“I… had no idea Derek was like that!” Tyler said, having had enough drinks to talk more loosely but not enough to be fully drunk just yet.
Inwardly, Konohora was impressed they served Alcohol fit for C-Rank individuals here. She wished she would’ve asked Derek how strong the guards were but it hadn’t occurred to her at the time. The strength of the guards told you a lot about a town, she had found in her travels.
She knew she was intentionally distracting herself with idle thoughts though. Inwardly, she was also, somewhat annoyed. The reason was Tyler. She had known, been terrified, about Tyler’s naivety. One of the reasons to leave and go on this journey, instead of stay back and be properly trained for another decade, was because Tyler needed life experience. The most recent showing of that had been demons themselves. She had given him a thorough talking to about how Demons were people but she knew he wouldn’t properly internalize it unless he met more demons. Even then, it might not get through to him without them visiting the Demon Territory, which would be a death sentence.
And now, twice in a very short amount of time, Tyler had shown his naivety regarding Sex and Sexuality. She truly felt like she had returned to being a caretaker of young children again.
“Is it so surprising? As he said, I neither knew his favorite instrument was the drums nor his favorite color. Despite traveling with Derek for some time, there is a lot we still do not know about each other.” She said.
“Y-Yeah but…” Tyler looked embarrassed and luckily, Riary was nearby. It often saved her a lot of trouble as she had a habit of getting straight to the heart of things.
Said Fire Mage snorted, before looking at Tyler. “Just say what you’re really thinking, he’s not a sissy who acts like he’s a whore that needs a cock.”
Riary then went back to her food. Konohora frowned. Derek hadn’t known her long enough, and Tyler wouldn’t have noticed, but Riary hadn’t been acting the same since they had faced Vilconoff in battle. It was as if she was putting on a mask of herself. Her mind was clearly elsewhere. She was worried that Riary had been suffering more than she let on. Killing your rapist isn’t always enough to remove the negative feelings, especially if it’s right after. It can strangely almost feel like you were robbed in a way. It was a strange aspect Konohora had run into a few times before. She would get the chance to have a proper talk with her tonight about it, now that her Penance had ended and they’d get a few moments alone.
Right now, however, she needed to slowly but firmly correct Tyler’s mentality and worldview.
“It is as Riary says Tyler, at least in words and action. You seem to be surprised, deeply, that Derek is Bisexual. To the point it seems to bother you greatly.”
Personally, she felt addressing how he had responded to Silinthia was vastly more important at the moment but one thing at a time. Both were probably equally important, in the grand scheme of things. She understood that heroes had different ideas around species and races, and that was normal enough as a fault. After all, it wasn’t like there was no racism in The Heart and True Heroes would, strangely frequently, come from worlds with only one to three sentient species on them according to historical records. Riary was an example herself of the former, with her feelings towards demonkind. However, Konohora had, foolishly, forgotten that there were other things people could be biased against. It simply wasn’t common in Ero to judge one by their sex, gender, or sexuality.
Tyler was silent for a bit, before eventually responding.
“I don’t know… it just seems… like it should have been obvious? That’s all. I guess it just surprised me.”
“Does his interests make you dislike him?”
“What? No! I’m not a bastard!”
Konohora was relieved. At the very least, it was a much better starting point than Riary. Hate was a poison she had seen kill more than a few people on the battlefield.
And it was even worse when it killed others off the battlefield.
Her morals would not allow a True Hero who slaughtered based on prejudice to arise. The stakes were too high for her to fail anymore as a Guardian and as a Mentor.
“And why,” Riary spoke up, some of the mask falling away “Did you say that Dark Elf was a man? That was pretty fucked up you bastard!”
Konohora turned to glare at Tyler too. Silinthia may not exactly be a woman, but still, she felt a certain kinship with her. And would any woman enjoy being called a man? Perhaps, but it still felt like she had seen a sister be stabbed in the heart by words.
