July 5. Fourteen going on fifteen years old. Saishuu Riku.

The manga plagued my thoughts all night long. When daybreak arrived and the birds began their song, I hadn’t slept a wink. Nor had I come up with any sort of plan beyond waiting for the chapter in which they reached the location. Maybe it would be next week. Or the week after that. Or even later. All I could do was wait and hope the others didn’t find the seer before I had all the answers.

We started the search early, splitting up to question the crowds in the many cramped streets of Genkoushi. Daisuke’d bought a map of the city yesterday, and he’d divided it up so we’d cover as much ground as possible. This time, I asked nobody, not even half-heatedly. Just in case someone did tell me, I didn’t want to lie anymore.

We met at the rendezvous point, outside the little hotel we’d stayed overnight.

‘No luck for me,’ said Daisuke, scribbling on a portion of the map. ‘I asked every house on the street and they told me to leave them alone.’

‘Me either.’ Ahio scowled and kicked the pavement. People passing by gave him a strange look and he glared back.‘What is wrong with the folks here?’

Tsubasa rubbed his eyes. ‘I-I couldn’t f-find anything.’

‘Same,’ I said quickly.

Dr Chiasa sighed. Her bruises had turned green and the wounds were now just scars, but in my minds’ eye, a gash slit open her chest, spilling her innards and gushing blood out onto the pavement. I shook my head. It’s not the manga, she’s alive!

She glanced at Daisuke’s map. ‘We still have a lot of ground to cover, so let’s have some lunch and begin again. There’s a food street nearby.’

On the way, we pushed through the crowd; grimy-faced miners, blacksmiths carrying hammers and even a scrawny beggar with a couple of coins in his hat. In fact, I’d seen a few more around when I was strolling the streets before. There weren’t anywhere near as many in Heikisato.

Tsubasa and I dropped a few coins into his hat, and he looked up at us with a grin full of rotting teeth. Mum had always told me not to give beggars money, saying they’d just use it for drugs or alcohol. But something warm blossomed in my heart when the man thanked us. Mum could be wrong.

The food street was lined with restaurants and cafes, their patios decked with cosy chairs and shaded by giant umbrellas. Several smells, from barbecued meats to rich caramel, blended to form a mouthwatering scent. Daisuke strode off to the nearest store, a little noodle shop run by an old lady. Her stove was out in the open and everyone could watch her cook, slicing and dicing in record speed. Yet she still found time to chat with her customers while the sauces simmered.

Just like the noodle shop lady in the manga who’d told the seer’s address, her pepper and salt hair was tied up in a bun and her apron had a picture of the sun smiling.

‘Shall we go here?’ I pointed at the adjacent store. A sign showing a bowl of fried rice hung above its door. ‘This place looks...cleaner.’

The lady frowned and shot me a dirty look while her customers scrutinised her store for the supposed lack of hygiene. I’m sorry!

We made leeway to the patio of the other restaurant, settled down under one of the giant umbrellas and gave out orders to a hurried waiter. We were lucky a group had just left, as all the other seats were taken. A slow music drifted along with the several conversations around us.

‘This place is almost as crowded as Shoubaiba.’ Ahio glanced around at the packed street and the waiters running back and forth.

‘A lot of people in Shoubaiba are merchants who’d only gone there to trade for a few days,’ Daisuke said, pushing aside a glass of water to make space for his plate. ‘Genkoushi is actually the most populated city in Saishuu Riku. Metal workers, architects and engineers also move here to learn their trade for a few years. Even their number of swordsmen is almost as high as Heikisato’s.’

‘The districts are getting less dependent on each other now.’ Dr Chiasa took a bite of her rice. ‘Heikisato has also started giving incentives for people to farm, especially in the villages within the province.’

‘I wonder if they’re going to become separate countries one day,’ I said.

Dr Chiasa shrugged. ‘We’ll have to see.’

‘Has anyone been to the other provinces?’ asked Ahio, mouth full.

‘I-I’ve gone t-to Shuryoushi w-with my mentor once.’ Tsubasa said, feeding Tayo some fried meat. The little animal bit into it with fervour. ‘T-they have a large n-nature reserve. There w-were many rare animals; g-giant centipedes, pygmy eagles and k-katus of course.’ He smiled at Tayo and it licked his hand.

‘My family’s dragged me to Anzenkai a few times, to the beach.’ Daisuke sighed. ‘I hated the sand, but my sister loved it and made us go again.’

Maya gave me a glance, then said ‘Tahro and I have gone to Anzenkai too.’

‘I think I’ve been everywhere.’ Dr Chiasa tapped her chin. ‘Shoubaiba, Mori Chuo, even to Genkoushi twice before.’

‘I haven’t gone to Mori Chuo the city itself, but Kaede and I went to a little village in its province two years ago. I forgot its name, but they had a huge pub.’ Ahio had a small smile, his eyes fixed on his plate. He chuckled. ‘Our mentor left us alone for a few hours and we sneaked in to try some alcohol.’

Dr Chiasa cleared her throat.

‘It was just a sip, I swear!’ He threw his hands up, the rice in his spoon flying in the air. ‘Don’t tell Mum though,’ he whispered.

‘We'll see about that when we get back to Heikisato.’ Dr Chiasa narrowed her eyes and he gulped.

A girl passing by stopped in her tracks and turned towards our table. ‘You’re from Heikisato?’ she asked, eyes wide. She couldn’t have been older than twelve, with black hair tied into two short ponytails and her copper complexion standing out against her light blue shirt.

‘Yes.’ Daisuke said, knitting his brows. ‘And who are you?’

The girl pulled a chair away as another customer stood up. Ignoring the shouting behind her, she sat at our table between Dr Chiasa and Daisuke. ‘My name’s Yukiten!’ Her black-brown eyes shone as she looked at us. ‘Are you… are ya’ll swordsmen?’ Her voice was almost a hush.

‘We are—‘ Ahio said, before the girl squealed.

‘I can’t believe it! I’d always wanted to go to Heikisato n’ become a swordsman.’ She leaned forward and grinned. ‘I’d heard so much about Heikisato’s swordsmen n’ their excitin’ quests. The swordsmen trainin’ here is no good, besides, my uncle won’ let me. Can you take me with you when you go back? I’d been tryin’ to learn to fight and control my inner spirit and stuff by myself for years, but I wanna have a mentor and really master everythin’. How many adventures have ya gone to? Is it as dangerous as they say? Are ya’ll on a quest here?’ She stopped to catch her breath and gazed at everyone with hungry eyes.

‘Um, I don’t know about your other questions, but we’re here because we’re looking for the seer.’ Ahio said, a bewildered look on his face.

‘Oh, that’s my uncle.’ Yukiten grinned. ‘I can take ya to him. Also, did ya get to fight a lot of bandits on the way here?’

I coughed, choking on a spoonful of rice.