On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Two Hundred And Twenty-Six

“… has happened here? Quick, see if…”

“… this foul-smelling ooze, it is poison? Should we call grandfather…”

“… a disaster, if Akio dies, I don’t know what I’ll…”

“… please, just, just wake up!”

Fragments of panicked conversation intruded in my fragmented consciousness, as if I was listening to voices from deep underwater. Still, even as I realised I was hearing voices, my mind began to clear, and I found myself feeling strangely refreshed, all my senses sharp, even by my lofty standards.

“Why did this have to happen today, of all days? He’s still breathing though, I can feel his breath.” Wait, that’s Hinata’s voice. I can hear her. She sounds upset. Is this my fault? I don’t want her to cry… It was a bit of a struggle, my body feeling strangely unfamiliar, but my eyelids started fluttering as I struggled to open them, my body twitching as muscles began to fire, feeling as if they had been unused for years, rather than merely the few days I had been in the lower Astral.

“I think he’s waking up.” Kazumi-san observed, and Hinata gave out a cry of relief. It was then my eyes popped open, to see Hinata crouched over me, face damp with tears, her beautifully arranged hair and stunning white dress all stained with some indescribable black filth, inky goo on her pale skin. Even so, as she saw my eyes open she cried in relief, closing her arms around me in a hug.

“Oh, thank the gods. I thought you had died!” Hinata declared, burying her face in my befouled shoulder, before coughing and gagging.

“Shaeula isn’t moving or breathing though.” Kazumi-san said next to me, a little panicked.

“It’s fine.” I said, my voice sounding strange to me. “She’s still in the lower Astral, so her Material body is unoccupied.”

“Oh yes, I do remember hearing something about that before.” Kazumi-san said, relieved. “So, just what the hell happened to you? The room looks like the set of a horror movie.”

Hinata nodded, face still pressed against me. She took a shuddering breath, calming herself. “I thought something terrible had happened to you! There’s all this wretched, foul-smelling goo everywhere. And you wouldn’t wake up!”

Damn, I made her worry. I’m the worst. Still, yes, what is all this crap? I remember leaking a bit of it in the lower Astral, then when I woke up it started to pour out of me. I know, I can use my Eye to check. My Eye flared orange, and the glow was far more brilliant than usual, drawing a gasp from Kazumi-san who was looking on, her tidy suit also befouled with the gunk present in the room. Casting my gaze around, I could see the whole bed I was sleeping on was soaked with dark filth, and that sadly included Shaeula’s mortal form, which was lying next to me, almost entirely drowned in obsidian slime. Oh damn, she isn’t going to be happy. I wrinkled my nose, even with my brain filtering the smell to tolerable levels, it was still dreadful.

Expelled impurities – These remnants have been purged from your physical body, cleaning your meridians, pathways and dantians, as well as your acupoints and chakras. All living beings naturally accumulate impurities as the world itself and the act of living is inherently impure, and these impurities naturally inhibit the accumulation of Heavenly Qi, and lower the quality of Earthly Qi one can absorb and hold within the body.

Okay, I think I kind of get it. It seems my body has expelled a ton of impurities, which is this vile crap. Heaven and Earth Qi, huh? Sounds very Cultivator-ish. That decides it. I think Chinese should be the first language I learn. I’ll get Karen-chan to look into a tutor for me…

“It’s a good job I came early. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it to Miyu-sama’s party.” Hinata declared, having calmed down while I thought. Her face was still rather pale though, beneath all the dark impurities she was smeared with. At her words I glanced at the clock, and realised I had slept for a number of hours. Oh shit.

“Your outfit and hair is ruined.” I said, saddened. “I’m pleased you worried about me, but you look a fright!”

“Hmph!” Hinata declared, thumping me a few times, wincing as her hands struck me. I could hear Kazumi-san’s relieved laughter as Hinata grew angrier. “Of course I  was worried! You told me you were away doing something dangerous, and then I come back to see this? You think I’m not going to…” I cut her off with a kiss, our lips meeting. After a while we broke away, and she grimaced. “Ugh, you taste disgusting right now. You need a baith. I do too.”

“We’ll need to get a new dress and accessories for you. Luckily the suit and items you picked up for Akio-san are in the car. I’ll call and have someone bring them over right away.” Kazumi-san said, taking charge and leaving the room, pulling out her phone.

