I was Betrayed then Reincarnated as a Kitsune

Chapter 287: Finishing up in the Abandoned City

[Luna POV]

After getting back to the inn that was our temporary base, I cooked up a feast to thank the others for playing along and to hopefully get them to forget all the cringy things that I said and made Velvet say.  Once I handed out all the food and sat down, we started eating while I explained what I found.

I managed to find several interesting things in the tower, one of which was some kind of cursed orb that summoned a wraith and several more spectral undead that proceeded to attack me.  Though at some point in the middle of that a lot of the other undead ran somewhere else for some reason.  Anyway, once I dealt with all of the undead, I smashed the orb after picking it up.  The stupid thing tried to erode my mind, after all, and then I explored the rest of the tower.  I found several library like places with a lot of old books and scrolls but I was too afraid to touch them since they werent really stored well.  The ones that I managed to pick up without the fear of deterioration didnt reveal a lot, but still enough for me to get a somewhat good idea of what this place was. (Luna)

I stopped for a bit to take a few bites of food before continuing.

First off, this place is the city that came up with the ballista that lined the walls of the crystal city.  I found what I believe are the prototype plans for them.  Also, this place was abandoned due to that cursed orb I found.  It was something someone found in a dungeon and gifted to the ruler of the city.  They thought it was just a pretty jewel but in time it started to erode the minds of those that were always close to it.  Things happened over time and, in his or her last bout of sanity, the ruler of the city told all the citizens to leave.  They kept all those who were affected by the curse close and eventually they all died, became spectral undead, and were confined to the tower where they protected the orb.  Now, most of this is just my speculation since there wasnt really much information to be gleamed from the rambling scratches that were written all over the room with the orb. (Luna)

Hmm.  I wonder why several of them ran somewhere else? (Skadi)

Yeah, they were a pain to deal with.  Not in the power sense, but the number.  Id take fighting countless orcs to that many spectral undead. (Soleil)

Yeah, and Soleil had it easy.  I managed, but it was definitely a pain. (Velvet)

It probably had something to do with you being a kitsune, Soleil.  The wraith kept rambling about something, something a kitsunes soul is good for something.  Complete nonsense according to Tamamo, but still. (Luna)

Oh, I think I remember something about that from a long time ago.  I remember some old child bedtime stories my father would tell me that said that if you ever saw a kitsune, you would be blessed with good fortune and that their souls held the key to prosperity or divinity or buried libraries guarded by large owls or something like that. (Skadi)

Now that I think about it, that mysterious old elf lady said something similar to me when I first met her. (Luna)

How have I never heard any of these kinds of stories before?  Youd think as a kitsune, wed hear at least a few of them. (Soleil)

Now that you mention it, I wonder why I never heard any of these before either.  I mean, when I think about it, I was never really told any bedtime stories, even before I told everyone about me being reincarnated.  Soleil is different since I always told some to her and Im sure Blake and Ana did as well.  But not once have I heard any of these kitsune stories. (Luna)

{Thats because they have largely been forgotten over time.  The only reason you even learned of these is because someone that is really old told you about it.}

True, but with the amount of long-lived races in this world, Id think itd be harder to forget things like this. (Luna)

Not the case, actually.  The older people get, the more selective their memories become.  Exceptions like gods, demigods, Apostles, and spirits aside, when people with long lives get that old, the things they deem unimportant kind of just slip away from their memory until something either makes them remember or they feel like reminiscing for one reason or another. (Skadi)

If thats the case, then why do I still have trouble remembering things sometimes? (Luna)

No idea.  Ive never really had a problem like that, so I cant say.  Though if you want my opinion, its probably because you are someone that became a demigod from a mortal. (Skadi)

But I have two Apostles that were mortal, Velvet excluded, so shouldnt they also have the same issue? (Luna)

Like I said, that was just my opinion.  I never said or implied that it was the case. (Skadi)

{For the record, I have no idea either.  This isnt really my area of expertise.  I can give mostly general knowledge and other things depending on the situation or circumstances.}

Moving on, master, Skadi and I found some weird plant stuff you might be interested in. (Ophidia)

While still chewing on a piece of meat, Ophidia rolled something over to me.  I picked it up, appraised it, and smiled.

