Arc 3: Demi-Human hero part 3

"This is the place, the old house of Akari's parents. Where there was supposed to be a house here, there isn't much more left now, but we can turn this place into a nice house, talk to Okura about it. Akari will be able to recognize some surroundings"- Great Sage's voice echoed in my mind, he sounded different, not in his resonance but in the way he speaks to me about things, he was sweet at first giving me all the info, but I am in this fucked up situation

"Daisuke, remember you got yourself in this situation, you wanted to help, so I am doing my job helping you back, I can hear every thought you have"

"Senri, as I got info from Great Sage, Akari should recognize this"- I held Akari up, all this time she closed her eye trying to sleep, Akari's behavior is inconsistent

"Because she is traumatized, that's why she is like this. Think about it Daisuke, if you lived in slavery as much as she did, how would you feel?"

"You are right, Great Sage"

"Akari might recognize this?"- Senri grabbed Akari from me

"Yes, that tree stump on the left, the table in the center, that cloth over the crates it should hold something. I can't remember that much"- Senri put Akari down, she wondered around the area for some time, grabbing different plants and toys from the crates, well the parts she could reach

"What do you want to do, Akari?"- Ok, so what should we teach her first?

"Teach her how to do magic and cook first"

"Hey, Senri, can you come here for a bit?"

"What are we doing here?"- Akari extended her hand, she gave a Lavender flower

"That's not Lavender, that is Corley flower. It is used in brewing health potions, 1 portion of the flower can make a 15% healing potion, each portion adds another 10%. If you brew this potion with dandelion and actual Lavender, which has a greenish hue in this world you will get a 90% healing potion, you mustn't worry, with your Great Healer skill it shouldn't be a problem"

"Thanks Akari!"- I accepted the flower, it was the least I could do

"Do you like it Daisuke?"- When did Akari learn my name?

"Everyone calls you by your name Daisuke, so it makes sense she learned it this way"

"Yes, it's very beautiful, I like how it looks"

"My mom and I used to gather them each spring"

"Want to gather plants with us?"- Yes, this might be a refresher for her

"Or it might be a bringer of bad memories, every choice like this with a traumatized person is 50/50, remember, you want her to have a better life right? Think of every choice"- Great Sage is again right here. Why I am this idiotic in my thinking?

"It's human nature to be an idiot, don't beat yourself up over it too much, just focus on the goal at hand, Akari, just make it right"

"Are you ok Daisuke?"-Akari had her hand placed over mine

"Yes, don't worry, let's ask Senri first, where is she?"- Looking around Senri was inspecting the boxes

"What have you found?"- Getting closer to her, different plants were strewed across the ground

"Yes, many potion ingredients, a small wand, and some crafting tools, basics every local around here has, although these seem to have a better quality than local tools, so what shall we do first?"

"I got an idea, let's teach Akari about plants and potions, I think potion crafting should be easier for her to begin with, then we should teach her magic basics"

"That sounds good, let's go, since the forest is near"- Senri pointed at the forest, looking at it more, it seemed strange that Akari's parents will live here

"Akari, come here, we would go into the forest"- Akari rushed at Senri, her face had a smile spread wide

"What would we do?"

"Well, we will learn about plants and how to make potions"

"I already know how to do that"

"Maybe it is good to give your skills a refresh"- Senri grabbed a bag she found in the boxes, most of the stuff she found was organized into smaller piles

"Fine, let's go"- Akari seems to get lively, she is constantly switching between lively and numb all the time

The forest was peaceful, no monsters spawned not even the fruit monsters, there were plenty of plants to go around, but I don't recognize most of them

"Great Sage?"

"Well, the green-black plants are called Cordyceps, they are used in making poison, can't be mixed with Corely flower, the red ones are named Fire Mold, those leaves are used in boosting fire magic or making them a paste, turning them solid, when you heat it up a little it will ignite with a big flame, you can do the same with the leaves, but it will take a lot more rubbing"

"Any more flowers?"

"Yes, golden ones, called Gold Lily, those are very rare and used in pseudo-revival potions, you can't revive people whose heart or brain had completely stopped, or if their head is chopped off, so it may come in clutch in several situations but nothing more than this, the White Flowers are called Amortasia that boost your magic for a little, you have unlimited magic energy, no need to worry about it. The red flower with round leaves and the heart shape in the middle is called Caragi, used in boosting health, it is a permanent boost to the health status, however, the flower is very rare and only boosts you hp by 25hp until you reach 2000hp, the brown-white flower with square leaves and a circle in the middle called Jester's Square, used in making a spirit potion, AGhouls and spirit people use it to recover hp or energy you can make the potion if you mix the paste made out of 1 unit of the flower with water, that's all the plants here, or at least those who are important"

"Thanks Great Sage"

"Don't mention it kid"

"Daisuke, are you ok?"- Senri's hand was place on my left shoulder

"Yes, Great Sage was showing me the flowers around here, we should gather them all, if we have a mortar and pastel we can craft useful potions, Great Sage will also help"

"So, are we gathering flowers?"- Akari was standing in front of, hands in the air

"Yes, let's go"

Senri, me, and Akari gathered the flowers, across the way we have seen a few bugs Great Sage didn't warn me about

"Bugs?"

"Yes, you only asked about flowers, why tell you about bugs? The context wasn't clear."

"Is there something useful out of those bugs?"

"Yes, you see the green one release a small bag or sack that can make a paralyzing potion if mixed with water or injected into someone's mana, the red insects make a fire powder, the yellow ones can be used to cure lethal poison, the black ones are used to make a lethal potion, the white insects are used to make a sleep potion, all of them mixed with water aside from the fire powder"

"So, are those enough?"- Akari showed me a clump of flowers she gathered

"Yes, but we shall gather more, also bugs can be useful as well"

"Let's gather more Akari"

"Ok, so these flowers seem to have a quality, right?"

"Yes, if you have a foraging skill the quality will increase"

#Skill Granted: Amateur Forager#

"Great Sage?"

"Yes, it allows you to gather bronze quality plants all the time"

"Why do I get skills so fast, Great Sage?"

"Well, you have me that boost the way you gain skills, if you are blessed by a god then you have an easier time gaining skills"

"This is one of my side effects of the blessing, you gain XP faster, plus you "

*Skill Evolved: Amateur Forager to Intermediate Forager*- Great Sage's voice echoed in my mind again, my hands were restlessly gathering plants

"What does plant quality actually does?"

"Ohhh, the non-stared quality it means the standard, the stars add 5,10,15% to the potion or gear you crafted"

*Skill Evolved: Amateur Forager to Expert Forager*- Again?

"Well, you are gathering plants like a madman, so yeah it is logical for you to evolve your skills this fast. You are on autopilot while we talk, of course you can see what you are doing as well, your hands are so fast that you don't realize how much skill experience you gain, be careful Daisuke"

That should be enough. Now I should watch Akari gather flowers with us, is reacting to her, trying to emulate a family for her. It seems to work, she feels like she has a family again, free from slavery, I am happy she feels this way. Senri always looked at Akari, and didn't bother to explain the flowers to her. The sun was still high in the sky, we didn't spend more than 3 hours there, we have 5 more hours until sun down, as we exited the forest Okura was waiting for us

"There you were, ok listen here"

"Do you want a flower?"- Akari got close to Okura, offering him a wild Rose

"Yes, thank you kid"- Okura accepted the flower, extending his hand to pet Akari

"What did you want to talk about brother?"- Senri, with a big pile of flowers in her hand covering her head and vision

"What happened to you?"- Okura was caught by surprise

"We are teaching Akari to craft thing properly, remember, we need to teach her all she needs to survive"- Looking in Okura's direction he had the 2 guards against before

"What are you going to teach her exactly?"- The 2 cat people stepped in front of Okura

"Well, we will teach her many things, she needs to know how to hold her own. I mean she is the next village chief so why not help her this way"- I walked closer to Senri, making her pile of plants easier to carry by grabbing some from there and putting it in my pile

"Why are you guys doing this?"

"I adopted, well bought Akari a few days ago, she was in a bad condition. I couldn't leave a kid in conditions like this, even adults have a small chance of survival but kids, it may kill them sooner. A few days ago I found out she was the daughter of the village chief, she told me about her parents, well everything she could remember from her details I could make out this much. I decided to return Akari to her family but finding out the news that they are dead, I took it upon myself to help her. The 4 heroes, aside from Senri tagged along to help the village a little, we got a break from our missions, so it can't hurt can it?"- Hope this lie would work, it maybe will, maybe not, but it's worth a shot, it's a half or quarter truth, but these cat people might have great bullshit detectors

"You said 4 heroes, but after that, you referred to them as we, like you, are included in those 4"

"Yes, I became friends with them, we battle a high leveled monsters. I acted as the bait as they killed it, afterward we had gone exp farming every day with them and after a few weeks I was hired as an aid to them"

"Explains a lot, what is your level?"

