“Okay! It’s finally time to prepare for our trip to Umoris!”

I didn’t want to rush things just yet. I felt we had time to properly plan and prepare for this, but seeing as Aaron and Cecily arrived a bit earlier than expected, it looks like I’ve got no more excuses.

We decided to split our workload in half. Anna was gonna get all of our stuff ready while I went out and bought food and other helpful tools. If you look at it like that, it kind of makes it feel like were eagerly preparing for a field trip… No! This is serious, Arthur’s in trouble and we’re going here strictly to help him!

“Hmm, but that begs the question. What do we even need?”

I mean, food obviously. But what do I get after that? Since I still have a large sum of money on me from my time in ARA, I could certainly afford whatever we needed, but even Anna sent me off with a Just buy what you think was gonna make our trip easier, but what the hell does that mean?

This was my first time going on a bona fide adventure, I didn’t really know of any tools. I faintly recall Grim telling me about Instarope and Antichase from his copy of Schnell’s Handbook, but we weren’t going dungeon crawling. It’s not like we’d be climbing nor descending anywhere, so I fail to see the significance of buying those.

In any case, asking a professional seemed like a good idea, so I headed to the newly founded School to visit a seasoned veteran and hopefully get some pointers.

“Hey, Mr. Thurs. I need some advice on what to buy for a trip with Anna.”

He quickly jumped from his seat and got fired up. I guess the adventurer in him still got excited upon seeing new recruits.

“Sure! First and foremost, you need to make sure your lady’s satisfied. Be sure to take her to tons of fancy restaurants, and ALWAYS pay the bill.”

“Pay the bil- What? Uh, well, I mean… obviously we’ll be eating regularly. But wouldn’t home cooking work?”

“Well, in certain scenarios, yes. But I think you should probably stick to restaurants while you guys are still starting out.”

“I… see? In any case, got anything else?”

“Take her to loads of tourist attractions. Girls love that sort of thing.”

“Wait, why are you focusing on Anna so much?”

“Are you serious? She’s the main part of this whole operation, keeping her in high spirits is the most important thing!”

“Well, that sort of makes sense… Then I guess an inn isn’t an option? I remember she used to always whine about the rooms being too cheap and shoddy.”

“Nah, an inn will work. It’s got the vibe for it, y’know?”

“Wait, really?”

“Hell, if you’re determined enough, even outside would work! Haha!”

“Heheh… but okay. Next up, I was thinking of something to protect us, got anything for that?”

“Oh, I see you did your research, that’s good, that’s good. Yes, protection is the most important part of the equation. Bring lots of it, it’s absolutely the worst feeling when you run out midway.”

“Yeah, but what kind of protection specifically?”

“Any kind, kid. You’re gonna be riding all night, I presume. You’re both young so you’ve got the stamina for it. Just make sure you’ve got the right size.”

“Hold on. Are we talking about the same thing here?”

“? We’re talking about your guys’ date, no?”

“…”

“……”

After having explained to Graal (thoroughly) what our objective is, he got the gist of it and immediately apologized for jumping to conclusions. I still fail to see why he though we were going on a date, and even more so don’t understand what he was talking about, but if anything he made up for it by telling me what to buy.

And so, that brings us to the weapons shop downtown. Honestly, it looked really cool and ominous from the outside, but the inside had a really nice, snug and warm feel to it. It had tons of swords and shields propped up for display, each made with the finest and hardest of materials you could find. I even saw some wooden ones meant for kids, which made me nostalgic. Fond memories of Grim and I pretend fighting in the hideout with the wooden swords his dad made for us.

Among the lineup, though, was something that stood out from the rest. It was a weapon I’ve never seen before in my entire life, not in Trivis Numerica nor Great Hiana. It looked a bit like a cannon, but… Portable? The lower part was obviously a handle, but the top part had a mysterious barrel, presumably for shooting cannonballs out of. But cannonballs can’t fit in there, so maybe cannonpellets I guess?

