Arc 3: Demi-human hero part 2

That time when she was sick:

“Daisuke, can you please hand that a towel?”- Senri was laying in bed, sick with her nose running, she could barely breathe or speak. I was isekai’d here around the beginning of winter, season work differently here, or the climate at least, it didn’t snow or was that cold, everything was still green. Senri got cursed by an ice elemental while trying to level up.

“Wiefra doesn’t get much snow, Daisuke”

“Here”- I hand her the towel.

“There are supposed to be medicine in the first floor of this house, bring them here, and I will prepare them”- Senri tried to stand up, but she was in no shape to do anything now. Why didn’t Okura, Noni or Sakamoto take care of her until now?

I descended the stairs to look after the medicine, well I have the entire floor to look after, after 30 minutes I could find the medicine ingredients in a drawer with Sakamoto’s name on it, I climbed up the stairs

“Here”- I put the ingredients on the table, Senri again tried to stand up and prepare the medicine herself

“Don’t get up you are gonna fall down”- I stopped Senri from getting up

“Are you sure you can handle making it?”- She looked at me weakened

“Yes, Great Sage will guide me”

“Thanks, Daisuke”- She is laying in the bed looking at me

“So how should I do it Great Sage?”- I was looking at the bottle, Spirits, Licorice bark, Holy water, Angel Feather, and Fire tree bark

“Mix Licorice and Fire tree bark, put the spirits on to boil, once it boils add the Fire-Licorice mix. Boil the Angel Feather in the Holy Water. After the mixes had been boiled, mix them in one pot and stir them, after that you should have a fabric-like material to soak it in the mix. Get to work”- I boiled the holy water and spirits and then mixed the barks. It was working somehow wait I have my skill Great Healer and, I think I can lift the curse, waited for a while to get the brew and soak a cloth in it

*Use Skill: Great Healer*

“Here we go”- I cleansed the curse from her hands and feet, she could move a little, the curse is slowly lifting. She didn’t hide the curse, she wanted to cure it but let it evolve to this stage, it’s

“There are 3 more curse points, 2 of them are on my back”- I rolled her over to cleanse her back

“Ok, the last point?”- I didn’t see it anywhere

“Just cleanse it faster.”- She pulls her shirt up to reveal the last curse spot, it was in the middle of her chest, Senri got beet red looking at me, I froze again, what a way to blow it

“Are you ok? Something happen?”

“No, sorry”- Senri looks ashamed of herself, I don’t know why. I reach with my left hand to clean the last spot

“Ok, it is done”- Senri smiled a little, she was in a little less pain than before, or so it seemed

“Thanks, Daisuke. You can go now it’s late”- Senri was in no shape to do anything, I am not leaving her

“I will stay, in any case the curses resurface”

“Really?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind, why did you look so embarrassed?”

“Are you this curious, or haven’t you noticed yet?”

“Notice what?”

“I am flat like a plank”- She pointed to her chest

“Ohhh, hmm, I don’t see a problem with it”

“You don’t but other people do. Somehow it’s considered shameful, or other classmates when I was in high school told me that I look like a kid.”

“It shouldn’t matter either way. The way you look should matter this much

“It would be good if everyone had thought like this Daisuke”- Senri chuckled

“Well, yes”

“It’s late, please go to sleep”

“I told you, I will stay here to see if the curse resurfaces”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”- She fell asleep after 15 seconds of me accepting.

I stayed in the room for the entire night, or feel asleep. After 3 hours I could hear Senri’s moans of pain, the cursed resurfaced, cleansing her again was easier this time. Senri was getting agitated, no curse marks appeared anywhere, is she having a nightmare? I tried to offer her comfort by holding her hand, she seemed to calm down after some time. In the morning the 2 of us woke up, I woke up first, but a few seconds after Senri woke up, she saw I was holding her hand

“Thanks Daisuke”- She climbed out of the bed, the curse is completely gone

Reality (out of memory lane)

“Yeah, I remember that. You helped in more than just the curse like you helped me in doing magic, crafting, listened to all of my crap”- I could hear a knock, I still was on the couch

“Yes, come in”

“I don’t disturb, do I?”- Noni entered the room fresh out of the bath, soaking the floor

“What were you doing?”- Sakamoto and Okura followed

“I was remembering things we did with Daisuke”

“Well, I remember he helped me in battle, like he took the role of a punching bag to defend me”- Noni smiled and began recollecting a few moments of me saving him

Noni’s memory

We were fighting a giant thorny plant, Noni was using his spear to slash the vines it had created.

