Chapter 23 I See Red

I met Crue at the bakery the next morning. My butt was dragging. I was still so tired, even though I'd slept longer than usual. I would give a small unimportant body part for some coffee in this world. I stood by Crue sipping at the strongest tea the shop had as he picked out sweets.

Personal cakes, things covered in sugar, some sticky looking rolls with nuts, all went into my inventory. Crue was excited about the new fall collection and made sure he picked up some for all of us. They did look good, but I couldn't bring myself to get enthusiastic about the pumpkin pie smelling fritters. For some reason, the smell made me a bit ill. I'd probably never be able to eat pumpkin pie again thanks to Amoris.

We met Illia at the temple and began our now daily run. It was just as bad for me today, if not worse since I was still so exhausted. Why wasn't my body recovering like it normally did? It was probably because of the MP drain from yesterday, but my MP had fully recovered overnight.

Crue led us through the odd Tai Chi and we ran back to the temple. After our baths, Tuck had breakfast waiting for us. The problem was I didn't feel like eating. Smells were making me queasy.

I did manage to eat some apple slices and plain toast.

Illia and Crue expressed some concern, but I told them I was going to go back to the inn and nap for a few more hours. Crue gave me some powder to take. He said it would help. I opened it up and sniffed it. How could something good for you smell so sickly?

Illia offered to postpone the gathering for another day, but I told her that we should wait and see how I felt later. I would meet her after her shift and we could discuss things at that point. She agreed and ran off to work. Crue went for his shift at the clinic. I went back to the inn.

Once in my room, I took Crue's powder and fell into bed. I didn't even bother to take off my boots. I didn't have any issues getting to sleep, I was so tired.

My dreams were muddled and made no sense. They were disturbing though. I woke with cold sweat and my heart beating fast. What had I been dreaming? It was something bad, very bad, and for some reason, I could remember the smell. Rotten roadkill in the heat of summer. There was something sickly sweet about the smell of rot that lingered on in my mind even though I couldn't remember the rest of the dream.

Besides my rude wake-up, I was feeling a lot better. I was also hungry. That was a good sign. While not exactly refreshed from my nap, I wasn't dragging anymore. I splashed cold water all over my body to wake myself up more and made my way downstairs.

I ordered some bottles of ale from Marge with the promise I would bring the bottles back when we were done. I guess she reused them. Not something I would have thought of doing back home. When you bought bottled beer you tossed out the empties. You could recycle them, but I'd never heard of anyone reusing the bottles for re-bottling more product.

Enough ale to get the three of us nicely sloshed that night, I decided I wanted more of that strong tea from next door. I had some time before I had to meet Illia and a little bit of pick-me-up wouldn't hurt. I was fairly certain at this point that their dark tea had the same amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. It was only a bonus that it tasted better than coffee.

The sun was so bright when I stepped outside. I had to wait for my eyes to adjust. Still a little sun blind I headed towards the bakery. I was surprised to see Ave sitting at one of the cafe tables.

She looked troubled, her forehead was wrinkled and her lips where pursed. She hunched a bit around her cup and was picking at the edge of the open-faced sandwich she had.

“May I join you?” I asked walking up to her table and pointing to the other chair.

She glanced up and gave a brief smile. She pushed the chair out for me with her foot.

“Sure.”

“I'll have a black tea,” I said to the girl who walked up as I sat down.

“Anything else, honey, sugar, cream?” she asked.

“Just a little cream, thank you.” The girl nodded and headed to the counter to begin my tea.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked Ave leaning back in the chair. “You looked like you were thinking about something too hard.”

“I suppose so. I had to,” she paused, “decline a request and my,” she paused again picking at her bread, “client didn't take the news well. I'm worried they might do something.” She sighed. “I can't talk about the details, but adventuring isn't my only job. I sometimes do consulting work. I'm concerned about how badly they took my refusal. I was debating on what actions I should take moving forward.”

“Some people don't take refusal well. I think it's part of working in a customer-oriented position.” Flashbacks of my short time at the returns desk during holiday season popped up. That job was a nightmare. I was surprised more people didn't walk away from it with PTSD.