“Sir, what’s this thing here?”

“Oh, that’d be our newest product that just arrived from all the way in Centralis. It’s called an Augmented Firestarter Pistol, or AFP for short.”

Centralis, as you may or may not know, is sort of the main country of Cardina. It’s divided into two sub-countries, Southern and Northern, and it’s also where the Gryses are situated in. If this is the case, could I assume they’re the ones behind this article?

“The manufacturer is a rookie inventor named Sol, and he’s endorsed by The Royal Family.”

Bingo. Looks like the Gryses really are responsible for this. After giving me a bit of a lecture on how this thing came to be, he then started explaining how it works.

“So you put these little things called ‘bullets’ in the barrel, pull back the hammer to cock it, then with just one simple pull of the trigger…!”

BANG! The firestarter burst into flames as the seller violently recoiled back from the counterforces. I immediately jumped to his aid, thinking the weapon was defective and injured him, but he started laughing and explained everything was fine.

“More importantly, look at the target.” He said.

I did as he told me to, and saw a completely destroyed target with a perfectly shaped circle in the middle of it. Simply incredible, I thought, This would be incredible to use in self-defense! It’s perfect for both offense and defense!

It’s just like how Graal said, keeping Anna safe with this would be a cinch!

“I’ll take it!”

And so, I got myself a firestarter pistol. To commemorate his first pistol being sold, the kind seller threw in a holster for it, free of charge. I thanked him and promptly left the store a satisfied customer.

I don’t plan on showing off with it, so I’ll probably keep it tucked away ninety nine percent of the time. I think firing this thing off is a bit too dangerous, so I’ll only use it as a last resort, though.

***

Back at home, Anna had all but finished packing for their trip, when the young girl’s preparations were interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in!” She yelled out as the door opened, “Ah, Cecily, do you need anything?”

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“Yeah, Ms. Harper and I wanted to have a chat. I prepared some tea, so would you mind accompanying us?”

“Sure thing.”

And just like that, the three girls sat down as Cecily poured everyone the tea her and Aaron personally delivered from Great Hiana. The tea was unusual for Anna and Harper, as it was a completely different color than what they were used to.

“Uhh, I don’t mean any offense when I say this, but…” Harper said, “Isn’t tea supposed to be green? Why is this one red?”

“Because it’s not made from your leaves.” Cecily joined them in sitting down at the table after glancing at Nelly’s cradle for a bit, “Come on, I know I’m in a gang and all, but I’m not gonna poison you guys!”

“We don’t think you’d do that either, sorry!”

“Besides,” Cecily shrugged, “If I was gonna poison you, I’d have done so at last night’s dinner. Food’s way easier to poison, y’know?”

“…”

Cecily’s joke(?) fell flat as both girls were quite unnerved at the prospect. Even still, she decided to change topics to hopefully revive the conversation, if even for a bit.

“Uh, right! What I called you out here for is for one simple reason!”

“And what would that be?” Anna asked.

“I wanted to hear some authentic love drama for a change!”

The two girls simply looked on whilst making a difficult face, unable to comprehend this lovestruck General’s confusing words. Cecily noticed this and further elaborated on what she had meant with this.

“You’re both aiming for Ed, right? How’s it like to compete for a guy? I’m sure there’s all sorts of stories you can share with me!”

“?!?” They were both taken aback, “Where’d you get that from?!”

“It’s way too obvious.” Cecily explained, all the while adorning a look as if she had it all figured out, “The cool and capable older lady with a youthful expression has been the main point of attention and admiration for the protagonist while he was away, and the tsundere childhood friend who suddenly won’t leave his side and gets jealous at every step of the way while she tries desperately to convey her feelings towards him. That’s like two out of the five clichés!”

At this point, all the shock value from Cecily’s previous statement was thrown out the window, as they’ve quickly figured out just what type of girl she was.

