One Hundred And Sixty-Four


    “… found the body of a man inside, who has been identified as…” the reporter was saying on the screen. Yawning, I stretched, working out the kinks after my snatched few hours of sleep. <em>It isn’t like I need a lot now due to my stats, but it’s still nice to have a decent rest. Shae’s still asleep after all.</em>


    I nced over to the bed, where Shae was still breathing softly, her eyes shut, amber hair cascading over the pillows. We hade home quitete, or rather, it should have been called <em>early, </em>considering the sun was already up when we had finished celebrating. Shae had wormed her way into my bed, but <em>sleep</em> was all we did, there was no time or inclination for any <em>adult </em>fun.


    <em>I bet Karen-chan is going to have one hell of a hangover when she wakes up… </em>Still, I had felt a little sorry for her, so I trickled a little Ether Healing into her when she wasn’t paying attention, just enough to hopefully take the worst off her inevitable suffering.


    “… it’s terrible, isn’t it?” the reporter was saying to her colleague on the screen. “… they found a hand, which they believe belongs to the missing Suzuki Haru. The police have confirmed that in addition to that, Kondou Kazuo, the suspect, confessed to sexual assault and murder of over twenty women, mostly foreign tourists, going back a decade, both here in Tokyo and other cities around Japan. These horrifying crimes have led to public outcry, and…”


    <em>Well, that settles that. Everything is wrapped up neatly. Still, to think the bastard had killed so many… it makes me feel a little bad that we ended up destroying some of those ghost girls in our earlier battle, but at least they can find rest in whatever afterlife there is. I hope so, anyway. </em>I wasn’t particrly pious, but I sped my hands in prayer. I did live on the grounds of a shrine after all.


    Still, with Kondou in custody and having confessed, and with his Territory destroyed, his wealth plundered, and Shae’s orders, he was finished as a threat. Now I could turn my attention to the pressing matters of my Territory, the progression of which had been sorely neglected during the conflict.


    Checking the time it wasing up to midday, so I decided to make a hearty breakfast. Opening up the fridge to see what I had, I started putting together some beef bowls and rice. Soon the fragrant smells of cooking were spreading around the apartment, and on popping my head back inside the bedroom I could see Shae was twitching sleepily, the scent tickling her nose.


    <em>Damn, that’s cute. Speaking of cute… </em>It was about time that Eri would be on lunch break at school, so as I worked I pulled out my mobile and dialled her. A few ringster she answered brightly, pleased to hear from me.


    “Hey, Akio! It’s such a nice surprise to get a call from you at school. What’s up? There aren’t any problems I hope?”


    I could hear people chattering in the background,ughter and joking. I was sure one of them was my sis, but I didn’t recognise all of the others.


    “You shut up!” Eri hissed. “Of course I’m happy to hear from him… oh, I’m not telling you to shut up of course, Akio. There are just people here determined to be annoying. Pay them no mind, I sure don’t…”


    There was more loudughter at that, and I had to smile myself. “It sounds like you are getting on with everyone at school a bit better. That’s great.”


    “Well, I suppose I don’t find them as annoying as I once did.” She admitted. “Still, did you need something? Calling me in the day is unusual.”


    <em>Well, calling you at all would be a miracle before I returned to Nishimorioka. </em>Feeling a tad guilty at that, I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see it. “Do I need a reason to call you? Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice.”


    Eri went silent on the other end, and I could <em>definitely hear my sister now. </em>“Wow, wow. Eri’s blushing. My bro must be sweet-talking her. So very bold of him, doesn’t he know we are watching?”


    “… you can shut up now, Aiko. Or else there will be troubleter.” Eri warned, but her tone was warm. “So, I like hearing your voice too, feel free to call me any time. Even when I’m in ss. I can say it’s an emergency call. You are my fiancée now, right?”


    “Well, I don’t think I need to interrupt your schooling…” I chuckled, and there was moreughter on the other end of the line. After that we had a light-hearted chat for a bit, before she asked me a question. “So, how… how are things over there? Did you sort out your problem?” she asked circumspectly, probably because she had an audience.


    “Yep, no worries, everything has been resolved, it went totally in our favour!” I reassured her.


    “And Shae, she’s all right too?”


    “Yeah, she’s sleeping in at the moment, we were working until verytest night, then we had some drinks to celebrate with Karen-chan.”


