Next Chapter! I hope you can enjoy it ^^
Also, additionally, I just got 2 more request here. It says:
1. Can I have Aquors added to the story too? I want to see Aquors in your AUs!
2. MakiNikoRinPana as the comedy quartet always makes my day! Please keep that one in this AU!
Waking up on top of an iron bed with a strange glove locked on her hands;
Nozomi wonder if this means that she has to live in this condition until she dies. There's nobody around her and looking at the whole environment— wooden walls with the thick metal net as a window, no doors but an iron bar as the ceiling which might be where she got herself in this locked room, she believes that she won't have anywhere else to go.
It takes a while for her to realize that she is on top of a big ship with a pack of soldiers resting in the room next to her. She wonders where she is going to or where her friends are. She can only remember to be taken away by a giant crow and fall unconscious as the air getting colder and colder.
It's still cold here but she is at least in a pretty thick kimono. Her hands may also won't feel too cold as it is locked in a glove.
"…are we really guarding a dangerous enchantress?" asked a soldier to his friend,
"…I don't know. All we have to do is stay here and make sure she is not too frustrated. If she does, then we will have to deal with her as an Onryo."
"We have the sleeping bomb, right? I don't think I want to get in there and use manual sleeping pills. She could curse me into a yokai!" said the soldier to his friend again.
"You fear her too much! Grand General Umi Sonoda said that we should not hesitate if she is rebelling! A life of one enemy is never better than the life of two allies." Said the other soldier.
This sounds like a disadvantage for Nozomi. She is count as an enemy to them while in fact—she has no idea why she is imprisoned here.
The time passes and Nozomi began to feel hungry. She wishes she could eat anything right now. She wonders if it's twelve o'clock right now since that's the hour when she really needs her lunch. A horn blew from above and she can hear a few people starts to walk around the room next to her. They are distributing foods. About time.
A minute after the workers scattered around the other room, she hasn't yet got her meal. Maybe they forgot about her?
"Hey!" Nozomi called them. But it seems that the room is covered by something spiritual which stop her voice from being heard from the outside. She can even see her voice's wave echoed back to her.
This is a big mistake. How can she ask for help if anything happens to her? Maybe she isn't meant to ask for help too?
Another minute passed and still not a single food is sent to her cell. Nozomi is starting to feel anxious. Her stomach really need food! Nozomi tried her best to be as patient as possible until her cell's door finally opened, but there's no single food on the opener's hand.
"What? No food?" Nozomi asked.
"Sorry, but you are not allowed to eat anything before Grand General Sonoda can interrogate you. Please come with me to her room." Said the soldier before he unlocked her glove and leaving only a pair of glowing bracelet around her wrist.
The Grand General Sonoda's room;
The table is big and a lot of food served on top of it. Nozomi is starting to drool over them but she doubts she can eat those so she waited for the Grand General to arrive and start the interrogation. The first few minutes of waiting, Nozomi couldn't have her eyes off the thin sliced roasted pork, then at the next plate, there's a whole plate of mix vegetables , and at the other one, a big bowl of rice along with a plate of scrambled eggs. These almost look like a king portion.
When a waitress appears, they put down a set of empty plates at the opposite part of her table plate on top of her table. The chopstick is given too and now Nozomi wonders if this is some kind of a treat that given to her as a welcome.
Wait, a welcome treat for a prisoner? Weird.
The Grand General entered the room with her majestic black feather coat. Nozomi didn't get to see the whole detail but now that she can, she believes that it looks way more amazing than the feather coat in her age. She wonders how anyone can get that very long black feather, though.
The door closed as the Grand General sat on the seat in front of her. She politely bowed to Nozomi which she responded with an awkward bow.
"Welcome, Toujou-san." She started.
"Thank you…" Nozomi replied awkwardly.
"I can see who you are. So please, accept our hospitality as merely a formal procedure."
Merely a formal procedure? Strange.
"What do you mean?" Nozomi asked for an explanation.
"Me, as the Grand General has to keep our reputation as a neutral party. Housing a wild enchantress will cause quite a rumor, so I have to put you in prison until we can register you to the capital's school of magic."
Alright, she gets it.
"Before then, I've called my two best friends to check on you."
"Check me, for what?" Nozomi asked.