"You are around level 25 now, those plants gave you a lot of exp, those gold star plants contributed the most"

"I am level 25"

"Level 25? That seems like a far cry from your skills, those plants on the top are only gold quality, those at the middle are at silver quality and the bottom ones are bronze, no one without the forager or associate skill can gather them"- The cat-people gripped their spears with force

"Calm down you guys, Daisuke has a special ability, he was born with the ability to grow skills and level very fast. But the condition is to do something he enjoys, he enjoyed gathering, and he evolved his skill very fast"- Okura had my back, thank god, didn't know that they possessed the skill to see the quality of plants

"Well, it's rare, but that's the only skill that they have, it's called Quality estimation"

"That's an impressive skill for you kid, you might surpass even the heroes if you keep training, you can even help other people around the village with that skill"

"For now, Daisuke and Senri are training Akari to be the next village chief, you 2 agreed with this"- Okura with a straight face turned at the Cat-people, his gaze is sometimes unsettling, and even the guards got scared

"Yes, it's important to have our village chief ready"

"Can you now leave us to train here, we don't want interferences"

"Ok, you heard my sister, let's go"- Okura left with the cat-people guards

"So, what will you teach me now?"- Akari walked close to me clinging to my left side

"Well, potions, Senri where shall we go to train her?"

"Here, it's good, we have a cauldron, mortar and pestle, a small knife, a table, and some chairs. I bought some wooden bottles from home, we should be able to make all the potions we need"- Senri move the table, chairs, and the tools closer to us

"So, how are we going to light the fire?"- Akari poked the cauldron with her fingers

"I will teach you later, now you should learn about plants and how to make potions, follow me alright, Daisuke will help you "- Senri grabbed a pile of bronze quality plants that she has gathered

"So, what shall we do first?"

"Look at this plant, it is called Corely, it is used in healing potions"- Great Sage, I hope you plan works, what do you exactly want of Akari?

"Auto-pilot"

"What was that, Daisuke?"

"Anyway, let's get back

Great Sage put me in autopilot mode again

"To answer your question about Akari, if the village lacks a leader it will crumble to the ground, even if you defeat Luxor it will be vulnerable to attack from other nations. Akari just happens to be the next chief. I might sound cold, but I am not like that"

"You sound both cruel and cold the way you spoke in the last days or months"

"Yes, kid, I am not that way. Looks like I care about Akari as well, about everyone, I want everyone to live their best life, some people make it harder for others to live, king Luxor is one of those people. Akari was just a child who was sold into slavery, her parents got killed, she lived in hell for a good part of her life, you wanted to buy Akari as well, I just solidified that impulse, took control of you. Well, Akari was a responsibility I brought onto you by force, I am sorry for this, Daisuke."

"No problem Great Sage, I also want Akari to live a happy life, all of this is for her, even now. Now, it's too late to turn back"

"Well, it's not too late, there is one more choice, if Emiko does not arrive here at the end of the 2 months maybe you should go after her or let the 4 heroes handle it and stay here with Akari"

"Great Sage, that is though, if they go, Emiko might kill them as they are known worldwide as it is, Akari will grow with my support, but the village will go undefended. If I go, Akari won't have any other parent figure aside from Senri, but the rate of Emiko not killing me is lower."

"So what do you choose, kid?"

"No time to contemplate on it, I will go after Emiko by myself, the village will be defended, Akari will be safer with them, there is no other choice"

Snapping out of the autopilot the lesson was almost over, I was packing the stuff that with Senri

"What was it?"- She stopped packing the stuff, put her right hand on my right shoulder, her left hand extending to the back of my forehead

"What do you mean?"

"What did you talk with Great Sage?"- Senri leaned her head forward

"Should I tell you now?"

"Yes, Akari is sleeping"

"Where?"

"On the table"

"Well, it was about Emiko, if she doesn't arrive in 2 months here, then someone needs to go looking for her"

"Look, we will go, all 5 of us"

"That's a bad idea, Senri. You are known worldwide as the 4 heroes allied with king Luxor, Emiko will try to eliminate all of us."

"What are you suggesting then?"- She leaned even further, her forehead touching my forehead

"That I will go alone, she won't know who I am, she won't be able to know, think about it, the village will be safer will all 4 of you're here, if it ever falls under attack the troops aren't enough to defeat the threat the whole village will be destroyed, everyone including Akari will die"

"Well, let's get there first, ok? Let's focus on what's in the present"- Senri stood looking at me, I can feel her warm breath, we locked eyes for a few seconds staring at each other, and after a few seconds she leaned back

"Let's get back home"

That was the whole week, we just trained Akari in making potions, well, I don't know too much about crafting items but at least we thought her how to craft potions. She got the hang of it pretty fast, even tho she couldn't do it on the first try she kept trying again and again until she got it right, never giving up. I was always by Senri's side this whole week, she always tried to get a lot closer to me every time, kinda like flirting

"Well, she is flirting Daisuke, can't you tell Senri likes you?"

"Don't be stupid, Great Sage, why would she like me?"

"You are the one who is stupid now, you were by her side for not that long, but she feels understood by you, and it's normal for most people to attach to someone who understands and cares for them. You took care of Senri, stayed up the entire night for her to recover from the curse. You are a liked by all 4 of them, the reputation you made is very good with them, but there is one person you got to watch out for"

"Who?"

"Petra, if she sees you with Akari, you will break her trust, but if you say the right words, she might even help you with this"

"Yeah, I forgot about Petra, I mean I forgot about her stance on this, she was the one that pushed me to help the demi-humans, I got that motivation from her"

"Well, Daisuke, the next week you will teach Akari Magic, am I right?"

"Yes, Great Sage, thanks for everything, you are working so hard for me, I never told you a sincere thank you until now. If it weren't for you, it will be a lot harder for me to live in this world."

"That's the first time I hear it from anyone. Thanks, kid, I wish I had a body to be here, things would have been done in a second, but there are some limitations for me as of now, I can't enter the world currently, maybe one day"

"Maybe one day"

Back in the village, the place where her former house was is being rebuilt, Akari seems happy about it.

"So, this place is under renovation for now"- The same 2 cat-people were guarding it

"So, is there a spot safe of monsters we can train Akari in doing magic?"- Behind them, different demi-human races, harpies, fox-people, druids, goblins, ogres and Oni's

"Yes, there is a plateau where low level fruit monsters spawn all day, she shouldn't be in danger if you 2 are there"

"Thanks"

The plateau, well, it was flat, not much to say or see, a big flat ground, it was perfect for spell casting

"Now, for a spell to be cast, you need a skill, you can gain it if you perform the spell once, for that you need to focus all of your magic into your main hand, look at me"- Senri raised her right hand up

"What does the main hand mean?"- Akari got both of her hands up looking at them

"The hand you use the most in writing, cooking, opening doors"

"I don't know which one?"

"Wait for a bit Senri"

"Great Sage?"

"Yes, Akari is ambidextrous like you, she can use both hands"

"I am left-handed, I can't do anything with my right"

"No, the moment I blessed you, I gave you this ability as well. My combat style involves ambidexterity, so if you activate auto-battle mode, I wouldn't be able to fight correctly. I know what a pain scissors and can openers are in real life, I had enough of them as a human"

"You were a lefty as a human?"

"Yes and no, but I preferred to use my left more, Akari is also leaning to using her left hand more"

"Ok, found the solution. Akari, cast a spell from both hands, both of them in front!"- I raised both of my hands for Akari to have a model to go after

"Ok, what now, Daisuke?"

"Focus your magic power in both hands, your hands will tingle a little when you succeed"- Time to test if what Great Sage said was right

*Use skill; Water Manipulation: Water Ball*- It worked, all the magic energy flowed through my hands, the Water ball was twice as bigger and damaging, it hit the ground creating rain for a short amount of time

"Try it now, Akari."

"Here it goes!"- It took a minute for Akari to gather magic energy, she created a big fire bolt, well for her level, it was smaller than my water ball, but it did a lot of damage

"That was impressive, I have never seen magic cast with both hands, it's like casting 2 spells at once. You have a lot of potential as a mage Akari, now let's continue with fire spells since your first spell was a fire spell. Now when you cast a spell you will get it as a skill. We need to repeat it until you level it up"

"I will help you 2 out"

This whole week I had to expand a lot of energy, well it is infinite, but I still get tired, yes the spell cast by me are infinite but nothing more than that. This whole time Akari seemed to devote herself to magic more than I could think of her doing. It has been 2 or 3 weeks since I was taking care of Akari, she seems to accommodate fast with us

"Daisuke, Akari adapts faster, she was a slave, new master might mean new rules. She still sees you as a kind master, nothing more than this"

"Well, I am taking care of her the best way possible. Is there a way for us to grow a stronger bond, to make her better?"

