“Well I guess this is it…” Kanashi smiled softly.

Their boat had come with an inflatable raft which Kanashi planned to use to reach Edoland on his own.

“Don't miss us too much.” Rebecca laughed, giving him a hug.

“!” Kanashi flinched at the gesture but quickly accepted it once feeling her warmth.

How long has it been since I’ve been hugged? Days? Weeks? Months? I don't think I hugged mom, dad or Frairk the last time I saw them… why didn’t I? Kanashi thought with a sniffle.

“Ah, did I hurt you!?” Rebecca asked, jumping back.

“No, you're fine. It’s just… I’m gonna miss you guys.” Kanashi laughed, wiping his eyes.

“I didn’t think you were that much of a loser.” Sighed Jason.

“I know you’re just jealous.” Kanashi said, sticking his hand out.

“Yeah, I probably am.” Jason chuckled, shaking Kanashis hand firmly.

“Remember to call us if you need anything! We’ll be in Edoland for around the next week or so to sort things out.” Rebecca said, patting Kanashi on the shoulder.

“I will, thank you guys for taking care of the legal stuff. I really appreciate it.” Kanashi replied.

“No problem, we owe you one.”

“We do?” Jason asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, we do.” Rebecca affirmed.

“No, if you did owe me anything you’ve more than made up for it. In fact I think I owe you many times over.”

“We’ll keep that in mind then!” Rebecca laughed, “Now get out of here before the sun rises and you get spotted by the coast guard!”

“Yes mam.” Kanashi grinned.

I can see the shore of Edoland in front of me. The suns just barely rising giving a slight orange tint to the horizon.

Even though it’d only been two weeks I feel like I was on that boat for years. Every single moment is seared into my mind.

It’s crazy to think that my mission is just now starting. The Cymba felt like a mission of its own and now I’m already onto the next one.

At least this time I have a vague idea of whats going on and can properly prepare for it. So far I've got.

>Arrive In Edoland

>Discern my location

>Get a train ticket to Sarukou

>Meet up with Nordon

>Have him take me to the waypoint locations

>Place way points

>Enjoy my well earned vacation for the remaining time

Of course that last part can be cut out or pushed to later depending on how things develop. I’ve learned from the Cymba ordeal that nothing will go even remotely as planned so I need to be flexible.

Unfortunately the first wrench has already been jammed into my system. I dont have my wallet.

I’m sure I lost it during the Yakuza incident and now it’s deep in the watery depths with my savings and drivers license.

I’d prepared roughly four thousand dollars for this trip in cash. I only use cash because I don't really trust banks. The concept of giving somebody money and getting nothing in return irks me the wrong way.

“Oh but Kanashi you get imaginary money!” I hear you say, but let me pose this. How can you be confident in this “imaginary” money? What's stopping somebody from pressing the wrong button and just like that everything is deleted. I heard about something like that from my friend Daren in 4th grade. His dad had deposited a shit ton of money into the bank and the telemarketer like a complete idiot put it into the wrong account! Thankfully the account belonged to a rich old lady and she returned the money to him but what if it was someone like me?

I’m gonna be honest. If I woke up one day and found a few grand in my bank account I’m probably keeping it. I imagine most people are like me so that’s why I don't put my money into a bank account. Though thinking like that has got me where I am now.

Assuming the Trains in Edoland work the same as in Azhar I'll need to either buy a ticket or train pass.

My new first task is to get some money. Getting a job is the obvious answer but to get a job I’ll need an I.D. and or tourist Visa and to get one of those I need money. See the issue here?

So that’s what I’m thinking about as I drift onto the beach. There’s not a single soul here so I quickly deflate my raft and throw it in the recycle bin marked “Plastic.”

This is where my second issue really comes into play. It didn’t say “Plastic.” in Shinkai but Plastic in Edogo. As I look around I see that all the other signs are also only in Edogo.

“Shit…” I muttered with a frown. My Edogo is on the same level as a toddler when it comes to grammar and speech. I can read much better than I can speak or write but that’s only going to help me get so far here.

I quickly walk into the city infront of me. It’s not particularly big or small. A medium sized city I could probably walk all of in a few days. The city is nearly silent and I see only a few ruffians walking around. They dont look like Yakuza so I’m not really worried about hiding.

Within a half hour the sun is officially above the horizon. The birds are chirping loudly and people are starting to pour out of their homes and start theie morning routine. Within what seems like only a few moments I’m bumping into people left and right. I’m used to the 24/7 movement of Azhar so this is pretty strange to me but I guess smaller cities don't need to have 24/7 movement.

