I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated (LN) - Volume 5 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Broken Will

WE RETURNED TO THE GUILD, where Dias welcomed us. He looked exhausted.

“You’re back.”

“Hm. They said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes. It’s a long story, so please have a seat.”

“All right.”

Dias must’ve run into some kind of trouble; Fran-related trouble at that.

Fran, you should give Dias his message first.

Hm.

Fran sank into the sofa and turned to face the Guildmaster. “You have a message from Lumina: Uphold your end of the bargain.”

“Lumina?” Elza asked. “Who’s that?”

Dias sighed. “That would be a secret, Elza.”

He put his index finger to his lips. Uh-oh. I guess Elza wasn’t supposed to know. Had we goofed by mentioning Lumina now? 

“Oh, all right,” said Elza. “Fine. I’m not supposed to know.”

“Sorry about this.”

“A woman knows that every man is entitled to a few secrets.” Elza pursued the subject no further, despite her evident curiosity. She gave a playful wink, but seemed to understand Dias’s position as Guildmaster and the confidentiality that went with it.

“I’ve finished up some quests too,” said Fran.

“Did you? Let’s see then.”

“This one, and this one—”

Fran took out the files for the quests she’d finished. There were nine extermination quests in total. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the twenty-three required to rank up, because the rest were collection quests.

“May I have your guild card?”

“Hm. Here.”

“Hmm. Very impressive. You’ve finished all of your extermination quests.”

“That’s amazing, Frannie! I knew you could do it!”

The guild card recorded everything that Fran killed in the dungeon. Her progress surprised them both. Adventurers usually avoided needless encounters and steered clear of any monsters they didn’t need to kill. We, on the other hand, killed everything in sight, causing us to overshoot the extermination requirements by a dozen or so.

“Even a D-Rank party would have trouble achieving these kinds of results.”

“You must’ve gathered a lot of materials. Have you disassembled them? How are your collection quests doing?”

“I took them apart, yeah.”

We weren’t lacking there, either. I’d butchered everything while Fran was asleep.

“Can you put them over there?”

Dias pointed to a sheet that Elza had laid out. It was made of elastic, congealed slime fluids, but really, it looked like a tarp. It was even blue, since that was the color of the slime.

“Right here?”

“That’s why we brought it here. Just lay out the materials for submission.”

“Sure.”

Fran put her items on the sheet: a High Ogre horn as thick as a man’s arm; a Mimic Venomcrawler’s red and purple venom sac; and a myriad of other stuff we found in the dungeon. We had to be especially careful with the venom sacs. I didn’t think Dias and Elza would die if they burst, but painting the walls of the Guildmaster’s office with venom sounded like an awful time for everyone.

“They’re all in good condition and of high quality. You’ll turn all of this in for submission then?” asked Dias.

“Yeah.”

“All right. Together with the extermination quests, you finished a grand total of seventeen quests in the dungeon. Together with the boss extermination, you only have five quests left before you can rank-up.”

“Just a little bit more, Frannie. I believe in you!”

This final stretch was going to be the most troublesome though. The only collection quests left involved Dirty Wisps and other monsters with low encounter rates. Farming for their materials was going to take time. There weren’t many of the creatures to begin with, and they were very good at camouflage. We lucked out when that one wisp ambushed us. Actively seeking them out was going to be a pain. Finishing this batch of quests might take even longer than our last run. Not to mention Fran still needed to see Aurel, and there was still the tournament to think about. We could finish these quests after that.

Fran told Dias of our plans, but he looked pensive.

“Hmm… We would really like it if you ranked-up sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, come on,” Elza said in Fran’s defense. “Fran will be fine. The people in town know how good she is. I don’t think anyone would be dumb enough to pick a fight with her.”

“For now, yes. But you know a lot more adventurers are going to visit Ulmutt soon.”

“I guess.”

“So there you have it. Can you finish these quests soon?”

“Hm.”

We didn’t mind, but there was one problem.

“I’ll finish them if I can sign up for the tournament.”

Fran wasn’t personally invited, which meant she would have to sign up in person. Registrations opened the day after tomorrow. You could sign up at the guild, the stadium, and other approved establishments. Applicants needed to present their identification in person, and could not be represented by other parties. We didn’t know how long wrapping up these quests would take, so we wanted to apply before diving back into the dungeon.

“Oh, you won’t have to go through the trouble. We’ll sign up for you.”

“But they said I had to sign up in person.”

“As it happens, the guild has some invitations left over. Make it to C-Rank, and consider yourself cordially invited.”

Really? The guild’s invitation carried a lot of weight. You had to be strong and well-mannered to represent the guild.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re the ones rushing you through the rank-up process anyway. It’s the least we could do. So get back into that dungeon!”

Dias was acting shady. Why the sudden special treatment? Sure, we knew Klimt and Amanda personally, but doing so many favors for a mere D-Rank? It seemed suspicious. He also really wanted us to go back to the dungeon for some reason, and for an extended period of time at that.

Elza didn’t buy it either. She rested her chin on her hand and tilted her head. “You’re acting fishy, Dias.”

“Hahahaha. What are you talking about? I’m always fishy.”

“You’re fishier than usual,” said Fran.

“She’s right. What’s going on here? I can tell something’s bothering you. Are you plotting something again?”

“You’re imagining things, Elza. I assure you.”

Dias maintained his smile and composure.

“Are you sure you’re not just making Fran jump through hoops as a joke?”

“Are you?” Fran asked.

“No, no.”

Something stank all right. But I didn’t think we’d get anything out of him, even if we interrogated him all day. Elza drew close to Dias and muttered.

“You’re hiding something.”

“Uhh…heh heh. Well, you got me there.”

“It’s my woman’s intuition!”

I didn’t know how far we could trust Elza’s womanly intuition, but she did have the skill for it, and had known Dias for a long time.

It was time for our trump card.

Fran, whip it out.

“Hm!”

Fran brandished Klimt’s referral letter like a sword. I wasn’t expecting much from it, but it couldn’t hurt.

“The truth, Dias.”

“Wh-what do you think I’ve been saying all this while?”

His eyes started watering. The old man really was terrified.

“We know you’re hiding something.”

“I assure you, I am not.” His voice was warbling now. A little more pressure and we’d have him.

“I’ll tell Klimt and Amanda that you’ve been mean to me.”

“I’m sorry!”

Dias snapped into a pose of genuflection, like the A-Rank adventurer he was. He even managed to sweep the surface of his massive desk clean in the process.

“I’m so sorry! Please!”

“G-Guildmaster, get a hold of yourself! What is that letter, Frannie?”

Elza looked at Fran and then back to Dias. Little wonder, too, since the letter was enough to make Ulmutt’s Guildmaster cower in fear. An old man prostrating himself before a child was a rare sight to behold.

“Elza, do you have messenger falcons here?”

“Of course, honey.”

“Hm. I need to send a message to Kli—”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Please don’t tell on me!”

Dias’s career would be over if word got out that he’d “been mean” to Fran. If Amanda caught wind of it, his actual life would be in danger.

“Start talking.”

“Yes, all right. I was doing it for your sake, Fran. Really.”

We would be the judge of that. “Just spit it out,” Fran ordered. 

Dias sighed in resignation. “You know the influx of aristocrats visiting Ulmutt?”

“Hm.”

“It has something to do with one of them.”

“Who?”

“The Beast King.”

“Oh my! I didn’t think we’d be hosting such an important guest this year!” Elza sounded genuinely surprised. Whoever this Beast King was, he must’ve been famous.

“He’s a big deal?”

“You don’t know about him, Frannie?”

“I think I might have heard about him at some point.”

I was drawing a complete blank.

“You should learn about him,” said Elza. “Since you’re a beastman, too.”

As his title implied, the Beast King was the king of all the beastman tribes and regent of their country. All beastmen, regardless of nationality, respected him, and his influence made him a force to be reckoned with. The beastmen’s lands were in another country, but they were on friendly terms with Granzell. The Beast King visited the tournament in Ulmutt once every few years as a show of goodwill.

“He had to come this year, of all years,” Dias said.

“You don’t sound like you want him around.”

“I have my reasons. Also, we have Fran with us this year.”

“Hm?”

What was that supposed to mean? We had never met the Beast King—we didn’t even know his name. 

“I don’t have to ask you to elaborate on the strained relations between the Black Cat and Blue Cat tribes,” said Dias. “Do I?”

“Blue Cats are the enemy.”

“They’re not all bad, but…that’s a discussion for another day. Suffice to say, the Blue Cats were the first to enslave the Black Cat tribe, once upon a time. Now, there are rumors that the ancestor of the reigning Beast King had a role to play in the Black Cats’ enslavement. The king himself was Red Cat royalty, but his underlings were rumored to be Blue Cats.”

“Huh,” said Elza. “I didn’t know that.”

“Hm.”

“It’s something the beastmen would sooner forget. The subject is taboo to even mention in their country. The Beast King of that time has long since died of course. But the Blue Cats are still closely involved with the current ruler.”

Which meant there was a possibility that the Blue Cats were enslaving Black Cats under the Beast King’s orders? The theory wasn’t too far-fetched. There were instances in the history of my own world where the weak were enslaved to make the strong feel better about themselves. Black Cats were weak and unable to evolve, which made them the perfect sacrifice.

“The current Beast King isn’t too popular with his people either,” Dias went on. “He staged a coup to get to where he is now.”

“I heard about that,” said Elza. “The Patricide Usurper of the Gold Lions.”

“Not someone who loves Black Cats. In fact, he might not be above committing atrocities himself.”

