"We all take different paths in life.

But wherever we go, we take

a little bit of each other everywhere."

Childhood Period: Second Destination Arc

–Without any idea about my family's location, how do I deal with news about my father?

Lumina Greyrat - Volume IV

Chapter 30:
Setting Foot on Wind Port

My name is Lumina Greyrat, and I just celebrated my eleventh birthday here on the southernmost edge of the Demon Continent. As a skilled magician and healer, I've come to be quite renowned here, along with my party which consists of two other people.

After I was teleported here in a freak mana disaster after my tenth birthday a bit over a year ago, I joined forces with North God Aleksander Ryback to cut our way through the world in the hope of one day returning to my home–the Fittoa Region of the Asura Kingdom.

In the process of combing through the city of Rikarisu, we found my pseudo-acquaintance Ares locked away as a slave. After we rescued him, we created an adventuring party known as The Dragon King's Odyssey. Together, we fought monsters and took on arduous (At least they would have been if it weren't for Alek) tasks, bringing our rank up to A. After one long year of traveling, we finally made it to our last destination on the Demon Continent.

Ah, well, I hope you haven't forgotten that much.

The city of Wind Port was undeniably the most unique city we had seen since Rikarisu. Along the coast of the city and the Ringus Sea sat the city's harbor. Unlike the cities I had been to, this place's most prominent commercial district wasn't at the entrance. Instead, it was situated along the harbor, as most of the products that this place produced came from the clambering trading economy. That was the gist of what I had gotten from Alek's long discussion about the place.

Funnily enough, it seemed that Alek hadn't spent much time outside of the Demon Continent, despite being extremely knowledgeable about the world. It had to be a classic case of being well-informed yet not having much real experience. That was something I could relate to.

The city's homes themselves were compliant with the style of the Demon Continent, being comprised of mostly wood and mud. From the front gate of the city, you had an overview of the entire city. And the thing that drew your attention the most was the sea. It stretched far into the horizon, covering the view in the murky but clear waters of the Ringus Sea.

Docked in the ports of the city were many sailboats and the like, all in the name of trading with the Milis Continent. Wind Port was the Demon Continent's only harbor city, so everything that was exported or imported had to come through here. To think we'd finally be getting off of this continent after all this time.

Frankly, it wasn't bittersweet in the slightest. I wanted to leave as soon as possible. The biggest strife I had with this place was how the quality of life here was terrible. I had liked the adventuring aspect, but even that was beginning to strain out. My only solace was talking to Ares or occasionally Alek. Ares didn't necessarily share the sentiment about hating the Demon Continent, but he also didn't particularly love the place either. We bonded over our shared contempt for our journey thus far, among other things.

"What a view…" I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me. Of course, it was the boy himself, Ares, a good friend of mine and one of my two companions on this journey. I assumed that he was a noble back in the Central Continent, but he didn't seem to caught up over it. He still hadn't told me his story yet, despite me sharing the nitty-gritty details of most of my life with him over the past year. It was probably for the best that I followed Mister Man-God's advice to save him. The thought of him still being a slave back in Rikarisu puts me off. Besides, the boy was fun to mess around with anyway. I wouldn't trade him for any old random noble, after all.

He was a bit hard to get along with at first, but now I think I like him enough, I guess. Although, he hadn't stopped being a perverted horny teenager despite it all. Well, old habits die hard, like they say. I knew that especially well, so I didn't particularly mind his antics. Ah, well, I sort of did, but…

I shook my head to clear my head of the thoughts taking root in the front of my mind.

"Hey, Alek," I called out.

"What is it, Lumina?" Alek responded, taking his eyes off the nearby establishments to answer me. This was my second companion, the man who happened to be training Ares in the North God Style. He also carried a massive, brilliant, and shining golden greatsword known as the King Dragon Sword Kajakuto. The man was given the title of Kalmann III, and as the son of the previous North God, he was next in line. After his father retired, he claimed the title of the third-generation North God. He hailed from a direct line of Immortal Demons, terrifying beings that were not fazed by even the most dire of situations. He also had a hero complex–he was accompanying us on this journey to find a challenge that was worthy enough to grant him the title of hero, allowing him to surpass his father in fame.

