Reincarnated Into A Dead Woman's Body In Another World-Chapter 167: Arc 4, Act I, - 12: Throughout the Night

Chapter 167: Arc 4, Act I, Chapter 12: Throughout the Night

Meanwhile, in one of the grandest rooms of the palace lied a woman in bed with arms behind her head; purple locks all over the pillows as she stared up to the canopy several metres above her.

"Lesser affinity..." the princess muttered, turning her head to the nightstand too far away. All the lights were off and no one stood nearby but the Royal Guard patrolling outside.

With a smirk she got out of bed onto the vast carpeted floor of her room. If Jotou could have a second affinity... why couldn’t she? She swivelled her head left and right and walked to the centre of the room.

Exercise equipment were stashed under the beds and furniture. She had kept her temper and manners proper for as long as she could remember after arriving here...

She raised her bare foot with a grin, "Quake," she whispered coarsely before stomping onto the carpets. "Grr...rrrBR... Br..." Her nightstands and chandeliers shuddered ever so slightly with the rumbling ground.

"Okay, I can control how much I make the earth shake..." she wriggled her fingers as she ran her mind... "What other affinity could I even have...? Hm... Niah would’ve told me if I had a second.

No way, I gotta have more than Jotou. The hell can it be? Healing? Eugh, boring. Probs not illusion. What else is there...? Screw it, if I don’t even know, how the hell am I even gonna do it."

She grunted and stomped the ground to rumble it again; just enough not to cause any alarm to the guards outside. "Fine loser, I’ll just get better at my manipulation then.

I’ll beat ya," her eyes shimmered for a second. She placed her hands against the wall, "Haven’t had time to practice this new one. Now’s as good a time as ever."

Daiyu began pushing into the marble walls of bronzish-purple, right next to the door of her massive walk in closet. "Mould Earth," she casted and forced her hands into the wall as the muscles of her arms began to show themselves.

Her eyes narrowed and narrowed, and her legs and feet tensed. "Come... on..." the tips of her fingers slowly began to sink into the marble.

Her brows raised and eyes waxed open completely as a grin curled onto her lips. The marble felt akin to clay, allowing her to push her fingers deeper till the knuckles. "HAha!"

With that triumphant laugh she lost concentration and she heard a little crack... Nothing broke, but... the marble didn’t feel like clay anymore...

"Shit. Shit, shit!" she tried to pull her fingers out to no avail, trapped now as a part of the wall. The marble was displaced outwards, protruding in little curves to either side of her hands.

Before the mild panic settled in for too long, "Oh wait... Mould Earth," she exhaled. Gently, the marble became like clay to her touch and she wriggled them free, once again losing the concentration.

She flapped her fingers, before kissing both of her hands. Daiyu glanced back up to see the ten finger-sized holes in the wall and two curving bumps now solid on the uneven surface.

"Uh... Mould Earth," she touched the edges of the curves and used the end of her palms to push the bumps together, covering over the tiny holes.

She patted the wall down and stood back to get a better look... It looked, fixed? No holes, but now lingered a wrinkled bump on the surface as if someone had crumpled a metal can.

Not too noticeable unless one were to take a good look to the odd zit and mild discolouration on the marble wall. "Looks fine to me," she dusted her hands off and turned back to rush to her bed.

_

The partial moonlight beamed onto the polished black tiles; their shoes and socks at the edge of the windowed doors.

On the railing the two leaned, watching the clouds of the night. Jotou wriggled her toes, then looked the wolf-girl a few balusters to the right.

She stargazed, her brilliant blue eyes shifting to peek in between the clouds. The blonde’s lips curled up, "I didn’t know you looked at stars this intensely."

"Hm?" her ear turned before her face did, "I thought you were looking up, not at me," she teased. "I was more so looking for what you always stare at for hours every night."

"Not much." Jotou faced the sky, "It’s more of a sense of wonder really. It helps me think. So many stars, billions of miles- kilometres away," she side-eyed Hotaru.

"Yes, yes, you’re getting used to the system of measurement, congratulations," Hotaru rolled her eyes.

"Hmph. Anyways, it just helps me with a lot. Calms me down and makes me realize that, I’m here. In a universe filled with unpredictability and impossibilities; I’m here.

