After taking down the soldiers who attempted to assault Yggdrasil, alongside Artoria and Merlin, and fending off their airships, I was surprised when we encountered a group of people shortly afterwards whom I recognized as Djeeta, the female main character of the game, and her companions.
A blue haired girl who isn't wearing any shoes.
A female knight who instead has too many belts on her.
A baby red dragon.
A man in his thirties with a gun in his hands.
An old man with an eyepatch.
A loli magical girl.
A woman wearing roses in her hair and dress who also seems older than her appearance suggests.
A stern-looking woman wearing a leotard.
And finally, a young girl wearing Jotaro's hat while the rest of her clothes were ruined.
Looking at them, I couldn't help myself but to compare them to a circus's crew, despite knowing of their future exploits.
Still, I'm a bit puzzled by their leader who was looking at me with a shocked look, an expression shared by one of her companions, to my great surprise.
Why are they both staring at me like that? Do I look like somebody they know or something?
Closing my eyes, I cleared my mind and let go of the many questions that were beginning to flood my mind. Then, when I opened my eyes, I noticed some of her comrades watching us cautiously with their hands slowly reaching for their weapons, making me frown.
Even though I was healed by Yggdrasil, I'm still a bit exhausted from fighting, so I'm not sure if I can win should a fight break out right now.
"Brother, what should we do?" I heard Artoria murmur as she stood by my side, seemingly tense, while I just shook my head.
"It should be fine, they don't seem to be soldiers... or at least, the majority of them don't. But don't let your guards down, we don't know what they plan to do." I said, getting myself ready to manifest my spirit sword at all times. But just as I tried to stand up from my spot, I blinked when I saw a pair of giant hands placing themselves in front of me, as if to protect me from Djeeta and her friends.
"Yggdrasil?" I glanced at the giant Primal Beast who stood behind us, looking at me with a smile, before she shrunk to human size and stood in front of us. She then glanced at us before she nodded, as if telling me to trust her.
At least that's what I believe she was trying to tell us, so I just nodded to Yggdrasil who then looked at Djeeta and the others and waved at them.
""
"Yggdrasil!"
One of them shouted, running towards Yggdrasil who opened her arms wide open before they hugged each other tightly before our eyes.
"I'm so glad you're alright... I was so worried when I heard that the Erste Empire was coming to Lumacie. Did those people help you?" The woman whom I recognized as Rosetta asked Yggdrasil who nodded, letting out a chime-like sound, making the woman turn at us with a smile on her face.
"I don't know how to thank you three enough for helping Yggdrasil. I'm Rosetta. May I know your names?"
"My name is Kay, an errant knight... I guess calling myself a traveler right now is more appropriate though. And this is Artorius and Merlin, my companions. We just happened to meet Yggdrasil by chance where she helped us out. We just decided to pay back the favor so you don't need for you to thank us or anything." I said, showing them my best smile, trying to show them that we weren't hostile towards them. And it seemed to work as they relaxed, their hands pulling away from their guns.
"They seem like good people. It's great that we won't have to fight them just like we feared." The blue-haired girl said as she looked at the group with a smile on her face, the small dragon nodding by her side.
"Lyria is right. I'm still scared of what would have happened to us if they sent one of those huge blasts of light at us."
"Brother! The lizard talked!" I heard Artoria shout as she pointed at the baby dragon who immediately frowned at her words.
"Hey! Watch what you're saying! I ain't no lizard!"
"Calm down, Artorius. Whenever it's a talking lizard or a floating emergency ration, it doesn't really matter." I said, earning an angry shout from the lizard which I promptly ignored.
"Anyway, we did what we came for and Yggdrasil seems to know you all, so please excuse us but we'll be leaving now. Alright, let's go back to the town."
When I saw the girls nod, I stood up from my spot then walked in the direction of the town with the girls following close behind me.
"Please wait!"
I blinked when I heard someone shout from behind us, prompting me to glance back only to see it was Djeeta who had her arm outstretched in our direction.
"Yes, what can we do for you?"
"I'm sorry if it sounds weird but... have we met before?"
"No. I'm pretty sure this is our first meeting." Although I knew about you many years ago.
"I see..." Djeeta muttered looking a bit dejected, making me frown because it wasn't a reaction I expected for her to have.
Do I really look like someone she knows? Now that I think about it, Rosetta had the same reaction... a common link between those two... Don't tell me I look similar to Djeeta's father?
Then, a window appeared in my field of vision that displayed my current appearance and, after looking closely at the picture, I was a bit surprised that I looked a bit similar to Gran, albeit a bit older. Did she think I was something akin to her long lost big brother she never knew about?
Well, I suppose I'm sorry for being a Gran-face but we're completely unrelated, heck, we're from different universes.
"It's only our first day in this world and you've already broken a young girl's heart." I heard Merlin speak up before I felt her hand on my shoulder, making me glance at her to see the wide smile on her face.
"Don't start, Merlin. I'm not in the mood right now." I said, not hesitating to poke at her armpit, causing her to yelp and let me go.
"Hmm, I apologize if this comes out of nowhere, but could you lend us your strength?" I blinked when I heard someone speak, causing me to turn around to see the blue haired girl, Lyria, standing next to me as she looked at us with a shy expression on her face.
