Arc 3: Demi-Human hero part 2

"Wake up Daisuke"- Someone touched my shoulder, is it morning yet?

"Great Sage?"

"Yes, you feel asleep"

"Are you ok?"- Senri was keeping her right hand on my head

"Yes, sorry."- I got up

"So, what happened last night? I can't remember anything. Why were you by my bed side?"- Senri looked around her room

"I helped you clean last night. We went outside and"

"And what? Did I do something embarrassing and faint?"- Senri's face turned beet red

"Kinda, you cast a spell that exhausted your mana a lot, or many more spells at once, it was fast that it seemed like one spell"

"Really?"

"Yes, it was pretty good. Don't worry too much"

"Damn it"

"Are you feeling ok Senri?"- Okura entered the room quietly

"Okura?"

"Yes, are you feeling ok? What did you really do last night?"

"Daisuke told me I consumed too much mana on a spell, but that's it. I can't remember anything myself

"Well, let's not worry about that now. We got a royal mission from the king"

"Royal Mission?"- Senri's face was white

"What's wrong?"

"Royal missions are reserved for high rank adventurers, we are around level 55, those missions are for level 80+ as it might involve another country as well"

"Daisuke, you will accompany us"

"Great Sage?"

"What is it, Daisuke?"

"Explain more about these missions, please?"

"Well, prepare yourself to go then, I will start"

"Ok, I will get a quick shower, get dressed and go with them while you explain"

"Ok, so these types of missions are handed out to high-rank people, The 4 heroes are not high rank because of their level, here to gain the rank of hero you need to save many lives or do something extraordinary"

"What do these missions involve?"- When I am talking to Great Sage time passes differently, I go into some sort of autopilot doing whatever is needed.

"Dealing with big threats and commanding an army, in cases of war and such. My assumption to why level 55 heroes like them are called is to deal with something simpler, maybe it is something of an internal war with another race of monsters or something similar. I can't say that my assumptions are correct 100% of the time. Another thing to mind is this might be a trap, you don't know if the heroes have been involved in some conflict with the king and might want to trap all of you. Be on the lookout and never lose your weapons"

"I won't lose your knife, don't worry"

"No, that knife is tied to me, so it will come back to you no matter what. Plus no one else will be able to use it aside from you, this knife never breaks and cuts through anything with ease."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Well, it wasn't needed information"

"Is there anything else, Great Sage?"

"Yes, the mission will be discussed with the top politicians in the country. Keep in mind that all of them will be cloaked but look very similar uncloaked, with white skin, brown eyes, and quite short men, their hair is always jet black, they only wear a different ring on their finger stating what they generally do in the government. But I doubt they will come to a mission like this. This has to do more with the king than with other countries"

"Maybe it's better to let you speak with them"

"Suit yourself"

"Daisuke, are you ok man?"- A hand was touching and poking my face

"Yes, I was talking with Great Sage"

"Come on, let's go. No time to waste"- Okura was the first to open the door, I need to take one last look at myself, everything was ready, yes autopilot mode worked again, no need to waste time talking with Great Sage, now I can do other chores at the same time

"On it"

"So, where are we going?"

"To Wiefra's law hall"- Senri was silently sitting near me

"Man, we didn't expect a royal mission so soon"- Noni and Sakamoto were chatting ahead of us

"We need to hurry"- Okura is getting ahead of the group

"Wait for us!"- Noni and Sakamoto ran toward him

"Are you Senri?"- Her down, eyes fixated on the ground

"Yes, just tired. Every second I felt like I am going to faint"- Looking closer at her, she moved heavily, like she was made out of the lead

"Want me to carry you in case you fall asleep?"- Senri's head tilted, her eyes wide

"Sure!"- Senri hoped on my back, her weight was almost nonexistent, she was light

"Is it ok if I sleep while you carry me?"

"It's ok."

"Great Sage, is there a way to catch up with them?"

"Yes, you need to hold Senri tight"

*Use Skill: Feral Frenzy*- Whenever using a skill, there is a weird feeling going through my body, my veins tingling, light pressure around my joints and so on, Feral Frenzy only lasts about 20 seconds

The group wasn't far ahead of me, catching up was easy but exhausting

"Has anyone seen Daisuke and Senri?"

"No, maybe they stayed behind, you know reasons. They had been sticking together a lot recently."

"Maybe we should focus on the mission instead of gossiping on them!"- Okura's lashed back at them

"We are here guys!"- That conversation is the only thing I can hear where their jokes

"You sure took your time"- Noni and Sakamoto were barely holding their laughter

"Daisuke, go to the guild first, leave Senri here and get the papers from Petra"

"Great Sage, autopilot"

"Sure"

There are some things I suck at, one of them is directions and finding buildings, navigation, in general, is hard for me. Great Sage's auto mode is great but has a drawback, I can't remember how or when I did that thing

"Daisuke!"- Petra's left hand was hitting my back with increasing force

"Yes!"

