Sudden Insight

Akiol splashed water onto his face. Pinching the bridge of his nose he exhaled slowly before rubbing his eyes. When his eyes opened in the mirror's reflection he saw Akiol, the silver haired hero. He blinked in surprise and instead found James in the reflection. He blinked a few times to ensure the sight was temporary. Only when he confirmed that his face was still that of James' did he allow his shock to fade.

Seems he had to add potential hallucinations to the list of symptoms. Hopefully it was just a one off thing. . .

There was too much to handle today to concern himself with the reflection. Talks with various landlords, shopping for essentials and clothing, and more. Additionally when he got the chance he should inform his party members about his extended leave. Indeed. . . a lot to do.

His grip tightened on the countertop edge. This time he inhaled slowly to brace himself for the following day. Once everything was settled he planned on keeping things easy for a bit, the mental stress was building up. He felt it starting to affect him, it was taking its toll. A vacation was very appealing right now.

Pushing away from the countertop he moved to exit his room. Opening the door he was greeted by Rue who was currently leaning against the wall. She went to wave, paused, and then instead commented, "You took a bit."

"Sorry. Didn't rest all that well.", Akiol made an excuse.

Responding with a nod Rue began to walk towards the elevator, "What's today's objective?"

"Try to settle on a semi-permanent place to live. Shopping for more clothes and essentials. That should take a large portion of our time."

"Very well. Where to first?"

"We have a meeting with the first landlord in about an hour and a half. Let's go nearby and look around for the local shops."

"I'll be following you."

Entering the elevator Rue lifted a hand and touched her face. She suddenly wondered if she was acting normal. The confusion from yesterday still lingered. Doubt crawled in her stomach regarding how she carried herself. Did Akiol notice anything off?

Tugging at her face Rue reset her facial expression. A calm look now took place. She tossed a glance towards Akiol and found him tapping on his phone. Relief washed over her, to which she immediately pushed away out of confusion. Why was she relieved that Akiol wasn't looking her way?

The elevator slowed to a stop and Akiol slipped his phone into his pocket. Stepping out of the elevator he informed, "A ride should be here soon enough. For now let's get a small breakfast at the bar."

"Where are we going for the food?", Rue asked.

"There's some options here in the hotel. It's not the greatest, but we can't spare the time for a proper meal until later."

Heading towards the breakfast bar Rue spotted various options. Looking about she asked, "Is this a buffet?"

"It's similar. It varies between different establishments. Here they just serve a bunch of standard options for you to grab before the breakfast hours are over. They only do breakfast however."

Grabbing a plate Akiol served himself a simple helping of scrambled eggs. Rue, who was unsure on what she should pick, followed his example and grabbed a portion of the scrambled egg. The two found a table and sat to eat. As Rue excitedly tested the eggs her face fell, "This is not as good as the previous food."

"It's good enough.", Akiol didn't complain.

Rue scrunched her nose with dissatisfaction yet still silently ate the eggs. When her portion was finished she eyed more food but withstood the urge. As a silence grew between the two Rue suddenly asked, "What did your meals usually consist of? I mean before your arrival here."

Clearly Rue was interested in his usual meals as the Hero.

"On the road? Whatever I hunted or scavenged. I reckon its the same for you?", Akiol continued the topic.

"Not quite, my food was provided to me. Meals specifically picked out to help with my development. . . It seems I had it easy."

Akiol laughed dryly. He found the topic of his past as Hero was becoming more sore for him. However he still desired to learn more about who Rue was, how the Demon Lord was before their deciding battle.

So he offered some of his past in exchange, "If I successfully helped a village or city I was often rewarded with party and food. Along with quite a bit of drink. The following celebrations I feel made any struggle worth it."

"This drink, what is it?"

"Usual alcoholic beverages. Beers, ales, wines, it depends on the locale of the city or village. Wines were exclusive to the royals however."

"I am unfamiliar with these drinks."

"Do the Demonfolk not have such things? Foods or liquids that intoxicate them?"

Rue's expression brightened as she gained insight, "It's not entirely unheard of. There were often certain plants or mushrooms they consumed for fun. My generals stated it was unnecessary for me to try them as I was being raised."

