Chapter of Blooming Fate: Embarrassing Talks

"Hey, Sis."

"Yes, Yumi?"

"I just thought about it but..."

"What is it?"

"... We have barely done anything date-like, have we?"

"... Date-like? What's that?"

After we strolled through the capital for a while—technically on our way back to the camp—I realized this little issue. I thought this would be kind of like a date but... In the end, we hadn't done anything that would warrant calling this a date. Well, disregarding that we were currently walking very closely down the streets, earning us a few stares here and there.

"Nn, a date, something like a date."

"Like I said, what is a 'date'?"

"..."

Karen looked at me with her big, silver-coloured eyes, apparently confused.  She didn't know what a date was, huh.

"Nn... It's when two lovers go out to have fun? That's about the gist of it. Like, going out to eat something or going somewhere to play."

"Ahh... But I don't think we'll have much time for such things anymore."

"Nn..."

It wasn't all too late yet, thankfully. We probably could've still stayed a little at the university, talking with that professor. Yet, despite that, we had left.

The things I heard already were quite interesting and it probably would take some time to... digest them. Especially the part with the mana crystals.

"Yumi."

"Nn?"

"We could try looking for an eatery or tavern and eat something."

"... Aren't those going to be full now?"

"Are they? I think most people are still working right now, though."

That could also mean that the eatery or tavern wasn't even open, you know? Since opening when there weren't any customers would be just a loss...

"Nn, well, we can take a look at least. Not like we'll lose anything by it."

"True. But... where do we even go to look?"

"No idea."

And just as expected, our lack of knowledge about this city already put a stop to it.

Alas, it didn't take a lot of effort to find out whether there were any and where they were.

"The 'Canal Plaza' they said... Is there a canal here?"

"I would think so? It's probably either the river or a canal coming from the river."

"... There's a river here?"

"What are you saying, of course, there is? Pretty much any big city is located at a river."

Really?

Mm... Well, if you thought about it, that was reasonable. A river did provide water and food. It wasn't like they could manage a whole city only on well and rainwater.

Actually, considering how they treated fish in general, it probably didn't provide as much food as it could...

"They said this way down, right?"

"Nn."

We walked through some small alleys in the direction we were pointed at.

"Is this really the right direction... Sis, are you sure?"

"It... It should be? Wait..."

Karen stopped, looking at the sky, towards the sun.

A large group of birds flew over the city in formation, cawing loudly.

"This should be the right direction... Let's just continue for a little."

"Okay."

It took a good another ten minutes until we found our way again.

"Yumi, there, doesn't that look like that could be it?"

Karen pointed into the distance, at a line of green, lush trees.

Slightly excited, we sped up towards them leaving the alleys.

"Ohhh."

A large plaza with a wide canal running straight through it spread out in front of us. Lines of trees ran along the canal, giving it a rather idyllic atmosphere.

"There really is a canal..."

Walking up to the side of the canal, I peered into the water.

Alas, it was rather dark so I couldn't see anything. Plants and other things were peeking out from the water.

"Don't fall in, Yumi."

"Nn, I'll be careful."

There were no railings, so the danger of falling in was actually quite real.

"But there really is a lot of space here... You could probably build dozens of buildings here."

Karen looked over the large plaza. Calling it wide was probably an understatement. There really was enough place to build dozens of buildings here. As such, the plaza did look a little lonely. Although it wasn't like there weren't people around, not at all.

"Yumi, over there."

"Nn?"

Karen pointed at a few shops close-by.

"Are those taverns?"

"Seems like it. Should we take a look?"

"Nn."

We approached the building, intending to take a look. Each of the taverns seemed to be rather well-visited despite it being in the middle of the day. If you peeked through the door, dozens of rough, muscular men could be seen, laughing, drinking and making merry.

" 'Squirrel's Home', 'Broken Dishes', 'The Rooster and the Kitten', 'Market Tavern', 'The Lafrian Worker', "The Butcher's House'. Quite a few around, huh."

"Nn..."

Most of them had quite normal names but... Why 'Broken Dishes'? Fairly sure most dishes were made of wood so they wouldn't break as easily as porcelain dishes would. Actually, I hadn't seen porcelain dishes even once here, yet. Maybe they didn't exist here?

Anyway, while I was happy to go eat out with Karen... It was still a little different from what I had imagined. A tavern was... Well... Probably not a very romantic place.

"It's all burly men..." I muttered while peeking through the doors of the taverns.

"It is."

It was also loud. Even just standing outside was already a little uncomfortable with that level of noise. Honestly, I didn't want to go in there...