This was a vital piece of information. We were going to have to be careful around all beastmen for a while.

Beast King…

Was he the one riding in the carriage we saw?

I remembered the beautiful cart with its monstrous bodyguards. The Beast King was of the lion tribes, and the cart’s roof had been decorated with the image of a lion. As if his political influence wasn’t terrifying enough, there was still his physical prowess to worry about. We might not end up being enemies, but we had no way of winning against him, even if we pulled out all the stops. And he was evolved too…

So…assassination? Fran suggested.

No! We don’t have to fight him! Cool it, Fran.

She already had a terrible impression of this man. If we met him, we would have to be careful. Fran might lose it and attack him on the spot…enough to land her on death row. Actual assassination might cause a war. I would stop her if I had to.

“So, I thought to myself, what if such a person heard stories about you while he was in town? I didn’t think anything good could come of it, that’s for sure…”

“That’s why you want her to crawl the dungeon for as long as she can?” Elza asked. “So she won’t run into the Beast King?”

“Precisely. If Fran can get up to C-Rank by the time the tournament starts, the guild can issue a Personal Quest to protect her.”

“Personal Quest?”

Never heard that one before. Elza explained it was when the guild asked for a specific adventurer to carry out a quest. The adventurer in question had the right to refuse of course. Personal Quests were very important to the guild, and they supported the adventurer anyway it could for the duration. Getting in the way of an adventurer undertaking a Personal Quest was the same as picking a fight with the entire guild.

The Adventurer’s Guild was a long-established organization and a necessary part of life in this world. There wasn’t a nation on earth who had the nerve to mess with it. Under a Personal Quest, Fran should be safe from the Beast King’s abuses of power.

“But you can’t just hand out Personal Quests any day of the year.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll just make the quests dungeon-related. I’m the only one who can negotiate with the Dungeon Master, remember? I’ll just say that she needed a certain item or something. I’ll make something up.”

“So that’s why you want her to be a C-Rank. She needs to be at least that to take on a Personal Quest.”

“Exactly.”

Dias really was thinking about Fran’s well-being. But he was so shady that I had trouble believing it. I still wouldn’t have believed him if I didn’t have Essence of Falsehood.

“You could’ve just told us that from the start.”

“If I told Fran, I was afraid she would take interest in the Beast King.”

He wasn’t wrong there. The discussion definitely piqued her interest.

“So you brought Fran here to tell her about him?” asked Elza.

“In my own long-winded way, yes. Don’t go anywhere near him, just in case he gets offended by you.”

That was also why Dias advised us not to draw attention to ourselves on the way back to the guild.

“In any case,” he said. “I hope you can rank-up sooner rather than later, Fran.”

“Sure.”

We had no other choice, now that we knew the circumstances. Fran’s life was on the line.

“Try to do so before the tournament. All eyes are going to be on you if you participate.”

“Hm.”

We didn’t know who we would be up against, but we were aiming for number one. If a Black Cat girl managed to perform even somewhat decently in the tournament, she would definitely catch the Beast King’s eye.

“I’ll leave an invitation for you.”

“Don’t need it.”

“Any reason? You can fight in the main matches immediately when you’re invited.”

“I want to go through the qualifiers.”

“Frannie,” said Elza. “The qualifiers are completely randomized. You might run into someone terribly strong for your first match.”

“I don’t mind.”

Fran nodded enthusiastically. To her, a fighting tournament was a chance to fight a lot of interesting people. She wasn’t about to miss the qualifiers.

“W-well, if you say so,” said Dias. “I’ll arrange for you to take part.”

“Frannie’s so obsessed with fighting, but that side of you is cute too!”

That settled the tournament, but I had one more question. I understood why letting Fran meet the Beast King was a bad idea, but why go through the trouble of warning her to rank-up and sending her to the dungeon?

“Why are you doing all this for me?”

Even adventurer solidarity had its limits.

“I have my reasons. Let’s just say I’m upholding my end of the bargain with a certain someone.”

This was Dias’s deal with Lumina. She must’ve asked him to protect any Black Cats that came to Ulmutt. He didn’t specifically mention her name, since Elza was around.

“Make sure to thank her the next time you see her.”

“Hm. I will.”

“More secrets? It must be nice being so close.”

We were headed to the dungeon again, so we might as well see her then.

We need to thank Aurel too. He was the one who gave us the chance to meet Lumina.

Hm.

We would go to Aurel’s mansion after wrapping things up at the guild. First, we had some leftover materials from the collection quests.

“I have some other materials to sell. Can I leave them here?”

“That…would be a problem. You’ll have to go to appraisal for that.”

“Hm.”

“Elza, could you please show Fran the way?”

“You didn’t have to ask!”

Yeah, plopping our stuff in Dias’s office would’ve ended poorly.

“I still need to talk to you, so come back when you’re done with appraising.”

Huh, I thought the Beast King was the only thing Dias wanted to talk about.

“Why not tell me now?”

“It’s…a long story. Just come back here before you leave the guildhouse.”

“All right.”

Fran looked at Elza, who looked worried. Whatever Dias had planned, it wasn’t good news. That said, I was curious to hear what he had to say. We would make sure to drop by after we finished selling stuff.

“Over here, sweetie.”

“Hm.”

Elza led us to the guild’s carving room. The pillbug was still in one piece, and I didn’t think the guild would buy a whole monster carcass, but we should be fine. We just needed to pay the guild to butcher it for us. Elza explained that carving fees differed depending on the size and difficulty of the monster.

“It shouldn’t cost more than 40,000, I don’t think. The last time Hundred Blade Forlund was here, he brought in a B-Rank wyvern and that only cost about 40 to 50,000. Have you heard of him, by the way? Sir Forlund?”

“Hm. I met him in Bulbola.”

“Oh, I’m so jealous! He’s so amazing, I want to have him all to myself! Don’t you think so, Fran?”

“Hm. He’s strong. I want to be as strong as him someday.”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about! I mean that he’s so cool and composed, he’s totally my type.”

Elza wriggled and giggled like a schoolgirl talking about her crush. She was definitely growing on me, because she actually looked like a schoolgirl for a second there.

“Hm?”

“Ah, to have him scoop me up in those strong arms and whisper sweet nothings in my ear!”

Forlund was rough around the edges, but that came with the territory. He was good-looking, I’d give him that much. For the first time in both my lives, I felt sorry for the handsome men of the world. We all had our crosses to bear.

Just keep nodding.

“Hm.”

“You know what I’m talking about, Fran?”

“Hm.”

“Right? Isn’t he the coolest?”

“Hm.”

“We have so much in common with each other!”

“Hm.”

Fran kept nodding while she took the monster materials out of her Pocket Dimension. The clerk in charge of appraisals could only stare at the strange sight.

“Should I take the pillbug out too?”

“H-huh? Uh, sure. Go for it.”

“Hm.”

Fran took out the whole carcass of the Disaster Pillbug. Its body smelled of smoke from thunder magic, and the stink of the liquid leaking from its carcass soon spread through the entire room. The gigantic body occupied over half the guild’s largest carving table.

Even the experienced butchers squirmed. Insect monsters might be animals, but they were a particularly grotesque kind of animal. Now make that grotesque animal gigantic, and you could forgive them for almost losing their lunch. Still, our butcher maintained his professional spirit and stepped in to take a closer look.

However, not everyone was as brave.

“Gyaaaa!”

“Elza?”

“Gyaaaaaaaaa!”

A baritone screech shook the room.

“What is it?”

“I-It’s a bug!”

“Yeah, it’s a pillbug.”

“Eeeek!”

Elza grew paler the longer she looked at it. She pressed her hands against her chest and her knees rattled like shingles on a windy day. With sheer terror. 

“Uh. Elza?”

“Aaaaaaaa—”

Fran, who didn’t have any animals she was afraid of, couldn’t understand Elza’s distress. She looked at her with a mix of worry and bewilderment. The fear seemed to have spread from Elza to the guild’s butcher, who grabbed Elza and tried desperately to calm her down.

“E-Elza, please! Calm down! That’s not a bug!”

“B-but it is!”

“It just looks like a bug, I promise!”

“Th-that doesn’t make me feel better!”

“Think about it, how can a bug be so huge?”

“A huge…b-bug?!”

“Ah crap!”

“Urrgggghhh—”

“Th-this is bad! H-hey! You have to put that thing away, stat!”

Fran, put away the pillbug! Elza looks like she’s about to go south!

I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I did sense Elza entering fight mode. Fran felt the danger, too, and quickly did as I said.

“Elza! It’s okay now! See? No more bugs!”

“Wh-where’d it go…?”

“I put it away.”

“I-I see…”

Elza’s mounting aggression faded, and she sat down on the floor with a thud. Crisis averted, the guild butcher breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks. You saved us all!”

“What happened to her?”

“Elza’s bad with all things insect-related. Thing is, she goes into a wild frenzy when she gets too afraid.”

I remembered Elza’s Berserk Skill. I didn’t expect it to be so literal…

“To make matters worse, she can use all her other skills even while Berserk is active.”

“How does it work in dungeons?”

“Not too well.”

Elza could still keep up in battle, but her party members would often get caught in her blind frenzy, and you could say goodbye to any monster parts that needed to be handled with care. While she could cope with small insects to a certain degree, a swarm of them or an aphid jumping into her face would immediately send her Berserk. Needless to say, she had a hard time finding parties that wanted to work with her.

“The last time, she lost it in the guild lobby. Sent twenty people to the infirmary that day.”

“Sounds rough.”