"Yes, you can take her out at the tavern, buy her clothes, try to play with her etc., give her the life of a child"

"Thanks Great Sage!"

The next day I brought Akari over to the tavern with us, I try to make her happy, Great Sage was right, we put too much emphasis on her training

"Let's take a seat here"

"Why did you bring me here?"- Akari sat on a chair, the table I choose is in the back, free, no one can hear us

"Well, we trained you too hard these past 2 weeks, things were tough the first 2 weeks, but from now one you should have more free time"- I took a seat near Akari, patting her head

"Thanks for teaching me. So what will I eat?"- Akari, still without reaction, looked me in the eyes

"You choose. It's up to you to choose. We won't mind"- At every table of the tavern there is a menu, it has quite a selection, there are pancakes in this world as well.

"Senri, are there any bananas in this world?"

"Yes, they are called Kopas"- Senri pointed at the menu option, pancakes with Kopas sauce. Coming to think of it, the 3 of us look like a family going for dinner after a long night of work

"What did you choose Akari?"- Senri leaned towards Akari to see what she chose

"Hmm, if it isn't too much to ask. Wrapped fruit pancake with strawberry and plum sauce"- Akari's tail started going left to right slowly

"That means she is feeling comfortable, Daisuke. Keep treating her like this, tomorrow after training, no I have a better idea, you want to teach her wind magic next right? Fire is easy to counter so why not 1 more type of magic, the idea is that you need a ball to do it, play with her while she uses wind magic to throw or control the ball in the air, that should be fun for her"- That's the greatest idea Great Sage came up with

"What do we have here"- That sharp voice, Petra?

"Yes, she caught you. Petra knows about Akari being a slave, you got a lot of explaining to do"- Well, fuck me.

"Hello Petra"

"Mind if I take a seat?"

"Of course not, we don't mind"

Petra sat down near me

"Who is she?"- Akari turned her head staring at Petra

"She is Petra, she works at the guild next door"

"Can I talk to her?"

"Of course, you can"

"Akari, please stop asking us for permission. I already told you if we know a person you can talk to them, that applies to strangers only"

"I understand"

Akari is light, grabbing and putting her near Petra didn't take long

Petra rose up from her seat, walked up to Senri leaned down and whispered to her. Senri nodded her head, Petra had gone into a corner to talk with Akari

"What did she say?"

"Don't worry, she wants to know if we treat her all right. She doesn't trust you at all. She takes my word as law most of the time, I am her best friend after all"

"Do you want to order something Senri?"- The soothing voice, Mitsude?

"Ohh you are here as well Daisuke, what do you want to order?"

"We would like one wrapped fruit pancake with Strawberry and Plum syrups, 2 portions of pancakes with Kopas and Kopas sauce"

"Thanks for the order, it is coming in shortly"

Mitsude walked towards the kitchen area of the tavern, giving our order to the chef

"It should come shortly"- Mitsude came back to our table, and sat on the opposite side of us

"So, I heard about you know the mission you have"

"Don't worry about it too much, all 5 of us have this covered"

"Yes, but Akari had been missing from the slave pen for a long time"

"Well, Daisuke bought her. She is now talking to Petra"- Mitsude, by her loose facial expression seems to be more open to what I have to say

"So, what will happen to Akari?"

"Well, we chose to do the mission a little differently since the king sent us off after Emiko, he wanted to get us killed. Emiko tried starting some sort of uprising for demi-humans to gain rights, Luxor wants her dead in prison but if we do that we would be killed by her, and even if we can defeat her, all the demi-humans will be in slavery. We plan to train Akari to be the village chief. I am Daisuke had taught her magic and self-defense 2 weeks, and now she knows how to do basic stuff and signal for help, so we take it easy today"

"If that's how this is, then ok. I will see what to do with my sister"- Mitsude looked down at the table, her gaze seemed empty

Ten minutes past Petra and Akari arrive, in time with our food

"We are back"- Petra had the same look at Mitsude

"Are you ok miss?"- Akari poked Petra with her left

"Yes, just tired"

Akari sat down in the middle again, it's a good feeling somehow

"Here you go"- The cat-person waiter brought us our orders

"Thank you. It looks delicious"

Akari stared a bit at her wrapped pancake for a while before grabbing it. The first bite she took her face lightened into a smile, she was enjoying every bite her eyes closed, seeing her smile like this gave me a little hope for this situation

"Do you want more?"- After seeing how much she enjoys it, I want to treat her to another one. It may be the first time she ate food like this in years

"Yes, please. Thank you, Daisuke"

"So, Senri, for how long did you 2 take care of Akari?"

"Almost 3 weeks now"

"That's not a long time. So why did you buy Akari?"- Petra turned her head to the left, staring at Senri

"Hmm, Daisuke bought her, we just take care of her together"

"Together? You 3 sound and look like a married couple with a kid"- Senri's face turned red

"Really?"- Senri hid her face

"Anyway, Daisuke, I would like a chat with you as well"

"Petra, just let them enjoy their time now, ok? I trust Senri and her judgments"- Mitsude rose from her chair, resuming her duties as a waiter

"Fine, come to the guild, there is a lot we need to talk about"

"Anything else?"

"Yes, we would like to order the wrapped pancake again"

"Well, you didn't notice the waiters because you are so much in your head, he was there the entire time, don't be too surprised kid. This happens to you all the time. Choose your words carefully with Petra"

"Great Sage, did you have a situation like this?"

"Yes, in my world I had to take care of children as well, both monster and human children"

"Monster and human?"

"Yes, there was a war between monsters and humans, both sides had to suffer."

"What happened to most kids there, if the humans had them?"

"Most of them will die before they become adults"

"How did you solve in your world, if it ever was?"

"I already told you. I killed a few billion humans and the problem of the war between people and monsters stopped"

"So, with Petra?"

"Don't worry, I will do the talking, or if you want, I can let you talk"

"Thanks, Great Sage"

"Are you ok Daisuke?"- Akari was poking my left check

"Yes, sorry about that"

"Daisuke, you can go talk to Petra, me and Akari will go back home"

"Fine, I will see you there!"- It's time. Opening the door to the guild, seeing the guild master and the Elven maid again, made my body tremble for some reason.

"Take a seat"- Petra was sitting in the left corner of the room

"Ok, what did you want to talk about?"

"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I want to talk about"- Petra smashed her fist into the table

"Akari?"

"Yes. Look, tell me the entire story"

"First, we received the mission from the king, we meet up with him in the town square, I saw Akari in a cage and bought her"

"I know that already"

"Well, then I brought her home, Senri cleaned Akari and gave her new clothes to wear. For the last 2 weeks we thought her self-defense and how to craft potions, she can only use fire magic as of now, there are many things left to teach her, but we do our best"

"You are lying"

"What do you mean?"

"In which way are you helping her or the village, look, when I first saw you I had a bit of hope for you. And I thought you might be a little different."- Petra reached with her hand across the table, grabbing me by the shirt collar

"Great Sage?"

"Yeah, let me take over, this turned bad"

"Look, why don't you come to see how we help the village, does this sound fair to you? You can come at any time"

"Fine. If there is no visible help or hear a complaint from them, I will turn you into a punching bag"- Petra dropped me, exiting the guild, my mind is on Akari again. Well, I didn't tell Petra the entire plan, but it should work. Well now a ball for Akari, maybe Ikeda has one

Ikeda's shop:

"Hello"

"Ohh, Daisuke, is that you? You didn't stop by in a long time to buy anything"- Ikeda turned his back on me, grabbing some shields and swords

"Yes, I am wondering, would you have a bigger rubber ball? Like the one, a kid will play with? Something that can resist magic?"

"Yes, here, it will be 3 silver. Anything else?"

"I suggest you get a shield as well Daisuke"

"Great Sage, why would I need a shield?"

"It's the weapon of your class, and the second point is that Akari will need a target dummy that is alive while she will train with Noni and Sakamoto."

