Chapter 38: Chapter 38: The First, and the Eternal

It'd been half a year since they'd departed on their expedition. Artie's birthday had silently passed, and he'd grown tremendously as an individual.

Once they arrived at the town, they perceived secure, towering walls that had been built around the entire community. They were quickly spotted by tower guards, and the gate opened for the party. The trench that encircled the border was twice as wide, and torches were lit outside to guide them.

After passing through the gate, they glimpsed a crowd before shouting immediately detonated. Humans pushed forward and swarmed Mayumi and Sebastian, addressing them as "Lieutenant" or "Leader." Ryu also appeared, but he maintained his stony image and slowly roamed over and greeted his missed companions.

Artie never knew just how beloved the two hunters were. That hundreds would lie in wait just to celebrate their return.

It'd grown dark, and only torches lit the area, so Artie tiptoed away while the mob was occupied. He was slightly disheartened to see the two get taken away. After all, there were only five people in the whole town that he could trust.

"Good for you." he smiled artificially, starting to stray toward the dimmer regions of the land to conceal himself.

Though, before he could disappear, he was spotted. By some miracle, Laria located him and shouted while running with what looked like a shoe-sized sea shell.

"We got it!" She hollered.

Artie halted and eyed the clamorous woman who'd drawn gazes toward herself. She bounced, then planted herself directly in front of him before demanding he held the item to his ear. Artie complied, then the woman raised an identical shell and spoke into it.

"Hello, leader." She communicated.

Artie's jaw lowered in awe when he heard her voice emerge from the shell. To further demonstrate, Laria ran several yards back before repeating the process. As before, Artie could listen to her from the object he held like a phone.

Laria returned and spilled everything her group had uncovered while he was in the dungeon. She started by explaining that the shell they'd discovered months ago was seized from a specific creature. It could communicate with others of the same species long as they had a shell and were within range. The town had also collected more of the creature, so they were stockpiled with more of the object.

"That's amazing."

"Well done, Laria," Artie praised, smiling modestly and setting his hand on her head.

"T-thanks," she stuttered, slanting forward while her head was patted.

Artie withdrew his hand and inspected the shell more. Meanwhile, Laria gawked at him with bemused eyes.

"You've changed," she whispered under her breath.

"I'm aware," responded Artie, wiggling his ears back and forth.

Laria bucked forward, and her face flushed. She began to wave her hands sporadically while blatantly stammering over her words.

"N-no, not physically! I mean, yes, you've become handsome, but I mean, I mean-"

"Relax, Laria, I'm just pulling your tail," chuckled Artie, swaying his dark tail up and tapping her waist.

While throwing and catching the item, Artie informed her that the cone-shaped bone they found might be of use to them.

Laria acknowledged while hiding her flustered face. Then Artie requested they leave the area before unwanted attention uncovered them.

"What about Mayumi and Sebastian?" Laria questioned.

"I don't think they'll be free any time soon," assumed Artie, looking over at his smothered comrades.

He pointed to Sebastian, who was being tossed into the air like a war hero, and proposed Laria grab the item he carried and relay a message. "See a damn doctor."

Laria agreed, and after, they both traveled to Rachel's lab. The square room was a mess, covered in papers and dozens of shells. The moment he arrived, they retrieved the cone-shaped bone and began their investigation.

As the three tampered with it, Artie covered his ears with a cloth and ate dinner. Like before, any sound they fed the cone amplified and resounded. Laria and Harvey's delight conveyed their prosperous progress as they worked and recorded data.

When Artie asked to be updated, Both Laria and Harvey flung around to share their reports. The two looked at each other for a moment, then Harvey smiled and allowed her to take the reigns.

"This is perfect!" Laria exclaimed.

"These shells link sound with a short delay the further they are. But, we could multiply the range with this cone as an amplifier."

Harvey shuffled through more shells while gaily sharing additional facts. Meanwhile, Rachel appeared dispassionate. Their study didn't relate to the abnormal bodies of hunters, so she'd remained dim throughout the exchange. Rachel let her head fall onto the desk she'd sat at, then mumbled in a dull tone.

"We can use a wooden plaster to connect the two objects, then distribute them to the mountain and jungle village."

"With that, our communication problem will be solved."

Artie thanked them for their debrief, then recollected another matter that needed to be addressed.

"Before moving forward, we should gather everyone from the guild and let them go through all the data we've collected."

"Spoken like a true guild master," clapped Laria.

"That was the deal. Besides, we cant recruit more members until we cater to the ones we already have," shrugged Artie.

"Mhm, we'll make all the preparations and host a study in the morning," Harvey declared.

With their session concluded, the male researcher left to reunite with his old colleagues. Laria left shortly after, and then Rachel ran out. But, before the glasses-wearing woman retired, she returned with bed sheets for Artie.

"You can sleep here if you want. I'll lock up on my way out," she brightly offered.

