The Red Hand

Chapter 373 – The Melancholy Hero.

"Soup?" Both of the male fairies spoke of their desire for the warm food as they buzzed around Kanato's head, but were ignored.

His journey away from the Holy City had been an unpleasant one, and once the adrenaline of the moment wore off, Kanato was left in the unpleasant situation of dealing with his thoughts. Akagi's act of sending him away was no mercy, as it forced him into a depressive cycle where he kept cursing his very existence for causing everything that had come to pass, and it had taken a severe told on his mental health.

"We'll eat later..." Kanato said in a tired, monotone voice. His face had sunken in a bit from lack of proper rest, and he had severe bags under his eyes from exhaustion. Ever since he split from Akagi he hadn't slept more than a few hours since every time he tried to sleep he was plagued with nightmares. The guilt over what he and the other 'Heroes' did smacked him like a sledgehammer and it had taken the young, idealistic man to a dark place.

"When later?" The female fairy asked. "Hungry now..." She said as her stomach growled.

"Food..." The two male fairies agreed as their stomachs growled as well.

"You're just..." Kanato sighed as his own stomach growled, finally reminding him that he hadn't eaten in days. "Fine... I'll get us dinner..."

{I guess just wasting away won't do either...} (Kanato)

"SOUP!" The three fairies cheered as they buzzed around him, chanting their desire for soup to him.

"Unfortunately for you, dinner will not be served by yours truly." Kanato laughed, his words causing the fairies to gasp in shock. "What? Did you think I just carry around an infinite supply of food in my backpack?"

"Yes?" The three fairies tilted their heads at the same time.

{I figured you did...} (Kanato)

"Do you think I'm some kind of food dispenser?" Kanato said with a sigh.

"Yes!" The three fairies nodded before giggling as they circled his head.

"Yeah... That's about right..." Kanato said as he shook his head before the four of them continued down a windy forest road until they eventually came to a village with a small inn. The Sun was close to setting, and he decided to sleep as well as eat, though he had no confidence in his ability to get any proper rest due to the nightmare issues.

{It feels like I haven't slept properly in years, even though it's only been a couple of days... God what I wouldn't do for some good tea to knock me out...} (Kanato)

*DING*

As he entered, the fairies moved onto his head and shoulders, not wanting to be separated from him. They didn't really seem to get along or trust others, and Kanato had largely given up on having them interact with others.

{You know, had Elariel not confirmed they were real, I'd've started really believing that I've been on a crazy fever dream induced adventure all by myself... Oh how I wish it was so...} (Kanato)

"Now, don't wander off and do something stupid. Lest you be captured and turned into fairy dust that gets sprinkled on some old man's warts." Kanato chuckled as the fairies puffed up their cheeks and lightly smacked his head.

"No dust!" The female fairy pouted.

"No warts!" One of the male fairies huffed.

"Soup!" The other male fairy demanded food.

"Well, taint dat a suuprise." An older woman that was standing behind the coutner commented as Kanato entered the inn. "Aint that offen we get travelers that got them rats with wings as companions." She laughed as she cleaned some plates off the counter.

"Not rat! Fairy!" The three fairies yelled.

"Well, ya definitely squeak like ones." The woman continued to laugh as the fairies protested. "But what kan I do yah for? Tis isn't the kind ah place we see some fancy folk at offen, so it may be a bit simple for ya kind kid." She figured that Kanato was some kind of Noble due to his gear and appearance.

"My friends and I here would like to get something to eat, and also a room to sleep in." Kanato said. There were no other customers in the inn, which he found strange, but he decided to just ignore that and take a seat. "Whatcha got to eat here? These three like soup and will probably clean you out of house and home if your not careful."

“Mean!” The three fairies buzzed around him as they bopped him on the head for his teasing.

"Well, if its food yer wanten, then I can get'cha that." The old woman replied before turning toward the curtain behind her. "Johnny! We've got a youngin and his flying friends that want to eat! Whip up some of dat soup of yours the adventure people like to eat!" She yelled.

"SOUP!" The three fairies perked up at the word. “WANT!”

"The one with the wolf meat?" A man's voice sounded from behind the curtain.

"Yah like wolf meat, boy?" The woman said as she quickly turned to Kanato.

"It's pretty good, yeah." Kanato nodded.

“MEAT!” The fairies agreed.

"Yeah, that one!" The woman yelled back to her husband.

"Aight, gimme a minute or two! Gotta finish skinnin this one!" Johnny yelled back.

"I can get you and the flying ones some bread in the meantime." The old woman said moved around the counter and put a mug and three small cups on one of the tables. "We got Ale, Mead, and Water, but I wouldn't recommend the Water." She laughed.

"I'll take the Ale, I need something strong so don't water it down any." Kanato said as she poured him a cup. "And give these three some honey mead if you have any. They can't do sour."

"SOUR EVIL!" The three fairies shook in fear as they looked at his Ale with disgust.

"Bah, it puts hair on ya chest and gives you a kick in ya step!" The old woman laughed as she went back to the counter to grab some alcohol. "But ya kind gots them kiddy tongues, so it's understandable ya don't like the drink. Oh, by the way, ma name is Debra, and that idiot back there makin yer meal is my stupid husband John." She said as she sat the drinks on the table. "He ain't the sharpest knife in the cupboard, so be real understanden with him." She tapped the side of her head before laughing.

"I heard that! Don't go talking bad about me to the customers!" Johnny yelled back.

"I only told da boy the truth!" Debra laughed.

