Chapter 72 - Introducing… Panko!

<p>"So, Dark Seeds. They usually occur naturally, but there are a few cases of people 'artificially' causing Dark Seeds to form, though there's no proven science to it. All the information there is about it is that it's believed to be loosely related to extremely strong negative emotions."<br/><br/> "No shit," I say, my voice drowning in sarcasm, and the mayor chuckles. "I do enjoy your sense of humor," he states, before continuing.<br/><br/> "Yes, as I'm sure you know, they also blossom with those negative emotions, once the Seed has matured enough to do so. Was there a change in your mood, something malicious in your dreams, or random spurts of seemingly bad luck?"<br/><br/> I wasn't sure if my clumsiness could be simply classified as bad luck, as it felt much more complicated than that. But, the malicious dreams struck a chord within me. "Uh, yeah. I have shitty dreams sometimes. That was connected?"<br/><br/> He nods. "That's a definite sign of growing maturity, and having seen your fight, I know you were consumed. How strange." He peers at me in interest, before catching his train of thought. "Yes, usually the Dark Seed spreads throughout the heart and brain, and it usually corrodes all sense of reason and wit. Not only did you come back from THAT, you were able to speak while it was corrupting you. Maybe your status as a Sword Saint counteracts some effects of the Seed? How did a Saint get seeded, anyhow?"<br/><br/> "At least that wasn't the WORST way you could have worded it…" I mutter. "I don't know. Maybe getting forcibly thrown into another world so suddenly isn't the healthiest for you."<br/><br/> He shakes his head. "It only takes three months at maximum for any trauma to fade within a newborn's mind, and for a Reincarnate's mind to adjust to their new age."<br/><br/> I give him a quizzical look. "I wasn't born into this world. I've been here for like, a month."<br/><br/> He tilts his head in confusion. "Like, in Peino?"<br/><br/> I shake my head. "In Puria."<br/><br/> He hops onto his feet, tangling one of his fingers in his mustache. "The fuck?!"<br/><br/> "Woah there, buddy. Is it that strange?"<br/><br/> Eniyala butts in. "I told you it was. You should see how screwed up his Statbook is."<br/><br/> Kie gives me a curious look, and with a sigh I enable temporary viewership for him. He yelps, jumping away. "How very strange!!"<br/><br/> "Sure, I guess…"<br/><br/> "So you're even more of a special kind of Reincarnate, I see," the man says, appearing deep in thought. He suddenly shakes his head clear. "My apologies. Allow me to continue informing you."<br/><br/> "The most up-to-date rumors are that a cult worshiping Yamistro, the God of Darkness and Death, are spreading Dark Seeds throughout the land in order to create enough fear and strife with new demons that can eventually restore the Original Demons, who would then bring back the Demon Lord themself."<br/><br/> "That sounds… Not good," I say, finding my vocabulary to be lacking at this very moment.<br/><br/> "Yeah 'not good,' genius," Eniyala drives home the point with a scoff.<br/><br/> "If the Sword Saint was forced to pick a successor… Then maybe there is some truth to these rumors."<br/><br/> "Hey wait, forced? I don't think she was pressured—"<br/><br/> "Good point!" Eniyala interrupts. "I was wondering why someone like him was picked. She had no other choice for a dying profession."<br/><br/> Giving up, I pout quietly in my bed until Eniyala has had her share of fun, while the clueless mayor nods thoughtfully at her words. 'Come on, you didn't have to take her seriously!' I think helplessly.<br/><br/> Finally, she quits, a hidden smirk in her eyes. I subtly flip her off where the mayor can't see and lean forward. "So, what, the Demon Lord is returning, and I'm supposed to stop it? That's… really cliché. I just hope this isn't some novel, 'cause that would be one boring plot."<br/><br/> Although it's clear he's confused by most of what I've said, Kie simply responds to the first part. "Not quite. If that is truly going to come true, the other Gods and former Saints would lead the other succeeding Saints to meet one another. Until you run into the others, you should be free to adventure and live your story, your way. And if you all do meet each other, the gates will be open to you all. I am not naîve or greedy enough to ignore an omen like that."