"My gift is Eyes of Truth, I can see through your soul. Though my eyes may have failed me, so I need to make confirmation by inviting my friends. Maki Nishikino to sense your soul while my other friend, Eli Ayase to smell your soul's scent."
The name Eli Ayase is quite strange. She is in Japan, right? Then How could "Eli" name exist here?
"Why is her name 'Eli'. You know that we don't have "L" in our dictionary."
"Eli happen to be a child of the northern race and a local. You can call her 'Eri' if you like."
A mixed race. Alright, she didn't know that something like that can happen in this age. But what age is this? Exactly? Do they at least, have a train?
"Do you have a train in the capital? You know, that long metal that can help with transportation." Nozomi asked.
"You mean, the metallic smoking snake we currently work on?"
Metallic smoking snake, that's close enough.
"Yes. With Locomotive as its head and a long body which will allow passengers to get aboard."
"So it's called 'train'… I see." The Grand General nodded.
At this point, then Nozomi believes she is around the 18th Century.
"What else do you know about the capital?" Grand General Umi asked to her.
"Hmm… The Tokugawa?"
Grand General Umi tilted her head,
"Who is… Tokugawa?" she asked.
What? No Tokugawa? Where and when the hell is she now?
"Never mind that, who is your leader?" Nozomi asked.
"That's what we are asking to ourselves right now. We don't have a leader." She replied.
"So, the…uh… Great Grand Enchantress is still missing?" Nozomi asked a little awkwardly.
"Yes."
"How does she looked like?"
"You see, no one in this world ever sees her. Even if someone did, then that someone will never return to the realm of the living."
"Then how can you believe that she is gone?"
"She has an altar in the capital, only the grand enchanters are able to enter the closest room and communicate. Then about a few months ago, they found that the Altar has been defiled, her soul orb missing and the door is wide open. Everyone can see how messy the altar is and how there's no trace of the Great Grand Enchanter everywhere. We even called your mother—who we believe to be the only person who knows her heart, but the only thing she said was: She is gone and it's up to all of you to decide whether she should be replaced or to be found."
"Question, my mother is her best friend, but how come she is not the Grand Enchanter?"
"Your mother decide it herself. She doesn't want to be the part of the Grand Enchanter. She wishes only to be a High-Enchantress and live somewhere far from the capital. Everyone believes her to be the only mortal who is loved by a deity like Great Grand Enchantress."
A deity? Then she should've said that earlier. So The Great Grand Enchantress is believed to be a deity.
"Many also believes that if a deity has gone too old, he or she will inherit his or her soul orb to a mortal and turn him or her into a deity. By then, everyone will call him or her as the heir of deity. Usually, the deities will give a mark upon that mortal and let their closest friend knows about who is going to be the heir, yet our Great Grand Enchantress didn't leave any. Many have tried to claim as the marked soul, yet they're all fraud which always never fail to anger us."
"How do you know that it's a fraud?"
"Many ways, as what I told you, my eyes can see, Maki can sense and Eli can smell. I can see your soul glowing, but you glow just like another enchanter in this world, except I can also see something else which make me believe that you are special. Later, my friend Maki will sense your soul. If you are indeed special, she will tell you that you possess a power of a deity, whoever you are, we will provide you what you deserve as an heir of deity. Then lastly, Eli will smell your scent, we believe her to be the only person who can accurately tell the identity of the deity who chose you as an heir, with her information, we will also provide you what you need to learn in school." The Grand General explained.
"So, what if I don't have any deity within me?" Nozomi asked.
"As long as you don't claim yourself as an heir of a deity, you are free to go. If you claim to be one, then you have to pay the price. We may punish you as someone who defiled a deity and the only punishment they probably get is death and humiliation. Even their soul will be punished."
You can't be deader than a dead person, but she can somehow imagine it. Being tormented even as a soul… that's scary.
"Anyway, let's eat our meal. I believe you will want to talk with them with a full stomach."
Nozomi nodded before she and the Grand General proceed to eat their lunch. She is really glad that she isn't exactly a prisoner—but… what happen to her other friends?
After her lunch;
Nozomi couldn't believe that someone could beat her appetite on food. Grand General Sonoda surely eats a lot and she believes that she ate 10 times of her portion. The whole plate on the table is clean without any single leftover. Not even the leaves that she thought to be just a decoration—and no bones too!