"Could we go swim in the harbor?" I asked, prepared to plead like my life was on the line for it. I hadn't gone swimming in decades, and I wasn't going to pass up this chance when it was ready for the taking. Buena Village had no body of water where I could just go frolic around, so that wasn't an option. The last time I'd gone to the beach was way back in elementary school when our family lived in Kagoshima, a city near the coast. I frowned.

Has it been that long? Maybe I should have…

No, it wasn't a good idea to dwell on the past any longer. I'd done more than enough of that already, so there was no point to do anything other than to live in the now. That's right, live in the now! Let's have a beach episode! Yeah!

I didn't have a bathing suit or anything, but I guess I could just go in my underwear. It wouldn't be the worst thing that happened to them. I shot a look at Ares. He sheepishly nodded his head, and I sighed.

"I don't see why not," He said, bringing out our pouch of coins to count the money we had. He said it so casually that I nearly missed it. Wh- He said yes?

"R-really? We can go?" I repeated my question.

"Mhm. I'll go look for an inn or something, and you two can go to the harbor. I think you two can look out for yourself, so I'll come find you once I've paid for a room," he said, clearing the air of any doubts.

"Thank you! Ares, let's go!" I exclaimed, tugging on his sleeve.

"Hah? Go where exactly?" He questioned, grabbing my wrist to stop me from continuing my tugging.

"Are you deaf or something? To the harbor! Let's go swimming," I responded, trying to pry his hand off of my wrist.

"Swimming, you say? Wouldn't you–" He began, but then cut himself off. He seemed to realize something and snapped to attention.

"Yeah! Let's go!" He exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air with the same amount of enthusiasm in his voice as mine.

Hehe. He came around quickly. Although, if he didn't agree, I'd go without him.

We arrived at the harbor in less than fifteen minutes. At this point, Ares looked even more enthusiastic about this whole thing than I was. I took off my shoes and socks and placed them back above the tide line so that they wouldn't get wet. I dipped my toes in the water and prepared to recoil at the temperature. But, instead of being met with frigid water, it was pleasantly lukewarm.

"Woo!" I heard a hoot of excitement coming from my side. I whipped around and was met with a sight I'd never imagined I'd see. Ares was clad in nothing but his pseudo-boxers and was chest-deep in the sea. He looked like he was having fun, honestly. Ares put his emotions out for the world to see for the most part, so I knew he wasn't overexerting himself to make me feel better about dragging him along with me.

"Oh man, Lumina! You've got to try this out!" he exclaimed, his red hair dripping with water. He looked at me expectantly.

"R-right!" I didn't think Ares of all people would hop in the water guns blazing, but I guess everyone had a side like this. Besides, the boy was thirteen now, so he loved letting loose for a while.

I hurried over to the dry area with my shoes and began to strip. I loosened the straps of my robe and peeled it off of me, setting it down gently. Oddly enough, the thing didn't have a single tear or noticeable stain on its surface. It was a sturdy and reliable piece of equipment to say the very least. I unbuttoned the front side of my skirt and let it drop to my feet. I kicked it toward my robe and fiddled with the top button of my tunic.

I pulled it up and held my underwear in place to prevent flashing anyone. I removed my tunic and placed it near the rest of my clothes. Now, time for… I peered down at my shorts.

Ah, I think taking these off would be a bit too much. The only thing I'm wearing up here is my underwear anyway, so it's fine. I took the opportunity to check how I was growing. C-cup? Not half bad.

I took my hands off of my shorts and made a beeline for the shoreline. I ran into the water, trying my hardest to get as far in as possible before the water stopped me from running.

I raised my hands above the water and belted out, "Woo-hoo!"

It felt so refreshing to finally be at the beach again. It almost felt nostalgic, in a way. This sort of feeling was something I couldn't get from any bath or hot spring. I felt so… so free! I dived in headfirst now that I was sufficiently in deep enough to do so. I opened my eyes underwater, but that didn't do much. The water was a bit murky so I couldn't see much further than my own hands. However, I could barely make out a shadow in the distance. A fish, maybe? I hoped it wasn't a shark.

I resubmerged in front of Ares.

"Ares, I think this is the best idea I've had in a while. Don't you think so?" I asked.