“I know I'm not exactly responsible for their actions after I refuse them, but there are times when I think if I just would have taken the request then all the shit that follows would never happen. You know what I mean?”

The girl came back with the tea and I took a sip. Perfection, in a few seconds I would feel the buzz of the caffeine running in my veins.

“You think your client will act against you?” I questioned.

“No, but I think they might do something really stupid that is going to seriously destroy their life.”

“Did you try talking to them about that?”

“They refused to listen. I had thought that with a little time to cool off I would go back and talk to them again, but I think they might act out rashly. I can't stop them from destroying their life, but I feel partially responsible for it.”

“Even though logically you know you aren't at fault?”

“Yes, exactly. There is nothing I can do at this moment to prevent the mistakes I know they are going to make.”

“Are you so certain they will act out?”

“I believe so,” she sighed.

“Well, the future is uncertain. You never know if something will come along.” I took another sip of my tea. I was feeling a bit philosophical. I could see her dilemma, but she wasn't responsible for some idiot's temper tantrum. If he did something stupid then that was on him, she had tried to warn him. She knew that though, it still didn't stop her from feeling the guilt.

“You're right about the future. I probably shouldn't be beating myself up over something that hasn't even happened yet. Thanks for listening.” She gave me a small smile.

“No problem.”

“I think I'll try talking to them now instead of waiting. Thank you again.” She stood up leaving some money on the table. Her food left uneaten. She patted my shoulder as she left.

“See ya, and good luck,” I called after her. She waved in response not turning around. She strode off like she had a goal and nothing was going to get in her way.

I still had some time, so I ordered a second cup of the dark tea before I met with Illia.

Illia was just stepping out as I was walking up. Good timing on both our parts.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” She asked walking up to me and feeling my forehead for fever. I hadn't been hot before, but she kept checking.

“I'm doing better. I'm actually hungry and looking forward to lunch. What do you have in mind?”

There are a few food stands I want to visit near the market, then there is a place called Hat Yai Fried Chicken where we will have lunch, then circle around to the Red District for more food stalls. We can then meet Crue at the Temple. On our way out we can get stuff from the food stalls at the square.” She smiled at me, a lovely childlike smile. However, why was she frequenting the food stalls in the Red District of town? She was familiar enough to know which ones she wanted to go to. I deeply questioned her childlike smile after that small revelation.

It would be my first time actually going into that part of the town. I'd skirted around it, but I'd never actually ventured in. A part of me was a little afraid of it after Marge's dire warnings. I was particularly attached to my member, thank you very much. The reasonable part of me knew I could walk into that area and as long as I didn't partake of the goods I'd be fine. Logic and sense didn't work well when it came to someone's family jewels.

“Come on, we don't have all day,” she tugged me along completely oblivious to my misgivings.

She took me to the market first. She bought fried sweet potatoes slices at one of the stalls, fried onions at another. At the onion stall, she also bought paper containers of dips. She passed them to me by the handful and I dutifully placed them in my inventory.

She then took me north to a place that was part restaurant part food stall. There was outdoor seating and the food came from a permanent outdoor cart. All the seats at the table were full and there was a short line in front of the cart. The entire set up was right on the outskirts of a wide road with larger buildings.

“Have you been to Temple Row yet?” Illia asked gesturing to the buildings that lined both sides of the street. Some were larger than others, but all had the same overall church feel to their architecture.

“No, this is the first time I've been this way.”

“Well, this is Temple Row, every building along that street for four blocks is a temple. Most of them for minor gods, though. The Temple of Aequitas and Torque are at the end where there is more yard. The other temples of the main twelve gods are scattered in other places in town. Well, Zyanthis' temple isn't so much in town as out of it. It's that large building on the outside of the northeastern wall. Have you seen it?”

“No,” I shook my head, “most of my wanderings have been to the southeast or southwest, I haven't really wondered north along the wall.”

“Well, there is a small door in the wall near the temple so you don't have to walk all the way around.”

