ISEKAI EXORCIST

After departing from the Spire, I set out for the tower ruins where the Necrotic Parasite had been defeated, hoping against hope that my Spirit Glasses had been recovered from the ashes. When I arrived, with the Tracker and his fox lazily trudging behind me, I saw that one of the strangely-clad Trakyssare was kneeling at the centre of the ashy debris and ruin, chanting some strange wordless song, while a few Scouts watched. Elye was standing further away, disdain for the man knelt in the ashes clear on her face.

“Did you find any of the things I lost?” I asked her when I drew near and she almost jumped out of her skin.

“Do not sneak up on me!”

“I didn’t…” I replied, confused. “Why are you staring at that guy so intently?”

“I’m not!” she proclaimed and turned to face me, but whatever else she’d been about to say died in her throat, when she saw the staff in my hand. I was using it as a crutch, since walking was still a taxing ordeal. “They gave you a Singing Branch!?”

“Is that what you call it?” I wondered. “Apparently it was my reward for helping defeat the Rotmaker.”

Elye scoffed. “Now you smell of beeswax as well…”

“This your girlfriend?” Charles asked as he came up next to me. He eyed the Elfin up-and-down and his fox made a strange chattering whine as though the man’s emotions were relayed through the beast.

“No,” I replied.

“Companion then?”

Elye was watching the man with open hostility, though most of it was directed at his companion. “Yuuta and I are destined together! Where he goes, I go!”

“So, you’re married then?”

I sighed. “We’re not in that kind of relationship.”

Charles let out a hum, then ran his eyes up-and-down the Elfin’s figure again, before nodding to himself.

“Touch me and I will eat your fingers,” Elye warned with a predatory growl.

“I like feisty girls,” Charles shot back with a grin.

I sent him a glare, then asked Elye again, “Did you find any of my things?”

The Elfin didn’t take her eyes off the Tracker, but reached into a small shoulder canvas back of finely-spun roots and withdrew two objects: the first was half the frame of my glasses, which was heat-warped and twisted, with the Spirit Quartz lens absent; the other was the crystal that had adorned my previous staff.

I sighed. I had expected this outcome, but it was still a bummer. I also wasn’t much richer from this whole Enclave affair, so buying replacement glasses would be an unwelcome expenditure I’d have to make. I took both of the objects from her hands and put them in my own belt pouch.

I fortunately hadn’t lost anything except my Staff, Spirit Glasses, and a single boot. Surprisingly, the Encyclopaedia had survived entirely unscathed. Since I didn’t want to walk around in mismatched boots, I now wore a new pair that had been made for me by a leather-smith, free of charge. The boots were far more comfortable than my previous pair, so it was a nice upgrade, especially since the old ones had been pretty banged-up already. Aside from the three lost items, my robe-coat now also had a bunch of tiny holes and singed edges, but none of the damage was too noticeable.

“Elye, I’m travelling to Helmstatter with Charles here. He tracked me down on behalf of my party members who are staying there.”

“We are travelling with him!?”

“It’s my job, little lady,” he replied. The fox barked as though to back him up.

Elye bared her teeth at him. I only just then realised she had a bow slung over her back, and a rectangular quiver mounted diagonally on the small of her back. Her hand was fidgeting towards one of the arrows, as though she wanted to grab one and jab it into Charles’ face.

This will be great…

Of all the ways I had imagined travelling out of the enormous forest that surrounded Skovslot, sitting atop a giant Welin monstrosity born of roots, bark, and moss, was not it. The creature had seemed so terrifying when I’d merely caught a glimpse on the first day I met Elye, and up close was no less reassuring.

Elye had been mortified at first when Charles had revealed that he could speak to the Welin and ask them to give us a lift north towards the border, but now she was whooping and hollering from atop her own next to me.

My stomach was up my throat and the violent jostling, as the four-legged plant-born giant bear thundered ahead, was making all the small pains and soreness in my limbs feel a thousand times worse. My fists were white-knuckled where I gripped the mossy hair and held on for dear life.

I’d never been a fan of rollercoasters, and this was like a theme-park ride out of hell.

“Weeeeeeeee!” screamed Elye excitedly.