"Ah, mhm," He nodded, humming in agreement. He seemed distracted by something. Something… No, it wasn't just something. He was staring at me. I followed his gaze and found that my underwear was soaked. Because of how cheap this underwear was, it clung to my body tightly. My skin color bled through the sheer fabric, not leaving much to the imagination.

I took in all of this in less than half a second. My face flushed in embarrassment. I'd let the excitement of blowing off some steam at the beach overtake my common sense.

"W-what are you looking at?" I stammered out. I promptly covered myself with my arms when he kept staring.

Ares widened his eyes and, to my complete surprise, reached over to me and pulled me close to him by my shoulders.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I exclaimed, my face surely beet red.

"Lumina…" Ares called my name breathily. What the hell's gotten into him!? This is a step too far, even for your standards!

I was about to blow the boy sky-high when he said something that pulled me out of my thoughts instantly.

"Is that a sea monster?" He asked, staring at something behind me with a hollow look in his eyes. I snapped to attention. Sea monster?

I peered over my shoulder and a chill ran down my neck. I wasn't sure if it was because of how vulnerable I felt since I was practically naked, but this was something else.

The creature wasn't anything clique like an octopus that would grab onto all of my limbs and render me immobile. Rather, it was reptilian, almost like a dinosaur. It was gazing at us as if sizing up its prey. At that moment, I knew I had to do something.

And so, I–

"You both are keeping me on my toes, aren't y'all?" A voice rang out. "My bad for not thinking about the sea monsters!" It was Alek. We both looked over at him, startled.

He was holding up his greatsword and had a wide grin painted onto his face. The markings on his sword shone a deep purple as he activated the sword's latent ability–the ability to control gravity.

That weird, broken, and extremely overpowered ability of his never failed to surprise me each time he used it. When we were in a dire situation that Ares and I couldn't deal with, Alek would usually just brute force his way to victory. But in the rare times he couldn't, he opted to use it.

But he had never used it on us before. It was an–ironically–strangely normal sensation. The most I felt off was a slight tugging toward Alek's direction. Alek used his sword to pull us out of harm's way and back onto the shore.

He plopped us down onto the dry sand, the bits of water that were caught up in the magic seeping into the ground. I collapsed, feeling a bit lethargic thanks to the whole experience. I breathed a sigh of relief and reluctantly got up from the sand. Strangely, I felt like I was breathing clearer than ever as if a weight had been taken off my chest. Maybe a side effect from the gravity magic?

"Jeez, Alek. Shouldn't you have known about this already?!" Ares exclaimed, getting up to his feet and questioning Alek.

"Well, to be fair, I haven't so much as thought about swimming once in my life. So, that's why I didn't give you two a heads up," He explained, sheathing his sword.

"Well, that doesn't explain–" Ares began, but got comically cut off by Alek.

"Give it a rest, we've got to get to the Adventurers' Guild before it gets too dark anyway," Alek said, peering up at the evening sun.

Ares sighed and complied with his orders. Then, he turned to face me. His hair was positively soaked, and so was mine. We both were dripping wet and we most certainly weren't going to be prancing into the guild like this.

"I can dry us both off," I said, silently casting an overhead heating spell. You know, I'd never thought I would use this spell when I first learned it. Just another thing to thank Roxas for, I guess.

"That's convenient, eh Lumina?" he spoke, picking up his tunic from off the ground and brushing the sand away.

"I know a bunch of oddly specific spells, you know?" I responded.

"Oh yeah? Like that one time you…"

After we both were dry, we put on our clothes and boarded our lizard. Our conversation continued as we headed to the Adventurer's Guild. Our voices were like a drop in a bucket full of water compared to the hustle and bustle that the city held.

What a re-entry into the beautiful art of swimming. Yeah, I'm never doing this again. I've had enough of that for a few more decades.

The Adventurers' Guild was unusually crowded. It wasn't the first time I'd seen a busy and lively Guild, but the most notable thing was that there was a much larger abundance of humans in the building. It felt a little strange, to be honest. It'd been a year since I had seen so many humans in the same place. But surely this sight would be more common once we crossed over to the Milis Continent.

