Ryuji woke up from his deep sleep, the pain from that divine ray still hurting. He felt like sothing was gouged into his flesh. Then began to grind the inside of his bones, which caused him to feel horrible.
"Ugh... how long did I sleep?"
"It's only been a few hours since the tournant, but..." Erika's face said all he needed to know. The fact he lost control and killed the priestess would have made the church mad. Then, he also pulled the Apostle and Crusader into the divine ray. "What happened after I killed that woman."
Yumiko looked at Ryuji before she coughed and gave a bitter smile. "You collapsed after the knights kicked you away from Sheila." The way she spoke Sheila's na showed how much she disliked her. Her many tails slapped the ground in anger.
"I see, sorry about that. When that priestess insulted you... I lost control, and then I felt dangerous during that huge attack."
He looked at Erika, who seed quiet but noticed her soft fingers stroking his hand. 'I couldn't feel Erika's touch until I focused on it... How badly did that attack damage ?'
"What's the matter, Ryuji?" Erika noticed his concerned gaze as she tightened her hand. "Does it hurt? Shall I fetch more dicine?"
'I can feel her insecurity. She is desperate to help sohow. This isn't right, and my role isn't to stress my lovers out!'
Ryuji felt conflicted because he had suffered his first major injury. "Erika, can you keep holding my hand? It helps just having you close to ."
"Eh? Really?"
Erika's cute face suited her more when she looked embarrassed or blushed. He didn't like her looked bleak and close to tears.
Not when their relationship had only just begun.
"Of course, though it seed dangerous, I just overused my magic and ssed up a little. Don't worry, okay?"
"Mm! I will, but first, let get so more dicine... Okay? I don't want there to be any problems later."
He could feel Erika's mood and realised that she needed a mont to adjust herself. Ryuji didn't wish to force her to do anything and felt Yumiko wanted to speak with him.
So he nodded before stroking her soft cheek. "Make sure you don't fall. You look exhausted. Don't make worry about you in return, haha."
The mont she saw his laugh, the colour of her face returned a little. Erika then stood up, reluctantly letting go of his hand before she carried so of the discarded bandages and left the room.
"I'll leave him to you, Yumiko. Liana said she would be coming later tonight and needed to deal with so family business first."
She looked back several tis, before finally she nodded, with a deep breath and closed the door.
***
With Erika gone, Yumiko's hair gradually returned to a golden colour as she began to pant, grasping the bet tightly with her face turning pale.
"Haa....damn... I can't hold it like she does..."
"Because you forced the other tails to appear, if you limited yourself and just used two tails in that form, then you would be fine. Don't rush yourself, Yumiko." Ryuji sat up, his face showing a slight grimace before he started stroking her glossy hair and fluffy ears.
"Hmph! You say that about , then what was that out there? Why take that attack on purpose? Why kill that woman and knight? You know the church will bla you. Have you forgotten Lord Qwass, our enemies?"
Yumiko spoke with a stern force that made Ryuji recoil, yet he felt a warmth inside his chest. Her glazed eyes wept for him, her heart bled for him and even now. She scolded him because of how much she loved him, even with her mories returned.
"I know today many things beca obvious to . The fact is I never use my power productively and obsess over fighting like a fool. Many tis during the past two months, we have gotten into danger because I wanted to enjoy my fight. Like a complete fool and not using the tools I gained to at least ensure the people around were safe first."
Ryuji noticed Yumiko looked at him with a strange look. He wondered why her mouth was agape, and her eyes looked droopy and open wide. "What's that look for?!"
"You... Did you actually grow a brain after eting god?!"
'If she knew her thoughts were mostly right, I would never hear the end of her victorious speech...'
"Sothing like that, let's just say I got a wake-up call."
"Hah?"
Yumiko sighed, shaking her head, but her two tails swayed happily, betraying her feelings. Ryuji realised that observing his surroundings brought more than just benefits in combat. It was the shortcut to making those you cared about happy.
"Well, can you replace my bandages, please? I think that after this, my body will be healed."
"I don't mind..."
She spoke with a whisper, taking the dicine-soaked bandages while using her blade to cut the dirty, dull red ones from his body. "Co here, and don't think I am going to do anything lewd!"
"I know, believe , I am innocent!" Ryuji said, trying to make his face look innocent, loosening his eyebrows and eyes with a faint smile.
***
Ti slowly passed in the room. The soft slither of cloth bandages being wrapped around him one limb at a ti.
Yumiko didn't take chances and used her healing magic to coat his remaining wounds in a sticky gel that would gradually heal him. "You know, we should leave the city after the tournant..." She said, while pressing a bandage onto his back the sunset shining through the double window beside them.
