Chapter 4

We ran all the way to Sayuri's room in the stables. We left the girl lying on a makeshift bed made out of some straw and the clothes I had in my backpack.

-Use the healing magic you used on me, please – I said worried so quickly as we laid her down.

-I'm not sure if I can heal her completely, this seems to be serious – said Sayuri looking at the girl's wounds.

-Then say the spell out loud so I can imitate it – I said trying to find a solution.

-That's fine, although I don't think you can do it that easy – said Sayuri as she walked away a little bit.

-Doesn't matter, it's better to try and fail than to stay here doing nothing – I said trying to sound convincing.

Sayuri nodded at my words and took a big breath of air.

-Gods who live above, let me use your power to restore the wounds that burden the bodies of others. Quick Healing – said Sayuri.

Her voice was clear and melodious, as if she were reciting some poem. The moment she said the name of the spell her hands glowed for a second and then went out.

-I knew it, this wasn't enough – she said frustrated.

-Use it again, use it as many times as necessary – I said even more worried.

-No, this spell is not enough to heal her wounds, only an elemental spell would be able to heal her and I have no affinity to any other element besides fire – she said.

-Damn it! – I said hitting the ground with my hand.

I was frustrated, I couldn't do anything even if I said the same spell as her.

-If only I knew some spell... If only I knew what to do... Why bring me to this world if I can't get some rest?! First I almost died in that temple, then with the goblins, then the rhinoceros, then that old man in Gandalf cosplay...! – I thought as I remembered all the things that had happened to me.

-There is no other choice, I will have to intervene so that you don't continue talking nonsense – I heard a voice inside my head, it was one of the voices I had heard before in Kiyomizu-dera – Just repeat the words that I will show you and you will be able to heal her. Remember the spell, I'm sure it will come in handy later.

I wasn't sure what the voice was saying, but I had to trust it. Some puzzle-like pieces appeared in my mind and slowly came together, there were some words written on them in a strange language but I could understand them. When they were put together I could see what they said.

I took a deep breath, placed my right hand on the girl and began to read them.

-Earth, place where all things grow, where life flourishes, grant me your strength, lend me your power to heal wounds, to right the wrongs of others, to alleviate the suffering of others... – I started to say the words that appeared in my mind, I didn't know if I was saying them in the right way but I had to try.

-What are you...? – Sayuri asked, she was trying to talk to me, but I should not lose my concentration.

-...In the name of the guardian of the earth, Genbu, I ask you. Release your power to heal all wounds... Elixir Of Earth – I said the name of the spell out loud.

My hand emitted a brown light, then the light enveloped the girl's entire body and disappeared. At that instant my body felt heavy and I found it hard to sit still.

-What was that? I've never heard that spell before – said Sayuri surprised.

-I don't... I know. But... – I tried to speak, but the words barely came out of my mouth.

-I bet you're out of mana so it won't be long before you faint – said Sayuri, but I could barely hear her.

-Tell me... if it worked... – I tried to say something but my vision went black and I didn't know anything else.

When I woke up I could feel the coldness of the morning, but there was something warm around my body, as if something was on me.

The first thing I went to Sayuri sitting next to me, she seemed to be calm.

-You finally wake up, I thought you would sleep all day – she said, only she seemed to be a little worried.

-I'm sorry, tell me... did that spell work? – I asked still lying down.

-You'd better see for yourself – she said as she pointed to the other side, right behind me.

But there was nothing, I looked down and the girl was hugging me, she seemed to be asleep but she definitely looked much better than yesterday.

-The healing spell I use can only heal minor wounds, while the elemental and higher spells can even heal several broken bones in many people. But the one you used even made her regain some weight – said Sayuri trying to explain something about spells to me. She looked very confused but I was even more so.

At that moment the girl twitched her ears and jumped away from me.

-Who... who are you? Where am I? – she asked with her eyes still closed, she seemed to be scared and nervous, even her hair stood up a little as if she was a scared cat, although being a semi-human she was almost one.

-Calm down, I'm Sayuri and the one you were hugging is called Ryuuji. Yesterday we saw when your master was beating you and we helped you. Ryuuji used a very rare healing spell on you but it seemed to work very well – Sayuri said in a sweet tone, trying to make the girl calm down a little.

The girl looked very confused, but she moved her hands a little and suddenly looked very surprised.

-But... How? – she asked.

-I'm not sure, the words of the spell just appeared in my mind... I don't know how to explain it. By the way, why don't you open your eyes? – I said trying to avoid the subject.

She looked a little uncomfortable, but slowly opened her eyes. They were green but seemed dull, lifeless. She was blind, there was no doubt about that.

-Thank you for healing me. My name is Haruka Mori, I have no way to thank you and I would like to repay you, but I have to go back to my master – she said as she bowed to us and tried to sound convincing, but I could tell she was a little scared.

-Why don't you stay with us? – I asked immediately.

-She can't do it, all slaves have a curse that makes them obey their masters no matter what order I give them – said Sayuri answering my question.

This was a cruel world. But I remembered what her master had said before he left.

