Ashes Of Deep Sea

“I’m feeling much better now,” Heidi said with a slight smile, “It’s not safe to be outside at night, and I need to be home before the sun sets—my father worries a lot about these things.”

Accepting her reason, Duncan didn’t press further. He helped Nina off the bed and then turned to the day’s guests, “I’ll walk you downstairs.”

He escorted Heidi and Fenna to the front door on the ground floor, just as the sun was slowly sinking toward the distant horizon.

Fenna went to start the vehicle’s steam core. The unbelievable steam-powered machine of this world seemed to require no boiler preheating to start up quickly; Duncan watched as the dark grey vehicle quickly hummed into action. Heidi, before stepping out the door, suddenly turned back. She glanced at Nina and then settled her eyes on Duncan.

“You seem to be a very capable guardian now, but there was a time when you seemed to neglect Nina a bit—her mental tension and anxiety stem from that,” the psychiatrist said earnestly and directly, “Of course, her condition has improved significantly. The counseling session should make things even better, but even the best treatments need reinforcement, and the finest healing for the mind comes from the care of family.”

Nina’s mental tension and anxiety? And was that before he had taken over this body?

Duncan realized then and nodded to Heidi, expressing his gratitude, “Thank you for your help. I’ve not been in the best state recently, and that’s been my negligence.”

“Actually, I should really have a thorough talk with you. Communication with the family after the treatment process is also an important step, but there simply wasn’t enough time today,” Heidi exhaled in relief and stepped back half a step, “I’ll go home and sort through Nina’s situation again and write up some follow-up suggestions to send to you in a letter.”

The two special guests finally bade farewell and left.

As Duncan watched the car, which stood out in the Lower City District, disappear into the streets at sunset, he let out a sigh of relief; his first face-to-face interaction with the “Judge” from the church was more peaceful and smooth than he had expected.

After Fenna and her companion had left, Sherry finally emerged from a corner on the first floor. The girl looked anxiously toward the door until she saw Duncan and Nina return and then dared to approach, “Are they really gone?”

“Let’s go, let’s go, don’t worry,” Duncan glanced at Sherry with a helpless tone, “You’re hiding too obviously. That’ll only make people more suspicious, you know? Lucky for us, the Judge didn’t think too much about it.”

“I’m scared! That’s a Judge! The highest martial power of the Church within the City-State!” Sherry’s eyes widened as she explained anxiously, as if fearing that Duncan didn’t grasp her concern, “The highest-ranking clergy I usually deal with are just the community church priests and the patrolling guardians, and I still have to avoid them—especially with Dog around, as you well know…”

She paused, then sighed, “Ah, of course, you wouldn’t understand how I feel. To a being like you, there’s probably no difference between a Judge of the City-State and a community church priest…”

Nina looked at Sherry, then turned to glance in the direction where Fenna and Heidi had left, furrowing her brows, “Sherry, as a ‘wild supernatural being’ like you… would the Church really arrest you? You haven’t done anything wrong; both Miss Heidi and Miss Fenna are nice people…”

“It doesn’t matter whether I’ve done something wrong,” Sherry sighed, “The Church won’t arrest all wild supernatural beings, because in this world some people gain supernatural powers for odd reasons. They’re not all heretics, and the Church turns a blind eye to some supernatural beings who live their lives quietly among the populace—but they would definitely arrest me and Dog because according to their standards, anyone associated with Profound Demons or Subspace, regardless of their current state, is a potential heretic.”

Nina frowned, lost in a realm she had never encountered before. Sherry’s words had plunged her into a brief dilemma, but Duncan soon broke her indecision, “Nina, how are you feeling now?”

“Me? I’m fine,” Nina responded promptly, “I think Miss Heidi’s ‘treatment’ worked well. After talking with her for a while and taking a short nap, I feel much more relaxed!”

“That’s good to hear.”

Duncan nodded lightly, said no more, and started walking toward the staircase. Only then did Sherry seem to realize something, glancing outside at the darkening sky and letting out a mournful cry, “Ah, I was planning to go home today…”

“Just wishful thinking,” Duncan replied without turning back, “With the way it’s getting dark outside, do you really plan to outwit the Church’s guardians at night?”

Nina laughed too, stepping forward to pat Sherry on the shoulder, “Just stay here and settle down; it’ll be great to have someone to chat with before bed—and we can talk about going home tomorrow!”

…

On the way back to the Upper City District, Fenna gripped the steering wheel while Heidi, who sat in the passenger seat, was yawning, “Yawn… I had such a good sleep…” she said before asking casually, “So, what did you talk about with the antique store owner? Notice anything amiss?”

“…Nothing unusual,” Fenna replied while keeping an eye on the road ahead, “The store owner is just an ordinary person, and so is that girl Sherry. There’s no sign that the antique store has been influenced by any supernatural power or evil will; they really must have just been lucky to escape. What about you? Did you find anything during your time with Nina?”

“Everything’s normal,” Heidi nodded as well, her hand stroking the crystal pendant she had put back on, with the bracelet of stone beads, representing the Academy of Truth, slipping slightly on her wrist—with one bead missing, which she seemed not to care about, “But Nina mentioned something during the hypnosis ‘treatment’ that was a bit odd.”

“Odd? What was it?”

“She mentioned a fire she experienced as a child, the factory leak incident from eleven years ago,” Heidi said offhandedly, “But you know, eleven years ago there wasn’t—”

She stopped mid-sentence as the sound of abrupt braking and the vibration of the car interrupted her. Fenna suddenly stopped the car and looked at her friend wide-eyed, “A fire?! Nina said she remembers a fire from eleven years ago?”

“…Yeah,” Heidi seemed baffled, “Why such a reaction?”

Fenna didn’t speak for a moment, her face changing rapidly, but Heidi could sense something from her friend’s reaction, “Should we turn around and go back now? We could ask more about it…”

“No.” Fenna shook her head after a moment of contemplation and then refocused on the road ahead.

The car started moving again, the scenery of the streets on both sides speeding away in the increasingly dim light.

Heidi looked at her friend in the driver’s seat, worried and confused, seemingly about to ask something, but before she could speak, Fenna gently shook her head.

“I know you’re confused, but don’t ask yet. Until I confirm some things, don’t mention this to anyone else.”

After pausing, she seemed to speak to herself in a low voice, “Perhaps… we’ve been a bit too hasty today.”

(…)