"It's okay. Everyone makes mistakes."
"But... but... all that money..."
Although I tried my best to cheer myself up, it was just so hard to accept that I had somehow emptied the mana essence like it was a shot, just taking it all in one go. Although I had no idea about the exact value, there was no way it wouldn't be worth at least 50 grand.
The more I thought about it, the more depressed I became when thinking about all the money I had lost when the king apprehended me. Thankfully, I at least had the hides from the yetis to sell, and hopefully, that would be enough for me to start making a makeshift base in Trill.
Standing up, stretching my bodies who had gotten a bit stiff with sadness, I got going. It was time to finally start enjoying myself. And the first part of that was to get ahold of someplace to live where I didn't have to cover myself in white fur to keep warm during the nights.
==========
"What do you mean, it's full? Gael told me that I should go here to find a place to stay."
"Sorry, hun. There's no helping it. A lot of people have been trying to move away from Kuul lately. So we don't have a single room. Though, if you truly want somewhere to stay, you could stay in my room for a while. I'll take good care of you."
Although it could have been an interesting experience to spend a couple of nights with the muscly female tiger, I was not about that. I liked my women with skin, not fur.
The woman in question was Gael's sister, Nana, and just like her brother, she was also an orange, tiger beastman with black stripes, with the biggest difference being the two soft mounds of goodness she had planted on her chest.
Her inn was surprisingly in quite a good shape, with almost everything made of shiny wood. With the bottom of the inn being primarily a bar, there were plenty of tables and chairs for visitors coming for some late-night drinks.
"Haa... Thanks, but no thanks. I'll try my luck at another inn. Maybe they have some rooms vacant."
With a sigh, I had to admit my defeat, as I was not willing to sell my body to Nana just yet. If I didn't find another way, I might have to back on this though.
For some reason, her brows rose when she heard my words, and it didn't take long until I found out the issue at hand. "I'm not sure if you know, but this is the only inn in Trill. We are a pretty small village, after all. So, sorry hun. But my offer still stands."
Leaning forward, her cleavage hung over the desk she was standing behind, her trying her best to make a good case as to why I should swallow my pride and let her have her way with me.
Taking another look at the woman who was a couple of centimeters taller than me, I had to think about her proposal once more.
Her well-sculpted bottom clad in just a pair of tight brown leather pants, and her not-so-modest chest only covered by what looked like a black bra to me wasn't bad, but it was pretty weird.
'How can she go around dressed like that without freezing her ass off? Well, I guess I have no choice... Night is about to fall, and I didn't leave a body at the cabin...'
Just as I was about to resign myself to my fate, a sudden intruder intervened in our conversation.
"Sister, stop this. Jack, if you want, you can stay with me until you find a place to live. It's not much, but you can at least sleep under a roof."
Her brother had arrived at the scene, now wearing a huge broadsword on his back, with the tip almost reaching all the way to the floor.
Straightening her back and crossing her arms, Nana wasn't happy with her brother snatching away her prey, which was strange as tigers usually didn't intrude on each other's territory.
"Tsk! There's no need, Gael. He was just about to accept my generous proposal. Also, my inn is a lot better than your shitty cabin anyway."
"Gael, thank you. When do we leave? I can pay you with some yeti hides if you want."
"What?!"
And like that, we were on our way to the home of my savior, who had let me protect the sanctity of my body for another day.
==========
"So, how long do you need to stay at Trill before you go to the capital?"
With each of us having a cup of tea in our hands, we were sitting at Gael's kitchen table, making some pretty pleasant small talk. For some reason, the voices in my head that usually screamed at me to escape weren't present anymore, letting me fully enjoy the company of another human. Or person, at least.
"Hmm... I'm not quite sure. But I probably can't leave for another week at least. Oh! That reminds me! Are there any good hunting spots around here, or a dungeon? I'd hate to just sit around doing nothing, and I also want to make some money while I'm at it."
*BAM!*
Somehow, my words had ticked him off enough for him to slam the table with his furry paw, with enough force to create a couple of cracks in the wood.
"You said you wouldn't be reckless! Why do you want to go out just to die?! Do you know how many yetis there are around here, all of them [D]-rank monsters?!"
Watching the angry tiger, I couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of fear as he bared his fangs. However, it didn't take long until I realized that this was just another one of his ways of trying to save my life.
"What are you doing...? Wait! Is that...!"
Therefore, I instantly brought all of the hides that I had skinned before, making them materialize out of a cloud of mist on the floor. Seeing what I had brought out, the sleek eyes of his opened wide, unable to understand how a meager youth like I could have killed more than 10 yetis on my own.
Giving him a moment to assess the situation, I leaned back into my chair and put one of my legs over the other. The only thing missing now was my mask, and then I might have looked a lot like that obnoxious god.
Finally, Gael managed to collect himself, fully understanding what I meant with my actions. "So... you killed all of these? By yourself?"
"That's right. So there's no need for you to worry about me. I used to be a student at Ainu if you know what that entails."
The cogs quickly found their place in his head, as I assumed him to know about the most prestigious academy on Tella. Relaxing his body, he spoke with a much calmer tone, "I see. Then it makes sense that you aren't worried. Still... I don't think it's a good idea to just venture out in the wilderness of Kurat. But if you must know, there is a [D]-rank dungeon just a bit northwest of Trill. You can check it out tomorrow if you so choose."
"Thank you. I promise you that I'll be back."
****
[Sophie's Pov]
'What should I do?'
Lying on my bed, my mind was a complete mess. Nothing made sense anymore.
From every day being fun and happy, growing stronger together with all the friends around me, to now not knowing what is true or not. Not even the being inside of me could tell what was right or not, my inner voice was also in turmoil because of the insanity that had gone down.
If I had been a native of this world, maybe I could have accepted that James had switched sides, that he had used his own body as a catalyst to summon a demon. However, I wasn't.
Struggling to get a hold of myself, I felt the familiar wetness around my eyes appear once again.
This was not how it was supposed to be. This wasn't what should have happened.
We should have gone on with our lives, then defeated the demons together, so we could ultimately live happily in the future.
Just thinking about having to fight James in order to save the allied races made me sick to my stomach.
'Please... Whatever you are doing... Don't be on the side of the demons...'
****
[3rd person Pov]
*BOM!*
"LOKIIII!"
The ruling god had entered Loki's office once again, making her anger last time look like a small tantrum as she slammed the door off its hinges.
Meeting her eyes were the, as always, calm Trickster, sitting behind his desk with his hands clasped, fully knowing she was on her way.
"Why, greetings, young Theia. It seems like you don't want to stay away from me a second longer than needed. Unfortunately, I'm into older women, so you don't quite fit the bill."
Not caring about his stupid words, she only had one question to ask.
"Did you already know this would happen when you created the [Mare] Manual?!"