The young child slowly awoke to the sound of the usual EKG machine beeping. She lay bedridden as she has for the majority of her short life, being diagnosed with a rare type of cancer shortly after she was born. Of course, all she could do was carefully stretch and yawn and shortly after the doctors would come in and do their usual tests before she was fed breakfast. She had a relatively easy life in the hospital, despite the pain. She would occasionally be visited by someone dressed as her favourite cartoon character, Hyper Man. Despite all of this she did her best to learn while studying from the local school remotely. She was aware that her life was sourly limited with nothing but tests and whitewalls. Today, however, was different as her mother came in saying some things to the doctor, her father was outside of the room, and he refused to look in.

    "Mom, what's going on?" she asked in her weak voice as she noticed that a priest and lawyer were also standing outside of the room.

    "You're going to get a special shot today," her mom answered after a pause, not making any sort of eye contact.

    "Is it going to cure me?"

    "No, not exactly."

    "Will it at least make me feel better?"

    "Yeah, it'll make you feel better," she said slowly as the doctor was getting her arm ready for the injection. The girl looked out in the hallway and several of her favourite nurses and doctors were crying. "Why's everyone so sad if it's going to make me feel better?"

    "You need to understand-" the doctor started.

    "-It's going to make you go to sleep," her mother said.

    "What?" the girl asked.

    "It's going to put you to sleep."

    "Oh. How long will I be asleep?"

    "You... won't be waking up."

    "But..." she trailed off as the doctor injected her slowly. "But I'm not... tired... yet." Her vision slowly faded as she laid back, the sounds of the room around her fuzzing out as she felt herself melting into nothing but oblivion.

2: II - The Gods

    The little girl opened her eyes and found herself in an endless white hallway with a door at the end of it.

    "Hello?" she called out, surprising herself with how well her voice actually sounded. She looked around to not see anything but the door, so she slowly walked toward it. She was able to reach the knob and she turned it, opening the door. Inside was a similarly white room with bookshelves on both sides. There was a woman at the desk in the middle of the room who was writing on some paper.

    "Take a seat," she said with a smile, gesturing toward a chair that was in front of her. The girl walked over and sat down on the slightly tall chair, although she still couldn't see what was going on. "So, little one, your life was quite short."

    "Ma'am... am I dead?" she asked with a quiver in her voice.

    "Sadly yes. I just finished writing out your life's story and I just loathe the really short ones."

    "Oh," she sobbed, beginning to cry.

    "Oh you poor child there's no need to cry," the woman said, reaching over and handing her a piece of candy. "Be a bit more chipper, please?"

    "But... but how did I die? Mom said I was just going to sleep a-and I wouldn't wake up."

    "Precisely. She had you purposefully put to rest in order to soothe the strain on herself for purely selfish reasons."

    "W-What?"

    "Sweet child, your parents could not afford to care for you anymore so they purposefully had you euthanized."

    "H-Huh?" she said sniffling.

    "Basically your own parents killed you so they wouldn't have to care for you anymore," a man said, dressed in similarly divine clothing as the woman.

    "Hey now, there's no need to say it so harshly," the woman scolded him for making the little girl cry even more.

    "She was only a child, you need to use simpler words and tell her the truth," he said to her. "Sweet child, you need to understand that your parents will be punished for their actions."

    "But I didn't wanna die!" she cried. The little girl cried for what may have been ages or moments, for the concept of time did not exist in her current realm. "So... so what do I do now?"

    "Well given your situation my partner and I are going to offer you a choice," the woman said, wiping the girl's tears. "At the other end of the hallway, you be out in Heaven, eternal peace."

    "Or, as I have been noticing, you seem to be fond of adventures," the man said and the girl's eyes lit up a bit.

    "Hmm," she said with a nod.

    "So if you don't want to stay here, we can send you to another world full of adventures and magic."

    "I wanna adventure!" she said raising her hand.

    "Are you sure? Once we send you on your way, you won't be able to come back here unless you die again, and even then we won't be so lenient."

    "Adventure!" she said.

    "Well, I suppose she's made her choice," the man said with a laugh.

    "I suppose so," the woman agreed, grabbing a bag.

    "What's that for?" the girl asked as the man waved his hand, revealing another door.

    "A bag of goodies you will need for the world you'll be adventuring in," the woman answered. Inside were a few books about the world as well as some clothes, food, a knife, and some form of money. "You will also be your current age when you get there with all of your memories intact."

    "Okay," the girl said, grabbing the bag and putting it on her back as she walked over to the door. "Thanks for the candy," she said as the man opened the door and she walked through. She heard the door close behind her and she blacked out again, before momentarily waking up in a grassy field.

3: III - Manhood

    The child looked all around, taking in her surroundings.

    "Wow, this place is huge!" she said aloud, but she had noticed that her voice sounded very different. She immediately ran to a nearby stream where she looked at her reflection. She had short brown hair, piercing blue eyes, and a small yet somewhat stocky body and under her somewhat basic clothes, she felt different. "Wait I look so different." She then felt around on herself after setting her bag down and she looked down her raggedy shorts, blushing at what she saw. "Oh... I'm a boy." She, or he, rather, paused for a moment to let that sink in. "I'm a boy. Aw! But I don't wanna be a boy!" He sighed before sitting down and laying back. "Oh well, I guess it can't be all that bad. I'm already used to having to pee sitting down anyway." He sat up after a while and looked through his bag. Like the Gods had said, he had food, clothes, books, and tools. He pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper and opened it up. It was a map of a world he had never seen or heard of before.

    "M... Migia? Hm, that must be this world. But I wonder which country I'm in. Guess I'll have to go to the next city to find out." He rolled the map back up and placed it in the bag. "Wait a minute I can read this. I guess this must be like those similar adventure stories I always heard about." There was a road not far from the stream and came to it and looked both ways. "I wonder which way to go? I mean, I once heard 'all roads lead to Rome' so I guess I should find a town if I go one of these directions. Hm..." he thought for a moment before choosing right as he was right-handed. The boy walked for a good several hours, stopping for snacks and drinks from the nearby stream. He kept himself busy by thinking things out loud. "I guess if I'm a boy I should have a boy's name. Hm... I like Nico. Yeah, I think I'll go with that. Nico." Nico continued down the road until he eventually saw a wall in the distance. It was a town. He ran up to the open gate and headed inside the town. It looked like any other town and he glanced around seeing all of the shops and stalls. "I suppose I should look for a guild hall or an inn."

    "If you're looking for the guildhall, it's the building in the centre of town," a female shopkeeper said, having overheard his personal ramblings.

    "Thanks," he said with a wave as he made his way there. He eventually found it and headed inside. There was general guild rambunctiousness which slowly subsided as he walked up to the counter. "Excuse me," he said to the lady working.

    "Hello-" she started to not see anyone until she looked down. "What can I do for you, little boy?"

    "I'd like to become an adventurer please." There was a pause in the entire hall before the place lit up with laughter. "What's wrong?"

    "Um... you have to be 10 years old to apply," the woman said with a smile.

    "But I'm 10! At least I think..."

    "You don't know how old you are?"

    "Well last I knew I was 7, but then I was told to come here."

    "Well... I don't know. Why don't you come back here when you're older. I'm sure your parents are worried." Nico sighed.

    "I don't have parents anymore. They didn't want me."

    "I see. I'm sorry to hear that but in any case, we can't allow you to register."

    "Okay. Thanks anyway." Nico sighed and walked out of the guildhall as everyone watched in silence before going back about their business when he stepped outside.

    "Hey," a voice to his left said. Nico looked and saw a teenaged girl wearing a witches hat looking down at him as she stood against the door frame. "Too young to register, huh?"

    "Yeah I guess," he huffed, walking away.

    "Hey hold on," she said, walking after him. "I can help you."

    "How?"

    "Well, I am a witch. I can teach you a spell that will make you turn older."

    "Really?"

    "Yeah, head to the inn later. Ask for Rikka."

    "Who's Rikka?"

    "Me, stupid," she said, flicking his forehead.

4: IV - Rikka

    Later that night, Nico headed for the inn. The innkeeper saw him walk in.

    "How can I help you this late at night?" she said with a smile.

    "Um, I'm here to visit Rikka," he said. The innkeeper paused and pulled him behind the counter.

    "She's not forcing you to do this, is she? She didn't put a spell on you?! Are you really doing this willingly!?"

    "Huh? What are you talking about?"

    "O-Oh nothing. Ahem, sorry. She's in room 3 upstairs." With regained composure, she sent Nico upstairs. He sighed and knocked on the door.

    "Come in," Rikka said, and he walked in, seeing the dark-haired, green-eyed witch. "What was your name?"

    "I'm Nico."

    "Well Nico, are you ready to become an adventurer?"

    "Yes please," he said affirmatively.

    "Alright. First, we need to make you older." She stood him in a magic circle she had placed on the ground. "Oh Goddess of Fury and Lust, hear my plea, for I wish to borrow your power and allow me to teach this boy about the true meaning of manhood!"

    "Huh?" Nico asked and the next thing he knew he was looking at her at far more than eye level. "Oh," he said with a deeper voice. "I'm taller... than you."

    "This is a powerful spell that allows me to age anyone by 10 years. Now let me guide you," Rikka said with a crazed and lusty expression. Much to the shock of the innkeeper given the noises of hoots, hollers, questions and cries she heard. Hours later, Nico was staring at the ceiling in shock, back in his child form.

    "I had no idea boys could produce all that fluid," he muttered to himself. "Gross. Guess now I know what to expect when I really do grow older. This witch is one scarey..."

    "If you finish that sentence, I'm not going to help you," Rikka said, rolling over in the bed to face him.

    "Sorry... I just... you taught me a lot of things just now."

    "Well, stick with me, and I can teach you everything I know."

    "Okay. But could you not... you know... do anything so... exciting?"

    "Jeez, you really are a child."

    "Hey, where I come from there are laws about doing such a thing with children."

