Interlude Part 1: Fireside Chat

*Arisu's Prospective*

The gods in this world must be crazy, or lazy, probably both. First they make everyone speak the same langue no matter what, then reverse names of metals, did Enda name them? No, she would or called Iron; 'grey' or steel; 'shine'.

After passing the door back inside to the reinforced school-like gym, I took unclipped a bracelet from my left hand then attached it to the base my tails. While the enchanted clamp hid them, it was still uncomfortable and if I wasn't carful, it messed up the fluff at the base.

It's not easy trying to take care of long hair while keeping my tails clean and puffy, I'll spare the details but it's like over an hour a night to do it right.

"Man, I hate this snow. Why can't it just rain instead?"

I headed back to the oversized study that I refuse to call anything but a Library. Sure Enda only let a few people borrow books, but it was so big and comfy it felt like a disservice to call it something so humble.

On my way through, I saw Makino Tsumugi sitting in front of one of the many fireplaces on a makeshift beanbag I had Enda slap together from a few spongy sea monsters I came across while working around Concordia.

Incidentally, it was also the city I met the first of a group of misfits I really needed to talk to, he really likes to use the name 'Red' to this day.

I planned to visit one of that group today before I ran into Tsu-chan, I guess that can wait until later this evening.

"You like rain?"

"Yeah, I don't know, I just find it so calming. I used to sit on the veranda outside of my grandfather's Dojo sometimes, just listening to it after Kendo help me relax"

"You ever want to go home?"

"I can't, I died remember?"

"Yeah... but still"

"Maybe... if I can settle some stuff here then I guess I wouldn't mind getting a second chance to fix everything I broke. I wasn't at all great kid you know? I was kind of an asshole"

"Really? Apart from that creepy smile, it's hard to see you as that sort of person"

"Tsu-chan, you know the snotty rich kid stereotype in manga? I would practically fit that to a tee, while also being an obnoxious pretty-boy"

"That is... certainly hard to believe..."

"Alright, I'll prove it, name something a rich kid's upbringing could do"

"Learning to play the piano at home?"

"Hit the nail on the- huh? You hear that?"

"Yeah, someone probably broke something I guess. Can you play for me some time? I'd love to hear it"

"Well, I've only come across three of those in this entire city and one of them is broken"

"Enda-sensei's is broken right?"

"Yeah, but that was my fault... You wouldn't happen to know a handyman that could fix it?"

"*Giggle* I'm sure you could figure it out"

There is a difference from playing and fixing, even tuning a piano. I can only do one of those and I'm fine with that.

"Have the false memories faded now?"

"Ye-yeah... I-"

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it"

"-no it's... I just... It's like a part of me was ripped out but it wasn't me in the first place. Like I was living a lie..."

When I first met her, I thought 'she looks like a friend I had back in high school', before I was diagnosed and went visiting the world that is. While she is Japanese, her name is a mismatch. Summoned at the same time I was reincarnated, we each had to deal with our own weird situation.

For her, the ritual that brought her to this world had side effects, mainly mixing memories with another that almost caused her psyche to shatter. Eventually the memories overwrote each other to create a history she could understand, making herself think she had lived a full life here after death, but in reality, she never died.

She was ripped away from her youth, given a sword and told to swing for the heavens. I understood how she felt, but for me I felt I needed to redo my own life for the better, for her, she never wanted this to happen, nor could she accept it and move on.

At least not yet.

So that is my goal I want to help her to achieve. I don't know if it's possible to return, but I'm certain that the same group of misfits I have many questions for would know.

"Do you play any instruments?"

"I used to... the violin"

Oh damn, consider me jealous, I always wanted to learn that instead of piano myself, that or a guitar.

"Wait, isn't that also an expensive thing to play as well?"

"Heh yeah, well... it's easier to fit a violin in an apartment then a grand piano"

How did she know what type of piano we had? I better watch what I say, she catches on to quick.

"Hey now, a keyboard would fit"

"That would still cost money, the violin was a hand-me-down"

*crack*

I knew that sound, although it looks like I'm the only one who picked up on it, sometimes this bodies ears and nose where a blessing. Touji might of pulled off an incredibly fast strike the broke the sound barrier, meaning he managed to use his relic to copy some attack of mine.

Back to the topic at hand, I could guess what happened. Tsu-chan stumbled on her parents old stuff, found a violin, they took it's meaning as interest and ran with it.

I'd bet her two scale marks, the currency of this world with a physical use in armour and weapons. I heard they'll be phasing out its use because the dragon farm for those scales had an incident a year ago that basically wiped out their livestock.

The new money coin system thingy, is something heard through Enda because it was a former student of hers who came up with the design. I should get my hands on some after winter, for what she told me, I seemed really interesting.

I made some tea for Tsu and myself as we talked for a few hours, reminiscing on our past, childhood, where we grew up in Japan, until it started to get dark.

"It's almost time for dinner so I should get going"

"Why not stay here? I'm sure anyone would drop their plans for your cooking"

"I can't, I saw someone today who was... not in a great space. I'm going to go see her"

"Who?"

"That gyaru dark elf chick... didn't you see her walk by? She wore a really fancy purple suit and everything"

"I don't think I would forget if I saw someone like that, she's part of the Hunters Guild right?"

"Yeah, their top bounty hunter at that and kind of an anti-hero type. Really loves to bring back only dead bounties... alive"

"She must be strong then"

"Maybe... Ah, I'm going to forget if I don't ask now, did you manage to find anything on oil?"

"No, not by our standards, not in their recorded history"

"Hmm. Well then what I saw doesn't help"

"What"

"At the blacksmiths workshop I only saw lava and charcoal. They just called it coal"

"I don't follow"

"It may be that oil doesn't exist, if oil and coal doesn't exist it must of either taken a different form... or something far worse"

"Uhhh...."

"Eh, don't worry about it. Anyway I'm off, I don't know if I'll be back tonight... depending on how strong the drinks are haha"

"Oh my, well... have fun?"

"Very funny"

I still had six years before the event I was sent here to stop; ok that's a bit of an exaggeration, I pissed off the goddess of refection and in turn she sent me here to squirm for her entertainment. I'd pieced plenty together already, and yet it felt like the tip of the iceberg.

While I don't know how to stop whatever catastrophe from happening, I'm certain the disappearance of many gods who hadn't been banished was connected. The hope I hold onto is that fossil fuel like substances had been simply converted over time to energy like what shapes all living things.

Worst case scenario, I'm looking at the possible existence of an underworld and the surface isn't the only layer of life.

True demons and plenty of monsters don't need such things like sunlight, and if the sediment layer of organic material that formed oil, gas and the like back on my planet somehow got separated here and didn't reach the surface, whatever could live in such a place would know how to use such powerful materials.

By whatever deity, god, goddess, monster, kami is watching over us, I pray that isn't the case.

I know what I must do, I need answers from the people who may of been there before, the misfit group.

When looking for answers on monsters, seek the strongest that dare to brave such destructive power.