Tsuki to Hoshi

It was past midday by the time Cheyenne and Adelia were ready to depart. The lengthy wait time was caused mostly by Chey’s vetting of the pack to see which were best suited to hunting. So, in addition to the four that John had meant to take with him, another six wargs tagged along while the rest remained to guard the household.

When they arrived back at the Brighton manor, they found Red and Moira pacing the room anxiously. Their shared look of relief was quickly replaced by anger as John relayed what had caused the delay, the former slapping him before turning her attention solely to her liberated family, while the latter pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

“By the Lady, I should smite you, Newman,” Moira said through gritted teeth. “You could have at least relieved us of our anxiety by calling to tell us you were safe! Do you have any idea how worried I was when I arrived back here to find you were still absent?!”

“Oh… sorry, it kinda slipped my mind,” John rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, seeking forgiveness in her gaze and finding none. Red refused to even look at him. “A-anyway, how did things go on your end?” John asked, quickly trying to move past this apparently grave blunder.

The redheaded Paladin allowed a small smile to creep onto her comely features. “Well,” she said brightly. “As we speak the Hunters of Artemis are combing the forest for Vulpis’ location. It should only be a matter of hours.”

“Great,” John said with relief, watching as the Brighton medical team hurried in to tend to Red’s family. The idea of rest and being looked after by other people didn’t seem to sit well with Cheyenne, however, who instead demanded she be taken to see whoever was in charge, citing current circumstances as being too pressing to rest. The fact that she was even on her feet at all — after what she’d been through — amazed John. So while Adelia and Ellyn were tended to by the staff (and Red who understandably wanted to be close to her mother right now), John and Moira, shadowed by Cheyenne and Saccharine, returned to the war room to be brought up to speed.

The Hunters of Artemis had lent them fifteen of their number to locate the warg Alpha’s hideout, promising that they would have a location before nightfall. Meanwhile the Order had stationed units at the airport and on every major road out of Springfield; Vulpis wouldn’t be slipping away anytime soon. Cheyenne, being the only person thus far to have fought Vulpis and lived, had much to contribute, sharing what she’d learned from her experience fighting her brother, in addition to more detailed profiles on the strengths and weaknesses of the pack he’d brought with him.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Moira asked him once the brief meeting was over.

“Grind,” John replied. “It hurts to say it, but I’m weak, hell, even Saccha has a higher level than I do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” the fae in question demanded, punching John in the cheek.

“I need to get stronger, or I’m just going to be a liability,” John continued, ignoring the fae’s ****. It felt more akin to a poke than a punch anyway; after all, she lacked any real physicality.

“I see, in which case I have something that might help you,” she told him as she signalled to a nearby housemaid who quickly brought over a small silver briefcase and handed it to the Warden. “You were complaining during your last session that you run out of mana too quickly,” Moira chuckled as she opened the case, revealing dozens of vials filled with a radiant blue liquid. John could guess what they were. “So I had these prepared. There should be enough in these vials to completely replenish your mana supply when you run out, and there’s 36 in total. You’re welcome to the entire case; consider it a gift from me.”

John might be new to the Abyss, but if it had taught him anything, it was that nothing this good was cheap. “Wow… I-I can’t take this, Moira,” John replied sheepishly. “This must have cost a small fortune.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Moira smiled warmly in return. “I’m a rich girl, remember? And more importantly, your mother is in danger. You can’t afford to be refusing gifts.” She had a point.

“You’ve already done so much for me, Moira,” John said as he gratefully took the briefcase from her and put it in his inventory, “...but thank you. I really do appreciate this.”

“You’re welcome,” she blushed and nervously played with a strand of her red hair.

“For fuck’s sake, just kiss already,” Saccharine complained, flying up to them and landing on top of John’s head.

“W-what? N-no! I m-meant to say, that would be i-inappropriate under the current circumstances,” Moira stuttered, her face taking on a shade of red — not dissimilar to her hair — while her eyes cast a sideways glance towards her father who was busy speaking with Chey.

“Lay off, Saccha,” John sighed. “Anyway, come with me.”

