After a long walk, we arrived at the trade route and from there at an inn. This is welcome, as Kyou-san's precognition of the weather sure is right, the sky looks like it wants to drown us, building up more and more strength to do so.
Some negotiations later, we got a room, though it's usually used by two people, so with double the amount, there is barely enough room to move. However, this was the only room we could get, as this inn is packed with people who want to wait out the rainstorm.
The bed situation... To gain some WP, I sleep next to Ara-san and Kyou-san, which isn't usually a problem, but adding Rine's bad sleeping habits, which causes her to kill everything harmful or fast-moving close to her, everything becomes a headache.
While the two beds have enough safety-space between them, we would need three people squeezing into one bed, which would be very, very, very uncomfortable, but we can't move the beds either, they're anchored to the ground and wall, same as the two cupboards and trunks.
Yes, we could sleep on the ground, but even for two people, the room would be tiny. With three, one of us would have to sleep close to the beds, therefore much too close to Rine.
There is also too little room to sleep under a bed... the most logical thing to do is that one of us two share people share each bed. They'll be squeezing nonetheless, but it also spells death for the one who shares with Rine... “OK, let's do the most sensible thing here... Kyou-san and Ara-san one bed, Rine the other, I'll sleep at the door, let's skip these WP today.” This way, everyone can sleep peacefully. Nobody has to die, I don't have to get too close with someone else, it's perfect.
Except that Ara-san dares to traise a complaint! “Kenta-kun, while I think of Momo as a friend, sleeping that close to a human appears to be dangerous.”
Kyou-san looks at Ara-san as if the other girl has bitten into a stone, thinking it was a hamburger: “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Momo, you're a human, right?”
“Yes?”
“You see.”
“You've just skipped some sentences in your reasoning.”
“Do I have to explain the same points over and over again? Despite all your better sides of your personalities, humans are driven by their sexual desires, causing them to think about sexual intercourse around the clock, being turned on by the other and the same sex in addition to other species, like animals or alfar. Do you understand the source of my concerns?”
“I see, Arako. I haven't thought about this.” Kyou-san is smiling friendly, so she's pissed. Her hands move at an inhuman speed, trying to reach Ara-san's ears, but the alfr is prepared, stepping back, which causes her to stumble as the room is too small and her leg hits a bed. She falls backward and hits her head against the wall. “Arako!”
“Uhhh...” Ara-san groans while holding the back of her head. “My poor brain.” She tries to stand up but seems to be troubled.
“You should just sit. You have a concussion, so just be calm. [Heal]!” How good does that spell work on concussions? [Heal] is good for fights, as it closes wounds and heals minor injuries, but doesn't do much for many other things.
I exchange a look with Rine who isn't paying attention to any of this, seeing how her facial expression changes, she's conflicted with her own fantasies.
Well, I'm sick of all of it. “[Doff]!” This is an [Armor]-skill, which opens all the belts and straps of my armor, which is practical to save time. My red armor slips from my body and I put it into my backpack, the same as my hood and weapons except for my steel knife. “I don't know about you, but I'll head to the common room.”
“Have fun,” Kyou-san just says while examining Ara-san's head.
I leave the room and breathe the wife-free air. It's warm and stuffy, but I really need some more me-time, bathing wasn't enough after all. Now that we're out of the swamps, I plan to add some more scouting into the schedule again to get away from them from time to time to recharge my batteries.
Well, time for the common room. I walk down the stairs and see a packed room with all sorts of people, I guess most are merchants, but for some reason, there are more folkmen than usual around here. Folkmen are small people, almost like halflings from games, but they're strong! Each of them would be able to lift and hurl me through the room.
“Hey!” Suddenly a voice cuts through the air and I see an old man who wears a poncho. The hair is wild, he has a beard, I think I might know him... I try to search my memory, but... “Red Ranger, good to see you.”
Now, that rang a bell! He's the geezer from Goldbrunn, just an acquaintance, but for some reason, he puts his arm around my shoulders, leading me to a table. “Hey!” I try to escape, but for a geezer, his grip is surprisingly firm.
“Don't fret, I'm just happy to see you again. Where are your girls?”
“...why are you asking this?” Why is he immediately asking about my companions? Is he maybe a bounty hunter who didn't realize in Goldbrunn who we were... but wasn't he a beggar? “Why are you even here, you don't have money, right?”
