After seeing Shaeu safely back to our Territory via a very circuitous route, I left her in the care of her weaselkin auro the Material pne. My body was stiff and ag from my long slumber, and looking at the clock beside my bed it was after six in the evening. That reminds me…

  I reached for my phone, opening it up, to find quite a few messages from Karen-. The general gist of them was asking where the hell I was, but that she had made it up to Shirohebizumi shrine and taken charge of the work, as I had requested. Well, that’s one problem solved at least…

  Now I had something more important to focus on. Going over to where Shaeu’s Material form was lying motionless in her futon, I pulled up the b, suddenly letting out a hiss of displeasure at the se revealed. The cloth below was soaked with blood. Pulling up the hem of her yukata I could see a mirror to the wound she suffered in the Boundary, her flesh torn.

  Sure, it isn’t as bad, but it’s still ugly… The flesh was ripped and ragged, covered in scabbed blood and half-healed flesh where my Ether Healing had trickled down tetting some water I gently washed away the muck, tenderly ing the injury. Once her pale flesh was revealed, I started using my ability agaiher seeping into her body, the hot red swelling of torn flesh diminishing, the edges starting to heal, nearly imperceptibly, but still visible to the naked eye.

  I tihis for several hours, and while I was doing this I also spent the time productively. I did a bit of online gambling for the first time in a while, making a det profit, and then I made a call to Eri, surprising her. Got to prove I’m a ged man, after all.

  She was shocked and delighted to hear from me, and we made some happy small-talk for a while. I leased to hear she was making more of an effort to fit in with others at school, and she grilled me over how things were going here. When I told her Shaeu was injured she actually got angry at me, saying I should have protected her better, and since I couldn’t disagree, I apologised. She made me promise to take Shaeu out somewhere nice when our troubles were cluded again. We fihe call by looking forward to the weekend, when I would be meeting her again, along with our parents. To discuss… the uping wedding, I guessed. Well, that’s my future decided, but it's a pint many guys would be gd to make…

  I had pretty much exhausted my aether, as w ierial was tough, but the leg wound definitely looked less angry, the edges healing nicely, new pink flesh f. What was eveer though was the reward my efforts had gained.

  Your Skill, Ether Healing has advanced from Rank 1 to Rank 2. You more effectively heal your own injuries and those of others, repairing damage to subtle bodies. Your subtle bodies will draw in an increased rate of Ether from their surroundings and automatically repair themselves. You also have a minor resistao harmful substances and fn matter.

  When paring the differeween Shaeu’s Boundary and Material forms, I had gained a greater uanding of the intricacies of each, and when also pared to healing myself, I had suddenly found it signifitly easier. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had another breakthrough soon too, I’m just missing that st spark of insight to push me further…

  As I pted this my pho up again, with another message from Karen-. This time I replied, and a few moments ter there was a response, asking if I for a drink. Smiling to myself, gd she was doier, I took a six-pack from the fridge and headed over. ’t have her ing here. Expining the seemingly dead Shaeu, with a bloody wound in her leg… nah, ’t do it, she’ll call the police for sure…

  Karen- opehe door, dressed in casual clothes, but at least this time she looked and well groomed. If still a little pale. Guess she retty hungover after st night. On seeing me she raised one eyebrow quizzically, befesturing for me to e in.

  “The pce is a lot er than st night.” She saking a seat at her low table. “I appreciate you pig up after me. I’m not sure your fiancée would approve of you tidying another woman’s underwear away though.” she teased me, reag out a hand.

  “Yeah, maybe not, but it was an emergency. So, anyway… how was it?”

  She took one of the cold beers from me, cracked the ring pull and took a deep sip, sighing tentedly. Once she gathered her thoughts, she spoke. “It wasn’t too bad, though I was hungover like you wouldn’t believe… err, not that I should be telling my boss that, right?”

  “I think I khat.” I chuckled wryly. “I was the oh your vomit spttered all over me, wasn’t I?”

  “Oh Gods, fet that, please.” She hung her head, ashamed. Still, after some more beer she recovered her poise. “Anyway, yeah… the shri’s all very mysterious, but I didn’t have any trouble when I said you sehe dy of the shrine even made me tea and snacks. They were good too.” She paused, realising she was rambling. “Though I guess you don’t want to hear about that, right? The fibre is id in for i access for the buildings and shrine. When I checked the bill for a one-day expedited service I nearly choked on my tea… but it works. Water, electricity, gas… all ected. Initial work has been done on the walls and roof, paintwork too. I think it’ll need further work tomorrow, but it’ll be liveable by the weekend.”

  Gd I won that mohen, it’ll cover some of the bills… well, a tiny bit anyway. “That reminds me, you’ll need equipment for your office. A puter goes without saying, but you’ll need a desk, chair and all sorts of other stuff. You have it set up however you’d like, I’ll trahe funds to you, and you get them delivered. Just keep the receipts, okay?”

  “So generous.” she snickered. “I’ll be sure to get a really expensive chair, not like the cheap crap I had to sit in back at my old pce. Us older women do suffer with our backs, you know.”