"What happened? Did someone cast a confusion spell on you? You were wandering around the guild, aimlessly searching for something. What is it?"- Petra was just like a statue, her eyes locked in place

"Sorry, I came on the behalf of the 4 heroes to grab a paper"

"Sure? Did they hire you to do their job or something? You have any proof of this?"

"No"

"Then let one of them come. You spent months at their mansion for nothing, they haven't told you about their official badge you need to present here"- Petra walked up to a door, a door that I didn't notice before, or a door I couldn't remember, 5 minutes later she handed me a paper

"Here. Get out of here faster, kid!"

"Great Sage, autopilot"

5 minutes later:

"Daisuke?"- I feel a heavy pounding in my chest

"Yes, here"

"Don't worry, we got it, let's go. The king is supposed to be in the center of town"- Okura's hand gripped my wrist tight and dragged me with him.

The town's center was just a huge circle in the middle of the town. Local farmers were selling their crops for this year, and some 2nd rate weapons from blacksmith trainees, exotic medicine from witch doctors, and some potions have weird effects for different monster species. In the exact center of this circle, big cages stand with 2 shopkeepers, near one of those cages 2 people dressed in jewel embedded clothes were looking at the cages.

"Great Sage?"

"There are slaves in those cages Daisuke, currently I only 12 adult male demi-humans of dog-person race, 3 adult female cat-people, and 1 child fox-person"

"Slaves again. I hate this place for the way it treats demi-human. What the hell is wrong with them?"- Well, Petra has a good reason for her attitude of hating humans

"That's how things are here, Daisuke"

"Well, I am the smartest student in Japan, I might have a plan for this."

"I know you have one, but even if you try to put it in motion, you won't achieve much. You are too weak to do anything"

"That's why I have you and them, you will help me, won't you, Great Sage?"

"I do, but my suggestion is to go along with the 4 heroes"

"That's the king, time to go, Daisuke!"- Noni was carrying me on his back.

"You are here"- The person's voice was deep

"Yes, we arrived with the paper, give us the details please"- Okura was leading in this conversation, he had the best skill when it comes to diplomacy

"First, let's get to the law house. But let me get some merchandise"- Merchandise?

"He means slaves, Daisuke"

"I hate him already"

"If I were there in person, I would have killed him"

"Killing is wrong"

"Matters the context, Daisuke. Sometimes you have no choice but to kill"

"I hope things don't come to this"

"This world is different from modern-day Japan. One wrong step and you are dead"

"Why are you entertaining the idea of murder so much?"

"I am stating the obvious, anyway. That king wants to speak with you"

Snapping back to reality, the king was fairly young and fair-skinned, black eyes with short blonde hair, a small crown with 3 rubies, he looked so perfect

"Is there something with this person, who is he?"- The king's meaty finger was pointing at me

"Daisuke Suzuki, I am a helper of the 4 heroes, a magic trainee"

"You are kinda slow, to talk aren't you?"- His eyes were fixated on me

"Sometimes, but what you, the king doing at a slave market, that's what I was pondering"

"Ohhh, I come to buy merchandise by myself"- He winked and extended his right arm to point at a cage with the female monsters

"Those are living people, not merchandise"- Trying to keep my cool is hard, making an angry expression is taking all the power out of me

"No, you got it all wrong, these aren't humans, they are demi-humans, not humans"

"That makes no sense, your proposition has no logic, as long as they maintain the human characteristics and intelligence, then they should be treated as equals, you are factually wrong"- This was my only attempt at coming off as Cold and Logical, or at least make the others cringe

"Kinda lost in the logic I see. Magic does require a lot of logic tho, I am happy to see you have someone so dedicated and absorbed into magic studies"- The king extended his hands to touch my shoulders, meanwhile, the 4 heroes were watching as the king continued to gain interest in me

"I am not interested in a court. Magic is more interesting, plus I really need a test subject for my next magic experiment"- Why am I lying to the king?

"You are lying because of me, this is the most credible lie I came up with to save you. Daisuke, you need to continue with this narrative I created"- Great Sage? Yes, I forgot about his curse, that he can influence or take control over me at any time he wishes

"Are you sure, plus you look pretty tired"

"I failed a certain spell that put me in this state, it should wear off in a few hours. Excuse me, I will go buy a test subject"- Turning my head to look at the king, staring at him for a few seconds looking at the 2 cages

Which ones should I pick, maybe the one with the kid in it

"The kid is a female fox person, she is the only one there, she is cheaper than the monster there, plus you lack the money to buy any other monster"

The cage on the right was filled with male demi-humans

The cage on the left was filled with females. In the corner of the cage a fox-person kid, with a black and orange tail was sleeping, her skin was dark, her fur wasn't the best, rough and tangled.

"Great Sage, how much money do I have on me, from all that monster killing?"

"15 gold Daisuke"- That should be enough

The slave owner stared me down on the other side of the cage

"I want to buy this one"

"The fox girl?"