“B-B-but they’re… you know! They got those… pieces!” Tyler said, making Konohora want to drink more.
“Tyler. Women and men also both have hands and feet, typically, but that does not make them each other. It is… extremely……. ignorant of you to refer to all Futanari as men or as women, specifically.” Konohora said, with patience.
Tyler looked down, frowning, mulling on that for a moment. He then sat back, drink in hand, sighing.
“I didn’t even know futas were a thing in this world till that damn vampire…” Tyler finally spoke up, taking a drink.
Riary suddenly looked noticeably angry. She had been slowly eating her steak but now she stabbed it with enough force that the table started to shake. Konohora ignored it. Sometimes it was best to just let those sort of violent impulses out. Riary would pay the owners if she broke anything.
But Konohora felt confused.
“What about Michael, your main training instructor?” She asked.
“Huh? What about him?” Tyler responded, a dazed look on his face.
Konohora raised an eyebrow, metaphorically watching the cogs turn in his brain. He didn’t get it at first, or even after a minute, but she felt it important for people to figure some things out on their own. Thinking was a necessary component for a healthy mind.
When Tyler finally did figure it out, he nearly spilled his beer as his face went pale.
“N-No. No, Michael, Michael’s a guy! He’s got a beard! He, I’ve seen him without a shirt on! He’s got muscles! He can’t be a…”
“He is. I’ve healed him before, I am well aware of his body structure. He has both male and female genitalia.”
Tyler seemed to suddenly despair as if his worldview was truly shaken to its core and Konohora could only ruefully shake her head. Knowledge itself can be a lesson. After all, today Tyler had learned that looks can be deceiving twice in a row. Hopefully in time, he’d learn that looks indicate nearly nothing for sure about a person’s inner self. It would be vital as he grew stronger in strength and Rank. The politics alone…
But that was for a different day. Still, it was important. If the legends and stories were true, True Heroes grew strong at a monstrous pace. And she had already seen that with her own eyes. Her eyes glanced around the Tavern, taking in more than a few career adventurers. People who had dedicated their lives to this, who had picked up a sword the moment they could wield it. Literal decades of combat experience, and Tyler had surpassed them all in only two years in this world. Gone from unranked to C-Rank. At his current pace…
She knew Tyler’s wish to go home. That his heart hurt and that even with her and Riary, he still felt alone. The Gems represented a way around that, maybe. It was a long shot but there was a chance. But who knows when they would find one? It had been nearly a month since she last checked, but even so, she hadn’t heard of anyone finding them. She’d have to check in with the sources around town, namely the Adventurer’s guild. The Gems weren’t public knowledge but it wasn’t just their team that had been mobilized. It had been all Hero teams. And none of them were acting like they had found what they were looking for.
Konohora sighed in her mind while looking at Tyler, her companion and friend. It could be years before they found a Gem…
*****
Riary was sitting in her room, alone. She would be staying together with Konohora. It was a normal arrangement, except that Tyler would now be staying alone in a room with Derek.
That… she had a lot on her mind.
That fucking vampire for starters. She still remembered. And it wasn’t so much the disgusting taste she couldn’t get out of her mouth, or the incredible anger, or the sense of helplessness. It was that she had been robbed. She had never done anything with a man or a futa or with anyone, period. And her first time? Being raped just like…
Her Wrath demanded a relief she couldn’t have. It… was frustrating, annoying. She wasn’t weak enough- no. No. Wrong words. It wasn’t weakness to feel pain. She would never forget that. Konohora had helped her through those issues. But she wasn’t the type to let that instance eat her away. It was that it was a permanent mark in a way. Her ‘first’ sexual experience would always be that. It made her angry, so fucking angry, so GODDESS DAMN-
She sighed. There’d be time for that later. It was only one of three thoughts in her mind and by far the least demanding.
The next worm eating its way through her head was…
Derek. The Demon.
