“…I thought that we were going to hold back.”
“But I did hold back!”
“…By letting an advanced phase Oren Beast loose on your enemy?”
“…It is not my fault that the man was so weak,” Cecilia said, pouting at Alnea, as she stroked Forne’s back, while it slept with a content face. The man it had disfigured had lost much more than his lips and an ear. In the moment that the cat had attacked the Wanderer, it had not forgotten to suck out some of the man’s Fortune. Enough to keep it satiated for a while. After all, no matter how weak the Wanderer was, he was from an Orthodoxy. And he had to be one of the more talented ones to be sent to the Lost City. Cecilia though, was even more hungry than before. And she was grumpy.
“Besides, Forne may have used a little excessive force, but at least it did not almost split my opponent in half.”
“…It is not my fault that the man was so weak.”
“Use a new excuse,” Cecilia said with a snort. “That’s mine.”
“…My hand slipped, and the sword landed on the man’s stomach on its own?”
“…That’s better,” Cecilia said, nodding with a solemn face, before she burst out in giggles with him. They were so loud that even the cat opened picked up its ears and opened its eyes for a moment. After ensuring that everything was alright though, and that they had no new enemies, the cat went back to the land of dreams, leaving just Yuri to stare at the giggling duo with a helpless expression on her face.
“You two… This is not a joke. Did you see the reaction of the other Wanderers, and the guards? We truly might have gone a little overboard in our battles.”
“A little?” Alnea said, raising his eyebrow in question. “At least I allowed my opponent to use an Arcana, while Lia just let Forne deal with hers. You, on the other hand, completely decimated your opponent. She did not even have the chance to blink before she was knocked out. And then, you went ahead and gave her another blow… Do you want to ask the woman if you were just a little overboard?”
“…I thought that the standards of the Wanderers coming to the Lost City would be a little higher. They are supposed to be the best Wanderers of their clans… Either the truly strong Wanderers have already gone to the inner and core cities. Or we may just have a skewed perception of how strong Wanderers should be. After all, we have fought only Oren Beasts for more than year. And even then, we have always fought them with disadvantages piled up against us.”
“…The Heterodox Wanderers were strong. Especially the last one.”
“That was because they were at the Peak Stage. And they were Heterodox Wanderers. Even though they were only proficient on the path of Warriors, they probably lived their lives on the edge of death from the moment they became Wanderers. The Wanderers we fought today grew up under the protection of their elders. Let alone experiencing any life and death battles, they probably did not even suffer any major injuries before coming to the Lost City. You cannot compare them with the former.”
“…Is that why their Heart is so twisted?”
“Maybe,” Yuri said. “The primary objective of the Orthodoxies may be the legacy from the Age of Gods, but they could also be using the Lost City to temper their younger generations and test their characters. Those who can overcome their setbacks and come out from the city without letting their Hearts twist, or at least not allowing their twisted nature to dominate their Hearts, may end with more resources and responsibilities tilted towards them. They may even grow up to hold higher positions in their clans.
“As for the rest… they will probably be sent to manage some branches, or to defend against the Thralls. This is just my guess though. To know the entire truth, we will have to experience the city for a bit longer. Or we can look for some information from the Orthodoxies themselves…”
“…Why are you looking at me?” Cecilia said to Alnea, shifting her eyes away from him. “I may have heard rumours about the city before, but that was it. It was only after Lady Nyssa told us about this place that I learned that it truly existed. Serena and my mother should know about this place, but I have not met either of them in a while…”
“There might be other Wanderers of the Serpia clan in the city.”
“We will have to find them first… And even if we find them, I do not recommend seeking any help from them.”
“…Why? Aren’t they from your clan? What can happen—
“They may guess my identity,” Yuri said, answering for Cecilia. “The Serpia clan used to have a unique relationship with my clan in the past. We may have grown distant now, but the memory of our relationship is still fresh in the minds of those from the Serpia clan. And they do not like the fact that the Faed clan abandoned the Serpia clan—
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“That is because they do not know the truth—
“And for the moment, it would for the best if things remain the way they have been for past hundreds of thousands of years,” Yuri said in a solemn tone, giving Cecilia a warning glare. “The rooms may be touted by the city to be safe, but let us not test its efficacy by revealing a million year old secret.”
Understanding the truth in Yuri’s words, Cecilia, dying to talk more about the events of the past, yet afraid of leaking a terrible secret that may threaten her clan, could only bite her lower lip in frustration. Meanwhile, Yuri, aware of the truth, yet unable to change anything, could only put on a solemn and melancholic face, as if reliving what had happened in a past when even ten generations of her ancestors had not been born. And in their midst, Alnea, oblivious to what the girls were talking about, could only scratch his head, trying to bear the awkward silence. In the end, he had no choice but to come in for the rescue of the girls himself.