"Yeah, I would like a light but sturdy shield"

"Ok, total that would be one gold"

"Here"- I spent half of my earned money in just 2 weeks, I only have half of what I had, 15 in total

"Well, your armor is lacking"

"I know, but I need light armor and money is a little thin on my side, there are some expenses that are too hard to pay, and monster slaying time is limited, plus not as many monsters spawn, it's strange"

"Now that you said it, in summer most of the monsters move in the dark forest, just go there"

"Ok, thanks, I will be back when I can!"- I have the ball and the shield, let's go

"Yeah, to clarify, monsters here follow seasonal patterns like animals. In spring monsters roam the plains, in summer monsters hide in the forests, in fall stronger monsters appear when it gets dark some monsters stop spawning completely, in winter there are a lot of strong monsters that spawn, ice golems, ice giants, ice behemoths and ice spirits will rarely appear"

"Ice spirits?"

"Yes, just like normal spirits, they can inhabit a human body and give them magical powers, like casting ice spells without mana, etc."

The next day:

" So how should we teach her about wind magic? It's kinda confusing for a kid to learn it"

"I have the perfect way to make it happen, this ball. We can teach her wind magic this way, it will be good, I think"

"That's a great idea Daisuke, the hardest part will be to get her to channel her magic energy"

"Akari, come here!"- Akari was playing around in the grass of the plains

"Yes, what happened?"

"Look, now you need to master wind magic as well, you have the fundamentals set already, a little more practice will do"

"How am I going to do that?"- Akari poked at the ball

"Well, we will play a game, you just use wind magic to push the ball around

"Follow my magic Akari"- Senri was the first to try and float the ball in the air

Akari spent 2 hours trying to live the ball with no success, in the end she could make it float

"You did it! Good work"- Senri leaned to pat Akari's head

"Now what?"

"Well, try to move it around, increasing its speed"

The ball floated for a bit from left and right, but it fell down. Akari seems about to collapse.

"Are you ok, Akari?"

"She isn't, she is using a lot more magical energy than normal for this you better catch her before she falls"

"No, it's enough for today Akari"- Grabbing Akari in my arms her breathing got heavy and started falling asleep

"What happened really?"

"She used all of her magical energy. She needs rest"- Senri's face looked perplexed

"How, it shouldn't take a lot of energy out of her"

"No, Great Sage told me she was using more energy than usual"

"She was using 20 time more energy Daisuke"

"He told me Akari was using 20 times the normal amount"

"What?"- Senri's face dropped

"Yes, I don't know how this happened, but we shouldn't exhaust her like this"

"Yes, let's bring her home", but

The heroes' mansion:

"So this is the 3rd week?"- I was sitting on the floor in Senri's room, she was sitting on her bed watching over Akari, her eyes darting back and forth at every light whimper she gave off

"Yes, Noni, Sakamoto and Okura should be getting some stuff done, we have 5 more weeks before the mission is over right?"

"Yes, well more than 5 weeks, but we will have to report to king Luxor, I don't know if my brother reported yet, but we need to make a report"

"I will take care of it. Great Sage can help with this"

"Maybe you are right, take care Daisuke"

"Auto-pilot"

"So you want to give a fake report to the king, yes, I can manage that"

The law house

"Your friend is also here"- Okura was already there, reporting to the king

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I came to report as well"

"Kid, Okura said they were trying to get info about Emiko in the village"

"Yes, sir, we needed to get info about Emiko from the locals. You didn't give us any leads, so we had to find some, her whereabouts are speculative, as far west of east, two parts of the village are divided between these 2 directions"

"Why don't you check the 2 directions?"- King Luxor's voice got raspy

"We can't, it might be a cleaver trap from Emiko, from my info she is very intelligent and good at setting traps, she might even have 10 directions just to make us go in a circle while she attacks"

"You have a good point here, she is the only intelligent demi-human that I know of"- King Luxor usual demeanor is to put others down to lift himself up. It's a good thing he didn't catch onto us realizing the trap

"Are you sure he didn't catch on?"

"I am positive, Great Sage"

"Well, so if you find Emiko are you willing to go after her?"- King Luxor was examining his rings and gold, holding them in his hand and polishing the

"For sure, but we need to take precautions, these missions are supposed to be highly secretive, so we need to maintain, our cover, she will be cleaver enough to blow our cover, she will figure it out eventually so until we get more info or isolate her we can't do anything, you realize the danger you are putting the nations honor a reputation at risk. It will be the most humiliating blow ever dealt"

"Ok, but one more thing that needs clarification. Some of my guards had seen you teaching magic to your merchandise, can you explain it?"

"Sorry sir, I can't understand your question, repeat"

"The slave you bought, why were you and your girlfriend teaching her magic?"

"Sir, we needed to win the village over, this is a good way to earn their respect and trust until they let us onto Emiko's whereabouts, we need to uphold our part of the bargain. We were also watched by the demi-humans guard to be convinced that we teach her magic and nothing else"

"Yes, I see you are a smart kid, look keep this up, and we should get the info in no time. Your friend Okura here isn't good at explaining things, so thanks for clarification. You 2 are free to go. I am happy to hear that our mission is going well"

The mansion:

"You 2 are here"- Senri and the others were waiting in the living room

"What took you guys so long?"- Senri reached for a teapot, filling 6 cups with tea in her vicinity

"Well, I was a little stuck on what to tell the king as he had spies almost everywhere, Daisuke lied his ass off to save me, well he didn't lie too much, he twisted our motives and end goal a bit. We can keep helping the demi-human village in peace from now on"

"We shouldn't rush, we need to keep faking it"

"By the way, where is Akari?"

"She is asleep, she used too much magical energy to perform wind magic, so she is taking a rest now"

"We shall see tomorrow"

The next day we went to the same plateau

"So, Senri, do we need to teach her advanced techniques too?"

"We should"

"Well, let's see what can we teach her?"

"Well, you can teach her how to control the ball in midair or to move it faster"

"Yes, we can teach her midair control or to train her speed"

"That's a good idea"

"So, what are we doing?"- I always keep Akari far away when I talk with Senri

"We will teach you how to move the ball faster or control it from midair"

"Here"- Akari extended her hands, giving Senri the ball

"So"- Senri moved further away from Akari with the ball in her hands

"Why are you moving away?"

"Ok, this should be enough distance"

"Akari, Senri will pass you the ball you will have to try and control it using wind magic, try to do it faster and keep it floating longer all right?"

"I will try Daisuke"- Akari got ready to cast magic, most magic casters in this world put their staff or hands forward when they want to cast, they plant their feet deep in the ground

"Ok, here we go"- Senri threw the ball at Akari using her hands, the first few hours Akari didn't make as much progress, but she was starting to control it well.

"Great Sage, does she use less energy now?"

"Yes, it's still more than normal but less, I would say about 5 times as much now"- That's still a lot

"It's a lot"

"I know, I already said that it's a lot, she will keep optimizing everything on her own, no need to worry"

"Akari, I think you know how to control it well, now you should try to fly it faster than before"- Senri and Akari kept kicking the ball back and forth for a while until Akari began to throw the ball faster back at Senri

"You are doing great! A little more"

After 2 more hours, Akari mastered the basics of wind magic.

"That was good, congratulations Akari!"- Senri walked near Akari grabbing her off the ground

"So what shall we do next?"- Senri turned towards me

"I don't know, for now let's just go to the tavern again"

"Well what will it be tomorrow?"- I am Senri picked up pace, it was pretty late

"Well, maybe teach her water and earth magic next, they go hand in hand."

"Can I ask you something?"- Akari touched our shoulders

"Sure"

"Why are you 2 doing all this?"

"I don't get the question, sorry"

"Why are the 2 of you so nice to me?"

"Shouldn't we be nice to you, Akari?"

"I don't know"

"Look, don't stress yourself, ok?"

"I still don't understand. Why are you so nice with me?"- Akari turned her head to stare at me

"Well, to be fair, I don't know why yet. For me, just seeing you happy is enough, should there always be a reason to be kind or nice to someone. Should there always be underhanded reason just to be kind with other or to want others to feel happy or make them happy"- Akari extended her hands towards me

"Do you want Daisuke to carry you?"

"Yes"- I grabbed Akari from Senri carrying her on my back

"Daisuke is right about this, you should talk more with us Akari, we won't judge or scold you, it's ok to tell or ask us anything you want"- Senri was getting closer to me and Akari looking at her

"This feels like my mother and father, it's like they are here again"- Crap, what should I say now?

"Take a gamble, you know what you wanted to say"

"The 2 of us can be like your parents if you want "- My hands reached behind my back for Akari holding her in front of me

"But you won't die or leave me, right?"

