A Sinner’s Chance

I gently pushed the door open while manifesting both Aspect Skill eyes, my vision suddenly overlaid with the mysterious Threads and the Scales of Judgement as I had taken to calling them. It wasn't that I didn't want to trust Demonweb, but it wouldn't be the first time a parent had plans for me that I didn't agree with, and I wasn't going to take any chances.

Standing in front of a large floor to ceiling window that overlooked the cityscape was a man dressed in what looked like a white kimono, hair pulled back into a top knot, it was like he was an ancient warrior from the East in Velen's world, all he was missing was a katana hanging from his waist.

He must have heard the door as he turned away from the window as I stepped in, an annoyed expression that quickly morphed into a gentle smile. He seemed hesitant for a moment before taking a few steps closer to me. "For a moment I thought Ashara had come back to me, you look so much like her."

I couldn't find the words to express myself as I heard him mention Ashara. Unlike Neyla who had been filled with regret, his voice held a deep and sorrowful longing. Were it not for the fact that I had basically been threatened to come here, I would have succumbed to the warmth and sense of comfort that seemed to be floating in the air. As such I defaulted to the only thing I knew for these situations, professionalism. I gave a semi-formal curtsy as I looked at Demonweb. "Forgive me for not being as keen as you, I was threatened to come here with my wife's life after all."

His brow furrowed for a mere moment, almost imperceptible, but Amun-Re's Eye was perfect for interrogations, so small movements like that were easily caught by it.

"I'm sorry for the rough and crude method I employed, but I doubt you would have agreed to come here otherwise. I doubt Ashara would have told you about me. If it weren't for that bitch Neyla who lied and misled her into believing that I had nefarious plans-" He paused for a moment, seeming to realize he'd gotten quite heated. "Sorry, I have a hard time containing my emotions when it comes to that subject."

I shook my head at his apology, if someone were to do the same to me I likely wouldn't be able to remain even half as calm as he did. My guard slowly relaxed as the two of us engaged in conversation, especially when he began to tell stories of Ashara. Habits and hobbies that I'd never gotten a chance to see since she was so busy taking care of me. He especially mentioned the Itoryu that she practiced since he had noticed that I had Ashara's old naginatas, something he thought he wouldn't ever see again. There wasn't a book for it, but rather a temple dedicated to the art passed down among those it thought worthy.

According to him I should be able to learn simply by virtue of having the weapons, they had been a gift from the temple after all. We spoke for about an hour before he said he needed to get back to his work, it wasn't easy running a city of monsters. He did say that he would endeavor to make great progress so he could spend the majority of tomorrow with me.

For now though, me and the girls were shown a large and lavish bedroom that we would be able to sleep and store anything we wanted to while we were staying. Ein was assigned to us and showed us around the mansion, the final stop being the bathroom, mostly because she figured that we would like to clean up since we were rather filthy, something I'd basically gotten used to as being too clean was a method that monsters could use to detect you.

Neyla had been full of such wisdom as she'd been living in the forest and surviving quite well. It still pained me that she had been killed, and was one of the reasons I felt like I couldn't trust everything Demonweb told me, despite how well we got along and much better of a person he seemed than Alcrem.

When I asked the others what they thought of him, they couldn't tell me much. Apparently he had been exuding some kind of suppressing aura which made it hard for them to really pay attention . They were surprised to hear that I wasn't affected, either because he could control it, or because I was related. While it was apparently rather malevolent, it hadn't been bad enough to warrant any real reaction, especially since they had seen me speaking calmly and without issue.

I was actually glad that they had been suppressed as it was better to learn such a Skill existed and it would be good to come up with a countermeasure. I didn't know how long we were going to stay, so I planned to fill my days here with all that I could. Even if it was nice to have a father that didn't seem to have some grand plan that I was a pawn of, I'd been away from home for so long, and even though I could talk to Marian whenever, it wasn't the same as having her by my side.

Once cleaned the four of us explored the town as while the day wasn't young, there was still plenty of time before sunset. The maze-like streets and alleys were bustling with activity, something we easily blended into this time since it seemed that Ein had been the one that had caused people to give us a wide berth.

I didn't know what kind of currency they used here but we didn't have any so we were mostly window shopping, plus I could make just about anything anyway so buying it seemed wasteful, but it was great for ideas. Not only was the style different, but even the method for making things was vastly varied, especially with so many monsters that had all sorts of appearances. The normal races would probably have a breakdown if they realized how many 'rare' materials were actually very common, it was just that the majority was not circulated in the territory of non-monsters.

It was like every other shop that had Arachne silk, both bundles and clothing, for sale and magic crystals, a rare gem that could sometimes be harvested from a monster were used like they had no value, at least the lesser types, I had yet to see one that was equivalent to one that could be gotten from an Inner ring monster, but I imagined that even many of the intelligent monsters wouldn't fight them freely.

It took quite some time before we managed to find the temple dedicated to Itoryu. The citizens had been less than helpful and most didn't know what we were asking while those that did had just muttered about a crazed spirit or stated that it was cursed, making it far harder than I felt it should have been. It must have once been quite beautiful, though it felt more like a rundown dojo than a temple.

It was heavily overgrown and in rather hefty disrepair. I almost thought it was abandoned and was about to leave when a sliding door opened to reveal an older woman who looked similar to Ashara. She ran out long dark hair fluttering before embracing me in a tight hug, the feeling of tears soaking on my clothes and some dropping onto my exposed skin. I opened my mouth in confusion to ask her what was going on but quickly shut it again when I heard the quiet whisper she was making.

Two phrases being repeated over and over in sorrow. "I regret everything, my daughter. Please forgive me, Ashara."