Messiah 11 : Run_Faster

Roberia's eyes glistened in the dark.

She stared at the sky outside the little square window in their room longingly, remembering her life before she began the adventure.

R : (... I wish I still had a weapon of sorts. I would be training right now...)

It had not been unusual for her to be awake in the middle of the night. It had not been unusual for her to be unable to sleep. But it has been unusual for her to sleep on such a comfortable bed with a well-prepared pillow she was not accustomed to.

Matalpalhallafaelladrapahamo Roberia simply didn't need that much sleep. She had been used to a lifestyle which would have crumbled men of weak will. She had hunted, and trained, and struggled for so long, until the moon begins setting. She has had 2 hours of sleep every night, where normal people would have about 6 or 8, before waking up to a routinely sparring with the knights in her army.

*Cozy's Notes : I know that I have portrayed Roberia as someone who seems weak and all, but I can say one thing for certain - She is definitely not weak. In fact, she is very, very strong. Strong enough for her to stand triumphant in her own throne room. Strong enough for some of the really, really tough and powerful people (who will become Katachi's enemies) to be in her army willingly.

She's portrayed as a 'weak' character without much action currently because she has no weapon to practice with, but later on, she will wake up and sneak some sessions here and there. You'll also see exactly how strong she is in the other routes, when Katachi isn't going to become a Scholar. Unlike this route.*

She stared at the boy, whom laid his right arm against the cold, wooden floor. The pillow he slept on may not have done much to mitigate the discomfort from the planks.

R : (How's his arm doing?) "Katachi..."

Quietly, she got off her bed and sneaked up on the boy, and pulled his left sleeve up. The lacerations on his arm were healing, but the size of the injury suggested that it would take a while before he heals completely.

R : (I hope for the wounds to heal quick...)

Roberia lay her head against the wound softly, and felt up the uneven flesh on his arm with her cheek.

R : "... You have to heal quickly, alright? Don't make me worry for too long."

*** ***

Morning arrived.

Katachi got up from the floor, and looked around the room, then out the window. The room didn't appear as bright as he would have liked it to be - The weather outside was a brewing storm, with thunder rumbling off in the distance, so the light filtering this room was comparably dimmed.

K : (... Looks like a storm. Perhaps we should wait it out...?)

Katachi looked around the room for Roberia, to find her missing from her usual bed.

K : (She woke up already? Where is she?...)

He dressed himself back into the raggy, torn clothes, and headed out into town.

*** ***

Katachi searched, and searched, and sought high and low for her. He went around corners, and walked in circles, and tried to find anything distinctively red, in hopes of finding her.

On his way about town, a lean shadow approached him up front.

M : (There's the boy she's with! This is my chance!) "Excuse me, child, but could you direct me to a bakery? I heard it's around here somewhere..."

An old croaky voice appeared from under the hood.

K : (An old man...) "Huh? Uhm... Are you speaking to me?"

M : "Yes, child, I can't seem to find the bakery around here. Could you take me to it?"

K : "Bakery, huh..." (Bakery, bakery, where have I smelt bread at?... Maybe around that lumber checkpoint?) "Uh, I don't know the exact location, but I can try. I think it's this way."

M : "Thank you, child."

The lean figure followed behind Katachi as he tried to sniff the air for the smell of fresh bread.

K : (I remember smelling it around here somewhere...)

M : (Hahahahah! All according to plan. He 'helps' me out, I get his name, and I'll have a big scoop! This is going to rile up the masses!!)

K : (Ah, over there.) "This way, mister."

M : "Why, thank you very much, child. You are so kind. Yes, indeed, a kind child."

K : "I'm not that-... I mean, thank you."

M : "May I know your name, child?"

K : "Ah. Katachi. Kotsuba Katachi."

M : (Kozuba, huh...) "Such a nice child."

*Cozy's Notes : LOL HE HEARD IT WRONGLY HAHAHAHAH*

Mandred pulled out a pouch, and emptied a few coins onto the table before forming a circle with his thumbs, index and middle fingers. Katachi continued his search of the red-haired girl silently.

