Prelude
"There's your food, and there's your food...
What? You disappointed we don't got any corn? Well, we'll have DOUBLE the amount next night! It's a promise from me!"
A common scene. Kids, adults and everything in between gathered in a table.
In an orphanage as big as the Blue Wings Orphanage, there are bound to be social circles and such. That was true.
But what was impressive was how much people gathered and ate in the same table happily.
Claude Marshall had a strange knack for bringing in people from different cultures: expats. Who abandoned their kids and are now staying here.
Despite that, even the caretakers were having joyous conversations with everyone there.
It was too happy. Reggie knew this all too well.
He bathed in this happiness daily and made absolutely sure he would never forsake it.
Which is why he found it so confusing that someone was doing exactly that. The fourteen year old Reggie turned over to the person next to him.
"... That Willard guy isn't here." He said, swallowing the food in his mouth shortly after. Though he was getting full, so even the potato he was eating was coming down slowly.
The person next to him was a girl. Long blonde hair with modest clothing and a notable hair band on her head. She simply let out an exhale, looking over to Reggie with a concerned look.
"Still worried over him? You've never been this focused on a new entry to the orphanage..." The girl was about one year younger than Reggie.
Reggie gripped his fist tightly. "Yeah, I know, it's just...
It's been a week since he's got here and not even dad's been able to get him out of his room." He kicked back in his seat and stared up at the ceiling. Concern and irritation swelled into one emotion inside this body.
The girl next to him giggled slowly. "Dad's not invincible you know."
"Of course I know that! He's the guy who keeps forgetting to buy me the dinosaur nuggets from the grocery."
Reggie immediately passed a glare to his father, sitting at the middle of the table. "By the way, Dad! I don't see any dinosaur nuggets on the table! You messed up again!"
Unfortunately... He was too engrossed in a conversation with the caretakers next to him to notice. Reggie, for some reason, didn't notice this and thought his father heard him.
This meant he would go one more day without dinosaur nuggets.
Reggie then stood up and looked over to the girl. "... If Dad can't do it, then I'll do it. Annes, I'm gonna bring Willard down here. No matter what!"
The girl named Annes crossed her arms.
- She was one of the people Reggie would undoubtedly say was close as family.
Annes left out a rough exhale. "Sure, you can try. Just don't forget to drink water." Her neck nudged towards the water that Reggie hadn't drunk yet.
"... Oh shit, you're right!"
- Out of nowhere.
A piercing glare. A loud boom to crack even the skies.
Claude Marshall stood up from his seat and glared angrily towards Reggie.
"What did I say about language on the table, boy?!"
"!!! Oh no...!!!"
"Reggie's done it again..."
----------------------------------------
"Will! Will!!!"
A knock on the door again and again. Reggie already had a plan when he came up to Willard's room to go knock on it.
So although he was just mindlessly pounding on the door... There was a plan in mind. He just wasn't doing it right now.
"I know you're there, Will! I can tell because the door's locked!" Knock and a knock and another knock.
Eventually... It took enough knocks for the boy inside it to respond with a sigh. "My name's not Will. It's Willard!"
It was a rough voice that could even intimidate people older than him. Reggie however didn't care and was totally unphased.
"What, so I can't give people nicknames now?! You're Will now!"
"I didn't ask to be called WIll."
"Sucks to be you then!"
And then he kept knocking on the door. Willard's response came faster this time, a sign of clear annoyance.
"What do you want?!"
"It's dinner time already! Come on and eat with the rest of us!"
A shuffle was heard and a few footsteps on the floor. "I already have some food of my own."
A thrust open. The door was forcefully yanked open by Willard. The boy was still dressed in ragged clothing, but he was holding a plate of rice, meat and vegetables.
He shut it almost as fast as he opened it.
"That's not the point though." Obviously that was not what Reggie came here for.
So he knocked again. In which he got a groan from Willard in response. "I want you to eat with everyone else. We don't have a big dinner table for nothing, you know?"
Willard let an audible groan. "That's for you guys. Not for me. I'm eating alone."
"Nuh-uh."
"What do you MEAN nuh-uh?"
"Because I'm eating with you."
"The door's locked, so good luck on that."
...
Willard had been pacing around his sparsely decorated room. It only had the bare essentials.
The reason was simple. He was surprised that someone he took as persistent actually stopped knocking.
It fell silent. Willard continued eating his food slowly... But then he noticed something.
Another person's chewing. In a room as quiet as this, he noticed something like this.
"Are you serious?"
A swing of the door... And sitting right outside the door was Reggie eating his food, sitting with his back on the wall.
Willard's mouth was wide open.
"Dead serious. Told you I'd eat with you."
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Chapter Three Part One: Union of Four
9/18/2016
A furious shift. A dance of feet.
One that I'd never even done in the most hectic days of the Blue Wings Orphanage.
But I guess this is why I'm on the CRIMSON wings. I expected for things to be hectic.
But still. A full course meal four about 40 people in a dorm room, all with athlete-like diets...?!
"Reggie! I'm gonna need us that spaghetti nero in about 5 minutes!"
"No way! I'm not even done making the lamb kebab yet!"
"It's just kebab! You can get that done right now!"
"Frei! There's no way you actually think that's an edible burger!"
"I mean, the buns are a little bit gray..."
"A little bit?! You call that a little bit!? Start over, and go faster!"
In the kitchen, I could hear orders flying left and right from Evangelyne Thalberg. She was pointing from appliance to appliance.
Frei Astoria, despite her subpar cooking skills, was trying her best to keep up.
Days in the orphanage where we had to cook for everything was never this bad. Because some kids wanted delivery. And for the ones that did want home cooked meals, I always had Willard and Dad to help with me: who were cooks on par with me.
And when Annes was still with us, nobody cooked better than her despite being so young.
... Either way.
We had only finished about 12 meals. Eva was working slowly, but that's because her expertise lied in the drink department. Which none of us could do.
Some people apparently wanted some really finely brewed tea, which only Eva could work on.
So she had her own niche. I didn't mind her not really contributing with the meals. However...
Frei was a subpar chef who had only begun to learn how to cook a few days ago. And she was the only one who volunteered to cook for the entire dorm.
Which meant I was the main cook. And that was terrible.
"Eva. Are you absolutely sure you're the only one who's volunteered to help with cooking?!"
Eva then looked over to me with a dumbfounded look. "Have you seen anyone else enter this kitchen?!"
"For a military academy, I expected people to be more hard working!"
There's no way I, a person who can't even run my dad's orphanage, am the most hardworking person out of the 40 people in this dorm aside from these three. I mean, I don't even have any magic.
Frei looked over to me with a sheepish smile. "Well... I don't think people who come to a military academy really expect to be cooking..."
"But I did!"
An unfamiliar voice rung out. But it was the type of spunky and cheerful voice that I needed the most.
In comparison to Eva's more hoarse and grating voice, this one almost seemed like a beacon of hope.
Slamming the doors to the kitchen open was someone in full chef attire, with long brown hair and an almost glittering smile.
"... Luft!"
"Oh thank GOD, Luft is here!"
Frei and Eva almost instantly reacted, as if they saw the messiah enter.
To be honest, I think I did too because... Seeing someone in actual professional chef attire kind of eased me a little bit.
The woman named Luft instantly strode into the kitchen and looked over to me. "And you are...?"
"Reggie. I'm a recent transfer due to a complicated situation. Nice to meet you, er..." I raised my hand. Again, I'm being careful not to introduce my last name.
And the chef instantly and proudly put her thumb pointing to her chin. "Luft Wingrider! The best chef in the entire Academy, including the faculty!
Although it's self-proclaimed, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who can dispute that claim!"
Damn. Usually I raise an eyebrow to confidence like that. Especially with how many "shareholders" come to the Blue Wings Orphanage to try and sell me on a bad business deal..
But this was the real deal. I haven't even seen them cook yet, but... This person's definitely a professional.
Frei then slid next to me and pointed. "B-By the way!" Huh? "Reggie here is... Well, his last name is Reggie Marshall. He's the Golden Sorceror's son!"
"Why did you-"
"You're WHO'S SON?! NO WAY!!!!!!"
Damn it...!!! I avoided mentioning my name on purpose, why can't you read the room?!
Instantly, I put my hands on Luft's shoulders. Eva almost interfered, but I spoke fast.
If she's a chef... She'll understand.
