Chapter of Blooming Fate: Starlit Night

"And here we are, I'll let her down now."

"Nn. Then, I'll get the blankets and everything."

"Okay.

"Mmm... Yuu.... mi... Mm..."

Fenna slowly lowered Karen down on the ground, onto the thin mattress. I pulled a blanket over her and watched her sleeping face for a little while.

"And that's two sleeping drunks taken care of. Are you going to sleep too, Yumi?"

"Nn, not sure yet. Probably."

"That so. Then, I'll go back, for now. If you're going to sleep as well, I wish you a good night."

"Nn, thank you, Fenna. You too."

I bade Fenna a good night and watched her return to the bonfire. It wasn't even really that late yet, the mercenaries were pretty much just getting started. But Lily and Karen were already down and Rina had been dozing off as well. All three of them were now fast asleep in the wagon.

"Nn, guess I should go and sleep as well... Or... Mhm..."

I peeked out into the night. Despite the bright bonfire, a little ways away, you could see many, many stars and the moon up in the sky.

"I could also take a small walk..."

A little bit time for myself.

I cautiously closed the door of the wagon and my way in the opposite direction of the bonfire.

"There are so many stars you can see..."

In my old world, unless you were far from civilisation, it was rare to see this many. Not many stars were bright enough to be seen in the artificial light of the cities. In my old world, this was a rare sight, an incredibly rare one. Unless you went to the rural areas, you'd never see this many...  But here, it wasn't that rare. Probably. I didn't exactly try to actively count them.

But so far, the night sky had been quite beautiful.

I wonder if the night sky is different here... Well, it probably is. It'd be kind of disconcerting if it was the same...

Astronomy wasn't a field I was comfortable with. I knew there existed different constellations but I probably couldn't even tell you where the most well-known stars were... In my old world, of course. Nevermind this one.

They probably have constellations and things like that too, don't they? And maybe stories about them... I should ask Lily sometime. May—

"Nn?"

I stopped. Something was pulling on my clothes... Thinking nothing of it I turned around and saw... nothing.

"... Nn?"

There was nothing. Then, another tug at my skirt, and another and...

"You guys again. Haaa, I'm not a climbing tree, get off. Ahh, stop for the love of—

Yeah, the dolls had found me and were—once again—attempting to climb me. Why, I had not the faintest clue.

And just like the time before, I had to pick them off me one by one. At least, they didn't try to climb me again once I removed them.

A few minutes later, I pulled them all of me. Quite a pain since some of them actually managed to climb up to my shoulders. How did they even...

Whatever, now they... formed rows in front of me and stared at me. As far as they could stare without eyes.

"Seriously, why do you try to climb me? Tell me."

"..."

Of course, there was no answer... They kept staring at me...

"Uhh... What do I do now..."

"Why not just play with them?"

"Wah!"

"You get surprised way too easily."

"..."

How couldn't I get surprised if people keep sneaking up on me and speaking right next to my ear?!

"... What are you doing here? Weren't you still celebrating?"

"My, I was. I was. I'll return there in a while too. But I first wanted... to have a little talk. Mind me tagging along?"

A wide smile appeared on this fake little girl's face.

"... Do what you want."

"My, I'll do that then."

I turned away from Yumias and... was faced again with the rows of dolls.

"..."

"Like I said, you should play with them, my child."

"... Play? What do you mean?"

"Play. Literally what I said. Aren't you their mother? You should take care of your kids properly."

My... kids? That was a pretty interesting choice of words, sure. And I should play with them? That was just like...

"Wait, you mean, they... want my attention?"

"Yes. What else could they want? After you neglected them so much, who'd be surprised that they act a little selfishly?"

"..."

What was the appropriate response here? Someone should tell me because I sure didn't know.

The dolls... I knew there was something up with them but...

"Uhm... just to confirm. We're talking about the dolls, right?"

"Yes, of course, we do. Have you already gotten dementia, my child? Want me to check up on you?"

"No, I'm fine. Uhh... How to say it... They... Do they... Think?"

"..."

It was her turn to fall silent and just stare at me. That... was probably the first time I had seen her being speechless.

"... My child. Do you... Ahhh... Mm... Okay... I see the problem."

"Nn?"

"They don't think per se like you do. But they do have emotions. They're... more on the level of slightly more intelligent animals?"

"Animals?"

"Yes, yes. Like a pet cat or dog or whatever kind of animal you prefer. They have emotions, but they do not actually think like we do. They're not sapient."

So, they weren't sentient... But they were...

"They're alive."

"Of course they are."