She wanted to sigh again but resisted. Mainly because if she did it too much it would start to annoy her and she didn’t need that anger spiral right now, especially when she knew she was going to be doing it a lot anyway soon.
Derek. Derek Derek Derek. She had tried, so hard, to talk to him like Tyler. She was an angry woman, not a stupid one. He had warned them all multiple times and saved their lives. He had nearly died twice. But… but her mind hadn’t changed.
She still wanted him to die… but it didn’t feel under her control anymore.
One part of her knew that he had saved her life. She had gotten a chance to escape when that damn bitch had taken her hands off her. It nearly felt like her face was going to be ripped off, but she had done it. Then he had convinced her with his plan, the only reason any of them had survived. He said he would buy time, that he would give her an opening. And he had. If only her, Tyler, and Konohora had walked into that village…
They’d be dead. Or worse. They might eventually escape, Riary was positive she could’ve exploded half her mana channels at an opportune moment to melt that damn vampire's head from the inside out… but when? After she was raped in every hole? After Tyler was dead or beaten half to death again and again? After Konohora was forced to watch and heal them, again and again, or else they’d die? And that wasn’t even mentioning that Derek had given her that initial opening and that she was being wildly optimistic. She might not ever have gotten the chance… or it might not have even been enough…
She knew all of that. She knew.
But what she felt… was hatred. But it was no longer pure and utter hatred, it was muddy. That part of her remembered Derek trying to negotiate with the vampire, his constant warnings and how they hadn’t been enough, the fact that he was a fucking demon and all demons should die. But it didn’t stop there.
That part of herself hated herself.
She hated that if she pretended really hard, it was like talking to Tyler. She hated how natural and easy it was to get along with him, like he was any other person. She hated how part of herself didn’t hate him. She hated and loved and then hated again how she got off to his misery. That alone was a whole… thing in her brain that she was going to ignore for now. She hated and hated.
It was like a spoiled concoction. All mixed together until nothing but splinters and brown mud remained. And it was vile to drink. And she had no answers! She couldn’t, literally couldn’t not hate him. Seeing him… filled Riary with anger and disgust. His horns, his tail, his eyes… it hurt. But the worst part was… in the space between her hatred and thankfulness for saving her life, in a gap her anger use to fill, she felt a different emotion when seeing Derek sometimes.
Fear. She had started to have nightmares, his face over the face of the demon that had raped her father, pinning him down and-
Riary punched the wall, taking big heaving breaths. She shuddered. Anger was easy, fun, nice. Wrath, rage, even hatred, were all emotions she could and had dealt with. Fear was meant to be burned up and away. Pain was meant to be dealt with and then used as fuel. But it lingered, like a cold spot in her fire, threatening to put her out. If, if she couldn’t hate him, if she… if her hatred fell away…
What would be left?
Tears streamed down her face. Sadness and fear were nearly foreign to her, by design. It was always easier to be angry. It had been the primary emotion she had felt… but never the first. What child would feel anger first after what she had been through? She still remembered running down those streets, seeing her best friend dead, seeing her mother… that fear and confusion and despair. It was the coals to her flame and she shuddered, imagining being left with those emotions every time she saw Derek instead of anger. She’d rather die than live in that kind of hell.
And yet… Derek wasn’t the primary thing on her mind.
She bent down, picking up her backpack. They each had their own and along with the big pack, she had dropped it off before going to fight Vanessa. She opened it up now, peering within, and brought out an item.
A black, square Gem. In it there seemed to be a black moving fog, that moved in a way that one could only describe as unnerving. Behind the fog seemed to be stars, stars that were constantly going out and somehow there were always more of, despite there never seeming to be more that showed up.
Riary looked at the Gem she had found.
She sighed loudly.
**********
A certain demon was currently busy, taking a shower.
“I can’t believe they’ve got an actual shower in their washroom here. This is amazing.”
As he toweled off and got dressed, he heard the third ‘bell’ ring after dinner. He smiled wide. It was time for him to go have some fun.