"Luft. There are about 30 starving people outside. You're a chef, right?
That means we have ONE JOB."
"... I like you already."
...
I didn't even know how we did it. But it hit 7:30 and we served all the meals. All 36 of them.
Apparently some people were off on their World Exploration courses, so we luckily didn't have to make 40.
I was sitting with the three girls while eating a modest chicken and rice dinner. All the while...
I still cannot get the image of Luft cooking all of that off my mind.
"Seriously. How did you manage all of that and how did your legs not get tired?" I said, over to Luft happily eating her pork spare ribs.
She looked over to me curiously. "Do what?"
Frei, sharing the same sentiment, continued. "I mean...
You kind of handled MULTIPLE kitchen appliances at the same time. One second I saw you at the oven, then next at the cutting board, then next at the microwave, then next at the freezer...
All without breaking a sweat!"
Luft swallowed what was in her mouth all at once. She nodded and said this without even thinking. "I'm good at multi tasking!"
"That's it?! No secret behind it?!" Frei leaned in closer. She was being oddly... Pressing.
Luft then proudly pointed to herself. "The secret behind it... Is love and practice, baby!"
Frei then sat right back down and let out a simple exhale. For some reason, I could tell she looked really disappointed.
- It wasn't really evident. She wasn't frowning or anything. It's just that she chose to gaze away, as far away from Luft as possible.
... I didn't want to think about the implications of all that right now. So I changed the topic.
Looking over to Luft, I said, "So... You're the main chef for this dorm, right?"
"Mm!" She nodded proudly. "And I WOULD BE for the other dorms if I could exist in multiple places at the same time!"
I'm not even going to ask her if she likes cooking. It's a good ice breaker, but that's a stupid question by this point. So instead... "Also... You know Frei and Eva?"
Luft nodded, but it wasn't as confident. "Yes! I met them after they complimented me about cooking. Frei's in the same World Exploration class as I am, so we're planning to get together in a squad!"
Eva crossed her arms. "As for me, I mostly just keep in touch cause we have similar interests."
"Interests? I tilted my head. "In what?"
Eva and Luft then both raised their tea cups at once. Oh, okay, that makes sense. Guess it had to be related to the culinary arts one way or another...
The way it looks like, Luft has her entire life revolve around the culinary.
"Now!" Luft slammed her hands down. "The Golden Sorcerer." Damn it, why did the topic have to jump to my Dad so fast?!
"Tell me more about him please." How do I get out of this conversation?!
"Uh...
He really likes brownies."
"Mm! Mmm!" Luft was nodding along.
"Er... He's really bad at parallel parking."
"Oh! So am I! That's why I failed my license test!" Luft was nodding along like it was totally useful information.
Hell, even Frei looked totally engaged in what I was saying. Was what I was saying really all that interesting?
I then thought of something to shift the topic away from him. A simple question.
"Isn't my Dad kind of famous around here?" I noticed a side glare from Frei and Luft. Okay, maybe kind of famous was underselling him a bit.
"Surely there's gotta be some history books on him that tell everything there is to know about him... " Wait, hold on, that's a good idea.
I might go check out the library tomorrow to see if there's any info on my dad I could get from there. How did I not think of this sooner?
Then. It was Frei who spoke, as Luft looked simply dumb founded. "I think what Luft wants to know...
Is how the Golden Sorcerer was like as a person." Frei said, stopping her eating just to say this. "Everyone knows how he conquered the World Bridge at the Ginto Archipelago. Or how he destroyed a fleet of tanks all on his lonesome. And how he was able to move entire mountains to stop one enemy route."
...
My dad? Do something as great as that?
I spoke without thinking. "... To be honest, was kind of the unreliable sort of person.
Even with a list, he'd forget certain things to bring me and the other kids at the orphanage.
He'd forget to give gifts on Christmas... And some Halloweens, he forgot to decorate the orphanage until someone reminded him."
I gripped both my fists tightly. "But when it was time to get serious- like when a baby poops his pants, or some financial crisis is going on, or a kid goes missing..
I can't think of anyone more reliable than him."
Everyone fell silent listening to me. Eva was covering her hand with her mouth.
"S-Sorry." I shook my head slightly. "Was I oversharing?" After all, it's rude to talk about a person that's not here negatively.
Luft was tapping her fingers together. "Well, it's just..." Then Frei spoke for her again, reading through the words that couldn't be delivered.
"You looked like you were lost in your own world for a bit there. You really miss him, don't you?"
"...
Yeah. I really do."
Which is something Frei already knew, but...
Damn it. I hadn't planned on revealing it to Eva and Luft like this... I mean, I just met Luft! I didn't mean to dump all this stuff about my father on her!
Luft then exhaled and looked over to me. And then she grinned again.
I thought Frei had a beaming smile, hers is almost sun-like.
"Thanks, Reggie! This sorta stuff is exactly what I wanted to hear!
All the stories make him out to be some sort of invincible guy..." Luft chuckled. "But it's good to see that even he forgets to give gifts on Christmas.
By the way, what's Halloween?"
...??? So Christmas exists here but not Halloween?!
...
After dinner was finished... Most people in the dorm I saw did three things.
1. Hit the sack instantly and doze off.
2. Study. Going over to the living room in order to cram.
3. Go to their night classes.
I was doing the first... But I was sticking around to either talk to Frei or Eva.
However those two excused themselves. Frei has night classes while Eva needs to study for an examination.
Which just left me and Luft, cleaning up after the kitchen.
Unlike how good she was in cooking, her speed at cleaning was rather average. In fact, I outpaced her in that regard.
Cleaning the dishes, I looked over to her. "... No one else clean up after dinner?"
"Yup." Luft said, picking up some filth on the ground. "Not much people go here have an interest in cooking, after all.
I honestly don't know why there's no big cafeteria... Maybe there's no space for it in the Crimson Wings?"
Oof. You can apply for a part time job to earn money in the Crimson Wings, but I haven't been able to find a good one. If there was a cafeteria, then I'd...
Wait. "Do you get paid for cooking for everyone here?" I said, looking over to Luft.
"You sure do have a lot of questions! But yes! I do! So does Eva! You just need to show an Instructor or a staff member that you are!"
Bingo. I CAN get paid.
But... I wasn't paid for the past few days.
I've been cooking for this dorm for free?!
- No, more importantly, does Frei know about this?! Eva sure does, she seems like a smart person and Luft just said so...
... Were we conned by Eva?!
I let out a huge sigh once I realized this. Well, it was just a theory for now.
I wanted to get to know about Luft more- since we're probably gonna be partners in crime when it comes to cooking but...
Ah screw it. No such thing as asking too many questions to start a conversation, I think. "By the way... Where even were you the past few days?
It was tough as hell managing the dorm without you." Just this one day was such a breeze compared to the others that I really hope she doesn't go again.
Luft then raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She then thought for a second. I get the feeling she's not really good with words. "Ah, wait!" Did she just remember that I was a recent transfer?
"I was in a World Exploration class! Some of those classes are lecture classes, but most take us to various places down in Arcanzar to do requests like a Free-seeker!"
Luft's probably one of the few people I can ask questions to without seeming like a complete idiot to. So I shoot- I've been meaning to ask this for a while. "A Free-seeker? Sorry, I come from a pretty... Sheltered environment so I'm not aware of most things."
And luckily, Luft didn't question this. She continued on explaining without thinking much. "Oh! A Free-seeker's an independent combat specialist who helps with civilian order and maintaining peace!
They're different from the military, who exist to uphold law and the state. Free-seekers seek to uphold individual safety and peace."
"Wow..." I nodded up and down. ”That actually sounds cool. Bet it's real hard work though..."
To have to deal with an individual's safety and also having to do requests? Sounds tedious. Probably not for me then.
"Are you planning to be one by any chance?" I asked Luft, finished with the last of the dishes.
"Nope!" She said, without stating without stating what she actually wants to be. You know, I probably didn't even need to ask. Of course a person like this would want to be a chef.
But if that's the case... What is she doing in an academy like this? Most of the classes are fighting focused or seem to have direct practical applications.
... I mean. I don't even know what I'm doing here fully. But at least with Luft- her direction seems clear.
That'd be too much to ask in a first conversation though, so I won't pry for more.
"Well." I stretched my fingers. "Looks like we're all just about done with cleaning. Ready to do this again next dinner?"