"..."

The rows of dolls kept staring at me, motionlessly. I hadn't pondered much about it. I just thought they're moving dolls...

"Well, guess that misunderstanding is out of the way. You should properly care for them from now on. You're like a mother to them. And every child wants the attention of their mother, don't they?"

"I guess so..."

I squatted down, to look properly at the dolls from close-up. Their small heads followed my movement.

"Haa... If you want to climb up on me you can do it, just don't get in the wa— Woah!"

Instantaneous regret.

The dolls all jumped at me and climbed, clutching onto my arms, my legs, my hair, or sitting onto my shoulder...

"Ahh... Whatever... Just, don't get in the way..."

They were hanging off me like ornaments on a Christmas tree. Good thing nobody had to— Nobody except this girl had to see it. Who was, by the way, grinning from one ear to the other, watching me.

"My, my, how precious."

"..."

I turned away and continued my walk, ignoring her. The dolls probably had found wherever they wanted to be and weren't moving around, so they weren't as much a hindrance as expected. Still, hopefully, I could avoid becoming a Christmas tree in future. Though, how did you... play with dolls? Well, living dolls. Really... living...

"Hey," I addressed Yumias, who was trotting after me.

"Yes?"

"You say... they're alive. But... how can that be?"

"Didn't you use Life and Soul magic? You created a living body with the first and gave it a soul with the second."

A living body? But all we did was... moulding some wood? And... what even is a soul in the first place.

"Curious?"

"Nn... I don't understand how it happened."

"Hoho, well... I guess this is still fine so I'll tell you. It's not overly hard anyway. Raw mana of a certain attribute automatically tries to create, to turn into something more... material. Life-attributed mana attempts to create a living body at all times, and Soul-attributed mana attempts to create a soul."

"Huh?"

It attempted to create what... they were attributed to?

"Does that mean, Steel-attributed mana would turn into... steel?"

"No, it doesn't. The laws of physics still apply, though they differ slightly from world to world, they are largely similar. Creating matter out of, well, pure mana, is next to impossible. Mana is in a way just energy. A unique, primal type of energy."

"But it is not impossible at all?"

"That's right. It is not completely impossible. But, if the mana would be provided with the necessary matter already, it's an entirely different... matter. Steel-attributed mana would draw in iron and carbon to create steel. The kind of steel that it represents, that is."

So that's how it was...

In other words, whatever the necessary materials for a living body and a soul were... they were already... around us?

"Well, that's all I'll tell you. Consider it a little parting gift."

"... Nn? Parting gift?"

"Yes, yes. After today's little celebration ends, I'll be on my own way again."

"Huh..."

So she'd be gone again. That'd make Lily sad, wouldn't it... Wait, actually...

"Didn't you tell Lily you'd stay for a while?"

"My, you remember that? I did. But something came up so I'll have to take my leave a little earlier again..."

The steps behind me stopped.

"That's why I wanted to have a little talk with you."

"Nn? Why?"

A talk with me?

I turned around, curious as to what she meant.

"Indeed. Do not worry, my child, it's just a little... advice. Or a little tip.

"... I'm not sure if I can trust advice from you."

"Ahaha, do you now? But you do believe the other things I told you about? Like, our earlier topic, I could've lied to you. Or, I could have just bragged without knowing anything."

"... Maybe. But it makes sense to me, so I'll believe it for now. And I can still ask other people that I trust, who know more than me."

"Hoo?"

She smiled weakly.

"To think it was just a few days ago where you simply believed me. My, how fast it goes."

And whose fault exactly was that anyway? That I was forced to do so?

... Mine, mostly mine.

But some of it was also her fault. Definitely.

Suddenly, Yumias giggled.

"Hehe, your face speaks volumes, my child. You don't have to glare at me that strongly. Haa, truly, watching children like you never gets boring, no matter how often I see it."

"... You've done things like this before? To other people?"

"I did tell you before, that I sometimes grant a person's deepest wish. Yours was one of those after all."

Right... My wish...

I wished to be reborn as... well, a young girl. I wondered... Just why had I actually wished for that? My memories were too hazy to really pinpoint a reason. Or, maybe there had been no reason? Maybe it had been just a whimsical thought, completely random and irrelevant. The only thing I knew was, that it really had been my wish at that moment...

"So, how does it feel, living like a young girl?"

"... How am I supposed to answer that?"

"How, huh... For example, do you enjoy being treated like a girl?"

"... Nn, well, I guess so?"

It certainly didn't feel bad, at the least.