“…You read way too many Rom Coms.”

“Hna!?” Cecily jumped back in surprise, “But isn’t that how it usually goes?”

“Well, first of all.” Harper stated, “I consider Ed to be a very dear underclassman, sure, but there have never been any romantic feelings mixed in there. He’s just a bright kid with a good head on his shoulders.”

“Sure, you say that now, but I’ll still check back in a couple of chapters to see if anything’s changed. You still didn’t have any character development yet.”

“Ugh, stop spouting nonsense. This isn’t a romance novel!” Anna reasoned.

“Makes me wonder how you and Lune managed to get together at all if he had to deal with a girl like you.” Harper added a rather harsh comment.

Just then, Cecily’s emotions came to a complete halt as she silently sipped her tea with a melancholic aura surrounding her. Anna reprimanded Harper for going overboard, and Harper made sure to quickly apologize for getting too riled up.

“No need to worry, guys, I ain’t mad. But certainly, I have no idea how such a dumb guy managed to fall for me. Ed told me this after the fact, but apparently it was my brother, Carter, who set us up. I’m sure things would’ve gone differently if he wasn’t there.”

“Cecily…”

“I’m worried about him, y’know? He’s all the way in Sibirus doing God knows what, and we all know just how reckless he can be.”

“You can certainly say that again.” Harper remarked as she sipped her tea.

“To tell you guys the truth, I actually called you guys here to talk to someone about him. The previous conversation was just something to break the ice. Thing is, he was supposed to arrive a long time ago according to what the ITA told me, but right now there hasn’t even been a word from any of the adventurers in his party.”

“Oh dear…” Anna gasped, “You don’t think something bad happened, do you?”

“Well, in any case, you don’t know.” Harper answered Anna’s question, “And you have no way of knowing. But one thing’s for certain, Lune’s a resilient guy, if there’s even a 1% chance for him to make it out of there, he’ll seize it.”

“Heh, that’s my boyfriend for ya’. I think so too, but I still can’t help but worry.”

“Well, it’s a girl’s job to worry about her dumbass of a man, isn’t it? What you’re feeling is completely normal, so just make sure to greet him with open arms when he comes back.”

“…Of course, and… thank you.”

“No worries, kiddo. I’m the ‘cool and capable older lady with a youthful expression’, so you can always count on me when you need advice.”

“Heh, don’t get too big of a head from just one compliment. Save the sweet talk for when Ed gets back.”

“Would you stop talking about him already?” Anna interjected.

At her words, Harper suddenly recalled what archetype Cecily described her as and saw the similarities, which lead her to letting out a small chuckle. Cecily too saw the opportunity to tease Anna a bit, so she joined in on the laughter. The room was livelier than ever, and it seems the girls got a bit closer than they were before.

But just as this room was getting louder and louder from the girls enjoying their time, the two guys awkwardly sitting in the room next to it equally sat there in silence.

Indeed, these two were father and son, none other than Arthur and Aaron respectively. They could heard the girls laughing and enjoying themselves in the other room, which made them both very happy, but the weird thing was what they were doing. It’s been almost a week or two since these guys have reunited, but they’re still very much reserved.

The turmoil between these two is simply that great. Making up and seeing each other as family once again wasn’t going to be that simple. But they were both doing their best, even without saying or doing anything. Simply sitting in the same room with each other and acknowledging their presence was more than enough for now. This is how they’d spend their days here in Springwood, sitting down without barely saying a word to each other, hoping that one day they’d be able to close this barrier between them.

“Y’know…” Aaron spoke first, “Anna’s grown up quite nicely. I’m glad you took care of her in Al’s place.”

“…She sure has. I still remember the day she was born. It was very surprising, and no one actually expected Linda to give birth for another week or so.”

“Heh, her and Al were freaking out so much, I still remember that tired look on his face after it was confirmed both Anna and Linda made it safely.”

