[Still Randall's POV]
After choosing to search for Anne while Jack delivered the package, I went off and started looking for her.
'He... right, he didn't have wounds on himself.'
Looks like we forgot.
"Eh, I'm sure he was aware of it..."
He must have.
Either way, he can take care of himself. Just like we all do.
About an hour worth of searching these plains, I looked up. Gentle shades of orange had replaced the blue sky. "It's getting late..."
I had found a couple bodies of the bugs during my search, but that was it. The demon I was looking for hadn't appeared yet.
'Anne, Anne... Where the hell did you go?'
This is getting tiri- wait a second.
My eyes managed to spot yet another beetle corpse up ahead, uphill.
I didn't run towards it. Instead, I made sure to conserve energy by walking at a brisk pace. After all, who knows when I'd get to meet up with her...
'... More corpses? I must be cl- nevermind, she's right there.'
Bless you, lady luck.
The demoness sat on top of a beetle's broken shell. A rather heavy bag rested on the blood-stained grass, both crimson and... black.
Anne's clothes had been partially torn, with some notorious wounds still pouring bits of her blackened blood.
Around her "seat," a pair of similar monsters also lay dead. One had its rocky head chopped off, and the other one's shell seemed to have been bombarded with magic spells.
"... Hello Randall. I have some good news."
I tried to focus. Alas, taking my eyes off the corpses was a complicated ordeal.
... She's strong. Quite.
"Randall?"
"Ah? Yes?"
I'll just think about this later. Right now, the conversation takes priority.
"As I was saying earlier, I obtained a substantial amount of Repemtite. This cave was loaded with it... Even counting its feeble capacity for resonance as a factor, this would sell quite well anywhere."
"Is it worth that much...?"
"Of course. It's the vital component needed in the creation of an Artifact, and a vital currency in Himperlon."
An artifact... If the books were correct, then it'd be quite nice to make one for myself.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be possible.
To effectively use an "artifact," usually a weapon or armor made partially with Repemtite, I'd need to have another type of energy flowing in my body.
Antro, to be exact.
'It's the hand I've been given, I guess.'
I can make it work.
"Randall?"
Ah, right. "Sorry, I was thinking. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to wield an artifact?"
If there's something good I heard, it's that they're highly customizable.
"... I'll stay with Miasma. Soul-linked Artifacts are too dangerous."
"How so?"
"Obtaining that kind of Artifact is establishing a permanent connection with a version of yourself that will be ready to jump at the first opportunity of stealing your body."
... On second thought, I take that back. I really don't want to lose yet another body.
"Forget I said anything..."
I glanced at my side for a moment. I let out a sigh.
"... Setting that aside. What are you doing here?" From her new throne, her star-filled, brown eyes fell on me, alongside the question. The demoness' calm eyelashes fluttered once, sealing all sight before freeing it again.
"I thought you'd need help."
Her lips curved slightly. "As you can see, I'm as good as I can be. However, your concern over my wellbeing will be noted."
She jumped off the dead beetle's cracked shell. Her hand picked up the leather strap, before moving the bag under her arm. "I'll hide this bag somewhere. You may come with me if you wish."
Huh, that's... a surprise.
'This should be a sign of trust.'
After all, I could just return here, get the stuff and run off.
... Though, perhaps I should make sure that first impression is correct.
"Are you not afraid? What if I come back here and leave with your loot?"
"... Currently, I have no reason to be afraid of you betraying me." Her eyelids shut momentarily, air pouring in through her nose became the prelude for an explanation.
"Some of our interests are mutual, one of those being survival. You and I, we both have personal goals, and we're both in an equally bad situation. To team up when facing adversity, that is only natural."
"I see..." I looked down for a moment. A smile-shaped arc quickly appeared on my face. "Then we can get going."
So we did.
We wandered through the rocky plains for some time. At first, mostly in silence. That changed when I asked a bit about her. Just something I was curious about.
"What was your life like?"
... That's what I wanted to ask, but I wasn't sure if I'd get a straight answer. Thus, I went along with another question.
"What was Llen like?"
A roundabout manner. Won't yield as many details, but her perception of him might tell me a few things. If she spits out some experiences, I can also learn from that.
I am not a fan of using this method, but... what other choice is there?
'Besides being direct, of course. But that would get me a rejection.'
"Llen?... As you know, he was a skilled fighter and an annoying jerk. Never got a proper education, let alone a surname. I was told to work with him often due to his interests aligning with that of my former school's, for the most part."
Despite speaking with an indifference-loaded tone, her steps hastened.
"There's also the fact that he showed romantic interest in me."
Her eyebrows sank, similar to the grass she trampled on. Voicing that almost left some venom in the air.
'Ok, her hatred is fairly obvious.'
"Was he the only one?"
"Unfortunately, no. Every week or so, I'd have someone new confessing their supposed love to me after class. That or someone whom I had rejected choosing to try again…"
She sighed, perhaps annoyed. "However, he was the most insistent one out of every single person to ever confess to me. Humans, elves, dragons, dwarves... No one came even close to matching his damned persistence."
"He sure sounds like a real pain..."
"That's because he was one, Randall. Why do you think I didn't hesitate to welcome you?"
Well, now her original reaction makes sense.
"A stranger is a much better alternative than a jerk. Besides, you didn't lack that much education... unlike him."
We left the field with knee-tall grass blades. The sun was still up, but it sure didn't look like it was going to hang out there for long...
"Randall."
"Hm?"
Anne stared off into the nearby distance.
"That tree looks like a good reference spot."
Reference spot...
The sun shone down both on the hill we left behind, on our own bodies and the tree ahead of us. Just like the sky, it didn't care whether we were a grass blade or a corpse.
It shone down on everything regardless. That is its role.
"Stop staring at the sun," commented the fiend. My first reaction was to blink, allowing a small "tear" to slide towards my nose. Not minding that, she walked towards the sun-bathed tree.
A mere glance revealed that the bag she carried was at least twice as big as the one Jack carried back to Fegendale.
'From the way she spoke about it, the contents of that bag are quite valuable. Maybe they'll be a good safety net.'
Claws appeared from her hands, which she used to dig a hole some meters away from the tree.
"Randall."
"Yeah?"
"How long do you think we'll stay here for?"
"Uh, we agreed to leave after the Fall ends... Though, you wouldn't have forgotten about that. Why are you asking?"
"I'm only making sure we are on the same page." The hole had reached some considerable depth, so she stopped digging and placed the bag on the bottom. "We could live in relative safety as long as we stayed here, but that's not an option. Guess the reason."
The sound of loads of dirt fell on the pit, burying the treasure acquired by the lass. 'Staying here would surely grant us safety and consistency.'
... Exactly, consistency.
To accomplish our goals, we can't remain stagnant. And in a place that is constantly the same, neither of us will be able to grow.
'Evolution can only be acquired when facing adversity.'
As the last speck of dirt fell on the covered hole, so did my answer. "Because then we'll be unchanging."
She smiled. "Fernbedie is a useful place for us to create some small foundations, but that's it. It must be ditched at some point, lest we risk ending up like them."
After Anne wiped claws clean on her clothes, they retreated back into her hands. "Everything we had to do is done. Let's head back."
... Today, our "foundations" strengthened considerably. And the whys of our current destination became clearer.