“You’ve been injured,” I muttered softly as I walked over to her.
“This princess was a little careless,” Lin admitted as I knelt in front of her. Blood leaked from between her fingers as she pressed a hand to her side. “She did not expect anyone to show up and paid the price for being negligent.” She hesitated. “Did you get the one that escaped?”
“I did,” I answered. “Lay down and show me the wound please.”
Lin lay on her back and removed the hand from her wound, which caused the blood to leak out even faster. The wound was a decently sized gash that ran along her torso. Not only did blood leak from the cut, but the edges of the wound had turned a dark purple that was beginning to go black.
“Necrosis?” I muttered with a frown. “You’ve been poisoned.”
“Aye. The one who escaped dared to cut this princess with a poison-coated dagger,” Lin answered me with stilted breath. She hissed when I pressed a finger to the skin around the wound. “It surprised this princess enough that he was able to escape. Fortunately, Lamia are resistant to poisons, so it has not spread far.”
I had not noticed the dagger on that person’s body when he or she disintegrated, but they could have discarded it before leaving. As I looked around the room, I spotted a dagger lying on the floor, its simple design misleading. There was dark purple oil coating it. Poison. That dagger must have been meant for me instead of Lin.
“Hold on a moment,” I said as I leaned over. “I’m going to remove the poison.”
Lin nodded and tried to relax against the bed as I placed both hands near her wound and leaned down. I didn’t hesitate for a second. Placing my mouth over her cut, I channeled the water element through my mouth and began sucking out the poison.
There were several methods for removing poison. The first was alchemy pills. There were quite a few antidote pills that could be created to neutralize the effects of poison, but I didn’t know them. The second method was sucking it out. This required someone who could use the water element. While using one’s mouth was not required, it was easier to suck out the poison this way.
With the water element activated, I quickly took control of Lin’s blood flow, reversing the flow so all the poison that had been released into her bloodstream returned to the wound. As Lin moaned from pain, the acidic taste of poison filled my mouth. It burned my tongue and mouth like it was trying to melt me. I endured the pain and continued sucking the poison out, waiting until I could sense no more before removing my mouth.
I went over to the window and expelled the poison onto the street below. It splashed against the ground, hissing and sizzling in the cool night air.
Grimacing at the pain in my mouth, I channeled the water element to heal the damage before turning around.
Lin was still lying on the bed. Her face was a little flushed and her breathing was heavy. The wound on her side wasn’t healed and still leaked blood, but the poison was gone at least.
I went back over, knelt by the bed, and placed a hand against her wound. The water element flowed through my hand and into Lin’s wound. The blood running down her skin reversed course, traveling back into her body. Blood was made mostly of water and thus easy to control. As I channeled more of the water element into her skin, the wound closed up.
“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked as I healed her.
“This princess was lounging on your bed when several people appeared from within the shadows. She did not know who these people were, but this princess easily sensed their hostile intent and attacked.” The wound completely closed and I removed my hands. Her skin had the same healthy, vibrant look as before. There wasn’t even a scar. “They seemed most surprised to find a Lamia in your residence, Darling. This princess believes they were not expecting to find someone here, least of all someone like her.”
“Most people in Nevaria do not even believe in the existence of Lamia,” I said as Lin sat up. “Your kind only exist in legends and fairy tales here. Part of the reason I don’t want you wandering outside is because of the panic it would cause.”
“This princess understands that, which is why she has listened to your advice,” Lin said.
“And I appreciate that.” I gave her a smile before looking at the closed door. “Did anyone come in after I left?”
Lin shook her head. “A few people tried to enter, but this princess wouldn’t let them. She used her tail to keep the door closed. They complained for a while, but everyone eventually stopped banging on the door.”
“Good.” I sighed in relief. “That’s one less trouble to worry about. However, we can’t remain here any longer. I don’t know who these people are, but they’re clearly hostile toward us, or at least toward me. I’ve already bought us a house. It doesn’t have any furnishings, but we will stay there for the night anyway.”
“If that is your decision, this princess will comply with it.”
Lin stood up and twisted her torso as though testing to see if her body was in working order. While some part of me wanted to look away, another part could not help but admire the sinuous curves and muscles of her thin waist. There was a snake-like sensuality to her movements that contained a deadly grace and seductiveness. It was enough to make even my brain stall for a moment.
I shook my head to dispel these thoughts. “Let’s leave through the window and quickly make our way to the new house.”
I went out of the window first, using the Flash Step to appear on the street below. The moment my feet touched the ground, I turned around as Lin came out.
Unlike myself, Lin could not use the Flash Step. She didn’t even have feet. That said, her tail was about six meters long and allowed her to dangle from the window. Once she found herself hanging upside down, she grabbed onto a wood support beam sticking out of the wall and removed the rest of her tail from inside the room.
