Chapter 17:

Reaching Wind Port

Around three months have passed since we started our adventuring journey, and we quickly started moving from town to town, heading south, our objective is Wind Port, as it's our main way of getting out of the continent, the journey there is long, especially due to us having to go by feet.

I'm starting to get fond of Michael's company, either training with him or just having a chat, I end up smiling, and with the day a bit brighter, we managed to create a bayonet with a spare dagger and the help from a blacksmith, Michael seems to like the bayonet more than a conventional sword, so he's using it as a spear.

And the rifle seems durable enough for him to parry most attacks, still, for now, he's on the back side regarding combat, stepping in for surprise attacks while I do aggro, or for a follow-up combo, so our number of tactics has increased.

But at night…well, here's where we get to know each other more…

"Sara?"

I'm looking through the window at the night sky, resting over the bed, until Michael speaks, so I look at him.

He opens his mouth but stays silent for a moment, seeming to have second thoughts about what he's trying to say, but after gaining some resolve, he speaks.

"Can I ask you something?..."

"Uh, yes, I'm all ears"

"...before we got teleported, you said that after graduating you would go out into the world.." oh, that….I almost forgot, mainly with the idea of searching for Michael's brother.

"in..search of someone, who is that person? You never told me"

Dad…., I'm not even sure if he's in this world, just because an upper being said something doesn't mean that it's true, but god I hope they are true, that he's alive in here, just as where Matthew seems to be.., did I Fall into a trap?, just because Hitogami is his enemy doesn't mean he's supposed to be a good person, neither if he's telling the truth, Hitogami helped Rudeus, but all in the hopes of him never getting with Roxy, and this darker guy reminds me a lot of Hitogami.

I grab the sheet with my hand, clenching a bit. Just the idea of being played scares me.

"well…"

"If you don't want to tell me, you… you don't have to answer…, I'm fine with that"

"Actually…, I think I could tell you a bit about them" his eyes widened slightly, surprised that I was willing to tell him.

"Please then, I'll hear everything you tell me", correcting his posture, clearly interested in the topic.

"ok, this person, he's…a father figure of sorts, from whom I learned all my fighting skills"

he's…my father…

Michael only nodded

"I've been looking for him, he…he left right before I got into the Royal School, so I had that objective since I was young…."

"I thought about asking for help, from the Queen or even Rudeus Quagmire….I was friend with both of their children so-" I shut myself, biting my lip in frustration.

So what? You didn't get to ask them…

"but that's out of the window now, heh, waking up on the other side of the world gives you a new bunch of priorities…"

"and for now, we're trying to find your brother, I don't..have time to do a manhunt like that…"

I doubt he even… knows of my existence here…for…all I know…he might just have moved on

unlike my mother

"I…still wonder…does he remember me?...I-I mean, it's been a long time and I don't…I don't know if it's worth the effort anymore" My vision is getting blurry, tears start to form, and out of shame, I lower my head.

"these…last years have been tough…, as if..my goal was…no longer achievable…"

"as if the meaning of…me being alive wasn't longer…reuniting with him. When I finish helping you find your brother and the rest of your family, what do I do? I have…nothing to strive for"

I felt something going behind my back, it was an arm, Michael's arm, as he slowly hugged me, resting my head on his chest.

"...I don't think a person's life is defined by a single goal…, and I don't believe you are an exception"

I look up, even if his arms are tugging me on his chest.

"Sara, I…understand your fears…, and I don't think I can fully relate to them but, just know I'm here whenever you need me, even after everything related to this disaster ends, if you need help, I'll go for looking for you ok?, it's what I promised back then"

I stay silent, not sure what to tell him, but my lack of words is enough of an answer, I grab him by the shoulders and rest my weight on him.

"there's still ground to cover tomorrow…, so we have to rest properly," Michael says as he slowly drags me to lay on the bed with him, I don't resist it.

"Thanks" It sounds like a whisper, but is all I can muster, both tired and slightly embarrassed from opening up.

It wasn't long before I fell asleep.

"the knee! Hit it!"

Mike comes from a side and stabs the knee of this 3-foot-high monster, forcing it to Kneel and allowing me to use its injured leg as a step and strike its Jaw as I jump, with the jump I go way higher than its head, and I fall with my heel into the back of its head, crushing the helmet of the armor into a dented plate and mush of metal.

"it's over, ha!"

For the following days, we were having a good run regarding jobs and moving forward, like now, as we were collecting what little remains of the defeated monster as an extra because I'm a hoarder and each coin gained by trading is well-earned.

"We already have the anaconda scales, why are we on this detour?"

"why not, I mean look at it, we can still beat most of the things here, so why not go for a little extra?"

"it just feels like more danger than needed"

"oh please, it's not that bad, think of it as training, you hone your accuracy and I get to cave monsters into the ground" he only gave me a blank stare, as he sighed.

