Jai took two requests under Kotori's name. It shouldn't be possible for him to take these requests by himself, that's why Kotori was the one accepting it. She would also be the one supervising him for the job.
Darrion had left with Harris and Saburo, going around the neighborhood and familiarizing himself with the turf. Since they would be here until they find Alex, they figured they had to make some money to sustain their living situation.
That uncertain deadline also reminded Jai of his stay permit, as he had to renew it in two weeks.
"Or was it a month?" Jai muttered to himself as stopped in his track while holding a pot of budding pink flower.
"What is in due next month?" Kotori looked up from her activities of trimming a fern.
"Erm, my stay permit. I forgot if it's due next month or in two weeks," Jai replied. He put the pot beside the one Kotori was doing. "What is this flower called again?" he asked, pointing at the pink bud he just carried.
The inside of the mansion was filled with many kinds of furniture. Antique painting decorated the walls, also some wooden sculptures of beasts and human silhouettes. There were also jars with different sizes and various paintings on its surface.They passed several hallways, with more expensive things displayed which Sen could only drool for. It was something to be envy of, but then again, Sen didn’t expect any less from one of the Guardian clans. They ‘are’ the most successful families in the kingdom, and the ones that control this kingdom. Of course, their home would also be filled with things that fit their status and position.Seeing the antique looking furniture and paintings in this house eased him a bit from his nervousness he felt before he walked in. He studied art and history in the past, and seeing old paintings like this always calms him down.But then his eyes then caught the sight of a certain painting that made his breath hitched
Master Fu didn’t need to ask anyone where his guest might be waiting. He knew these halls by heart, and he could almost feel each and every corner of it. He might not be the Chief of the House, but he was still, an elder, and he grew up here.Master Fu walked past The Founder’s painting, already sensing a change of wind from the room in the right. He stopped in front of a room several meters from the painting, and slid the door open.His guest was a young man with high ponytail and pretty face that was sitting calmly behind the coffee table. The young man was looking towards the window, at the garden outside, but upon noticing the door being opened, he turned his attention to the door.“Sen Komatsu,” Master Fu called with a calm tone.The young man immediately stood up and bowed. “This humble person is named Sen Komatsu. I’ve been expecting—”“You don’t speak when I don’t tell you to
“Here you are,” Gilbert handed Darrion an envelope. “This is your payment for today.”Darrion smiled as he received his share. “Thanks!”“Jai, these are yours,” Gilbert gave him two envelopes.Jai raised his eyebrows. “Why do I get two?”“The other one is from the kind old lady whom you helped with gardening,” Gilbert smiled.Jai smiled. “Really? It was an accident, really.”Gilbert smiled and nodded. “Yes, Kotori told me. I believe she recognized you too. She gave it to Kotori because she was too shy.”Jai chuckled. “Well, she was nice to give us delicious cookies.”Gilbert chuckled as well. “I’m jealous.”Darrion looked at them back and forth. “What accident?”“Oh. She was trying to put a pot of plant on a hanger. But since the hanger was in mid-air, I mean, it’s h
The next day turned out to be a holiday."This is the Day of Water, Brother Jai, Brother Darrion. We celebrate element day too in here. Though, the Day of Fire has a more festive celebration than the others," Hinako said while rubbing Shoru's head softly.Jai almost forgot that elements had their own celebration day. Miria had told him some things about this world. Mostly about Aeronvein, as he was currently in Aeronvein, but it was also about other kingdoms as well. Though he didn't know that the Elements Day is celebrated worldwide. He almost wanted to ask that, but Darrion patted him on the shoulder and immediately took over the conversation. "Ah I see... We forgot the date. So the festival near the hot spring is meant for the Day of Light celebrated today?"Hinako nodded profusely. "Mmhm, mmhm! Are you going there? You should go there! The hot spring will be having a discount just for today! Many people will be there!"Jai's imagination suddenly portr
Jai and Darrion entered the parlor with the sound of bell."Huh, weird. I don't remember there's bell on the door before," Darrion said when they both looked up at the bell installed above the door."Maybe they had just installed it," Jai muttered. "You okay, Shoru?" Jai asked, poking her head from above the scarf.Jai knew she was surprised by the bell chime because he felt movements on his shoulder. 'She must've hid under my scarf again,' he thought.As Jai checked on Shoru, the two customers who was enjoying their breakfast noticed them entering. One of them even got very surprised that he dropped his spoon into the bowl with a splash.Only Darrion noticed this though, and he could feel sorry for the guy.At the same time, Shoru whined softly, but it was a normal whine and not a distressed one, as she poked her head up and looked at him with wide eyes."It's alright, it's just a bell," Jai smiled, rubbing her head softly with his f
