by Virlyce
Lucia tilted her head to the side and blinked at me. “…Is that something I should feel bad about?” Her arm rose into the air, and her hand reached over her shoulder to scratch the back of her neck. “I mean, didn’t I abandon my territory back in the pocket realm too? I don’t feel bad about that.”
“Well….” Right, the question of whether or not Lucia has a conscience is up for debate. I’m sure she has one, but it’s broken. Things she should feel sorry for aren’t being felt sorry for, and things she shouldn’t be worried about are made into a big deal. Saying acorn stew tastes horrible makes someone a blaspheming heretic. Harvesting people’s heads is perfectly fine if you’re not the one dishing out the final blow.
“Besides, Softie’s grandpa ran the sect just fine before I came along,” Lucia said and yawned. “He can lead the sect while I’m not around. Then, on the occasions I come back, I’ll dish out commands and lead properly. Simple, see?”
Lucia does have a point…, surprisingly. “Makes sense. Did you only come here to tell me that, or was there something else?” I’m on the verge of creating a medicinal pill that’ll improve my mana circulation. Sure, I’ve failed hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times by now, but I’m close this time; I can feel it. I mean, I thought I was close the past couple hundred times, but this time for real!
“I was going to bring you to the banquet. It’s starting soon.” Lucia grabbed my shoulder, and before I could pack away my things, she teleported us away. Why is she like this? What if a fire starts? Well, I left my cauldron on the lowest setting, so at most, I’ll come back to a pot of burnt ingredients. A fire shouldn’t break out. “Softie! I brought her.”
Huh. The plaza’s changed a lot in the short time I was experimenting. How many days has it been? Lucia went to sleep and didn’t wake up until now…. Two days, I think? It’s easy to lose track of time inside of a cave. No wonder why cultivators like living inside of them. If they could see the sun and moon swapping places while cultivating, they’d literally be watching their lives tick away. The cave removes the pressure of time. Maybe I was wrong about them being unprogressive backwater ancestor-worshippers. They certainly didn’t hold back while preparing for this banquet. Well, they say it’s a banquet, but all the food is meant for Lucia since no one wants to ingest any impurities. But everyone’s drinking something. “What’s this?” I pointed at the jars of liquid that peppered the surfaces of the multitudes of tables.
“That’s spirit wine,” Softie said. “It’s an impurity-free wine made from immortal rice. Feel free to try some.”
Why haven’t I seen it around before? Shouldn’t it be a very popular drink, considering it has no impurities? “I’ve never heard about it.”
“That makes sense,” Softie said and nodded. “It’s only taken out on very special occasions. Drinking it disorients you, so many cultivators avoid it. It used to be more popular, but people figured out they could kill someone higher ranked than them if their target drank enough of it. Offering it to someone outside of your sect is akin to offering someone poison. It’s a good thing you haven’t seen it outside because you’d be dead if you drank it.”
Lucia’s eyes lit up and she snatched a jar of it off a nearby table. She sniffed it, and her ears and tail perked up. Before she could bring the jar to her mouth, Softie placed her hand on Lucia’s sleeve. “Wait! S-share a jar with me.” She grabbed onto the jar and leaned over, placing her mouth on the lip and took a gulp. Then she rotated the jar so that the spot she just drank from was in front of Lucia’s mouth. Softie’s eyes stared at Lucia with so much expectation; I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
Lucia blinked and shrugged before drinking from the jar. Is Lucia weak to alcohol? I don’t think so; I’ve never seen her act drunk before. A drunken Lucia would be a disaster. I think I’ll distance myself from her just in case….
Wandering around the sect, I noticed a lot of couples. Men and women who were sitting underneath trees, on narrow benches meant for two people, on the shore by bodies of water, under the eaves of some buildings. All of them were sharing jars of spirit wine in the same manner that Softie had Lucia drink in. Once again, I couldn’t stop a feeling of pity from rising out of my chest. What horrible crime did Softie commit in her past life to fall in love with Lucia?
“Oh, if it isn’t Sister Ilya.”
Claw? “Hey, Claw. You’re here too, huh?” I didn’t expect Claw to show up to the celebration. He’s a very serious person focused on getting stronger. “You don’t seem like the celebrating type.”