"Actually, no." Wha-
Luft said something completely confusing and I stared at her with a completely bewildered expression. It took her a bit to realize I was confused though.
"I'm going on another World Exploration class tomorrow. Frei's coming with me!"
And one of my only assistants in this is leaving also?! Which means next dinner, I'll...
No way.
...
That's it.
"... You don't mind if I come along too, right?"
...
This is how I found myself in the hangar of the Crimson Wings.
The last time I was here was when I tried to leave. Which was a big mistake because...
I don't really wanna think about that at the moment
Well, anyways. There's a lot of things in the hangar. Cars with strange shapes... Small jet-like planes, apparently called "aircrafts"... And a whole lot of supplies too.
But the most surprising thing wasn't the surprising tech I was seeing. It's where we were.
The windows were more clear, so I could see we weren't flying over that island from before. In fact, we were flying above a much larger land mass. A forest and a beach down below us.
"... And is everyone listening in!?" The instructor at the front said.
With a full military uniform, complete with a cape, and spiky black hair he raised his hand in front of all of us.
His build was very well built and he towered over everyone in this class right now. So everyone listened once he raised his voice.
"You can divide yourselves into groups of 4, to be sent across one of four towns. You will all draw a lot once you're in those groups to decide which of the town you're going to."
Standing by his side were 3 people- other instructors I didn't recognize. Regardless...
I instantly looked over to Frei and Luft. I was lucky that he's letting us choose our groupmates...!!!
I moved over to them with a grin. "So..."
I didn't even need to say anything. Frei instantly moved over to me and said, "Yeah!
We already have some experience fighting together, so we'll be a great fit!" Luft's eyes immediately seemed to sparkle as she looked over to the two of us.
"Really?! Oh man, I was afraid that we'd struggle in the combat department like last time! Now it should be a breeze, right?"
I tugged over at the collar of my hoodie.
Then I bunched up to Frei. ("Do we tell her that we struggled fighting five damn skeletons?") I whispered over to her. Frei gave a quick response. ("No. Let's let her live in this illusion for a while.")
Damn. That's cold.
Then of course, the question naturally came up. Luft raised up a finger. "Err... What are we going to do about a fourth person, though?"
I was going to pick whoever looked the strongest from the crowd... Then someone came in.
No. Came in was ABSOLUTELY an understatement because the way he came in was unheard of.
A man with slicked back purple hair, wearing a black coat and a strange t-shirt with an abstract design. Sure, his appearance was weird, but there are a lot of weird people in this school. One of the first people I met had a wolf for a head.
It's HOW he entered that shook us to the core.
As everyone cleared the way... Once the purple haired man started strumming on an electric guitar.
"!?!?"
He did so while walking towards us with his posture leaning back, drawing attention to his black and purple electric guitar.
It wasn't plugged into any amp. But it somehow was still making sounds like it WAS!
With a complete turn and spin- he then pointed to me. "I see you there, big man.
Normal ass hoodie. Boring ass hair cut." He then played a riff on his electric guitar. Boring haircut...?!
"I see you got two mighty fine women on your team. And you just mentioned looking for a third one...
Then I see your eyes drawn towards OTHER women." He played another riff.
Even the instructors were drawn towards his music and... Wait, what did he just say?!
"Uh. What?! I wasn't looking at the women! I was just looking for strong people to join us!" I responded back to the guitar playing man.
Then he played another riff. "If that's the case... Then why are you so hastily denying it?! Almost like you don't wanna be accused... Of a crime!" Another riff and another point. This riff was so long that it practically was a solo.
My eyebrows almost lowered in shame. "Hey, not my fault that I don't wanna turn my reputation to scraps! And what's this about a crime?! I'm just looking at women, that's all!"
"So you admit it!"
"I wasn't looking at women in specific!"
"But I just caught you saying it!"
"I-" Wait, I did. "- Slip of the tongue, again! I was just looking for strong people to join! What the hell's your damage anyways?!"
This time, the purple haired man played a full solo.
Leaning downwards... Then instantly darting his neck to look at me while still slouched. This man sure loved his theatrics.
"Name's Akira Fuji (晄 風次). Arcanzar Military Academy's a stage, and boy am I goin' to rock it down to it's core. Not just the academy, but once I'm out of these stomping grounds?
The whole region's gonna know just how hard I can thrash it. So lemme into your group so this harem accepter doesn't go buck wild."
". . ."
I turned over to Frei and Luft. Pointing my thumb back at him, I said... "Oi.
Are we really going to put this bozo into our group?"
Frei looked at me, slightly bashful. It seems she didn't know how to word it, so she stuttered. "Well, he's a little..."
Luft however...
"He's... He's AWESOME! Akira, join our group!"
Oh no.
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Chapter Three Part Two: A Quiet Town
Sitting in a rather large aircraft... As it flew away from the giant airship: the Crimson Wings, it got me to admire just how big it really was.
It was large enough to house not just hundreds of students but smaller planes- I mean aircrafts like this one.
Sadly, instead of the other 3 Instructors who looked less tame, we were with the black haired military guy.
Sitting down in the main room of this aircraft we're in, he cleared his throat.
"For those of you who don't know who I am, I am former Military Commander Joachim Flaten. I served in the Albarnia Imperial Army for 8 years, and I have retired to be an Instructor here."
He stretched out his hand as he pointed to a Transciever. "Pull out your Transcievers and use the map function."
... I didn't have that yet. Even Frei, who came from a poor origin apparently, had one.
Transcievers were what I could tell basically like more advanced phones. They even looked like one. It's just that they weren't as thin and more like bricks with screens on them.
Akira, who forced our way into our group, looked over to me with a lower of his eyebrows. "Dude, you don't have a transciever?"
"No money."
"Your parents didn't give you any when you enrolled?! Seriously?!"
"My dad's missing. I didn't have a mom."
Akira then immediately shut up. "Oh. Nevermind, I'm sorry." I was expecting some kind of witty response or a bombastic one like earlier, but it's nice to see that he's actually civil.
Still. Why did he practically force his way into our group?
"As you can see, we're flying over the country of Albarnia right now. You probably can already tell where our next field destination is."
Frei then raised her hand. "Are... Are we perhaps going to the town of Ornes by any chance?"
Instructor Joachim proudly raised both his eyebrows and declared, "Correct! Do you come from there?"
"N-No. But when I was a kid, I wanted to move there." Frei said.
Joachim continued explaining. "For those of you not from Albarnia, Ornes is one of the biggest towns in Albarnia.
Known for its farming and livestock, it's a peaceful town without much issues... Aside from the frequent issues when it comes to managing technology."
He crossed his arms, as the former commander looked outside. This aircraft was fast... So it'd look like we'd be arriving soon.
"Ornes doesn't have much mages. As such, they don't know how to integrate Gold with technology. Even things such as lamp posts fail.
Thus, this will be a test to see if you understand how Gold works in relation to technology."
Great. Basically it meant I'd be useless, since I don't know the first thing about gold.
I looked over to the side. Akira looked as smug as ever and Frei was studiously nodding.
But Luft... Also looked as dejected as I did. I heard her speak. "Uu... I'm no good when it comes to that type of stuff...
All I know is cooking..."
... Seriously. Why is she even here if all her skills are in cooking? This isn't a culinary school.
I'd like to ask that, but that'd be rude. We're in an aircraft filled with people after all. Hardly the best timing.
"All groups will be given a strict area and time limit to be obeyed, as well as four requests from the local citizens." The commander said with a nod.
"Those area limits and time limits will be obeyed. If you cannot make it back to he aircraft in that time limit without a valid excuse, such as being injured or a request ending up being more complicated than it is, then expect to receive disciplinary action. In cases such as those, use your Transciever."
... Which I don't have. I gotta get paid soon.
"Well then- that's it for my briefing. Remember to take this as seriously as possible.
As you people are the wings of the future!"
"SIR, YES!"
"YES SIR!"
"YES!"
Although the shouts of the students were a little off balance, with some not knowing what to say...
The spirit was there. They all roared after he did.
The only ones that didn't... Were me and Luft. I'm willing to be that even our expressions are the same.
That we look totally and utterly lost.
...
Once the aircraft touched down and we moved over to our part of Ornes...
I took a moment to take in the sights. The town was big, but it wasn't so big it could be called a city. It was like it was on the verge of becoming a city.
Buildings were short. Quaint, even. But the average building was larger than it was back at home. They were also mostly stone and brick.