M : (Good. He's gone.)

Mandred headed off slowly, mimicking the frail stature he disguised himself as for the walk back to his office.

*** ***

K : "! There you are!"

Katachi headed up towards a small fence, where Roberia stood there leaning against it, watching two kids pretend to be swashbuckling knights in the 'heat' of battle.

R : "Ah, Katachi. Good morning."

K : "What were you doing all the way out here?"

R : "Not much, not much. I'm just watching these two fight and battle each other."

K : "?"

Katachi looked into the pen and saw two boys holding raw, gnarled branches and swinging it at each other, screaming and shouting taunts, which they had probably learned from a story.

"Ha! Is that the best you can do? I've seen whelps put up more of a fight!"
"Say all you want, but I will not yield to you!"

The kids clashed the branches at each other from many different angles, and circled around each other, trying to re-enact the story as close as they could with wide grins on their faces.

K : (This is... From the Lifesunder's story, I think. While Ufel's family was still whole, his relatives bared blades at each other. That scene is where Marcell and Jivet fought for Riancia's necklace.) "... They look like they're having fun."

*Cozy's Notes : Refer to the Happy Labour Day! post for the Lifesunder Diehl's lore. Well, the part after all the ruthless conflict, anyway.*

R : "Indeed." (... I wish I could have fun like they do. But, their breathing and their swings are out of pace, their posture is weak and their grip isn't firm. If I fooled around like this, Father would get mad at me. Not to mention, since I'm sparring against knights with real swords, one moment of foolery could cost me my life.)

K : (I suppose it is enjoyable in a sense, watching them like that. They look pretty carefree, enjoying their acting like that.)

R : (I'm so jealous of them, being so blissfully ignorant of the dangers in an actual battle. How I wish I could have fun like this too without bearing consequences.)

K : "Ah, right. Roberia, it looks like it's about to rain soon. Do you think we should set off to Fereport now?"

R : "Hmm? Hmm..." (The temperature is a lot cooler, and there's a chilling draft. This really feels like it's going to rain soon.)

Roberia raised her head and sniffed the air for a moment.

R : (Breezy... I can smell a sort of salt. A breeze from the sea...) "... It does feel like a storm is coming. I guess we can hold off another night here."

K : "Okay then. I'll go to the library for the day."

R : (? Library?) "What would you go to a library for?"

*Cozy's Notes : Rugnud is a country based off of physical strength as a foundation of power, unlike Findel or Yhorfe or most of the other countries with a lot of magi. I gotta have a post with the countries and what each of them is oriented around, et cetera someday. It will take a while, though. Still writing the Segus lore.*

K : "I could use a few books written in Anikan or Ohdean. They're pretty useful if I want to increase my ability to use the Words of Power." (... Even though I may not understand the meaning of the words... At least I can note them down or something.)

R : (I feel like the Words of Power on him are strong enough, though. But if he insists, I'll believe the expert's advice.) "... Okay then. You enjoy your day at the library, Katachi. I'll just look around town for a bit."

*** ***

D : "Sherayal! Come out! Our guests are hungry!"

S : "You lie, Dante! I heard the two of them leave through the front door! There's nobody else in here except you and me!"

D : "Come on, Sherayal, make me breakfast!"

S : "No! Make your own breakfast!"

D : "Arrgh, fine! You useless woman!"

S : "Did you just call me a useless woman?! I heard that! And I am NOT a useless woman! You're just a useless man who can't go out and work for your own coin!"

D : "Shut up!"

S : "You shut up!"

D : "... Damn. Doesn't look like I'll get breakfast at this rate."

Dante looted and rummaged the clerk's desk, looking hard for the small gold deposit he saved.

D : "... I know I had it somewhere... Sherayal probably confiscated and hid it away again... Curses. Trust the heretic to even have the gold to book a room here, while I'm sitting like a duck, with horses and a nasty wife and nothing to eat. Hmph."

The inn door opened, and Dante marched out of the door grumpily.

*** ***

The library door creaked a little, and the hinges squeaked a bit, as Katachi opened the door to the library.

