Chapter 29

If only it were truly that simple to locate the herbs.

K: (This much should have been expected... The majority here are elderly too, so the demand for medicine is much lower than towns with healthier folk.)

Katachi's head drooped a little as he walked back towards the orange tree. Earlier that morning, he thoroughly scoured the South end of Rulid in search of Mestiel in the district. However, Rulid was a small town with minimal forms of prospering commerce, therefore the chances of an open apothecary were marginal, to begin with. As a result, he ended up wasting most of his time searching around pointlessly.

K: (I'm hungry, I'm tired, my dry rations are running out and the medicine shortage's dog-piling on... Good grief, I got this disoriented over a lady whose name I don't even know. What am I doing with my precious time? At least my shirt isn't that dirty because I rolled backward with the bag strapped on so I can wear this for a few more days. As for the bag, dusting the sand off should suffice... ?)

The abandoned house was vacated. He wasn't expecting the slender lady's absence, certainly not when she was unwell. His groundsheet and bag were still laying in the corner. However, her belongings were still inside the house, which suggested that she would return. But that was only true if she was not the ditzy type to forget her own luggage.

K: (She's not here? If she's already awake and able to walk away then she should be capable of handling herself. Maybe she's the type to recover fast like that- Oh no. Oh dear me. That's not good at all.)

Katachi carefully walked towards his bag and took out a wooden hook along with a net of sorts.

*** ***

Roberia leaned against a bench in central Rulid with her left hand pressing against the wound on her side. Her headstrong personality would not allow the numbing pain to hinder her pride, certainly not when she was imposing on him with her presence. As she struggled away she continuously held nothing but spite towards the child.

R: (Being saved by the likes of him... This goes far beyond damaging my pride. He doesn't even see me as a threat. What kind of powerful leader am I supposed to be if I can't make a fearful impact on my enemies?)

Her bandage was coming apart but she pressed against it with her forearm to keep it in place.

R: (I don't want to rely upon that kind of power Father's using to protect Rugnud. Using magic to enhance the physical self does not befit the image Rugnud should bear. Luck will run out just as the gold in mines, the water in wells and the trees in a forest.)

She slowly made her way into the old blacksmith's shop.

R: (I have to become stronger.)

The wooden chime at the top of the door clacked together melodiously as the door was opened.

"Hello again miss, how'd you like the flail?"

Roberia's eyes darted off to a side in disappointment. She didn't want to disappoint the blacksmith by saying his craft failed to perform ideally in the situation, but she could use his valuable consultation.

R: "It's a nice weapon. I really like it, you see, but I need something with more power and weight to it."

"You certainly don't sound pleased. Is there something wrong?"

R: "I thought the enemy was using a magic that increased the weight of my weapon, which would make the flail that much deadlier. But it turns out that the magus used a magic that can lock a weapon in place, making it completely immovable."

"I see. And what would you like, then?"

R: "I want a weapon with many separable parts. Ideally, it should be one with a good weight that can render that magic useless at the same time, the kind that can break down and chip off bit by bit, so even if he tries to seal the weapon I can simply remove the immobile part from the body."

"A weapon that chips off deliberately, hmm? It sounds a little tricky, but I'll give it a shot. Give me a day or so and I'll see what I can fix up for you."

R: "Here's payment."

Roberia emptied the pouch of gold onto the table top. What fell out easily dwarfed gold pieces or ores of silver that most merchants held – Fifteen rare, high-grade Regal coins manufactured a long time ago, back when Rugnud barely started thriving on ores and minerals. Those precious coins, with only 1307 of them left intact, was supposed to be a form of saving grace should the situation turn too bleak to resolve with one's might alone. Each individual coin held immense value both in the historical and monetary sense.

"Whoa-ho-ho! That's way too much even for the weapon, miss!"

R: "Keep it. Consider it as a form of gratitude for your immeasurable service."

"In that case, I shall accept only five. Times are hard enough, miss. Just a few of these Adamantiff and Brusetellian coins like these can grace my grandchildren with unbound wealth. Besides, there's only so much I can do with the minimal ores I have anyway."

