A way to the Brutes Heart

Inside the small dark room a little tussle took place before qucikly stopping.

Pleiades stood still for a moment, his hand still gripping Regis' tail, feeling the wolf squirm slightly beneath his grasp.

Regis, finally settling down, rolled over onto his back with a dramatic sigh, peering up at Pleiades with mock indignation.

"That was uncalled for, you know."

Pleiades raised an eyebrow, still catching his breath from the sudden tussle. "You shoved me first. What did you expect?"

"A bit more grace with your fall, maybe?" Regis retorted, flashing a toothy grin as he flipped back onto his paws and shook himself off.

Pleiades couldn't help but smirk at the wolf's antics. "Grace isn't your strong suit either, remember?" he shot back, eyeing the wolf's relatively small frame.

Regis snorted, padding further into the room to explore the unfamiliar surroundings. >>This place reeks of… hmmm, nothing actually, just really old.<<

The room they got was tiny with stone walls and a single, narrow window that was closed with wooden shutters and draped in thick cloth, just like all the other windows in the castle.

Pleiades looked around the room and wasn't really surprised at the drab decorations. There was a bed with a straw mattress, a flimsy chest, and a tiny desk. On the desk, there was a basin filled with water, a few strips of clean cloth, and an oil lamp.

Approaching the lamp, he touched the body of the oil lamp in an attempt to turn it on, but the mechanism didn't work.

Letting go of the lamp, he looked at the bed and saw that Regis had already taken the bed for himself. Moving in a circle around the bed, Regis laid down and yawned.

"You don't mind sleeping on the floor, right?" Pleiades humored him and took a seat on the chair.

"I'll let you have it for the short amount of time we're here, I guess." Not caring to answer, Regis closed his eyes and hummed softly.

He started to absorb essence from the surroundings and began to fill his core.

Even though it was already pretty much full, there was still a bit of space left, and taking essence from the atmosphere wasn't as saturating as taking essence from pleiade' core directly.

Deep in thought, Pleiades looked at the exoskeleton and clothes before summoning the [Covetous Luggage]. Standing up, he crammed the exoskeleton inside first.

He then took out the shards from the clothes and put the clothes inside along with the one supreme soul shard.

Putting the soul shards on the desk, they rattled, which drew Regis' attention.

Almost jumping to his feet, Regis hopped off the bed and got back up on his hind legs, putting his paws on the desk.

Sniffing the shards excitedly, he looked at Pleiades and involuntarily wagged his tail.

"You really are a dog. You almost look cute." Regis frowned, his ears drooped, but Pleiades gave him the signal, and he immediately hopped onto the desk and began eating.

Taking the chance, Pleiades lay on the excuse for a bed and sighed in relaxation.

(So, should I take control?)

[Well, I was planning to go out and reach a cathedral.]

Sunny waited for a bit before responding, (Is that the one you said was guarded by a fallen devil?)

Lazily nodding, Pleiades rolled over and took a peek at the closed window, really curious about what the view looked like.

[I think it'll be safer for us to go there. Now that I made quite the scene, people will naturally grow suspicious of the newcomers and mybe try to interrogate us.]

(Even though you made yourself bigger than my body?)

[Well, your stature was already eye-catching for all the wrong reasons, so I really had no choice. I mean, we're probably shorter than most 15-year-olds.]

(You mean well-fed 15-year-olds. I would have been plenty big and handsome if I was fed nicely.)

Sounding a little regretful, Sunny remembered the tough times he went through but shook them off. Pleiades just cleared his throat uncomfortably.

>>You've survived things that would break most people. Respect.<< Regis added sympathetically, finished with his meal.

He then tottered on the ground and gave Pleiades a weird look.

"What? I have compassion as well." Pleiades looked bewildered, and Sunny shared in the feeling.

(To think he has a nor… somewhat normal amount of empathy.)

[Yeah, I'm just as surprised.]

Offended by such statements, Regis snorted before responding, "At least I'm not a cuck without my own body."

Pleiades immediately slouched and muttered a response, "Not like I had a choice."

Unwilling to do nothing for so long, Pleiades got up from the bed and approached the window. Regis sighed, and his body fluctuated before entering Pleiades' body.

Having little concern for the consequences of opening the windows during the night, Pleiades took the cloth off the window and opened the wooden shutters with a creak.

Met with the looming crimson spire, chills ran down his spine before he unlatched the hook on the window.

Opening it up, he crouched on the window frame and looked down at the long way down.

Switching POVs with a raven on the outskirts, he switched places with a piece of tattered wood, and his feet touched the ground.

