Chapter LVII (57) - Town's Return- Jeri Co.

He decided not to bother Basil or Mort. Both slept. Basil wouldn’t be able to be able to communicate with him and Mort would be irritated about being woken up. Better to just handle this himself.

The illusion he had overlaid on Anata’s clothing was still active and would continue to conceal here. Kizu considered dismissing it. But decided it was far better if Anata was discovered as a rogue moving potato sack than as a half-vampire girl wandering the academy halls. One brought up significantly fewer questions than the other.

His scrying orb was still under his bed, where he had left it. Now that he no longer needed to worry about the academy tracking him, he snatched it up.

He thankfully had an older prototype of his leg brace stashed under his bed as well. Using that, along with a cane, he could traverse around the academy without too much issue. Even still, his leg was aching, and the sun was high in the sky when he finally found the potato sack.

Checking over his shoulder, he dismissed the illusion. Anata sat next to a stone pillar, leaning up against it. She wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, crouching down next to her.

She raised her hands and stared at them. But made no further response.

“You need to be careful; this isn’t like when you wandered as a spirit before, people will notice you now.”

She nodded ever so slightly, then put her hand against the stone pillar. She pushed against it. Nothing happened.

Kizu did his best to guess what was bothering her. “You can’t pass through walls when you’re awake,” he said. “It’s not like how you dreamed it.”

She looked up at him, surprise showing in her face.

“I understand a little, at least, what it’s like to be locked up and dreaming of a place for years. Nothing is quite the same as when you dreamed of it.”

Anata nodded again, more vigorously this time.

“What did you leave for? I can show you around, but you shouldn’t just wander off alone.”

She pointed at her stomach, then licked the stone pillar.

Of course. She hadn’t eaten or had a drop to drink in at least a day.

“Come on,” he said. “I am going to overlay your clothes again with that illusion. Follow close behind me and I’ll bring you to some food.”

The cafeteria was full of students getting early dinners. Kizu spotted a few of his classmates in groups, working on projects. Midterms, he realized. Those had completely slipped his mind.

He managed to find a small empty table in the back of the room and boosted Anata into the chair.

“What do you want?” he asked. But then realized how stupid the question was. Even if she could communicate, she definitely couldn’t read the Universal Script.

He selected two bowls of noodles on the menu. They materialized in front of him, and he passed one over to her. Two small hands pierced the potato sack and snatched the bowl up. He was about to pass her the sticks to help her eat, but immediately started hearing her messy slurping. Only interrupted by brief, intermittent gasps of air. A minute later, the hands, now soaked in broth, reappeared, holding out an empty bowl. Kizu took it and switched it out with his own full one.

He ordered a couple wheat bread buns and passed one to her as well.

“Here,” he said. “Use this to soak up the soup when you’re finished with the noodles.”

He munched on his own bread while she ate, now at a slightly slower pace.

“Kizu!” someone said behind him. Followed by a string of very incoherent words.

Turning, Kizu was surprised to see Gregor. It felt like forever since he last chatted with the Tainted drummer. And…it seemed like it would continue to stay that way for a bit longer.

“I don’t understand,” Kizu said and pointed at his ear, indicating the lack of an earring.

Gregor tilted his head, then understanding seemed to come and his face lit up. He continued to talk, in a language that sounded incredibly guttural. Then he took a quill from his bag and wrote on a napkin in the Universal Script. Then he sketched a rough map on the back of the napkin before handing it over to Kizu.

Broke it, eh?

No worries. If you want another, there’s a shop in town that sells hand-me-downs from graduates.

Place is called Jeri co. Across from the bar Utasuki.

I’d show you, but Tara wants me in a study hall with her. Just supposed to be grabbing us food right now.

Kizu read the note twice, not believing his luck.

“Thanks,” he said, pocketing the napkin.

Gregor snatched up one of Kizu’s bread rolls and bit into it, then gave him a big grin and a wink as he walked away.

Kizu stood, deciding to try to get to the shop before it closed for the day. But then he felt a tug at the back of his shirt. He looked behind himself and saw Anata’s little hand pointing at the menu.

He sighed, then ordered a dozen of the dessert, dango dumplings. He took the platter with him as they left, passing her a skewer whenever she finished one. And helping himself to one as well. The last time he had eaten dango had been years ago, he reflected as he bit into the sticky dessert. Likely with Anna at a festival.

“Your mom loved these,” he reflected as they walked. “Whenever we went to a festival, she always ate too many and felt sick the next day.”

If Anata made any sort of response, he couldn’t see it under the illusion. Kizu decided to stop talking, just in case it drew any attention.

As they exited the academy grounds, a James mentioned that they needed to return before curfew, but other than that, nobody commented on him and his roving potato sack. The road down to the town proved more challenging. Anata had to stop and catch her breath several times. This made him realize just how little exercise Anata must have experienced in her entire life. He tried to be patient, but after the fourth stop, each getting closer to the last, he simply picked her up. And while his leg brace protested, she was light enough that limping down the hill was significantly faster than waiting for her. After all, he wanted to get down to the shop before they all closed for the day.

