Don't smirk at me like that, dick

Over the next few hours, Ann and I worked in tandem to treat as many injuries as possible. Her using light magic to heal and clean wounds, me using dark magic to keep her mana supply flowing. At first I transferred her only my own mana, but as mine also started to run dry, the nurses and other healthy folk nearby offered their own. All in all, we prevented at least a dozen deaths and healed some hundred and fifty separate injuries.

“You two must be weary from travelling, let alone the help you’ve already provided. Allow me to show you to where you’ll be staying, others will take over your work for the rest of the night.”

At first Ann and I look confusedly at each other at the word “night,” before realising that we’d worked long past sundown.

“My, I suppose we allowed time to slip away from us.”
“Yeah, guess we were at it for longer than I thought. How’re you feeling?”
“Thanks to your mana transferral my body remains in good health, but it would a falsehood to say fatigue has not begun to set in.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to feel a little sluggish myself. In that case, show us the way Shimu.”
“But of course. Follow me, cousin, we prepared you a place to sleep in advance.”

Shimu guides us out of the tent and into the undamaged parts of Higashi.

“So, mana transferral. A darkness skill, and not one learned in a short period of time. I wasn’t aware you had unlocked your element, Shiidou.”
“Neither were mum and dad until three days ago.”
“You hid such a thing from your own parents? For what purpose would you take such an action?”
“…let’s just say that dear old dad isn’t a fan of the way I prefer to use magic.”

He looks at me with an expression tinged with disapproval, but doesn’t speak in the tone of an authority figure scolding a child. Instead, he sounds simply like a concerned friend.

“The forbidden arts are not to be taken lightly, Shiidou. I will not tell you not to use them, because I know such words will fall upon deaf ears, but I do ask that you consider the risks of such a decision. You play with fire, and I wish not to see you get burned.”
“I appreciate the concern, but I’ve been practising my control for a long time, and I’m confident in my skills. I’ve already gotten the hang of time dilation.”
“An impressive feat, especially for one so young. But do not mistake confidence for ability. The downfall of some of the greatest mages in history was naught but their own arrogance.”
Ouch, critical hit.
“I’ll make sure to keep it in mind. And Ann’ll straighten me out if I push it too far anyway.”
“If Shiidou doesn’t practise the proper caution, I’ll make sure to flay him alive.”
“I didn’t mean you should go that far.”

As Shimu chuckles at me and Ann’s usual banter, he slows to a stop outside of a small inn. Inside, he shows Ann and I to where the rooms are and produces a key from within his pocket.

“I apologise for putting those as important as yourselves in a somewhat shoddy accommodation, but those fleeing from the smaller towns along the coast have overwhelmed us, and we have little else in the way of living quarters.”
“It’s cool, we don’t need luxury. We came here to get a job done, not to holiday.”
“I concur, a place to alleviate fatigue is all we require. We thank your hospitality, my lord Shimu.”

He hands me the key, and Ann and I enter the room. But upon entering, I turn back to look at him and raise a question.

“Is this room just for one of us?”
“No, you will both be staying here.”
“But there’s only one bed!”
“We’ve no other options, I’m afraid.”
Don’t smirk at me like that, dick, you totally planned this.
“If that is all, I will be taking my leave.”
“Sleep well, lord Shimu.”
“Get out of here, asshole.”

With a wink and a shit-eating grin, Shimu closes the door and leaves his for his own quarters.

“W-Well then, Shiidou, shall we get to bed?”
“Y-Yeah, I guess we should.”
As I start taking off my boots, I notice a desk in the corner with parchment and an ink pen.
“Actually, mind helping me with something quick?”
“Hmm? Of course, what do you need of me?”
“I didn’t end up sending word to mum and dad today, so I figured now would be a good time to write ‘em something. They’ll probably want to hear from you too.”
“Ah, a good idea. The kind lord and lady will likely worry for my health if I do not correspond with them directly.”
“Considering you almost knocked yourself out from mana exhaustion today, can you blame them?”
“An absurd accusation, I did nothing of the sort. But I would feel better if I knew their nerves were eased.”
“Maybe I should just not save you next time.”

I sit at the chair by the desk and begin to write my message to my folks.

Dear Mum and Dad

As I’m sure you’ve already read from Shimu’s letter, me and Ann arrived in Higashi safely and have already gotten to work treating injuries. Ann immediately started overworking herself as I’d expected, but I made sure she didn’t exhaust herself to death. You know how she gets.

Shadowfax and Snowmane are in good health too. Without those two, we never would have made it in time to save so many lives. They saved our skin more than once on the road. When we return to Nishi, they better be treated with all the honours they can be afforded. God knows they deserve it.

The situation here is pretty bad, but it’s not beyond saving. Ann’s already done a lot of good, and I’m supporting her in any way I can. We may end up being here for a while, maybe up to a couple months, but we’ll keep you updated as much as we can.

Hope things are going good at home,

Shiidou

“Have you finished you message?”
“Yeah, I’m all done. Rest of the parchment’s yours.”

I stand up out of the seat and allow Ann to sit down. While she’s writing, I take the opportunity to change into my bed clothes, and I wait at the side of the bed while she finishes. After a somewhat concerningly long time, she leaves the pen in it’s ink bottle, magically dries the ink on the parchment and rolls it up, tying it around the middle.

“What’d you say? In the letter?”
She places it down on the desk, turns to look at me, and gives a me a somewhat cheeky smile.
“That, dear Shiidou, is a secret between myself and your parents.”

Dammit Ann, stop being so adorable, it makes it much harder to be annoyed when you pull stuff like this.

“If you’re not gonna tell me then I guess there’s no point grilling you over it. Come on, we’ll have an early start tomorrow so we should get to sleep.”
“Indeed we should. Allow me to change into my bed wear and I shall join you.”

Despite sounding composed, the red tinge to her cheeks tells me she’s still a little nervous about sharing a bed with me. I, being the picture of composure, have already calmed my own nerves. It is a king size after all, it’s not like we’ll have to lay snuggled up to each other or anything.

“Ok, I’m prepared for bed. Let us hasten to sleep, that we will awake prepared for a day if hard work.”

From the other side of the bed, Ann emerges, having changed out of the maid attire she had for some reason continued to wear while travelling.

She now wore a short, flowing black nightgown, ending a few inches above her knees, and made of an incredibly soft and thin silk.

So I guess I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight.

Bugger.