Chapter 27: Promise of Reunite

~Night~
In a restaurant

Aladdin, Alibaba, Vulpi, and Ryuko are eating the food that they ordered but Morgiana barely ate anything as Aladdin notices this.

"Mor-san… you've been pretty quiet…" Aladdin points out.

"Well, Hakuryuu did take off after all." Alibaba says.

"Yeah." Vulpi says and Ryuko chirps.

"Well at times like this you should feast on delicious grub to pick yourself up!"

"Also, we can't fight on an empty stomach." Vulpi points out as Alibaba picks up a bowl full of fishes.

"That's right and your stamina's your only redeeming quality, so come on, no holding barred! Eat up!" Alibaba tells Morgiana as he pushes the bowl against Morgiana's face but Morgiana puts her hand on the bowl.

"No, I'm good…" Morgiana declines and turns away from the bowl.

"Hey, don't be like that or I'm gonna devour this yummy-looking fish all by myself!" Alibaba taunts as he walks around her before he took a fish in front of her and slaps it on her cheek. "Go on. Go on… Have some!"

This only cause her to be annoyed from Alibaba's taunts and decides to eat the fish and Alibaba throws another fish one after another only to be eaten by Morgiana. Then Morgiana takes out the fish bones from her mouth as she chews on them.

"Are you satisfy now, Alibaba-san?" Morgiana questions as she eats the fishes.

"Hey, that's our Morgiana!" Alibaba exclaims as Aladdin, Vulpi, and Ryuko gone pale at the scene.

"But… it's gonna be a while before the four of us can hang out like this again…" Aladdin says.

"Yeah. Starting tomorrow, we'll be going our separate ways." Alibaba replies. "I'm heading to Lemano, the capital of Leam."

"I'll be going to Katarg in the south Leam. On a different ship that Alibaba-san." Morgiana says.

"And Aladdin and I are going by land to Magnostadt." Vulpi says.

"But, hey, we'll be meeting up again in no time. I'll be coming back in a year or so at the latest." Alibaba says.

"Me too. As soon as I get a look at my homeland, I'm coming back to Sindria." Morgiana says.

"As for us… we might need more time than that. Because there's so much that I want to learn…" Aladdin says.

"Hey, hey. No deciding not to come back at all, okay?" Alibaba tells him.

"Don't worry. We won't do that. Right Aladdin, Ryuko?" Vulpi asks and Ryuko chirps in agreement.

"Yeah and our destinies are all connected. We're sure to meet again!" Aladdin says.

"Let's make that a promise!" Alibaba declares as he puts his fist out.

"Okay." Aladdin agrees as he also put his fist out with Vulpi's and Ryuko's wing.

"Right…" Morgiana replies as she also put her fist out and they all fist bump each other with Ryuko's wing.

"Let's meet up again in good health for sure!" Aladdin says.

Then a long night of eating and listening to music in the restaurant, the people begins to dance with Aladdin singing with the singer. Later, Alibaba, Morgiana, and Vulpi begins to dance with Ryuko flying above them and Aladdin playing his flute as he dances with them.

When all that is over, the group exits the restaurant after paying the bill and walks back to the inn.

"That was a lot of fun!" Aladdin exclaims.

"Yes." Morgiana says.

"Let's come here again!"

"Yeah!" The rest of the group replies.

When they walk past a certain street, Alibaba wide-eyed at it before he looks away as his arms are crossed.

"Hey. Aladdin. How about making one last stop, just for a little while?" Alibaba asks causing Vulpi to narrow her eyes.

"Huh? Sure, why not?" Aladdin replies.

"I'm up for it too…" Morgiana says.

"No, you should go on home with Vulpi, Morgiana." Alibaba says as he puts his hands on Morgiana's shoulders. "You were kinda under the weather after all."

"No, I'm totally fine now."

"No way. Don't you know that it's dangerous for girls to be up late at night? You go on and head home now with Vulpi! Ok, end of story!" Alibaba exclaims as he pushes Morgiana and Vulpi away from him and Aladdin.

"Alibaba-kun, are you really gonna make Mor-san and Vulpi-nee go home alone?" Aladdin asks.

