Chapter of Blooming Fate: Tentacle Threads

"Yumi, before I forget to ask, did you talk with the Magic Craftsman already?"

"Nn? Ah... More or... less? We didn't actually get to talk about the shell remains..."

"That so? You should probably do that fast."

"Nn, will do."

With a steady rhythm, Korwen hammered the wooden stake back into the ground.

"Mhm... Should be fine. Yumi, you can let go now."

"Okay."

I let go of the tent's corner and took a step back. The tent we had collapsed was once again back and ready to be used.

"Good, good. Back in service again. That went faster than expected."

"Nn."

"Now we can go back to work again."

Korwen nodded, looking quite self-satisfied.

Made me wonder just a little bit who it was that had collapsed the tent right now...

Well, I had to admit, it had been rather funny.

"Yumi, you should go and talk with the magic craftsman. According to Ria, their progress is going quite well and they might finish today or tomorrow."

"Ah, yes. Will do, then."

That was quite fast. Probably. Not that I had anything to compare it to.

"Captain. Won't they need me afterwards then anyway?"

"Mm? Ah, not yet, no. It depends on the results what we will do, really. Though, if it goes as Ria expects, they might need you, yes."

So, we'd do the haircutting business, after all... I knew it'd come to that eventually but... I still hadn't quite sorted out my feelings about that.

"Also, bring the shell remains to her. Until we know more about your situation, we shouldn't add people that know too much."

"Nn, understood."

That was a lot to carry around so I'd probably go and ask Karen and Lily for help. They were probably awake by now, right?

"Captain!"

A mercenary ran up to us, stopping in front of Korwen and saluting.

"What's the matter?"

"Captain! Marga is refusing the order to leave and is sabotaging the breakfast preparations!"

"... Haa, that woman never knows when to stop, does she... I'm coming. Yumi, you got your work so get to it."

"Understood, Captain."

That woman wasn't going to take being thrown out that easily, huh. Korwen didn't seem all too surprised, just exasperated. After watching him and the other mercenary disappearing between the tents, I made my way towards the tent where we had slept.

If I remember right... Ah, yes, yes, it was this way.

Scurrying my way through the maze of tents, I arrived at my destination in no time. Thankfully, the camp wasn't as bad as the slums had been. Yes, the slums had been a mess and a gigantic maze...

Well, as long as I recalled how to get back to that small hut it was fine though.

With such thoughts, I entered the tent.

"Sis? Lily? Are you awa— The heck?"

Right in the middle of the room was a person... Black hair with a rainbow sheen, fluffy ears and a tail just as fluffy... Also lying face-down... The rhythmic breath of a sleeper could be heard from her, so she definitely wasn't dead... Though I certainly wondered how the heck she ended up in that position.

"Ohhh? Yumi?"

"Good Morning, Sis."

"Mm... Morning."

This one wasn't quite awake yet either... In contrast, the people I would've suspected more to be still sleeping weren't even here anymore... Namely, Emily, Maya and Sele. Much to my surprise, Rina wasn't here either. At least, Karen was up. Or rather, sitting. The blanket was still partly covering her, too.

"Yumiii..."

"Yes, yes, I'm here."

Karen stretched her arms in my direction so I walked over to her. Barely had I come into range, did she hug my lower body pulled me closer.

"Ah, Sis!"

"Mm..."

Such a spoiled child at times.

I pat her head a few times until she was satisfied. Or, that was what I intended to do...

"... This isn't good?"

"Nn? Sis? Eh? Ah?! Sis?!"

For some reason, Karen lifted the skirt of the dress armour and hid below it. Having found her goal, this time she hugged my legs without the skirt in the way.

"Ahh... This is better?"

"Sis? What are you doing?"

Karen proceeded to rub her face against my legs.

"Recharging."

"Couldn't you have done that without going under my skirt?"

"Mm... That skirt... is uncomfortable... It's hard."

"Hard? Ohh, the leather plates, probably..."

This was technically armour, so the skirt was pretty hard. Completely slipped my mind but yes, that probably wouldn't be comfortable.

"Still, uhm... Do you have to do it like this?"

"Yes."

"..."

As usual, Karen wasn't even going to pretend or find an excuse.

"Then, what if Lily wakes up? That's going to be embarrassing."

"It's fine, it's fine. If she wakes up, I'll just tell her how she was clinging to Rina earlier."

"..."

Did I want to ask what happened or not? There had to be a reason Lily was lying face-down in the middle of the room, after all. Especially if they had been awake...