“…Who would have thought that we can all enter the same room?” Alnea said with an awkward laugh, trying to diffuse the tense air. “To think that we could have all stayed in the same room, and spent only one Blood Coin instead of three… Was the guard jealous of how close I was to you two?”
“…Right now, I am jealous of how easily you can ignore everything.”
“That’s it?” Alnea said, laughing at Cecilia. “How about I help you learn how to ignore everything?”
“…And how exactly are you going to do that?”
“Easy,” Alnea said, and tackled Cecilia to the ground. His actions were so sudden that Cecilia had no time to put the cat aside, making it slip out of her lap, and startling it awake, forcing it go into an alert stat. But before either the cat or Cecilia could react, he pinned Cecilia’s arms under his legs, and began tickling her under her armpits. “Now, all you have to do is keep ignoring me.”
“You!” Cecilia cursed, trying to break free of his restraints, only to lose her strength every time she laughed. “Just… wait… I will… show you… No… Forne… Help me!”
Alnea was intent on tickling Cecilia until he saw tears in her eyes. Unfortunately, the stupid cat spoiled his plans by tackling him off of Cecilia’s body. And without the protection of his Aspects, the stupid cat’s blow felt as if someone had hit him with a hammer. Fortunately, the cat was not so stupid to use its claws. It knew how to differentiate between friends and enemies. But it clung to Cecilia like she was its mother. And listened only to her commands. Stupid cat.
Rubbing his side, Alnea pushed himself back into a seating position, all the while glaring at the dumb cat, just as the cat glared at him, ready to tackle him again if he showed even the slightest sign of trying to get closer to Cecilia. It was only when Cecilia got back up, and caressed the cat’s back that it calmed down. Even then it let out a few warning hisses at Alnea, before going back to sleep on Cecilia’s lap.
“That should teach you a lesson,” Cecilia said, with a smug smile on her face. “Or do you want to try tickling me again?
“…First it was little shiny, and then the stupid cat—
“She is not stupid.”
“…Why do you girls like aggressive pets?”
“Little Shiny was not a pet,” Yuri said. “And it was not aggressive either.”
“…Only with you and master. It even dared to hiss at big sis Serena. That snake was a true menace.”
“I agree with Alnea on this,” Cecilia said, before turning back to him. “However, you are completely wrong about Forne. She is the gentlest cat, and the cutest Oren Beast that I have ever seen.”
“…Say that to the man who lost his lips, and an ear.”
“He was our enemy.”
“…Then what about how it tackled me just now?”
“It tackled you because you deserved it,” Cecilia said with a snort. “If it was not because Forne is sleeping right now, I would have tackled you myself, and taught you what happens to those who dare to mess with me.”
“…I was trying to help you.”
“And who asked for your help?”
“You.”
“You!”
While Alnea and Cecilia were arguing with each other, Yuri burst out in a laugh, drawing their attention back to herself. Gently placing the sleeping cat on the only cushion in the room, Cecilia looked at Alnea, and nodded in tacit agreement, before they both jumped at Yuri, pinning her down, and began tickling her. Not for long though. After all, she may have been outnumbered, but Yuri had much better control of her body.
Besides, even when they were cooperating, they were both planning how to have their revenge. A little push here, a little pull there, and soon, the battle of tickling transformed into a battle royale, where all three of them were trying to pin the other two down and shower them with a barrage of tickling. And yet, none of them were strong enough—using Aspects, and entering Spirit State was forbidden— to take the other two down by themselves.
In the end, shouts, curses, groans, complaints, and sounds of laughter descended in the room, creating an absolute chaos. They were so loud that even if the cat had been deaf, it still would not have been able to sleep. Opening its eyes in anger, it hissed at all three of them, before joining the battle royale itself. Unfortunately, it did not understand that rules of the fight. Instead of tickling them, it tackled them all away from each other, creating a no man’s land between them, and declaring the area as its territory.
“…Does it think we were fighting?”
“…Being schooled by an Oren Beast…”
“Can Oren Bests feel tickles?”
“Why don’t you try it?”
“…I think that there has been enough tickle for the day,” Alnea said, tearing his eyes away from the arrogant cat. He wanted to teach the cat how to be humble, but time was not ripe. Yet. Turing back to the girls, he said, “Let’s go to the Blood Hall now, shall we?”
“…Instead of wasting time in the room, it is indeed better if we go look for some information.”
“For food. Look for food.”
“Right,” Cecilia said, giggling at the solemn look on his face. “Let us look for food first.”
“…You two can never be serious,” Yuri said, shaking her head. But with a smile on her face. “You are right though. Even I am starting to feel a little hungry. Shall we go look for some food then?”