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Year 16 AL, No Hard Feelings
Leaving the castle of San Ilia had been yet another quiet affair.
Luka thought about seeing the King again before going on but chose against it since there was a rather significant chance that the man may still be in his episode. That and Luka didn't want to stick around for too much longer, for fear that someone start finding holes in his story. Especially since he held so much shame in having to make up a "story" in the first place.
And so, the purple-haired boy had taken his leave quite quickly, leading a brooding Alice and traveling bag-carried Kitsu into the rest of San Ilia outside of the castle. It was a quaint town, everything considered.
The buildings had the scale of something like Port Natalia, but the architect resembled something more rustic. All of the buildings were made of brick and seemed to be much older than other places he had seen. Even the streets and sidewalks were made of brick, and they were some of the widest he'd seen thus far, making ample room for vendors to have their wares on display.
However, Luka steered clear of these, for he just didn't have any interest in such things right now. In fact, if he was being honest, Luka wasn't quite sure where he was heading. The young Hero hadn't had any destination in mind, he had just wanted to leave the castle and get away from the mess he had been partially responsible for.
"I really am sorry about all that." Alice said, bringing Luka's gaze to her. The disguised Lamia continued with her head hung low, "Setting a fire inside a Library wasn't an awfully smart thing for me to do. I really should've known better." Luka was a bit surprised to hear the apology, clearly hearing the regret in her tone. However, he wasn't completely fulfilled with that alone.
Luka sighed, looking away from his traveling partner for a moment.
On one hand, Luka felt as though he shouldn't let it go. After all, quite literally thousands of books of ancient texts were mostly likely lost now. And given the nature of the castle, most of it was probably content having to do with the very Goddess he was a Prophet of. To just forgive the destruction of that would mean he'd been turning a blind eye to what was more likely than not a great sin...
...However, on the other hand, the purple-haired boy couldn't say that he had it in him to hold such a grudge against Alice.
As shaky as their relationship could be, it wasn't as if the Lamia was actively malicious. At least not now. After all, she had gone far out of her own way to help him this far, hadn't she? It wasn't as if she had to show him how to fight, after all and she certainly didn't have to teach him the techniques that she had, either. In fact, if it wasn't for Alice, Luka probably wouldn't have made it this far.
Heck, he wouldn't have even made it off the Ilias Continent without her, would he?
And now that Luka thought back to it, that fire had helped him somewhat. After all, it seemed like it was the fire that had sealed Cornelia in the end, as he had no part in doing such a thing. So as terrible as it was to set the Library aflame, it had helped him defeat that final Monster so that he could retrieve...
...Four Animists and Their Sources.
Luka gasped, his face freezing in a look of horror as he realized that he never got the book after Cornelia was defeated. Alice glanced at the purple-haired boy in confusion, and Luka quickly elaborated. "F-Four Animists!" He exclaimed, grabbing at his hair once again. "I-I never grabbed it! It's still in the Library!" Alice coughed and - from seemingly out of nowhere - presented the book to Luka.
"Wh-Wha?" Luka stuttered out, taking the book from his traveling partner's awaiting hands. He stared at it incredulously for a few seconds before glancing up at the disguised Lamia. "How d-did you?-" He began to ask, trailing off as Alice crossed her arms.
"Even without those Monsters inhabiting it, this book gives off a very Monster-like energy. So when I didn't feel it on you after those fights, I went to investigate and found this book up on the second floor, probably still lying where you left it." Alice explained.
Technically, it wasn't a lie. Alice could sense the book, but the only reason why she went to get it though was to make sure Luka didn't leave without it.
Luka glanced back down to Four Animists, the anxiety he had felt diminishing quickly. He didn't understand how Alice could've done such a thing as he was sure that she was with him the entire time after they left the Library, but he couldn't find himself caring that much about it anymore.
"Th-Thank you," The young Hero said quietly while looking up at Alice once more, mustering up a small smile, "Just let me know when you're hungry next time instead of burning down rooms, please? I don't mind stopping for hour or so to serve you something, it really doesn't bother me." Luka once again returned his attention to the book, not seeing the very small tinge of red adorning his traveling partner's cheeks.
"Now, let's see what you have here..." Luka said, shuffling over to the sidewalk to sit on a nearby bench. The purple-haired boy's face morphed into a look of excitement as he discarded his gloves and opened up the ancient book, feeling the book's age in its parchment while flipping to its first Section.
Section 1: History of the Four Animists
The Four Spirits have been around since ancient times, the earliest sightings having been dated as far back as far as the earliest recorded times in Human history. However, their existence has been speculated to be even earlier than this, due to the very nature of their abilities and their ties to the very elements that make up the Earth...
'They've been around for that long? Strange, one would think that they would be mentioned more. I haven't even heard of them until now.' Luka thought as he continued to skim through the book.
...It is presently unclear if the Four Spirits are Monstrous in nature. They clearly have no connections to the Goddess Ilias, as they are not accepted as a part of the faith and are not mentioned in any known texts, yet they do not seem to have any loyalty to the Monster Lords and have not shown any known allegiance during any reigns.