"Name's Kanato." Kanato introduced himself. "And these three are..." He paused, realizing that he never once got the names

{What a dick move, me...} (Kanato)

"Name? Faries no have names." The female fairy answered. "No need for name. We just we?"

"Yeah." The two male fairies nodded in agreement as they took sips of the mead.

"Doesn't that make it hard to communicate? Without a name, you just say you or them or something. What if you want a specific person?" Kanato asked.

"Is issue?" The female fairy didn't understand, tiling her head as she thought. "We just know."

"Yeah, understand." One of the male fairies commented..

"Know who talking bout." The other male fairy agreed with them.@@novelbin@@

"I see..." Kanato said, confused by their words but not wanting to question it at this point.

"Ah. Well, ya see, fairies have a unique little way of doin things, young man." Debra said. "Taint no way normal folk like you or I are gonna understand it!" She laughed.

"From the way you've talked about them, I assume that you've met some fairies before?" Kanato asked as he took a sip of his ale. "That's a bit surprising considering we're so far from the fairies' normal home."

{Heck I don't think I've met more than a small handful during the nearly eleven years I've been in this world.} (Kanato)

"Believe it or not, back in my youth I was an adventurer like ya!" Debra said with a proud smile. "I met a few of dem fairies during my travels, and they were always the kooky sort. I tended to avoid dem where I could, they is nothin but trouble."

“Oi!” The three fairies protested but quickly went back to drinking their honey mead.

"Yeah..." Kanato nodded in agreement. "They're something else... Something else..."

"Why feel insulted?" The female fairy asked with narrowed eyes as she looked at him with lips covered in her drink.

"You're just imagining it." Kanato said as he pat her on the head. “Don't worry about it.”

"No believe..." The female fairy puffed up her cheeks, causing Kanato and Debra to laugh as she blew them a raspberry..

"What's all the racket out here?" John came out of the back, hands filled with four bowls of soup. "I'd say you'll scare away the other guests, but we ain't got none today." He said as he put the bowls down, only to have the fairies attack them and instantly down the soup in record time.

"SOUP!" The three happy fairies cheered as they consumed entire bowls of soup in a matter of moments. "MORE!"

{I... Whatever...}

"Can you get the more? I'll happily pay you for whatever it takes to keep these three fed." Kanato said as he slowly dunked some bread in the soup and took a bite. It was some pretty simple food, but it brought him a bit of warmth that he'd been missing, causing him to tear up a bit.

"See, John! I told ya that soup was bad!" Debra pointed to the crying Kanato. "Look what ya did to the boy!"

"The fairies ate it just fine!" John protested.

"They're crazy, so they don't count!" Debra countered that their crazy stomachs would let them eat anything.

"No... It's fine... The soup's actually really good." Kanato said as he wiped the tears away. "It's just... I've gone through a lot lately, and this soup... It just kinda... I don't know, hit the right notes..." He laughed a bit.

{Everything... Everyone... Fuck man I didn't even morn Hitomi or anything... I just kinda... Fuck...} (Kanato)

"Ya look tired, boy." John said as his expression softened. "Them eyes, they're of a man who's seen too much bloodshed." He commented. “You're too young to have em, boy.”

"I've done more than just see it." Kanato replied. "My hands... They're stained in blood..."

"Well, go ahead and rest up here, boy." Debra said. "Ain't like we get many guests, so have your fill and try and sleep a bit tonight. Don't worry about the coin right now, we'll figure all that out later." She said as she instinctively moved to pat him on the head, but stopped.

"Soup?" The three fairies hungerly demanded more food.

"Right up! I made a whole batch earlier and I think you'll love it!" John laughed loudly as he brought out more soup and bread, which was swiftly devoured by the fairies who acted like a swarm of locusts.

"They got good appetites at least!" Debra laughed. "Too bad all that food won't make em grow bigger!"

“Gotta admit that seeing them eat my cookin so heartily almost brings a tear to ma eye!” John laughed.

"I'd just like to know where they put it all." Kanato commented as he watched them consume far to much soup for their tiny bodies to handle.

"Some things are probably best left unknown, kid." Debra said as she watched the female fairy devour an entire loaf of stale bread.

______________________________________________________________________________

<Erika/Alice POV>

“Its time!” Alice said to Black Company, her face covered by a white featureless mask. They'd been ordered to guard Alice during her ongoing mission and were currently wearing gas masks to hide their faces. “Today we'll break down the walls of Val Durim and begin the push toward the Dwarven Capital!”

The six of them stood above a small cliff below which were countless monsters and creatures that had been summoned by Alice. They'd been mindlessly attacking Dwarven cities with only minimal direction until now, but with their master giving them direct orders things would be much smoother.

“Give us your directions, Lady Alice.” Sabia said. “We shall break through that Fortress and make way for Lady Akagi's plan.”

“Hell yeah!” Hitamaguchi roared. “I can't wait to tear through that place!”

“No.” Alice shook her head. “Mama needs the Dwarves to be desperate not defeated. Sending you five in would result in the Dwarves falling in a matter of days. All you need to do is stand back and keep an eye out for any opponents who present my summons a challenge.”

“As you wish.” Merkyul replied.

“Good, then lets get the first wave moving. That Fortress is well defended. Nima's report stated that its the first in a line of such places on the road to the Capital, and I expect it to be well defended.” She smirked. “I think I'll start with Death Spiders and Howlers. That should be a good enough warm up. Ku. Ku. Ku”

{What the hell did Akagi do to this kid?!?} (Elna)