    "And where would that be?"

    "Um... I don't know. Where in Migia are we?"

    "You really don't know? What, did you just pop out of thin air?"

    "Yeah." Rikka just stared at him dumbfounded. She shook her head, sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

    "Look, just go to bed."

    "Fine." The next morning, however, was not so fine.

    "So you did seduce that poor young man!" the innkeeper yelled at Rikka.

    "What young man?" Rikka asked as a temporarily older Nico came around the corner. "He's older than I am."

    "God, you're one hell of a witch," the innkeeper huffed, turning away from them.

    "Especially in bed," Nico added.

    "Oh, I'm very well aware!" she retorted blushing vividly. "Now get the hell out!"

5: V - Dayserring of Tranz

    Rikka took Nico in his transformed older state back to the guildhall to get him registered. Luckily they had no way of knowing he was under a transformation spell.

    "Alright... Nico, was it?" the woman behind the counter asked.

    "Yes," he said.

    "Okay, I'm going to fill out your Adventurers ID here." She filled out his card and handed it to him.

    "Is that it?"

    "Yep." Rikka nodded and took his hand, leading him back outside.

    "So there's no classes or level system?" he asked her.

    "What are you talking about?" she asked him with a confused expression.

    "You know... never mind. Anyway, where are we?"

    "I'll explain later." She led him around the town getting some extra supplies and something to eat. While Nico ate, and the spell faded, causing him to go back to his normal 7-year-old self. "We're here in a town called Dayserring, in the Tranz Kingdom, which is here. The capital city Schwarze Felson is down here in this bay. Didn't you say you had some basic history book with you?"

    "Well yeah, but I haven't had time to read them yet."

    "Man, I feel like I should enrol you into a school," Rikka sighed. Nico crossed his arms and pouted.

    "Well, I'm sorry I haven't had time to focus on my studies."

    "No matter, no matter. I can teach you on our travels. Anyway, despite the fact you wanted to be an adventurer, were you planning on going anywhere in particular?"

    "I just wanna explore this world really."

    "Well, the land directly south of the Tranz Kingdom where we are is called the Kitso Shogunate," Rikka said, pointing to the map. "I actually had some business down there. You wanna just party up with me? I can teach you all sorts of new things, magic, and use my ageing spell to get you into places."

    "Sounds a bit shifty, that last part but I guess I can stick around with you," Nico said with a smile.

    "Alright. Let me gather some supplies and we can head out first thing tomorrow morning," Rikka said, getting up from the table. "In the meantime, I suggest you head back to the inn and read those books you have." Nico nodded and did just that so by the time it was much later he was deep into his studies. Rikka however was so late getting back that by the time she had arrived, Nico had fallen asleep over his last book. She scoffed at herself for neglecting him and helped him to bed before she stripped down and slept in the bed across from his. She knew she wouldn't get much sleep if any at all, but she knew that it would be better for them to sleep separately. Nico however, had a very vivid dream about the gods he had met before he even came to this world, back when he was a she.

    "I see your first couple of days are going well," the goddess had said to her.

    "This Rikka girl is crazy!" she said to her.

    "We're well aware," she said. "Just don't become used to her advances on you."

    "She's teaching me things I don't want to know about yet! You know I'm not ready!"

    "Well yes, it is rather abhorrent. You need to put your foot down and tell her no."

    "I will."

    "Good," she smiled. She nodded before shortly waking up as Nico again.

6: VI - Adventure Awaits

    The next morning, Nico awoke in the bed. He sat up and yawned before rubbing his eyes and looking around. Rikka was already up and packing their things.

    "Morning sleepyhead," she said with a smile. "Are we ready to depart for the Shogunate?"

    "Yep," Nico said, grabbing the rest of his stuff and putting it all back in the bag. Rikka threw her own bag of things over her shoulder as they walked out of the inn and she led him down the path south that led outside of town. After that had been walking for quite aways, Nico sighed.

    "Bored? It is quite the walk to Eriksten. It's around 250 miles."

    "250 miles?" Nico asked. "Man, my feet hurt already."

    "Hey, maybe you should have thought about becoming a merchant. At least then we could have a drawn wagon."

    "So it's my fault for wanting to be an adventurer then?"

    "What can I say? If you really want to travel this world then it's going to take up your entire life. Now, however short or long a life you want is up to you."

    "I suppose that makes sense."

    "But don't worry too much, Nico. Who knows, maybe we'll find a dungeon and sell some treasure, or win some sort of lottery."

    "Maybe so," he said with a smile. Eventually, as they stopped for lunch, a carriage stopped along the road.

    "A witch and her little brother, huh?" the man driving the carriage asked with a laugh.

    "We're just some adventurers, really," Nico said.

    "I see. Care if I enjoy my lunch with you?" he asked.

    "Sure thing," Rikka said, moving a bit to allow the man to sit under the shady tree as well. "Are you heading for Krosvelsen as well?"

    "I thought we were aiming for Eriksten?" Nico asked.

    "Well we are," Rikka said, and the man laughed.

    "Krosvelsen is another village to the south of us," the man said. "It's built as a junction to several other cities around this part of the countries."

    "Oh, I see," Nico said.

    "Plus there's a legendary tavern there," Rikka said.

    "The Kross Tavern and Guildhall," the man said and Rikka nodded.

    "Nico, I think we'll be staying in Krosvelsen tonight."

    "I suppose it will be dark by the time we get there," Nico said, glancing at the map.

    "Actually since I'm heading there myself with this shipment of beer, would you both like to ride with me?" the man asked. "I could always use an extra pair of hands, especially to help ward off bandits."

    "With the proper payment of course," Rikka said with a smirk. "We'd be glad to."

    "Not a problem," he said, finishing his sandwich. "I'm Richt, the drayer."

    "What the hell's a drayer?" Rikka asked, shaking his hand and he laughed loudly.

    "The drayer is the one who takes the beer from the brewer to the tavern." Once they had all finished their lunch, Rikka climbed into the back of the wagon to keep an eye for any pursuers, while Nico had sat upfront with Richt who was telling him all sorts of stories from his travels.

    "...and so she and I ended up together than night," Richt was saying. "Man, son if you were older you'd have asked for a piece of her too. Oh, but don't tell your sister I've been telling you this."

    "Who Rikka? She's not my sister," Nico said with a confused expression.

    "Oh, I thought you two were related."

    "No, we're just adventuring together."

    "Oh." There was a pause before Richt spoke again. "So you won't complain if I have a go with her tonight?"

    "Absolutely not!" Nico said standing, surprising the man. "She's my friend and... you can't have her." Richt was taken aback for a few moments before he laughed loudly again.

    "Guess I can't compete with your stubbornness," he said laughing as Krosvelsen came to the horizon.

7: VII - Crossing Krosvelsen

    Richt drove the wagon right up to the back of the Kross Tavern as the sun began to set.

    "Well, this is my stop, I suppose you two are gonna head inside," he said, as he began to unload the barrels into the back doors of the tavern.

    "We need to find the inn first," Rikka said. "After all, Nico's a bit young for a tavern isn't he?"

    "Hey," Nico said. "I can hear you, ya know."

    "It's fine," Rikka said. "Richt, do you know where the inn is?"

    "It's back up the main street, we passed by it on the way here," he answered, moving another barrel.

    "Oh yeah. Come on, Nico," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him back in that direction. Richt laughed as he watched them run off down the street.

    "Man I bet they're gonna do something great for this world," he muttered to himself.

    "Like what?" the bookie asked, as he took note of each barrel in Richt's delivery, as it was his job to basically manage the inventory for the tavern.

    "Well you never know, that kid could grow up to take out the head of the Theocracy."

    "That cultist country down south?"

    "Yeah, screw that forsaken land." Meanwhile, Rikka and Nico had found the inn and got a room for them. They unpacked a few of their things and Rikka grabbed her hat.

    "Where are you going?" Nico asked her.

    "To that Kross Tavern," she said. "I gotta try some of those beers. Want me to cast my ageing spell so you can come with?"

    "Nah, I'm not ready to drink yet."

    "Okay suit yourself. Oh, here's some money, there's a restaurant across the street." Nico's stomach growled in response. "Sounds like you better get something," she laughed, petting his hair. She put on her hat and left as Nico tried to read his book but his stomach kept asking for food.

    "I guess I better go get something," he said, grabbing the coins and heading downstairs. He left the inn and went into the restaurant carrying his book with him.

    "Hey there, little one," one of the waitresses said. Nico noticed she had the ears and tail of a cat. "Aren't you a little young to be here by yourself?"

    "Well, my friend is down at the Kross Tavern drinking."

    "And they left you here, aw poor little boy," she said petting him. Nico was starting to feel embarrassed every time someone did that to him.

    "Look, I'm here to get something to eat."

    "Okay then. Just follow me and we'll get you a table," she said, leading him to a small table by the bar. "Would you like a menu?"

    "I suppose," he said taking it and glancing it over, "Beer breaded chicken kabobs? Huh, that sounds good."

    "They are our speciality," she said. "One order is a plate with 5 kabobs." Nico's stomach growled again. "I suppose I can make that two orders for you," she giggled before walking off to the kitchen. Nico sighed and opened his book back up trying to read and focus over the noise and din of the restaurant. As Nico was able to finish the current chapter on Tranz Kingdom history, the waitress brought him two plates of kabobs and a glass of water. "Here you are, young man."

    "Thank you," he said, putting the bookmark in place and closing it.

    "If I may ask, what's that you're reading so intently?"

    "Just some history books. I'm trying to catch up on my lessons."

    "How very wise of you," she smiled before leaving to help another customer. Nico sighed but smiled and ate, satisfying his hunger.

