Chapter 4
Maelstrom
It was spring again. The sweet aroma of the blooming flowers and the lovely colors of their dancing petals seemed ironic to me, because we were all preparing to stain the earth with blood.
Oddly enough, the calamity that was our latest excursion into war brought us all closer together. We were all galvanized towards the common purpose we had been groomed for. I may not have liked what that purpose was, but that didn't mean I couldn't take pride in the fact that I was earning my place among the rest of my esteemed family.
It also made it so that Judar was close to me more often, and I definitely didn't mind that at all. He would still disappear for weeks, sometimes months on end to check on the affairs of his dungeons, but he came home just as frequently to keep in contact with my brothers.
Thanks to Judar's efforts, Kouen captured a third dungeon. Our country swelled with pride. He was now the second most prolific metal vessel user in the world.
The first of course, was that man...Sinbad.
Oh how Judar hated Sinbad.
Whenever we managed to get some spare time together, Judar would always need to vent to me about his latest encounter with the great Sinbad.
We would meet in the peach tree grove, just like we always did. He snapped off branches and stripped them of their petals in his frustration, just like he always would.
"That insufferable asshole keeps stealing our metal vessels! He already stole Zepar and had three of them! What the hell does he need more than three for? Now he has Crocell and Furfur too...I need to have a security detail around the rest of my dungeons or something before he steals even more of them. I doubt the Emperor would approve of the manpower needed for that though...dammit! I swear, I'm gonna kill him!"
"Judar-nii, stop doing that to the tree. You're hurting it."
"Like I care! Sinbad's lucky I'm not doing this to his stupid neck right now!"
I was coming to know this chilling, bloodthirsty side of him more and more.
"Hey Momoko-hime...want to hear a cool story?"
"I'd love to!"
"Do you know how peach and cherry blossoms got their color? They all used to be white, you know."
"Wow, really? How? Tell me!"
He gave me that eerie smile. The one that sent shivers down my spine.
"It's because...the trees drank people's blood."
"What? No way...you're lying."
"It's true...in ancient times when humans discovered the trees, the flowers were beautiful and pure white. They thought it was a gift from the gods. So when someone died, they would bury the body under the tree as an offering. Sometimes they would even make a human sacrifice when they planted new saplings of the tree, just to appease the gods."
He paused and hungrily tore a bite off the peach he was eating.
"And then...slowly over the years as people did this, the flowers' petals began to change from white to pink. The more people's bodies they fed to the trees, the more vibrant the color of the petals got. I guess they favored the peach tree, because the flowers are more pink than the cherry tree. They also make larger fruits...do you know why that is, Momoko?"
I gulped on my bite of peach. "No...wh-why?"
"Heheh...the trees made fruit because when they fed on the dead body, they also ate the person's soul. So whenever you're eating a cherry or a peach, you're probably eating someone's soul!"
I dropped my fruit and screamed.
"Nooooo!"
I spit the fruit juices out of my mouth. I started to cry.
"I don't want to be eating people! I'm never eating a peach again!"
Judar grinned and bit off huge chunks of his fruit. "Mmm this human soul is delicious."
"H-hey! Stop it! That's awful, Judar-nii! How could you be so cruel!"
"Heheheheh! Oh, quit being a baby. It's just a joke. None of that was true. It's some dumb story that Al Thamen told me when I was little."
"I knew you were lying, you jerk! Wait...who's Al Thamen?"
"The people in the veils."
"Oh."
I finally learned their name. They were much more frightening when they didn't have a name. It was like I dicovered a magic spell I could use to break a curse.
But I learned it too late. The curse they had on him was too strong.
As the years marched on, all he seemed to want to speak of was death and bloodshed. He took pride and joy in it. He savored it like the taste of those sweet fruits.
Judar would clash with Sinbad many more times in an effort to safeguard his dungeons. For the most part he would succeed, but there came another time when he didn't, and Sinbad managed to capture the dungeon Vepar. He came home that day in a fit of rage, hurling destructive spells around like he was a walking hurricane. He nearly capsized the entire naval fleet before Empress Gyokuen had intervened.