As far as I knew, the Milis Continent didn't take all that kindly to demon folk. Demons weren't being executed left and right or anything, but they were persecuted the way a person with the plague would be quarantined. It dates back many years, but I remember reading about how some people wanted to interpret certain scriptures as fact, and one of them commanded the followers of faith to "expel all demons."

Alek looked human-ish, so I doubted we would have many issues until we got to the capital. The capital of the Holy Country of Milis, Milishion, was much less lenient on demonkind. We'd just need to tough it out when the time came.

I didn't think we'd be spending much time in this city, so I wanted to try to gather as much information as I could. From what I had heard, the payout for Guild tasks was much higher than the rewards received here. The Milis currency was different from the Demon Continent's currency, being broken up into 6 different types. If you were to compare the exchange rate to the Demon Continent's least valuable currency, worth just about one yen, you'd get something like this:

1 King's dollar = 50,000 stone coins

1 General's dollar = 10,000 stone coins

1 Gold coin = 5,000 stone coins

1 Silver coin = 1,000 stone coins

1 Large Copper coin = 100 stone coins

1 Small Copper coin = 10 stone coins

It was more than clear that you would get your money's worth if you took on a task in the Milis Continent rather than here. Most of the B-rank tasks that we took on here netted us about 150 stone coins on average. When I thought about the potential increase in our daily income if the Milis tasks rewards were higher, I got increasingly curious about what we could do with that money.

Money was our number one priority, I made sure of that. It turned out that the best way to earn money was to go labyrinth diving and hope for the best. But to me, it sounded like a high-risk and high-reward play. It sounded especially tempting, so we decided to look into it. Ares and I never ended up entering a labyrinth, but Alek went into a few. We were anticipating riches and equipment beyond our wildest dreams, but it was only enough to cover a few week's worth of lodging and three daily meals. Alek was by far the most crestfallen, having been operating under the assumption that he could gain fame and popularity by clearing one. While our reputation did get a boost, it was nowhere near the amount he was aiming for. So, that was more or less a failed venture.

After that, we were allowed to advance to S-rank. While the title sounded appealing, I noticed that the fine print was a bit unfortunate for the way that our party was making money. If we were to rank up, we'd lose access to B-rank tasks—our main source of income. They were simple, short, and paid well on top of that. Additionally, S-rank parties would be obligated to participate in any city-wide emergency if it ever arose. Not too appealing for us.

But I digress. Our party was oriented in the language of money, and the best way to get riches would be to migrate our 'operations' to the Milis Continent. The simplest course of action from here was to board a boat and book it.

"Alek, where exactly do we go to, you know, board a boat?" I asked.

"Err… I'm not too sure. I'd have a better idea of that if I spent more time here, but you know the rest."

"Right."

"Try asking a receptionist. I'll try asking around just in case," Alek offered.

I made my way through the crowd of rowdy Adventurers and reached the front desk. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed I could see over the top of it now. And jeez, was the receptionist well-endowed. Seriously, they have to be hiring these sorts of girls for business purposes, right? Feels better to ask the big-tittied babe than a muscular man with an average face.

"Excuse me, miss. I'd like to take a ship to the Milis Continent," I began. "How exactly should I go about doing that?"

"That's a question for the checkpoint," the receptionist explained with a well-practiced smile on her face.

"...The checkpoint?"

"We can't help you with that sort of thing here. Once you board a boat, you'll be out of the country's jurisdictions," she explained.

"I see, then," I said. "Could you give me a general location for said checkpoint?" I asked.

"Should be along the harbor. You can't miss it," the receptionist said, smiling cheerfully.

"Thank you, miss."

I see. The Guild had no responsibility over international travel, so it wasn't like they had any obligation to help with this. We'd have to head to the checkpoint for that sorta thing. That was our best bet if we wanted to get more information, it seemed. Just as I was about to go inform the party, I felt a rough hand firmly grasping my rear end.

I whipped around to see a young human, one growing out of their teenage years. It disgusted me that there were these types of people, and even more so now that I was subject to their sick delusions.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, you depraved piece of shit?!" I exclaimed. My shout drew the attention of several people around me. Right before I could shoot this man square in the head, I felt bloodlust pouring out of someone behind the man.

"You…!" Ares shouted, turning the man around by the front of his shirt and launching a fist at the man's face.

"I-It was an accident! I swear!"