8: VIII - Neglecting a Drink

    Across town, Rikka was getting wasted on beer after beer, glass after glass, mug after mug. A crowd of men had surrounded her and begun betting on the inevitable drinking contest that had ensued. Rikka was not normally this heavy a drinker, but tonight was different. After having tried every single drink the Kross Tavern had to offer she stumbled back to the inn with cheers following behind her. All she could do was crawl up to the room and pull herself into the bed. While all of this was going on, Nico had finished his dinner but had become used to the din of the restaurant and thanks to the group of waitresses who were enchanted by Nico's cute face he was allowed to stay past closing time until the owner came up to him.

    "Hey Nico, I'm glad you're studying so intently but I need to close up for the night," the older lady said to him.

    "O-Oh I'm sorry," he said, closing his book on the bookmark. "I lost track of time."

    "It's quite alright. Be careful waking back to the inn now."

    "Thank you," he said bowing before leaving. He left the building seeing the inn across the street in the bleak night that was hardly starlit. He began to cross the street when the noise of something to his right caused him to turn but then several hands grabbed him, one hand over his mouth and he couldn't cry out before being dragged into the darkness. He had dropped his book onto the ground. Not a minute later, Richt was walking down the street and he noticed the book on the ground. He stopped to pick it up and he looked at it closely.

    "What is it?" the bookie from before asked him, carrying a lantern.

    "I think," he said, holding the book to the light. "Wait Nico was reading this!" he said, realizing where it was left. He then went into the inn and checked the guest log, finding Rikka's room number.

    "Richt, what's going on?" the bookie asked.

    "Rikka," Richt said, knocking on her door. Rikka groaned and eventually answered, clearly hungover.

    "Oh, Richt... what do you want it's late," she muttered rubbing her eyes drunkenly.

    "Hey, isn't this one of Nico's books? I found it in the middle of the street." He handed it to her and she looked at it.

    "Tranz Kingdom history... yeah he was reading this. That's his bookmark."

    "Why would he leave it in the street. Is he with you?"

    "No... not..." she paused and her eyes widened. "Fuck."

    "Hey," Richt said to the bookie. "Go to the city hall and alert the guards. I think he was kidnapped."

    "Right," he said running back outside and toward the city's main building. By now, Rikka had her clothes back on and she grabbed her staff, still drunk but focused on finding Nico, who was being held inside some old basement not so far away.

    "I wonder why all the ladies in there were looking at this one," one of the ruffians who grabbed him said as another was tying him up.

    "Maybe it's her eye colour," another said, as they all clearly didn't know Nico was in fact a young man.

    "Let me go!" Nico yelled before the third man tied a gag into his mouth.

    "Shut up," the first one said. "Just grab the barrel and throw her inside. We'll put her with the rest in the morning before heading out to the auction." Nico struggled as the other two grabbed him and forced him into a barrel before they latched this lid shut, hitting him hard on the head in the process.

9: IX - Barrel Rescue

    Rikka was growling angrily as she ran down each alleyway as Richt and the bookie did the same once the bookie had alerted the city's guards of a kidnapped child. It was an agonizing several hours before anything could be found.

    "Damnit," Rikka swore, tears in her eyes. "I should have stayed with him!"

    "Hey don't worry we'll find him," Richt said.

    "Hey," the bookie said to them, as he ran over. "The guards had found some shifty guys in a basement over that way, but they couldn't get in."

    "Should we go there?" Richt asked.

    "Barrels don't move on their own."

    "Damn right they don't," Rikka said, clutching her staff. She and Richt followed the bookie to the suspicious house and Rikka forced her way inside, using a spell to blast open the door leading down to the basement.

    "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" one of the kidnappers inside yelled out.

    "I'm saving my friend!" As Rikka was busily causing a scene in the early morning, Nico had awoken from his uncomfortable stupor, hearing the commotion. "Nico! Nico!" Nico peered through a small hole in the side of the barrel and saw Rikka waving her staff around like a lunatic. "Nico where are you?!" He did his best to cry out but the gag in his mouth made it a challenge so he tried to move the barrel around until he eventually was able to rock himself over. Rikka saw the swaying barrel and grabbed it before it fell all the way over. "Nico?!" she cried out, knocking on the lid. This time she could hear his muffled pleas for help. "Hey Richt, he's in here!" she cried and the man ran in with a hammer and he pried the lid off. Nico looked up at Rikka with tears in his tired eyes. She pulled him out and untied him.

    "Rikka!" he cried out, sobbing in her arms.

    "Hey, she's making off with our product!" one of the kidnappers yelled and the other two joined him, all with swords in hand. Before anyone could swing any weapons or cast any spells, the house was swarmed with guards who immediately arrested the three kidnappers.

    "If you hadn't caused a scene, we wouldn't have come back here," one of the guards said, a look of guilt as they had overlooked this house.

    "Wait a minute," she said, stopping the guards with the head kidnapper. "How many other children do you have here?"

    "Just open the barrels," he muttered before being led away. Rikka looked at Rich who looked over at the remaining guards as they began to force the other barrels open, pulling out several young girls all around Nico's age.

    "They weren't just any kidnappers," Richt said to Rikka who nodded.

    "Goddamn slavers," she muttered as she held onto Nico a bit more. The other children were accounted for and promptly returned to their families in town aside from one little girl who was apparently taken after the slavers had killed her parents so she had nowhere to go to. Before Nico and Rikka eventually left Krosvelsen, they would learn that Richt had adopted the orphan.

10: X - Eriksten and the Road to Versa

    After a couple of days and Nico had begun to refocus on his readings after his attempted kidnapping much to the dismay of the slavers when they found out that they had kidnapped a boy. Regardless, Rikka promised Nico that she wouldn't leave him alone in such a neglectful manner. After this time, they went through Eriksten and Mashvertz and were on the long road to the Kitso Shogunate which would take them through the mountains. She had taken the liberty of buying them some warmer clothing as they walked by the mountain range. When the road had reached its peak alongside the mountains, they came to a distinctly Kitsan village known as Koto. The innkeeper recognized Rikka as Tranzi.

    "Hello," she said to Rikka as she and Nico walked inside shivering. "You two must be travelling from the Tranz Kingdom?"

    "Yes ma'am," Rikka said. "Do you have a room for the two of us?"

    "Maybe not you both, as the only room currently available has one bed. Will that be an issue?"

    "No ma'am," Nico said before Rikka could answer, as Rikka glanced down at him curiously.

    "Well alright then, please sign your names for room 5 for me and the charge is 4 copper pieces." They filled out the guest log and left the money before they were handed their room key. The two of them set down their things in the room and Rikka was the first one under the covers. She knew something was wrong with him.

    "Nico, are you alright?" she asked him as he then climbed into the bed next to her, before grabbing onto her, burying his face in her chest.

    "I'm fine," he said.

    "You're still scared because of you're kidnapping, aren't you?" she asked as she caressed him gently.

    "N-No," he lied.

    "Don't worry, we're here together, and I'm going to make sure it stays that way, okay?"

    "Okay." Rikka smiled as she comforted the cowering boy. She knew that he was still shaken up and would be for a while. He did seem to be a bit more chipper the next morning as they left the inn and began their way down the road.

    "E-Excuse me," a voice behind them said. They both turned and saw a cat-eared Kitsan soldier standing there with her red and white uniform and hat placed diligently between the feline ears on her head.

    "A Jales-Kitsan soldier?" Rikka asked.

    "Yes a-anyway," the woman continued on. "The innkeeper told me you had business in the capital?"

    "Well yes," Rikka answered with a bow. "I am Rikka the witch."

    "I've heard of you, you're quite the prolific spellcaster. You've been requested by the Shogun?"

    "I have," she said, handing her a rolled paper Nico had not seen before.

    "I see," the woman said after reading over it. "My name is Akine, please allow me to escort you to Kitahara."

    "Thank you so much," Rikka said excitedly.

    "Wait, what?" Nico looked at Rikka questioningly.

    "Oh, Nico you're in for one hell of a treat. When the Shogun's soldiers provide escort they also provide potions that help with mobility, a Kitsan speciality!"

    "Here," Akine said, handing Nico a blue bottle before she handed one to Rikka. Akine and Rikka drank their bottles before Nico gingerly drank his. It wasn't all that horrible, as Nico thought it tasted of sour boysenberries. "Alright you two, please keep up."

    "Come on," Rikka said as she grabbed Nico's hand they all walked off, but Nico was in shock to see the land go by in seemingly a blur, and all he was doing was just walking somewhat faster in order to keep up with Rikka and Akine. Yet to anyone else they would have been a blur on the path. They arrived at the lakeside village of Versa in no less than an hour.

11: XI - The Kitso Shogunate

    In the village of Versa, they paused for a quick break.

    "Hey Rikka, what kind of magic was that?" Nico asked her.

    "That's a mobility potion," Rikka answered.

    "It is very costly to produce here," Akine answered as she sat down on a bench with a cup of tea. "So only the Shogun's top soldiers can be allowed any."

    "That must make you a very high rank," Nico said, sitting next to her. Akina blushed sheepishly.

    "Not normally, but the Shogun sent me to come to escort you to Kitahara."

    "What business do you have here, Rikka? You never told me what it was."

    "Well, it's not something I can just say," Rikka sighed.

    "I'll explain when we arrive. At our current rate we should be able to arrive before nightfall," Akine said.

    "Wait, this potion allows us to cross an entire country within a day?!" Nico exclaimed.

    "It most certainly does," Rikka said. "I can't wait to start teaching you about potions and magic."

    "Me neither," Nico laughed.

    "At any rate, let's get going," Akine said as she handed out another potion to them. They then continued their trailblazing around Nisao Lake through the villages of Sensu and Avatora. Akine was correct because by the time they had stopped for lunch they had been through Kyato and were in Taya. Even without the mobility potion, Kitahara was only a couple of hours away. "I misinterpreted the lunch break," Akine muttered to them. "We'll have to walk the rest of the way there."

    "Darn it," Nico pouted.

    "No worries," Rikka said. "We can still keep up a pretty good pace from here. It's an easy road after all."

