Previously:

'This time, my plan came to a stop, too… but… in this kind of atmosphere, they will forgive me if I apologize. I have to apologize with all my strength!' Ka Kobun thought deviously while he clung to Kougyoku and cried his eyes out while she tried to comfort him.

"..." Ja'far stared down at Ka Kobun with a cold expression on his face. He was inclined to agree with the twins. He spat in the dirty schemer's face.

"Is it alright to forgive them?" Ja'far asked Sinbad as they watched Hakuryuu walk away, lead by some Sindrian retainers.

"Yeah. I have a feeling that prince will not return until he accomplishes his objective," Sinbad said. "It seems he is thinking about something." Aladdin, Alibaba, Faith, and Hope watched Hakuryuu as he walked past them. They wondered what kind of person he was.

Chapter 66: His Name Is Ren Hakuryuu

Hakuryuu was sitting alone in the room they had showed him to, staring out a window.

'I do not have the leisure to waste my time and yet… Will I be able to talk with King Sinbad even a little…?" He stood up and crossed the room to the door, getting ready to go out. He was surprised when someone knocked on that door. He opened it to find Aladdin, Alibaba, and the twins standing on the other side.

"Hello, I'm Aladdin. We came here to talk to you," Aladdin greeted him frankly.

"I'm Faith. That's Hope. And that's Alibaba," Faith added.

"Your sister… her name is Ren Hakuei, right?" Aladdin asked. Hakuryuu looked at him in surprise.

"Why do you know my sister's name…? Aladdin…?" Hakuryuu asked. "Could it be… you are Aladdin… the magi…?!"

"!?" Aladdin said. "Do you know about me?"

"Yes… I heard about you when my sister, Hakuei… returned home after the western campaign. She was helped on the plains by a young magi and a pair of twins. That's you, right?" he said, looking from Aladdin to Faith and Hope. He invited all of them to sit, and they accepted the invitation.

"Ah, I see..." Aladdin said as he sat down.

"That explains it," Faith agreed.

"How is Hakuei?" Hope asked.

"She's doing well, thank you," Hakuryuu replied politely. 'If these are those twins, then they're the ones Kouen...'

"The plains, the thing you told me about the Kouga?" Alibaba asked his friends.

"Yeah, that," Aladdin answered.

"Lord Aladdin. Ladies Faith and Hope. Please accept my thanks," Hakuryuu said humbly, bowing to them. "My sister is my sole, beloved sibling. Thank you very much for saving her life."

"There's no need to thank us," Aladdin said.

"Yeah, you don't have to bow to us," Faith agreed.

"We were happy to help," Hope said.

"Even though you ran away from Lord Kouen?" Hakuryuu asked.

"Ah, this and that are two different things..." Hope said, smiling wryly.

"Yeah, we like your sister, but we don't like being captured," Faith added.

'Wow… I was wondering what kind of person he was, since he's from the Kou Empire, but… I didn't expect him to be such a nice guy!' Alibaba thought, pleasantly surprised. The grateful smile he was giving Aladdin and the twins was genuine.

"That's right! I was worried about your sister as well, so I wanted to talk with you, but… you were going somewhere when we got here. Are we bothering you?" Aladdin asked.

"It is impossible… that you would bother me. I have to thank the rukh's guidance that allowed us to meet," Hakuryuu said, bowing again, This time he kneeled too.

"…!?" Aladdin and the twins said.

"I wished to meet you as much as I have wished to meet King Sinbad," Hakuryuu said. "I beg you to listen to what I have to say, Lord Magi."

"Prince..." a Kou soldier said, opening the door. "King Sinbad called for you."

"I apologize," Hakuryuu said, standing up and bowing again. "I have to go.."

"Don't worry, let's talk another time! Faith, Hope, and Alibaba, too!" Aladdin said.

"Yeah!" Alibaba agreed.

"Later, then!" the twins said with smiles.

"See you next time!" Alibaba added.

"Yes!" Hakuryuu said. "Lord Alibaba, we could not talk that much this time, but we should be sure to do so on the next occasion."