“That makes it more convenient...or does it?” I asked puzzled.

“What do you mean?”

“Why is the temple outside the wall in the first place?”

“Oh! Zyanthis is the God of Wild Places and Animals. It would be odd for his temple to be in town. Especially, with all the goats.”

“Goats?”

“The priests keep goats, they sell the milk to help fund the temple. They don't do healing of people, but they do heal livestock so they need a lot of space.”

“So it's an animal clinic rather than a human one. That's actually very interesting, I'd like to visit sometime.” I was serious. I really did want to see what type of people worshipped Zyanthis and how they kept an animal hospital in this new world.

“I'll take you with me next time I go if you want?” She asked me with a question in her voice.

“I really would like to visit, just let me know when.”

She beamed a 100-watt smile at me her entire face lighting up. Wow, I didn't really take Illia for the religious type but I guess I was wrong. Well, I was supposed to be religious considering my titles, but I wasn't feeling very devout. It was hard to revere a god when they were so... human, I guess.

Some seats were opening up at one of the tables. So Illia and I got in line to place our order hoping that the people in front of us wouldn't take the newly opened spots. Hat Yai Fried Chicken said a sign on the front of the cart.

There was an old lady manning the cart with another older woman, most likely her daughter. They both wore blue smocks and had their hair wrapped up in blue cloth. They ran like a smooth machine. The old lady took the money and handed out the food while the daughter tossed chicken pieces into a giant oil-filled wok. The old lady scooping out pieces that were cooked and adding rice and sauce to hand to customers. The daughter doing prep work for the chicken in the back, then running up front to toss in more chicken.

It was our turn in line.

“Four Veggie plates please,” Illia ordered first. The old woman reached under the counter and pulled out a covered basket. In it were already prepared veggies. She tossed the correct amount of veggies in the oil, then put the basket back. Illia stood to the side as her food cooked.

“You?” The old woman asked me.

“Six chicken plates please,” I told the woman. Crue had asked that I get some meat. I might as well get the meat that everyone on Temple Row was lining up for. The woman nodded as I handed over the money.

She then scooped out six portions of rice, placing them not on plates but on squares of thick waxed paper. On top of the rice, she placed two pieces of chicken, one thigh and one leg. Then she got poured a thick glaze sauce over top of each one. I missed how she wrapped it because she did it so quickly, but the food wasn't falling out of the strange plate origami. She stacked the squares on top of each other and passed me the pile. The bottom was hot. I quickly put them all in my inventory so I wouldn't drop them from the heat.

The old ladies sparse eyebrows went up at that, but she didn't stop her service. She quickly scooped out Illia's food and did the same paper origami with hers. Illia handed me three of them, leaving one out for herself. That she carried to the open spots at one of the tables.

I had to get out one of the chicken plates back out of my inventory in order to eat my food. That's when I discovered a problem. There were no eating utensils. I glanced back up at the cart to see if I had missed them, nope. Then I looked around, everyone else seemed to have things to eat with. Illia pulled a fork from somewhere and dug in. Oh, so we were supposed to supply our own. Good thing I had gotten some camping equipment. I brought my utilitarian fork out of my inventory and scooped up some of the rice and sauce.

Oh sweet and spicy heaven, this stuff was amazing. It was a sweet chili sauce. Not hot like Daisy's stew, but spicy in a good way. I picked a piece of the chicken off the bone with my fork as it was still too hot to pick up with my hands. I bit into it. Was that, coriander? It was delicious is what it was. Illia had shown me a great spot.

“Good right? A lot of places have fried chicken, but this place is the best in town.”

“I'll believe you. I've never had anything quite like it.”

“They are from the south, not near the desert, but further east near the ocean.”

“That's a long way off.” I really had very little frame of reference for this remark accept the few maps I was able to find in books. I was guessing it was probably as far as one end of the US to the other with a rather large desert in between. Though my scale might be a bit off since I could only see as far as the borders of this kingdom on my own map.

She nodded in agreement taking a bite of something large and circular. Was that fried eggplant?

