Man, that ceiling is high, am I in a giant's bedroom?
I don't know how long I'd been out, but my right arm was still clinging to the grip relic. Not only that, but I was in a rather large bed with only pants on and it felt like my leg was numb.
"Huh? Otoha?"
The Oni I had fought clung to my left hand and had fallen asleep on my leg resulting in the loss of feeling. Wearing a shaggy white shirt and thick black pants with leather shoes, she seems to prefer the color scheme.
I decided against alerting the girl whom my last interaction with was almost a blade through my heart, and quickly checked my body wasn't missing any pieces after the duel.
My whole body felt sore, like I had been beaten up or harsh training, something like that shouldn't be possible with that second blessing right? More questions that needed answers again, but it did feel like there was something else to it. I'd have to ask Enda.
"Hey Touji, glad to see you're awake"
A shiver ran down my spine, a combination of the name and the breeze that followed Arisu as she parted the fabric used to separate the room. It was a cozy area all in all, despite the cool breeze, having been filled with clutter that gave the feeling of a rather lived in place.
Bookshelves, a fireplace, candles, a few inactive light crystals, two messy tables with notes and schematics all over and makeshift walls to create a temporary room with what I could only guess was carpet or tapestry with interesting patterns and stories had been raised to a height Enda would have to stand on boxes to see over.
"You chose that name?"
Arisu tilted her head at the assumption, I could only guess such a name would be her choice with her own name being rather foreign. Otoha has a similar name and yet it was rather common to have that style if you happened to be an Oni.
Maybe she could have named me out of spite?
"No, Tsu did. You know I think she likes you, well, she could just be fascinated by your body though..."
Excuse me? Fascination with my body? What a thing to know about someone I've never heard of. I hope it's just a passing thought, picking up romantic interest in someone who's been asleep is just weird
"Who is Tsu?"
"Ahhh right, you know that Paladin girl with the black hair? Well her name is Makino Tsumugi. We had to register you with a name as part of the family, you happened to be knocked out at the time, so sorry about that. *sigh* Trust me, we had no choice"
Oh, her, in a single day she'd been through so much and I had honestly expected her to run away the first chance she had.
Arisu said I was knocked out and 'Red', or uh Warren, said the ride from the fort made it possible to arrive back to the city within a day, so I figure it must have been a day or two that I'd been out for the count.
"She's been here the entire time by the way, I hope you can forgive her. You don't know her and I won't hold it against you if you refuse, but... I think you should at least get to know her side of the story, before you judge to harshly"
"The entire time? How long have I been asleep?"
"A month I think- oh uh, a month is half a season, sorry. This world likes to tell the time different to my old place, it can be confusing at times"
Arisu followed up with a strange pose, with both hands in a closed fist pressing against her head and poking her tongue out. In a strange way, it calmed me down.
"Half a- how? Wait, how am I alive?"
"Ota… Took care of you. After I spent some time talking to her about your own upbringing, well, she came around really fast. She has- ah what am I saying, get her to talk to you"
That Oni was still asleep despite the conversation, going as far to drool onto the sheets. Her bandages had been changed yet still on her broken horn. A wound like that should have closed in this time, maybe I just don't know enough about Oni bodies to comment on a wound like that.
They made great adventures and Tyrants Rest had its fair share, even if the majority of the time I had interacted with them was when working with farmers to distill rice wine, they had always been first in line to purchase some.
"You might want to let go of that relic for now, by the way, that thing has been sapping the mana right out of you and is the reason you've been out for so long. This is a silver lining at least, your body has grown thanks to all the food Ota has been shoving down your throat"
She could only help but laugh after that last remark, but she was right and it freaked me out as I dropped the relic on bed and felt my body. I didn't just grow, I was no longer a twig, I had actual muscle mass.
"Fufu, that brings back memories. At least I'm not the only one who had that reaction"
What was that supposed to mean? Ah whatever, I'm a little freaked out at the change, but if that's the price of no longer being scrawny anymore, I'll take it.
I knew that using mana flexed and strengthened muscles like practicing weapon drills, the relic must have been draining me nonstop.
"Do me a favor, don't think too hard about how we've been keeping you alive, ok?"
Arisu certainly loves to be vague, at least it was to avoid embarrassment for everyone involved, so I didn't really mind. When the choice is death or awkwardness, little thought needs to be put into it.
"How are you by the way? With the fruit I mean"
"To keep it simple, I shouldn't try to use it again. Eyebore is alright too"
"Did something happen to her?"
"I told you he wouldn't notice me, perhaps when you have three tails?"
The voice came from one of the desks, Eyebore; the thirteenth copy of Enda, had hidden herself completely with a simple illusion applied to her cloak. Turning to look at the desk, she dispelled the illusion and let her cloak rest on her chair as the lack of magic revealed a wound she obtained shortly after Ota and I fought.
"I tried to stop that relic before it could reach you, I over exaggerated my ability to catch such an object and lost my arm in the attempt"
So that was why when I saw Enda without an arm scream out not to pick up the relic.
"That-"
"Thousand Cuts"
"-Right, 'Thousand cuts', the relic you picked up, has a habit of killing anyone it chooses. The last wielder who used it without being drained to death was ninety years ago. However, he was only able to use it because he learnt how to use other forms of magic. Mainly 'Qi' and 'Druidism', although the latter has been banned for unrelated reasons. Everyone was worried... that you would be another victim"
That explains it, well most of it anyway.
Ota began to shift and wake up from the commotion, slowly opening her deep violet eyes that seemed more full of life than last time I saw her. She sprang to her feet instantly, bowing to show her sincerity.
"I'm really, really sorry for losing my cool and trying to kill you!"
I appreciated her honesty and straightforward nature, when I first met her I couldn't help but feel intimidated.
If I was honest with myself, I wasn't sure if I could forgive someone who tried to kill me instantly, even if Arisu said she stayed by my side while I had been unconscious for at least four weeks tending to me.
That probably meant feeding, washing, and who knows what else. In a way she kept me alive, I think I, if anything, she's been trying hard to make up for her own mistake. If Arisu hadn't cut that blade, I would be dead, but if Ota didn't help me, I may have reached my end either way.
"I… Forgive you"
It was a lie, but something I wasn't opposed to either. I just couldn't forgive her straight away, even with the work she put in to keep me alive, I needed time, and to learn who she really was without the constant anger.
"See? No harm no fowl! I told you he'd be a good kid, cheer up Ota"
I leaned back on the pillow as Arisu threw an arm around Ota, it seemed like this was something that weighed heavy on her mind.
"By the way, where are we?"
"This is my home, to some it is 'The Tower', to others it's 'The Relic Armory', to me it's the little shack that grew into a city. I built it as a refuge for all who seek a safe place to grow and thrive. Dragon's Mort, the city build on the skull of a monster that tried to destroy the world, welcome home"
Hell of an entrance, but that's Enda.