Chapter 25 - Waypoint

By the time Ivan and Thoma returned to the Kamisato Mansion, the sun started encroaching upon the horizon. Both of them looked worn out. Their clothes retained the tatters of battle, and their faces bore traces of exhaustion. 

"Want to eat something here before you head back to the shrine?" Thoma asked.

"Yeah, if that's alright."

"It shouldn't be a problem. I'll whip something up real quick."

"Thanks, man. I'm not the best cook, but I can at least return the favor by buying you food in town sometime."

"Haha! Sure."

Ignoring the guards' curious gazes that focused on their somewhat tattered clothes, the two of them entered the estate. Inside, they ran into Ayaka on their way toward the kitchen. She was quietly eating alone in the dining room. Upon seeing them, her eyes widened a little. Then, she gently set down her chopsticks, stood up, and greeted Ivan with a proper bow.

"Welcome back, you two. Hopefully your quest went well today."

"Thank you, Milady. It… went well enough, I guess."

"Yep," Ivan agreed with a subtle nod, "Thanks for the welcome, Ayaka, but don't mind me."

Ayaka nodded and asked, "Would you two like to join me for dinner?"

Ivan smiled and instantly answered, "Definitely."

"I'll go cook something real quick," Thoma said. "You can wait here for me if you'd like, Ivan."

"Works for me."

Nodding, Thoma walked through a sliding door into a large kitchen. Meanwhile, Ivan joined Ayaka in sitting at the admittedly large dining table. Seated directly across from the young lady, Ivan happily rested his legs. A tired sigh slipped from his lips. 

Ayaka's eyes shifted to the side in a dodgy manner, then back at Ivan, then to the side again. Then back at Ivan.

Upon noticing her weird gaze, his brows furrowed. He lifted the collar of his shirt and sniffed it a few times. Brow wrinkling, he apologized, "Sorry if I don't smell the best right now. Would hate to ruin your appetite."

Ayaka immediately shook her head and quickly replied, "It is fine."

"You haven't started eating again, though. If it's really bothering you, then maybe I could borrow a bath or something?"

"Please don't worry about it," Ayaka replied, waving her hands in denial. "I simply do not wish to be rude by eating in front of you while you have nothing."

Shrugging, Ivan said, "If you say so. No point letting your food go cold, though."

Ayaka's brows lowered a little, and she hesitantly looked down at her food. Then, she grabbed her chopsticks and deftly picked up a piece of grilled fish. Before bringing it to her mouth, she looked back up at Ivan and saw him smiling at her. 

"I will just wait until Thoma returns with food for you."

"Hm…"

"Is something wrong?"

"As much as I appreciate your politeness, I'm kinda hoping you can treat me more like a friend and be less formal."

"..."

Ayaka's face scrunched up a little as though puzzled by his statement.

'Do some friends act less formal with each other?' She asked herself internally.

A second or two later, she nodded firmly and took a bite of her food. Ivan chuckled when she did.

"How did your quest go, Ivan?" Ayaka asked before taking a second bite.

"Not bad, but I owe Thoma at least a few meals for helping me out so much. Would've been tough without him."

"I see."

"So, how was your day? Were you stuck working through documents all day?"

"...Yes," Ayaka answered after a brief pause while averting her gaze. 

There was no way she could tell him about the novels she read in the middle of the day that Lady Yae had specifically sold to her yesterday. She had no idea the Guuji could be so… risque. The main male and female leads in the novel even held hands before marriage! How degenerate! Her cheeks reddened a little just recalling it, and her eyes briefly glanced at Ivan's hands. They looked so large and rough…

Ayaka suddenly shook her head and quickly said, "I'm sure your day was far more exciting."

'What kind of weird thing is this girl thinking about? She must've done something aside from just working on documents all day, right?' Ivan wondered while amusedly observing the girl's quickly changing facial expressions. 

After that, Ivan nodded and shared a few more details about his and Thoma's misadventures. Eventually, Ayaka forgot about her food due to becoming too engrossed in his tales of fighting an army of Ronin alongside some new friends, fleeing from Lawachurls, falling off a cliff into a lake, and more. 

'Next time, I'd like to go with them. They get into too much trouble together,' Ayaka couldn't help thinking. 

Eventually, Thoma returned with some simple dishes. Ivan couldn't resist shoveling it all into his mouth due to hunger and how amazing the food tasted. 

'If I can marry a girl who cooks half as good as Thoma, I'll be the happiest man in the world.'

After dinner, Thoma showed Ivan where his bathroom was. The bath there was basically a miniature onsen. After Thoma showed Ivan where everything was, the two bathed there without any shame. The almost sulfuric scent of the water soothed Ivan's mind, and its warmth soothed his sore muscles. 

Later in the evening, Ivan bid goodbye to Ayaka and Thoma. Shortly after leaving through the front gate, an idea struck him, prompting him to stop in the middle of the road. He then turned around and searched for the Teleport Waypoint. Eventually, he found it a little off to the side of the manor. It was also somewhat hidden behind rocks and trees with no clear sightline to the estate's entrance unlike the one in the game.

'This'll be a good one to test on.'

Placing his hand on the red crystal at the top of the columnal device, he channeled elemental particles into it. A few sparks fluttered around his hand. Nothing happened.

Ivan raised a brow and rubbed his chin. After a few seconds of pondering, he wondered how the Traveler managed to activate these.

'Or maybe it was Paimon who activated them? In that case, elemental powers might not work. I'm basically a descender or whatever, though, so maybe…'

Once again, he placed his hand on the dormant red crystal. He closed his eyes and focused. 

'Energy, but no element… I might have it?'

Within his body, he felt the excitable Electro element charging through his body. His awareness of it was growing, and along with it, he was starting to sense similar energies sleeping within. Although he could tell they were there, when he tried to mentally reach out for them, they escaped his grasp. Perhaps 'escaped' was the wrong word to describe how it felt to him. It was more like he could perceive their existence, but not their actual location. Everything melded together behind a muddled and foggy veil.

He didn't know how many minutes passed while in this state, but he felt his awareness of the outside world slip away. Instead, he found himself in darkness, but a comfortable darkness different from sleep. Deep within the abyss of his mind, he eventually found a trace of energy. It was like a wisp of smoke wafting from a distant and unseen fire. In his mind's eye, the wisp almost looked like a small twig. All he could do was wave an imaginary hand through it. 

Outside his body, his closed eyelids briefly glowed with a golden hue, but only for a few milliseconds at most. In that brief moment, the Waypoint shook in response. The red crystal rang out with a crystalline echo and gradually turned dark blue. The metal device under Ivan's hand rose a little into the air and awoke him from his almost meditative state. 

Lips rising into a pleased smile upon seeing the activated waypoint, Ivan held back from celebrating. Despite his happiness, he felt weary and tired all of a sudden. He quietly pondered what he just experienced for a few moments. Then, he raised his head. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair while he silently observed the warm orange and purple colors of the evening sky. 

'It's getting late. I should head back to the shrine.'