"So you can at least move," Mom said, stepping into the dining hall with her usual elegance, her eyes locking onto me as I ate like a starved beast at the table.
"Yeah, it hurts like a bitch, though," I replied between mouthfuls of food, shoveling eggs and toast like my survival depended on it.
"That's excellent. Seems you're quite resilient to wrath," Mom said, walking over with a faint nod and joining Kayda and me at the long oak table.
"Are you also going to eat?" I asked, glancing sideways at her while chewing.
"Yes, I haven't had lunch yet," Mom said, already grabbing a plate and methodically arranging her food like it was a ritual.
"Looks like you've been busy, busy," I mumbled, eyes drifting back to my own plate as I slathered more butter onto a piece of toast.
"Yeah, sadly," she said, her tone more worn out than usual. "With the Kuni head being utterly useless, I had to take over to find out how the devil cult managed to kill thirty thousand people without anyone noticing."
"...Thirty... thirty thousand people!?" Kayda and I yelped in unison, both of us freezing mid-bite, distressed and more than a little horrified.
"Well, that's a bit more than the actual number, but sadly, we haven't found all of their hideouts yet, so... yeah. It'll be a miracle if it's only that amount," Mom explained, her sigh heavy, her brows pinching together as if the weight of it was pressing down on her bones.
"Ugh... Is that how they created that monstrous thing?" I asked, poking at my now less appetizing food.
"Yeah, sadly. It seems there are at least two methods to create them. We still don't know exactly how he—or they—was made," she said, rubbing her temples.
"Them? There are more?" My voice dipped a little, my stomach twisting for an entirely different reason.
"Thirty thousand people died, Kitsu. We have to presume more than one was created," Mom said, shaking her head slowly, expression grim.
"Aaah, I didn't think I'd wake up to something like this," I groaned, letting my head fall forward dramatically, nose almost hitting my plate.
"Sorry to tell you everything now," Mom said, her voice softer. "But you both need to know before I leave again anyway."
"Are you going back to the Kuni?" I asked, lifting my head, surprised.
"Yeah. As I said, they're useless, so I've taken over for now," she said, her tone clipped with irritation.
"Ugh, those shitty fucking dwarves," I muttered, slumping back into my seat with an annoyed glare at nothing in particular.
"Haha, get fucked," Kayda said, laughing and trying to lift the heavy air.
"I wouldn't laugh if I were you," Mom shot back with a sly grin. "You're going to need to train the dumb kiddos and the squad you took over, Kayda. Additionally, there will be admin work waiting for you when I leave.
"Ugh, fuck," Kayda groaned, letting her forehead hit the table with a solid thump.
"Sigh... What should I do?" I asked, glancing over at Mom.
"You're free until I get back. That'll be in a month or two. Do whatever you want. I already spoke with Steve—he knows you'll be heading to him in the next few days. He'll help you as much as he can, though he did say he's not very confident he'll be of much use," Mom explained, finally starting to eat between sentences.
"Ah, thank you. I'll also help if needed," I said, reaching over to give Kayda's back a few supportive pats.
"Thank you," Kayda mumbled, face still buried in her arms.
"Hmm, you seem calmer?" Mom asked, looking at me curiously, like I was a new puzzle.
"Well, they did cut my head off, so..." I said casually, grabbing my neck.
"But wasn't that your clone?" Kayda asked, sitting up and staring at me with growing concern.
"No, not originally. I swapped myself with a clone when he got surprised. Wait—how do you know that? Ah... Nekro, right?" I said those words while shrugging to indicate my uncertainty.
"Yeah. She watched the whole thing from a safe distance," Mom said, nodding.
"Ah, I see. Well, back to the topic—my head was cut off, but I regenerated so fast it felt like a bullet going through me. No pain, just... an overwhelming blur. I can't really explain it." I rubbed my ears, still unsure how I even survived that moment.
"Don't worry. We don't want to know how it feels getting decapitated," Mom said, waving it off like it was just another Tuesday.
"That's not good," Kayda said, eyeing me with concern.
"Yeah, but at that moment, I had already been using Wrath for a few minutes. Probably wrath made me invulnerable to decapitation," I said, another shrug escaping me.
"So you think it's only because you were in wrath that you survived?" Kayda asked thoughtfully, then sighed.
"Yeah. But I think getting stronger will eventually make it a normal thing. It's just a matter of when."
