Hidden Lore Unlocked

After going through some hidden paths, Lora and I finally arrived at a small warehouse. Flowers and vines decorated the cobblestone walls, and a few crates and barrels sat around the entrance. It pretty much looked like any other building at first glance, but knowing what was inside made my heart beat with anticipation.

“So this is the base?” I asked. It looks so much bigger up close. 

"It sure is," said Lora, nervously scratching her head. "Sorry if you expected something bigger. We've never really focused on appearances."

I shook my head and smiled reassuringly. "I didn't mean to sound that way. I actually like it. The flowers look really pretty too."

Lora beamed. "You think so? What a relief! I knew putting up those flowers was totally worth it, hehe." She approached the entrance, unlocked the door with a wave of her hand, and opened it for me. “Newcomers first.”

"Oh, okay." I timidly stepped toward the entrance, but right before I could go inside, a slight surge of electricity shocked me out of nowhere. I briefly paused and shuddered.

Yep, that guy was here, alright. Knowing my situation and his, maybe I should ask for some advice on how to suppress these powers when I get the chance.

Taking a deep breath, I finally stepped inside.

A fresh scent of vanilla and wood greeted me first before my eyes could adjust to the lights around the room. I looked around, jaw dropped.

I knew the base would be pretty spacious and organized, but goddamn did it look so much cozier in real life.

Dried flowers and colorful tapestries decorated the walls, and knitted mats carpeted the wooden floor. A long, wooden table with maps and documents occupied a far corner, surrounded by a few wooden chairs. Across from it, sofas and couches circled close to a hearth, and a few shelves filled with books and potions filled up the rest of the space.

Casually sprawling on one of those couches with his legs kicked up was a young man with reddish-purple hair and wearing brown and burgundy leather. He squinted on a crochet hook and a bundle of colorful yarn, clearly focused on making… something. I couldn’t tell what it was other than it being a pile of tangled yarns.

“Hey Dahlian!” said Lora, waving a hand. “I’m back from prison!”

“Oh, uh-huh.” Dahlian nodded, still gluing his pink eyes on his project. “Welcome back.”

Lora and I exchanged glances.

“I’ve also brought a new ally,” she added.

“Uh, hey. I’m Haruma.”

“...Cool.”

Lora dug around in her pockets and pulled out a small pouch. “And I also brought some roasted nuts!”

He finally paused and looked up, eyes slightly widening.

“Where did you get those?” I whispered.

“A guard dropped it,” she whispered back.

Dahlian’s expression gradually reverted to that dull look of disappointment. “You know I’ve been craving meat for ages. Ashrenne won’t let me go outside at night, even though I’m the hungriest at this hour.”

“I know, I know. I’ll get you real meat next time, promise!” said Lora, tossing over the pouch. “I just got back, after all.”

“Hmph, okay.” He caught the snack and started munching right away. No, scratch that. He practically inhaled the whole thing in one go. “This’ll do for now, I guess. Thanks.”

“No problem!” Lora looked down at the crochet handicrafts scattered around the couch. “Seems like you’ve been keeping yourself pretty busy.”

“Of course! I can’t sleep like you humans, and I gotta distract myself from the hunger pangs somehow!” he whined, tossing the empty bag away. “I’m so hungry, I wanna eat a cow… or at least a few boars. Or maybe…”

He drifted his gaze toward me with the eyes of a starving bear. I shivered and stepped behind Lora.

“Pfft.” Dahlian cracked a smirk. “I’m just kidding! I’m not gonna eat ya, new guy. I swore to never eat humans again, anyway.”

“Uh, I’ll hold you to that,” I said.

“...Huh, for someone who's never met me, you sure act like you know me already.”

Crap! He’s onto me! “I-I know a thing or two because someone else told me about you guys.”

“Ohh, you’re one of those informants?”

“Uh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“What do you mean?” asked Lora.

“Right, I’ll explain everything, but…” I looked around. “The rest of the team isn’t here…”

“You just missed them,” said Dahlian. “Ashrenne clocked out after breaking Lora out, and Sloane went on another mission.”

“Oh.” So that’s how Lora escaped without the player. What a relief.

“Oh, I think it's fine,” said Lora. “We can just explain again next morning.”

“That’s fair,” I said, taking a seat.

Aside from the fact that I came from a different world, I shared almost everything I’d been through since I woke up, from the glitches I called curses, my encounter with Silvestine, and how I somehow phased into someone’s room while sleeping, which led to meeting Lora and saving her from the guards and Entrophys. I did tweak the story a bit to explain how I’d already known so much about them without drawing suspicion, though.

“Ohh, so your curse gave you some sort of clairvoyance about our situation, so you decided to join us to save your village. Gotcha,” said Dahlian, nodding.

While Dahlian seemed pretty satisfied with my story, Lora, on the other hand, gaped at me in complete bewilderment. “You… you're cursed too?” she quietly murmured.

“Huh?” I tilted my head.

She flinched as if I’d snapped her back from a trance. She shook her head and rubbed her temple. “Sorry, it’s just… It sounds similar to what I’m going through.”

“Eh?! R-really?!”

“Well, my clothes are fine, and my magic works normally as always, but recently, I…” She fidgeted in her seat, her eyes wandering around the floor. “I… did feel a lot of pain after healing too much.”

My heart sank. “Then, those side effects from earlier…”

Lora nodded. “It was the pain spiking for a moment. I don’t know what it is, but it started happening sometime before the last war started.”

“The last war…”

She probably meant the War of Florathea. For whatever reason, the spring goddess, Florathea, had turned her back on humanity and declared war, spreading all kinds of disaster wherever she went. It was only through an alliance with Demon King Malistraeus and a few human kingdoms that she and her followers were defeated, thus starting an era of peace among demons and humans.

I rubbed my chin. “Do you know what those curses are?”

Lora shook her head. “I’ve asked the church to look into it, but even they don’t know either.”

I furrowed my brows as a massive wave of dread flooded inside me.

Something was wrong here.

Why… did I not know anything about this?

The game writers never mentioned this before! Not only that, this was also the first time I’d heard of Lora being affected by it too!

I wanted to ask more about that, but Lora clearly didn’t know much either, so I swallowed and brushed aside my concerns for later. “I guess I’d been struck by it when I was isek—i-in my slumber out in the forest.”

“That must’ve been terrifying,” said Lora. “Are you okay now, Haruma? Do you feel any pain?”

“No, I’m fine, aside from crashing into things, haha.”

Lora tossed a doubtful look before reluctantly nodding. “If you say so, but if you feel any pain, please tell us!”

“Will do, thanks…” Without realizing it, a yawn escaped me.

“Oh, it’s getting pretty late, huh?”

“Yep,” said Dahlian. “I don’t mind if we talk all night, though. Heh, it’s fun to stay up all night sometimes.”

“You’re just saying that because you can’t sleep,” I said.

“Yeah, sorry, Dahlian,” said Lora. “I’ve been sleeping on the prison ground for too long. I need a proper rest for once…”

“I’m so tired too,” I mumbled. “But I might phase through the floor again…”

“But there’s nothing beneath us,” said Dahlian. “You’ll be fine. Probably. I'll just wake you up if I notice something’s up.”

“...I’d appreciate that a lot.”

Lora gave me a blanket and let me choose a couch to sleep on. I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, so I chose the one most distant from the others.

The moment I lay down on it, sleep took over within seconds.