Eventually I find a sign which states in Shinkai “Welcome to Izumika of Midorigawa Prefecture.”

Midorigawa eh? That means… I’m about 400 km away from Sarukou then if I remember correctly…

Nordon probably isn’t going to be happy but he’ll have to deal with it. Once I meet up with him and explain myself I'm sure things will go just fine.

I know of Midorigawa but not Izumika so I might actually be more than 400 km away though… I could also be closer depending on where exactly in the prefecture I am…

Well no matter which it is I still need to get a Tourist Visa first thing, however with my wallet missing I’m pretty stumped on how to exactly pay for one. Judging by the looks I’ve been getting so far this place doesn't seem very foreign friendly so panhandling probably won't go the way I want it to. Is it something about the way I look or because I’m simply a foreigner? My clothes are pretty jacked up and my arms are covered in scars so I probably don't look like the model citizen they’d want me to be.

I don't even have the money to buy new clothes for myself either. I wish I grabbed my whole suit case instead of just the Rings but it’s not like I can do anything to change it.

My other two options are stealing and getting a job. Theft is for sure off the menu for a few reasons. Number one I’m not a thief because stealing is wrong… Okay well maybe that's not the only reason. Really I’m afraid of that old wives tale about stealing. The one that says for everything you steal you’ll be stolen from 7 times? Now that I know curses and stuff are real I really don't want to see if that one is. But I do think that by stealing from someone you’re benefiting from their suffering which is an evil thing to do. Also now that I think about it, that old wives tale is really dumb. If it was real there’d just be an endless cycle of stealing so the moral of the story doesn't work in any form. Besides It’s not like I have much to be stolen from me right? But just Imagine if they stole my virginity haha…

Okay, let’s get serious here. The next option is finding a job and the easiest job I can probably find is selling myself out. Of course I’m crossing that off the list but it’s worth mentioning as an option.

When it comes to finding a job I can already see some real glaring issues present. First off I can’t get a job without some form of identification. To get Identification I need money, I’m not sure exactly how much a tourist visa costs, probably not more than thirty dollars or so but that’s thirty dollars more than I have. I can go to an embassy and beg for help but then my cover would be blown.

I could try and get a job that doesn't require an identification like something illegal or manual labor but there’s a good chance that they won't actually pay me for the job. There’s no contract binding them and if It’s something illegal they can hold that as black mail against me.

Man, it's my first day here and things are a massive mess already. Maybe I should call Rebecca and Jason to get some pocket change? No, I’m not that desperate yet. They’ll be my last second option next to selling my body which I absolutely will not do. Unless there just happens to be an attractive woman with long white hair and yellow eyes wanting to buy me. I might just sell my soul to her at that point.

No wait, I'm getting off topic. As I’m standing here muttering to myself I see police officers staring at me.

Oh no, that’s not good… I think and quickly walk away. It’s only my first day. I have time to think this out. I can’t rush into things hastily that’s bit me in the ass before.

“Alright then my next plan of action is-”

“Grumble~”

The sound of my stomach rumbling breaks my train of thought. Now that I think about it, I haven't really eaten in the past two days. The emergency provisions inside the lifeboat had much to be desired. You could probably hammer a nail in with the calorie bars we’d found.

I’ve been drinking a lot of water to cope with the lack of food but that can only sustain you for so long. I decide to take a piss break in a public park's bathroom to drain all the water I’ve been drinking when I notice something that shocks me to my core. My face has something on it, something that wasn’t there before. A scar, not a small one either, it's probably a good four inches or so long and stretched from the bottom of my right cheek up to just under my bottom eyelid.

My beautiful face is ruined! Okay it was never really beautiful in the first place but now it’s even worse! I don't have a face that suits scars. Square faces with big chins fit scars better than my round one does. To maximize my attractives I need to put all my stock in remaining youthful but now…

“I’m Ruined Damnit!” I cry out slamming my hand on the bathroom counter.

After a few more moments of self despair I searched the bathroom for a first aid kid and found one. It was pretty empty but thankfully I found a large bandaid which I applied over my new scar. This way I’ll look more approachable and less like a thug. Of course my clothes are still in tatters so maybe I’ll look like someone who got into a fight recently and attract more attention… Well either way I’m drawing attention to myself so I guess it doesn't matter in the end. As I look at myself in the mirror I notice the Hojo clan necklace peeking through a hole in my shirt and pull it out. It’s a miracle I didn’t lose this, maybe it’s fate for me to meet them.

“!”

