Currently, everyone is sitting in Jelli’s room together. It is already early in the morning.
Angelidis lies on the king-sized inn bed in the preparation for sleep, her body under a thick quilt already. She had spent the night looking after the girls, explaining to Ajax and Shaula about the history of Omicron and then helping them sort through their newly obtained items.
In truth, Angelidis told Ajax and Shaula to be careful before reading the forbidden tome they had found.
Of course, neither of them have any qualms about disobeying the arcane laws of this other world, so they simply hide it from the women, while waiting for an opportunity to read it further.
Jelli’s eyes feel heavy. Sleep is on Jelli’s mind right now and she’s about to fall into it.
But, for now, she’s still awake. Grenwiliu sits next to her, petting Jelli’s blue feather mane with her left hand.
Hila sits to Gren’s left with a smile on her face. Claris is next to her, looking with curiosity. Laun is next to Claris leaning against Kyre on her left; Laun is particularly sleepy in this early morning.
Kyre has her arms around both Laun, her sister, on her right side, and Dona, who is leaning against Kyre’s left side with a somewhat dead expression. She still looks towards Ajax and Shaula all the same.
Oitra stands in a corner of the room with her arms crossed; not exactly hostile but not receptive to them either. The window to the room is currently closed, blocking out the morning sunlight.
There is what looks like an oil-based lamp currently lit on a wooden table; the girls are all looking in the same direction towards this table. Next to this table is a man, Ajax, on its left side and a woman, Shaula, on its right side. On the table is…
Ajax is nervous about the details of the conversation they’re about to have. He looks towards the table and examines the object of interest.
Ajax and Shaula’s haul from Ilna’s hidden safe has been the treasure trove of coins as well as an unknown magic tool. The tool has been kept for later since it either might be of value or might have functions as a weapon.
It’s obviously special, but right now, the money is what’s important. How the girls can use it. How they can move on with their lives finally.
Ajax raises his face to look at the women, looking at their faces one by one from left to right.
He is staring first at Grenwiliu and Jelli, who are both looking at him with intent, scrolling towards his left side all the way towards Oitra on the right corner of the room who looks at him with… a hint of contempt.
Oitra’s expression makes him even more nervous. Ajax starts speaking,
“A-Ah, well--”
“Wait.”
The girls turn towards the one who interrupted Ajax. It is Kyre. Dona and Laun turn their heads to look at her while still leaning against her body. Silver haired and quite beautiful.
She was not exactly as lively while she was going through her withdrawal. But now, she is also currently over her addiction to Dead Snow, the highly addictive street drug distributed through Linis.
“Uh, what is it, M-Miss Mestophiles?”
“Ajax, really, you can just call me Kyre, you know. Or wait... Are you just calling me by my surname because you can’t tell me and my sister apart!? Oh dear, that is hard to hear…”
Kyre feigns sadness at Ajax’s not ill-intent. Ajax feels butterflies in his stomach; Kyre was completely correct, Ajax isn’t as good with names as he wishes to be, so just to be careful… But he can’t simply admit that.
“Ah, haha, n-no, it’s just that, uh… w-well, what’s your question then?”
“No, you can’t just ignore me like that, Ajax! You’re wounded my pure heart quite easily! I am shaking and in pain from your devastating attack!!”
Hila and Claris try to stifle their laughter at Kyre’s play acting while Laun’s eyes narrow in annoyance. She loves her sister, but, personality-wise, Kyre normally tries to hide her feelings through playful teasing before doing or saying anything even somewhat vulnerable.
Or really, she teases by habit far too easily regardless of the context. The men who frequented her services liked that about her though.
Dona shows nothing on her face, but Shaula notices her microexpressions, coupled with her heartbeat and breathing indicating… could that be laughter? Oitra’s arms are still crossed but even she tries to muffle an emerging smile.
Laun notices Ajax’s face cringe in pain at Kyre’s jeering. She pokes Kyre between her ribs.
“Oww!! Laun, what was that for!?”
“Sis…”
“A-Alright, alright, I-I was just getting to it, you didn’t need to-- Ow!! Enough already!”
