Chapter 40: Hearing Secrets

Dave's POV

We felt pretty good after coming to positive terms with Tee. I felt like I had everything resolved, but then I remembered. Oh yeah… Lemres was probably wondering where we were for the time that we left. I might want to pay him a visit. "Hey, Ringo?" "Yeah? What is it now, Dave?" "Lemres might've come to see us while we were gone. He didn't know about the short-lived trip we had. I want to go and see how he's been holding up." "How though? We can't travel to Primp on our own." "... Oh." The thought of that made me feel defeated. As I was going to sigh, someone knocked on the door. "Hm? Who can that be?" Ringo wondered. She opened the door, revealing Lemres at the other side. "Well, THIS is oddly convenient… I wanted to see how you were doing, Lemres." I came by. "Huh… So did I, Dave. Where were ya guys? You've been gone for a couple o' days… and on a break no less." He asked us. "Lemres… we kinda left for somewhere without telling you anything." Ringo told him. "Without tellin' me what? … Did ya guys hide somethin' from me?" He pried. "Dude, I'm sorry, I really am… I had a good reason to leave you out from it." I apologized. "I'm sure you did, man. I know ya too well… Where'd ya go?" He wondered. "Remember when we were at Ris' place and I brought up the game name "Isekai Prison", Lemres?" Ringo reminded him. "Oh yeah… you said that isekai was a word in this language called Japanese, right?" He recalled. "Mhm. We went to the place in this world where that language comes from." She nodded. "And that would be Japan… Yeah, I remember the exchange of words clearly now." He put two and two together. "As for the reason, dude…" I began to explain the Japanese customs to him. "Ah, I see now... My shtick would've been considered rude, or not proper over there. I understand everythin', and I see why ya didn't include me. Although, I still wish that we coulda had fun together." Lemres had accepted the fact that he mostly could have been a detriment to us. "It wasn't too much fun anyway because Dave became sick from just taking a bite of this sushi stuff. We planned on staying in Japan for longer than two or three days, but then that happened... " Ringo told him. "Shiiit, really? Is he fine now?" He looked at me. "Yeah, I'm fine, Lemres. That piece of raw fish completely knocked me out within seconds." I assured him. "Oh… it was raw fiiish… Okay, that makes quite a bit o' sense. But… if you were affected by it so much, how are ya standin' already, Dave?" He realized. "Honestly… I don't know. I guess I just got lucky with recovery…?" I shrugged. "That wasn't luck, Dave." Another voice came by. "Hm?" I heard.

I darted my eyes to see where that voice was coming from. "Satan?" Ringo figured it out. "Yes. I'm not with you currently, but I wanted to say what needs to be said." He insisted. "What needs to be said?" I scratched my head. "A pill made you recover faster... I found this out after seeing it, late during the second night of you lying in a hospital bed." He brought to light. "Huh?!" Me and Ringo reacted. Ms. Ando came into the room, hearing Satan's voice as well. "A pill…? But, that's impossible… No one came by that night. Otherwise, I would have noticed." She shook her head. "This visitor was invisible to the naked eye at the time, but I was able to still see her. And, she was veeeery quiet." Satan said. ""She"? I dunno know if I like where this is going… *gasp* Don't tell me… it's Witch, isn't it?" My brain came to the realization. "Correct, Dave. How did you figure that out?" Satan seemed genuinely surprised, from the tone of his voice. "Before I got sick, I guessed that there was a good chance that Witch would be stubbornly hunting for me after I talked to Feli at the airport from here. Question is though, why did she decide to help me?" I answered his question. "Wait, Dave… What is this all about?" Ringo looked at me. "Yeah, what's been goin' on with you and that instructor?" Lemres agreed to ask me too. "... Jesus, one at a time please… This might be something that is hard to accept as the truth, guys." I felt pressured. "Look, no matter what it is, I'll still be with you." Ringo took my arm. "Th-thanks, Ringo." I blushed. I explained that Witch did those things while Lemres was watching the potions class for her. "So, that's what she did with ya… innocently making your dragon form work properly, then tryin' to seduce ya, even though the age gap… ... All happenin' in Draco's house no less." Lemres seemed to be weirded out and rightfully so. "Hmph. What a crazy woman… I'll have to give her a piece of my mind!" Ringo became worked up. "That… won't be necessary, Ringo. Witch is already undergoing proper punishment as we speak, thanks to Ms. Accord. With that, she shouldn't bother you anymore after that is finished." Satan told her. "A-are you serious…?" I questioned. "Hey, don't thank me… thank Ex. I told him about this and he wanted to do something about it. As a team, we were able to bring Witch to Accord, so that you could be safe. Because after all, Witch had no grounds for punishing you at all. You were in the right the whole time." He added. "That's nice of him to do that, and yeah… She blackmailed me as an attempt to have things remain silent. It was lucky that Feli saw Witch being hostile towards me during what was left of that class." I nodded. "There's still one thing that I don't get… if Feli and Draco BOTH knew what was going on too… why didn't they say anything to me." Ringo wondered why. "Well… uh, I can imagine Draco just forgot about it while we were in Japan. And, Feli just kinda shook it off... only wanting me to spend quality time with her on the plane, saying that she'll beat Witch up if she showed." I explained logically. "At any rate, it looks like that cleared everything up... we all now know." Ms. Ando smiled. "Well actually, not everyone is informed… Arle and Amitie are still unaware of that." I brought up those two. "Oh yeah…" Everyone else sighed. "I'll go see those two then… Lemres, can you take me to Primp?" I asked him. "Sure, buddy." He nodded. "Wait, I'm coming with you!" Ringo slipped her shoes on. "R-Ringo?" I was surprised. "C'mon, it'll be faster if we both talk to one of them on our own." She planned. "O-okay…" I was fine with her plan. Satan told everyone that he had to rest, so his voice faded. Lemres took us through a portal leading to Primp Town.