"...Is that what you want, Yumi? To travel together?"
Ryuji lay on his stomach and felt quite comfortable—his eyes closed while feeling the warmth from Yumiko's hands, the dicine, and the sunlight, which allowed him to relax.
The occasional bird call sounds from outside added to the ambience.
"It's just the people of this kingdom, though there are many who helped us. I want to visit the place where I found myself when coming to this world... over 15 years ago."
"Is that the full reason? Sohow, it feels like you're hiding sothing from ." He asked, feeling sure that her tone sounded strange while speaking a mont ago.
Yumiko took a deep breath but didn't speak. Although she continued to apply his bandages, Ryuji understood that sothing else happened after he had lost consciousness.
"What happened, Yumiko tell everything."
"Haa... I really didn't want you to worry about this. Alan even asked to keep quiet, but I hate hiding things from you."
She then finished applying his last bandage and pulled up his body, crawling beside him as they both sat against the headboard of his bed and looked out the window. Her delicate fingers intertwined with his before she cleared her throat.
"Ryuji, the people now see you as sothing fearso. Your title beca the Bloody Demon, Bloody Tyrant. Almost nobody in this city speaks of you in a positive light... Because, because the church has deed you to be an outcast."
"I see." His voice sounded normal, but Yumiko could tell he felt bothered by her information.
"Not everyone has changed, but Alan and the king seem to think it might be best for us to go on a travel with Alicia, Paul and Simon after the tournant ends. Sheila seems to have left their team, and they need a new party."
Ryuji's cold face seed to return to normal for a mont, his mind thinking about the three people who first taught him about the dungeon. He didn't hate Sheila but felt that her title as an Apostle created too many issues.
'I'll make sure she loses it and becos a normal priestess. Maybe she can beco an Apostle of Serena. That goddess seed nice and cute.'
"Understood—I think we deserve a bit of a rest or at least a change of pace. There are many dungeons that I learned about from Saki, too, that aren't managed by the kingdom but by the guild, which offers rewards for clearing them."
He then stopped, squeezing Yumiko's hand as he noticed her staring into his face without speaking.
"What's the matter, Yumi?"
"N-Nothing, it's just a little frustrating how easily you can deal with things. You were half-dead a mont ago, but you've already started thinking about the future. I felt a little jealous because I dwell on the past and get trapped in my own thoughts quite a lot."
"You don't have to worry about the past. We've made mistakes, but let's learn from them. In the future, we can improve and do better. What matters is that we try. As long as you try your best, If you still feel lingering regret, then tell . I will listen to any trouble you have, okay?"
"Mhm! I love you, Ryuji."
Ryuji then felt Yumiko's body lean into his. Her breasts pressed against his arm while her face nestled against his neck, and she kissed him softly.
"I love you too, Yumiko. So please take care of . I have a lot of issues, from being short-sighted and needing guidance to my lustful nature."
"Hahaha, don't worry, it will be fun guiding you."
'Ah, why does she sound a little perverse?'
"Well, can you guide to your heart? And maybe your breasts? They're a little distracting when you are like this."
"Hey, what are you saying?! Erika's standing at the door!"
"EH?!" A surprised voice sounded from the door. As it suddenly opened, the bright red face of Erika appeared, holding a small pot of what seed to be tea and dicine. "I'm sorry, Ryuji, Erika!"
"Don't worry, it's a joke. She's joking, right Yumi?"
"Eh, yeah... I an, it was just a guess that you were there, Erika—it feels a little awkward to be right."
Erika stepped inside and closed the door. She moved with refined steps. It felt like she must have practised a lot in secret to beco this deft.
She seed so different from the girl Ryuji first t, but he realised it felt fun getting closer to people and seeing the little things they do quietly to the slight changes in their actions or words. He smiled at Erika, who placed the tea beside the bed while he patted the opposite side."Co, sit beside , Eri."
"Hehe, is that alright? You seem a little busy" She asked, hesitant, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"No! Co closer, my cute little knight!"
Ryuji lifted her and placed her right beside him. "Now, both of you are stuck with , hehe."
"Don't treat like a kid, Ryuji!" Erika complained.
"Don't worry, you are my cute knight, and Yumi is my lovely fox.
"You are such a bastard~ why do we love you so much, right Erika?"
Yumiko smiled, her eyes narrowing into crescents as the trio sat together. Erika settled down after a short while, and Ryuji could then enjoy the dicinal tea while they spoke about stupid things while the sun slowly faded over the horizon.
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