“Earned some. Also, I want to see some pretty faces, nothing against yours, but... actually, speaking of it, your face has that certain something. Add some more wildness in your eyes, some blood of your enemies to your face, and you would look great!”
“Are you joking?”
“Half. Sit down, sit down.” I'm inclined to decline, but let's see where this is going. “Eza, you beautiful plum! Come here, girl, you have a new customer!”
A plumb woman comes, she looks at the geezer with a stern but also amused look. She turns to me: “How can I help you?”
“Something to eat and a beer.” I might be a minor, but I've given up asking for juice or tea. Beer is water that tastes like something, at least. Also, in this world, people my age drink beverages as the concept of adulthood is a bit different here.
“Sure. Today we serve roasted hammleton meat together with some underneep salad“ I guess hammleton is a monster, while underneep is some kind of vegetable. “Alternatively, you can choose bread with cheese and underneep soup.” Why is it always bread and cheese?
“I'll take the meat.” After giving my offer, the geezer tries to pinch the woman's behind, though she blocked it while smiling at him.
The geezer grins at me then. “You know, boy, the trick with girls is to be enough of a brat that they'll forgive you if you're mischievous.”
“And why should I care?”
“Well, considering our former conversation, I thought you needed some advice.”
“Forget that conversation.”
“But-”
“Forget! It!” I just remembered our last talk, when I asked him where I could find a prostitute. I just wanted to get rid of my virginity, but it ended with me fighting Correo's oni, which caused the Crusaders to be on my trail. An incident I want to wipe out of my memory entirely.
Worse of it, if any of the girls know about it... I can't really imagine what will happen, but I don't want to find out... most likely a never-ending flow of jokes at my expenses from Kyou-san and Ara-san, and too many accusing looks from Rine.
This would be a pain!
“I will, under one condition... Did you succeed?” I try to keep a poker face, but the geezer may have seen my answer despite that. “I understand. Well, sometimes things don't go right! So let's talk about your girls instead, how far are you with them?”
Why is he... OK, let's just be especially rude to him: “That's none of your bloody business.”
“Boy,” he says in a dead-serious voice: “I'm just curious.” The content of his words is the opposite of his tone! “Well, if you're shy, then let me just talk a bit to myself and you may take what you like out of it.”
“Shut up!”
“You know, in my younger days, I had many women. However-”
“I said, shut up!”
“-I was just a piece of shit, who-”
“Shut-up-shut-up-shut-up-shu-”
“Here is your order!” Interrupting the both of us is that server woman who put a plate in front of me, greasy meat with some sliced turnip-alikes, mixed with something that looks similar to cabbage, all soaked in some sort of dressing. She also puts two mugs full of beer on the table. “Also, be quiet! Save it for later.”
“Yes, Eza-dear.”
“Hmph.” It's not my fault that this old fart can't take a hint.
“Ah, Eza was pissed. This is why you're not popular.”
“Who needs popularity?” I cut my meat and try some of it, it's bland and the amount of fat makes it hard to have a good bite, but that's the food quality of this world.
“Wouldn't it be better if people liked you?”
OK, what's with this geezer? I look at him and the more I look at him, the more dirty and fringed he appears. “Why? What does it change?”
“It'll change how they'll remember you.”
“That's stupid.” I can't get my head around that. Why does it matter? It's not like I dismiss human bonds entirely, but trying to act a certain way to please others is just the start of a small net of deception, which grows bigger until it captures your whole life.
“Give it a few years. You're still young, you can still change.”
“Even you can change. Take a bath.”
“I can still change? Thank you.” OK, why is he earnestly thanking me, it gives me the creeps. “Do the people here know that you're a ranger?”
[https://kentusauthor.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/07-2-1.png?w=676]
“No.” I hid my hood this time to be on the sure side. “Would be glad if we could keep it this way.”
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
“Sure.”
“Why are you even here?” He said he was a vagabond when we first met him in Goldbrunn, but this is a strange coincidence.
“I'm heading to Zethtrin.”
...the girls and I are also going there, trying to find someone to remove the wedding-curse. It's a big city that also has strong users of [Divine Magic] and even some [Black Magic], according to Ara-san. Kyou-san may have met that witch in the swamps, but seeing how bad she's in orienting, which is thousand-times worse in the Spirit Swamps, it'd be a waste of time trying to look for her. Especially as the witch seemed to be incapable of doing something about the ring in the first place.