"Sure!" Alibaba agreed. They waved goodbye as he left the room.

"The Prince Hakuryuu, huh. I didn't expect him to be such a good guy!" Alibaba said with a big smile.

"Right," Aladdin said.

"I figured it was fifty-fifty," Faith said with a shrug.

"He is related to Hakuei after all," Hope said.

"Isn't Kouen related to her too," Faith pointed out.

"Yes, but from the sound of it, those two are actually step siblings..." Hope said, holding her chin. She was sure someone had mentioned something about her being the 'previous emperor's' child? She never heard Kouen being referred to that way… Plus, Hakuryuu just referred to Hakuei as his 'sole' sibling.

"Oh, I see… we need to keep the family tree straight in case you marry into it," Faith teased.

"Are you ever going to give it up?" Hope asked, unamused.

"I think I've got a few more months worth of teasing left," Faith said thoughtfully. Hope sweat-dropped.

"..." Alibaba stared at the door the prince left through.

"What's wrong, Alibaba?" Aladdin asked.

"Well… it's just that a moment ago, I thought that he resembled someone, but I wasn't able to figure out who," Alibaba replied.

"Maybe Hakuei?" Aladdin suggested. They looked a lot alike.

"No, I've never met her… Well… it must be just my imagination!" Alibaba said. Up ahead of them, Morgiana was running holding two boxes. She looked like she was looking for something.

"Ah! Morg!" Aladdin called.

"This way!" Hope said.

"It looks like she just came back from the workshop in town!" Faith observed.

"In other words, they've finally finished it!" Alibaba said, excited. Morgiana came hurrying over to them. She held out one of the boxes in her arms to Hope. It was lest ornate than the small chest Morgiana kept, but it was a practical design.

"They said yours was finished too, so I brought it for you," Morgiana said as Hope accepted it.

"Oh!" Hope said, lighting up. "They finished it already?" she opened the lid to check the contents. Everything appeared to have been made exactly according to her designs. "They really are skilled! What's yours like, Morgiana?"

—∞—

They moved outside so Morgiana could try out her new weapon as soon as the box was opened. They were not disappointed. Inside was a beautiful pair of sparking cuffs that had a bird-like design with a glowing red stone, and chains.

"Ooooooh!!" Alibaba, Aladdin, Hope, and Faith exclaimed in awe, while Morgiana smiled, happy with the results.

"This is your household vessel!" Aladdin said, admiring how pretty it was.

"Yes," Morgiana said, nodding, as she removed them from the box and held them up. "The metal craftsman said they are ankle bracelets. It's design is based on the emblem from the Dark Continent. He said the people there believe the symbol of the sun to be the 'phoenix'."

"They're so beautiful~!" Aladdin said.

"Try them out now!" Faith said. Morgiana put them on and stood up to show them.

"The chains are still there, but they are so pretty!" Aladdin said, laying in the grass on his stomach next to Alibaba, who was also lying on his stomach.

"Even more than chains… they resemble the decorations that dancers wear! I've seen them before," Alibaba said.

"Wow, so beautiful!" Aladdin said.

"They really are!" Hope agreed, sitting on the other side of Aladdin.

"Super gorgeous!" Faith said with a grin, sitting next to her sister.

"Come on, Morg, do it!" Aladdin said.

"Do it Morgiana!" Alibaba cheered.

"Yeah, let's see them in action!" Faith said.

"Okay!" Morgiana agreed. "Haaa!!!" She kicked out with her leg. The chains flew gracefully through the air—and wrapped themselves tightly around Alibaba and Aladdin's heads.

"Bwahahahaha!!" Faith laughed, pounding the ground with her hand.

"Sorry, sorry…!" Morgiana said, trying to remove the chains from her friends' heads.

"We got caught..." Aladdin said as Morgiana unwrapped him.

"Isn't it better to remove these chains!?" Alibaba asked while Hope helped him get them off. "They get in the way."