"it's getting dark already, and I don't like the idea of sleeping outside again"

I pick up a ring that survived the decomposition process of the monster.

"me neither, alright, let's move then, I could sell this at the guild…"

"it looks nice, we could wear a pair"

"you wish we did don't you?"

The trip back to town was rather uneventful, day by day we were getting closer to Wind Port, and as such, to the Millis Continent, maybe a day or two and we would already be on a boat towards the place.

"Can I ask something?" Michael spoke, already inside the town

"shoot"

"This…person that you are looking for, you told me he trained you...:"

Yes…he did, the same things I know my father knew 10 times better, if he were in this situation he would be Ruijerd, and I a blonde Eris.

"basically…, not all of what I know…, actually some of it of it is self-taught, I liked reading from an early age, so I kind of taught myself the touki aspects from it, along with magic"

He looked at me for a few seconds.

"that explains a lot…but how young were you?"

"...7?..." didn't sound convincing.

"yeah….sure…" I shrug it off, and we stay silent for a while.

Back in the room we paid for, Michael is sorting out our inventory and I again rest myself while on the bed, looking through a window.

"...he did teach me a lot of my combat capabilities…ignoring the use of swords"

"wha-... oh, so kicking and punching was his teachings"

"Yup, I only kept doing what he taught me"

Taekwondo, wide kicks, fast and coming from everywhere, didn't matter where I was on the battlefield a heel suddenly would poke someone's jaw, but it is a limited style, and I also was stuck with wanting to learn more things, like boxing, wrestling, even BJJ, the closes thing I could do was a bit extra of Karate, as a friend of mine did karate before joining the dojo I was in.

Parries, punches, and knees, I could hold my own with it, and the monsters in this continent proved to be useful for training those things, the Magic Art's touki allowed my smaller frame to wrestle things like wolves and climb on top of anacondas.

"and it's a hard thing to learn to what I remember"

"it handicaps you to not using swords, as its touki doesn't transfer into a blade" Brass knuckles, and steel boots actually would, as I have come to learn, I could in theory box a snake to death.

"That sounds like risking a lot"

"basically, but it has the strongest touki based on damage resistance and speed, the lack of blades means you can't kill everything in one blow, but you can challenge a Water god defense, or evade the offensive of a sword god if you are powerful enough"

"so it balances itself on a way, just for an extra effort in achieving it"

"well yes, but firearms are also a wildcard, right? Expensive, and require you to essentially be a mage to use, so not only do you need space for bullets but you could get tired from firing too much"

"they are magic items, expensive at that, yes, but you have seen what I can do with a single bullet, and there are far more powerful weapons than this rifle, besides I can strengthen my shots, and with how little I'm using the rifle the extra mana spent is barely an issue"

"I see…honestly I'm surprised it worked as well as it has been" Most of it is on Michael's marksmanship, he's quick and can chop out any part of a monster's body with a single bullet.

We use his gun carefully, ammunition is hard to come by, and he's running short on it, so we would have to use some of our savings soon to restock his ammo, i wonder if there is a Rude Co. embassy at Wind port.

Still, firearms need mana to use, and the marksmanship required to use them properly makes it hard to get into, more the job of a specialist, as Michael is.

"hey maybe in the future you could teach me, the same way I can teach you with using the bayonet and also strengthen that Touki of yours" he nodded.

"Maybe after we get back home we could teach each other everything"

"I like how that sounds, I guess is another of our many plans back at Asura"

Michael threw himself onto the bed, we already found that the rooms with one bed are usually cheaper so it wouldn't be much of a problem just cuddling every night, still, the second he touched the bed, he grappled me and forced me into lying right next to him, my only response was punching him a bit between giggles.

"what are you doing dweeb?"

"just making myself comfortable, with this cute noble I found"

"shut it, plushie" he makes a silent laugh, as he touches my hair with his hand.

"you know, having the Asuran prince as your bedtime plushie is something a lot of people would desire"

"for some of them, it would be their dream, to me is just an extra pillow"

I look up, and straight at him, challenging his smug face.

"Not that you would mind, in pretty sure"

"I'm only taking advantage of the situation"
"don't you say, don't take more than you can't bite, little prince" I poke at his shoulder as we keep cuddling and joking at each other for a while

If anything on this adventure, resting is the easy part, and soon we would be at Windport, just close enough to beautiful forests and good food, and also close to Matthew's whereabouts, I hope we are still on time to save his ass.

writer's note: so my ass forgot this thing exists for the better part of, what, half a year?, anyways, i'm back, and now i'm going to stop uploading more chapters and actually focus on rewriting the whole first part, better grammar and trying to make the chapters more engaging, besides some extra scenes and rectconing a lot of stuff, thanks for enduring until now