"Sis, let's look for something else..."

"Might be better..."

And as such, our little trip had come to a quick close. It was a little unfortunate but what could you do?

"Then, let's take a walk along the canal and then head back?"

"Nn, sounds like a plan."

We walked back to the canal.

"Too bad we didn't find a place to eat at."

"Nn. I'm a little hungry."

"I'm hungry too... We should try to get back in time for dinner."

"Definitely."

Dinner was important. Actually, we hadn't eaten anything since the morning and it was already well into the afternoon now. We had completely missed lunch as well.

"I wonder what Lily and Rina are doing right now."

"Nn, good question. Speaking of which, did something happen? They sure have gotten intimate."

They did sleep together today, just like Karen and I did. It made me happy to watch but... Damn, I was curious. I knew it was in bad taste but... I wanted to know.

"I don't know, neither of them said anything. Ah, but... They sneaked out two days ago in the middle of the night."

"Eh? Really?"

"Yes. I only noticed by coincidence cause I woke up and both of them weren't around."

Ohoh? Now, that was interesting.

"Sneaking out in the middle of the night, huh. Wonder what they did."

"Yumi, stop grinning like that."

That was an impossible request.

"Well, we shouldn't pry too much, Yumi."

"Ehh? But I'm curious."

"I am curious too but we shouldn't butt in unnecessarily."

"... Lily did it too so I think it's fine if we do the same, though."

Although, Lily helped us quite a bit with her meddling.

"I think it's better for the two to sort it out themselves, Yumi. Have a little trust in them."

"Mm... It's not like I don't trust them, you know..."

I really was just curious.

But, yeah... Maybe I shouldn't bother them too much.

"By the way, Yumi."

"Nn?"

"Did Sele calm down a little?"

"Ahh... I am not sure? I haven't seen those girls since they are still under house arrest."

I sincerely hoped that Sele calmed down though. Karen probably didn't mean the whole situation we had with Maya, but rather, how Sele had become a little... Well, probably more than a little... jealous.

Maya, Emily and Sele had been put under house arrest for a few days since the incident at the fort. Korwen had gotten really angry with them. Not only with them, though... With us too.

"I hope she doesn't come to hate me..."

"I don't think you have to worry about that, Sis."

Despite all that, Sele did seem to have taken a liking to Karen. Maybe because they were fellow demonkin? Or because of their respective constitutions being similar?

If Sele hadn't gotten jealous, those two would probably get along really well. Though, I was fairly sure they'd still get along well if things calmed down a little.

"You think so?"

"Nn."

"... I sure hope so... Haaa..."

She let out a sigh with a worried expression.

"How about we visit them later? If we ask Korwen, I'm sure he won't mind," I suggested.

"Visiting them... I guess we could."

It was also a good chance to make sure they were alright. They apparently helped out yesterday at the celebration as well, though we hadn't seen them.

"Then let's do that. When we get back."

"Nn."

"Speaking of getting back..."

"Nn?"

"... Where are we?"

Yeah.

That was something I wanted to know as well.

"There are a lot of big houses here..."

"There are."

Massive properties surrounded us. Mansions with humongous gardens. Walled off properties with gates and guards. Everything pointed to it that this was the area where the richer citizens lived. This definitely wasn't a place where we should be.

"What do we do? Walk back?"

"I think we should..."

Alas, just as we were about to turn around...

"Excuse me, you two. May I have a moment of your time?"

"Eh?"

A soldier walked up to us with a serious expression.

"May I inquire what the two of you are doing here?"

"Eh, uhm..."

I was only able to stammer a little, surprised and a little intimidated. Never before have I been stopped by authorities and asked such a question.

Probably.

"We were taking a walk and somehow ended up here. We were just about to return."

"A walk? Then, may I ask your names and where you live?"

"I'm Karen and this is Yumi. We're with the Lomerian Dragon Knights that are camping outside the city."

"... The mercenaries? Ahh, are you the daughters of a mercenary?"

"Ah, no. We're mercenaries ourselves."

"..."

The man froze, then switched his glance between me and Karen, apparently unable to believe that.

"I... I see... Achem."

He coughed once, trying to collect himself again.

"If you're mercenaries, then are you here to see the Lady Karker by any chance?"

"Eh? No, we were really just taking a walk... Wait, Mrs Karker lives here?"

We exchanged surprised glances and looked around at the surrounding houses.

"So you really were just taking a walk? Well, it's no secret so... The Lady resides over there."

