DCMAGR | Chapter. 45: Lunch

Ash helped me dig a grave for the farmer after getting some shovels and bringing his corpse out of the Bordering Lands. The sweltering heat was annoying, and Ash really made sure to let me know about it.

“Do you seriously need to bury him, what did he even do?”

“Nothing,” I answered.

“Then? Why?” Ash pressed with a frown.

I took a deep breath, still feeling deeply confused about the events that had transpired. “I sent him to Elysium, but his body is left behind. I must⁠ pay respects to its vessel.”

Ash scoffed. “That can’t be it.”

A sinking feeling welled up on my chest, I took another breath to calm myself down. “And I was the one that took his life… He requested me to kill him, his wife, kids⁠— they died to the monster you fought.”

“So you killed him, huh?” Ash asked with a sigh.

“Well… yea…” I dug some dirt, we were almost done digging. “But I had no choice, I wanted to help you as soon as possible…”

She nodded. “Well, I don’t really care, aside from the initial amusement that you killed a human, but,” she paused. “I don’t think it really matters anymore, does it? It’s no longer about fighting, or insulting each other for our morals.”

“Yeah…”

“Let’s just get this done, and perhaps we can get some food.”

I nodded.

After an hour of digging, the corpse was placed and promptly buried in a few minutes. I was unsure if it was the correct thing to do, but it felt… right. Ash stretched.

“Well, let’s go.”

I paused, remembering something. “About that…”

◇ ◇ ◇

The dog was gone. Ash didn’t think much of it but it bothered me, alas. All I could do was not repeat the same mistake again; though I felt sad regardless. Ash tried to comfort me by saying; everyone makes mistakes. I didn’t know how to feel about it, but I appreciated the effort. Some few minutes later, we reached home. Ash didn’t have a back up onesie readily available, which well⁠— was a small surprise to me given last time.

“Where is it…” She crawled through the living room floor.  A few seconds passed. “Aha!”

I couldn’t help but raise my brow at Ash, seeing her crawl was already odd enough. But then seeing her dig up a neatly folded onesie inside a plastic bag on her hand was even worse.

“What?”

I shook my head. “Nothing, I just found it odd you put it there.”

Ash nodded. “Secret stashes are important.”

“Are they?”

“Absolutely,” she agreed.

Huh. Ash went to change inside my room, and a minute later she came out wearing a brown onesie.

“Well, let’s get going. I am hungry.” Ash strutted towards the door, but her confidence was confusing to me.

“Got any place in mind?” I asked.

“Hmm, we can go to that restaurant we went to last time.” Oh. I nodded, though I felt as if I was missing something. My scythe was always with me, but… Something was missing from my routine.

I looked at my phone before I realized what I would normally be doing at this hour. I would be chatting with the Old man. But I was with Ash now, and we were going to go eat…

Wait… Couldn’t I… Take the Old man to eat with Ash? I paused and looked at Ash who seemed to be waiting for me.

“Can I em… bring someone along?”

Ash raised her brow. “Sure?”

I smiled, and brought my scythe, firmly gripping it. “You should come along too.”

◇ ◇ ◇

My scythe vanished, and once more I stood behind the tree, this time with Ash by my side. The wind blew and the sun shone, just like always⁠— it was relaxing.

“You seem awfully used to this,” Ash commented.

I paused. “Ah… Yeah.” I had completely forgotten she was there just for a brief moment.

Ash looked around for a brief moment before nodding.

“Nice and secluded, good spot.”

“Have you not been here before?” I asked with confusion.

“Nope, not that I remember at least?” Oh.

I nodded. I had spent so long coming here, but now that I thought about it, Ash was never really present. Actually I hardly went outside with Ash. Most of the time was for the sake of Abyssal Hunter duties, which I didn’t know how to feel about. Though…

“Why do you think there was another corruption monster?” I asked as I began to circle the tree.

Ash followed after me. “Don’t know, they are kind of rare. Coincidence I guess.”

“I see, but was it alright to destroy the shack?”

She nodded. “The Abyssal Hunters would’ve taken care of it, and they will take care of it. In spite of how much I hate them, I can at least say they take the whole staying ‘low-key’ very seriously.”

“That is useful.”

“Yep, that is why I don’t hesitate much.” She absentmindedly nodded. “It’s quite nice actually.”

Soon we were on our way to the benches, walking at a leisure pace.

“Using that gun would be quite annoying otherwise,” Ash said with a grin. “Though, its recoil still hurts.”