The roads too were unique. They weren't made for cars- they were made for walking. Which meant they were narrow, but also diverse and winding. Which is surprising as apparently this place is a farming town.
But I could see people carrying entire bags of crops, stacks of hay... Just walking.
How much back strength do the farmers here have?!
But more than that, it was lively. There were people going around- workers and non workers alike chatting.
Local businesses, tailors, parlors and salons that I could see. And restaurants, which we had to stop Luft from going to.
It... It was the sort of sight that brought a simple smile to my face. A simple sort of joy that couldn't be seen where I lived.
Back where I lived, you'd just see people pass each other by going to where they needed to go. Sure, there was a whole lot of that here too.
But people were stopping to talk, giving each other greetings... Bartering at markets... It felt more alive than the streets back at home, where it felt like your world was the only one that mattered.
After making it to our region... "... Alright, here. Looks like we're taking this district." Frei said, as she was leading.
An envelope was given to us which had the details of what we'd be doing and funds for everything from lodging to dining. "This expedition's more in depth than I thought..." Is something I muttered out of instinct. I received an instant response, though I didn't want that to be heard.
"Course it's in depth." Akira buzzed up from right behind me. "We wouldn't be in Arcanzar Military Academy if they didn't give us a luxury's worth of equipment and privileges to get by." There was hidden venom behind that statement, but I'm not gonna press any further.
"... Still not enough of a luxury to give us a damn cafeteria, though."
After a bit, we ended up checking in a hotel. It was a small and charming little abode with only four stories. Akira ended up chatting with the innkeeper for a while, and we got our rooms. I tried to room with Frei, but she got embarrassed for some reason so I ended up rooming with Akira. Which was the worst possible scenario.
Dropping off our luggage and organizing our equipment... Well, that's kind of inaccurate. I only strapped on a belt and a sword. The rest did all sorts of adjustments and stuff to equipment I couldn't recognize.
I even spotted Akira side-eyeing me barely preparing, meanwhile he took out his guitar and started working on it. As he did...
"Wait. You're seriously going to bring that around everywhere you go?" He said, as I watched him take out parts of it, working on it with a toolkit. Akira looked rather baffled as he continued working on that electric guitar while not even sparing a look at me.
"You're asking a lot of questions which can be solved by common sense, y'know that?" Looks like Akira wasn't going to be as cooperative as Frei was... Either way, he ended up throwing me a bone and answering it anyways. Though not without a mood of dismay.
"This is my relic. A man-made relic, so don't expect it to be up to par with the shit big time mages use." I was about to ask what a relic was until I remembered who I was dealing with. So I shut up and calmly watched him work.
But even though I didn't have the best opinion of this guy... He was working damn hard on that guitar.
Goggles on, shifting through all his tools without hesitating. The routine maintenance he was doing on that so-called "relic" looked almost comically complicated. I even saw his arm sticking deep to insert a small gold nugget.
But he did so flawlessly.
...
Out in the street, we were walking around the place with no general direction. Leading the walk was Frei, who looked uneasy as ever.
Everyone, but me of course, was looking at their Transcievers. I was leaning over and looking at Luft's, but she wasn't aware that I was looking at it and often shoved it in a different place... Can't she hold her phone in one place?
"Looks like we only need to solve one of these missions. What's up with that?" I asked gently. I should have expected this by now, but Akira passed me a nasty side glare as if... Again, I should've known the answer to that question. Not my fault for being naive...
Luft ended up answering that question. "Well.. I'm thinking this relates to how we're graded at the end of our two day expedition here. If all we can do is one, then I'm guessing we at least pass, yeah?"
"But then we'd probably get a bad score." Akira chimed in right after. "This expedition's seeing how much we can do in two days." I frowned. "Well, it's just four missions, so it shouldn't be that bad, right...?" Though looking at the missions themselves... Each one seems like it'd take a whole day. The four missions each had their own briefing, but the titles of each were self explanatory enough.
Luft seemed to be a slow reader, so luckily I was able to read their briefings anyways. The four things we had to do followed under these 4 missions.
1. Check and run maintenance on all Gold Streetlamps across the entire village.
Which sounds like a major hassle. I REALLY don't want to do this one, so I'm hoping they're okay with maybe missing one...?
2. Herb and Spices thief at Ornes' most famous restaurant.
Ignoring the fact that it took place in a restaurant, which would activate Luft, this mission meant we'd be dealing with a thief. I wasn't ready to take on another person just yet...
3. Destruction of a farm, re-cultivate land.
Which just sounds like total busywork.
And the last one... 4. High class monster spotted disrupting highways.
Wait. Hold on. They ALL sounded like a pain. And I really didn't wanna do any of these at all...
What should I do...?
"Reggie? What's with the sour look?" Frei asked. I hadn't even noticed we stopped walking. The moment she called me out though, I tried to force a smile.
"O-Oh, sorry, sorry. I was just thinking of which order we should do the missions in and which ones are feasible for us to accomplish." Shaking the hands in front of my air, I tried to make it seem like nothing was off.
I must've pissed this guy off somehow, because Akira immediately retorted. "Which ones are feasible for us to accomplish? We're here and we've got two days.
We're doing ALL OF THEM!" He said with a point to a sky. I was not impressed.
Frei and Luft however... Nodded after that. "Yeah! Gotta make the most out of our stay here! So if we don't try them all, what's the point?!" Wait, Luft, no, don't agree with him...
"I'm not sure I can help out a lot... But I'll try!" Not you too, Frei...
After those two had announced their resolve, Akira turned over to me with a grin. "So?! How 'bout you, Reggie?!"
... I don't think I introduced my name to him before. Luft and Frei did while we were walking around, but I'll ignore that for now. I stare at Akira while just saying... "Let's do our best, then."
It was a half-assed statement. No spirit or drive was behind it. And I think Akira noticed that, cause he lowered an eyebrow after that. "Well then! No time like the present. Let's start with one I'm absolutely SURE WE CAN DO!"
He announced that with a lot of vigor and pride...
But we're in the Gold Workshop. Which means that this is probably...
"Oh! So you're the guys they assigned to help me do maintenance on all of the Gold Lamps! I'm the only technician here, so this is greatly appreciated!"
Damn it all.
Standing in a workshop filled with machines and magic items alike, which I really didn't get at all as I thought these things were supposed to be separate in fantasy!
But the shop, too, was pretty small. And it was clear there was only one man running it: a middle-aged technician with a thick beard and a bald head. Standing in front of the counter was Akira.
Pointing his thumb to his chin, he did so while flashily flicking around his wrist before he pointed. I didn't get the point of it at all and it didn't make him look any cooler.
"Thas' me. I'm the head honcho of this group 'ere, and we're the finest students from Arcanzar Military Academy! Name's Akira Fuji, and this is my gang."
Who assigned him to be the leader...?
"We are?" Luft innocently commented. "Yes we are!" In which Akira instantly responded back. Does this qualify as gaslighting?
The technician chuckled and headed outside. "Alright then! I guess you read the message on what this is all about. Grab a toolbox and we'll be off."
Luft, Frei and Akira grabbed a red toolbox on the side easily. The moment I tried to lift one up though...
"Hngh?!"
What the hell!? This is heavier than it looks! How did FREI lift up this thing without breaking a sweat?!
The last one to leave, Luft looked at me. "Don't tell me you can't lift that toolbox, Reggie! C'mon, the technician's gonna show us how to screw in a lightbulb!"
"I'm trying...!!! Ouaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!!!" Embarrassingly though, it takes TWO of my hands to lift it up. And I'm practically dragging it out.
As I drag it out... Damn it, I see Reggie chuckling at me! How is everyone BUT me carrying it so effortlessly! The insides of these HAVE to be different, right?
The technician opened his toolbox. And when I opened mine... They're the exact same contents, what the hell.
"So working with Goldtech's hard as hell and has one hell of a curve. You see this thing?" We're standing in front of a powered off lamp. The technician screwed it off as he showed some kind of strange machine. If I had to liken it to anything back at home, it's like a socket with tons more widgets and gizmos. "This is the Core of every Goldtech. Think of it as the beating heart of it. A Gold Core manages the energy it siphons from the Gold and directs it throughout the rest of the machine. With a Lamp, it's easy. But the curve comes in the fact that each nugget of gold's got a different frequency."
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Frei was obviously the most curious one. "Frequency? Like... A radio?"
