Kk, sorry for the long update, i had lots of things to do first
Thanks for reviews/comment/faves/follows!
Thanks to crimson too for the hard work!
The city, marketplace, morning;
Hanayo, Niko, and Rin walked through the marketplace, looking for food to purchase,
"Yesterday's food was so good! I wonder if we could get it again today…" Niko wondered.
"Let's buy some for Maki-chan too-nya!" Rin said.
"I'm sure Maki-chan will be happy to have some, but let's make sure to get a lot of tomatoes too, ok?" Hanayo said.
"Yeah-nya!" Rin said excitedly.
"Seriously though, we didn't expect Maki-chan to play so well, on an old Piano…it was so beautiful that even the paintings around the halls looked happy to have her there…" Hanayo said.
"Hmmph! You're just flattering her too much!" Niko said.
"Ahh… there's so many food today-nya…" Rin said as she pointed at the street which was filled with many food merchants standing from one corner to the other.
"Yeah—I guess there's a food bazaar today?" Niko said.
"Hmm…we should be careful because not all of them are healthy…" Hanayo said.
Niko let out a scoff, "Heh— you're underestimating a pirate's stomach…"
"Yeah, we can eat almost anything in the wild nya!" Rin added.
"Hmmnn…I think that's a whole different case, I was talking about how these merchants preserve their food. Some of them would use chemical mixtures for it, and I think they also add some special ingredients for the taste… so…. Let's just be extra careful…" Hanayo said.
"Don't worry-nya! We're pirates! We can eat from the dirtiest of places nya!" Rin said.
"Yeah— shouldn't be a problem for us…" Niko agreed.
"If you want nya, we can help you pick out ingredients by tasting each and every one of the foods here nya! So you know which one to pick!"
"E-Eh? Try them all?" Hanayo flustered.
"Yup! We'll be fine! But… since we're doing it for your service… maybe you can buy them for us?" Niko asked.
"Oohh! Yes, that's a good idea nya! I mean… that's the best choice nya!" Rin said.
"Uhh….Okay…then...I guess…." Hanayo smirked wryly, as her eyes scanned the whole marketplace, looking at all the food stands that were lined up on the street today.
"Then! Let's start from that one!" Niko pointed to a food stand, filled with meat; to be exact it was filled with barbequed sausages.
"S-s-sausage? Eehh! Uhh…i..it looks tasty…but..." Hanayo hesitated.
"Yeah! See? My choice is always the best… so let's get on it!" Niko grabbed Hanayo's hand,
"W-wha?" Hanayo started to get flustered as she found herself getting dragged into the crowd, with Rin also pushing the helpless girl from behind, chimed on happily, "Let's go! Let's go!"
"D-Don't push me! Aaa! S-Someone, please help!"
Koizumi's Inn, morning;
Eli woke up from her nice sleep; she stretched from left to right before she jumped out of bed,
Ahh…that really was a good night's sleep… this bed quality is amazing….
Eli said in her mind.
Can't believe Maki has been sleeping in a place like this place ever since we set foot here, what a lucky girl…
She said again as she sat back down on the bed.
I want to go back to sleep…..
And before she could rest back down, someone unexpectedly unlocked the door and opened it,
"Ericchi!" Nozomi called her cheerfully. Her hair was let down, coming in, Eli could see the purplenette wearing a transparent nightdress—not that the blonde tried to look, but she could see Nozomi's bra and underwear right under the cloth.
"W-waa! Nozomi! Wh-why are you wearing that outside your house?"
"Eh? I wanted to pay a visit to your new bedroom… so this is appropriate, right?"
"No! It's not! Wear a jacket or something, sheesh!"
"Ah—ok, next time then…" Nozomi said cheerfully.
"Besides! This is not my bedroom, I'm just using Maki's, Umi had given me her keys last night…No, actually, I'm just borrowing this… but argh!" Eli scratched her head in frustration.
She took a deep breath, and calmed herself down,
"Why are you here so early anyway…" she asked calmly.
"My breakfast… make it for me!" Nozomi demanded cutely.
"Oh...right…."
Nozomi puffed up her cheeks, "Don't tell me, Ericchi forgot her promise? How irresponsible!"
