Chapter 11

Thick

The innkeeper and his wife had been much more interested in how I was going to pay them back for the damage to the building than in my promises to do so. I could have repaired it, myself, but the style is different from anything I know how to do, so the patch would have been visibly obvious.

Ultimately, it took a runner to and from Dabun Village to free me, a week each way at full urgency. Until then, I worked diligently for the couple as a waitress and cleaner. Fortunately, I was able to assure them that the damage was entirely my doing, and in self-defense at that, so Ayre was free from punishment and we both avoided criminal charges.

The runner returned with the reimbursement and a letter for me from Yorin. She recognized that we don't always get to pick our battlefields and the letter instructed me on how to deal with such matters in the future, should they occur.

Apparently, my Heroic Seal, the large, unique coin marking my recognition by the Empire as one of the five Heroes, could have been shown to the local regent. With that alone, he or she could have had the repairs started immediately with the expectation of reimbursement from the Throne.

Without going into details, I informed the local guards that the receptionist had been possessed. That will get him a lighter sentence, but I can't be certain he won't still hold a grudge against me for taking away his "genie." I can only hope there won't be any lasting effects.

Delayed by two weeks, Ayre and I set out for the Desert Cove dungeon yet again. It's another week and a couple more, far less eventful villages before we reach it, and the entire time, the land around us gets drier and drier.

Contrary to popular media, deserts aren't just giant sandboxes. This one is rocky and spotted with spindly trees, thorny cacti and incredibly stubborn flowers. There's even a meandering river, though the banks are wide to accommodate its exponential growth during the rainy season, and the road is safely distant from it for the same reason.

Eventually, we reach the final village on our route, a place that probably only exists because of the business from adventurers heading to the dungeon, but is outsized beyond its actual population for it. Its entire main market street is dedicated to selling to outsiders, its inns keep them rested, and the plentiful fountains keep them cool and hydrated. The village of Kaiwoku is close enough to the dungeon that it would be in danger of getting caught in it if the dungeon ever seriously expanded, but you'd never guess it from the bazaar-like atmosphere the city cultivates.

Of course, being that all of its tourists are traditionally female, the village has styled itself accordingly, with eye-catching signs full of graceful, artsy stylings and a wider array of softer colors. Their tourists are still adventurers, so there's still things like weapon and armor shops, but there's no respite even there. The former's sign is an ornate sword wrapped in an artistic ribbon like it's a magical girl's weapon, and the latter's windows are filled with mannequins showing off how fashionable their armored coats and ringmail skirts can look.

Ayre looks like he's died and gone to paradise, gushing over every sign and display. "Oh, I've always wanted to come to Kaiwoku! Its styles are top notch, and recognizable even halfway across the empire!"

I smirk at the display. "You're acting like a kid at the amusement park for the first time."

The elf just giggles at my expression. "And you look like you're going to be sick!"

I frown, crossing my arms. "It's not that bad," I assure with a look around. "I just think they're laying it on a little thick, is all."

"Uh-huh, and Dabun absolutely didn't have rabbits on every sign on the main street."

"Okay, that's a fair point," I admit. In theory, this isn't that different, just another specialty. "It just feels a lot more intense when I'm the product, I guess."

Already, criers are calling for our attention, for our interest, for our tins, and Ayre is looking like a right sucker.

"The dungeon can wait another day," the elf insists, arms clenched with barely suppressed energy. "We have to go shopping! You promised you would!"

I laugh and shake my head in surrender. "Fine, just pay attention to what you're buying. If you buy any armor that's impractical, you're just going to look like a tourist wearing it."

"You have one outfit and a robe," my friend retorts back, clearly getting fired up. "You don't get to talk about impractical! Let's go!"

And so we spend our first day in Kaiwoku as tourists. It's surprisingly fun, though I feel like there would be a lot less for us to do if I hadn't made stacks of bars selling coffee beans before we left Dabun.

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We peruse ointments and salves promising to save our youthful skin from the rigors of adventuring. We pose in armor we'd never wear onto a battlefield. We dine on sweets and cakes. And, like any good tourist trap, Kaiwoku makes a killing off of us.

One thing that strikes me is how gendered everything is. It makes sense, given that it's a tourist economy and only women go into the Desert Cove dungeon, but it's still stark to see. All of the clothing stores are staffed by young women, even the armory, ready at any moment to advise, measure and assist. Every service industry, from cafes to diners, is manned, literally. We are waited on hand and foot, no matter which one we go to, by either distinguished older gentlemen or beautiful young men.

Everything in Kaiwoku is arranged to make women spend as much money as possible by making them as comfortable and flattered as possible. I have to give the town credit for its cunning acumen, but it makes me feel ... I don't know, gullible, I guess. It's a very much conflicting feeling, considering it's working.

