I was Betrayed then Reincarnated as a Kitsune

Chapter 244: Back to Business

[Luna POV]

It has been several days since Blake started working with the mithril.  While he worked on that, the rest of us did our own things.  It seems like Damien and Vina found the hot spring near the top of the mountain on the island since he wouldnt stop talking about it.  On the fifth day of working, Blake had finished most of what his part.  When he told us this, we all gathered at the ship once again to see a neat pile of mithril objects placed on the dock next to the ship.

Good work Blake. (Luna)

Thanks.  Now if you all excuse me, Im going to relax.  If you need me, Ill be sitting on the beach and fishing. (Blake)

Have fun, dad. (Soleil)

Ill try to. (Blake)

He left the cave and the rest of us turned to the pile of mithril stuff.

Alright. Damien stretched his arms in front of him while cracking his fingers.  Lets get the magic and alchemy going.  Luna, Soleil, Velvet, can you take the mana crystals and place them in the sections of the mithril.  Vina, help them out, Ill go and get the other processes ready on the ship. (Damien)

We all nodded and went to work.  I placed the pile of enchanted crystals on the ground next to the mithril and we all sat down.  What followed was mind numbing work of picking up mithril, placing a crystal into the open slot inside it, and moving on to the next.

Big sis, have you heard anything from Skadi and Ophidia since they left? (Soleil)

Not really, but I think thats normal.  Theyve been away longer than this before, so there is no need to worry.  And even if something did happen, I trust the two of them would be able to handle it. (Luna)

Thats true.  What about Mio?  She just kind of disappeared at some point. (Soleil)

Shes with Fenrir, I think.  Either that or she found a really good napping spot and decided to sleep there for a while. (Luna)

She doesnt sleep that much. (Velvet)

Then shes with Fenrir. (Luna)

Once that conversation ended, the only sound that could be heard was water lapping against the ship and the sounds of metal and crystal being put together.  After several minutes, I started another conversation.

Hey Vina, whats it like traveling with Damien? (Luna)

Its interesting.  He is very random with the things he does, and that usually ends in us going on random adventures. (Vina)

So, the two of you are married, right? (Velvet)

Yes. (Vina)

How did all of that happen?  Like, whats the story of your relationship? (Velvet)

Well, I first met him when my mother learned of a mortal creating an item that could throw the balance of the world off.  She decided to confront this person in person.  She appeared in front of him, warned him what would happen if the item he made fell into the wrong hands, and gave him a choice.  Either keep the item and become one of her subordinates in her part of the divine domain.  This choice meant he would basically have to die.  The other choice was to give up the item and have a watcher assigned to him to make sure he wouldnt make another one.  Since he is an otherworlder and mom has a penchant for being overly cautious, she assigned the second most powerful person she could to watch him. (Vina)

Im guessing the most powerful would be her Apostle? (Soleil)

Yes.  But dad is always busy keeping watch over the souls of the damned that are waiting for moms judgement.  Anyway, I was assigned the task of watching over Damien.  At first, I took the job seriously but over time and several adventures, I fell for him.  After that, I got him to fall for me as well and eventually we got married. (Vina)

Huh.  This may sound insensitive, but how clich.  He basically lived an ideal isekai life. (Luna)

He said the same thing.  I never understood what he meant and every time I asked, he would just change the subject. (Vina)

Now that doesnt sound like him.  The way I remember him, he would jump on the chance to tell you everything about that. (Luna)

People change, Luna.  Youre a prime example of that. (Damien)

I get that, but youre change is quite the drastic one. (Luna)

Ive been in this world for 19 years, if a person doesnt change in that amount of time, then something must be wrong with them. (Damien)

{Hes right Luna, this is something you need to learn or else your mind wont be able to handle living for eternity.  Ill be able to help you, but you also need to be able to change every so often or else youll beak, and I dont want that to happen.}

Hmm.  Alright then, new, changed Damien, is everything on your end ready? (Luna)

Yeah.  How about here? (Damien)

Were almost done. (Vina)

Ok.  Ill start working with the ones that are done.  Bring the rest after. (Damien)

He placed all the finished pieces in his inventory and climbed back onto the ship.  We continued with the little amount of work we had left and once that was done, we climbed aboard as well.  We went below deck to look for Damien and found him at the absolute lowest part inside the ship.  He had a serious look on his face as he placed a piece of the mithril on the wall and held it there.  Once he had it in a spot he liked, his hands glowed and the mithril looked like it turned into liquid and got absorbed into the wood of the ship.  Once the light went out, the spot where the mithril was absorbed took on a silvery sheen.