-If I remember correctly, your master said to do whatever you want. So what do you want to do? Will you stay with us? – I said trying to convince both of them.

-Hey, you can't tell someone to stay with us without even asking me! – Sayuri said annoyed.

Haruka looked confused for a second, but then she smiled and spoke.

-I... I'll stay with you... – she said smiling, she pretended to be happy.

-You heard her Sayuri, now you have two partners. Now we are a group that can go on missions – I said with a lot of encouragement, waiting for Sayuri's reaction.

She seemed a little upset, but then she started to smile too.

-This may bring us more problems, but we don't have to worry about that for now – Sayuri answered while smiling.

A couple of days passed since Haruka had stayed with us, in those days I learned the basics about this world, what the government system was like and what to do for missions.

Without doing anything in the stables I was running out of money, so it was time to go on a mission. Sayuri and I went to buy food in the center of town, while Haruka was waiting for us at the south exit of town. When we arrived she was hiding behind some bushes.

-What's wrong? – I asked when I saw her hiding.

-My master was nearby, so I had to hide – she whispered back.

-And how do you know he was nearby? – I asked confused.

-She is a semi-human, her senses are finer than ours – replied Sayuri.

-Also my ears and my sense of smell are stronger because I don't have sight – said Haruka following Sayuri's answer.

That was true, she had seen how Haruka walked around the city without any problem.

-Well, we'd better get going – I said trying to take the initiative.

-Yes, I'm sure that with your help I will be able to finish the mission I accepted from the guild – said Sayuri as she started walking.

The three of us left thinking that everything would be fine. But my luck had something in store for us, a group of goblins attacked us when we were barely 10 minutes out.

-I've already killed three and they're still coming! This is not going to end! – I asked angrily.

-Just shut up and keep using that dagger! Haruka, what the hell are you doing?! – Sayuri said as I turned to look at her.

Sayuri and I were taking over the group of goblins while Haruka stood with her eyes closed and her arms stretched forward. She had taken off her tunic and was wearing a white blouse and skirt, badly worn and stained. Suddenly she began to speak.

-Byakko ancestral lineage, my ancestors, lend me your power, dominate the wind around me and transform it into blades that cut my enemies....

-Boy, get out of the way or you will be sliced! – said a voice inside my head, it was another of the voices I had heard in Kiyomizu-dera. I immediately grabbed Sayuri's hand and ran to the side, as the voice had said.

-Wind Blades! – Haruka shouted the name of the spell and immediately the air around her condensed and shot out towards the goblins, forming half a dozen crescent-shaped blades that cut them all in half.

It was an incredible and very powerful spell, even the ground had been cut by those blades.

-Warn us before using a spell like that! If Ryuuji doesn't notice, we would have ended up like those goblins! – Sayuri shouted angrily.

She was really really angry. But I couldn't stop thinking about the voice that had warned me about the spell.

-Thank you – I said in my mind trying to thank that voice.

-I'm sorry, usually the master just uses me as bait and I had never used that spell before, so I thought it would be useful – said Haruka trying to apologize.

-Just calm down girls, we have to concentrate on the mission... by the way what is it? – I said trying to calm them down, although I was also curious about the mission.

-Get golden apples, we must get 5 of them. The reward is 100 silver coins, which is 100,000 bronze – said Sayuri explaining the mission.

-So much money just to get apples! – I shouted in surprise.

The price was too high for apples, which gave me a bad feeling.

-You idiot! How could you accept a mission like that! – Haruka shouted, she seemed to be angry.

-Don't yell at me Cat! It's just about getting fruit! – replied Sayuri angry at Haruka's words.

-And to get it you need to go over the earth dragon that eats them! It's always guarding the tree so that no one touches them! My master already tried to do that mission and couldn't complete it! – Haruka said annoyed, explaining how difficult the mission was.

-I knew it! Now I know the reason why she always fails the missions! She doesn't know how to choose the ones that are at her level! – I thought immediately.

The color drained from Sayuri's face and mine as well, but we were already inside the mission.

I came up with a plan, it was a very bad plan, so insane it might work.

-I think... I think I have a plan that might work – I said scared.

I told them and we went on our way.

2 hours later I was running for my life as a brown dragon followed close behind me.

The land dragon was similar to a crocodile, only its legs were longer, its skin was smoother and it was brillowy brown, it had no wings, but Sayuri had said they could spit fire, luckily it hadn't yet.

-Why do I always come up with this nonsense?! – I shouted as I ran.

The plan was working.

Sayuri and Haruka had managed to distract the dragon using magic, meanwhile I took the opportunity to steal a golden apple from its tree, but the dragon noticed immediately and started chasing me.

I ran as fast as I could, getting it as far away from its tree as possible, while Sayuri and Haruka stole the 5 apples we needed.

Luckily I had realized that I was really good at escaping in this world too, otherwise the plan wouldn't have worked.

-You go back to your tree already! Stop following me, you useless monster! – I said as I ran and some tears came out of my eyes from fear.

I ran back to the tree, I could see that Sayuri and Haruka had already moved far away. The dragon let out a terrifying roar, maybe it had realized that more apples had been stolen from its tree.