“Right, we need to do something about this. The bedding will all need burning as well. It’s unsalvageable. The bed too, probably. Luckily the floor isn’t carpeted. Poor Shaeula. She’s covered in your mess. I think she might be mad. Just what is this, anyway?” Hinata stood, her nose wrinkled at the truly vile smell.

“I think it’s impurities. My body has been rejecting them.” I scratched at my head, my hair befouled as well, knotted and tangled. “You can take the first bath anyway, as it takes girls longer to get ready, right?”

She looked at me then, a faint blush on her cheeks. There was silence for a moment, before she shook her head in denial. “There’s no time. We can’t be late for Miyu-sama, and we’ll be cutting it fine as it is! No, we should go in together. You’ll need me to scrub the filth off you!” The blush intensified, but she met my gaze boldly.

Seriously? Us, in the bath, together? I felt myself heating up as well. Before I could speak, she carried on. “Well, I am your fiancée, there’s nothing weird about it, is there? I know that you are not supposed to see me naked until my wedding day, if we follow noble customers, but you’ve… well, you’ve gone further with Eri and Shaeula, right? I can be adaptable!” She declared, looking angry at me, which I felt was a little unfair, as that had happened before I had even met Hinata. Though I guess she is very cute when she’s jealous. And it is pretty flattering she cares so…

At my silence she looked down, fists clenched, biting her lips. “You don’t want to? I… it isn’t like you are going to abandon me at this stage, are you? No, you wouldn’t, I know that. Am… am I not attractive enough to… uh, wait, you stink!” She protested, as I was there suddenly, pulling her into a hug.

“Don’t think that! Sure, the way we got engaged wasn’t ideal, but… I’ve accepted it, and now… well, I can’t imagine not being with you. But even if I’ve had fun with Eri and Shaeula, I never have with you, so it’s still embarrassing. Besides, you are younger…”

“Having fun? We are simply washing each other in an emergency.” She pouted, though she was still flushed. “Besides, yes, I’m younger than Eri and Shaeula, I know that. But I’m still a woman, old enough to get married! More than that, I’m a noble! I’ve been raised from birth to be the perfect wife! I can… can wash a man’s back! And anything else, too.” Her words trailed off towards the end, and I knew from talking to Shaeula and Eri that the noble girls had very little understanding of men, sex and relationships. Indeed, she was bright red now from our contact, but even then, she looked adorable, so I stroked her hair, kissed her again, despite her protests, before sweeping her up in my arms, princess-style, carrying her to the bathroom…

*********

“I hope this isn’t biohazardous waste.” Hinata said, not meeting my gaze, her whole body flushed pink, as we washed the remnants of the impurities off us and down the drain with the shower. When I had disrobed and revealed the parts I had that a girl like her didn’t, as well as my muscular body, Hinata had become quite distracted. She was even more embarrassed than when she took her own clothes off. She was naked, her hair unbound from its tidy style, still soaked from the rinsing from the shower. Her skin was pale, as if she had seldom been exposed to the sun unshielded, and her body was lean, yet she had a decent volume in her chest, which I had noticed before as she usually wore quite daring gowns for her age, but when she was naked, it was much more apparent. Damn, this is embarrassing. But I’m not doing anything improper! She’s right, we are engaged, having a bath together isn’t strange! It’s just skinship, improving our relationship. Knowing Eri was likely to be annoyed when she heard about this, and that Shaeula would snicker knowingly, I concentrated on maintaining my calm, not wanting to scare Hinata with any of the more… aroused… physical responses that would be normal in this situation. Luckily my already stellar control over my bodily functions had increased significantly due in part to my increased levels, and more to… my whole body and physique has changed…

As if my thoughts were plain on my face, Hinata spoke shyly. This seems to happen a lot recently. Shaeula and Eri are good at reading me, and now it seems Hinata can too. Is it a skill all girls have? It doesn’t show up on their character sheets… “You’ve changed somehow. Once we got the impurities off your body, I could see your body looks different. No, not different, I guess. Your skin, hair, they all look so clean, tidy. There isn’t even a blemish. I’m envious.” She smiled then, despite her embarrassment at being naked beside me in the modest bathroom the penthouse had. “Girls would pay anything for that. We could make a killing. I would certainly like it, though I could do without all the goo.” Her shy smile turned impish.