“Very. She’d be more popular if she could get a handle on it. Would help if she weren’t so, uh…vain too.” The guild butcher looked exhausted.

“Are you okay, Elza?”

“Frannie… I’m so sorry. Bugs are my only weakness!”

As much as I wanted to know why, I had the feeling that probing her about the reasons for her bug phobia would instantly trigger Berserk. Dropping the matter would probably ensure the least casualties.

“You should leave the room.”

“I will. Call me when you’re done, I’ll be having my tea.”

The appraisal room fell silent, then it was back to business as usual. The pillbug was difficult to butcher and cost 30,000 Gold in fees. Its materials sold for an even 560,000, which netted a profit of 530,000 Gold.

It seemed like a lot, but the lack of crystals and its beat-up exterior knocked its value down by about half. Still, it was more than ten times the price of a High Ogre horn. Together with the materials we got from killing monsters on our way to Ulmutt, we were swimming in 800,000 Gold, and we still had the reward money from our completed quests to take into account. Our short stay in Ulmutt had already made us a lot of money, even if we had to put our lives on the line for it.

“Frannie, are you done?”

We collected our earnings and headed to the bar. Elza was having tea with an old man there. Yes, the guild bar really did serve tea. In a beautiful teapot with a flower-patterned teacup no less. Accompanied by jam and scones. The bar felt more like a cafe than a drinking joint.

“Yeah.”

“You wanna have some too?”

“Of course.”

Fran was never one to refuse food and drink.

“We have red tea, black tea, and Ulm Tea.”

“Why so many?”

The guild bar was strange. They had the usual stock of alcohol, but tea clearly wasn’t an afterthought either. Some of it was even used in cocktails.

“Red tea goes well with scones, and black with cookies. If it’s pie you want, then Ulm tea’s your best bet.”

“I’ll take all of them,” said Fran.

“Oh? But will you be able to finish it all?”

“No problem.”

“You heard the girl, barkeep.”

“Coming right up.”

The middle-aged barkeep wore the professional uniform of bartenders the worlds over, and looked a little out of place in a rowdy adventurers’ pub. He would have been much more at home in a classy bar or cafe. Fran tilted her head.

“This is a bar for adventurers?”

“That’s right,” said Elza.

“Hahaha. We get that a lot,” the barkeep laughed wryly. He’d heard this question a million times before. “This is the bar of the Adventurer’s Guild. If you’re wondering about our selection of sweets and teas, it’s because Elza asked me to stock them.”

“Our barkeep makes the best tea! Some of the naughty children gave him a hard time for it, but a spanking or two made everyone line up! Tea is as popular as the alcoholic drinks now.”

“The adventurers heard that the Guildmaster and Elza don’t drink. If Dias is around, most folks will switch to tea.”

So people actually went to the trouble of trying not to offend the guild’s top two adventurers? Or maybe Dias and Elza were just abusing their power. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the adventurers were doing it out of fear rather than respect.

“Here is your grand selection of sweets, along with red tea to start.”

“Hm.”

Fran took the scone, speedily spread some clotted cream and jam on it, and finished it. If you blinked, you would’ve missed it. Elza smiled at Fran’s great appetite. She stuck out her pinkie while sipping her tea. Impressive etiquette.

The white-haired old man seated across from us watched Fran like he was watching his own grandchild. Judging by his equipment, he was an adventurer.

“Hohoho. That’s a mighty appetite you got there.”

“Who are you?”

“Where are my manners? The name’s Radule. Just your average C-Rank.”

“Radule’s the oldest adventurer in Ulmutt,” Elza introduced.

Radule was a mage with white hair and a white beard. He looked like a classic wizard. He probably substituted hard-earned experience and wisdom for youthful stamina in battle—though that was probably also why his rank wasn’t higher.

“He’s strong, but for most of his life, he was a court mage. That’s why his rank doesn’t indicate his real strength. He’s definitely more of a B-Rank than a C-Rank.”

“I’m sad you didn’t call me an A-Rank.”

“You know those people live on a different plane from us.”

“I’m not one to mess with them either. Would be a waste of time, both mine and theirs. But a Black Cat adventurer…” Radule looked nostalgic as he gazed at Fran. “It’s been fifty years, at least.”

“But Fran’s not the first Black Cat to pass through Ulmutt,” said Elza. “We get a lot of Black Cat recruits.”

“True enough. But one so young and so strong? Fifty years.”

“I guess,” Elza said. “So, what? You met someone like Fran fifty years ago?”

“That’s right. She was a lot like you too. Everything from your curt speech to your black hair. I don’t remember her name, but I can never forget her sharp eyes.”

Radule stroked his beard as if to extract the memories from it.

“I think she said she was fifteen at the time. Solo. Didn’t spare a bit of mercy for anyone who talked trash about her tribe. She clashed with the Blue Cat adventurers a lot—even went so far as nearly cutting the tail off one of them.”

“That sounds like Fran all right,” Elza agreed. She really was beginning to understand her.

“I think people just called her ‘Black Cat,’ if you can believe it. I remember those rumors: ‘Anyone who messes with the Black Cat meets an unlucky end.’”

“Where is she now?” Fran asked inquisitively. 

Radule shook his head in resignation.

“Who knows? She just disappeared one day. We don’t know whether she died in the dungeons or left town.”

“Oh…”

A Black Cat that strong would be striving for evolution. Fifty years wasn’t so long ago; there must be someone who still remembered her. But why would she suddenly disappear?

“I wasn’t that close with Black Cat. But I was in a party with Aurel at the time and I guarantee you that he still remembers her. You know Aurel?”

“But why would old Aurel still remember? He’s about as old as you are.”

“Because they’re both beastmen. Also, I happened to see them get friendly on a couple occasions. See, the Black Cat saved him from a tough spot in a dungeon back in his solo days. He warned the rest of us not to lay a hand on her. But considering what a looker she was…felt to me like he was just hitting on her.”

“Ooooh, was she pretty?” Elza asked.

“Yep. Just between you and me, I think old Aurel had feelings for her.”

“Oh my gods!” said Elza. “The old man doesn’t seem to be the type to like younger girls.”

“You’re one to talk. And you gotta remember that Aurel was in his teens then too. He was the Genius D-Rank. We all poked fun at how fast he climbed the ranks.”

The whole conversation reminded me that Radule, Aurel, and Dias were all young once, difficult as it was to imagine. We had another reason to see Aurel now, and we couldn’t wait.

We just needed to see the Guildmaster again first.

Thirty minutes later, we parted with Elza and returned to the Guildmaster’s office.

“You sure took your time… You have a little something on your lips.”

“Hm. The food was good.”

“Of…course.”

Not happening, Dias. You can’t shame Fran by being that roundabout!

Fran went on through what she assumed to be Dias’s smalltalk.

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

“Well…”

Dias hesitated. I thought he was being catty since we made him wait too long, but that wasn’t the case. Something terrible had happened.

“Well?”

“Solus escaped.”

“What?!”

“I’m afraid that’s how it is.”

“I see…” Fran muttered, tightening her fists. 

It was a subtle motion, but all her anger was focused into it. Solus currently topped her inner kill list.

“I’m sorry. After you went through all that trouble to capture him too.”

Dias bowed his head in apology and explained the circumstances. Solus massacred the entire prison before escaping. Dias apologized, but I didn’t see how this was under the guild’s jurisdiction. Keeping convicted felons under lock and key was the town guard’s job.

“He might have had an accomplice.”

I see.

Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been impossible for Solus to break out on his own.

“There is also a possibility that he’s looking for Fran right now.”

Dias went on to explain the assaults on adventurers that took place not long after Solus’s escape. Adventurers on their way to the dungeon were attacked, and asked if they knew where Fran was. We had good reason to believe Solus was the one behind it, but the witnesses said the perpetrator had all of his limbs intact.

It was clear that Solus wanted to get even with Fran, or worse.

This is bad…

“Let him come, so I can cut him up again. Saves us time looking for him.”

“That would be the optimal outcome, believe it or not… But you might attract the Beast King’s attention that way.”

Anything but that!

If the carriage we saw belonged to the Beast King, we definitely didn’t want to get on his bad side. His bodyguards were monstrous.

“I’m confident in your abilities, Fran. But we don’t know how strong Solus is, or how many accomplices are helping him. I’m going to have you and Elza team up to capture him. What do you say?”

Elza would be our bodyguard? Considering the stakes and the danger to Fran’s life, having a bodyguard was the best option. Someone of Elza’s strength was suitable, since we didn’t know who we were dealing with.

“I’ve thought long and hard about this, and there is no one I trust more than her. You know how capable she is.”

He had a point. But having Elza attached to us twenty-four hours a day…

Wh-what do you think, Fran?

“Hm… Elza is perfect.”

Yeah, I figured. She didn’t have any problems with the big lady; in fact, she was getting more and more comfortable around her.

R-right…of course.

“Hm.”

“Very good. I hope you and Elza will cooperate to bring Solus to justice.”

Uhh…right! Shouldn’t we ask Elza to see what she thinks?

Dias immediately crushed my hopes.

“Not to worry, Teacher. I already cleared it with Elza and she said she would love to.”

I see…

“Indeed,” said Dias. “Give up.”

Damn it, Dias! Don’t look at me like that!

“What’s wrong, Teacher?”

It’s nothing. Let’s meet up with Elza and head to Aurel’s.

“Hm.”

“Be careful on the way there.”

“I will.”

“Will you really?” Dias asked with a serious look on his face. 

Fran answered in kind.

“Hm! Kill Solus.”

“Not that! I mean the Beast King!”