We came to the middle of Primp, where it was packed. "Wow, there's a lot of people walking around here today." I noticed. "Duh. It's Fall Break, 'course peeps are gonna be walkin' in the town more than usual, Dave. Anyway, I'll be here when you wanna go back to Suzuran." Lemres sat down on a bench. "Dave, I'll go and tell Arle. Meanwhile, you find Amitie." Ringo told me. "Very well." I nodded. I still need to figure out what Amitie was hiding from me, so this will be a good chance. I decided it would be best to see where she could be from the air. I flew about for some time before seeing her in my view. "Great! I can see her now. ... Amitie, can we talk for a few minutes?" I approached her and landed. "Dave? What are you doing here?" She turned around. I landed and told her what she needed to know. At this point, my armor was gone."Icky… At least she's locked away now, so that's good, right?" "Yeah… Hey, Amitie… there was something else that I wanted to discuss. You hugged me so tightly before we prepared to leave Japan. You said that it was from how happy you were, however… I didn't get that impression. It felt… more than just happiness. I don't see it as a lie, but… … You're hiding something from me and I want to know what it is." "... *sigh* Can you please keep this a secret from our friends for the time being, Dave? I'll say when it's the right time to reveal it." "Uh… okay, what is it then?" Amitie slowly breathed in and out, like she was trying to repel stress and anxiety. "I… No. Despite everything that has happened, Dave… I think I love you. And no, I'm not just forcing out feelings, I actually feel this way. Each time that you woke up or regained consciousness from something dangerous... I worried for your safety. Sooner or later, something might kill you. Heck, if it weren't for Witch's sudden decision to pop a pill into your mouth… you might've been dead. I don't wanna lose you, Dave! *sob* ... I admire your sheer strength and will to protect others… *sniff* … But please, don't be too selfless! We all need to protect each other and live together. You don't have to shoulder the burden all to yourself, or divide it equally with Ex. We can fight too…" "... But, Amitie… I've seen how all of you perform, even Lemres. None of you have the raw power that me and Ex both wield." "*sniff* Then I'll just get some of those dragon stones for the rest of us." "Amitie… dragon stones are rare, they aren't just produced like candy. Plus, I don't even know where to look for one if I wanted to..." "Dave, I wanna get strong, like you. Who's gonna protect Lidelle when she's cornered and doesn't know what to do?! *sob*" "...! I-I…" "I'll train as hard as you if that's what it takes, teach me some hand-to-hand techniques!" "A-Amitie… … ... Alright, you win. I don't like seeing girls cry, especially ones that I care for. About your confession…" "*sniff* Yes…?" "I'll accept your love, come here if you're actually okay with it." "D-Daaaaaaave! Uwaaaaaaaahahaha!" She continued to cry with a mix of emotions as she wrapped her arms around me. Amitie's hat had fallen down from the force of her coming to me. "It's okay… I'll be with you until the very end, Amitie…" I stroked her hair. Five minutes later, she stopped crying and let go of me. "Your hair is pretty, Amitie..." I complimented her. "M-my hair? Pretty? *sniff* It looks too much like bed hair though…" "It fits your look…" "... And... you're handsome, Dave..." She went in for a kiss. It was as she said… her love was legitimate. I can't believe it… To think, she once saw deep love as a disgusting act. Now, she only sees it as gross if there is an obvious age gap. Now that I think about it, we're not that far apart. After all, Feli's fifteen and she's perfectly fine with the harem relationship. It should be okay with Amitie too. "Amitie, thank you for the kiss. I'll teach you some things when I get the chance to, but first… I have to text Ringo that I'll be staying here for a while today. Is that alright?" "Okay..." I watched her pick up her hat from the ground and she placed it on her head again.

