Chapter 13
"Smoked yams! Get 'em while they're hot!"
"Watch where you're going, idiot! I'm walking here!"
Kanae awakened with a fright in an unfamiliar room. Her panic quickly passed, realizing that she was in Lograin now and not in Orturic. The city's energy so early in the morning was proof of that. She climbed out of bed and walked over to the window, pulling aside the maroon drapes that reached from ceiling to floor.
The forked street that the adventurer's hall occupied, which was practically empty last night, was filled with the hubbub of wheels from carriages and wagons grinding against the cobblestone, merchants hollering from stalls or carpets displaying their goods on the sidewalk, and citizens of all races passing by.
At a glance, there were possibly more people in just this block and building than all of Orturic combined.
Kanae stretched her arms n front of the window, basking in the sun's warmth—
Until she noticed a crowd.
"Hm?"
A group of people had gathered below the window in the streets at the foot of the building, taking in the sights of her. Kanae snapped shut the curtains and turned red in the face.
Great, she thought. First thing in the morning living in a new city, and she just gave people something to remember her by already.
Kanae went to get dressed and ran into trouble pulling the lingerie-like straps past her waist. It was as though her clothing got caught on something. When she looked down, a modest-in-size and girth, throbbing penis greeted her.
The feeling was just like she remembered, an extension of herself with all the sensation of one. Just gripping the erect base brought her pleasure and made her knees weak. Although she had become a girl, the pleasures of her former sex were not completely lost.
Without thinking, Kanae raced out into the living room where Arenade and Edina were awake, warming themselves up by the fire.
"Guys, look! I have a penis now!" Kanae exclaimed.
Arenade, who was in the middle of drinking tea, spat out her beverage and drenched Edina's face.
"Ahaha! What the hells? Is that really a dick? You didn't eat something weird last night, did you?" Edina asked, a lot more amused than Arenade by Kanae's new bodily addition.
Kanae shook her head. "I scored a few levels from going to a brothel last night and got this skill after hitting 50. Actually wanted to do a brothel crawl until Bishop Rudo ruined the party…"
The necromancer flashed an amused grin. "That's where you scampered off to? Getting a good taste of the city before the end of the first day, huh. I expected nothing less of the party's resident succubus."
"For the love of— Put that thing away already!" Arenade cried, one hand to her chest as she coughed and the other shielded her eyes. "How indecent… s-showing me something like that…"
The elven priest blushed up to her pointed ears, but couldn't stop stealing glances at it. Kanae couldn't remember the last time she saw Arenade so flustered. Recent events left a strain on their relationship. So seeing Arenade like this made her want to tease the fallen demigoddess.
"You know…" Kanae coyly approached Arenade, backing her into the couch. "When was the last time we were together? Do you want to go back to my room and try this out?"
"W-Wait… I'm still… angry at you…" Arenade stammered, the reflection in her eyes filled with only the sight of the throbbing penis.
Afraid of pushing the issue further and ruining their friendship, Kanae toggled off [Futanari], which vanished her penis like magic. Even the sensation of the erection was gone, as well as the urge to sheath her sword into something.
Arenade breathed a sigh of relief.
"If you two are done flirting, we're headed to church to unlock Kanae's flight, right?" Edina asked from the foyer.
The two recomposed themselves and followed Edina downstairs. They fetched an ogre-slaying quest first, eager to test the waters of their new skills and how difficult monsters around Lograin were going to be. Sellica approved their quest and offered a cautious warning that they were no longer in Orturic. Undeterred, the three departed into the city to find a church.
"If it's a church we're looking for, we should probably choose the Church of Many instead of a place that worships the Supreme One," Arenade suggested.
"Is there a difference? Would the Supreme One not want me there being a… you-know-what?" Kanae lowered her voice.
"Supreme One could care less." She shrugged. "It's the people running the churches who think they know the will of the gods that make it unbearable. For some reason, those that belong to the One are soooo vain."
Kanae eyed Arenade as she said that.
"You don't say…"
"Clergy from The Church of Many might be a little looney, but at least they're more welcoming. Like I won't get kicked out just for being a necromancer," Edina added.
Kanae eyed Edina suspiciously next.
"I bet you got kicked out of a Church of One because you were raising the dead around their cemeteries."
"You can't prove that." She walked ahead, whistling to herself.
On their way to the cathedral of the Church of Many, a loud bell chimed through the city. Kanae marveled at the many snow-dusted steeples and stained glass windows depicting gods. The religious folk here were possibly more vain than the other side, dressed in gold trinkets and embroidery to flaunt their wealth 'in the name of the gods'.