So thats how alchemy works. (Soleil)

Its faster than normal alchemy. (Velvet)

Velvet, I thought you gave up on being the straight man in these situations. (Luna)

I did, I was just making an observation. (Velvet)

Well, I do have level 10 alchemy skills. (Damien)

So, how long are you thinking this will take? (Luna)

I say about three days.  After that, Im going to have to make one final touch to actually bring everything together.  Speaking of that, Vina, can I ask you to start with that in the places Ive already gotten to? (Damien)

Yeah.  What ink do you want to use, the one made with powdered wyvern blood, or the naga blood? (Vina)

Hmmm.  Go for naga blood ink, itll make the process smoother. (Damien)

Alright. (Vina)

The rest of us watched as Vina went to the end of the ship where Damien had started the alchemy process and pulled out a quill pen and a belt with vials strapped to it.  She put the belt on and opened one of the vials before dipping the end of the quill into it.  The three of us scrunched our faces at the smell that came from that vial.

Ah, I forgot to say that this wont smell pleasant. (Vina)

Ugh.  Im going to step out. (Velvet)

I turned to look at Velvet and saw she was extremely pale.  Soleil noticed this as well so she grabbed Velvet by the hand and led her back outside.

Sorry, I was careless.  I forgot she was a vampire. (Vina)

I wonder why she reacted like that? (Luna)

I dont know either. (Damien)

It has to do with the main ingredient in the ink. (Vina)

Naga blood? (Luna)

Yeah.  There are some magical creatures and monsters out there whose blood changes after they die; naga are one of these creatures.  The blood turns poisonous and, as a vampire who needs blood to remain healthy, she could tell. (Vina)

That still doesnt help explain it that much, I mean shes smelled hydra blood before and she never reacted like that. (Luna)

Hydra blood is extremely toxic, but this specifically targets things that would try and consume the blood. (Vina)

Huh, so naga blood is basically vampire repellant, or more specifically, a repellant for anything with vampiric traits.  Interesting. (Damien)

Yes, yes, anyway, does this smell do anything, or is it just a deterrent? (Luna)

No, Velvet wont be affected in any way aside from feeling nauseous until the ink is gone. (Vina)

Alright.  Now, what is that ink even for? (Luna)

Its a catalyst.  Since this will be a large-scale alchemical process, Ill need something that acts as a catalyst to bind everything into one full object.  The materials of that catalyst also make a difference in the final product.  Naga blood is useful for binding materials with high mana like the mithril and crystals. (Damien)

Interesting.  Are naga rare? (Luna)

They are mythical beasts, so yes.  We were lucky enough to kill an extremely large one in a dungeon once, so we have a near unlimited supply. (Damien)

Good.  I wasnt going to let you ask for any of Ophidias blood if you needed more. (Luna)

Ophidia is a naga? (Damien)

Yeah.  A special one, but a naga all the same. (Luna)

A light entered Damiens eyes and he looked like he was about to ask something when Vina interrupted him.

Damien, I would highly recommend you reconsider what you are about to ask. (Vina)

How did you know I was about to ask something? (Damien)

Im your wife, if I couldnt tell what youre thinking, then I wouldnt be able to keep you out of trouble.  And I can tell that what you were about to ask would be something that shouldnt be. (Vina)

Ill let you know this, Damien.  I like you, but not enough to let you ask for things from people close to me.  If I do that, it will make it seem like Im treating someone I consider family as a source of materials. (Luna)

I understand.  The alchemist in me was close to coming out.  Ill push that knowledge out of my mind. (Damien)

I nodded my head and the two of them got back to work.  The silence during this time was an awkward one when Damien decided to ask me something.