“I… had no idea Derek was like that!” Tyler said, having had enough drinks to talk more loosely but not enough to be fully drunk just yet.
Inwardly, Konohora was impressed they served Alcohol fit for C-Rank individuals here. She wished she would’ve asked Derek how strong the guards were but it hadn’t occurred to her at the time. The strength of the guards told you a lot about a town, she had found in her travels.
She knew she was intentionally distracting herself with idle thoughts though. Inwardly, she was also, somewhat annoyed. The reason was Tyler. She had known, been terrified, about Tyler’s naivety. One of the reasons to leave and go on this journey, instead of stay back and be properly trained for another decade, was because Tyler needed life experience. The most recent showing of that had been demons themselves. She had given him a thorough talking to about how Demons were people but she knew he wouldn’t properly internalize it unless he met more demons. Even then, it might not get through to him without them visiting the Demon Territory, which would be a death sentence.
And now, twice in a very short amount of time, Tyler had shown his naivety regarding Sex and Sexuality. She truly felt like she had returned to being a caretaker of young children again.
“Is it so surprising? As he said, I neither knew his favorite instrument was the drums nor his favorite color. Despite traveling with Derek for some time, there is a lot we still do not know about each other.” She said.
“Y-Yeah but…” Tyler looked embarrassed and luckily, Riary was nearby. It often saved her a lot of trouble as she had a habit of getting straight to the heart of things.
Said Fire Mage snorted, before looking at Tyler. “Just say what you’re really thinking, he’s not a sissy who acts like he’s a whore that needs a cock.”
Riary then went back to her food. Konohora frowned. Derek hadn’t known her long enough, and Tyler wouldn’t have noticed, but Riary hadn’t been acting the same since they had faced Vilconoff in battle. It was as if she was putting on a mask of herself. Her mind was clearly elsewhere. She was worried that Riary had been suffering more than she let on. Killing your rapist isn’t always enough to remove the negative feelings, especially if it’s right after. It can strangely almost feel like you were robbed in a way. It was a strange aspect Konohora had run into a few times before. She would get the chance to have a proper talk with her tonight about it, now that her Penance had ended and they’d get a few moments alone.
Right now, however, she needed to slowly but firmly correct Tyler’s mentality and worldview.
“It is as Riary says Tyler, at least in words and action. You seem to be surprised, deeply, that Derek is Bisexual. To the point it seems to bother you greatly.”
Personally, she felt addressing how he had responded to Silinthia was vastly more important at the moment but one thing at a time. Both were probably equally important, in the grand scheme of things. She understood that heroes had different ideas around species and races, and that was normal enough as a fault. After all, it wasn’t like there was no racism in The Heart and True Heroes would, strangely frequently, come from worlds with only one to three sentient species on them according to historical records. Riary was an example herself of the former, with her feelings towards demonkind. However, Konohora had, foolishly, forgotten that there were other things people could be biased against. It simply wasn’t common in Ero to judge one by their sex, gender, or sexuality.
Tyler was silent for a bit, before eventually responding.
“I don’t know… it just seems… like it should have been obvious? That’s all. I guess it just surprised me.”
“Does his interests make you dislike him?”
“What? No! I’m not a bastard!”
Konohora was relieved. At the very least, it was a much better starting point than Riary. Hate was a poison she had seen kill more than a few people on the battlefield.
And it was even worse when it killed others off the battlefield.
Her morals would not allow a True Hero who slaughtered based on prejudice to arise. The stakes were too high for her to fail anymore as a Guardian and as a Mentor.
“And why,” Riary spoke up, some of the mask falling away “Did you say that Dark Elf was a man? That was pretty fucked up you bastard!”
Konohora turned to glare at Tyler too. Silinthia may not exactly be a woman, but still, she felt a certain kinship with her. And would any woman enjoy being called a man? Perhaps, but it still felt like she had seen a sister be stabbed in the heart by words.