Yeah, my status has improved a lot. The hard battle with the Myconids and Myrcolaxriath, then absorbing the double-mutated water element… everything has not been for nothing. There have been other changes too…

Spiritually Pure Physique, huh? That was the only skill I seemed to have gained, but several skills that were close to Ranking up had increased, especially ones that seemed to deal with my body, such as my Silver Cord, Chakra Network and also my Mystic Eye of The Tree of Knowledge. A few others like Foehn grew again, but that might be for other reasons…

My vision was definitely clearer, and I could make out something strange. There was more ether about than normal here on the Material, due to it being my Territory and the Boundary to Material Connection working, yet despite my significantly higher Aether stat and better Silver Cord (all my abilities had jumped a lot when my skills increased, and I was scaring myself with those numbers), I was actually pulling in somewhat less ether to convert. It wasn’t a huge difference, but didn’t make much sense. Oh well, might as well check out the details of my new skill.

Spiritually Pure Physique – Your subtle bodies have reached a state of higher purity, rejecting and expelling the impurity and negative karma that accrue within the physical matter, spiritual networks and meridians. All skills related to your subtle bodies will be strengthened, and your resistance to misfortune, curses and poisons will be significantly increased. You naturally reject the most inferior forms of Earthly Qi and have a slight affinity for the pure Heavenly Qi. Qi within you will be slowly purified, though this effect currently cannot elevate Earthly Qi by more than a single Rank. As the Physique intensifies in strength and purity, this effect will increase, and Fortune will increase significantly. However, by performing ????????? that accrue negative ???????? the Spiritual and Pure nature may be lost.

Damn, even though my Eye ranked up, I still get question-marks? Though to be honest I can make a guess. Not sure if I’m right, but I bet that since the body rejects negative karma, doing evil deeds might poison the skill. This is completely different to the sort of skills I’ve gained so far. It also talks about Qi versus ether and aether. Yeah, this definitely seems in the Cultivation wheelhouse…

Hinata let out a sigh of awe at the furious glowing of my Eye, bright flecks within glittering like a billion amber stars. “I feel shy if you look at me like that.” She said, instinctively covering her chest, although that didn’t cover every dangerous area.

“Oh sorry, was my gaze wandering? I was just checking why my body threw out all of the poisonous gunk. Looks like my new skill is responsible. It’s also why I’m looking better, I’d say, as my body and even my Charm have got quite the boost.”

“Lucky.” Hinata pouted. “Still, I don’t know if I want to fight, you were doing something really dangerous, right? Will you tell me about it while you… wash my back?” She managed to say, flushing crimson.

Well, I do need to accrue good karma, so treating Hinata right and being kind to her is surely a good deed, right? Well, so long as karma doesn’t insist on monogamy… With that inane joke in mind, I got up and moved to Hinata, sitting behind her. “Just relax. I’ve washed Eri and Shaeula in the bath, I’m actually quite good at it now.” And with that I reached out, using a cloth to wipe at her back. She shivered under my touch, her skin scalding hot, but even so, she held her ground. She turned her flushed face to mine, and grinned, nervous but happy. “To think I’m doing this with a man, even my fiancée. It isn’t very noble.” She let out a giggle. “Still, I’m happy.” She leaned back on me. “Every day is exciting. And I feel quite lucky. I get to follow my dreams, and at least my husband is handsome and brave!”

“You’ll make me blush.” I grinned, and I was embarrassed. Resilience didn’t help much with that.

“I’m serious. I know I already apologised for entrapping you. I know you still feel bad about betraying your promise to Eri and Shaeula. But… this isn’t just about what I can get, or who you can profit. I genuinely like you, I don’t want you to ever doubt that. I can hardly believe it myself. It all happened so fast, but it feels right.”

I made sounds of idle agreement as I concentrated on washing her body. I cleaned her arms, and her hair. She was used to it from having maids at home, as befit a noblewoman, but my touch was very different, causing her to shiver.

“I want you to tell me everything you do, just like I want you to know everything I do.” She continued, as I bundled up her damp hair. “So, what were you up to?” I showered down her back, and she turned, her arms dropping, so I hardly knew where to look. Before I could answer her, she looked down, embarrassed. “Oh, and don’t forget to wash my front too. I need to be clean if I am meeting Miyu-sama, and it was you who dirtied me, so take responsibility!”

Yeah, it’d be more convincing if you weren’t as red as a tomato saying that. “Isn’t that… a bit lewd?” I objected, and she shook her head.

“It’s just washing me. My maids do it all the time. You wash Shaeula and Eri like this, right? Am I not your fiancée too, just like them?”