R: "I understand."

Roberia picked up the coins and dropped them back into the pouch.

"Good luck defeating that magus, Your Highness."

The blacksmith winked at her as he prepared the furnace. The coins may as well be a dead give-away to her actual identity. Roberia exited the house of Pybuit, the retired blacksmith who once held the title of Rugnud's Pride.

*** ***

Katachi laid out his items over the floor and began sorting out his inventory.

K: (First things first, let's clear the bag of anything that might be trapped within.)

He turned the bag upside down and a few grains of sand and dust fell from the bag with a 'puff' sound. To his relief, nothing else was inside. There was no need to fear or worry about injuring or killing anything by accident.

K: (Good. Right then, clothes in first, the new shoes next and then the pebble inside the shoe. The water pouches are clean so I can stuff them inside as well. After that, the rope- ?)

A rustling came from outside the house. Katachi turned his head and greeted the red-haired girl with a brief wave of his hand. To his chagrin, she clicked her tongue and snapped at him.

R: "... Tch. You're here?"

K: (The first sight of me and she's already aggressive?) "You could at least thank me for letting you use the groundsheet."

For some reason, Katachi didn't feel shy at all when talking to her compared to Bael – But looking back, her monstrous strength probably blew away the illusion of a delicate woman in his eyes. It was apparent that he tried to reason with her by treating her as an equal.

R: "... Thank you for the-! Where's my bag?"

K: "Oh, that? I hung it on the wall there."

Katachi stuck out his thumb and pointed at the general direction behind him. Her belongings were dangling upon a thin net latched onto a hook wedged in a crack running along the wall.

K: "There were ants about the floor and you probably wouldn't like them crawling about, so I kept it off the ground."

R: (He touched my stuff!? It's a good thing that I kept the regal coins with me.) "Gh..."

K: "They crawled into mine too. I had to flap out every shirt to make sure they weren't in them because I went to hang your bag first-"

R: "Don't touch my bag."

Katachi's eyes widened at the cold, monotonous and malicious response.

R: (He's strangely bubbly today. Why would he care if ants went into my bag?)

K: (She seems really unhappy. Her bag must be precious to her as well. I need to restrain myself.) "... Sorry."

Katachi had gotten overexcited for a moment there over having small talk with someone in two weeks – So much that he was actually getting friendly with her and neglecting the danger that came with her presence. Though, for those who knew better, that exchange between them could scarcely be called a proper conversation.

R: (Now that I think about it, I don't know how he's holding out. He's trying to save resources for his family but I don't know if he's starving himself for them. It's not ethical to pick on him when he's struggling, and I'm being bothersome wasting his time and resource. To exhaust and starve an enemy before beating them is cowardly.) "... Hey."

K: "Yes?"

R: (His head's turning naturally. He's not even the slightest bit wary of me? That is somewhat vexing.) "Have you any food?"

K: "No, I was about to go get something once I repack everything here."

R: (So he'll be fine, huh? Good.) "I see."

Roberia walked towards her bag and placed the pouch dangling on her side into the bag. She undid the net, saddled the knapsack on her back and walked out of the house.

*** ***

It was truly a strange sight to see a child apologize so earnestly to a tree. Katachi picked yet another orange to eat.

K: "I am sorry. I am truly, truly sorry. I've searched for alternate sources of food as much as I could but nothing else turned up. Please bear with me."

Apologies lost effectiveness the more it was used, but it was all he could give. He quietly uttered his prayers and indulged in the round fruit once more.

*** ***

Roberia went to a watering hole and ordered some food and ale.

R: (He didn't even tense up in fear of me being there. Am I not terrifying in his eyes? Am I just a bully who picks on the slow and gullible, foolish enough to believe that I am worthy of ruling Rugnud simply by being the strongest among the weak?)

Yet the child, if anything, showed her a world beyond.

R: (But I can't blame him for this misfortune. He's put into perspective the possible trials I will have to face from here on, and this won't be the only time I'm stumped. I should take this chance to plan my next steps carefully.)