Instead, many believe that it would be more appropriate to place the Four Spirits into their own separate category. For, even if they do seem to be Monsters themselves, they don't exhibit typical Monster behavior either, mostly keeping to themselves and not going out of their way to find mates. Why this is the case, is currently unknown...
Luka tilted his head at this. So the Four Spirits are ancient Monsters that seem to control the elements, but they don't have the same desires Monsters have? 'I guess having the responsibility of maintaining the very elements themselves would make such a thing difficult? Although, it doesn't necessarily say that they don't mate, just that they don't leave their homes to go find any.'
Idly, Luka noticed how strange it was that he felt the need to think longer about the Spirit's love lives.
...The Four Spirit's homes have remained the same since they were first discovered, these locations seemingly being where they were first born; however, how this came to be is also unknown.
The Spirit of Wind, Sylph, is located in the south of Sentora near the middle of Sentora in the Natalia region, her home is a place known as The Forest of Spirits. This mysterious forest is rife with Elves and Fairies but is by far the least dangerous location out of the four.
'I may want to go to Sylph first since we're right here in the Natalia region.' Luka mused, making a note to double-check on his map later.
The Spirit of Earth, Gnome, is more difficult to pinpoint. Her home is said to be far west on Sentora, deep in the deserts of Safina. The inhospitable nature of this place, combined with Gnome's elusiveness, makes this Spirit more of an enigma than the others as she is very difficult to observe.
'She lives deep in the desert? I can't say I'm looking forward to hiking through sand dunes for days on end.' Luka thought with a frown.
The Spirit of Water, Undine, lives far east of Sentora in the Holy Springs of Noah. This may be the most treacherous area, as the springs are heavily populated by Slimes. Entering this place is not recommended for most.
Luka paused for a moment after reading this, 'So she lives among Slimes? I wonder if Lime knows anything about her...'
The Spirit of Fire, Salamander, inhabits a large volcano in the Gold region on the north side of Sentora. If one could consider Undine's home treacherous, then Salamander's could be considered a true nightmare. Many powerful Monsters have been sighted here as well, so even traveling in this area is a hazard.
Luka audibly gulped at this, 'So definitely saving that for last. In fact, it seems like every area after Slyph's just gets worse and worse.'
With a sigh, Luka closed the book for now. Before he was excited to read the book, but now he felt quite a bit apprehensive. The young Hero reach towards his traveling bag, "Hey, Kitsu, could you give me my map please?" After a few seconds of shuffling around, a small piece of parchment poked out from the bag. "Thank you!" Luka said as he took the map and unfolded it.
Indeed, the Forest of Spirits seemed to be the closest area, being almost right north of San Ilia. The homes of Gnome and Undine seemed to be about the same distance, though it was difficult to tell since neither had an exact location listed. Either way, he was leaving Salamander for last, because diving into a volcano - strangely enough - just didn't sound all that appealing.
"Haha! There you are, my darling!" Both Luka and Alice cringed as an all-too-familiar voice called out to the young Hero.
Luka turned to see Amira flopping out of a nearby alleyway - she really likes doing that, doesn't she? - and had to keep himself from sighing in dismay as she drew near. Alice muttered something definitely inappropriate as the reverse-Lamia addressed Luka, "I am here to shower you with hundreds of years of pent-up love - and frustration - just like you deserve!"
"What in the Hell is that thing!?" Kitsu hissed from Luka's traveling bag, more venom coming from her tone than Luka had ever heard from her before.
The young Hero stood from his bench and addressed the Unfortunate Lamia, "Eh, hello, Amira..." Luka suddenly tilted his head, "...Hey, how did you get here? Are the boats finally going between Sentora and the Ilias Continent again?"
"I dunno, I just swam here." Amira replied bluntly.
Luka faltered at the reverse-Lamia's words, remembering back to when he last saw her in Iliasburg, where she flopped into the water and disappeared. "Wait, when you dived into the water, you started swimming over to Sentora!?" The young Hero asked, to which Amira gave a flirty giggle. "Of course I did, impressed with my stamina? Just think about how long I can go under other..." She raised an eyebrow to Luka, "...Circumstances."
Alice nearly gagged, "Disgusting."
While Luka did indeed feel a similar nauseous feeling growing in his stomach, he did feel a need to thank Amira. "...Well, I have no interest at all in that, but I do have to thank you for telling me about Poseidon's Bell. Without that, I wouldn't have been able to get here to Sentora."
The reverse-Lamia clicked her tone happily, "I'm always here to help my soulmate in his quest! Anything I can do whether it be telling you of horrible creatures tormenting the innocents or showing you powerful artifacts to help you along, I will always be here to help. In fact..." Amira, for some reason, gave Alice a side-eye. "...You could call me your True Guide in Love!"
Alice refused to acknowledge the comment, giving Amira a death glare.
"I don't think there's any reason to use titles like that." Luka said hurriedly, not wishing for something like that to become a regular nickname. "But, erm, is there anything important you wished to tell me? Anything that is not related to your lo-..." The purple-haired boy nearly felt like hurling when he attempted to say "love" and so decided on something else, "...Affection for me?"
Amira quickly nodded, "I do actually. For you see, I have heard tell of there being a terrible Haunted Mansion to the north of this city. Haunted by ghosts, as a matter of fact." The reverse-Lamia elaborated.