“K-Kyre, what is…”
Kyre turns back to Ajax, on the verge of tears. She hesitates before saying her piece.
“Ajax. I just… I wanted to thank you and Shaula, for what you did for us. You saved Claris from her death, you… you killed Inalim and Dirn who tried to kill her. You protected us from the men who came after us and… you’re still protecting us. Honestly, I’m still kind of shocked at humans going this far for us but… I just want to say that we owe you so much. I might not have gotten clean if not for you.”
Ajax displays embarrassment on his cheeks as they redden.
“Y-You don’t have to say all that! W-We just did it because we w-wanted to… I mean, really, we interfered so much of your lives and--”
“No, you didn’t, Ajax. My life was… it was… I was just ignoring how life actually was for so long… I mean, I could have tried to get clean while I was working for Inalim but… I never did… I just… I just let men enter me over and over and…”
Ajax and Shaula notice Kyre’s eyes trembling at the thought of her life so far.
“Anyways, I-I want you to know that I will spend as much time as I can paying off this debt I owe you two… I-I couldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t at least do something for you… So… Do you want my body for a few nights?”
...
“...H-Huh!?”
Ajax’s mind short circuits. He takes a seat in a chair next to the wooden desk while trying to understand properly the exact meaning of what Kyre had--
“No, Kyre, Ajax isn’t the kind of person to save someone expecting their body. He and I don’t expect anything at all. Just think about it: if we accepted anything like what you’re offering, wouldn’t you just question our intentions? We only saved you with the expectation that you all continue living peacefully, or at least start living peacefully. Don’t sweat it.”
Ajax looks over at Shaula who makes this declaration with full authority and confidence. Truly, she knows him quite well and she doesn’t even get embarrassed at the sexual nature of her payment.
For a brief moment, he notices an exasperated disapproval on Shaula’s face towards him. Or did he just imagine it?
“It’s alright, Kyre. Neither of us expected anything. Or rather… we saved you because we had the power to, and so we did. There are a lot of people who could but wouldn’t because of any of the consequences they might face but… we two have been blessed with overflowing strength. We couldn’t just refuse to use it, right?”
Kyre’s face is currently red with her own embarrassment. She did want to offer her body, something that put her in a position of emotional vulnerability even as a prostitute.
“Y-Yes, I get it, sorry for assuming something impolite…”
“It’s alright, it’s alright! Let’s just b-be friends, is that ok?”
“...Yes. Yes! Of course!”
Kyre hugs Laun and Dona with force in happiness. Laun and Dona have a suffocating feeling but neither of them complain. Kyre takes a breath and says one last thing.
“Honestly, though. Shaula… I just want to thank you for killing that piece of shit.”
“Oh?”
Shaula raises an eyebrow at Kyre’s gratitude. Was she always such a grateful person? The last thing Shaula remembered was that same Kyre fearing her for what she can only assume to be her violent personality…
The girls also behave surprised at Kyre’s true feelings. Even Laun.
“It was you who did it, right?”
“Yes. Actually… I should apologize to the two of you, Hila and Claris, for doing what I did in front of you like that.”
“I-It’s alright, Shaula. You don’t have to apologize.”
“Yeah, Shaula. Don’t worry about it. If Ajax trusts you, then we’ll trust you too. You did a lot for us too after all. We were a bit… or a lot scared of you for what you did but… you’re a good person. We’re sorry for keeping our distance from you.”
Hila and Claris absolve Shaula and apologize for their own wariness. Shaula has seen their fear over the past few days, but still, as long as they’re trying to be grateful, just that much makes her feel good inside. They can’t help being afraid of her personality after all.
“Yeah, Shaula, never apologize for that. Honestly, it feels like my life can finally start again after… after his death. I hated him, his manipulative soul. I thought that… Well, i-it’s enough that you got rid of him.”
Kyre, who finishes expressing her feelings, hated Inalim a lot, it seems. She also doesn’t want to go further into her feelings about him, so she leaves it at that. She continues with inquiring about what Shaula wants,
“Forget about it. So, what did you call us all here for then?”
