BLEEEEH!
"Ehhh?!"
A stream of yellowish-pink liquid aggressively flowed out of Endori's mouth, spreading its color into the waters of a hot spring. Serine, upon witnessing such a sight, did her best not to gag.
"Milady, are you alright?! Was my cooking that horrible?!"
"No Serine, I'm…fine. In fact, my stomach feels much better."
"We need to get cleaning staff pronto; else no one will be able to bathe due to this mishap. Please finish drying your body while I make arrangements and prepare your clothes."
Serine wraps her light blue towel around her body and promptly heads towards the exit. Endori turns away from the now contaminated spring, closing her eyes as she scrubs herself dry.
"How unsightly of me. I'm glad that this is my private hot spring, otherwise I would have died of embarrassment. Not that I don't feel somewhat embarrassed right now…?!"
SHEEN
A flash of light radiated behind Endori's back. One after the other, Endori could hear the voices of women.
"Lady…Endori?"
"What happened..."
"Why are we in the private hot springs?"
"Why are we covered in such horrid filth?!"
Endori quickly turned around, no longer able to focus on her drying-off due to the unexpected guests who are now resting in her hot spring.
"Mother Christine? Mother Rose? Mother Elsie? Mother Belle?! Where have you been? I've missed you for so long!"
These maids, Lord Olan's concubines, wear looks of daze and confusion on their faces, as if they were in a new world. Belle steps out of the water, attempting to comfort Endori.
"Endori, we're sorry for worrying you. It felt like we had the weirdest dream..."
_________________________________________________________________________
"Officer Cilia, we have confirmed that the threat has been successfully terminated."
"Fantastic to hear. Another completed mission by yours truly!"
A train station that doubles as a shelter is…strangely logical–especially considering its located in a stomach. The society inside this body has bizarre, but intricate infrastructure as any normal human society would. The fact that I've unconsciously accepted this place as any other town sickens me. Well, it's either that, or all of the various body fluids that I've been exposed to. When I get home, I'm taking the longest shower in my life.
Speaking of, we need to get out of here already!
"Good job officer 'brag-a-lot', you did outstanding work. Now if you'd excuse me, this little girl and I need to get out of this body promptly."
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Despite the fact that you are a criminal, you still have the guts to mock a commanding officer."
Cilia walks over to Lily and me, slowly clapping her hands. The scowl on her face is obvious, even though she's trying to suppress it. If I weren't so exhausted, I'd laugh in her face just to rub it in.
"The only place you, the little lady, and those other two foreigners are going is to jail. First, you'll do eleven days of community service, which will be colon cleaning. After that, you will be flushed out the bladder with all of Endori's other waste. Consider this as your reward, since we have every right to execute you all!"
Lily latches onto my arm with a soft, but firm grip. I can tell that she has something on her mind, but right now, I've had it with this chick!
"Shut up with your god complex! I bet no one really likes you–they only listen to you because of your badge. If it weren't for that, you would be no different than the other white blood cells. Actually, you're not special now even with the title, and you know I'm right. Don't take out your insecurities on me, other 'foreigners', or anybody!"
"..."
The room became silent, the air stood still. Cilia's squad's mouths were agape, powerless to do nothing but stare at Cilia and me, who were the center of attention. Cilia herself was taken aback by my words. I couldn't care less about how she retaliates; she deserved to hear every single word.
"Officers, take the others to prison. Leave Vex to me–I'll personally see to it that he will be crushed by Endori's teeth."
"Cilia, wait!"
Some red cell kid interjects Cilia's tyrannical spiel, cutting through the tension by standing right between us. If I remember correctly, didn't he say that his name is Drip? Lily looks delighted to see him, to the point of wagging her tail.
"Drip! Lily's glad that you are okay. Do you know this mean woman? Please save us from her!"
"Know her? She's my big sister."
"Drip, stay out of this and let me do my job!"
"Your job is to protect Endori from dangerous forces, right? Lily and Vex risked their lives to defeat the actual threat; they have proved that they aren't dangerous to Endori. None of these foreigners are!"
"Drip…please step aside…"
Cilia's frustration gradually diminishes, turning into something more mellow. She adverts her eyes, refusing even to directly look at him anymore.
"Big sis, I miss grandpa too…but the foreigners are not to blame. Something must have happened on the outside of Endori that was beyond our control."
"Drip…please…"
"Grandpa would be ashamed of your attitude, and I know you are too. Without these guys, that parasite would have continued leeching Endori's nutrients and killing us cells. How about we show true gratitude by helping them with their request? It's the least we can do."
"..."
Cilia pauses a moment, before breaking her silence with a sigh. She finally looks up at Drip, with a lighter expression in her eyes.
"I won't waste time with meaningless apologies for what I have said, but I will listen to their requests. Only one per person, though."
"Now that's the big sis I know!"
Drip turns around towards us, filled with satisfaction. He flashes a hearty-smile.
"You heard her, ask away!"
Requests granting? If only she were the goddess I'm hoping to summon…somehow. Other than that, and maybe some more money, the thing I really want is to get out of Endori's insides and return home.
