Chapter 82: Group.
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[5 Hours Later. Kaer Morhen.]
Seeing that Yoriichi has already finished talking to Vesemir about various topics—ranging from the Order of Witchers and the Demon Slayer Corps to managing a Witcher school and favorite foods—with admiration and excitement that makes even Ciri uncomfortable, let alone the old wolf, she suddenly hears a disapproving exclamation from Geralt.
"I still don't like the guy."
Writing an organizational schematic on the spell holographic papers at the long table in the dining hall, Ciri rolled her eyes at Geralt and said, "Do you think you were any better when you first met Yen?"
"She's right, wolf. Your story of dumping Yennefer after using her for half a year is still one of the Dandelion poets' favorites," Eskel chimed in after receiving his designated mission from the Ien System.
"Although it was a bit of a letdown at the time on the Novigrad ships, I still got the Breathing Technique. So, sorry, pal, but I think I'll defend him this time," Lambert added.
"You too, Bert? I thought you'd be the last person to say that. What happened to the jerk and the—"
"Whoops, time to go… Eskel! Do you want to do the mission with me?!"
"Hmm? Sure. But I already picked one. It's in Cintra. Queen Calanthe currently has her hands full dealing with the resurrected king there, so she doesn't have time to send her soldiers to deal with the loud monster with the megaphone head."
Seeing Eskel and Lambert already walking toward the permanent portal outside the castle and near the training ground, Ciri turned toward Yoriichi, who had arrived in front of her with something to say.
"I want to help Rita manage the island first. Just let me know when you're ready to go back into the field."
Tiptoeing from the table to kiss him, she then replied to him, "Don't worry. After I finish creating procedures for the Corps and Witcher, I will find you to continue our journey."
As Yoriichi left toward the portal as well, Ciri heard Yennefer's question after her lover had already teleported to the island.
"Interesting. This is the first time you haven't become madly in love with him. Did something happen?"
Sitting down at the long table and receiving another holographic paper from Yen, Ciri replied while continuing to write the guidelines, "I don't know. It's just that after dealing with Toussaint, I feel like I can trust him not to leave me forever."
"Are you sure it's not because of the Breathing Technique?"
Shaking her head and passing the written guidelines to Yen, Ciri answered, "No, it has nothing to do with the Breathing Technique. But whatever it is, it just feels deeper this time."
"Any idea why this is happening? I'm just worried about you, Ciri. This fate becoming more and more entangled could mess with your mood and your life more intensely. It might even be more severe than the bond between Geralt and me."
Pausing while tapping the holographic pen on her chin, Ciri slowly remembered one of Yoriichi's mutterings, saying, "Now that I think about it, when you mentioned entanglement, it reminded me of one of his surprised exclamations."
"What is it? I want to know—Hmm, Geralt, what do you think is the best breathing for you? I know, I'll pick lightning."
"Earth."
"Ah, my dearest… Do you want to replace the Djinn binding?"
"Yes."
"Hehehehe. I know where this is going. Don't worry, my wolf. I will modify it to the point that it will give us the greatest pleasure."
Seeing Yennefer suddenly drop the subject mid-sentence, Ciri wanted to frown and investigate what was happening but paused after hearing Yoriichi's voice directly enter her mind.
"This is a recorded message for my pack, I mean, for those closest to me. If you see someone wanting to discuss our quantum entanglement, connection, or binding, and that person suddenly becomes distracted and forgets what they were going to say, don't worry. It is my doing to protect you from an enemy who might use you to get to me. So if you see that person displaying such behavior, run from them or apprehend them immediately."
Chuckling, realizing that whatever abilities Yoriichi created this time are not yet perfected, Ciri just shakes her head and feels the warmth of his presence inside her chest. Wanting to continue asking Yennefer about what remains to be done for the military organization, she instead pauses and turns to Vesemir, who is already sitting at the table, and asks, "So, what are you guys talking about?"
"Nothing much. Just various topics, ranging from the School of Witchers to personal tastes. But I do know that he discussed these serious topics just to inquire about quality of life."
Nodding, remembering the visible admiration and excitement on her lover's face whenever he sees everyone, especially Vesemir, Ciri then asked the old wolf with an uncomfortable mood, "He didn't ask you any untoward questions, did he?"
"Hahahaha. Ciri, your imagination is surely running wild. No, child, he did not. To me, he is more like a common folk meeting the king or queen of their kingdom for the first time. Still, it's a novel experience for an old Witcher like me. Back in the day…"
Shaking her head, knowing that he would go on and on without ever stopping, Ciri let the old wolf return to the world of the living once again. Now that she thinks about it, none of what is happening would have come to pass without her lover's intervention. Maybe, just maybe, if there were no Yoriichi, she might have been nothing more than a frozen corpse in the middle of nowhere.
"Anyway… Ciri, do you think we should go with a two bodies organization? The elite would be the Corps, while the common would be the Witchers."
Seeing Yennefer instantly cut off Vesemir's rambling by changing the topic entirely, Ciri shook her head, disapproving of her mother's method, and answered, "Yes, I think it's best not to forsake the Witchers entirely, as Moiraine suggested. The resurrected Witchers would be even more confused if things suddenly changed. But I agree with you, Yen. It would be better to create a two bodies organization with the Haris— I mean Tsugikuni— family at the top of the hierarchy."
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Chapter 83: Margarita Laux-Antille.
