"So... what do you want to do?" Kayda asked, one eyebrow raised as her crimson eyes studied the shadowed cave entrance. "We could just go in and kill everyone. Quick and clean."
"It's too small of a space to test out the chakrams," I said, pulling away from the entrance with a sigh. The narrowness of the tunnel was a problem. Tight spaces meant limited mobility-too risky for something that still needed testing.
"I see." She stepped beside me, watching the path I'd backed away from. "Then do you want to lure them out?"
"Yeah," I said, thinking it over. "Do you have any ideas?"
A glint of something mischievous-or perhaps grim-flashed in her eyes. "Trolls love the smell of blood. To be precise, they're drawn to the scent of female blood. Something about it drives them wild."
I grimaced in disgust. "Tch... fucking disgusting beings," I spat. Without hesitation, I conjured a small dagger of ice and jammed it straight into my wrist. The cold steel split flesh, but I barely flinched. Red bloomed down my arm in slow rivulets.
Kayda blinked. "You better let me feed you some mana for this."
"That's fine," I said, looking at her with a worn expression as I stabbed my other wrist too. "But you know, you could've mentioned this before I went full masochist."
She gave a helpless shrug. "I never said it had to be your blood. I only mentioned that it needed to be female blood. But... yeah, the technique will definitely work."
"It's easier this way," I said, blood dripping steadily onto the dry dirt at our feet. "Quick. Efficient."
"You're lucky you can heal that in seconds," she murmured, eyeing me with a mix of admiration and concern.
I rotated my wrists slightly, watching the wounds stitch themselves shut with faint golden light. "Yeah, I know. And don't worry-I would rather not rely on this ability too much. But for now... it's the best option."
Kayda gave a quiet hum, her expression softening. "Your mind is growing up, it seems."
I paused mid-wipe of my bloodied hand, glancing up at her. "Huh? Is my mind growing up? What the hell does that mean?"
She chuckled under her breath. "It means that you are now seeing things more clearly than before. For example, when we fought those Crimson Bandits a while back, you didn't just charge in recklessly like a lunatic. You did it with stealth and strategy."
I looked away. "That was because you warned me."
"True," she said, smiling. "But in the past, you wouldn't have even listened. You used to only listen to your mother. No one else."
I blinked. "I did?"
My voice came out quieter than I expected. Her words echoed in my head, and I found myself trailing off into thought.
Did I really never listen to anyone else? Not even Kayda? I frowned, trying to remember a single moment where I followed someone else's advice-not out of obligation or training, but because I trusted them. Even during the mansion massacre... I didn't listen to Mom's warnings. I made my own decisions.
Then again, I was a teenager. Wasn't that normal? To ignore parents? To believe you knew better?
"I don't know what to say," I admitted. "I can't remember ever really listening to you before yesterday. I mean, sure-I heard you out. But I didn't trust you enough to follow through."
"That's true," she said gently. "You did listen. Just... not all the way."
"Well, can you blame me?" I said with a shrug. "After what I've been through, it's difficult to trust."
"I get it," she replied. "But now you know I care. And maybe that means you'll listen next time I give advice."
"Hmm... I guess I can," I muttered, avoiding her gaze before glancing back with a smirk. "Since we are now dating, I suppose that means you might listen to my advice."
"Tch. We're soulmates," she corrected, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, and? I still am keen to learn about you. We're dating," I said, voice firm, "because I know nothing about you yet."
"Hmph... That's fair." She looked thoughtful. "I already know a lot about you thanks to Stacy. You, on the other hand..."
"I only know what you told me when we first met," I said.
Kayda nodded. "Right. So you know I was exiled from my clan."
"And the reason was... pretty dumb. Which makes me think there was more going on behind the scenes."
Her eyes widened slightly, impressed. "Yeah... there was."
"Sister or brother?"
"Older sister."
"Less talent than you, I assume?"
"In a way, yes," she said with a faint sigh. "She... sleeps around a lot. That caused problems."
I raised an eyebrow. "So because you were better than her in many ways, she schemed to get rid of you."
"Pretty much. She couldn't kill me directly, but exile was easier," Kayda said with a shrug, though her tone held quiet bitterness.
"Hmm. I wonder what I'll do if I ever meet your sister one day."
Kayda smirked. "Probably kill her."
"True. That might happen."
She laughed. "Enough reminiscing. How far are you from mastering your weapons?"