"GHOSTS DON'T EXIST!" Alice suddenly yelled, nearly making Luka jump out of his boots.
Luka gave his traveling partner a wary look, "Are you alright, Alice?" The disguised Lamia gave him a frenzied look, "O-Of course I am, wh-why wouldn't I be? N-No reason to be bothered by things that aren't real! No, no reason AT ALL!" She proclaimed although Luka didn't feel very confident in her fear-filled eyes. The purple-haired boy wisely decided to turn away from his panicky traveling partner, looking to Amira once again.
"So, this Mansion, which is definitely-not-haunted-by-things-that-are-definitely-not-ghosts, it's been causing the people here grief?" Luka swiftly asked. The reverse Lamia nodded gravely. Or, as gravely as something like her could manage. "Absolutely, of this I have no doubts. The children talk about it all the time."
"Pfft, the children talk about it?" Alice remarked, suddenly getting her wits about her, "Such reliable sources you have for your claims." The disguised Lamia said dismissively. As true as that may be, Luka gave Amira a nod, "Well, I'll see about checking it out at some point, just to be sure." Alice didn't look very happy about this, but before she could make further comment, a man's voice yelled out from the side.
"Look, a Monster is here in the city!" The trio turned to see a couple of soldiers, one of them pointing towards Amira. "Ugh, she's hideous as well! Something so terribly ugly must be a part of the Monster Lord's Inner Circle, after her!"
"WAAAH!" Amira yelled, flopping back down the alleyway she had appeared from while the two soldiers gave chase.
Luka stood dumbfounded by what had just occurred, while Alice looked to be fuming for some reason.
"U-Uh, Luka, what was that?" Kitsu asked from inside his traveling bag. The purple-haired boy shook his head, "I'm not really sure? But she tends to help me out, sometimes." Luka said, not even sure how to describe his relationship with Amira. Alice crossed her arms once again, "I hope they tar and feather her, that'd be fun to watch."
Luka was quick to shake his head, "No, let's not hope for that." He argued, turning to move on from the bizarre encounter.
The Prophet and the Monster Lord walked around the town for a while, not finding much of anything really noteworthy other than hearing the odd comment about the Haunted Mansion Amira had mentioned. 'It seems like Amira wasn't stretching the truth about this, unlike when she said the Bandits were terrorizing Iliasburg.'
A pang of sadness hit him when thinking back on the four Monster girls. He really did hope that he'd be able to see them again someday...
"Hmm, what's this?" Alice asked out of the blue, nodding to a wall they were passing by. Luka stopped and looked up at the wall in question, seeing the large bulletin board hanging from it. The young Hero gave a curious hum and stepped up to it. "I think I recognize this. It must be San Ilia's request board."
Alice gave Luka a questioning look, "A request board?" She parroted, squinting her golden eyes back on the board to read over the papers that were thumb-tacked on. "Yeah," Luka continued while stepping closer, "If you need something done but you can't do it yourself or you don't have the time, you can put it on one of these and someone else can do it for you!"
Alice raised an eyebrow at this, "Sounds like a way to con idiots into doing stuff you don't want to do." She said dismissively. Luka frowned at her tone, "I wouldn't say that. I did this stuff all the time back home. It was how I made money for me and my Mother." To her credit, Alice quickly backpedaled when the boy made mention of his Mother. "Is that so?"
Luka nodded, "Yep. I'd usually trim people's hedges or help around their houses. It didn't always pay the best, but I tried to do as many as I could when I had time." The purple-haired boy began reading over some of the papers, reading the various requests to see if any happened to require a Heroic hand, by chance.
"Looking for someone with a strong arm for three months of guard work. Interview required." Luka read out loud, "Eh, not really one I would've done." He commented before moving on. "Looking for a skilled blacksmith." Luka gave a hum, "Hmm, they must have a specialized request." He mused for a moment.
"Looking to buy North Sentora Grass. My house is between Shady's and Torch Three." Luka blinked at this request, "North Sentora Grass? Must be some sort of gardening project." He remarked before looking towards a more poorly-written request. "I want a puppy..." Luka curled his lip in confusion. "...Eh, that was probably written by a kid, I'd imagine." His gaze traveled down to the bottom of the bulletin board, eyeing a much smaller message.
"Single Mother in dire need of a fellow believer's warmth on these long, lonely nights-" Luka quickly stopped and cleared his throat, "-Erm, uh, th-that's not a request you are supposed to put on here, I-I don't think." He quickly stuttered out while turning away, trying not to blush at the rather straightforward request.
Before Alice could poke fun at the young Hero, a pigeon dove down and landed on the very edge of the bulletin board. Luka and his traveling partner watched as the small gray bird lowered its head down, grabbing a piece of paper off of its leg and sticking it to the board. The pigeon flew off soon after, leaving the duo behind. "It left a not?" Alice asked, eyeing the new paper left behind.
"Yeah, it must've been a Notice Pigeon. People use them to quickly send letters between villages." Luka mused as he stepped closer to peer at the new request. Alice hummed at his answer, "Using birds to communicate? I'll give it to you, Humans think of some interesting things." Luka gave her a nod before turning to the paper and reading it out loud.
