Chapter 13: March to the Truth

Orcs. Monsters that are an all male race that sometimes appear naturally in the world. While they seem to appear randomly, Orcs are also capable of reproducing with the female of any species, to produce more orcs. This includes Goblins and other humanoids, but also humans, elves, beastkin, and dwarves, to give some examples.

And because of their high lust, they tend to go after those females, killing any males in their way.

"I am a boy!" Yuu shouted in annoyance as another Orc with a dirty look came right up to him. Currently, as they were subjugating the orcs, one of their scouts apparently noticed them and alerted the other Orcs that a large group, including multiple females such as the Whiteblade party, was coming. However, mistaking his short height and cute looks, Yuu was constantly being targeted as well.

Of course, the Orcs were getting slaughtered left and right. Lyo especially fired arrows right into the skulls of Orcs that tried to target Yuu, scowling and showing an unusually angry expression.

"Don't you dare hurt my best friend" Lyo muttered coldly, a very uncharacteristic thing for him.  It even made James shiver a little.

...Lyo angry even scares me...its probably giving the other parties goosebumps for sure...

Either way, Yuu unleashed a number of wind blades to cut some orcs in half, and Cassor was providing a protective barrier from the Orc Archers and Mages.  Ever since two years ago, where their party nearly got wiped out by the traitor, it seemed he realized he needed to work better on concentration and support magic.  He has even gotten good at casting multiple spells at once.

Argen had also gotten stronger.  After surviving that incident, and a kill spell, he had trained his sword and honed his skills.  He saw just how much stronger people could get, and worked to surpass his old limits.  Though hard work, dilligence, and some excelent blacksmiths making him a new sword to fit his training, he was both stronger and faster.

Verona and Lysander were the same.  Verona had competed with Lyo with a few archery contests.  In terms of skill, she was superior to Lyo, showing better concentration and the ability to read her opponents intentions and movements.   However, Lyo seemed to have a great deal with natural talent, a child prodigy in his own right.  He was able to mix some magic in his arrows, and even create magic arrows that he can fire from his bow and have them follow set paths or track targets, among other things.

Though their practice, Verona was able to understand some of Lyo's natural talent and apply it to herself, while Lyo was able to learn some of the skill that Verona had achieved.  As such, both of them had improved.

And then there was Lysander.  He too learned from the experience, understanding he needed to improve his reflexes and the ability to cover and assist his allies.  Despite wearing heavier armor, he was faster then before, and was able to react to enemy movements with an eerie level of adaptation.  He would not get caught in traps as easily, or get hit by spells.  Not only was his defense good, but he was also good at dodging now, making him a great frontline person and a difficult fighter to deal with.

Stormcaller seemed a bit surprised by their movements, but not as much as Whiteblade, which is a party that tends to work on their own more then with other parties.  Yuu, who didn't trust people on average, even acknowledged internally the fruits of their labor.

Incidentally, each of them was wearing a modified version of the Death Ring.  Yuu did disable the feature where Yuu could instantly kill them, but only that.  Since apparently the Ring could protect against Instant Death spells, or spells that drain one's lifeforce or such, it was actually an extremely valuable item.

Yuu had also used some more bandits for experimenting with it too, and learned that those who wear them cannot become undead either.  Of course, it required a lot of unethical experimentation on bandits to learn this, but Yuu didn't have the morals of a normal person.

He was trying to be better then his father, but given his father was a person who abused his own son to death, it wasn't terribly difficult to do that.  And because of everything he suffered through, Yuu's sense of right and wrong became skewed.

Even though Lyo was basically his opposite by all appearances, had Yuu never meant the strange and overly expressive boy known as Lyo, Yuu's heart probably would have remained cold and forever sealed off from people, or at least it would have taken him far longer.  Yuu, who had known only tragedy and suffering, met a boy who was so positive and expressive.  And Yuu did not miss the parts of Lyo's story that had such tragedy and darkness in it.

He did not realize it at first, but it had sparked a thought in his head.  If he can find happiness after suffering, then why cant I?

And now, even if he did not trust others, he was able to interact with people now...he had returned to a place full of "people", and was now working with "people".

And so, like this, they proceeded to squash the Orcs as they came to attack...

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"Whew" James said, sighing with relief.  "Orcs might only be D-Rank enemies normally, but as expected, this many is difficult even for high ranked adventurers".

"Disgusting pigs" the leader of the Whiteblade party, Sorona, mentioned as she cleaned off her blade.  Around them were numerous corpses of Orcs, and also some of them were resting to regain their strength and stamina.  After all, Drakes were no joke, and they would want to be at their best to be safe.

The blood of the Orcs might attract other monsters, but for now it was safe.  Perhaps because of the Orcs pressence in the area, their hunting, or just an instinctive awareness not to mess with those that slaughtered the Orcs, but no monsters appeared to attack them while they rested their feet and arms.

And in this time, several parties were checking each other out.

Whiteblade had taken note of Yuu and Lyo's unatural skills.  While Zak and Avo were people who they already knew and were used to, they seemed at least a bit older and had a reputation.  But these two came out of nowhere, no previous reputation, and yet displayed such skills.  It was as if they arrived yesterday, but they seemed to know both Argen and James, who have been in the city for two and a half years now.