Yeah. Better let sleeping dogs lie...

The last thing I wanted was to end up as collateral damage.

"Karen, are you soon done there?"

"Mm... Just a little more."

"... But only a little, okay?"

Maybe I was too soft on her... But just letting her have her way for a bit wouldn't hurt anyone. Also, she was always soft on me as well.

Oh. I wonder, is it this kind of stuff that Korwen meant earlier?

Actions we couldn't help but forgive with a smile...

Ah but... it wasn't like it bothered me, though, so it was probably different.

Still, I wish she'd finish soon... This is really embarrassing...

Some ten minutes or so later, Karen had finally enough of feeling up my legs.

It was hard. Really hard. Keeping my composure was a herculean task. Seriously. At this rate, we'd surely someday make the fatal mistake of flirting around a little too much in the presence of someone else.

Fortunately, Lily was asleep. Or at least, she seemed to have been asleep. I couldn't imagine her sleeping through our ruckus so I silently thanked her for her consideration.

I also silently wished that I was wrong and she had been asleep.

"So, that Yumelia woman just left afterwards?"

"Nn, she just left."

"... Do you think she noticed?"

"Mm... I don't think so, no."

After Karen got up I had given her a short rundown of the meeting with the other mercenaries and the odd encounter with that Yumelia woman.

Although, I wasn't entirely sure she had listened through even half of it. Karen was more busy playing around with my dyed hair right now.

"I think I like your pink hair more."

"Huh, you do?"

"Yes. It's more... I don't know... Yumi-like?"

"I see..."

"Ah, but... Like this, we look like actual sisters so it is a little hard to decide between them... Uhhh..."

Ahh, yeah, I could relate to that. It was just a disguise and it'd disappear soon enough but... It did make us look like proper sisters. Still... This was just a one-time occasion. I could ask the Elder to teach me how to do it, but in the end, it would be nothing more than a disguise.

"Even if we don't look like sisters, I'm still happy to be with you. In the first place, we'll be together either way, right?"

I lifted up my arm towards her. The arm that was still wearing the bracelet from the festival. I had taken it off only when we had been washing ourselves.

"... You're right."

A small chuckle escaped Karen.

"You'll be my little sister and my beloved forever, Yumi."

"Ah."

My face heated up, hearing those words.

That was just plain unfair, being so direct.

"Ehehehe."

Karen hugged me from behind, embracing me tightly.

"I won't let some random stranger have my Yumi. You're mine and mine alone."

"I technically belong to myself, Sis."

"No, you're mine."

"Ehhh..."

Was I just denied my freedom?

"My Yumi."

Karen buried her face in my hair.

"Even if that woman is related to you or not, I won't let her have you."

"Nn. I didn't intend to leave you anyway, Sis."

"I won't allow you to."

"Hehe, that's fine."

I put my hands on Karen's as she was embracing me. There was a big smile on my face for sure. Who could help it, in such a situation?

"Err... I don't want to ruin your fun but... Uhm... It's a little hard for me to watch...

""... Ah.""

The up-to-now silent person—still lying on the ground—decided to speak up. Now, my face was heating up for a completely different reason.

"Li— Lily?! How... How long have you been watching?!"

"Uhhh..."

Lily sat up, fixed her dishevelled hair a little and thought for a moment about Karen's question.

"I guess around the time where Yumi started explaining what happened?"

"... Really?"

"... Really."

"..."

Lily continued to fix her hair, not looking at either of us.

This girl... she definitely had been awake before already, right?

"Ahhhh..."

Groaning, Karen's grip on me strengthened, most likely cause she figured it out as well...

"Ahahaha..."

Lily! Such a dry laugh is only going to make it more obvious!

Well, it could have been worse. For now, only Karen's weird obsession with my legs had ben on display.

Okay, that might be bad for Karen, though...

Prolly was better not think about it too much.

"A, anyway! Yumi!"

"N, Nn?"

"You.... didn't perhaps see Rina on your way here... did you?"

"Nn... No, don't think I did."

"I see..."

Lily smiled wryly at my answer. Had something happened between the two?

"If I recall correctly, Rina mentioned yesterday that she'd go to Wanda's. Why not go and look for her?"

"Eh? She did?"

"Yes."

"To Wanda's... Well, I'll go to her then."

After forcing herself to stand up, Lily did some stretches.

"What about you two? Going to go get breakfast?"

"Nn, no... Actually, I wanted to get the shell remains together and bring them to the magic craftsman. I came here first to ask you two for help."

"Ahh... That person, huh..."