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Rubbing her temple after dealing with Tissaia de Vries, who had logically argued with her about relinquishing the position of rectoress of Aretuza due to her personal connection to Yoriichi's controversial methods of judgment, Margarita closed the door and slumped to the floor. Tears flowed down her face, dampening her solitude as she was left alone with no one else around.
After a few minutes of crying in silence, she shook her head to clear the distracting thoughts—thoughts that tempted her to sever all ties with Yoriichi because she is now the de facto leader of the Herald in the Physical Realm, with heavy responsibilities. Especially troubling were Tissaia's words echoing in her mind, suggesting that sooner or later, Yoriichi would leave her once he had used her to build his organization.
Tissaia's voice implied that unemotional, cold, and calculating people like Yoriichi would value benefits above all else. Once he had received the benefit he sought, he would find someone else more useful who was at his level. Like used tissue paper, she too would become disposable. With her mind filled with sorrow as she considered the possibilities, she then heard her daughter's voice from across the door.
"Lady Rita? Are you crying again in there?"
Instantly clearing the mess with a wave of her spell, Margarita stood up, wearing a perfectly symmetric smile, and opened the door. Looking at Ember, who was holding holographic papers on her chest with her missing hands, Rita, instead of replying, asked while raising her eyebrows, "Why do you always think that, my love? I'm sure there's no noise coming from this room."
"It's because Soot told me."
Hearing the name Ember came up with for the two Huginn and Muninn, Rita shook her head and sighed, "I don't have any privacy in front of you at all, do I?"
Giggling, Ember replied, "Why does Lady Rita need privacy from me when we basically live together?"
"Alright, alright, child. Whatever you want."
"It's okay, Mom. I'm sure Dad will not abandon us. Soot, Desna, and Gozreh maybe, but Dad would never abandon me and Mom."
"W-what did you say?"
"So, it's okay, Lady Rita. You don't need to worry. Being thrown into this world without consent can make anyone lose their sense of purpose. I'm sure Sir Yoriichi is just confused."
Wanting to steer the conversation back to the earlier topic, she suddenly stopped when she saw the person in question walking closer from the other side of the auditorium. Noting that he was not accompanied by Ciri and Moiraine, Margarita's heart began to beat loudly for no apparent reason. Confused, she then asked, "Why did you come back early? Is there someone like Ember in Toussaint who needs attention? I thought everything was cleared up about nine hours ago according to the news from the Chapter?"
Walking closer to caress her smooth, flushed skin, Yoriichi's eyes were drawn to her pink fuchsia lips. After kissing them for five minutes, leaving both of them out of breath, he inhaled her intoxicating scent deeply into his lungs. Opening his eyes to see Rita's tears overflowing down to her chin, he then asked, "Rita, my melody."
"Y-yes?"
"Do you want to become my companion on this journey from now until boundless infinity?"
Taking her weak, slumped-down hands and clumsily placing them on his cheek, Rita kissed him back with much vigor this time. After another five minutes of being out of breath from the intoxicating warmth, Rita, with tears overflowing nonstop, answered, "I-I do, my symphony."
Nodding his head, Yoriichi then picked her up in a princess carry, which made her yelp with giddiness. Closing the door with his foot, he carried her into the bedroom office. Gently placing her on the royal bed, he kissed his symphony from top to bottom.
By the time he realized it, he was already connected to her with the slow rhythm of love. Every wave of harmonics and every frequency of euphony, he joined together with her night after night. Weeks went by with the final notes of the philharmonic orchestra, and his mind finally returned to the reality of the physical world.
"I think we might have overdone it."
Giggling like a teenage girl, she drew closer to his chest, "It's okay. I like it."
"Hmm… Me too."
After a minute of silent cacophony, feeling their hearts pulsing in the same rhythm, she then asked in concern, remembering that every time she climaxed, she always cried in agony and anguish afterward, as if glimpsing different periods of time where only Yoriichi was moving.
"My symphony, did something happen? Why do I always cry when we finish the notes? It's like we were once separated by a very big chasm. And on the edge of that chasm, I-I can only s-shout but never reach you."
"I messed up. Remember when you became a Mythic Path holder?"
"Yes. It's a surreal feeling."
"I did that over and over for about 50,000 times. Because of that, I'm trapped in a different timescale."
"W-wait. W-what d-do y-you m-mean?"
Sighing, he began to explain what had happened to him, having spent 7,642 eons in agonizing silence. Rita cried over and over again, but this time it was only sadness, not pleasure. After about two hours, he finally heard her incoherent voice.
"W-what d-did y-you d-do t-to s-spend t-the l-loneliness?"
Sighing again, he explained that he had only slumped down to the ground, overwhelmed by despair and anguish as he tried to find a solution. The answers he came up with were bleak, with no hope of returning, as he had nothing else he could do and still wanted to live in the same timescale as his melody. After another two hours, plus an extra thirty minutes to help Rita calm down and speak coherently, he finally heard her next question.
"T-then why don't you bring me with you? W-we could live together. I-if there's no one else beside us, we could just repopulate that new world. S-since I have already achieved level 2 or become a Mythic Path holder, my ovary system has already regenerated."
"Then I'd just be like a demon or devil, Rita. I don't want to drag you into a lonely place, like Adam and Eve brought to a different planet. Living alone with just the two of us would be very depressing. And trust me, when you see our kids later start to kill each other, it will only drag our psyche further down into hell."
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