"Miss Mallory, what do you plan on doing once we get to your home?" Chris asked.
"Eh? Well…" Claire paused for a moment, thinking of what to say.
I walked behind the two, holding my distance from them as I looked at the glass bottle in my hand. The whole walk I've been trying to figure out what I heard with the voices, thinking of whose voices those were.
It Can't be Kale's voice, his voice is less gruff and more like someone trying to act younger than his age…I shouldn't let him know that I think about his voice like that. But it's true! The voice that I heard also sounded very angry, something that kale usually isn't.
"I was hopeful that Amelia would reconcile with our Father…Perhaps maybe retire that Adventurer title she wants." Claire finally responded. "Hmm…After that, I suppose I'd go back to helping with my fathers trading warehouse. Maybe bring Amelia along so she can learn as well."
"…Does this mean I am free to visit you?" Chris asked another question in a more childish tone.
"Haha….we shall see. I believe you are biting onto something you don't quite have the ability to handle." Claire laughed. It was an awkward laugh, one you'd get from hearing a child say something weird.
I didn't see much weirdness in it, he was just asking to visit her!
"We shall see! In the future, when all of this is done, I shall revisit you!" Chris vowed. "I'll be older, wiser! I'll give you the first copy of my book when I get it done!"
"Haha…we shall see…" Claire awkwardly laughed once more.
I think Chris has taken a liking to Claire? It's something that I noticed since we got here… Maybe that's just my imagination…Maybe he just wants her as a friend!
"Hm? Lilith, you're so far behind us." Claire turned her head to me as we walked. "Is something wrong?"
"N-nothing. Just thinking." I said, playing with the bottle in my hand. "I didn't really want to interrupt your conversation."
"Oh, you shouldn't be afraid to step into our conversation…What do you plan on doing after you do take us back to Ozoth?" Claire asked. "I mean, you have to Guard Chris when you get back, but I guess I'm asking…What else you'll do besides that?"
"Me? Well…I guess that's depending on what Kota wants to do?" I answered.
"What Kota wants to do?" Claire said, confused. "Why think about what he wants? Don't you have some sort of Goal?"
Goal? Hmm…A goal of my own. Killing my father would be one of those, but…I don't really think I should just blurt it out to her like that. Thinking about it now, I have been somewhat following Kota for most of my time. I mean, he's the one that usually knows what's going on and I end up tagging along. But still…
I can't forget what My mother said in her letter to me. The same day she left for her hometown, leaving me with Kota and his family to keep me safe. She's probably there by now…Waiting for her time to come. But there was something in that letter of hers that kept me wondering.
"Embrace yourself, and you'll find your way home." Was the last thing she wrote in the letter to me.
At first, I didn't really know what she meant by that. Was it to embrace the dragon side of myself, open up my dragon eye? Ever since I haven't really thought of it…Though with the journey we have ahead of us, I feel as if maybe I should…
"Lilith?" Claire pulled me out of my thoughts once more with a nudge. She walked towards me, stopping herself and Chris from Moving ahead. "Hello? You aren't daydreaming, are you?"
"H-hah? N-no…Just thinking about the question." I stumbled over my words. And I still didn't have an answer for her! "Uh…I guess I'll need to figure it out later?"
Claire nodded. "Oh, I didn't mean to make you think too hard about it." She took a glance back at Chris, a sense of annoyance glossed over her. "It was more of a way to…Remove myself from talking with him."
"Ohh…He's annoying to you?"
"…Yes…"
"That makes two people annoyed by him!" I cheerfully said, which prompted her to laugh.
The laugh caught the attention of that annoying person, as Chris looked at us with annoyance. He swung the basket he had in a circle. "Oy, Hurry it up! We gotta get back so I can write!"
"Ok, Chris. We'll be there in a moment." Claire reassured him. "We're only a few minutes away from the house, I wonder what they're doing at the moment? It's only been…About an hour or so?"
"It's been that long?" I asked.
