The coastal city of Kokunachen, a city located on the western shores of the Nanawak Empire. Many military ships occupied the port, with large walls surrounding the city itself. I stood on the ship’s deck in awe as we made our way into the port.

Beyond the city was the country of Nanawak. Most of the country’s land consisted of large, sandy deserts. I heard under those sands were tons of natural resources like gold and oil.

“So many ships…” Maya looked around. The vessels that were anchored reminded me of large sailing ships. Like the ones on Earth, these ships had many cannons on their sides, with large sails providing power for them.

“Even Syla didn’t have this many ships,” Solicea murmured.

“We always had peaceful relations with Syla, so you don’t have to worry. This ships aren’t for them,” Nayala answered. “They’re supposed to fight pirates. Those pirates used to be a real headache.” Nayala shook her head.

“Pirates?” I turned back to her.

I never heard about them in the game, so this was the first time I had heard anyone mention pirates.

“Nanawak is a place full of natural resources. Our ships exporting goods used to be attacked by pirates.”

“But they no longer exist,” Emori said.

“Nope. Most of them disappeared after the demon king rose. Those who were left couldn’t handle our might.”

“I wonder if that’s just a coincidence…”

After reading more and more about this world, I knew that Mimosa Online, despite its detail, often lacked vital information. Just because something wasn’t recorded in the game, doesn’t mean that thing didn’t exist.

And from what I had learn living in this world, I realized that the demon king’s influence reached farther than I had expected. There was a possibility that the pirates were decimated by the demon king forces in the sea.

Since they were, well, pirates, no reports came to either country.

“Are those pirates hard to handle?” I asked. Considering the fleet that was built to fight against them, those pirates must be no joke.

“Depends on what you categorized as hard.” Seeing me failing to understand, Nayala elaborated further. “While their firepower was nothing compared to our ships, most of their ships didn’t even have cannons, they’re fast and agile. Their sailors are far stronger than average. Most of the time, they’ll board a ship then disappear without a trace before our troops arrive. We needed to put an extra budget into our defense just because of them.”

“You’re talking as if it was a few years ago?” Emori asked.

“It’s part of our history lessons.”

“But what about these ships?” It had been a century since the demon king war. I doubt the ships built from that era would still be around.

“The pirates may have disappeared for an extended period of time, but there is nothing wrong with preparing.” Akareseki appeared behind Nayala. “And I believe there are more threats than the pirates that we need to take care of.”

“Oh, if I’m not wrong, you’re the one that ordered these ships, right?” Nayala asked.

“Correct. Most of them aren’t new, though. Instead, they’re old military ships refurbished with the newest and most advanced tech.”

There seemed to be a lot of ships for a possibility of pirates attacking. A bit too many, I would say. But I wouldn’t complain. If the pirates didn’t appear, then they could be used against the demons.

“I wonder what happened to those pirates…” Nayala murmured.

“Maybe they were transformed into salmon.”

Maya’s words made Emori shudder. “I don’t want to be turned into a salmon…”

“She’s just joking, Emori.” I waved my hand. The ship pulled to a halt.

“We’ll be staying here for the night. I’ll go and arrange accommodations. You’re free for today.” Nayala waved to us and stepped off the ship with Akareseki as her escort.

“Shall we?”

We got off the ship, the four of us. One of the sailors offered to escort us, but I politely declined. They probably had better things to do.

“Any place you want to visit?” I asked the rest.

“I’m always curious about Nanawak’s clothes.” Solicea glanced at several of the girls walking down the roads. “Come on, Maya. Let’s go find some clothes.”

“... Heh…” Unlike Solicea, Maya didn’t seem the least bit interested.

“We can find some good fish on the way-”

“Let’s go!”

And thus, the two ran off on their own.

…

There goes our team spirit. Yeay team.

Emori looked up at me. “What should we do?”

“Well…” Now that I know they had zero intention on sticking together, I wanted to visit the local library. This was a country not explored in the Mimosa Online. It harbored many mysteries and secrets. I wanted to learn as much as I could while we were here.