Afterwards, I would see him less and less. He was so consumed with his desire to destroy his enemy that he abandoned the notion of having a friend. Instead of meeting me in the garden, he started walking through the air and sitting on the rooftops, where no one could reach him. I'd always try to console him, but his gaze had become icy daggers and his tongue shot bolts of lightning.
"Judar-nii, please come down! Please just talk to me! I can help! I said I'd help you, remember?"
"Piss off, old hag!"
Old hag. I began to hear that name much more often than "peach blossom princess". It was as if, to him, I'd wrinkled and dried up because I'd been left to rot. I wasn't some intriguing novelty to him anymore. He'd become bored with me. So he threw up his walls of ice and thunder and whirlwinds, and didn't let me come close anymore.
The only person he seemed to be interested in was the one who wouldn't give him the time of day. Hakuryuu. He tried so hard to get Hakuryuu's attention all the time. He told him he could learn some life magic to fix his blind eye and heal his burns. Hakuryuu snubbed him every step of the way.
I understood exactly what it was. To Judar, Hakuryuu was like a swift, great horned ibex always escaping his black leopard claws. I was just the picked clean carcass of a doe; a feeble pile of bones for him to toy with when he had nothing better to do.
It tore my heart to shreds. I spent many a night nearly drowning in my tears.
Why was I always the one everyone abandoned and forgot? Was that my fate? Was I destined to be picked up and then tossed aside by everyone I cared about?
My only godsend through all this was Hakuei and Hakuryuu. We would still train together every now and then. I'd join them in their quarters for leisurely tea parties and games of cards and chess. We'd discuss our feelings about the expansion campaign. Hakuryuu never had much of anything to say, but Hakuei spoke highly of Kouen's ideals, and how she was eager to support him in creating a peaceful world. I admired how eloquent and noble she was, and I hoped I could be the same when it was time for me to play my part.
But soon, Hakuei became increasingly unavailable as well. She was next in line to become a general and join the northern subjugation front.
*
Despite everything, I still made time to look after the grove of peach trees. I made sure the gardeners were watering them and preening them properly. I thought maybe it would take Judar's mind off of all the destruction and chaos he lusted after.
I could hardly contain my excitement when they finally bore fruit one midsummer. I ran out of the garden with a bushel of tiny peaches cradled in my skirt, scrambling about to find him.
He was in the war room, surrounded by priests and military leaders, debating with Kouen and Koumei while Hakuei stood by him looking bashful and reserved. They all locked their stern gazes on me when I came skidding into the room.
"...What do you want, Kougyoku? We're in the middle of something." Kouen growled.
"Er...I just wanted to show Judar-nii--"
"Perfect timing, old hag. I was getting seriously bored with all this anyways. Come on, Hakuei."
He grasped Hakuei by the wrist and dragged her towards the door.
"Judar! How dare you disrespect his highness! Come back here, we aren't finished with negotiations!" Koumei barked.
"Screw that! I've had enough of dealing with you geezers. I can take her and her lapdog Seishun, and we'll be just fine. Anything else you come up with is just a waste of time and resources."
"Wait, lord Magi! We should listen to lord Kouen--ouch!"
"I said let's go, Hakuei!"
"HEY!"
All eyes were on me again.
"...Judar-nii, that's no way to treat a lady. Let go of her."
He bore his icy gaze into me, but he complied and released Hakuei from his grasp. She massaged her wrist.
I tiptoed up to him and smiled despite the barbs of anxiety worming their way into my gut.
"Look, Judar-nii! The trees have fruit on them now!"
"Tch. Those weak little things are too bitter to eat."
He elbowed me aside. I stumbled, and the peaches tumbled out of my skirt and rolled across the floor.
"Stop bothering me, old hag. I've got too much work to do."
I dropped to my knees, choking back a sob.
"Why does Hakuei get to be with you? Where are you going?"
"Where else, idiot? We're conquering a dungeon. Now let's go already, Hakuei! I can't stand another minute of this stupidity."
He disappeared out the door. Hakuei gave me a pitiful look before she shuffled after him.