He pointed at one of the large mansions nearby. Compared to the surrounding ones, it was actually quite a lot smaller. With that said, it still boasted at least three floors and a large garden. In my old world, a house like this would cost a fortune.

"Nn? Someone's coming."

Another soldier approached us, jogging, right from the direction of the house we were looking at.

"Excuse me. Are you Miss Karen and Miss Yumi?" he asked us once he arrived.

"Eh, yes..."

"The Lady Karker wishes to invite you two. Would you be so kind as to follow me?"

"...Eh? Ah... Yes?"

Once more, Karen and I exchanged glances, even more surprised than before.

Nevermind that she lived in such a large mansion and things like that... How the hell did she know we were outside right now?

The other soldier who had interrogated us excused himself, thanking us for our cooperation. Maybe he didn't want to get in trouble or something, but he sure backed down quickly after the other soldier appeared.

"Then, please follow."

The man motioned us to follow behind him.

Still a little perplexed, we walked behind him, towards the large mansion.

At the gate, two other soldiers saluted the one leading us and then they opened the gate, allowing us to pass through.

"It's huge..."

"Nn..."

The garden spread out right in front of us. A field of flowers, small paths between them and even a water fountain in the middle, spewing up water.

We were lead to the door, which opened, revealing an equally grand hall. A woman in some kind of uniform received us, her gaze lowered to the ground.

"Welcome to the house of the Karker family. The Lady is waiting in the reception room. If you would follow me."

The woman guided us to a room at the side. She knocked on the door, not opening it yet.

"Milady, the guests have arrived."

"Let them in."

Now, she opened the door and motioned us to enter. The inside was lined up with bookshelves, filled to the brim with books. A large table stood in the middle and something like a couch on either side. Sitting on one couch was Mrs Karker.

"Welcome, you two, to my humble abode."

"Eh... Ah... Thank you?"

We were still overwhelmed and confused, we could barely stammer a greeting.

The woman who led us here scowled in displeasure but didn't say anything.

"Come, take a seat. Take a seat. Hilla, bring us something to drink."

"As you wish, Milady."

The woman left, closing the door behind her.

"Now, don't keep standing. Sit down."

"Ah, yes... Ah, uhm... Thank you for inviting us?"

Trying to salvage a little bit of our dignity, Karen tried to thank her, eliciting a smile from Mrs Karker.

We sat down, still a little hesitant about the whole sudden situation.

"No need to thank me. Please relax. I won't eat you or anything, hohoho!"

"I... see... Uhm, if I may ask... Why did you invite us?"

"Mh, just a whim, really. I saw you two taking a walk and I thought to invite you. Nothing more, nothing less. I wanted to talk with the two of you a little more anyway."

Mrs Karker smiled.

At that moment, the door opened once more and the woman, Hilla was her name apparently, brought in a tray with tea. She put a cup with hot tea in front of us before excusing herself once more.

"I don't have any cookies this time, though, I am sorry. It's quite hard getting your hands on the ingredients right now."

"Ah, no... There is no need to apologise for that."

"Nn."

Those cookies had been delicious but I probably would have been more surprised if she did have them again. I couldn't imagine the ingredients being cheap.

"Have you heard of the waroxen's milk before? It's unfortunately not as well-known yet. It's pretty important for the cookies and it's hard to get your hands on it."

It's the milk that was the issue?!

"Uhm... Is it that hard to get your hands on it? Aren't waroxen pretty common?"

"They are, dear. They are... But most of them are bred for labour or for the military. And for those, only the male waroxen are usually kept. There are very few who keep the female waroxen for the milk. It's unfortunate."

"Haa..."

Mrs Karker took the teacup and took a sip.

After putting down her cup, her relaxed expression hardened.

"Well then. I'll get straight to the point you two... How is that old coot Greyward doing?"

"Mr Greyward?"

"Yes, Greyward. Johnson Greyward, Captain of the Black Guards. Fifty-one-years old, single. Grey hair, rough complexion, around a head taller than the average man. Enjoys drinking and doting on his adopted daughter. And..."

She paused for a moment.

"Out for revenge against Yumias la Freyr, the Cursed Witch."

"..."

"Now, I don't care about how his futile revenge is going. I just want to know how he is doing, right now."

How he was doing, she said...

"Uhm... I guess he is doing well?"

"Well, huh..."

She took another sip.

"I guess that is good news. I feared he might have gotten too obsessed with his revenge."

"His... revenge?" Karen asked.

"Oh my, you don't know?"

Mrs Karker looked in surprise at Karen, then glanced towards me.