The girls look intently at Ajax and Shaula as well as the table which holds a closed sack. Grenwiliu, in particular, had been curious about that…
“...Well, yeah, onto our main topic then. So, last night Shaula and I went to deal with the man who set the inn on fire a few days ago.”
The girls look at Ajax in surprise. Even Oitra who had been standing with her arms folded with a contemptful expression looks at Ajax with her eyes wide open.
“Oh, wow… What did… What happened?”
Hila asks this question in curiosity and concern for their wellbeing. After all, she was the one almost killed by that man’s destructive actions. She is curious about his fate. She looks at Ajax who hesitates to speak; he’s trying to find his words so Shaula speaks for him.
“He’s been dealt with. You all don’t need to worry about anything further than that. Tonight, we’ll be dealing with your main threat and then…”
Shaula hesitates to finish her thought; what comes after tonight is something she doesn’t really want to say out loud. Ajax intercedes.
“Actually, we brought you all here because we were able to find something important that will be needed for your future.”
“And what might that be, Mister Ajax?”
“Well, Grenwiliu--”
“A-Ah, you can j-just call me Gren, Mister Ajax.”
Gren speaks in quite a timid manner. Both Shaula and Ajax bask in her endearing mannerisms.
“Then, will you just call me, Ajax?”
“O-Oh, sure, that’d be-- woah!”
Gren is pushed off the bed by the still awake Jelli. She falls forward and stops herself from hitting the floor face first, with her palms flat on the ground.
“Gren, come on, be more confident! These two are great people, they’re not going to eat you, girl!”
“J-Jelli! Shouldn’t you be sleeping right now!?”
“What? And miss the reveal? Ha!”
“...The reveal?”
Gren is confused. The other girls are also confused.
“Well, let’s not drag out the suspense. But… before we show it to you all, just don’t yell out loud what’s in here, we don’t want anyone eavesdropping and harassing us.”
The woman hesitatingly agreed, now even more curious.
Shaula walks over to the cloth bag on the wooden table and opens it. From the bag, an overflow of coins can be seen. On the surface, some of the coins are silver, one or two bronze but… most gold.
Hila’s jaw drops. The girls look at the money in complete confusion. Shaula can even hear Dona’s heart thumping like crazy, although her expression still appears placid.
“Oh my… god… where did…”
Gren slowly rises from the ground and slowly walks over to the table. The other girls don’t dare move. Gren reaches the bag and picks up one of the gold coins. She inspects it very carefully. It feels like gold. It weighs as much as a gold coin should weigh. It has the right engraving…
This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
It’s… It’s real.
“This… these all are r-real… dear god…”
“Gren… those are real!?”
“I-It’s real, no doubt!!”
Laun and Kyre look at the coins with Dona; Laun herself jolts awake as if being zapped by a static charge. Oitra’s arms aren’t crossed now, rather, she’s holding the sides of her head with both hands in total disbelief, her eyes wide open.
Hila speaks hesitatingly and with complete astonishment.
“A-Ajax! How… How do you have all of… how much is it exactly?”
“Well, I’m not going to say it out loud but just think of it as… enough so you all won’t have to work for several years.”
The girls who had all been looking at the coins as if in a trance now look over at Ajax.
“Ajax… you’re… you couldn’t be. You’re not going to just give this to us, right? A-Are you insane? Wh-What the fuck are you thinking? Shaula, you’re not agreeing to this, right!?”
“Yeah, Claris, I am. In all honesty, neither Ajax nor I have much use for such a huge amount. We’re taking some of it but not enough that you’ll be lacking in anything for the foreseeable future.”
“...Why? Why would you do this for us?”
Gren speaks in confusion. Shaula can sense suspicion in her tone of voice.
“What are you really after? You’re just going to give us all of this m-money? For what? We… We d-didn’t do anything for you! You haven’t e-even asked us to do anything!! I mean… why? It’s not j-just some kind of fetish for beastkin, right?”
Shaula narrows her eyes in interest.
Well… so she has some confidence in her after all. If two strangers just handed her all this money, there’d have to be a catch, right?