"Yes? How much?"- I was dressed with the clothes from my old world, they had bigger and more secure pockets to hold money, well I always store money in them. I am surprised that my clothes survived this long

"5 Gold"

"What are the prices for the adult slaves?"

"50 gold to 1 platinum each. That fox kid is close to dying, you don't look like you have much money on you"

"Here, I will take the fox kid"- I gave him the coins, and he checked each coin separately, counting

"It's yours"- Opening the door of the cage, he grabbed the fox-person by the shoulder with a tight grip leaving a red mark on her shoulder

I grabbed her, carrying her in my arms, she smells horrible and has torn clothes, only a few unrecognizable noises are coming from her mouth

"Let's go to the law house"- Senri had her eyes on me, getting closer to Senri I extended my hand to touch her shoulder

"Auto-Pilot"

I had bought a slave, this might upset Petra, but who knows, maybe we can do something about it? How is something like this allowed? Maybe if we complete the mission, we can maybe plead to the king for slavery abolition

"Daisuke, look. You might be mad at this guy but be patient, he will have his share, change your mood the next day or hour, and play nice with the king, and then leave the rest to me"

"Do I have a choice, Great Sage?"

"No"

The law-house:

"We are here. We don't need the paper, just a formality. Let's have a seat, shall we?"- He extended his left hand, pointing to chairs at a round table with plates of fruits on

"Ok, get straight to the point"- Everyone was sitting, I was holding the fox-girl in my arms, but she didn't say anything.

"You see heroes, this task is about the Demi-Human Kingdom, there is one person, the fox princess Emiko, a terrorist, and criminal, Emiko killed hundreds of my guards and stole merchandise from me, I need you to take care of this problem for me, it will be our secret plus, I have a good prize for all of you. 5 Cobalt coins per person of the team, so all 5 of you will get 5 cobalt coins for every person, a total of 15 cobalt coins, what do you say"- He laid 15 cobalt coins on the table

"Yes, we will help you. Daisuke is pretty charming, ignore his dazed state right now, Daisuke, I and Senri got this under our control, we will track Emiko in no time"- Okura's neck was locked in place, watching the king, eyes wide with a frown

"Diplomacy can work as well if you bring her to us alive, the prize will double for everyone."- Everyone in the group was tense but didn't show it

"He is full of shit Daisuke, he is lying about Emiko, well not a lot, but he is lying"

"Lying about what?"

"Yes, she killed thousands of guards, but she did it to save demi-humans"

Everyone was silent until we reached the mansion. We are on the lower floor, and the living room and kitchen are connected

"First, why did you buy a slave, Daisuke? And second, this fucktard of a king wants us to continue to support his slavery."- Okura slammed his fist against the table

"I couldn't resist it, plus it's a better chance for her. I am going to wash her right now. I and Great Sage have a plan too"- The fox girl is just going with whatever is happening around her, she doesn't say anything if I touch her or even speak to her.

"Well, take care of the kid first, we will talk after this"

I need to wash her, but how can I? I know that there is soap here, what if she has an illness?

"I am coming to Daisuke. I will take a look at her there"- Senri followed me to the bathroom

"It's ok"- The bathroom always had running water, well Senri was the source of water, she is the magic-user, that can create warm or boiling water at will

"No, I want to help too. She is so cute, but does she have a name?"- Senri leaned down, patting her

"Akari, my name is Akari"- She spoke for the first time.

"Nice to meet you Akari, I am Senri, he is Daisuke. Are you ok now?"

"Yes"

"Are you hungry? What is your favorite food?"

"Food?"

"She can eat later Daisuke, she needs a bath and some healing magic being cast. It's a miracle that she isn't sick"- Senri was holding her left hand the over the tub casting a water spell filling the tub with water, and casting healing magic with her right. In this world magic is done with your hands, your dominant hand has the most potency for attack while your non-dominant has the most potential for healing. I remember Senri tell me that some mages can use spells from both hands and be just as potent

"Is there something we can use as a soap substitute? I know that your magic water comes with soap right?"- I dipped my left hand in the water to test the water, it was pleasant to the touch, not that hot or cold, the perfect combination

"Yes, it does. It takes a lot of magic out of me. Maybe I can teach you how to do it, too. For the soap you need to use Aroma Magic which creates magic aromas that can be solidified or combined with liquids, there are useful ways to use both types of magic, I will teach you later. It is easy, you will see"

"So, where did you put the brushes and towels this time?"- Senri has the habit of changing the position of certain things whenever she wishes, this includes bath towels

"Sorry, I am going to grab them now, take care of Akari"

Akari was sitting still in the water, her face was blank, and her eyes were fixated on one direction

"Are you feeling ok?"- Stepping towards Akari, she didn't seem to even notice me

"Yes"- Her lips barely moved, her head inched slowly towards me

"What happened?"- Is it a good idea to touch her right now? She is spacing out more than me

"Nothing"

"Really?"