K : (... Hmm. A bit dusty here and there, but well-maintained otherwise.)

He gently closed the door behind him, and started browsing the books one by one. Since the books were unlabeled, there was no sign or indication that the particular bamboo scroll or paper book was in Ohdean or Anikan, so there was no choice but to glance through each and every one of them with care.

K : (... Not this. This is about Yhorfe. It's highly similar to Findeli. This is too distinct from the word structure of the Words of Power.)

*Cozy's Notes : Yhorfe --> Fe-Or-Yh --> Corrupted pronunciation of Keyori. Britain. That shout-out to Keyori. Debatable humor warning.*

One by one, the stack of books on the desk before him began piling up.

K : (... Aiecol, I think? The character is sort-of similar, but this symbol has been repeated a lot of times in this particular book, and the words look... Softer, than the clear and sharp structure the Words of Power has?...)

*Cozy's Notes : Aiecol --> Col-Ie-A --> Korea. Ha... Sort-of.*

The books were, however, organized neatly on the table, for ease of replacement should he be finished with that particular row of books.

K : (... This won't do. Most of these are about countries in the Western region. If I want to find a book written in Anikan or Ohdean I have to look elsewhere.)

Katachi placed the books back onto the shelves neatly, and began his search on another row of books.

K : (Huh. This particular row is full of paper books. That's a rarity.)

*Cozy's Notes : Fun trivia : Remember when I said Image Power is dominant in their world? The tree is a great symbol of resilience, when Kafki the Serpentress attempts to search for the then-mythical Dream Poison within the trees of the world, with Yvolki's help. Some of the trees they split open, despite being halved, are able to continue living, and even grow despite being cut in half. Therefore, the image power people have of the trees is really formidable, and that inadvertently also results in cutting lumber for houses and paper really, really difficult.

Most of the wood are harvested from fallen branches and twigs, then shredded and finally fused together magically into larger chunks of wood. That wood is extremely precious, because harvesting enough twigs for just a plank is no easy feat. To cut a tree with magic is tough - even Bertund faces difficulty doing so. When Katachi talked about kindling the flame in the previous chapter, he meant that they didn't collect enough twigs to substitute a log - Simply gathering them for a small campfire is tough enough. That is why paper is a rarity in their world.*

Katachi picked up the books in order, and read through them all, one by one.

*** ***

He waited for a chance where nobody was around. Quickly, Dante kicked his boot against a dirty wall to shake off the soot stuck on the bottom of his boots.

D : (I guess I'll go have another round at the raffle.)

Dante reached into his pocket and felt up the small, cubic stones.

D : (... Good. My lucky dice are still there. Thank god that broad is never smart enough to flip my pockets.)

But his eyes were not focused on what's in front, so he bumped into a red-haired girl.

D : (!) "Watch where you're going, you numbskull- !!"
R : "!!!"

... Who happens to be Roberia holding a bun.

R : (He called me a numbskull. That is a great insult to me. I am NOT a numbskull.) "So I am a numbskull now, am I?"

D : "No! No! I'm sorry, miss! I didn't mean to call you a nnn- !!! Aaaaggk..."

Roberia lowered her body and widened her feet, fisted him in the gut with a solid punch, and he collapsed onto the ground, writhing and twitching on the ground.

D : (This hurts!! This hurts so much!! I don't even know which position helps compress the injury! When I relax one side, the opposing muscles clench and it hurts!!! My mind is going numb from one punch alone?!)

Dante couple only clutch his stomach and try his best to compress the wound, as Roberia took a bite off her bun and spewed crumbs out as she spoke.

R : "Garbage like yourselves don't even deserve to have your blood drank."

*Cozy's Notes : Like I said, Image Power is dominant in this world. When a person drinks another's blood, the vigor of life to his opponent, the image power that one accepted their vigor into one's body empowers one so. This also means that the more high-quality blood of strong people you lap and accept into your stomach, the stronger the image you cast on others, and once it reaches a certain point people are going to be afraid of just walking past you.