Remembering about who the Grand General Sonoda is, she believes that she saw her as a yokai. She can connect that fact with her appetite, but then, are Yokai really eats that much? Plus, if a Yokai can be as composed as her, what about her father? Will he be able to be as calm and polite as her?
"Uhm…" Nozomi tried to start a conversation.
"May I help you?" Grand General asked.
"Well, yes, I have been wondering… what exactly is Yokai and what is Onryou and what's the deal with the Enchanters?" Nozomi asked.
"Curiosity is a plus point. I'd tell you what I know, but I might mislead you. It's always better for you to ask about that to someone who knows better."
"But, aren't you a Yokai? You didn't know about yourself?"
"If I ask you about what human exactly is, you wouldn't completely know too, right? Being a creature doesn't make you completely know about that creature."
Fair point.
"Well, can you at least tell me about what the popular believe about them?"
"Yokai is a creature from the realm of spirit. They are not always summoned, but most people think that they are summoned. A Yokai is also known to be taking a vessel of a human being because they can't be born to earth with a physical body or its own personality. Once they are taking over a vessel, they will become that person and follow their personality."
Basically, Yokai is just a spirit who possess a mortal.
"Onryou is similar to Yokai, except they are born from mortal's spirit and they are always hostile."
So basically, Yokai is not from a mortal spirit but something else while Onryou born from a mortal's spirit and it probably caused by something very bad?
"Enchanters are gifted human. They are always the favorite vessel for Yokai, but not always since Yokai is very picky too."
"What do they prefer?" Nozomi asked.
"A silly question. It's like asking what human usually likes."
Means that they are always different.
"Then, why do you choose Sonoda Umi?"
"Why, huh?" The Yokai she knows as Grand General Sonoda remain silent for a moment.
"I remember that Sonoda Umi is not an enchanter. She was a Samurai." She continued.
"Her master is a noble from the southern Kingdom. They went on an expedition before she found me."
Expedition? Right, this should be the right era for that. Even though she still question about how Tokugawa is not a popular name.
"She spent her life pretending to be a man. But she knows that her heart is a woman with good manner. She wishes to be a true female samurai, but the society stops her from doing so."
"I thought a female in the military is acceptable. There are plenty of popular female warriors, right? Someone like Tomoe Gozen."
"I don't know who Tomoe Gozen is, but it's not acceptable in her family. Even though Umi Sonoda is from a nobility, her family encourage her to become an entertainer instead. She always said in her mind: Apparently for them, learning how to dance is more important than learning how to protect your dignity. I refuse to be a woman who accepts her fate to be a tool of pleasure for men."
"So… she decides to… let me guess, she was… running away?"
"Yes. She ran away and find a way to dress as a samurai. She strips down a dead samurai that she found on the road to the said to be a city of Samurai in her area. She started as a Ronin—or you may call as a Masterless Samurai. She sharpens her skill on the road, toughens her endurance in the wild, and practice her heavy voice on the lake above the mountain."
"Does she has any regret for that?" Nozomi asked.
"Maybe. I don't know much about her feeling. All I know is about what she thinks."
Alright, so basically, this Yokai knows nothing about the feeling of the person she possessed.
"Can you make her return?" Nozomi asked.
"Sadly, no, I am her now. There's no point of return."
"Well then, what about this, what will you feel if you are her?" Nozomi asked again.
Grand General Sonoda once again goes into silence for a moment.
"I…" she took a deep breath.
"I regret it. I feel like I have not thanked my family. I wish I can find them and say my proper thanks."
Thanking her family? What's the deal with that? Didn't she said that she doesn't like how her family treats her and ran away?
"Enough about myself, what about you, Toujou-san? Can you please tell me about who you are?"
"Well, I always think that I was born in a different era. I feel like a freshly born baby than a skilled enchantress."
"You mean, you feel out of place?"
"Yep, exactly!" Nozomi replied.
"Don't worry, maybe it's just your age to be curious about that. I'm very sure the school of magic can help you to figure it out."
She is talking like she is older than her. But she can't complain, maybe she really is older than her—experience wise of course. She doubts that her vessel is older than her.