Luna, have you ever tried making something like paper tags? (Damien)

Paper tags? (Luna)

You know, the kind of things that onmyoji use. (Damien)

Ooohhh.  No, Ive never even thought about that.  I mean, why would I when magic in this world is the way it is? (Luna)

Fair enough.  I just thought it would fit your image as a kitsune, so I wanted to ask. (Damien)

Hmmm.  Would they even work in the first place?  And if they did, what would they be used for?  I mean, for purifying things, there is a version of fox fire for that.  In the case of undead, healing magic also works.  Seals I have no idea about but will learn eventually.  In my mind, they would just be inefficient and maybe redundant.  Why use them when they cost something to make that you cant either do yourself or hire someone else to do with magic? (Luna)

 For show. (Damien)

You make a decent argument. (Luna)

Really!?  Thats all it took to shoot down all of your reasoning? (Vina)

{Vina, you need to learn that when it comes to people from other worlds, to just let the eccentricities go.}

I though I had. (Vina)

Tamamo, Im not that eccentric. (Luna)

{I beg to differ.  Youre almost as bad as Grey when it comes to picking stuff up and throwing it in that inventory of yours.  Not to mention that you need to be at least a little eccentric to be able to tease Atmos in the way you do.}

What can I say, she makes it too easy to do that. (Luna)

Vina, whats going on here? (Damien)

Lady Tamamo is talking with Luna about how she teases the Goddess of Fate and how that makes her eccentric. (Vina)

Um, isnt that kind of dangerous?  I mean, shes the Goddess of Fate, teasing her sounds like an absolutely horrible idea. (Damien)

(Luna)

{}

Do I tell him? (Luna)

{I dont know.  On one hand, itll be funny to see his reaction, on the other, it would ruin Atmoss image in his eyes.}

Ill keep it between us.  Its best if he learns about it on his own in the future. (Luna)

{Alright.}

Um?  Whyd you go all quiet and look at me like that? (Damien)

Dont worry about it. (Luna)

Damien looked at me for a few seconds before turning his attention back to his work.  I stayed and watched for a little while longer before I started to get overpowered by the smell of the ink.

Call me when you need a top up on mana, Ill be outside. (Luna)

Mmm. (Damien)

I climbed back outside to see Velvet and Soleil sitting on an empty crate.  Soleil was rubbing Velvets back as she still looked a bit queasy.  I walked up to them and sat down.

Hows it going here? (Luna)

Im feeling a little better, but I dont think Ill be able to go inside the ship again. (Velvet)

They said that all of that would be used up as the finishing touches of the alchemy process, so youll be able to go inside again after that. (Luna)

She nodded her head in reply.  I placed my hand on her back and started to use healing magic to help out.

Thanks. (Velvet)

No problem.  How about you go back to the mansion and lay down for a while.  I know that helped, but you still look like you feel sick. (Luna)

Yeah, I think I will.  Mind helping me Soleil?  I dont think teleporting would be a good idea. (Velvet)

Yeah. (Soleil)

Soleil wrapped one of Velvets arms around her shoulder and they started to make their way back to the mansion.  Once they were gone, I sat back on the crate.

Tamamo, what should I do while I wait for my turn to help?

{Hmmm.  Want to play some chess or something?  No need to set up a domain, Ill tell you where to move my pieces.}

I guess thatll work.  Just be prepared to beat me every time.

{Dont be like that, youve improved a little.}

Sure, but not enough to contend with you or Soleil.  Heck, even Ophidia is better than I am.

{That doesnt matter, lets just have fun with it.}

I like that way of thinking.

I hopped down from the crate and set up the chess set.  We played for hours as I waited to be called to fulfill my purpose as a mana battery.

Chaos Realm:

Atmos: *Sniff*

What's wrong with you?

Atmos: They actually care.

Order: Why wouldn't they?  One is your sister and the other is her wife.  They tease you because they are close to you.

Atmos: I know that, but it hits different when you actually hear it from them.

I can get behind that reasoning.

Order: Indeed.  It's always better to hear how people feel from themselves rather than from someone else.

Atmos: Yeah.  By the way, where did the other two go?

They fell asleep over there.

Atmos: Aww.  How adorable.  I never would have thought the sight of a cat sleeping on the back of a giant wolf would be cute, but it is.