End of the year, start of something new (End of Volume 2)
The next four days go by without incident. We weren’t visited by Ser Adin again nor did we have any scandals. We were just able to relax and have fun. On the evening of the last day of the year, we pack our things.
Sher Aka sighs, “It almost sounds like fate that our vacation will end when the new year starts, doesn’t it?”
Laying on the floor, John whines, “Ugh, don’t remind me, Sherry. I want to relax on our last day as well.”
A bit confused, I ask, “Is there anything special about a new year? Isn’t it the same as any other day?”
Rayla shakes her head, “Not at all! It holds great significance! It’s the start of something new and exciting!”
I think for a bit, “Hmm, I guess… We’re going to start questing again, after all!”
John throws a cushion at me, “I said don’t remind me! Let me enjoy this day of rest and relaxation! Every day like this adds ten days of normal blood pressure to my old age.”
She Aka picks up the cushion and brings it back to John before looking at us, “I heard there is a shrine in this town, would you like to join me in going there? We can watch the first sunrise of the new year together.”
Rayla smiles, “Sure, that sounds nice.”
“I’ll join as well!”
“If Rose is going I’m going.”
John raises an eyebrow, “Who is that shrine dedicated to?”
“No one specific. It’s an ancestral shrine. You pray there to have the souls of your ancestors protect you throughout the year.”
He scoffs, “Heh, sounds more like I’d be inviting the vengeful ghosts of my ancestors to haunt me. ‘OoOoOoOh how dare you help that wretched slave kill me. Didn’t I always give you a home?’. Yeah, no thanks. I’ll go with you but I won’t pray.”
Sher Aka smiles at him, “I understand, thanks for coming along regardless.”
“Well, I can’t just have you guys go up there alone. I’m gonna be all cold in the wagon. Thoma Ahad is basically a walking heater now. I can’t go without him anymore. Also, what will you guys do if you fall down the stairs? You’ll need a healer.”
Sher Aka chuckles, “Yeah, that’s right. We’re very accident prone after all.”
We then have some more snacks while the staff bring our things back into our wagon. After a bit more time, we hear the gong of a bell tower.
“It’s starting! Once the twelfth bell has rung we know it’s the new year!”
John hastily prepares some juice and alcohol while we go outside and count the bells in unison.
“Seven!”
“Eight!”
“Nine!”
“Come on John!”
“Ten!”
John arrives just in time and hands out the glasses.
“Eleven!”
“Twelve!”
“Happy new year!”
The cheering of the town is heard as we clink our glasses together. After celebrating for a bit more, we leave the hotel. The streets are buzzing with different people celebrating, eating, drinking and carrying colorful paper lanterns around. There is also a lot of music being played by colorfully dressed people walking down the streets. We then go through the buzzing streets towards the shrine. It seems to be on top of a hill with a long staircase leading up to it. There are also multiple red wooden gates of some kind leading up the stairs.
“What are those gates for Sher Aka? They don’t seem to have any doors.”
“They’re Toki gates. They’re supposed to purify you before you enter the shrine grounds.”
“I see!”
We then go through the first gate and I suddenly feel a bit weak. As we pass more of them while walking up the stairs I start to feel sicker and sicker and when I’m halfway up I start to cough.
Ane seems concerned, “Are you okay oki? Did you catch a cold?”
“Maybe, haha. I think I’m fine.”
We continue further up and my coughing worsens, we then stop about two thirds up the stairs when I have a coughing fit so bad I need to sit down.
“Rose, are you okay? Should we go back down?”
“No, we’re almost there, I’m-” I cough up a black liquid.
Sher Aka interjects with a serious expression, “It looks like he might be getting purified by the gates, if we help him up to the shrine his curse might weaken a bit.”
Rayla quickly picks me up, “Say no more. Let’s go oki, stay strong.”
We then further move upstairs and I cough up more black liquid on the way. There is also black liquid coming out my eyes, nose and ears.
“Alright oki, that’s the last gate.”
As we go through the last gate I feel a sudden pressure from inside me and vomit black liquid all over Rayla. But then surprisingly, once we’re actually through, I feel completely fine again. The black liquid I coughed up also slowly seems to dissipate into black smoke.
“How are you feeling Rose!?”
Checking myself just to make sure, I answer somewhat confused, “Completely fine, now. You can put me down again ane!”