"No..no…I just forgot for a moment because of the bed…it feels so good…" Eli replied.
Nozomi frowned, closing the door behind her and quickly made her way to the bed, instantly jumping on it, she started to roll around.
"N-Nozomi?" the blonde tilted her head in confusion,
"Ericchi, this bed is nothing compared to my bed!" Nozomi pouts.
"Really?"
"Yup, my bed is big, fluffy, warm, and super comfortable. This is why you should sleep in my room."
"Is that so…? Are you sure it's not because you still want to try something, even after I lectured you about it last night?"
"Eh—try what? I don't know what you're talking about!" Nozomi said in a melodic voice.
"You lied…"
"Nope, I'm not lying!" Nozomi continued, using the same tone
"Then what's with that melodic tone in your voice?"
"I told you I just want to be cute… this is the new me!"
"Huh? Really? Well…that's an extreme change…" Eli replied.
Nozomi giggled,
"Believe me! So, do you want to check out my bedroom?"
Eli squint her eyes, meeting the innocent-looking turquoise orbs in front of her along with the small soft lips which smiled at her cutely.
Eli sighed weakly,
"Fine, I'll check it out, but let's have your breakfast first, ok?" Eli said.
"Yup! Cook me meat!"
"I said—No meat!"
"Eeh? But I already bought them…"
"Then I'm going to eat it…"
"Aaa! That's not fair!"
"It is fair! You have to stay with vegetables until your bad cholesterol is lowered!"
"Aaaaaa! I want meat!"
"Nozomi!"
Kotori's workshop, morning;
When Umi came out of her room, she found Honoka sitting on a seat, reading food magazines, while Kotori looked occupied by something in her oven,
"G'Morning…" Umi greeted.
"Ah, Umi-chan!" Honoka greeted back.
Kotori remained quiet as she watched her oven intensely.
"What is she making?" Umi asked.
"Eh…uhm… meat croissant sandwiches. She said she wanted to make them for lunch at school today…" Honoka replied.
"Sounds tasty…" Umi replied.
"Yep, it also has vegetables in it. It very healthy…" Honoka said.
"Oh…." Umi nodded, noticing the four empty lunch boxes.
"Four?"
"Ah—the other one is for Nozomi-chan. Kotori-chan said she wanted to make up with her… and knowing that Nozomi-chan loves greasy meat…. She wanted to make one for her lunch…"
"I see…." Umi replied.
"There's also a cheese in it, Kotori-chan loves cheeses to she will have a lot of it added inside…" Honoka said, taking a glance at the said girl.
"Hmm…that sounds very tasty…"
"Yup, also some slices of tomatoes and cucumber to give it a fresh taste…"
"Ah… that really sounds tempting… I believe it will be very delicious…" Umi said as her mouth started to slightly water from imagining the taste.
"Hehe, yup, we got ours too— we're going to gather ingredients in the nearby forest, it's going to be a whole day's task so— that's why we got that for our lunch…" Honoka said.
"Then what about breakfast?" Umi found herself asking.
"Oatmeal…"
Umi replied. "That's healthy…"
"Yup, hehe… I also got some manjuus if you want to snack on along the way…" Honoka said.
"Great, I really like your manjuus…." Umi stated.
"Really! You flatter me!" Honoka said proudly.
Then suddenly a bell rings.
"Ahh! It's done!" Kotori said cheerfully with a hit of excitement in her voice, as she opened the oven door with her thick glove, pulling out the tray that contained the croissant breads. Both the bluenette and ginger turned their sight towards the said object.
"W-wow…." Umi and Honoka were astonished as they saw how perfect the bread looked. The colors of the croissants were a shade of brown which rested in the middle of light and dark, indicating that it had toasted properly. The size and the shape remained the same— as for what it felt like, well they haven't touched it but from how it looked, the croissants gave out a soft feature and looked mouth-melting. There was no doubt as to how delicious this sandwich will turn out to be.
"Hehe, Ultimate Quality! I'm getting better at this…" Kotori said happily.
"Y-yeah….that looks even better than Eli's cooking…." Umi admitted.