"They seemed to work pretty well to me," Faith said, still laughing a little. "She got you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but the chains got tangled up. If that happened with an opponent of equal or greater strength, she could be in trouble," Hope said. "They might trip her up."

"Yeah, but what's the likelihood of that?" Faith said dubiously. The only person they knew who was physically stronger than her was Masrur.

"If you wear them somewhere else, they won't get in the way of your kicks, right?" Aladdin said.

"What's wrong Morgiana?" Alibaba asked. She looked kind of down.

"No matter where I wear them… they're just beautiful ornaments…" Morgiana said. "I can't figure out how I should use them in battle..."

"You could always whip your opponent with the chains," Faith said. "Or choke them."

"You're scary sometimes..." Alibaba told her warily. That was the first place her mind went?

"How to use them, huh..." Aladdin and Hope said, holding their chins.

"Morg, how do you want to use them?" Aladdin asked.

"What, me…?" Morgiana asked.

"Yeah, Yam told me and Faith this. When you want to create a new magic, you should first joyfully think about what you want to do with it," Aladdin explained. "I'm sure that the Household Vessel's ability is something like that..."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Hope said. "Once you have a clear idea of what you want to do, it'll just be a matter of figuring out how to do it."

"What I want to do..." Morgiana said. "… I want… a strength that can be useful to the four of you."

"Eh?" they all said.

"No, Morg, you are strong enough," both boys said, trying to wave the idea away.

"Quiet, you!" Faith said, leaning around Hope to toss some grass at them. "Don't discourage her!"

"What type of strength do you think that will be?" Hope asked curiously.

"Ah, that could help us!" Alibaba said. "It was when you threw me into mid-air. If it weren't for you, I couldn't have passed over that wall and fought with the enemies in the air."

"You saved me in mid-air, too!" Aladdin said. "And you carried Alibaba and other people through the air as well..."

"You carried me to help me get over to everyone else when we had that trouble at the palace," Hope added. "And when we had to dodge those ice spears and my Djinn Equip wouldn't work."

"You can jump so high, it's like you're flying!" Faith said.

"It's incredible when we are with you! It's like we have wings!" Aladdin said.

"I'm your… wings..." Morgiana said. She liked the sound of that. She imagined herself as a powerful being with large muscular legs, beefy arms, and big strong wings that could be used as weapons. She imagined her friends telling her how incredible she was. "I understand," she said with a smile, clenching her fists.

"Hey, wait a minute. What were you thinking just now?" Alibaba asked a little nervously, correctly guessing something very close to her actual thoughts.

"I will become your wings," Morgiana said.

"Wait!" Alibaba said.

"I will become your wings," she repeated with more determination.

"What kind of wings?! Hey, what do you intend to do?!" Alibaba asked anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it!" Aladdin said with a smile.

"Can't wait!" Faith agreed.

"Good luck, Morgiana!" Hope added with a smile.

On a balcony up above them, Sinbad was having a discussion with Hakuryuu.

"This section of the royal palace has the facilities for the foreign guests. Use them as much as you want!" Sinbad explained, pointing things out to him. "If you want to expand your views of this world, you can go to the Black Libra Tower where the scholars gather. You can also interact with people around your age from different cultures. For martial arts, you can go to the Silver Scorpion Tower. Someone is always using it… because Sindria is always full of guests."

"Incredible… in just one generation, you have created a magnificent kingdom," Hakuryuu said. "That's why I want to speak with you."

'I thought he'd come here with some sort of proposition, but… he's just a goodwill ambassador,' Sinbad thought, watching him look out at the palace grounds.

"And not just the single country of Sindria… you were also able to create a powerful alliance… it was probably an act you accomplished with your extraordinary benevolence.

"You're exaggerating," Sinbad said.

"No, your power and that of the Seven Seas Alliance is a reality," Hakuryuu said. "At any rate, it was the first time the emperor has asked me to negotiate directly with the king of another country. It was also the first time someone spoke so forcefully to the Emperor or the Kou Empire."

