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Return of the Fallen Volume 2 Chapter 56

 

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Author: Blue_Rat

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ch56

Danny’s plan was simple and made sense. First, they would, of course, gather equipment here in Edngaul as well as register at the Guild Hall as adventurers. This would lower their suspicion as they traveled the Feya continent. Were they to ever be stopped by soldiers they could prove they were adventurers and since their identity was seemingly out of the public eye this had a high probability of working. Add to the fact that if they were attacked by anything, there was a good chance there would be a reward for whatever creatures they killed.

Since Sekou had fallen, beasts and monsters had traversed and migrated all throughout Treia. Some had even gone past the kingdom’s borders and caused trouble for the neighboring smaller kingdoms as well. With so many monsters around, adventurers were the only job where work wasn’t lacking. Danny didn’t care about turning the corpses of the beasts and monsters in for the reward, rather what he wanted, more importantly, was to raise their rank.

Once they became adventurers they would start at the lowest rank but the more missions they completed successfully the more their rank would go up. Having a higher rank granted certain privileges to an adventurer. With the wealth Kazuki received from Lamia, money was currently not as important. What was important though was knowledge. Knowledge of magic and skills. How to improve them and how to advance further on the path to becoming a Mage.

As their rank improves, as adventurers they could gain access and form connections with powerful people who could provide such knowledge.

After they finish escorting Nunully to her destination in the Rin Mountain Range, they could then aim for either the Kingdom of Jin or the Kingdom of Maoudou, where the rest of the heroes had gone to. Danny felt that if they went to one of the two great kingdoms, that they would basically be guaranteed a hospitable welcome. They would be accepted with open arms and be taught by some of the best Mages on the Feya continent.

The plan was sound and there were no arguments but Kazuki wasn’t 100% sure.

(It seems legit but will we actually be welcomed? After all, things are different in Treia now. Maybe the other two countries would have taken us in before but now I’m not so sure. Garn has changed things pretty rapidly. Earlier he would probably find us being taken in by another country as disagreeable but he might have put up with it for his King or because he wasn’t one to attack first unless ordered to do so or were he to feel threatened, but now things have changed. Garn has in fact changed. After he was betrayed and framed by King David, it seems Garn snapped. Now he seems to do what he wants when he wants. If I can see that from here then there’s no doubt the other powerhouses of Jin and Maoudou can see that as well. If before he would hesitate to start a war between the other countries, now he is unpredictable and ruthless. The other countries could deal with Garn via King David as David was simply the owner of a powerful weapon but now that David is gone and that weapon aka Garn is unshackled, the opponents he has on this continent can be counted on one hand. I don’t like the situation but right now it seems this is our best bet.)

Kazuki’s face was scrunched up in thought and Danny noticed it. Crossing his arms over his chest he snorted.

“Hmpf, do you have a problem with my plan?”

Kazuki snapped out of it and smiled.

“No, I was just thinking about how we will start training. I think tomorrow we ought to see if this place sells any manuals or any useful information on advancement on a Mages path. Though when I think that this tiny town would actually have such useful books or scrolls, I feel doubtful, that’s all. Your plan is a good one and I think it’s our best bet. I say we go with it, anyone else?”

Danny’s expression relaxed and he unfurled his arms.

“Oh, yea, this town is a bit small. Hopefully, we can find something of use here.”

Everyone came to an agreement and the plan was set.

At the same time, Mei couldn’t understand something and pulled on her mother’s sleeve to get her attention.

“Mama mama, why do they keep saying this town is small. Isn’t it super super big with lots of people? I’ve never seen so many people in all my life. Just walking down the street for a few minutes and we passed more people here than in our entire village.”

Tsura chuckled lightly.

“Just wait until we get to a city Mei Mei. I’m sure you’ll be shocked then. Back in the village Atoh used to speak about how big human cities can get and you know what he told me?”

Mei got excited and inched closer and closer to her mom. Pulling on her sleeve harder she urged her mom to tell her.

Tsura’s smile grew wider as she held up 3 fingers.