“Put yourself in our place, Ajax, Shaula… W-Wouldn’t you question such a gift as well? Why would you--”
Ajax takes a deep breath and interrupts her thoughts. He closes his eyes briefly trying to collect his feelings, so that he can explain it properly.
“Gren… Look at what we’ve done… We’ve… we’ve interrupted the flow of your lives in such a huge way. We’ve made it that if we just let you go after killing Inalim, you’d be dead within a week or maybe just under the ‘care’ of another unknown pimp like Brai… Shaula told me what his brothel was like, it doesn’t sound like you’d have a good time there. And… we caused all that.”
“S-So what!? You’re telling us you’d go so far!? Y-You’d do all of that for… for whores like us? For beastkin like us!?”
Ajax frowns and the air chills. The girls feel the chill. It isn’t enough for them to see their breaths but it is enough to make them paush.
“That. That is why I don’t like this place. Everyone hates beastkin, everyone struggles so hard to live at the expense of the beastkin or the draconids or anything non-human. But, they don’t just hate beastkin, they hate everyone who isn’t them! Pure, ugly selfishness… where we’re from, it was like that too… Do you really think you’re not deserving of some help? Really!? You know what, God’s definitely not going to help you! This shitty state definitely isn’t going to help you, the humans here definitely aren’t going to help you!! But Shaula and I? We have nothing to do here but to try and help people! All we wanted was--”
Shaula hits Ajax’s face with a fire projectile. She isn’t very good at using fire projectile attacks but towards Ajax right next to her, it was nothing. She has had some time practicing such melee combat while in the woods and she would always target Ajax’s face just like this.
Shaula needs him to calm down right now. She could perceive Dona starting to get more and more agitated; Oitra as well was starting to perspire. Their hearts were thumping a lot at Ajax’s escalating voice.
Of course now, Gren and the rest of the girls are completely shocked at seeing Ajax get hit by a fireball right on his face.
“A-Ajax, are you ok?”
“...Yeah, Hila, sigh… Sorry for getting like that, Shaula.”
“It’s alright, just be mindful of everyone here.”
Gren, Oitra, Laun, Kyre, Dona, Claris and Hila look at her with shock. He apologized to her… after getting hit in the face by fire… Didn’t he feel that? Didn’t he get even a little burned?
Gren realizes. She had tried to put out of her mind exactly what she was dealing with. Ajax and Shaula were not like her or her friends. They were something greater. Their needs were obviously quite different from weak creatures like her.
Of course. Of course Ajax and Shaula would selflessly help them. Still, she asks, waveringly.
“B-But… don’t you have your own families? Your own life? What about your future? Your food? Your shelter? You could live happily ever after with each other… You could…”
“Gren… you know, there was a man I met about two months ago. He told me to be a better man than I was… he made me realize how deeply my actions have consequences especially now. Everyone’s actions have consequences. And Shaula and I? We have power beyond anything most people can even dream of! Our power has even greater consequences. I don’t know about Shaula since she’s just going along with my selfish wishes right now, but… I want you to be happy, happier than you’ve been your whole life. I want to be able to help the people I can reach until all the loose ends are dealt with.”
The girls look at Ajax with amazement in their eyes. Even Oitra… even she is starting to see into his heart. Was he always such a dangerous element in her eyes? Ever since she heard that Plenty had run away because they came along, she… she didn’t trust the two of them.
Plenty, her beloved Plenty, the one who took care of her while Inalim did whatever he wanted with her body and pimped her out for man after man… But… Ajax wasn’t such a bad person… he isn’t a bad person… this is… this is his heart.
Gren looks at Ajax as her eyes start watering. She’s never felt such pure intentions before; of course, as a beastkin in Omicron in the Holy Sapioran Federation, her lot was not that different from any other beastkin. Good intentions and altruism is rare here.
“W-We can’t accept this… We couldn’t possibly accept your treasure…”
“You will accept it. Because that’s the only way that we can be secure in the knowledge that you all will be fine when we’re not here.”
Shaula makes this statement in a sign of her deep will.
“...What? Ajax, Shaula… you’re… you’re leaving?”