"..." Sinbad stared at him. "Really? It was probably received as arrogance by the emperor. I just wanted him to turn his weapons away from Balbadd. The Seven Seas Alliance is built on the idea of 'nonaggression'. That's why I think I want to maintain friendly relations with the Kou Empire."

"..." Hakuryuu stared at him. " 'A mutual friendship between our two countries'… right?" he asked with a small smile. "King Sinbad…" He dropped the smile. "You are lying."

"!?" Sinbad's friendly expression turned cool.

"For friendly relations, you only intend it to be such on the surface, correct? In truth, you don't agree with the empire… 'The empire invades other countries, spreading unnecessary destruction. It is an aggressive country that Sindria should be wary of.' Am I wrong?"

"..." Sinbad smiled. "What are you… trying to imply with that?"

"Don't misunderstand me, please. It's not that I'm being hostile towards you," Hakuryuu said. "It's just… that I came here to tell you my objective."

"… And what is your objective?" Sinbad asked.

"To destroy the Kou Empire," Hakuryuu answered gravely.

—∞—

Outside, Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana, Faith, and Hope were all training in the same space together. It had been a while since the two sisters sparred, so the two of them paired up, which left Aladdin and Alibaba to fight each other, while Morgiana practiced punching with rocks strapped to her arms for weights. Since Hope was saving her Djinn Equip training for Masrur the next day, she was just fighting normally against Faith to help her test out her borg.

"Heheh, you can't get in, can you?" Faith teased Hope as she tried to use a double stick weaving movement on the borg, beating it like a drum.

"Ooh, just you wait until I've got Ipos fighting with me! We'll see who's laughing then!" Hope retorted.

"Har-Har Infigar!!" Aladdin shouted, firing his attack at Alibaba.

"Amon's sword!!" Alibaba said, and the transformed sword sucked up all the flames.

"Your magic doesn't work on me~" Alibaba teased Aladdin. "Thanks for your flames."

"That's unfair, Alibaba!" Aladdin said, pouting a little.

"Maybe we should switch opponents?" Hope suggested.

"That won't make a bit of difference for you, though," Faith said with a smirk. "Aladdin's got a borg too."

"You're right, but the way you say it is really annoying," Hope told her.

"Sorry to interrupt your training..." Hakuryuu said, alerting them to his arrival. They all looked over and saw that Kougyoku was with him.

"Ah," Alibaba and Hope said.

"You are…!" Aladdin said.

"I received an order from King Sinbad and was searching for you," Hakuryuu said.

"I was just keeping him company," Kougyoku added.

"From Sinbad!?" Alibaba asked.

"What is the order?" Aladdin asked.

"Yes… 'stay together with them, act together with them, and learn from them!' Please treat me well from today onwards," Hakuryuu said, bowing to them.

"Eh?" Alibaba said, taken aback.

"What do you mean by that?" Aladdin asked.

"So basically, he just wants us to hang out together?" Faith said.

"Well, I don't see any problem with that," Hope said. Although, she and Faith would have to watch what they said more around him.

Hakuryuu remembered his conversation with Sinbad.

««« Flashback «««

"I see..." Sinbad said. "Now I finally understand the situation between you and the empire..."

"So… will you help me fight the Kou Empire?" Hakuryuu asked.

"..." Sinbad stared at him. "And if I refuse?"

"!" Hakuryuu said.

"To easily reveal such an outrageous scheme to the king of another country… I cannot help but say that you are naive. What will you do if I present what we just discussed to the empire?" Sinbad said.

"I don't think you will do that, but… I'm already prepared for it," Hakuryuu said. "I'm prepared to risk my life to obtain your trust. For that, I concluded that I must openly reveal everything to you."

"… I see," Sinbad said after regarding him for a moment. "… I understand."

"!"

"But you came here to study abroad, right? So first, I want you to observe this country well."

"!? We don't have time for that, King Sinbad. I need your reply immediately!" Hakuryuu said urgently. "!" Sinbad gave Hakuryuu a look that no one would argue with. It wasn't exactly threatening, but it was intimidating.