I guess there are other things in Zethtrin as well. Like the so-called games, something akin to a series of tournaments in different categories, a great festival that happens once every five years. Almost like the Olympics. Maybe the geezer wants to watch them, something like one of the things he wants to do before he dies. “Zethtrin... seriously, you're going there alone, geezer?” However, it's still a big distance to cover and the geezer looks like he could die any moment.
“Kehehe,” he chuckles in a nasty way, “I've sneaked away from my people.”
“So, you have family?”
“Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren even. However, I'm old and I hate being a burden.”
“...” Hate being a burden... Something about these words resonates with me. “Seriously, let your family help you.” I try some of the salad, it's slightly bitter, but maybe almost tasty... I'm addicted to Kyou-san's food and I may have passed the point of no return...
“Nah, it's alright.” The way he dismisses it makes me think that there is something to that geezer... well, he did travel from Goldbrunn over Ohlbrücken to this inn. Even with the monsters gone, it's quite a journey... Yet there is more, how should I put it...
Something about him is off.
―○●○―
“The ninth wife-conference starts, the chairman is Momokawa Kyou, the secretary is me, Ara'ainn.” This is some sort of ritual we girls do, though it had to pause in the Spirit Swamps. With Ken in the common room, however, we can finally start it, though I treated Arako first and afterward, we took our time to change into more casual clothes.
The purpose of the formerly known Anti-Katsuragi-Kenta-Summit is to assess the current situation of the curse, how it influences us, and how to deal with Ken. “Thank you, Arako. Since we haven't had a meeting for some time, let us start by stating how we currently feel. I, for my part, feel rather troubled and insecure about the current state of things. The incident with the swamp-ss'rak and the fight with Lvo'tjos have made things awkward. How about you, Rine-chan?”
“I'm confused and I don't know what to do. Everything used to feel so clear, now it's all mushy and difficult. Ara?”
“I'm just glad that I stopped bleeding.” She's referring to her human-like period. “Chairman?”
“We need to order today's agenda. Secretary Ara'ainn, are you willing to speak about Lvo'tjos without Ken around?”
“Chairman Momokawa, I don't believe that this is something related to our current goals, I also have only many theories and few facts. At this point, sharing my knowledge might be more confusing than helpful.”
Arako is really secretive about this, but we've gnawed through this again and again, the only thing we could be sure of is that we stumbled upon something we shouldn't have and for some reason, Lvo'tjos decided to not kill us over it. “Then I suggest the following order. Ken: During and after the Lvo'tjos-incident, Rine-chan's dilemma, and what to do for now.” There are things I don't want to share today, like how the curse affects Rine-chan and me similarly to Arako, making us desire Ken as a man. Rine-chan has already way too much on her plate, hearing that all of her feelings for Ken are suggestions put into her mind by the ring might break her.
“Agreed.”
“...agreed...” Rine-chan is also slower on the agreement. Actually, the whole conference started out much different in tone than it used to, but at some point, we all started treating it like an official meeting, so the whole portion in itself is strange.
“Then let's start with Ken. Like all of you know, the alfr-hero known as Lvo'tjos used a spell on Rine-chan and later on Ken. Secretary Ara'ainn, please tell us the specifics of the spell he wanted to cast.”
“The alfr-hero with the name Lvo'tjos proclaimed that 'love' is the power and weakness of humans, so he wanted to delve into the spirit of the target so that it starts constructing the picture of the person the target loves the most and put it over his own appearance. It's a psycho-emotional compulsion effect.”
“As this is a private matter, we won't ask Rine-chan any questions.” At least anymore, even Rine-chan became all panicked whenever I tried to pry, she even broke out in tears and started crying. Ken doesn't share anything he knows about her, as well. “However, her reaction strikes us as unusual, though we put it aside for now as this may cause her to become unable to partake on the further conversation.” While she may be incapable of joining in the last point of order 'What we will do', we need to have her talk about it at least a bit before we can make good decisions. “So we analyze the state of Ken at first. Rine-chan?”
“I don't remember much, I also didn't pay much attention... I think he was angry, furious. Secretary Ara'ainn?”
“He appeared to be set back into a more primal form as if his rational thoughts were separated from his emotions at that moment. However, he was capable of some words, like 'kill', which lets me assume that he had murderous intentions. He also was capable of moving with enhanced speed and he could exert more raw strength than usual.”