"I see... Sigh. Well, at least you were humbled somewhat," Mom said, her voice laced with something that wasn't quite amusement. She didn't sound happy about it, but she wasn't mad either.
"I guess you could see it like that," I said, nodding slowly.
"Hayo, What's with the atmosphere in here?" Lily's bright voice cut through the fog of seriousness like a ray of sunshine. She bounced into the dining hall with an exaggerated tiptoe, already grinning.
"Ah, hey, Lily. "It's been a long time since we last saw each other," I said, waving lazily.
"Hello, Kitsuna. What's going on here? You guys need more food, or is the food not to your liking?" Lily asked, glancing at our plates.
"Nah, we were just talking about some heavy stuff for a while," I replied, gesturing vaguely.
"Ah, so that's why no one was in here but you three. Should I...?" Lily half-turned toward the door, pointing at it like she might bolt.
"No need. We're done talking anyway, and I need to get back to work before I leave," Mom said, standing up and grabbing a sandwich.
"Well, good luck. Do tell us when you leave, though," I said, waving at her as she headed out.
"Will do—if you guys are still here," she called back over her shoulder.
"I don't think we'll be that long with Steve today," Kayda said, glancing at me for confirmation.
"Yeah, I'll just talk about what I want to do with him. Nothing too complicated."
"Hmm. If you think that's going to be quick," Mom added before disappearing out the door.
"Well, now what?" Kayda asked, stretching.
"Let's go to Steve. I do want to see my mom off before she disappears again," I said, pushing myself up from my chair.
"Right."
"Thanks, Lily. You can have them clean up what's left," I said, sweeping a few extra sandwiches into my storage.
"Oh, go on, go on. The more you take, the easier the cleanup will be," Lily muttered, practically glaring at the table.
"Sigh, you didn't even try to hide it," Kayda said, laughing.
"Oops. Sorry," Lily said, covering her mouth but clearly not sorry.
"Well, I'll have Rebecca know about this," I said, narrowing my eyes in faux threat.
"Ugh, that's not going to be fun," Lily replied, but she didn't seem all that concerned.
"Huh?" Kayda hummed, tilting her head.
"What? You don't know about them?"
"No, but looking at you... I don't want to know."
"Good choice."
"Well, let's go."
"We're going to need a vehicle. I'm not walking there," I said, casting a hopeful glance at Lily.
"Yes, yes. I'll get one ready for you," Lily said, bowing slightly before skipping away.
"Thank you," I called after her.
[30 minutes later]
"Thank you. Good work," Kayda said, climbing out of the car with a polite smile.
"That took longer than it should've," I grumbled, glaring at the workshop's sign.
"I agree. But it's not Lily's fault our ride took so long."
"Yeah, it's our driver's fault," I said, glancing at the poor guy, who was now drenched in sweat and staring at the steering wheel like it had betrayed him.
"Let's just get this over with. We might not have much time," Kayda said, grabbing my hand and dragging me toward Steve's place.
Tring Tring
"Oh, we have a customer," a voice echoed as the doorbell jingled above us.
"Hmm... this place changed a lot," I said, scanning the shop.
"Not really. They just don't have stock," Kayda said, tilting her head at the empty shelves.
"Last time I was here, I could barely walk without tripping over some blade or bow," I said, eyeing the clean floor with suspicion.
"With the monsters getting more active, the number of adventurers in the city doubled. More adventurers mean more gear, which means we sell more... until we're sold out," the receptionist explained.
"So you guys must be happy?"
"With more sales, more people die... and then blame us for their weak weapons," the clerk muttered, sighing.
"The Dead Forest? What happened there?" I asked, curious.
"Hmm. It started a few weeks ago, apparently. That's why Chinada and their team came back—they're emergency backup," Kayda explained, inspecting a blade on display.
"I see. Well, not my problem," I said, smirking at her.
"Ugh. Don't remind me," Kayda said, sighing.
"Now this is someone I would rather not see," a deep voice called out from the back.
"Oh, hello, Steve. Not the welcome I expected," I said, raising an eyebrow.
"Not you, little Stacy. I'm talking about the dragon next to you," Steve said, glaring at Kayda.
"Old man, are you still not over that?" Kayda said, smiling mischievously.
"Hmm? What's this about?" the clerk asked, eyes lighting up with curiosity.
And just like that, chaos was already brewing.