“Well it’s different, for several reasons.” I muttered. “Still, if you insist… anyway, let me tell you about the war with the Myconids. It’s pretty grizzly, so I hope it doesn’t upset you…”

At least if I’m concentrating on telling a story, I don’t have to concentrate on… my hands felt soft flesh, and Hinata shivered, letting out a little moan, but I chose to ignore that. “… so anyway, you know Shaeula is a princess of the Fae, right? Well, long ago, they lost a very important sacred site to an enemy called the Myconids, and it just so happened to currently be close to a mansion her brother gave us, and…”

As I continued to wash Hinata, my mind that of a perfect gentleman, she listened in rapt fascination to my story, interjecting at appropriate points…

********

“I think that was the best outcome you could have expected.” Hinata said, lounging against me in the bathtub. We were both clean now, and the smell had dissipated, at least from us. Damn, I can still smell the stench of impurity from my room, I don’t know if Shaeula will return to the Material before I am finished with our party and clean her up, but if she does she’ll be mad. I had best leave her a note…

“After all, if you can’t claim it for yourself, selling it for suitable favours is the least wasteful choice. If you can gain stewardship of it, then that’s a foundation for eventual ownership.” She pursed her lips in thought, and I kissed her, surprising her. It was a chaste brushing of the lips, but even that pleased her.

“Oh Akio, I see you can’t resist me. I’m happy!” She giggled.

“Sorry, you’re at your cutest when you are thinking about politics and profit.” I declared, and her grin deepened. This time she kissed me.

“Well, you are at your most handsome when you are looking at girls you like. Well, this spirit water seems powerful. And if it makes people more beautiful when their impurities are expelled, it could be sold for many millions to rich women, or used to secure political favours. The applications are endless.”

“Yeah, but it’s tough to make. I might be able to scrape up a drop or two if I pour all my water energy into it, but that’s not sufficient for much. Ideally I need a source of water energy for my Territory. Then I can fill Elemental Silos and use that.”

“Have you tried the ocean?” Hinata mused. “Ten kilometres from the Shrine… it’ll be tight, but you could reach Sagami Bay, right? If you find an area that suits your needs, I can invest in the properties around there?”

We continued to talk about our potential plans, and my heart felt warm. Yes, I felt bad for Eri and Shaeula still, but it was fading, replaced by warmth. Hinata was becoming precious to me, and perhaps I was too easy, but I defy any other healthy male who liked girls to harden his heart against such a cute, earnest girl as Hinata was. That’s odd…

I was using my Eye to see how much aether Hinata contained, and I noticed something odd. My own body was repelling some ether, it was pushed away by my silver cord. Concentrating harder, I could see that the ether was seemingly separated into different… colours, maybe? No, they aren’t actually coloured, not like elemental energy, but it’s how I’m visualising it. Most of the red and reddish-orange, for want of a better description, of ether, which sadly made up most of the ether around, was not being absorbed by me anymore. Only the orangish and rarer yellow-orange motes were being drawn in.

Is ether… Qi? Or the foundation of Qi? If so… what is Heavenly Qi? I had pondered it when I struggled to tame the double-mutated water, and had not concluded anything concrete then. Reaffirming my idea to learn Chinese then consume some Cultivation-related content for ideas, I was caught a bit off-guard by Hinata’s next comment.

“I don’t really want to fight, but I think everyone will need to be strong. I can’t rely on Kazumi alone.” She pumped a small fist to motivate herself. “So, Lovers’ Link.”

At that I coughed, choking. She smiled, patting me on the back. “Dep breaths, deep breaths.”

“Yeah…” I managed, recovering quickly. I couldn’t help but take in her naked body, lounging in the water. “Lovers’ Link… it’s too soon for you. Marriage first. I’m not… I’m not going to disrespect you or your parents by pushing things too fast.”

“I see. So Eri was right, it is gained from sex. I half thought she was lying to me as she wanted to keep it to herself and Shaeula.”

Eri, what are you telling her? That sounds like the sort of thing Shaeula would do! Before I could formulate a response, even my incredible stats struggling to get me out of trouble, she continued. “So, I hear your sister has the skill too. Suspicious. Surely you didn’t…. I mean, she does really love you, and you her, but even so…”

“No way! Totally no way! My sister and I are totally normal! I just… well, I can grant a single Rank of the skill to those I have a very deep love for that also loves me back. There’s nothing wrong about that!”