"I'm an expert on baked foods! Hehe…" Kotori said proudly.
"Now, time to let it cool down first?" Honoka asked.
"Yup, then we should slice them…add everything else! Hmmm…I can't wait for lunch time…." Kotori said.
"Good luck…" Umi said.
"Yup! Hmmm…let's fry the bacons and meats…."
Honoka looks somewhat excited,
"W-wah! Bacons! Nyum! This is really going to be an ultimate sandwich!"
Toujou's residence, Morning;
Nozomi enjoyed her breakfast— fried red rice with salmon chops, an egg and some other small cut vegetables,
"This is delicious…" Nozomi said as she finished her meal.
"Listen, I already spoiled you with today's breakfast, so today's lunch— you will have to eat what I prepared for your lunch. Ok?" Eli said as she prepared her lunch box,
"Hmm..Ericchi, you're starting to act like a mother…. or an older sister…" Nozomi said,
Eli paused for a moment, she was about to say something, though she decided to not respond instead.
Nozomi noticed the pause and began to remember what else she destroyed back then,
"Ah—Ericchi….I….I'm sorry…. I…destroyed your work that one you wanted to give to your younger sister…." Nozomi said sadly.
"That's fine. Forget it…" Eli let out a fake response, acting like she didn't care.
Nozomi remained quiet for a moment, her eyes kept on looking at how swift and clever Eli looked when working in the kitchen, it's like she already knows a lot—and yet it doesn't look like she included any emotion in her work.
"Ericchi… tell me, do soldiers cook for themselves…?" Nozomi asked
"We do everything by ourselves; we're trained to be independent and disciplined…" Eli replied.
"Are they also trained to be emotionless?" Nozomi asked.
Eli paused,
Then she sighed weakly,
"I guess you can say it like that…" Eli replied.
"I've been wondering, why do you put yourself to be trained as a soldier? Can't you be trained as something else…?"
"Didn't I tell you we don't have a choice? Everyone born will be forced to enter that school… and our name will not be registered as civilians of Terra until after we graduate. This basically means that we students are still disposable before we graduate…"
"Then, why do you have to go back to that place? You can always stay here with your comrade to seek your freedom…"
"Problem is, three of us are the top three students, we are watched by the authority… so if we don't return to Terra before our vacation is over, they will start looking for us… plus, my other two comrades still has a family, you know… and I can't just leave them for my ego. Maki especially, because she really needs my help to graduate…" Eli said.
"Can't you fake your death or something?" Nozomi asked.
"If we do that, all of our belongings will be taken… even our ships…" Eli replied.
"Then you can't return to earth without it…." Nozomi said sadly.
"Exactly…. My only choice is just to graduate and register myself as 'moved to another planet.'" Eli said.
"And you will do that, for me…. right?" Nozomi replied.
"It would be for myself, not you…" Eli said.
Nozomi giggled,
"…but you will stay here with me, so let's just say that will be for me…"
Eli sighed,
"Whatever…. But tell you what, once we move, we will not be able to move back to Terra…. But whatever it is, the idea to get myself off that place already makes me feel glad. The earth could provide me a good place to stay, whether I stay with you or not, is not an issue…" Eli replied.
"Ah—don't worry; I told you, we're a perfect match. You'll stay with me…" Nozomi said.
Eli remained quiet as she packed up Nozomi's lunch. Then she sighed weakly again,
"You know, sometimes I feel curious as to why you are suddenly this clingy…"
"I just want to be treated, that's all… nothing more…" Nozomi replied.
Eli smirked,
"I'm only here for a few days, remember?…" Eli said.
"And you proved yourself to be reliable… so don't sweat about details, just go with it…" Nozomi replied.
"Alright then…." Eli replied as she put her lunch box on the table.
Nozomi turned to see her lunch box, she knew the said box very well—but she had never seen it so clean and neatly packed.
"Good luck with school today." Eli said as she smiled at her gently.
Nozomi smiled back,
"Thanks….Ericchi…" she replied timidly.
"Then….I'll go check your room now…" Eli said.
"Ah—can you….do that a bit later…?" Nozomi asked.