The elders began verbally assaulting my brothers like a flock of vultures for Judar's insolence. I sat there crumpled in a heap on the war room floor, with sorrow gripped around my throat and tears flowing like hot slag from my burning eyes.
Ka Kobun found me and started berating me for interrupting the war council and making a mess. I said nothing and refused to move, which only made him yap at me even louder. All the voices seemed to crescendo into dissonance, so I pretended I had fallen deaf and shut them out.
And then a hushed, weary sounding voice cut through it all.
"It's quite alright, Ka Kobun. She didn't mean any harm. Why don't you leave this to me?"
"L-l-lord Koumei? Er...of course your highness!"
I rubbed my eyes and looked up to see Koumei crouched beside me, gathering up the tiny fruit from the floor.
"Hmm. He's right, these are way too small and unripe. You're going to have to be a bit more patient if you want these to be edible, Kougyoku."
I sobbed. "I'm...I'm sorry big brother!"
"Ka Kobun, please take care to clean this up, would you?"
"Y-yessir!"
"Come along now, Kougyoku. I think it's time we had a little chat."
I picked myself up and followed Koumei through the palace to his office in the library.
*
He retrieved cushions and sat me down on the tiger skin rug in front of the fireplace, and had his servants bring us a fresh pot of tea and a plate of cakes. Almost instantly, my stormy emotions were soothed. This was the very spot that Koumei used to read me stories as a little girl.
He sat down next to me and opened up a delicate and ancient looking scroll written in strange pictographs and glyphs.
"What do you know about Magi and the metal vessels, little sister?"
"Just what Judar told me, and what I read about in my favorite books."
"And you're aware that Judar himself is a Magi?"
"Yes."
"Do you understand what that means?"
"He told me that he's one of the most powerful magicians in the world."
"Has anyone really taken the time to explain all of this to you? Do you understand the true purpose of why magicians and the Magi exist, and why our country needs Judar and the metal vessels he can give us?"
"...Not really, no."
"I thought so. Then listen carefully, Kougyoku."
"I know what magicians are though...they get to play with those pretty birds made of light. Judar showed me once."
Koumei pointed to a painting on the scroll that looked like a swirling galaxy of color composed of the little birds.
"They're called the rukh. They glow with light because they are the source of all the energy that makes up our world. They bestow the essence of life, magoi, to every plant, animal, and person. Magicians are people born innately with a larger amount of magoi and an affinity to the rukh. The rukh will listen to their commands, and they can use magoi to rearrange the makeup of reality to their will. This is what we call magic and spells."
He pointed to another picture of a golden oil lamp with an eight pointed star on it. The lamp was being held by a giant and fearsome looking blue man with horns.
"The metal vessels are powerful tools that allow those of us with a strong enough will who aren't magicians to, essentially, become magicians. We borrow the power of a great spirit, a djinn contained within the metal vessel, so that we can perform incredible feats of magic power. For instance, the metal vessel I have, Dantalion, allows me to move things through gateways in space and transport them instantly across great distances."
"Wow, really? Can you show me? I've never seen anyone use a metal vessel. I've only read stories about it. Please?"
Koumei grumbled. "This isn't the time or the place for that. And I haven't exactly mastered how to use it yet, so if I were to make a mistake, it could be disastrous. Anyways, you need to pay attention, so try not to interrupt. Kouen and I have been meaning to ensure that you and Kouha are educated in these matters, since you've both made it clear you want to join the military when you're ready."
He directed my attention to another picture: three people wearing pointed hats and holding staves were sitting on thrones in the sky. Below them was the world with towers all around it, and people wearing crowns were standing on top of the towers.
"Kouen has been learning the ancient language of these texts. They're copies of sacred scriptures that belong to the Torran people. From what we've managed to translate, we discovered that the origin of the metal vessels, and the Magi, is a world that came before this one. A world that was ruled by just one king. The Torran tribe and the people of Sasan Kingdom believe that the king of this previous world was akin to a god, and that the Magi are his emissaries. There are always three of them, and they're responsible for maintaining the balance of the world that the king created: the world we all live in now. The Magi, together with the djinn, judge the worthiness of individuals who seek power through the trials of the dungeons. If they prove themselves worthy of the king's power, they may use it as they see fit to shape and reshape the foundations of civilization."
