Chapter 83 Sleeping Beasts

Undice the 15th of 4831 AS

As the unknown figure reached their hand to Azi's neck, they quietly knelt to approached him in a somewhat timid manner which contrasted with the somewhat overly tensed hand.

The extended fingers of their hand looked like a shadowy claw in the moonlight, but it suddenly changed to a cupped hand and moved to touch Azi's cheek.

The hand brushed softly against his face and the figure came into view under the moonlight that shone through the window across from the bed. It was Shizu and she had snuck in when Azi was fast asleep.

Her plan this night was to surprise him the next morning with the news of her officially moving in with him and to tease him while he was in a drowsy state of mind.

But while she could have just slept at Kajima's house and then surprise him when he woke up, she felt that her plan would give her a greater element of surprise and expected that she would get a much better reaction out of him.

She had already gotten the okay for her move in from Kajima with the use of her silver seal and she convinced Manu to officially register her as a resident of the house. It took some convincing, but she was also able to hide her plan from Azi for the past few weeks.

She was excited to see the face he would make, so she promptly got into the small futon bed. The size of the futon caused her to have to literally bury Azi into her soft body, but luckily, he was in a deep sleep as she had laced his lunch's sake with a few drops of sleeping medicine, courtesy of Elder Sung.

She was of course on board with Shizu's plan but she had to begrudgingly agree to give her all the details the next time they met. What was strange was how Azi seemed unaffected by the medicine, but it seemed that it eventually did the trick.

After securing Azi into her tight embrace, she began to play with Azi's body a bit. He reacted cutely whenever she nibbled on his ear or neck, and he would somewhat writhe in his sleep as his face would scrunch up in embarrassment like a pouting puppy.

Her antics continued until she fell into a light sleep as she awaited her moment.

*****

-Morning of the next day-

As Azi slept in his bed, he felt unusually warm especially since the blanket he currently had was very thin due to how it was a borrowed item. There was also a wet sensation on his neck and his whole body felt somewhat sore and heavy.

He thought that the room was being warmed by the sun but remembered that the window of his bedroom was facing west and not east.

But this thought was pushed to the back of his mind due to how humid and uncomfortable he felt. He suspected that he had begun to sweat from the heat so to cool himself, he began to feel around for the blanket in an attempt to get it off of him.

He then felt a soft and furry sensation in his hand, so Azi tugged on it, but it did not budge. He then heard a slight yelp of pain and his eyes shot open in confusion.

His vision was filled with the sight of filled with numerous strands of long red hair and when it suddenly moved, Azi's eyes widened when Shizu's face came into view. She was on top of him and what he had tugged on was one of her fluffy ears as they were twitching in a bit of pain.

Seeing Shizu's crimson-colored eyes somewhat glaring at him, he knew that she was wide awake and was in a somewhat foul mood. He had no idea how she had gotten into his home but before he could ask, his face somewhat stiffened in fear at the new smile she had on her face.

Shizu moved so close to him that Azi started to feel uncomfortable as the source of the previous heat was from her body and was on the rise. As she did this, she began to set her arms at the sides of his head and locked his lower body to the bed with her legs as his sides. All of Azi's possible routes of escape had quickly been blocked and he began to sweat as the fear of what was going to happen next rolled around in his mind in a wild manner.

"I thought I could surprise you a bit this morning, but I will have to reconsider that now." Her tone sounded a bit sad, but all Azi could interpret was that she was mad. He chuckled in fear in response to her words, but Shizu did not respond kindly to his actions.

She pounced on him with the full weight of her body which locked him to the bed. All Azi could do now was to endure the assault on his lips and body.

Back in Kajima's house, Rulu was watering a potted plant that she had brought to brighten up the living room's decorum. After giving the plant a sufficient amount of water, she turned away to ready herself for her day out with Azi and Shizu.

"I wonder If I can get that book today?"

As she pondered on her own agenda, with no witnesses, one of the flowered buds of the lotus flower plant, had suddenly fallen off its stem.

It went unnoticed for a short while but Rulu, being the diligent worker, noticed the fallen lotus bud and had promptly disposed of it in a proper manner.

"Maybe we should get some flowers for Azi's house. Maybe some daisies would work well."

*****

Meanwhile, in the snowy forest of Kujyuri, a man with a red bandana covering the lower half of his face was currently working with his merry band of brigands. They were all outlaws, and were digging a few holes and burying a few bags across the forest.

"Hey boss. Is this deep enough?"

The red bandana man looked over and he gave the hole his fellow bandit had dug a look. It was only a foot deep, but it was wide and deep enough, so he gave an approving nod. He then tossed over a bag that reeked of blood and entrails which the bandit caught deftly.

"Ugh." The bandit in the hole grimaced and complained. "Boss! Why do we got to use this stuff? What happened to the curse bait?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. As long as we get paid that's all that matters. Just get back to work you whiney bum."

The bandit in the hole sighed but diligently got to work. He had been the most recent addition to the group, but he had no anger or issues directed to his leader.

The man was quite a colorful character and he paid him well for his work. Both of them had become outlaws when they got into a scuffle with a noble that escalated too quickly.

After that, they were on the run from their respective village's watch, and both had no one to turn to. Luckily the red bandana man had an unusual amount of luck that seemed to rub off on his men. The man with the red bandana could relate well with his men and was willing to take them in, feed them, and even pay them if they worked for him.

The bandit in the hole laughed a bit to himself as he realized how he was actually earning more money than he did as a villager. What was also ironic, was that the money he was receiving was from the very noble he had wronged. He again laughed at the irony of his current profession, and it distracted him enough that he did his work in a somewhat diligent manner.

After burying the bag and patting the ground flat with a rusty shovel, he looked around to see the fruits of his group's labor. Numerous flat patches of dirt dotted the snowy grounds of the forest and the slight smell of blood hung in the air. Turning to his boss in expectation of his next directions, he heard the words he was looking forward to finally get to hear.

"Alright, we are done here. Congratulations you louts, it's time to go have some fun in the capital!"

Flashing a large pouch filled with gold coins, the group of men cheered and howled in excitement. While they were all outlaws, their identities were not known to the citizens of the empire as they had hidden their faces with some pieces of cloth.

Their recent job involved helping some nobles plant some bait and to catch a few monsters. It paid very well, and they had just finished the last task in their unofficial "contract". As they began to walk through the forest to keep a low profile from patrolling soldiers, they chatted without fear about what they wanted to eat and drink when they got to their next destination.

For the next few weeks, they would be camping out or disguising themselves to stay at a few smaller villages on the way to their destination. The fear of being caught by a patrolling group of soldiers was moot due to how they had obtained a map with all the patrolling routes on it which was courtesy of their "noble" client. Without a care in the world, the group of men talked, cracked jokes, and laughed in the face of the danger that the forests of Kujyuri contained.

Their conversation then turned to the capital.

Some said that they would enjoy the company of a woman when they get there, while others would enjoy a nice hot bath. But a large number talked up how they would gamble and mess around with their share of the money. What was certain from their exchange, was that they were going to overindulge themselves.

After the band of men left and the sun had set, a small blue glow could be seen emanating from loose soil of the filled holes. This attracted a few animals and monsters who began to pick at the ground.