"Well shopping does tend to make the time pass much faster." Claire smiled.
"Hurry it up! Come onnn!" Chris yelled. "We're wasting precious time!"
"For what?!" I yelled back, questioning him.
It seems like my voice made quite an impact on him as he froze up and looked at me, surprised. Even Claire jumped at my voice. I wouldn't say my voice would compare to Kale's yelling, but it was up there when it needed to be. Usually it comes out when I yell during my swings, but my annoyance level was reaching its limit.
"I-I Uhh…I guess we can wait for a moment…" Chris said, looking away nervously. "K-Kale and the rest are probably w-wondering where we are…" There was a frightened tone to his voice that made me immediately guilty.
Hm…Maybe I do have a strong voice. Either way, he does have a point. Everyone at Kota's place is probably wondering where we are.
"Hearty voice you have." Claire chuckled awkwardly. "Didn't expect that from you."
"It's out of annoyance. But Chris is right, we should head back to Kota's…" Feeling embarrassed now with how everyone felt about my voice, I started walking in Chris's direction.
Hopefully Kota has dealt with his lump issue so that he doesn't need this bottle…
***
Moving along the trail, we approached my house. The somewhat dilapidated house looked like a sore thumb amongst the other houses with its residence no longer within.
I found myself stopping to look at it once more, feelings of sadness and pain bubbling in me as I remembered my time here. I still haven't gone inside since I came here. Kota's mom wanted me to go inside at some point this morning. What would I find inside of it?
The windows at the front of it were now completely broken, Stains of green paint the remaining glasses that stood. And though it seemed like Kota's father might've fixed the front door, it stood out as the oddball as everything else seemed much older or broken compared to it. The grass itself grew longer than what I had remembered before, the whole front premise was covered in it all. The brown painting on the walls
Waned in its color as the wooden infrastructure of the show began to show. This house was slowly becoming something of what I would see in a nightmare or something.
"Your home is…Quite the mess." Claire said, looking inward at the house. "You must be thinking about your time here…Good or bad."
"Yeah…I'm supposed to be heading back here to grab whatever is left inside." I paused for a moment. "Could you imagine that I lived here before?" I looked at Claire. "This…Broken looking house?"
Claire looked at me with concern before she looked back at the house. She let out a deep sigh as she tried to find the words to respond to that.
"…I'm not sure I'm the one who should be answering this, really." Claire tilted her head, she took another deep breath as if…Remembering something as well. "But…One shouldn't look at where they started as the point where they stood. But rather the point where they took a step." She turned to me, an almost sad smile formed on her face. "I would say that's what matters. Not the house, but where you took your first step. I'm not sure if this is the answer you want, but I hope you can interpret what I mean."
I thought for a moment. Hearing Claire say that to me sparked a memory, not long ago.
Before I met Kota, I was alone. Quiet, shy and insecure of myself and the way I appeared to others. I was stagnant to say the least with how life was going. I didn't want to leave the house or socialize with others…I didn't really want to do anything. And then I went out that one day to take a walk by myself, that's when those kids started throwing rocks at me. It's happened before, in the other towns I've lived in, the kids calling me out for my eyes and hair. But this time it was different, someone helped me. Even if Kota didn't have that intention beforehand, it still made a mark on me.
Meeting Kota was one of the first steps I've made to being better. Now I've honestly hadn't noticed what others think of how I look, and I've even made more friends along the way.
"I understand what you mean, Claire." I looked back at her. "Thanks for that answer."
"No problem."
"Alright, Since you two are going to keep talking about sad stuff, I'm going on ahead!" I peered past Claire to see Chris looking at me and Claire with annoyance. "Though it would make a good backstory for a character…"
As me and Claire followed behind him now, Claire spoke up. "Chris, you need to start thinking about how you talk with others."
"If it doesn't inquire about me, then there's no need. It's how my father and my teacher taught me." Chris said, without looking back. "There's no need to make friends unless it's necessary."