I had to admire her incredible upper body strength as she twisted her body around, inverting herself so her tail was now pointed toward the ground. The muscles in her arms, back, and stomach flexed as she lowered herself. Her tail touched down, then she let go of the beam, hit the ground like a coiled spring, and slowly returned to a normal standing position.
Well, normal for a Lamia at least.
“Let’s go,” I said. “Stick to the shadows. I don’t want anyone discovering us.”
“This princess will follow you,” Lin said.
Rather than walking down the center of the street, Lin and I moved along the edge, avoiding the glow of street lamps to keep from being seen. There was no one on the streets but us. However, on the off chance that someone did show up, or if someone looked out their window, I wanted to be adequately hidden. I also activated Spiritual Perception to track any fluctuations in Spiritual Power. The last thing we needed was to be attacked again.
The new house I had bought was half an hour’s walk from my old place. It required us to travel down numerous roads to reach.
“Um… thank you,” Lin suddenly said as we turned onto another street.
I glanced at her. “For what?”
“For removing that poison,” Lin said. “If you had not removed it, this princess would have been in a lot of trouble. That poison was more potent than the kind she can produce on her own right now.”
I shook my head and looked back at the street before us. There was no sign of any movement. I also couldn’t detect any presences, and I had extended Spiritual Perception to a kilometer radius around us.
“That is not something you need to thank me for.” I sighed. “I am positive those people showed up because they were after me. You only got injured as a result of being there when they arrived. In a way, it is my fault you received that injury in the first place.”
“You might say that, and you might be right, but this princess is going to extend her gratitude anyway.” Lin was adamant. “This is the second time you have saved her. She knows how to show gratitude.”
I was already fairly well acquainted with Lin’s stubborn atti
tude, so I decided not to bother saying anything else to dispute her. It wasn’t worth arguing over.
We reached the front gate to our new house. I unlocked the gate and the front door, allowing Lin to proceed me. After making sure I had locked everything up, I walked into the house and found Lin standing in the middle of the family room. She swept her eyes around the room and nodded.
“This house is quite nice. This princess approves.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Is that the room this princess will be sleeping in?”
“No… let me show you the one you’ll be sleeping in.”
I showed Lin the master bedroom, which was the second largest room in the house. While it was hard to judge the room’s size, I would have estimated that it was at least three times larger than the room we had been living in. That was more than enough space for Lin.
“This room will also work,” Lin said after a moment.
“That’s good.” I’d have been worried if a room like this didn’t suit her. “Anyway, I’m going to sleep in my room. Call me if you need anything.”
Lin frowned. “You are not planning to share a room with this princess?”
I frowned right back. “The whole reason I decided to buy this house was so you and I could sleep in separate rooms.”
“This princess thought you were joking.”
“Why would I joke about this?”
“In either event, you cannot sleep in another room. This princess needs you to help her keep warm.”
Something about the way she said that sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t know why.
“And why do I need to help you keep warm?” I asked.
“Have you already forgotten? Lamia are cold-blooded.” Lin crossed her arms and looked down at me, which she could do because she’d used her tail to raise her height by nearly half a meter. “This princess’s body becomes hotter or colder based on the temperature and other factors. She cannot retain body heat or generate her own body heat like you humans can. What’s more, we have no blankets. If you do not keep this princess warm, it is likely that she will freeze to death.”
As Lin once again reminded me of her cold-blooded nature, I couldn’t help but release a soft groan.
It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 9
Breaking in the New House
We didn’t learn anything about the strange runes that were located inside of the ruins. After staying there for another two days, Kari and I left, but not before being profusely thanked by the girls we had rescued.
The two of us walked through an open field, following the dirt road that led to Midgard, using the seven massive towers that could be seen even from this vast distance as our guide. I couldn’t tell how far the city was from us. Those towers were kind of like mountains, something I could see from an extremely far distance due to their enormous size.
“I wish we had been able to discover more about those runes and what those cloaked people were trying to accomplish,” Kari said as she looked at the sky. The frustrated frown marring her face was one I’d been seeing a lot in the last two days. “I have this really bad feeling that those people were going to do something horrible.”
“You mean horrible beyond killing a couple of innocent girls?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Hmm…”
I glanced at Kari’s profile as I walked beside her. Her blue eyes were still locked onto the sky, but they were glazed over, as if she were looking at something far into the distance.
Thinking back on our battle against those cloaked figures in the ruins, I remembered how the ones that had been hit by Kari’s light element burned up until not even their bodies remained. I’d never seen anything like that before. However…
“I don’t think those cloaked figures were even human,” I said at last.
“What makes you say that?” Kari finally turned her head to me.
I thought it over for a moment before shrugging. “While I don’t know everything there is to know about Spiritual Techniques and the elements, I do know that humans aren’t affected by the light element the way those things were. Fire might be able to burn someone until there’s nothing left if it’s powerful enough, but not light—at least, not in the manner that you used it.”