"Yup. Hook up the Gold Core with your Transciever, and you can see you can manipulate its frequency." The technician said, connecting a wire to his Transciever. It showed some app I didn't understand.
"Each nugget of gold's got a different frequency, and depending on what kind of machine you're making, you want a machine that's either close to its frequency or far from it- positive and minus from it. That one's more complicated, though and for more different use case scenarios. For lamps though? Ya' just want it to match the frequency." Frei raised up her hand. "What does matching it with its frequency do?"
The technician grinned and pointed to two lamps behind us. "Don't match the frequency right, the distribution of the energy from the Gold's gonna be all messed up. The intervals in which it pauses taking energy and takes energy might be all out of wack. And for more complex machines? Might end up breaking the whole thing. Worst case scenario, the Gold Core can drain all of the Gold's energy. Gold can regenerate energy on its own UNLESS it's been fully drained.
Which is exactly what happened to those two."
The technician tossed Akira two gold bars, which he caught effortlessly. Aren't those supposed to be heavy? He's holding them like they're the weight of a tennis ball...
"There's four of you, so how 'bout the two of you fix those two lamps? I'll guide ya' through it if you're stumped."
"A-Alright! I'll try!" Expectedly, Frei bowed and got one of the gold bars. Akira also went to the other lamp.
"Guess we're just watching, huh?" I said, looking over to Luft, but... She didn't respond. "Luft?"
Oh damn. She was actually deep in thought. Thinking pose, scratching her chin and all that.
"Don't tell me the technician's explanation flew over your head..." I remarked, poking the back of her head. Embarrassed, Luft looked at me. "I-It's not that! I'm not THAT much of an airhead, you know?!
I'm just... Thinking about the job." ? I didn't get what she meant, so... I just moved on, watching Frei and Akira work on the lamps a bit closer.
Luft also followed me, but she was still thinking.
When I approached closer to the two of them, it seemed Frei was having a hard time. But...
She was surprisingly dexterous with the tools in her hand. It took no time at her for all to unscrew not just the Lamp, but the Gold Core itself.
The inner workings of it seem to be something she's scratching her head over, though. Literally, too.
"Um... Frei, you don't have to work on that if you don't want to." I said, approaching from behind her. She looked back at me with a big frown.
"Who said I didn't want to work on this?"
Oh. Crap. "C-Carry on then..." There was serious frustration behind her voice. Maybe the fact on how she couldn't figure out how this machine worked was getting to her...
On the other hand... I looked over to where Akira was. And for some reason, he strapped on his electric guitar.
"Yooo! Technician! Check this out!"
Strumming a solo onto it, wires came flying out of the sides of his guitar! They unscrewed the lamp, attached themselves to the Core, replaced the Gold attached to the Core...
And in just a few seconds, the lamp turned on. All while he was playing that solo. Huh???
"H-Holy crap!" The impressed technician practically ran to Akira. "Is that a relic that syncs up with technology?! That's incredible!" Akira did that thing again where he flicked his wrist a lot before pointing to himself.
"Not just ANY relic. A man-made relic." The technician was a middle aged man, but his eyes were practically sparking. I had no idea if what Akira had was actually impressive or not, but by my standards... It definitely was.
The technician cleared his throat and raised his voice for all of us to hear. "Aaalright. As much as I want to oogle over that relic, we've got a job to do. Turns out we've got a super genius here who can fix lamps in a few seconds, so what say we split up? You go off on your own while I teach these three how to work these lamps."
Thank god... That meant Akira would no longer randomly say something just to annoy me or frustrate me further.
Wait. If he's getting this done earlier... That means we'll have more time to do the other jobs. Which also sound equally as frustrating.
Crap... And as soon as that thought entered my head, Akira turned over to our group. "So. Who do you think can fix more lamps in time? Me, or you three?"
"This isn't a competition, Akira..." I responded with an exasperated voice. I really wasn't in the mood for his usual stuff... Unfortunately, Luft was.
As both Luft and Frei stood in front of me with determined looks. "Us, of course! And there's three of us!" Luft said with a raise of a wrench. I don't even think we're using wrenches for this. Frei also stepped forward and nodded. "Mm! I'm still learning... But we've got Reggie on our side!"
"Eh? What's this about me?" I was caught off guard by the mention of my name.
Akira then slowly smirked... "Okay. What's in it if I lose?"
"Whoever loses is paying for dinner!" Frei said, stepping forward. Luft nodded in agreement, shouting, "Yeah!"
They're really fired up about this, huh...?
"I ain't see you agree yet, by the way." Akira said, looking over to me with a smug smirk. "Do I have to agree to this...?" I said, trying to look away and as disinterested as possible. "The majority already agreed."
"But Frei seems to be putting a lot of trust into you, you know? You're practically like the leader of their group, ya'know?!" Great, Akira was also fired up by Frei and Luft's invocation. And it was clear I was having none of it.
So I let out a sigh. "Do what you want." Akira looked disappointed at how half-assed my response was, but I don't care about looking good in front of him.
"Well. You're on, Reggie! Frei! Luft! And don't think I'll lose so easily! I'll get this done before lunch!"
...
And I wish he was exaggerating. After that, the technician gave us maps on where all the Gold Lamps were. Seemed there were about 32 of them. And...
We ended up fixing 8. Under HEAVY guidance from the technician. And of course, that meant Akira did the rest.
Well, "we" is kind of an exaggeration. I barely got any lamps to work and the Technician needed to step in. Frei did three without help, and Luft did one without help. Much to BOTH of our surprises.
Once we met up...
"Haa... Haaa... Haaa... "Okay, I seriously can't hide how tired I am from carrying that heavy ass toolbox everywhere. But Frei, Luft, the technician and of course Akira looked like they hadn't broken a sweat! What gives?!
At least Akira makes sense since he was just carrying a guitar... No, wait, it doesn't! He had to walk around pretty much the entire town of Ornes and he doesn't look beat at all!
Akira then looked over to me with a neutral look. "Uh. Maybe I shouldn't extort this guy's wallet for dinner? I did promise that if I won won, that I'd..." He cut himself off since we all knew it by this point.
Frei then butted in. "No, it's okay. He's totally broke. We couldn't extort him even if we wanted to..." Akira then smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Oh, that's okay! Looks like I DO win after all!"
Why were they saying EXTORT...?! "Haaah... Haaah... Just gimme a minute, please..." Unfortunately, I couldn't ask that question because I was way too tired.
"Are you seriously that unfit, Reggie...?" Luft commented. "T-That comment is coming from the last person I wanted to hear it from!"
Despite my exhaustion, the Technician continued explaining. With a finger raised, he pointed to a lamp. "Glad you guys fixed this up. We've been having monster problems lately.
If ya' guys didn't know, these Lamps don't just provide light. But when they're turned on, the frequency they radiate with draw away monsters." I heard Frei speak up, but I couldn't see her cause my eyes were basically gazing at nothing but the ground. I was THAT tired, to where my hands were on my knees and my back was about to give out.
Frei asked, "Wait. Aren't monsters attracted by gold?" She asked, curious. The technician gave a quick response. "Mm! But they're drawn away by MANA. So by making these lamps radiate mana, it tricks the Monsters into not approaching. Pretty cool technology, ain't it?
Thank god the Golden Sorcerer came here durin' the war and showed this backwards village how these lamps worked. Otherwise, we'd still be building new houses everyday!"
- Wait. "Dad...?!"
Of course, with that slipping out of my mouth, immediately everyone turned to me. Uh oh.
Then I stood up. "I-I mean... You know the Golden Sorcerer?! He was here?!" I don't think it sounds TOO suspicious if I'm a little bit haughty about him. I mean, everyone in this world except for Ezabell seems to be...
The technician nodded slowly. "Mm. Came here during the war alongside the army to give us provisions and weapons." He pointed over to a steel warehouse over in the distance. Guess that's where the weapons were being stored.
I asked a question this time. "Didn't know da- the Golden Sorcerer was good with machines. Last I heard he was just good with weapons..." Of course, the technician responded quickly. "That's the thing. I ain't know either till he visited and showed us how to work the Goldtech. He said he wasn't an engineer either. Just that he knew how machines worked."
Looking over to my left, I saw Frei, Akira and Luft silently absorbing this information. Luft on the other hand... Again, was deeply thinking.
"But seriously, thanks for your help! As promised in the message I sent yer' school..."
