“I can’t thank you enough, all of you. I hope that you’ll reach [Taurus Empire] safe and sound,” the elder said while all the villagers are waving farewell to us because we’re now ready to leave the village.

“Good luck on your journey, Master Chen, Honoka!” the villagers followed.

“Goodbye and take care,” Chen and Honoka said while waving.

“Master, we’ll definitely become great [loot hunters],” the men yelled with enthusiasm.

“Y-yeah,” Ciana said while waving her hands with a strained laugh.

“Raiki, Ciana, Iwa, good luck on your journey too!” the kids followed in unison.

“Thanks!” I replied and waved my hand.

“We will miss you all!” the kids shouted while crying. “Ruby! Let’s play again sometime!”

*ruu-ruu!*

Then, our mode of transportation started moving forward.

Right now, Ciana, Honoka, Iwa, Ruby and I are inside the carriage while Chen is at the front seat, controlling the horse while it pulls the wooden carriage on its back.

We are now heading towards [Taurus Empire] for my next [soldier challenge]. That place also happens to be Honoka and Chen’s next destination. After a whole day of travelling, we finally arrived at our destination.

“We’re here!” I said after we reached the south main gate of [Taurus Empire]. I excitedly look around as the carriage enters it.

“You really don’t change, Raiki,” Ciana said with a smile.

The empire is surrounded by tall concrete wall. As for the entrance, it has a big open gate with the word [Taurus Empire] written on it.

After arriving at the terminal of the Empire, Ciana, Iwa, Ruby and I got off the carriage and said, “Thanks for the ride.”

“Are you sure that you already want to get off here?” Chen asked.

“Yeah,” I replied with a sad smile.

Honoka then jumped off from the carriage and went before me with a sad expression.

“Don’t be sad. I’m sure that we’ll meet again someday. We’re both travelling around [Katzenschatz] after all,” I said with a smile.

“Raiki…yeah. That’s right,” she said as she looks at my eyes and made a sad smile after looking down.

“We’re going. Take care, Honoka,” Ciana said. “And Chen, you too.”

“Yeah. You can leave Honoka to me,” Chen responded with a smile. “And as for you Raiki, I hope you and your [weapons] will get the [Bull Symbol].”

“Yeah,” I replied. Ciana and Iwa also nodded.

“Good luck on your dream of becoming a high class soldier, Raiki. I know you can do it,” Honoka followed with an encouraging smile.

“You too. You better become a Master Cook like Chen,” I said and placed my hand on Honoka’s head.

Honoka then nodded with a smile.

After our farewell, Honoka rode the carriage and after some time, they disappeared from our sight.

“Raiki…” Ciana whispered with a worried face while staring at my back.

“Let’s go,” I said and started walking on the road opposite of where the carriage went.

Both girls stared at me with a worried face while I’m walking away and followed me after a while.

“I’m sure that she’ll be fine. I’m sure of it,” I whispered to myself.

“Should we explore around before finding a place to eat for dinner?” Iwa asked while walking beside me.

*ruu!* Ruby answered while on my right shoulder.

“I’m…not in the mood to explore,” I replied and forced a laugh.

“…”

“…”

“Anyway, how about we challenge [Taurus] now? That way, we can go to the next empire as fast as we can,” I suggested with a sudden serious face.

“…”

“But…[Taurus] will be using one level 50 [weapon] once we challenged him. Battling him now might not be a good idea,” Ciana replied with a somewhat sad yet serious appearance.

“Ciana, what’s your current level now?” I asked with a serious face.

“I’m now at level 44 and Iwa is at level 38,” she replied with a serious expression.

“I...I also agree. I think we should train more first before challenging him,” Iwa replied with a worried look.

“I…see. Then, let’s go and find a place to eat instead,” I said with a forced smile and started walking.

“Raiki…is acting strange,” Iwa muttered.

“He’s being impatient which is really out of his character. Just like I thought, he still doesn’t want to part ways with Honoka,” Ciana said with a sad face.

“Then, why didn’t he say that to Honoka? That way, Honoka would have joined us…probably,” Iwa replied and made a sad expression at the end.

“We two know including Raiki that Honoka has a dream of her own. I know Raiki and what Honoka wants is what really matters to him. That is why he decided to not say anything and just show her a strong facade so that Honoka will not be worried about him.”

“You’re…right,” Iwa whispered sadly.

“Anyway, let’s follow him. All we can do is to support him as his [weapons]…and as his friends,” Ciana said with a gentle smile.

“Indeed,” Iwa replied with a sudden serious face and both of them followed me.

After eating at a bar and renting a room with two beds in an Inn, Ruby and I immediately fell asleep on our bed after saying ‘Goodnight’ to both Ciana and Iwa.

“He fell asleep just like that,” Ciana whispered with a gentle smile while sitting on their bed with Iwa beside her.

“Ciana...” Iwa suddenly said with a serious expression.

“What is it?”

“We’re planning to start our training tomorrow to prepare for our upcoming fight with God [Taurus], right?” Iwa asked.

“That right. Why did you ask?” Ciana said.

“C-can we...please make that the day after tomorrow?” iwa suddenly suggested with serious eyes.

“Well, I’m sure Raiki will be fine with that but do you have a plan for tomorrow?”