“As you know, I accidentally used [Empathy] on him when he was out of his rage, it caused me unbearable pain, despite him calming down. It felt like my heart was being torn apart.” I was unable to process any thoughts, I felt like dying. “It may be related, but there could be other explanations.” Like before, Ken and I are biologically different, so maybe I felt like a boy and my body was incapable of expressing these strange feelings in anything but pain. “However, afterward, he rebounded, though I believe that he has changed how he behaves towards Rine-chan.”
“Well, we had a talk... how should I say... he was different back then... how should I say...”
“Vulnerable?” This is how he looked to me right before I subconsciously used [Empathy].
“Yes, that. Also, he was like... like a father? If it makes sense.”
“What did he say?”
“...” She starts thinking hard, most likely because she's insecure how much she wants to share: “I will get used to it.”
“To what?”
“The pain.” This somewhat sounds just like Ken, while being the opposite of him at the same time—at times he can be surprisingly deep. Getting used to everything while trying to improve at the same time, that would be the best way to put my perception of him. He might get used to being married to us, but he fights every single step of improving our relationships. Well, Arako being the exception, but he does fight his urges while still pursuing their strange friendship.
However, this bit reminds me of the pain Ken has felt... “Secretary Ara'ainn, do you have anything to add for what happened after the incident?”
“He appeared to be stressed and I caught him several times checking the surroundings, looking for escape routes whenever we made camp, especially during the first week. Most likely because of the two menstruating women.”
...Rine-chan had her period soon after the incident, so she was an emotional bag even I couldn't handle well. That girl does everything tenfold, even having her period. All of our cycles shift. I think they'll completely align soon, which increases the trouble, so even I have some sympathy for Ken here. A little bit, because some girls are prisses in their periods, like Rine-chan and Arako. I'm okay though, just a bit moody in the mornings.
“Let's see...” I continue the conversation: “I believe we have everything for now. I think there are three ways to interpret his behavior. First, the most dramatic one would be that he saw someone he loved once but started to hate to a degree, that he wants to kill her. However, I can't imagine him loving someone so much that the resulting hate would be that out of proportion.”
Rine-chan cocks her head: “How can you hate someone who you love in the first place? Don't those feelings exclude each other? What do you think, Ara?”
“I think that Lvo'tjos is right in one regard: Humans feel love to unhealthy degrees, claiming that there is no stronger power, that it can defeat all, this is illogical and dangerous thinking.”
“If love isn't the strongest power, which one would it be?”
“Fun.”
“Can you surpass your limits with fun?”
“Of course you can, that's common knowledge. Building up elaborate schemes which need years of preparations for the ultimate prank is only possible by the power of fun!” Arako's ears lower a bit, showing her pride.
“This doesn't make sense. For a loved one, you can do everything?”
“Can you blow out the sun?”
“Erm... most likely?”
“Then, at this point, we wouldn't have a sun. Seeing how many humans there are—their non-stopping reproduction be cursed—the probability of someone trying to use the power of love to blow out the sun is rather high. Nonetheless, it's still in the sky.”
“But if it's for a loved one, you might learn the magic necessary for this feat!”
“You could also do the same if you think it'd be a great prank instead of the world's ending.”
“Secretary Ara'ainn, Rine-chan, this isn't the matter of the current problem.” It's also childish, like some 'my daddy is stronger than yours'-debate. “I talked about two other possibilities. One of them is that the person Ken loved the most died, which triggered him. Seeing a person you long for only to know it's just an illusion...”
“...” Rine-chan's silence and face show that she imagines it. This would also explain his pain, though, to be honest, for Ken, this is too much of a cliché. The thought alone stirs up my emotions, I refuse to show any jealousy! This is the ring speaking, not me!
“This doesn't sound like Kenta-kun at all.” Even Arako dismisses this theory. “What is your last interpretation, chairman?”
“That Lvo'tjos made a mistake.” This is the most reasonable one, especially seeing how Rine-chan and Ken acted differently from what he surmised. “Maybe he got a wrong emotion, maybe that spell differs for each person. In medicine, things like sex, body weight, hormones, and other aspects can influence the treatment, so it may be the same for the spirit.”
“This sounds logical,” Arako adds, “especially seeing how human spirits are that strange. The backlash certainly wasn't part of the plan.” She explained before that Ken's spirit was invading Lvo'tjos', which caused the alfr-hero to fight a battle at two fronts, one of them decisively weaker than the other.