Sorona didn't really trust them yet, but they did seem competant.  However, there was one odd thing of note.

"Alexa...do you know that boy by chance?"

Alexa had been staring at Yuu for awhile now.  Sorona had thought she found their pressence strange as well and couldn't help herself, but it was starting to seem weird and unusual.

"...n-no.  I don't think so" Alexa mentioned, placing her hand upon her chest.  "...its just...its probably just my imagination..."

"I see..." she said.  She had known Alexa for a long time, so whatever had happened was not recent history anyways.  The boy certainly would not have been old enough to be the cause.

But Alexa could not help but stare...

"...could it be...?"

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After some time, they ended up moving again, only to finally get ambushed by more monsters.  They were Mud Salamanders, likely due to the nearby river, and then later they faced some Goblins who attacked them.  It was not as tough as the orcs, but after they dealt with Nemesis Spider attack, eventually, the group had to stop.

"Well, we did know there was a chance we would have to camp out.  If they were that close after all, the Knights would have likely sent a dispatch with us" James mentioned.  "Lets set up camp here.  We need to wash our bodies and clean our gear anyways".

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Although normally adventurers would be capable of going long distances without baths, the Mud Salamanders had covered a great deal of them with mud.  Furthermore, the Nemesis Spider Silk Shot attack had gotten sticky webs covered on their clothes, bodies, and armor.  Cleanliness aside, these two would inhibit their movement and ability to attack if not cleaned off, so a bath was needed.

Adventurers were used to having to take baths on the road and such though, so it was nothing new about it.  The normal situation was to make camp near a river, lake, or pond, something within view, and then have everyone take shifts.  The larger the group, the more guards you needed since it might attract the hungrier predators at night.  However....one party objected to the norm, beating Yuu to the punch.

"Nice try, but we wont camp and bathe so close to men.  The Whiteblade party will make camp down there in privacy".

The all women group refused to bathe or camp near the men.  Although the female members such as Verona sort of understood, as Adventurers they had to chose practicality over such things.

Of course, if it was just them five, they could probably do fine.  But there was a larger group, and that would attract larger predators who thought they could satisfy themselves there rather then elsewhere.  The group was too large, too noticable, left too many tracks.

"I know what you mean" Verona mentioned.  "But at night, monsters are more dangerous, and many have been known to employ stealth...its just too..."

"No, we will not change our point" the group said.

James, who listened to all this, nodded before having an idea.

"So camping with men is a problem huh?"

"Of course".

In that instant, he pushed Yuu and Lyo forward.

"Then take them!  Even if you have a problem with men, such young boys should be fine right?  Furthermore, you have seen their skills, so you know they can be relied upon after their bath.  So how about it?"

Sorona looked at Alexa, who seemed to signal it would be fine.  She then thought about it a bit...the others didn't really seem okay, and it was true it would be very dangerous for them, especially as an all female party...

"Very well...the four boys can join us" she said after checking again with the rest of her party.  At least this way, the camp was better balanced.

Yuu, Zak, Avo, and Lyo made camp with the Whiteblade party.  Before they finished though, the members of Whiteblade decided to have some people take a bath first.  As for who it was, it ended up being Yuu and Alexa, somehow.  The decision was made based on drawing straws, although Yuu thought he spotted a strange movement in the process.

Either way, down at the river, Yuu had already gone to wash off his body.  Standing there, thigh deep naked in water, Yuu's body was very visible under the light of the two moons.  Alexa, who saw this, was shocked.  After all, she saw marks she clearly recognized.  Signs of torture, burns, all of which was attempted to be covered up...

Entering the water naked herself, she ended up hugging Yuu from behind as she sat down in the river, having him sit in her lap.  Yuu's face turned so red it looked like he might burst.  But, even if he struggled, it was pointless, because Alexa was stronger then him.

However, as he tried to shake her off, thinking that she had weird thoughts, he heard her crying.

"...what are you doing?" he finally asked, annoyed and embarrassed as she began to wash his torso, and put a hand over where his heart was.

"You look so different...but it really is you...you are really that Yuu, aren't you?"

And then, it finally hit him.  Alexa was crying for him.  The second person who had ever cried on his behalf.  But then, she said something that got his attention.

"...to think her son survived after all".

Those words hit Yuu like a brick to the face in terms of shock.  The entire time he had been in this world, he was alone.  He had no memories of his parents, no memories of family.  Not even memories of friends before Lyo.  But...the woman who held his naked body in her arms...seemed to know his mother.

Although perhaps somewhat based on his previous experiences with his mother as Yuuki, but he had held no interest, no curiosity, no thoughts towards his mother as Yuu.  But, with the bait being placed right in front of him, he could not help his own curiosity.

"...my...mother?  You mean the one that abandoned me at an orphanage when I was a baby?"

"No...well, yes and no" she said, while sniffling.  "Your mother...is dead.  She was murdered shortly after your birth".

"...she was...murdered?"

