Next week, we were off. The town exploded in cheers watching us as we drove away in a cart. Bao waved, grinning from ear to ear as he waved back.
Yui sank into the cart deeper, her face red from embarrassment. And me? I just played it cool, looking towards the horizon of new opportunities, not at all worried about getting money in the slightest!
Seri stayed in the cart with us, all of us being tolled off to one of the greatest cities in the western region, Zephandale!
Me and my dad have been there once before, but that was eons ago. One of the adventurers squeezed through the crowd, he was a scrawny one, his red jacket highlighting him in a dense group of mute colors and silver.
His curly brown hair remains just above his bright green eyes. "What're we cheering for?" One of the adventurers turned to him, answering his question. He was a rather tall one, his hands crossed over his chest as he spoke.
"The maid cafe are going somewhere, apparently" The boy looked at our cart with curiosity in his eyes, his arms too crossed as he watched.
"Any idea where?"
The tall adventurer laughed, his laughter carrying enough base to move organs.
"No idea we're just glad they're out of here, maybe we can get some real food eh?!"
A few of the adventurers chuckled at his statement, Not that I cared. I leaned back in the cart like I belonged on a travel brochure, arms behind my head, legs crossed, already soaking in the imaginary praise we'd get when we single-handedly revolutionized the maid café industry in Zephandale.
"Are you crying?" Seri asked, her voice as quiet as ever over the roars of the crowd. "Not at all," I wiped my eyes, swiping away at the manly tears that formed within them, only to hear a soft snark scoff coming from the corner of the cart.
I turned, and there Yui sat staring at me with a poorly suppressed smirk on her face.
"He's definitely crying,"
I said I didn't care, ok?!
As we crossed the gate the blacksmith stood, leaned against the stone walls as he watched us depart, his eyes picking up Seri who sat with her head low, most likely nervous on the journeys to come.
"Well, you went and did it," He smiled to himself, talking to no one in particular.
The blacksmith pushed off the wall, his once crossed arms detangling to give her an unknowing thumbs up, the sun hitting his head just right.
"Good luck, miss. God knows you'll need it." A sudden shimmer of light caught Seri's eye, causing her to turn towards it. The blacksmith's scalp glinted like a signal mirror—directly into her light-sensitive eyes.
Before we knew what even happened, she zoned out, falling backwards into the cart with a loud thud.
"Seri, are you ok?!" Bao cried when she noticed. Yui sighed, sinking deeper into her seat in the cart.
"Poor thing, the nervousness is setting in for her too,"
"Oh you nervous?" I teased, watching Yui sit up with a start, her face as red as it could be, each word carrying a defensive tone.
"Am not!"
"You so are!"
"I said I'm not!" She screamed, Bao still tending to a now passed out Seri, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Seri??"
"Seri?!"
"Wake uuupp!!"
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── Kaiju Kanojo!!! ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Soon we were let out into the open field of the west, the tall grass gracefully moving from one side to the other under the gentle gust of the morning breeze.
The sun was high, its heat oppressing us on the backs of the open cart. Sadly one with a roof wasn't in our budget this time.
Seri, who'd been quietly petting the corner of her apron like a stress talisman, glanced up at us.
"Do you think… they'll like us over there?"
Her voice was almost lost in the rumbling of the cart wheels. I turned my head to look at her—face full of nerves, hands clasped tight in her lap. Her frills fluttered slightly in the wind like they were nervous too.
I shrugged.
"They'll either love us or hate us. But either way, we're not staying invisible."
"That's… oddly comforting," she said, and smiled just a little.
The sun was already climbing higher, casting golden streaks across the fields as we bumped and jostled down the dirt path.
Somewhere beyond the trees, the city of Zephandale was waking up—bustling streets, chiming bells, people too important to notice three girls and one... Bao rolling into town with dreams stitched in lace and desperate debt collectors sniffing at our heels.
"This is nothing like the village back home," Bao gasped in wonder, watching as buildings lined up in rows, streets made of actual cobblestone marking the path forward.
People who seemed too important to even glance at us, bumping past our group without giving us a second glance. I dusted the wrinkles off my shoulder.
My eyes narrowed in annoyance at their ignorance. If I were wearing something flashier they'd definitely know who they just bumped into. Yet the people and nobles of these big cities have the facial recognition of a goldfish.
"I'm gonna go look around!" Bao exclaimed, already starting to run ahead, Seri following her with the enthusiasm of a country bumpkin meeting the big apple.
Yui sighed, turning to me while her finger points to their retreating forms, "I'll follow them, they might need a guide."
I nodded
"You remember where we're staying right?"
Yui walked ahead, carrying her suitcase of stuff with her, waving me off dismissively as her voice got further and further away.
"Yeah, yeah I remember!"
[New location recorded!]
[Welcome to Zephandale, player!]
This thing, it's been on my mind ever since I saw that crazy sum of money, I mean, can you blame me? With that money I can pay this debt off and possibly remake the store, though I never figured out how to use it…
It seems like it would just take money out on its own when it's time to pay Seri but I can't be too sure.
"Yo, is that you, Haru?" A familiar voice rang in my ear, I felt a chill ran down my spine as I turned to see who it was.
There stood a boy just around my age, frilly black hair and resting narrowed eyes you barely can see his red pupils right underneath them though above all else those two beauty dots under his left eye are a dead give away no matter how long you've been apart.
He wore the clothes of an upperclassed man, Accompanying him was one of his many maids, Abigale.
Abigale, was tall and willowy, with a pale complexion that almost shimmered in the sunlight, like fine parchment kissed with moonlight.
Her hair cascaded down her back in soft layers, but it wasn't hair in the traditional sense—it resembled delicate feathers, each strand textured like gossamer moth wings, fluttering faintly with every step she took.
Two small, velvety black horns curved subtly from the top of her head, barely protruding like polished bumps—more ornamental than menacing.
Just behind them, a pair of long, silken antennae swayed gently with her movement, attuned to the subtlest shifts in the air.
Her eyes were striking: deep pools of black ringed with a vivid yellow band, iridescent like a moth's compound vision and impossible to look away from.
"I haven't seen you since the entrance exams," Her master his hand on his hips as he approached me.
"How are ya man?"