“B-B-but they’re… you know! They got those… pieces!” Tyler said, making Konohora want to drink more.
“Tyler. Women and men also both have hands and feet, typically, but that does not make them each other. It is… extremely……. ignorant of you to refer to all Futanari as men or as women, specifically.” Konohora said, with patience.
Tyler looked down, frowning, mulling on that for a moment. He then sat back, drink in hand, sighing.
“I didn’t even know futas were a thing in this world till that damn vampire…” Tyler finally spoke up, taking a drink.
Riary suddenly looked noticeably angry. She had been slowly eating her steak but now she stabbed it with enough force that the table started to shake. Konohora ignored it. Sometimes it was best to just let those sort of violent impulses out. Riary would pay the owners if she broke anything.
But Konohora felt confused.
“What about Michael, your main training instructor?” She asked.
“Huh? What about him?” Tyler responded, a dazed look on his face.
Konohora raised an eyebrow, metaphorically watching the cogs turn in his brain. He didn’t get it at first, or even after a minute, but she felt it important for people to figure some things out on their own. Thinking was a necessary component for a healthy mind.
When Tyler finally did figure it out, he nearly spilled his beer as his face went pale.
“N-No. No, Michael, Michael’s a guy! He’s got a beard! He, I’ve seen him without a shirt on! He’s got muscles! He can’t be a…”
“He is. I’ve healed him before, I am well aware of his body structure. He has both male and female genitalia.”
Tyler seemed to suddenly despair as if his worldview was truly shaken to its core and Konohora could only ruefully shake her head. Knowledge itself can be a lesson. After all, today Tyler had learned that looks can be deceiving twice in a row. Hopefully in time, he’d learn that looks indicate nearly nothing for sure about a person’s inner self. It would be vital as he grew stronger in strength and Rank. The politics alone…
But that was for a different day. Still, it was important. If the legends and stories were true, True Heroes grew strong at a monstrous pace. And she had already seen that with her own eyes. Her eyes glanced around the Tavern, taking in more than a few career adventurers. People who had dedicated their lives to this, who had picked up a sword the moment they could wield it. Literal decades of combat experience, and Tyler had surpassed them all in only two years in this world. Gone from unranked to C-Rank. At his current pace…
She knew Tyler’s wish to go home. That his heart hurt and that even with her and Riary, he still felt alone. The Gems represented a way around that, maybe. It was a long shot but there was a chance. But who knows when they would find one? It had been nearly a month since she last checked, but even so, she hadn’t heard of anyone finding them. She’d have to check in with the sources around town, namely the Adventurer’s guild. The Gems weren’t public knowledge but it wasn’t just their team that had been mobilized. It had been all Hero teams. And none of them were acting like they had found what they were looking for.
Konohora sighed in her mind while looking at Tyler, her companion and friend. It could be years before they found a Gem…
*****
Riary was sitting in her room, alone. She would be staying together with Konohora. It was a normal arrangement, except that Tyler would now be staying alone in a room with Derek.
That… she had a lot on her mind.
That fucking vampire for starters. She still remembered. And it wasn’t so much the disgusting taste she couldn’t get out of her mouth, or the incredible anger, or the sense of helplessness. It was that she had been robbed. She had never done anything with a man or a futa or with anyone, period. And her first time? Being raped just like…
Her Wrath demanded a relief she couldn’t have. It… was frustrating, annoying. She wasn’t weak enough- no. No. Wrong words. It wasn’t weakness to feel pain. She would never forget that. Konohora had helped her through those issues. But she wasn’t the type to let that instance eat her away. It was that it was a permanent mark in a way. Her ‘first’ sexual experience would always be that. It made her angry, so fucking angry, so GODDESS DAMN-
She sighed. There’d be time for that later. It was only one of three thoughts in her mind and by far the least demanding.
The next worm eating its way through her head was…
Derek. The Demon.