"Yes, please, I am ok"- Akari covered her head with her hands holding herself in a tight grip

"It's ok. No reason to be scared here. Relax for a bit, Me and Senri will take good care of you"- Akari was still covering herself, not wanting to speak or move. I tried to pat her head, her hands were shaking violently the moment I tried it

"I am sorry"- Akari cried

"No, I am sorry for doing this"

"What is happening right now?"

"Don't worry too much. You are safe here, get yourself cleaned first"

"Why did you buy me?"- Akari, was washing, Senri's magical aroma water works just like normal shampoo, but it's better, after some minutes of sitting it creates a big bubble foam that covers the entire water tub

"Found them Daisuke"- Senri was back, with the towels, her head tilted to the right, looking at Akari

"Ok, now, do your magic"

"Look, if you can copy my magic flow, you can perform it too"

"Great Sage?"

"Yes, basically, how magic flows through the body when it casts spells, you should gain the Magic Sense skill once you focus magic energy in your eyes for a long period of time. Afterward, when you use magic sense I will be able to copy the magic flow of any spell caster, and every time I copy a spell you will get the said spell as a skill, focus Daisuke, focus!"

Breathe in breathe out, focus on your eyes, focus on Senri's hands, how they move

"Just a little more Daisuke, just a little more, I am getting the hang of this"

#Skill Granted: Magic Sense#- This voice is different from Great Sage, it's still a female voice but somehow differs, it's colder than his, more robotic, is this like something granting me the skills?

"That is known simply as The Great Voice. It can grant and revoke skills from people, it will grant you a skill if you meet the requirements for it, for example now you focused your magic energy to see the magic flow, so you gained the skill. It's simple"

*Use Skill: Magic Sense*

"Ok, I can see the magic flow"- Long but small tubes that looked like blood vessels were all around inside Senri's body

"Those are mana vessels, everyone transported or born here has them, through them the magic flows"

"Great Sage, can you copy the magic flow?"

"Of course, just keep staring at her a bit longer"

"That is amazing, Daisuke. Great Sage should have told you by now that you need to stare at my magic flow for a while"- Senri was still, her hand barely gathered any mana

"So, why isn't the aroma spell working?"

"Well, it takes a lot of time to charge, plus we need a very strong antibacterial effect. We don't know how dirty Akari is, with that much filth she will get sick instantly"

"Should be about ready. Take your chance to do the spell yourself"

Ok, so the spell is the following, hand in front

"How does it work, Great Sage? Copy and paste?"

"Yes"- A bar of soap started to form in our hands, it seems the 2 of us began the process at the same time, but how did I gather as many properties for the disinfectant as Senri. Maybe it will work

#Skill Granted: Water Manipulation, Water Ball#- Why Water? Wasn't this Aroma Manipulation?

#Skill Granted: Aroma Manipulation, Master Craftsman#

"Yes, Master Craftsman refers that high-level aroma spells don't affect you, and you can cancel, deflect other Aroma spells, and one thing since your level is master you can do like Senri but in a shorter amount of time

#Skill Granted: Ice Manipulation#

"Ohhh, this lets you manipulate ice and freeze water at will."

"You did it Daisuke!!!"- Senri compared the soap bars

"Yours is different, it's actually better"- Senri smiled while giving my bar of soap back

"How did these become solid? Shouldn't aroma spread in the air?"

"It's should, but you gained Water and Ice Manipulation, so combining them makes a bar of soap, you don't need to be a genius to understand this"

"It is strange. But if you have ice manipulation, it shouldn't be a problem. You can hear The Voice granting you skills, can't you?"

"Yes, kinda strange to do magic this way, instead of using skills to do it automatically for you"

"Well, it's easier for me"- Senri, was looking at Akari, with a bar of soap in her left hand, she slowly touched Akari with the soap, washing her, Akari trembled, she is not used to being touched. No, she is scared of being touched, she may have gone through hell until now. She needs safety

"Great Sage, what about Emiko? Can you tell me the whole story?"

"Well she is against the slavery of demi-humans, killed a few guards to save the enslaved demi-humans here and is now wanted by all countries

"Is this really the reason?"

"That is the reason the king wants to kill Emiko, she tried to do that. Look, my idea is to free all demi-humans from slavery, the demi-human village near this town is like a city-state, self-sustained with local economy. This kingdom interferes a lot with them, with the fields and materials, helping them might reveal things about Emiko, there are a bunch of demi-humans imprisoned by King Luxor. He keeps them in his palace in Wiefra, he grew up here. We will see more today, give me some more time to think about this Daisuke"

"Are you with us Daisuke?"- Senri's right hand was touching my face

"Yes, talking with Great Sage, sorry for being idle"

"Don't worry, can you help me cook, Akari is hungry, and I don't know what she will like. She is awfully silent"- Senri, was drying Akari, now where will we get clothes for her.