“Oh, I don’t expect you to ask that this early in the morning,” Gilbert smiled as he checked in letters that had just come in.“It’s not way past early in the morning, Gilbert,” Mika put a batch of letters on the counter and patted Darrion’s shoulder. “Welcome back, little brother! How’s your morning? And Jai too, hello!!”Jai responded with a wave and Darrion grinned at her. “Hiya, sister Mika! Very good! We got to see a beautiful orange bird flying above us today. How about you?”Mika smiled happily. “Oh I also feel great today! I got to see a parade of kindergarteners taking a stroll near my home. They’re all so cute!” Then she saw Shoru on Jai’s shoulder and her eyes sparkled. “They’re cute like you, Shoru-chan!”Shoru looked confused and she instinctively leaned closer to Jai. This action made Mika giggle.“To answer your que
Jai walked up the stairs of the second floor. He had heard about this Baji from Kotori and she said he was someone nice and welcoming. He expected him to be like what she told him, but he was prepared if he wasn’t.When he reached the second floor and turned around to the manager seat he saw in the previous day. He saw a man writing something on a paper. He had thick, long hair, that was currently tied and thick eyebrows. He was wearing the same brown themed outfit with the others, but he was wearing his pants like a khaki and he was also wearing a pair of dark military boots.The man had big, olive colored eyes which soon came into contact with Jai’s own ocean blue. The man smiled. “Oh, hello. You’re Jai, right?”Jai smiled back. “Yes, I am. You said you wanted to talk to me?”“Yes. I can’t believe they got you so fast. I mentioned you only slightly later than the office’s entry hour,” Baj
“Forgive me. I was only taking precaution since you didn’t seem to want to ask,” Baji said. This man was cautious of him a second ago, but now, his whole demeanor had changed. He seemed calmer and he was more welcoming.Jai didn’t think that he would do this though. It was the first time they meet after all, and he had already pushed Jai to tell him his real intention visiting this kingdom by just… What? A single lie?“Did you tell from my lie about the hunt?” Jai asked.Baji nodded. “And Gilbert’s assessment on you. As I said, it’s weird that Carrola mentioned you by name and asked us to protect you. We’re just windlets here, boy. If he wants someone to protect you, he should’ve asked someone from the Adventurer Guild, not us. But since you also don’t know why, maybe he was just worried for the two of you.” The man smiled.Jai thought that made sense. Whenever he was tog
Jai felt something wrapped around his stomach from behind. He immediately looked down to his waist, spotting two smaller sized hands coiling on his waist.‘A kid, obviously. But who is it?’ Jai wondered. This was a baby shower event, so he wasn’t feeling weird if children attend too. The question is, who is this kid?He tried to turn around to look at the hugger, but the kid was hugging him tight. It wouldn’t be hard to push it, but he was reluctant because it’s a kid. He knew there’s nothing he could do but ask.“Oh? Hello? Is there anything you need?” Jai asked with a friendly tone.He could hear giggles, but the kid didn’t answer his question.“Oh are we playing guess?” Jai asked.More giggles.“It’s a boy.” Someone whispered from his left side. A familiar voice yet he could not name.“Hey!” The boy protested.But from that tone alone, Jai could already figure out who it is. So he said. “Hello, Ruta-kun.”The kid let him go and Jai could finally turn around. True, it was Ruta. The
On the day when the baby shower was held, Jai arrived at the place with Baji.The venue is in a mansion in the North Town. Jai hadn’t been in that certain neighbourhood, but he finally understood that the North Town is the place for the riches, and the neighbourhood they were in is probably among the richest. The mansion building is tall, and the garden is so wide. There’s a medium sized pond with two gazebos on the side, and then there’s also a small orchard on the right side of the mansion.Baji leaned in to whisper something. “The party is in the back garden. And keep your mouth shut, please. You’re a famous guy and I don’t want you looking stupid.” Then he leaned back.Jai immediately closed his unconsciously parted lips and recited the plan. He couldn’t, of course, confront an important figure of a clan in a crowded venue. So Baji and Gilbert had made a plan to help him talk alone with Fuuji Fu in the venue. He just have to make sure he could deal with the ‘fans’, though he hoped
It isn’t a doubt that Cynthia was reluctant to share that information with Harris because Jai was there. So Jai proposed to the brunette to re-visit the place later in the day to ask about it.Baji was there when they returned, and Jai immediately told him about the findings he got also to consult about the Fiery Lotus.Baji crossed his arms on his chest and nodded in acknowledgement. “It’s fortunate that a promising lead is finally here. We’re sorry for the late initiative from our part. We should’ve worked harder.”He didn’t think that he would receive an apology from Baji. But it showed that the man is a responsible person. Jai shook his head. “It’s alright. From the start, it was already a scavenger hunt. But do you know anything about either of those?”Baji fixed his seating before he explained. “Well about the Chief of Fuuji, he’s a strict person on males. He’s nice to females, and he’s really into babies. There’s only one male person he had shown his friendly side to in public,