He could feel her clutch at his shirt, constantly fidgeting as they entered into the town. It seemed like she wanted to be looking everywhere all at once. Not that there was much to see. It wasn’t a weekend until tomorrow, so most students had already retired for the night and the majority of errand runners had finished up already. Midterms likely killed most parties.

Kizu found the place without too much difficulty. The bar across the street blared music with poor singing. Kizu was curious about if the music was live or if they’d used an enchantment to record the instruments ahead of time. Probably the latter. Or maybe the instruments themselves were enchanted. He made a mental note to check it out some other time.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The sign, Jeri Co. was weathered to the point of illegibility. If Gregor hadn’t specifically told him the shop’s name, he wouldn’t have been able to make it out.

He pushed open the door. It only opened about halfway before he hit resistance on the other side. Poking his head in, Kizu saw a pile of hundreds of cans blocking the door. He sidled his way inside, holding Anata close to him, and then let the door swing closed behind him.

The room was filled with random things. Jars with random things crammed inside lined the shelves. Random furniture was scattered throughout, not following any obvious rhyme or reason. Even the ceiling had strips of cloth and glyph marked papers hanging from it. There was a counter not far from the door, with a till on it.

“Hello?” Kizu said, walking up to it.

Immediately an orb lit up over the counter, blinding Kizu and making him take a step backward.

A figure hopped up to the counter.

“Hello, hello!” it said cheerfully.

Blinking rapidly, Kizu let his eyes adjust and saw a man, smaller than even Anata, standing at the counter. He had a white beard that reached his toes, but the top of his head was bald, only a rim of pink hair, speckled with white, remained.

“You’re a gnome,” Kizu said stupidly.

“Sure am,” the gnome confirmed with a smile. “Name’s Jeri. What can I getcha today? Something dramatic like a dragonslaying pike? Or something convenient like an invisible couch? Or are you just looking for sweets for your sister there?”

Kizu glanced down at Anata, confused. The illusion still held.

“Ah, that was rude of me, eh?” Jeri smacked his head with a palm. “Didn’t mean to insult your spellcraft. Missus always berates me for talking before thinking. Just, see me eye here?” He pointed at, as emphasis. “Lost it and got it replaced with one that sees through illusions. Always forget I see things people don’t. Headmaster himself wouldn’t be able to set something in front of me.”

“Oh,” Kizu said. “I’m…um, looking for a replacement earring.”

“Broke it or pawned it? Wait, stop! Don’t tell me. Missus says I ask too many questions, see. I gots a few different replacements. Want anything special, or just the standard?”

“Just the standard,” Kizu said, feeling unsure.

The gnome disappeared behind the counter, then reemerged with a handful of sparkling earrings.

“Favorite color?”

“Just the normal black?”

“Pity.” Jeri passed one over the counter to him. “Thought with your green hair you’d be a bit more of the adventurous sort. But don’t judge a book by its cover. Your sister need one too?”

“She’s my niece,” Kizu said, dismissing the potato sack illusion. Then he looked down at her.

Anata shook her head.

“She doesn’t want one.”

“Hm, well, here, take this at the very least. On the house.” Jeri passed him a small dress. “No offense, but whatever that outfit used to be, it looks long since passed its expiration date.” Jeri paused, then yanked his beard violently. “Ah, of course you’ll take offense! Got to think! Think before speaking. My mistake.”

“No,” Kizu said, taking the earring and small dress. “You’re right. Thank you.”

“Well now, an earring like that is 2,500 Yennies.”

“Ah, well,” Kizu fumbled for words. “I don’t really have any money on me right now….”

Jeri tugged on his beard again, staring at him. “What’d you say your name was?”

“Kaga Kizu.”

“One of the Kagas! I knew you looked familiar. Know your pa. Old business partner. Long since risen past the likes of yours truly, but I’ll badger him some time for the coin. Put it on your tab for now.”

It was Kizu’s turn to stare. He tried to wrap his mind around his father interacting with a man like this. Let alone being a business partner. But he thought better of questioning the fortune.

Kizu tried to recall his studies of gnomish and said what he thought was a word of thanks in the language, but it came out in such a garbled mess that Jeri simply laughed and told him he was welcome back anytime.

Kizu next decided to go see if he could manage to contact his parents. He remembered seeing an all-hours post office on one of his previous visits in town, so they headed in that direction next. Anata gaped at everything around them as they walked through the streets.

The post office was made of red clay bricks, and it seemed to lean slightly, indicating either great age or hasty construction.

The clerk at the front counter said something to him nonsensical in a monotone voice, not even bothering to look up from her book.