Roberia gulped and chugged the ale down to wash away her sorrows.

*** ***

As the two carried out their activities for the day, twilight had long since faded. After an arduous day of fruitless searching, inventory reorganization and scavenging, Katachi tucked himself under the groundsheet once again and made sure his arms and legs were snugly fit and warm.

Before he could fall into light slumber something was heard outside the abandoned house. Someone was coughing and in suffocating pain. Katachi looked out through the door and saw a silhouette of someone with familiar hair vomiting on the orange tree roots.

K: (Is it food poisoning?!) "! Wha- Where have you been?"

R: "I could have another mug and another!"

She gagged and puked once again on the previously vomited patch of grass next to the orange tree.

K: (She's been out drinking?) "Segus bless you..."

Katachi held her by her biceps and dragged her into the house. Of course, this was not without resistance.

R: "Another round, another round! I want to drink!!"

Roberia struggled and twisted about in her unsightly stupor. The act made Katachi's attempt to help her significantly harder considering his size.

K: "Just... Come inside first, please!" (Good lord, her breath smells like ale! How much did she down?!)

He laid her across the groundsheet and checked her face for pain.

K: (Her face is red probably from drinking, other than that she looks fine. Her temperature's a bit high... An orange should help.) "Wait for me, I'll get an orange."

Katachi picked the fourth orange from the tree outside and peeled it carefully before placing a slice into her mouth.

R: "Nnngh... I don't want any..."

Katachi made sure she chewed the flesh and swallowed, took another slice-

R: "I said, I don't want any!"

Roberia smacked the orange out of his hands in annoyance. It was slight and subtle, but he heard Roberia's stomach growl just seconds after – She vomited out her food before it even got a chance to digest so she must have been hungry even when she insisted otherwise.

R: "Don't give me fruits soaked in ale! Pass me a barrel instead!"

Roberia clutched her stomach with her forearms to suppress the growl. Her persistence to drink was appalling to the young boy.

K: "Don't be so stubborn. You're hungry. Even if you don't like me, you should at least take care of yourself. Your body will weaken if you avoid proper meals."

Roberia groaned a bit out of discomfort. Katachi laid her flat onto the plain ground and picked up the orange that rolled off.

R: "Shut up... I can't... I can't afford to be weak..."

The slender girl continued her protest until she passed out from the pent-up lethargy. Katachi rested her head on his lap and fed her orange slices one by one. The alcohol fumes coming from her mouth were unbearable, but she finally ate five slices of orange before Katachi left to fetch his blanket for her. He tucked all her limbs into the blanket and glanced at her sound, sleeping face for a bit.

K: (Can't afford to be weak? She probably has it tough. Maybe she has a family to feed, being the eldest of her siblings or something. I'm just a lonely and solitary traveler on a pilgrimage hunting the Words of Power while a farmer's daughter has to become strong enough to protect her family from harm.)

There was something truly admirable about her indomitable spirit.

K: (I'm simply doing it for my own selfish reason, whereas she has probably been forced into this out of survival. May the gods guide her in her journey... And may the gods grant me the strength to help the unborn avert these cruel fates.)

Katachi carried her in his arms with much effort and gently placed her atop the groundsheet, trying his best not to stagger. The blanket was then pulled over her gently, forming a proper setup for her to rest her weary body.

K: "Good night. Segus bless you."

Katachi bid the red-haired beauty a good night's rest without expecting a response.

*** ***

K: (... I can't sleep.)

He tossed about and turned to look at Roberia's peacefully sleeping face devoid of her inexplicable hatred.

K: (I really can't sleep with her here. I feel so... So uncomfortable, knowing that someone's next to me in this room. I really want to leave now, but she has my blanket and groundsheet...)

It wasn't much of a surprise – Katachi was not accustomed to sleeping around strangers. Naturally, this was a new experience for him which he was completely unprepared for. And so out of obligation, Katachi hugged his bag for the whole night with his eyes wide open.