"Daisuke, take care of Akari for a bit. I will get her some clothes"- Senri wrapped Akari in a towel, her gaze was still lingering on a spot in the room, she was avoiding eye contact

"What do you usually eat Akari?"- Cautiously taking steps toward her, I don't want to scare her

"I cook most of the time, if the master wants to give me food, I will eat anything"

"It's not like that here. I will train you in combat and other life skills"

"You lack life skills as well Daisuke, everything you did until now was because I helped you. Without my overpowered knife, you wouldn't make it far"

"I know, I am grateful that you are with me, Great Sage"

"Don't mention it, kid. Just don't go overboard"

"Teach me? Ok. What do I need to do?"- Akari turned her head to look at me, she was staring at me, with increasing intensity

"Yes, it will be from cleaning and cooking to combat and crafting. We will start easy for the first few times"

"I already know how to craft basic stuff. Where will you keep me?"

"Well, you will sleep in Senri's room. Don't worry about living with you, Senri especially is very nice towards everyone"

"I am back"- Senri entered the room, in her hands a huge pile of clothes

"Let's see what will she like?"- Akari turned to look at the gigantic pile of clothes

"Isn't that a little overkill?"

"Don't worry, that only 15% of the clothes I own"- 15%? This pile is 1 meter tall and 1 meter wide, how did she carry all of them?

"I like white a lot"- Akari moved towards the clothes pile, touching it

"You want white. Ok, let's search. Daisuke, go and cook please, ask Okura to help you too"

"On it"

I haven't cooked in a while. I wonder how much time has passed

"Auto-pilot"

It was strange this time, autopilot mode

"Yes, it's strange because I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You spent more than 4 months here, almost 5 full months with the Heroes. The notes in your diary were inaccurate of the time spent. You didn't realize the time passing because of my Auto-Pilot mode, when you discovered it you sounded like it was always part of you. There are many things I do that you aren't aware of. You spent a total of 4 months here, almost 3 months with the heroes, and a few weeks at the tavern. You weren't aware of this because of Auto-Pilot. It's ok if you don't remember everything. It's ok, let's end it here"

"What the hell, Great Sage?"

"Wow!!! That looks, good man. Your cooking is so good when you look like a mindless zombie"- Sakamoto was filling his mouth with the soup I just made

"Get the others to eat as well."- How much time did pass now?

"3 hours passed since then, Daisuke, it wasn't this long. Nightfall isn't far"

In the meantime, I was putting the dishes in place, and pouring a serving of soup for everyone. 5 minutes later Noni, Okura, Senri, and Akari arrived, and they were staring at the soup

"Did something happen?"

"No, I am just surprised. What do you think about this Akari?"- Senri walked near the table, reached to pull a chair with her left hand, she was carrying Akari in her right arm. She sat down, Akari was sitting on her lap

"Go on and eat. It's ok. Daisuke, can you please give us the spoons"

"It's ok I got, go take a seat to Daisuke" Sakamoto patted me on the back while pointing at a chair near Senri

After Sakamoto brought the spoons, there was an awkward silence, no one spoke, didn't they usually talk at the table? Am I remembering it wrong?

"You are remembering wrong Daisuke"

"Why is this happening?"

"Brain damage after being reincarnated, it's not common, but it happens, believe me this is my first case of this happening"

"Great Sage, were there other people you helped in other worlds?"

"Yes, many people, actually. You are the first with this substantial brain damage. Some of it is caused by me, but amnesia is a thing I don't cause. If it was my doing, it would have been to remember as much as possible"

"Hope the plan goes well tonight"

"Well, better take care of Akari. You will be spending a lot of time in the Demi-human village from now on"

Eating took us a total of 40 minutes. It was deadly silent.

"Everyone, meeting in the living room"- Okura pointed to the couches

"Ok, let me put Akari to sleep. Mind if you help me Daisuke?"- Senri grabbed my shirt sleeve, dragging me to her room

"What now?"

"Look, help me a little here. I don't know what will happen today, the mission and everything is making me so anxious"

"It's ok, we will discuss it tonight. Let's take care of Akari first"

"Stay here for a bit"- Senri laid Akari on the bed.

"Ok"- Akari's face is always blank when she replies, no emotions shown

"If you need anything, just shout for us."

"I want to sleep"- Akari whispered, it was barely audible

"That's fine, you don't need to ask for permission to sleep"

"No, I can't fall asleep"

"Is there a spell to make her fall asleep?"

"Of course there is, it's Aroma Magic: Sleep Powder, copy it from me Daisuke. Here I will show you"- Senri extended a hand in front of Akari

*Use Skill: Magic Sense*- It's hard to get used to Magic Sense, you can see mana flow and all, but it makes you dizzy after some time or if you activate it more than twice daily

"Look, that's how you do it"

#Skill Granted: Aroma Magic, Sleep Powder#

"Should this be possible? I didn't cast it yet"

"It is Daisuke, you have me, an entity with god-like power, so learning new skills won't take you that long, some exceptions might apply tho"

"Ok, I learned it"

"This fast?"

