Even so, Uriel still appreciated Ininise's words; after all, they came from someone who had to struggle day after day with her condition as an oracle, marked visibly. While he didn't understand the political-religious matters of where Ininise came from, he was aware that if they were sending assassins after her, she couldn't be very well regarded.
"Thanks, but there's no need to deceive me like that either," Uriel sighed softly.
Another thing he noticed was that, when activating this ability, he felt far more exhausted than when the ability was toughened skin. He understood that this ability was truly meant for serious situations; he couldn't just use it casually.
"Grrrr"
A stomach growl echoed through the room. Ininise looked around nervously, afraid that one of those creatures might come, but even after scanning the entire room, she found nothing.
Uriel spoke, slightly embarrassed.
"Don't worry, it's, uh… my stomach."
Her expression shifted from anxiety to her usual gentle smile, like a mother watching her children.
"Here, I have some of these. I don't know if your world has them too."
She extended her six-fingered hand and handed him what looked like a bar of meat. When Uriel touched it, he realized it was quite hard and, despite having presumably been stored for many hours, it was still warm, which caught his attention.
Uriel looked at it curiously; it reminded him of a hamburger—well, if a hamburger were shaped like a cylinder. He wondered if it would taste the same. "It looks like a meat bar, and it's warm—wow, like it was just made."
Ininise placed a hand on her chest, slightly proud of the culinary feats of her homeland. "It's a very rich and nutritious food; we prepared many of these before leaving. If you eat just one, you'll have enough energy for the entire day."
He was fascinated. A food capable of nourishing your body for a whole day meant a lot to people who trained their bodies intensely every day. Uriel broke off a piece and held it out to Ininise. "Here, have some; you must be hungry too."
However, Ininise shook her head. "Don't worry, I don't usually feel very hungry; besides, I already ate one of those before coming." Could it be that she didn't want to gain weight? Uriel gave her a quick glance; it would be a shame if the world lost even a bit of Ininise just for the sake of slimming down.
In a way, he liked being close to her: she was beautiful, kind, and powerful. If he had a team, someone like her would be ideal.
A team…? Uriel wondered if, had he had friends, they could have climbed this place together, like Ininise. What nonsense. This was probably an exceptional case. In the southern states, there were already very few climbers; still, he wanted to meet more people like himself—perhaps people chosen by Soliel. After all, they couldn't be that different from him, right?
The gods… Right, Ininise had been about to tell him about this god of duality, the eleventh finger, before the assassin shot him in the eye.
Uriel raised his hand to where a bandage now covered his eye. Fighting with only one eye was tough; now he had a blind spot his enemies could exploit far too easily. He didn't like that situation at all, but what else could he do?
"Hey, Ininise, what do you think about the gods? You were about to tell me something important before we were interrupted, weren't you?"
Whenever the topic of the god of duality came up, Ininise seemed somewhat sad, but Uriel thought it was necessary to talk about it. He could even imagine that this god was watching him for being close to his oracle. Was it the kind of god who made fire rain from the skies, or perhaps a kind god who went around sacrificing himself for others and helping them? Something like that would suit Ininise perfectly—and it wasn't such a far-fetched idea; people sometimes hated those who tried to help them.
Ininise sat on the ground, moving away from Uriel. She had already finished tending to what she could of her new wounds.
"All right, let me tell you about him."
Uriel stretched back on the floor. He had an idea, though he wasn't sure if he could make it work; he wanted to rest his head on those heavenly cushions again.
"Sure, just wait; it's a bit uncomfortable relaxing on these old boards."
He tried to sound as casual as possible, as if there were no intention behind his words beyond complaining about the hardness of the floor. But when he looked at Ininise, he noticed one of her eyebrows was raised, slightly amused. Had his attempt been that obvious?
He really didn't want to come across as a pervert in front of her.
"Hahh…"
Ininise sighed. Carefully getting up, she moved behind Uriel.
"Rest. I don't mind pampering you a little, but don't get used to it."
Uriel couldn't have been happier. He let his head rest on her lap. Ininise's hand came down and touched his hair, and he felt the weight of the day slowly leave his body as he relaxed.
"Your hair is very long. Do all the men in your world have it like that?"
The truth was, there were several reasons why Uriel chose not to cut it.
"Mmmh, there are many, of course, but there are also those who prefer short hair. As for me, I'm a special case." Ininise looked at him, intrigued. "Why?"
"Because I'm poor, hahaha. I can't afford a barber, and I'm not about to risk making a mess trying to cut it myself. Also… I like having it long; it reminds me of my mother's hair before she lost it to her illness."
Ininise looked at him apologetically.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Your mother must have had beautiful hair; it reminds me of some of the mountains I saw during my pilgrimage."
Uriel looked at her curiously.
"Pilgrimage? Like when you go somewhere to pray to a rock?" It didn't make much sense to him.
Ininise's hand lightly tapped Uriel's face a couple of times.
"Don't be like that. These are important actions people take to grow closer to their god; don't treat them like something foolish."
"Sorry." Of course, it would be an important topic for Ininise—she was a kind of priestess, an oracle, after all.
"Don't worry, but now you'll have to endure me talking about the eleventh finger."
Uriel smiled. He didn't mind a bit of theology; honestly, anything Ininise said in her beautiful voice was entertaining.