He reached into his pocket and gave us some envelopes. I was too tired to open them, but... I saw Akira open his.
Bills of cash were in it. I wasn't sure what this currency was called, but... We had money. I HAD MONEY!
"HOLY CRAP! FINALLY, MONEEEEEEEEEEY!!!"
I had shouted so hard it almost recovered the energy I lost from carrying that heavy ass toolbox. I bet I even puffed my chest out like a real warrior!
... It's then I realized I shouted so hard I saw some birds flying. Uh?
Luft and Akira looked at me, shocked. As Frei laughed slowly. "Hehe... Uh, it looks like you've gotten your energy back, Reggie! Good for you!"
Akira shook his head and pat my back. "I was thinking of taking a break to before the next mission, but... Looks like you're a-okay!" He slapped my back and I was sent stumbling forward. "W-Wait. T-That was just a fluke, Akira. I'm still tired!"
Before I knew it though, he overpowered my tired voice with a point forward. "Onwards, everyone! We're gonna get all these four done in one day! We'll show Joachim who's boss!"
"Yeaaaaah!!!" "Let's go!" Why were Luft and Frei going along with this?!?! Don't they see how tired I am?!
You asshole Akira, I'm getting you back for this one of these days...!
...
Because I was so tired, these next two missions we took were a blur. I'd recount them more in depth...
But after the first one, I was totally drained.
The next one we took was the herb thief one. We arrived at a restaurant. A pretty big one and it seemed to be the most popular one. We talked to the chefs there, and...
"Luft! Calm down! Calm down!"
"But that's the Ornes style mayonnaise!!! It's extremely expensive where I live, so I've never gotten to eat them! Come oooooooon!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
This ridiculous scene immediately resulted. Frei was holding back an out of control Luft who was having a tantrum like a child in the kitchen. All the while, the three chefs who assigned us this job were staring at her with a totally confused look.
A moustached chef asked, "Is she always like this?" Both me and Akira shrugged, as I slowly said, "We have no clue..."
Either way, the head chef, who was expectedly a tall and muscular man coughed. He gathered everyone's attention, but Luft's was still on the locally produced mayonnaise on the kitchen.
"Anyways... We've got a little bit of an issue here. Better if I just show you." Opening a door, he revealed a room with ravaged ingredients.
All sorts of spices, herbs and bags were absolutely ruined. It's like a tornado ripped through 'em.
A thin chef responded. "Couldn't see who tried to steal it since it was so late at night! But I had a struggle against 'em! Motherfucker slashed my shoulder and took off with a crap ton of our Benbeck Herbs! I'd say it was probably one of those stereotypical thieves with a black mask and a knife, ay?"
It was then that Luft stopped struggling. She instantly turned over to the sight of the crime and said something so simple it was like a matter of fact for her.
"Oh? If it looks THAT ruined and it's Benbeck Herbs that are missing...
It was probably the work of a monster."
What happened after was also ridiculous, but in the impressive way.
We went outside, looking for a sort of trail for where the monsters went. The chefs were doubtful at first, but... Akira brought up how a lot of Gold Lamps weren't working. Which meant a monster or two might have snuck in.
Following that, we tried to look for a trail until...
"Found it. Straight ahead from here!" Luft was pointing at nothing. I was the first one to call her out. "Found what? That's just a road..."
Frei however, seemed to have a lightbulb switched in her head. "No, wait, look!"
Everyone huddled over as she pointed to the ground.
It was hard to see, but... There was a herb on the ground. A single strand of a herb, a tiny green line. And there were more of them in a trail. "Luft, how did you...?" I was the first one to be shocked.
"Hehe. I'd like to say I got a good eye."
Luft then led us through the trail, since her absolutely insane eye was capable of spotting them even meters away.
Eventually, we ended up walking through a forest... My foot fell in some mud, which got Akira and even the chefs to laugh at me...
We arrived in a deep part of this forest- and there were five strange beasts munching on sacks of herbs. Seemed they didn't finish it all quite yet, which was lucky for us. But even if they didn't, we'd have to finish them off.
The beasts were almost like giant squirrels in the size of human sized men. Their claws were sharp too- but they only had one of it. Like a knife. A chef cussed. "Shit, of course it's a Grass Muncher. Been seeing reports of these guys on the news getting more and more populated..."
The chefs were armed with spears and small knives, presumably for self defense, but before they jumped in...
Luft reached for her bag and pulled out... A strange knife with gold engraved in it. "Hold on. They don't notice us yet.
Akira was rather shocked by the knife. "W-Woah. High quality relic you're packing there, Luft." And then everyone else stared at it with awe too.
Standing up, Luft raised the knife. I don't know if it was just me imagining stuff or not, but I saw light reflect and beam off of that knife. Once she held it...
A look I've never seen before on her appeared. One of sheer focus, grit and more than that- willpower. I didn't even see this while she was cooking.
Because when she was cooking, Luft was smiling. This... She wasn't smiling at all.
With a step forward and a twist of her hips, she sliced the air. But we all saw it. Something like a white slash appearing over the heads of the 5 Grass Munchers.
And with that...!!! "!" Their heads rolled on the ground, severed from their body.
"Holy crap..."
"In one blow...?!"
"We weren't even close to the Munchers! What the hell?!"
All chefs reacted. But the last chef described how I felt the most. Luft had swung and sliced them without even being close to that. Frei- and the rest of us, for that matter, stared forward with a silent awe.
As Luft went over to the sacks of herbs, she sighed as she pocketed her knife. "I really don't like using this relic, even though it's my main combat relic.
But when you mess with good ingredients like that... I'll never forgive you! Monster OR Human!
Oraaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!" She shouted a war cry to the heavens itself. It was then I made a mental note to myself.
Don't mess with good ingredients while Luft is around. I REALLY don't think I'm in a rush to get decapitated!
The next mission we had was to re-cultivate some farms alongside the farmers of the place. Which was just busywork. I thought this would be simple, just menial tasks, until... None of the farmers had any tools available for us.
Not to mention that to even get there, we had to walk basically the length of the entire town... I was beat. But again, the three with me weren't! Somehow!
Thinking quick though, Akira suggested we go over to the steel warehouse. Where the tools and provisions provided from my Dad during the war were there.
And that ALSO wasn't gonna be simple, cause...
"Yeaaaah. Dunno where I put it. Sorry, kids!" An old man was leaning at the walls of the warehouse.
"W-What do you mean you don't know where it is?!" And being the most tired one, I responded first. I was NOT going to let this mission get any more complicated than it is.
The old man simply shrugged. "I don't know! That's that and this is this! Now will ya' leave an old bugger alone? I'm tryna' get some shut-eye!"
"In the middle of the afternoon!?" Well, it was the late afternoon, but... Still no time for a nap.
"Oi, oi." Akira put his hand on my shoulder. "No need to go so hard on the old man. Would you give us permission to look at your house so we can at least find the key?"
Then the old man let out a sigh. "Fiiine. Kids these days, asking an old man if they can rummage through their house...
Just don't wake up me wifey! Alright?!" The old man walked us over to his house. Or at least, he was about to...
Until we heard Frei shout. "H-Hey guys?!" That in it of itself was odd. Me, Luft and Akira already left with the old man... But she stayed behind?
When we looked over to her, though the door to the warehouse was open.
How the...? We just confirmed it was locked a few seconds ago! Frei was waving with her fist balled up on her other hand. "Don't know how, but the door just opened! Maybe it was just shut really tight instead of being locked?"
None of us were fooled though. We all knew... That Frei had somehow unlocked that locked door.
From there though, we got some tools, went to the farmers to help re-cultivate some land...
Help some farmers re-cultivate some land by doing work... Grabbing a shovel and a hoe, we got to work...
A shovel and a hoe...
A shovel and a...
----------------------------------------
Chapter Three Part Three: Giving Up
9/19/2016
"B-Bwuh?!"
I instantly stormed up. Where I was...
It was a wooden room that was cute and charming. I was on a bed... This isn't home. Nor is this my room in the Crimson Wings... Where am I...?
"..."
For a brief second, my breath is taken away by something beautiful.
It was Frei. She's sitting in a chair right in front of a window, the sunlight of the morning streaming down on her. I forget to even breathe.
I've never seen Frei, or anyone for that matter, as beautiful. But her blonde hair being turned a slight white, her ordinary dress that looks comfy and easy to move in, her soft and tender breaths...
