Chapter 181: The Sun Fox

Chapter 181: The Sun Fox

Exiting the Lakeview Institute of Arts, Mo Fei changed his persona back to Murphy and walked toward the Midnight Wings Organization to report his findings.

During the journey to return, his mind shifted toward Kiyori, who he had not talked to for a day or more now... considering how frequently she contacted him through the Spirit World, her silence was pretty unusual enough for concern.

Using the spirit world, he called out to her. "Kiyori, are you listening?"

"Ye —s — Aachu!" The sudden sneeze caught Mo Fei off guard. He heard her voice that seemed lower than usual, with a peculiar heaviness that signaled a fever.

He slowed his steps and asked. "What’s wrong with you? Are you all right?"

"I’m perf—Aachu!—fine." She sneezed again, leaning against a tree in the open field. She covered herself with the bag where Kikyo was asleep. The snow fell around her as the land turned white from it, hiding the dirt beneath.

"..."

Murphy looked at the grey sky above Ciradyl. A cold wind swept through the streets, carrying the smell of damp stone and coal smoke. Gas lamps had begun illuminating the pavements, their amber light dissolving into the evening mist. He called out, his voice unusually soft. "Kiyori."

"Yes?"

"How many times have you sneezed before?"

After taking a brief pause, she answered quietly. "Seven... Perhaps eight. I sneezed a few moments ago, maybe around nine."

He pressed his fingers against his forehead. "So, you have a fever? Have you checked?"

"I checked my forehead, and it seemed warm."

Excellent. A groundbreaking investigation. The patient has discovered that her forehead possesses a temperature. Mo Fei quickly put aside his sarcastic thoughts and shook his head.

A moment later, Kiyori sneezed again and spoke. "Ten."

"I didn’t say to count more, Kiyori." He said, walking through the streets of the Ciradyl.

"I forgot, my brain is foggy from the cold."

"I guess it really takes some serious brain laziness and a simple tone of brain to think about only one thing."

"Fei!"

"My tongue slipped. Forget it, what did you take?"

She looked at the bowl in her hand. "Maoto."

"Maoto?"

"A medicine prepared from medicinal herbs. My grandmother used it whenever someone developed certain cold symptoms. Luckily I found these herbs."

A herb... Mo Fei’s mind raced; he remembered his university studies as a physician and historical things that he had learned. In the Victorian era of his world, the technology was developing well, but Victorian West wasn’t as developed in medicine of fever. They had pretty terrible medicines as compared to those of Asia, of course, some medicine of West was heavily more developed than East, but fever and cold was some of the exception.

It was better for her to use those herbal medicines, because if he bought medicine for her from this world, it would be basically raw narcotics that would only mask the symptoms while ruining her health... and moreover, she wasn’t used to those types of alcoholic medicines of the West either.

He thought for a moment to think of his next steps and asked. "Kiyori, do you have a blanket or anything to cover yourself with? Also did that medicine work?"

"I have this bag you gave... and it doesn’t seem to wor—Aachu!... Ahem, I forgot to bring a blanket from the shrine, and that herb works slowly, but it definitely works. I asked Divine Serpent but it said that you are facing trouble in spirituality so it’ll ruin your situation if it manifest clothes for me."

Murphy walked through the Ciradyl’s commercial district that was considerably livelier than the quieter streets surrounding Lakeview Institute. Right, he recalled that the Spirit World also got affected by the True God’s gaze and his current spirituality was not that great.

Shopkeepers were closing their shutters, while vendors hurried to sell the last of their goods before the night cold drove away their remaining customers. The occasional automobile rattled past a horse-drawn carriage, filling the street with noises.

Above the shops, ornate signs swung gently in the wind.

Murphy stopped before a clothing establishment whose display windows contained wool coats, knitted garments, scarves, and several thick sweaters. From inside, the warm light of the lantern spilled out.

Inside, the air smelled of wool, polished wood, and the faint chemical scent of newly dyed fabric. He first spoke in his mind to her. "Kiyori, wait for a while; let me get you something."

"No, don’t waste your money. You’d need it more."

"Urgh, I heard it before multiple times, stop complaining. You know that you are already facing a fever; the cold will worsen it."

She sneezed again, mumbling something that even he couldn’t hear from the spirit world’s collection.

A shopkeeper wearing a waistcoat approached him. He lifted his top hat and greeted. "Good evening, sir. Looking for anything in particular?"

"Winter clothing. Something warm, comfortable, and suitable for a young lady."

"Certainly. Does the lady prefer anything fashionable?"

Mo Fei considered the question in his mind... Knowing well about Kiyori, who simply loved to just remain in her priestess’s cloth. Her usual attire belonged to an entirely different culture, and her understanding of modern fashion was probably even more limited than his own, it was pretty difficult to understand whether she would enjoy fashion of the 19s. Well, but her enthusiasm might let her explore things, so he couldn’t ignore that either.

He had never asked Kiyori about her preferences in Victorian clothing after all; maybe he’d have to buy a cloth later to know that.

"Something practical, for now."