"If you want to continue this talk, you will have to learn more," Sinbad told him. "About the world outside, and the various people living in that world."

"..." Hakuryuu stared at him.

"But before that… there is a certain person I want you to meet!" Sinbad said on a lighter note. "He will become a role model for you… and he is similar to you in many ways… His name is Alibaba Saluja. He is the third prince of Balbadd, the country your empire captured!"

»»» End Flashback »»»

'This person is…!?" Hakuryuu thought, furrowing his brow slightly.

"…??" Alibaba said, wondering why Hakuryuu was staring at him so intensely.

"Hey," Kougyoku said. "In Balbadd, many harsh things happened between us, but… for the moment there is a truce, so shouldn't we get along? Don't glare at me like that." The last part was aimed at Aladdin and Faith.

"Both sides suffered losses, right?" Hope said, thinking of how she had killed Engi.

"Exactly," Kougyoku said. "You were the one who tried to intervene earlier, aren't you? Thank you for that."

"My grandmother always says there's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women," Hope said. "It doesn't mean I've forgotten what you did to Ugo."

"No, she's right..." Aladdin said, shaking his head.

"Aladdin!?" Morgiana said, surprised.

"You sure?" Faith asked, frowning.

"Nothing will change, even if we quarrel… and I don't want to be a bother to Mr. Sinbad!" Aladdin said, holding his hand out.

"That's right. Let's leave behind what happened then… Let's be friends!" Kougyoku said with a smile, accepting it. They each squeezed the other's hand with all their might.

"Aren't you in pain!!?" Aladdin asked her, looking pale.

"You seem to be the one in pain here!!" Kougyoku said, also looking pale and tearing up a little bit.

"We're stuck!!!" Aladdin exclaimed. Alibaba, Morgiana, Faith, and Hope all sweat-dropped while they watched.

"Okay, let go in three, two, one!" Hope said.

"We're still stuck!!!" Kougyoku said.

"That's because neither of you let go!" Hope pointed out.

"Karate chop!" Faith said, hitting both of their hands with one blow.

"Oww!!" Aladdin cried.

"What is your problem!?" Kougyoku demanded.

"Well, you let go, didn't you?" Faith pointed out, and it was true. They had finally let go.

"Look at this bruise!!" Kougyoku told Aladdin, examining her hand. "There will be traces left because of you!"

"Sorry..." Aladdin said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But are you sure it wasn't just some powder that was removed? Your hand has a lot of makeup, you know that…?" he asked coolly.

"What did you say… you brat!?" the princess snapped, turning red.

"Aladdin is being cold…!?" Morgiana said, startled.

"So he still holds a grudge against her for what happened to Ugo!" Alibaba said, laughing a little. It was rare to see Aladdin like that.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Faith asked Hope, watching Aladdin and Kougyoku tussle with each other.

"It's probably better to let them get it out of their systems," Hope replied. "As long as it doesn't start to escalate..."

"I'm sorry about that, Hakuryuu, but a lot of things happened between them in Balbadd," Alibaba said.

"… What about you then, Alibaba Saluja?" Hakuryuu asked.

"!" Alibaba said.

"I heard about you..." Hakuryuu said. "The truth is that you resent me as the prince of the country that occupied Balbadd. I wouldn't ask you to speak heart-to-heart with a foe, but you don't need to hide this."

"… Nah, I'm not hiding this in particular," Alibaba said.

"There is no need to overdo it. The Kou Empire harmed your country. And they probably are continuing to do so even now..."

"…?" Alibaba said.

"Don't you know who was dispatched in Balbadd as the western campaign manager…?" Hakuryuu asked. "The first prince, Ren Kouen… also known as Entei, the 'flame emperor'." The girls stopped watching Aladdin and Kougyoku and listened. They stayed standing with their backs to the boys, but their ears were open. "He is the strongest and is an unparalleled general of the Kou Empire. At any rate, he is the owner of three Metal Vessels. He is the only one, other than King Sinbad, who has conquered more than a single dungeon! He is an ambitious person and intends to make Balbadd the base of his operations to realize his conquest of the west in one breath… Balbadd's civil war was only a stepping stone for him!"