"Hmm? Why…?" Eli wondered,
"Uh….because…" Nozomi glanced away,
"It's a big mess….?" Eli lifted her eyebrow.
"Yes…." Nozomi replied as her face turned completely red
"I'll tidy it up…" Eli said.
"No-no… it's not that….it just that…I want to help you clean… and…uh… it's almost time for school…so…."
"I'll tidy it up and if there's any change you want, let me know…" Eli cuts in.
"Eh, but…. I'll feel bad if you do it alone…"
"I cleaned your whole house and you only feel bad when I clean your bedroom?"
"No-no..it just that… there are some….things…. that I don't want you to see…."
"What is it? Your worn underwear? Rotten, unsanitary napkin? Last year's meal maybe? I've seen it all and have been cleaning it up as well…" Eli said.
"No-no, I don't care about that…" Nozomi replied.
"Then what are you talking about?! Honestly, if you're going to care about those things, then at least keep your house clean!"
"Eh, but no one's going to look at it, they only see me outside and in my office…"
"Oh—so that's why the office is so neat and well kept… But either way! You should take care of the rest of the house as well!"
"Too troublesome…"
"You're the troublesome one! Sheesh! I can't believe no one taught you how to keep your place clean!"
"I told you, I was living alone!"
"No excuses! How can you even live in this place?!"
"By not caring about it?"
"Don't answer that! That's not a question! That's just a rhetorical comment!"
"Oh…."
"You know what? You better get home early! I'll teach you a lesson about hygiene!"
"So you're going to wait for me before cleaning up my room…?"
"Yes! happy now?!" Eli yelled.
"Promise?"
"Yes, promise! Sheesh!"
"Ah—Ericchi is so kind!"
"Don't flatter me! I'm still angry!"
The city, morning, Inn;
Maki got up from her bed, and started to look around, three single beds—all empty, the shoes— all gone, jackets—there were none.
"Where did they go…?" Maki mumbled,
She sighed weakly and jumped off the bed. Walking to the windows, she looked out and saw the view of the city. In all honesty, she was somewhat amazed by how magical the world, she stays in right now, is. She began to wonder, what if the two sides began to fight against each other. Will it be a big fight or will it benefit one side?
She surely knows that the whole subject about war was just limited in arguments and conversations right now… but what if it somehow advance itself into a real war? The image of her having to choose a side scares her.
She also began to wonder, what her family will say about the arguments between the two sides. Will they choose a side?
As her thoughts were about to run wild, without knocking, someone opened the door.
"Nyaaaaaa! Maki-chaaaaaaaaaannn!" Rin greeted her excitedly as she ran in and jumped on Maki.
"O-oi! Watch it!" Maki said.
"Ah, Maki-chan, you're awake…" Hanayo said—she looks somewhat…disheveled.
"Yaah—! That was the best food tour I ever had…." Niko walked in happily, looking as unruly as Hanayo.
"Where did you all go…?" Maki asked.
"We went to the food bazaar-nya! It's very crowded so we had to force our way in-nya!" Rin said—a strange odor coming out from her mouth.
"Y-you smell! Wh-what the hell did you eat…" Maki said as she shoved Rin away from her.
And Rin fell to the ground,
"We ate so many things today-nya! I forgot the details-nya!" Rin said, remaining as excited as ever, even while being on the ground.
"Yeah-yeah! Then there was this rice… ah they are doing so well with it!" Hanayo said, her voice somewhat a little too playful compared from the usual.
"Then those crepes were so good… with extra caramel…"
"The octopus dumplings too… the ramen… ah I want to eat them again-nya!" Rin said excitedly.
Maki smirked,
"I can't stop eating! I want to drink!" Hanayo yelled.
"H-huh? That was random…" Maki said.
"Let's go home and tell Maki-chan-nya!" Rin said.
"Huh? The hell? I'm here… you guys already told me!" Maki stared at the lot, questioningly.
"So we go back and tell Maki-chan that we love the food…" Niko said.
"Oi! Oi! I'm right here!" Maki yelled.
"Ahhhh! Maki-chan you need to taste the rice it was so good!" Hanayo shouted.
"Are you all drunk?!"