"Well, speaking about me, I will have to leave after a few more weeks here, it's important"

"But I will stay here with you"- Senri grabbed Akari from my hands

"Why are you leaving Daisuke?"- Akari turned again to look at me

"It's important, very important"

"What is it?"- Akari had her hands extended towards me

"I might be gone for a few years even, it's tough because the mission is hard, I am forced to go, there is no other choice"

"Don't think about this now Akari, let's just enjoy our time together while it lasts"- Akari's began to tear

"Ohh my, what the hell have I done?"- Placing my hands on my head, what the hell, why did I have to say that?

"Daisuke, you still did ok. She to face things as they are"

"Thanks Great Sage"

"Akari look, things will turn out ok in the end, let's just enjoy the time we have now, you shouldn't be worrying about things like these now, ok?"- Senri grabbed Akari from my hands holding her

"Senri, can you promise me that at least you would stay?"

"Of course, I will stay with you Akari, why wouldn't I?"- Senri smiled at Akari, looking at her hands Aroma Magic was being cast

"It's to relieve stress Daisuke"- Thanks again Great Sage

"Where are we going now?"- Akari began to stabilize

"We are going to the tavern now, we are going to eat pancakes again or whatever you want, we can stay in the city a little more"

"I want to try something new, I read that there is an option for Kopa Bread in the menu, maybe they still have it"

The Tavern:

We took a seat in the corner of the tavern again, I don't like to be seen as much even if this tavern is demi-human friendly the attention is not that welcomed. Akari was sitting in Senri lap, I was sitting next to Senri, looking through the menu, what should I get

"Senri, is there something similar to ketchup, mustard or Mayo here?"

"Yes, mustard here is called Musk Sauce, Mayo is called Egg Sauce and Ketchup is just Soft Tomato sauce"

"What are Mustard, Ketchup and Mayo?"- Akari turned to look at Senri

"In other countries these sauces, musk, egg and soft tomato are called differently then we call them here, in Daisuke's language musk is called mustard, egg sauce is mayonnaise and soft tomato sauce is called ketchup"- Akari turned staring at me

"How does she know your language?"

"Well, we are from the same country"

"You knew each other before?"- Akari turned back, looking at the menu, the waiter was waiting for us

"Yes, a kopa bread, potato salad with egg sauce and"

"And salad with meat, and I would also like musk and soft tomato sauce along with them"

"Very well, you need to wait about 40 minutes"- The waiter left

"No, we didn't know each other before, it's a bigger world where we are from."

We waited a bit for the waiter. Eating with them felt, I can't describe how I felt exactly, it was like feeling accepted by them, it seems that the 4 heroes were the only ones to accept me the way I am

"If you are wondering why you don't have any speech impediment, it's because I removed them when you were reincarnated."

"Thanks again, Great Sage"

"Don't thank me every time, it gets boring"

The Mansion:

"You 3 are back awfully late"- Okura was waiting for us in the living room

"Yeah, sorry. Akari you should get some sleep"- Senri grabbed a sleepy Akari off my arm

"Daisuke, come here, I need to talk with you"

"Yes"- This is giving me a bad feeling, Okura's voice never had that much emotion in his life

"Hurry!"

"Yes, what is it?"- He leans closer to me

"Look, I found new info about Emiko"

"Really? That is good"

"No, it ain't that good, she is currently north of the demi-human village, 150 km from here, she won't be able to come in a month or so, we will need to train Akari in hand-to-hand combat, hurry and teach her earth and water magic already. We need her to be trained. And then we need to discuss on who will go after Emiko, it's very important Daisuke"

"Okura, I will be the one going after Emiko, it's too dangerous for all 5 of us to go along after her"

"But Daisuke, it's dangerous"- That's the biggest amount of concern I ever heard from Okura

"Look, Emiko will kill all of us, it's better for the 4 of you to let me handle it, you will stay here, I already promised Akari and Senri I won't leave them. I know Okura, but you got to understand me as well, it's too dangerous if we go in a group, I will be ok, trust me"

Okura grabbed a piece of paper, gave me a glance before he started writing something in Japanese

"Daisuke, please stay safe. How much do you estimate this should last?"

"I don't know, I hope it won't be long, but you never know when on missions like these. All I want is for everyone here to stay safe no matter what happens. It's better this way"

"I don't doubt your judgement, but foremost let's settle some things"- Okura handed me the piece of paper, he wrote in Kanji, disguise

"Your identity for this mission"

"I will use my name, Daisuke Suzuki, but I have to deny any affiliation with the 4 of you."

"That won't be enough. Emiko will get suspicious from the start if you say you have a noble reason for helping her, it may have worked in Japan but not here, Emiko is a battle-hardened warrior, she can see through people's bullshit easier than most people, if you lie to her, you give her even more chances to kill you"

"What am I supposed to do then?"- If Emiko can detect if I am not sincere, then how am I supposed to talk to her, or convince her.

"My suggestion is that you need to twist the truth a little, my suggestion to set up a fake exile for you when we imprison the king, you can say you were exiled by us for misbehavior or something, it's more believable"

"What if she wants to hear the whole story?"

"You can tell her how you meet us and that we betrayed you, it would be a half-truth then."

"Look, I will make something up until we have more data, I have a bad feeling about the king"-Okura slammed his fist against the table, it was very rare to see Okura react like this

"Are you ok?"

"No, we can't afford to lose you Daisuke, you don't realize how important you are to our party and to us, especially Senri, she had never been happier since you bought Akari and started taking care of her."

"Okura, please, stop insisting. I know what's going to happen if all 4 of us go after her, remember. I will be ok, I promise I will return safely"

"Fine, but try to keep in touch with us"

"I will see what I can. It's later, we should get some sleep"

The next day me and Senri continued to train Akari in using the rest of the magic elements, nothing worth saying about this day, she ended up using less energy this time

"Great Sage, did something change with Akari?"

"Yes and no. Yesterday it sure did, you made her trust people less."

"I mean did she warm up to us or did she become colder, I couldn't understand her today at the training"

"She confused, stuck in between wanting to trust you and not trusting you. She already sees Senri as her new mother, you on the other hand, she still sees you as a master rather than a father or someone familiar"

"How do I get her to see me as someone familiar?"

"Talk to her more. Can't you see what Senri does, try to be more involved with her? The next day is a little less full, so you should try and go out with them, and this time take proper care of her"

"Thank you, Great Sage"- It was true, but how exactly, in which situation should I involve myself in Akari's life, I mean in all of them, she is my responsibility since I bought her

The next day:

"Why are we going out again, Daisuke?"

"Well, you didn't get a proper break, so I decided that we should go out today as well"- I lowered my body a little

"Are you sure?"- Akari stopped, walked in front of me staring me

"Why shouldn't I? Just enjoy yourself today"

"So, Daisuke, what should we do next?"

"Well, what do you want to do, Akari?"

"I don't know"

"No, let's just take a look and see what will she want"- Senri walked and held Akari's hand, we were passing through looking at many shops Wiefra had to offer, well market stall will be a better word since we actually were in the square.

"Can I go play with them"- Akari pointed to a group of kids playing near us

"Of course. We will be near watching you"- Senri gave Akari her ball

Akari walked up to the kids, I couldn't hear what they say, but the kids looked strange at Akari for a bit, until they started to play with each other, they seemed happy, the kids are less racist than their parents it seems. I hope this can go on for longer

"Hey, Senri do you think the kids parents are watching?"- Me and Senri were sitting nearby in front of a ruined house, it was close, and we had a view on Akari the other children.

"Yes, I think so, the kids as I know live in the houses nearby"

"Great Sage?"

"Yes, the parents are watching, they are in front of you actually, well the children obscure them but yeah, they are watching and are very suspicious of Akari"

"Thanks Great Sage"

"It feels good, to see Akari play and be happy"

"Well, it's an improvement. Don't worry too much, they should be ok"

As one of the kids played with the ball, he kicked it too far on top of a house

"Let's go and get it"- Senri got up, dragging me with her left hand to the house

"Miss, can you help us get the ball?"- One of the kids asked while pointing at the roof where the ball landed

"Of course"- Senri lifted the ball in the air using her wind magic

"Thanks miss"- The kids left to play with the ball again

"Let's go over to their parents"- Senri held my hand, dragging me there

"Hello"- Senri waved at the parents

"Hello… Miss Hero, what brings you here?"- The group of parents was formed of 6 human women

"I am just keeping watch over the kids as well"- Senri sat a little further away from the women

"No more mission, that's great. It must be good to have free time."

"Who is that young lady? She had been following you? Maybe an admirer?"- One of the women pointed at. Wait? Why does she call me a woman?

"Daisuke, I swear you sometimes lack self-awareness. Have you looked in the mirror? You look like a trap, and you do a good job at it"

"Trap?"

"Yes, don't know what it means?"