"Yes, thanks to Great Sage"

"Well, that is handy"- Senri reached her hand to grab a blanket to cover a sleeping Akari

"Ok, she is asleep. Let's get to the others"

Noni, Sakamoto, and Okura were already standing there. I took a seat near Okura

"So, let's begin today's meeting by addressing a few questions"- Okura's gaze was directed toward me

"About the mission, what should we do about Emiko?"

"No, Noni, let's first address Daisuke a question, Why did you buy a slave? What made you do that?"

"Great Sage's influence"

"Why do you blame Great Sage for everything?"

"Because I am to blame"- Great, he took control of my body again

"Why do you do that to Daisuke? Explain his behavior to us"

"Ok, so as I gave him a blessing and a curse, this is my curse, I can influence his actions, delete memories, or implant fake ones at will."

"That's messed up"

"Sakamoto, look, this is a side effect I can't control fully yet. Auto-Pilot mode allows Daisuke to do things with skill, I take control of his body and consciousness, he can now hear the conversation, but can't move, we share the same vision, but I am the one controlling his body"

"This doesn't answer the question fully"

"Yes, the slave. This has something to do with Emiko."

"I am listening"

"Ok, so Emiko is really a criminal, but she did all of that to protect demi-humans"

"What are you talking about?"

"This kingdom enslaves demi-humans, the demi-human village here is independent because of Emiko, she is able to slay the king's army with ease there, she has magical traps all over the village that activate in case of need"

"So the king didn't lie"

"Yes, he didn't. But it's all his fault. He wants to silence Emiko for what she did, King Luxor wants to enslave all demi-humans worldwide. Emiko was the only resistance to this, due to her being a level 200 adventurer, rarely can anyone oppose her. So it's basically a suicide mission"

"That jackass!"- Noni smashed his fist into the table

"Calm down brother"-Sakamoto grabbed his hand trying to calm him

"My analysis was right, he was truly lying"

"I have one more suggestion"

"Say it!"

"We should help the demi-human village. Send Daisuke after Emiko when you get her whereabouts, I can't locate her, it seems that she has an ultimate skill that blocks perception of her, it even blocks the sight of gods. Bring Akari to the Demi-human village as well, she will be needed."

"What do you suggest we do there?"

"Okura, you will help them with logistics and economics, Noni and Sakamoto, the 2 of you will train their army, Senri you and Daisuke will help with raising Akari, fighting the monsters from the outskirts, craft high-level items for the village and help with the magic barrier"

"Ok, how will that help us?"

"Well, it will help them. Akari is the heir of the village chief, he will be happy to see her daughter, if he was still alive that is. She will be recognized right away in the village. My plan is to raise her in the next 2 months while searching for Emiko, once we know her location we go and join her."

"What should we do with the king?"

"We either imprison or kill him"

"Killing him is plain wrong"

"Yes, and him killing many innocent people is also plain wrong. Look here guys, if we keep him alive his loyal followers might start a rebellion, if he is dead then they won't have the courage to do anything. There are some people whose lives aren't worth keeping"

"No, I can't bring myself to kill other humans"

"Don't worry, you won't have to stain your hands with blood, I will be the one doing it"- What the hell Great Sage why the hell will you want to do that? In my body as well, I don't consent to any of this

"I don't care if you consent to any of this, Daisuke. Look if you want the demi-humans to live a happy life you will have to listen to me, the king is a jackass that doesn't give a fuck about life in general, his rule had brought everything into poverty, and the city of Wiefra is the only one that has prosperity, because of it being a capital. And if I am not wrong, you told Petra that you had a plan, right? Told her that you want to change something, right? This is the moment to do it"

"If we can put him in prison, promise you won't kill him?"

"I promise, but if he tries anything funny, he will die on the spot. I can't afford for more deaths"

"Ok, so what do you guys think?"- Okura got his gaze off me and looked at everyone

"I don't know. I will happily help Demi-Humans, but I don't agree with killing someone. Great Sage, promise that you will keep casualties as low as possible please"- Noni bowed before me

"Ok, I promise, deaths will be kept at a minimum"

"Look, Great Sage has a point, I hate it, but he is right with the king. Having slaves, calling other people merchandise, it's wrong from him, but killing him won't make us any better"

"You are right, Sakamoto. But we don't have time to take the moral high ground, taking the moral high ground and playing the righteous one might get all of you killed. Sometimes you have to say fuck you to any sense of morality to stay alive, after all, almost everyone ditches it when push comes to shove."

"You missed my point"

"You want to take the moral high ground I get it"- Dam it Great Sage, not a single facial expression had been made by any of them since the meeting began, they were like blank slates. Were they this terrified of him?

"Yes, please if possible we should take it"

"I agree with Great Sage 90%. There are other ways to deal with the king, but if the situation gets too tense, it isn't off the table for him to betray us once we find the truth. If push comes to shove we won't have a choice but to kill the king, from the way he treats demi-humans he sees life as disposable. Be careful around him and his guards, he might try to do it sooner"

"I have a complaint. Don't you care about what happens to Daisuke?"- Senri reached to grab my shoulders. It feels strange to share the same vision as Great Sage, he already told me that he will kill the king.