“Daisuke, see the yellow gem? Take it and stab the place the gem was held”- Noni was trying to keep up with the plant’s vines

“On it”- Jumping up to the head of the plant where the gem is located. The vines spread towards Noni, too fast for him to dodge

*Use skill: Feral Frenzy*- I used Feral Frenzy to get reach the vine faster and save Noni, no good there were 4 more, so I decided to push Noni out of the way, and after that I took some hits from the plants

Noni cut the vines, it seems to take a little damage but not enough to kill it

Noni jumped in the air and threw his spear at the plant, but the thorns were about to stab him, I jumped in the air to push Noni, in the process my chest got slashed. He used the time the plant was occupied to throw the spear at the core and kill the plant for good

“Thanks, man”- He grabbed me off the ground and brought me to Senri to be healed

Real World:

“I have one to”- Sakamoto was the next one to share a memory of me

Sakamoto’s Memory

I was in the field where Sakamoto trained his aim, and made new ranged attacks or arrow combination attacks

“Daisuke, can you bring more arrows?”- Sakamoto pointed to a green quiver

“Here”- I grabbed the whole quiver and gave it to him

“Thanks”- I could see his body was strained, his hands shaking violently, he was forcing himself to have a steady aim

“You could use a break, you look about to pass out”- He let the bow down for a bit and looked at me

“I can keep going a little more”- He was stubborn and didn’t want to listen to me, his hand is shaking so bad

“No, you won’t better rest if you don’t want a big muscle fever”- He looked at me again

“Not until I can reach this new skill”

“What skill are you trying to get?”

“Well, I need to get the skill holy arrow, but I can’t seem to get it, any ideas?”

“Great Sage?”

“Yes, holy magic. It is based in belief, not necessarily a god it can be anything and anyone, if you trust them enough then you can direct that belief at them”

“It is simple, you just have to believe in someone. Just think of a person or thing you believe in and direct all that energy into the arrow”- Sakamoto drew another arrow, the more he held the bow drawn the arrow it began to glow in a white light

“I did it!”- He smiled and fell on the floor panting

“Let’s get back inside”- I grabbed him off the ground and put Sakamoto on the sofa in the living room

“I like some time alone, but it is ok if you want to stay”

“What is it? If you want to tell me, that is”

“My life here, it’s 10 times better than the one we had in Japan, I can’t talk about the others tho. Noni and I are brothers, we grew up without any parents”

“I am sorry to hear this”

“No, we still had many friends in Japan, but there was a thing missing. We felt as outcasts every time our friends will bring their parents over or even talk about them. There were many things me and my brother had done and achieved, all alone, but”

“But what?”

“We still missed something, like a part of us being dead”

“I don’t really get it”

“We wanted to have parents, well we one day got them, we were 16 years old back then”

“I can’t follow the timeline, explain again”

“Yes, the things I told you before we had done them as kids, we had to work and make money for ourselves. The 2 of us would usually fight illegal boxing matches, and we will win big time, no one knew this about us”

“That’s hard”

“Well it was, keeping up at school was the hardest thing imaginable”

“Ok, I get it now, you can continue. What happened when you got parents?”

“A shitshow for short. But before I tell you more, please don’t judge or say anything stupid, ok?”- He covered his face with his shaking hands

“I won’t, don’t worry”- I moved closer to him

“Well, when we were adopted by that family we got a new sibling, a little sister.”

“Ok, pretty normal, I had a sister too”

“Well, the interactions were great but”

“But what?”

“Well, let’s say that the 2 of had the biggest sister complex imaginable”

“Elaborate please”

“Our little sister was 15 at the time. Well, we had broken some barriers siblings shouldn’t break”

“Just say without hiding it. It’s confusing”

“The 2 of us fell for our little sister”

“Did this create a divide between the 2 of you?”

“No, not between us”

“I don’t understand, what was the problem then?”

“Well, we didn’t fight or argue, we helped each other to get on with our sister, keep in mind that on Earth we were twins”

“You were twins?”

“Yes”

“That’s surprising”

“We asked for different bodies in this world so no one will recognize us. Well at least my brother did, I how he should have looked”

“So, what happened next?”

“Well, we got the big bombshell at 18 after 2 years there that those people who adopted us were our biological parents”

“I think I understand now. You were made at your parents for abandoning the 2 of you?”

“More or less. Our sister complex was exposed a little after this. They didn’t kick us out, they were blaming themselves for everything”

“So after this? How did you die?”