Again, I haven't been able to see things such as beauty in a while. I've never been one to care about appearance.
But this sight-
It's a simple sight. However, I'll take it with me even if I've gone into hell.
I'm pretty sure I was staring for a while because before I knew it, Frei woke up. I remembered things slowly as I did.
Oh right. I passed out after working on the fields.
... I passed out while doing a job that's ordinary to them...
"Ah! Y-You're awake already!" Frei stood up, snapping me out of the dazed state I was in. I slowly got up as I did. "Yeaaah... Crap- my muscles feel like crap."
"Mm." Frei looked at me, concerned. "If you like, you can rest for a bit more. You fell pretty hard, y'know?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, but..." I stretched my arms. I wasn't really concerned with looking good in front of other people. But when it came to Frei- who I also completely embarrassed myself back in that skeleton forest... I felt an urge to try and put on a good smile for her.
She reached over to the side of her seat where she pulled out something wrapped in tissues. "By the way, since you passed out... You haven't had dinner. And breakfast, too!
So you must be hungry, right?" That was... It was a sandwich? For me?
"Well- I don't think I'm THAT hungry..." My stomach grumbled. "I don't think I NEED it..."
Then Frei stood up with her eyebrows lowered. "Come on, I already heard your stomach growl. Hurry up and eat the sandwich!"
"!?" She practically pressed it in front of me! "A-Alright, alright! I'll eat it!" I ate it slowly...
It was a ham sandwich. Wasn't really anything to write home about, but... "... Do you have to be staring at me like that?" I responded rather bluntly while looking at Frei.
Frei was confused by this. "E-Eh? Staring at you like what?" Immediately, though... "Nevermind."
I realized that I wasn't exactly sure on why I said that.
I spent my time eating this sandwich in bet quietly. I don't know why.
I wasn't smiling. But a gentle smile eased on her face. That...
I wanted to ask why, but I felt like if I did, this moment would be ruined. I've experienced many things thus far.
I saw literal monsters. Fought some a few days ago. Worked on a field, travelled around a wondrous town...
But it's this moment that I don't want to end.
...
Eventually though, we had no choice but to go down for a proper breakfast. I was late to it and I ended up ordering some pasta in the restaurant our group was eating in.
Akira was eating some kind of fish-based meal that looked grilled. It reminded me of the Filipino Bangus, a type of milkfish. Frei was eating, expectedly, pancakes. Ever since I made them one day, she's been eating them nonstop. And I think Luft was eating not only a Shepherd's pie but also what looked to be a salad with mayo on it. Reminded me of Russian Salad.
On my end, I was just eating some rice, eggs and sausages. They were crazy good, though.
"So, looks like you've finally gotten the mayo you were dying for, ay, Luft?!" Akira said with a smile on his face. He even elbowed Luft.
Luft made sure to swallow her food first, then beamed back with a hearty smile. "Yeah! Now I know why Ornes mayo is so expensive. It's wayyy better than every other mayo out there?"
"Really now? If I was a salad person, I'd try that." I responded back.
Luft however seemed to raise an eyebrow. "Whaddya' mean not a salad person? Do you not eat salads?"
"I'll be honest..." I rubbed my belly while eating. "Can't stomach 'em. Not one bit."
"At your age!? And you're like- my age! You've gotta learn how to eat salad, man! It's good for your health!" I didn't wanna be lectured by this glutton of all people on healthy eating habits...
Akira then chuckled slowly. "Hoho. Maybe you not eating salad's the reason why you were lagging behind us yesterday, hm?"
"Akira..." I literally passed out man, what the hell. If I wasn't in an oddly good mood today, I'd bite back at him.
Luckily, Frei spoke up. "That was uncalled for, Akira. He was doing his best yesterday."
"Yeah. And his best was us literally not even trying that hard." Akira said, looking over to me, and...
"Are you really the Golden Sorcerer's son?"
Ah. So it goes back to this. It ALWAYS goes back to this.
One way or another, I get the feeling everything I ever get involved in will be related to my dad somewhat.
I clenched my fist tightly as I lowered my hand. "... Adopted." Is all I could muster out.
Akira crossed his arm and exhaled. "Doesn't matter. Even though you might not have inherited any of his Lineage Skills or Lineage Magic, he must've still taught you. But it looks like he didn't teach you shit."
"Is that why you joined, then?! Just to see what the son of this great Golden Sorcerer was like?!" I bit back at the eccentric man. I've had enough of his bullshit.
"Yeah. That's all there is too it."
"So?! What do you think, then?!"
"... I'm not impressed."
"...!" I didn't know what I was gonna do. I wasn't gonna punch him, that'd be stupid.
But I was mad. So I stood up. Frei stood up right after me, putting her hand on my arm. "R-Reggie!" She called out my name and...
I sat down.
I didn't know why I got mad. I didn't particularly care about my visage or image. It's just...
... What little pride I had left was insulted. Pride I didn't even know I had.
Akira however continued speaking, as if that outburst of rage didn't happen. "Well, believe it or not, I'm not bringing this up just to rub it in your face.
I'm wondering what we're gonna do about the next mission."
"T-The monster one?" I remembered as soon as he mentioned it. I didn't understand much of the details in the message, mostly cause Luft actually scrolled over that one fast when I was reading it...
But it mentioned that it was high class. So it'd be more perilous than when me and Frei faced those skeletons.
Akira explained. "In case you forgot when your head hit the ground yesterday, we're dealing with a C-Class monster here..." I don't know what that is. Much to my surprise though, he actually explained.
Usually when it came to terms like these he'd say something like how I should know this, but... He explained this one.
"Monsters, and a lot of things, are ranked from E rank to S rank. Relics, monsters, technology, Free-seeker rankings... A whole lot of things." He waved the air. "A C-Class monster might be in the middle of the road when it comes to ranking, but one at C-Class means it needs a full squadron of Mages to take down. One grade above that- and you're already heading into the threats of Monsters which are on a national level."
I gulped. So whatever we were dealing with was a big deal, and...
"They're expecting STUDENTS to deal with this?" It came out of my lips. Some silence passed in the air for a few seconds, but I wasn't intent on keeping it like this.
"Frei. Luft. You're seriously..."
What I was met with were dead-on stares. Frei and Luft were staring at me with something... Something palpable.
Resolve.
There wasn't any other way to describe it. There wasn't anything I could retort. Nothing I could do to convince them otherwise.
Nothing to convince them to give up.
"... I see." They were just looking at me and were shocked when I said that. They hadn't even intended anything with those stares.
So I decided then what I should do.
"Reggie?" Luft said, looking at me with a concerned look. But after I had decided this...
The tension on my face disappeared, as I kicked back. "Well, it's clear from yesterday that I'll just drag you guys back. I mean, if you guys are gonna go on some risky mission, then don't bring me along!" I said, raising up a finger.
"E-Eh?" Frei was confused. Luft and Akira observed me with pensive looks. "I passed out from doing what was normal to you guys. And you saw me back there fixing those lamps, couldn't do a thing. And Luft, you've got that knife which cut off a buncha monster heads at once, right? You guys got this."
"Those monsters were only E-Class..." Luft muttered, but I kept speaking. "You guys can go tell this to Joachim, or don't, I don't care. But I'm sitting out this mission. We've got a hotel, don't we? I'll just rest there until it's over.
Said we only had to solve one mission, right? Means there must be a level of problem solving in thinking which ones you can or can't do, hehe!" I said, rubbing my nose, trying to put on a confident smile in front of everyone. "And... I'm absolutely confident that this is one thing I CAN'T DO!"
I flashed a thumbs up in front of the group. And...
Nobody responded. Frei was looking at me, concerned. Akira had his usual scowl on his face. Luft was also looking at me concerned, but there was something else mixed in there.
To be honest, I was expecting this kind of response. Because what did I do just now?
I gave up.
"W-Well! Since I'm backing out here, I might as well pay for breakfast, yeah?"
"That won't be necessary! I was gonna do that!" Luft said, looking at me with a surprised look. "H-Hey. It's the least I can do to be helpful right now." I stood up and moved to the counter of the restaurant. Rather than a bill served by a waiter, we get the bill at a counter.
But I dug through my wallet as fast as possible and gave enough money for a bill. I didn't care that I was using some of the money I just earnt on the 3 jobs and that I wanted to save them. This was really the least I could do.
