Given we had gone over almost everything that mattered beforehand, we mostly spent an hour or two shooting the breeze about a beach vacation, with all of us having been there at one time or another, though I was the only one to do so on the coast of a continent, which, as they were quick to inform me, was far different than even a larger island, given the tides around such could be really tricky to navigate.
Motoyasu, it turned out, was a fan of surfing. Not something he knew how to do, mind, just something he enjoyed watching, and wondered if this world had the sport, or if I knew how to do it myself, given apparently it was a big thing for people from my continent…or so he thought. As he admitted, it was pop culture stuff, but he'd certainly seen it more than a few times in movies set in my part of his world.
Sadly, I knew nothing about it. Heck, my experience with beaches was from when I was younger than even Ren, not really being one for them after that. I did enjoy swimming, mind, but my preferred location for such activity was pools. Nice, chemically cleaned pools, with heaters and stuff to help keep them at the perfect temperature in the cooler months, while they provided their own brand of balance in the warmer ones.
Changing the idea back to surfing, he did ask us all what we knew about boards, sketching one out on a piece of paper, and we got into it with him, getting up and crowding out the locals as we all helped him to remember how to design one. It looked perfect by the end, at least from our memories of the things, given none of us had ever ridden on one before, but it had the right shape, size, and even the little tailfin in the water I remember you needed for control.
That subject done, it led to discussions of clothing, specifically swimwear, and the females in the group assured us that yes, there was most certainly a type of swimsuit here in this world, something that disappointed both Motoyasu, and surprisingly Naofumi too, if the look on his face before Raphtalia turned to glare at him was anything to go by. I was more curious about what they were made of, though, as most of the materials we modern people think of shouldn't be possible to be made in something with the tools we'd seen in this world.
We had been talking so deep, that while It felt like only an hour later that the door to the chamber opened, we could see torches lining the walls, and were informed that dinner would be served shortly, and given the four of us and our parties were still present, we were invited to dine with the King and Queen. The Princess, who had been with us the whole time, was quite embarrassed to have forgotten the midday meal, and insisted we stay to eat with her and her parents, which led to us being escorted into a large chamber.
We'd eaten before during the party, but that had been setup in one of the castle's entry rooms, with tables and stuff that had been moved there for the occasion. This time, we were taken to a point in the inner castle, a room with a long, but not truly opulent table, with the King and Queen already there, looking like they'd had a good rest…before being tossed back into the businesses of state and being exhausted by them again.
They still tried to make conversation as best they could as the meal was wheeled out on carts for us, the kitchen working a bit overtime to get enough food for several extra guests, including a little girl that was also a giant avian, with an appetite that screamed she was a growing being. Still, it was good food, some of the same stuff we'd have on the islands the King said, having determined it might be good for us to know what we'd be eating there.
When the meal ended, they invited the group of us to stay in the castle until morning, since it was so late already. The others gladly accepted, but it took some cajoling from the Princess about needing to be here with the others to more easily make the trip to get my party to stay. We were led up to the rooms we'd had that first night, the whole of the hall being opened up for all of us, so we wouldn't have to share beds with our party members, who insisted on splitting us along those lines.
Interestingly, Raphtalia and Filo did take the same room, though it seemed that was because neither was willing to allow the other to sleep with Naofumi…sleep in the same room, as Filo resumed her avian form and slept on the floor, so it was easy enough for her to lay there. The rest of us retired for the evening, and for my part, I was soon fast asleep, dreaming of the world I'd left behind and a dozen other things, before the sounds of morning began to intrude.
Getting up, I put on my clothing, reminding myself I'd need to return to Sanctuary and pick up a replacement bit of armor for myself, as the silver ranger outfit was just not as good without the jacket. Both in terms of looks and in terms of the bonus it gave. Idly, I wondered what they could make with the remains of the Tyrant Rex…and how much it would cost, given the sheer rarity of the materials meant working with it was going to require a master smith of some kind.
It had been a while since I'd thought about running out of coin. I knew I had quite a bit in IOUs from the Guild proper, given all the things I'd done. Heck, just clearing up Sanctuary itself was enough to cover a lot of my expenses, given the bounty and hydra bones that had come of it, but I'd also been spending like water lately too. Our gear had not been cheap, and had bit a lot into that savings, and now I was outfitting entire teams, ten gold at a time or more, and while that would eventually be paid back, that was eventually, not right away.
And that wasn't getting into Sanctuary's operation cost. I was sure the Guild was footing that bill a bit, and Balmus' deal was taking care of the rest, but it meant I was in debt to them for doing that. I needed to start earning again once all this was done. Hunting down some more sealed monsters, killing my way through randoms, and just in general sending us out there to help people. Idly, I remembered those first few weeks after getting my apartment, and all the 'joys' that time had brought to my life, with bills piling up, and needing to decide which meals to skip, if not whole days of them.