"To those who don't have a bias against Monsters; I have a request, so please listen to my story. My name is Meia, and I live at 6th Street 3-29 in the South District of Port Natalia." Luka stopped reading to parrot the first part of the message, "To those who don't have a bias against Monsters. That sounds like something for me to look into." The young Hero turned to Alice, who did not look very excited.
"You want to go back to Port Natalia? It already took us long enough to get here, how much more time are you looking to waste exactly?" Alice asked, feeling quite bothered by the idea of returning to the Mermaid-invested port town. Luka hesitated, "W-Well, I don't think helping with this would be a waste of time. Not if it could potentially help with coexistence."
Alice gave out a long and very exasperated sigh, "There's more important things here, don't you think? Finding the Four Spirits and getting their blessings should be your goal here." As true as this was, Luka still shook his head. "This may not be more important, necessarily, but that doesn't mean that I should turn a blind eye. Would it be Heroic of me to turn a blind eye, Alice?" Luka asked.
The disguised Lamia stared down at the young Hero with a very unhappy gaze. On one hand, Alice really did not care for this little detour. They had just left Port Natalia that same day and - secretly - The Monster Lord had been quite happy to be free of Mermaid presences - for no particular reason at all - since then. This made the thought of going back to the port town very unpleasant.
However, on the other hand, Alice was finding it very hard to say no to Luka's plea. With those large - far-too-piercing - pale-blue eyes and his soft, innocent facade. It just made the purple-haired boy very, very difficult to deny.
"Alright..." Alice finally said to which Luka gave her a small smile. "...But, if we're going to do that much backtracking, then I think you should do something for me." The young Hero tilted his head in question, "A-And what would that be?" He asked, with a touch of nervousness. Alice's golden eyes looked between Luka and his traveling bag, "Drop the bag."
Luka stood there for a few minutes in confusion before shouldering off the bag and gently placing it on the ground. Alice then grabbed Luka's hand, causing him to yelp as she dragged him a few meters away. The young Hero looked at his traveling partner questioningly and opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but Alice was quick to cut him off.
"You have to ditch the fox." Alice demanded. Luka recoiled at the disguised Lamia's words, "You want me to just abandon Kitsu? I can't do that!"
Alice rolled her eyes at his distress, "Yeah, I already know you wouldn't do that, as funny as it would be. But if we're going to be running around doing your little Hero errands, she can't be packed in your bag like a little lapdog." The disguised Lamia lifted a black-gloved hand before Luka could argue further, "And I don't just say that because her mere presence makes me break into hives..."
Luka slowly calmed as Alice elaborated, "...The Monsters that you've encountered so far - aside from a few exceptions - have been on the more agreeable side. However, the more we venture into Sentora, the unsightly they might become. So much so, that you may not be the only one they target." Luka's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Wait, why would they target Kitsu?"
Alice crossed her arms, though her face was softer than usual. "You remember the Leech you fought before? The one that tried to attack not just you, but those "Bandit" Monsters as well?" The young Hero's pale-blue eyes darkened, "Yeah, I remember that." He muttered, something uncharacteristically resentful in his tone.
The quick change of mood unnerved Alice just a bit and she quickly moved on, "Well, there's going to be much more Monsters like that on Sentora. So the longer that Kitsune is with us, the greater the chance of her getting caught in the crossfire will become."
Luka's breath hitched, not having to think for long about what could possibly happen to the silver-furred fox. Nothing bad had happened to her today when she helped him in fights, but that couldn't always be the case, could it? Inevitably, mistakes would be made and Kitsu would get hurt, or worse. And if someone as young and innocent as Kitsu got hurt on his behalf...
...Luka would NEVER forgive himself for that.
"Y-You're right." Luka admitted quickly, seeing the severity of Alice's words perhaps a bit too deeply. Alice's golden eyes widened just a tad at how fast the young Hero changed his mind on the matter. "B-But how could I make sure she's okay?"
Alice shrugged, "Well, considering the fact that she's a Kitsune and that she was traveling with Tamamo no Mae, she probably came from Yamatai Village. Which is pretty far northeast of here." The disguised Lamia mulled over the situation before deciding on a shaky resolution, "Well, if you're going to back to Port Natalia, you could probably find someone there willing to transport such awful luggage."
"But I can't just let anyone take her, they'd have to be someone who I trust to look after her." Luka argued, causing Alice to bring a hand up to her face. "Well, you're the Hero, so I'm sure you'll figure something out." The disguised Lamia said unhelpfully.
Luka bit his lip in thought, 'What Alice said is right though. If there's even a slight chance Kitsu could get hurt trying to help me then she can't stick around for much longer. But who could I trust to take care of her while going that far?' The young Hero shook his head, it'd be something he'd have to figure out when he gets back to Port Natalia. For now, though, Luka would have to focus on getting back there and looking into this request that had been posted.
"Well, I suppose that we should start heading back to Port Natalia then." Luke declared, turning to walk towards his traveling bag. He hefted the bag up onto his shoulders. From inside, he heard Kitsu speak up. "Wait, you're going back to the Mermaid town. Why?" Luka paused. Should he tell Kitsu about what he had planned for her? Somehow, the young Hero felt as though the silver-furred fox would be very upset over it.