    Eri sighed in relief, before changing the subject. “This Karen huh. I should meet her, since she is your employee. I need to make sure she knows where she stands.”


    <em>Well wouldn’t that be quite the scene. Karen-chan would probably find it hrious though, she loves teasing me, especially when drunk. </em>“Sure, maybe next time. Speaking of problems, how is<em> your</em> matter going?” <em>I admit to being worried about her braving the Boundary alone, but she sounds fine so I have no grounds toin. She doesn’t want me coddling her, and I do get it, I guess.</em>


    “Everything is fine, except…” she trailed off, and for a moment I was worried, until she apologised to me. “I’m sorry, I broke two of the gifts you gave me. I feel bad about it…”


    <em>Is that it? I break weapons and armour all the time, it doesn’t matter… </em>Relieved, I chided her. “Well, I gave them to you to use, so as long as they helped you, they did their job. Don’t push yourself, all right. I’ll make sure you get level-capped when I’m down for your birthday, all right?”


    “I know. I’m being careful, but… they were presents from you! I don’t care what use they had, they were special to me!”


    “I’ll make you better ones next time, I promise…”


    “Wow, just give me that.” Suddenly my sister had butted into the call. “Wow, you two are so lovey-dovey, it’s making me a little sick. Enough! And pay attention to your beloved sister a bit more, okay? I hate feeling left out…”


    We continued for a while, until I heard Shae get up, wandering into the kitchen, following the smell of food. Seeing me on the phone she smiled and sat down, waiting for me to dish up her meal.


    “I’ll see you the day before your birthday, the twenty-first. All right?” I finished up, and Eri answered happily.


    “I can hardly wait. I’ll see you then. I love you!”


    “I love you too! Bye!”


    After exchanging those sappy goodbyes, which both embarrassed me and made me feel good, I started putting the finishing touches to my cooking. Shae gazed at the food hungrily, licking her lips. “I could use some breakfast. Last night was-was hungry work indeed.”


    Passing her some rice balls and soy sauce, I then ted up the beef bowls, sliding one over to her, piled high with beef and toppings. I then started to dig in myself. <em>Hmm, not bad, not bad at all. I’m getting better at cooking all the time. I guess I have more people to cook for… </em>That made me wonder why there was no <em>Cooking </em>skill on my stat sheet. After all, it was a staple of the sort of tales I was currently living through…


    “So, I see the news. It looks like he has done-done as Imanded. Good riddance to him. The world will be a much cleaner ce when he is dead-dead and gone.”


    “I can’t argue with that.” As we talked over our food, we nned out our day. As we were deciding to return to the Boundary and start organising our Territory, the message light shed on my phone. Opening it up, it was another message from Aliyah. <em>Ugh, she’s persistent.</em>


    “Mine too.” Shae pulled out her own phone. “What does she want, I wonder?”


    Opening up the message it was another request to meet and share information, again scattered with the sort of leading words I had used during my time in Vegas. Apparently she was even arriving in Japan tomorrow, and asked me to meet her alone, as she wanted to talk about something <em>secret and vital. </em>


    “Aliyah is asking me to tell you to meet her alone. I am somewhat offended. Does she not-not wish to see me again?” Shae pouted.


    “Perhaps you traumatised herst time you met. You were pretty mean to her. Damn, just thinking back to it, we were just horrible to her…”


    “Hmph.” Shae snorted, unconvinced. “She brought it on herself. Besides, I found it rather amusing indeed. So, will-will you meet with her?”


    <em>That’s the question, isn’t it? </em>There was no real reason <em>not </em>too, other than she was some sort of special operative or secret agent, I wasn’t sure which. But drawing attention to myself was something I was beginning to regret. <em>Thinking about it, taking over the hotels is going to draw some too, though luckily the only ones that should find out about the handover is the police, there aren’t shareholders or anyone like that…</em>


    So what could I gain? I <em>did </em>want information. Still, something didn’t sit right with me, it felt <em>off</em>, somehow. When I exined this to Shae, she shrugged and asked me if I felt it was my Foresight again. It wasn’t the pulsing dread of an oing disaster, like before… <em>thank god the ufortable feeling woke me when it did, or there would have been a tragedy at the shrine… </em>still, I definitely felt off, wary.