By the time that Ringo had texted me back, she mentioned that she finished telling Arle and began to wait by Lemres' side. Ringo was somewhat annoyed by my action, judging from the way that her words were structured. In the end though... she gave me the okay, without knowing why I wanted to stay. Finally, Ringo told me that she would go back to Suzuran on her own after Lemres would open up a portal for her. "Alrighty… now we have time to train you up. Let's find a suitable place to do so. Hrrah!" I brought up my strong armor. "That thing never becomes boring to look at…" "Hop on board, I'll carry you." "W-will you keep me on the entire time?" "Don't worry, you won't fall off of me, Amitie. There should be some solid parts of the armor to latch on to. And, I'll go slow if you feel it's needed." "S-sure…" She climbed on my back and I carefully flew us up in the air. "See? This isn't so bad... Ever since I first flapped my wings in the wind, I didn't feel scared of controlling my own altitude. I've been improving my calmness after that day passed. Ms. Rulue taught me to be a tough individual. I may not have an uncrackable mind like hers, but my aforementioned selflessness allows me to overcome certain fears. And guess who was able to have me do so… Go ahead, say it." "Me…!" "That's right! My selfless nature is part of the optimism you gave me a few months ago. Remember that, Amitie? When we faced Klug's criminal father? I was at death's door after he struck me hard. That's when you, Klug, Sig, Arle and such saved my life. Sure, having wisdom, demon and dragon power, and hope were all nice, but… your optimism was what tied all of it in place. Think about it for a second: Optimism develops inspiration, which in turn, makes anything stronger. With that as your strong suit, your potential is undoubtedly great. I now believe you have what it takes to be on par with me. Getting there is going to be difficult though, so prepare yourself." "I-I will…" "Hm… I suppose the forest of Primp is an option, let's go there."

