Book 2: Chapter 2: Sleep and Travel

Book 2: Chapter 2: Sleep and Travel

Lone was surprised to have gotten through to Grimsley and not Gilbert but this was a good sign. The fact that someone had answered the call at all meant that they weren't all dead, which was the worst-case scenario in Lone's mind.

However, as the conversation went on Lone's joy quickly turned into a mix of anger and worry. "So you don't know if Gilbert will live?"

Grimsley had detailed how they had been attacked by the four dukes and escaped by using the Djinn's wish when Gilbert received a near-fatal wound.

"Aye, Laddie. Not got ah clue. Ah did what a could, mind, but 'e could 'ave an internal infection or might nae 'eal fast enuff tae save 'imself fae the internal bleedin'. All we can dae noo is 'ope fae the best," the utterly exhausted Grimsely answered.

Lone bit onto his finger hard enough to draw blood as he muttered, "Milindo... I'll wipe you off the map for this, one day."

Little did he know Grand Guildmaster Sarah had already ordered the adventurer group, The Seven Deadly Sins, to do something very similar to his thoughts.

"Anyway, enuff aboot us, Laddie. 'Ow're ye an' the wee lassies? Make it oot awright?" Grimsley asked.

"Yes, not before killing the king though. He came after us, I monologued to him how much of a foolish and incompetent man he was then I ended his life. I also reached D-rank. Yay me, right?" he answered with fake enthusiasm.

"What?! A mere demi killed His Royal Majesty?! Impossible! He's lying!" a voice unknown to Lone screamed through the orb.

"Grimsley? Who was that?" Lone asked in both confusion and worry. Had they been taken hostage by someone loyal to the crown?

All Grimsley had explained was that he and Shana were a bit beat up but alive and he'd detailed Gilbert's horrific condition, he hadn't told him about their new 'friend'.

"Ah pest, that's who," Grimsley answered. "Ah wasnae particularly specific when ah made the wish tae the Djinn, so naw only did it teleport us over ah fookin' ocean, but it also brought one ah the dukes wae us. Thank the Primals the cunt cannae swim, eh?"

"Which duke?" Lone inquired.

"Ah coudnae gae ah fook les- Duke Grindol, you barbaric dwarf - Oi! Anymere cheek ootta ya an' ah'll nae reforge yer sword when ah can, do ya understand me, laddie?!" Grimsley yelled through the communication orb.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

Lone smiled wryly. 'The duke's probably older than you are, Grimsley. Calling him 'laddie' is a bit...'

Regardless, the duke agreed and then politely asked once more if it was actually true Lone had killed the king.

Not seeing any reason to explain himself to a speciesist duke, he simply said 'yes' and nothing more. He and Grimsley then chatted about their plans - Lone's to go to a dwarven stronghold and Grimsely's to build a ship - and then they ended the call.

Lone reached into a pocket and pulled out what Grimsley had left him before they parted ways in the Holy City of Ranton. It turns out that the grumpy Stone Dwarf had decided to gift him with his pair of steamforged glasses.

Lone played with the various lens a bit placidly as he muttered, "Grimsley said that the nearest stronghold of Krieg Moor is disconnected from the Farwinds - the road that connects all kriegs... That means no easy travel from one end of the continent to another..."

He sighed. "He also mentioned they've been dealing with strange phenomena and are a bit testy towards visitors right now though he doesn't know much else since he only had a single contact there while staying in Milindo... Perfect... Still, it's wiser to try and find refuge there for a time. I can only hope we don't get mixed up in whatever issues they're facing..."

Lone yawned strongly as the hours slowly ticked on by. He was too tired to train but too restless to relax. He couldn't even appreciate the fact that the sun was slowly setting and the wasteland was gradually getting cooler.

Suddenly, he heard a sound from his left and then a massive impact hit his side. He'd been hugged and was being squeezed rather tightly by an adorable little creature. "Hi, Soph," he greeted.

The girl had teleported onto the roof and tears were streaming down her face as she burrowed into Lone's shirt. "I saw- You- Dungeon- Sophie's memories- The blood-"

Lone stayed quiet as Soph cried her heart out and mumbled words endlessly and a bit incoherently. Eventually, she calmed down a bit.

Still crying though no longer sobbing, she grabbed Lone's hand and said, "Bath and sleep. You need both."