Rine-chan is silent, though this is a good way to get to the next bullet point. “Rine-chan, do you want to talk about what you saw after all?”
“No,” she refuses again. “...so Lvo'tjos might have been wrong?”
Ah, this is the opportunity to dissipate all of her doubts. Instead of a life-crisis, this is just a mistake made by another person... It would be so easy. Yet there is still Ken's words in my mind, that Rine-chan is only that naive and dumb because everyone is spoiling her... Wait, how does he come to this conclusion!? Is there something about it after all? My curiosity is killing me right now!
While I'm still in thoughts, Arako already answers: “There is the possibility, nothing more, nothing less.”
“...I see.” Rine-chan rubs her forehead, maybe this is too much input for her and she doesn't know how to deal with it.
“Rine-chan,” I try to get her back on tracks, “how are you feeling right now?”
“Mostly confused... It's like there are a thousand paths and I'm standing at the crossroad, not knowing which one to take, despite looking at every single of them carefully. In the end, most of them are looking the same, all of them go in the same direction as well, so why does it matter which path I take?”
Somehow I can relate to this as well. “Do you know your destination?”
“No.”
“Why are you looking at all the paths so carefully then, instead of first deciding which direction you want to head to?”
“Because Kenta always asks me about things...” ...interesting. “He's patiently waiting for my responses, but it's so hard if everything looks so similar.”
“Katarine-san,” Arako chimes in, “he is just expanding your horizon. It does matter what path you take for your destination. If you choose wisely, you can work efficiently.” Or in Arako's case, slack off whenever possible.
Rine-chan also doesn't seem convinced, but she nods anyway.
Is there a good answer to this rather philosophical problem? It all seems very elusive and like a personality test, which also doesn't have correct answers.
“Then let's discuss what we'll do from now on. I'm not sure whether Ken is currently a ticking time-bomb or not, so I'd suggest that all of us observe him. If he has a breakdown or does something stupid, all of us will suffer. If he wants to share his trouble, let him. Same for you, Rine-chan.”
“Thanks.”
“So... was there a point to this discussion in the first place?” Arako asks in wonder.
“I hope. At least we shared our information, so at least I know that something is up.” It also helped me to not further pry into Ken's matters, as it might make things worse. “Let's head down and eat something.”
All of us descend to the common room, I look for Ken who... why is he embraced by a stranger: “I love you too!” A confession!?
“FUCK OFF!” Wait, isn't that the old man from Goldbrunn!? Why is he hugging Ken!? Love?
“But lad, isn't asking a person questions about themselves a sign of affection?” ...I rub my temples, as I need time to process it.
“Kenta is in love with the grandpa!? I... Kenta... you...” Rine-chan looks genuinely shocked.
On the other hand, Arako walks up to the pair: “Congratulations, Kenta-kun!”
“+#!” It's hard to discern any words, but I'm sure Ken wants to curse...
“Pfff....” This is me, I have trouble holding back: “Ha...hahahahahaha!” I burst in laughter, this is just funny! Ken's reaction, his expression, this is pure gold!
“Stop it! You, geezer, and you as well, Kyou-san!” This is the best, how he tries to push the old man back, but is struggling, unable to push back the old man who already is too close to him. “Ara-san, help!”
“[Freeze]!”
“Ahh!” The old man suddenly let go of Ken to touch his nape. “What a chill, my poor, old bones! Do you want to freeze me to death!?”
“This is correct, but I lack the necessary spell, so you have to hold still while I use [Freeze] in succession until it deals the killing blow.”
“This might take years.”
“I have that time.”
“What about me? I may die by age at this point.”
“Could we then count it as 'death by freezing'? For the statistics.”
“The what?”
“Statistics. The numbers.”
“Math... an enemy I can't beat...”
“Interesting!”
For two people who just met for the second time, both of them really get along. Ken is also looking at the two of them, unsure what to think about it.
“Kenta, are you interested in men? Is that why-”
“NO! Rine, just no!”
“Let me guess,” I just surmise, “the old man struck you as suspicious and you couldn't help but ask questions about him, which made him come to that misunderstanding if it's a misunderstanding at all?”
“...” This tells me everything. Ken is really bad in conversations, so he just does the minimum. The only question is whether the old man is serious, making fun of Ken, or hiding something.