“I’ll cum with you anytime, Johnnyboy,” the fae giggled in reply as she winked suggestively at Moira.

“Shut up,” John groaned. “You know what I meant.”

“Aww, you’re no fun,” the fae pouted.

“Y-you and the fae have… done it?” Moira probed tentatively.

“Um… yeah,” John replied, watching Moira’s reaction carefully. The fact that she let nothing on her face betray her thoughts in response to this revelation may have been telling in itself.

“A-anyway,” John quickly tried to get the conversation back on track. “I’m going to go grinding, Saccha, and I want you to be there; I’m curious to see how much the party EXP system will affect you.”

“Yessir!” the fae saluted from atop his head.

“I’ll co- I mean, I’d like to go too!” Moira said quickly. “If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not,” John smiled. “But I’d ask that you don’t attack any of the enemies. So that I can level my skills faster. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to be worn out before tonight. It’s only thanks to Gamer’s Body that I can do it without getting too tired.”

“That’s fine with me,” Moira replied. “It will be interesting to observe, regardless. Come, there is a sparring room we can use.”

“Great,” John said as he followed her out of the room with Saccharine still resting on his head.

“Master Newman,” a voice called after them. John turned to see the Brighton’s butler, Reginald, walking towards them. “That delivery from the Fushimi association you warned me about has recently arrived. I had them delivered to the sparring room on the assumption that you would wish to try your new weapons.”

“Oh, that’s pretty convenient actually,” John smiled. “Thank you.”

“If you wish, I can arrange for one of the Knights to partner with you.”

“That’s okay, Reginald,” Moira replied in John’s stead. “I’m going to be training with John,” she explained, making no mention of exactly how. It seemed she was conscious of his request to keep the better part of his powers a secret from the rest of the Order.

“As you wish, Warden,” Reginald said with a bow, before turning and leaving.

Much to the amusement of Moira and Saccharine, John was all too keen to see his new swords for the first time, as he hurried them along to the sparring room. As you would expect, the room was largely empty, save for a large floor mat in the centre and a mirror that covered the entirety of one wall, while the opposite was decorate with a mix of cabinets and weapon racks. On the cabinet closest to the door sat a large hard-case with the words Kami Corp printed on the face, leaving little mystery about its contents.

John couldn’t help but grin like a child unwrapping a present at Christmas as he unclipped the case and opened it, revealing the contents. The twin blades lay side by side, hidden by jet black sheathes that depicted an identical white fox mid-stride. The handles of the weapons were put together with a comfortable blue cloth wrapped around what was apparently megalodon skin. There was also a small maintenance kit that included cloths and oils to clean the blades, as well as a set of screws to deconstruct them if need be.

John wasted no time taking out the kō-katana and wakizashi, unsheathing them to reveal their sleek edges. Despite being in a well lit room, the blades shone a distinct silver colour that took your breath away and radiated a magical heat that even John’s untuned senses could feel. It was clear that these blades were much stronger than the ones that the twin had let him try.

Interestingly, he found that both weapons were combined into a single Observe sheet, likely because they were meant to be used in tandem. But oh boy, the potential damage output when using both of them was enough to give John a stiffy. ‘You served me well, schiavona, but you’re basically a blunt stick compared to these two…’ John thought as he swapped out the broadsword. It was unlikely to sell for anything significant on Abyss Auction given the surplus of blades like it, so he’d probably end just stashing it in a closet to be forgotten or perhaps using it as decor if he found the space.

“Wow… that’s amazing craftsmanship,” Moira breathed, stepping forward so as to appraise the two Japanese blades in John’s hands with a closer eye.

“Yeah, that’ll sting a bit,” Saccharine said lightly. “I definitely wouldn’t point that at Red if I were you.”

“Well, let’s put it to the test, shall we?” John grinned as he prepared to launch an Instant Dungeon. He paused momentarily, however, as he noticed a new notification.

New Quest: Little Red Riding Hood
[Multi objective]
Reach level 15 before the hunt [optional]
Rescue Brenda Newman
Defeat the Big Bad Wolf
Rewards:
+1 Skill Evolution Point
+2000 EXP
+3000 EXP, Token of Wrath