"The School of Magic is a good place for every enchanter in this world. Even though some might be against the idea, but it's the only place for people to learn magic. It's true that we don't allow them to move freely outside the school's wall, but we give them everything they need in their school. They don't even need to pay fees."
"Why wild enchanters need to be imprisoned?"
"Because they are most likely to be a criminal."
"Shouldn't that be the same with normal human being? When they are wild, they are most likely a criminal."
"A pair of eyes can take care of a weaponless human being, but enchanters are naturally born with a weapon. They have to be captured."
"What about the high-enchanters? My mother is free."
"High-enchanters are free because they've got themselves a certificate of their freedom. They who have got themselves as High-Enchanters are they who are capable of controlling and understanding their power. The Grand Enchanter would be so much more free than they are, but they usually are bound to their duty."
Maybe she knows why her mother doesn't want to be a Grand Enchanter, despite 'having more freedom' than a high enchanter, duty will take more freedom than a rule can ever be.
"What exactly is the duty of a Grand Enchanter?"
"Taking a task from the Great Grand Enchanter. It can be about many things. The Great Grand Enchanter has a vision, she knows everything and anything that happened in this world. She will give them a task and they must finish them in specified time."
"I think I heard about this. The Grand Enchanters are gone missing."
"Yes, they are."
"What exactly do you know about their disappearance?"
"Nothing much. We just know that one of them is leading the rebellion. It's unexpected considering that they should be loyal to the Great Grand Enchanter."
As soon as Grand General said it, an armored young woman with red hair walks in with rude manner.
"To begin with, what you call as rebellion might not be a rebellion from the start. It's a revolution." She said.
"Ah, Master Espion Nishikino. Welcome." Grand General Umi said politely.
Espion? Is that what they call for spies? It sounds like a foreign word, way too foreign for it to be a Japanese word.
"Thanks, but hey, I want to fix something. It's not a rebellion. It's revolution. The system is a mess and someone need to stand up against the rule." Master Espion said.
"Where that argument came from? You agreed with me a few nights ago." The Grand General wondered.
"I did, but that because I don't have any other knowledge. But now I have something else, I change my mind."
"What sort of knowledge?" The Grand general asked.
"About the rebels. I bet you knew that a Grand Enchanter led the rebellion. Apparently, he has a very strong point about why he doesn't want to restore the old order. By caging enchanters, you're also giving more chance for them to turn into Onryou."
"How so?"
"Not every enchanter wish to practice their power and forcing them to take a school is like forcing someone to do what they don't like to do. Some wish to live a life of an ordinary person. The stress level of an enchanter also boosted by the fact that they have to choose between imprisoned or being schooled eternally."
"The school… is not eternal." The Grand General said.
"Hah! That's what you said! When an Enchanter couldn't pass their ridiculous test, they'll be staying at their rank forever— you even got an 80 years old junior enchanter, right?!"
"T-That one… he never gets serious on his studies."
"When he dies later, he won't be the first person or the last person to waste his whole life in a school that never gave him a certain future. Every enchanter is living in a standard that is too ridiculous to fulfill. A wise man once said, you can't judge a fish from its ability to climb a tree."
Albert Einstein. Except what he said was : Everybody is a Genius, but if you judge a fish from its ability to climb a tree, then it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
"The standard isn't ridiculous. It is very easy as the promotion rate of a junior to senior is like 88%" The Grand General Said.
"Then you are saying that 12% of enchanters are allowed to turn into Onryou or living its whole life as a student?" Master Espion said.
"It's their choice. The same with us in militaries. If you can't promote yourself, then you will spend your whole life as a soldier. There's nothing unfair about that."
"You can quit from being a soldier, our system says otherwise for enchanter! You imprisoned them!"
"Our soldiers are not turning their life to a criminal and they—…!"
"They are turning to thugs, bandits, or thieves!" Master Espion Nishikino said cuts in.
The Grand General Sonoda frowned at Master Espion. Maybe this is why people says that getting agreement from the three Holy Beasts are hard.
"It's a whole different thing! It's like comparing a steel sword and a wooden sword! Both are dangerous, but another one is an actual deadly weapon and the others are merely a toy!"
"You say that to the civils! I bet many would testify that they see more thugs and bandits than wild Enchanters goes nuts!"
