Waking up to the sound of screams downstairs, Ferinish sits up in bed, saliva dripping from her mouth and her hair in disarray. She looks at Slady, who is next to her in bed, still asleep.
She gets out of bed and takes off her clothes, putting on a kinomo and grabbing her sword. When she reaches the first floor, she sees the scene of a man assaulting the tavern manager. Despite his muscles, he could not defeat someone with magic.
"Who are you?..." -- Ferinish asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
The manager and the robber look at her. The manager tries to say something...
"Lady, just go to your room!"
"Shut your mouth!"
The robber created a tree root around the manager, holding him in place. The man turns to Ferinish with a look full of evil.
"What is a beautiful woman like you doing here?"
He approaches, placing his hand on Ferinish's shoulder in a desirous manner. But with his touch, her sleepy gaze disappeared in an instant, turning into something completely cold.
"..."
Without hesitation, she makes a quick movement with her sword. The assailant didn't understand anything at first, but ended up losing it later, dying with his body being split in half and falling in front of Ferinish, who remained completely calm.
The manager was shocked by the scene, but grateful in a way.
"Thank you..."
He tries to free himself from the roots bonds, but he can't. Ferinish held his blade firmly, flames appearing, so she just touched the root with the blade, which caught fire briefly and quickly turned to ashes.
"You are really very powerful, I think I can guarantee you a few more days of rent for you and your boyfriend."
Ferinish's cheeks turned red at the time, but she remained calm and neutral.
"He's my friend, that's all."
She quickly puts away her sword and runs away from the place, returning to her room. The manager was confused, but let out a sigh, knowing that he would have to deal with the body of a man cut into two pieces.
"She could have made less mess..."
Ferinish entered the room, looking at his chest, which was covered in blood. She quickly grabs the other clothes she had put on before and goes to the bathroom to take a shower.
Some time later, Slady woke up and heard the shower running and Ferinish not next to her in bed. He got up and went to the first floor of the tavern, where he found the manager cleaning the floor with a broom and damp cloth.
"Good morning." -- Said Slady, who was as tired as Ferinish, considering the previous events he had done in the early morning.
"Good morning, my boy!"
Recognizing it was Slady, the man made a gesture of thanks.
"Your friend helped me a few minutes ago with a mugger."
"Did she get hurt?"
"No way!"
He then put the broom in a corner and poured a coffee for Slady, who took the cup and drank it calmly.
"You have dark circles under your eyes, young man. Did you do something late at night?"
"Personal things."
Despite being curious, the manager didn't question him. His curiosity was really about his bionic eye and mechanical arm, but he didn't want to be rude.
"If I may ask, what happened to your eye and arm?"
"I ended up losing them in a fight against Renkai creatures. That's all."
Slady sat at the counter, finishing his coffee. The manager was surprised, wanting to satisfy his curiosity with that mysterious man.
"So you're a Demon Hunter? You don't seem like someone who has a Mana Releaser."
"Anyone can be a Demon Hunter, you just need to be strong enough."
"Hehe, I'm too strong for that. But I prefer to take care of my family."
"That's admirable, you must be a wonderful father figure, aren't you?" -- Slady asked, but that question seemed to be more to himself.
"Yes, my children are always happy to welcome me home and my wife, of course, always does a lot for me."
"I see..."
Slady takes another cup of coffee, looking away from the manager a little, feeling uncomfortable with that conversation.
'Would I be someone good for Shaphira and Elisa? Will they be okay without me?'
The manager noticed Slady's discomfort, but didn't interfere. He just poured himself some wine and tried to change the subject.
"When you entered this tavern, you seemed to have a nostalgic look towards this kind of place. May I ask why?" -- The manager asked in a lower tone, not wanting to be intrusive.
"You are quite observant, aren't you? But for your curiosity, a friend of mine used to own this kind of place, but he died a while ago."
The manager was a little shocked by Slady's almost natural and casual way of approaching this kind of subject, as if he hardly cared about these things. The manager definitely didn't know if he should be sad or worried about this.
"And do you feel sad about this?"
"Yes."
The manager felt more relieved, so he put his hand on Slady's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
"Your friend is resting in peace, don't feel sad about it."
"I know, and thank you for that."
Slady allowed his touch, but suddenly, a bang was heard in room number fifteen. The manager gestured for Slady to check and he went to his room.
"Ferinish, did something happen there?"
"Ah..."
A groan of pain was heard in the bathroom, Slady let out a sigh, he didn't want to invade her privacy, but he was worried about what had happened.
"I'm going in..."