Wait, does that mean he doesn't consider us as friends? Well, actually I wouldn't put us as friends…He did make up some weird stories about me and him.
"That sounds like horrible advice." Claire argued. "Making acquaintances with others helps you form bonds. Even in my lessons in trading, it's best to be in someone's favor rather than being against them. I'd ask that you actually listen for once instead of enthralling yourself in your writing…"
It seemed like Claire's words got to Chris for a moment, But that diminished as he turned his head towards us and blew his tongue out at us. Claire grumbled in dissatisfaction at that.
Walking along the fence of Kota's place, the noise of a door opening caught my attention. Four figures came out of the house, I could easily spot Kale and Kota walking alongside each other. Gerald and Amelia trailed behind them as Gerald held an ax in his hand.
Kota looked somewhat irritated, I'm not really sure why he'd be…maybe something happened while we were gone. Kale seemed unamused as Gerald happily strolled his way to a tree trunk, beside it were a stack of wooden logs. Its position in the yard told me that this tree trunk…Was the one tree that Gerald's friend struck when he fought with Kota. I recall watching that battle and witnessing how Kota made that…Spell out of nowhere. Throughout that whole fight, my eyes were glued on Kota and how he managed to move in a bizarre manner, even more bizarre when he created a new spell on the spot. I felt quite happy for Kota in the moment he won, but during it…I felt anxiety building up, thinking that maybe…Maybe he'd actually get hit.
"Allllrightt!" Gerald cheerfully yelled. "Let's get to business!" He then put the axe onto the tree trunk as he went on to place one wooden log onto the tree trunk. "Kota, as we said, a good way to stop a hard wood…Is to cut it down!" He looked at the three standing in front of him, arms wide out.
Amelia, Chris and I watched from the fence, the other four not noticing us yet as they talked.
"Hah. Yeah…Funny." Kota said, frowning. "Why'd we bring Amelia along with us?"
"Because I don't want to be alone with your mom! She's scary!" Amelia looked at him, annoyed. "Plus, I want to see you use magic again!"
Gerald shushed her, grabbing ahold of the ax. "Hey! No bad mouthing! She can probably hear us!" That instantly shut Amelia up. "Anyways… That was a good joke I made, Kota. Just to let you know." He gave Kota a look. "And also, we can't really just stand around and wait for those three to come ba-oh." As he turned around to face the tree trunk, he noticed me, Claire and Chris.
"Are we doing house chores?" I asked. As I did, Gerald opened the fence door to let us in. "I can help!"
"Ah-well…You see, this wood cutting a…example for Kota to look at. We don't really…Need to cut…wood."
"What…does he need to look at it for?" I peered past Gerald and looked at Kota. "Does he need to work on his posture?"
"Wait, something's wrong with my posture?" Kota said confusingly. But Kale shook his head beside him.
"No, it's not that." Kale spoke. "We're helping him deal with an issue he had. A form of self control by occupying himself with something else."
"I told you guys, I don't need this!" Kota sounded bewildered, oddly enough he was avoiding looking at me as he brushed past Kale and towards Gerald. "It settled down, it won't happen again."
"Hah. You say that, but we all know the body won't agree!" Gerald said, swinging down the axe right through the log. "We need to give you some muscles and a way to keep you occupied! Now here, Cut a log!" Gesturing at Kota, He held the ace out towards him.
I watched as Kota walked to him and reluctantly grabbed the ax, noticeably struggling for a moment from the weight of it before awkwardly holding it in his hands. Then he finally took a glance at me, noticing the glass bottle in my hands.
"Lilith, what's that?" He asked me. I glanced down at the bottle and shook it around. "Kinda looks like uh…" He stammered. "Uh…Lotion?"
"No time for girls! Wood cutting time!" Gerald interrupted him. He grabbed another piece of log and placed it on the stump. "Let your mind focus on the wood you have and smite it!"
Grumbling, Kota raised his hands and struck down. Unfortunately we all watched as he missed the log, an eerie quietness traveled around us as he awkwardly looked at us all.
