TBATE | Erased (A Fresh Start)

Chapter 15

ARTHUR LEYWIN
I laid in my bed without even bothering to change, exhausted from the constant sparring that Virion made me undergo. Now that my body wasn't burdened by the constant assimilation, my stamina and endurance increased exponentially, meaning Virion would be able to put me through hell for longer. I welcomed the rest, knowing that it wouldn't be long before Aya would be free to help me with my sound magic.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn't even notice the pillow that was coming toward my face until it had already slammed down onto my face.

My sweet rest...

"I bet you'll never be able to find me!" an all too familiar voice said.

I'm sorry Tess, not now.

Perhaps if I pretended I was still asleep, she would let me rest. I promise I'll play with you tomorrow; I swear it on Virion's life.

"Ar-THUR! Ar-THUR! Ar-THUR!" She chanted insistently, seemingly hellbent on getting me out of bed.

Tessia's persistence was hard to ignore. I groaned, removing the pillow from my face and sitting up in bed. "Alright, alright," I said, rubbing my eyes and yawning.

"Yay!" she exclaimed with excitement. "Now you need to find me!"

Her voice seemed to be coming from where the windows were, and sure enough, there was a distinct Tessia-shaped silhouette behind the curtains. I had seen the odd shape when I walked into the room, but I was too tired to care. I grabbed the same pillow she threw at me, and chucked it back at her, perhaps using a little bit of mana in the throw.

I heard a distinct "OOMPH" as the pillow knocked the air out of her lungs, and when she pushed the curtain aside, I could see that she was peeved. Really peeved.

"Hey! You used mana in that throw!" she called out.

"I did no such thing," I retorted, feigning innocence. "It was pure strength," I boasted, flexing my arm for emphasis.

"What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?" she said quizzically, running her gaze up and down my arm.

"Obviously my muscles," I said, running my other hand up and down my bicep peak. What did she think she was supposed to be looking at?

"Huh? I don't see any muscles." She burst out into laughter at her own joke.

"Hilarious," I grumbled. I threw another pillow at her, but she dodged it with ease. Tessia picked it up and threw it right back at me. The pillow missed its mark as I dodged to the left, but I never saw the second pillow coming. She had somehow predicted my movements, expecting me to dodge to the left. That's... actually an amazing idea that I could implement into my fights.

We continued the pillow fight for a while until she announced that it was getting boring. Perhaps it's because she hasn't been able to hit me with a pillow in the past five minutes.

"Let's go to the city!" she said, already dragging me off the bed and out the room.

I knew there was no use trying to protest; she had somehow managed to drag me to the city almost every day since I came here.

As we walked through the bustling streets, the familiar sights and sounds of the city greeted us. The aroma of freshly baked pastries wafted through the air from the nearby bakery, tempting our taste buds. It had opened not that long ago; I had been meaning to go to it but Tess was never in the mood. We couldn't resist the temptation and found ourselves drawn towards the bakery like moths to a flame. With our mouths watering, we stepped inside the bakery and were immediately greeted by the friendly faces of the bakers behind the counter.