Made of the building blocks of the cosmos, my skin made of the dust of stars while I can think, breathe and do so many things. It belittles most of the stupid problems I have.

So many wonders, so much beauty in an empty void filled with nothing but darkness. It’s poetic that a star even exists; it gives life, life. But it’s nothing more than atoms being smashed together with the flow of time," Jotou took a breath.

Hotaru paused to stargaze at the golden star beside her, the one that gazed upon the night sky. Her brilliant blue eyes softened as she brought her wrist to her face, "Which reminds me."

Jotou peered back to her right. "We’re in Cravolta City, so, four hours ahead," Hotaru adjusted her wrist watch. "Done. Is that..." she squinted back up.

"Huh?" Jotou turned to where Hotaru was looking. On another balcony on the third floor, white lights flew into the air, alongside butterflies of various hues.

"Asobi," the two synced.

"That girl," Hotaru shook her head.

"She’ll be fine. She’s used to the night like me," Jotou could not hold in a yawn right as she spoke; she covered it with the back of her palm.

"Speaking of which. We should probably explore inside. Most prominent one being the bed," her tail swayed as she walked back inside.

"And what do you mean by that?"

Hotaru’s fangs glistened as her head turned back, "That you need sleep obviously. What else would I mean?"

"Right..." Jotou leered.

Once in, their luggage had arrived and they spent their time picking which bed they wanted; Hotaru to the right and Jotou to the left.

They separated the giant wardrobe space. The bathroom hosted a luxuriously large bathtub and a separate shower—two sinks in front of an enormous mirror and soft yellow lighting.

Jotou had changed into her yellow nightgown. She set her blade to the side of her bed, leaning against the nightstand. A dark porcelain table sat in between the beds.

’Wonder what’s in there.’ Jotou pulled open the drawer underneath the table; many porcelain pieces clinked within a box in the drawer.

The wardrobe doors opened, "What are you up to?" Hotaru walked out wearing her light-blue nightgown and her hair a little ruffled.

"Just exploring. Found something," Jotou took out the box and set it on the table.

"I’m not sure if we’re supposed to be touching that."

"Then it should’ve been cleaned out," Jotou saw no dust on it, "Besides, I think this was left here intentionally."

She flipped open the latch on the small wooden chest and beheld the contents of which were thirty-two porcelain chess pieces and a wooden frame with marble tiles to make up the board.

Jotou smiled, "You know how to play?"

"Yes," her ears pricked.

"Wanna go a round before bed?"

"If you insist. Make it fast, we do need sleep for tomorrow."

"It’s just breakfast, what could happen?" Jotou spoke aloud... Then knitted her brows... She touched the wooden box, "I take it back... We should still have fun though."

"Fine. I can rejuvenate us in the morning if I have to," Hotaru pulled the chair from the table and took a seat.

Jotou set the box down. The porcelain pieces were carved with even the details of the knight’s pupils. The white pieces were glazed with a soft blue while the black pieces were glazed with golds.

"Any preference?" Jotou set the pieces onto the board.

"White."

"So you can go first? I didn’t think you’d take it this seriously," Jotou shook her head, "Honestly," she pestered with a smirk.

Hotaru’s tail wagged, "You gave me the choice. You want me to just make it easy for you and let you win?" she rested her head in her hand, fluttering her lashes.

"I haven’t played in a while, but I promise, I’ll win whether you go first or not," Jotou flicked her blonde strands behind her shoulders as she laid her elbows onto the table.

"My, my, getting a little cocky? How about we add a little twist on it then? A little challenge since you’re so confident."

"You have all our money, I can’t bet anything."

"Not that," Hotaru waved her hand. "Every time I capture one of your pieces, I ask you a question. Same goes for you. They can be as personal as you like, but we have to answer them."

"Hmm, sounds interesting enough."

"Do you agree?" Hotaru hid her lips with her fingers as she took control of her tail which fanned the air faster than the ceiling fans, "Or are you too scared?"

A little spark flashed in the blonde’s eyes, "You’re on Aru. First move’s yours."

Hotaru moved the pawn ahead of the queen forward. Jotou hopped her right knight above the line of pawns. A few moves in and, "Shit," the blonde muttered under her breath as her pawn got eaten by Hotaru’s bishop.

Hotaru beamed, "Well, well, well..."