Why don't I just go ask them for help? No wait, there’s a few potential issues with that. They might assume I stole the necklace from somewhere. Also I have no idea where the Hojo clan even lives. Probably not a back water city like this one.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I tuck the necklace safely into my pants pocket which I then zip closed. Even if I can’t show it to the Hojo clan directly I might be able to show it to the right person at some point and get help. First things first though I need to get some kind of job.

That’s my official first mission, getting a job that’s safe and legit!

I walk out of the bathroom and the warm sun burns my skin, the humid air instantly makes me feel sticky and wet. The heat of Azhar and the Humidity of Historia… I’m not too big a fan of it.

Just then I see something out of the corner of my eye. A plastic bottle on the ground.

“!”

Of course! I can make money by collecting trash! I remember seeing an article about it in the school newspaper back in Azhar. To battle pollution and poverty Edoland established a way to make money by collecting and submitting trash.

Finding my solution I search around the public park some more and find an empty plastic bag which reads “Sosaki Corp.”

Sosaki? Like the tech company Sosaki? Wait no they also make medicine and other stuff too now right? Maybe I should check out their amusement park when I get the chance, it’s in Tousen is it not?

No, I need to be serious here. I need to collect as much trash as I can. This park will be spotless by the time I’m done!

# # #

After four hours the area of the park I’d been working in was spotless. I submitted my findings and was rewarded four dollars. While I cleaned I found about five bucks worth of coins throughout the park giving me a total of nine dollars. Honestly I don't think I’ve been this happy to have nine bucks since I was a little kid. It’s not enough to buy a train ticket or anything but I can at least buy some food and cheap clothes from a convenience store.

I wander out of the park and down the street in a straight line until I find one. It’s a small octagon shaped building with a red roof and a big sign that says [蘇崎社: Sosaki Vending.] probably the same place that bag I was using to collect my trash was from.

As I walk inside the smell of food hits me. There’s only one other person in the store so I feel safe enough to take my time inspecting the prices. Thankfully compared to Azhar everything here's cheaper so my little bit of money stretches further.

While I’m scouring the prices I find a poster. It's written in Shinkai of all things that says the following.

“Thank You for visiting the Sosaki Corporations Vending Location. Here at the Sosaki Corporation your patronage is greatly valued. Since our founding in the year 2350 by Mr. Sosaki Takauji we here at the Sosaki Corporation have helped produce many different products spanning a variety of fields. Our most lucrative business being the manufacturing of entertainment technology. In our more recent years we’ve also spread our wings into Medicine and internet development. If you're interested in reaching us directly please-”

Alright enough of that. I think returning my focus to the items infront of me. First on my list is clothes and thankfully they have some here. After looking through the various designs and styles I settled on a white shirt with a red [Sosaki Corp.]logo across the front and some black pants. They’re not nearly as high quality as the ones Im wearing but they also don't have holes in them.

With that decided I move onto what I’m gonna eat. There's drinking fountains aplenty so I’m not really worried about dehydrating.

After a few minutes of price matching and ingredient reading I picked some Smoked Salmon Onigiri and a Pork bento. It’s nothing grand but It’ll fill me up for the rest of the day.

When I go to purchase my items I’m shocked to see there’s no cashier, only a self checkout machine. While I’ve seen plenty of self checkouts before, the idea of there not being a single employee is completely alien. What if there’s a thief?

Actually I guess an employee wouldn't really be able to stop them anyways so my point is moot. Still it feels strange.

I quickly check out my items and pay the $6 total. Not bad considering all I got but it still hurts my soul to spend that much.

As I’m walking out the door I see a poster advertising something I’ve never seen before. What they’re calling a “Smart Phone.” It looked like a mini tv with a built-in keyboard on the screen itself. The first of its kind so it says. I kinda want one but the $700 price tag is too much. I’m not made of money after all. I already spent a majority of my net worth just buying some food and clothes.

With a sigh I exit the building and enter the outside world once again.

So far Edoland has been pretty interesting. This isn't exactly how I’d imagined things going in my head but at least I’m here and alive. Now that I have some food and fresh clothes I need to focus on getting my visa and train pass. Once I get those I can head to Sarukou and meet Nordon. A visa is probably about thirty dollars or so and a ticket to Sarukou I imagine to be forty. So I need about seventy dollars with some change. That doesn’t include food and so I’ll round it up to ninety dollars to be safe.