Claw nodded at me. “I’m not, but I wanted to spend some time in the sect before I set off to avenge my parents. I don’t know if I’ll have another chance to experience a day like this.”
“Oh. Why don’t you ask Lucia to help you avenge your parents? I’m sure she’d be a huge help. And she sees you in a favorable light; I don’t think she’d deny your request.” Lucia mentioned bringing Claw to the pocket realm; I’m sure she thinks highly of him—even if it’s just as an executioner.
Claw shook his head. “This is something I must do by myself. I don’t want to drag Chosen Lucia into my troubles. A subordinate is meant to hoist his leader up, not bring her down.”
“Hm. Well, if you die or get captured, Lucia will probably be upset and try to avenge you. So don’t do either of those, okay?” Lucia already has a lot of bad will aimed at her. I’m surprised the grievances she caused haven’t caught up to her yet. There was the extermination of the phoenix sect, the killing of a country’s crown prince, the fact that she’s a squirrelkin spreading squirrel apparitions in a world where immortals want to kill squirrels. Deciding to hide in the pocket realm is probably the smartest decision Lucia has made since she came here.
***
I … don’t remember anything. Where am I? There was supposed to be a banquet for me, celebrating my new position as sect leader…. Hmm. I’ll use my brain to puzzle it out! Right now, I’m lying on a bed with my arms tied together by their wrists. My legs are tied at their ankles. And my tail seems to have poked through the bed because I can feel the floor with it. Can I break this rope? Ah, yeah. That snapped pretty easily. How was I tied up in the first place? Anyways, I’ll undo the ropes at my legs and pull my tail out of the bed and … I’m free! It looks like I’m in a pavilion, and there’s a Shadow Devil Sect crest on the wall, so I wasn’t kidnapped by an immortal. I guess I’m safe? Hmm…. Using my brain’s too hard. I’ll just cheat. “Puppers! What the heck happened!?”
Hmm? Is he ignoring me? “Puppers…?” Ah, it seems like he’s dead. Okay. That’s not a good sign. Only I’m allowed to kill Puppers! Which bastard did this? “Durandal! Are you there?”
Wait, no. He’s dead too. I killed him before the banquet even started. Should I get another spirit just in case something like this happens in the future? Maybe it could learn how to read too…. Well, for now, I’ll just leave the pavilion and see what happened. It’s very quiet. Normally, the sect is bustling since there’s a million people inside of it. And there was a banquet last night; there’s no way silence should be the main ambient sound. People should be having fun at afterparties! Eh, cultivators are prudes; they don’t even eat snacks. Maybe it’s a normal day—let’s see. Mm, the sun’s out and shining. The sky is clear and blue. The fancy sect buildings are in complete ruins. Hmm. That’s not normal. Were we attacked? The pavilion I was in is in horrible shape too! If I stayed in there any longer, it might’ve collapsed on me.
Where is everyone? “Hello? Anyone out there?” Ah, I shouldn’t have used Quick Shot’s roaring technique. The pavilion collapsed, and I can hear other buildings crumbling in the distance. Jeez. It’s like the world ended or something…. Oh! I can contact Ilya with my messenger. I’m so smart.
I pulled the messenger out of my interspacial ring and navigated through the pictures until I could send Ilya an audio message. “Ilya, what happened? Where are you? Wait, no. Where is everyone?” And now I wait! I’ll eat a meal while I’
m at it. Hmm? I think thinking of eating triggered a memory…. Gah! I hate not being able to remember things! Eating…, eating, eating, eating…. What is it!? Eating and … drinking? The spirit wine! I drank a whole lot of impurity-free spirit wine…. And then I forgot everything. Ah, this must be what those army soldiers called blacking out. I always thought they were lying to not be held responsible for their actions while drunk! It turns out alcohol really does cause memory loss. Who knew?
If I’m not mistaken, blacking out causes people to do and say terrible things buried deep within their hearts…. But I’m a good person—there’s no way I said or did anything inappropriate! Isn’t that right, Mr. Fluff?