Priests and clergy from the Church of One, who worshiped the Supreme One, were distinguishable by the motif of a singular eye in front of a burning sun on their robes. The Church of Many, however, depicted three pairs of hands pressed together in prayer.
Kanae clutched herself to stop the shivers, feeling as though she was under the scrutiny of many divine beings.
They entered the cathedral into a massive octagonal worship hall which seemingly hummed with a low, peaceful note. The pews were arranged facing each seven sides that beheld the statue of a god, the eighth of which served as the entrance which they walked in from.
Parishioners were scattered about, head bowed in prayer or speaking with clerics. Right through the entrance, a group of priests was working over a cauldron and passing food out to the less fortunate. At the center, there was a blue-scaled drakeling man kneeling down in prayer, surrounded by four priests at his side.
"Ah! Sister Arenade, welcome back. I see you have brought friends. Have you come seeking the guidance of The Many?" a priestly man asked. The older human man in gold and white robes, with red hair spilling out underneath the miter hat, turned to them with open arms.
"I might take you up on that later," Arenade said, then gestured to the priest. "Everyone, this is Pontiff Rudolff, the chief priest of the churches that profess worship to The Many within Lograin."
"With no relation to Bishop Rudo, mind you. It is only by coincidence we share such similar names. His faith is professed to the Supreme One. Here, The Many welcomes all." Pontiff Rudolff beamed.
Bright. The man was so bright and holy for Kanae that her skin tingled from divine energies.
"What's happening in the center?" Kanae asked about the drakeling and priests.
"They are in the process of crowning," the pontiff answered. "In other words, receiving the blessing of a god to become stronger. Not everyone is worthy of being crowned, and not everyone is crowned at birth. So some will come to beseech the gods in their later stages of life"
A beam of light suddenly flooded the cathedral from an opening in the rooftop. The light enveloped the drakeling whole, and when it dissipated, he took one look at his wrist and jumped with joy. He hugged each of the priests, thanking them and the gods.
"And it seems another was successfully crowned today, thank The Many." Rudolff nodded his head in prayer.
"I actually have a skill that requires me to come to a church to unlock. I don't know what that means, but Arenade suggested we come here," Kanae hesitantly explained.
"The gods are fickle that way," he said, casting his gaze to the seven statues. "They play with us like decks of cards, swapping and discarding amongst themselves as they please. One among The Many may be withholding a skill from you until they see how far you have come. This way, please. It is a simple process."
Pontiff Rudolff extended a hand forward, and they followed him to the center as the celebrating drakeling and priests were leaving. He asked Kanae to take a seat on the worn oak pew and pray.
Having never really been religious at all, Kanae followed the pontiff's instruction with a hint of skepticism. At least in this world, the gods seemed to be more real and active. After all, there was a fallen one in her party.
As Kanae pressed both hands together and shut her eyes, the world went quiet. No more hum of music or quiet chatter from the parishioners. They were replaced with shuffling papers instead.
Wait… shuffling papers?
"Let's see…" The professional work voice of a businesswoman echoed from all around her. "Trying to unlock the Flight skill, are we? Level 50… race… succubus? Class, seductress? What?"
With the snap of a finger, Kanae found herself sitting across the desk from a horned and bespectacled woman, in a brightly lit room much like when she first met Arenade. This woman wore a black worksuit over crimson red skin, with the top three buttons of her shirt unbuttoned. Behind the glasses lay two azure eyes with sharp, horizontal pupils that looked Kanae up and down.
"Uh… Hello," Kanae greeted.
"Oh, it's you! The human boy-turned succubus!" Her eyes widened with recognition. "How's that cunt Arenade? I hear she's your lackey now. Says here you recently got yourself the Futanari skill. Guess it's only a matter of time before you two do the dirty if you haven't already, huh? Ahahaha!"
"Y-You're another demigoddess, right? And, hey! I don't appreciate you calling Arenade a cunt. She might be tough to deal with sometimes, but her heart is in the right place trying to help people," Kanae argued back, surprising the divine being.
The demigoddess leaned back in her seat with two clawed hands clasped together.
"Boy, do I know it. To tell you the truth, I've been worried about her since she went missing from the office."
"You… have?"
"After meeting you, I feel like she's in good hands. Take care of her, okay? That Arenade's the youngest demi among us and had quite the troubled past. I'll approve your Flight skill and grant you knowledge on how to use it— Wait, where's my stamp? Oh, here it is!" She smashed an ink stamp onto a piece of paper
Kanae fell backwards and panicked, then her eyes snapped open to Arenade and Pontiff Rudolff looking at her with worry.
