It’s already nighttime. The full red moon can be seen illuminating the streets of Dasman. Alexa is sitting on the window frame while eating a piece of bread and playing with the phone Akino gave to her last time. Lyka is already asleep on the bed, gently breathing while clinging to a soft pillow. Akino is sitting beside her and gazing at her face.
She stands and covers her with a blanket. Then, she took her belt bag and went near the door.
Akino: Kid, stay here, okay? And look after her, I’ll be gone for a while.
Alexa: Where are going?
Akino: Intel gathering.
Alexa: Oh… then be careful.
Akino: Yeah, I will.
Akino left the room. She went downstairs and to the lobby. She sat on one of the chairs for drinking guests of the tavern and an elf who’s a waitress approached her.
Waitress: What would like, ma’am?
Akino: Ummm… do you have any coffee?
Waitress: I’m sorry but we only serve coffee at breakfast hours.
Akino: That’s… a shame…
Waitress: I’m really sorry about that.
Akino: Do you have fruit juices?
Waitress: We have oranges, apples, melons, stormfruit, lizard’s brain, and our signature lion’s punch.
Akino: Oh… lizard’s brain sounds – exotic… I’ll take that.
Waitress: Right away, ma’am.
While Akino waits, she grabbed out a bag of gold from her belt-bag. She took three pieces of gold and placed it on the table. She scans the whole place: 10 tables with four chairs each. On one table there are 3 orcs drinking, on the other table a group of 4 people with cat ears eating some grilled fish, and the elves walking around to serve them. She also saw 6 humans: 4 of which are sitting, and the rest were standing, they wore armors of different assortments or made of bones, must be adventurers. She activated her SONAR, and detected heavy footsteps nearing the tavern.
Suddenly, the wooden doors of the tavern slams open. Five heavily armored knights and a man in white robes carrying a staff with a white crystal entered the tavern. The orcs and the cat people looked at them with disgust and anger.
Lead knight: What are you looking at, filth?!
The orcs and the cat people silently left their tables and exited the tavern. The elves are looking nervous, and the adventurers are observing the knights but avoids full eye contact on them.
Akino’s order finally came. The elf waitress handed her a glass of bluish liquid, with a pinch of lemon on the side.
Akino: How much?
Waitress: 10 silver.
Akino gave a gold coin to the waitress.
Akino: Keep the change, it’s your tip.
Waitress: Th – thank you!
The waitress dashes towards the counter to give the payment and get her tip, but she accidentally trips over near the mage in white robes. The man didn’t help out the waitress, instead he hovers his staff. The staff glows, making him agitated and grabs the waitress’ arm. The knights draw out their swords and points it at the waitress.
Mage in white robes: Where did you get that, huh?!
The mage holds on a piece of gold coin. This caught Akino’s attention.
Waitress: I – I don’t know what you’re saying! Please! Don’t –
The mage slaps the waitress. At that moment, Akino stands from her seat and approaches the group. The knights saw this, and they pointed their swords at her.
Akino: I gave the coin to her, got a problem with that?
Mage in white robes: A commoner? What kind of clothing is that?
Akino: If you want to interrogate further, we should do it outside.
The mage drops the waitress down.
Mage in white robes: Oh? Who are you to command me, commoner?
Akino smirks.
Mage in white robes: What are you smiling at?!
Akino: You guys must be respectable people, right? Well, it might be unappealing if you start questioning a woman taking a break inside a tavern while other eyes look at us, right?
Mage in white robes: You harlot… alright, we’ll take this outside!
Akino: Sure! Lead the way, sir.
She stands and comes with the knights. They left the tavern and went to a dark alley nearby. A dead end. The mage waves the staff, casting some sort of a field around them. Akino combined her ultrasonic sensors and energy scanners to identify the field. A magic barrier in the shape of a rectangle fitted to the alleyway of 5 meters wide and 10 meters high.
Akino took the bag of gold out and showed it to the knights.
Akino: Is this what you’re looking for?
Mage in white robes: Wha! Where did you get that?!
Akino: From some jerks in a forest?
Mage in white robes: SO it was you?! You’re the one who interfered with our crusade!
Akino: Wait, wait, wait. How did you know I killed your men?
Mage in white robes: Each gold they have has a magic seal in them. I could sense their holy blood staining that gold!
Akino: Oh! I, too, can sense someone else peeking with us.
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Mage in white robes: What?
The knights alerted themselves, frantically looking at the surroundings to find the one ‘peeking’.