Hila speaks, her voice trembling. Ajax is leaving? Leaving? So soon? This man… her saviour… her hero…
“...Yeah, we will be soon. You’ll be glad to get us out of your hair honestly, we’ve imposed for far too--”
“No!! No!! You can’t leave, Ajax! Y-You’re my… You’re my hero, Ajax!!”
Hila runs over to Ajax, who is currently standing, and embraces him with her full force. Ajax, who is almost a head taller than her, panics; he feels her pink hair against his neck and her breasts against his body.
He looks over at Shaula who gives him something like recognition.
“Don’t… Please, don’t leave us yet… please… You’re… you’re my hero, Ajax… You haven’t done anything that bad… None of us liked staying there with Inalim… He had… he had a spell on us for so long… and control… He had such control over us! I-I got over it a-and I’ve broken his spell over me… and now, I owe you far more than you owe me, more than you owe any of us! You saved my life, Ajax!”
“But… But, what if I hadn’t been there in time? I should have been able to deal with Ilna faster, I might have prevented all of that suffering… You were put in that near-death situation because of my stupidity--”
“It doesn’t matter… How long did you think any of us would live while Inalim controlled everything about our lives? How much do you think that… that a normal human would have done…”
“Ajax, Shaula, please! Please just stay with us a little while longer. We can… with this money, we can move to a place farther from the slums… we can… we can be of use to you! We can repay the debt we owe you! I mean, look at what you’re giving us right now and what you’re given us so far! We… We can’t just… We want to serve you. We want to become worthy enough to serve people like you two…”
“Claris…”
“There is something we should make clear to you girls right now.”
Shaula starts speaking about her future with Ajax within the confines of this wretched world.
“Everyone. What we’re about to do… for about two months, we used to live in a forest near this city. In a forest by ourselves with our animal friends. We had just gotten over some unhappy times prior to then and it was… it was wonderful living there. Until… until we were shown the cruelty that the humans around us engage in. A beastkin man was brutally killed in our forest. He was just… he was just left there, nailed to a tree. I came here to find out who killed him… and I will destroy them. If there are multiple people responsible, I will destroy all of them! Until I find justice I will burn everything down to ash!!”
“Shaula, maybe you should--”
“No, Ajax. You know I love you but… but everything I’ve been doing here. It feels like I’m getting farther and farther away from what I came here for. The biggest issue we’re facing now after being given these strong bodies is… aimlessness. What are we supposed to do here? What are we supposed to gain by doing anything? But, now that we have this power… I will at the very least carry out my justice. All of it. Everything I failed to carry out back on… back home, I will carry it out here. And… if the girls continue to get involved with us, they’ll just become the enemies of our enemies!!”
Shaula says what’s on her mind. In the forest, she had a wonderful time with Ajax. But… she was aimless. Ever since she was given her awesome strength and after she left the confines of the church, she became only more aimless.
On Earth, she had a goal, multiple goals even. A long and happy life, a fulfilling, well-paying career, Ajax and his family’s care and happiness, her own happiness. All of that went away. She is now no longer aimless.
But… she’s not going to include innocent people in her ambitions, in her greater goals. Claris opens her mouth to respond to Shaula’s resolve.
“So? So what?”
“...Claris?”
Ajax looks over at Claris while Hila continues to hold him. Hila, hearing Claris’ affirmation, lets go of Ajax and listens to Claris’ own resolve.
“Shaula… if you two didn’t save me then… then what would have happened to me? I would be dead… I would be taken from Hila, from my friends here. What life would I have if you didn’t help me? Nothing… I’ve never even planned for a life outside of Inalim’s desires… So… I want to come with you. I want to give you any help I can. I want to help you through your pain... I want to give you both everything I can, everything I am… I don’t care about the goal you’re seeking, I just want to… I just want to know you more…”
“T-That’s right! Even I… Ajax, even I want to help you with everything I have… You gave us our power back… you gave us all of this here, this money… And, I can’t just leave Claris to do all the work for you two!!”
