Arc 11.43: The joy of Blestemate part 2

Φ As Suzuka stares at the door thinking over Cyrus's thoughts, Maple touches her back, and says, "We should get moving as well."

Suzuka shakes her head, and Maple grabs her, then leaves with Willow and Iancu.

The Elia, turning to the three idiots hiding in a corner, says, "Come on, guys."

Gheorghe says, "Elia, you know why we can't leave."

Wadim says, "My butt is attached to the floor."

Ivana says, "I can't do this, I can't do this."

"That's fine. I wouldn't ever force you guys to do anything, but I tend to blabber if I am not watched, and I might inform them of your arrival."

The three iditos jump up and say, "Well, go."

"Oh my, what a wonderful change of heart."

They quickly gather around Elia, and she pets all of their heads, saying, "I'll protect you guys, don't worry."

Tears start to fill their eyes, and they move forward for a hug, but she says, "Touch me and you die."

Ivana was crying, saying, "Don't worry, I will just hug you from afar."

Sitting on top of Gheroghe's massive body, Elia says, "Now let's be going." And together the four of them all exit the room.

As Avram now stands in the room with an Orb whose thoughts have consumed his very existence, he claps his hands in front of the Orb, but no reaction arises from the boy.

"Orb Dragoste is here?"

Orb's hair turns yellow, and he starts running around dressing himself, as Avram giggles. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! This is too soon, I haven't been able to prepare myself, and get everything I need ready, or else I will be an embarrassment, and he will never let me meet his wife and child!"

Grabbing Orb's head, Avram says, "You do realise he isn't here."

Orb stops and looks around, then his head turns red, and he tries to bite Avram.

"Down, boy."

"You know how much this means to me. I really didn't need this prank being played on me, you big bully."

"Sorry, I just think you needed to let some of this out. It isn't good to be this worked up about things."

With his head turning silver, Orb says, "I guess you're right."

"Good, now to make sure you can fully relax for your meeting, how about you go out with me?"

"Where?"

"Isn't it obvious. My old workshop."

-Break-

Location: Cursed Sea District of Căderea-dracului

Φ With her eyes locked on the girl twirling in front of her, Maple says, "Suzuka, you're so cute!"

Suzuka blushes and hides her face with her tail, and Maple, turning to Willow, says, "Don't you think so, Willow?"

"I think she is stunning."

Maple gives Willow a mean glare, and he says, "I was just doing what you asked."

Giving Willow an even nastier look, Maple says, "I know, and it kinda of made me jealous, I apologise for this behaviour."

Willow stood there confused, but after a moment, he hugs Maple, saying, "You're adorable!"

Maple gives him an even more annoyed look, and Suzuka says, "Maple doesn't like that!"

With a cocky smile, Willow says, "I know all the things that Maple likes, because I am her husband."

Suzuka burns with jealousy and starts hugging Maple, and with a face so full of joyful wrath, she says, "I need you both to back away, and keep going!"

Iancu, staring at them, says, "A horde of freaks." Iancu, turning around, walks to one of the many street vendors and says, "Would I be able to have a deep-sea kebab?"

The nightmare stares at Iancu, then the humans behind him, and says, "We're out."

Irritated, Iancu says, "I can smell it from here."

The nightmare, which has a completely grey body, and with a face that looks like a giant worm stretches its neck up towards Iancu's face, and says in the saviour's song, "You might not understand me. We're out for you?"

"What was that?"

"If an anathemized brat like you could speak our native saviour's song, instead of the conqueror's heroes song, then maybe you could understand. Goodbye now."

Iancu grips his fist in anger, but then he takes an amulet out of his pocket and places it on the table, and the nightmare who eyes see it go wide, and he says, "A kebab? Don't worry, I will get you one right away!"

Holding the Purple bat-shaped amulet in front of his face, Iancu remembers the words said by Dragoste.

"This is an amulet that shows you have the blessing of the queen. It is given to diplomatic guests so they don't get harassed by people who aren't fond of foreigners. Use it to protect yourselves as you go out."

As the kebabs are placed in front of Iancu, he looks at them and says, "No drink?"

The nightmare quickly runs back, and pours four large mugs filled with a form of organic juice, and Iancu says, "Thank you."

Arriving with food in hand, Suzuka's mouth waters, and she quickly grabs it out of his hand and starts eating.

Willow says, "You got food for all of us?"

"I merely got extra, and I want to watch my health, so you guys can have." Looking at Suzuka, he says, "Though the lack of manners makes me want to take my kindness back."

Suyzuka, who has most of her kebab being chewed in her mouth, speaks to Iancu and says, "Thank you," with her mouth spewing food particles onto Iancu's face.

"CAN YOU BEHAVE!"

Suzuka clicks her tongue and looks to the ground, and Iancu's wrath becomes visibly plastered on his face.

Iancu's rage rises, but then Maple gets in between them, and says, "Hey, why don't we go start our exploration of the district. There is so much to do, it would be a waste to fight."

Iancu says, "Find as long as she is kept on a lease."

Suzuka says, "Enjoying food with all your heart and soul is just normal behaviour, you snob."

As they both glare at each other, Willow stands in between them and says, "Now let's head off!"