Mage in white robes: How?! Impossible! Go find that –
Before the mage finishes his words, Akino dashed forward and axe kicked the mage’s head, knocking him out instantly. The knights faced her, but all got knocked out by her. She gutted each one of them with her arm turned into a heavy piston punching machine.
She crouched down, pulled a wire out of her hair, and sticks it to the nape of the mage.
Akino: The barrier’s down, you can show yourself, peek-boy.
A man in blue-fancy tunic, with a metal pad on his left shoulder that holds a black fur, appears out of the shadows. The man walks near to Akino, but she points her finger towards him, making him stop.
Akino: That’s far enough.
Man in blue clothing: Ho? Seems like you’re very carefully. I already did you a favor though.
Akino: Didn’t asked it.
Man in blue clothing: Well, if you don’t need my help, might as well tell someone that there’s a woman running around that attacked the knights of Altruis.
Akino: Blackmailing? Really?
Man in blue clothing: If you let me in the hook, I might shut my mouth. If not, I might shut yours.
Akino: We’ll see.
Something comes out of Akino’s pointing finger. She fired something, and the man caught it.
Man in blue clothing: Not bad. You got some nice skills for a no-magic human, I’m impressed.
Akino: Yeah, but you should throw that away instead of holding.
Man in blue clothing: What?
Akino: Too late, bud.
The man looks at the thing he caught, a small ball. The ball retracts, showing small spikes, piercing through the leather gloves of the man. The man stopped moving, and he collapses on the floor. He can breathe, he can speak and blink, but he can’t move the entirety of his body.
Man in blue clothing: Wh – what did you do to me?!
Akino: Synthesized beta-aminobutyric acid can cause paralysis in large dosage. I’ve place some inside that bullet. Nice catch, though.
Man in blue clothing: WHAT?
Akino: Knew it will come to this…
Akino injected ‘something’ to the knocked-out knights and mage, she carried the paralyzed man by her shoulders and left the area.
They returned to the tavern. The tables are already empty, and the elves who run the place cleans the clutter left by the customers. She asked a waitress to prep a table for two, and she assists the paralyzed man to sit on their chair.
Akino: Uhmm… waiter!
Waitress: Yes?
Akino: Two lizard’s brain, please?
Waitress: Oh, right away!
The waitress left. Only the cluttering can be heard inside the tavern. It’s too damn quiet.
Akino: The name’s Akino, Akino Kylei… and you?
Man in blue clothes: Escobar, and why am I still paralyzed? Can you undo it?
Akino: The chemical lasts for 2 hours, but don’t worry. We answer each other’s questions, and I might give you the antidote, deal?
Escobar: Is it because of what I heard and saw in that alleyway?
Akino: Yeah, and I’m taking in precautions.
Escobar: Precautions?
Akino points something on her nape. Escobar felt something crawling on his back and reaching his neck area pretty fast. He could feel tiny legs crawling up, but it’s cold like metal.
Escobar: Wh – what is that?!
Akino: That’s my little spider. I promised to my loved one that I won’t manipulate minds –
Escobar: WHAT?!
Akino: Can you let me finish? Jeez… that spider is connected to my mind. If you refuse, I’ll take all the information inside your head, and make you forget what happened in that alley and what happens here. All I have to do is make that spider bite your nape, and I’ll be gone in your memories, waking up inside this tavern like nothing happened.
Escobar: Is that even possible? You’re bluffing.
Akino: You’re gonna gamble really big if want to know, but if you agree to cooperate with me…
Escobar pauses. He thinks for a minute, and then he smirks disappointedly.
Escobar: Like I got no choice… years of my spying antics getting ruined by this inhuman…
Akino: Good.
Escobar suddenly felt a spiking pain on his neck.
Escobar: OW! What did you do?!
Akino: Don’t worry. That’s the paralysis antidote getting injected in you. You should be able to move around in a minute.
Escobar: That’s fast for an antidote… why did you gave it to me? We haven’t started your interviewing.
Akino: You trusted me by agreeing with my terms, then I should return the favor. Trust comes in both sides.
Escobar: I see… and if I tried to ditch you?
Akino: You still have my spider on your back, remember that.
Escobar: Okay…
Akino: So, I assume you weren’t following me in the first place.
Escobar: How did you know?
Akino: You’ve just said it, spying. I heard the knights of Altruis are famous for their… flawed ideology, and discriminatory actions against non-human races, correct?