“Why do you keep using it then?” I asked, raising my brow.

“Well, it is still the strongest thing in my arsenal⁠— one of the strongest.” She corrected. “While there are other stronger things, they have a price I am not willing to pay.”

I nodded, before adding.  “I think the gun explosions are cool.”

“I know right? They just evaporate.” She smiled. “It’s quite great.”

Eventually we arrived near the benches and I saw the Old man.

“Oh, that’s the Old man.” I pointed.

“Right, you spoke of him.” Ash nodded.

In just a few seconds we arrived near the Old man, who turned in our direction. He seemed to pause before smiling at me.

“Hello, Kaiti, and…”

“Ash,” Ash told him her name. “You’re… the Old man?”

The Old man chuckled. “That is what Kaiti likes to call me, yes.”

“Hey, you didn’t say no,” I protested, and he simply chuckled.

“Anyway, feel free to call me that.”

Ash nodded. “I am Kaiti’s er⁠— roommate.”

The Old man seemed to be confused.

“She’s my er… work partner that I told you about.” The Old man looked at her from head to toe.

“Are you sure she’s the right person?” He asked with confusion. “I don’t see how someone dressed like this can be so… bestial.”

“Bestial?” Ash asked with a lifted brow. “What kind of things have been said about me?”

The Old man pondered. “Well, Kaiti used a lot of bizarre examples such as you getting ran over and killing the driver.” I felt Ash internally panic for a fraction of a second before glaring at me. “Or er… Hmm, I think that’s it.” He awkwardly scratched his head. “Kaiti talks about a lot of things, so my old brain cannot quite remember everything perfectly.”

Ash nodded. “Yeah I suppose killing someone for getting run over is a bit extreme,” she hollowly chuckled, nudging me.

“Yeah… haha…”

The Old man chuckled along not knowing any better.

After a bit of back and forth we went to a restaurant by taxi. Ash sat on the window, and I sat between the two. Which was, well, a bit awkward, especially with the stares we got. But neither of them seemed to care, so I just went along with it.

◇ ◇ ◇

The restaurant was the same as last time; warm colors, cozy coves of wood and fancy tables. The Old man ordered a steak and I ordered sweets, but was urged to order something else, and that’s when the waiter turned to Ash.

“I want an em… Chocolate cheesecake, and milk I suppose.”

The waiter seemed to pause from the request. “The full cake miss?”

“Yes, the full cake. That’d be all.”

The waiter scribbled down and left. But the Old man stared at Ash mortified.

“Y-You,” he stuttered. “You’re the reason why Kaiti has such awful eating habits!”

Ash shrugged. “Kat is free to eat what she wants, don’t you think?”

The Old man nodded. “Yes, but she is clearly just copying after you! You’re the older one, you should set an example.”

Ash looked at him strangely. “Do I look that old?”

He shook his head. “No, but you’re clearly more mature than Kaiti. I can just sense it.” I stared at the Old man as if I had just been betrayed but he ignored me. “So you should set an example.”

Ash shook her head. “Not going to, salty foods are worse. Sugar is clearly the best.”

“But what about diabetes?” The Old man asked with concern.

“Not in my dictionary.” Ash smiled. “There are other things that can kill me such as monsters, it’s better to just live life.”

“Ah.” The Old man nodded. “Yes, I can agree to just living. Enjoyment is the number one thing. Though monsters?” He chuckled. “I suppose if you go to the Underworld, but even then I am sure Kaiti will send you to Elysium.”

I paused, and Ash stared at me before turning to the Old man. “The Underworld?”

He nodded. “Though I suppose it’s just Kaiti’s imagination, I just thought she told you about it too.” He coughed. “She also showed me her scythe which was quite heavy.”

“She showed you her… scythe…” Ash frowned, and looked at me as I shook my head. Her mood had sky-dived. “Did it move strangely or anything?”

“No?” The Old man raised his brow. “Kaiti said it liked cuddles, but all I saw was a very fancy and well maintained weapon.” He shrugged. “Strange to me that she can carry it around, Kaiti is much stronger than she looks.”

Ash let out a sigh and chuckled. “Yeah, she is very strange and strong.”

“Yeah…” I agreed feeling nervous, Ash wouldn’t stop staring at me.

That was the end of the talk, the rest of the dinner was quite awkward and very little was said. Eventually the Old man bid farewell, and we headed home. Ash carried a deep frown throughout the taxi ride. Thankfully we couldn’t teleport due to the fact it was the heart of the city.