That certainly came out of nowhere.
Not really sure what to answer, I glanced at Merlin only to see her to be seemingly interested in Lyria, observing the young girl with a wide smile.
I suppose Merlin noticed something special about her... Oh yes, wasn't Lyria somehow connected to the Astral god, her existence being somewhat unique.
Ignoring Merlin and her curiosity, I glanced at Artoria to see her looking at Lyria with a serious expression. I did notice that she perked up when we were asked to lend them our strength.
I know I told you that one of a knight's duties was to help those in need of help, but you don't have to help every single person who asks for your help.
Knowing that Lyria managed to attract the attention of both girls, I quickly understood that they wouldn't leave this place easily and let out a sigh.
"Could you explain the situation first?"
After a quick explanation given by Lyria where she told us that their friend got kidnapped by the Erste Empire for nefarious reasons and, after seeing our prowesses, wished that we would lend them our strength to fight against the Imperial army.
"Brother, we should help them and punish those scoundrels!"
"Artorius is right, and it sounds fun so why don't we go with them?"
"You two... You do know it means we will have to fight an entire kingdom, right?" I said, asking the girls who nodded at my words.
Shit, why do we have to get involved in this game's plot... Oh yeah, it's because I wanted to help Yggdrasil. I reap what I sow, I guess...
Looking at Lyria who was looking at me with a pleading expression, I could only let out a sigh. It didn't help that I could see behind her, Djeeta and some of her companions being hopeful about my response.
Really, I probably shouldn't scold Artoria for her need to help others since I'm no better. Alright, since I already got involved, I better stay until the very end.
"We accept your request." I said, making Lyria beam with joy with the others smiling, seemingly happy about my decision.
"But on one condition, I would like us to join your crew for the next few months."
[Eh?]
All the people present in the forest said at once, except for the leotard lady who remained silent and Yggdrasil who was mute, all surprised by my words.
"You told us you were a skyfarer crew, right?" I asked Lyria who slowly nodded at my question.
"Well, as I told you earlier, we are travelers, although we mainly explore the world for training more than anything. Call it a gut feeling, but I deeply believe that by staying with you guys, we will encounter some unique situations that would be in our interest, so it would be great if you could let us travel with you guys for a few months, despite our selfish motives." I said looking at Djeeta who was staring at me in contemplation before she eventually nodded.
"Sure thing. I'm glad to have you with us, even if it will be for a short time." She said as she approached me before holding her hand out for a handshake once near to me, a smile on her face.
Seeing this, I couldn't suppress the smile growing on my face.
Although unexpected, there were many merits in joining Djeeta's crew for me.
One, it would allow us to easily travel between the islands with their airships.
Two, I believe that by staying with Djeeta, I would eventually meet all members of the Eternals because of her role as the Singularity, being the axis of this universe's fate. That way, I won't have to bother chasing after the ten members across the entire world.
Three, since I bought Seofon's template, I may be able to use this world's magic or anything mystical coming from this world. So, if Djeeta is like her game counterpart, I'm certain that her crew would be filled with powerful spellcasters he could learn their arts from.
Heck, I could also get better at weapon handling by training against those who use weapons rather than magic.
I don't think I'll lose anything by joining them, aside from having to help them but it's only natural to do so.
"Brother..." I glanced at Artoria who looked at me in confusion, prompting me to pat her head.
"Don't worry, I'll explain everything later." I said, to which she slowly nodded, before I turned and held Djeeta's hand with mine.
"Then, we'll be in your care. We may not be much, but we'll do our best."
"You're coming with us too, Yggdrasil?" I was surprised when the Primal Beast followed us and boarded on the Grandcypher, Djeeta's ship, alongside us.
""
Floating in my direction with a smile on her face, she grabbed my hands in hers and held them tight. Then, I blinked when I felt something warm flowing inside my body.
Congratulation, you have made Yggdrasil, the Great Tree of Time, your familiar.
As a reward, several perks have been added to the Catalog.
Yggdrasil became my familiar? Well, I didn't expect this to happen, that's for sure... So what she just did now was making a pact between us? Speaking about pacts, I remember it becoming a plot point in the second arc of the game with Rackam making one with Tiamat, Eugen with Leviathan, and Tio with Rosetta. But wasn't making a pact between a Primal Beast and a Skyfafer something difficult to achieve? Well, I guess I should just be happy to get a new friend just like that.
"I hope we get along from now on, Yggdrasil."
""
Meanwhile, observing the pair from the shadow, a certain woman was lost in her thoughts as she saw her surrogate little sister make a pact with a human.
'It's strange, I've heard she was created for the sole purpose of the storage of information. Designed by her creators to be a central storehouse of knowledge, a vessel without desire or curiosity. What could have led her to stray from her original design and grow this desire to follow that man? Is it her, or him and his bizarre connection to nature, or perhaps the world itself who brought about this change? I feel that the primal beasts, myself included, are beginning to meddle far too much in the affairs of this world. Something's been set into motion... I can sense it. But still, why does he looks so similar to Djeeta's father, not to mention that the amount of Providence overflowing from him is simply insane... Is he really his son or his bastard?'