No, it would be best to see if there'd even be anyone able to take Kitsu home first before saying anything about it.
"Well, there's something I need to take care of there. Some, erm, Hero stuff." Luka answered vaguely. His explanation earned him a raised eyebrow from Alice and a strangely nervous reply from Kitsu, "O-Oh, alright..." The Two-Tailed Kitsune said from inside his traveling bag as Luka started walking through the square of San Ilia...
The trio of Ilias's Prophet, the Monster Lord, and the bag-toted Kitsune quickly made it back to Port Natalia - Luka having taken a slightly altered path in order to avoid a certain abandoned Temple - and soon found themselves back amongst the Mermaids.
Crunch Crunch
"Despite its location, these Yamatai crackers are actually pretty good. I'm sure they weren't made by any Kitsunes." Alice remarked, having already eaten about two-thirds of the sleeve of crackers. Luka shook his head, both at Alice's backhanded compliment and at how loudly she was eating the snacks.
Kitsu - who had thankfully gotten back into her own clothes - scowled at the disguised Lamia. "Kitsune-made crackers would be much better than any you can make!" The silver-furred fox proclaimed, her ears curled down angrily. Alice just scoffed at Kitsu's attempt to get a rise out of her, "I doubt that."
Luka stepped in once again to play referee, "Hey, hey, no more of that." The young Hero said before peering at the Two-Tailed Kitsune. "So, Yamatai Village is where you're from, right Kitsu?" Luka was already fairly sure this was the case due to what Alice said earlier, but he wanted to make absolutely sure of this.
"E-Eh, yeah. Why?" Kitsu asked, her bright red eyes a bit confused as Luka continued. "Well, I-I just figured that..." The purple-haired boy trailed off, looking up at the buildings they passed to look for their next stop. "...Y-You'll probably need to be going back home soon. You know?" However, when he looked at Kitsu, the silver-furred fox didn't really look too thrilled about the idea.
The silver-furred fox bit her lip for a moment, "W-Well, I guess I do..." Kitsu trailed off, her words not quite matching her tone. "...Th-Though I don't really like the idea of going back by myself." She added, not looking at all excited at Luka's sudden desire to send her off. The young Hero looked away, pretending to check the addresses they were passing so that he didn't have to meet her confused and upset gaze.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure that you get home safe." Luka said reassuringly, before stopping in his tracks as he actually found the right address. "Huh, 6th Street 3-29, we made it." He said while inspecting the modestly small home. The purple-haired boy lifted up a hand to the door, lightly rapping against the wood. A few moments passed before a feminine voice called out to them.
"I'm coming!"
Luka furrowed his eyebrows for a split second, the voice sounding a bit familiar to him. Once the door opened, his suspicion was confirmed as the lavender-haired Mermaid he had met just the other day before the bombing. "Oh, so you're Meia, then?" The young Hero asked, to which the Mermaid vigorously nodded her head. "Yes I am! Come in, come in."
The trio filed in - neither Kitsu nor Alice not looking very enthusiastic while doing so - as Meia shuffled back, entering the Mermaid's home.
The inside was much like the rest of the buildings in Port Natalia, the walls and floors being wooden. The house was just as small on the inside as it was on the outside, seeming to be comprised of only two rooms as the one they stood in appeared to be a bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room all in one.
"Apologies for the size of my home," Meia said, acknowledging how the trio had to keep from elbowing each other just to stand comfortably. Luka quickly waved Meia's words away, "Please don't apologize for that, it's no issue!" He said, trying to dissuade the Mermaid's worries.
"Hey, yeah, can you just tell us what you want so we can go?" Alice asked, blowing a gigantic hole in Luka's attempt at keeping good manners. Luka reached around to his traveling bag and pulled out another sleeve of crackers and just about pushed it into the disguised Lamia's hands, "T-Take this, please!" The purple-haired boy exclaimed. Alice quickly took the offering with a hum, not wasting any time to start pulling it open.
'That should buy me a minute or two...' Luka thought as he turned back to the befuddled Meia. "S-So what is it are you needing help with, Meia?" He asked.
Meia's face started to flush, the tint of red as she smiled. "Yes, y-you see, I'm in love with a Human." Luka paused at the Mermaid's confession, stealing a glance at his two traveling partners. Alice seemed too preoccupied with her crackers - She already had a fourth of them gone!? - to react and Kitsu...
...Was blushing too?
"Uh huh," Luka mused, returning his pale-blue eyes to the excited-looking Meia. "So, um, how do you want me to help with that, exactly? Do you want me to help you two, become a couple?" That didn't really sound like something he'd be very good at doing, he'd have no idea how to matchmake. However, Meia shook her head.
"Oh no, we're already happily a couple. We've actually been living together here for a few years now..." Meia said, her face slowly morphing into something more solemn. "...However, even though we love each other, we are not married."
Luka gave a slow nod, though he still wasn't quite following where this was going. "Ah, and why is that?" He asked while stealing a glance back at Alice. 'Ooo, that's not good. She's eaten two-thirds of the crackers now now. The rest can't possibly hold up for that much longer.' He thought as Meia started to elaborate on her problem.