"Nn, I know...  Well, more or less."

I knew, at the very least, that he had more than just a single bone to pick with Yumias.

"I see. Haa... I was hopeful for a moment that he had buried that stupid ambition."

She shook her head and sighed.

"Is revenge... a stupid ambition?"

"Revenge by itself? No, not necessarily. Revenge against Yumias? Yes, definitely so."

She put down her teacup, facing Karen.

"Revenge, at times, is necessary. For the person itself, for the people around themself... There are times when revenge is inevitable. But that is only when you can actually take revenge. Yumias is not someone you can take revenge on. In the first place, he should rather focus on the people around him, that need him."

A wry smile appeared on Mrs Karker's lips.

"Do you two know why Yumias is called 'The Cursed Witch'?" she suddenly asked.

"Eh? Because of the tale surrounding her, no?"

"The tale actually doesn't give an explanation to the name. It tells of her journey in our world, how she fought the gods, how she brought ruin, death, disease and simultaneously saved the people. But it doesn't tell the reason for that name."

That monster... fought with gods?! Seriously?!

"According to the person herself, it is because 'she was punished'."

"... Punished?"

"Yes, punished. She played with powers she shouldn't touch. I have never found out what exactly she meant with that, though. Or how someone could punish a being with power rivaling a god's."

"So, her punishment was a curse?"

"That seems to be the case."

That sure wasn't something I expected. Nevermind that I never actually expected to hear about Yumias right now.

"The only thing Yumias truly cares about is this punishment and this curse. She doesn't care for anything else. If she could free herself, she wouldn't bat an eye doing everything and anything she could, even if it meant destroying the world or sacrificing every person she knows. Of that, I am certain. She doesn't care for us. Even if a person she knows would die, she won't shed a tear. She might not even feel anything anymore. That's why revenge against her is futile. You cannot take revenge on someone you can neither kill nor hurt. That's what I believe."

Certainly, revenge would include hurting the target party in some way... If that was impossible...

"Haa, let's shelve such dreary topics.  If he is doing well, that is good enough for me. As long as he properly takes care of that girl, that is."

"That girl? Do you mean Lily?"

There weren't any other girls that she could mean, were there?

"Lily, huh. Yes, I mean that girl."

"Do you know her?"

"... You could say that. Although she probably doesn't know me. I'd appreciate it if you could keep quiet about me."

"Nn?"

The heck? She knew Lily but Lily didn't know her? Oh, maybe, since she knows Greyward, maybe she met with Lily before when she was small? That could be it. But why should we keep quiet then?

"Really, let's shelve those serious topics now. Actually, nevermind that, I am curious about one more thing."

Leaning forward, her expression hardened once again.

"Tell me. How do... girls do it with each other?"

""... Eh?""

My mind froze.

Did she... just ask that? Really? I didn't hallucinate, did I?

"I've only ever known my husband so... I never thought about that before. My granddaughter and her girlfriend, they are probably sleeping with each other, right?"

"... Probably?"

We hadn't talked with those two girls outside of that one time at the camp. There was no way we knew how their relationship was going...

Either way, it wasn't like we could intrude on their privacy like that anyway. We barely knew them.

"Probably, you say. Probably. So, how do... girls do it?"

"..."

Did we really have to answer that? That was a little too embarrassing a topic to just talk about.

"Uhm... That's how..."

Karen glanced at me, her face turning red.

She stuttered a few words, unsure of what to say. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath.

"That's... With your fingers... and mouth... and I heard some use toys... Uhm..."

"I see... So it's really like that... Mm..."

Ahh... I could feel my face turning hot from the embarrassment as well. Was this really necessary?

"I... heard that some magicians also use magic for it."

"Magic?"

Now, that wasn't something I expected to hear. How would you eve—

Actually, no, thinking about it, wouldn't my stuff count as magic too? Not that we... Yet...

"Well, outside of conception magic, there are also some types that apparently help to enjoy the night. You never heard of that?"

"No... Can't say I did."

Karen shook her head. While neither had I heard about those, there was something else that caught my interest.

"... Conception magic? What's that?"

"You... Did you... Not know about that?"

Mrs Karker, for some reason, stared wide-eyed at me.

"Uhm... To be honest, I haven't heard of it either..."

"... Neither of you did? And yet you... I must say... Ha... Hahaha! You two are quite brave! Seriously!"

She broke out in laughter, holding her stomach.

"You two are great. Haaa... Then, let me explain. Conception magic is a kind of spirit magic and it allows a same-sex couple to have children."