And, I certainly did enjoy some things... I didn't hate dressing up in cute clothes, even if it was half forced. Nor did I hate playing with the younger girls.

"I see, I see. That's good news. That's indeed good news. Hehee..."

She spun around on the spot, her back facing me now. Her face directed its gaze up into the sky, at the moon. I did not know when or how, but suddenly she held a large witch hat, the very same one she wore on our first meeting, in her hands. With smooth movements, she put it on top of her head. The hat completely hid her head from my view, as well as most of her back.

"Then, my next question... Do you feel comfortable—

She turned around, revealing her grinning face once more.

—living as a monster?"

"..."

A shudder ran down my back. Her grin, her eyes, they weren't gentle. As if they weren't looking at a person but at prey. That kind of expression.

"Living as a monster is hard, isn't it? You are different from everyone else, after all. You are not a per—"Stop it."—son... Ho?"

I glared at her, interrupting before she could say anything else.

"Whether it is comfortable, nice or whatever, I don't know. But even if I am like this, they accepted me as I am. That's what matters to me. That I'm not a human, or rather a humanoid, I already know. I don't need you to tell me that."

"Hoo?"

She pulled her hat a little down, obscuring her eyes.

"That must be nice, right? Hehe, my, forget I ever asked then. Clearly, that is not necessary."

"..."

Once more, she turned around so that her back was facing me.

"But that you are different will not change. A monster and a mortal humanoid are very different. Their lifespans, their bodies, their souls."

She giggled to herself.

"You will soon find out what this difference really is."

"... What do you mean with that?"

"Now, now, it'd be boring to give you the answer straight. You really love asking questions, don't you? Well, considering your circumstances, it's not surprising, I guess. Let's see, I'll give you a hint."

She disappeared. She was gone out of my sight, faster than I could realise.

"The answer is right here."

My chest was poked. Even though there had been no one here a moment ago. Yet, now, Yumias stood right in front of me, her finger poking my chest.

"The soul crystal buried deep within. Why do you think it absorbs mana?"

Soul crystal? She meant the mana crystal, didn't she? Why did she call it a soul crystal anyway?

"Why? How should I know? Don't I need it to live?"

There could be many reasons. I mostly thought I needed it to survive, seeing it as some kind of... basic sustenance?

"My, my, that's not wrong. You certainly do, but there are other reasons as well."

"Other reasons?"

"You'll find out. Unfortunately, I won't be here to watch, then."

She sighed. Did she want to see it that much... That... made me feel a little wary.

"And because I'm not here if there are any problems, you should go to the Prayerhouse in that city."

"Prayerhouse?"

"It's something akin to a shrine. A religious place, where powerful entities and divine beings are worshipped."

A religious place... And they could help me if something happened? In the first place, what was that something that could happen and become a problem?

"Now then, did I miss anything to tell you. Mhm, I think that was all."

Nodding to herself, she clapped her hands, as if she wanted to indicate the conversation is over. She slowly trotted over in the direction of the camp, towards the bonfire.

"With that finally out of the way, I'll go back and party some more. Maybe one of the elves is up to play with me, hehehe..."

"... And you're surprised they run away from you?"

"I just have to stop them from running, don't I?"

"Please don't..."

The moment she switched gears she started saying some troublesome things...

Just why did she want to talk with me anyway? And...

"Are you going to say goodbye to Lily at least?"

"My, my, saying goodbye doesn't suit me."

"She might cry."

"She's a big girl. And..."

She glanced over her shoulder to me.

"... I don't like goodbyes."

Leaving those words behind, she left. It was the last I saw of her this evening.

"My head... It hurts..."

"Ah, don't move so much, that's only going to make it worse."

The next morning, a familiar scene repeated itself.

Thankfully for me, the position I was in was different compared to last time.

"Come lie down and drink some water."

"Okay... Thank you..."

As expected, Karen had a hangover. A pretty bad one too. Lily got off with some light headaches and Rina was completely fine. Life could sometimes be quite unfair. Even more so, since Wendl, who Rina had called, said he wouldn't help, calling it a necessary experience. I half-expected him to enjoy it, though.

"You better stay in bed, for now, Sis. Just sleep a little."

"... I'll try."

I pulled the blanket over again, making sure she had it warm and comfortable.

"Don't they say you should start with the same drink you finished the night with... Does that help, Yumi?"

"Lily, sure, it might help, and then it'll only get worse later on. Just sit it out, you only got some headaches."

It's not like she had to vomit or anything.

"Headaches are bad enough..."

"If you don't want them, then you'd better be careful next time."

"... We didn't drink it because we wanted to."