    "That is true," Akine nodded. Nico sighed as they left Taya and made their way south to Kitahara. It was late afternoon by the time they arrived. Akine was stopped at the city's gate.

    "Akine, is this the witch you were tasked to escort?" the guard asked.

    "Yes," she said with a salute. "I've escorted her and her party here as requested by the Shogun."

    "Take them to the castle," the guard said, standing aside and letting them through. "Quickly now."

    "Thank you, sir," Akine said as she marched in, the other two following her as she led them to the castle.

    "What's with the urgency?" Nico asked Rikka.

    "Well the Shogun's fallen ill, and I've been tasked with healing him before he is attacked or usurped," she answered.

    "I see. Do you even know any healing magic?"

    "I've been practising."

    "Oh jeez. I hope that's not the answer you tell them if anyone asks. This sounds pretty serious."

    "It is, which is why I've been practising." They continued to walk through the city centre and straight into the massive castle where the Shogun lived, not that it wasn't obvious. They were led through the building and straight into the Shogun's room. Nico noticed the Shogun was seemingly a young man, surely not much older than Rikka herself. He was lying in the bed surrounded by guards and nurses.

    "The Shogun's been sick for a few years now and no one can seem to figure out why," Akine said.

    "Do we know if it's a curse?" Rikka asked with a serious expression as she handed Nico her bag.

    "We've checked for all the signs and haven't seen any," a nurse answered her.

    "Alright then. I've been working on this new healing spell," Rikka said as she began to mark a magic circle all around the bed. "Please everyone, step back." Everyone cleared the area of the bed and Nico watched in wonder as Rikka held out her staff. "Oh great goddesses of life and death, I humbly ask of you to aid in the abolishment of ailments from this man. Hear my plea, and may you be regarded more than tenfold!" The magic circle began to glow with a brilliant green light and everyone had to shield their eyes and once Nico opened his eyes the light had gone, as was the magic circle. Rikka was on the ground breathing heavily.

    "Rikka, are you okay?" Nico asked her, helping her stand.

    "I'm fine. It just used up a lot of my magic energy, that's all," she smiled. Everyone gathered back around the Shogun who had begun to stir. 

12: XII - Kato, Shogun of Kitso

    The young Shogun awoke, sitting up slowly.

    "Your Shogunate!" the guards all saluted, Akine included. Nico and Rikka did the same as did all the nurses as the young man simply glanced around at everyone before suddenly leaning forward beginning to wretch and heave much to everyone's shock.

    "Wait a minute," Rikka said as Akine held her blade to her.

    "Hold on," the head doctor said as he began to skillfully slap the Shogun's back before the boy coughed out a bloody lump. "My heavens!"

    "What is that?" Akine asked as some of the other nurses looked away in disgust.

    "It appears to be a lump of some kind," the head doctor said as he used some tweezers to pick it up. "Food? No, that wouldn't have debilitated him like that for so long." He examined it under a looking glass as the Shogun caught his breath.

    "Doctor, what is it?" the Shogun asked with a rather fair voice for a young man. He reached to an aide who was handing him some eyeglasses.

    "It appears to look like a clump of human flash, your Shogunate. It could be that this had been growing inside your body somewhere unnecessarily and the witch's healing spell dislodged it."

    "That sounds horrifying," he said thoughtfully.

    "And rightly so. With your permission, I need this to further some new studies."

    "You have my full support, should this occur inside of me again."

    "Yes, your Shogunate," the doctor said, putting the glob into a small box and bowing before leaving.

    "I believe now," the Shogun said getting off of the bed and standing slowly, "I should thank the one who helped heal me." He bowed to Rikka and Nico. "Rikka the witch, you have my sincerest gratitude. The Kitso Shogunate is in your debt."

    "Y-Your Shogunate you don't need to say that, really," Rikka blushed. "I'm just happy I could help."

    "At least indulge me in a celebration tonight. My country has been worrying about me for far too long. Your young apprentice may enjoy himself at the celebrations as well, in fact," he turned to the rest of the room. "We are all going to celebrate!" The guards cheered. "Prepare the capital city and spread the word, for I am alive and well!" The guards rushed out of the castle and the news spread faster than wildfire.

    "Your Shogunate we're just glad you're okay," Nico said bowing to him.

    "No need to be so formal with me, my new friends," he said with a laugh. "And please, you may call me by my given name. Kato. What is yours?"

    "My name is Nico," he answered with a smile.

    "Rikka, your apprentice is quite the charming young boy," Kato said.

    "He's not quite my apprentice," Rikka said, "We're just adventuring together around the world, but I am teaching him a few things or two."

    "I see. Please make yourselves at home. Akine, lead them to a guest room."

    "Yes, your Shogunate," Akine saluted with a heartfelt smile, glad to see her country's leader back on his feet as she led them to a guest room.

13: XIII - Celebrations

    Later that night, once word had spread across the country and even further beyond, Kato had invited the best of his country to his castle for a banquet party in Rikka and Nico's honour. A lot of elite heads of business and groups were gathered.

    "My friends of fellow countrymen and women, we have gathered here to celebrate not only my renewed health but the heroes who help accomplish it!" Kato spoke up at the head of the party as he gestured to a well dressed Nico and Rikka. "This is Rikka the witch and her party member Nico. I have nothing but thanks for these two." He led the applause for the two of them. Nico just giggled sheepishly as Rikka blushed vividly, neither of them used to this sort of attention. "I wanted to thank them with more than just a party in their honour. I will also be giving them not only a well-deserved payment for their travels but a permanent home should they desire to stay of course," he laughed lightly, unsure how they would accept his offer. "I hereby grant you both with full Kitsan citizenship."

    "Oh wow," Rikka breathed.

    "No way," Nico said over the applause.

    "Alright everyone, let's enjoy this food and waste nothing!" Kato declared, receiving the loudest cheers yet as everyone began to help themselves to the food and drinks. Nico was helping himself to some of the seafood, as that appeared to be similar to that of the Japanese food from his previous life both visually and in taste. Of course, while Rikka was trying to eat at a table surrounded by adults trying to hook her up with their sons of marrying age, Nico was also in turn surrounded by parents trying to get him to accept future marriage proposals from their daughters, some of whom were not even at the party. He wasn't surprised, however as he more expected it, so he simply denied each one, as did Rikka. Meanwhile, Akine was on guard duty and Kato was speaking to her.

    "I'm thankful you escorted them here without issue, Akine," he said to her.

    "Thank you, your Shogunate," she replied, blushing slightly. "Y-Your Shogunate, if I may ask, would you permit me to travel with Rikka and Nico? A-As a guard of the Shogunate of course." Kato laughed and pat her head, causing her cat-like ears to perk up.

    "Of course, you can," he said. "After all, you did bring the heroes who saved me. It's the least I can reward you with."

    "Thank you, your Shogunate!" she bowed deeply.

    "It's no trouble, Akine. Feel free to speak to them about it." Akine smiled and nodded, moving over to them.

    "Akine, how are you?" Rikka asked.

    "Um, actually, since his Shogunate thanked me for escorting you guys here to save him... um... he... well..."

    "Hey, it's okay, what is it?" Nico asked with a laugh.

    "I asked him if I could join your party!" she said quickly. Rikka looked back at Nico.

    "What do you think?"

    "Well, if she can supply those mobility potions I say heck yeah," Nico said with a big smile.

    "Damn straight," Rikka agreed, reaching a hand out to Akine. "Welcome to the party, Akine."

    "Th-Thank you!" Akine blushed. "I promise I won't let you down!"

14: XIV - A Party's Planned Departure

    Much later the next day after the rather insane party Kato threw for Nico and Rikka, Nico finally awoke from having been up so late. Of course, Rikka was hungover and by the time he was dressed, there was a knock on their door. He opened it and rubbed his eyes. It was a more casually dressed Akine. Nico noticed that compared to her uniform her breasts were more obvious to the eye, as were her cat-like ears and tail.

    "Oh, Nico... I'm sorry I woke you," she said.

    "It's fine," he yawned. "I need some breakfast."

    "Let me take you to the kitchen." She led him to the kitchen area where some chefs were preparing for lunch. They managed to find some leftover eggs and rice they whipped up for him.

    "Oh yeah, you're in our party now," he said as he ate.

    "Yes," she nodded affirmatively. "I checked with his Shogunate and he can indeed keep us supplied with emergency batches of the mobility potions."

    "That's good. As much as I want to explore this big world you never know when we'd need to make a run for it."

    "That's very true. By the way, I can fight with a blade, throwing knives, and magic seals."

    "Magic seals?" he asked curiously and she brought out a slip of some intricate-looking paper.

    "Think of these as our country's method of casting spells."

    "So you can tell the paper what you want to do and it'll do that?"

    "Precisely. I can cast a small fire request upon it and use it as an emergency campfire."

    "That sounds cool."

    "I suppose if Rikka is teaching you about her methods of magic I can teach you ours."

    "That would be so cool! Thanks, Akine."

    "No worries," she blushed shyly. Shortly after, Rikka finally dressed and came out for something to eat. "Rikka, it's almost time for lunch."

    "I know," she sighed. "I guess we'll have to head out tomorrow."

    "Wait, if this was what you had to do Rikka, what are we going to do now?" Nico asked her. Rikka thought for a second before pulling out the map.

    "If I may make a suggestion," Akine spoke up.

    "Feel free, since I suppose we're just gonna go wherever the wind takes us," Rikka smiled.

    "You know I'm Jales-Kitsan, right?"

    "What's the Jales part mean?" Nico asked.

    "The Jales is the entire race of what used to be called us beast-folk," Akine explained. "Jales is the proper name for us, and our land is this central nation called the Jaletonian Empire."

    "You want to go there?" Rikka asked.

    "If you both don't mind. My parents live in Port Lumina." She pointed to a spot near a bay in the Empire. "We can simply head back up to the Kingdom and catch a boat."

    "That sounds lovely," Rikka said. "I actually haven't been to the Jaletonian Empire before."

