CHAPTER 3:
REUNION AND DEPARTURE
The next morning, Harry and Raphtalia discovered, much to their annoyance, that Motoyasu had decided to depart early for the port. Thankfully, both Harry and Ren had set Lurolona as a destination for their Teleport Weapons. And Raphtalia could create a Portkey for Itsuki, though she warned Itsuki about the fact that it was an uncomfortable way to travel. The Itamis would be staying in Melromarc Castle Town for now, though.
Still, once Itsuki had arrived with his party and recovered from the Portkey, he looked around. "…So this is Lurolona, huh?"
Raphtalia nodded. "My home…or at least it was. I'm hoping it can be again."
Ren came up to Itsuki. "Itsuki, we have time before we have to head to the port for the ship. If you want to pay your respects, we've got enough time. I doubt Kitamura will be able to get the ship to leave early if he's already there, not if it means going against the Queen's orders." Almost to himself, he muttered, "Not that I'm looking forward to sailing myself. Hey, Raphtalia, do you have a good supply of ginger pills?"
"Sure. I don't get seasick, oddly enough, but I'm willing to share," the demi-human said.
Ren nodded, offering a smile of gratitude. "Thanks. That being said, Itsuki, Harry, I think once we're on-board the ship, we still need to consult with Kitamura as to how we'll do our grinding. When we're in close enough proximity, we can't gain experience, outside of a Wave. The Cal Mira Archipelago is composed of multiple islands with multiple hunting grounds. They probably have a sort of hunting etiquette similar to rules in MMORPGs, to avoid killstealing and such. So I suggest we take separate islands. We'll figure out the details once we get there."
"Sounds good to me," Harry said. Despite being the youngest of them, Ren had many leadership qualities, or at least he had the intelligence and presence of a leader. Harry felt more like the senior member of the Cardinal Heroes, by dint of being the oldest member who wasn't a complete fuckwit, but he wasn't so enamoured with being a leader, so he was willing to hear Ren out at least. Harry wasn't a seasoned gamer like the others, after all, and while this world wasn't a game, it had too many trappings of one. A gamer's perspective could only help at times.
"Yeah," Itsuki said. Harry was reminded of Itsuki's request from the night before. He was worried about Rishia, though at least Itsuki was doing something about it. "But will Motoyasu listen?"
"Hopefully, he'll listen in terms of gaming etiquette," Ren said. "Also, where possible, I'd like the three of us at least to share any spare monster or equipment drops, if members of our parties can use them. We'll also keep some monster drops aside for Kitamura, if they're unique to the islands he hasn't been to. Cooperating with him is going to be a hassle, but we need to keep him alive at least, and that means helping him get stronger, like it or not."
"The problem is, he seemed to view forming his party as basically forming his personal harem, with Malty as queen bee. And with her gone, I worry about how strong his support is," Raphtalia mused, frowning in disgust. "How competent are they?"
Ren looked to Raphtalia. "Competent enough, but he did most of the work along with Malty. They're mostly there for being eye-candy cheerleaders. They'd be good in a fight, and Malty is good at fighting with magic. But I think their growth has been stunted by Kitamura's misplaced chivalry and Malty wanting nobody to overshadow her. I spoke to him about getting mercenaries, but he said, Dude, have you seen mercenaries? I ain't into guys, or girls with that many muscles and scars." He rolled his eyes, a gesture Harry matched.
"I'd suggest that he buy some Filolial eggs, but I pity any Filolial he'd raise," Raphtalia said.
Hedy nodded. "Yeah. If he did anything funny to them, I'd give him a Penalty Kick, right where it hurts."
"…Penalty Kick?" Ren asked, before wincing. "Oh, right, I heard about that incident later. Waste of a good codpiece, in my opinion."
"Codpiece?" Itsuki asked. "What does…oh. Ohhh. So, uhh…he was touching you weirdly, Hedy?" The Filolial Queen nodded, and Itsuki sighed. "…Okay, fair enough…"
As Itsuki went to the graveyard to pay his respects, Ren seemed to be in thought. "I wonder…would getting a Filolial work out for me? Hmm, I'll have to ask Wyndia. Filolials and dragons notoriously detest each other, and as Wyndia was raised by Gaelion…"
"Do you think she would have issues with that?" Raphtalia asked.
"I don't know. I hope that, if she stays in my party, she can overcome such a dislike. But…"
"Yo!"
Harry blinked, before looking over at the source of the familiar voice. A quartet of people, two adults, two children, were there. Harry and Raphtalia laughed in relief. "You guys are here?" Harry asked.
"Yep!" This was a young red-haired man, burly and good-natured. L'Arc Berg was actually heir to the throne of Sickle in the world he came from, as well as the Vassal Scythe Hero.
The blue-haired woman next to him had beautiful features and a leather headband, which Harry knew covered up a jewel that grew from her very head. Therese Alexandrite was a Jewel, a human-like being who could use jewel-based magic thanks to the jewels growing from their bodies. Both were associates of Glass, the Vassal Fan Hero of their world, and a Spirit-Person, a sort of ghostly being.
Of course, there was Rifana and Keel with them. Both were demi-human friends of Raphtalia, and both had been enslaved by Idol Rabier, like Raphtalia had been. They had been rescued (after Raphtalia was flung to Earth) by Naofumi Iwatani, a Japanese from their world who had been caught up in a friend's summoning. His friend, one of the Cardinal Heroes of that world, betrayed Naofumi, but he found allies and friends amongst these people. He later became the Vassal Mirror Hero.
Rifana had gentle features, golden eyes, and the ears and tail of a weasel. Keel had more androgynous features, and the ears and tail of a dog. Keel…also had gender identification issues, having only recently come to terms with the fact that she was female, and she could act like a boy if she wanted. She wasn't transsexual or intersex or anything like that, she was just an extreme tomboy whose adoptive father had been…rather unique in his way of perceiving gender.