That thought train was derailed by force, as I recalled that, whatever happened, I was the Bow Hero, and I HAD been earning my keep since I got here. And I'd continue to do that. So would the others. We weren't idle hands or anything. We were active, and so, taking a few days off to enjoy ourselves before a big event like double EXP, would be good for us. Firmly telling myself not to worry like this before an actual, planned vacation, I finished suiting up, and stepped out of my room.
The hall outside was already bustling with activity. Naofumi and Motoyasu were still asleep, the pair having exhausted themselves according to their party members, and insisting we allow them to sleep. Ren and I had no objection, and so we left them to their recuperation as we found a bit of food, and I pulled the younger man off to discuss some of the things he'd written in his book, as well as the moves he'd pulled out in the other two duels he'd been part of.
I made a few suggestions with him, including how to use a few of his skills to force an opening for Weltz to have gotten away during his duel with Motoyasu, with him countering that the girl…the woman Rishia had such a fast speed most of my tactics didn't seem possible to him. I started to point out how, even drawing some crude diagrams on some of the remaining pages of the book as we talked, with him asking if I really thought that would work, and me affirming based on things I'd done with my own party.
We were just about done with our meal when the two remaining Heroes made their appearance, the Spear Hero in his special armor, and Naofumi in…well still special armor. The stuff looked to be in good condition, and had some stats that were quite high. Heck, with Fitoria having 'boosted' it somehow during our stay in her home, the thing was probably worth a mint if he decided to sell it and buy more stuff.
Regardless, they both took their places at a table, Motoyasu taking until the first plate was defeated to finally seem to wake up, while Naofumi was, if anything, still half asleep. Apparently, explained in a whispered moment to us, his two ladies had talked deep into the night. And by talk he meant argue, and by deep into the night he meant until it was almost sunup, so he was working on about an hour or three's sleep. Being young, they could handle that, he wasn't quite so spry. Still, after a cup or six of the coffee-like stuff I'd been downing like water and he was awake enough to eat at least.
When everyone was fed, and ready, we were escorted by the guards to the throne room of the castle, where the three Royals waited. The King and Queen on their thrones, while the Princess Melty stood before them, announcing us as we entered, and stood before them in almost the same lineup as he had on that day with the parties, save that I wasn't going to leave, and our party members stood beside us rather than before us.
"Heroes of the Four Cardinal Weapons, the Royal Family of Melromarc hopes the evening here in the castle was restful," said the King, as we stood there, not really sure if we should respond or not, but it didn't matter, as the Queen stood up from her seat, and walked down the short dias, to stand just before us.
"We will admit, we can offer little beyond the words we traded yesterday, but the islands of Cal Mira stand ready to receive you. Present these letters, and they will know you are one bearing our blessing, and to make all the facilities of the islands at your service," she said, and then flicked her wrist, pulling four heretofore unseen envelopes from her sleeve in a nice sleight of hand trick the others whistled at…I tried to join them but stopped when I realized all I was doing was spitting, which got a chuckle from the Queen.
She passed the envelopes to her daughter, Melty, who then came to each of us in turn, with us bowing our heads slightly as he we took them, looking over the ornate things, before Motoyasu stored his in his item box, and we did the same at our belts, trying our best not to bend them, as she smiled at us, and once more ascended the stairs to take her seat beside her husband, settling in before continuing.
"We have one request for the Heroes this day then, and we hope it is small enough. We have agents and citizens on the islands aplenty, but none who can truly speak with Our voice. As such, we request that, when you proceed to the islands, you take Our Daughter with you," she said, Princess Melty smiling at Naofumi specifically, as she stood there looking at him, causing him to turn away briefly…before Raphtalia elbowed him and got him to cough.
"I…well if it's what your majesties wish, we will bring her along, I guess," he said in a very offhanded tone, before suddenly standing up straighter, and bowing a lot deeper than we had just now to Melty herself.
"You have my word as a the Hero of the Shield, I will protect you from all the harm that I can," he told her personally, causing her to blush briefly, before she came down from that, and turned to her parents, bowing just slightly, and then getting in line with us. A few more words were said, nothing major, just the typical things you'd expect to be when a daughter leaves her parents for a trip, and then, with a swirl motion, Lucia caused her Replica Weapon to take on the weird spiral tipped Spear form again.
Tapping the butt against the floor, a gate 'folded' out before us, showing the islands we'd been told to expect, the morning sun just kissing the golden beaches, as the smell of sea salt laden air came through. One final time, Melty turned to her parents, waved, and then almost as one, we marched through the gateway, and into the land of Cal Mira, where we'd supposedly find sun, sand, and levels aplenty.