"No, surprised that you know the term"

"I am a Great Sage, of course I know many things. But for the record, you look like a woman"

"Why didn't anyone tell me about it?"

"Well, Okura figured it out using his Great Sage skill, if it wasn't for him, Noni, Sakamoto and Senri will have said you are a girl, and also for the fact that Mitsude referred to you as he."

"I mean, I like looking like a trap. I feel comfortable looking like this."

"Don't worry too much"- Snapping back to reality, only a few seconds passed

"Ohhh, him, he is Daisuke. That's how he was born to look like"

"Well, yes. Is it important for me to look like a man? Does it really matter?"

"Here it might, there are a few stingy people around, you might get beaten to death if you don't look like your gender here"

"Why should it really matter? I mean, can't both man and women perform just as well"

"Socrates, is that you?"

"Are you mocking me, Great Sage?"

"Yes. Watch your mouth"

"Why?"

"This is a medieval fantasy world, not 2022 democratic Japan. One wrong thing said, and you become a human sausage roasting at a stake"

"Fine"

"Thinking about it, I think your friend Daisuke is right about some of that stuff"- Snapping back to reality, the women were talking to each other

"Yeah, forget it, just a passing thought. When brought up with topics like this, I can't help myself"- I extended my left hand to scratch my head

"No, no need to worry, we might look like low level peasants, but we are actually managing the library. This group studies people's world views and other things. We are also mothers, we wear clothes like this to not be recognized by other people, a little peace is welcomed once in a while, isn't it?"

"You know, it's interesting you can keep things impartial. We can't talk too much about things like this, we didn't know we held similar views but in Wiefra there are some bad blasphemy laws, and you have to abide by them"

"What god does this town serve anyway?"

"Goddess Sara"- Her? They worship her?

"Well, she is mostly a useless goddess, she gives people succubus tattoos that aren't taken seriously, it's supposed to mark perverts but 90% of this country has this tattoo. She is also stupid with her choices. That's one of the reasons why Wiefra struggles so much."

"Well, hmm, about that goddess, what is her deal anyway? I mean, she seems pretty mean if you ask me"

"Well, the people that meet her are the priests, and they are the one saying this. There is a myth of people reincarnating from other worlds here. We know it's true because of the 4 heroes, but aside from them, I have never seen anyone reincarnated here."

"To be honest, we never saw Daisuke either. Where is he from anyway?"- All the women turned to look at me

"Well, he doesn't know either. Someone found him passed out in an alley, someone robbed him, the robber used strong magic to erase his memories"- Senri covered me. She made up a lie to protect me. The king's spies might be near, listening to us

"Seems pretty tough for him. One thing, where did the fox-child come from?"- The group pointed at Akari

"She is mine. I adopted her some time ago, I begin teacher her, and now it's her break time"

"You were teaching her?"

"You adopted her?"

"Well, yes, I couldn't leave an injured kid to die. She was also sick. Her name is Akari. At home, Akari is so sweet and respectful to other people. She is eager to learn almost anything, so I taught her some basic magic tricks."

"That's so kind of you. Especially how demi-humans are looked upon"

"Yes, it's cruel, but we can't do anything to stop the king"

"Well, I have nothing against anyone. Just be nice to everyone unless they aren't nice to you, that's all"

It feels like I am an alien in the conversation, keeping my eyes on the kids, watching them play so joyfully. A little later 2 kids, well teens came around, gazing at Akari, looking at her like she was some kind of outcast, well demi-humans are considered outcasts but still, children should be children and enjoy their lives

"Look, there they are again"- 4 of the women got up

"Who are they"- Senri pulled herself up using my hand.

"Some kids that are troublemakers, they hate demi-humans, because of their parents, it's sad to see kids like this"

"I will go closer"- I have to protect Akari at all costs

"Hello guys, what do you have here"- One of the kids got close to Akari, one of the kids got in front of her to protect Akari

"A fox. Interesting. Did you run away from your master? Did they throw you out?"- He got closer to Akari, trying to touch her, the other kids were taking a step back

"Daisuke, stop it, don't let her use magic, don't let it be known she knows magic"

*Use Skill: Feral Frenzy*- Dashing with the speed bonus in front of the 2 teens

"Who are you"- The on in front took a step back

"It must be her master. You should take better care of your goods"- It's not worth hitting him. A stupid kid copying his parent's worst behavior

"Shut up!"- The scream was pretty deep

"Sorry"

"She is my daughter. Don't try to do anything funny. Leave her alone!"- Trying to scare them, my bluff was to make fake casting a spell. I got my hand in the air, gathering all my magic energy to create a water ball

"We are sorry"- They made a 180 turn and ran away

"Kids, don't worry. Just continue playing, ok?"

"Are you ok Akari?"- Akari was looking straight into my eyes

"Yes"- She moved her head to the right

"That's good. Have fun playing with them"- Before leaving, I leaned in to pat her head. The kids gathered again. Walking away, they were talking to Akari

"Daisuke, this fell on the ground"- Senri leaned down to pick a heart-shaped medallion.

"What did happen?"

"This fell of you"- Senri gave the medallion to me

"I don't really remember wearing it"- What was it. It looks familiar, but can't seem to place where I know it from

"I will tell you later, kid."- Great Sage might know

"Thank you. Doesn't matter, I must've forgotten"

3 hours later we returned to the mansion, sitting in my own room

"Great Sage, what is the medallion about?"

"Haruhime gave it to you as a gift."

"Why don't I remember as much?"

"It's because of this world and the blessings you got. It made you amnesic. You may not remember much of your first few months, but memories from now on should be clear and concise."

"Great Sage, can you recap everything that happened?"

"Sure, here we go"

"Thanks"

"First you came home from school, watched anime, usual otaku stuff. The next day you tried to socialize with someone, but you failed, 2 girls Sara and Hanako tried to socialize with you, one of their brothers bullied you further you opened up to them a little, they invited you to a lolicon manga publishing. Her brother came there to bully you further, but he threw you in front of a moving car that hit you, and you died in this way"

"Ok, but what happened when I was here and not on earth"

"Well, after you reincarnated you woke up in an alley, you got into the guild, meet Mistude and Petra. After slaying the monster for a while, you meet the 4 heroes. You were staying at the 4 heroes house and tavern every other day until you started living here. You were helping everyone, so they didn't mind, you spent a lot of time with Senri, then you got the mission for this, and we are here"

"Thanks, doesn't say much but thank you"- Great Sage flashed the memories that I had made there before my eyes.

"No problem kid"

The next week at the demi-human village:

"Daisuke, you are here."- Okura was waiting for us at the abandoned house of Akari's family

"Yes, did something happen?"

"No, we need to train Akari for hand-to-hand fighting now. Noni and Sakamoto will come shortly. I will need to discuss with you after this"

"Fine"- We waited around for Noni and Sakamoto to appear

"You 2 are late"- Okura walked up to Noni and Sakamoto, whispering something

"Sorry"

"Akari, let's go, you have training again. Daisuke won't be able to come"- Senri held Akari's hand following Noni and Sakamoto

"Ok, now we are able to talk. Follow me in the forest"- Okura dragged me into the nearby forest, well it was small patch of woods at best, we followed a trail leading some kind of camp

"What is this?"- The place where he leaded me had the remains of a fire and a log place to act like a chair to seat on.

"Well, I found out information regarding Emiko."

"I am listening"

"Tonight, she will come here trying to save all the slaves in king's palace. We need to do something fast, think of a plan"

"Great Sage?"

"Yes, first guard all the access points, all 5 of you, the castle has 5 access points where Emiko will try to enter, there are is 1 window where she will enter, the one in the back. Emiko will try to sneak around the main hall. Okura needs to sit at the back window, faking sleep, Noni and Sakamoto should guarding the slave room, Noni will need to prepare a magic arrow to save Emiko from a trap, Sakamoto will be guarding the entrance, Senri will set faulty magic traps around the castle for her, of course the traps won't do anything aside from visual effects and you Daisuke, will need to stay outside, in any case that the king's army decides to attack the village, if they needed assistance you be able to sneak in and assist them. That's my plan"

"Did you come up with anything?"

"Yes, look, Emiko will try to enter through the back window, you need to guard it, fake sleep and let Emiko in, Senri will set faulty magic traps around the castle, Noni has to be ready and save Emiko if there is any trap there, Sakamoto will need to guard the room. I will stay outside and see if the king's troops are moving, or provide assistance to you if you need it. That's the plan Great Sage made for us"

"That should work. Now, who is gonna report to the king?"

"I will do it, Okura."

"Ok then. There is no time to lose, get going!"