"Oh, come on. they'll be fine! Our Morgiana and Vulpi can take a thug or two, give or take a hundred! I'd be more worried about the thugs actually!" Alibaba points out before laughing aloud causing Morgiana to twitch her eyebrow and Vulpi closes her eyes.

Ryuko." Vulpi calls and Ryuko flies behind her

"Alibaba-kun, you just contradicted what you said before…" Aladdin points out.

"Aladdin…" Alibaba calls before he gets near Aladdin's ears and begins to whisper on it causing Aladdin's eyes to go wide as his ears twitches. Then both of them faces Vulpi and Morgiana as they have their arms waving at the girls and slowly walking to the street.

"I agree, Mor-san, Vulpi-nee! We're gonna take off now." Aladdin tells them.

"We need to talk man-to-man… crucial stuff, you know!" Then they talk off into the street as Alibaba shouts, "See ya!"

Suddenly, they are being wrapped by a rope and sits on the ground.

"What the heck?!" Alibaba questions.

"I won't let you." Vulpi says and both Aladdin and Alibaba turn their head at Vulpi who is the one that wrapped around them with a rope.

"Vulpi! What do you mean 'You won't let us'?!" Alibaba questions.

"It is just as I said. We are going back together, got it?" Vulpi questions as she glares at the two boys causing them to cower in fear from her.

"Yes…" Aladdin and Alibaba replies.

"Good. Then let's go, Morgiana." Vulpi says.

"Okay." Morgiana replies and they walk away with Aladdin and Alibaba being tied together only to have what they were planning to go a night club got crushed.

Once they got back to the inn, they immediately go to their room and sleep on their beds through the night until morning comes.

~Next morning~

The group are standing at the port to go to their ways as they gather around each other.

"Okay. Take care you guys!" Alibaba says.

"Right!" Aladdin replies.

"Next time we see each other, I'll be so powerful it'll knock your socks off!"

"So will we!"

"I too, will be every bit as powerful as the three of you." Morgiana declares causing all them to look at her.

"Wait, but you're not going there to train, right? You're still gonna get even stronger?" Alibaba asks and Morgiana nods her head.

"And Alibaba." Vulpi calls. "Don't forget about the letter."

"Don't worry. I'll definitely give the letter to him."

"Okay." Vulpi says and turns to Aladdin. "Aladdin."

Aladdin nods his head and takes off his turban before he and Vulpi gets on waves back at their friends as Ryuko follows them.

"'Bye, Alibaba-kun Mor-san!" Aladdin shouts.

"See you again sometime!" Vulpi shouts and both of them look forward.

"Yeah, let's meet again!" Alibaba shouts back.

"Please take care!" Morgiana shouts back.

When Aladdin, Vulpi, and Ryuko are out of sight, Alibaba and Morgiana put their hands down as they continue to look where they are heading.

"All right, guess I'll be on my way too." Alibaba says and looks at Morgiana. "You take care, Morgiana."

"I will." Morgiana replies and Alibaba begins to climb the stairs as Morgiana watches him clutching the bottom of her clothes.

"Hey! Almost forgot!" Alibaba exclaims as he stops and climbs back down to Morgiana as he searches for something in his back before taking his hand out to her. "This is for you."

"What?" Morgiana asks as she puts her hands out and Alibaba put something on them only to be shocked to what it is. "What's this?"

"It's a spare Household Vessel. Your own Household Vessel… If those armlets of yours ever break, you're gonna need a new metal vessel to transfer their power to, right? A Metal Vessel that you've been wearing constantly. So keep that on you. Always!"

Morgiana looks up still in shock. "Thank you… very much…"

"Okay, see ya!" Alibaba says and goes back to climbing the stair on time before the ship departs as Morgiana puts on the spare Household Vessel that appears to be a gold necklace and bows at the ship that Alibaba boarded on.

Where Aladdin, Vulpi, and Ryuko are

As Aladdin kept flying on the turban with Vulpi, he clutches his stomach and Vulpi looks at him with a worried expression.

"I'm so hungry…" Aladdin says.

"Aladdin, let's switch. Knowing you, you would get tired easily and can't fly non-stop to go to Magnostadt." Vulpi says.

"Yeah…" When he opens his eyes, he spots a caravan at the river. "Look, Vulpi-nee."