"We are not married because we are unable to perform the Marriage Trial that is legally required by Marine Law." Luka gave Meia's explanation a confused tilt of his head, spurring the Mermaid to continue. "You see, when a Human and a Mermaid wish to wed, they must offer a written pledge to the Queen at the Temple of the seabed. By itself, this wouldn't be too difficult, but there are many dangerous Monsters along the way. I have some magic ability, but my darling would be far too weak to defend himself."
"Ohh..." Luka said, finally starting to understand where he was in this equation. "...So you want me to go down there to deliver your Marriage pledge, then?" The young Hero asked. It seemed like an awfully tall order, but if it was in the name of love, then he'd be more than willing to help. However, Ilias's words suddenly echoed in his head.
"Monsters can't love..."
"...It is simply because of who they are. Their entire lineage, from the first Monster Lord to now, are all unable to love because they are corrupted down to their very soul."
Indeed, this had been what the Goddess of Light had stressed to him before. She had claimed that Monsters were incapable of love due to the corruption in their souls. However, if that was the case, then shouldn't this Mermaid not care at all whether she and her partner were married? If it was just about sinful desire and nothing more, then something like Marriage wouldn't be something that Monsters even considered.
That had to be indicative of something, right? Maybe Monsters were inherently more lustful, but if they had entire trials in place just for Humans and Monsters to marry, then didn't that mean that they could love? However, there was a twinge of doubt in his mind.
"Ehh, but is it allowed for me to deliver this pledge on you and your partner's behalf? You did say it was a Marriage Trial, so doesn't that mean the two getting married have to be involved?" Luka questioned, wanting to make sure he wasn't accidentally breaking any laws. After all, going against any legislation was not something a Hero should be doing, especially Maritime ones.
The sea was a cruel mistress, and so one should treat her well, lest they want to feel her wrath.
Meia quickly shook her head, "Oh no, it should be fine. The Law only states that the Marriage pledge must be delivered to the Queen. It doesn't say by whom..." The Mermaid scrunched up her face for a moment, her light blue eyes narrowing in thought. "...Although, it doesn't necessarily say just anyone can delivery it either..." Luka felt a pang of nervousness hit him, but Meia quickly waved it away. "...B-But it should be fine, I think."
Luka felt a tug at his sleeve, and he glanced down at a similarly concerned-looking Kitsu. "Eh, I don't know about this. It sounds awfully suspicious." She whispered, her two tails swishing nervously. The purple-haired boy couldn't say that he didn't agree, and not being familiar with Marine Law just made the whole seem even more questionable.
The pair's mutual agreed apprehension - and Alice's terrifyingly swift destruction of the crackers - was interrupted by the opening of the small home's front door. Standing in the doorway was a short - shorter than even Kitsu - brown-haired boy wearing fishing gear that seemed to be a few sizes too big. "I'm home!" He called out.
Not quite connecting the dots just yet, Luka watched the boy walk past. Meia's bright blue eyes glowed as she greeted the boy, "Ah, welcome home!~" She proclaimed, giving him a big hug. The young Hero blinked a few times at the sight, missing how Alice stood frozen mid-bite as she seemed to catch on much quicker than Luka or Kitsu.
"O-Oh," Luka said a bit shakily, "You two already have a k-kid, then?" He tried to ask without seeming too judgmental. In Ilias Village, having a child out of wedlock usually implied very negative things about a relationship but Luka wasn't going to assume things without knowing the full story. After all, they probably were seeking to get married first before-
"No, this is my darling~" Meia proclaimed, the boy smiling as she pulled him closer.
The nervous smile on Luka's face morphed into something much, much more confused and troubled. He looked over the boy's fishing gear again, remembering how Meia had said that her "darling" had gone out to sea to fish. This boy definitely looked as if he had been doing this, as his clothes were a tad bit damp.
"Hey Meia," The boy asked, his dark eyes looking over Luka and his companions with similar confusion. "Who are these people?" The lavender-skinned Mermaid gleefully took the boy's hands into her own, giving her "darling" a large smile. "These three are going to deliver our Marriage Pledge!" She exclaimed.
Wait, Luka didn't even say he'd actually do it yet.
Either way, the boy turned to the trio with a large smile, "Is that so? Wow, thank you, we've been wanting to get married for a long time!" Luka blinked owlishly at the boy, not even sure if he should ask how long he and Meia had been waiting. With both Alice and Kitsu peering at him questioningly from behind, Luka turned to ask Meia a very important question.
"U-Uh, Meia? I-I don't mean to offend, but isn't he a bit..." The purple-haired boy paused, "...Young, to marry?" Now it was Meia's turn to look confused, "But he'll be turning twenty-five this year, is that not old enough?" Luka was beginning to wonder if this was just a very strange dream, and that he was actually lying unconscious in San Ilia castle after being throttled by Granberia as the - boy? - walked up to him in indignation.
"H-Hey, I'm more than adult enough to marry!" He proclaimed while poking a finger onto his chest, though the effect was somewhat dampened by the fact that Luka of all people had to peer down at him as he got closer. "Heck, what are you, like fourteen?" The - boy? - asked, causing Luka to bristle. "I-I'm sixteen!" Luka fired back, lightly pushing away the offending finger.