"Hm…" Amelia hummed, A sly grin grew on her. "You missed."
"I know that! This ax is too heavy!" Kota blurted out, pulling the ax out of the stump and raising it once more. "This time I'll get it!"
Another strike and once again, he missed. Gerald stifled a laugh as Kota once more pulled the ax for another swing. Only this time, he managed to strike the log. It was noticeable that the way he struck it was at a bad angle with how only half of the log was cut down.
"Ugh…" Kota groaned, frustrated. "There, struck it."
"Well, I mean you partially did." Gerald commented. "But it's a start. Keep at it…."He turned his gaze toward me, Chris and Claire. "I should probably let you three in, let me open the fence door…"
Once he opened the door, Chris flew his way into the yard. He made haste to enter the house with his basket of Pastel and papers. No one really minded his actions besides Claire who slowly followed in suit before Amelia stopped her. I walked past the Fence door, getting closer to watch Kota cut some logs when I noticed that.
"Where are you going?" Amelia asked her.
"Someone's gotta keep watch of him…I have no reason to be out here. You guys can do…" Claire peered back at Gerald and Kota, who were aggressively chopping wood. "…Whatever they are doing."
"Hee-hoo!" Gerald chanted beside Kota. The smaller boy struggled with the long enduring strokes, sweat dripping from his forehead as he swung feebly down onto the next log. "Look at that, Feeling like you forgot something?"
"I…I-I feel like I want to swing this at you!" Kota barked back at Gerald angrily. But that only made Gerald laugh.
"Haha! That's the spirit!"
I could only smile childishly as I saw the two banter with each other. I enjoy watching Kota in all sorts of ways, particularly when he is talking. He gives off a vibe that tells me he's much more mature for our age. Plus I also like how he's able to shoot back with insults, it's funny to see it.
"Lilith." I heard someone finally call out to me. I turned my gaze to see Kale, who stood in the same spot this whole time. He watched us with a straight face, no signs of enjoyment or anything on his face. "What's that in your hand?" He then pointed at the bottle in my hand.
I walked my way towards Kale, Holding it up so that he had a clearer view of it. "It's an ointment that the healer gave to me. She said it was for Kota's issue." Presenting it to Kale, I watched as his facial expression turned to a slightly amused look. He grasped the bottle into his hand and shook it around, eyeing it with one eye.
"Hm…Well, to be honest…" He rubbed his chin. "I'm not really a potions guy, but I don't think this is a potion. Nor is it an ointment."
"Eh? What is it?"
"It's uh…let me see." As he finished his sentence, he began to open the bottle. Cracking it open, he took a whiff of it. For a moment, his facial expression changed into a confused one before simply smiling. "Ah…I'm sure Gerald would know about this sort of thing." Closing the bottle, he peered past me and yelled. "Gerald! Check out what Lilith brought back! It's important!"
Both Kota and Gerald looked back at us. Gerald turned to nod at Kota, the boy immediately knowing what he meant and dropping the ax. The two then walked their way towards us, eager to know what was going to be shown.
"What is it?" Gerald asked, but soon he noticed the Glass bottle and raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"I'd assume you'd know of something like this, with what you and Synthia are usually up to…" Tossing the bottle to Gerald, Kale said that.
Gerald eyed the bottle for a moment before opening it like Kale did and took a whiff of it. A look of surprise and amusement crept on his face as he eyed me.
Ok, what was the bottle? The healing lady said that it'd help Kota, so it must do something for him, right?
Right?
"Lilith, do you know what you picked up?" Gerald asked me, closing the bottle. The smile grew wider as he kept on looking at me.
"Uh…an ointment for Kota?"
"Haha! Nope!" Gerald let out a loud laugh. "Did you even ask what it was?"
"Um…No…?"
"This." Gerald held up the bottle. It's clearish white coloring shining in the sun. "This is an aphrodisiac."