"It was because of our current system, another one is—…!"
"You are being unfair! It's like you are giving them a chance to—…!"
Before both can finish their words, another one came in and this one…
Well…
This one…
Nozomi has to say…
This one is really hot. She looks way more handsome than what she saw in her vision.
"Both of you, still arguing over a stupid rule." She said with her dreamy voice.
Nozomi is astonished by this… sexy creature. Her blonde hair shines like a golden sunshine, her blue eyes gaze as beautiful as the sea of sapphire, her lively white skin covered by the white fur coat, then… hey, now that she thinks about it. Where are the tails and the animal ears? She thought she saw them in her vision.
"Listen, maybe the last thing our Great Grand Enchanter want is for us to oppose each other. We need to work together."
"We try to but if we don't have the same path to walk on, then we may clash and we will clash if we need to!" Master Espion Nishikino said.
"Yes, I refuse to set the enchanters free! They can be a worse danger than any creature can ever be."
"Honestly, no one is free at the moment. They are all bound to their desire to change or to restore the order. As what I said to you both, we need someone to unite us and give us a solution which will solve all of our problems." The hot and sexy blonde said.
"Even though I disagree, at least that makes a little sense to me." Master Espion Nishikino said.
"Grand Magister Ayase, I believe that as something we need to consider, but we must be quick. Also, as you can see here, I brought you an enchanter with a special soul."
Grand Magister. Maybe this person is an enchanter as well? That's good. Something similar is always a good start of a relationship—or so she thinks.
"About time. Considering you are the one who brought her here, I assume she is truly special?" The Grand Magister said as she approaches Nozomi.
This is good for Nozomi. She gets to see this hottie a little closer.
"Honestly, I'm pretty tired of wasting my time with fraud." The Master Espion said as she is also getting closer to her. Honestly, Master Espion is also pretty hot—but not as attractive as the Grand Magister. Maybe the Grand Magister is truly her type. She is tall—and slightly taller than Master Espion, has sexy voices, and…
Wait-wait-wait. She. She is a woman. How could Nozomi admit herself to be a lesbian? Everyone in her era might go nuts if she told them. Wait, isn't this era forbid lesbian more than a murder? Do they even have any rules yet?
While Nozomi is about to be deeper in her thought, Master Espion Nishikino grab both of her hands.
"Eh?" The purplenette's eyes widened.
Then a moment later, Master Espion Nishikino bend toward her, pressing her forehead against hers—which she almost thought that she was about to be kissed for the sake of 'sensing' her soul. It happened for a moment until Master Espion releases her.
"She is indeed a special soul, but too weak to be called as a deity. Maybe we need her to learn something about magic first."
That's true. She doesn't have any magic with her yet.
"What about you, Eli? Can you identify—…!" Grand General Sonoda stumbled on her word,
"I mean…. What about you Grand Magister Ayase, can you identify her?" She repeated herself.
"You don't need to be so formal. I'll do that even if you are not asking me formally." Grand Magister Ayase replied with a teasing wink.
"I-it's not about that! I was just trying to give a good example to our guest!" The Grand General said.
"Don't worry about that, I'm not going to call you Umi, Maki or Eli." Nozomi said even though she started to feel like she should call them with those name in her mind.
The three remain silent as they heard her.
"Well, alright, Eli, can you identify her?" Umi asked politely.
"Sure." The Hot and Sexy Magister approach the purplenette closer.
"Hmm…." She sniffed her.
Somehow, Nozomi feels a little awkward. Not that she complain about the handsome female she is looking at.
"Hmm…" she shortens her gap.
"Hmmmmm….." she eventually placed her nose tip on Nozomi's neck and starting to sniff her as if she is trying to tease her to do what adult call as intimacy.
"Eli, is that necessary? I feel like you are getting a little too…. Close… than usual…" Umi said.
"I was thinking about that too, but go on, if you think that's necessary," Maki said.
"The only problem here is that her scent is too weak. Both of your scents overwhelm hers." Eli said.
"Then, you need us to… leave?" Umi asked.
"You should've said that." Maki said.
"No, I need to take her somewhere more private. There are still too many people here."
"Oh… then, do you want to… borrow one of our prison?" Umi asked.