    "Then it's settled," Nico agreed. "We'll head North for the Jaletonian Empire."

    "Before you go," Kato said, having overheard their conversation. "Allow me to ready some passports for the three of you."

    "You'd do that for us?" Rikka asked.

    "Of course. It'll be the last thing I can do to repay you for everything you've done for me. Come and see me before you all leave."

    "Well it's already midday so we'll head out first thing tomorrow morning," Akine said.

    "No matter. They should be ready by dinner time."

    "Thanks, Kato," Nico said. Akine blushed.

    "Wait, you're on a first-name basis?" she asked.

    "You can call me Kato too, Akine," Kato said.

    "Yes, your- I mean... Kato," she blubbered.

15: XV - A Party's Actual Departure

    The next morning, once Kato had given them their promised money, a mere 1 million gold coins, much to their dismay as they'd have to carry it all. He had given them a horse-drawn carriage to haul everything back up north. They were aiming for the Tranz port town of Kirbitz. From there they would get a boat ride over to Port Lumina in the Jaletonian Empire. Once they left the capital city of Kitahara, they followed the coast road to Tsaluin and headed up to Mali and Jukko. By that time it was late and they had to stop so Akine could rest the horses.

    "What are we going to do with all this money?" Nico asked as he made a fire using Akine's method of a magic seal on the ground.

    "We need to save it so we can get a decent boat ride over to the Empire," Rikka said watching him make the fire. "Is that Kitan magic?"

    "Akine taught me," he said proudly.

    "I see," she laughed.

    "You don't mind, do you Rikka?" Akine asked.

    "Not at all," she said helping herself to some water. "He's learning. He needs to know how to do all of this."

    "I want to know," Nico said. "We already saved the Shogun's life. Rikka, we could be world heroes."

    "Maybe so," Rikka laughed, putting some fish into a pan over the fire. "And now that Akine's in the party, she can be a hero too."

    "Do you really think so?" Akine asked, blushing.

    "Of course."

    "Yeah," Nico agreed.

    "Thanks," Akine said with a shy but small smile. They ate their pan-fried fish dinner and went to bed later. The next morning, the fire had gone out and the paper seal had disintegrated. They packed up and Akine brought the horses to the carriage and once everything was packed back up they continued their journey only to find out they were just a mile down the road from Misahara, their last stop in the Shogunate. They had ended up spending a bit of their money to gather some good clothing and armour as well as some upgraded weapons and supplies for the road. Once they had some food they continued their journey, down the long road out of the Shogunate and toward the Kingdom.

    "According to the map and what I was told there's a Kingdom city called Karo we'll be in," Akine said.

    "Yep," Rikka said. She had Nico's head in her lap in the back of the carriage as he went down for a nap. Of course, now Rikka was struggling to keep her eyes open in the warm weather.

    "Go ahead and take a nap, it'll be until nightfall before we're there."

    "Alright," she said laying down next to Nico. The group continued the trek down the long road and by the time Nico and Rikka woke up from their nap it was early evening, but they could see the city of Karo from the top of the last hill they had crested.

    "There it is, guys, Karo," Akine said. She led the carriage to the gate where a guard stopped her.

    "This is a Kitsan registered cart," he said, noticing the red metal registration plate on the back of the cart, as each cart was meant to have a registration tag marking the nation it was from.

    "Oh yes, we just came from there," Akine said, handing the man her passport. He looked at it and glanced at the ones Nico and Rikka had.

    "You two are Tranzi originally," he said to them and they nodded. "You must be some good merchants," he said with a laugh. "Welcome in and welcome back." He smiled as he stepped aside to let them pass. Akine nodded and drove the cart into the city of Karo.

16: XVI - The Benz Pub at Karo

     Akine drove the carriage to the inn that would care for their horse and carriage while they checked in. They went up to the room and unpacked. Nico would take the small bed on the left while Rikka and Akine would share the larger one on the right.

    "So what are we going to do tonight?" Rikka asked.

    "I want to keep up on my reading," Nico said, referring to one of the many books about Kitsan magic he got from Kato.

    "Do you want to go to the Benz Pub?" Akine asked. "They have some of the strongest drinks in this part of the world."

    "Hell yeah, that sounds like fun," Rikka said before pausing, remembering the last time she went drinking. "Nico make sure you stay here and keep the door locked, okay?"

    "I will," he said self assuredly.

    "Alright, let's go drinking," Akine said once she petted his hair before they left. Nico smiled and went back to his reading. Rikka and Akine walked down to the Benz Pub, not that they could miss it, as it was the biggest building in town. They had themselves an amazing time, trying all the local beers, wines, and even the imported Kitsan rice and snake sakes.

    "You two are holding your drinks pretty well," the barkeep said to them. Rikka laughed and Akine nodded, both of them beyond toasty. "Let me serve up my most extreme cocktail," he said and the bar quieted down to hushed gasps, whispers, and bets. "Alright ladies, are you ready to take on my personal challenge?"

    "Hell yeah," Rikka hiccuped.

    "Fuck me up!" Akine agreed with a belch.

    "Alrighty then." He grabbed three different kinds of his strongest rums and he mixed in some lime juice and falernum. He then mixed in some bitters and wine with added grenadine. "I'm not done," he smirked before adding in a sweet-smelling syrup and some fruit juice. To top it off with added effect he poured the cocktail into two skull-shaped mugs and set the tops of them on fire with a flintstone. All the men in the bar looked at the fabled drinks in awe. "Two Undead Benz's, my personal speciality on the house of course," he said with a wry smirk, thinking they couldn't do it. The girls looked at each other and smirked before grabbing the drinks opposite to them, locking their arms around each other.

    "Bottoms up bitches!" they yelled before chugging their drinks in a few gulps, Rikka was careful not to burn herself whereas Akine had exhaled some of the alcohol he had set alight so she looked like a fire breathing dragon for a moment, or a fire breathing cat more accurately. The entire was stunned for a moment as the girls stood up, setting their mugs down simultaneously.

    "Thanks," Rikka smirked, setting some coins down. Akine burped in response before they turned and walked out to a pub full of cheers with an awestruck barkeep.

17: XVII - Cruise from Kirbitz

    Later the following morning the party was on their way from Karo and heading toward the coast and the village of Bumen. They'd only stop for a quick break there as they continued along the coast up to Kirbitz. It was late into the afternoon by the time they arrived in Kirbitz and like before Akine drove the wagon to the inn while Rikka and Nico went off to find a ship for hire.

    "Port Lumina in the Empire?" a fisherman asked. "You offer the right price but my vessel can't go that far."

    "I see, thank you anyway," Rikka said.

    "My suggestion would be to put up a flyer in the Bayside Pub. Lots of us sailors look for jobs on their corkboard."

    "Thank you, sir," Nico said.

    "Not a problem, good luck on your trip," he laughed heartily before heading back into his bait stand. With their information, Rikka wrote out the flyer and sent Nico into the aforementioned pub and he walked over to the corkboard.

    "Hey, little man," a sailor said to him. "Need a hand putting that up?"

    "I guess so," Nico said, as he couldn't quite reach the board.

    "No problem," the man smirked, glancing at it first. "Ah, a party in need of a lift to the Empire, eh?" He tacked the paper on the board. "Hey Captain Niva, I think you got yourself a crew," he said before walking back to his table.

    "Captain Niva?" Nico asked himself, staring back up at the paper before hearing someone walk back over to him. He looked back up and saw the piercing purple eyes of a ship captain wearing a tattered and faded green and grey uniform. This captain, a woman, looked down at him. "Um, are you Captain Niva?"

    "Need a lift to the Empire, eh?" she asked with an accent. She looked up at the paper. "You really got that sort of money, huh?"

    "Nico, what's taking so long?" Rikka asked, having stepped in.

    "That's a bit more like it," Captain Niva said. "A party of 3 to the Empire, young man, a witch and a Jales-Kitsan?"

    "That would be us," Rikka said, turning toward the captain.

    "I accept your offer," she said, pulling the paper back off of the board. "Meet me here at first dawn tomorrow."

    "Will do," Rikka said, shaking Captain Niva's hand firmly. Before dawn, Rikka made sure they were all up and ready for their meetup with Captain Niva. They all walked to the port with their supplies, since they were travelling to another country, Akine sold off the horse and carriage. They saw the Captain at one of the docks.

    "Captain Niva," Rikka said.

    "Ah, the young man, witch, and Jales-Kitsan," the Captain said with a smile and salute. "Good timing. We're departing in an hour. Follow me." She led them to the largest sailing ship that was moored.

    "Captain, that's yours?" Nico asked as they went up the dock.

    "Aye, she's a beaut. Got her at a reasonable price too. Free."

    "Are you a pirate?" Akine asked her.

    "No the pirates gave me the ship. No idea why, I was just happy to get a free ship, especially one this size." They were about to walk up the gangplank before a guard stopped them.

    "You can't board this ship," he said.

    "It's my ship!" Captain Niva declared.

    "Well, it's being repossessed by the King's Court as it's was a stolen naval vessel that was used as a slave ship."

    "Oh," the captain said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't know anything about that as they just let me have it."

    "So you didn't know that it was a slave ship?"

    "Nope."

    "Well, I don't want to fill out any sort of paperwork so you're all free to go. On the other hand, I apologize, since you're a shipless captain now."

    "It's fine," she scoffed, taking Nico's hand and leading them away.

    "Well that happened," Rikka muttered.

    "No worries. We can get another ship."

    "Rikka we do have more than enough money to make a new ship," Akine said.

    "We do?" Nico asked.

    "Yep."

    "I have an idea," Nico said. "Captain, what are the winds like?"

    "The winds are what sail these boats in these waters," she answered him. Nico thought back to his old world and about the racing sailboats, he remembered seeing on TV.

    "Then let's build us a sailing boat." He sat down with a paper and drew up a sketch of what would become of this world's first catamaran.

