I apologize for neglecting this for a while. Here is a short update! Thank you for your patience and encouragement for me to continue :)
Never give up. Never surrender.
Luminous arrives at the town of Ellinia. It is still early and the air is chillier than he thought it would be. He strolls along the wooden path which occasionally is covered by green leaves, grass and hanging vines. Rather, they grow on it.
Ellinia is a strange town, very unlike Elluel that he has in mind. But it is very peaceful and quiet. It takes him some time to get used to the layout of the town. Some paths lead to dead ends and the houses are a quite far apart. He knocks on the door of the shop that has a wooden "Fairy Garments, Accessories and Useful Tools" sign beside it.
"Come in~" A sweet voice welcomes him.
He opens the door, enters into to shop and sees two fairies at the counter. One has purple hair and looks younger that the other fairy with blue hair. After they see him, they whisper to each other, the purple haired fairy chuckles shyly. Luminous stands awkwardly at the entrance.
"You don't need to knock next time, you know?" The blue haired fairy said courteously, she has the same voice who welcomed him into the shop. "Feel free to look around!"
Luminous nods back at them with a smile. He scans through the cupboard and tables that are displaying the items. The garments they are selling is simple but practical. Probably sewed by one of the fairies. They are made of good quality fabric. He sees a nice dress that might fit well with Lania but has not enough Mesos. He considers for a few moment before purchasing a rather heavy staff. It is very basic and a little inelegant to his taste, however, that will suffice for now. The fairies give him a broad smile before saying goodbye to him. He cannot help but feel strange about their behaviour.
When he comes out from the shop, he meets a blonde fairy with a green headband heading to the shop as well. Her graceful movement reminds him of Mercedes. She meets his eyes and her expression changes from tranquil to surprised. She stops in her tracks and asks, "Where do you come from, stranger?"
Luminous stops as well and answers calmly, "From a house in the forest, a friend of Lania's."
The fairy seems to measure him by looking up and down. "You shine with a warm light light like no other humans I've ever met. Surely you are not of a normal background?"
Luminous feels uneasy that the fairy can see his Light directly. Maybe the fairies in the shop can see it too. "I am..." He does not want to indulge his real identity to anyone. "Yes, I am just a normal human magician, but thank you for the compliment. I will be going now." He begins to walk towards the exit of the town.
"Wait," The fairy calls out to him. "What is your name?"
Luminous turns around and replies, "I am Suon." It is a made up name from his real name reading backwards.
"And mine, Arwen." She nods and says with a sad tone, "Suon, please send my regards to Lania. I know the previous event may make her dislike us, but I just want to apologize on behalf of the fairies."
Luminous has no idea what had happened in the past. "I will tell Lania about that."
"Thank you," Arwen says gratefully. "I will see you around, Suon."
Luminous leaves the town to hunt on some of the towering trees. The branches make sturdy support and canopies helps him reach higher places. The little green slimes are bouncing about. He grips his staff harder, wishing that it will work before conjuring a spell. His light orb appears and a weak blast of light shoots from the point of his staff. It misses the target. He bites his lip for his clumsiness and incompetence. At least, the staff did something. It is not a Shining Rod, that is why his Light will not be as responsive to him. With more trial and error, he can use a weak version of Flash Shower and that brightens up his day. He is not completely incompetent.
Evening falls and Luminous decides to call it a day. He garners more than enough materials and Mesos to purchase what Lania wanted. There is not meat though, because he is only able to clear off the green slimes and bubblings. If he wonders further, he will encounter the evil eyes and cursed eyes. With what he collected, he exchanged for spices and two meters of cotton fabric with one of the merchants in the town. They were packing up but he manages to catch them before they leave. Satisfied of his accomplishment today, he Flash Blinks back to Lania's house with a good mood.
"Welcome back! Oh, you have so many items with you. I did not expect that with that little money," She was impressed and surprised and helped Luminous to place all the items at their rightful places.
"Actually, I have been hunting." Luminous said honestly but with a glee. "I managed to recall some of my strength with the help of a staff."
Lania turns around amidst her organizing of the items. "Wow, I'm so happy for you, Luminous!" She hugs him happily.
Luminous pats her head. "Thank you. If you need any help, just let me know. I have decided to stay here with you, Lania."
More to come