Vulpi also looks at the caravan and looks at Ryuko before opening her bag.

"Ryuko." She calls and the small dragon flies into her back as Aladdin lands near the caravan before walking up the rider.

"Hi there! I'm Aladdin and this is Vulpi-nee. We're travelers. We're heading north so would you mind letting me ride in your carriage?" Aladdin asks him.

"What's this? You shabby brats… Get lost!" The rider says as he shoos both of them. "Sorry, but I happen to cater only to a high-class clientele! As a matter of fact, I've got a very noble guest onboard right now. And for starters, do you two even have any money?"

"Yes, we do." Vulpi says as she opens her bag and searches for the money.

"Because Uncle Sinbad gave us lots!" Aladdin adds and Vulpi shows the many cold coins at the driver which surprises at it and Vulpi gives a handful of coins at the man's hands before he quickly runs to the carriage.

"Master, kindly allow another two guests to ride along… The luggage rack will do…" The driver asks and the master of the carriage waves his hand. Then the driver leads both Aladdin and Vulpi to the back of the carriage and opens it. "You have permission, but don't even think of disturbing the master in there, got that?" The driver questions as both sees a thin curtain covering the guest part of the carriage. "Seeing as he's beyond noble!"

When the caravan begins to move, Aladdin begins to eat his snack with Vulpi sitting next to him and once he finishes, he lies back on the wall.

"Ah, now I'm full!" Aladdin says and lies on Vulpi's laps.

"That's good." Vulpi says and Aladdin looks up out the window.

"Magnostadt, huh? I wonder what it's like there?" Aladdin questions.

"Who know. But Aladdin, shouldn't you put those on?" Vulpi asks.

"That's right! I have to be careful while we're in there."

~Flashback~
Yamraiha's study room

"Listen to me, Aladdin-kun." Yamraiha calls. "While you're in Magnostadt, you must never reveal that you're a Magi!"

"Why is that, Yam-san?" Aladdin asks.

"Magnostadt is seeking out magicians who are both powerful and talented. If they ever find out you're a Magi… They'll do everything in their power to try and capture you. No matter what tactics they must stoop to! That's why…"

~End flashback~

Vulpi begins wrapping Aladdin's arms with bandages to hide away something on his arms and when she finishes, Vulpi leans towards Aladdin's ear.

"Remember, Aladdin. You have to be careful while we stay at Magnostadt so don't let your guard down." Vulpi whispers.

"All right." Aladdin replies and looks at the bottom of the curtain showing the hem of the dresses and begins to fantasize who is beyond the curtains. He then gets near the curtains until, Vulpi pulls his hair.

"Don't even think about it." Vulpi tells him.

Suddenly the carriage abruptly stops causing both Aladdin and Vulpi fly out of the carriage and crashes on the ground with Vulpi lands on her feet.

"Ouch!" Aladdin says as he rubs his back.

"Are you okay, Aladdin?" Vulpi asks.

"Sort of…"

Then they hear weapons pointing at them and the carriage as both of them look up.

"Wh-Who the hell are you?" The driver questions.

"Who are we? We're bandits, what else?"

"We're not gonna tell you to keep quiet. No matter how loud our prey screams, our way is to kill first, then take the loot!"

"H-hey, mercenaries! I'm counting on you!" The driver pleads.

"Leave it to us!"

The mercenaries charge at the bandits when one of them points his weapon at them and burst of flames coming out revealing it as a Magic Tool.

"Aladdin, that's…" Vulpi trails off.

"Yeah. That's a Magic Tool…"

Both of them watches the bandits uses the Magic Tools against the mercenaries.

"There's something fishy going on after all. Magic Tools are so precious… So how can they be in the hands of all these pirates and thieves?" Aladdin thought.

When the bandits cornered the driver, Aladdin, and Vulpi, Aladdin and Vulpi stands in front of the driver as they get their weapons ready.

"Leave them to us." Vulpi says.

"Fool! What could brats like you…"

"No worries!" Aladdin says.

"Kill them!"

"Halharl…"

When Aladdin about to use his signature magic, the top part of the carriage is cut off by a young boy with a black sword.