“It was a few months after this, we took a hike with our sister to clear our minds and see how life would progress for us from now on.”

“That day we were on a mountain trip, we reached a high point and all of us slipped, my brother was killed first, my sister and I were still alive”

“How did?”

“We got here at the same time, he waited for me in limbo. I was the only one with the least injuries due to me landing on top of them. My sister perished due to internal damage a few weeks after”

“So then, how did you die?”

“I killed myself. That was simple, I have no regrets of doing it now, I am with my brother again.”

“What about your sister?”

“I don’t know much about her”

“Great Sage?”

“Yes, she is in this world, in the northern region, in the mountains”

“Look, I talked with Great Sage, she reincarnated here and there is a good chance to find her in the northern mountains”

“Is it really true?”

“I think so, it’s worth a shot?”

“That area is for level 80 and above, We wouldn’t stand a chance fighting there, or trying to find her”

“Well, I am sorry for the 2 of you. Hope you find your sister”

“You are joking”

“No. Good luck”

“Thanks for listening Daisuke”

Reality:

“Who, I knew you had the sister complex face, I was right”- Senri giggle while Noni and Sakamoto looked at her mouths agape

“Well, I guess it is my turn”

Okura’s memory:

I was sitting in a library, helping Okura with sorting books

“Makes sure to handle the books with care, we need them”

“Ok”

“I am done”- After sorting them I went back to Okura, he was resting on a chair in the library

“Ok, you are free now.” Do whatever you want

“Are you sure?”

“Well, I forgot, I want to tell you something, we need to go back to the mansion first”

Okura’s room

“Take a seat. I need to tell you a story first”

“Go on, I am listening”

“Well, this amulet here, is very important for me”- He handed me a coin-shaped amulet

“Ok, look. Senri is my little sister. This amulet is our only connection to our family. All 4 of us died at different times, all of us meet once or twice before we died.”

“Ok, go on”

“Senri is my little sister, she is just 17 years old, although she may look older. Almost all of us here are older than 20 years old”

“Ok, what about you and Senri? What happened in Japan?”

“We had a normal life, Senri was a popular girl at school, had a boyfriend, the normal stuff.”

“Ok, continue”- I was inspecting the amulet, I was cleaning it

“Well, we got burned alive at a concert we were going to. An accident happen, everyone ran for their lives, my sister and I got trampled and stuck in the fire, her boyfriend was the only one to get out. When coming to this world Senri didn’t remember much, she remembers a little about them, but that’s all, she lost most of her memories of Japan”

“I am sorry to hear this”

“Daisuke, can you promise me one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Take care of Senri”

“I will”

“Look, you spend 70% of your day with her. She wasn’t willing to spend her day with anyone. Promise me that you will get her mind off things, maybe she will forget completely. I gave you the amulet and replace the photo with the 3 of us, her birthday is 2 weeks from now

“Ok, don’t worry Okura, Senri is in good hands”

“Thanks Daisuke”

Reality:

Well, Okura didn’t tell the memory the same way I remembered it, leaving the ‘take care of Senri part out’

“It is getting late, I will go to sleep”- Noni was tired and the first to go

“Us 2. Come on Okura, let’s get the least 1 game of cards before bed”- Sakamoto and Okura left, leaving only me and Senri in the room

“You don’t have much to worry about, Daisuke, we trust you here. Maybe you should tell them more about your life in Japan”

“Maybe”

“Hey, can you come to my room?”

“Got cursed again?”

“There is something I wanted to ask you, I need your help with something, it’s a little embarrassing”

“Ok”

“Come on then”- She grabbed my hand and I entered her room. It was like that night when she got cursed

“It looks messy”- As I looked around her room, I could find her clothes being thrown all over the floor

“Sorry, this is the thing I needed help with. I am quite messy, so if you want to help me I would be grateful”

“Ok, no need to worry, I need a bag”

“I just stood in bed all day, sorry Daisuke.”- She searched for a bag and a broom to clean her room, she stumbled a few time before giving me the bag

“I will clean there, don’t worry, you helped me enough”- When I got to clean under the bed, she stopped me

“I can do it myself, Daisuke”

“It’s ok”- I put my hand under it, I could grab a bottle from under there, from the first one 4 more followed

“I am sorry Daisuke”- Senri tried to hide her embarrassment, she threw the bottles in a cloth bag

“Great Sage, what the hell is happening?”

“Alcohol bottles. She has been drinking quite a lot.”

“Ok, Senri, tell me what is this really about?”

“Okura told you already, didn’t he?”

“About what?”