I’ll take care of that, don’t worry.

Here were Fran’s current thoughts: kill Solus, fifty percent; evolve, twenty percent; fighting tournament, ten percent; Beast King, ten percent. While she couldn’t help suspect the Beast King of enslaving Black Cats, her hatred of Solus overrode it. She couldn’t help but be occupied with finding Inina’s killer.

“Are you sure?” asked Dias. “If anything happens to Fran, Lady Lumina’s going to kill me!”

And this is part of your deal with her?

“Yes. I vowed that I would protect the Black Cats that came to this city as much as I could. She must’ve taken a real liking to Fran if she asked you to send me a message. If the Beast King did anything to Fran… I’m getting ulcers just thinking about it.”

I knew well enough that a run-in with the Beast King would prove dangerous for Fran. I had to keep a lookout.

Leave it to me.

“Hm. Don’t worry.”

“I’m begging you here, all right?”

Dias clasped his hands together as Fran left the room.

Let’s go meet up with Elza.

“Hm.”

“Do be careful out there! And take care of Elza for me!”

Shut up, Dias.

Now that we had finished our business at the guild, we had one more stop to make before heading to Aurel’s mansion: the dwarf smith, who was also Garrus’s acquaintance.

“I’ll stand watch here.”

“Hm. Sure.”

Elza waited outside while we went into the smithy. I didn’t think Solus would dare attack with her around, though I guessed the same could be said for any customers the smithy would’ve had for the day…

“Hello again, friend of Garrus,” said the smith. “What can I do you for today?”

“Equipment maintenance.”

We had been making do with the Black Cat set’s self-repair skill, but the battle with the pillbug proved too much. Hours later, the armor still had dents and fractures that weren’t fixing themselves. Besides, we had never run maintenance on this armor before. With the tournament just around the corner, it needed to be in tip-top shape.

“Zeld, Ulmutt’s greatest blacksmith, at your service! You sure put this thing through the rungs though.”

Zeld briefly examined the armor before drawing a magic circle and setting some crystals around it. His Repair skill took care of the rest, fixing the set instantly. It cost 100,000 Gold, but it was well worth the peace of mind.

“That takes care of your armor. Now, show me your sword.”

“Hm?”

“I mean, if the self-repairing gear got that beat up, your sword’s probably no better.”

It was a fair assumption, but I had Self-Repair as well as Regeneration, so I wasn’t running into any problems. Still, Fran unsheathed me anyway and handed me over to Zeld.

“Take care of it.”

F-Fran?! I’m fine, really.

Maybe, but you’re still better off having a specialist examine you.

Fran didn’t really know what to look for, so Zeld’s statement probably worried her.

Well…sure, I guess.

Fran was right. Having a pro look me over wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe he could spot some problems I never knew I had.

“Hmmm… Strange metal your sword’s made of.”

Zeld turned me over and examined me. He then put me on his anvil and began whacking away. The hammer reverberated with the same frequency as my blade, but the feeling wasn’t unpleasant. Maybe it was because he was a professional. It was really quite comfortable. Then he dipped me in a box full of water and moved me around. Finally, he wiped me down with a bit of cloth.

It felt so nice I almost moaned in pleasure. I held it in though. I wasn’t particularly worried about Zeld discovering that I could talk. No, my reason was far pettier than that. The thirty-something-year-old inside me would die at the thought of feeling so good from a ripped old man’s rubdown. Not in the sexual sense, mind you, but in the sense of a comfortable massage. It wasn’t a big deal, but a stubborn part of me resisted.

Fran noticed that I was somehow gritting my teeth throughout the ordeal.

Teacher, what’s wrong?

N-nothing.

Are you sure? You’re acting weird…

I explained my situation to make Fran stop worrying.

So…that’s the thing.

I see.

Sorry for worrying you over nothing, Fran. Maintenance felt really nice though. I had Fran clean me up from time-to-time, but it never felt this good. Zeld’s Blacksmith skill made a world of difference. Fran’s amateur hands just couldn’t match up.

“All done. I didn’t see any chips or cracks so all it needed was a good straighten and clean.”

Maintenance really hit the spot. I felt refreshed for the first time since I came to this world. It was as if I spent the first half of my day at a spa, then loosened up any remaining tension with a deep massage. If I was at a hundred percent before, I was at 120 percent now. Mentally at least. I think my mana and skill functions were working a little better too. Could just be my imagination, though.

“Hm. Good job, blacksmith.”

“Gahaha. You’re welcome.”

Fran couldn’t help complementing the blacksmith as she admired my sparkling blade with her sparkling eyes. That felt really nice. I might give regular maintenance a go in the future. Sure, it was mostly in my head, but I needed to be at the top of my mental game to be of use to Fran.

“I’m back.”

“Did you get it all fixed up? So adorable!”

Fran tilted her head at Elza’s compliment. She didn’t know what the word adorable was supposed to mean.

“And you’re so cute too…” Elza’s Aesthetics skill allowed her to see the beauty not only in herself, but in others as well. She shook her head at her wasted potential. “Anyway, shall we go to Aurel’s?”

“Hm.”

As much as we wanted to look around the rest of the town, we had a quest to report back on. We decided to eat on the way to the mansion.

This town sure makes use of its two dungeons. Look at all this monster meat they sell in the stalls.

Monster meat was a luxury in Bulbola, but here it was as common as pork skewers. The variety wasn’t lacking either.

“Hm. Tasty.”

“Woof.”

Elza told us that most of the monster meat came from the beginner-friendly West Dungeon, as part of the agreement with the Dungeon Master. Safety wasn’t the only benefit of Ulmutt’s relationship with Lumina.

“Ten skewers, please.”

“Comin’ right up!”

“Five plates.”

“Can ya stand to eat all that?” asked the vendor. “Well, I guess Elza’s with you. In that case, five plates won’t be enough!”

“No problem.”

They had all kinds of monster meat: pork, beef, fish, reptile, even insects. Fran didn’t care which one she ate. As soon as she gulped down her food, she bought more. Ulmutt food was delicious, both in the quality of its ingredients and seasoning. Despite Fran’s indiscriminate eating, I could tell when she was eating a bug.

Fran, let’s not order bugs from now on.

Why not? They’re good.

You’re…giving Elza a hard time.

Elza backed off every time Fran ordered a platter of bugs. Just watching her eat it was enough to make her gag. Which was fair enough. Even I thought there was something unsettling about eating deep-fried beetle legs like french fries, and this was coming from a sword who had no problems with insects. Little wonder then that Elza was deathly pale and looked like she was about to lose her lunch.

We made it out of the business district and were almost at Aurel’s mansion. Its high gates welcomed us, although it didn’t look we would be able to enter so soon.

“There are so many people here.”

“Woof.”

There was a crowd gathered in front of the gates. At least ten people, most of them squatting down. Adventurers probably, but what were they doing here? They looked like a bunch of delinquents loitering in front of a supermarket.

The group seemed to be centered around a man and a girl who were dressed slightly better. Were they the leaders? I didn’t know how old the guy was, but the girl couldn’t be older than eighteen.

She was just standing there with her arms folded, looking like she was waiting for something. She was a beastman. A cat-type too. So were the rest of the band.

Hrmph.

Fran took one look at them and frowned.

What is it Fran?

Blue Cats.

Wait, all of them?

Hm.

No wonder she looked so sour. Blue Cats were notorious slavers who had a habit of selling Black Cats. Sometimes legally, but mostly otherwise. They were her natural enemies.

Let’s be careful.

Woof!

I didn’t think they would have the nerve to attack us in public, but you never knew. They looked like they wanted to see Aurel right away. He was the beastman representative in town, however, so I didn’t think they would force their way in.

Fran, whatever they say, just ignore them. We need to see Aurel.

Fine.

I was still worried, but I got Fran to agree at least. If things went south, I would teleport us right into the mansion. Aurel seemed to like Fran, and I was sure Elza could clear up any misunderstandings with the guards.

“What is going on?” Elza asked. “I’ve never seen these people in town before.”

“Blue Cats.”

“Really? We better stay out of their way then.” Elza knew the feud between the two beast tribes. “I’ll take point, honey. You stay close to me, okay?”

“Hm.”

“Very slowly now.”

Elza took the lead and we slowly made our way to the gate. They both used Stealth and Conceal Presence to make sure they didn’t alert the mob. The Blue Cats really weren’t that strong, since none of them took notice. We should be fine as long as we kept our distance.

Passing through the gates was the real problem, since we needed to talk to the gatekeeper. I doubted that we would escape the mob’s notice once we were standing right in front of them. Everything should go smoothly as long as we ignored whatever they had to say. Still, that was a very big ask.

“Hello.”

“Huh? Lady Elza and…Lady Fran? When did you get here…?”

“We have business with the old man. May we come in?” Elza worked her usual magic.

“Oh! Yes, of course! Please, go on ahead.”

“Hm. Thanks.”

“Welcome to you both.”

The gates were opened for Fran to go in, and that was when the Blue Cat mob leaders spoke up.

“Hey, hang on!”

“Yeah! What is the meaning of this!”

“Hm?”

The frustrated mob were absolutely furious as they closed in on the gatekeeper.

“We came all the way here to greet the master of this mansion and you’re letting this no-name in without so much as a question?”

“We’ve been waiting all day!”

“As I mentioned earlier, the master will not meet anyone without an appointment. If you leave your name, I can tell the master that you wish to see him as soon as he is available.”

“We are Blue Pride, the greatest mercenary band in the land of Chrome!”

