Underestimated
Maybe something had changed within him, but Ryu actually took his time to clean himself. Hours ticked by before he was finally willing to exit the large bathhouse. It seemed the several months of discomfort had weighed on him more heavily than he originally believed. It was only now that he was truly relaxed.
'Ah, there's my handsome Little Ryu.' Ailsa fluttered around Ryu in her Faerie form like a little butterfly, her happiness seemingly far too exaggerated for the occasion.
Ryu actually smiled lightly, but didn't pursue the topic. He instead calmly wiped himself and put on his usual set of black robes. Of course, these were woven by a Spiritual Seamstress, so they could withstand a battle between Connecting Heaven Realm experts.
"The prayer mat is an intriguing treasure, it seems to have a faint consciousness of its own. I feel like it's been trying to tell me its name all of this time, but it's faintly out of my reach."