But…

“... Do you have anywhere you want to go?”

Emori looked around, then shook her head. “Something tells me you have somewhere you want to be.”

“I want to go to the library.”

“I’ll accompany you, then.”

“Are you sure?”

“We’ll be here for three months, won’t we?”

Well, she had a point. Learning about this country would probably be the better first step, as it allowed us to explore more freely later.

“Alright then.”

I approached one of the knights on guard and asked for directions, before heading for the library.

* ••

The library in Kokunachen was located inside a massive, three story building bustling with visitors.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Any area you want to check on first?”

Emori walked in front of me, looking around the area. Unlike the underground library in Syla, the one in Kokunachen had many floor to ceiling windows that pour light into the place.

“We should stick together. It’s easy to get lost here.”

“I agree.”

She tried checking the writings on the bookshelves. We were immediately hit with a fact we had failed to consider so far.

It’s easy to forget that, like on Earth, different countries used different languages. The Kingdom of Syla was a large, powerful country. Its language was used by many like English back on Earth. Nayala speaking to us in Syilaian, Syla’s language, made me forget that Nanawak used a different one.

“This is Azuskran…” Emori murmured.

“Can you read it?”

“Miss Nayala taught me when I was little. This is the biography section, this is the geography section, this… this… I think this is history.”

“I wonder if they had a section for books written in Syilaian…”

“I think there is.” Emori led me deeper into the library. We passed several locals who were busy reading. Some of them noticed us walking past and smiled.

“Everyone’s so nice.” Emori murmured.

“Yeah.”

We went to the second floor, where we found a shelf filled with books written in Syilaian.

To my great disappointment, they didn’t contain any new information. After looking around for a while more, I made my way back outside.

“Now… what do we do?” I covered myself with my hand, the heat bearing down on my head. “Maybe we should get an umbrella or something.”

“It is quite hot…”

Nanawak’s climate was hotter compared to Syla. For people who had lived here their entire lives, it wasn’t too hot, as evidenced by how people casually went about. Some even worked in construction under this heat.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

Emori shook her head. “I still can handle this much… I think.”

“Sorry for bringing you here.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s exciting. Besides, I’ll come here even without the invitation.” Emori smiled, wiping a sweat off her forehead. “Should we go somewhere? Grinding maybe?”

“Aren’t there any other places we can visit?”

“I thought you only had grinding in your mind.” Emori giggled.

“I can’t deny that, sadly…” I didn’t have anywhere else to go other than to grind, after all. What do you expect me to do? Take cooking lessons?

Actually…

“How about we go to the local market? Check out some local delicacies.”

Emori nodded. “Sure.”

We walked down the streets of the city. Despite the sandy surroundings, the city itself was kept clean. There wasn't much sand around, and it wasn’t windy. Maybe because of the walls that surrounded the place.

“Camels!” Emori pointed toward a camel in front of a cart in the distance. We quickly approached it. In the cart were many green watermelons, a shop clerk standing next to the cart.

“... It’s so cute…” Emori’s eyes sparkled as she approached the camel.

“A camel, huh? You don’t see these guys often in Syla,” said a familiar voice. I turned to find Solicea and Maya behind us. Solicea was still using the same casual clothes she wore when she left the ship, while Maya…

“Maya… what outfit is that?”

“This?” Maya tucked on the ends of her flowing, cream-colored tunic, blending her to the colors of the surroundings. Her clothes reminded me of what Nayala wore, just different colors and motifs.

Maya glanced at Solicea. “A certain someone insists that I try wearing this stuff.”

“But it looks good on you, Maya!” Solicea said, not daring to look back at her friend. A faint smile was on her lips, though.

She set her up…

Solicea approached the camel. The camel turned her way, and Solicea began patting its head.

“Looks like it's enjoying it.”

“You think so?”

The camel let out a grunt, as if agreeing with her.

“I’ve been close with animals since I was little.”

“I’m surprised you can kill monsters no problem.”