The king's castle from what Great Sage told me is outside the city on a road outside the law house, well the law house seems like a castle enough all right, well thinking again how wrong my assertion was of the law house, the castle was huge and decorated with jewels that I don't recognize, it's too much detail for my mind to remember

"What brings you here Daisuke?"- The king was outside looking at some flowers

"So, what brings you here?"

"Well, my king, I got to make a report about the mission"

"Come inside"- Following the king inside the castle, he brought me in the dining hall

"Ok, take a seat and tell me"- His hand pointed to a seat next to him

"We have info about Emiko, she is preparing an attack tonight"

"Ok, where do you know the info?"- The king looked and sounded interested enough

"I overheard it from 2 villagers. She is planning to lure the entire army to the village and free the slaves. I devised a plan to stop her, but it will be hard. Keep in mind she is level 200 after all"

"Yes, don't worry, tell me the plan. I got enough guards to deal with her"

"I will stay outside and be on the lookout for her, my king. We need to get prepared right away. We shouldn't underestimate Emiko"

"I get what you say, Daisuke. We will get prepared, get into your position, take this, the insignia will allow you to give orders to my army. So how should we do it?"- The king leaned to grab a cup

"As I know from her plan she will try to make a distraction in the village to come directly in the castle, we need them to guard the castle if we want to stand a chance"- While talking to the king I tried to maintain eye contact with him and not flinching

"Well, Daisuke. Now go, we will prepare, do your 4 companions know?"

"Yes, they will be here shortly"- Time has come Daisuke, time to do this

"It may look idiotic the way we do it, but it will save the reputation of the country"

"Great Sage, please be as active as possible"

"Don't worry kid. I give you 24/7 support"

"Thanks. But what will come of this?"

"Well, you sure do sound uncertain. If worse comes to worst, we already talked on what you are needed to do"

"Great Sage, I don't want to kill anyone"

"Well, neither do I, but it's needed, do you want your friends to get killed instead?"

"No, I don't want either one. Is there a way to save them both?"

"No, the circumstances won't allow it."

"I hope it never comes to this"

"Hoping is good"

Whatever will come of this night, the situation must turn out good.

8 hours later

"It's almost time Daisuke"- Anxiously waiting in the village I began looking around, Emiko might hide somewhere, what am I saying Emiko will enter through the back. I should get close to the castle

"Great Sage. Tell me when Emiko is there"- This is the day we were preparing, it came sooner than expected, but what can we do?

1 hour later

"Daisuke, it's time, Emiko entered"- It's time

"Great Sage, when should I go?"

"Go around the village, the king must have sent his army"

The army is a problem, the outskirts of the village will be a good spot to place the army in, the king is more cunning than we expected

"We are close kid, he stationed a few soldiers on the outskirts, you were right by coming here. Use the emblem/medallion or whatever her gave you to control the army"

"Who is there?"- Can't waste too much time, I showed him my badge, he nodded his head

"Go to the castle, they are under attack"

"Thank you, I will gather them right now"

"What now, Great Sage?"

"Go back, but stay near the woods, it will be to your advantage, you can take a shortcut around the village, if she switches plans the village will be blocked. Now we have to wait a little, maybe Emiko will try to come through here, we never know"

Waiting and looking around ever few seconds, nothing seemed to move, everything was dead quiet, silence was all over the place.

"What the hell?"- Something grabbed and is dragging me through the woods

"Great Sage?"

"That is Emiko, something had happened with the 4 heroes it seems"

Being dragged through bushes and stones doesn't feel that good, got scratches all over me, in the end my whole body was smashed against a tree

"You are Daisuke Suzuki, aren't you?"

"Yes, you are Emiko I suppose"- A short fox-girl held me pinned against the tree with her right hand

"Get to the castle and save them, don't dare come looking for me."- The amount of force Emiko uses to push me against the tree is huge, feels like my ribs are breaking, she eventually dropped

"Hey, aren't you staying in the village, the king will be down you don't need to fear anything"

"I said go."- Emiko got closer to me, grabbing my shirt collar and pushing me forward

"Stay safe"- Emiko left jumping in the trees

"Great Sage, was she Emiko?"

"Yes. Daisuke, no time for that, we need to hurry"

"Yes"

*Use skill: Shadow Walk*- So glad that I have this skill right now, it is easier for me to get past the guards, well there were no guards in front of the castle but still, inside they were clumped up together

"What should we do?"

"Use the medallion to command them to go outside, Daisuke"

Moving to the door again, running in with my medallion

"Stop!"- The guards shouted after me

"She is in the village, she is destroying it. She set gunpowder bombs"- Trying to make the best impression of someone who just ran a marathon here just to deliver the news

"We need to announce the king"

*Use Skill: Shadow Walk*

A big part of the soldiers left

"He vanished"- The remaining guards tried looking after me but to no avail

"Great Sage, autopilot mode please"

"Emiko is cute"

"You sure are a lolicon Daisuke"

"Hmm mm, well"- Even tho this conversation is in my mind I can feel my body blushing

"Don't worry. She is cute, all right."

"Thanks, Great Sage"

"We almost arrived"- The throne room is near, it's time to put an end to this once in for all

"Don't fuck it up Daisuke"- Great Sage thank you for everything

The throne room:

It is pretty empty, only had a 2nd floor where guards with bows were staying, Noni was standing near his throne knocked out, Sakamoto was knocked out hanging on the rails of the 2nd floor, Senri and Okura were near a wall, Senri was bleeding profusely as she was casting self-healing on herself, the king was staying in his throne grinning at all of them. What to do?

"Though you could betray me and ally with that fox?"

"Shut up, bastard"- Senri could barely speak as blood was leaking out of her mouth

"What the hell should we do, Great Sage?"

"Daisuke, wait a bit, just a bit, and don't move, stay more in the open"

After less than a minute, heavily armored knights entered the room, bowing to the king

"My king, Daisuke Suzuki tipped us off where Emiko had left, his information is true and verified, we had seen her, she is fighting our troops as we speak, we need reinforcements"

"So not all of you are worms. Very well, this Daisuke Suzuki will be awarded handsomely"- The king looked at Senri grinning all the way

"Who are they, Great Sage?"

"Those are known as the Order of Knight, the king's special military police"

"Get all the knights to hunt her down"

5 minutes later all the knights left the castle, the stomping of iron can still be heard from far away, now if they all left what should I do?

"Daisuke, they all left. Now, you know what you are going to do, right?"- What is he talking about?

"Great Sage, don't tell me this crap. I won't do it"

The king grabbed a knife and gone towards Senri and Okura, I closed in the distance on him

"Maybe if your friend Daisuke comes around I might decide to spare you"

"Great Sage, I am doing my own judgements now. Please"- My body had gone limp, I can still feel it tho, wait, why can I feel my body but not move it?

"Great Sage?"- Me left hand reached to the knife pocket where the crimson dagger was held

"I am sorry kid, it has to be done"

"Don't!"

*Use Skill: Water Manipulation: Water Vapors*- Water vapors filled the room

"What is happening?"- The king looked in all direction

*Use Skill: Feral Frenzy*- This broke my invisibility, my body dashed forward at the king, my hands reached towards his shoulders pinning him into the ground, left-hand reaching for the dagger, in a fast motion it was buried in the king's head

"Heal"- Senri's voice echoed in the room

"What the hell did I do"- My body is in my control again, I can control it again. No, what the hell did I do? What the hell? Did I just kill someone? I took someone's life? I killed him? I killed him. How could I do this? Why? Why? Why? Why? WHY? WHY? WHY!!!!!?

"It was needed. Both Senri and Okura would have died"

"Why the hell you did that for? Do you know what it means to take someone's life?"

"To save your friends? Do you want them to die? And yes, I do know what it means to kill someone"

"You talk about killing someone with suck ease. You already killed billions."

"Yes. Sometimes it's needed, like in this situation"

"Shut up! Get out of my mind, I don't want you anymore!"

"No, Daisuke, you need to learn this. Would you like for them to die instead? Do you want this? Look, it's not easy, but bear with it."

"Shut up, I don't want to hear you!"

"Want it or not, I will be forever with you here. In your mind. Realize that some people are too far gone to save. If you want, I can turn myself off for a few weeks if you are tired of hearing my voice"

"Murder no matter how you put it is wrong!"

"Violence is justified in self-defense. It's one thing to murder someone innocent, and it's something different to do the right thing and kill someone in order to save many other people"

"I don't want to hear it"

"Stop Daisuke, stop. Quit bitching about things now! Understand already, if they would die, what would you have done, with your stupid plan? Daisuke, take as much time off as needed and go after Emiko, there is more still"

"Shut up, don't tell me what to do! I will better off without you!"