He accepted, then watched the happy, blonde-haired woman exit the room. Then alone, Artie laid on the floor, covered himself, and stared at the ceiling. After a couple of minutes of laying idle, his body relaxed for the first time in a while.

With ample time to ponder, he thought about the past six months and his recent decisions.

"Traveling across the country, fighting monsters, building a guild to assemble what? Some kind of spaceship?"

"What am I even doing."

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"I'm just… A pitiful orphan that's thirsty for vengeance."

"Desperately trying to return to a home that may not exist."

Artie grabbed the rings around his neck, then squeezed his eyes shut before raising his arm over his face. If something was watching him, he didn't want it to see the tormented expression he wore.

For nearly an hour, he continued to reflect. He explored his own emotions and, after some time, reached a verdict.

"I can admit that I'm pitiful."

"But-"

Artie uncovered his face, leaned up, then tightened his grip on his parent's necklace. He scowled at a single, nearly depleted candle, then muttered to himself.

"I know exactly what I'm doing."

"And absolutely nothing is going to stop me."

He grew furious at himself for wavering and even more for doubting Harvey. If the man said Earth could heal itself, it was a truth that he was willing to die by.

Amidst his heated moment, there was a knock outside the room. Artie mean-mugged the door, supposing hunters had arrived to slay him. After another thump at the door, he heard Sebastian's shout to be let in. So, Artie got up and did so.

Mayumi was with the long-haired man and planned to reconvene with their party. However, Artie made them aware the other members had already left. After this, Sebastian looked at the empty room, formed a suspicious grin, then took an early leave.

Still cooling off from his intense time alone, Artie only nodded to the man as he left. Afterward, he returned to the floor and sat with crossed legs. Mayumi sat sideways next to him and silently observed Artie.

"Something's on your mind."

She phrased it as a fact, not a question, which slightly upset Artie. Fearing he'd make a snarky remark, he kept quiet.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She added.

"Not really," replied Artie, falling onto his back and looking at the ceiling indifferently.

Impassively leaning over him, she obstructed his view of the roof and stared at him. He felt like she'd deep dive into his inner thoughts, so he diverted his sight elsewhere. Mayumi was persistent and blocked his view again, but he avoided her eyes a second time. That was until she lifted her leg over his waist and crawled on top of him. She pinned him down and used her hands to fix his head directly toward hers.

"You're being just as difficult as when you first arrived here," she stated.

He made contact with the Asian woman's dark eyes with little choice, then constructed an excuse.

"There's just a lot on my mind right now. I don't need a therapy session."

After an empty response, Mayumi continued to hold his head, pressing her warm palm's against his cheek.

"I've answered you. Let me go now," Artie grumbled.

"Not yet," refused Mayumi.

"Studies have shown that human touch can increase dopamine and alleviate cortisol, the hormone that causes stress."

"I'm more stressed out with her on top of me like this."

Artie pulled her hands from his face, then leaned up. When he did, she instinctively withdrew, but he wrapped his right arm around her back and pulled her in. His intense yellow eyes gazed into hers from less than six inches away.

"Dude, what the actual hell are you doing." Artie thought to himself.

"Hear me out. We could bite the dust any day now. Plus, we're leaving alone on another trip soon. This might be the only chance to tell her how we feel."

While he tried to justify his actions, he failed to notice that he'd begun peering at Mayumi with strikingly sharp eyes. For half a minute, he'd gazed and tightened his grip on her back. Each passing moment struck Mayumi's impenetrable core, and even she started to appear flustered.

"Aau-" She stuttered, red-faced and doubtlessly taken aback by the sudden advance.

Artie very rarely witnessed that side of the courageous fighter. His blood warmed, and the voice in his head repeatedly shouted, "do it."

He hadn't lived much of a life. It was dysfunctional and full of misfortune. But at that moment, he sought more. So, he shot his shot. Aiming for the tallest hoop on the court.

With one arm around her back, he placed the other behind her neck and pulled her closer. His heart raced like roaring rivers, and Mayumi's eye's widened as far as he'd ever seen them. The entire town shut up for that moment, and the already diminishing candle in the room died out.

Only centimeters apart, Artie tilted his head slightly and then closed his eyes. His mind blanked, and the next second, Mayumi's hands were settled on his chest, and her lips had met his. They pressed against one another for a memorable four seconds before she retreated.

Still clinging to her, Artie wondered what was going on in her mind. If she just was caught off guard or if the feelings were mutual. Whatever the outcome, it wouldn't diminish his gratification, and he felt that moment would be eternal.

"..."

"I wonder what s-"

Curious what her expression had been, he gradually opened his eyes. However, she blocked his vision with her palm, then immediately stood. Only seconds after the interaction, she shuffled out of the room without saying a word to him.

Alone again, Artie sat in silence for several minutes. Exclusively trying to ensure it was real and not just a dream.

"My first-”

"Hopefully, she doesn't hate me for it.”

He calmly laid down, pulled the cover over his nose, then gazed off into the dark room. He remained trance-like for an hour before his body submitted, and he dozed off into delightful dreams.

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