“I have...a favor to ask,” she followed while looking directly at Ciana’s eyes.

Just like that, it is now a start of another day. After eating breakfast at the lobby of the Inn, I went back to the bedroom, only to find Ciana sitting patiently on the bed.

“Where’s Iwa and Ruby?” I asked as I went towards the closet where I placed my armor.

“Iwa said that she will just walk Ruby outside,” Ciana said.

“Then, all we can do is to wait for them,” I said and opened the closet.

“Anyway, Raiki. Can we move our training tomorrow?” Ciana asked with a smile after she went behind me.

I then turned around and asked, “Well, it’s fine...but why?”

She then held my hand and pulled me towards the door.

“C-Ciana?” I reacted with a slight flustered expression.

“Let’s explore the Empire first,” she said and placed the [Concealing Ears] on her head. She then opened the door and gave me a smile.

“With that outfit?” I asked with a surprised face after noticing that she’s not wearing her robe today but rather only the white tunic.

“It’s okay. No one will recognize me as long as I wear this item, you know,” she answered with a cheerful expression.

We then exited the Inn and explored the Empire as Ciana pulls me around the block.

For some reason, all the men we passed by are looking at Ciana but when they noticed that I’m also looking at them, they’re all averting their gaze.

“Hey, Ciana,” I said as we continue walking.

“What is it?” she asked with a smile.

“Is it just me or everyone is looking at you?”

“Well, this tunic is really eye-catching after all. That is why I always wear a robe on top of it,” she said and made a strained laugh.

“But...why didn’t you wear a robe today?”

“Well...a change of pace, I guess,” she replied with a smile.

“I...see,” I answered with a clueless face.

As we continue to walk, we reach an area of the town with no building and only gardens. We then continued walking and eventually reach a big pond with some Katzens enjoying a picnic near it.

“Is this our destination?” I asked.

“Yeah. We’re gonna go fishing,” she answered with an excited smile.

“Fishing?” I asked and looked around and saw a fair amount of [Katzens] fishing at the pond.

“I’m sure that this will be fun,” she followed cheerfully and yanked me towards the rental house. We then rented a boat and two fishing rods. After we reached the center of the pond on a boat, we casted our rods on the water and waited for a fish to be caught. There are also some boats around us, also there to catch fish.

“You see, I’ve always wanted to try this,” Ciana said as she waits with a smile.

“Say, Ciana,” I said while looking at the water. “You did this just to cheer me up, right?”

Ciana’s shoulder then twitched and she made a strained laugh.

“The truth is...this is Iwa’s idea. She said that we should take a break first so you can relax. She’s worried about you because she saw how down you are after parting ways with Honoka,” Ciana explained with a smile. “Of course, I’m also worried about you because I also noticed that so I agreed on this plan.”

I then made a sigh and replied, “So I even made the two of you worry.”

“Sorry. I should have asked Iwa where we should go too. Going to this pond is my idea, you see. Fishing is not really entertaining after all,” she said and forced a chuckle.

“That’s not true,” I interjected with a serious face. “The truth is this place is really calming. It’s been some time since I’ve relaxed like this.”

“Raiki...” Ciana whispered with a slight surprised look and made a gentle smile afterwards.

“So thanks for bringing me here, Ciana,” I said with my usual smile.

“You’re welcome,” Ciana said. “Say that to Iwa too later.”

“Yeah. Anyway, how about we see who can catch a bigger fish?” I challenged Ciana.

“Heh~ I accept your challenge. I’m gonna win this,” Ciana said with a smile and her rod immediately shook. “Here it is!”

“What?” I reacted with a surprised face.

She then reeled in the rod and caught a 9 inches fish.

“I did it!” she reacted happily.

Suddenly, my rod shook and I gave her a smile.

“Haaah!” I said and when I reeled in my rod, I saw a 12 inches fish.

“Woah!” I reacted with a big smile when suddenly, the fish managed to get away from the hook and fell on Ciana’s [concealing ears]. Then, both the fish and the item fell inside the bucket.

Oh no! Ciana disguise...has been removed!

Just before the [Katzens] around noticed her, I immediately grabbed both of her arms and forced her into a lying position on the boat.

“!”

“Phew. It looks like no one saw you,” I whispered and looked at Ciana, now with her face really close to mine. Then, I got surprised.

Ciana is now blushing, an expression of her that I only saw for the first time. Her hair is scattered beautifully like paint in a canvas, making me entranced once again.

“R-Raiki...” she whispered in a slight flustered expression.

“What is it?” I asked, still looking at her straight while grabbing both her wrist down. For some reason, I forgot the position we’re currently in and just continued admiring the girl before me.

“Can you...get my [Concealing Ears] in the bucket? I think it fell there...” she whispered after averting her gaze while blushing.

“S-sure!” I said with a flustered face after finally getting a hold of myself and immediately lifted my upper body to get it. After she received it, she then wore it and looked at me with upturned eyes.

After just some seconds, both of us immediately averted our gaze away from each other.

“Sorry for...pushing you so suddenly,” I said, still blushing slightly.

“You shouldn’t be. I’m the one who should thank you or everyone here might have discovered my identity,” she said with a smile.

We then looked at each other again and laughed together.

“So...let’s continue fishing?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Ciana replied with a smile.