HP9 Chapter 46: Partnership

I take the woman whose soul Gabri had stolen away in both arms and head back to the inn where Rina ought to be waiting for me. I already used my Almighty Healing to take care of all the wounds her body just suffered through, but her consciousness hasn’t returned. I should have guessed as much. There’s nothing I can do to bring her back apart from retrieving her lost soul.

“Onii-sama!”

When the inn finally comes into view, I see Rina waiting for my return outside. She races towards me, her worry clear on her face.

“Rina. You know full well it’s dangerous to go out so late at night.”

“I-I’m sorry. When I thought about you, I just couldn’t allow myself to stay holed up in there… Did something happen?”

“I fought with Gabri, one of the Seven Angels of the Stars. Well, to be more accurate, I fought a duplicate of him.”

“What?! A-Are you alright?! Hurt in any way?!”

“No need to worry. Not a hair out of place, as you can see.”

“T-Thank goodness…”

Rina heaves a sigh of pure relief.

“By the way, who might this be…?”

“This woman had her soul stolen by Gabri.”

“What…?!”

Rina grows pale as she looks at the woman.

“I-Is there anything we can do for her…?”

Read the original on https://dao.ist

“All we can do is reacquaint her with her soul. I’ll carry her to the nearest clinic come morning. This is nothing a simple doctor can cure, but there’s nowhere else we can leave her. Apologies, but I’ll have to let her sleep in your room for a bit.”

“…Of course. That won’t be a problem.”

Look, on the inside, I’m still a young lad going through puberty. I highly doubt I can sleep in the same room as an unconscious woman and still hold on to my sanity.

Rina and I enter the inn. I lay the woman down on the sofa in Rina’s room and cover her with a blanket. Then I ask Rina to come back to my room and make sure to let her in on the details. I tell her everything I know about Sasha.

“So she was born between a human and an angel…?”

“Exactly. She asked me to join her so that she can arrange for the Seven Angels’ demise. To be honest, I’m rather impressed that she’d go so far as to exploit the power of a High King for her own ends.”

“W-Well? How did you respond?”

“I still haven’t given her a proper response, but I have to think about my station here. I don’t quite intend to make an alliance with humans, but I don’t see the harm in a temporary partnership.”

I bring the tea Rina prepared for me to my lips.

“I’m not exactly fond of blindly following a human’s orders, but I have to consider that my ultimate goal is to create a world where demons and humans can live in peace. It’s high time I show myself willing to work with them, too. This just might help, a lot.”

“True, I’d say the same.”

“…Maybe I just awakened to some kind of protective or paternal instinct.”

A picture of a childlike Sasha pops into my mind.

“P-Paternal instinct…?”

Read the original on https://dao.ist

“Oh, nothing. Forget I just said that.”

I’ll get this out of the way right now: I’m not into little girls. It’s perfectly normal to think they’re cute, though… right?

“That reminds me. I haven’t heard anything from Anri since we left the castle. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

Knowing Anri, she’s probably worrying herself sick. I attempt to create a telepathic connection between the two of us. If I had to explain this telepathic connection, I’d say that it’s something like using a cellphone without using a cellphone. I just hope she’s not asleep yet.

“Anri. It is I.”

“Yuuto-sama! I have been eagerly awaiting your correspondence! Oh, I thought that establishing contact from my end would be too much of a bother to you…! Are you alright?! You have not grown ill, have you?!”

See, I knew she’d be worried.

“Fret not, Anri. All is well. Apologies that I couldn’t contact you earlier. How are things at the castle? Anything unusual?”

“No, nothing at all.”

“I see. It would seem that it will take some time before I can return. I thought it best to let you know.”

“What…?!”

“Hm? What is it, Anri?”

“…Oh, nothing important. I understand.”

Her tone sounds a little more gloomy. Maybe she’s in shock or something, can’t handle the idea of not seeing me for a while that well.

Read the original on https://dao.ist

“Listen, I’ve just been informed of something. The angels appear to be using some manner of gate to travel between their realm and the human realm.”

“A gate, Sire?”

“Yes. It should be somewhere in the human realms. I want you to prepare a delegation of demons to search for where it might be. I trust you to command them.”

“Of course, right away. We shall do what we can to meet your expectations.”

“…However, be sure not to overtax them. The existence of this gate isn’t an absolute certainty just yet.”

“I realize that, of course.”

Does she, though? I still remember what she did when she was investigating the story about souls being stolen, so she’ll have to forgive me if I feel a little apprehensive. I’m almost positive she’ll command every last demon to take their own life if they don’t find it.

“That’s all I had to say. Again, apologies for calling on you so late at night.”

“There is absolutely no reason for apology. I do ask that you contact me at whatever time you see fit.”

With that, I sever my telepathic connection to Anri. Asking her to look into where the gate might be located is just basic insurance, nothing more. The Seven Angels aren’t idiots. There’s a good chance that there’s some kind of magic in place which keeps the gate from being spotted. If they do manage to find it, then I’ll be ecstatic, but I’m not about to bet on it.

“I’ll be going to Sasha’s hideout tomorrow. Would you mind accompanying me there, Rina?”

“Not at all! I’ll follow you everywhere you go, through fire or waste!”

Now all I can think about is how I’d really rather not trudge through waste.

~

The next day finally comes around. With my transformation spell giving me the appearance of a normal human, I venture to carry the woman to the nearest clinic before I pull out Sasha’s map and use it to track down her base. Rina tags along, only half a step behind me.

According to the map, the hideout shouldn’t be too far from where we are. On foot, it probably won’t take us more than an hour until we get there. I suppose I can just use my teleportation spell, but I’d rather not have to transform again. Besides, I’ve been spending way too much time cooped up in that castle lately. This is just the exercise the doctor called for.