There's a reason why Diehl is called the Lifesunder, and why his weapon is a serrated fleshrending sword made specifically for his opponents to bleed. Also, that was really unladylike of Roberia to talk with her mouth full. She's a warrior princess, not a princess, though. So it's acceptable to a certain degree.*

Roberia stomped Dante on his shoulder, and headed back to the fence.

*** ***

"Can I help you?"

A deep, masculine voice rang out from behind Katachi as he browsed the Legends section.

K : "Ahh, you are... ?"

"I am the librarian of this place. May I help you?"

K : "Good! That's good. I uh... I need to find a book, that is written either in Anikan or Ohdean. Either will do."

"This way."

Katachi turned around, to greet a relatively large man with bulging muscles and a beard. The white strands amidst the grey suggests that he is not of a young age.

"Most books we have in this library are often written in Findeli, or Aiecoli. That's why you can't find Anikan or Ohdean easily. Only the really old books that date all the way back to Fiorsal have other languages. I've compiled a collection of books in other languages on that particular shelf, however. Feel free to browse there."

*Cozy's Notes : A lot of trivia notes this time, well, because it's hard coping with the lore's progression by devoting every post on the blog to it. Okay - Fiorsal is Findel's name in the past. Much like how a land-line used to be called a telephone before globalisation, or how, well, a titular example - How Tokyo used to be called Edo. I would know, since Ohde is the reverse of Edo.*

The librarian directed him to a row of books which were really old - Some of the things on the rack were scrolls, tablets in a really old language, and some bamboo and paper books. He picked up the bamboo book written in Aiecol and placed it neatly onto the shelf he just pointed at.

K : "Thank... Thank you."

"If you need any help, consult me. I'm a librarian, and I am here to help."

The muscleman headed around the corner, and a sound of an unbalanced wooden stool leg clacking onto the floor was heard.

K : (... Wow. Some of these are old. Really, really old - I don't even recognize them. I wonder what they mean, though?)

Katachi picked up a scroll, and read the contents carefully.

K : (... I can't understand this at all... This is really ancient. I haven't seen such a language before.)

He quietly put it back down, and picked up another scroll.

K  :(!! This is in Anikan! Uhm... Let's see... )

Finally, he had found something useful. Like an excited child looking forward to his new toy, he read the contents of the scroll as thoroughly as he could.

K : (... I haven't even seen most of these characters, let alone understand them. I suppose I better copy them down, though, since it could come in handy in the future.)

He took out a piece of charcoal, and some powdered, ragged cloth that used to belong to his old garments from his belt. Katachi drew all the characters upon the powdered cloth with the charcoal, and then kept the cloth safe and secure in a small pouch.

"Why do you need to copy those down?"

K : "?!"

Someone had snuck up upon him while he busied himself with copying. A boy younger than Katachi himself held a book and a flat piece of wood with an engraving : The Old Master's Favorite.

K : (A kid with a bookmark...) "Uh..."

"I mean, you could just borrow the scroll if you like. Just be sure to return them."

K : "... Because... I'm not sure if I can return it if I borrow the scroll."

"Why not?"

K : "... I won't be staying in this town for that long. Even if I borrow this, it would only be for a day, and uh... And I'll have to return it by tomorrow, probably, or I would be stealing it."

"Huh. Okay then."

The boy picked up a book with a bookmark placed within, and opened it to the marked page. He slotted the bookmark in his hand on a further page, took the previous bookmark out, and continued reading from what he presumably left off.

K : (Maybe he knows something about this?) "Uhm... By the way, what does this scroll say?"

*Cozy's Notes : There is a good reason why I am not writing the boy's thoughts.*

"... ? That scroll?"

K : "Yes. This uh... This one."

"Do you see all the characters with a sprout from a pot, and the one that looks like a bear wearing an Anikan cap, to the bottom of each column?"

Katachi looked at the scroll once again, and affirmed it himself.

K : (... He's right. There are these weird characters, 占, and 空, and they are appearing at the bottom of each column...) "Yeah... Sort of.