…Wait. Why’s there a squirrel apparition in the sect? Ah, I see. It must’ve returned from the Gates of Hell. Yes, that must be it. Oh, look! There’s another one and another and another … and another. Oh, jeez. There’s a lot of them. But I don’t recognize any of them. I might not be so good at remembering people or their names, but when it comes to my heart devil apparitions, I can differentiate all of them by their fur patterns alone! And none of these apparitions were present at the Gates of Hell.
Ding, ding!
Ilya responded! I opened the messenger and pressed the audio button. Ilya’s voice drifted out. She sounded a bit, okay, very annoyed. “Are you finally sober? Right now, I’m underground in the main shelter with Softie and a few other people. It’s in the basement of the pavilion that you should’ve woken up in. Everyone else fled from the sect because you went on an apparition-summoning spree. Wait where you are; we’ll come outside.”
Huh. Just because I summoned one or two apparitions doesn’t mean everyone had to run away! Mm, apparently, I was an unruly drunk. Puppers probably died trying to tie me up. I wonder how they managed to tie me, a sky-realm expert, up with normal ropes. Well, I vaguely recall Softie saying something about the spirit wine being like a poison that allowed lower-ranked people to kill higher-ranked ones.
“Lucia!” Softie’s voice appeared from behind me, and when I turned around, Softie was already flying through the air in a leaping tackle! I caught her, but I staggered back by two steps! What the heck?
“Did you get heavier?” How did she push me back? Why do I feel like I’m not a sky-realm expert anymore? First, I wake up with my arms and legs tied by ordinary ropes. Now, even Softie’s able to push me around!
“W-what are you saying?” Softie leaned back and glared at me, but her arms were still wrapped around my back. “The only thing that changed about me is my advancement to the earth realm!”
“Yup,” Ilya said. “She advanced with the Seducing Succubus Sect’s technique. You should’ve seen the ropeplay she performed on you while you were sleepi—”
“Ilya!” Softie shouted as she teleported away from me. She reappeared in front of Ilya and covered her mouth. Ilya struggled while letting out muffled cries, but Softie didn’t let go until Ilya’s face turned blue from exertion—or lack of air. One or the other. Softie glared at Ilya, who had collapsed, before smiling at me. “I bound your arms and legs after you passed out to prevent you from hurting yourself in your sleep. Don’t listen to anything strange coming out of Ilya’s mouth.”
…What kind of excuse is that? Have I ever hurt myself in my sleep before? Hmm. Even if I did, I wouldn’t know because my wounds recover in a flash. “Okay…. Then what’s rope pla—”
“Sect Leader Fluffytail!” Softie’s grandpa appeared out of nowhere. “You were planning on returning to your pocket realm, correct? Junior Ilya told me. With the thousands of apparitions you let loose in Kong County, there’s no doubt immortals will catch wind of you now. For your own safety, you have to return quickly. A special seal prevents anyone higher than a saint-realm expert from entering the realm; immortals won’t be able to get you there.”
“Huh. What—”
“There is no time for anything else!” Softie’s grandpa pulled out a boat that was much smaller than the flying boat that I had. “This is a flying boat built solely for speed. With this, you’ll reach the pocket realm in three hours.”
“…Can’t I just teleport?”
“No. You’ll get lost because you’re directionally challenged.”
Oi. I thought sect leaders were supposed to be respected.
“Little Moon will fly you and Junior Ilya back. I’m sorry we had to part ways like this. Cultivate hard until you can defeat an immortal. It doesn’t matter how many years it takes; the Shadow Devil Sect shall await your glorious return.”
***
“We’re here,” Softie said. She stopped the boat at the destroyed temple-like area where we had entered the Immortal Continent from. It seems like no one repaired it after the tribulation that occurred on my and Lucia’s arrival. The boat alighted to the ground, and Softie stowed it away inside of her interspacial ring. “If you channel your qi on the center of the altar, the pathway to the sky and earth plane will open.” Her lips trembled as her eyes glistened with tears. “I, I’m going to miss you. Thank you, Lucia, for being my first friend.” She paused. “Um, and you too, Ilya, I guess.”
So I’m an afterthought.
“Hmm? Why does it seem like you aren’t coming with us?” Lucia asked and tilted her head. “You’re not thinking of ditching your commander, me, right? That’s deserting! And deserters are executed in the army.”