"Be quiet!" The boy says and puts his foot on the cut ledge of the carriage getting the three their attention. "You're totally killing the mood of my journey. Hey, old guys! Does that mean you're all okay with the death penalty?"

As the boy lands on the ground, three women come out of the carriage looking at the boy.

"Your Highness, you supposed to be traveling incognito. Please restrain yourself…"

"You're wasting your breath…"

Then the boy charges the bandits as one of them runs towards him.

"Damn you, brat!"

As the boy sets his sword the ground and continues charging towards him, the blade goes under the thieve.

"Die." The boy says before slicing the bandit in half, subsequently killing him. From there, he continues slicing the other two bandits around him as he laughs.

"This brat has gone off the deep end!"

As the bandits point the Magic Tools at the boy, he sets his sword with crazed eyes and an eight-pointed star glows on the sword.

"Metal Vessel, Nyoi Rentou!" The boy says and immediately, the sword enlarges itself causing the bandits to be surprised. "Now then, do you all wanna go in one blow?" He questions and puts his sword above them when he begins to feel the weight of the enlarged sword. "Ugh, that's heavy…" The boy says as the sword shrinks back to its original size.

"Look at him! A ridiculous huge sword like that… No way can he use that thing! Take him out!"

"Hmph." The boy says and sets himself like a batter. "I just happened to make it big a little too fast, that's all… Know what I mean?" As he swings his sword, it immediately enlarges itself cutting the thieves and the trees around him and then jumps towards the rest of the thieves when the sword goes back to normal.

"Wha-What's the deal with that sword?"

As the boy makes a downward swing, the sword enlarges itself again slicing the other thieves leaving the leader. The boy then stabs his sword on the ground and leans on it.

"Okay, that's enough. Old guys." Then the sword enlarges once again as the boys is lifted with the hilt and sits on it. He then lifts his sword as he falls and swings it downward causing the ground to break apart around the thieves and Aladdin, Vulpi, and the driver are in shock at what they see.

"Mister, who is that man?" Aladdin asks.

"Not that it would mean much to the likes of you, but he's a prince of the Kou Empire… Ren Kouha-sama!"

"Ren…"

After the fight, the caravan continues the path as Aladdin, Vulpi, Kouha and his three servants are in the carriage.

"I told you, it's dangerous to go by land. Didn't I suggest that we travel by carpet?"

"No way. I utterly loathe those things! Your skin dries out, your clothes gets all dusty… Hell would have to freeze over before I took one all the way to Magnostadt." Kouha says.

"Magnostadt?" Aladdin repeats when Kouha slaps the woman who was wiping his gold bracelet.

"Hey, do a better job wiping that off! This happens to be one of my favorites!" Kouha says as he slaps the woman.

"Kouha-sama!"

"No fair! Hit me too!"

"Me too!"

"Are these girls all right?" Vulpi questions in her head how Kouha's servants act.

"Um, about Magnostadt…" Aladdin says getting Kouha's attention.

"Who is this dusty little child?" Kouha asks.

"He's the one of the two who joined us on board earlier."

"Oh?"

"Hello! My name's Aladdin and this is Vulpi-nee. We're travelers. We're on our way to Magnostadt too!"

"Really? You two? But that country doesn't allow anyone in who isn't a magician aside from special exceptions like myself."

"We may not look like one, but we are magicians. That's why we're going there to study at their academy."

"Oh, so you're a transfer student, huh? Right. Good luck then!" Kouha tells them as he pets his servants.

"So this person is going to Magnostadt too, huh? He's from the Kou Empire, so I should watch my back…" Aladdin thought as he grips his bandaged arm and then, Vulpi puts her hand on Aladdin's hand getting his attention.

"It's all right." Vulpi tells him and Aladdin nods his head.

As the caravan continues down the path to Magnostadt, the sun starts to set.

"Master, we'll be arriving at the capital in just nine more days…"

"E–h? There's still that much more to go? Listen kid, I'm bored right now. Can you do any tricks?" Kouha asks.

"I'm Aladdin. Never mind that… I'd really like to see your face, onee-san. I'm sure you're dazzling beauty." Aladdin says and Vulpi sighs in disappointment.