"Of course you do. That's a checklist for supplies to be sent from Yaozhi to GuiAnWan, when they suffered from Cropswarm locusts eating their crops."

*Cozy's Notes : And this is why. XD

K : (Hmm, yes, 14 diapers, check. Very interesting. This could be useful, hmm, yes, indeed. I see, 22 sticks, unchecked, they didn't get enough sticks, must have been tough for them, but not like it matters since I will never see these items anyway. 8 cinder blocks, checked, yes, interesting, very interesting indeed, hmm, yes, indeed. So they counted cinderblocks like this back in the day, intriguing..)

XD Imagine Katachi being like that. XD I couldn't spoil this with translating his thoughts XD*

K : "This document is a checklist?"

"And here I was, wondering why someone would take such keen interest into a simple checklist of the past! Hahahah!!! You are absurdly stupid, you know that?"

K : (That's rude!) "I... I may be stupid, but you don't need to be so... So... So direct with, with blurting it out on my face..."

"I know, I know. I'm just messing with you. I don't get to have fun like that often anyway, so just let me enjoy this. The other kids outside playing about are stupid just like you, but you look more co-operative."

K : (He just wants to relieve himself... I don't mind, then.)

The kid sighs, and glances at the scroll in Katachi's hands.

"Still, as stupid as it is, that scroll is still a piece of history. The old man's never bothered throwing this out. It may be stupid, but it does tell the history of Anik, and what happened then."

K : "I agree..."

"Much like every book and scroll and tablet that's found its way here. They all carry a certain weight, a specific history about the things they once were. Much like how every person has a different fate."

K : (Different... Fate...)

"... Hey, stupid."

K : "... I'm not stupid, I have a name. Kotsuba Katachi."

"Whatever. 'Baka' in Ohdean means 'idiot' anyway."

K : (!? He knows Ohdean as well?!) "You know Ohdean?"

"Of course I do. I've spent enough time in this library to learn most and speak some languages, spare Aiecol. That place is a nightmare. Too many consonants and word combinations."

K : "Then, then, could you tell me if the name on this ring is correct?"

Katachi took out the ring hung on his neck, and showed the boy the white-gemmed golden beauty.

"... Hmm. That's an unusual name. I'd have thought your Ko- in Kotsuba would have meant small."

*Cozy's Notes : That is very true, by the way. Ko- in Japanese could mean 小 for small, 子 for Child, 個 for individual, and many other meanings. His Ko- is a very abnormal word for a name. And you'd learn why - Because his surname isn't supposed to use 凝椿 for Frozen Camellia, but rather 小椿 for Little Camellia. On that note, 椿 is supposed to be pronounced Tsubaki. The -ki is omitted for their name, but that's acceptable too.*

K : "Unusual?"

"Whatever. I don't exactly know what's going on in Ohde that would result in you having a name like that, but factually, that is your name."

K : "... Thank you." (Maybe I could learn some Anikan and Ohdean from him? If I could understand the characters, it would help a whole lot.)

"You're welcome. Right, if you'd excuse me, I gotta go buy some food for the chickens."

K : "! Ah, wait! I still have to ask-"

"If you're planning to look for a good book to learn the language itself, I strongly suggest you look over on that desk, third stack, 5th book bottom up."

And with that, the boy took his leave.

*Cozy's Notes : This kid is baller. He's got swag yo. He even predicted Katachi's thoughts. KATACHI, YOU HAVE TO BUCK UP AND BECOME A SMART, HEALTHY YOUNG BOY OKAY? ... I sound like Bael. Good lord. XD Just goes to show how prepared and excited I am for writing Messiah 12.*

*** ***

Night had fallen.

Katachi stared into his empty pouch, and frowned at how lightweight it was.

K : (16 gold... No dinner for the night, huh...)

With a sullen face, he passed the door and headed for his room.

R : "There you are, Katachi. Where have you been?"

K  :"I was at the library, reading up on the books there  to get something."

R : "So, did you find anything?"

K : "Yeah, I uh, I found this tally list they used to record supplies."

R : (What use is that?) "How does that help us?"

K : "... It doesn't."