“Monsters are different, though?” Solicea let go. The camel let out another grunt, as if it was disappointed with how short the patting was.

“Not like this camel is actively trying to kill me, plus it’s cute.”

The clerk guarding the watermelon noticed. He spoke in Azuskran. Emori understood the sentence and replied in Azuskran.

“Woah, Emori, impressive.” Solicea did little claps.

“Thanks… this much is nothing, though. Oh, any of you want some watermelons?”

“How much?” I asked, approaching the cart. The watermelon did look delicious, its bright green color standing out in the middle of the light brown landscape.

“One fruit for ten Iyal,” Emori answered.

… Oh, yeah… we didn’t have the money.

The currency we had with us was different. We probably should have gone to a money exchange right after we arrived.

“Don’t worry, I got some.” Solicea took out her wallet and pulled two ten Iyal bills out. She handed it over to the watermelon seller. “Can you please cut it for us?”

Emori translated the phrase for her. The seller nodded vigorously. He took two watermelons and walked to a table set up not far behind the camel. As we waited for the watermelons, the camel looked toward Solicea and once again asked for some head pats.

“Here you go.” Solicea patted the camel with smiles.

“Where did you get those iyals from?” I asked.

“My parents had some with them. Since they're not using it, they gave it to me.”

“Your parents are a lifesaver.”

“Pretty sure the watermelons won't sold out if we go look for a money changer.” Solicea smiled wryly.

The merchant brought back two paper bags, the watermelon cuts already inside. He spoke and painted at the camel.

“He said that you two are friends already.”

“Haha, yeah.” Solicea nodded.

We thanked the seller and looked for a place to sit. There was a public rest area not far from the watermelon merchant. We sat down and divided our food there.

“Delicious!” Emori exclaimed in delight, munching on the fresh watermelon.

“To think they have such delicious watermelon out here…” Maya murmured. “Fortis, we should import some and sell them at home.”

“My family had some ships. I wonder if we could fit extra cargo in them.”

“Are you two being serious? If you are, we have the princess herself with us here.” I turned to Emori.

“I… I think I can talk about it with my brother?”

Solicea tilted her head. “Do you need his permission?”

“Ah, not necessarily, but I’m not responsible for that stuff… And that’s all rather complicated.”

Says the one who created a magic spell of her own.

Sometimes I wonder how the princess of a large country like Syla could act so casually. Had this been any other country, she would have guards constantly on her.

I glanced at her fingers.

Well, she’s wearing the Ring of Protection.

The ring kept track of her location. One of the castle’s mages probably had her location on check twenty-four-seven.

I wonder if Asytelar and her apprentice are watching over us?

I had told her of our departure to Nanawak. Interestingly enough, Asytelar didn't have a lot to comment on the subject. She gave me some encouragement, but not much more.

“You’re not eating, Fortis?” Emori asked.

“Ah, sorry. I was distracted.”

“Is the sight of Emori eating watermelon so mesmerizing?” Solicea teased.

“So- Solicea!” Emori’s cheeks reddened.

“She certainly looked cute.” I continued eating the watermelon. Emori didn’t say anything, while Maya and Solicea stared at me blankly.

Guess it’s weird to say that to a princess…

I better watch what I say, especially since I was in a foreign country. I didn’t want to get into a fight because I misspoke.

Emori spoke up after a while. “Yo- You think so?”

“Huh? Yeah. Why not?”

She looked away.

Did I say something weird?

“Umm… Emori?”

“This guy’s clueless, isn’t he?” Solicea sighed. Maya looked just as disappointed in me for whatever reason.

“Did I miss something?”

Both of them chomped down on their watermelons, staring hard at me. Emori glanced back and forth between me and her watermelon.

“Did I miss something?”

The two girls groaned.

“You didn’t miss anything…” Emori murmured in a faint voice.

“You definitely are missing something.” Solicea scowled.

“N- No, he’s not.”

“Oh Emori, you pure-hearted girl.” Maya shook her head.

Just what is going on?