“There was a war and they fled here to escape it. Crue says they've been here as long as he's been alive.”

The conversation died off, but it was comfortable. While I wanted to savor the meal, we had other stops to make. Then we had to meet up with Crue.

I was a mix of excitement and anxiety of where Illia was taking me next. We made our way through the streets, taking a shortcut through an alley. On the other end of that shortcut was the center of the Red District.

I could see why it was called the Red District. Though only encompassing a few blocks nearly every establishment along the way had red banners hanging above the doors or from windows. I was thinking more along the lines of red lamps, but the lamps here were the same as with the other parts of town. Some banners had the name of the place painted on them, others were smaller and were unadorned.

It being just slightly after lunchtime, there was some light foot traffic. I was surprised to find out that there was very little solicitation going on. There were a few women, but most of them were in line buying things from the street vendors. I was a little disappointed in how normal it all seemed.

Illia made a direct line for a stand near the corner of the street. It was fried dough. Not doughnuts, but more like the elephant ears you got at the fair. She ordered a lot of them. All of them sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. She gave them to me two at a time wrapped up in more paper. There was no way the three of us could eat this much, but I didn't want to curb her.

The last one she kept and carried with her as we walked to the temple.

A woman who was in her late twenties caught my attention. Her hair was a bright red, and her figure was plump and curvy. She had a slight smattering of freckles across most of her skin. She drew my eye, not because of anything she was doing, but because when I looked at her I got an odd tingle at the base of my spine.

Was it fear? No, I wasn't afraid of her. She was just standing there watching the flow of traffic swaying gently from side to side cleaning the front steps with her broom. She seemed to notice my look and glanced my way. She sort of froze. That was odd. I continued to follow Illia as I watched the woman stand like a statue giving me hard eye contact. I finally nodded in her direction and broke off that eye contact by staring at the back of Illia's head. I could still feel her eyes on me though. What an odd encounter.

Name- Eri Veritas

HP 2500/2500

MP 64/64

Level- 11

Age- 18

Race/Species- (Human) Unknown

Gender- (Male) Unknown

Occupation- Surveyor of Adventurers Guild

Exp- 8370

Physical Power- 220

Stamina- 280

Defense- 348

Agility- 492

Intelligence- 101

Magic Power- 8

Metal Rain Lv 1

Lightning Magic Lv 1

Healing Hands Lv 1

Paralysis Resistance Lv 3

Mind Magic Resistance Lv 1

Skills

Staff Fighting Lv 2

Basic Sword Lv 2

Skull Bashing Lv 2

Martial Arts Lv 2

Stance Lv 1

Smooth Movement Lv 1

Archery Lv 1

Spear Lv 1

Stalking Lv 1

Scouting Lv 1

Jumping Lv 1

Running Lv 2

Pain Tolerance Lv 3

Deception Lv 2

Intimidation Lv 1

Poker Face Lv 1

Etiquette Lv 3

Dismantling Lv 1

Appraisal Lv 1

Cooking Lv 1

Leather Work Lv 1

Metal Work Lv 1

Replication Lv 1 (Lv 10 for Succuba Star only)

Rock Throwing

Dancing

Singing

Harvesting

Empathy

Telekinesis

Small Talk

Discretion

Party Tricks

Restraint

Alcohol Tolerance

Monster Biology

Entomology

Zoology

Botany

Special Skills

Abyss Walker

Racial Ability-

Hidden Among the Masses- 20

Stealth- 95

Party- 10

Items Equip

Inventory Bracelet

Succuba Star

Gold- 1g 4s 09c (1409c)

Blessing 1- All Map Exploration

Blessing 2- Exp Points Required by Level Up / Current Level

Blessing 3-Exp Increase X Current Level

Blessing 4- Item- Gamer Glasses

Titles- Emissary of Amoris

Devotee of Amoris

Devotee of Edomael

Oracle of Amoris

Oracle of Edomael

Prince of Dreams

Grateful Petitioner

Lover of Leaves

Enemy of Apes