"You're a bastard, you know that?!"

I shot Ares a nod, and he landed another attack on the man, this time square in the chest. The man staggered back, the breath being forced out of his lungs.

You couldn't have picked a worse target, trash.

"Waha! A fight, eh?"

"Go get 'em, redhead!"

"Pick yourself up! Don't let a kid beat your ass!"

Ares mercilessly continued to beat the man up until he finally squeaked out an apology and cried for help.

Ares was more than capable of backing someone up into a corner. He had some insane strength for someone his age, and when coupled with his feats of athleticism, any average C-rank adventurer was no match for the boy.

"I think you've pummeled the guy long enough," Alek said, trying to peel off Ares from atop the man.

"He hasn't learned his lesson yet! He hasn't even apologized!" Ares barked, swatting Alek's hands away from him.

"Ares, you don't understand the language," Alek sighed, successfully prying him off the man. The man in question was lying on the ground, passed out and bleeding.

"Looks like we've got a winner!"

"Hell yeah! That guy didn't stand a chance!"

"Just who is this kid?"
The Guild erupted in laughter and chattering, most of it about Ares's squabble. I walked over to him and smiled. I hated to acknowledge that this wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, but we always put the bastards in their place.

I appreciate Ares a lot more than I'm aware of. I mean, I'd probably pummel these guys anyway, but having him stand up for me makes me feel oddly happy.

"Thank you, Ares," I said.

"Naturally," Ares responded, smirking pridefully. "I can't stand people like him, doing stuff like that when I can't even…" he trailed off, leaving his sentence hanging in the air.

"When you can't what?" I asked.

Someone shouted, cutting off our small conversation. "A red-headed kid and a ravenhair with a giant sword…! Aren't you three The Dragon King's Odyssey?"

Murmurs erupted among the adventurers.

"You have a point! There's even that mage there, too!"
"Who are they?"
"Haven't you heard the rumors, you dimwit? Those three are an A-rank party all by themselves!"

"Incredible!"

"I heard they took down the Fenris Wolf in the Babynos Region!"
"No way! That can't be true!"

"I've heard it so many times, it can't be just a rumor! There he is, the North God Kalmann III!"

"The North God?! What's he doing with a pair of kids?!"
"Rumors say they're traveling the world!"
"Yeah, but those kids aren't just freeloaders either! The redhead boy is the Red Lionhart! The mage in the white robe is the all-powerful Sorceress!"

"She's quite the beauty, ain't she?"

"Watch your mouth!" Ares barked at the crowd. I laughed at them, grabbing ahold of his hand and informing Alek about what I had heard about the checkpoint.

"Let's get going, Ares. We can bask in our glory another time," Alek said, grinning. He was enjoying all of the attention we were getting, and it showed. Hey, a little bit of confidence never hurt anybody, right?

"Hmph," Ares pouted.

We strode out of the Adventurers' Guild, the conversation trained on us and the fruits of the past year's labor.

We swiftly arrived at the Wind Port checkpoint. The checkpoint worked sort of like any old passenger flight. You'd pay money to get to the continent in the first place, and your luggage was an extra on top of the individual charge. I figured that this like many of the Demon Continent's services, was a ploy to gain more profit off of people. Either way, it's not like complaining would do anything about it. We'd have to pay if we were charged, and that was it.

The checkpoint official was a gruff-looking man with a sizable beard on his face.

"Hey, how much would it be for us? We're a party of two humans and one demon," I asked.

"Two humans would be two iron coins," he said. "What about that demon? Which tribe is he from?"

"The Immortal Demon clan," Alek said, stepping in for me. Jeez. Way to curb-stomp my information-gathering schtick.

"I-Immortal Demon? Ah, I don't suppose you're the North God?" the man stammered out.

"That I am. What's the fare?" he pushed, getting to the point. The checkpoint official backed away slightly, clearly frightened by Alek.

"Immortal Demons don't have to pay any fee to leave. The guidelines are a bit rusty on that since most Immortal Demons forgo the checkpoint in favor of getting there themselves or simply never leaving the continent," he explained.

"Hmm. I suppose that's fine, then. Here's our fare money," Alek said, handing the official ten iron coins. "When is the boat going to depart?"