<br/><br/> "Also, your Dark… Sprout, should we call it? Shouldn't give you many problems as long as you don't have another incident involving too many negative thoughts or feelings at once."<br/><br/> I nod silently, pondering all of his words. He smiles at my face, clasping his hands behind his back. 'How mayorly.'<br/><br/> "Well, I shall take my leave now," he says, heading for the door. "I hope I will be able to amply provide proper gratitude through the city's services."<br/><br/> "Wait! Before you go, how many Saints are there, then?"<br/><br/> He gives me a bright, yet somehow chilling smile. "Other than you, there are four more — the Mage, the Cleric, the Tank, and the Archer. There was also a True Bard, and an Assassin 'Demon,' but the Bard has passed his legacy to the College, and Assassins tend to be loners, if there are any more of them. The first Assassin betrayed his party and fought alongside the Demon Lord, but his immediate successor supposedly defied him and chose a different route than darkness and betrayal."<br/><br/> Eniyala gives him a strange look, while I shudder internally. "I've never heard anything about the Assassin Demon's successor?" she asks.<br/><br/> He gives her a wink. "I like to do my research when I'm not swamped with political work, dear. Now, if that's all, I must be on my way."<br/><br/> We both nod, and he gives us one last somehow unnerving smile before exiting. <br/><br/> As the doors shut, Eni lightly snickers. "How embarrassingly arrogant you are. You thought you were the only Saint? And the only Saint being the Sword Saint, no less? Sometimes, it is endlessly entertaining to see how dumb you can get."<br/><br/> On the other hand, Lynsel breaks out of his 'deer in headlights' stupor and rushes over. "Are ya okay?? Does anythin' hurt? Ya aren't goin ta lose it again, are ya?"<br/><br/> However, their overlapping voices pass in one ear and out the other as I contemplate the strange Mana I had seen.<br/><br/> While everyone's Mana had a specific color (other than Lynsel, whose thin Mana veins looked like an Aurora Borealis), the mayor's was clear. <br/><br/> Yet, with those creepy smiles, I could've sworn there was a hint of black with them. 'No, I must've just been seeing things,' I reassure myself, brushing it off.<br/><br/> Suddenly, the weight of it all caught up with me: Seeing all the Mana around me, the new information I had gained, including things about me, and seeing again the state Raeki was in — all sent my stomach into reverse overdrive, and in an uncomfortable flip bile raced out of my throat.<br/><br/> As if expecting it, Eniyala flips a switch, grabbing the nearby trash and putting it in front of me right on time to catch my vomit. She pats my back comfortingly until I finish, then sets the can aside and helps me lie down. 'It's like a whole motherly vibe I didn't know she had,' I wonder as she asks Lynsel to get me some water. The big man is quick to oblige, and from the green on his face that nearly matches his hair it's not hard to figure out why. <br/><br/> I stare at the ceiling blankly, feeling unconsciousness taking over. The mayor's words echo within my mind as my eyes slowly shut.<br/><br/> "No more incidents," I mutter sluggishly as I fall asleep once more.<br/><br/>* * *<br/><br/> It turns out, when you sleep 16 hours and the day is almost over, you end up sleeping through almost half of the next day. Who woulda thunk?<br/><br/> On the bright side, my dreams weren't nightmares. Well, they were just that same feeling of sinking forever through darkness, but startling awake to a small figure bouncing on my bed broke me free of that. 'It couldn't be…'<br/><br/> And it wasn't. <br/><br/> When I opened my eyes, I saw not a blue haired boy excited to see me, but a small golden girl holding a small yellow-and-orange rocky ball in her hands. "Mister Luke!"<br/><br/> "Heh. It's about time you knew my actual name, Taisha. Wait, what are you doing here?"<br/><br/> Ignoring my question, the child gasps. "You have a secret identity, Mister Luke?! Tell me tell me tell me!"<br/><br/> With each "tell me!" she bounced on my stomach. My injuries felt much better, but that didn't mean I wasn't feeling a shooting pain up into my right shoulder every time she landed on my belly. To remedy this, I caught the small girl under her armpits and swung her around, causing her to giggle as I spun my legs out of the bed, setting her down on the floor. "What's that? Food for me to eat?" I ask, faking an evil laugh, and she holds the ball close to her chest with a scowl. <br/><br/> "No! It's a gift for you, but you have to promise not to eat it or I'll never ever ever ever never cheer for you again, got it?"