Lone smiled wryly. "The first I can do, the later... I can try. I trust you're watching our surroundings?"

Soph nodded cutely. "Mmm. By the way! I, uh, I don't forgive you or Sophie yet! I was asleep for so long... It was cruel..."

"It was for your own good," Lone protested as he allowed himself to be dragged towards the roof hatch which led down into the fort.

"... Why?!"

Lone's torso flung up as his eyes widened. His breath was heavy and he was covered in sweat. "The voices and faces again... Fuck..."

He looked around and noticed that only he and Kyuubi were still in the bed. He scooped up the sleeping fox and hugged her to his head, wrapping his face in her softness. "Ha-ah... I wonder if I'll ever get a good night's sleep again. What do you think, Kyuubi?"

"Kyuu..." was the only response he got from the softly snoring animal.

Lone guessed he'd only been out for maybe 3-hours, pathetic as that was. Still, it was the only sleep he'd gotten in days so he was thankful regardless of how unhelpful and unhealthy it was.

He busied himself by getting dressed and he then quickly went to check up on Breena. The girl was still sleeping soundly though she was tossing and turning a bit as she did.

Clearly, she too suffered from bad dreams though likely not to the level that Lone did, which was relieving.

Lone grabbed a snack from the kitchen then found Soph sitting atop the roof, a small transparent green circle appearing and disappearing in front of her outstretched hand.

"Unique Magic: Barrier Magic?" Lone asked as he squatted down next to her.

The girl nodded. "Indeed. Soph is asleep, by the way. We are practising the usage of the unique skill as we stay on watch. You awoke earlier than we expected."

"Ah. You're not using your 15-year-old body so I couldn't tell it was you, Sophie," Lone said. "I couldn't sleep."

"That is a lie. It is just that something forced you to awaken," Sophie said plainly. "A nightmare, we assume? We have experienced such hardships before." A distant look entered Sophie's eyes. "That is why Soph exists."

Lone smiled faintly. "Sadly, I'm not really an expert on creating a separate personality that is essentially another person."

"... Is it the torture?" Sophie asked.

Lone shook his head. "Killing the demi kids."

"Ah... In our case, it was being chained to a wall for 200-years," Sophie said, trying her best to sympathise with her lover. "... Lone, Soph and us... we both care for you deeply. If you need to talk, we will listen."

"Thanks," Lone answered. "That means a lot to me, really. I don't think this is something that'll go away though with just some chatting."

"Of course." For once, Sophie wasn't being rude or snarky in any regard.

She truly empathised with Lone's pain and it, in turn, pained her as well. 'Love... how double-edged. He makes us feel so warm and pleasant just by thinking of his face but also, knowing of his mental scars and the fact that he cannot sleep soundly due to them... it burns our heart... We should remind him of our feelings so he knows we share his burden. P-Perhaps hedidn'tfully understand what we meant when we confessed to him in the forest...'

"L-Lone," Sophie called, suddenly straightening her spine seriously as she turned to stare into his now multicoloured-eyes - the colours being gold, blue and black.

Staring back curiously, Lone replied, "Hmm? Yes?"

'Curses! Why is he so handsome!' Sophie twisted her neck and looked the opposite direction as she muttered with a flushed expression, "W-We love you."

"Huh?" Lone was a bit shocked at first upon seeing how embarrassed she obviously was before he laughed and grabbed her head before pulling her in and kissing her hair. "I love you too."

"F-Fool..." Sophie immediately regretted expressing herself once more. Being kind and loving certainly was a challenge of endurance and perseverance, she felt.

For the next day, Lone, Soph, Kyuubi and Breena relaxed before Lone retrieved the fort. They quickly moved on from the Estoplian Wasteland, teleporting through it and walking when necessary to conserve Soph's MP.

At one point Lone had suggested that Soph should simply use the mana orb Sophie had taken from the now-dead crown prince of Milindo, but she insisted that it would be wasteful since they seemed to be in no immediate danger.

Both Soph and Sophie had instead suggested that they tried to experiment with the tool to see if it could help Lone with his MP seal. He agreed and put that on the list of things to do once they were safely settled into Krieg Moor.

Speaking of the dwarven stronghold, after a few days of peaceful travel, the group of four had arrived at their destination. Before them lay what was once a valid entrance to the greater Farwinds known as Krieg Moor.