Their name practically told me you had to be a Blue Cat to be a member. Not the kind of people you wanted to get mixed up with.

“Can’t say I’ve heard of you.”

“Ugh… This is the problem with these backwater towns!”

Chrome was the continent next to ours. It lay to the west of Jillbird, where we were. What would a bunch of mercenaries from way out there be doing here? The fighting tournament maybe? Not that they had any chance of winning.

The girl raised her voice to try to intimidate the unimpressed gatekeeper.

“I am our leader’s representative. Making me wait is the same as making our leader wait. Do you understand?”

They might be a notorious mercenary band in Chrome. The girl sure acted like she belonged to one. Thing was, we weren’t in Chrome in right now.

“It matters not. I’ve never heard of this mercenary band of yours.”

The gatekeeper’s blunt dismissal only infuriated the mob further. Their veins looked like they were about to pop right beneath their skin. Still, the way they bragged was a bit shameless. And getting so worked up over not being recognized by a gatekeeper? That was embarrassing to watch.

“You let a mere Black Cat in while ignoring us? Have you lost your mind?”

Blue Pride showed up without an appointment, and were all but banging the gates, begging to be let in. I didn’t have Royal Etiquette equipped, but they seemed like a rude bunch to me. They must think they were privileged enough to drop in whenever they wanted.

Fran was barely containing her anger, and their act was getting on Elza’s nerves as well.

“These two are the master’s honored guests.”

“What? That Black Cat?”

“You would place a Black Cat over us?”

“If I may repeat myself, it doesn’t matter. Race is such a trifling thing.”

“You said earlier that you represented your leader. Well, this lady is an honored guest of our master. Insulting her is no different than insulting him.”

“But she’s a Black Cat!”

What is the problem with these Blue Cats? Every single Blue Cat we’d met never failed to look down on Fran. They saw Black Cats as inherently inferior.

Come on, Fran.

…

Ah, crap. Fran was about to lose it. She didn’t show it, but a few more words would be reason enough to slaughter this entire mob.

Jet, push Fran inside!

“Woof.”

“Hrmph…”

I held her back with Telekinesis while Jet diligently pushed her onward. We got her inside, but Fran glared at the girl the entire time. The girl glared back.

We’re leaving, Fran!

“Woof woof!”

Our desperate pleas got through at last. Fran nodded reluctantly and quietly. She understood that turning Aurel’s gates into a battlefield was a bad idea. But Fran wasn’t going to let the insult to her tribe go unnoticed. She turned to face the mob of Blue Cats outside the gates, and activated Menace with all her might.

“Eek…!”

“Hurk…!”

The girl paled and fell on her rear while the man instinctively stepped back. The rest of the mob jumped and stared at Fran in fear. All the Blue Cats felt the weight of her terror. At least these mercenaries were competent enough to tell the difference in power between them.

“Wh-what—”

“Hmph.”

Fran sneered at the Blue Cat girl who was now gasping for air. The girl noticed that she had just been played. Fran turned around and coolly walked back through the gate.

Well, don’t we look smug…

“Heh.”

That wasn’t a compliment.

“Hm?”

“Oh, you’re such a bad girl,” Elza scolded, but she was smiling, clearly glad to see the Blue Cats get their comeuppance. We just needed to walk to the mansion, see Aurel, and—

“H-hold it right there!”

And of course, the girl got up to complain. She was tougher than she looked. She was already on her feet and sprinting toward Fran.

“Stop! No trespassing!”

“Shut up and get out of the way! Do you want to get hurt too?!”

“You lot! Don’t let her get away!”

With the girl leading the charge, the rest of the mob soon recovered their strength. I’d thought they were just there for moral support, but put together, they made a competent fighting force.

“We won’t let that Black Cat runt get away with looking down on us!”

“That’s right!”

“Kill her!”

They were ashamed to have been so afraid. They wanted to wipe it away by striking back. What little fear was left from Fran’s Menace was converted into anger. Busting through the gates wouldn’t have crossed their minds earlier, but they were long past clear thinking. The Blue Cats drew their weapons and rushed forward.

This might end poorly. As strong as Aurel’s gatekeepers were, the angry mob vastly outnumbered them. If they died here, their blood would be on Fran’s hands, even indirectly.

That was when Elza stepped in.

“You leave this one to me, honey.”

She patted Fran on the shoulder and stood between her and the Blue Cats like a wall, blocking both parties’ line of sight. The less they saw of each other, the better.

“That is as far as you go. Your shameful behavior is bad enough. You don’t want to be criminals, too, do you?”

Elza wasn’t using any intimidation skills. In fact, she had on her nicest face. But the Blue Cats looked terrified, although it was a different kind of terror from what Fran inflicted on them earlier. They weren’t afraid of Elza’s power as much as her unpredictability. The Blue Cat girl was in utter shock as she laid eyes on this mysterious person.

“What is this…thing…?”

“Y-yo, this dude’s talkin’ like a lady!”

“St-stay away!”

Wow, these guys were really good at pissing people off.

“Eek!”

Elza glared at the Blue Cat mob with unbridled fury. “You little stinkers are in for it now…”

A riot ensued, but Elza was at the center of it this time. Unsurprisingly, even twenty Blue Cats were no match for her.

Blue Pride bragged about being a great mercenary band in Chrome, but they sure didn’t coordinate their attacks like one. Maybe the only thing they were notorious for was being incredibly weak or playing dirty. It would certainly explain why they came to this land, where they could claim that they were a powerful band of mercenaries and no one could prove otherwise. It was like when a boring junior high student entered a new school and dyed their hair. Blue Pride did the same thing, albeit on a continental level.

They were running a pretty good racket too. If only they hadn’t pissed off Elza…

May they rest in peace, I thought.

What?

Nothing. Let’s go see Aurel.

“Hm.”

We’ll let Elza dole out their punishment.

“All right…” Fran said with great reluctance. She was still staring at the gates.

Jet!

“Bark bark!” At my command, Jet nudged Fran forward with his muzzle.

“Hrmph.”

Come on!

“Eaaaagh!”

“Yaaaargh!”

We left the screaming Blue Cats to Elza’s mercy, and walked toward Aurel’s mansion.

A few minutes later.

“Hey, you’re here.”

“Hm.”

We passed through the garden and the doors, and the maid led us to Aurel’s dining room. It was furnished with a long dining table, befitting an aristocrat. The old beastman was seated at its head.

“Sorry for the formalities. I’ve been seeing foreign dignitaries and nobles all morning.”

“That’s all right.”

“You want some food, kid? Our chef just got back from Bulbola the other day. I think he learned a few tricks there.”

Aurel’s private chef was a true professional. Fran wasn’t about to refuse.

“Please,” Fran answered, taking a seat next to Aurel.

“Shalla, an extra serving for the young lady.”

“Right away, sir.”

Night had almost fallen on Ulmutt, but this was Aurel’s first meal of the day. The tournament brought many guests to the city. It was, without a doubt, his busiest time of the year.

“There were some weirdos outside,” Fran said.

“So I heard. Some mercenary band.”

“Are they famous?”

“Never heard of ’em in my life. And believe me, I have connections over in Chrome. Probably came to see if they could make a name for themselves here.”

The self-proclaimed notorious mercenary band was just that: self-proclaimed.

“We get a lot of that. ‘I killed a legendary monster in a far off country’; ‘I’m the son of a famous noble in a distant land.’ The lengths some people go to. I just need to look at them to know that they’re weak. You’d think they’d give that whole scam a rest. If you were really strong, you wouldn’t run your mouth.”

“The Blue Cat mercenaries were all weak.”

“Gahaha. Toldja! But who knows, maybe they’re famous because of one member, or maybe they’re just notorious hacks.”

“Hm.”

“Either way, I didn’t like their attitude,” said Aurel. “And sending in a representative? What kind of aristocrat does their leader take himself for? Just leave ’em be. They’ll wear themselves out eventually.”

Elza was already dishing out their just desserts. They would probably be gone by the time we finished talking. Start by telling him that you finished his quest.

“Here, Aurel.”

Fran put the pendant on the table.

“Hmm… Anything inside…?”

Aurel opened the pendant to check that the letter had been delivered.

“Tell me about evolution,” Fran said.

“So I take it you gave the pendant to Lady Lumina.”

“Hm.”

Fran nodded, eliciting a warm smile from his stern face.

“Very good. Now, for your reward.”

“Don’t need any. You just wanted me to meet her, didn’t you?”

“That obvious?”

I knew it. Aurel planned Fran’s encounter with Lumina under the guise of a quest. But his motive was still a mystery.

“To be clear, I wasn’t being nice. Sending promising Black Cats to Lumina works out in this town’s favor. Take the reward.”

“I don’t need it if you’ll just talk to me about evolution.”

“I don’t have any information that’s worth your payment.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t have put you through the trouble of meeting Lumina if I did. Would’ve told you soon as I saw you. I’ve been researching Black Cat evolution for years, not that I got much out of it. All I can tell you is that there is another requirement aside from reaching your level cap.”

Despite Aurel’s long life, as both a B-Rank adventurer and a person of power, he failed to dig up answers to this great mystery. But why go through the trouble? Did it have something to do with Lumina? Or was it because of the adventurer known only as the Black Cat?

“Then tell me about the adventurer called Black Cat,” Fran asked. 

Aurel knitted his eyebrows.

“Who…told you?”

“Radule.”

“That motormouth wizard!”

Aurel looked very annoyed.

“Please? I heard she was really strong.”

“Urgh… Do you really have to know?”

“Hm.”