"We are the Navigators—YAY!" Rin shouted.
"Afterschool! Afterschool!" Niko yelled.
"Delicious!" Hanayo shouted.
"T-that confirms it…" Maki sighed.
The three musketeers kept spouting incoherent nonsense, while their eyes showed no sign of their sober counterparts.
Maki sighed again, as she watched the trio randomly dance around in the room, and cause a disruptive amount of noise.
"I guess I have no choice…" Maki stretched her arms.
Niko, Rin and Hanayo ignored her completely.
"Niko, Rin, Hanayo….. I'm sorry…."
And within seconds, she—…..
The School of Magic, Lunch Break;
The school's backyard will always be Nozomi's favorite place to spend her break time. Usually, she would stop at the cafeteria, but since she brought her own lunch today, she decided to go straight to the backyard. She sat on the bench near a big tree,
As she opened her lunch box, she saw almost all kinds of vegetables neatly set in it along with red rice. Nozomi sighed weakly,
She gently grabbed the chopsticks that was prepared next to it, and just before she is about to eat it.
"Ah—Nozomi-chan…." Kotori called her.
"Oh…Kotori-chan…." Nozomi replied a little awkwardly.
The two looked at each other for a moment…
"Hnn…I…I want to say sorry…." Kotori said as she bowed and offered a lunch box to her.
Nozomi remained quiet for a moment before she decided to accept it.
"I snapped at you yesterday… I was…just really worried about you…. I thought you would surely throw your pride as a virgin and a female that time….because… you're like a sister to me, I don't want you to be disrespected by anyone or yourself…" Kotori said.
Nozomi smiled faintly,
"Is it really that important to you?" Nozomi asked.
"If you're talking about my own, yes…it is important…. because it's supposed to be given only to the one who will be my life time partner…but… if it's about yours… I…I just want you to think more…. I know you're very experimental… you are willing to do a lot of things to satisfy your curiosity but… the thing you called as Virginity can't be recovered…. And once you lose it, it will be lost forever…."
"I know about that…" Nozomi replied.
"Then, why are you going to give it to Ayase-san…? She is just a stranger; we got to know her just a few days ago. I know she is charming, but…. look… from the way you and her started…. Do you think it's wise to decide her to be your life time partner? Or at least… the one who gets the honor to tear your purity?"
"I just think she is the perfect person for me…" Nozomi said.
"Is she really?'
"Yes, I can see it already…" Nozomi replied surely.
"Is it really because you feel that way or are you just trying to find an excuse to use her, I also know that Ayase-san is a very reliable person… I hope you're not just trying to abuse that…"
"Nope, it's true. I really feel and think that way… we'll be good with each other… and we understand each other… maybe there are just a few conflicts, but I doubt it will be a big problem…"
"I still think you're deciding it too fast…." Kotori said.
"No, I'm sure I'm not… it's in the correct phase." Nozomi replied.
"Is it really?" Kotori asked clearly.
"Yes, it is…." Nozomi replied in the same manner.
Kotori sighed weakly.
"Fine…" Kotori replied.
Nozomi smiled at her and she started to open the lunch box that Kotori gave her.
"W-wha! B-Bacons! M-meat!" Nozomi said excitedly, as her eyes sparkled at the food.
"Ah, yes, I made that for you…I know you like them…" Kotori replied.
"Y-you're my savior! Kotori-chan! I thought I'll never eat this again!" Nozomi said.
"Eh? Wh-what do you mean? You can buy meat from Kayo-chan's shop…."
Nozomi remained quiet for a moment, and then she coughed a little,
"Well…actually….Kotori-chan…. it was because….. Ericchi is allergic to meat!" Nozomi said.
"E-eh!?" Kotori stuttered out in surprised,
"That's why…. I can't cook meat anymore… and…of course, Ericchi will never cook me meat because of her allergies… I could be selfish by just cooking it right away… but….ah… I've promised to myself to stop being cruel ...seeing Ericchi suffer makes me sad!" Nozomi said dramatically.
"I…I see…."
"You see now, right? I truly have feelings for her…. a strange feeling which might be the seed of love that I want to grow in myself…. don't you wish to see it bloom?"