I was proud of the fact that I didn’t purge my guts out onto the grass when we finally dismounted the three Welin, who, at a word from Charlatan Charles, returned back the way we’d come. But my legs felt like jelly and there was a phantom-sensation of being jostled about still imprinted on my limbs.

“That was awful,” I complained.

“Let’s do it again!”

I groaned in reply.

Charles and his fox were already trotting up along the road, twenty metres ahead. He had said it would only be a few kilometres from here to the border gate. While I slowly trailed behind on my jelly legs and leaning heavily on my ‘Singing Branch’ staff, I took a sip of the waterskin I’d brought from Skovslot. It was full of ‘dew’, which, from the taste of it, was clearly just water that had a faint floral-and-earthy aftertaste.

Elye thankfully kept pace with me, while I hobbled along like a cripple.

Can’t you heal me? This is miserable…

“Traumatic injury is not so easily cured. The body remembers, even if the injury is healed.”

I’ll try to remember that next time I nosedive from the fourth floor.

I looked up at the sky above, seeing Karasumany float there with a flock of copies around him.

Karasu, fly ahead to the Border Gate. I wish to know what I can expect.

CAW! replied the crows as one, before a flock broke off. The main body stayed above me however, seeming to always want to know where I was. I wondered if it was like a central radio tower required for me to pick up the signals of its copies.

Is the copy you sent to Helmstatter still alive?

CAW! it said in response. Somehow, although I couldn’t say how, I knew it was a ‘yes’.

Show me what it sees.

I had to stop walking as my sight and hearing was replaced with that of a faraway copy of the Observer crow. It sat atop the peaked spire-like roof of tall stone building with embellishments of wood. Below its vantage point, thousands of people moved about; far more than I had expected from the city. Although Karasumany could not utilise my aura-sight, I could tell that the people were almost entirely Natives. It was mostly the tan blondes like Lukas and most of Lundia’s population that I saw, but there were some of the northern pale dark-haired people too, like the Jeweller.

The tone of the city I observed was sombre and silent, as, thanks to its duty as an Observer, I could also hear the city itself. The wind howled louder than any of the thousands of people who moved through the arteries of the stone city. As I urged the copy to move around, I felt the touch of a hand on my shoulder and the surprise broke my connection with my familiar.

I gasped as though emerging from underwater and saw Elye looking at me, worried.

“Your eyes were all black and you were ignoring me.”

“Sorry, I was communing with my familiar in Helmstatter.”

“I do not like the look on your face when it happens.”

“I agree with the Elfin. It is very unsettling to behold.”

I frowned, but then continued walking up the road. Charles was already far in the distance, not seeing to bother waiting for us.

For the next half hour, I struggled to limit the borrowed sight to just my right eye and ear, but to no avail. To Elye and Armen, it must have been a strange sight of me stopping-and-starting, while grumbling every time it failed to work properly. That being said, I did manage to give myself a massive migraine that made the sunlight sting my eyes painfully.

I eventually gave up when the distant towering stone wall and gate came into sight. I had no idea how far the border checkpoint lay from Helmstatter, but it was possible that we could find transport near the border, since I’d seen through Karasumany’s eyes that dozens-and-dozens of caravans and carriages were parked on both sides, while goods and passengers were inspected by a large contingent of guardsmen and taxes were paid.

Charles came up to me as we drew to only a kilometre away and said, “You know, you’re quite fortunate that you have rich friends.”

I narrowed my eyes as I turned to face him. With energy flowing to my eyes and allowing for my Spirit Sight to activate, I could see the way his dark-brown fluffy aura was shifting and spiking randomly. I guessed the words that came out of his mouth next, but was still surprised.

“If not, I’d have turned you over to the guards here and cashed in the bounty on your head.”

I gritted my teeth, while Elye grabbed one of the arrows from her quiver. I hadn’t noticed when, but her head was covered by the hood of a dark-green travel cloak she had put on at some point. Its fabric was, like the boots I was wearing, made from roots, moss, and plant fibres.

Armen put a hand on my shoulder reassuringly, although it was still an odd sensation that he could touch me like this while incorporeal. As though summoned by my inner turmoil, Seramosa arrived by my side in a flash of fire, claws curled and eyes staring hatefully at the Tracker.