The two were young, still pre-teen, compared to Raphtalia, who, thanks to the inadvertent time travel Idol Rabier's ritual caused to her, was nineteen now. She hugged them, laughing. Ren, smiling a little, cleared his throat. "Harry, who are these people?"
"Right. Ren, these two are Glass' comrades, and don't worry, they're good people. L'Arc Berg is the Vassal Scythe Hero from that world, and Therese Alexandrite is his friend. Rifana and Keel were Raphtalia's friends from Lurolona. They were rescued from slavers by a Japanese from our Earth, Naofumi Iwatani. He was the one who warned us about Kyo."
"Ah. Pleased to meet you, I guess. I am Ren Amaki, the Sword Hero."
"Hey, don't sweat it, kiddo. We're looking into ways to save both our worlds, don't you worry," L'Arc said.
"So, why are you guys here?" Harry asked.
Therese turned to him. "We needed to get stronger in this world. If Kyo does make his move in this world, we need to gain more levels, and strengthening the Vassal Scythe should help. But we had another problem we needed to notify you of. We believe that another Wave of Catastrophe is about to strike our worlds soon."
"Yeah, we notified Queen Mirelia just before we came here. But she's been keeping an eye on the Dragon Hourglasses in the various nations through her contacts. The Wave's not going to hit the big ones like Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, or Zeltoble, and you already know Faubrey and Melromarc's not going to get hit for weeks yet," L'Arc said. "It could be Q'ten Lo, but those guys are isolationists, apparently. She said to give this news to you guys in person."
"And what about Hermione and Naofumi?" Harry asked, concerned about the possibility of a Wave hitting this world and his not knowing about it.
"They're staying with Glass and Kizuna, and so's Ethnobalt. After what happened to her, we don't want someone else imprisoning her," Therese said. "The other Cardinal Heroes of our world are still treating this crisis as what you'd call a computer game. It's immensely frustrating."
"To be fair, if it's anything like this world, it has the trappings of one," Ren pointed out. "And did the other Cardinal Heroes think your world was like a game they played?" Therese and L'Arc nodded. "That's not a coincidence. I think we've gone into enemy action, don't you?"
"Yeah, I agree. Maybe this was the doing of this World Eater the spirit of the Shield mentioned or something," Harry mused. "But still…we can't do anything unless we sync with the Dragon Hourglass. Unless some Waves only affect one particular world?"
"No such luck, kiddos. We don't know the exact details, but the Waves are a bit like earthquakes, only, it's apparently from worlds merging," L'Arc said. "Hermione and Ethnobalt are really burning the midnight oil on their research. The thing is, a Wave on our world means a Wave somewhere on this one. These two worlds in particular may not be actually merging, other worlds may be involved, but we're still feeling the effects. And we've got other issues. Aside from Kyo, we've heard nasty rumours about the so-called Vassal Katana Hero. The problem is, the country he is based in isn't friendly to Sickle, like the one Kyo is based in."
"Sounds like you have more than your share of problems," Ren remarked. "We only just finished stopping the Church's coup against Mirelia."
"Oh yeah, Mirelia didn't tell us what happened. She told me to ask you guys. So, let's get this show on the road. You can fill me in on the way to the harbour…"
L'Arc and Therese were introduced to Itsuki as well, and the parties made their way down to the harbour, with Keel and Rifana in tow. The younger demi-humans had resolved to come to Cal Mira anyway to get stronger. Harry, the demi-humans (barring Wyndia, who stayed with Ren), L'Arc, Therese and Hedy stayed behind Ren and Itsuki's parties to talk about the matter.
"Are you sure about this?" Harry asked.
"Look, we got screwed over by the Wave and those knights," Keel said. "We need to be strong to defend Lurolona, right? I mean, you put paid to the Church, right? And you're getting Lurolona rebuilt? Rifana and I have been training in that other world, and while our levels don't transfer here, we still have skills. Plus, Hermione mentioned some old lady who knows some powerful martial art. If we had been even a quarter as strong as Big Sis Sadeena, this shit wouldn't have happened."
Rifana nodded. "Even if the Church is not around anymore, and the Queen is going to outlaw slavery, there's still people who'd want to enslave us. I don't like fighting, but if it's to protect others…"
"Hey, don't push yourself, Rifana," Raphtalia said to her old friend. "Has your lung condition healed?"
"Mostly, but my lungs are still a little sensitive. I won't overdo it, I promise."
"She may look demure, but she's pretty strong, Raphtalia," Therese said.
"Well, hopefully, we can make a holiday of it," Harry said. "Even between the grinding, we could probably have a good time. I mean, it is an island resort, right?"
"So we heard," L'Arc said. "That being said, I'd be careful. Earlier, we encountered some guy pretending to be you and messing with the people. Even if Mirelia's taken back the country and deposed the Church, it doesn't mean your troubles are over, not by a long shot."
"Oh joy," Harry groaned.
They made it to the port in good time. Thankfully, though Motoyasu had arrived first and had been pressuring the captain of the ship to depart, said man refused vehemently. Some cabins had been reserved, but thanks to Motoyasu, one of the parties would have to share with some other passengers. Harry volunteered, opting to go with L'Arc and Therese, helped by the Expanded Trunk which he and his party habitually slept in.
Soon, they would depart for Cal Mira, hoping that they would get to have a nice and relaxing holiday, even if it was going to involve some grinding. But Harry and Raphtalia still kept at the back of their minds that their luck wouldn't last. It never did…
CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:
So, there you go. Raphtalia reunites with her friends, and Itsuki is showing that he's growing.
No numbered annotations this time.