"So that's why Judar was always talking about choosing a king when we were little. It makes sense why he's so worried about the dungeons all the time too."
"Precisely. The dungeons have always been scattered throughout the world, appearing and disappearing in random places. The Magi are basically the keys that unlock the dungeons. The king designed this system that governs the nature of our world very logically, with checks and balances in order to prevent one person from holding all the power. The legends say that the previous world fell to ruin because one person became all powerful, so naturally this king redesigned the new world so the same thing could not be repeated. The Magi are bestowed with the power to be the ultimate magicians so that they can end and restart the cycle as needed."
Koumei carefully re-sealed the scroll and returned it to its display case under lock and key.
"Now that you understand all of this...how do you feel about trying to have a close friendship with Judar?"
It was a lot of information to take in. I gave it some thought before I answered.
"It doesn't change anything for me. He may be this powerful Magi...but to me he's just like you, or Kouen, or Kouha, Hakuei and Hakuryuu. He's still a person with thoughts and feelings of his own. And he's been the only actual friend I've ever had."
"I see."
Koumei heaved a sigh and sat back down beside me, nibbling on a tea cake.
"I understand the two of you have been having some difficulty as of late. Tell me Kougyoku… do you believe Judar feels the exact same way you do about being friends?"
My stomach suddenly felt like it was doing backflips.
"Well I...I think so. He always used to like when we would play together. I know it's hard now that we're older, but lately he's just...so cold. He was always sort of rude, but now he's gotten to be so aggressive and hurtful. I don't understand it."
I curled my knees into my chest, staring into the crackling embers in the fireplace.
"Come to think of it...he's never actually told me that we're friends. I was always the one saying that. I told him that he's part of the family. I thought it would make him happy. But all this time, it's always just been me chasing after him and vying for his attention. I just wanted to show him that he wasn't alone...because I understand what being lonely is like."
Before I knew it, I had tears rolling down my face again.
Koumei handed me a handkerchief and pulled me close, letting me rest my head on his shoulder. He stroked my hair and patted my back while I sniffled into the handkerchief.
"There's something you must understand, my kind and sweet little sister. Judar will never be able to escape the feeling of loneliness."
"Wh-what? How so?"
"Being part of the ruling class, I'm sure you're all too familiar with the depth of isolation we experience. None of us really have the luxury of maintaining friendships. So imagine that, compounded with possessing a godlike level of magical power, and then being told from the day you were born that you must use it to ensure your country will be victorious in war, conquering every nation on earth to bring the world under one rulership. That is what Judar's life has been since he came to us as an infant."
He paused to drink the rest of his tea and pour himself another cup. I followed suit and took a sip of my tea.
"So you see...I don't think Judar can ever fully grasp the concept of having a friend, when he was hand raised to be the ultimate weapon of war. I don't think he believes himself to have an equal in this entire world. Therefore, he will always be alone. It's logical that he's distant and aggressive, and that he enjoys tormenting others. It's what he's been conditioned to be from the beginning."
Koumei heaved another sigh, pinching between his eyes to quell a developing headache.
"And now that the little war machine has grown and is on the cusp of manhood, he's lashing out at just about everyone and everything around him, trying to exercise some free will that he doesn't actually have. He understands perfectly well that his entire life has been dictated, so he's developed one hell of an attitude problem. I swear, if I could do it all over, I'd choose not to have to endure the rebellious teenage phase of a Magi."
Koumei's dry humor made me snort on my drink of tea a little.
His eye twitched. "Ugh...it's nothing to laugh about," he griped, "you have no idea how much havoc he's caused for me and Kouen. That botched war council you saw was just a taste of it."
"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" I giggled. "I'm just imagining the way I used to catch you and Kouen wrestling each other, and now you have to get along because Judar is being a pain in the ass! It's so funny!"
His drooping frown shifted into a smirk. "Well, in any case, I'm glad to have cheered you up. It pains me to see you sad when Kouen and I work so hard to make sure you and the others are alright. Now that you have a better understanding of the person you want to call a friend, perhaps you can create new and stronger bonds. Just be patient. Much like those peach trees you look after, it takes a lot of time and effort."