Carefully, she puts me down and looks at me wide eyed as she brushes through my hair, “Your hair color changed!”
“Really!? Did anything else change?”
“Hmm…No I don’t think so.”
John chuckles, “It suits you.”
Scarlet asks, “Shouldn't we be concerned about this?”
“Nah…With Thoma Ahad nothing surprises me anymore. As long as he’s fine, he’s fine.”
Sher Aka hands me a mirror.
Looking inside, it looks like my hair changed from a chestnut brown to black and pink stripes. “Eh? Stripes?”
Rayla chuckles, “Perhaps you have some catfolk in you. Nekara’s hair is also striped afterall.”
“Yeah, but her stripes are a little different. Also they’re orange and white not black and pink!”
Ane chuckles, “Well, I like your new hair. It looks super weird on you but it really suits your personality.”
“Hmm…I’m going to try running up the stairs again. Maybe if I do it enough times the curse will be broken.”
I then go back down the stairs and run back up. But I don’t feel any of the discomfort I felt before nor does anything change. I try it two more times until I’m completely out of breath.
“It huff didn’t work…”
Rayla sighs, “Well…It was already a miracle that this shrine did something to you in the first place. Perhaps ancestral magic is something we should consider to help with your curse.”
Sher Aka looks at my hair up close and says, “It does make you think though. If this really is your real hair color, what sort of person has hair like that?”
John answers, “Well, we’ll find out once we finally lift this curse. We’ll be moving again from today on. I have a feeling it won’t take long.”
Sher Aka pokes his cheek, “Oh? Aren’t you being optimistic?”
“I’m not being optimistic. I just have a feeling that we’ll manage somehow… Anyways, didn’t you want to pray?”
Sher Aka looks at Scarlet, Rayla and me and answers, “Look at him being all embarrassed. We better go pray before his face turns as pink as Thoma Ahad’s new hair.”
Sher Aka then leads us to the prayer area, “Alright, so you clap your hands together like this and ask your ancestors for protection.”
I walk into a little prayer room, clap my hands together and say, “Please ancestors, look out for me this year even if I don’t remember you.”
A feeling of warmth washes over me and it feels like someone touched my shoulder but when I turn around no one is there.
We then leave the prayer area and return to John, “You guys done? Great, let’s go then, there is a place with a great view around here that some locals told me about. If we go now we might get a place before first light. Thoma Ahad you come with me and secure the spot, Rayla and Sherry you go get us some snacks.”
“What about me?” Scarlet asks.
“I don’t think I can order you to do anything without Thoma Ahad present so you just do whatever.”
“I’ll stay with Rose then!”
“Sigh Alright.”
Thankfully, we do manage to secure a place on top of a hill where John sits down under a bunch of blankets between Scarlet and me using us like a wall to shield from the cold.
Shortly after, Rayla and Sher Aka come back with a bunch of different snacks and sit down with us. We happily spend the time chatting and eating snacks while we wait for the sunrise.
Rayla asks, “So, do you guys have any new year's wishes or resolutions?”
John answers, “Yeah, not dying.”
“Booh, boring. How about you Sher Aka?”
“Hmm…I hope that this year we manage to get to B-Rank and past the middle kingdoms.”
“Sounds good, how about you Thoma?”
“Hmm, I hope that you get married this year.”
Hearing this John spits out the drink he was drinking through both his mouth and nose.
“Why is that your wish, oki!?”
“Well, you want a harem right? You need to start somewhere.”
Me saying this causes John to laugh even heavier.
Scarlet gives Rayla a smug smile, “A harem, huh? You have big ambitions.”
Getting red in the face, ane yells, “Still! That’s my wish not yours, you should wish for something you want, oki,” and slaps John on the back of the head to shut him up.
“Well, I want all of your dreams to come true. That’s what I hope for this year.”
“Sigh You’re hopeless, oki. How about you Scarlet? What do you want from this year?”
“I want Rose to tell me from the bottom of her heart that she loves me!”
“Right…”
Sher Aka asks, “And what is your hope for next year, Rayla?”
“Finding a cure for oki of course.”
Sher Aka chuckles, “You two are so alike.”
I then add, “Either way, I’m sure this will be a good and exciting year and I’m glad I get to spend it with you!” right as the sun comes up and a new year begins.
To be continued