"Prison? That's too stinky for my nose. Please remember how much people die there!"
"R-Right…" Umi smiled wryly.
"I guess she really is too weak. Maybe you want to make the identification in the city? I'm sure being in your own room will give you more advantage." Maki suggested.
"Good idea." Eli replied with a somewhat mischievous smile.
"Until then, we should keep her in the prison." Umi said.
Now-now, Umi just said that many people died there, but now she wants to return her to that place?
"Or you can leave her to me. I'm a Grand Magister and it is my job to take care of anyone or anything related to magic."
Maki squinted at Eli,
"Hey, Eli, that's strange. You've never been this caring about someone." She asked.
"Only because they are no special. Even though I couldn't identify her, I still know that she is special. You two said if yourself, right?"
"Right, huh?" Maki raised her eyebrow.
"In that case, please take her to prison and you stay there to take care of her." Umi said.
Eli chuckled to her statement.
"That's right. Everyone wins." She said with a playful smile.
Just a moment later;
Grand Magister Eli Ayase brought her to the prison—except she is not in the same prison room. It seems that she requested the deepest prison they have on this huge ship. Alas, Nozomi never thought the ship contain about 200 rooms and 50 of them are prisons.
While the deep prison area is the most wanted criminals, the deepest are meant for the wild enchanters. She believes she knew why she was at the surface prison before— it was because Grand General Sonoda know her as a special soul and she actually treats her special too. Lucky her.
Walking through the prison is something new for Nozomi, but it's not something she considers as something to be fascinated at. The amount of despair in the air is too high. She remains in silence until she reached a prison room which contains two familiar figure.
Niko and Hanayo. Both of them look so down and she believes they need at least a very tiny hope to lighten their mood.
"Nikocchi! Hanayo-chan!" Nozomi called them.
"Ah!" Niko and Hanayo lighten as they heard her voice.
"Nozomi-chan!" both of them called her back. When they see Eli right next to her, they began to change their expression again. It's like they are trying to hide their fear.
"I'm glad to see both of you! Where are your parents?" Nozomi asked.
"Hnngh… they got caught too and now taken in another ship. Your mother is accompanying them and she told us that everything is going to be alright." Hanayo explained.
"Yeah, we are here to make sure that they are not being treated like us." Niko smirked.
"What do you mean?" Nozomi asked.
"They said, they will have to put them in prison too if we are with them." Niko replied.
"Y-yeah, they said, rule is a rule." Hanayo said.
"It can't be helped. The Grand General has to follow the order until someone changes the rule." Eli said.
"Hey, by the way, where are we going, exactly?" Niko asked.
"Depends. If you are talking about where you two are going, then you two are going to the nearby village. They have plenty of room for enchanters in their new school." Eli replied.
"What? Then is anyone here going somewhere else?" Niko asked.
"Of course, Nozomi is going to the capital. She is special to us." Eli said clearly and confidently.
"T-that's unfair!" Niko replied loudly.
"Y-yeah!" Hanayo followed her.
"N-Now-now, uh… Grand Magister—…"
"Eli, you can call me Eli. Only for you." Eli replied with a suggestive smile.
"O...Ok…so… Eli…uh…." Nozomi feels a little awkward.
"What? You want to call me something more… intimate?" Eli asked her suggestively.
Well, she wouldn't mind.
"What about, Elicchi?"
"I have a Japanese name,you know. Eri. Eri Ayase."
"Alright, then, Ericchi?"
"Sounds good to me."
Strange, this Grand Magister is a little too… close? Nozomi wonder if this Grand Magister knows something about her and plan to do something to her as well.
"What with this creepy conversation do with us? Can you like, not doing something like that especially to people younger than you?" Niko complained.
"Y-Yeah! B-Be careful, Nozomi-chan!" Hanayo said.
Nozomi agrees, but she doesn't mind if she has to a little bit lovey-dovey with a hottie like Eli, except if she doesn't plan to be faithful of course. Maybe she should confront her about this once they are alone.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep my own safety!" Nozomi said.
Her word responded with Eli's chuckle.
"So, what do you want to say to me before?" she asked.
"Ah, well, about them. They are my friends and I happen to think that it is important for me if they join the school in the capital. So… can you do anything about that?" Nozomi asked.