    “I don’t know. Foresight does say it gives <em>‘limited prescience to events that strongly affect one’s future’. </em>I can see why it would have been ring at the yakuza invasion, as if people had died due to the war between us and Kondou, I’m not sure I could have survived the guilt… but this shouldn’t be such an event, and besides, my Foresight isn’t exactly high, is it? I doubt it can warn me about every danger, that’d be too convenient.”


    “Well, I shall leave it to you then.” Shae demurred, finishing scarfing down her heaped bowl of beef, before leaning back, satisfied.


    “I’ll just drop her a response saying I’ll see if I have the time. I won’tmit to anything. That’s the Japanese way.” With that done, I put away my phone and finished my own food. “All right, shall we go sort out our Territory then?”


    ********


    After we had done the rounds, seeing our allies and checking everything was all right, we returned to my original apartment, where the Anchor was still upgrading. Most of my other forces were guarding key areas of vulnerability such as the Throne of Heroes and the Rhyming Tree, but Ixitt had managed to inveigle himself intoing with us, desperate to see the Anchor and its upgrade process. Ignoring his gleeful mutterings as he inspected the surrounding Buildings, I marvelled at the bright halo of ether that had overflowed my Silo, a brilliant neb I wished I could take a picture of.


    “All right then, how long to go?” the Anchor wasrger than when I hadst saw it, the three protuberances growing from the spire more pronounced, looking a bit like branches of a Christmas Tree.


    “Hmm, looks like forty astral days remaining. Damn, this is painfully slow. Still…” my eyes went to the massive array of ether. In addition to what my Territory had pulled in from the Spires and Rhyming tree over the week since Ist rush-built the Anchor, we had rued significant spoils of battle from defeating numerous orcs, ghost orcs and more. We had also imed a massive amount of bounty from destroying two Territories and also defeating Kiku and her husband.


    “I know there isn’t an etheric tide running at the moment, but I still don’t exactly feel safe having all this ether drawing attention to itself, especially since the Territory has no barrier right now. It doesn’t matter how many defenders we have, if a wyrm or something simr starts sting breath attacks at this dungeon space, I’m not sure it’ll hold up… but damn, rush-building an Anchor is so wasteful… ugh, I’m wavering on what to do.”


    “I see-see.” Shae agreed with me. “It is quite the conundrum. Still, we have one advantage, do we not-not?”


    At her words I turned a questioning gaze on her. “What’s that?”


    “Now that our enemy is defeated, we have the leisure to plunder all the surrounding areas outside our Territory. Much-much has already been harvested, but there are still vast areas untapped, are there not-not?”


    <em>Yeah, that’s right. And with what forces we have now, we can spare a few squads to go out gathering and recruiting. </em>Ruffling Shae’s hair, causing her to narrow her eyes in pleasure, I quickly pulled in most of the excess ether, still leaving the hundred and fifty thousand safe in my Silo. The glow from the Anchor increased, and it grew ever taller, the branch-like nubs now forming shapes at the end of their arms,rge cylindrical rings, as if to hold something in ce.


    “Well, there goes two-hundred thousand ether.” I couldn’t help but feel downcast at the expense. “Easye, easy go.” There was still ether outside of the Silo, but it was much diminished, probably around ten to fifteen thousand. <em>I still need a lot more to reach the four-hundred-and-fifty thousand or so ether for my initial ns… </em>Still, getting the Territory secure was probably a smarter call.


    “I see, seventeen astral days and a few hours left.” I ran some quick calctions and if I drained my Silo dry, I could actually finish the Territory upgrade right now. <em>Ugh, no, that is WAY too wasteful. But it’s heartening to know if we run into an emergency again we can do it and get the defences functioning to hold it off.</em>


    “Well then, shall we go and start replenishing our stocks?” Shae asked. “I shall bring this annoying rodent.” She seized the rhapsodic Ixitt, who was marvelling at the sudden growth of the Anchor, and started hauling him out. As we left the heart of my Territory, we could see Ulfuricing towards us, expression serious.


    “What’s wrong? Not another attack, I hope?”


    “Nothing so troublesome.” Ulfuric intoned. “Princess, consort. Prince Shaeraggo has returned, in ordance with the Price of the Trial of Three. He asks to meet with you both forthwith.”


    <em>Shaeraggo, huh? And asking for both of us? I hope that means he hase to terms with his defeat. Oh well, we’ll soon see.</em>


    Taking Shae’s small hand in mine, we set off for the shrine, where we could meet him with suitable ceremony for a being of his standing…