I had us land in a random area of it soon enough. "Dave, are you sure that this is a good spot?" "Of course. There are trees to whack at, rocks to break, and all of that good stuff. So, as a starter… let's have you be able to knock trees down. First, we need to find a dead tree." "Why a dead one?" "For two reasons: One, the roots will be weaker than that of a live tree. Two, there's no reason to practically kill live ones. We all need that oxygen to come from somewhere. Do the forest a favor and deroot the dead trees. That way, new ones can have room to grow." "Dave... what are you, a science teacher?" "Amitie, I'm just stating facts for the sake of what I'm trying to teach you. Thankfully for us, there are a couple over there to start with. Now, watch this. Hyyah!" I launched myself and kicked a tree's trunk, causing it to tip over. *crash* "Wow..." Amitie witnessed in awe. "Liked that, didn't you?" "That was incredible, Dave." "Heh. That was nothing." "But… how am I going to knock down trees this big?" "Here's a simple answer, you won't." "Huh? Then… what is the purpose of this?" "Amitie, you'll kick a tree down, just not a big one. I'll have you start with a smaller one, then you can work your way up from there. This will take quite a few dedicated days, so don't worry if you don't get it down right away. I'm not gonna rush you through this because it would make everything half-assed." "And… we don't wanna make everything half- … -because it's important to train me properly." "Hm? Amitie, why did you cut part of your own statement off?" "... The truth is… I don't like to swear when it's not needed. It's… just not like me to say bad words. I've certainly heard a bunch of them ever since I was little, but I was always afraid of using them on other people. I'm too passive as a girl for that. I never know what people's reactions to them could lead to, so I just usually don't ever swear. I wanna be nice to the people of Primp Town, and bad words are anything but nice." "Lemme get this straight… you are like how I was a few years back." "... Huh?" "Here, I'll tell you a story… Once upon a time, I was a mere high school freshman back in my world. I was still adapting to the level of garbage that it threw at me. I wasn't bullied though... In fact, I was respected by the majority of students from my grade. They actually saw that I was a nice and cool person that would never cause trouble. Even still, however... quite a few of those same people caused problems for themselves and others too." "What the heck? They learned that you were good, but they couldn't bother to fix their own person?" "Nope. … Well, they EVENTUALLY became better students, causing far less issues… but not during that year. Anyway, these students got into trouble often, mostly because they simply found the wrong time to swear. The purpose of swearing in my eyes is to talk casually with friends in a suitable place at the highest level." "Uh… what does that mean?" "It means that you don't have to bottle up the use of "bad words" all the time. And really, ever since I started, I haven't felt like a scummy teen for that. I was able to talk freely while I was with my former friends and be myself. For someone who is as kind as me, I still drop those terms often. Really, unless if you're talking to a stranger... you generally shouldn't have anything to fear when swearing. Does that all suffice, Amitie?" "Well… if you think it's okay only dropping them while with friends, then I guess I don't have much of a problem now. I can vent my actual feelings about certain things to the people I befriend. Thank you so much, Dave! I'm still not too fond of using bad words, but you helped me see a new side to them." "Uh, s-sure. At any rate, time to search for a small tree… …! There's one right there! Just remember, you're not being rushed… so no pressure." "Okay." I observed Amitie's movements of looking for a good place to strike.

Let's see how she fares with this first test… "Hyyyyyy-! -oooouch!" She managed to snap the tree's trunk, but not without getting hurt in the process. "! Amitie! Are you alright?" "... It hurts…" "... This is fine, the pain is natural. The more that you do stuff like this, the less it'll hurt." "I… I did it?" "Yeah. You might have gotten hurt, but this was still a success. Good job." I spent the rest of the afternoon with Amitie, training her under my wing. "Phew. I… I think I'm done for today, Dave…" "You did great, Amitie… you really did. I'll take you back home if you want." "I would love that…" I flew her back with her until she urged me to land. "I can walk back the rest of the way by myself. Thank you for everything, Dave." She hugged me soon after. "Sure, stay safe!" "I promise!" She left as I waved her goodbye. "And there she goes… What time is it? Argh, I can't check right now since I'm in this armor. I'll do so when I get back to Lemres." I flapped my way back to where he should have been. "Yo, that must've taken ya quite a while. What have you been doin', Dave?" "Oh nothing much, just exploring more of the town. I don't get much in the way of opportunities to do so." I casually lied. "Hm, yeah… that does make sense. Want me to bring ya back to Suzuran now?" I looked at my phone to see the time. 5 P.M., huh? That's not too bad. "I would like that, Ringo gets irritated when I return very late." "Hahaha! I know she's like that, Ringo loves ya. So yeah, let's have ya go." He made the portal and I jumped in it. I returned home just in time for dinner. Ringo was still energetic and came in for a kiss. "*chuckle* Ringo… did you miss me that much already?" "Dummy, you should know that I love you by now. And... it's dumb how we haven't had a proper date yet…" "O-oh… Um… that's weird… We should maybe have one scheduled somewhere this week." "Of course, silly. And, it'll be the best damn date ever. Let's eat already." "Yeah." The rest of the night was tranquil and I enjoyed it. Me and Ringo were playful in the shower, we expressed our love, and cuddled in my bed. The sleep was wonderful, to put it simply. The next morning came with Ringo waking me up, having me see that she had my hand on her pants. "H-huuuuuuh? …!" I jumped a little. "C'mon, Dave… it's just my body, you've touched it plenty of times by now." "That's… not my issue, Ringo. You placed my hand there without me being aware. Were you trying to get early morning pleasure from me…?" "It feels good, so why not? Girls don't have the downside that guys do. We can just get off all the time if we wish. With you, it's one and done and you have to make it count. You said that to me a while back when we were in the shower together." "Right… I did say that. Any plans today?" "Nope. I guess we can have that date then…" That might prove to be a problem for me... I want to continue helping Amitie. Oh well… I suppose one day off isn't going to ruin the training I devised for her. "Okay, Ringo. I've never been through a full date before, so this could be fun. I just don't know what we can do." "I think I have at least one thing in mind, Dave." "You do? What?" "Be patient, my sexy boyfriend… I'll show you when we get to it." Ringo smirked and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. But, I had always placed my trust in her before, so I didn't think of this as different. Breakfast was just as good as yesterday's and Ringo whisked me off before I could say much else. "R-Ringo… there's no need for a rush, there's plenty of time." "Dave, I want us to be able to have fun for as long as possible. And to do that… we need to get to our destinations quickly." I didn't know what she was talking about, but I decided to roll with it.