R : (Wow. That's pretty unproductive.) "..."
K : (How do I break the news that we have no dinner?) "..."

The two fell silent, and looked at each other.

K : "... Say, Roberia..."

R : "What is it?"

K : "... We... We may not have dinner tonight."

R : "Why not?"

K : (... I wouldn't want her to worry about the gold, but this is important...) "... Well, to be honest-"

S : "Dinner is ready, you two!"

Sherayal's voice rang from the kitchen, followed by the loud, slamming sound of a door.

K : "Wha- We get dinner here?"

R : "What are you talking about, Katachi? The inn is supposed to provide us the food and lodging. It's all paid for already."

*Cozy's Notes : Derp. He didn't know that inns provided food when you paid to stay. That just goes to show how limited Katachi's knowledge of the world is. Lore-wise and magic-wise, he is pretty good since he's read a lot from the library at home, and he's nice in that he does the chores, but when it comes down to living in society, he's still a kid. There's a lot for him to learn.*

K : "... I... I see."

R : "Come on, then! This way!"

*** ***

The meal had been heaven for Roberia.

Despite the simplicity of the dishes present, it had been a generous and well-prepared meal fit for a king. The bread had been kept warm and toasty, and its fragrance permeated her nostrils as she savored every bite and chew. The meat was succulent and juicy and tender and rebounded with every bite like a sponge, the variety of cheese was wonderful and offered many possible combinations, the assortment of fresh lettuce made the sandwich crisp and light-flavored, the tomatoes sweetened and enhanced its general appeal, the broth by the side was a refreshing change of a thick, slippery and slightly bitter taste, likely brought upon by the usage of spices and herbs. For a small inn, that had been pretty extravagant.

The meal had invigorated her body after a leisurely day of searching around the forests nearby for sticks and pebbles to train with.

R : "This is great, don't you think, Katachi?"

The meal had been a luxury he couldn't afford.

One so glamorous, he could only silent stare at her eat so heartily while chewing on the plain wheat bread.

K : (So much food... I thank the lands for birthing these foods, I thank Dardicel for his land, I thank Vithrolu for his mercy, I thank Kafki for these herbs, I thank Soltak for the sun to grow and nurture these...)

He held a tomato in his left hand, and gnawed at the bread.

R : (He's eating the bread plain? Even with such a wide assortment before him?) "What's wrong? Just eat, Katachi. You paid for this."

*Cozy's Notes : Social standings in the past. When you're rich and powerful, you could take the food without fear of being looked down upon by others since you're rich enough to pay for everything on the table. But when you're poor like Katachi, whom has supposedly not paid for the meal at all, you should be grateful that you get sustenance, and eat the amount that keeps you alive. Luxuries like eating to your fill, or having a gratifying burp, or having a bloated feeling in the stomach... Those are things the poor could never hope to afford.*

K : "... I guess I'm not used to eating such a large quantity before me..."

R : "Well, in any case, try to eat, Katachi. Energy is important, and letting this food go to waste is not good." (Ilpoh decrees that one must obtain thy food through rightful means. Since he has done so, he ought to eat to his fill, and to do everything with passion and vigor, for he who lives may not live to see the next sunrise, nor the next sunset.)

K : (Segus teaches that food is precious, and the labor of the farmers whom have tilled and worked their lives to provide for us... She's right. I ought not to let this food go to waste.) "... Okay."

*Cozy's Notes : You start to see a sort of orientation around their beliefs. Ilpoh's ideals are towards a future sense, for one to keep moving forward and are generally assertive / proactive. Segus's ideals are oriented around the fact that one ought not to forget their roots, to remember the past and to continue onward by honouring the past.

Where Segus' teachings speak of a reason to move onward, Ilpoh's teachings provide said method to walk forward. It is true that they are opposites, and at the same time, they aren't. Two opposing sides of the same coin, yet they lay on the same side. So, ask yourself - What defines the 'coin', exactly?*

He arranged a simple sandwich of lettuce, tomatoes and bread before him, and made a sandwich.

R : "You shouldn't neglect your meats. Have some veal, or an egg, at least."