Ayre doesn't seem to be in any way immune to it, either. Everywhere we go, he ends up buying at least one thing, and rarely stops at one. The only business that doesn't get into our purse is the valets, an entire business whose sole role is carrying all of the shopping bags for the women. They are terribly depressed when I reveal that my bag is magical and we'd have no need of their services even if we bought a whole store.

Despite my criticisms, I'm guilty, too. I pay overpriced rates on a diet primarily consisting of fruit sugars, cream and honey, and I end up with several new outfits that aren't suitable outside of a high-end affair. And, honestly, I'd worry about wearing them there just because I feel like something would give their origin away.

Ayre and I even get a new weapon each. He laid eyes on a very pretty longbow he just had to have, and I took the opportunity to get a fancy crossbow. For research purposes, of course, and not just because I'm a sucker for bejeweled chrome work. Again, purchases that are probably battle-ready, but we'd both hesitate to actually use, however tightly Ayre hugged that bow as we left.

We bicker over armor, though.

"Come on," Ayre insists, "you have to try it on!"

The it in question is a suit of surprisingly lightweight armor consisting of bracers, heeled thigh-high boots that would probably be suicide if everyone that this place marketed toward didn't have superhuman balance, an armored short skirt just long enough to overlap the boots ... and, the real matter in question, a reinforced bustier that effectively doubles as a wonderbra.

I can't deny it would be eye-catching, but ... "You first," I insist. "If I have to, you have to!"

The elf balks at the boomerang coming back for him. "M-me?! No way! It'd never look good on me! You know I don't have the ... the figure for it!"

Ever since Ayre found the outfit, I had a hunch it was more something the archer wanted to try on, but it's true, Ayre wouldn't fill this out so well.

"I'm sure they have a slimmer one," I insist instead. "Besides, I don't have the figure for it, either." I motion toward the bustier. "I'm not some svelte Chinese girl! This thing will have my girls perched under my chin!"

I know Chinese probably doesn't translate, but the mental image my words conjure has Ayre seize up before collapsing into a fit of giggles.

We do end up trying out more properly-sized versions of the very Magical Girl Knight looking suit of armor, and I'm surprised to note it's actually something I can move in. Every class has certain restrictions in the kind of armor they can wear, and as a Gunslinger, or perhaps because of my upbringing in a modern world, what's compatible with me is particularly strict.

Between that and liking the look of our matching attire, we end up getting both sets. It's a pretty bit, since it's actual armor, but it's worth it to see Ayre smiling excitedly, even with a face that's beet red.

Eventually, as all things must, the day winds down to an end, though it feels like it went by in a flash. We're enjoying an actual dinner as a break from all of the quick sweets we've been eating all day, and even that is in an elegant eating area on the first floor of the inn where we rented our rooms.

I take a bit of beef and swirl it about in sweet potato before bringing it to my mouth. I chew it and swallow as I gather my thoughts. "I think I've decided what I want to spend some points on," I announce.

Ayre looks up from his fish in surprise. "You found time to think about something like that today?"

I smirk at that. Clearly, Ayre had been even more absorbed in it all than I had. "Actually, it's something I've been thinking of since Meritori."

My friend turns more serious as he sets his fork down. "You mean since the attack."

I don't even bother trying to deny or hide it, I just nod. "I think I've got some basic hand-to-hand skills, but it's mostly with a blade. It's all about striking, too. No grappling, no break-outs."

"Nothing to get you out of that man's grip," Ayre sums up yet again.

Again, I nod, this time with a frown. "Ayre, I think it's time to diversify myself, if only just a little bit, to cover some of the weaknesses of being a ranged combatant."

When I don't immediately explain myself, the archer leans forward a bit over the table toward me. "What do you have in mind?"

I take a deep breath. "I want to go into some martial arts. And, Ayre, I think you should, too."

"Me?" he repeats. "But I can't just spend points like that."

I shake my head for a change. "I know that, but you can practice with me once I get it. Like with Wilderness Survival, you'll pick it up in due time and get the skill for yourself."

Ayre frowns and looks down at his plate, pushing the food around a bit. "You're serious about this. You really want us both to do something like that?"

"I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I think it can save our lives."

Ayre still doesn't seem convinced. "Remmi, I don't think you understand the kind of investment that would be to me. For you, it's just points. For me, it's a divergence from everything I actually do, time I can't get back with a menu."

I sigh at that. "I have no intention of forcing it on you, Ayre. If you don't want to do it, that's all there is to it. I can practice it on my own. It's just one of those things that everyone gets way better at with a partner, and it's got benefits of its own even if you never have to actually use it in a fight."

I put a hand across the table to get Ayre's attention and look the elf in the eyes. "Please, just think about it, alright?"

After a moment, Ayre nods back. "I will, promise."