Show me where you got this tomorrow.  Id like to get a seed or cutting of the plant that produced this. (Luna)

What is it? (Skadi)

The ingredient I needed to make those cookies from that recipe that you found.  Ill make some later. (Luna)

The conversation then turned to Velvet and Soleil as they talked about what they found on their excursion before they were so rudely interrupted by undead.  Most of the things they found were ledgers, inventory lists, information pertaining to people and money, and several other things youd find in a merchants office or a bank.  They also found some more recipes for both alchemy, cooking, and brewing.  I asked about what Mio found, but she was already fast asleep in her new box.

After we all finished our meal, I went and made a batch of those cookies which everyone loved and then we all went to bed.  We spent several more days in the city combing over places we didnt look through.  I also got several seeds of the cocoa trees to plant later.  On our last day in the city, I went up and put the tower and the inner wall of the city into my inventory before we all teleported back to the tunnel where we initially fell from.  Before we left that area, we discussed what to do about the holes that were made and decided that we would block off the spot with the hole with some of my ice magic.  I made a large chunk of ice that wouldnt melt for a long time and blocked up the hole until we could tell someone about it.  We then moved on.

You know, Im surprised no once else fell into that while we were down there.  I mean we spent like, a week down there and I doubt this tunnel didnt have any travelers come through it in that time. (Luna)

Its not like people are that dumb, Luna.  Only crazy people and us would willingly jump into a hole that led to somewhere completely unknown. (Velvet)

I like how you made the distinction that we arent also crazy. (Ophidia)

I feel like were on the more sensible side of the crazy. (Velvet)

Ill agree to that.  Out of a lot of crazy people that Ive met, everyone in this group is among the more sensible ones.  Not the most, mind you, but still a close second or third.  And by the way, out of everyone here, Mio and Velvet are the ones at the top of this groups sensibility list. (Skadi)

What about me?  I feel like Im sensible. (Soleil)

You were raised by an otherworlder and grew up next to a reincarnator.  You use magic in a way that hasnt been seen in a long time, and you casually dismiss the randomness and outrageousness of almost every one of Lunas actions. (Skadi)

I-I wish I could deny any of that, but I cant. (Soleil)

Sorry to interrupt, but how far are we from the capital of the country? (Ophidia)

Hmmm.  According to the map, if we keep a normal person pace, another three weeks of walking.  If we go at a semi-normal pace for us, we can shorten that time by a week and a half.  If we let loose and go on with folding space and no more detours, the time is shortened by two weeks, maybe two and a half. (Luna)

If we go with the last option nya, I call the spot on Lunyas tail nya. (Mio)

Ill ride on her arm like usual. (Ophidia)

Ill take the spot on her head. (Soleil)

(Luna)

What nya?  Its nyot like we can all comfortably grab onto your arms to walk and fold space nya. (Mio)

Nothing.  I just feel like some kind of transportation now. (Luna)

So its decided were travelling by folding space now? (Velvet)

Seems like it.  Now, everyone take your places so we can get this journey back on track. (Luna)

Mio, Soleil, and Ophidia transformed into their other forms and went to their respective places while Velvet and Skadi grabbed onto my arms and we set off on our journey to the dwarven capital.

Chaos Realm:

Astraea: Evelyn!

Evelyn: Astraea!

Why is this so adorable?  It's like all the cuteness in all of existence has been condensed in front of us.

Order: It is absolutely adorable.

Crisis: I agree.  I'm almost speechless.

Mordred: Haha.  This sense of pride I feel is wonderful.  Like, I can't describe this feeling really well, but it's there all the same.

And it's going to get even worse since they are going to hit their first growth spurts in the next few days.  After that, they'll be able to run around a lot more.

Crisis: Kukuku.  I can't wait.  I'll finally be able to teach Evelyn stuff.

Order: Guess I'll have to start teaching Astraea how to handle that then.

...What can I teach Astraea?  She's not ready to know how to...*starts a rant of mumbling*

Mordred: Guess I'll teach Evelyn stuff about blood since that is one of her Authorities, not that I know that much outside of how it tastes.