"Yes...to be honest, I thought you had died as well, or been taken and sold off somewhere maybe...to think, you would have this form though...perhaps she used her magic to help hide you, but once I saw that, I was sure..."

"...you seem awefully talkative to me.  Even though I am a 'boy', I thought since I was male there would be some resistance from such a pure and clean group of flowers like yourself".

Hearing that, Alexa chuckled, but it was a cold, painful chuckle that Yuu knew all too well.  From that alone, he realized he had opened a bitter can of worms.

"There is a reason we are known as Whiteblade, and not White Rose.  Our party is not made of pure and innocent maidens you see...it was made of people like yourself.  Victims...in our case, of...rape".

The atmosphere became solemn.  With Yuu sitting on Alexa's lap, the moonlight that showered their naked bodies gave a feeling of calmness and solemnness.

"...im sorry...you were saying about my mother?"

"She was...a prostitute, but a rather nice and classy one.  She was actually someone who many looked up to, including myself, and catered to nobles, even the former lord of the city, Ranyuuma, a few times.  She was a lovely woman...and her cat ears and tail were really cute".

Yuu heard something that he couldn't let go.

"Wait...my mom was a beastkin?"

"It was why, even though your face is so similar to hers, I didn't quite see it at first...you know, sometimes some traits take awhile to appear, but then spring up with mixed races, not always presenting from birth...although, Cat Beastkin are notorious for having both cute males and females, and typically are shorter and younger looking then most.  So...you might end up sprouting ears and a tail any day now".

Yuu was rather shocked to learn this.  Was he not human?  Or at least, not fully human?  And cat ears and tail?

To be honest, part...a big part...of Yuu's curiosity was because he wanted to know if his family had any genetic illnesses he had to be wary of, or maybe grudges.  Maybe they even had an estate he could inherit.  He had also thought they would be terrible people, or bad excuses of humanity itself.  But...based on her words, his mother was a kind person.  A prostitute, but a kind person.

And from what he heard...

"...so your saying...she probably gave me up to protect me".

Normally, his thoughts about the next phrase would be something about a cliche, but...he didn't think that this time.

"...my father...was he...the lord of the city?"

"Although the current lord of the city did visit her a few times as well, so did the former lord...before his terrible accident".

"...his terrible accident?"

"Yes.  The current lord only took over because the previous lord died before producing an heir.  However...some doubt it was an accident.  Furthermore, all nine prostitutes he had been seeing, as well as his wife, also perished, along with any children any of the prostitutes had".

"...isn't that way too obvious of who is at fault?"

After all, Yuu could blatently see what was going on here.  It was painfully obvious that the current lord of the city had them all killed.

"Yes...although, its highly unlikely you were the previous lord's child.  He had golden hair and eyes, and your mother had silver hair and eyes.  But, the current lord is a very paranoid and greedy person".

Yuu quickly dismissed the idea of his dad being the previous lord.  Although there were some points of interest, it seemed like it was low odds a golden haired golden eyed man and a silver haired silver eyed woman would produce a black haired black eyed boy.

"...I see...well, that explains why he wants me dead...".

"Technically speaking, while extremely unlikely, mutations can happen...so its possible for you to be an inheritor.  If a heir is discovered, his position would be taken away, and given to that heir".

Pieces were starting to come together now.  And with the identity of his mom, and although unlikely, maybe his dad revealed, things were starting to make a bit more sense.  Except...

...there is one thing...

"So, my mom could use magic right?  What kind of magic could she use?  Light Magic?  Shadow Magic?  Wind Magic?"

"She was able to use a lot of different types, like yourself.  I suspect she might have used her Life Magic though to try and manipulate your body from the womb, make it so the Beastkin traits would not be as visible.  She also uses illusion magic, which means...its possible her magic is still in play, even now, and they are already there.  She was no good at attack or defense magic, but she was good at illusions and improving vigor and vitality...as you might expect, both of those talents worked well in the Red Light district.  But she got so good at one point, she could even hide something to the point that people could not even feel it was there".

Although that was interesting, it meant the biggest mystery, Yuu's Shadow, was still not solved.  It was clearly combat capable, while his mom apparently did not specialize or was good at combat magic.

Which meant there were still mysteries about himself that needed to be solved, but at least now he had a hint to work off though.

...still, to think I am a beastkin....a Cat Beastkin, known for their small stature, exceptional agility, and a race said to be blessed by mana that always had some knack for learning magical ability...well, this sure explains a lot....to think I am a cat though...

Although Yuu had not realized it, halfway through he was speaking to the woman a bit more nicely.  He was not telling her everything, often disguising his true objective, but there was a minor kinship.

This was not because Yuu was going soft, nor because it was because she was a friend, or at least, claiming to be a friend of his mother's.  It was partly to coax more information out of her, but also...she was someone who had suffered like he had.  Maybe not as long as him, maybe not in the same ways as him.   But she too had been the victim of "unforgivable acts".  And so, Yuu was simply giving her the respect he would want as well.

After they returned though, Lyo was pouting like crazy, so Yuu made him some food to calm him down.  Still, if it had been two years ago, he would not have allowed someone else to bathe with Yuu without him there at all, so it was a sign he was maturing none the less.