"Oh, that couldn't be farther from the truth. This is what my body transformed into while I was training in magic. I couldn't possibly subject you to the sight of it! The three of us were cower in the corner of the lab in these rotting, horrible bodies when Kouha-sama told us that he needed us as magicians. He bandaged us, clothed us, and bestowed smiles upon us…" The woman says and bows in front of her as she cries. "Normally, someone as ugly as I… shouldn't be anywhere near Kouha-sama and yet…"

"That's not true at all! You are beautiful. That body of yours is proof that you're not like the women of the masses. Hey, it's proof that your way of life is all about grasping for power. And that's totally alluring!"

"Kouha-sama…" She calls and hugs Kouha. "I love you! Please let me remain by your side forever!"

"There, there..."

"No fair! Me too!"

"There, there…"

"I want you to mess me up!"

"There, there…"

Aladdin and Vulpi steps back as Aladdin peaks through the curtains as Vulpi sits against the wall.

"I've got to watch my back…" Aladdin thought.

As the caravan go on their way to Magnostadt, both Aladdin and Kouha are playing with each other and telling each other stories. Then after nine days, they have reach Magnostadt while Kouha has braided Aladdin's hair all over the place.

"Are we finally here?" Kouha questions and they exit the carriage as Vulpi undoes the braids on Aladdin's hair expect for the long one.

"So where's Magnostadt Academy?" Aladdin asks as he looks around.

"This is just the checkpoint. The academy city is still a ways off." Kouha tells him and points at another entrance. "You've got to get through the entry check over there."

Aladdin and Vulpi looks at the entry check with a line of people to go through.

"Entry check…" Aladdin mutters.

"Well goodbye, Aladdin, Vulpi. I've got someone here to meet. Do your best!" Kouha says as he goes to the other entrance with his servants.

"Okay!" Aladdin replies as he and Vulpi watches them leave and looks back at the entry check.

"Listen to me, Aladdin-kun, Vulpi. During the entry check, they make you use simple magic, but that's the first thing you need to watch out for." Yamraiha tells them.

"What do you mean?" Vulpi asks.

"The examiners are magicians, so of course they can see Rukh. That's why, Aladdin-kun, you can't do anything that will reveal that you're a Magi. You can't receive and use magical power that you've received form any surrounding Rukh."

"But that's going to be hard. After all, whenever I use magic, the Rukh around me just lend me power without my asking."

In the line, Aladdin and Vulpi are standing in the line waiting for their turn to pass through the entry check with Vulpi standing in front of Aladdin. Over at the entry check, there is a large armored man holding an iron hammer and a magician to check, and the armored man swings the hammer at person at the front of the line before he uses his borg.

"All right–next!"

"Borg, huh…" Aladdin says.

"If they discover that you're a Magi…"

Vulpi steps up when the armored man swings the hammer at her before she uses borg from the hammer.

"All right–next!"

Vulpi walks pass the entry staff before she sighs in relief.

"Thank goodness all that practice with Yamraiha-san." Vulpi thought as she remembers Yamraiha teaching Vulpi how to use borg. She then turns around as she sees Aladdin steps up.

Then the armored man swings down the hammer at Aladdin before Aladdin uses borg when Rukh come fly towards Aladdin.

"What's going on? The Rukh…"

Aladdin and Vulpi widen their eyes as the magician looks at the Rukh.

"…was buzzing… Was it just my imagination? All right–next!"

Aladdin walks pass the staff and stops in front of Vulpi.

"You did it." Vulpi whispers.

"Yeah." Aladdin replies and both of them walks through the tunnel of the gate as Aladdin slightly undoes his bandages around his arm revealing a red crystal embedded in his arm.

"I owe it all to Yam-san." Aladdin thought.

"That's a Magic Tool that restricts the flow of Magoi to one direction. Even if you can emit magoi from the inside, you won't be able to receive it externally." Yamraiha explain and looks down and both Aladdin and Vulpi notice this.

"Yamraiha-san?" Vulpi calls.

"What's the matter?" Aladdin asks.

"This will turn you into a pedestrian magician who can only use his own magoi. Neither the Rukh nor anybody except Vulpi will be on your side. And you're still going there?"

"You bet I am!"

Aladdin and Vulpi come out of the tunnel as they are inside of Magnostadt.

"There's something that I want to find out, no matter what, in this country."