I flung my arms around my brother's chest and squeezed tight. "Thank you so much, Koumei-nii."
*
Hakuei successfully captured the dungeon Paimon.
Shortly afterwards, we received the news that Sinbad had captured Focalor, his seventh djinn.
Judar was furious. He ran off to go find Sinbad again, most likely to fight him. He was gone for weeks. I was beginning to worry, and so were my brothers. There were rumors flying around that Judar had gotten himself killed. He may have been one of the world's strongest magicians, but an individual like Sinbad could have proved to be too much for him to handle.
I spent several nights tossing and turning, wracked with a deep pit of anxiety in my stomach. I could barely eat. I made trips to the temple to pray with all my heart for him to come home safe. I told the gods that I'd endure a hundred more years of his bullying if it meant he was alive and would be returning soon.
Upon my last visit, my prayer was answered. Almost too literally.
When I climbed the marble steps to the shrine, there was a strange figure floating in the air in front of it. An oxen skull for a head and a billowing black cloth for a body.
"Uhhh...h-hello."
"I am...the god of death…" it spoke in a deep moan. "Judar...is dead."
"Wha...what?"
"BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!!"
"AAAAAIIEEEE!!!"
I heard that unmistakable laughter.
"Hahahahaha!!! Oh man, Momoko! You--hahaha! You are just too easy!"
I withdrew my jian from my sash and drove the pommel into his gut. He crumpled to the ground, the oxen skull smashed into pieces, and he rolled about under the cloth as he gasped for air.
"Owwww…"
"That does it!" I roared, "get up, Judar! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
He poked his head out from under the cloth. "Jeez, can't you take a joke? So scary...you're gonna get more wrinkles making that face, old hag."
I smacked his forehead with the pommel.
"OW! Gawd damn!"
"Stop calling me an old hag! I'm fourteen!"
"Man, you're so violent today. What's gotten into you? Is it that time of the month?"
I took the flat of the blade in its sheath and whacked him on his backside repeatedly.
"NO. YOU. IDIOT. YOU. HAVE. PISSED. ME. OFF. REALLY. BAD. THIS. TIME."
"OWOWOWOWOW OKAY OKAY STOP PLEASE!"
I stepped back and slammed the tip of my sword into the ground, clasping my hands over the pommel, glaring intensely at the heap of black cloth.
"Get up and duel me like a man, you pigheaded little pissant!"
He steadily rose to his feet, sporting a wicked grin on his face while he kept the cloth wrapped around him.
"So that's how you wanna play...huh Momoko?" He hissed.
He whipped the cloth around and flung it at me. I drew my sword and slashed it apart. When the pieces of cloth fell away, he stood in a combative stance with his wand ready.
"Bring it on then! But don't cry when I wipe the floor with you, bratty half-pint!"
I wanted to attack, but I found myself frozen in place. Staring.
"Well?!" He snapped, "I'm waiting!"
I put my sword back in its sheath.
"Judar-nii…what the hell are you wearing?"
He was clad in a strange, revealing new outfit. A middle-eastern style ensemble of a cropped black shirt trimmed with gold, puffy black jodhpurs, and a white scarf around his shoulders. He wore gold bangles all up his forearms and a layered gold choker encrusted with a large ruby.
He shrugged. "...What? I got outfitted with a new wardrobe while I was in Sindria, okay? Like I told you before, that frilly stuff you guys wear all the time just isn't my style. But who cares! Look at all these bruises you left on my beautiful skin! You're gonna pay for that!"
I wasn't sure whether to laugh or...let's just say it was the first time I noticed how he was in really good shape.
Abs...
My face turned bright red. I shook myself out of my stupor.
"You look like a prostitute."
"You mean like your mom?"
"DIE!!!"
I sprang into horse stance and lunged.
"Thalg!"
With a swift flick of his wand, a torrent of water splashed out of the shrine's offering basin and froze into a boulder around my arm, my sword just inches from Judar's torso. Had I connected, I would have gut-checked him again pretty hard. But I couldn't move.