"Y-yes…."
"Same with me…. That's why… I sacrificed my love of meat for her…. because I believe, she is the one that I need for my life…she is way more needed than a big slab of meat on my plate everyday…" Nozomi said.
"T-that's kind of you!" Kotori couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Yup, see? I really did change into a good person… you have to believe me…"
"Yes, you are!"
"Now-now, time to enjoy my sandwich…" Nozomi said as she picked up the sandwich.
"Uh…what about your other lunch?" Kotori asked.
"Ah..uhm… these are vegetables…. It's delicious, but…it doesn't really fit my tastes…" Nozomi replied.
"Uhm…but it looks so neat and tasty…." Kotori said.
"Ericchi made it for me, but you can have it…" Nozomi said while holding out the lunch box, with her free hand, towards the girl in front of her.
"R-really?" Kotori asked.
"Yup, as a replacement for the nice sandwich…" Nozomi replied.
"Then…you can have my other sandwich! I still have one!" Kotori said.
"R-really? Then I would like to have it!" Nozomi replied excitedly.
"Yup, as a sign that we made up…" Kotori said before she turned around, about to go to get the other lunch box,
"Great!"
Then Nozomi widen her eyes as an idea crossed her mind,
"Ah, Kotori-chan!" she called.
Kotori stopped,
"What if…. We trade our lunch every day from now on? Since… you know, I will never get to cook or have meat in my home at the moment?"
"Uh? Sure I guess?'
"Perfect! Don't tell Ericchi, ok? I want her to know that I ate her lunch that she made with love!"
"Ok!"
Toujou's residence, afternoon;
Eli was currently working on fixing a few rooms that she wasn't quite satisfied with,
She kept moving furniture here and there to make it as effective as it can be until suddenly, Umi came by,
"Afternoon, Eli…" Umi greeted politely.
"Ah, Umi… afternoon…" Eli greeted back.
"Sorry I only get to visit you in the afternoons, I had to go around with Honoka first…" Umi said.
"That's fine, but why are you visiting me? Anything you need?"
"I just noticed that you're working so much for Toujou-san… I wonder why you're not against it yet… I believe you can rebel any time you like…"
"She is like a mirror to me… what I did to her is what I want to feel for myself… also because she reminds me of having a family… not that you and Maki don't…. it just that… she is also someone special and unique to me..."
"Someone special… as in lovers? I heard you're in that status with her…"
"Pretty much, but I'm not sure why. She never wants to explain it to me in details… I'm just playing along with her game…" Eli replied.
"Sure it's not because she is cute and has a pair of big breast you can enjoy?" Umi asked.
Eli laughed,
"Part of it… it would be a lie if I said that's not one of my factors…" Eli replied.
"I want your explanation about before… why are you just up for being intimate with her?"
"Curiosity, that I have been wanting to feel…"
"I hope it hasn't happened yet…"
"No, I haven't done that… maybe I did touch her breast…. But… after knowing that she is actually still innocent… and mislead, I started to realize I should hold down that part of me and teach her carefully…"
"Understood…" Umi replied.
"Anything else?"
"Yes, let's talk about weapons…" Umi said.
"Weapon? Ah! You want to make them, right? We're here for a month and a half, we don't actually need it… but I can make them from scraps…" Eli said.
Umi nodded before she handed a roll of paper to Eli.
"I've been making sketches to present to you… it's the result of my new knowledge about the magic prevention crystals…"
"Magic prevention crystals?" Eli wondered as she opened the rolled paper.
"Yes, I'll explain it to you later, but… are you willing to conduct this research? Without Toujou-san… of course… because this will be a weapon that benefits us only…" Umi said.
"I'm not sure, I think I will need her help to know further, we don't want to harm ourselves with it, right?"
"I'm sure that's one case, but, what if she disagrees? Even though she seems to trust you right now, I don't think she is going to fully support the idea, if she knows what our research is for…" Umi said.
"Then we just have to make a weapon that can match ours right?"
"True …"
"I'm sure Nozomi will want to help this research if we say that."