“Right…”

Fran stared at the older man as he shook his head. He couldn’t refuse a request from his newfound granddaughter-figure. Or perhaps he saw Fran as another “Black Cat.”

“It was fifty-three years ago—” Aurel began quietly. 

He met a female Black Cat adventurer, and she had saved his life. Afterward, he helped her look for a way to evolve. Aurel had been reluctant to start telling the story, but as he reminisced, he couldn’t help feeling nostalgic.

“Black Cat discrimination was even worse back then, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to evolve.”

“She couldn’t in the end?”

“No. And that was despite frequent meetings with Lumina.”

“Even then?”

“Probably not.”

Probably? That was a vague way of putting it. Fran tilted her head.

“Some stuff happened after that. She had to leave town. I haven’t heard a peep from her ever since.”

“What happened?”

“You know… Stuff. In any case, she’s no longer here. Look, Dias knew her, why not ask him? Anyway, we’re here to talk about your evolution, Fran.”

I didn’t have to use my skills to know that Aurel was lying. I wondered why. Did Black Cat lose her life in a dungeon? If so, no wonder Aurel didn’t want to tell Fran. It would be a painful memory. We might find out more if we talked to Dias, and we didn’t want to sour Aurel’s mood, so we let him drop the subject.

“You’ve probably heard from Lumina that Black Cats used to be able to evolve.”

“So it’s true?”

“Yeah. Lumina might be restricted in what she can say, but I was able to piece together the details. Black Cats were able to evolve like every other beastman until one day they couldn’t. Why is that?”

If we knew, we wouldn’t be asking…but Aurel had worked out a hypothesis.

“I think there is a high possibility that it’s divine retribution.”

Fran tilted her head and put Aurel’s conclusion into her own words.

“So the gods made it happen?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t be the first time in history someone got punished by the gods for a great offence. Goldicia is the best known example.”

We had heard that story before. The dragon king Trismegistus used the power of the Evil One to create more and more monsters until eventually the entire continent lay in ruin. Trismegistus was sentenced to fight his own creations for eternity.

“Even if the Black Cat’s inability to evolve happened ages ago, it’s strange that there’s absolutely no information on it. The same thing happened in the Goldicia incident, too, you see. The gods wiped out the memory of how Trismegistus created the monsters.”

The gods of this world had free-reign on the memories of their people.

“The requirements of evolution for each beast tribe is a well-guarded secret, but for there to be little-to-no records of it whatsoever? Hell, even the elves don’t remember a time when Black Cats could evolve.”

Now that definitely raised questions. There should be some records, even if evolution stopped hundreds of years ago. The complete absence of evidence was all too suspicious. It lent credence to the possibility that the gods were involved.

We had one question though.

“Little-to-no records?”

Did that mean there were some records still lying around?

“There is the one document that makes mention of it.”

“What does it say?”

Fran jumped out of her seat and slammed her fist on the table. Aurel just gave her a wry smile.

“Calm down. It’s not directly related to the Black Cat tribe.”

The document probably lacked details on the specific requirements.

“You ever heard of the Ten Ancestors?” Aurel asked.

“No clue.”

“They were the ten original beastmen, born of the Beast God. They were each bestowed with the power of the Godbeast.”

“Godbeast? Sounds cool.”

Whatever this Godbeast was, it sounded powerful.

“Among the Ten Ancestors, only nine of them are currently known: Golden Fire Lion, White Snow Wolf, Yellow Dust Rat, Purple Wind Elephant, Orange Iron Fox, Red Earth Horse, Blue Water Dragon, Azure Life Snake, Cherry Blossom Ox. For the longest time, beastmen wondered about the identity of the Tenth Ancestor…”

“And you’re saying they were a Black Cat?”

“Might be. The document I found says that the Tenth is called the Black Sky Tiger. Lady Lumina is a Black Tiger, so…”

“So Black Tigers are the same as Black Sky Tigers?”

Aurel shook his head.

“No. They’re alike, but they’re not the same.”

“?”

“Take me for example. I’m an evolved White Dog called the White Wolf.”

“Hm.”

“However, if I had completed the necessary requirements at the time of my evolution, I would’ve become a White Snow Wolf instead. As it stands, I only made it to the White Wolf stage.”

Aurel explained that the White Dog tribe were the descendants of one of the Ten, namely the White Snow Wolf. There was a way to achieve the glory of the original White Snow Wolf, as long as you fulfilled some special requirement. By that logic, a Black Cat could evolve into either a Black Sky Tiger, or a Black Tiger like Lumina.

Even today, the White Dogs were still revered for being descendants of one of the Ten.

“Don’t you think it’s strange that people could so easily forget that Black Cats might be the descendants of the missing Tenth Ancestor?”

“Hm.”

Many beastmen tribes studied the Tenth Ancestor, and not few of them claimed to be their direct descendants. Unfounded claims, really. I doubted Aurel would take the account of the Black Sky Tiger so seriously if he hadn’t known of Lumina’s existence. She more than confirmed that Black Cats were the descendants of the Black Sky Tiger.

So the Black Cats used to be among the Ten, but were punished by the gods and had their memories wiped? If that were the case, why did the gods allow Aurel to find that one document…?

“And that’s all I know…” Aurel muttered with deep regret. 

It was impressive that he’d found any information at all, considering the gods literally wiped a chunk of history from memory. Regardless, it was still bad news for Fran. A cloud hung over her head now.

“Divine retribution… So the Black Cats did something bad?”

Simple training wasn’t going to help her evolve if that were the case.

“In all likelihood, yeah.”

“Oh… I guess there’s no way for me to evolve.”

“No, you still can!”

Aurel cut Fran off before she fell into despair.

“The wrath of the gods can be quenched. Even Trismegistus’s curse would be lifted if he managed to kill all the monsters he created. Similarly, there has to be a way to lift the curse placed on the Black Cats.”

He wasn’t trying to lift her spirits; Aurel was speaking in concrete terms. Despite not belonging to the Black Cats, the outcast tribe held a special place in his heart.

“Not that I know what the requirements are… Sorry I can’t be of much help.”

“That’s okay. I learned a lot already. Thanks.”

“Yeah? That’s a relief.”

Aurel smirked. He looked lighter. For a moment he wasn’t the representative of the beastmen of Ulmutt, but an old man with the weight of a long life on his mind.

“…”

Silence fell on the dining room. Neither of them felt like making small-talk. The air got heavier and heavier until the tension was finally broken by the sound of a food cart. Shala was here with lunch.

“Lunch is served, master.”

“Hey, about time.”

Aurel smiled, relieved that his maid had broken the tension. A well-built man was standing next to Shala. He was probably Aurel’s personal chef.

“I apologize for the long wait.”

“Smells good, Asto.”

“It’s the latest recipe I acquired in Bulbola.”

Asto lifted the lid off the pot and began stirring. Was it some kind of soup? The aroma alone was enough to pique Aurel’s interest, but the gleam in Fran’s eyes told me all I needed to know.

“Well now I can’t wait.”

“Admittedly,” said Asto, “this is still a test batch.”

“You’re going to serve your master a test batch? Come on now, Asto.”

“You have a sensitive tongue, master. I wish to ask for your assistance. The dish I tasted in Bulbola was otherworldly.”

Asto had a longing look on his face as he remembered it. 

“It must be delicious if you’re willing to vouch for it.”

“As delicious as my batch is, it’s lacking…something. I would appreciate your feedback.”

“So I get to criticize you and get good food?” said Aurel. “You can count on me!”

“But seeing as you have a guest, I suppose I should go cook her something more standard.”

“What do you say, kid?”

“Hm. I’m fine.”

“Then I request your feedback as well,” said Asto.

“You got it.”

“Arf, arf!”

Not wanting to miss out, Jet started barking to draw attention to himself. Stop drooling, boy! What if you damage the carpets?!

“Jet wants some too.”

“The flavors might be too intense for your dog…”

“He’s a monster, he’ll be fine.”

“Woof!”

“Aaah, so he is your familiar? I’ve never seen such a friendly monster. I will prepare a plate for your pupper.”

Asto took a deep dish, scooped the brown liquid out of the pot and lay it on a bed of white grains. The oozing brown liquid contained potatoes and other vegetables. It looked familiar, but then again, of course it did. This was the dish I popularized back in Bulbola.

“Is this curry?”

“You’ve heard of it, young lady? Yes, this is curry. The latest winner of Bulbola’s esteemed cooking contest!”

No wonder Fran got so excited over a whiff of the stuff.

“Speaking of, were you at Bulbola, Fran?”

“Hm.”

“Then you’ve had this dish before?”

“Hm.”

“Wonderful!”

Had it? Fran had curry practically every day. Still, Fran and Jet’s eyes gleamed as they stared at it. Even I was interested to see how people had interpreted the dish.

“Please, dig in.”

“It looks funky. But it does smell nice.”

“Munch munch.”

“Scarf scarf.”

Aurel’s nose twitched as he sniffed it, but Fran was already digging in.

“You have a fantastic appetite, young lady.”

Reassured by the younger beastman, Aurel shrugged and put the spoonful in his mouth.

“Hmm… It tastes strange…but I’m going back for more!”

Aurel liked it. He started his meal slowly, but gradually picked up speed.

“More.”

“Woof.”

By the time Aurel finished his portion, Fran and Jet were already on their third plate.

Is it that good?

It’s all right, I guess.

She wasn’t satisfied with the curry, despite going back for thirds.

It’s good. But it’s nowhere close to your curry, Fran explained.

“This is really good. What’s it called again?”