"Ouch...c-c-cold!"
He gave his wand a twirl and kicked back with his hands behind his head, a cocky grin on his lips.
"I win. Truce?"
"...Y-y-yeah."
Another flick of his wand made the boulder unfreeze, and the water splashed into a puddle and all over my robes.
I wrung the water out my skirt and tied my sword back into my sash. With a huff, I turned hot on my heels to leave.
Judar trotted after me. "Uh--hey, wait Momoko!"
I picked up my pace and stomped down the first tier of steps. "Leave me alone! I'm still mad at you!"
"What did I do? I said I was just kidding. Jeez, lighten up already."
I whirled around and shoved his chest.
"You don't know what you did?! You had all of us worried sick that something bad happened to you! Because you had to run off and get into a pissing contest with Sinbad again! Don't play dumb with me, I know you showed up here and played your stupid prank because you found out I'd been coming here and praying for you! And then there's the matter of you being a colossal jackass to me before you took Hakuei to conquer that dungeon!"
He was dumbstruck and wide-eyed. A big bad buck reduced back down to a frozen little fawn.
I balled my fists at my side. " Dammit...I wasn't that serious when I said I'd put up with a hundred more years of your bullying. I just wanted you to be okay."
I turned around and was marching off again.
"Well damn...I actually feel like a jerk now." He mumbled.
"Good!" I snapped.
"You're just gonna go on home by yourself then?"
"What do you think, idiot?!"
"But I wanted to show you my new toy."
I felt a whoosh of air over my head, and when I looked up, Judar was sitting on a floating white cloth, which he had taken off of his shoulders.
I was too awestruck to make a rebuttal.
He leaned on his palm and smirked. "I stole it from Sinbad's treasury. Wanna go for a ride?"
He floated low enough for me to climb on, holding out his hand.
I dug my nails into my palm. My eyes stung and watered.
"Damn you...how do you always do this?"
"Hm? Do what? H-hey, come on, why are you crying?"
I'd grown so fed up with crying. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to stop.
"You always do this...you make me feel like there's a huge storm raging inside me...you make me so happy one minute, and then so sad and worried, or so angry the next. And then you'll make it all blow away, and the waters calm again."
He chuckled and shrugged. "I dunno. Guess I just want to remind you how alive you are. Now come on, Ka Kobun's probably worried about you."
I rubbed my eyes and nose with my sleeve, and then I took his hand and sat down on the carpet next to him.
"Hang on tight."
I crouched down and bunched the cloth in my hands as we soared high into the air, the city growing small below us. The wind whistled in my ears and rushed through my hair. The sunlight felt tingly against my back. Birds whisked by us, calling out shrilly to acknowledge our presence.
"Isn't flying awesome? Why would you take a boring as hell ride in a palanquin or a carriage if you could do this all the time?" Judar hollered.
"Y-yeah!" I hollered back.
it was a fairly short flight back to the palace, but as we approached, Judar veered the carpet upwards and climbed even higher in altitude until we were almost near the clouds.
Frightened, I grabbed onto him. "W-wait! Not so high, Judar-nii!"
"Relax! This is just for fun! I'm not gonna let you fall off, so just enjoy the ride!"
He leveled out the carpet and let it slow into a steady glide, making a wide and leisurely corkscrew as we began our descent towards the palace. The airflow was soft enough that we could speak in normal voices.
"See? I'm an expert flyer. You've got nothing to worry about."
"This is amazing...you can almost see all the way to the Tenzan Plateau from up here!"
Judar crossed his arms and puffed out his chest.
"Gee, thanks for being such a cool guy and taking me on this magical carpet ride, Judar-nii!" he said, mocking my voice.
I yanked on his braid.
"Ow! What the hell?!"
"Apologize!"
"What?! Why should I?"
I cleared my throat. "I'm sorry I've been such a butthead, Momoko. I'll try and be nicer to you from now on." I said, mocking his voice.
"Yeah that."
I elbowed him in the ribs.
"Ow!"
"Say it so I know you mean it!"
"Ugh, all right, I'm sorry! There, happy now?" He growled.
I giggled. "Yep."