Katachi nodded silently and grabbed an egg from the bowl, and placed it into his mouth. The hard-boiled egg was mashed up in his mouth, and he swallowed it whole.

R : "Hey, be careful! Don't choke on your food, you idiot!"

K : "... Idiot..." *cough* (That kid said the same thing too. My name has an 'idiot' in it...)

R : "?... Don't do this to me, Katachi. Please say something meaningful, I'm trying to have a proper conversation with you."

K : "Ah?... Ah! Er, sorry about that. I... I guess I'm just spacing out."

R : "What could you possibly be thinking that would be so distracting?"

K : "... Uhm... Well, it's not much, but I found something quite disturbing. That's all."

R : "Disturbing? Disturbing like seeing a person's offals?"

K : "!! Mmmh!!" *gags* (Oh my goodness... I can see it in my eyes when she says it like that...)

That ruined his mood to eat any further.

K : "... I'm sorry, Roberia. I don't think I can keep on eating. I'll... I'll go sleep now."

R : "Okay. Let's go together then."

The two left the dining area, as a hungry and crazed Dante came around the corner and gobbled their food as fast as his gullet would allow.

K : (...Whoa... He's had it rough. Amongst the three whom used to bully me, he's the worst, but to have him starve this much is a bit drastic, isn't it?)

He took one last glance at the starving beast hogging the food on the table to himself, eating in the silence of the hall.

*** ***

*Cozy's Notes : Juval is the big brute guy who forces Katachi to an isolated corner in an alley, because Dante tells him to. Zirco fibs and lies to the adults, to wrongfully vindicate Dante's behaviour. If I can say this... Juval and Zirco didn't even want to associate themselves with Katachi, since the adults told them that he is a bastard child - Rather, Dante, being their 'friend', asked them to bully him because of his own superiority complex, which led to them reluctantly doing so. Makes one wonder what the hell Dante's been through to become like this.

(lol Divine Comedy pun. Get it? Because in Divine Comedy, Dante went through Hell. Hah.)

On a side note, notice how Katachi is soft and kind at heart. That's the Katachi I want to portray : He's serious about his goal, he's also kind and compassionate to others, even his bullies. But this by no means represent his mental strength - He's weak, too, to have fallen into his inferiority complex... Well, that's part of the reason why Roberia respects his mercy, and is troubled by his self-depreciation at the same time.*

*** ***

The sun's golden rays shined onto Katachi's face.

K : "..."

Katachi turned around to face his back against the sun, only to feel a strange warmth before his face.

He opened his eyes, to realize exactly how close to the wall he had been. The warmth was from his own exhaled breath, bouncing off the wall and flowing back at his own face.

*Cozy's Notes : GOTCHA! Thought that was Roberia behind him, didn'tcha? Ha! They're not at that level!... yet.*

Katachi got up, and looked around the room. Towards a corner was Roberia leaning on a wooden chair's backrest, brushing and combing her hair straight.

*Cozy's Notes : Her hair's straightness is actually from a special oil harvester, which grows an oily fungus at the top of the jar. The oil it produces seeps down the jar's sides, and accumulates at the bottom of the jar. It fills up in time, and if she wants to have lots of oil, she needs to remember to feed the fungus at the top of the jar something to degrade, like leaves or insects. Not animals, though - If you put a dead rat there and pressed it against the fungus, its blood might flow down from being squished and contaminate the oil with red the color of her hair. Unnoticeable, but disgusting.

I didn't want to put this detail in, actually. It's pretty disgusting, but I just had to. This sticks faithfully to the story's setting, instead of giving it a weird and illogical reason like 'Oh, her hair is ironed straight by magic!' or something cheap. SHE'S A WARRIOR PRINCESS, HOW WOULD SHE KNOW HAIR-IRONING MAGIC. That's also why I used her as the deuteragonist instead of Bael - I couldn't find an excuse for Bael to use this oil, without it dripping all over her assets and having it look like it's something out of an adult story with erotic content. If I ever write eroticism for the story's realism... I'll tag the front of the chapter with a [H18 ALERT] so don't worry. I'll also summarize what happened in the [H18] chapter on the next chapter so rest easy.*

K : "Good morning."