"Yes, I do care what happens to him. Why do you think I came up with this plan?"

"It seems like you don't. If you would, this plan will be out of the question. Imagine what Daisuke will feel when you kill someone, it's his body, his actions influenced by you, how would he feel if he kills someone? Think about him as well!"- Senri punched me in the chest

"I do care. If something happens to any of you, Daisuke will be sad. Those are all the precautions needed for me to take. Daisuke cares a lot for all of you"- Why does he have to say it? Can't he shut up about this?

"Look, Daisuke, you let me do the talking. Getting back to your point Senri, sometimes harm is unavoidable, Daisuke will hate to admit it, but he will do anything to see all of you safe. If something like that comes to happen, Daisuke will have no choice but act on it"

"What are you saying?"- Senri slapped me again. Great Sage is right about this, tho. I contradict myself a lot, I know, but you will have to bite the bullet sometimes

"I am saying that he will do anything to save people he cares about, even if it means killing someone else. If push comes to shove with the king he will do it, if he is too scared I will do it. There isn't much I can say on this. If the king is hell-bent on killing us, he will kill us either way"

"What are you suggesting?"- Okura got in front of me again

"If he sent us on the mission to fight Emiko, it means he wants to get rid of us, he didn't give us any information about Emiko. He made her look very weak, if he cared even a little about us, he would have told us about Emiko's level, which is 200. It is pure suicide for us to go and battle her. If Emiko didn't kill us, then he might. As it seems all of you are friendly towards demi-humans, he will see all of you as a threat anyway. The king is the type of person that goes on better safe than sorry. So we have 2 options now. Either confront the king directly or help the village"

"We will help the village"

"Ok, carry Daisuke's body to his room. He will faint when I give him back control"- Great Sage? What the hell

"It was your choice, Daisuke. You let me talk to them."

The next day:

When I woke up, my whole body hurts. What the hell happened last night. Why did Great Sage act like this?

"Morning Daisuke!"- Senri's light hand can be felt on my head

"Morning, what happened last night?"

"We argued a lot on Great Sage's plan. We decided to go help the village. Okura took care of any suspicion that the king might have about us. Akari is ok, she is eating"- Looking around, I was in Senri's room, where did I sleep? Wait, I am still in the bed

"That's great. Why am I in your room?"

"Well, every time you fainted. I brought you here"

"Thank you"

"No problem"- Senri helped me get up.

"So, what now. Shall we go on with the plan?"-

"Yes, Let's get Akari and go, if you remember what Great Sage told us is to take care of Akari and kill monsters"- Senri extended her right hand, placing it on my shoulder

"Ok, let me get ready"

"One more thing. Please stick near me at all times"- Senri stepped closer to me, placing her left hand on my left shoulder

"Ok, I will try. I am not used to people touching me too much. It's awkward"

"Don't worry, it's ok Daisuke."- Senri pulled me closer in a hug

"Why?"

"As a way to say thank you. These last days under Great Sage's influence sure feel horrible. We should get going Daisuke"

Senri and I left the room, heading with the 4 heroes to the demi-human village, one thing is left for me to do. Take care of that village.

"The village is just up ahead guys"- Okura was taking the lead in the group, he had bought capes for us to wear, Okura didn't want our identity to be revealed for some odd reason. Doesn't everyone know them already?

"Why do we have to wear these?"- Senri was pulling her cloak in all weird ways, one second she is pulling it left, another second she is pulling it right, I don't understand why the cloak seems so big on her

"King Luxor wanted this to be top secret, we just need to put them on, I already briefed him on the details of the mission, he fell for it this time"

"What are we doing here again?"- Noni walked near us, extending his arms putting them on mine and Okura's heads and bringing us closer to each other

"You and your brother will help them train their military, I will help them with finance and other calculations, Senri and Daisuke will take care of Akari training her to be the next village head. Great Sage made a good plan for this, but we should be careful on our first impression there"- Wait Okura mentioned Akari, where is she?

"Where is Akari, wasn't she with you, Senri?"

"Yes, she is in the cloak"- Senri pulled her cloak off, Akari was gripping her waist tightly

"That's why you were adjusting your coat?"

"Yes, she is asleep for now"

"Wouldn't be more comfortable if you carried her in your arms?"- Okura untangled Akari's hand from Senri's waist, putting her in Senri's arms

"Yes, why didn't I think of this before"

"Let's continue then"

I can't stop thinking about what is about to happen with the village and the king, as things are currently we don't stand a chance against his army. Making our way to the village outskirts, we were surprised to see that it had no walls, gates, or even fences, the houses were on the outskirts and began to think the more you go into the middle of the village

"Stop right there!"- 2 cat-men armed with spears stopped us at one of the village entrances

"What are you doing here?"