She wanted to sigh again but resisted. Mainly because if she did it too much it would start to annoy her and she didn’t need that anger spiral right now, especially when she knew she was going to be doing it a lot anyway soon.
Derek. Derek Derek Derek. She had tried, so hard, to talk to him like Tyler. She was an angry woman, not a stupid one. He had warned them all multiple times and saved their lives. He had nearly died twice. But… but her mind hadn’t changed.
She still wanted him to die… but it didn’t feel under her control anymore.
One part of her knew that he had saved her life. She had gotten a chance to escape when that damn bitch had taken her hands off her. It nearly felt like her face was going to be ripped off, but she had done it. Then he had convinced her with his plan, the only reason any of them had survived. He said he would buy time, that he would give her an opening. And he had. If only her, Tyler, and Konohora had walked into that village…
They’d be dead. Or worse. They might eventually escape, Riary was positive she could’ve exploded half her mana channels at an opportune moment to melt that damn vampire's head from the inside out… but when? After she was raped in every hole? After Tyler was dead or beaten half to death again and again? After Konohora was forced to watch and heal them, again and again, or else they’d die? And that wasn’t even mentioning that Derek had given her that initial opening and that she was being wildly optimistic. She might not ever have gotten the chance… or it might not have even been enough…
She knew all of that. She knew.
But what she felt… was hatred. But it was no longer pure and utter hatred, it was muddy. That part of her remembered Derek trying to negotiate with the vampire, his constant warnings and how they hadn’t been enough, the fact that he was a fucking demon and all demons should die. But it didn’t stop there.
That part of herself hated herself.
She hated that if she pretended really hard, it was like talking to Tyler. She hated how natural and easy it was to get along with him, like he was any other person. She hated how part of herself didn’t hate him. She hated and loved and then hated again how she got off to his misery. That alone was a whole… thing in her brain that she was going to ignore for now. She hated and hated.
It was like a spoiled concoction. All mixed together until nothing but splinters and brown mud remained. And it was vile to drink. And she had no answers! She couldn’t, literally couldn’t not hate him. Seeing him… filled Riary with anger and disgust. His horns, his tail, his eyes… it hurt. But the worst part was… in the space between her hatred and thankfulness for saving her life, in a gap her anger use to fill, she felt a different emotion when seeing Derek sometimes.
Fear. She had started to have nightmares, his face over the face of the demon that had raped her father, pinning him down and-
Riary punched the wall, taking big heaving breaths. She shuddered. Anger was easy, fun, nice. Wrath, rage, even hatred, were all emotions she could and had dealt with. Fear was meant to be burned up and away. Pain was meant to be dealt with and then used as fuel. But it lingered, like a cold spot in her fire, threatening to put her out. If, if she couldn’t hate him, if she… if her hatred fell away…
What would be left?
Tears streamed down her face. Sadness and fear were nearly foreign to her, by design. It was always easier to be angry. It had been the primary emotion she had felt… but never the first. What child would feel anger first after what she had been through? She still remembered running down those streets, seeing her best friend dead, seeing her mother… that fear and confusion and despair. It was the coals to her flame and she shuddered, imagining being left with those emotions every time she saw Derek instead of anger. She’d rather die than live in that kind of hell.
And yet… Derek wasn’t the primary thing on her mind.
She bent down, picking up her backpack. They each had their own and along with the big pack, she had dropped it off before going to fight Vanessa. She opened it up now, peering within, and brought out an item.
A black, square Gem. In it there seemed to be a black moving fog, that moved in a way that one could only describe as unnerving. Behind the fog seemed to be stars, stars that were constantly going out and somehow there were always more of, despite there never seeming to be more that showed up.
Riary looked at the Gem she had found.
She sighed loudly.
**********
A certain demon was currently busy, taking a shower.
“I can’t believe they’ve got an actual shower in their washroom here. This is amazing.”
As he toweled off and got dressed, he heard the third ‘bell’ ring after dinner. He smiled wide. It was time for him to go have some fun.
