The next day, we start by going to the guild, where I can settle my debt alongside with an apology. I have less than 15 asti left. I consider buying clean clothes, but from what I can find, but I decide against it. It would cost at least 5 asti for each of us, so I would rather get a few supplies. A common sword is too expensive at 10 asti, so I end up getting a shoddy dagger for 5, along with a canteen for 2.

The distance there is about 30 times what it was to the dungeon we went to yesterday. In other words, it will take more than a day to get there, except if I possibly sprinted there alone. Speaking of, I am currently waiting for my passenger to mount her transportation.

“Ca-can’t we go there in a more leisurely way?” She asks nerviously.

“Nonsense, we don’t have enough supplies to keep you alive for the trip, if we take it slow.” I have procured both water and a little to eat from the dungeon for her. Huh? Now that I think about it, why am I accommodating this girl that much? As if sensing my thoughts, she suddenly complies and climbs on my back.

“I’ll do as you say” Her voice is meek as she suddenly agrees.

The trip there is relatively uneventful. The only problem being during the night, a few monster came, but it was a simple matter of disposing of them. It is strange, the monster in the dungeons seem to hate all living thing and will relentlessly attack once they spot them. The monsters outside though, appear a little more docile, sometimes watching from a distance, sometimes even walking away.

As we pass where I should have gone to get to the location of my old village, I almost want to go there. But I decide against it. Even though it may have been where I was born, there is nothing waiting for me there.

We finally make it to the meadow dungeon. Amina is looking incredibly exhausted, even if she just rode me. She rubs her thighs and breast area, while complaining about them being sore.

The area is looking much different from what I remember. The cabin is just… Gone, and the forest is more overgrown. I can’t tell what tree might be Hannah’s, since the location has changed so much, but I quickly identify the only tree giving off a signal from read. I stand before it.

The tree is not very large, but certainly more tree-like than it was before. A thin beam of wood makes out its trunk. It is a nice dark color with a few even darker blotches on it, and only a little taller than me.

I don’t know what to do. I hug the tree. “Hannah, it’s Yos. Turns out I am immortal. Won’t you answer me?” I whisper to the tree as I hug it. But there is no response, there is no heat coming off it. According to what I remember, Hannah said it would take a couple of years to form a body.

“I am going to wait for you here, Hannah, so please get ready to go with me.” I don’t know if she can hear me. “Talk to me, please” I feel tears welling up in me. Part of me knows she can’t hear anything, but she is all I have left from before. Not receiving a miraculous response, I feel the despair and weight of losing everyone once again. I end up crying my heart out, all while hugging the tree.

When I am finally done, I see Amina looking at me incredible perplexed.

“Got a problem?” I ask her. It is an annoying look. She immediately adopts a scared attitude upon hearing the tone in my voice.

“No, sir, not at all, sir!” Seriously, this girl.

“I am planning to stay here for a while. We should get up some shelter or something.” I say non-committedly. I don’t really know what to do, but I don’t think Amina can live here as I could. The bad living conditions could cause trouble for her in the few years I plan to wait.

But first, water. This dungeon was not suited for villages, due to its low food output, but there is a water source on the eighth floor. It is fairly deeper than the other water sources I know, that of Brahms and Roxas.

I see many familiar monster on the way down there, but they are far trickier to deal with. The monster may be same, and I may be stronger, but my tools this time around is far inferior. Especially when we come to the long-limbed bug-men. It is almost impossible to deflect the strike with the dagger, so I have to use my body for it, something that doesn’t leave it unhurt, though we make it through relatively fast.

Once we reach the water source, what could be described as a shallow river, Amina asks for something.

“Can.. Can I take a bath?” Unlike me, Amina doesn’t have an automatic self-cleaning option. I can only see her face, but it is incredibly dirty. Her robe is less dirty than mine, but it too, definitely needs some treatment.

“Ah, sure, can I ask you to wash my robe at the same time?”

She looks slightly horrified at that suggestion, but eventually nods, before turning away. I undress and throw it over to her. She picks it up and goes to what I can only describe as an incredibly shallow river.

Thoughts filled my head, her inviting me and us ending up “having fun” in the water. I never really cared about girls in that way before. I wonder if Atna awoke me to something?

But the whole idea seems bad. She seemed extremely uncomfortable right now. I end up up waiting for a few hours, but both the robes and herself were incredibly dirty and probably required a good amount of effort to get clean. There is no soap or scrubbing tools either.

When she is about to deliver my robe, it is almost comical. She calls out, walks backwards and holds it behind her back. She is acting like it would be the death of her to see me naked, even if she already did so once.

And so starts the life by the meadow dungeon.