It took me about four hours to make four dollars so that’s a dollar an hour. So I’d need to work ninety hours in total. The standard work week is eight hours so I’d be working roughly twelve days assuming that everything goes right. But that’ll take way too long, even if I tried to work twelve hours a day it’d still take too long at seven and a half days…

Minimum wage in Edoland is about two dollars an hour so if I worked about four twelve hour days I’d hit my mark with a little left over. But that’s assuming I’m able to find a job and work that much. Even then four days is still too long of a time. I need to make ninety bucks in a day or two. But who’d hire a foreigner without a Visa for that much?

Alright back to the drawing board, maybe there’s some kind of commission based job I can do? Something similar to cleaning up trash but pays more? The Venator Society has missions so maybe Edoland has something similar?

No, I probably need a visa to accept and complete said mission. And that’s on top of assuming I can even accept any as a foreigner in the first place.

Ugh this is getting tiresome. I think, rubbing the crease between my eyebrows. The midday sun is shining down upon me and I can feel my stomach rumbling. By now I’ve wandered back to the park and taken a seat at one of the public benches.

Maybe I really do need to call Rebecca? No, this is still only half way through day one. It’d be embarrassing to ask for their help already. The phone signals are probably all monitored so I can’t even ask Jin for help…

“Can I help you young man?” A stern voice from above me asks.

I shoot my head up with an intense glare and match the narrowed eyes of a police officer.

“No sir, I’m just thinking.” I laugh nervously.

“Would you mind if I took a seat next to you then?” The officer asks.

“Of course.”

“Excuse me then.” He says taking a seat and letting out an exaggerated sigh.

My heart is pounding as he sits next to me. I feel as though my head is gonna explode.

His Shinkai is native level, if he didn’t have a thick accent I’d think it was his first language. But I guess my Shinkai is different then Hayai and Jins so we all have an accent. No, that's besides the point. He clearly came to me for a reason. I doubt that he just happened to pass by and sit next to me. Another officer probably called him over here to talk to me.

“What brought you to Edokuni?” The officers asked with crossed arms.

“I’m on a solo vacation…”

“Oh really now? That sounds pretty fun, How long are you gonna be here for then?”

“Two or so weeks…”

“Do you have a visa?”

As he asks that I feel my stomach drop, it’s that same feeling you get when looking over the edge of a tall building. Cold beads of sweat chill my blood as I try to think of a response.

“No sir, I haven't gotten one yet.” I mutter between pursed lips.

“Oh why not?”

“I don't have any money.” I sigh. I might as well be honest with him.

“You don't have any money? How the hell did you get here then?”

“I lost my wallet when I was traveling here.”

“Oh I see, how convenient.”

At this point I’m nearly trembling in my shoes. He obviously thinks I’m lying and probably a criminal. Should I run and hide? Should I fight? I can take him! I know I can come on old man! No, wait I need to think this through more. If I comply and act as polite as possible he might just let me off with a warning.

“I can help you with that.” The officer said with a warm smile.

“Huh!?” I grunt.

“I can pull some strings and get you a visa, but you’ll need to do something for me in return.”

“I’m into women!” I say throwing my ways up to defend myself if need be. I’ve heard of dirty cops like these before.

“That’s not what I mean! No, I need you to take care of someone for me.”

“I’m opposed to murder as well!”

“You’re not gonna kill anyone! Here, just listen for a moment! There’s some Yakuza around here from Toumeikan who are causing a real problem lately. Did you notice how there was no one outside this morning? That’s because we have a curfew for all non essential workers currently underway.”

“!”

Well this was definitely not an expected development. So the Toumeikan are here and they’re causing a problem? Not only that but it was so bad they enforced a curfew?

“But I’m just a kid, what makes you think I can do anything?” I ask putting on my most pathetic face I can.

“You’re pretty tall and muscular. I think you can handle it.” The officer laughed.

“That’s not gonna get me anywhere against guys with katanas and brass knuckles!”

“Oh come on, don’t play dumb with me! I can tell by your aura that you’re a real monster.”

“!”

I’m once again shocked. How can he sense my aura? Is he that good? No, I know for a fact I’m suppressing myself. I’ve been doing so since I boarded the Cymba so unless this guy is on the level of a Master ranker magic user he can't be seeing through my suppression. Does that mean I’m failing to suppress myself then? The only time I stopped suppressing myself was when I was fighting the Yakuza so- Ah! The only explanation is that I’ve gotten so much stronger that the level of suppression I was applying before is now ineffective. I tried to curb that potential issue by suppressing myself more than I was before but I guess I underestimated how much stronger I’ve gotten. I wonder just how much of my aura is being let out? Is it only a modest amount or am I overflowing with it?

I guess that would really depend on how much stronger I’ve gotten. Well since my cover is already blown I might as well see for myself.