“This dish is called curry, and it is all the rage in Bulbola at the moment. There’s curry bread, curry pasta, and countless other interpretations. Practically every restaurant in Bulbola has some version of it.”

“I can see why. And you’re saying this isn’t the definitive version?”

“Yes. This is nothing compared to the original I ate in Bulbola.”

“That good, huh?”

“The contest was canceled due to the incident this year, but the people said that this recipe would’ve won.”

“Hm! Of course.”

Fran nodded. We couldn’t win, but she was happy that curry had won the people’s approval. The chefs of Bulbola went further with the dish than I imagined. Curry pasta? I wanted to try some of that.

“You sound real happy, kid.”

“Because Teacher made it.”

“Teacher? Whose?”

“Are you talking about the elusive Curry Teacher?”

Sorry, Asto, what did you just say? Curry Teacher? Was that what people called me?

“So your cooking teacher’s the one who made curry, Fran?”

“He’s not just my cooking teacher. He knows everything.”

“So he taught you swordplay and spells too?”

“Hm. Teacher can do it all.”

“Sounds like one hell of a guy. I’m surprised he isn’t with you.”

“Teacher can be everywhere and nowhere.”

“Well, if you’re his student, I can’t imagine how strong he must be. Probably runs solo just like you.”

“Wait, so you are the Curry Teacher’s student?” Asto asked. 

I guess my ears weren’t fooling me after all. Who gave me such a stupid nickname?!

Fran, ask him if I’m the Curry Teacher he’s talking about.

I really needed to know.

“Asto, who is the Curry Teacher?”

“I thought he was your teacher,” said Aurel.

“We don’t actually know the real name of the one who created the curry recipe. He only went by the name Teacher, and eventually someone affixed Curry to it. I just happened to meet some adventurers who received the recipe straight from Curry Teacher himself.”

“Adventurers?”

“Yes, a party called Crimson Maidens. Do you know them?”

I knew it. They were the girls we hired to help us sell curry bread during the contest. They must’ve named me Curry Teacher because Fran told them that “Teacher made the curry.” I was willing to bet that Lydia, the girl with the smile that never faltered, thought it up.

“So? What do you think of the curry?”

“Hm. It’s okay.”

“I see… But I won’t give up. A perfect dish isn’t made in one night. I’ll make it even better next time!”

“Hm. Good luck. I’ll taste it for you any time.”

“Thank you so much, young lady!”

You don’t have to thank her, Asto. Fran just wanted free food.

After finishing several plates, Aurel warned Fran about the Beast King just like Dias had. He was dangerous enough to put Aurel, a fellow beastman, on guard.

“Thanks.”

“Sure. You come by any time.”

“Hm.”

By the time we left Aurel’s mansion, the gates were completely free of Blue Cats. They must’ve given up and left. Elza and the gatekeepers were laughing with each other.

“Frannie, you’re back. Are you done with Aurel?”

“How’d it go Elza?”

“Were you worried about me? Oh, you didn’t have to! I could’ve taken care of those punks with my eyes closed.”

I figured. There wasn’t a scratch on either Elza or the gatekeepers, so I could guess how easy the battle must’ve been.

“All they needed was a little bit of discipline to teach them manners.”

In fact, I felt a little sorry for the Blue Cats. Even though they brought their destruction upon themselves.

What should we do now, Teacher?

I want to hear Dias’s side of the story. What happened fifty-three years ago with the girl called Black Cat?

“Hm.”

We made our way to the Adventurer’s Guild once more. I hoped Dias would still be there.

“I’ll go see if the Guildmaster is in!”

“Ah—”

Elza ran ahead to the guildhouse. She didn’t have to do that, but she was no longer within shouting distance by the time Fran opened her mouth. But I felt an unspeakable strangeness coming from the entrance to the guild. I didn’t know what it was, only that it made me restless.

What…is going on?

What is it, Teacher?

I dunno… Huh?

I looked around for the source of the unease. Then, I spotted something.

Where’d that door come from?

“Door? What?”

“Woof?”

There was a door in front of the guild. It was a large, wooden double door which had somehow appeared in the middle of the street. It looked like it’d sprouted right out of the ground.

Click.

Not knowing what to make of it, we could only stare as the door swung open. And then it happened. An intense presence came surging through, and we dropped into our battle stance. We couldn’t help ourselves, the pressure was overwhelming.

Urgh!

“Hm!”

“Grr!”

Immense pressure assaulted us from beyond the door. It wasn’t murderous, but it announced a far superior strength. It was impossible not to feel it. Fran’s ears and tail stood on end, along with the rest of the hairs on her body.

As the door opened further, I caught a glimpse of a furnished room beyond it. This wasn’t your regular sort of door.

“After you, Lord Rig.”

“Thanks.”

People were stepping out now. The first was a small man, and likely a mage. He held the door open for the person behind him—an aide probably. A large man stepped out of the door next, with golden hair like a lion’s mane. He looked distinguished, and was built more powerfully than even Elza. Despite his towering height, his movements had a graceful feline quality about them. The man’s silence was enough to intimidate. He had the presence of a lion, the king of the beasts.

I Identified him. I couldn’t help myself; it was pretty much habit.

Name: Rigdith Nalasincha

Age: 38

Race: Red Cat/Golden Fire Lion.

Class: Dragoon

Level: 71/99

HP: 1965; Magic: 1081; Strength: 1084; Agility: 749

Skills: Sensitive Sole 8; Intimidate 10; Stealth 3; Brute Strength 6; Flame Magic 7; Camouflage 3; Frenzy 8; Presence Sense 8; Breath Control—Harden 7; Torture 2; Brute Force 10; Fangclaw Arts 7; Fangclaw Mastery 8; Regeneration 8; Command 3; Raise Morale 6; Abnormal Status Resistance 7; Flexibility 6; Blink 10; Flash Step 5; Mental Status Resistance 5; Elemental Blade 10; Threaten 3; Breath Control—Soften 8; Vigor 8; Fire Magic 10; Roar 8; Magic Resistance 5; Mana Sense 4; Mana Barrier 8; Flame Immunity; Spirit Control; Mind’s Eye; Enhanced Spear Arts; Enhanced Spear Mastery; Enhanced Elemental Blade; Enhanced Fur; Hardened Fur; Demon Killer; Dragon Slayer; Determination; Sense of Balance; Predator; Mana Manipulation; Night Vision

Unique Skill: Flame Drain; Dragoon Arts; Dragoon Mastery; Spear God’s Blessing

Extra Skill: Beast God’s Favor

Class Skill: Awaken; Golden Flame of Extinction; Spear God Form

Titles: Kingslayer; Patricide; Usurper; Beast King; Beast God’s Favorite; Dragoon; Dungeon Conqueror; Demon Killer; Dragon Slayer; Fire Mage; S-Rank Adventurer

Equipment: Flame Dragon Fang Lance; Flame Dragon Scale Armor; Venomlord Snake Tights; Golden Flame Lion Cloak; Bracelet of Sacrifice; Ring of Reason; Beast King Seal

…!

What the hell was this thing?! HP, Strength, and Magic, all over 1,000?! This guy made Amanda and Dias look cute! He was a frontline fighter, but he would make a formidable caster too. I’d never seen most of his skills before, and he had a lot of Extra and Class Skills to boot.

However, his most alarming titles were Beast King and S-Rank Adventurer. He reigned over all the beast tribes. As befitting of his title, he was terrifyingly strong, and carried himself with an air of nobility.

Does he not have any weaknesses…?!

Before I could read up on his many skills, a figure blocked my line of sight. Another giant beastman, larger even than the Beast King himself. This man was as tall as he was wide.

“What’s the matter, girl?”

The giant looked as if he would win a test of strength with a Stone Golem. I had seen him once before. This was Gaudartha, the guardian of the carriage we saw this afternoon. For a second, I thought he had sensed someone Identifying his master. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. We just happened to be in the Beast King’s way. We had to get out of here before we drew any more attention.

Fran, we have to get out of here. Now!

…

Fran? Are you okay?

…

But Fran didn’t respond. She only shook, growing paler and paler.

So strong… We can’t win…

I had never seen Fran so terrified. This wasn’t her first time meeting an Evolved—she had been very blunt with Aurel and Lumina, but now she was petrified. The Beast King had succeeded in achieving the power of the Ten Ancestors. The pressure he gave off was ridiculous. A trace of murderous intent probably would’ve been enough to kill a man with a weak heart. And Fran was strong enough to realize the unspannable chasm of power between them. Her beastman instincts were screaming that she was little more than prey.

“What’s this? Hey, kid, you a Black Cat?”

The Beast King noticed Fran and stared right at her.

“Black Cat adventurers are far and few in between.”

“Indeed. She’s quite strong, for what it’s worth.”

Gaudartha examined Fran again, his interest piqued by his master’s comments. It didn’t take long for him to gauge Fran’s abilities.

“Yeah? Well, she ain’t worth much.”

“You can’t judge her by your standards, Lord Rig.”

“Why not? Well, whatever. Say, that sword of yours look strong. How about I grant you a royal audience right here and now?”

Crap, he had his eyes on us! I could feel the Beast King’s battle urge rising. His eyes took on the look of a lion who had spotted its prey. Fran was still petrified, her will completely broken by the overwhelming pressure.

He’s going…to kill me…

Arf…

Even Jet was cowering in the shadows. Fran could do nothing but tremble. I might have to use some Dimension Magic to get out of here. It might leave an even bigger mess for us to clean up later…but Fran’s safety took priority.

“You don’t have time for that, Master Rig.”

“Damn it, Royce.”