18: XVIII - The Captain's Catamaran

    The build took a couple of months but with Nico's designs, they had a catamaran big enough to carry them and their stuff. Inspired by the racing sailboats he remembered from his old world the catamaran had two long hulls and a wide centre structure holding up the massive sail that could be easily steered by a single person. Everyone and their mothers were watching in awe as the party christened the new craft and it was launched into the bay. They had loaded their leftover cargo and money before waving goodbye to everyone and the sailors watched as the newfangled, oddly-shaped boat sailed out into the Central Sea faster than any standard multi-sail ship.

    "This is amazing Nico!" the captain cried gleefully. "How'd you know this design would work?"

    "Um, it's just an idea I had really," he said.

    "With this rate of speed, we'll make the Empire in record time!"

    "Captain, how fast are we going?" Akine asked.

    "We're easily travelling at 45 knots," she answered.

    "And how many nautical miles is it to Port Lumina?" Rikka asked, trying to keep her seasickness under control.

    "It's about 670 nautical miles. Holy shit, we can be there just after nightfall!" Captain Niva spent all day steering her new craft across the Central Sea. To their south, Nico could see land.

    "Captain, is that the Empire there?" he asked her.

    "Nay, Nico, that land is actually colonial territory of the Le Forge Republic."

    "I see."

    "When we dock later tonight I might need to school ya on the states and provinces."

    "Yeah, I've been meaning to read up on that."

    "Not to worry, I'm sure we'll have more than enough time to do some studying. I could use a remedial lesson or two myself," the captain laughed as she steered the craft to port slightly to keep up with the winds. "I have to hand it to ya, this catamaran is one brilliant craft."

    "Thanks."

    "Where'd you come up with a design like it anyway?"

    "There are lots of these boats and many more where I come from."

    "And where would that be?" Nico paused and thought for a second.

    "A faraway... different world."

    "A different world..." the captain said thoughtfully. "That so? Well then, you'll have to tell me some stories from this different world of yours. I suppose it's not a world I can easily get to, is it?"

    "Probably not," Nico said with a small laugh.

    "It makes me wonder how you got here. Did you just pop out of thin air?"

    "Yeah."

    "Ha!" the captain laughed, nearly losing control of the craft, much to the dismay of a napping Akine and a seasick Rikka. "I suppose we'll have to talk later, laddie. I need to get us to where we're going first." After another hour or so they came across the entrance to a bay. "We're at Lumina Bay!" the captain declared. "Just another couple hours at this speed and we'll be at Port Lumina!"

    "We should stop at Hasale," Akine said. "Rikka's not doing so well."

    "Aye aye, I suppose we can take a pause when we get there. Nico, I'll need you to steer the starboard side to keep the sail level."

    "Aye," he said, grabbing the rope opposite of the captain as they steered the sail to keep it straight until the captain aimed the craft port side to pull up at a dock. The sailors and workers had watched the enormous sail come into view and the catamaran was docked. Nico noticed the population was mainly Jales, but there were humans mixed in as well.

    "This must be that new type of Tranzi sailboat," the dockmaster said as the catamaran was tied down. "Welcome to Hasale of Le Forge," he said shaking the captain's hand firmly.

19: XIX - Port Town of Hasale

    "What brings you to Hasale, Captain Niva?" the dockmaster asked her.

    "Well, our bearing's for Port Lumina, but I've had a passenger with the mal de mer," she answered. Nico knew that 'mal de mer' was a French term for seasickness.

    "Mal de mer, I see," the man said as Akine helped Rikka off of the boat. "My wife runs the inn right over there," he said pointing to the tallest building dockside. "Why don't we get you all a couple of rooms for the night?"

    "As much as the vessel can get us to the port before nightfall, I suppose it wouldn't hurt," the captain said looking at the twilight sky.

    "The tide's heading out for the day anyway," the dockmaster sighed. "Even with the wind on your edge, it would slow you down."

    "True, true. I suppose a night then," she nodded. "Oh, how much for the dock space?"

    "Just 2 silvers for the night," he said. The captain paid the dock fee and took ahold of Nico's hand as Akine carried Rikka up to the inn.

    "Hello, quite the party I see," the innkeeper said as they all came in. "Two rooms it looks like?"

    "Yes ma'am," Akine said.

    "The dockmaster sent us," the captain nodded.

    "I see," she smiled, sliding the guestbook over to them while grabbing two keys. They filled out the guestbook, and Akine signed for Rikka and the innkeeper handed them their keys. "I'll discount it to three silver coins for the night."

    "What's the normal price?" Nico asked.

    "Normally it's two silvers per room, but I'll make an exception for the seasick one. Oh, and there's a market up the street that has the medicine she should need."

    "Oh thank you," Akine said. They all went to their rooms on the second floor and Akine put Rikka in one of the beds and tucked her in.

    "My head is fucking spinning," she groaned.

    "Please relax Rikka," Akine said, petting her forehead gently. "They said there's a medicine for seasickness so I'll go get you some, okay?"

    "Just hurry," Rikka sighed, trying to sleep. In the other room, Nico was sitting on the bed opening his book, thankful it wasn't wet as the captain hung up her coat and hat. Nico glanced up at her and noticed this was the first time he had seen her without her garb. He liked the way her purple eyes contrasted against her shoulder-length black hair.

    "What is it?" she asked him with a smirk. He blushed and looked back toward his book.

    "Um... nothing, sorry," Nico said quickly.

    "If you're thinking about me that way I appreciate it, but my first and foremost love shall always be the sea."

    "Sorry."

    "It's okay. I'm just joking with ya. What's this you're reading?"

    "History about the Kitso Shogunate."

    "Yeah, you were there just before you lot met me, right?" she asked and Nico nodded. "What was it like, what did you do?"

    "We saved the Shogun's life. He had some kind of disease that made a lump form inside of him."

    "That was you all? I remember hearing about that. No wonder you lot could afford to build a boat from the ground up."

    "Well, he is the Shogun."

    "Speaking of that boat," the captain said stretching out on his bed and looking at him curiously. "Tell me more about this world you claimed you came from." Nico put his book down and smiled.

    "I suppose I do owe you that much." As Akine went out to the nearby market and get some of the herbs that could help Rikka with her seasickness Nico spent all that time telling Captain Niva about Japan, and the faraway country where he came from. How he used to be a she before she died and met the gods who sent her here as she had asked for adventure before waking up as Nico.

20: XX - Captain, Oh Captain

    Captain Niva sat there in awe at Nico's story as she rolled everything through her head. She had to wipe her eyes as his tragic upbringing moved her to tears.

    "You've lived a very rough previous life, and I'm sorry about that," she could only bring herself to say.

    "Captain Niva, it's okay," Nico said with a smile. "This is my life now, and I'm going to live it out to its fullest."

    "That is true," she said, hugging him closely.

    "C-Captain?"

    "Nico... you, and only you... can call me Niva."

    "A-Are you sure?"

    "Of course. Besides, you said you wanted to adventure, right? Well with me in your party I can take you to all corners of Migia."

    "So you'll really stay with us?"

    "Of course," she said, kissing him on the forehead. "I know you're a little young for me, but I like you. You have memories of this completely different world to ours, and you've taught us so much already. You can really change this world, Nico."

    "Y-You really think so?"

    "Of course, I mean you've already built the fastest boat in this world, and you've let me captain it. My sorry arse of all people, and... I'm really thankful for that." By this time, Niva's face was red with embarrassment. "So... thank you."

    "You're welcome," Nico smiled and Niva cleared her throat.

    "Well, going back to what I said earlier since you are just a boy, you should be getting to bed."

    "You're right," Nico said with a yawn as he stretched. Niva laughed and put him to bed, tucking him in.

    "I'm going to go check on Rikka. You get some shut-eye."

    "Good night, Niva," he said falling asleep.

    "Good night, Nico," she said, shutting the curtain and leaving the room, closing the door softly behind her. She sighed and smiled before walking next door and knocking lightly. Akine answered the door.

    "Oh, Captain," she said.

    "Just checking up on Rikka," she said as Akine let her into the room.

    "I just gave her some of that medicine, and hopefully tomorrow she'll be okay."

    "She should be fine," the captain said as she took ahold of the flask she had in the pocket of her gown. "We'll be heading inward on the bay with the tide so it should be easy. Even with a bigger sailing ship sailing in with the tides in Lumina Bay you almost don't even need the sails."

    "I see," Akine smiled. "The smooth ride should help. What's that you're drinking?"

    "A black cherry rum from the Rhineland Barony, back in the Tranz Kingdom," she answered as she took a swig. "The sweetness is nice but it's strong so it helps knock me for a nap."

    "Mind if I had some?"

    "Nay, feel free," she smiled, handing her the flask and Akine took a swig.

    "Ooh, that's good," she said. "I can taste the black cherries and the kick of the rum," she belched softly.

    "Aye, it's one of my favourites," she smirked.

    "Well, I think you're right," Akine said with a yawn. "I'm off to bed. Keep an eye on Nico for us."

    "Aye aye," the Captain said with a slightly drunken salute before she nodded and left their room, closing the door softly and going back to her room, locking the door for the night as she climbed into her own bed. "Aye Nico," she said softly to herself. "I'm sure you're going to do a great many things for this world, now that you're here. I know it."

21: XXI - Sailing Lumina Bay

    Early the next morning, Nico awoke to the Captain getting dressed.

    "Good morning," she said, blushing slightly as she was only in her undergarments. Nico nodded and rubbed his eyes as he climbed out of the bed. "Uh... I'll change over here," she said grabbing her clothes and stepping behind the privacy wall. Nico put on his clean clothes and Niva stepped out, all dressed and straightening her hat in the mirror. "Alright, shall we go check on the others?"

    "Yep," Nico nodded as they left the room and Niva knocked on Rikka and Akine's door. Rikka answered as she and Akine were ready.

    "I take it we're all ready to go?" Rikka asked.

    "How are you feeling?" Nico asked her.

