the spot. 

"I knew it," one woman said, "I knew Alkoth would send someone to us." 

"How could we ever repay you, Savior?" One of them asked. 

".... By getting the fuck off me," Ash replied.