For some reason, Lily furrowed her eyebrows.

"Something wrong, Lily?"

"Mm... No, not really."

She quickly relaxed her expression and smiled at us.

"Anyway, I'm going to look for Rina now. I don't want to enter that wagon again if I can, sorry... Karen should be enough to help you, right?"

"Nn, probably? Sis?"

"It should be fine."

Seemed that Lily really couldn't deal with the tentacles. It made me a little sad but also weirdly relieved to see such a surprisingly normal reaction from her.

"Good, good. Then, guess we'll see each other at breakfast then?"

"Nn."

"Yes, until later."

Lily waved and left the tent but... Was she fine leaving like that? Her hair was still a complete mess... Well, it was her problem. Not mine.

"By the way, Sis, where are Maya and the girls?"

"Ahh, those three were already gone by the time I woke up..."

"Gone?"

"Yeah... Don't know where they went off to, though."

"Huh..."

Maybe they had something to do? Surprised they managed to wake up before Karen and Lily. Especially Sele.

"Mm... Yumi."

"Nn?"

"Do we have a bag large enough for the shell?"

"A bag? I... don't think so?"

Now that she mentioned it... That egg was large. After all, it had to keep Karen and me inside.

"Then, let's first try to find a bag. here surely are some between the supplies."

"Ahh, probably."

"And, let's bring the shell here then."

"Nn, why here?"

Wasn't that going to be a pain?

"We can't let too many people know, right? And there are probably quite a few people working with her."

"Mm... You're right... Okay, let's bring it here first."

It was better to play it safe rather than feeling sorry about it afterwards. It wasn't like it was too troublesome anyway.

"Then, let's go."

"Nn."

We stood up, took hold of each other's hands, and made our way to the mercenaries' supplies.

"Yumi, careful, careful."

"Nn... Like this?"

"Yes, that looks good."

As expected, the supplies yielded us some results. Most supplies were stored in wooden crates but not everything. The waroxen couldn't exactly carry a crate on their back. Instead, there were many pouches and bags made for them. And among them were a few really large ones. I wondered what they were used for so I asked but...

"Ah, those bags? We only really use them for subjugation jobs, you know. For bandits and for monsters. It's easier to just throw everything into the bag. Not our job to sort the pieces."

In other words, they're body bags. And since some monsters were a lot larger than a human, some bags were really large. And everything that went even further in size wasn't carried in bags apparently either way. Instead, they'd carry it with a vehicle, something akin to a sledge.

Either way, I had mixed feelings about these bags but beggars can't be choosers, so we took them...

"Yumi, can you hold this?"

"Nn."

"Thank you. Okay, I'll lift it now."

"Nn."

With the bags in hand, we made our way to the wagon to stuff the shell inside. Right now, I was holding the bag open with the shell half inside and Karen pushing the shell. A short while later and we had somehow managed to get it inside.

"Good, now we only need to throw in the small pieces as well and we're done."

"Nn. This went a lot faster than expected."

"Then, I'll bring this back and you go looking for that girl, okay?"

"Nn... Okay."

Karen heaved up the large bag with the shell after we threw in the remaining pieces. Even if it wasn't exceedingly heavy, that huge shell surely still weighed quite a bit... Seeing her lift like it was nothing... I wish I was as strong as she was...

With the large bag in her arms, Karen made her way back.

Well then, I should look for that girl... What was her name again? Uhm... Elina! Right...

I left the wagon and made my way to the tent where Karen and I had met the girl yesterday. No idea if she was actually there but if not, someone there would probably know.

Should be... this way, right?

I was slowly getting a feel for the layout of the camp... Well, it'd be bad if I would get lost all the time even after walking around for a while.

The camp was already wide awake by now. Wide awake but not as busy as they were usually.

Oh. An elf. Oh? Oh, oh, oh? What's this?

A little off the way I spotted a cute elf girl talking with a mercenary. It wasn't possible for me to hear what they were talking about. Which was a bit unfortunate.

The small elf girl tried to convey something to the mercenary, looking rather awkward. She was blushing a bit as well. It was cute. Seriously.

This must be what they were talking about earlier, huh? Wonder if it's like that with those two. That man doesn't seem to be too unhappy, grinning like that.

It was probably no good to peep too much, though. But, it was nice seeing them get along. This might turn out to be rather interesting.

Lost in my thoughts, it didn't take long for me to arrive at the tent.

"Oh? Yumi."

"Wanda, good morning."

"Good morning. need something from us?"

"Nn, a little. Is Elina here?"