    "Much better now," she smiled.

    "Let's go," Akine said as they headed back to the lobby and checked out. The innkeeper waved them out of the door as they headed down to the dock where the dockmaster was waiting for them.

    "Good to see you're all ready to go," he said with a smile. "Your ship's been taken care of, and how fast does it travel?"

    "About 45 knots," the captain answered.

    "No wonder, when I sent the barnacle boys down they couldn't find any." The captain nodded laughing as Akine and Rikka boarded and double-checked their cargo.

    "Thank you again, Dockmaster," she said waving her hat as she and Nico boarded. "How's the tide?"

    "Coming in as we speak and the wind's at your back," the man said, helping them disembark from the dock. "You all should be at Port Lumina in under an hour."

    "Fare thee well, Hasale!" the captain declared as she grabbed the sheets, or steering ropes, and steered the sail off into the breeze in the bay. "Goddamn, I love this." The sail was actually quite a smooth trip, so much so that Rikka didn't get the mal de mar.

    "Wow, see this trip is nice and smooth," she said.

    "Well, they did say we have the wind to our advantage," Akine said.

    "Not to mention we're riding in with the tide," Nico said as he shifted his seating position to help keep the craft steady. Nico watched looked out at the bay seeing the fish in the water as they sailed through the water. After a little while, they were in the middle of the biggest part of the bay but were still several nautical miles from landfall.

    "Everyone take a look," the captain declared as she lowered the sail slightly to slow the craft down. "Down in the water, abeam to starboard." Everyone carefully moved to the right side of the craft and looked down in the water. It was a good few hundred feet to the bottom of the bay but the water was clear enough for them to see the large wreckages of old warships.

    "Whoa, that's cool," Nico said.

    "Back when the Jales were taking over the old country the former patriarch had requested help from the Le Forgan navy," the captain said. "Of course, the Jales had managed to use the shoreline defence cannons to wipe them all out."

    "It's one of my favourite stories," Akine said.

    "No doubt," Rikka laughed.

    "How long ago was that?" Nico asked.

    "It was last century," the captain explained. "The former Gregoristan Patriarchy was overthrown by the Jales."

    "Despite the Forgan naval assistance, the Jales were able to easily conquer the land," Akine continued. "Out of mutual dislike for the Gregoristans, the rest of the nations decided to let the Jales have the lands owned by the former patriarchy. Although, they did have to have a few words with the leaders of Le Forge."

    "I can see why," Nico said as they continued over the old warship graveyard. Captain Niva hoisted the sails back up and they continued their journey and after about 10 minutes Nico glanced through his spyglass. "Land, ho!" he declared before handing it to the captain.

    "Port Lumina's in sight," she said.

22: XXII - Port Lumina

    Captain Niva lowered the mainsail enough so she could steer it into the docks and she was led to a spot alongside the other yachts and private sailing ships as the cargo docks were on the other side of the port. Nico noticed the much larger percentage of Jales and the variety of subspecies the Jales seemed to have. Akine knew that's what he was noticing so she patted his head.

    "Don't worry, I can get you a book that tells you everything about the Jales and the types of people we have," she said to him.

    "You'd really do that?" he asked her.

    "Of course," she smiled. "Once we head over to my parents." Meanwhile, Captain Niva was negotiating the rent with the Dockmaster.

    "You all seem to have your pockets full," he said.

    "Well I am travelling with Rikka the witch and Nico her assistant," she said to him.

    "Ah, the ones who saved the Shogun's life."

    "That would be us and my party," Rikka said, tipping her hat toward him as she disembarked from the catamaran.

    "I'll tell you what, Dockmaster," the captain continued. "Since I'm unsure with how long we'll be here, how much to buy the dock?"

    "This one dock?" the man asked with wide eyes. "It'll be ten thousand gold coins."

    "We've got enough to spare," she said with a smirk. "You best bring yourself some strong boys."

    "Aye aye, Captain," he said, calling some workers over while Captain Niva counted out the money.

    "You three go on ahead, I'll be looking around later."

    "Head over to the Stronggull Pub," Akine said. "I know where it's at and we'll pick you up later."

    "Aye," the captain saluted as Rikka, Akine and Nico headed up the dock and onto the mainland.

    "Stick with me guys," Akine said absentmindedly taking ahold of Nico's hand as they walked. "There are literally miles of docks here."

    "I can see that," Rikka said. They headed for the uptown area on top of the hills and when they arrived outside of a house, Nico could see the bay down at the bottom. Rikka looked at the house curiously as Akine smirked and knocked on the door. After a moment, a Jales man answered the door, gasping when he saw Akine.

    "Akine, is that you?" he asked.

    "Yes Dad, it's me," she answered with a smile.

    "Well don't just stand there, get on in here, and bring your friends," he said.

    "Hoshi, who is it?" a woman asked from the kitchen.

    "It's Akine!" he said and there was the sound of clattering kitchenware as the woman came hurrying into the living room.

    "Akine!" she sobbed, hugging her.

    "Hey Mom," Akine said.

    "I missed you so much," she cried.

    "Mom, it's only been a few years."

    "Yeah, but you only wrote a few times."

    "Come on, Kimiko, let Akine breathe and introduce us to her friends," Hoshi said as he sat down in his chair. Kimiko took a deep breath and sat down in the chair next to him.

    "Mom, Dad, this is Rikka the witch, and Nico. They're the ones who saved the Shogun's life," Akine said.

    "I heard about that, it's nice to meet you both," Hoshi said. "A talented witch and a very smart young man."

    "Thank you, sir," Nico said with a small bow.

    "As thanks, the Shogun let me travel with them, as their guard," Akine said.

    "So how long will you be staying?" Kimiko asked them.

    "We're not sure yet," Rikka said with a laugh. "We're still trying to decide."

    "So what will you do in the meantime?" Hoshi asked.

    "Well, Nico needs to further his studying."

    "You know, Nico I am a school teacher here," he said. "Why don't you attend while you're here?"

    "Wait, like in-person classes?" Nico asked.

    "Of course. Were you homeschooled before?"

    "I guess you could say that," he said sheepishly.

    "It wouldn't be a problem at all. It's the weekend so I'll take you there tomorrow."

    "Okay."

    "Nico, make sure you bring your textbooks," Rikka said.

    "Oh good, you've got textbooks," Hoshi said and Kimiko laughed.

    "He'd be studying whenever he could on our travels."

    "I see. Well, then it should give you quite the boost."

    "Before we get too carried away let's get some dinner started?" Kimiko asked. "I'll even make your favourite."

    "Fried scallops with squid?!" Akine asked.

    "Of course," Kimiko smiled as she headed back to the kitchen.

    "Well then, let's make ourselves at home," Hoshi said with a laugh.

    "Wait, there's one more person I need to get," Akine said, heading to the door, aiming for the Stronggull Pub.

    "Hurry back," Kimiko said.

23: XXIII - Books of a Godlike Page

    Akine made her way back down to the docks and to the Stronggull Pub. She found Captain Niva looking at a drinks menu.

    "How are things at the dock?" she asked her.

    "Smooth sailing," the captain answered. "That dock is ours now and the dockmaster promised he'd take care of the maintenance."

    "Alright. Anywho, let's get going," Akine said, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the building.

    "But I haven't even ordered yet," the captain whined.

    "We're having dinner at my parent's house."

    "Oh yeah, I forgot you're from here." They made their way back up the streets. "So what are we having?"

    "Mom's making my favourite, fried scallops with squid."

    "Jaletonian or Kitsan style?"

    "Kitsan of course."

    "Fuck the hell yes," the captain smirked as she began to sprint up the hill. Akine laughed as she followed behind.

    "Captain, you don't even know where we're going."

    "I can smell it!" she declared, having a rather keen sense of smell, she did end up at Hoshi and Kimiko's house. Akine was catching her breath as she caught up with the captain.

    "Damn you're quite the sprinter."

    "Well, let's just say that I'm used to escaping from some... rather former acquaintances of mine."

    "I can see that," Akine said as she opened the door. "I'm back."

    "Who's this now?" Hoshi asked as the captain saluted him and he returned the gesture.

    "Captain Niva, the one who sails our ship," Akine answered. "Captain, this is my dad, and Mom is in the kitchen."

    "Fried scallops with squid, correct?" the captain asked as Kimiko waved from the kitchen doorway.

    "Why yes," she said.

    "Do you need an extra set of hands?"

    "That's always helpful," she nodded as the captain made sure her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she hung her hat on the coat rack and headed into the kitchen. "Care to cut the squid?"

    "Aye aye," she said.

    "The captain is quite the capable chef," Rikka said.

    "Alrighty then, dinner should be ready in about 20 minutes then," Kimiko said. Hoshi sat back down next to Nico as they were going over his textbooks. Hoshi loved the quality of the materials and the sheer amount of detail they contained, not knowing they were gifted to Nico from the gods he met when he reincarnated.

    "You must have had some smart parents," he had said to him. "These are very high quality and there's stuff about history that even I don't know about, let alone the Imperial University professors."

    "As far as I know, I've just had these," he said.

    "I see. I have no idea how old they are, but they're in very good condition. I wonder if these were the latest IU prints?"

    "IU?"

    "Imperial University, the Jaletonian Empire's greatest school."

    "He's had those with him since I first met him a few months ago," Rikka said. "I read the one about the Tranz Kingdom and there were things even I didn't know, and I'm from there."

    "Nico, I know it's not the most formal thing to do, but I think the professors at the IU would love to get their hands on these."

    "I mean, that's true, but I don't want to sell them."

    "Just give them permission to copy them," Hoshi smiled. "I'm sure they'd still give you a very generous offer."

    "He's right, Nico," Rikka said. "Maybe we should head there next."

    "Well, you'd have to enrol and pass their entrance exams," Hoshi said as he was glancing through the book about the Jaletonian Empire. "It's very hard to get in."

    "I'll bet," Nico said with a laugh.