“Apparently in human cities, there’s almost 3 times the amount of people there.”

When everyone in the room heard that, they almost exploded in laughter but Tsura and Mei didn’t notice as they were in their own world.

Mei climbed in her mother’s lap and with her great strength began to shake her mother’s shoulders in pure astonishment.

“Really really really? Mama you’re not lying are you? Can there really be over 10,000 people in one place? How can that be?”

Tsura pinched Mei’s hand, causing her to pull back in pain.

“Mei, don’t shake me so much, you’re far too strong. As for the city, why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe me just wait and see. Once we get there, you’ll truly be left flabbergasted.”

Tsura put on a proud expression. Being able to both impart knowledge and leave her daughter with a silly expression felt good. Little did she know that Kazuki and everyone else had silently come to an agreement not to correct Tsura. They would wait for the day they entered a city so she could see for herself not 10 or 12 thousand people but instead a million, two million, possibly even more. They all couldn’t wait to see both mother and daughter’s expression then.

*Tok tok tok*

The sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted everyone’s thoughts. Sam abruptly stood up getting ready to fight and Asuna had already unsheathed her daggers ready to fight.

Kazuki placed a hand on their shoulders and calmed them.

“Relax, I know who it is.”

Asuna put her daggers down and Sam’s stiff posture returned to normal.

“You may enter.”

The door to the small room opened and everyone was greeted by the sight of a small girl. She was slightly taller then Mei by a few inches indicating that she was most likely a year or two older than her. With two long braids of brown hair running down her back and big doe eyes, she was surprised by all of the people in the room.

“Eh, so many people. No wonder why you ordered so much to drink.”

The young girl wore a plain dress with a white apron over it. Seeing that most of the people in the room looked at her with confusion she swiftly gave a bow and introduced herself.

“Ah sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. Forgive me I’m still learning from mama. I’m Seta and my mother Betra is the owner of this establishment.”

Seta looked over toward Kazuki and smiled. Kazuki walked up to her and pulled out 1 silver coin and handed it to her. Seta took the payment and stuffed it into her pocket and was going to return Kazuki his change but Kazuki stopped her.

“You can keep that small amount, that’s your tip.”

Seta’s eyes shined. The money she received went directly to her mother and father and since she was the daughter, her parents didn’t pay her as the work she did was considered chores. Only when she got a tip from customers was she allowed to keep that and use it how she wished. The change she would have given back would have been around ten copper pieces but since it was her tip she would be able to go out and splurge a little.

Seta bowed again and thanked Kazuki. The others though didn’t know what was going on. Seta wore earrings similar to Betra’s and with a single thought, they began to glow with a faint green light.

Behind Seta was a barrel that was about half her height and 3 times as thick as she was. Seta waved her hand and the barrel slowly floated into the room. As soon as it did though, Mei and Tsura grew panicked. Kazuki could tell what was going on and grabbed the barrel before setting it down on the nearby desk. This caused Seta to stare at him in confusion.

“You’re fine, young lady, I was just helping out a bit that’s all.”

With her power canceled out, she wanted to pout a little. Living and working in an Inn, this was basically the only time she could show off her abilities. Still, remembering the nice tip she got she smiled and accepted Kazuki’s help.

Sam felt familiar energy from the barrel and lifted it up. Inspecting underneath it, he found an inscription written with a grainy black substance. With a single feel, he could tell right away that it was crushed Magnitium.

(So this is why the two freaked out just now. Did Ryuta notice this before me?)

Sam placed the barrel back down and helped Kazuki and Seta bring the rest of the stuff in. Besides the barrel, there were a few trays of snacks and a smaller barrel about the size of someone’s head as well as a bunch of cups. The already tiny room seemed to shrink just a bit more with the addition of this food and drink.

Seta bowed politely.

“Please enjoy yourselves, dear customers. If you need anything else just shout and I’ll be up in a flash.”

With that, she turned and left.

Kazuki opened the large barrel and a sour yet sweet smell stung his nose.

(Yep, this is the stuff.)

Filling everyone’s cup he handed them out to everyone except Mei.