Wanda was sitting just outside the tent at a table, drinking something. Hopefully not alcohol.

"That girl? Yes, she's inside."

Oh, found her quickly. How convenient.

"Kid, come here for a bit."

"Nn?"

Wanda pointed at the chair opposite her.

"It's about that girl, Elina."

"Is something wrong with her?"

"Mh... I wouldn't say wrong... No, maybe there is."

"Nn?"

A little confused, I took a seat, waiting for Wanda to explain what she wanted.

"That girl worked nearly the entire night through."

"The entire night? Seriously?"

Wanda nodded and then let out a sigh.

"I forced her to take a rest. She's sleeping right now."

"Ohh..."

That was some bad timing, huh... Found her quickly but she was sleeping...

"So, I don't know what you need her for, but you better come back later."

"I see... Guess it can't be helped."

Working throughout the night... That was some admirable dedication, but taking proper rest was important as well.

"On the other hand, we're basically done with our work on your hair, thanks to her work."

"Oh? Already?"

"Yes. We still need to test how durable it is, though."

"I see. That's still quite quick."

I had heard from Korwen that they had made quite the progress but that they were nearly finished already... That was impressive.

"Better than taking too long, right?"

"Nn, that's true."

"We'll count on you."

"..."

Ah. Right. Material farm, here I come.

"Wanda, what are the plans for the yarn anyway right now?"

If it was durable, which was likely the case, then it could have countless applications, after all. But I doubted Korwen was planning on replacing everything with this.

"Plans? Do you mean, what we're going to make with it?"

"Nn."

"Mh, let's see... Give me a moment."

Wanda suddenly stood up from her seat and entered the tent, cautiously and slowly, probably so that she wouldn't wake up Elina. A short moment later she returned, holding some paper sheets.

"Here you go. From top to bottom, ordered by importance."

She handed me the document. A vast list of things...

"Rope? Rope is at the top? Why?"

I had expected stuff like protective clothing to be at the top, but not rope. I hadn't even thought of rope at all.

"Rope has a lot of applications, kid. And a rope with high durability is precious. One of the biggest obstacles for monster hunting is transporting the corpse. Many monsters are outrageously heavy, and a durable rope would make life a lot easier. It would also keep the cost of snapped ropes down. Makeshift barricades also use ropes. Traps, too. Want me to go on?"

"No, I think I get it..."

She was right... Even the tents used ropes to stabilise themselves. If you looked closely, they were used quite a lot.

"Then... the second one is... a net?"

"The net is probably for a job. I heard they got a troublesome one."

"Ohhh..."

The ogre capture. That was actually a good idea, assuming the net could withstand it. But if it could... You'd still have to get it inside the net first... Well, it wasn't my job to figure that out anyway.

"The rest is... armour underclothes... robes... tent cloth... There's a lot, huh."

Everything else on the list looked closer to what I would have expected. Clothes, bags, large sheets of cloth, and so on.

"We won't even get through half of that list, don't worry, kid. We'll likely only make the ropes, the net and some clothes. Anything more would be too much."

"Why too much?"

"Because if it lives up to our expectations, people will grow interested in it. And if we have too much, people will find out."

"Ah."

And if people were to find out that it came from me, then... Yeah, that'd be no good. I'd like a quiet and peaceful... Okay, probably not that, but a comparatively safe life should be doable.

"Mm, wait a moment."

"Nn?"

Once more, Wanda left her seat and went into the tent, only to return a short while later, carrying a basket.

"That is?"

"Our results."

"Ohhhh? But, Wanda... Is it fine to bring them out, though?"

"Don't worry, kid. I'm a seamstress so it's not weird for me to talk with someone about yarn and cloth, right?"

"Well... That's true, I guess."

Inside the basket were a few spindles with yarn as well as a small piece of cloth.

Wanda picked up five spindles and showed them to me.

"That girl and her old man managed to make a few different ones. Take a look."

"Nn?"

Each spindle had a slightly different yarn. From an extremely thin one to a yarn several millimetres in thickness. And, except for one, they were all smooth. They looked more like cords to me. Maybe I should ask for a knife to check if there were metal wires inside the thick one.

The remaining one was also rather thick but rough, with visible fluffy offshoots. This one looked more like how I figured knitting yarn would look like.

"Why is this one not smooth?"

"This one? That was on my request. I'd rather work with something that feels more familiar to me. Also turned out to be the hardest one for them to make."

"Ahh. Makes sense."