"Oh, really?" Meia asked, "I just assumed that you three used the same type of magic to stunt your growth as I do with my darling. I didn't know that there were Humans that looked like you naturally." She elaborated, looking a bit more curious now.
The frustration Luka felt at his height fell away into confusion, "Wait, so you use magic to make him look like that?" Luka asked. Meia nodded, excitingly bringing her hands together, "Of course, just look at how adorable he is!" The - boy? - put his hands on his waist, "But I assure you, I am still man where it counts!" He proclaimed, causing the Mermaid to blush.
Luka gave a very slow nod, "Uh-huh..." Meia, seeming to realize that the conversation had perhaps gotten off-track, moved to gain the young Hero's favor once again. "A-Anyways, that's our predicament. Would you please deliver our Marriage Pledge to the Queen? We don't have much to reward you with, but we'll do what we can." Meia ended, leaving Luka to mull over the situation.
The young Hero still wasn't entirely sure about the whole thing, as it still seemed quite strange to him. However, the two seemed to have a mutually consensual - if just a bit questionable - relationship. And he could pretty easily tell why the - boy? - could not venture down himself, as he would make for a very easy target for any passing Monster.
"Alright," Luka said after a moment more of thought, "I'll do it." Meia and her "darling" both smiled at Luka, happily hugging each other once the purple-haired boy agreed to help them. As bizarre as the whole situation still felt, Luka couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness at the sight.
Crunch Crunch
Luka turned to see that Alice had finally finished off the rest of the crackers, "Wow, great, fantastic. Can we go now?" The disguised Lamia asked, crinkling up the plastic wrap much more loudly than what was probably needed before tossing it into a nearby trashcan with an admittedly impressive aim. Meia quickly replied, "Yes, here, let me give you our Marriage Pledge and something else that will help you along the way." She said as she shuffled to the bedside table.
The young Hero watched in curiosity as the lavender-haired Mermaid procured a neatly written-up document and a small transparent crystal from the drawer. "This is our Pledge," Meia said while holding out the parchment. "And this, is the Ball of Guidance." She finished while holding out the crystal. Luka took both in earnest, giving the crystal a once over.
"When you get to the beach, that crystal will allow you to take the Undersea Road." Meia elaborated, "And that road will lead you to the Temple the Queen lives, in which you present her our Pledge so that she can give her blessing!"
Luka held the crystal in his palm a bit tighter, 'Wow, so this'll make it to where I can go underwater? That's amazing!' He thought before pocketing it and the couple's Marriage Pledge. "Okay, I'll try to be back as quickly as possible." The purple-haired boy said. Meia gave Luka a relieved smile, "Thank you, I'll be praying for you!"
The boy - well, man, Luka supposed - strode up to Luka and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you, you're doing us a great favor!" The purple-haired boy nodded, still a bit perturbed by the boy who wasn't a boy but gave him a smile nonetheless. Luka turned away soon after, looking over his traveling partners. Alice, naturally, looked unamused. Kitsu, meanwhile, looked a bit lost in thought.
"Alright, let's go!" Luka said, moving for the door and leading the other two out.
"Do you just have an urge to be used by people, or something?" Alice asked as soon as the door was shut behind them. Luka turned to the disguised Lamia, "What do you mean?"
Alice rolled her eyes, "You know absolutely what I mean. Don't try and be coy with me." The flowers in her hair - including the Lilac Luka had given her way back on the Ilias Continent - swayed as she nodded to Meia's home. "This is just one of many detours you keep having us take. First it was those "Bandits" in Iliasburg, then there was that whole incident with that Harpy Village-"
"-Hey, you wanted us to go there, too!" Luka interjected, but Alice waved it away.
"-True, but I only wanted the Honey, not the Harpies. But then you made us go to Enrika right after, which led us to pretty much nothing, and now you're doing this, too? Do you even know anything about the Monsters you might encounter at the bottom of the Ocean, Hmmm?" Alice ended with a hum.
Luka paused, he hadn't really given what type of Monsters he might have to face much thought. "W-Well, no. But a Hero can't back down just because of the unknown, right? I have to be able to have the courage to face even the most uncertain of situations." He argued. However, Alice decided to poke at a very particular hole in his logic.
"Yes, but wouldn't helping a Human and a Monster get married be breaking the laws that a Hero of Ilias must follow?" She asked pointedly.
The Prophet of Light twitched, a familiar sinking feeling growing in his stomach. Yes, that was right. Meia and her partner were already - presumedly - breaking Ilias's first Commandment and if Luka went through with this, he'd be helping them break the Second Commandment as well. Luka had to fight away the urge to feel sick, remembering something else his Goddess had said.
"Just remember, I am always watching over you."
Something about that made Luka's skin crawl.
"I-I know, I'm..." The young Hero looked away from Alice's questioning gaze as he began to pace into the main square of Port Natalia. "...I-I'm working on that." The disguised Lamia's face turned more questioning at Luka's vague answer. "You're working on it?" She asked. Luka nodded, looking anywhere but at Alice now.
Kitsu, who had been pretty quiet up until now, finally spoke up. Though she had been mulling over a different aspect of the conversation. The Two-Tailed Kitsune looked nervous as she asked, "So, Luka. Y-You don't see a problem with Humans and Monsters..." She gulped when the purple-haired boy turned towards her.