I didn't care that they didn't have a way to contact me. They know where to find me if they get mad. I really didn't care, but...
I heard someone walking behind me. Turning around... It wasn't the person I expected.
The last person who came running to me was Frei. But this time, it was Luft. Unlike the last time though...
She was looking at me with a determined and serious look. This was a look I've never seen before.
I've come to associate Luft in just a day with a smile and joy she wore on her sleeves, but the look she was giving me right now...
It was dignified. Not lady-like, but more like a soldier. Where was this coming from?
And what she said...
"Are you really giving up here, Reggie?"
Was also something else I didn't expect. It was similar to her expression. Slow, measured and deliberate. Not at all what I expected.
It wasn't like her at all. And yet, a part of me accepted that this WAS Luft. This...
Is probably her true face.
"It's not that I'm giving up." I didn't have the guts to look at her in the face after she gave me such a serious look. To see a frown on my face would be an insult, so I didn't want to show Luft that.
"It's more like... I'm realizing what I can and can't do."
Luft responded, approaching me slowly. "We've all been realizing that right now. What do you think the purpose of this Field Expedition is?"
I stayed silent and shook my head. To be honest... I didn't have a damn clue on what we were doing here.
"It's to give us a wide array of skills- to be able to solve any kind of problem no matter where we go. I bet...
I bet your Father was like that too."
I hadn't known him to be an engineer. But he apparently solved tech related issues here and introduced the Gold Lamps to them.
Luft was now right behind me. I still didn't want to look at her. "... Despite how it seems, cooking wasn't actually the first skill I developed."
"R-Really?" I wasn't intent on responding back to her, but THAT got me surprised.
"Mm. It was a skill I learnt after I was hasty to separate from what my parents were teaching me. They taught me skills that I believed... Were harmful."
Huh? The way she's wording it is almost like she's dancing around the topic of what it was. Again, I didn't ask about it.
"But my parents ended up enrolling me here anyways against my own will." She shook her head with a sigh. "I hated it at first. But this trip's convinced me.
It's good to help people, isn't it?"
I paused.
"..."
And I wanted to find words to say to her. She was trying to convince me to go.
So I had to answer it with either yes or no.
But I still... I still said nothing. So I kept walking forward.
"Reggie."
She called out my name and I stopped. And I only said this. "... Don't bother. Do..."
I wasn't intending on turning around. But my body did. And despite being in a street filled with people... I shouted.
We weren't far away from each other. I wasn't mad- but my body was mad. So I shouted.
"Do you have any idea how weak I really am?!"
The look that appeared on Reggie was contorted. Almost that of a monster. It was ugly.
Ogre-like. Nothing about it could be loved. Because it was a look filled with hatred.
Luft and the people around her staggered. Reggie wasn't that loud. But... They had never heard a statement filled with such hatred in their lives.
"So just... Don't bother me. Go do that mission with everyone else, Luft."
I started walking away, and I walked away fast. I didn't want to hear anything from her.
Luft, however, managed to get one sentence in.
"But that's the easy route, Reggie."
...
I don't know how long it was that I spent laying down in my bed in the room. Time didn't seem to be passing very quickly.
Eventually though, clouds came. A clock confirmed that it still wasn't lunch time, but it was getting dark out due to the clouds.
And eventually, it even rained.
The smell of petrichor filled in the room as I was too lazy to even get up from my bed to close the windows.
I didn't want to do anything. But I was also frustrated that time wasn't passing sooner.
I wanted them to come back from that mission. Even if it was brief and the conversations we shared were light, I...
"... Let me eat lunch with them."
It's almost time for lunch. Am I really gonna be eating it alone?
Even eating with Akira would be fine.
I don't know who I begged that to. I just... I didn't want to be alone. Curling up in my bed like this, I...
I'm really pathetic.
My legs were starting to rust. It felt like I should get up and move. I lived a pretty lethargic life back at home, but even I walked a few times.
Grabbing an umbrella, I got up and moved over to the lobby of the hotel I was in.
Much to my surprise, the hotelkeeper at the counter spoke. He was an old man, but he didn't look that old.
"Hey, kid! Been meaning to ask, but why're you not with your group?"
"?" Oh, right. The hotel was pre-assigned to us, so he probably knows that we're students. "Asked them to leave me behind here cause I couldn't keep up with them."
The hotelkeeper chuckled slowly. "Hoho. You guys must get up to some real hard missions. I saw you being carried here while you were knocked out! What ARE you guys doing, even?"
"... Hard work."
It was hard to me. But to them, it didn't seem all too taxing.
"Definitely looked hard. They were complaining about it too when they got back, gehehe!"
"Huh?"
I was looking down at the ground and I didn't wanna maintain eye contact with the hotelkeeper.
But I eventually looked over to him as he laughed. "They were tired...?"
"Wouldn't say exhausted. But it did seem taxing to them." The hotelkeeper crossed his arms as he explained. "But they looked happy. Satisfied that they got through a day's worth of hard work.
That girl with the white hair looked pretty beat too." They weren't...
I don't remember them...
"Course, not as beat to the point where they were about to pass out. The type of tired that looks like it's weighing more mentally on them, y'know? That's why they stayed at the lobby instead of going at my room- and it's how I overheard them. Especially that blonde haired girl.
But she was smiling as she was summing up the work."
Once again... My fists curled up. I hadn't noticed. I DIDN'T even catch a hint of it.
"Kid. Are you Reggie?"
"E-Eh?"
"That blonde haired girl kept mentioning your name.
Said how she wanted to share that same smile with you. That same splendor of victory."
"... Hotelkeeper."
I looked over to him. There, I finally got a good look at him. Again- he looked old, but probably around his 50s and 60s.
He was surprisingly built. The type of build you'd expect from a lumberjack. Maybe that's his side gig?
Either way... "What's your name?"
The hotelkeeper chuckled right after. "Gehehe! Glad you asked. Armando. Armando Schulhof. Hope you don't forget even a simple hotelkeeper, boy."
"I won't." I nodded. "I'll be back. I'm just going to get something."
I went up to my room...
And got my broadsword from my Combat Classes.
...
It didn't matter that it was raining. And that I was slow.
I just had to get there in time. I don't remember EXACTLY where it is, but...
Following the signs, I go over to the site where the monster was. I read it on Luft's Transciever.
I ran, and I ran and I ran.
Eventually though, where I seemed to be headed were outside the village outskirts. I was following a path, apparently I was on some sort of "highway." I guess highways in this world just mean normal paths...
I crossed a bridge, even a forest, and at the end of the forest...
"...!"
I brought up my blade the moment I saw it. My heart stopped as I did.
Luft was panting on one knee, her knife stabbed into the ground.
Akira, his shoulders slumped, hands on his guitar.
And Frei... Standing behind them all, shaking. Her hand was in a finger gun position like when we were fighting the skeletons, but she was shaking.
In front of them was the so-called C-Class Monster. It was a bear. A huge, giant blue bear with wings like an eagle.
Its eyes were red, and I could swear one of them was glowing. No- it was. A fierce monster like this...
"... Stand back.
I still haven't gotten my turn in yet."
I stepped past everyone, brandishing my sword.
I at least had to try something.
So I rushed in, unsure of what might happen! Or having any tactic in mind!
As long as I was able to hit it once... That was okay!
Because... Because...!!!
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....!!!"
Author's Note
Sorry for the long hiatus! And sorry to leave this on a cliffhanger, stuff got in the way! But as long as I have free time, I'll be working on Glitter of Gold!
Not much notes to say here! Hope you're looking forward to the next chapter "4- Akira Fuji."
Bonus Note
Reggie Marshall - 21 years old. Ever since the last chapter, he hasn't gotten better at all when it comes to swords. His instructor speculates he might just be untalented.
Frei Astoria - 20 years old. When in class, plays around with a pen or pencil a lot. Every time she does, her seatmates always watch her due to how skilled she is with it.
Akira Fuji - 20 years old. Certain Earth Colony bands also have their music imported to the rest of this world. His favorite band from the Earth Colony is Malice Mizer.
Luft Wingrider - 20 years old. Gets a lot of questions about her last name, as many people don't believe it's a real last name. She's not doing a very good job of convincing people that it is.
Armando Schulhof - 71 years old. His hotel is actually struggling and was glad to get funding from Arcanzar Military Academy, even if it isn't that much. Ornes isn't visited much in the first place anyways.