I puffed out my chest, grinning. "Every weapon is at the intermediate level."
"That's good," she said, then immediately asked, "What about your magic?"
My pride deflated like a popped balloon. "I'm still at the beginning of the second beam," I said, voice low.
"That's still good, you know," Kayda said, trying to lift my mood.
"Amari was close to finishing the second pole before Hugo's stupid deal. She's probably already on her third by now."
"Of course she is. Her only activity consists of anger control exercises.
"...Right," I said with a groan, feeling extra dumb now. "Speaking of things I forgot, what happened to the harem I got from the Duke and Hugo?"
Kayda blinked. "They... I don't know. Your mom is probably handling it. So don't worry."
I stared blankly at the trees. "My mom is doing something? That does worry me."
I thought, sighing, that I didn't care what happened to them.
"Oh, they're here," Kayda said, her ears twitching.
"That was fast." I turned back toward the cave, where the sound of thudding footsteps echoed.
Pulling the daggers from my wrists, I casually tossed them aside and summoned the chakrams into my hands with a thought. My fingers curled around the circular blades, feeling the cold hum of energy coursing through them.
Two hulking silhouettes emerged from the cave entrance-each nearly the size of an orc, but somehow... stranger.
I stared at them with wide eyes. "Okay... They're not quite what I expected."
The trolls were oddly humanoid-large, gangly arms, oversized noses, massive jaws with protruding tusks... and no hair. Not even on their heads. Their skin varied in color like someone had splashed them with paint-one was a deep olive green, the other a muddy brown.
"Grug female?" One of them grunted.
"They can talk? Kinda?" I asked, intrigued.
"Trolls are known for their soft skin," Kayda said from the side. "Some can talk a bit. They're as strong as orcs, but nowhere near as durable."
I lifted a brow. "Soft skin, huh? Let's test that."
I didn't wait. With a flick of my wrists, I launched two chakrams into the air-one spinning toward each troll.
Thud.
Thud.
Both trolls collapsed to the ground, their heads rolling several feet away from their bodies.
I blinked. "Uh... Kayda. It can't be that soft, right?"
She stared at the twitching corpses, jaw slack. "No... it shouldn't be."
The chakrams returned, dripping brown blood.
"Let's test something," I said, drawing another chakram and hurling it into the dirt. I expected it to stop a few centimeters deep-but instead, it sliced through the earth like water, disappearing several meters down.
Kayda leaned over the small crater. "Kitsune, is it coming back?"
"I can still feel it," I said, holding up my palm. The chakra zipped back into my hand with a whisper of air.
"So how deep was that?"
"A couple of meters."
I floated all six chakrams in front of me, inspecting the blood on two of them. "Wait. Is troll blood the same color as their skin?"
"Oh, right," Kayda said. "I forgot to mention that."
I snorted. "That's cool."
Grinning, I turned toward the cave. "Hehe... Since these things cut through both meat and rock, let's go have some fun."
Kayda sighed. "Might as well see how she handles this."
But just before I stepped in, I paused. "Oh-wait. One more thing."
I turned around and walked over to the two corpses.
Kayda narrowed her eyes. "Kitsuna... You're not going to-"
"Yeah, why not?" I said, conjuring a massive cleaver in one hand.
"That's disgusting!"
"They're meat."
"They're inedible!"
"I'll be fine," I said, waving her off cheerfully as I knelt down, cleaver gleaming in the morning light.
Psst! Download the app for additional rewards!
More events, more perks. Winning you more free perks. Download now!
TheRealSkollie
TheRealSkollie
avataravatar
Chapter 104:
"I will never again try eating-blegh!!" I gagged, lurching forward with a hand pressed tightly against my gut. My knees hit the mossy cave floor, and I emptied what little contents remained in my stomach onto the already stained rocks.
The stench hit me instantly, and I gagged again, coughing as more bile surged up. Stars danced in my vision.
"I told you not to eat it!" Kayda shouted from behind me, rubbing my back with firm, frustrated strokes.
"You never said it was poisonous-blegh." I tried to defend myself, barely getting the words out before another violent heave wracked my body.
"Do I need to clarify everything for you?!" She barked, her hands flying up into the air in exasperation.
"You only said it's not edible for us," I croaked out between breaths, sweat dripping down my temple. "I thought-blegh-that you forgot I'm technically a monster now."