I couldn't imagine how you'd even go about making it look like this... Then again, I had no idea of their craft anyway, I wasn't able to imagine how they made the smooth one either. But between them, the smooth one seemed easier.

"It is still just as durable, though. If I had more of this, I could make winter clothing of it but that seems unlikely for now. The thin yarn is fine but the others... Well, they'll probably make good ropes, so that's fine I guess."

"Huh..."

While I stared at the different types, Wanda also took out the cloth piece. This one made me a little curious as well, to be honest.

"This is something that might be interesting as well. Here."

"Nn?"

She handed me the piece of cloth. It felt smooth to the touch. Really smooth.

"Nn? Is this... a single piece?"

Upon closer inspection, this wasn't some kind of woven cloth or anything. It was a single piece of... Yeah, what was this even?

"It is. That's not yarn or cloth, it's more like leather."

"... Leather?"

Weren't we talking about yarn and stuff? Why suddenly leather?

"Well, kid... For some reason, they say it's easier to make stuff like leather out of it. Even the yarn is closer to leather, they said. Not like I really get it either, though, but it is apparently easier for them to make it like that."

"..."

Leather... Yarn... My hair...

Ahhh, it was... because of that, right? Because my hair wasn't exactly hair... It was made from tiny tentacles... Tentacles were probably mostly flesh, maybe skin too... Never bothered to check if they had any skin.

Yeah... I'm certain that's it... That's definitely it... This is just a piece of skin.

Not like I could say that out loud, though.

"That boy, Konno, was overjoyed, though."

"Haaa..."

Ahh, well... for someone like him, it was probably more interesting than yarn. Yeah.

"They were already talking about how useful it could turn out for armour. Though, if you want to know what the heck they were on about, you'd have to ask him yourself. Leather isn't my speciality."

"Nn... If I get the chance, I will."

It was my hair, so of course, I'd be interested in what they make from it.

"So, kid, what's your impression?"

"Nn? My impression?"

"Yes, your impression, what else? This is still about your stuff, after all."

"Nn..."

My impression, huh. That was a bit hard, honestly...

"I don't really know what to say... Mh, like, I have no idea about yarn and everything, so... It seems like they're doing a good job, I think? For this piece of ski— leather, too... I guess it's neat?"

"Neat, huh. Well, that's true."

For some reason, Wanda smiled wryly. Then, she collected the spindles and the piece of ski— leather and returned them to the basket.

"Right, kid, we talked about using this for the clothes you and the girly wanted..."

"Nn?"

"I'll have to discuss it with Elina but we might not be able to make enough to spare any for that."

"Ahh..."

That... was unfortunate, but certainly understandable...

"Either way, until I actually worked with it, I don't even know if it's useable. And considering we can't enter the city right now, I wouldn't be able to get any other decent cloth. Sorry to say, but it might be impossible for now."

"I see..."

Impossible... I had been looking forward to seeing Karen in a fancy dress or some male clothing but... The reality was cruel. Although this was without a doubt a rather luxurious worry.

"For the other stuff, I'm mostly finished though. You should come by with the girly later to fetch them."

"Ah, yes, will do."

That was fast.

Or, was it? She did have a few days time already...

"Now then, I'll put this back and return. Rina should be soon done as well."

"Rina? Oh, right... What is she doing?"

Karen had said that she wanted to go to Wanda's place, but Wanda was here and Rina wasn't...

"Mm? Ahh, I gave her a few tasks to work on before breakfast."

"Huh... So, I guess she's helping you for now?"

"For today, yes. Tomorrow, she is going to the Black Guards' blacksmith, I think. No idea about the ones after that."

So she was looking at what kind of work she could do, huh...

"Well then, kid, I'll go now. Can't leave her alone all day and the Walking Disaster surely found her way there by now as well. Never thought I'd see the day where that girl acts like a love-struck maiden... Makes me shiver."

"Ahaha..."

So Wanda knew already about it, huh... Not too surprised.

"Then, until then, kid."

"Nn, bye."

Wanda returned the basket inside the tent and then went on her way back to her own one.

Now then, what should I do?

The magic craftsman—in other words, Elina—was sleeping and out for now. It was probably best to return to Karen and tell her. After that would be breakfast and... Probably should ask Korwen what else there was to do.

Now then, off I go as well!

Rinne

On the plus side, I got out an extra chapter for Patreon this week. Better late than never... So, if you want to support me, now you can read 4 chapters ahead. Or 7 if you feel generous. Later this month that will also increase to 8.

Thank you for reading!

Everyone, stay healthy!