"But seriously though...it was kinda stupid of you to pick the peaches from the tree before they were ripe."
"Whatever, I just got excited about it. You don't even check on them anymore, so what do you care?"
"I'll care when they're ripe. But fruit trees take a long time to grow, so what's the point?
"I don't know. It makes me happy looking after those trees."
"Gawd that's so boring. You're weird."
"I'm weird? I'm not the one who dressed up in some hokey costume to scare a girl who was praying on your behalf."
"Bahahaha! I couldn't help myself...Kouha told me all about you going and doing those dumb prayers, and you're just so gullible! You should've seen the look on your face! Ahahahaha--ack!"
He started coughing violently.
"Wha--hey! Are you okay?!"
"Uuuck! I swallowed a bug! Puh! Ptoo!"
I howled with laughter.
"Shut up, or you'll swallow one too, old hag!"
I covered my mouth, but kept snort-laughing.
"That's called karma, Judar."
"Kiss my ass."
We were getting close to the roof of the palace. He steered the carpet into the garden and landed gently in the grove of peach trees. He flopped onto his back and stretched out on the carpet in the plush grass. I curled up beside him.
"Man, using magic tools like that uses up a lot of magoi. I'm famished."
"Hey, Judar-nii...tell me something. Why did you have to go off and fight Sinbad again? I was really scared for you, you know. I know you're strong, but Sinbad must be really strong too. He has seven metal vessels. You could've gotten hurt really bad."
"I was gonna fight him, but actually I didn't. I just talked to Focalor."
"...huh?"
"Focalor! The djinn, dummy!"
"I know, but...you talked to a djinn?
"Yeah, I can talk to any of them. I have enough power to make them manifest their bodies out of the metal vessels. So I goaded Sinbad into fighting me, tapped on his stupid bracelet, and woke the djinn up so I could talk to him."
"Wow. So what did you talk about?"
"I told Focalor not to let Sinbad into another dungeon. That way he can't get any more metal vessels."
"And he agreed?"
"Yup."
"Even though he's Sinbad's djinn?"
"Yeah. They pretty much have to listen to whatever a Magi says. Plus Focalor already decided the same thing. Seven metal vessels is more than enough for one guy. Doesn't matter how super-special-awesome you are...no one in the world wants a tyrant running around and keeping all the metal vessels to himself."
I heard a loud grumble.
"Damn...that's my stomach." Judar moaned.
He got up and wrapped the carpet back into a scarf around his shoulders.
"Listen up, Momoko. You and and your brothers and sisters gotta keep getting stronger so we can kick Sinbad's ass, okay? He's got seven djinn, eight household members, a whole country of his own with an army, and a bunch of other countries with their own metal vessels on his side. If we're gonna have a chance at beating him when we take over the world, we gotta do some major beefing up. We've got five metal vessels to ourselves, but we're gonna need a lot more. Maybe I can give each of you two of them! That'd show him…"
I sighed. I was hoping I had gotten through to him a little, but he was still as obsessed as ever with defeating his enemy.
He leaned in close to me, that chilling grin spread across his face.
"Don't forget what I said before, Momoko. This is war. You had better be ready. If you're too weak, then I'll leave you in the dirt to be food for the worms."
I swallowed hard, nodding.
He straightened and crossed his arms. "Things are gonna start changing around here again very soon. There'll be no more time to relax and mess around. If you still want a metal vessel, you're gonna have to earn it. Prove to me you're worthy, and then I'll take you to the dungeon just like Hakuei. Got it?"
I nodded fervently. "I'll do it. I'll train even harder and get stronger, Judar-nii."
"Atta girl. Ugh, speaking of girls, I have to start teaching little miss eldest princess to use Paimon now. But first...food. Catcha later, Momoko-hime."
He strolled off towards the courtyard.
I rolled onto my back in the grass and watched the colors change in the sky as the sun went down. The fluffy pink and orange clouds drifted lazily by. I envied their unburdened and carefree existence. I made a silent wish that I could join them on a magic carpet next to a smart-alecky wizard again someday soon. But I knew better. I knew how the real stories went. The genie in the magic jar always made the wish come true in a way you never wanted it to