“About me and our family”

“Yes, let’s go outside first. It’s good to take a breather”

Outside, the night was beautiful, the sky, the crickets, everything about today was good, Senri was an exception

“Let’s sit here”- We walked outside the mansion to a pasture adjacent to it

“So, tell me what Okura told you. What really happened in Japan? How was my life before loosing all of my memories”

“Well, you had a normal life, friends, a boyfriend etc.”

“Ok, but, what happened to them, what happened to us?”

“You died along with your brother, there was an uncontrolled fire at a concert, you and your brother got burned and trampled to death. Your boyfriend and everyone else escaped aside from you and Okura”

Senri began to shake

“Ok, but, I wonder what happened to them after this.”

“Great Sage?”

“Kid, maybe you shouldn’t tell her this but”

“But what Great Sage?”

“Well, you know the car that hit you?”

“Yes”

“The people in there were Senri’s family, they survived, but they are all in prison”

“Daisuke, what happened to you?”

“Senri, hmm, Great Sage told me about your parents.”

“What did they say?”

“Well, you know, I got hit by a car to get here. That car was your parents' car, they are arrest now”

“You are joking, right?”

“No, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true”

“What the actual hell”- Senri fell on her knees

“I am sorry”

“How the hell would you know something like this?”

“Great Sage is a god of knowledge, I showed you already that he can talk through me”

“You know what, forget it”- Senri covered her face using her hands

“I am sorry. Let’s get back to your room”- Senri grabbed my hand, dragging me back

“Daisuke, please. Just try to ask him once more

“No kid, I am sure they are arrested”

“Senri, I am sorry, it’s true”- Senri body began to get limp, she fell on ground

“Great Sage?”

“She fainted from shock, she will likely have amnesia and remember nothing. Better see Okura”

This turned out bad. I carried Senri back to her room.

I visited Okura’s room afterward, my hands were shaking by the mere thought of confronting him about what happened, I can’t rely on Great Sage to do everything for me, here we go

“Yeah, what happened?”- Okura, whispered from the other side of the door

“Something bad with Senri. I will explain everything”- Okura’s body shot up, maybe by instinct or fear

“What did happen?”

“She asked Great Sage about your family and what happened to them”- Okura was stiff, like a statue

“What happened to them!”- From his stiffness, he bounced back and looked around the room

“The car that hit me when I reincarnated, it was your parents, they are arrested. Senri fainted when she heard this”- Okura’s jaw dropped, his face was locked in this position, eyes wide open

“Well, at least I have closure. Anything else left to say?”- By his tone, he needs alone time

“Yes, Senri took a drinking habit because of this. I found many alcohol bottles in her room. Now, what should I do with her? I promised something to you so?”- All this time we didn’t make eye contact, the sinking feeling, the anxiety about this, I failed Okura

“This is the worst time for this to happen. We are supposed to get a mission from the king soon. I will come to see what I can do about Senri. Until then, watch over Senri in her room”

“Ok, I am sorry”- I bowed

“Don’t worry, I just need alone time”

Before going to Okura I placed Senri on her bed, she didn’t look good at all.

Her face was red, she is hyperventilating

I tried to put my hand on her forehead. I try to stay awake the entire night to watch over her but ended up falling asleep

“Wake up Daisuke”- Someone touched my shoulder, is it morning yet?

“Great Sage?”

“Yes, you feel asleep”

“Are you ok?”- Senri was keeping her right hand on my head

“Yes, sorry.”- I got up

“So, what happened last night? I can’t remember anything. Why were you by my bed side?”- Senri looked around her room

“I helped you clean last night. We went outside and”

“And what? Did I do something embarrassing and faint?”- Senri’s face turned beet red

“Kinda, you cast a spell that exhausted your mana a lot, or many more spells at once, it was fast that it seemed like one spell”

“Really?”

“Yes, it was pretty good. Don’t worry too much”

“Damn it”

“Are you feeling ok Senri?”- Okura entered the room quietly

“Okura?”

“Yes, are you feeling ok? What did you really do last night?”

“Daisuke told me I consumed too much mana on a spell, but that’s it. I can’t remember anything myself

“Well, let’s not worry about that now. We got a royal mission from the king”

“Royal Mission?”- Senri’s face was white

“What’s wrong?”

“Royal missions are reserved for high rank adventurers, we are around level 55, those missions are for level 80+ as it might involve another country as well”

“Daisuke, you will accompany us”

“Great Sage?”

“What is it, Daisuke?”

“Explain more about these missions, please?”