“Wh-Wha--”
“Us too! Kyre and I owe you everything! Everything!! We want to stay with you! We want to go where you go… We… we need to…”
“I-I agree with my sister! I mean… How could I live with myself knowing that you’re going to be carrying out a goal like this, with no support? I mean… look what that single human did to us, what Inalim took from us. The humans… they just treat us like cattle or vermin… I’m fine with following you two. It’s certainly better than just accepting all their shit…”
Ajax and Shaula were not expecting this. Any of it. Did they really do so much? Five separate people now want to give everything for their wishes. Can they handle this responsibility? Can they live up to the faith put in them?
Ajax… cannot say no to them. They want to help him? They want to throw themselves into the fray? Then…
“Everyone… Are you… Are you really sure about this? I mean… We might not even continue living here after what we do… You can take that money and move wherever you want, even to places outside of Linis!”
Shaula wants their complete confirmation before she incorporates them into their lives. She… doesn’t mind traveling with people, especially young women like these seven. If they’re nice to Ajax, then she can tolerate them and maybe even grow to like them. Maybe.
Well, she’s already grown to like them…
Shaula looks over at Ajax and knows that he’s not going to refuse their devotion.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t really follow the two of you.”
A dissenting voice comes from the corner of the room. It’s Oitra Ephis. Oitra speaks with regret. The other girls turn towards her.
“I’m sorry, everyone but… I can’t follow Ajax and Shaula until I deal with my own business. I… I hope you’ll understand.”
“It’s alright, Oitra. We understand, you have your own life to live after all. But… you’re still going to stay with us so long as we live in this city.”
“H-Hila!”
“No, Oitra. It’s too dangerous for you to wander off by yourself. You’re far too young. Don’t talk back to me, Oitra.”
Oitra flinches as Hila speaks in a strict and cold tone. Neither Ajax nor Shaula were expecting Hila to be able command such authority and gravitas. Ajax is also curious about something.
“How young are you?”
Ajax hasn’t been told the ages of the women so he asks this question to Oitra. Hila answers him.
“She’s fifteen, Ajax. She’s barely an adult.”
Oitra doesn’t speak, rather, she pouts at the fact that she cannot be let out on her own yet, not that she doesn’t understand. Even with Inalim gone, there’s still another authority named Hila and above her are all of the human scum in this world.
Ajax and Shaula don’t come to her defense however. The age of fifteen, while perhaps near adulthood in this world, is still far too young to have to worry about life on her own. So long as she has someone willing to look after her, like Hila, she will benefit.
Even if Oitra took her share of their treasure, her experience on how to use it properly would be severely lacking. She might even wind up having it stolen from her (really, that would be the likeliest outcome).
Shaula, however, decides to keep an eye on Hila to make sure that she’s treating Oitra properly. So far Hila seems to be a good person, but, how she treats her juniors hasn’t been put to the test just yet.
This world is different from her world; it’s not like back on earth where even child care workers have certifications…
“Ajax, Shaula…”
“Hm? What is it, Gren?”
“As long as the girls are in Linis, I will be here looking after them as much as I can. Whatever you ask of Jelli as well, I’ll help with. Dona as well; I’m not sure whether she wants to come with you or not, none of us would be able to tell so I should stay to look after her too. But… well, at least for the future, we’ll have to see. For now, I can’t promise my loyalty like the rest of them. Is that… ok with you?”
“That’s perfectly fine. We didn’t ask for ‘loyalty’, we were just offered it. Your life is yours to live. The same goes for the rest of you but… so long as you’re with us, we’re going to make sure above all else that none of you get hurt.”
Shaula gives Gren an easy answer. She doesn’t want fealty, she doesn’t want followers, she wants only one thing. Happiness with her best friend Ajax. In truth, Ajax also wants a happy life with her as well as his family. But… the rest of his family isn’t here with him.
Having friends isn’t a bad thing for him either. Having more people to protect is…
“Also, about tonight. Jelli will be protecting you again.”
Shaula notifies the women of this.
“...Are you two going to… do something dangerous tonight too?”
Claris looks at Ajax and Shaula with trepidation. Obviously, it’ll be a sleepless night for the girls while Ajax and Shaula are out. She can kind of guess what they’re going to do today.
“We’re going to take care of Brai once and for all. You two won’t have anything to worry about anymore.”