Chapter 29 : Tolerance

Katachi's head drooped a little as he walked back towards the orange tree.

This morning, he had headed toward the South end of Rulid, to look for healing salves in the district. However, Rulid is a small town which has barely any forms of commerce, therefore the chances of there being an apothecary around is slim to begin with - And Katachi ended up wasting most of his time searching around pointlessly.

K : (... I'm hungry, I'm tired, and low on rations and medicine... Good grief. That girl screwed up my schedule pretty badly. I got this disoriented over a girl whose name I don't even know. At least my shirt isn't that dirty because I rolled backwards with the bag strapped on, so I can wear this for a few more days. As for the bag, dusting the sand off should suffice... ?)

Katachi looked into the house, and nobody was there.

His groundsheet and bag are still there, but the patient sleeping on it has vanished. However, her bag was still inside the house, which suggests that she would probably return to sleep.

K : (She's not here? I should be quite worried, but if she's already awake and okay to the point of being able to walk away, then she should be more than able to make it herself. Maybe she's the type to recover fast like that... ? Oh dear me. Oh my.)

Katachi carefully walked towards his bag, deliberately avoiding something on the floor, and took out a hooked tool and some thin, fine string.

*** ***

Roberia leaned against a bench in central Rulid, with her left hand pressing against the wound on her side.

R : (... Ilpoh... Curse... That bastard...)

As she struggled away, she continuously uttered nothing but spite towards Katachi.

R : (... Being saved by my enemy... This goes far beyond damaging my pride. He doesn't even see me as a threat, let alone an enemy. What kind of powerful leader am I supposed to be, if I can't make a fearful impact on my enemies?... I don't want to rely upon that dirty magic Father's using to reign Rugnud. That is a false rule, built upon the success of our ancestors and reliant on luck. Luck will run out, just as the gold in mines, the water in lakes and the trees in a forest.)

She has nothing but a pouch of gold on her, slowly making her way into the old blacksmith's shop.

R : (I must be strong.)

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

"Welcome! What do you need- Oh, hello again, miss, how'd you like the flail?"

Roberia's eyes darted off to a side, in disappointment.

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

"Aww, what's wrong with it then?"

Roberia hesitated to speak for a moment, but then decided that the blacksmith is simply doing his job thoroughly.

R : "... I had thought the enemy used a magic that increased the weight of my weapon, which would make the flail that much deadlier with it bring small and pinpoint and all. But, it turns out that the magus uses a magic that can lock a weapon in place, making it completely immovable."

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

R : "... I want a weapon with many separable parts. One that is heavy, weighs about 29 pounds, that can render his techniques useless. One that can break down and chip off, bit by bit, so even if he tries to seal the weapon, I simply remove the immovable part from the body."

"... A weapon that chips off deliberately, hmm? I've made a weapon like that before, for a magus whom used the stones on it for his spells. Okay then, miss, come back in two days, and look forward to what I've rustled up."

R : "Here's payment."

Roberia emptied the pouch of gold onto the tabletop. What fell out wasn't simple gold pieces or ores of silver that most people would have - What came from it were 15 rare, high-grade Regal coins, which were manufactured a long time ago - Back when Rugnud barely started thriving on ores and minerals. These precious coins, with only 1000 of them in existence, was supposed to be a form of saving grace, to return to her country when she believed she had become strong enough.

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

R : "Keep it. Consider it as an advanced pay should I need your services again."

"... In that case, I shall accept only five. There's only a thousand of such coins in existence, is there not? Just a few of these Adamantite and Brusetellian coins like these can grace my grandchildren with unbound wealth. Besides, even if you give me these, there's only so much I can do with these little ores I have anyway."

R : "So be it." Roberia picked up the coins and dropped them back into the pouch.

P : "Good luck defeating that magus, miss." The blacksmith winked at her while picking up a piece of wood, and prepared the furnace. It seems as though the Regal coins were a dead giveaway to her actual identity because his tone of speech changed entirely upon seeing them land on his table.

Roberia exited the house of Pybuit, the retired blacksmith that once held the title of Rugnud's Pride.

*** ***

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

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

He turned the bag upside down, and a few grains of sand and dust fell from the bag, with a 'puff' sound - And nothing else was inside. The absence of ants within his bag gave Katachi a sense of relief.

K : (... Good. Right then... Clothes in first, the new shoes next, and then the pebble. The shoes are clean, so I can stuff it inside, I guess. After that, this rope- ?)

A rustling came from outside the house. Katachi turned his head and was greeted by the red-haired girl.

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

K : (Oh, it's her.) "... The first sight of me and you're already aggressive? You could at least thank me for letting you use my groundsheet."

For some reason, Katachi didn't feel shy at all while talking to her compared to other girls - But looking back, her monstrous strength probably blew away the illusion of a delicate woman in his eyes, which led him to treat her more casually, as an equal.

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

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

Katachi stuck out his thumb and pointed to the general direction behind him. Towards the corner was a medium knapsack hanging from a rather thin net, on a hook above the ground.