"...Being together?" Kitsu whispered.
If there was ever a loaded question, that had to be it. And Luka had a feeling that there was a very particular reason why Kitsu was asking this.
"U-Uh, well, no I don't have a problem with it. I'd like to think, eh..." Luka quickly looked away from the silver-furred fox, who appeared to be a bit too interested in his answer. "...Th-That it can be a good thing, as long as everyone involved are consenting and... everything-"
"-Hey, Luka, you still need to find someone to take this fox," Alice cut in, looking very upset all of a sudden. "And bring her back to Yamatai Village, right? Yeah, probably should do that, right now. She can't come with us to this super-special-and-completely-necessary quest you're taking, after all. It would be too dangerous for her, remember?" Alice ended her lengthy rant with a cross of her arms, giving Luka a very pointed look.
Luka felt his heart wrench at the very sad look that came to the Two-Tailed Kitsune's face but he couldn't really deny Alice's out-of-nowhere point. After all, like the disguised Lamia had said, Luka had no idea what caliber of Monsters would be awaiting beneath the Ocean's surface.
"W-Well, you are right." Luka began, glancing around the main hub of Port Natalia with a searching glance, trying to ignore the fact that Kitsu was still staring at him. "I-I don't want you getting hurt Kitsu, so it really is for the best. You understand, right?" The silver-furred fox didn't respond, causing the purple-haired boy to feel even worse.
LUKA! HEY, HEEEEEY!" A voice called out.
For a moment, Luka felt an odd sense of déjà vu as he heard Lime calling out to him and sure enough, he soon saw the Blue Slime in question standing behind her Boomerang Stand. The young Hero glanced up at the sign, seeing that Lime had added to it at some point.
Lime the Slime's BoomeЯangs!
Plus Free Lessons!
'Huh, she gives lessons now?' Luka thought as he walked up to his Slime friend. "Hey, Lime. How have you been doing?" He asked enthusiastically. Lime happily bounced, her bright green eyes shining, "I've been doing great! I think business is really starting to pick up now!" She said, causing Luka to glance up at her wares. Indeed, there seemed to be only a third of the boomerangs that he had seen previously.
"Hey, that's wonderful! I'm glad you've been finding success, Lime." Lime smiled, jiggling a bit too much as she placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah. You know, it actually turned out that my problem was the fact that most people don't know how to use boomerangs! So, I when I started showing people how to throw them, they actually started to buy them!"
Luka nodded, "Ah, I see." He replied. The purple-haired boy looked over Lime for a moment, his mind shifting back to his problem with Kitsu. Then he remembered back to when he first met the Blue Slime. 'Lime was traveling when I first met her, wasn't she? She even had a map, even though it had the wrong name for Ilias Village. I wonder if...'
The young Hero leaned forward, placing his hands on Lime's shopping cart. "Hey Lime, do think you could help me with something?" The Blue Slime smirked at Luka, "Ooo, what type of help are you wantin'?" She asked slyly.
"A-Ah, not a-anything like th-that." Luka said, quickly pulling away as Lime leaned forward, trying not to cause any misunderstandings as he reached into his traveling bag to get his map. "I was just wondering if you would be willing to help my friend here," The purple-haired boy nodded to the downcast-looking Kitsu, "Get back home safely."
Lime scrunched up her face, peering over at the silver-furred fox before humming to herself. "Hmmm." The Blue Slime's mind almost visibly started turning as Luka pulled out his map. The purple-haired boy laid the paper out on the wooden counter, laying a finger on both Port Natalia and Yamatai Village. The young Hero bristled as he just now realized how far away the two places were.
'Wow, that'd take longer than walking across the entire Ilias Continent!' Luka thought, gaping just a bit at the sheer distance. Lime stuck out her tongue, now thinking very hard as she looked between the towns. "Hrm, that does seem like a bit of a walk, but I am good at walking." The Blue Slime remarked before looking back up at Luka.
"I could do it," Lime said in a remarkably nonchalant manner. However, before Luka could smile and give her a thank you, "Buuuuuut..." The same sly smirk came to Lime's face again, "...What's in it for me?"
Oh my, what could Lime possibly want from Luka in exchange for taking Kitsu off his hands? Will it be something obscenely depraved? Will it be something to absolutely infuriate Alice once again? Will it send Ilias further into frustration and despair? Find out this time next week on the next episode of-
-Yeah, I'm sure you get it. Now the only kicker is how this plays out. Surely, though, Luka will have only more headaches from what is surely to come. For, obviously, Lime is going to help out with a "favor."
Other than this, I went ahead and decided to just make up some passages of Four Animists so that we could have something a bit more interesting then "Luka reads this" and "Luka reads that", some of it is just exposition but some of it will also be things to take note of. In fact, I'll have Luka go back to reading this book every now and then, so expect more passages as he goes along in his journey.
F14M3RZ: Yeah, the brutality will continue to escalate from here on, along with the more graphic details. Especially once we reach the Haunted Mansion, the more unsightly portions will start to become more prominent.
Marshman101: Funnily enough, I'm not very fond of regular baked potatoes. I prefer everything else you can make with them.