“Well, it’s been about… 11 years since they died, right? I’m sure Anna barely even remembers them, so you should probably fill her in on some of Al’s aspects that I looked over. You’re his brother, after all, so you should know a bit more about him than me.”

“That’s why I’m here, after all.” Aaron paused for a second before continuing, “That… and taking care of you until Ed and Anna return from their trip.”

“…Right.”

After this, the conversation stopped, and the two men stopped talking for the day. One would consider this a failure in making up due to the abrupt stop to the conversation, but this was, in reality, amazing progress. Remember, baby steps.

***

Meanwhile, in a dimly lit room somewhere in Centralis, a young man could be seen tinkering away at his desk. The room was, simply put, a mess. Tools and materials were thrown about all over the place, and any and all shelves present in the room were filled to the brim with inventions. The window blinds were closed completely, denying any light from passing through to the room. It was dead quiet, safe from the young man’s heavy panting.

“Haah, hahh…” He drooled, “Just a bit more and…”

It was done. His newest invention had finally, after extensive research, experimentation and testing, been completed. This particular piece took about a week to produce, despite its size. This was the longest he had spent in creating something, so he was really praying for it to work and not blow up in his face.

“Please work… Prylos, Allucius, Selzion, Auros, anyone, I don’t care! Whichever God it is, just give me a break and let this work! Please…!”

Bzzt! The item in his hand made a worrying sound, before suddenly shining a directional light to the wall in front of him. He had invented the first ever flashlight in this world.

“Fuck yeahh!!!” He jumped for joy, all the while sensually rubbing the gadget, “It works! This’ll SO sell well! I’ll definitely make enough for a few months of rent, at least! Oh my precious gadget, I love you! Will you marry me? You’ll help me create all kinds of special gadgets together, and we’ll have a big happy family together!”

Just then, the doors to the room opened, and a young, beautiful pink haired girl wearing a maid outfit entered through it. She adorned a face that suggested she was discontent about his behavior, and immediately jumped to berating him.

“Master Sol! You have an important meeting scheduled for tomorrow with a wealthy merchant who could possibly be our next client, you shan’t be awake at this hour!!”

Now that the room was finally lit up from the hallway’s light, the tinkerer’s face could finally be seen. With that skinny face and pale skin, he truly did remind you of nothing but death itself. His hair black as coal, his pupils hued an amethyst tint, but his expression as euphoric as a man in heat.

“M-Mariabelle! I-I was just about to call it a night! But more importantly, check this out!”

After making up a weak excuse, he went to shine the light from his newly created gadget, when…

“…”

“…H-Hold on a second, it still has a few kinks I need to work on, then it’ll be my beautiful spouse, hehe…”

“I think you’re the one who has a few too many kinks you need to work onl. Please go to sleep.”

“Can’t, gotta finish this first.”

“Master, if you don’t go to sleep, I’ll personally have to put you to sleep.”

“And just how are you planning to do that, Mariabelle?” He asked, "And stop calling me Master, it's weird!"

“Like this!”

Just then, the maid lunged at the young man with a deadly force. His mind had already calculated how he’d evade the attack, but his body was too tired to act it out. As such, both he and the maid had fallen on the bed.

“Gahh, get off me!”

“Never~! Not until you fall asleep, y’hear!”

“…Ugh, you’re still like that even after all this time. And here I thought you’d mellow out after all this time.”

“Just zip it and go to sleep like a good boy.”

“…Fine.”

The tinkerer had fully intended on waiting for the girl that nuzzled up close to him to fall asleep before slipping away and continuing his work, but she knew him too well to fall for it. This was because she purposefully positioned herself to be on top of him in such a way that disabled him from getting out of the bed. After a while of trying his hardest to stay awake, Sol had finally given in to this maid’s actions and soundly went to sleep. The last thing he saw was the girl he had fallen for sleeping in his arms, and his flashlight finally working as it shone brightly onto a framed picture of a young girl.