Kota eyes shot wide as he looked at the bottle, Bewilderment smeared his face as he heard that.
"Hah?" I exclaimed in confusion. What's an aphrodisiac?
"Aphrodisiacs are commonly used for couples or by…Lonely adventurers." Kale explained to me. Most likely noticing my confused looks. "It helps burn the desire for sexual relief…Kinda like when Tera put you through the Charm spell."
"Eh? Lilith was under a charm spell?" Amelia spoke up, joining in on the conversation. "Charms spells are kinda…Rare, aren't they?"
"Charm spells derive from Ithryll, It's used mostly on labor workers there who aren't efficient enough."
"How do you know about Charm spells?"
"Because the lady that put that Charm spell on Lilith is my Girlfriend, Miss Tera." Kale said begrudgingly. "…Not my fondest memory…"
Charm spell? Oh, when we first came to Prusha…I remember Kota telling about it, but I don't recall much of it myself. I just know that I did some…absurd things under that charm. If what kale was saying was right, then that bottle…would've made Kota like me!
I felt my own face burn red as I thought of the implications. What if he put that on himself? I know the healing lady said I shouldn't, but what if he still did? What would happen? Would he turn on me? No, don't think of that, Lilith! Kota would surely control himself! But…what if he couldn't? I'd have to relieve him, right? Wouldn't it be my fault for not even noticing?
As I felt my mind boggle even more, I noticed that the four were looking at me.
"I made a mistake!" I blurted out, blushing incredibly. "I didn't know, I should've asked the healing lady about it more!" I then took a deep bow.
"Lilith, Relax." Kale said. "You didn't know, I don't think anyone with little to no experience would notice or ask. A simple mistake."
I peered up at him from my bowing. Kale had a smile as he continued. "Look, we'll have Gerald hold onto it. The ointment really isn't necessary for Kota anymore."
"I-it isn't?" I stammered. "He doesn't have a lump anymore?"
"A lump? Why would I have a l-Mmph?!" Gerald quickly covered Kota's mouth with his free hand. Gerald then proceeded to laugh.
"Haha! Yeah, The lump that he had is no longer here! Yep, went and disappeared somehow! The Miracles that Synthia can do!"
"Oh…" I slowly began to move up. "So then…I guess we don't need it."
"Uh…Well…I'll be having it here, where it'll be kept safe in my hand." Gerald quickly said.
"Gerald…" Kale slowly said, folding his arms in disappointment.
"What? You think I'll be using it immediately? I have a couple of months to wait for that!"
"I'd rather you give it back to the Healer."
"Pfft…"
As those two talked, I swiftly moved around them to get to Kota. I needed to apologize to him!
"Sorry!" I immediately said to him, It caught him by surprise. "Who knows what would've happened if you took it!"
"Ah…Erm…Well I don't think I would've used it in the first place." He scratched his head. His cheeks flushed. "But thanks for at least trying."
That's a relief. At least he's not mad or completely embarrassed. still…how did he get rid of the lump?
"How'd the lump disappear?" I asked him, leaning closer to him. "Did it go poof or something?"
"…Kinda? I don't want to talk about it."
"So was it that thing I felt this morning?"
"…eh?" The look of perplexed grew on his face.
This morning I felt it! When I snuggled with him, he must've gotten irritated by me! How does one sleep that sort of issue?
"It had to be that!" I concluded. "Why do you go to sleep fully knowing you have that sort of thing hanging down there?!"
Kota stared at me dumbfounded, unsure of what to say. It took a few moments before he finally said something. The sound of disbelief and confusion filled his voice.
"There's no way you're just messing with me now."
A/N: Alright, I'll be honest and say that this volume will need like Two more chapters. So it'll probably end in the middle of this month, Only reason is because I wanted to fit in one more Chapter with Lilith's point of view and then a Epilogue that'll set up the next Volume. Honestly, I enjoy writing Lilith perspective, She a unique character to me. So Hopefully, I'll have the next Chapter out next week! Hope you enjoy this one!