R : "Good morning, Katachi. The weather's pretty nice - Think we should head out to Fereport now?"

K : "Sure."

They packed their things together, and got ready to set off.

*** ***

"Breaking news, breaking news! News that will shock you! News you simply cannot believe!"

The two of them headed towards the gate when they saw a crowd gathered around a wall with various posters of sorts.

K : "? I wonder what they are gathering for?"

R : "Katachi?"

K  :"Ahh, no worries. I'll just go there to have a look."

R :  "... Okay..."

Placing his bag beside Roberia, Katachi headed towards the crowd, and made his way to the front. His small stature allowed him to squeeze through the many adults to the front, where an old man with a bell handed him a piece of papyrus with current events written on them.

K : "... Thank you."

Katachi made his way back out of the crowd, and found Roberia standing right behind the crowd, with an anxious face.

K : "I'm here."

R : "Ah, good. I was worried that you'd be stuck in there."

K : "I won't be. I'm small. Heheheh. Well, the man sitting there handed this to me..."

R : "? What's it say?"

*Cozy's Notes : Ah, by the way, it works a bit differently in this fantasy world. Most people in the middle ages were illiterate. If they needed news to spread, they simply shouted. Newspaper and stuff like that were usually posters stuck on walls and such, but it works differently in this world. Findel is a country famous for magi, and so they must be able to understand basic words and terms before they can incite and chant spells.

Rugnud, a warrior country where strength is power, has no need for reading. So finding libraries in Findel is easy, whereas finding a book or any sort of documentation in Rugnud would usually be for the aristocrats only. Same thing applies to other countries in the story too.*

K : "Hmm... Let's see here... this big title says 'Rugnud Princess In Affair', this medium one says that Minister Lein will be visiting Eliasbury soon, these small ones say a variety of things..."

R : "!!! Rug-! Rugnud Princess In Affair?!" (Wha- When did this happen? Who leaked this information? How much do they know about us? Who wrote this?!)

K : "? Do you recognize this princess, Roberia?"

Upon calling her name, the people behind him turned around with a face of utter stupefaction and astonishment. The entire crowd soon followed suit, staring at her with eyes wide open.

R : (!! Everyone's looking! Crap! They know who I am!) "Katachi, do exactly as I say, and follow me! Drop everything, grab your bag, and let's RUN! NOW!!"

K : "Ah-?! Ah! Okay!"

The two ran as hard as they could, towards the gate. The crowd roared behind them in hot pursuit.

"Stop that red-haired girl!"
"After her!"
"She has answering to do!"
"Get her!"
"Someone stop those two!!"

R : (Crap, crap, crap! They're following us!!) "Run faster!!"

K : "Why are we running?! And why are they chasing us?!"

R : (I'm sorry, Katachi. This is the one time I'll lie to you, so please understand...) "I... I might have a bit too much to drink yesterday!!!"

K : "You WENT to DRINK?! WE DON'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY TO SPEND!!!"

R : "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, so please, run with me! I don't want them to take you hostage! RUN FASTER!!!"

K : "AHHH, THE PAIN!!!!!"

The two sprinted with all their might, and after turning two corners, the gate was finally in sight.

"Guards! Stop them!"
"Catch them!!"
"Don't let them escape!"
"Defend that wall with all your might!"
"Close the gates!"

The two guards with halberds formed a cross on the pass, stopping anyone from crossing them.

R : (Curses, not now!) "Katachi! Follow closely behind me, and run forward with all your might!"

K : "I already am running forward with all my might!!!"

R : "Okay, here goes then! HAAAAHH!!"

Roberia rammed her shoulder into one of the guards and tackled him down. Following closely behind was Katachi whom dashed past the gap in their defense, while Roberia pushed off against the soldier's body on the ground, flipped forward before catching herself with a good landing. With only the clear plains ahead of them, they made a heavy sprint, a last push to further the distance between them and the chasing crowd.