Feli's POV

Things remained stagnant without Dave and Lemres. I had Bal by my side, but he wasn't enough to keep me feeling like myself. Why don't I just come and see Dave? I have the ability to if I use Lemres. But that's just it though… it's tedious getting that guy since he's so laid back all the time. *sigh* Fuck it. I want joy and excitement. "Bal, I'll be heading out, be a good boy." "*bark*" He barked a single time, telling me that he promised. I slipped my shoes on and left to go see Lemres. "Hehehehehe… I'm gonna love this. It's been a while since I've let my crazy side take over me like this… Time to get some pleasure." I came to Lemres' house, where I discovered that he wasn't there. "Huh? That's odd… Where would Lemres be at this time?" I walked around town for about an hour and there was still no sign of him. "Where the hell is he? Lemres should have told me he'd go somewhere, but he didn't. *sigh* What the fuck?" I decided to sit on a bench and take a break. For five minutes, nothing had happened until someone came to talk to me. "Um, excuse me, miss?" I heard a voice and looked up to see the source, a girl with wings. "What is it?" I asked. "I was looking for a girl named Feli, do you know where I can find her? A guy named Lemres said that she could help me." "U-um, I would be the very girl that you're looking at right now." "O-oh! So you're Feli, I see." "Who are you and what do you need from me?" "I'm Harpy, an angel!" "A-an angel?" "Not just an angel, a singing angel! Do you wanna hear my lovely voice?" "Sure… I guess." "Yippee! … Ha-ra Ho-re Hi-de~!" What in the-! This singing voice of hers is horrendous! Shit! I need to make her stop! "H-hold up! You said that you needed me and you have yet to tell me why!" "-re-! Oh… ... Okay, I was wondering if you know a mermaid that goes by the name Serilly. You see, I'm looking for her because she is a friend that I care about. Serilly's been missing for about a couple of months or so." "So wait, you were looking for me, hoping that I would know this mermaid? Sorry, but I've never heard of her, Harpy. Are you two from around here?" "No, we come from another world." "Uh, is there anybody that you knew from that world besides Serilly? I might know them and they could help you." "Um… … Oh, I know! Do you know a mage called Arle?" "I… do. I could take you to her, she's lived near Primp Town for a few years now." "Huh, so is that what this place is? It's busy for just being a town, Feli." "Yeah, people like me get used to it. Let's go take you to Arle, I think I remember where she lives…" I took off, and Harpy followed behind me.