"But in all honesty, I still don't think we should fully trust her…or them. It's good to be kind, honest and protective towards them, but we should remember where our real loyalty lies…and to remember that we're here just to prove our worth as soldiers—and as warriors."
"Where are you going with that?" Eli asked.
"I'm talking about your other commitment… you know what that is." Umi replied.
Eli sighed,
"I remember, don't worry, I'm not going to make a weapon that could destroy us…"
"I'm sure you won't… but what about Toujou-san? She is an engineer too, right?"
"Yes, but I think she isn't really serious about her engineering. She abandoned almost all of her works… even though they were actually pretty cool…" Eli replied.
"How do you know?"
"Exploring her house while tidying up her stuff as an excuse… She really is a big mess, you know…" Eli said.
"Ah— I didn't think of that one… but… now that you mention it, I also know a lot about Kotori's work. She kept a lot of encyclopedia in her workshop. I tried to read at least four volumes a day, there are so many things to memorize but I know about a few things already…. Also from the lesson I got after gathering ingredients with Honoka…" Umi replied.
"Sounds cool, now I wonder what Maki is getting from the city…" Eli said.
"I'm sure she said she wanted to know further about the social life there… also about what they sell as well. She promised to bring back metals for our weapon too. So perhaps we can try to discuss more and wait for her when we are going to manufacture it…"
"Understood…"
"Speaking of which, have you found our ships?" Umi asked.
"Yes and the keys too… I placed them in the easiest place to find, so if we don't get this one month and a half deal fulfilled, we can escape…" Eli replied.
"I hope they keep their promise though, because we tried our best to fulfill our promise as well…" Umi said.
"I hope so too…" Eli sighed.
"This is just a thought, Eli, but, what if you give me my tablet? I need to do something with it…" Umi said.
"Won't that be suspicious? I mean, look, we're staying in a place where people hate our technologies…" Eli said.
"I know… but you're underestimating my tablet. I just purchased the camouflage function a while back before vacation, been wanting to show it to you but never had the chance…" Umi said.
"Camouflage function? Isn't that expensive? Wow…."
"It's worth it…"
"Then I'll make sure to get your tablet later. Anything else?"
"Yes, should I start to explain you about what I know?" Umi asked.
"Please do…"
The city, afternoon;
Maki walked with Niko on her back, Rin on her left arm, and Hanayo on her right arm. They were all unconscious.
The guards kept their eyes on her as she moved to her own car—one with all the baggage already set back into it neatly.
As she got close to the car, one of The Guard helps to open the car door; she placed all of them in the passenger seats.
Then she sighed heavily.
"All done?" asked the guard.
"Yeah…. Thanks for keeping an eye on my vehicle…" Maki said.
"Our job as guard— even though you're a stranger…" he replied.
"Then you're doing a great job…" Maki said as she watched The Guard close the car door.
"We're thankful that you reported about them as well. The food bazaar is always filled with those kinds of merchants who love to add addiction effect on their food, but we can't act before someone reported it or a big mess would happen…" said the guard.
"Ah—uh…yeah… I…understand that feeling…" Maki replied nervously.
"Are you going to take them back home?" The Guard asked.
"Yeah…I don't have a choice. We're supposed to travel to another city but since this incident happened…I need to hurry up to get them all back home…" Maki replied.
"There's an apothecary in the city…" The Guard said.
"I did go there, but it's too crowded, tried to pick up an entry and its number 304 with 38 as current patient number…." Maki replied.
"Wow…. I wonder why no one reported it but you after that many victims…"
"Apathetic? Individualism? Or maybe they prefer to talk on the back instead of reporting to authority? Distrust? No idea…" Maki replied.
The Guard nodded in amusement,
"Either way, I'm glad you did the right thing. Good job soldier…." The guard saluted.
Maki saluted back at him before she quietly went into the driver's seat.
Then she turns on her vehicle and dispatched immediately.
The guard chuckled,
"So she really was a soldier…" he said before he returned to his post.
Toujou's residence afternoon;
Umi explained about everything she knew to Eli. The blonde seemed to take an interest in the research as her eyes kept on scanning the sketches Umi made,
"I see… so this is why you wonder if we could add a shield function in our next weapon…" Eli said.
