105 Trill [4]

Coming back from the dungeon, I was in quite the high spirits. Although the boss hadn't dropped any items for me to use, he did drop a pendant that gave a [Minor] increase in stamina.

Although the cavern was quite a walk from Trill, it didn't take long until I could see the stone wall surrounding it from the skies, making me descend and walk the last bit to make sure no one saw my wings.

"Brrr! Thank god for this suit, though. I would have gotten frostbite a long time ago without it."

Letting my feet drag me to the ground that was rid of snow inside the village, I was longing for a cup of hot coffee or tea. Heck, even some liquor would be amazing right now to warm me up. To my surprise, someone was waiting for me, seemingly insanely worried.

"You're back... And by the looks of it, it was quite easy, was it?"

"Well, I guess it kind of was. Though, there was a reason why it went so well. Unfortunately, it's a trade secret."

I had no incentive to tell him that my body and clothes automatically cleaned themselves, making it look as if I hadn't even been scratched during my dive. Somehow, I got the feeling that there was something else that Gael was thinking of, as if something had happened during the time I was away.

Luckily, it seemed like it wouldn't take long to find out as he invited me to follow him to his house, "Could you come with me? I have something I need to talk to you about."

****

[Nana's Pov]

'Haaa... Another slow day...'

There was no helping it, Trill just wasn't big enough for a lot to happen, meaning that there wasn't all that much to do after I had completed the daily tasks in my inn. Sitting behind the reception desk, I let my head rest in my hand as I let my thoughts fly in order to pass the time.

"Well, at least something happened this week..."

It had been a while since we got a visitor in Trill, and to top it off, it was a complete hottie! That Jack, with hair whiter than the snow surrounding our village, dressed like those models I had seen pictures of from Mensch. I could only complain about his height, but that didn't matter much when thinking about his other qualities.

Sadly, my brother had come to his rescue when I almost had him in my grasp, finally getting to lose my innocence to someone who fit my standards. There was no one in Trill that I had fancied on a physical level, mostly due to the fact that I preferred humans instead of other beastmen.

*Clack.*

The door to my inn opened, and in walked a familiar face that I had spent my entire childhood with. Gael, my brother who I had taken care of when our parents died during the current king's coup d'état. If not for him, I wouldn't have been able to keep going, and most likely would have given up long ago.

My little brother was a man of few words, as he had an incredibly hard time showing his true feelings. Not even in front of me would he let down his guard, almost as if he was too scared of making himself look weak. But he was incredible in so many ways, always trying his best to take care of others.

"Hey, Gael. How lovely that you have come to visit your big sister. Or do you just need something again?"

Somehow, I got a strange feeling the instant I saw his scarred face, and when he opened his mouth, I understood why.

"Sister, I'll have to leave the village for some time. I don't know when I'll be back, but there is something happening in the capital, and I need to be there."

Although I felt myself heating up, I forced myself to take a second and scanned the tiger in front of me. His eyes shone with conviction, clearly showing that he wasn't here for permission, he was just here to let me know about his decision.

"Haaa... Okay. Can you tell me what is happening then? Maybe I can help you?"

For the first time in a long time, I saw my brother's furry face change, unable to completely disguise the angst he felt over whatever the situation was. As he clenched his fists, he kept up the manly façade to the best of his abilities.

"I'm sorry... I can't tell you. But I promise that I will text you every day, so you know that I'm alive. And if worst comes to shove, I also promise that I will ask for help."

I didn't know what to think, I just knew that there was no way for me to stop my brother, and there was also no way that he would let me tag along. "Is this because of Jack that came here? Did he tell you something?"

"He did. He already left the village, making haste in order to get there as soon as possible. I also have to hurry."

Then, something that hadn't happened since we were kids happened. Gael came up to me, and hugged me willingly, holding me weakly in his arms. Something horrible must be happening, as although I thought I could sense him hugging me as tightly as he could, his arms were so very weak.

Hugging him back, I gave him my blessing, knowing that my little brother wasn't so irresponsible that he would just suddenly die. "Go. Just make sure to come home alive."

"Thank you, sister."

The warmth of my brother's fur warmed my heart enough to make me feel that, in the end, everything would be alright.

****

[James's Pov]

Flying in the air as two ravens, I couldn't help but ask myself about what had just gone down.

"So... Did we really have to kill him? Wasn't there another way?"

"I don't think so. It was unfortunate, truly. Who could have known that he had friends from Mensch that told him about what had happened at the square? Let's just thank Theia that he didn't tell anyone. It was pretty nice of him to want to talk with me before telling anyone."

Yes, sadly, the caring, soft-hearted individual that was Gael had lost his life. It was unfortunate, but there had been nothing I could do about it. I had no choice but to slice his head off his body, making sure that he could never tell a soul about my origin.

It hadn't been hard either. Even in the end, he never thought I would just suddenly bring out a scythe from my mist, along with sub-me, and get rid of him. In his mind, that was probably not what a normal person would do.

But then there was the issue of making sure that no one would find it strange that he was gone, at least not for a couple of weeks. As there was only one person I had met that I knew for certain that he had a close relationship with, I knew that I had to make his sister believe that he ventured out from the village.

Luckily, I had found out that I could also turn myself into beastmen now, although the animal counterpart was impossible, so I had the chance to say goodbye to his sister on his behalf.

"But man, she was strong..."

"Yeah, I almost thought I would pass out from her hug. I guess it makes sense though, she is a tigress after all."

Letting my two visions scan over the snowy landscape, I tried to find a place where I could dump the body that was currently hiding inside of my mist, having cleaned up the blood and retrieved his body after taking his life.

It didn't take long until my eyes landed on a group of yetis, all looking like they wouldn't say no to a meal if it was served to them.

Slowly, my mist started to conglomerate in front of me, in time taking the shape of a furry individual, his skin covered in an orange and black-striped coat.

"Goodbye, Gael. It was nice knowing you. Sorry about the whole killing you part, it was completely out my hands."

*Thud!*

Then, the tiger's body fell to the ground, making a small indent as he landed in the snow. It didn't take long for the yetis around him to approach, curious about what had just fallen from the open sky.

*Gu? Guu! GU! Crunch! Munch!*

Not caring about sharing with their brethren, it was a free for all feast, with the strongest getting to eat the most meat off the bones of my newly acquired, and lost, friend.

Taking a second to appreciate the sights, making sure to pay my respect to the victim of fate, I felt a bit disgusted when his guts and bones started to emerge. With bloody fangs, the monsters kept ripping away pieces of flesh, not minding the furry exterior that covered their food.

"So? What do I do now?"

"I will go to the capital. I think there is a lovely demon waiting for me, and I would hate to make a lady wait. Oh, and we can't forget to use Gael's phone to send a text to his sister. Wouldn't want her to worry, after all."