Kalin’s condition is that I have to take Ahri with me.
And so, I fly to the capital on Seilook’s back, where we pick up Ahri, and we fly straight south.
“Ahri…”
“What is it, Master Rust?”
I say Ahri’s name, who is riding in front.
She twists her body and turns around, and I can see she’s not wearing her monocle magic item. I’m assuming it’s because her future sight power was taken away.
I’m used to seeing that monocle on her face, so the fact that she’s not wearing it combined with her brooding expression almost makes her look like a different person.
“No, well… I was just thinking about your hand.”
“…It won’t be an issue in battle.”
She responds, and after hesitating a bit, shows me her right hand.
It’s just like her to be honest and feel like she has to show it to me.
We are going to be picking a fight with a demon, so she’s showing me her hand so I can know where we stand as far as our fighting power goes. But on an emotional level, I feel like she hasn’t really processed what happened that day.
“Can I check it?”
I’m going to ask questions, one at a time, to check how she’s feeling. After all, Kalin named her specifically even though she’s not at her best. She probably expects something from me, and this is probably it.
Ahri quietly nods.
I take her hand and check its wound.
There’s a cut that starts from the space between her thumb and her index finger and crosses all the way to her forearm. It’s a little stiff, but the wound itself has indeed closed.
It would have been easy to get a good grasp on the wound’s condition, including the muscles if I used a 《Transcribe》 scroll, but she’s probably just going to get red faced and mad again…
“How is your grip strength?”
I can see her eyes averting mine when I ask this question.
She’s not wearing a monocle or a cloth, so I can see that waver in her eyes clear as day.
“It won’t be an issue in battle.”
She gives me back the same phrase, and I stare at her face, gauging her expression.
Ahri shows more emotion on her face than I thought. It looks like her grip strength really has gone down. But if Ahri says she can fight, that means she can probably cover for it.
“All right, thank you.”
I say as I let go of her hand, and Ahri clearly looks relieved.
She faces forward again and starts looking around cautiously, to hide that expression.
We keep flying, and I talk to Ahri again, just to chat.
“By the way, how much did Kalin tell you about this?”
“She told me to guard you, with a battle against the demon 『Weakest Seventh Seat』 on the horizon. And that I should take you to the 『edge of the skies』.”
She responds without turning back.
“We don’t know for sure if there will be a battle. I’m going to at least try to negotiate first. But does that mean you know the place?”
This place where the sky demon lives, known as 『edge of the skies』, is relatively famous.
Having said that, I’m prepared to have to look for the specific location once we get there.
“It’s my hometown.”
“Ah, I see. I thought you came from the west.”
“…Yes, I heard before our parents passed away that our mother did come from the west. I’m impressed that you noticed that.”
“I’ve heard that there is a tribe in the west where there’s a higher than normal chance that they will be born with magic eyes.”
I tell Ahri what I thought when I first met her and Roa, while trying to sound casual about it.
“I didn’t know about that.”
I don’t miss the fact that her shoulders flinch for a second.
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