It was a good thing that I did indeed recall where Arle's house was. "Here we are… I'll knock." I approached the door. It opened, revealing a tired Arle. "*yawn* Feli…?" She rubbed her eyes. "Woah… you don't look so good. Is everything alright in there…?" I became concerned. "It's nothing to get worried over... Schezo came into my house in the middle of the night and tried to take advantage of me sleeping. I woke up after I felt like I was being violated by something, then I noticed him. It didn't take too long for me to get him to run out screaming, with Carby by my side. But… that came at a cost, my sleep. I couldn't fall asleep for most of what remained in the night. And so, that's how I came to be tired. Now… did you want something?" "Arle, do you know this winged-girl named Harpy?" "I… I do. Why do you- *yawn* -ask, Feli?" "She's looking for a missing friend of hers named Serilly. We were hoping that you could help her out." "S-Serilly's nowhere to be seen?!" Arle seemed to have broken out of the tiredness feeling she had. Woah! She isn't tired anymore? That seems to have woken her up. "C'mon, Carby! We have a job to do!" She hurried in strapping her boots in place and leapt outside with the little guy. "Gu-gugu!" He screamed. "Arle…" Harpy came to her. "Don't worry, Harpy… I'll find Serilly, but not without a bit of help. I know just the person for covering a lot of ground. With the power of Puyos, Carby will have us travel to Suzuran. "Gu!" He managed to make a portal by utilizing Puyos. "I didn't know that he could do that, Arle! I've always seen him with you, but he never did much." Harpy became impressed. "Heh… It's something I had trained him to do from someone else, in case we ever get separated." Arle scratched her head. We zipped inside the portal, however, I couldn't help but feel like we were being followed. Soon, we came to Suzuran, just like that. "So Arle… who are we looking for?" Harpy asked with curiosity. "A guy called Dave, he has a power that allows him to fly. Plus, he has a lot of energy, so he won't become exhausted very easily." She replied. "D-Dave? I wanted to see him too, but for a different reason." I said. "*sigh* Let me guess… it's because you want to display your love to him again, right?" Arle assumed. "Huh? Love?" Harpy looked at me. "I'm one of Dave's girlfriends, and he has two others." I told her. "A guy with three girlfriends? He must be very likable if he has a trio of girlfriends in total…" She smiled. Soon enough, we saw him and my mind went ahead and crashed like a machine. Wh-what…? What are those two doing? "C'mon, Dave! Let's have some fun! *giggle*" "S-slow down, Ringo…" We overheard. "Um… what are they-?" Arle stopped. "There's no doubt about it… Those two are on a date, and Ringo didn't bother to have me and Draco join in the fun! Ooooooh! When I get to them… I swear-!" My mouth was then covered. "Cool it, Feli…" I heard a familiar voice. "L-Lemres?!" My muffled voice came through. "What are you-?" Arle didn't finish her question. "Oh! It's that Lemres guy!" Harpy realized. "Lemres… did you follow us here?" I assumed. "Nope, but SHE followed ya." He pointed. "Heh… hehehe… Hi, Feli…" It was Draco. "Draco, I'm not in a good mood right now… and you should know why, since you've been behind us." I gritted my teeth. "Look, maybe…" She tried convincing me. "No. I don't care what reason Ringo has for doing this. I just want her to stop hogging him all to herself! We share Dave equally... Ringo shouldn't have special privileges just because she was his first girl!" I argued. "I agree with you, but they live together here. We can't just barge into their alone time, ya know?" Draco's words only brought me closer to my anger point. "All the more reason to get between them, Draco! Aren't YOU jealous that you can't sleep under the same roof as Dave?!" "I uh…" "Well? Are you?!" "Feli…" Draco looked sad and gave up trying to talk me back into sense. In retrospect, I should have listened to her, but I didn't. "We're going to watch those two, and if they do something that will drive me up the wall… I'm ending their date!" I decided. "But… what about trying to find Serilly?" Harpy started crying. "Aw… don't worry, Harpy. I'm sure this'll end soon, somehow." Draco calmed her.

Dave's POV

I was forced to endure the worst thing about dates… waiting for the girl to choose things. Jesus! I know that girls are more known for having a sense of fashion, but this is unreal. Just. Choose. Already! Damn… I'm gonna have to wait on her like this for everything, am I? *sigh* I don't understand things like this... If it looks good on you, then get it. I shouldn't have to stand and wait for what seems to be an eternity on you, Ringo. God, may you bring mercy to me… That hell eventually ended, which made me ecstatic for a brief moment. Oooough… Thank God that it's over. I don't think I could have lasted through a few more minutes of that nightmare. Fuck… "Yay! *giggle* Eh? Hey, are you okay, Dave? You don't look so happy..." "That's because only you had been having fun. This stuff wasn't enjoyable to me… Aren't dates supposed to be catered to both of the people who are in love, not just one of them?" "Did I… drop the ball with this?" "On my end... you did, Ringo. We have to do things that will make us both happy, that's the bread and butter of a date. Well… what do you want to do that I'll still like?" I thought my answer over carefully before I said anything. "Um… this may sound a little embarrassing, but is there a karaoke place around here? We could sing for fun with a bunch of random songs." "Karaoke huh? You know what… that could be great! Why didn't I think of this?" "If you're okay with the choice, then let's go! You lead the way." "Of course! *giggle*" She took me by the hand and we ran. This is wonderful… but, I feel like we're being watched. … Nah… it must be my imagination. I just wanna have the time of my life with Ringo. We scoured the city for a karaoke location and we finally found one. Ringo got us a room for us to sing at our own leisure. "This place has quite the selection… a bunch of anime songs are here, Dave." "Huh… and these are all anime series that I've never heard of." "Well, you should expect that. You were originally from your respective world." "I guess, Ringo… I want to hear how good some of this sounds in my ears." "Fair enough." I wanted to pick ones that had a male and female duet, but it didn't seem like there were any. "Let's… take turns, Ringo... I can't find any duets here." "Same. I'll let you go first if you want." I selected my first song and rolled with it. I prefer starting with slower paced pieces of music. In my opinion, they're better for warming up than the fast ones. When I finished the song, my arms were enveloped in goosebumps. Ringo clapped to my performance and she took my place. "Let's see… Ooooooh~! This is a fun one!" She grinned. I sat as she made her performance.