"Fine, I will turn off for a few weeks. You won't be able to survive without me"- My body began to convulse in the middle of the throne room, Senri near me, the other heroes started waking up, my whole body shivered and convulsed on the floor, how I know it? The blood flowing from my bruised arms, legs and head flowed on the floor. Is Great Sage causing this?

"You said you don't need me"

"Shut up"

"I was the one numbing your reactions, making you able to talk to people, I numbed most of your emotions to kill the king"

"Get out of my mind!"

"You will go insane with guilt without me"

"Daisuke, hold on!"- With one last convulsion, my head hit the stone floor

4 days later:

"What happened? Senri, Okura!"- I jumped straight up, where am I? Is this their house

"Calm down kid, you are in their mansion"- Great Sage, not you again

"Not you again"

"I understand you might be mad at me, but there is nothing you can do now. You would have died from shock if I didn't take control again"

"Just shut up!"- I brought my hands over to my head, clutching my head

"Daisuke, he is awake"- Senri voice seem to echo from every corner of the room

"It's ok"- Senri place one of her hand over my head

2 weeks later, after a few more episodes, I seem to stabilize somehow, still mad at Great Sage, he still talks to me, but I mostly refuse to respond

"Kid, still don't want to give me full control again? You know you can get cured of guilt"

"Shut up"

"You shouldn't feel guilty about it too much, on the bright side, everyone, even Akari is alive, if you hadn't killed the king, she would have died as well"

"I need time alone"- Senri was visiting me every morning, to see how I was doing, she never got her eyes off me, she always sat near me and tried to speak with me, it seemed that I was in perpetual shock

1 week later, my body started getting better, I can walk and not pass out, Great Sage still talked to me every time, this time he tried comforting me, still can't believe the king died at my hands, that my hands were the ones to kill him. It's around 12, Okura wanted to talk with me in the living room

"Take a seat Daisuke"

"So, what is it about?"

"Emiko, we need you to go after her"- Crap, that's right, my promise to Okura, Senri and Akari, to go after Emiko, so they don't have to.

"Daisuke is ok!"- Out of the sudden Akari walked into the living room, she jumped to my neck hugging me

"I am ok, don't worry"- My left hand extended to touch her head

"What happened to you? Why you were in bed all these weeks?"

"I am ok now, don't worry about it."- Akari, she is ok, at least this is a good thing

"I was scared you will never recover. Maybe you haven't seen me, but I sat by your side most of the time, you didn't seem to pay attention to me at all"

"I am sorry Akari, now me and Okura have to talk about something important"- I put Akari down, Senri came shortly to take her

"With this done, I should ask Great Sage where she is"

"Now you need my help?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No"

"Fine, take control again"- My body felt light, like I was flying. It feels like a rock was lifted off of my shoulders, the thought of the king and of my actions seem to vanish

"She is followed by the broken nights, you should hurry kid"- As much as I hate him, I need him to get by

"Don't worry kid, my help comes free, well almost"

"Then, it's not free"

"I won't let you do anything stupid and let you die or let anyone you care about die."

"So, Okura, what do you know about Emiko exactly?"

"Well, she is followed by the king's knights, you will have to be careful. You have 2 days to set on. Be careful out there Daisuke"

"So, Great Sage. Where is she exactly? How should I prepare?"

"Well, follow the road out of the town, from the demi-human village forward, keep a straight line, you will reach a small demon village, from there you need to take a path in the woods, make a left turn, and you should find a cave. Estimate travel days, 2 days until the demon village, 1 more day until the cave, if you move in 2 days, you should be there soon. Your choice"

"Okura, I know the fastest and safest route there. I will take these 2 days off to prepare"

"Fine, just be careful out there!"- Okura got up and left the living room

There is something I need to do today, Petra and Mitsude, I need to visit them

The guild:

"You are here!"- Mitsude spoke in a surprised voice, her face was pale and her eyes wide

"Yes, is there something wrong?"

"No, I am surprised you came here, that you are alive"- Mitsude got closer to me, she held my hand and dragged me into the library room of the guild, the room where I got the tattoo when I reincarnated here, Petra was there sorting books

"Sister, he is alive"- Petra's hand seem to go limp when she heard this, she slowly turned around to see me

"Look at this, he is alive"- Her face was different, more facial expression than before

"Yes, I want to tell you something"- I moved closer to Petra

"I already know about the king and what you had done. Thank you, Daisuke, this freed demi-humans from slavery. What about Emiko?"- Petra put her hands on my shoulders

"I will go after her, I came here to ask you to train her, take care of her along with Senri. Since the 4 heroes council is busy, and I won't be around too much, so please, just take care of her!"

"Don't worry, she is in good hands."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Mitsude, it's very vague, the amount of time, I don't know either it might take a few weeks, a few months or even a year"

"Why so much?"- Both Mitsude and Petra shouted

"Great Sage told me this"

"Great Sage, look this ability won't allow things like this, Daisuke, are you hiding something? Great Sage abilities don't allow you to gather much information"- Petra looked concerned

"Yes, kinda, the Great Sage skill is actually a blessing from a god with the same name, that skill allows him to control and communicate with, he gave me this indestructible knife that can cut anything, he talks in my head giving me info and everything I need, he manages my skills as well. All the info I had until now was because of him telling it, he is like a handbook for an easier life here. Aside from that, he gave me more blessings, the infinity and memento mori, which allows me to revive if I die or revive others, but it takes a lot of time to recharge when used on others. Sorry for keeping this from you"- To my shock their ears perked up in curiosity

"No, there is a rule in this world, that the people blessed by gods can use their blessings on others, but it's very limited, your god, Great Sage, he is pretty obscure, we don't know where he came from, but we know that he can destroy this entire world with ease, yet he abides by the rules of our world, he can do so much, but he doesn't. He seems pretty different from most gods too, he is more human in thinking than godlike. That's what I heard, can we talk to him?"- They want to talk with Great Sage?

"Ok. Great Sage?"- My left hand reached to pull a part of my hair over my right eye, my body got the same limp feeling again

"What did you want to talk to me?"- Mitsude and Petra looked in disbelief as Great Sage spoke

"You are a he?"

"Yes"- Whenever Great Sage takes control or speak my body does not give reaction, smiling, crying etc., I still feel the emotion but can't do the reaction

"So, why did you come to this world?"- Petra and Mitsude grabbed chairs and sat on them in front of me

"In my world, I was exiled for genocide, there isn't a method that can be used to kill me, I tried all of them, nothing works, my body just regenerates all the way. With no way to die, the only enjoyable thing is to travel and help people"

"Aren't you a god of calamity?"

"Yes, that doesn't mean that I enjoy death and destruction."

"You don't?"- Mitsude and Petra stared at me with a surprised face

"So, why did you kill those people?"

"It was needed, we had a similar situation to what you have here, my species of monsters was hunted by humans, we were driven almost to extinction in our world, this was the only thing that I could have done at that time"

"Well, from the gods that I spoke to in the past, most with your title enjoyed destruction and chaos, you are a novelty. So how did you meet Daisuke?"

"Well, I stumble using my portal skills, saw that bitch Sara being obnoxious as ever, kicked her in my dimension and then talked to him. That's how"

"Well, thank you for your time"- Feeling returned to my body again

2 days later:

The council of 4 heroes, the form of government that replaced the old monarchy, decided to exile me to make my story more credible, I was on the road to head to the demon village Senri walked with me for a bit

"Daisuke"- Senri grabbed my arm, turning me around

"What is it?"

"Be safe, ok?"- She wrapped her arms around me, I did the same, a small giggle can be heard from her

"Yes, don't worry, I will try"- Senri still didn't let me go from her grasp

"Look, Daisuke, there is something that I really need to tell you"

"Tell it already then"

"I love you"- Senri leaned closer to my ear whispering

"Why, what?"

"You don't remember anything, do you?"

"I don't. All the months I had been here were a blur"

"Maybe one day you can remember"

"I am sorry"

"Doesn't matter. Just come back home safe"

"Thank you, Senri, for everything. I promise to be back safe and sound"

Well, aside from Haruhime, Senri is the 2nd person to tell me this. Why do I keep losing memories?

"It's because of me, Daisuke. Not directly, but it's kinda my fault"

"How?"

"Well, a human can't have more than 1 blessing from a god. You have 3, it begins to deteriorate your memory and some mental faculties."

"So?"

"That's why you needed a long time to get used to me controlling you, the effect weren't immediate but more of a slow burn"

"So, the fact that my body can't take more than 1 blessing is the reason I forgot most of the stuff?"

"Exactly"