"... Seriously?"

"Seriously. If it weren't, I very much doubt it would be allowed in this country. In the first place, my granddaughter is the only heir of the family. If she couldn't have children, we'd be very much troubled."

"Nn, she has no siblings?"

Wasn't that bad? If something were to happen to her... Well, hopefully, nothing would happen to her, but... Yeah...

"She doesn't. Her parents tried but she was the only child they were blessed with. And although she has a cousin, that girl has gone missing in an incident many years ago."

"I see..."

It would probably be too much to ask about that, so I refrained. Even I had a little tact.

"With that said, conception magic is rather rare I guess... You need a spirit magician after all and it can get rather costly. Maybe that is why there are so few willing to come out with it nowadays. They just don't know... I see, I'll have to keep that in mind."

Halfway through, she started to murmur to herself, nodding in between.

"Mhm, this has been rather enlightening. Thank you."

"Ah, no... We didn't really do anything."

"What are you saying, you talked with me about these things. That alone already deserves my thanks. There aren't many I could ask about these, after all."

Not many, huh. Well, it certainly wasn't exactly common, that much was true.

"Speaking of which... Were you two out to have fun?"

"Nn? Yes, we were taking a walk before returning."

"Oh, did you two have to go back? I hope I didn't trouble you by inviting you here."

"No, we're on break today. As long as we get back before the gate closes, it's fine."

"That's a relief."

She took another sip of her tea, smiling.

That reminded me, I hadn't taken a sip yet myself. I took the cup and drunk a little.

Oh, this is quite delicious. But is this really tea? It tastes like juice a little. Except hot. It's a little odd but good.

"Then, allow me to have someone guide you back later. We can still talk for a good while and if you miss the gate closing, they can let you through regardless."

"Ah, no, we couldn't trouble you that much."

"Ohh, it's no trouble, it's the opposite. I'm already quite old so I rarely have the chance to talk with youths like you two. I very much enjoy this time."

She smiled warmly. I felt a little bad for the trouble but...

"Then... If you insist."

"I very much do. I'd like to hear a little more about how you two—

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

"Milady, a messenger from the Allena's has come."

"Haaa... I hoped they'd at least not get on my nerves today. Hilla, send him to the other reception room. I will come in a moment."

"As you wish, Milady."

Steps could be heard from the other side of the door, distancing themselves.

"Unfortunately, it seems we already have to cut it short now. This was a lot shorter than I hoped it would be..."

Mrs Karker sighed and stood up from the couch. She walked to the bookshelf behind her pulling out a boo— Wait for a...

That's not a book?! It's a hidden stash!

The book, or what seemed to be one, was actually just a book-shaped box with things inside.

Mrs Karker glanced back, looking at me, a big grin on her face. It was clearly a bragging grin.

"Hahaha, here you two. Take these with you. and give Korwen my greetings."

She handed us a small bag. Curious I peered inside.

"Ohh, it's candies."

"Enjoy them on your way back. Now, I'll call someone to bring you to the gate, unless you have any other plans?"

"Ah, no, we don't."

"Good, good, just a moment, then."

She opened the door and waved to someone, calling them over. It was the guard who had led us inside.

"Bring these two to the western gate. Make sure they get through safely, understood?"

"Yes, Milady!"

"Good. Now then, please do visit again. I'd be very happy if you did."

"We will. Thank you. For the candies as well."

"No need to thank me. Go and enjoy your remaining evening. Until next time."

She smiled before leaving, probably to meet that messenger.

"Then, my ladies, I will escort you back."

Woah, he called us ladies!

I was a little taken aback by the way he addressed us. Though, I couldn't say it was a bad feeling.

"Tha, Thank you."

"Nn..."

Karen seemed to be a little surprised as well.

With that said, I wonder... Wasn't Allena that guy that caused trouble at the festival? I hope everything will be fine.

I wished Mrs Karker some luck in my mind before departing with Karen and our newly acquired escort. It was time to get back to the camp.

Rinne

Meanwhile... I am sleepy as hell. The ambulance waking me up at like 3AM sure didn't help either. And just buying groceries has become a huge pain.

This whole situation is a lot more mentally draining than I would have thought. And it's probably far from over.

Can only persevere through it. Still, I hope it ends rather sooner than later. Hope you all do better than me.

Well, in other news, I am intending to set up a discord server, so I will probably put up an invite link over the week. Then you can harass me in person so I get to writing. That might actually help.

I'm likely going to put the invite link on next weeks chapter too though, no worries.

Until then!