When he entered the bathroom, he found Ferinish lying on the floor, perhaps she slipped when she got out of the shower. She was only using a towel to cover her body and felt vulnerable and embarrassed to be seen like that by Slady.
"Don't look..." -- She tries to cover her body
Slowly, Slady went to her and held her by the arms, Ferinish closed her eyes in discomfort with the touch, but knowing that it was Slady who was touching her, she felt calmer.
"You don't need to help me... I can take care of myself..."
"I know that, but I won't let you get hurt."
Slady pulled her to the bed, sitting her next to him. Ferinish felt very uncomfortable being seen in this vulnerable state, still trying to cover herself as much as she could.
He laid her on the bed and covered her body with the bed covers, then he gave her his kinomo.
"Get dressed and let me know if you need help."
Slady turns her back and Ferinish starts to get dressed under the covers. After a while, she comes out from under the covers, already dressed and, most importantly, closing her kinomo in the breast area.
"I didn't want you to see me like this, I was afraid you would take advantage of it."
"I'm not going to do that."
Slady turns and walks towards Ferinish, who shrinks a little, but doesn't refuse her approach.
"I need those clothes that women wear to cover up... in those parts... you know?"
"I know."
Slady sits on the bed, stretching on the bed.
"I'll try to help you, but you have to trust me, okay?"
He holds out his hand to her.
"I know... I'll trust... only you."
She held Slady's hand in a strong but delicate grip so as not to *break* his bionic hand.
***
Walking through the kingdom of IceStorm, Slady and Ferinish entered a humble clothing store.
There was a female saleswoman and her teenage daughter as an assistant. Slady had her bionic eye closed and was covering her mechanical hand with gloves so as not to arouse anyone's curiosity.
Ferinish simply stood beside him, keeping his naturally cold expression.
"My friend needs underwear, can you help her?" -- Slady asked.
The young woman raised her hand willingly.
"I can help!"
Ferinish gave Slady a disapproving look, as if he didn't want to be accompanied by the girl. But he understood her good intentions.
Then she walked away with the teenager, who tried to advise her on choosing underwear while she herself politely avoided his touches. Slady watched the beautiful kingdom of IceStorm in silence.
The older woman, the saleswoman, approached him and stood beside him.
"Is she really your friend?" -- Asked the woman, suspecting something more between them.
"Yes, just a friend." -- Answered Slady in a neutral tone.
"If that's what you say..."
The attendant stood beside him, observing the kingdom.
"This place has been in decline for a long time, even with all its beauty."
That aroused Slady's curiosity.
"Can you explain it to me?" -- Asked Slady.
"A long time ago, an innocent young girl ended up having deep contact with the renkai energy. She fought and fought without giving up, becoming a Destroyer and still maintaining her consciousness. Being able to manipulate ice to its fullest... But her mind was corrupted little by little by the cursed energy, which made her become a cruel and perverse being. Making our kingdom, our region, be closed by sharp and slippery ice walls, making it almost impossible for anyone to escape from here."
"A Glacial Destroyer, I suppose." -- Said Slady, who upon observing beyond that kingdom of IceStorm, noticed enormous walls of ice surrounding the entire region.
"Yes, that is the story of your queen, Fraizen Rosenmary."
"I see..."
Slady just remained silent from that moment on, thinking.
'Maybe you're wrong about one thing, my lady... If someone passes the test of sin and the test of conscience, there's no way someone can be corrupted by renkai energy. In other words... Fraizen Rosenmary has always been an evil person, but now he has the power to have the freedom to do his evil.' -- Slady thought, observing the store saleswoman, who remained with a calm but deep down melancholic look.
"Slady!"
The teenager approached Slady, giving her a friendly touch on the back.
"Your friend needs you."
Slady's gaze went to the fitting room, where Ferinish was, just poking his head out and looking at him with a cold and innocent look.
As he approached the fitting room, he heard a cough behind him and heard the older woman give him a mischievous smile.
"You little rascal!"
She gave Slady a provocative slap on the back, who just remained impassive. But when Ferinish saw that... she got quite furious inside, letting out a "Hm!" and going back into the dressing room.
Upon entering the dressing room, Slady came across the scene of Ferinish wearing only underwear and looking at him with a cold and vulnerable look.
"How... how do I look?"
She tried to pose, putting her hands on her hips. But instead of showing a certain femininity, she ended up only highlighting her well-worked muscles.
"Hmmm..."
Slady leaned against the wall, analyzing her from top to bottom.
"Your... breasts are of average size, your bra is very tight on them and your panties... well, I can say they look nice."
