Chapter Text
It had only been about a day since Kabru had woken up alongside the captain of the Canaries after falling down to the fourth level of the dungeon, and yet he immediately had learned a majority of Mithrun’s story leading up to that point. Combined with the new responsibility of having to take care of the captain and make sure he was fed and looked after, it was a massive shock to Kabru. While traveling for the remaining six days, Kabru dedicated any free time he had to making Mithrun’s story more digestible to anyone he told it to, knowing that even though it was the type of story he personally enjoyed, that it would be almost impossible for anyone else to even comprehend on the level it was described to him. While recounting the tale as he attempted to butcher the Barometz they were able to harvest, Kabru noticed something about the story. Hmm?
Kabru noticed Mithrun beginning to wake up right as he had finished the lamb stew. “Captain,” Kabru said. “Hmm?” Mithrun said as he began to rise from the bed spread he rested upon. “It’s regarding your story about you becoming the dungeon lord, it’s a detail that’s been bothering me a bit for a couple of days….”
Mithrun looked up at Kabru. “What about it?” Kabru looked away with a tinge of nervousness, choosing to stir the pot a bit more before responding. “It’s just that…. Throughout your story, you kept referencing yourself as a woman…”
Mithrun tilted his head while keeping his facial expression the exact same, almost as if to communicate slight confusion while not being able to express it. “What part aren’t you getting about it? I was a woman before.” Kabru stared at him blankly. He wasn’t necessarily shocked anymore, but more so surprised by the bluntness of the reply. He also was slightly confused about what the particular statement meant, so to remove any ambiguity, he decided to pry further. “And by that, do you mean that you were….” Kabru trailed off slightly, spiraling his hands in the air while looking at the captain to invite a response.
Mithrun stared back straight ahead and gave his answer. “I was a transgender woman before I became the lord of the dungeon.”
Kabru was slightly shocked, but stopped his face from letting the captain know. What shocked him wasn’t the fact that the captain was transgender, but the way it was described to him. Was? What stopped Mithrun from continuing to transition? Kabru thought back to the discussions that Milsiril had with him, focusing on when he attempted to learn more about his family history and the reasons behind his blue eyes. He thought back to how he was taught about the different ways that people transitioned, whether that be through medicine, or even through magic with something like a glamor spell. He had never considered the Elves to be prejudiced in that way; quite the opposite, in fact, since it seemed like they were more open about this sort of thing compared to some of the things he had heard in taverns and seedy places on this island.
Kabru had allowed Mithrun to continue his story to glean insight on what had transpired. Mithrun again re-explained how he had gotten caught up in becoming the lord of the dungeon, and the desires that were stolen from him, but with a new lesson for Kabru to learn. “That’s how I know that such desires are the favorite for the demon to grant. Gold is easy to summon but wanting to be loved? It’s much more of a fickle thing no matter what kind of love you’re talking about.” Mithrun gave a sigh as he finished his story once more. Kabru started to express his condolences to the captain. “Captain, I’m sorry the demon used your life against you like that-” But Mithrun held his hand up, looking away and getting ready to stand up.
“It’s fine. I don’t feel anything towards what I have lost besides what I have left in killing the demon. The woman I was before does not exist right now.”
As Kabru and Mithrun both began to move forward again, Kabru felt unease at this particular element of the story. It was especially ironic, too, since he had personally witnessed the hell that the demon could bring, but he had never considered such effects to exist. He felt especially uneasy at considering what was to come.