Mhm, that was actually true. They didn't want to get drunk.

"Still, now you know to be more careful about drinks others offer you."

"... Uhh, I'm never going to accept a drink from them again."

"... Just make sure it's not alcohol, or that you can handle it."

Although the latter was very doubtful, considering their lack of experience with alcohol.

"I'm never going to drink alcohol again..."

"Eh?"

Rina turned around staring at Lily.

"You... won't?"

"Rina?"

Lily could only tilt her head, confused. Did she not remember how she had acted when she was drunk?

"But... it was so cute..."

"... Cute?"

"Cute. The way you nuzzled against me, the way you enjoyed being caressed behind your ears. And patting your tummy was so—

Rina began counting all the things she enjoyed doing to Lily... While Lily herself was growing redder and redder with each example...

"Hehehe, I wish I could do that again."

"Ahhh... Kill me now..."

Lily squatted down and held her head, hiding her face.

"Nn, well... Good luck..."

And here was a prime example of the troubles that came with alcohol and getting drunk. The aftereffect.

I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pity for her... Although, i also agreed with Rina. It was cute. Karen and Lily had both been cute...

"Yumi..."

"Nn? What is it, Sis?"

"... Did I do some weird things?"

"... Nn, well... Nothing overly bad..."

"... So I did."

Karen pulled the blanket over her face.

Better not tell her how she tried to... do lewd things with me in the middle of the celebration... Within view of everyone.

"You were a little clingy, that's all. Nn. It was cute."

"Uhhh..."

I wanted to pat her head to comfort her, but I also didn't want to make her headaches worse, so I refrained.

"Just get to sleep for now, okay?"

"... Okay."

Karen nodded weakly.

A few minutes later, she had fallen asleep. Hopefully, she'd feel better later.

On the other hand, Rina and Lily were...

"The heck happened with you two?"

Rina, her face literally beaming in joy, was playing around with Lily. She had Lily's head in her lap and was caressing her behind her ears, just like she did yesterday.

"Lil' Sis, Lil' Sis!"

"Not so loud, Sis is sleeping."

"Ah, sorry. Lil' Sis, Lily said she wanted to be spoiled! Look, look, isn't it cute?!"

"... Eh?"

Lily's face once again turned beet red...

She had actually asked for it herself? How... unexpected. What kind of sorcery did Rina use to achieve that?

"Uhh... I knew this was a mistake..."

"Ahh, but Lily, it's fine! Nobody minds, right, Lil' Sis?"

"... Nn. If Lily enjoys it, then it's fine."

That said, seeing them flirt so unabashed right next to me... I finally understood why Lily complained to Karen and me when we were flirting... It made me feel a little jealous.

"Is... Is that so..."

"... You should refrain from doing it in public though."

"Uhhhhh..."

A groan escaped her, but she made no attempts to move away or anything. In fact, her face slowly turned into an expression of bliss.

"... Then, could you watch Sis? I'll go out and report that you two are down."

"Okay, until later."

"... Later."

"Nn."

Leaving the two alone and going outside, the blazing sun greeted me. And a scenery of hell.

"... Maybe reporting that Lily and Sis and are down is unnecessary."

The bonfire was, much to my surprise, still burning. It was but a shadow of its former bright glory, but it was still going quite strong. The problem was its immediate surroundings...

"My heeeeaaaad..."

"Ughh... I don't feel good..."

"Kill me..."

The aftermath of the drinking party was, of course, even more hangovers...

Dozens of grown men were lying on the ground and the tables, groaning in their self-afflicted suffering...

"It might be faster to report who isn't down..."

For now, though, I had to find Korwen. Or maybe Merim, although I feared Merim was more likely among these drunkards...

"Ehh... Let's see... Oh? Oh, you guys are here too, right."

I squatted down and greeted the few dozen dolls that had... rested next to the wagon. Did they even need rest?

"Nn, do you know where the Captain is?"

I asked, mostly out of a whim, but much to my surprise, the dolls threw their arms up and pointed in a direction, some of them dashing forwards.

"Ohh? Good that I asked you guys."

They led me through the masses of alcohol corpses, towards a table near the bonfire.

Where I found the Captain...

"Urgh... Everything hurts..."

"Captain..."

"Haa? Ahh, it's just you..."

He had a hangover too... Great...

"Captain, should I call Ria? It's a little bad if you aren't up, you're the Captain."

"Haa... It'll be fine... It'll be fine... Ugh... You go and deal with things..."

"... Allow me to wholeheartedly refuse."