“D-didn’t you hear what my grandfather said? Anyone in the saint realm or above is barred entry from the pocket realm unless they’re a native. It was a seal put in place by the people who created the realm,” Softie said. “A-and we’re not in the army right now. This isn’t deserting….”
“Hmm.” Lucia scratched her head while grumbling. “There’s no way to take you in? Can’t I stuff you into this pouch or something? Ah! Doesn’t that mean I have to leave Mr. Feathers and these running fish behind?”
“There’s no way,” Softie said and shook her head. “Mr. Feathers managed to kidnap a sky-realm smith’s son; I think he’ll be fine if you let him do as he pleases. As for the axolotl’s, they’re peak saint-realm beasts. They won’t be able to go in either.”
Lucia hung her head. “But … my tasty portable snack mounts….” She sighed and untied the pouch on her waist before tying it around Softie’s. “Alright. You take care of them. If you eat any without me, I’ll beat you up, got it?”
“Neigh!” A red chicken-like head popped out of the pouch. “Neigh, neigh!”
Lucia patted the phoenix’s head. “Alright, Mr. Feathers. Take care of Softie, you hear? She’s a weak crybaby, so don’t bully her too much.”
“Lucia! I am not!” Softie said and stamped her feet while sniffling. A tear leaked out of her eye and rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away before pulling something out of her interspacial ring. It looked like a lantern, but instead of an orange flame, it was burning with a white light. Softie bit her lower lip and grabbed Lucia’s hand, depositing the lantern’s handle into her palm. “This is my soul lantern. As long as I’m alive, it’ll burn. And if you hold it up, this mark over here will always rotate and point in the direction I’m in. You can use this to find me once you become an immortal and return…. I’ll miss you, Lucia. I promise I’ll cultivate hard by ingesting and purifying the impurities you left behind. When you come back, I won’t be a crybaby anymore, and I’ll at least be a sky-realm expert!”
An odd expression appeared on Lucia’s face. “…You’re going to drink my bathwater?”
“Don’t say it like that!” Softie’s face flushed bright red. She took in a deep breath and stepped forward, pecking Lucia on the lips like a sparrow. She lowered her head and looked to the side. “W-we shouldn’t part like this. This isn’t goodbye. You’re coming back; there’s no need for me to be so emotional.” Softie raised her head, tears dropping from both of her eyes. “Promise me you’ll come back, Lucia.”
Lucia scratched her nose. “Eh…. But won’t it be dangerous for me?”
Rest in peace, Softie. Lucia’s
too dense to understand your feelings.
Softie glared at Lucia, but she didn’t look intimidating at all because of her tears. “I’ll be waiting, so you better come back!” Then she turned around and took out the slim boat. She hopped inside as it rose off the ground before Lucia could react. The boat charged forward, and Softie looked back once, her body getting smaller and smaller as the boat got further and further away. “You better come back!” And then, just like that, she was gone, the boat disappearing over the horizon.
Lucia sighed and looked at me. “You know, sometimes, I think Softie’s in love with me.”
That’s right. She is.
“But then I think about it a little, and the necklace of intelligence tells me I’m wrong.” Lucia nodded. “There’s no way Softie has any feelings for me other than that of admiration and awe.”
Maybe it’s time to give Lucia a new necklace. “Right. Of course.”
“Oh wells, let’s go!” Lucia looped her hand around my waist and lifted me like a bale of hay. She skipped towards the center of the temple and dropped me onto the ground. “I just put my qi inside? Like this?”
The temple trembled as a blue gash formed in front of us. It opened up like a mouth, and the inside of it was black, speckled with white lights. Lucia stared at it and rubbed her chin before grabbing her tail. She patted it a couple of times, checking its springiness. She nodded. “Mm. Doesn’t seem dangerous.”
I have a theory about Lucia’s tail. I think all her qi and excess energy is stored inside of it. She eats a tremendous amount of food, but none of it goes to her waist or thighs. But, clearly, it has to be going somewhere—why not her tail? Her tail almost has a mind of its own, telling her when there’s danger or—not!?
“Testing!” Lucia said in an upbeat manner. And she threw me into the portal! Why am I always being treated like this!?