The request makes Niko and Hanayo's eyes sparkles. They are very touched by the concern Nozomi gave to them.
"If you are asking me personally, I can't." Eli replied.
Niko and Hanayo are down again.
"I don't have the right to recruit regular enchanters, because if I do, then people may accuse me of giving a personal favor."
"That's sad." Nozomi pouts.
"But because you are the one who asks, I certainly will do anything for you." Eli said.
Niko and Hanayo shine again.
"Really? Then, what will you do?" Nozomi asked.
"I'll talk with Maki about this. But until then, I'll have to send you to your new cell."
"W-wait-wait! Why are you sending her to prison?!" Niko complained.
"Isn't it obvious? Because she is a wild enchanter until she is registered in school. She has to stay in prison or she will have to a public execution." Eli said.
"E-eeeehhh!?" Niko, Hanayo, and Nozomi shouted in their shock.
"Ah? I guess The Grand General didn't explain you much about this, but yes, according to our current law, everyone has the right to make a public execution to wild enchanters. In another word, they are allowed to treat the wild enchanters like bandits or thugs."
"T-That's very unfair! It's like saying that we are born thugs!" Hanayo said.
"Yeah! Bandits or thugs are becoming who they are because of their choice, we don't have any choice when we were born! We just… born with magic in our blood!" Niko said.
"Joining or not joining the school is also a choice." Eli replied.
"It's way different than them!" Niko said.
"Yeah! They have a lot of choices and we just have three choices! To be dead, to be in prison, or to go to school!"
"Every mortal is given with only two choices once they are old enough. To be dead or to stay alive. It's not that different. Just count yourself to be blessed as you don't have to struggle to find your path." Eli said.
Well, this is a little sad. The person Nozomi thinks to be sexy has a point of view that bother her. Again, maybe she should confront her about this too.
"Now, I should hurry to send your friend to her cell. You want me to fetch your ticket to the capital's school of magic, right?"
Niko and Hanayo remain silent. They couldn't make any argument to that. Eli and Nozomi continue to proceed toward the cell she is meant to be.
After a few meters of walking;
Nozomi realizes that the deepest cell is way deeper than the said to be deepest prison area. It's like she is right in the deepest part of the ship—the bottom of the bottom and the most isolated place.
"Ericchi, are you… really going to put me here? You said that I'm a special soul, right?" Nozomi asked for a confirmation.
Eli remains silent. Somehow, she is getting a little creepy.
"Ericchi…?" Nozomi called her once again and the only respond she gets was her own echo— that's not even Eli's respond.
Once they stopped at the corner of the room, Eli suddenly pushed her to the wall. In a surprise, Nozomi tried to retort but her power is nothing compared to the Blonde.
"Ericchi—what are you—….!"
And before she could finish her word, the bold cold lips pressed against her. At first, it was just a rough touch, but eventually, Eli's tongue starting to play inside her mouth and she doesn't know how to reject that.
It's true that she is interested in her, it's also true that she has a slight crush on her, but stealing that kind of thing is rude and if they live in the modern age, she could accuse her for rape.
A few times, Nozomi tried to stop her, but apparently, her mind also told her that she should just enjoy this because she will miss this later. Who would ever guess that a single woman like her will ever be kissed by someone so hot like Eli? She should keep this experience as her own achievement. Maybe later when she somehow return to her modern era, she can say that her first kiss is stolen by a handsome person and no one will believe it.
She started to follow her tongue. Playing together and sharing what she always know as saliva. Trading the sensation of different body temperature and smelling a scent that she is never familiar with. To be honest, Eli smells like a flower instead of a beast. She wonders why. She also wonders what flower she smells like. It seems to be familiar.
When they stopped their passionate kisses, they stare at each other and Nozomi can see that Eli is smiling so brightly at her. It's like she really loves how she react to her. Nozomi wouldn't mind having another kiss, but her mouth is a little too tired right now.
"You are truly who I expect to be." Eli commented. Nozomi wonders what exactly she is talking about but either way…
"What with you? Suddenly kissing me like that? That's rude! Just ask me next time!" she stated clearly.
Eli chuckled.
"I'm sorry, I thought you will reject me. But anyway, I'd like to have just a little bit of your blood.