"I just want to go home peaceably. I must take Lily with me."
"What about that man and woman over there?"
"Reoni and Yami? I never came in here with them, but Endori is curious about their disappearance, so it would be good for them to return too. Though since we can't guarantee a way for the cell curse to be undone, I'd like you to watch over them while I report the matter to Endori herself. Consider this a request on their behalf."
"I have no time to do such a thing."
"Don't worry sis, I'll take them to Drizzy so that he can care for them–just like I did for Lily."
"Then it's settled. There are several ways to exit Endori, Vex, so choose carefully."
Cilia lightly chuckles as she gives me her "warning". At least it's more of a playful tease this time around, though I can feel a faint trace of underlying malice still. All I know is that I refuse to leave via two particular exits!
"Wait Miss Cilia! Lily has a request too!"
"Go on."
"There's a shiny object somewhere inside here, isn't there? A crystal?"
Cilia scratches her head. I'm also confused–why would Lily request a crystal that's inside a human body? How would she even know about its existence?
"Ah, now I remember. I asked Vex about a shiny green crystal that Endori somehow ingested. Now that I think about it, perhaps the parasite came along with the crystal…"
I wanted to blurt out another sarcastic remark, but it's better to let this conversation flow as smoothly as possible at this point.
"By now, that crystal should be somewhere in the nose. Endori is scheduled to sneeze very soon, so if you want it, you'd better hurry."
"Eh, it doesn't seem worth the trouble. We need to leave before we become brainless cells too."
Lily pulls my arm away, preventing me from leaving. What does this kid want from me?
"No, we must get that crystal! The goddess lady told me it's important. VERY important!"
"Goddess? Who are you talking about…"
A goddess? Could this be the same goddess referred to in Endori's memories? The goddess responsible for curses?! I doubt that Lily, a kid of all people, would hear from a goddess herself…
But Lily's gazing at me with a firm, determined look. This is the most serious that I've ever seen her–not that I've known her for a long time anyway.
"I don't know why you are insistent on getting that crystal, but I can tell that you have your reasons. Fine, let's hurry up and get it."
"Yay! Thank you thank you thank you!"
Lily jumps up and down, like a pet receiving a treat. Unfortunately for me, she's doing it while yanking my sore arm. Kids, I swear…
"Don't thank me–I have no idea how to get to the nose in order to obtain the crystal. Now knock it off already."
"Leave it to me, your good pal Drip! I know a shortcut to get us to the nose in no time. Come on, this way, this way!"
__________________________________________________________________________
Squelch
Squelch
Squelch
"Hmm, I don't see it around here…"
"Let's keep going, Drip! Lily's sure that it must be here."
"It better be."
Endori's nose combines all the worst aspects of a cave. It's damp, moist, humid, messy, and smelly. Not to mention the ugly color of muddy-green snot plastered everywhere. Every step we take makes me cringe at the sound. It helps to think of the mucus as mud, but both are filthy, so that doesn't help much.
Despite how my life turned out, at least I can be thankful that I wasn't born as a cell.
We continue walking forwards towards the end of the nasal cavity. Lily is pulling ahead of even Drip, who is supposed to be our guide. It's impressive how far this girl will go when she's motivated. Her body is worn-out, but her will-power makes her push ahead. Crawley is finally gonna have a good little helper on his hands. He may not need to rely as much on my services anymore…
"Hey Lily, I think I see it. It's right there!"
"Really?!"
Up ahead lies an emerald-green crystal, in the shape of a small orb. Well, compared to us, it is around our size, but I'm sure that at our normal size, it'll fit in our hands. It's covered in snot, and tangled in nose hairs, so I'm hands off! That fact doesn't stop Lily from hugging it, though.
"It's true, it really is the crystal! Miss goddess lady will be happy!"
"I don't know who that is, but I'm glad to assist you in your request, Lily."
"Well, what now? What about my request to get out of this place?"
"Heh heh heh. Take a look around you, Vex."
"?"
What is this kid on about? What's so funny?
"Spill it already."
SWOOSH!
Suddenly, a gust of wind rushes through the nostril. The nose hairs are swaying, and the mucus starts dripping.
"Your wish to leave is about to be granted, or course. My advice is to watch your landing!"
"Hey, stop being cryptic! Where are you running off to–?!"
Drip runs away frantically, while waving at us.
"Goodbye, Lily. I'm glad that I could meet you and your friend."
"Thank you Drip! Lily's happy too."
SWOOOO!
The wind is rapidly increasing in volume; it's getting so loud that I can hardly hear my own thoughts. My cloak is even waving like a flag!
"Tell Endori that Drip will watch over her friends until it's safe for them to return. Feel free to come back or send other visitors!"
"Okay, Lily will tell her!"
"???"
At this point, I could only make out half the words Drip was saying. Lily seemed to understand completely, so if it matters, she will tell me later.
"!!!"
Wait, didn't Cilia say that Endori is scheduled to sneeze soon? Then this must be…
"Lily, hang on tight to that crystal! Endori's about to–"
WHOOOSH!