<br/><br/> I hold my hands up defensively. "Alright, I promise. Can't lose my number one fan. By the way, what are you doing here?"<br/><br/> She ignores my question again and holds the ball out for me to take. As I go to grab it, it suddenly unfurls, and a small face pops out to peer at me curiously. "Woah!" I exclaim, carefully slipping my hands over the girl's to hold the animal. "Hi there."<br/><br/> "My pet that you saved, Yellie, had babies," the girl says proudly, puffing her chest out. "And I heard you helped save the town I live in, so I decided to give you one 'cause Gramps said I can only keep one!"<br/><br/> "Well, I have to accept then, don't I? Also, you may live in this town, but what are you doing HERE?"<br/><br/> She giggles. "My sister let me in! I made her," she says with an evil grin. "I told her if she doesn't let me give you your gift right away, I'll tell Gramps about the time she—"<br/><br/> The door is thrown open, and the sassy healer from before storms in. "You can't tell him either!" She shrieks, her face bright red in embarrassment.<br/><br/> In the midst of the two sisters arguing, the baby animal and I stare blankly at the two, unsure how to react. 'How does Taisha have a hand in everything?? Either she's got incredibly horrid luck like me, or her luck is so good it's just… bad.'<br/><br/> "Hmph! I'm gonna tell Mister Luke anyway!"<br/><br/> "I told you, his name isn't… Lew… kuh, and I swear to Luzieni, if you tell him…"<br/><br/> "She's right, my name's Klum," I interject, not allowing her to finish her sentence. "Secret identity revealed. Boom."<br/><br/> Taisha's eyes sparkle as she grins smugly in victory at her sister. "I found out his secret identity first," she says. The other woman rolls her eyes and ignores the comment. "Are you guys done? If so, scram before Grandpa finds you here."<br/><br/> "Too late," the old man replies from behind her, making the siblings jump in fright.<br/><br/> Thanks to my 'broken' eye seeing Mana around me, I was surprised to see that I could see him through the wall approaching, but I obviously didn't have the space to get a word in before he arrived. <br/><br/> 'If I can get used to it, it might end up being pretty helpful,' I note to myself.<br/><br/> "It is good to see you again, 'Klum,'" he says with a chuckle. "I see you've gotten one of the baby Crested Rollers as a gift. Do you have a name for it?"<br/><br/> "Good to see you too, old man," I reply. "Actually, I do have a name, other than Old Man," he cuts in. "It's L—"<br/><br/> "You know, I think I like the name Panko for this li'l guy," I finished, without hearing his reply. The small armadillo-like animal looks up at me, it's small pink eyes having a clear smile within them. 'Glad you like it, buddy.'<br/><br/> Getting my first good look at the creature, I see that unlike its Earthen lookalike, it has longer legs suited for what I assumed was running, and armor that matched the one upon its back coating certain areas of each leg. The tail was quite long, with squarish spikes that matched the asymmetrical back of the pet running along the top. The face of the cute animal was small and flat with more 'spikes' on its top, while the rest had the cute features of an armadillo's face, just a slightly wider and shorter snout.<br/><br/> "D'aww," I couldn't help but coo, scratching under Panko's soft chin. It makes a sound that sounds like a mix between the chirping of a bird and a purring kitten, and I grin. "Yeah, we're gonna get along."<br/><br/> The elderly Dwarf finally gives up on telling me his name, instead giving me a slightly exasperated smile. "Well, we'll be on our way now, won't we, Taisha, Tavina?" He says to the two girls, and they nod. Tavina points to a stack of clothing on the bedside. "While you were asleep, I laid up your clothes for you. You can leave whenever, you freak of nature," she says, leaving quickly. Taisha gives me and Panko a big wave. "See you guys later!"<br/><br/> I wave as the three of them exit, locking eyes with Panko.<br/><br/> "Well, buddy, you ready to go on and get out of here?"<br/><br/> Panko gives a tiny jump in response. "Yip!"<br/><br/> I smile. "My thoughts exactly."</p>