No way in hell I would let him push all responsibility to me.

"I'll look for Wendl, just wait a moment..."

I left the Captain alone and went to look for Wendl. With the help of the dolls, this turned out to be quite easy as well.

"The Dragon Captain has a... hangover?"

"Nn. He does."

"... Guess all mercenaries are the fucking same in that regard. Bet my Captain is down as well. None of them know how to keep things in moderation, seriously."

Wendl stood up from the table where he was eating breakfast, all on his lonesome.

"I'll take a look at him, brat. Do you know where Captain Greyward is too?"

"No."

"Haa, then, let's take a look at your Dragon Captain first."

"Nn."

I led him to Korwen who was... face down on the table now.

"Geez, I'm not even good at this, don't expect much from me, brat."

"Nn, as long as he feels good enough to work, it's fine."

"... You're a cruel one, aren't you? As expected of a woman."

Yes, yes, As expected of me. He sure didn't let the chance go to make another jab at women. His future prospects sure were bleak. At finding a significant other, of course.

Or...

"Wendl."

"What? Don't disturb me now."

"... Do you actually swing the other way?

"What?!"

He shot up and stared at me in disbelief.

"So you do?"

"No way in hell, brat! I got no thing for men. I want to screw women and build a family, I don't want to get my ass screwed!"

With your attitude, I doubt that will happen anytime soon...

An angry glare was thrown at me. Seemed I hit a nerve...

"Nn, if you are a little nicer to women, that might be more likely to happen, you know?"

"Ha? If they want me to be nice, then they should be nice too. All the fucking time they played me for a fool!"

That... wasn't how things worked... But I kept quiet, not wanting to agitate him further.

He clicked his tongue, seeing that I wasn't responding... Then he turned back to the Dragon Cap— Now I was saying it too already. He turned to Korwen and treated him, to the best of his abilities, accompanied by painful groans.

"Now, that's all I can do, he should be up in a few minutes, hopefully. I'll look for the Captain."

Without saying another word, he walked past me.

I made him angry, didn't I?

"Nn, nothing I can do about for now..."

Should probably apologise later, though...

"Hey, Captain, are you awake?"

"Uhh... Yumi?"

"Nn, the sun is up and laughing, it's time to rise and shine."

"... What are you, my mother?"

He heaved up himself, holding his head. He still looked a little groggy and unwell...

"Ugh... The fire... is still burning..."

"Nn."

"... My wife is going to kill me."

"Please don't get yourself killed."

He stood up and stretched his arms.

"My head still hurts... Why didn't you call Ria?"

"Isn't she still, well..."

"Right..."

Ria had exhausted herself a lot a few days ago and she still hadn't recovered. Too bad she was also about the only one who could properly treat the people with a hangover.

"So, Captain... What do we do about this hell?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. They got themselves wasted. In time, they'll wake up again, this is normal. Rather, ugh, good thing there's no important work today."

He surveyed his surroundings, looking at all the wasted mercenaries.

"Nn, but Captain... What about Fenna and her squad? Wasn't there that job?"

"Mh? Ahh, yes... They already left, right before the sun went up... I think? Fairly sure they did..."

"... I see."

So in other words...

"Then, I can go back to sleep?"

"... There's nothing planned to do for today, so what you do is up to you."

"Ohh, that's great."

I got some free time. Unexpected, but welcome.

Although, I still felt concerned about... just leaving this scenery of hell be.

"I'll go back and sleep. Ugh, that Wendl sure did a shit job at this."

"Nn, good night?"

"Good night..."

It was morning but... well... If he said today was a break day, then today was a break day. Sure wouldn't see me complaining.

Korwen went to his wagon, or his tent, or wherever he was sleeping, while I returned to Karen and the others.

Entering the wagon, I was greeted with Lily and Rina, both tucked below their blanket and sleeping while hugging each other.

How cute... Maybe I should confront them sometime. They can't tell me they aren't going out, acting like that.

With a smile, I turned to the other side of the room. Karen was sleeping peacefully, but alone.

"Nn, don't mind me."

I crawled under her blanket until her sleeping face was right next to mine. I couldn't quite enjoy it since it was dark, yesterday, but now I could.

"Mm..."

"Nn?"

Karen rolled over and put her arm around me.

With a smile, I hugged her back. Gently, making sure not to disturb her too much.

Nn, let's sleep a little more.

Rinne

Haven't been feeling well for the past two weeks. Just the right season where everyone gets ill, so maybe it was to be expected. It's even worse when you live alone.

Thank you for reading! Until next week!

Take care of yourselves!