-Break-

Standing in the tailor's, a nightmare with an entire fish's body for a head, and thick lipstick plastered over its face, says, "Beautiful!"

In front of her, Maple twirls around in her new clothes. On her top, she wears a black linen shirt down to her torso with golden buttons moving down the centre of it, and around her neck is a dark green brooch with a purple gem in it. Golden designs of forests are also around her sleeves

She wears a dark green pleated skirt that goes down to her ankles, and across the skirt are vertical stripes of purple and gold. Across her waist, it is a golden Josta with a design similar to her sleeves, though instead of freely showing the forest designs, they are encased in multiple geometric patterns that continue across it.

The fish claps, and Iancu stares at Suzuka beside him, whose mouth is watering.

"You're leaking."

Quickly, Suzuka uses her tails to clean her mouth and says, "It's only a natural response to such beauty."

"Weirdo?"

"That weirdo has way more friends than you do."

As the two glare at each other, Maple moves forward and gets up in Iancu's face, and says, "How do I look?"

Iancu takes a few steps back, embarrassed, then says, "Good, I think."

Maple smiles, and Suzuka, with far more vigour, says, "You look like you melt eyeballs on sight!"

"Thank you both, and next time, pick out more wonderful clothes for me to wear, Suzuka."

Suzuka nods, and the fish says, "How glorious, how wonderful, I never thought someone could match with my clothes so much. You have white and gold hair that blends in so beautifully with my creation."

Getting up close, the fish grabs Maple's shoulders and says, "Please let me have some of your hair, so I can experience this for myself."

Suzuka, grabbing the fish, says, "Don't go touching my friend!"

As Suzuka restrains the fish away from Maple, Iancu, looking away from Maple, says, "I didn't think you'd like such things, given how brash you are."

"I have always enjoyed such things. This cloth is something that means so much to a lot of different people. It reminds me of Aplos and why I wanted to leave my village for so long. Because if there are people who have things just as amazing as Aplos, I really want to partake in it."

"That sounds a bit selfish."

"I have always accepted my dream was, but I have a great supporter who allows me to care for my people, and have fun like this."

"You taking about me?" they hear Willow's voice say.

Turning, they see Willow in new clothes as well. He wore a green shirt with the same designs Maple has on it that goes down to his calves, and dark green pants on his legs. Along his collar and sleeves are designs similar to Maple, but instead of a tree, it's animals that walk behind one another in a pattern. Across his waist, he wears a black josta with designs similar to Maple.

Maple looks at Willow with sparkling eyes and says, "No, I was talking about Orb, you big dummy."

Willow reels back and holds his heart, and says, "How painful. I don't think I can go on without a kiss."

Lifting up her foot, Maple pushes her pastalas onto Willow's chest, and says, "Stop whining, baby."

As Suzuka finishes wrestling the fish, Willow moves in front of her, pointing at himself, and the fish says, "Too much green, you should change your hair colour."

Willow slumps down to the ground, and Iancu says, "Do you really care that much about compliments?"

"I never realised it until now, but Orb has spoiled me with compliments."

Maple, seeing this, moves over to Willow's ear, and whispers something, then he quickly gets up, picks up his wife, and says, "Let's be off!"

Her embarrassment in Willow's arms quickly turns to excitement, and she says, "LET'S GO!"

Iancu, with a sigh, says, "Please let them be normal today."

-Break-

Cursed land district event 1: Cursed land choir.

As the giant wonderbeast, the Sumpurnis walks through the land, priests hand out flyers and say, "Sing along." To all the passersby's.

And as Maple holds a sheet, Willow covers his ears, and says, "Quickly before it's too late," to Iancu and Suzuka.

Suzuka and Iancu quickly close their ears, and as Maple's singing is released little by little, the choir members fall unconscious as their minds and souls are assaulted.

And the three behind her hold their ears in pain, and start moving towards her to cover her mouth, but as her happy face looks at the three of them, they all stop in their tracks and allow the massacre to continue.

Cursed land district event 2: Street performers.

Sitting in an amphitheatre, the four stare down on a stage where four actors stand, and a tiny one with a face that looks like a mirror, transforms into a large beast, and fights the other three on the stage.

And outside the stage lies another nightmare with four large tube-like protrusions on its back.

One of the actors charges forward and slashes another with a sword, causing Maple to scream out of fright. "Someone's going to get killed at this rate."

But Iancu points her in the direction of the nightmare at the side, and says, "His curse allows him to redirect all damage to those protrusions, allowing all actors to be unharmed."

"Aww, I see. So this allows for realistic combat despite being a play."

"At least that's the idea."

As the fight continues, Maple looks to Suzuka and Willow and says, "Isn't that cool?"

But both of their focus are solely on the stage in front of them.

Suzuka says, "Their footwork is trash. If it were me, I would bait them forward and then quickly take a few steps forward, and as their feet become locked, I would snap their necks with my tail."

Willow says, "That actor isn't making the best of those animal abilities. It very clearly has heightened hearing, and you can tell instead of leaning into it, and using it to predict moves, he is just trying his best not to hit the ground too hard as not to hurt his ears."

Both of them let out sighs, and Maple let's a big laugh, which makes the crowd go, "SHH!!!"

Maple covers her mouth, and Iancu palms his face with his hand.