"How did it go? You unlock your skill?" Arenade asked.
"Yeah, I think so." Kanae turned her gaze to one of the statues that looked exactly like the one she saw, dressed in flowing robes instead of a business suit, but with horns and reptilian eyes that she remembered. "What's the name of that demigoddess?"
Both of them followed her eyes to the statue.
"Goddess Threcia, a salamander warrior, was sanctified nearly ten thousand years ago for her heroic deeds in fighting the first demons. Is that who you saw?" Pontiff Rudolff asked.
"Threcia, pfft. I bet that hag is still misplacing her stamps without me there to help find it," Arenade mumbled off to the side.
Kanae chuckled to herself. It sounded like Arenade and Threcia had quite the work relationship.
As they were leaving, Kanae and Arenade noticed one member of their party was missing.
"Now where in three hells did that damn squirreling go?" Arenade wondered aloud, scratching her head.
Just then, the sound of smacking lips and crunching reached their ears. They followed the noise to a nook behind a large pillar, where Edina was snacking on a whole pot of food taken from the church.
"Oh, uh… Heya, guys. Just eating some breakfast. You… want some?" Edina laughed awkwardly.
"You little klepto!" Arenade pounced on Edina, tugging on her cheeks until she looked like a hamster. "That food belongs to the poor and downtrodden!"
"I used to be poor and downtrodden! Let go— I'm gonna barf if you keep it up!" she cried.
The party departed from Lograin to tackle the ogre-slaying quest. As soon as they were no longer within sight of anyone or the city, Kanae leapt into the air with joy. She flew over expansive green pastures, around trees, and even alongside flocks of birds that scattered when she got near.
"Look, look! I'm actually flying! This is so cool!" Kanae flew circles around Edina and Arenade just above their heads.
Threcia didn't just unlock her flying, but also made it so that she already knew how to. Her wings were small in appearance, and she thought there was no way flying would be possible. However, with magic on her side, Kanae soared with the experience of a grown harpy, savoring the cool winds caressing her skin and hair.
"Pick me up!" Edina exclaimed, extending her arms up.
Kanae grabbed Edina's hands and easily lifted the pint-sized squirreling into the air. They soared together, free from the confines of the ground.
"Arenade, you want to come up, too? I might be able to carry you both!" Kanae said.
"I'd like to stay grounded where I belong, thank you very much." Arenade folded her arms and continued walking.
Kanae and Edina traded glances, then hatched an idea. With the squirreling clinging to her back, Kanae reached down to try and pick Arenade up, but she started struggling.
"Hey, stop! Seriously, I'm going to get angry at you both!" Arenade shouted, causing them both to stop and land.
"Sorry…" Kanae quietly apologized. "I just wanted to fly with you—"
Arenade pursed her lips and was about to respond until a loud thud startled them all. Two large ogres several times their size pushed aside the trees as they emerged from the forest to the left, wielding wooden clubs propped on meaty shoulders.
"Oh, shit. Looks like they found us instead," Edina said, wasting no time in summoning her army of undeads and a bone brute.
"Wait, I wonder if I can have sex with them." Kanae took an excited step forward, but a large club slammed down in front of her, inches away from crushing her feet.
"I don't think they're interested in sex!" Arenade warned.
The party of three ran back to put some distance between them and the ogre pair. Edina sent her minions to the ogres. The skeletal warriors leaped onto their backs and hacked away, but their weapons couldn't penetrate the thick muscles. One ogre swung its club, clearing a swathe of undead and destroying the bone brute in a single hit.
Edina's jaw dropped, including the rest of the surviving undeads.
"This might be a little out of our level range…" Edina muttered through chattering teeth.
"Not if I have a say about it— Be bathed in my Empowered Divine Strike!" Arenade raised her staff, conjuring volleys of golden swords that crashed down on the ogres.
But they brushed it off like nothing.
"Arenade, we have to use Bond! It'll make you stronger!" Kanae yelled, preparing to make a connection with her.
"What? No, don't use that filthy spell on me!" Arenade backed away, seemingly clutching herself out of fear of Kanae rather than the ogres.
Kanae drew a blank, and her heart sank from hearing Arenade reject her that way. Was it something she said? Before another thought crossed her mind, the shadow of an ogre draped over their party. Kanae saw the club crashing down on her too late.