Covering the shroud with some of the cloth he had ripped from the window, he dressed himself as badly as he could and took shelter in a corner of one of the ownerless homes, sitting on the ground.

With clear focus, he concentrated and began to imagine two medium-sized barrels. Creating them was rather straining, but with the new [Promised Victory], he was actually able to take the steps in creating the barrels so that he could use as little essence as possible.

The barrels reached his ribs and were covered with a lid. The barrels were made out of plain wooden planks connected by six hoops—one on the head, another in the middle, and the last at the bottom.

Summoning the [Sublime Banquet], he took hold of it with great effort and began to focus on creating wine.

The wine poured into the first barrel, and when it was almost full, he switched to the next and filled it to the brim.

Dismissing the memory, he closed the barrels and put them into the luggage with minimum effort. With the body of a human at its peak and further enhanced with three cores, it was relatively easy.

Finding Effie's location, he saw that she was in her little cabin.

Letting the luggage follow him, Pleiades went through the unpopulated street and headed to her home.

After a few minutes of walking, he was already standing in front of her door. Opening the lid of the luggage, he took out the two barrels and dismissed the memory.

Following this, he knocked on the door and waited for a response. Regis manifested and sniffed the barrels over before scratching the iron hoops.

"You want a sip or something?" he questioned playfully, and he looked the barrels over.

"I wonder... think I can get drunk?" Pleiades observed without saying anything and mulled over it for a bit before shrugging.

"Maybe, but since you have the body of a shadow, I'd think you don't have the organs to even consume it properly." Audibly whining, he stretched before laying down and resting his head on his paws.

With Effie not responding, he knocked slightly harder. This time, he finally heard a response—some silent words that grew louder and clearer as she approached the door.

Swinging the door open, she looked down, and once she spotted him, she calmed down slightly.

"Hmm, hey doofus, how do you know where I live?" Scratching her head, Pleiades didn't answer verbally, but his gaze did wander slightly.

The reason? She was completely nude.

(WHAT THE HELL! DO THE PEOPLE HERE HAVE NO DECENCY?) Sunny panicked, and Pleiades just shrugged without much to say.

Regis peered one of his eyes open, and once he spotted her, his eyes bulged out and his mouth dropped, either in shock or excitement.

"Hey, Effie, got you the barrels as promised." He patted one of the barrels, and her attention immediately turned to them.

Almost completely ignoring him, she approached the barrels, opened both lids, and took in the sweet aroma.

Looking at him in excitement, she roared with joy. "I can't believe you actually brought them!" she said again, grinning like a child who had just unwrapped the best gift ever.

Her enthusiasm was infectious, and Pleiades couldn't help but smile a little despite the strange situation.

Pleiades patted his chest proudly and said with a bit of restraint, "I never go back on my word, and I make sure to go above and beyond, in fact."

Effie, still beaming, turned her attention to him for just a moment. "You've definitely earned my respect for this one, doofus." She gave him a quick once-over before turning back to the barrels, clearly more interested in them than in any conversation.

'She still decided to call me doofus, fate really is a cruel mistress.' Pleiades thought inwardly.

Regis, finally recovering from his earlier shock, padded up beside Pleiades, his voice low and mischievous. >>You know... I'm starting to like this place.<<

[You would] Pleiades thought back, still keeping his gaze respectfully averted as Effie examined her prize.

(How are you both so casual with this?) Sunny was completely confused and a little hesitant to even look.

[Well, you know, she's just naked. Nothing really all that special. Maybe you're the pervert… after Regis, of course.] Sunny just stammered in response and refrained from even talking, clearly flustered beyond words.

Effie let out another joyful laugh, completely unaware of the awkwardness her appearance had caused.

She moved to the second barrel, her eyes gleaming with anticipation as she opened it and took another deep breath.

"Oh, this is perfect!" she practically purred.

Pleiades, trying to keep things on track, nodded. "Well, enjoy it. Just remember, this was a one-time thing. Unless you decide to help me in the future, you won't get this kind of thing anywhere else."

Effie waved him off dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. For this? I'll make sure you're set with whatever you need in return."

With that, she turned back to the barrels, completely absorbed in her newfound treasure. Pleiades took it as his cue to leave, gesturing for Regis to follow.

As they turned to go, Regis couldn't resist one last parting remark. >>Next time, we're sticking around for the afterparty.<<

Pleiades shot him a glare. [Try to keep your tongue in your mouth for once, will you?]

Next Chapter: Cathedral under the Black Skies