"..." Alibaba stared calmly at him.

"Didn't you lose… your beloved fellow citizens, your blood relatives, and your friends… in that civil war!?" Hakuryuu asked. Alibaba frowned. "So I was prepared for the fact that you would hate a prince coming from the country that is your enemy!"

"..." A silence formed between them.

"… No..." Alibaba said. The white rukh fluttered around him. "I don't hate you," he said with clear eyes and a calm smile. "That's what I decided."

"!?" Hakuryuu said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Don't worry, Hakuryuu! I don't see you as an enemy!" Alibaba said, patting hm on the shoulder. "It's not like you did anything, after all!" His smile grew. "Let's speak frankly. Even if we can't right away… but from now on!"

"..." Hakuryuu stared at him like he was an alien from another planet. '…!?' The twins smiled, relieved for Alibaba. He might be pushing himself a little, but he was being completely sincere. He would be alright.

"… Alibaba..." Morgiana said.

—∞—

"So… Let's hear the news," Sinbad said, talking to Yamraiha, Sharrkan, Masrur, and Ja'far. "How are your disciples' conditions?"

"Yes, Alibaba is doing well," Sharrkan said. "The application of the Djinn Equip is beginning to show results, and he is polishing his moves even more."

"Aladdin and Faith have become stronger as well," Yamraiha reported happily. "They have learned new magic. They looked at my water magic and created their own. They have great talent!" She grinned up at Sharrkan, believing she had the better students, which he took exception to.

"What about Hope and Morgiana?" Sinbad asked.

"Hope is stronger, and her reflexes have improved. She's also gaining experience in battle. She's very resourceful, but she's still holding back a little when we fight. She's afraid of hurting people. If she wasn't, she would become a frightening opponent. In a fight to the death, she could probably take me down with her," Ja'far reported.

"That is frightening!" Sharrkan remarked.

"It's the same with me," Masrur said. "I think she's less worried about hurting me, but she's careful when testing out her strength. I can only get her to go all out up to when her Djinn is active, but the Equip only gives her claws. When she's like that, she's almost on par with me without my Household Vessel. She has gotten better at predicting when her Djinn Equip will increase or decrease in power and has adapted her fighting style to fit… But it's hard to bring her Djinn out to a proper partial Equip, where her arms are armored, when her life isn't in serious danger. She needs an opponent she can fight in a real life or death situation. That's the only way to get her past that."

"And Morgiana?" Sinbad asked.

"Well… she's been strong since the beginning, but… she hasn't activated her Household Vessel yet," Masrur replied. "The origins of the Household Vessel… it's ability is granted by the Djinn of the Metal Vessel after that Djinn acknowledges the common struggle with its master and the owner of the Household Vessel, right? That's why it's useless no matter how much we work on it… if she doesn't fight together with Alibaba or Hope in a real battle, then…"

"I see. A real battle, huh…" Sinbad mused. "That's right… for more than half a year, they just ate. It is time to make them work for me! Call Aladdin and the others!"

—∞—

Aladdin, Alibaba, Morgiana, Hope, Faith, and Hakuryuu stood before Sinbad's desk in his office.

"I've gathered you here… to send you to capture a dungeon!" Sinbad said bluntly.

"!!!" they gasped.

"Capture a dungeon!??" Alibaba exclaimed.

"You are already powerful… and I've been searching for people who can help me conquer a dungeon. I want you to go!" Sinbad said.

"Capture a dungeon, huh..." Aladdin said.

"We haven't explored one since Amon!" Alibaba said.

"Where is this dungeon?" Hope and Faith asked.

"That dungeon is… on a small island further south of Sindria, recently, a secret palace appeared in the south sea without anyone's notice..." Sinbad replied. "It appeared two years ago. It's the 61st dungeon, Zagan."