The aide who’d opened the door spoke up. Unlike the easy-going Gaudartha, the man called Royce was of a sharper attitude. He waved his hand over the door and it disappeared. The door was some kind of skill, or maybe manatech stored away with something like Pocket Dimension. I decided to Identify him. My Identification of the Beast King went unnoticed, so none of these guys had Identify Sense. We might end up fighting them one day, so I wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away. If I got caught, we’d just skip town. I’d apologize to Fran for making her miss the fighting tournament, but it was better than getting killed.

Name: Royce

Age: 46

Race: Gray Rabbit/White Silver Rabbit.

Class: Space Mage

Level: 74

HP: 401; Magic: 1199; Strength: 151; Agility: 419

Skills: Sensitive Sole 4; Dig 4; Sound Sense 6; Stealth 2; Healing Magic 8; Moonlight Magic 4; Presence Sense 7; Conceal Presence 4; Timespace Magic 4; Kick Arts 5; Kick Mastery 7; Blink 7; Abnormal Status Resistance 4; Vibration Sense 3; Mental Status Resistance 7; Staff Arts 5; Staff Mastery 6; Land Magic 3; Jump 4; Earth Magic 10; Support Magic 5; Magic Resistance 8; Mana Sense 4; Mana Control; Orc Killer; Goblin Killer; Mana Regeneration; Enhanced Hearing

Class Skill: Awaken; Dimension Door; Crescent Moon Seal

Titles: Orc Killer; Goblin Killer; Protector; Dungeon Conqueror; Earth Mage; A-Rank Adventurer

Equipment: Silver Moonstone Longstaff; Crescent Rabbit Robe; Earth Sprite Cloak; Decoy Bracelet; Vampire Ring

This guy was a monster too! An evolved beastman with over 1,000 Magic. Despite Royce’s rabbit ancestry, cute was the last word you would use to describe him. That said, his powerful legs and kicking proficiency were painfully stereotypical. He also had Timespace Magic along with other rare abilities. Of course he was an A-Rank! A real A-Rank too—unlike Seldio, the fraud we encountered outside the city gates. The door seemed to be a product of his Dimension Door skill.

Three such monsters stood before Fran, each far more powerful than she was. To make matters worse, none of them were exactly friendly. Simply maintaining one’s composure before the Beast King’s posse was impossible.

Royce seemed to have sensed Fran’s distress and addressed the Beast King coolly.

“We must hurry, lest we be late for our meeting with the Guildmaster.”

“Oh, right. Almost forgot about that. Hey, good for you, kid. You get to live another day!”

“You sound like a common thug, Lord Rig.”

“I’m the King of the Beast Tribes. Of all the kings on earth, I have the most right to act like a mob boss!”

“I was hoping you would stop, sir.”

“Oh, shut it! Come on, let’s go!”

We were safe, for now. Rigdith lost all interest in Fran and followed his aides into the guildhouse. When they were gone, Fran dropped to her knees. She was on all fours, her breathing completely out of whack.

“Huff, haa, urgh…”

She was going to hyperventilate.

It’s okay now, Fran! Calm down! Deep breaths…

“Haaa… Haa…!”

Fran forced herself to breathe deeply. Beads of sweat dripped down her chin. She never stopped trembling, and the sound of nauseated heaves mixed in with her gasps for breath.

Fran, can you hear me?

“Urk… Hm…”

Just barely, by the sound of it. Still, she was able to force a nod, so some of her senses had returned.

Let’s go back to the inn. We’ll get some rest, then head to the dungeon first thing in the morning. We can talk to Dias after that, okay?

“Hm…”

I teleported us back to the inn. It would’ve been strange to anyone who saw it, but the sooner we got back, the better. She absolutely needed to rest.

Can you walk?

“I’m fine…”

She moved like she had just fought a life-threatening battle. That one encounter took everything out of her. I helped her get to our room with Telekinesis.

We should get to C-Rank before we run into the Beast King again.

I didn’t expect the Beast King to be such a…beast. He was probably emitting that intense presence to prepare for the negotiating war with Dias. As the representatives of the Beast Tribes and Adventurer’s Guild, both had to be armed to the teeth.

Fran just got caught in the crossfire. The pressure the Beast King emitted wasn’t even directed toward us, yet the terror it inflicted was unreal. None of the monsters we’d fought so far even came close. We had to avoid fighting him at all costs. I would take fighting a dragon over the Beast King. We had to rank up as fast as possible.

An hour later, Fran was finally beginning to calm down.

Shall we call it for today, Fran?

“I’m fine.”

She was responsive again, now that she was no longer in the Beast King’s presence.

Are you sure? Don’t force yourself.

She was still pale, but she wasn’t trembling anymore.

All right. Do you want dinner or a bath before you go to bed?

“Hm. I’ll take a bath.”

Fran enjoyed baths, so it would be a welcome change of pace. While she was at it, I’d normally practice my skills. But today I had something else that needed to be done.

I have to find out where the Beast King is staying.

We could avoid him much more easily if we knew his address. First, I would check the Adventurer’s Guild to see if he was still there. If he was, we’d wait until he left and follow. If he wasn’t, I would use Jet’s nose and my own Presence Sense to pinpoint his location.

Let’s go, Jet.

“Woof…”

Don’t worry, we’re not going there to fight.

“Arf…”

Jet was terrified of the Beast King. Still, we needed to know where he was.

We don’t even need to come close to them. We’ll just scout them from afar.

“Woof…”

He really didn’t want to do this. The encounter really did a number on Jet’s courage. Time to implement doggie treats. I shouldn’t really, not when I was trying to discipline him. The next time I wanted him to do something, Jet would request even more treats. Still, this was the only way forward.

I’ll make you some ultrahot curry when we get back. I’ll even make you something Fran’s never tried before: Hellfire Curry.

“Grr!”

Well, that did the trick. The fire was burning in Jet’s eyes again.

Come on.

“Woof!”

We rushed to the Adventurer’s Guild and sensed that the Beast King was still in the building. I didn’t have to get close to feel his raw aggression—the aura was even worse than this afternoon. He really wanted an upper hand against Dias. As young as the Guildmaster looked, he was still an old man. I hoped the Beast King’s presence hadn’t given him a heart attack.

This negotiation was going to take a long time, but I wanted to get back by the time Fran was finished with her bath, which left me about twenty minutes. Fortunately, the Beast King started moving out of the guildhouse. I focused my attention beyond the rooftops to the Adventurer’s Guild. I could clearly see that the Beast King and his posse were on the move.

Royce threw up another Dimension Door. I was hoping Jet could track his scent.

No need for that now, I guess.

“Woof.”

We could still feel the Beast King’s aura, even after the Dimension Door disappeared. Their hotel was right under our noses. Now that I thought about it, there weren’t many places equipped to host such an esteemed guest. The hostile aura he brandished had faded, but I had no trouble pinpointing his location. Only problem was he picked a spot close to the Adventurer’s Guild. We would have to be careful coming and going there.

Jet, make a note of the Beast King’s scent.

“Woof.”

I made a mental note of his aura, too, so we wouldn’t run into him.

Anyway, let’s head back.

“Bark!”

I teleported us back to the room. We were running a little late, and Fran had already finished her bath. Something was off though. Fran was sitting on the bed, knees pulled up to her chest. There wasn’t a single light on.

We’re back… Fran?

“Woof.”

Her face was buried in her thighs. She didn’t respond.

Why’d you turn the lights off?

“Hm…!”

Whoa!

Fran charged. She gripped us tight and buried her face in Jet’s fur.

What’s wrong, Fran?

“Woof?”

“Teacher… Jet…”

Her voice was trembling.

What’s gotten into you?

“Nothing…” Fran said, although the deep concern on her face betrayed her true emotions. 

Her eyes were red and puffy. Had she been crying…?

“Arf?”

“Hm. That tickles.”

Jet licked her cheeks, and finally a smile returned to her lips. Fran might act like she was okay, but no one could survive an encounter with a monster like the Beast King unscathed. Her broken will wasn’t going to be fixed in a matter of minutes. She only put on a strong face so she wouldn’t worry me.

I’m such an idiot…

Her tears were on my hands. I could’ve scouted the Beast King’s location at any time. In my panic, I wanted to get a handle on his movements as soon as possible. But Fran needed me today.

I’m sorry.

I used Telekinesis to pull Fran into an embrace. Times like these, I wish I had a human body again. I could make copies of myself, but they were just that. Copies. My body was a sword and Telekinesis was my hands. 

Anything I can do for you tonight?

“Sleep in the same bed with me.”

You sure?

“Hm.”

I didn’t see that one coming. I fully expected her to want a midnight order of curry or pancakes.

But I’m a sword. I’m hard.

“Don’t care.”

Fran looked me squarely in the crest and nodded. Her mind was made up.

Well, if you say so.

“You, too, Jet.”

“Woof?”

And that was how I became Fran’s body pillow for the night. I was probably far too stiff to provide any comfort, even with my sheath on. I was still a sword after all. Still, Fran locked her arms and legs around me and refused to let go. Fran was to my right while Jet was to my left in all his furriness.

Fran rubbed her head against my hilt and I wondered if that hurt. Fortunately, the exhaustion caught up to her and she fell asleep quickly, despite having the most uncomfortable body pillow in all the realms. She was usually a deep sleeper, but I thought it came even easier to her tonight.

“Zzz…”

But now I had nothing to do. I usually practiced my skills at this hour, but that would wake Fran up. Might as well spend the night staring at Fran’s sleeping face. I never got to do much of that.

Goodnight, Fran.

“Mm…”