Kayda's face twisted in disbelief. Her voice cracked like thunder. "Ah, for fuck's sake, Kitsuna! You might be that, but you'll still get sick if you eat fucking troll meat!"
"I know that now," I groaned, slowly pushing myself to my feet. My limbs wobbled, and my vision swam for a moment before steadying.
"Did you get everything out?" Kayda asked, her voice softening just a fraction. She reached out and steadied me by the shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm as empty as air," I replied, trying to joke through the nausea. I gave her a half-hearted thumbs up, which only earned me a skeptical side-eye.
"Don't ever say that again," Kayda deadpanned.
"What, why not?" I blinked at her, genuinely confused.
"That just sounds... wrong," she said, dusting her hands off and stepping back. "Like something a possessed scarecrow would say."
"...That's oddly specific," I muttered.
Kayda raised an eyebrow. "You're not helping your case."
I chuckled despite my better judgment, but it quickly turned into a weak cough. "Okay, okay. Fair."
She narrowed her eyes at me. "And just when I said you were starting to listen to me, too. What do you do? Immediately prove me wrong by trying to eat troll meat I explicitly told you not to touch!"
"Ha-ha, yeah. Sorry, sorry." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "It won't happen again."
Kayda huffed, folding her arms. Her tail flicked once in irritation before she let out a long sigh. "Whatever. Let's talk about the Crimson Bandits. You didn't tell me everything last night, and I want the full story."
"Right." I straightened up, posture growing more serious. "Well, first things first-Sammy was only a mid-level info broker in their ranks. She didn't have everything, but she still gave me a lot."
Kayda's eyes sharpened. "I see. Did you kill her?"
The question surprised me. "No," I said slowly, shaking my head. "But I did traumatize her."
Kayda didn't flinch. "Not surprised."
"Not the important part," I continued, waving off the topic. "What matters is how the Crimson Bandits operate. How they get new members."
"Go on," she said, arms still crossed. "I'm listening."
"They run about seventy percent of the kingdom's orphanages."
Kayda's brows knit together. "That sounds... ominous."
"Yeah. Sounds like child soldiers, right?" I said, a trace of sarcasm curling in my voice.
"Definitely," she agreed with a grimace. "Like they're raising them just to use later."
"That's what I thought, too. But it's not entirely true."
I took a breath and started pacing slowly across the uneven cave floor as I explained.
"At age sixteen, each child is given an option-join the Bandits, or start a normal life. That part is real."
Kayda's tail stopped swaying. She tilted her head. "Huh. That's surprisingly... fair. Not what I expected."
"It gets better. They take in any child off the streets. Feed them. Train them in basics-fighting, survival, some reading, and math. And when the time comes, they can either join the people who raised them, or... leave."
"And be left alone?" Kayda asked carefully.
"Sort of." I paused. "They're forced to forget everything about the orphanage. That part is true. But they're not entirely left on their own. Supportive people assist them quietly during the first year or so. They provide just enough support to help them become self-sufficient.
Kayda's brows furrowed. "So it's like... a test of independence."
"Exactly," I nodded. "But even though it sounds noble on the surface, the intention behind it is warped. They're not doing this out of kindness."
"They're building loyalty," Kayda muttered, putting the pieces together.
"Yes." I clenched a fist. "The children are trained to see the Bandits as their saviors. Family. So when the time comes, even if they have a choice... most of them pick the Bandits."
Kayda's expression turned conflicted. "That's manipulation-clever, calculated manipulation."
"They help," I said quietly, "but for the wrong reasons."
"Still," she said, glancing at me. "It's not like they force the kids."
"No," I admitted. "But think about it. You're sixteen. The only people who've ever shown you love, fed you, and trained you ask you to stay. And if you say no, you have to forget them. Would you really leave?"
Kayda shook her head slowly. "No... I wouldn't."
"Neither would I," I said. "That's what bothers me the most."
There was a long pause.
Then I smiled, sharp and sudden. "So, if I told you I want to take over the Crimson Bandits... what would you say?"
Kayda blinked. "Huh?"
I grinned wider. "You heard me."
She stared. "Wait-you want to what!?"
"Take. Over. The Bandits." I spread my arms as if I were offering her a gift.
"Why the hell would you want to do that!?"
"Because wiping them out would create a power vacuum. And it would hurt the kids they raise more than it helps anyone else."