I release my aura and allow it to flow freely. What I had imagined in my head was much different than what occurred. My bright orange aura quickly engulfed the entire bench. It was ridiculous how much of it there was.

“!” The police officer grunted at this and jumped to his feet. He performed a perfect 90 degree bow and apologized. “My name Is Kenken Wasunabe! I’m sorry for talking to you so casually before I didn’t mean to upset you!” He cried out.

“No! You’re perfectly fine sir I was just interested in something…” I respond while waving my hands through the air.

Am I really that strong now? People are scared of me? Believe it or not this feels kinda good. Not the intimidating people part but the respect is nice. No, wait, this isn't a good thing. I’m still a million times weaker than Hayai or Juliuis who’s aura is always tamed and modest so I’m doing something wrong here. By allowing my aura to flow so freely I’m draining my mana pool quicker. It’s like not closing the faucet on a drum of water. While an impressive amount of aura is coming out I’ll empty the amount quicker.

“On behalf of the city of Izumika, no Midorigawa I ask that you please help us fight off this Yakuza scum!” Yelled Officer Kenken.

“Sure why not.” I sigh with a shrug. “Can you give me a full breakdown of the situation?”

“Of course!” Kenken nodded.

From what he said this is what I gathered. Basically the main island of Edoland [Chushima] is the main territory of the [Toumeikan] Yakuza. The Toumeikan are based in the capital prefecture of [Tousen] but have members dispersed throughout all prefectures and major cities.

Izumika, for how small it is, has never had more than a dozen or so members of Toumeikan poking around and mostly keeping to themselves. However within the last month or so there’s been a massive increase in the number of Yakuza in Izumika. This isn't something unique to Izumika either; all other cities, towns and or villages which are directly connected to the beach have had a mass migration of Yakuza.

Kenken had said “It’s almost as if they’re looking for someone.” The thought of that being the case made me sick to my stomach. I’m sure they were expecting something but this is just a fail safe. No this is like they’re actually hunting for me personally. Things have gotten much more complicated now.

In total there’s about three dozen Yakuza currently in Izumika. While that number might not sound to be much of an increase, the issue is that three of those newly introduced Yakuza are powerful magic users. Their leader is Ugoki Chujou the strongest of the lot. He’s apparently meant to rival a Yakuza Head in power which means it’ll be a multi person job to take him down. The other two are Nobunaga Heida and Dekimura Setsuko, which Kenken thinks could be a single person job for each.

The general grunts and peons of the Toumeikan normally aren’t magic users so there’s a good chance that the other thirty three or so Yakuza only know the three basic skills at most. Being [Observation], [Enhancement] and [Reinforcement]. If that’s the case apparently the police force can take care of them.

“When is this going to take place?” I ask.

“We’re hoping to make our move within the next four days.”

Four days?! Jeez, that’s not much time at all. They must be truly desperate to get a foreigner to help them out this late in the game. Is it that they don't have enough people or they need me as insurance in case something goes wrong.

“So who else is going to be there?” I ask.

“We have three other people with us currently. We requested more from the Venator Society but useless bastards never responded.” Kenken said, clenching his hand into a fist.

“How strong are the three of them?”

“Well, if I had to compare you to them just based on my innate observations I’d say you have a greater mana pool then any of them but they surpass you in experience and physical abilities.” Answered Kenken.

“What do you need me for exactly?”

“Insurance, we won’t put you out in the field so you don't need to worry about that. We’ll station you within the near distance in case anyone tries to escape and or to help civilians.”

“Makes sense.” I sigh. “Oh, I never introduced myself properly, I’m Kanashi, Kanashi Salamence.” I say extending my hand.

“Well then Salamence-San. I ask that you lend us your hand in this battle!”

“Of course.” I grin. I’m gonna need to fight them anyways so getting some experience now is better than nothing. Also I need a train pass and if this is the easiest way to get one I can kill two birds with one stone. Perhaps I can also recruit more allies in doing this. That would be beneficial for the end cause.

“I’m sorry for asking you to do something like this. It’s truly embarrassing to rely on foreigners for help saving our city. It’s just…. “I truly appreciate it!” Officer Kenken said, taking another bow.

“Dont worry too much about it, let me know where to be and I'll be there.” I say returning the gesture.

“Meet me at the [Shokuseki] restaurant tomorrow at noon. We can further discuss our plan of action there.” Officer Kenken says.

“Got it.”

“I’ll see you then Salamance-San.” Officer Kenken said walking away.

“Ah, wait a moment please Officer Kenken!”

“Yes?”

“Can I please borrow some pocket change…”

“Of course…”