“I’ll burn him to ashes and blackened bones!”

Relax, we’re not killing anyone.

“I don’t see the point in threatening me.”

“I wasn’t,” Charles lied unsuccessfully.

“You want something from me in exchange for your kind-heartedness, don’t you?”

The Tracker lifted his hands in mock surrender. “You got me. I wanted you to consult with me on a contract I got in Helmstatter.”

“Consult?” I watched his aura closely. He was telling the truth it seemed. “Why?”

“Why would a Tracker need the help of an Exorcist?”

“Very well, but I want a cut of the reward. How much is your contract paying you?”

“Two gold. Incidentally, that’s about the same as the bounty on your head.”

His aura was bobbing-and-weaving, with erratic spikes here-and-there. Though the latter half was true. A bounty of two gold on my head…

“He’s lying about the reward,” Armen remarked.

I know.

“And how much is it actually paying you?”

Charles didn’t say anything, but the fox mewled sadly.

“I won’t be inclined to help someone who’s lying to me.”

“Alright, fine! It’s paying like twelve gold crowns!”

“That’s quite a lot to track someone down.”

Charles seemed to consider the benefit in obfuscating the truth for a moment, at least judging by his aura, but then he leaned closer to me, perhaps so Elye couldn’t hear, and whispered, “I was hired by an envoy of the Prince in Arley. He wants me to find his half-sister, Myrabelle.”

Shit.

“That sounds likely to get me into trouble.”

“Yeah, no shit! But do you think I have the option of backing out of this thing!?”

I wondered if I should tell him that I’d taken a contract for the very same person and that my party was responsible for bringing her to Helmstatter, but I decided against it. It was best to play my cards close to my chest.

“You were able to find me all the way out here, so why can’t you find her in Helmstatter?”

“How do you know she’s in the city?”

“You told me it was a contract in the city,” I replied quickly, terrified that I’d let my knowledge about the Cursed Half-Princess slip.

“Oh. Right.” He pulled away from me, then said, seriously, “I’m pretty sure she’s already dead, although that wouldn’t matter for the terms of my contract. But the problem I’m facing is that her scent is all over the Noble Quarter, but all of it leads to dead-ends. So, I’m suspecting there is more to the matter, such as things I can’t see.”

“But which I would be able to discover?”

“That’s the hope at least. I’ve been stuck with the damn contract for over two months.”

I blinked in surprise, but he didn’t seem to realise the reason for my reaction.

If I’m tracking the timeline of events right, then Myrabelle would have been brought to Helmstatter by Rana and Lukas no more than three weeks back. Which begs the question, how was her scent all over the city before then?

“Few are those who survive the ire of Royalty. Those who seek to evade their scorn must therefore be clever.”

You think she somehow made sure that the city was already covered with traces of her scent before her true arrival? But the people who ambushed us outside Ochre had obviously tracked her there. Also, that would mean she has a way more elaborate network of servants than she let on…

“I’ll have to think about it. First I’d like to just see my party.”

“Very well, but you must know that they’ve begun to station Witch Hunters on the Border Crossings and in Gate Towns.”

“What!? Why? Not to hunt me, I hope.”

“Much has happened in the last few months, but yes, unfortunately your decimation of the village of Hearthshire has become quite a talked-about affair.”

“I didn’t decimate the village! I helped it get rid of a Weeping Widow that had cursed them all!”

“It don’t matter what the truth is, so long as people believe something else.”

I grumbled in frustration.

“What’s the point of even helping people if they’ll just believe that Exorcists are never not evil!?”

“Preaching to the choir,” Charles replied.

“Well, if they’re looking for me, they must probably be looking through the Guild Cards of all Otherworlders that pass through, right?”

Charles nodded.

“Then how are we supposed to get past?” I asked, pointing to the massive wall that stretched out from either side of the enormous gate. The walls ran far along landscape and were so tall that I doubted anyone could easily scale them and cross unnoticed. It made me wonder how in the hell Leopold had managed to get his carriage across. “There’s no way we’re climbing that!”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan,” Charles said conspiratorially.