"For what?"
"A ritual."
"You know what, I really don't believe in ritual or anything of the sort using whatsoever sacrifice."
"I'm not sacrificing you or anyone. I just need a very little bit of your blood."
"Then you can wait for me to have that time of the month." Nozomi replied.
Eli chuckled again.
"No-no, I need it to be pure."
"Well then, the tip of my finger it is. Do you have any clean ne—…"
And before Nozomi can finish her sentence, Eli pulled her hand and bit the tip of her finger with her very sharp fang.
"Aaahh!" Nozomi moaned.
Eli sucked the tip of her bleeding finger. As she is doing it, Nozomi feels like something familiar is coming up to her mind again. She has to say that it feels like she is getting some fake memories poured within her mind, but she isn't quite sure if it's a fake memory.
From the journal she had—telling her as a brilliant engineer who makes machines and all that workshop thing, it's too vague. She can't be who she is right now. There must be something that can make her recover any memory that connects her with those fake-like memories.
She remembers that there's a calm altar. Then there's a sound of an explosion. Next, she remembers someone is telling her something. Next, she remembers that she can see a huge object in the sky through the broken ceiling, exploding into purple lights and spread all over the places.
She remembers there's a hand holding her, then that someone's hand pulling her and forcing her to go into somewhere. It looked like a door with purple watery vortex inside it. She got in and her memory stopped just there. Nothing else, no more clues and really nothing she can understand.
As soon as the ritual is over—or was it just Eli sucking her blood from the wound she made, Nozomi feels very exhausted. Her legs couldn't hold her and her hands are numb. She can feel Eli holding her and carrying her with both of her strong arms.
Her blurry vision can see two small beds placed at the other corner of the small, damp, and lonely prison.
"You will have to rest here for a moment, ok? This place is safer for you than any other prison in this ship." Eli said.
Nozomi nodded weakly. She is starting to feel very sleepy.
"I'll be sealing the door, no one will be able to enter this door, but you can leave anytime but I don't recommend that." Eli continued.
Nozomi nodded once again.
"Please, really take a rest and don't do anything stupid. I'll be back here to accompany you once I finish negotiating your request."
It must be the request about getting Hanayo and Niko to the capital's school of magic. Nozomi gives her the best smile she can make. She knows Eli is responding her with a smile as well, but something she did after may be more important: The Grand Magister Eli Ayase kissed her gently and romantically. It's way different than their first kiss which was very lustful and aggressive.
But maybe she is wrong anyway. After that one gentle and romantic kiss, Eli is kissing her lustfully once again as she places her down to the bed. She even hugged her and sat on her as if she is trying to be truly intimate with , after a while, Eli released her and jumped away from the bed.
"I'll see you tonight, honey." She said playfully before she ran out of the prison excitedly.
This is not bad at all. If she is truly going to do what she think she is going to do with Eli, then maybe she would be as excited as Eli. First, she must get a good sleep and good stamina for later. She wouldn't want to mess with her first night with the person she just met a few hours ago.
But… Did she really meet this person a few hours ago?
Waking up from her slumber is what Nozomi expect her to be;
But she did not expect herself to be waking up in the modern age again. Now she wish to get back to sleep and getting laid by her crush. Maybe she is dreaming too much today and also—apparently, she is sleeping on the shrine she worked at, right next to a fox statue she touched.
This age feels too real for her—but so is the other one. Maybe she is a little dazed right now, but at least no one see her sleeping here or else they will—…
"Oh! Nozomi!" called a familiar voice.
"Nikocchi!" she replied.
Well, at least she know this person. Niko came here with her school uniform.
"You were sleeping so deeply, a shrine maiden that came after you told me that she can't wake you up."
"O-oh…." Nozomi feels disappointed—but maybe not really, she is glad that she can stay asleep when she dream of being kissed so lustfully.
"I happen to be in the shrine by the time she is looking for help. You should be glad that it's me or you'll be in an ambulance right now!" Niko said.
"Yep, thank you so much, Nikocchi!" Nozomi smiled at her.
"Just get up and go home, will you? You still have to go to school tomorrow!"
Good enough? Lol. Don't forget to review/faves/follows! Also thanks if you did! It really helps me to keep myself motivated!