Ferinish was a little embarrassed, but nodded.
"Thank you, I don't remember when anyone called me pretty."
She turns around and picks up a dress and shows it to him.
"It's similar to the kinomo, Slady. Will you like it?" -- Ferinish asked.
"The question is whether you like it, not me." -- Slady replied.
"I like it..."
Losing his embarrassment more and more, Ferinish gets dressed in front of Slady, who looks away out of respect. After putting on the clothes, Ferinish makes another pose, putting his hands on his waist and raising his chest.
"How do I look?"
Slady looked at her clothes, it was a dress with a long skirt, very similar to the kinomo she usually wore. Where there was a bow at the waist to support her sword and hold the fabric, the dress gave an air of delicacy, but did not take away her strong personality.
"You look beautiful." -- Slady said.
"Thank you. I'll take these things then." -- Ferinish said.
Leaving the dressing room, Ferinish gathers his underwear and kinomo, walking alongside Slady to the saleswoman to pay for the product.
"Look how pretty it looks!"
The older woman said, raising her hand to give Ferinish a friendly slap on the chest. But she just dodged it and remained beside Slady.
"I think someone doesn't have a very friendly style..."
The saleswoman pouted and took the underwear and looked at the label on Ferinish's dress.
"It's just something related to myself, ma'am. Nothing personal against you." -- Ferinish said, defending herself.
"Of course, sorry if I was rude."
Then when paying, Slady paid for Ferinish's clothes, who held the product with a bag.
"Thank you, Slady."
"No problem, this money is for you."
He gave a good amount of Lynes to Ferinish, who was confused.
"Why?" -- She asked.
Then Slady leaned to her ear and whispered.
"I stole it from the lab when we were running away." -- Slady told a lie and a truth. He had indeed stolen it from the lab, but it was when he went to destroy the place.
"Oh... thank you again." -- Ferinish feels uncomfortable hearing the word "laboratory" due to her past experiences. But she nods, grateful for the money.
As she begins to walk through the kingdom of IceStorm, Ferinish feels the cold and puts on a hood she had on her dress.
"I want to go home."
"Let's go, but tomorrow, we're going to start entering some Inferius to get the money, okay?"
"Sure."
But as she walks through a nearby house, the two smell a pleasant smell of soap. With innocent curiosity, the two go to a bathroom window, where they come across the following scene:
***
It was Carolina Silver giving a bath to a little boy of approximately 3 or 4 years old. Where the woman was on her knees next to a bathtub while soaping the boy, who looked at her with an innocent look.
"Sister, you told me that people always have daddies, right? Where are ours?"
Carolina lets out a deep sigh, responding in a soft and affectionate tone.
"Our parents... well, that's something you'll understand when you get older. But does it matter? You have your older sister to take care of you until then."
"Yes, you're the best! I love you!"
The boy hugs her, where she herself wraps the little one in a towel, starting to dry him.
"I love you too, little brother. Forever."
She lovingly strokes his hair, resting her younger brother's face on her chest.
***
The pair watches the scene. Then they look at each other.
"Cute." -- Ferinish commented.
"Yes, cute." -- Slady agreed.
**
So Slady and Ferinish spend the afternoon together, eating in some humble restaurants and even taking the opportunity to hunt some Inferius together to get money from the renkatas.
At the tavern, both arrived exhausted, Ferinish and Slady lay down on the bed together and stared at the ceiling.
"Even with IceStorm in this state, we had fun and got a lot of Lynes. Right, Slady?" -- Ferinish asked, who was adjusting the skirt of her dress.
"Yes, a few more renkata sales and we can rent a temporary house." -- Slady replied.
Then both took off their shoes and covered themselves with the blanket.
"Wow, you stink!" -- Ferinish said in a cold tone, giving Slady a delicate punch in the chest.
"You're not the most fragrant woman in the world, Fer."
He patted her weakly on the head, Ferinish couldn't hold back and gave a low, controlled laugh, then she cuddled up to Slady and put her leg over his.
"Anyway, good night, Slady."
"Good night, Ferinish."
Even without realizing it, almost naturally, they both fall asleep together, hugging each other. Ferinish curls up and lets out sleepy sighs, feeling more and more comfortable with Slady's touch. And he himself feels more connected to his friend, feeling his fragile heart beating in rhythm with Ferinish's strong heart.
It wasn't just a great trust and connection between them, they were discovering themselves together, perhaps it was the first time that Slady and Ferinish not only felt close or intimate, but also connected by something they didn't know, by something that made them both not want to be away from each other for too long.