In the end, I couldn’t force Qawasumi to open up at that moment in the library. I’d assumed that I’d be able to yank someone’s past out with a single phrase when it took me months for mine. I berated myself in the head, cursing my pretentious attitude. Assumptions created misconceptions. Whether she could tell me about herself was up to her, not to me.
There were bigger problems than that. And so I left it at that as we left the library shortly after in silence.
Because we were transported here with no belongings, the first priority was to secure housing and income. With no money except for the clothes on us I was reluctant to search for a place to stay. And in order to set out on our trip to find Sorah’s family, we needed to purchase our own equipment from the ground up. Our first night back, believe it or not, was in a small alleyway void of city patrol units. Out on the cold floor hunched up, I could definitely say it was better than having someone pay to get us somewhere.
Starving and thirsty, I thought of potential ways we could earn ourselves money. I suggested to Qawasumi to take a job from the Adventurers’ Guild, but she reminded me that the Royal Marshal was connected to the association and placed targets on our backs. The people out on the markets had generous hearts and offered some food and water, however, it would only keep us for a few days. Three days passed before I could even start to find a solution.
We eventually found lodging at a local hostel near the center of Han’ei. The owners sympathized with our circumstances and offered to house us as long as I worked there in return. By that time, Qawasumi and I were rugged and pale. She knew this city, yet never told me the ins and outs of it. Everything I did to survive, was a new experience for me.
Inside the hostel, I put on my bow tie and flaunted my fresh change of clothes, an employee uniform. I took a deep breath and said with all my might with my arms out. “Everything will be okay!”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to work here?” Qawasumi popped up from upstairs with a fresh fit, a dress that just extended down to the knees. My head shook enthusiastically as I wagged my index finger.
“No, no, Miss Qawa… Ruri.” I caught myself since I couldn’t use her surname in public. “I’ll pay for our stay here. You must find someplace else so we can actually have an income. Got it?”
Her head tilted back in surprise. “Oh… I see.”
⁂
[System Announcement]
Lingual Cognizance UP
956 >>> 1002
+46
From what I gathered, I saw myself change into something someone could describe as uplifting. I guessed it was my way of adapting to the new situation. The fear of unfamiliarity mixed with my new resolve, and this was the result.
Those three days turned into a week. My strides gradually became tired sways from side to side, as I walked through the hallway of the bottom floor.
I turned to the left, realizing that our door had been left unlocked. My hand twisted the knob open.
“Miss Qawasumi, have you found anything yet?” I set myself down on the one bed we shared in a space a similar size to a walk-in closet. There Qawasumi rested near the window overlooking the streets from the second floor. She shook her head.
During this entire time, Qawasumi didn’t muster the energy to search for a job, nor find a method to make money. I promised that I’d work in the hostel to keep our quarters here, but at this rate we wouldn’t go anywhere. I gave her some space to herself and never pestered about it, but my nerves slowly started to act up.
“We need to earn something so we can put a bow in your hands. You like archery, right? I know that it’ll be different from the one you left in the apartment, but it’s something.”
“...”
I came to a pause, waiting for a response. Just a nod she gave. My inhalation breathed a sigh. Every day soon after dusk I asked her about it. Maybe my words weren’t the greatest encouragement.
⁂
One week turned into a month. At this point, I wasn’t sure whether Sorah’s family was still alive. My measly job as a waiter in the hostel continued to say the least. I simply remembered the days of working at that Italian restaurant when I was still a student and put on that happy mask. Working this job made me wonder if the salarymen had it worse. They probably did.
One day, I was occupied with cleaning the wooden counter when a young boy strolled in. The bow around his back distinguished him from the rest of the guests. Qawasumi was hanging around one of the tables, just staring into space idly. I’d forced her to come out from our quarters after staying in the room for several days straight.
I came around from the counter and bowed. “Ah, welcome… Wait…”
“Oh, it’s you! The guy with Qawasumi Ruri!” He exclaimed as he pointed at me. I lowered my shoulders while setting down the cleaning equipment.
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“What’re you doing here?” I asked him and gave him some refreshments with a glass.
He took a cup and downed it. “Came back from a kill quest today… Too late to go back home since the sun’s already down. Han’ei is bigger than you think.”
“So… How are you acquainted with Ruri?” I made sure he followed my eyes to Qawasumi sitting in the corner. She immediately turned her curious gaze away. She wouldn’t be able to hear us far, and if she did she didn’t want to hear any of it.
“Her? Ah, we competed in the Royal Archery Tournament hosted by the Imperial Court a few years back. Any archer in Han’ei knows her title, ‘Time-Weaver’.” He spoke of her on a pedestal, staring upwards at the ceiling. “She was amazing. Every shot hit their mark, stationary or moving. Compared to all the other flashy tricks some contenders did, her arrows were famous.”
“Famous?”
“Yeah. They could rewind time. She’s got a good skill called Time Distortion Arrow. Reverses any stat change on an opponent, also increases her accuracy tenfold.” He bent his bow on his back. “The Imperial Court revered her as one of the greatest marksmen in Waqwaq. But all of a sudden she stopped and disappeared.”