Looking down at their drinks, they noticed the color was a dark blue.

Asuna swirled the cup around a few times and gave it a curious sniff. Her eyes quickly watered and she pushed the drink away.

“Ryuta, what is this?”

Kazuki opened the smaller barrel and filled a cup for Mei before handing it over to her. The liquid in her cup was orange and smelled sweet and fruity.

Mei’s eyes brightened and she was just about ready to take a big gulp when her mother stopped her.

“Mei, I believe Ryuta has something to say so wait a moment.”

Kazuki nodded to her.

“Tsura’s right. As for what’s in everyone’s cup, well it’s alcohol of course. Except for Mei, she simply has some fruit juice.”

Nearly everyone looked down at their cup with wide eyes. They were still 17 and most of them were from Japan where the legal age to drink was 20.

“What I have to say isn’t anything profound or anything like that. I just thought that we deserve a drink after all the crap we’ve been through lately. This isn’t big or grand but let’s celebrate and relax a little before we start our grind tomorrow.”

Kazuki held his cup up and shouted.

“Kanpai!”

Afterward, he drained his cup in one go. Asuna and the others stared at him like he was crazy but no one said anything. Shin though finally regained his courage and stood up.

“Hehehe, fuck it. Kanpai!”

Shin then drained his cup. Kazuki refilled his own cup before grabbing Shins and refilling his as well. Putting the cup in Shin’s hand he slammed their cups together and shouted again.

“Kanpai!”

Shin stared at Kazuki for a moment in surprise. He felt a bit fearful of Kazuki earlier but seeing this change of attitude filled him with relief and he relaxed. Smiling brightly, Shin and Kazuki drained their cups together and shouted again.

“Kanpai!”

Sam turned to Kimi and gently tapped her cup with his.

“Kanpai!”

The two drank together and Kimi laughed and got another.

Nunully as well tapped her cup with Kazuki’s and the two drank.

Asuna looked a little nervous.

“Ryuta, are you sure we should do this?”

Kazuki shook his head.

“Asuna, that’s up to you. All I know is that any day could be my last and I deserve to have a little fun while I still can. If you don’t want to drink, I won’t pressure you, just relax and enjoy the atmosphere.”

Asuna thought for a moment before she stood up and walked up to Kazuki. Biting her lip for a moment she slammed her cup into his and shouted out.

“Kanpai!”

Before draining her cup in one go.

Tsura and Mei cheered as well and drank. Tsura was a bit more conservative and simply sipped at her drink. She didn’t want to get drunk while she still had Mei to worry about. Mei, on the other hand, was downing her fruity drink one cup after another while piling the assortment of snacks into her mouth at a terrifying rate.

Danny sat in the corner still contemplating what to do when Shin sat down next to him. Slapping Danny hard on the back he laughed.

“Hehehe, about before.”

Danny was already about to roll his eyes, as he waited for Shin to say something stupid. Shin though unexpectedly lowered his head slightly.

“I was an idiot, I do that sometimes. Hopefully, my friend can forgive me.”

Shin tapped Danny’s glass and toasted.

“Kanpai!”

Draining his drink he stared at Danny for a moment.

(Goddammit, whatever.)

Danny drained his cup in one go. The drink was both bitter and sweet and burned the back of his throat as it went down but after he drank it he actually felt as though a small weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Not because of the alcohol but because of something else entirely. A shared moment between friends.

Shin laughed and said.

“Hehehe, you drank it but you didn’t say Kanpai. That means you’ve gotta drink two more in a row. Well, can you handle it?”

A small smile formed on Danny’s lips and he shouted.

“Hmpf, get me another and you’ll see whether or not I’m capable.”

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Far away to the east, the water from the ocean pounded repeatedly against the shore. As wave after wave came crashing forward someone slowly emerged from the water. Looking around this person felt disgusted just eyeing the land around them. Holding up a hand a red light hovered overtop a ring and pointed in a certain direction.

(So he’s this way.)

A moment later, the person seemed to have vanished as they raced forward with unparalleled speed.

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