While I listened to it, the whole experience felt like it was filled with hype. In other words, it was very energetic and fun. "Woo! I loved it, Ringo!" We continued going back and forth with turns until we were drained. "Alright, I think we're done here, Dave…" "Yeah. It was extremely fun while it lasted… I'll never forget this moment we shared together, Ringo." We kissed and left the karaoke place. Seconds later, I was grabbed by two pairs of hands and pulled from behind. "? W-woah!" I reacted. "Dave?" Ringo looked back at me. "We're not letting you go anywhere! We need you!" I heard a familiar voice. "D-Draco?!" I looked over to see. "And Feli, Arle, Lemres, and-! Wait… who's she?" Ringo noticed. "Okay… what the hell is going on here?" I asked them. They all told us what had been happening, even about Arle's failure to sleep the previous night. l figured Schezo would do something like that… It looks like he still needs to be taught a lesson. "So, Harpy… you mentioned that you were searching for a friend. Who is this friend?" I wondered. "Her name is Serilly." She answered. "S-Serilly?! I met her in the ocean back during the time in the Puyo Isles!" I recalled. "Huh…? Dave, what do you mean? When did you meet this Serilly?" Feli was confused. "Yeah… I don't remember seeing her there at all." Draco crossed her arms. "I… was alone at the time I met her, girls. Remember when we were on the beach and I had fled into the ocean? Draco, you started that whole thing where you wanted me to rub lotion on you." I turned to face her. "... Now that you're saying it… I think I remember. Yeah, you were so red in the face. You then dipped into the ocean to swim away." She recounted. "Yes. I was swept by the current and almost drowned. But… that was when Serilly saved me. She allowed me to breathe underwater for a bit of time. It was just enough time for Ex to find and have me resurface to the land." I nodded. "The ocean surrounding this Puyo Isles was where Serilly was?" Harpy pressed me. "Y-yes, is something the matter, Harpy?" I knocked back. "Serilly usually comes to be with me for a weekend at the end of every month… she hasn't done it lately. That's why I'm worried about her. Can you find her, Dave?" She rested her hands on one of my own. "I can't make any promises that she'll be found, but I will help you." I swore as much as I could hold my word. She didn't say anything, only smiled. "Dave, we can get to the resort island by using Carby to transport us. After that, you can carry me as you fly with Harpy and Draco." Arle told me. "Okay." I nodded to her. "Damn… it looks like I'll have to stay behind if that's the case." Feli frowned. "Feli, I'll keep you company. Dave, go and find Serilly for Harpy, just as you intend to do." Ringo made clear. "Me too. Some dude's gotta look after the girls for protection." Lemres opted to stay behind. "Of course, I always help anyone in need. Let's go, girls." I spoke my mind.


Author's Notes: Secrets were revealed left and right in such a short span of time. Amitie tells her own to Dave, saying that she, for sure, loved him. He accepted her and promised that he would train her. Dave and Ringo go on a date during the next day, causing Feli to become irate when she finds out. Before that, she met a winged individual known as Harpy. Harpy told Feli that she was looking for Serilly because she was concerned about her well-being. Soon enough, Lemres, Arle, and Draco become involved in this too. When the time came that Dave and Ringo exited the karaoke place, Dave was grabbed by the group. He was told of the situation and wanted to help, since he knew where Serilly was. What will happen when they find the mermaid? Next chapter, Chapter 41: Water Pollution.