“Well, prepare yourself to go then, I will start”

“Ok, I will get a quick shower, get dressed and go with them while you explain”

“Ok, so these types of missions are handed out to high-rank people, The 4 heroes are not high rank because of their level, here to gain the rank of hero you need to save many lives or do something extraordinary”

“What do these missions involve?”- When I am talking to Great Sage time passes differently, I go into some sort of autopilot doing whatever is needed.

“Dealing with big threats and commanding an army, in cases of war and such. My assumption to why level 55 heroes like them are called is to deal with something simpler, maybe it is something of an internal war with another race of monsters or something similar. I can’t say that my assumptions are correct 100% of the time. Another thing to mind is this might be a trap, you don’t know if the heroes have been involved in some conflict with the king and might want to trap all of you. Be on the lookout and never lose your weapons”

“I won’t lose your knife, don’t worry”

“No, that knife is tied to me, so it will come back to you no matter what. Plus no one else will be able to use it aside from you, this knife never breaks and cuts through anything with ease.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Well, it wasn’t needed information”

“Is there anything else, Great Sage?”

“Yes, the mission will be discussed with the top politicians in the country. Keep in mind that all of them will be cloaked but look very similar uncloaked, with white skin, brown eyes, and quite short men, their hair is always jet black, they only wear a different ring on their finger stating what they generally do in the government. But I doubt they will come to a mission like this. This has to do more with the king than with other countries”

“Maybe it’s better to let you speak with them”

“Suit yourself”

“Daisuke, are you ok man?”- A hand was touching and poking my face

“Yes, I was talking with Great Sage”

“Come on, let’s go. No time to waste”- Okura was the first to open the door, I need to take one last look at myself, everything was ready, yes autopilot mode worked again, no need to waste time talking with Great Sage, now I can do other chores at the same time

“On it”

“So, where are we going?”

“To Wiefra’s law hall”- Senri was silently sitting near me

“Man, we didn’t expect a royal mission so soon”- Noni and Sakamoto were chatting ahead of us

“We need to hurry”- Okura is getting ahead of the group

“Wait for us!”- Noni and Sakamoto ran toward him

“Are you Senri?”- Her down, eyes fixated on the ground

“Yes, just tired. Every second I felt like I am going to faint”- Looking closer at her, she moved heavily, like she was made out of the lead

“Want me to carry you in case you fall asleep?”- Senri’s head tilted, her eyes wide

“Sure!”- Senri hoped on my back, her weight was almost nonexistent, she was light

“Is it ok if I sleep while you carry me?”

“It’s ok.”

“Great Sage, is there a way to catch up with them?”

“Yes, you need to hold Senri tight”

*Use Skill: Feral Frenzy*- Whenever using a skill, there is a weird feeling going through my body, my veins tingling, light pressure around my joints and so on, Feral Frenzy only lasts about 20 seconds

The group wasn’t far ahead of me, catching up was easy but exhausting

“Has anyone seen Daisuke and Senri?”

“No, maybe they stayed behind, you know reasons. They had been sticking together a lot recently.”

“Maybe we should focus on the mission instead of gossiping on them!”- Okura’s lashed back at them

“We are here guys!”- That conversation is the only thing I can hear where their jokes

“You sure took your time”- Noni and Sakamoto were barely holding their laughter

“Daisuke, go to the guild first, leave Senri here and get the papers from Petra”

“Great Sage, autopilot”

“Sure”

There are some things I suck at, one of them is directions and finding buildings, navigation, in general, is hard for me. Great Sage’s auto mode is great but has a drawback, I can’t remember how or when I did that thing

“Daisuke!”- Petra’s left hand was hitting my back with increasing force

“Yes!”

“What happened? Did someone cast a confusion spell on you? You were wandering around the guild, aimlessly searching for something. What is it?”- Petra was just like a statue, her eyes locked in place

“Sorry, I came on the behalf of the 4 heroes to grab a paper”

“Sure? Did they hire you to do their job or something? You have any proof of this?”

“No”

“Then let one of them come. You spent months at their mansion for nothing, they haven’t told you about their official badge you need to present here”- Petra walked up to a door, a door that I didn’t notice before, or a door I couldn’t remember, 5 minutes later she handed me a paper

“Here. Get out of here faster, kid!”

“Great Sage, autopilot”

5 minutes later:

“Daisuke?”- I feel a heavy pounding in my chest

“Yes, here”

“Don’t worry, we got it, let’s go. The king is supposed to be in the center of town”- Okura’s hand gripped my wrist tight and dragged me with him.