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

R : (He touched my stuff!? Then it's a good thing that I had the Regal coins with me...) "Gh..."

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

R : "Don't touch my bag."

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

R : "..."

K : (... She seems really unhappy... Her bag must be precious to her as much as mine is to me.) "... Okay, fine. I won't."

Katachi had gotten overexcited for a moment there over having a proper conversation with someone in two weeks - So much that he was actually getting friendly with her and neglecting the danger that came with her presence.

K : (... I need to restrain myself better.)

R : "... Hey."

K : "?"

R : "... Have you... Any food?"

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

R : "... I see."

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

*** ***

Katachi plucked one more orange to eat from the tree outside.

K : (I should apologize to the tree, if I'm going to take this much.) "I am sorry. Truly, truly sorry. I don't mean to do this, but I really am hungry. This is the absolute last one I shall take. Please bear with me."

He placed a 定 on the orange, and transformed it into an everlasting orange, before peeling off and savoring the tangy flesh within.

*** ***

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

R : (God damn it. Ilpoh curse that bastard. He didn't even tense up or fear me being there. Am I not terrifying in the eyes of the strong, just because I have no weapons? Am I just a bully, that picks on the weak and thinks that I would be worthy of ruling Rugnud simply by being the strong among the weak?... I hate him so much...)

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

*** ***

As the two carried out their activities for the day, night had fallen.

After an arduous day of fruitless searching, inventory reorganization and 'fruity' hunting, Katachi tucked himself under the groundsheet once again, and made sure his arms and legs were snugly and warm. Before he could close his eyes, however, something was heard outside the abandoned house.

It sounded like someone was coughing and in suffocating pain.

Katachi looked out through the door, and saw a silhouette of someone with familiar hair vomiting on the orange tree roots.

K : "! Wha- Where have you been?"

R : "I want to forget... I want to forget!!..."

The girl's head raised a bit and her muscles clenched and convulsed. She puked once again, on the previously vomited patch of grass next to the orange tree. Out of instinct, Katachi got up and hurried to her side.

K : (What did she want to forget?) "... Segus bless you..."

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

R : "Get... Away from me!... I hate your guts... I want to drink!!"

Roberia struggled and twisted about, and made Katachi's attempt to help her harder.

K : "Just... Come inside first, please!..." (Good lord, her breath smells like ale! She's been to that watering hole?!)

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

K : (Her face is a little red, probably from drinking ale. But, other thasn that, she looks fine. Her temperature's a bit high and feverish, though. An orange should help.) "... Looks quite fine... Here, have an orange."

Katachi held up the everlasting orange, peeled it off and placed a slice into her mouth.

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

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

R : "I SAID, I DON'T WANT ANY!!!"

Roberia smacked the orange out of his hands, in a burst of annoyed rage. The incomplete everlasting orange Katachi had prepared rolled across the floor in an non-uniform manner, to the center of the room. Katachi frowned a bit, but he heard Roberia's stomach growl just seconds after - She had vomited out her food before it even got a chance to digest, so she must have been hungry even if she insisted not to eat.

Roberia must have heard it herself too, because her face frowned into one of anguish as she clutched her stomach with her forearms.

K : "Don't be so persistent. You're hungry. Even if you don't like me, you should at least take care of yourself."

Roberia groaned a bit out of discomfort. Katachi laid her flat onto the plain ground, and picked up the orange that had rolled off. The everlasting effect of the orange kicked in - With its status set as 'Constant', the removed slices of orange magically grew back and the orange was whole again.

R : "Shut up... I can't... I can't afford to be weak... My family... You bastard... Ilpoh... Curse you..."

Roberia grumbled and mumbled, until she finally passed out due to lethargy.

Katachi rested her head on his lap, and fed her orange slices one by one. The alcohol fumes coming from her mouth were a bit unbearable, but she finally ate 5 slices of orange before Katachi left to fetch a blanket for her. He tucked all her limbs into the blanket, and glanced at her sound, sleeping face for a bit.

K : (Can't afford to be weak... She probably has it tough. Maybe she has a family to feed, being the eldest of her siblings, or just... Something. I, a lonely orphan, am just travelling and hunting these Words of Power, while she, a farmer's daughter or something, has to repeatedly fight people to become strong enough to protect her family from harm, probably. I'm simply doing it for my own, selfish reason, to stop everyone from fighting, whereas she has probably been forced into this out of survival...)

Katachi had, unconsciously, developed newfound sympathy toward Roberia. He carried her in his arms, and gently placed her atop the groundsheet. The blanket was then pulled over her gently, forming a proper bed for her to rest her weary body.

K : "... Good night... Segus bless you..."

Katachi bid the red-haired beauty a good night's rest, with no response at all.

*** ***

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

Katachi tossed and fumbled about, and turned and looked at Roberia's peaceful, sleeping face, unguarded by her hatred towards Katachi.

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

It wasn't much of a surprise - Katachi had not slept with anyone beside him before. Naturally, this is a new experience for him, which, frankly speaking, he hasn't prepared for. And so, out of obligation, Katachi hugged his bag for the whole night with his eyes wide open.