My legs moved even faster out of fear, I was sure the dragon would kill me if I didn't run faster.

About 30 minutes passed and the dragon was still chasing me. I was about to catch up with the girls, but they saw back and realized the situation, so they ran faster.

-Run, run, run!! This thing is still chasing us and it's catching up! – I said behind them.

We kept running as fast as we could, our lives depended on it.

Somehow we had managed to escape from the earth dragon, but not before it left my and Haruka's clothes burned, Sayuri didn't seem to be affected by the flames.

We were already inside the city walls and heading towards the guild.

-I thought I would die. I saw my life pass in front of my eyes more than once – I said still trembling from fear and tiredness.

-I didn't think you would offer yourself as bait... I really didn't think you would come up with a plan – said Sayuri still trying to recover.

-I'm not dumb, just my face makes me look like one. Besides I think I'm the fastest of the three of us when it comes to running away – I said a bit embarrassed about that.

-It's true, earth dragons are usually very fast and agile, but you dodged it very well Mizushina. Thanks to that we managed to collect 10 golden apples – said Haruka showing me the apples.

-I told you to call me Ryuuji, Sayuri calls me that. Besides, I'm not used to use that last name. By the way, if you can't see how do you know that? – I asked confused, but I had no answer.

As we were talking, we arrived at the guild. Sayuri went to deliver the apples and try to sell the ones we had left over while we waited for her near the counters.

-Hey Haruka, do you think they'll be surprised that we didn't just accomplish the mission? – I asked as I watched Sayuri as she approached the counters.

-Of course they will! I still can't believe we did it – said Haruka, she seemed happy to complete the mission.

That's how difficult the mission was. Maybe everyone thought they had to face the dragon head on and then take the apples when it was weakened.

-What?! Ten golden apples?! – The shouts of the girl who was tending to Sayuri brought me out of my thoughts. All the people inside the guild were startled by her shout and immediately turned to look.

Sayuri talked some more with the girl and came back with a small leather bag.

-I managed to sell the other apples at a good price. We got 24 silver coins for each one we had left over – Sayuri said happily while showing me a leather bag.

-That's amazing! We earned more than the mission reward! – said Haruka just as happy.

-I just hope we don't have to do another one like this, I don't want to act as bait anymore -I said a bit depressed remembering my silly plan.

-I think with that money we can buy some equipment, besides her clothes are burned – said Sayuri while looking at us.

-I'm fine like this, besides... – said Haruka trying to sound carefree, but her tail was wagging from side to side, it was obvious that she was excited.

-Your master never bought you anything, did he? But this will come out of what we split from the profits. Besides I wouldn't want to change my clothes either, but I have no choice but to do it – I said as I looked at my burnt clothes, luckily I still had my sports clothes in the stable room.

-Well, then I'll take Haruka. Wait for us near the fountain on the main street – said Sayuri excitedly.

We split the winnings, but we couldn't repeat it equally, 2 of us would get 73 coins and someone 74, so we decided to leave it to luck, flipping a coin. To our bad luck, Haruka was the one who got the 74 coins on the first toss.

The three of us headed towards the city's shopping district, in search of new clothes, but when we got there we split up.

I entered a store that seemed to sell clothing and armor.

-Good afternoon, I need some clothes – I said entering the store.

-Wel... come sir – The attendant was a girl, maybe a couple of years older than me. She seemed to be happy to have a customer, but as soon as she saw me, her expression changed completely. Maybe because of my appearance and my burnt clothes.

-What kind of clothes do you need? Lately the prices have gone up a bit, so... – she said with little encouragement.

-Do you think I could get at least 2 sets of clothes with 25 silver coins? – I asked, looking at what was on the store shelves.

-25 silver coins?! Of course sir, that's more than enough! – said the girl, this time very cheerful.

Hearing the budget she had her attitude changed again. Now she seemed to be about to burst with joy.

Picking out the clothes was easy, I chose 2 almost identical outfits. A red cotton shirt and dark brown leather pants. Luckily my boots were undamaged and I was able to keep them, but not before refusing to sell them to the store manager.

-Thank you very much for your help. I will come back another day if I need to... – I said happy with my purchase.

I had already paid for my clothes, I had one set on and the other in my hand, I was about to leave, but I saw something that caught my attention. In a corner of the store, there was what seemed to be a black fur coat, it was covered with dust and you could barely see it.

-Excuse me, what is that? – I asked pointing to the coat. The clerk quickly went for it, shook it out and showed it to me.

-It's just an experiment my father made, I try to combine clothes with some armor. It has good protection attributes, it is influenced by the affinity to the wearer's element and can increase the level of luck a lot, but nobody seems to like it, besides it is worth 20 silver coins at a discount – said the girl with the coat in her hands.

The girl seemed to be talking without much enthusiasm. I took out another twenty silver coins and placed them on the counter.

-I'll take it – I said immediately.

I put it on and left the store. For a black fur coat it was quite cool, but I was sure that if I buttoned it up I would feel quite warm.

As I headed towards the main street all the people turned to look at me, I must have looked like a freak.