“I suppose.” Kari cupped her chin and frowned. “It looked like they had a strong darkness affinity. Maybe their affinity for the darkness element was so strong they couldn’t withstand my light element?”
“Maybe.” I agreed with a slow nod, though I wasn’t quite sure I believed this was the case. “Either way, I don’t think a human with the darkness element would have been destroyed in such a… spectacular manner.”
As the two of us discussed the matter of those cloaked individuals, the sounds of wheels turning and the stamping of feet caused us to turn our heads. A large carriage with a refined design was being pulled by a pair of Struts. The carriage was red and had golden rune patterns etched into it. Sitting atop the carriage was a small statue of a bird with its wings spread and large tail feathers flowing behind it. A Phoenix. That was an S-Rank Demon Beast with a fire affinity and one of the few nonviolent Demon Beasts in existence.
Kari and I moved off to the side as the carriage rolled past us. Our plan was to let the carriage go by and continue walking, but someone from inside suddenly shouted, “Stop the carriage!” and the driver sitting in the front yanked on the reins, causing the bird-like Demon Beasts to stop with a loud squawk.
The windows were covered by a curtain, allowing no one to see past it. However, someone soon pulled that curtain aside, and the enchanting face of a young woman with hair like raven’s feathers and purple eyes appeared on the other side of the glass window. She had pale skin, a small nose, and full lips. Her features were refined and elegant, though I felt Kari’s innocent allure was far more attractive.
“Excuse me, but are you two traveling to Midgard?” the woman asked.
“We are,” Kari said after glancing at me.
The woman’s smile widened. “In that case, why don’t you two climb in? I also happen to be traveling to Midgard. However, I currently have no traveling companions, so I am quite bored.”
The two of us glanced at each other, but we didn’t debate for long. At our current speed, it would have probably taken several days to reach Midgard, and that was a kind estimation on our part.
“We would be glad to,” I said for the two of us. “Thank you very much.”
“It is no trouble at all.” The curtain was let down and the door suddenly opened with a soft click. The woman inside revealed more of herself as she gestured for us to enter. “Please, climb on board.”
I realized just how extravagant this carriage truly was after climbing inside. The interior was painted a royal purple color, while the crimson seats were padded and soft. Carpet rested underneath our feet. Furthermore, the curtains were made from a type of sturdy material I’d never seen before that seemed softer than silk and more durable than wool.
Kari and I sat on the opposite side of the young woman. Because her ranseur was so large, Kari had to set it lengthwise across the seat, meaning it was resting on our laps.
Now that I was sitting before her, I realized that this woman was probably a little younger than Kari and myself. She was dressed in a type of battle gown. Blue shoulder pauldrons with gold outlining them shifted as she adjusted her shoulders. A corset made of blue steel wrapped around her torso. However, her breasts were clad in only a white top with frills that traveled around her body. The top also didn’t cover much, meaning a good portion of her cleavage and back was exposed. Aside from the armored corset and pauldrons, she also wore gauntlets and grieves that went up to her elbows and knees respectively.
“Please allow me to introduce myself.” The woman placed a hand on her chest and smiled. “My name is Erica Kjærlighet. I am the leader of the Battling Valkyrie Sect in Midgard.”
“I’m Eryk Veiger.”
“My name is Kari Astralia.”
The two of us introduced ourselves, though we did not name where we were from. Erica didn’t seem to mind as she smiled at us.
“May I ask what you are traveling to Midgard for? Are you looking to join a sect?”
The carriage began moving again, shaking underneath our feet and bums. I could now see why these padded seats were necessary. I remembered how rough the journey in that wagon had been when we first left the Endless Desert. The ground along this road was even rougher, probably because so many people used it.
“We honestly don’t have any plans yet,” I said with some reluctance. “Kari and I traveled across the Endless Desert awhile back and entered the Northern Plains less than two months ago. Midgard is said to be the largest city in the entire Northern Plains, so we decided to make it our travel destination.”
“So you two do not know anything about Midgard then?” Erica looked between the two of us with some incredulity, causing mine and Kari’s faces to heat up. A smile soon blossomed on the other woman’s face as she clapped her hands together. “In that case, why don’t I tell you two a little about Midgard as we travel?”
“We would be very grateful if you did,” Kari said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Erica’s smile turned somewhat devious as she raised her hand and waved a finger at us. “However, this information is not going to be for free. In exchange, I would like you two to answer a question of mine.”
“What is your question?” I asked hesitantly.
Erica leaned forward, her eyes practically sparkling as she looked between the two of us. She ignored the bumpiness as the carriage hit a rock. The way her eyes were like two big stars shining in the night sky made her look like a young teenage girl dreaming about romance.
“What is your relationship? Are you two married?”
I glanced at Kari, who glanced back at me. She looked just as confused as I did. It was clear to me that neither of us had an answer to that question. Our relationship had never been defined by conventional methods. However…
Wiedergeburt 3 Page 14