The shopkeeper nodded with the casual smile of a seller. "Of course, sir. Practicality is always fashionable when the weather turns unpleasant."

He led Murphy toward a display of knitted wool garments who examined the available options.

Several sweaters were thick but rather plain. Others were decorated with intricate patterns, while a few had collars that looked uncomfortable enough to strangle their wearers.

Finally, he selected a warm, dark-red wool sweater with a high neckline and a simple pattern around the cuffs.

It was modest and sufficiently neutral that Kiyori could wear it without feeling as though she’d been dressed for someone else’s occasion. He also picked out a wool scarf.

"These should serve her well." The shopkeeper said, folding the garments. "I heard the cold will be particularly unpleasant this season."

"I suppose, indeed." Murphy paid for the clothing and looked in his pocket. There were only two pounds left, meaning he’d have to at least solve a few cases to gain more, although this money was enough to live a casual life for a few weeks.

As the shopkeeper wrapped everything in brown paper, Murphy glanced at the other customers.

A gentleman was purchasing a long overcoat. A woman was comparing gloves. Near the counter, a young man complained about the price of a wool hat as though the shopkeeper had personally caused the decline of the national economy.

Well, that actually all seemed remarkably ordinary, so the gentlemen had a reasonable complaint.

Even then, after the Bloodborne Sea, Murphy found himself appreciating ordinary things more than he would have admitted.

’Perhaps the world is not entirely unreasonable.’ He thought.

Then the shopkeeper announced the price of a second pair of gloves to the complaining young man. "Ah, that... that is crafted from the purest cotton, a fabric so smooth and valuable that it gives you fashion and comfort... a full one pound."

Murphy’s emotionless face stared at the colleague of the shopkeeper and reconsidered his thought.

’Perhaps it is unreasonable in a smaller... more manageable ways.’ He collected the parcel and stepped outside.

A coffee shop stood a short distance down the street. Its windows were fogged from the warmth within, and a small sign advertised freshly brewed coffee.

He had been walking for some time, and his body was still recovering from the previous expedition. The thought of a hot drink was considerably more appealing than returning immediately to the autumn cold streets.

A bell chimed above the door when he entered the shop.

The interior was modest but comfortable, with wooden tables, upholstered chairs, and brass fixtures polished to a soft gleam. The air carried the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans, mingling with the scents of warm milk, baked bread, and damp wool.

Murphy chose a seat near the window and waited for a few minutes. Just then, a waiter approached. "Good evening, sir. What can I get you?"

"Two coffee, please."

"Black coffee?"

"Yes."

The waiter first glanced at the second table, his expression slightly confused since he didn’t see anyone there for the second cup of coffee, but he still departed.

Murphy placed the parcel beside him and leaned back in his chair.

Within a few minutes, the waiter returned and placed two cups on the table and walked away.

One of the cups disappeared into the spirit world, then the parcel beside him disappeared, appearing in Kiyori’s hands. Her voice came out surprised. "What’s this black thing?"

"A coffee."

"Kahi-hi—Ka-ka-pe-?"

"Ka-fi." Mo Fei tried to help her in pronunciation as he quietly pulled the coffee cup and took a long sip.

"Kafi...? Is it like tea."

"Kind of. I never actually drank coffee before; I got to know about this from one of my friends. It also didn’t exist in the place where I lived."

Kiyori put the cup on the ground and first wore the sweater that slightly began to warm her. Even though she felt a headache, she took a sip of the coffee. "Ahh! It’s so bitter."

Mo Fei also spat. "Ew... how does Lin like this shit...?"

He slowly wiped his lips and looked at the cup that was already quite expensive... he had walked into a modest restaurant that was popular enough that prices were high... and now because he had bought it, well, bitter or anything, he was committed to drinking every bit of it.

He drank it forcefully, even though the taste was pretty... not a great expression to feel.

Kiyori also took a few sips, but slowly she began to actually like the taste. "Oh... it’s not awful."

"What? No way." He looked at the half cup, he couldn’t drink this anymore... of course, he came to realize that all of it was just an expensive piece of waste for nobles who just had a weird issue of drinking what they weren’t supposed to.

She finally spoke again. "I can drink more of it."

Mo Fei, as Murphy, inhaled a breath and said, "Well then, take this cup too. I can’t drink this."

"Gladly!"

Mo Fei: "You are more enthusiastic about it than the fever."

"I didn’t like the taste at first, but it’s really warm for the cold."

The cup disappeared from the table. "Are you sure it’s the coffee and not the clothes?"

"Tehe, the herbs are working. It was also good that you talked to me. I couldn’t contact you because I was going toward the Ojiminika mountain... I heard that there is an ancient shrine of Sun Fox ."

Murphy quietly stood up, walked toward the counter, and paid the money. He waited for her to drink as the cup appeared back on the table, and he finally walked out.

A shrine of the Sun Fox... but usually a deity or someone equal to a demigod should have a worshiping place because what he had read from ancient scripts only they needed anchors...

"Sun Fox? That sounds like a pretty bad idea if you ask me... tell me more. What is a Sun Fox?"