“So uhh, this person whom you mentioned before with Tsubasa is a very important person. And you want to ask him about Alex?” Darrion asked when they were in the carriage, heading back.Jai narrowed his eyes. “Why aren’t you being straightforward?”“I’m a bit tired from today. There are so many deliveries like yesterday. But ahh… I’m more tired in trying to understand what they say.” Darrion said with nervous smile.Jai forgot that his friend is not adept in Shouha language, it must be hard to work without understanding what anyone is saying.“Sorry.” Jai apologized.Darrion nodded. “It’s fine. Let’s just stick to no name for now, if possible. I… Can’t really erect a barrier right now.”“Sure.” Jai nodded. “The… Family, you know, told me about him. Saying that he is the first person we can ask about Alex. But he has a very high standing, as you’ve listened to me and the father talked about him, so it won’t be easy to talk to him.”“I see. So that’s why you go to them. They can be consi
"Sorry if it's too much of me to ask." Jai said."Oh no, no. It's fine. But my mother is not at home though, is that alright?" Yuta asked as he turned to Jai and Darrion behind him."It's alright. It's very sudden after all." Jai said."Alright then. Would tea be alright?" Yuta asked."Yes. It's fine. Thank you." Jai answered.Fu Fuuji is the head chief of one of the notorious Ten Guardian Clans, the Fuuji clan. After leaving the Komatsu’s residence, he was thinking about how to get in touch with this person. And the Akamine clan is the first thing that came into Jai’s mind.While they don’t really owe him a favor, this family is the closest connection that he has to the Fuuji clan, because they’re also one of the Ten Guardian Clans.Also, he knew that it’s not guaranteed that he would get an audience with Fu Fuuji through the Akamine. There’s a possibility that they are enemies with each other. But he would at least try to ask. So here they were, in the Akamine clan’s residence.Yuta
Returning to the present.“Little Sparks. Fiery Lotus. What the hell are those?” Jai asked as they left the compound.“Quiet down. You’re gonna get us killed for that.” Claude remindedJai turned around and talked in slight whisper. “If it’s associated with the Queen, that means it’s very private. In the North Town, in a community place like thing. It doesn’t ring any bells from the previous search. Do you know anything about it?”He saw an empty horse mount coming in their direction and waved it.The mount stopped in front of them and they immediately climbed in the carriage. “Southeast Windlet Post Office.” He told the horse mount driver.Weaving the air barrier thicker, Claude replied. “I don’t. I’m a hunter, not a mercenary. How do you suppose I know these things?”Jai smiled shortly with a shrug. “Maybe? Ah… But this is a major progress in the case. At least we know he’s not dead, and it will take more effort to rescue him now.” Jai smiled.Claude stared at Jai suspiciously. “Why
They were led to a corridor which have several doors across from each other. Alex immediately knew they are resting rooms, because he could see a bed from one of the opened doors.One of the committees, the previous guy who shot the Cloud Viewing Rune in the ceremony, pulled his hood down, showing his blonde hair. Then he turned around while the other committees went past him, leaving him to deal with the new freshmen batch.“Good morning. My name is Liam. I am one of the guild members and I am one of the supervisors of the freshmen. Well, not really supervisor, but I’m the one they put in charge to look after you when the super seniors are out. Like right now. Oh and umm, I’m not alone. I have my friends with me to look after you. So please don’t do anything rash, because we outpower you by a lot. And we prefer not to hit you, because you’re a potential junior. Please be nice to each other, okay?”Alex didn’t really pay attention. He stopped listening when he uttered the fourth sente
That morning on the day when Jai went to the Komatsu’s house, Alex had already settled in ‘the place’.He wasn’t familiar with the kingdom, as such, he didn’t know where he was taken to.And since he was late, he was grouped with those who were also late. Many eyes stared at him when he entered the room—it was an average room with beds—reserved only for those who arrived late.Apparently, those who arrived first had attended the ceremony and the first phase—and those who were late had to attend on their own. But they would be gathered together after that, and he would be able to meet his roommate. That was what Master Fu said yesterday when he dropped him off. But the old man wasn’t lying.He went through a sleepless night—because there were many others here that he didn’t know and he wasn’t keen on getting surprise attacked in the middle of his sleep. But the night went by uneventfully, fortunately.He and the others were given a tray of scone and tea to start the day. He didn’t eat
“Don’t. Test. Me.”Jai’s eyes glowed brighter for a second as he emphasized the last words.The civilians, of course flinched at his threat. All of them knew him as a humble and righteous young man. Always smiling and looked very kind. They never knew this side of him. That’s why they were very surprised. The Kizuato group wasn’t included though, they were there exactly to prevent Jai doing what he planned to do.Akane, who had have enough of her parents’ plan, stood up.“Akane-chan!” Rio tried to stop her, but she went anyway and spoke.But instead of retaliating at the guest in their house like the rest of her family, she was looking at her mother instead. “Just tell him, mother!”Rio frowned deep at her. “What are you saying, Akane?”Akane gritted her teeth. “Just tell him!! If you tell him, no one will be hurt!”Rio shut her mouth and swallowed, but she didn’t say anything.Akane looked at her mother with bewildered expression. “If you don’t, then I will.” She turned to Jai. But