"I am Okura, the leader of the 4 Heroes of Wiefra, we came in aid of the village"

"Yeah, like we would believe you"

"What is she holding there?"- The 2 cat-men approached Senri, I move closer to Senri in response

"I am holding Akari"- Senri held Akari up to them

"She is the owner of the chief's daughter!"- The cat-men got their spears ready to attack

"What is happening?"- Akari jumped, the screams of the cat-men woke her up. She ran to my side as soon as she had seen the 2 cat-men

"It's ok, just a misunderstanding"- It's a risk to turn my back on them, but this might work if I comfort Akari, they might let us off the hook

"They want to attack you"- Akari pointed with her finger towards them, seeing them getting closer to her

"It's ok."- I picked her up in my arms, patting her head

"Explain yourselves!"- The 2 cat-men were almost ready to strike

"Wait, why do you want to kill him?"- Akari jumped out of my arms

"You must get away from them!"- One of the man grabbed Akari

"Put me down!"- Akari beat her arms left and right trying to escape their grips

"Put her down!"- Senri was preparing a fire spell. I could resist it, I snatched Akari from him

"Attack them!"

"Nothing less to expect from Wiefra residents.?"

"What do you mean?"- Senri was holding them at spell point

"You know all too well what happens with demi-humans around here, do you?"

"Hurt me? Why would they want to do it?"

"The people from that cursed town are always like that, don't listen to them, Akari!"

"Not everything is black and white, take some time and listen to us. We don't have time to lose with things like this"

Okura appeared behind the 2 cat men, while I and Senri were chatting them up Okura sneaked up on them, so we can get an upper hand, they were forced to drop their weapons.

"Does she look hurt to you, what clothes do she wear? Look how healthy and beautiful she looks, are the 2 of you so blinded by rage? We took care of Akari all this time. Daisuke got her out of that cage"

"Why exactly are the 5 of you here?"

"To help the village, we have a plan, call your new leader, I will explain the plan. Don't try anything funny"- Okura dragged the 2 cat-men with him

"Man, that was intense"- Noni and Sakamoto's legs were shaking so bad. Wait, these guys are scared by this?

"Are you ok Akari?"- Looking at her, she is holding my shirt with her hands and crying

"That scared Akari a lot."- Senri got closer to her, she patted Akari, the only thing that I can do is hug her, maybe she will calm down

"It has passed, don't worry"- Akari was silently crying, she didn't even move, probably crying herself to sleep

"We should hurry to the town center"- Noni and Sakamoto slowly started walking forward

"Come on Senri, we have a loaded day"

"Right"

The town was smaller, almost reminds me of a European village that I once saw in a photo

The people looked poor, like they barely got by, the village center is just like any town center, the fields were adjacent to the house, so they could be accessed by anyone. It was a pretty neat design for a small village like this, anyway now how should we enforce the magic barrier, but most importantly we need to teach Akari how to do magic, survive and lead a village, well Okura will be with her, since I will go on the search for Emiko, but we shall live and see until then

"So, what should we do about the barrier?"

"Don't worry, it's pretty strong, it should resist most blasts, only level 80+ people are able to destroy it, we only need to train Akari"- Senri extended her arms, well she wanted to grab Akari from me, I gave Akari to her

"What if multiple low-level magicians gang up to destroy the barrier?"- That could be a real threat if done, which I don't doubt king Luxor will do

"No, the magic from which this barrier is made is unbreakable to normal magic users, it's shadow magic, not available to people until level 80, I am not talking about skills like shadow step and such you and I are the only known exception, but to break the barrier you must feel the barrier first, without the skill Shadow Sense no one will be able to detect it, you need a separate skill from Magic Sense to sense Shadow Magic"- I and Senri stopped in the center of the town, seemingly waiting for something

"Why am I the exception?"

"Because of Great Sage, your skills are a blessing, much more powerful than normal skills. My skills were learned by dumb luck through a scroll"

"Yeah, she is right, once you have a god's blessing that skill will be called by the rarity of the like Common Blessing, etc. Ohh and about Akari, when you find an appropriate spot for her, I will tell you everything you need to teach her"

"Yeah. Senri, let's find a spot to train Akari."

"Right, Daisuke, what does Great Sage actually want with this plan?"

"There is a spot on the outskirts of the town Daisuke, look this plan is to ensure the protection of demi-humans, you don't want Akari to die right?"

"I want Akari to live"

"That's more like it"

"I found a spot, it's on the outskirts"

"So, Daisuke, what do you think about Emiko?"- Senri and I were keeping our heads down, we don't need our identities to be discovered, until Okura solves the dispute we need to keep a low profile

"Well, I don't know any more than what Great Sage has told me about her, the rumors of her being a criminal are true, but she is the best choice if we had to choose between her and king Luxor."

"So, Emiko is really a criminal. Whatever Great Sage is planning better be good"- Senri's tone was getting weaker

"We should get closer to the spot, better to do less talking and more doing. We need to get this done with fast"

The spot, well Great Sage, the spot was a little, well it was huge, what does Great Sage wants us to do here?