  “Get one as expensive as you need. You’ll be sitting in it plenty after all. But older… hardly. You are in the flower of your youth…”

  “If your fiancée could hear you fttering another woman, you’d be in trouble…”

  We ughed and drank for an hour or so, before I quietly excused myself. I had transferred over some funds, and she could text me if she needed more. The work on digging the basement and ying the foundations for our training hall had begun as well, but even at a premium for speed, it was going to take a while.

  I had recovered enough aether to ehe Boundary after using it up with Ether Healing, so it was time for the stage of our pering once back at my apartment, I was greeted by Shaeu, who was still limping, supported by one of her weaselkin. Seeing my gaze going to her ankle, she shrugged.

  “It is not-not so bad. I recover quickly now, being so much strohan a mere month ago. And you have been Healing me, have you not-not? I could feel your warmth. It resonated with my lunar Chakra, it was quite-quite the sensation.” She grinned. “I trust you did nothing… untoward… with my sleeping Material form? I am so very beautiful the temptation must-must have been immense?”

  Ign the snickers of the weaselkin I picked up Shaeu and pced her on my back again. “I somehow mao hold myself back.” I replied wryly. “Anyway, you should have waited for me, you are still hurt.”

  I carried her up to the shrine, letting her dowly when there. She still winced whe ut on her injured side, but she was able to walk uaking her on a bat mission would be foolish though until she is fully healed. That gives me time for the step anyway…

  There was another pile of looted gear, as well as ores from the Kobold mine, and aals salvaged from the rubble that now littered my Territory. Strangely enough though, the destroyed buildings were starting to reform, returning to what they were before the attack. Just arange facet of the Boundary, I guess… though some ges seem to remain perma, others revert quickly… there must be a reason for the difference, and if I could work it out I could use it to my be…

  Of course, that was for ter. First it was time to gear up. As the Trolls came bae by one, sent by Grulgor, I created heavy armour for them. It wasn’t quite as potent as Grulgor’s, but was still thick steel ptes, angled so as to defled defend blows effitly. They were also given ons of heavy metal. The work was tiring, requiring high tration aher skills, but it was rewarding, and I was lost in thought for many hours as I worked, turning our Trolls into mighty battering rams of metal.

  Reag up to wipe silvery sweat from my face, I was startled by a cloth that mopped my brow. Looking up from where I was squatting, I saw Shaeu grinning at me, the edge of her sleeve wet from where she had wiped me. “You have worked hard-hard.” she allowed. “I would be remiss if I did not-not care for my master, who bours so.”

  Behind me I could hear the snickering of weasels, and I turo see… two Kamaitachi once more.

  “Yes-yes, I have been reborn, thanks to my princess… and you.” the newer snorted, face twisted into a grin of mixed bitterness and respect.

  I reise this ohe ohat I killed attag my Territory. He nearly had me, back when I was just starting out…

  “It is quite-quite the strange feeling.” the Kamaitachi tinued. “Though as my spirit slept I saw fshes of what the princess felt… until retly, when I could feel-feel you too.” He shuddered theatrically.

  “Do not-not be rude to Akio.” Shaeu pouted, causing the Kamaitachi to snicker once more.

  “I would not dream-dream of insulting the chosen husband of the princess.” it gloated, causio flush, shame-faced. “Though your mother will likely have much-much to say.”

  “If she wishes to pin, she e-e here and say it in person.” Shaeu replied, tossing her head in annoyance. “Still, it is good that you have returned. Now only two-two more remain.”

  Yeah, the ohat came back before and was killed again itle with the Raven Knight, and oher. Each Kamaitachi was a very valuable asset in bat, and more importantly, leadership, as I could trust them to follow orders and mahe Trolls as much as possible.

  “Right, well, now that repared, we have to decide our move. That spectre is powerful, and the Territory still has solid defehe way I see it, we have two options. Firstly we make a hard strike either now, or after they fail their atta us. We smash down the defensive barrier, and then pile in, doing as much damage as we and hopefully taking down the Anchor, defeating it in one fell swoop.”

  “There is risk there.” Shaeu pondered. “Still, I do believe we would have a deed-indeed, should the master of that Territory tio remain uninvolved.”

  “Yeah, and the other option is to start harassing them from all angles, stantly hit-and-running the barrier, gradually wearing it down. If we attack seemingly at random from multiple positions, they won’t be able to respond to a real attack, and after doing it a while their vigince will have to lessen…”

  “I favour that scheme.” she answered. “I am not-not at my best yet.” She looked down at her injury. “And we let that foor and his Trolls take-take this role at first.”

  “Yeah, a bit like they did to our Territories in the past.” I agreed. “All right then. I’ll spend some more time w on Healing your injuries, while we ence pulling their attention in every dire. The endgame goal is to either break through aroy their Anchor, or if that looks too hard, we seize the shrihey hold.”

  With that decided, I began to pour aether into Shaeu’s wound, the Kamaitachi behirying to marshal the Trolls… I don’t envy them. Trolls sure are powerful, but are really hard to use to their full potential…