Escobar: Yeah…
Akino: And you heard our commotion, got into that alleyway and now here. You take an interest in what I’ve said to them, about what happened in that forest where they went days ago, correct?
Escobar: I’ll be damned… your assumptions are – on point…
Akino: Just wild guesses. So, your turn?
Escobar: You’re done asking?
Akino: Nah. I can’t think of anything as of this moment, so you should ask for now… but not here. Can you move now?
Escobar: A little numb, but I guess I can stand now.
Akino: Okay, follow me.
Akino guided Escobar to the room they rented earlier. They reached the door, and Escobar stops, frightened to move.
Escobar: Please tell me what’s inside that room.
Akino: My companions? What are you seeing?
Escobar: I see a very condensed magic inside that room… dark type, and of high-level. Whatever the thing holding it, that thing does it good on keeping it hidden but still the magic reeks out.
Akino: Not a thing, a she…
Akino opens the door, revealing the sleeping Lyka. Alexa was alerted with the sudden entrance, so she jumped off and hissed like a cat on Escobar.
Akino: YO CALM DOWN! He’s with me.
Alexa: With you?
Alexa casually grabs Akino away from Escobar.
Alexa: Who is that?
Akino: Someone I’ve met outside, his Escobar. Escobar, Alexa. My – I mean our daughter… and the one sleeping is Lyka, she’s my girlfriend and Alexa’s mother?
Alexa: Ugh, nice intro… I’m Alexa, their daughter, adopted one. So, don’t bother asking how ‘two girls’ got a kid, okay? It’s grinding my gears…
Escobar: Oh… pleasure to meet you… and I’ll keep that in mind.
Akino began explaining about Lyka’s situation. The attack of the knights of Altruis, the massacre in her tribe, and her surviving, ONLY the surviving, because Akino and Alexa were already too late.
Escobar: Good thing is you saved her… I’m sorry…
Akino: Yeah…
Escobar: And about you and your daughter having no magic? What’s the deal with that?
Alexa: What’s with everyone and questioning our “zero-magic-ness”?
Akino: Lyka did tell us that everyone has mana, right?
Escobar: Yes, but others have magic next to none. They can’t use their mana very properly, so they can’t cast magic, but still, they have mana, only in very small amounts. But both of you… nothing at all…
Alexa: Oh, here we go again…
Akino: Both of us are not from this world, that’s it.
Escobar: Outworlders? Impossible, the outworlders being summoned here have enormous magic capabilities.
Alexa: Welp, we didn’t come here by being summoned.
Akino: A portal opened in our world, and we got here accidentally…
Escobar: I see… but still, there’s no magic in your world?
Akino: Not a single drop.
Escobar: Oh…
Akino pulls out the bag of coins from her belt-bag and shows it to Escobar.
Akino: The knights said they have placed a magic in these coins, can you remove it?
Escobar: I don’t know. The gold coins of Altruis are imbued of holy magic, my affinity is with water… so, I can’t.
Akino: Maybe I’ll ask Lyka if she can… anything else?
Escobar: Can I ask if the three of you will join the Dasman adventurers’ guild? Your skills could be of use with us, you know?
Akino: Hmmm, no.
Alexa: What?! Sir, we’re going to join in!
Akino: Hey! I make the decisions here!
Alexa: What are you? Dictator? Okay, we’ll wait till morning and the three of us votes if we’ll join or not.
Akino sighs. She stares at Escobar, with a face of disappointment.
Akino: Alright, I’ll erase this dude’s memories!
Escobar: Wait, wait, wait! You can also benefit in enlisting with the adventurers’ guild!
Akino: Really? How?
Escobar: Well, the royal governments can’t really touch adventurers since we do made places safe of monsters, we also increase our resources through expeditions and such, and we can provide security to well-known nobles. The Altruis can’t touch you if you join us, they don’t have the right reason to take her so it will be a safer choice rather than running around.
Akino: I doubt that, but I get your point…
Alexa: SO? Are we going to join? Please, please, please!
Akino: What’s with you and your sudden enthusiasm with becoming an adventurer?
Alexa: I mean, in light novels and games, this is the main protagonist’s stepping point!
Escobar: Light novel? Games?
Akino: Don’t mind her. We’ll decide it this morning. See you at the guild.
Escobar: Thank you.
Escobar leaves the room. When he’s gone, Akino gave Alexa an earful. Then, they saw Lyka waking from her sleep, she shouts “SHUT UP!” and goes back like nothing happened, sleeping again in an instant. The two remained silent after that.