"Yes…so you're interested?"
"I am, with an ability to drain power from mages…hmm…I think we can also add this function to our ships and armors as well…" Eli replied.
"Ah—didn't think of that…"
"If we make that, we all will be anti-mages… but I wonder if it will clash with the physical shields function… or perhaps, we can just apply the anti-mage function in the armor and add the physical shields on the shield that we're going to add on our weapons systems to…"
"A great idea… but perhaps you also want to consider about anti-mage ammo…"
"Hearing from your explanation about this crystal, we can just make ammo that will be left in the target's body and difficult to take out—means that we need smaller and sharper tips for arrows and smaller bullets. It won't do much damage but it will stop them from casting magic…" Eli replied.
"Ah, then, do you think the poison in Maki's weapon will also do the trick?"
"You mean like sticking the crystal to their body by melting them? That will do it and I'm sure it will be a very fatal weapon against the mages… but I think it will be a little tricky to create them…" Eli replied.
"I'm sure it will be… but now the other problem is, how do we get our hands on that crystal? We don't know where this mountain is…" Umi said.
"Ah, for that, don't worry. I think I found a geographic map somewhere around this house… but, I need to get this place set in the most effective way first… want to help with that?"
"Sure, let's get it done…"
The path to village, dusk;
Kotori and Nozomi were on their own horses, riding calmly in a moderate speed,
"Uhm…Nozomi-chan…" Kotori called.
"Hmm?"
"This…this is just a wonder, why do you think those three soldiers are very strong…?" Kotori asked.
"Because they're trained?"
"No-no..I mean like… have you ever thought to make something that will let you fight against them…"
"My glove is all I need. It's pretty much able to cut all the channeling duration…." Nozomi replied.
"But it's destroyed, right?" Kotori asked.
"Yes, but it shouldn't be a problem. I'm trying to look for time to go to Pure Love Lens Lake, then to the White Lily…"
"Are you going to take Ayase-san with you?"
"Yes, I want to show her around…"
"Hnn…. I suggest not…"
"Why? We're not going to do anything strange, Ericchi said she wants to hold herself to not to do anything to me—thanks to you…"
"Eh? Uh….I don't know if that's a sarcasm or not, but uh…Nozomi-chan, it's not about that…"
"Then what is it about?"
"It's about… our safety…. You know how strong Ayase-san is alone, what if she had teamwork with the other two? I mean… Umi-chan is kind, I'm sure… but even though with that attitude she shows to me, I feel like she could be a painful backstabber later…." Kotori replied.
"Then let's just make a magic that can enable us to put them down… or potions… or perhaps a weapon? There are so many ways to kill people…"
"W-wah! No! I don't plan to kill them…I just wonder if we can at least put them in control…" Kotori said.
"I rather go with taking over the control. You know there's an ancient magic called Marionette…?" Nozomi replied.
"Uh...No, but that sounds… dangerous…." Kotori said.
"You just need to somehow put a couple of markings on their body and poof… they are your puppets—and they will never know that they are your puppet until you activate it..."
"Uh…I think that's a little too cruel…"
"You have to go a lot more steps further if you want to defeat your biggest enemy…" Nozomi replied.
"Eh?"
"…anyway, if you don't know how to do it, we have the book in the school's library… then perhaps you also want to find about how to put them in the most unconscious state…?." Nozomi replied.
"Oh….huh…wait…Nozomi-chan? Have you put that on Ayase-san?"
"Nope, I haven't… I wanted to do it in a fun way before… but you stopped me…" Nozomi replied with a playful smile.
"Then…before was—…."
"I'm not going to say anything else…" Nozomi cuts in before she hastens her speed.
"W-wait! Nozomi-chan! I still disagree with that, ok?! Don't turn Ayase-san to your puppet!"
"What are you saying? Ericchi is my lover!" Nozomi said with melodic voice,
"Nozomi-chan! Listen to me!"
"Ah, the sun is so bright!"
"It's not! Uh-oh! Wait! Nozomi-chan! Wait!"
And Kotori began to dash to catch up with her.
See you next chapter, and again it gonna take a while. I'm busy ,sigh.
But dw i'll finish this!