Finally, I had some info on attempting to understand. Qawasumi, one of the greatest archers in the country? She never explained any of that, nor did Sorah say anything about it. It was only a glimpse, but a treasure trove given I’d spent months knowing nothing. If I unraveled more about her, then I could find a way to motivate her to help with our problem.
However I convinced myself that it would.
The night after, Qawasumi occupied the same seat in the corner again. I focused my attention on dealing with some customers who’d come to the hostel’s bar. My body moved from one place to the next, carrying platefuls of orders and drinks from the kitchen area. I had already made up my mind to confront her again, finding an opportunity to talk to her when orders were free.
“Ruri.” I approached her, stretching my bow tie and placing my hands on my hips. She turned to face me with her deadpan face again. Did she really not like being here in Han’ei? “I’ve come up with a great idea. Word on the street is that there's a local archery contest just three blocks away from here. The grand prize is around forty silver mon. How about it?”
From the conversation I had yesterday with that young boy I managed to snag some details on upcoming events involving her craft. Utilizing one’s skill for money was no game. Chances should be taken.
“...Maybe.” Her voice was but a whisper.
“‘Maybe’? You’re the best bow user I’ve seen. Even better than the ones I saw at my school. I know you can do it.”
“I won’t.”
“Why?”
“I won’t!” She stood up from the chair, rattling the table nearby. “Being here just, brings so many bad things…”
My hand clutched the plate I held. Soon it began to tremble. “Listen. We’ve been here for a month, and if this continues then we’re gonna be stuck here with nowhere to go!”
“...”
I continued my endless onslaught with a growl. “I thought you cared about Sorah. I thought if we contributed our efforts then we ‘could’ leave Han’ei. And we can, technically right now. But with nothing? No mon, no weapons, nothing! We could be ambushed by some Kokmin, or something worse could even happen to you—”
“Don’t act as if you’ve lived in this city your whole life! You don’t know how much I despise the capital!” She yelled back at me with a piercing scream. Everyone turned their heads to us, while the plate in my hand nearly cracked under my grip. “Don’t think I can hear you when you talk to yourself, ‘I wish to understand’, ‘What’s up with that door?’, how can you understand when you don’t even know how you end up in this world in the first place?!”
“No, that’s… the voice was talking to me—”
“What voice? I just want to go home, Kawari. Itogutshi, not Han’ei. This city will never accept me, and I will never accept this city.” She stumbled towards the hostel’s entrance, knocking over a few pieces of furniture and ceramic vases.
As Qawasumi stormed towards the double doors, I stood there, frozen and overwhelmed by her outburst. I was even shocked at my own outrage. The room fell silent as all eyes in the bar were on us, the weight of everyone's gaze like puncturing needles. Then two brawny men shoved the doors open with broadswords on their backs.
“Hoh, what do we got here, a little lady?” One of them hiccuped as Qawasumi fell backward. Her eyes narrowed as her forehead wrinkled in fright. I forgot that she didn’t like men in general, from what the woman at the Guild in Itogutshi told me. His face was flushed and reeked of alcohol. “Do you work here perhaps?”
“No, I… I…”
“I’ll deal with this one, bro.” The other one pressed forward and grabbed her by the wrist. “You look a little out of it, little lady. We know a spot that’ll definitely calm you dow—”
I stepped and grabbed the man’s wrist. “Let go of her.”
My voice was stern and steady, my grip firm on the man’s arm. The two men turned their attention to me, sizing me up with drunken grins on their faces. "Oh, we got ourselves a hero, huh?" the one I confronted sneered, trying to pull his wrist free. “You got a tight grip for a small guy. You gonna fight two D’Orientois?”
[System Message]
Weapon Equipped
[Refined Dual Tatshi Daggers]
Activation Cost: 4 EP; Upon activation, deal +15% DMG when attacking consecutively; Deal 10 extra DMG if used on the stomach.
My hands broke the man’s grasp from Qawasumi. I took out from my back pockets the weapon the hostel owners left me with. The two men, or ‘D’Orientois’ pulled their swords from their backs. The other customers began to exit the room soon after. Some stayed with their drinks, anticipating the start of something I hoped never would come. Some particular people I saw were two people with blue cloaks spectating the unfolding scene.
"Mind your own business, kid," the other man slurred and waved his sword, taking a step towards me. "We're just having a little fun with this lady here."
As he approached, I glanced over at Qawasumi. Without taking my eyes off the men, I spoke to her in a low voice, "Qawasumi, back away slowly and head upstairs. I'll handle this."
I raised my daggers as I took my stance. My skill level clearly couldn’t rival these two men. But the best I could do was to stall. As my feet spread out for a brace, my mind raced. My anger from spending my days here exploded at Qawasumi, scolding her and yelling at her when it wasn’t any of her fault. It wasn’t any of my business. I created this mess alone. Perhaps if I gave her more time, then she would get back up on her feet. But I was eager. I held unrealistic expectations and lashed out when they weren’t fulfilled.
This fight wasn’t necessary. My decisions led to two drunk men escalating hostility. I bit my lip, cursing my actions.
One of them launched forward and raised his blade. It cleaved the roof as it fell directly at my head. Then, I made my move.