“I see.” Hinata said, satisfied. “Well, to be honest, I like to think I’m the most worldly of the girls in Hanafubuki, but spending time with girls in your hometown, I realised I know a lot less than I thought. Sex. I can’t say I’m not interested. Eri was delighted on her birthday, wasn’t she? Still… it’s too soon for me. This is enough.” She snuggled me, our skins touching. “But… don’t you love me enough to grant me a Lovers’ Link? I’m pretty sure I love you enough!”

That declaration made me blush. “It’s not that simple. It’s more… there’s no going back. I don’t love someone without meaning it.”

“Good.” Our lips met again, her head leaning in. As she pulled free she sighed. “Neither do I. I’m not such a cheap girl. There’s no going back for us, is there? Together forever. So I’m not scared of your love, or a link between us. Please. Prove to me, to you, to us that our love is true!”

“Fine. I suppose it doesn’t matter, does it? After all, we are naked in a bath together. I’d be a total bastard if I broke your heart now, and I have to keep my karma up! Okay then… here.” I concentrated on my feelings for Hinata, as well as the skill Kin Bonding and Restoration. On doing so, I could feel a faint link between us, and homing in all my thoughts upon it, I could feel Hinata’s feelings for me. Curiosity, passion, even ones like lust that she barely understood herself. And yes, love too.

“I… how can people live without this? I understand the merits of arranged marriages, they are good for the nobility and good for the family, but… to miss out on this love.” She blinked back tears. “You like me. You care about me. You want me. I’m happy. I believed you when you said you did, and that you forgave me for tricking you into the engagement, but I always worried…” It was then that the bond settled, and the skill was granted. Hinata gasped, the feelings between us solid, and she grabbed me, throwing me down into the cooling waters of the bath, arms around me.

“I love you! You love me! I’m standing on the same level as the others!” Before I could answer we were kissing, deep and passionate, and we lost track of time until a loud cough could be heard behind us, and Kazumi-san and an older woman were there, carrying a fresh dress and accessories.

“Are we interrupting? We could come back, but you’ll be late for Miyu-sama…”

As we separated hurriedly, scarlet with shame, Kazumi-san shook her head, a wry, pleased expression on her face. “… well, I’m happy for you, Hinata. It seems your fears were groundless.”

“Oh, do shut up Kazumi.” She pouted, heading for he edge of the bath, glancing back at me shyly. “How could he not love me? I’m perfect. Still… confirmation is always nice.”

I rolled my eyes at that. But the timing was actually good. I was getting carried away with the moment and the sudden Lovers’ Link. Damn you Resilience, do your job and keep me calm and composed!

*********

“… so, even though I have gathered enough of this aether, and Kana-san was willing to take me and the others in, I decided to wait. My first time should definitely be with you!” Hinata declared. She was holding my hand in the back of the nice, expensive foreign car we were being chauffeured in. We could no longer hug, as we were both dressed anew, me in the armoured-cloth suit I had commissioned, expensive watch and gentleman’s’ jewellery as well, while Hinata was in another flattering white dress, with delicate lace and silk decorations, also paired with expensive necklace and hairpins.

“First time huh…” That choice of words makes me shiver after earlier. Still, I know she doesn’t mean that. “Well, the immediate chaos is over. I might have to support Shaeula, but the Myconids are defeated. I can make time to give you all the tour.”

“Great, I can hardly wait. So… I might as well get those levels too, right? Since I can. I just hope they don’t get addictive, or I might want Lovers’ Link to grow…” at her impish smile I patted her hand, unable to even kiss as it would smear her makeup.

“Yeah, I think you’ll have to be content with what you can get. Against an average thug, the stat boosts from eight levels would give you an advantage, nobody would expect a young girl like you to have that speed or power. So anyway, Miyu-san. Just what should I expect?”

“I don’t know. She’s the oldest Fujiwara granddaughter, and thus one of the queens of Hanafubuki, but she’s super shy. The only time she ever interacts with anyone outside her bodyguard is when she does traditional dance or piano recitals, and even then she’s distant.”

As the car pulled up in front of an expensive block of condos in the heart of the most exclusive area of Tokyo, I frowned, deep in thought. “So what does she want?” I asked, as I opened the door to help Hinata out.

“I have no idea, and that is what worries me. If it was Sakura, I could guess, maybe even Mayumi. But Miyu-sama? I have no clue…”

Great. Oh well, Fujiwara-san is backing me, so I had best be respectful of his granddaughter. Taking Hinata’s hand I escorted her to the door, feeling the presence of some strong people inside. Pushing the intercom I took a deep breath. “Good afternoon. I am Oshiro Moonstone Akio, escorting Fukumoto Hinata, as requested.”