    "Alright everyone enough chit-chat," the captain suddenly declared from the kitchen.

    "Dinner is ready," Kimiko said with a proud smile.

24: XXIV - Dinner and a Story

    Once the dinner was prepared the captain and Kimiko prepped the table with a plate for everyone who gathered around the table and sat down. The food was set out to be passed around while the captain shared some of her prized drinks. Nico of course was given some milk. Once the drinks were poured and the table was fully set, the captain and Kimiko took to their seats and Kimiko spoke up.

    "Shall I lead grace?"

    "Go ahead," Akine said with a nod as everyone folded their hands together.

    "May the gods and goddesses bless the cherished food we are about to receive," she said with a warm tone and while it wasn't exactly a spell to make the food taste better, Nico liked to think it was. "Shalas."

    "Shalas," the others answered in response.

    "Shalas," Nico said as well, hoping he pronounced it correctly.

    "Let's dig in," Hoshi said as he began to serve himself from the platters before passing it to Akine.

    "That was the old Jaletonian word for thankfulness," the captain told Nico noticing his confusion.

    "It's not entirely cultural, as we usually save it for special occasions," Kimiko said.

    "I see," Nico said as the platter made it to him and he helped himself to the squid and fried scallops.

    "So Akine, what are your next travel plans?"

    "Well, I think I heard Dad and Nico talking about the Imperial University."

    "You really should take those textbooks there," Hoshi said between bites. "In fact, after dinner, I'll write a letter to my old friend who teaches there."

    "Remind me where the University is again," the captain said taking a drink.

    "It's in the capital city of Wentersstilt," Akine said.

    "How far away is it?" Nico asked.

    "Well, with the Central Mountains being in, of course, the centre of the country with no villages on or around the range all the roads simply go around it," Hoshi explained. "Following the roads around the mountains of course means it's a bit of a trek. It's over 900 miles."

    "Jeez," Nico said.

    "That's the eastern route too," Akine said. "If we took the western route without directly crossing Monte Carlo Bay, that's about a 1,200-mile trip."

    "Sheesh."

    "Hey, compared to what we've done so far that's not a lot," Rikka said. "I'd have to look at the map again, but I've been tracing out our route and we've travelled twice that distance already.

    "I mean, you all did stay in Kirbitz for a couple of months building that awesome boat," the captain said.

    "Where exactly did you start out at?" Hoshi asked.

    "Dayserring, of the Tranz Kingdom," Rikka said.

    "I bet I can map out your route for ya," he said with a laugh.

    "Hoshi now's not the time for a geography lesson," Kimiko said. "Nico, why don't you tell us about you?" Nico nearly choked from surprise as the captain glanced over at him, having already heard his story.

    "Well," he started hesitantly. "My story isn't... exactly a happy one."

    "Oh, I didn't know. I'm sorry."

    "It's okay. Maybe some other time."

    "No need to worry about it too much," Hoshi said. "So then Captain..."

    "Y-Yes?" she said sitting up to attention.

    "You remember those pirates a few years ago that were in the Khaganate Bay?"

    "Oh yeah," she said, taking a swig. "Boy that was a crazy week and a half, let me tell you." She went on to tell the story as she was captaining a ship at the time, a passenger ferry that was attacked and she rescued a lifeboats worth of people.

25: XXV - School Lunch

    The next day after they had spent the night at Hoshi and Kimiko's house, as he had promised as Akine and Captain Niva found some work, Hoshi had taken Nico to the school where he taught and he even introduced Nico to the class where Nico was placed. Unlike Nico's previous life, where schools placed someone with an age grade, the grades were defined by the child's general knowledge. So while Nico was seven, he was very knowledgeable thanks to all of the reading and studying he had done so the kids in his class were mainly older than him, around 8, 9, 10 years old. Nico looked around as all of the other kids looked at him. There were a few normal humans amongst the Jales children and there were fourteen children in total.

    "Everyone this is Nico, he's your new classmate," Hoshi said.

    "Hello," he said with a bow.

    "Hi Nico," the kids said in a misaligned unison.

    "Take a seat anywhere," Hoshi said.

    "You can sit over here," a girl with small goat horns said. She was an Aries species of the Jales. Nico nodded and sat down in the seat next to her. "My name's Laika," she said. Nico smiled and nodded.

    "Alright everyone, let's get ready to pay attention now," Hoshi said, grabbing his book and heading for the chalkboard. "We're going to continue our lesson on the history of our Jaletonian Empire. We left off in the year 1553, during the war between the Jales and the Gregoristan Patriarchy." Nico paid attention as Hoshi went over how the war was started and its early years. Nico did what he could with his new pencil and notepad as he took fastidious notes on everything Hoshi covered. Eventually, Nico noticed the clock read 11:20 and the Aries girl next to him raised her hand. "Yes, Laika?"

    "Sensei, it's lunchtime," she said. Hoshi looked up at the clock and raised his eyebrows.

    "So it is. Darn it, I got a little carried away again, didn't I?" he asked aloud and some kids giggled. "Alrighty then, you all can get to eating. I need to get some supplies for the next lesson. I'll be back." He smiled and left the room as the students began to converse and pull out their premade lunches. Nico watched as Laika moved and sat next to him as she pulled out a wooden box.

    "What did you bring to eat, Nico?" she asked him.

    "O-Oh well, he forgot to mention that to me yesterday so I didn't bring anything," Nico said downheartedly.

    "It's okay I can share," Laika said, opening her lunch box revealing some cut pork links and rice.

    "Hey, I wanna share with him too," a girl with small birds wings said as she too moved to sit by Nico, sitting across from him, as Laika was on his left. "My name's Taymyr." She pulled out her lunch box and she had a mix of seeds and nuts with some fruits.

    "Can I sit too?" one of the human girls asked.

    "Hey, Frauda," Laika said. "You can sit across from me."

    "So Nico, I hear you're from the Tranz Kingdom?" Frauda asked as she sat down and opened her lunchbox, showing stewed meats and cheeses with an apple.

    "Y-Yeah," he said shyly.

    "I'm from there too, but we moved here because my mom and dad came to study at the Imperial University."

    "I see."

    "Here, you can have some of the meat my mom stewed," she said as she placed some on a spare plate for him.

    "Thanks," he smiled.

    "You should try these yew nuts," Taymyr said. "My parents brought some from here to grow in the Czeckya Tsardom where they raised me. They're my favourite."

    "The Tsardom's north of the Kingdom, right?" Nico asked her and she nodded.

    "Yep, only because it's so cold the yew nuts don't grow so they moved back here."

    "I see."

    "I'm from the Tsardom too," Laika said. "We're going to move back there once I graduate from the University. Here, have some rice."

    "Thanks," he nodded as he now had a decent meal in front of him. As Nico and the girls ate, they continued to converse with him asking about his adventure and how he helped save the Shogun.

26: XXVI - Afteryears

    After their lunch period was over it was time for the rest of the day's lessons. This went on for the rest of the school year as Nico became friends with everyone in his class as they moved up to Level 3 students. Hoshi would no longer be Nico's teacher at this level, but his class stayed the same throughout the years. Nata, a Cervus girl who was always sleeping in class and Luria, who was a Lupin girl who was generally disliked for her rude and commanding behaviour but was too stiff to realize that if she wasn't so mean, she would have friends. During the summer break, Nico and Rikka talked with Hoshi and they decided that Nico should stay until he was at least a Level 5 student, just below the University level, so with the rest of the money, they bought a house in the city as Nico went to school for 4 more years until Nico graduated from the school, completing his Level 5 student requirements.

    During that time, as he lived with Rikka and Akine, Captain Niva would take quests and do some solo sailing. She set a sailing record by sailing from Schwarze Felson to the Eastern Sea, all through the Central Sea, which was about 1,800 nautical miles. With Nico's catamaran holding quite a brisk pace at nearly 45 knots, she sailed that distance in just over 2 days. So naturally, when she returned from her sailing adventures she would be hired as either a boat captain or as a crewmate on ships. Rikka had been working as a witch and helped heal people and even teach some young women the basics of spellcasting. Akine would end up working for the city council as a guard in various areas. So after those 4 years had gone by and Nico was now 11 years old, they all met up at Hoshi and Kimiko's house.

    "You know Nico, I'm proud of you and everything you accomplished in your years at school here," he said to a taller and slightly more fit Nico.

    "Thanks, Hoshi," he said with a smile.

    "So what are you all going to do now?" Kimiko asked.

    "Well, I think we'll go ahead with the plans to visit the University," Rikka said.

    "Going to further your studies, huh?" Hoshi asked.

    "Actually, I want to see more of this amazing world," Nico said. "I really appreciate the schooling though."

    "I understand," Hoshi nodded. "I thank you for sticking around."

    "Well then, we'll be off to find our Captain," Akine said. "I wonder which bar she's at this time," she and the others laughed. Rikka and Akine had sold the house they bought a few days prior to them leaving for the University. Going along with Nico's map, they would take the central and southern route down to Wentersstilt where the University was located. It would take quite a while, but when they met up with Captain Niva there was a bit of a hiccup in their plans.

    "I'd love for us all to just ride the catamaran there, but I just accepted a job steering a cargo vessel defending a cargo vessel through some pirate-infested waters on its way to... well, Wenstersstilt. It would take just as long to walk there with those mobility potions Akine has."

    "I see," Rikka said thoughtfully.

    "Listen, this is nothing I can't handle so you all best get to marching. The ship leaves in 3 days, so I'll see you all in Wentersstilt, okay?"

    "You meet us there, okay?" Rikka asked.

    "Yes Ma'am," Captain Niva saluted. As they returned the gesture, the sun began to rise so Nico, Rikka and Akine left Port Lumina behind them as they walked down the road and toward the river city of DeLonia, where according to Akine's calculations they would use the mobility potions to set up the pace once they were sure the cargo vessel Captain Niva was on would disembark and hopefully they would arrive in Wentersstilt on the same day.