"About ten or so days from now," the man said. "Also, you're that world-navigating party I've heard all about, right? The Dragon King's Odyssey?"

"Of course. Feel free to spread the word of our party to everyone you know," Alek said, a glint of excitement in his eyes.

"Y-yeah, man. Whatever you say."

At this point, the sun was going down. We decided to return to the inn and eat our supper for the day. Upon ordering our food, I was pleasantly surprised when we were served something much more unique than the food around these parts usually was. It was a testament to the city's seafood industry, breaking the monotony of the subpar food that was the continent's standard. The main dish that we all got was a plate full of what looked to be steamed salmon peppered with cheese and a garlic-like spice. It was by far the tastiest thing I had eaten in the past year.

I couldn't help but throw aside my table manners and devour the dish. Ah, I'm sorry Lilia! I'll make it up to you when we reunite!

"Haha! Lumina, this is the first time I've seen you so enthusiastic about eating!" Ares exclaimed, pausing his eating spree.

"Well, it's good eating," I said, slightly embarrassed at my expense.

The two of us shut up and continued eating. I could see from the corner of my vision that Ares was speeding up his munching whilst staring at me. So, I tried to match his speed. It ended up with a fierce speed-eating contest.

"You two are going to throw up if you don't slow down, you know? I know it's good, but don't overdo it," Alek said, shaking his head.

"It's like I'm your babysitter, seriously," he muttered.

Ares and I stopped and stared at each other. The silence lasted for several moments before we burst out laughing at the irony of his words.

"What? What's so…" Alek trailed off.

He chuckled, our laughter drawing the attention of several other adventurers. We were the loudest in the whole inn, somehow.

I think I'm enjoying being with these two more than ever. I smiled to myself as the two continued laughing.

That night, I received another Divine Oracle. The all-too-familiar figure of Mister Man-God appeared before me.

"Heya, Lumina. It's been quite some time, hasn't it?"
You could say that! It's been a whole year, Mister. Where were you when we got lost in that forest a few months back?!

"C'mon. You got out of it a week later, you didn't necessarily need my help."

Yeah, a whole week! Do you know how much of a pain in the ass that was?

"Well, I imagine. Okay, I'm sorry about that. That good enough for you?"

…You've got to work on your apologies, Mister. Shouldn't gods have some more self-respect? You sound like you meant literally none of that.

"Believe me, you'll know when I lie. That just now wasn't one."

Right, right. So, what's your spiel this time around?

"Getting right to the point? It's real nice to see the attitude change, you know?"

Think about it this way, Mister. I still don't trust what you say and doubt I ever will. But so far, following your advice leads to an equal or better outcome than if I hadn't. So for now, I guess I don't have a choice but to hear you out.

"Calm down with the 'no choice' thing. No one's forcing you to do anything, Lumina. You're just an interesting person that I take quite an interest in looking over. I'm like your guardian angel!"

Yeah, right. I know you have some sort of end goal for all of this. No one would go this far just to toy with someone.

"Oh, you'd be surprised. I promise you that I'm telling the truth!"

Hmph. Then what do you want from me now?

"Liven up! This little bit of advice is going to save your butt someday."

Go on…

"My advice to you is to take a little walk in the back alleys of the city and make sure to have some food from a street stall."

… So what'll happen when I do that?

"That's a surprise for tomorrow! For now, I'll be off."

Wait! Let me ask one question to you!

Don't just disappear like that, dammit!

My consciousness went out like a light a few moments later, the blurred view of the endless white being the last thing I saw.

Author's Notes:

We're finally in Volume 4! A beach episode this time around, since Alek doesn't know anything about the monsters in the sea. I wanted to make this chapter extra long, and here you have it! 5.5K words! I'll try to put in more content in each chapter in exchange for you having to wait for a week for every release. Thank you for reading again, and I hope you stay tuned for the next chapters!

Also, happy Halloween! Take this as a gift for the day :)

Again, I'd like to advocate for the AO3 version of Lumina Greyrat, as whenever the story calls for it, I will only be able to write the more adult content there since FFN has a policy against it here, and I'd like not to take any chances with it here and risk the entire series being deleted here.

The next chapter should be released by November 7th, titled...
Chapter 31: The Empress and Her Eyes