"Ah, usage of similar things was rare but not unheard of for humanity. Instead the broad usage was these drinks."

"What do they do?"

"Inhibit your basic function and rationale. The more you drink the less control you have over your thought process and physical actions. Tolerance varied between people."

"That sounds utterly pointless."

This earned a chuckle from Akiol, "You'd have to try it. Not everyone partook in drinking of course, it's entirely up to choice."

"What about you? Did you partake in the celebratory drinks?"

Akiol picked up his fork and felt it between his fingers. Skillfully performing various tricks with it he pondered how to answer this question. Rue waited patiently with her eyes holding an apparent curiosity. Sighing he placed the fork back down, "Only when I gathered my party members."

"Oh? Why so?"

"I. . . I enjoyed the atmosphere more than the celebration at first. The joyful cries and partying was fun to watch, but I never really partook. In hindsight I think I only stayed for the celebrations to be polite at first."

"Is this before or after you found your locked emotions?"

"Before. . .", Akiol reflected on his memories before making a conclusion, "I believe it was a rational choice to not partake in case something happened. I had to be functioning to handle any problems that might unexpectedly arise."

"You make it seem like you're unsure why."

"I can't feel that same way I did back then considering I have my emotions now. It's harder to picture what it felt like without them."

"A fair statement.", Rue stopped pressuring Akiol to answer her questions.

Silently she was relieved. It seemed Akiol hadn't started to treat her different, which made her assume she was acting normal. Once she came to this conclusion she pondered on the info she obtained so far. 

Akiol wasn't about to let her go without coughing up some information as well. Interrupting her thoughts he asked, "You mentioned your meals were designed for your development. Was it more like a specific diet to stimulate growth?"

Rue nodded and explained, "Certain ancient meals to tune my body to be more perceptive towards Demonic Energy. Rare and hard to fine delicacies to improve my body's toughness, strength, and overall ability. Then the ordinary meals meant to stimulate muscle growth and mana efficiency."

"A lot was invested into you."

It was Rue's turn to laugh dryly, "Indeed. Yet I still failed in the end."

Akiol flinched at this response. A rising memory of his dream last night surfaced before disappearing all together. Yet Rue didn't notice, or at the least pretended not to. She leaned back and sighed, "Indeed. I was raised as perfectly as possible. The Demonic gods invested a lot of their power into my gifts. In comparison you were shunned and forced to learn on your own. I lost to that?"

Akiol noticed she called the Evil gods "Demonic gods" instead. He made a mental note of this for later while continuing the conversation, "I wasn't alone."

"This is true. You lot managed to single out my Generals one by one and finish them off individually. Forcing our final fight to just me against you six."

"It was still the hardest fight we ever had to handle."

"I was raised well. If not for that elf I would've won."

"I like to argue that if just one of us weren't present during that fight you would've won. I just happened to find some really good party members."

Rue noticed Akiol's mood shift to be somewhat somber yet prideful. Considering the praise he was giving his comrades she could understand the reason why. Indeed those six were just barely above her own strength. 

"Well, it's not like those gifts were wasted. I still hold them to this day.", Rue smiled mysteriously.

"I noticed your insight and Demonic Energy remain. Every other blessing still lingers?"

"Unlike you who reincarnated into another body, I still hold the same body. My blessings remain intact because of it. That illusion you had me try was also able to recognize some of them."

To this Akiol showed genuine surprise. Usually whenever he used a technique outside of the system's Skills it never showed much response until that one time he received an error. Leaning forward he frowned, "How so?"

"I attempted to swing a weapon it didn't let me. It was only when I utilized my Blessing of Arms did it finally allow me to wield the weapon. Although it called it. . . Master of Arms I do believe."

Akiol crossed his arms and fell into thought. A World's Legacy was able to recognize things like foreign God blessings? The Evil Gods didn't even exist in this world. Yet clearly their power lingered.

Was this the reason why Rue was kidnapped?

Before he could make any other conclusions his phone vibrated with a notification. Taking a peek at the screen Akiol stood up, "Let's get moving, our ride is here."