Kizu stared at her for a minute, then remembered his earring. He slid the stud in place. It stung and bled slightly, having partially healed over the last day.

“Sorry,” he said, wiping the blood on his pants. “Can you repeat that one more time?”

“Sending or receiving?” she said. Her eyes flickered up to him in irritation.

“Oh, sending.”

“Packages that size will have an additional cost.”

Packages? Then he looked down at Anata, whom he had reapplied his potato sack illusion over.

“Sorry. This sack is unrelated. I just need to send a message to my parents. Do you have a piece of parchment or paper?”

She pointed across the room at a desk by the window, then went back to her book.

Kizu craned his neck to make out the book’s cover. Glistering Gremlin spelled out in sparkling green letters. Not a book he was familiar with. It must be good though because the clerk was already completely refocused on the contents, even biting her lip in anticipation.

He walked over to the desk and set Anata down on one of the chairs. After two failed drafts, he had a completed letter he felt satisfied with.

Mother and Father,

Hope this letter finds you well. I recently came into contact with someone who knew Anna during her school days. I know this will come as a surprise, but I discovered he and she had a child together. Now, unfortunately, I find myself in custody of Anna’s daughter. Her father is no longer alive. I did some tests, just to be certain of her heritage, and it proved to be correct. Now, how should I proceed? Any guidance and help would be appreciated.

Your Son,

Kaga Kizu

Kizu looked over the most recent draft, uncertain. He assumed his parents would help, but he also didn’t want to come off as too pushy or demanding. The problem was, he just didn’t know his parents well enough to know how to approach them. What he ended up with felt polite and safe, but maybe safe wasn’t the right response.

He sighed, realizing he wouldn’t likely be coming up with anything better.

“Do you do pay-on-delivery?” he asked the front desk lady.

“Depends on who you’re sending to.” She didn’t look up from her book.

“My parents.”

“Yeah, we get those a lot.”

She held out her hand for the letter.

Kizu looked down at the folded piece of paper.

“Do I need to write their names on it?”

The lady glanced up from her book, eyes narrowing as she looked at the paper. She withdrew her hand.

“Yes,” she said with distaste. “Name, address, date. Written on an envelope.”

Kizu glanced back at the desk. Sure enough, there was a stack of blank envelopes. He apologized and retreated.

He quickly scrawled on it his parents’ names, their home address, and what he thought the date was. Passing it to the lady, he retreated with Anata in hand, not trusting himself to say another word without coming out of the exchange looking even dumber.

Setting Anata down, Kizu began to wander through the streets. As it was, he just needed to kill time in hopes that his parents would respond tonight. Anata tailed after him. His pace was slow enough that she could keep up without too much of an issue.

It felt surreal walking through the streets of the town again. As if all he had experienced down in the World Dungeon was nothing more than a strange dream. As if his decade with the hag had simply been a nightmare. He was transported back in time, to when he followed after Anna, the same way her daughter followed him now.

Kizu found himself walking past the old lady’s home where he had faced the first vampire spawn. It felt like ages ago. Cheesewhiskers the cat lounged in the windowsill, lazily looking down at them.

“Anywhere you want to go?” Kizu asked Anata.

She nodded enthusiastically and tugged on his hand. Kizu let her guide him down to the beach. The sun was setting over the sea, showing off a magnificent spread of pastel oranges and reds overhead. Anata had picked a gorgeous spot.

Kizu found a nice driftwood log half submerged in the sand and plopped down on it. Unfortunately, Anata appeared uninterested in resting. Instead, she walked right into the breaking waves.

She yelped as the water rammed into her legs, knocking her off balance and sending her tumbling face first into the water. Despite being at the shore, she flailed madly about in the water, submerging beneath the waves.

Practically leaping from where he sat, Kizu dashed down to the shoreline. He waded into the water about waist deep and snatched Anata from the water. Holding her close, he brought her out of the sea.

She clung to him, shaking madly with her eyes bugged out of her head as she gave the ocean the side eye. Kizu noted that she looked betrayed by the sea.

“You need to learn how to swim first,” Kizu explained. “You’re not just projecting your spirit anymore. The world is a lot more dangerous when you approach it in person.”

Kizu got the new dress out and tried giving it to Anata to change into. Of course, she didn’t know what to do with it. Rubbing his temples, Kizu sighed. The sooner his parents contacted him the better. He helped her change and discarded the old clothes. The child was little more than a skeleton with some skin. It was both sickening and infuriating. The crone had been a horrible parental figure to him, but at least she always gave him food. How could anyone treat their own kid so neglectfully?

Anata looked a bit happier in the new outfit, but she still looked a bit shaken. Kizu considered gathering up the old rags, but instead decided they were better off letting the tide take them. Then he kicked back and did his best to enjoy the end of the sunset. He had a hundred different worries and concerns, but he let them fade into the scent of the sea and the sound of rolling waves.