Vol. 2 Chapter 1: The Fugitive

***The Philippine Embassy, Ambassadors' Quarter, Kingdom of the Wind Elves, Alfheim...***

As was the custom for every country with established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of the Wind Elves in Alfheim, the Philippine embassy was limited to a small island called the 'Ambassadors' Quarter' in the middle of a lake on the fringes of the elvish territory. Here, Filipino soldiers from the Philippine Marine Corps guarded the compound of the Filipino envoy and his staff from within its walls. Supplementing the watch outside the Ambassadors' Quarter was a contingent of the wind elf 'yeomen'—the personal bodyguard regiment of the wind elf king; a testament to the kingdom's commitment to protect the human representatives...as well as their population from the 'polluting' human culture.

Nevertheless, that didn't stop some of their people from seeking visa applications to conduct official business in human countries, like the Philippines. However, every applicant must go through a rigorous system of checks, both for security and medical purposes. Preventing the smuggling of items deemed illegal by humans, like 'love potions,' was a cooperation between the kingdom and the receiving human government, and the main goal of the security checks. For the medical one, it was a simple matter of keeping the pathogens from Alfheim from accidentally ending up in Earth's environment, where the climate, conditions, and other factors could affect their severity and spread.

As elves and humans lived in two different, yet connected, worlds, the embassies were often different on both sides of the portal. On the Alfheim side, the Philippine government established its office, while the place where the portal exited from Alfheim housed the Kingdom of the Wind Elves' envoy, also guarded by the police and soldiers. A human immigration officer sat by a table near the stairs that led to the crossing. He was flanked by two Filipino soldiers for most of the time, ready to conduct cargo inspections. However, at that moment, they were joined by an elf official from the local governor's palace.

"..."

After news of the escape of the king's daughter and heir, Lady Kukichiyo, broke out, the royal office issued a decree prompting the governor to send elf officials to every human embassy as part of their efforts to recapture the elf princess. While it never affected the responsibilities of the human officer, it certainly irritated the man as he never wanted someone watching him do his work.

"Hinkell of Taram, you may now proceed to the crossing," the immigration officer put the stamp of the Philippine government on the applicant's visa before showing them to the elf official. He would then bring an orb before the applicant, which would glow red if the person nearby was wearing a disguise. Seeing that the current elf was 'real,' the elf official gestured for him to continue to the portal.

Of course, checking everyone was a long and arduous process. The security and medical checks already took two to three hours, then the pre-crossing interview for about an hour and a half. The elf official, still hadn't taken his breakfast and drank cups of coffee, was already at his limits...

"Do you have a toilet here?"

Taking that as an opportunity to be 'free' from the prying eyes of the elf, the immigration officer gave him directions to the farthest comfort room. "See that hallway to the other side of this lobby? Turn to the corridor to your right; the male CR is there."

After saying his thanks, the elf official rushed to the toilet, but not before telling the human he would send a replacement. He asked him to postpone the interview of the next visa applicant for a few minutes. Then, the elf official called one of his colleagues to take his post; in the process, he failed to notice the person creeping behind him in the comfort room. The moment he dropped his call, his vision immediately turned dark.

-----

Once the elf official was unconscious, Kukichiyo had to move fast. She literally got a few minutes before the replacement official appeared. Grabbing her victim's clothes and destroying his phone, the elf princess cast a disguise spell on herself, matching the former's appearance. It would've been the perfect escape, had it not for the other official coming. The orb they used for detecting disguises was left at the human officer's table, though only elves could operate that thing.

When Kukichiyo got back to the immigration officer, the latter was surprised to see 'him' return so soon. "I thought you will send someone else as a replacement?"

"Your toilet is clogged," she explained; the elf princess deliberately clogged the toilets of the Philippine Embassy for her escape plan, and she was in the last CR when the elf official came. Seizing the opportunity, Kukichiyo asked if they had other comfort rooms available.

"Have you tried the others?"

"Clogged as well."

"Clogged?" the human raised his eyebrows. "And we just had those fixed last week! Any case, we got no other CR on this side, if you already tried those. I'm afraid you'll have to cross the portal to relieve yourself. Just ask the other guys on Earth for directions."

Kukichiyo's excitement made her heart skip a beat. Though her original plan of creating a ruckus by destroying the human toilets was nixed, the new scheme produced an advantageous outcome. A few steps more, and she was free!

"Hey!!!"

However, her celebrations were cut-off just as she was about to step into the portal. Turning around, she saw the replacement official standing beside the immigration officer. His hand was on the detection orb, and it glowed bright red.

"There's the princess! Help us capture her!" the replacement elf shouted, tapping his hand on the table and prompting the Filipino soldiers to leap into action, though they were surprised at first.

Kukichiyo, without shedding her disguise, fought back by sending powerful gusts of wind, causing damage and chaos in the embassy. The soldiers countered by activating their anti-magic amulets, rushing to the royal elf with their batons.

Unwilling to let herself be captured without a fight, Kukichiyo dived into the portal crossing...

"What?"

...and she was greeted by an equally shocked human janitor. But she never let him realize what was happening; casting a wind spell on her feet, Kukichiyo glided across the room and into the exit on the other side. The Filipino soldiers, as well as the elf 'yeomen' on that side of the embassy, ran after her, and they were joined by the pursuing officials from Alfheim. To shake them off, the elf princess threw magic spells all over the building. Alarms sounded, gunshots were fired, and screams echoed. As the embassy guests panicked and rushed outside, Kukichiyo blended with the crowd, inadvertently letting herself into the human country, the Philippines.

"Freedom at last!" she screamed with all her heart, raising her fists while jumping. "Wait for me, Yuuki! I'll come to you soon!"

-----

**Yuuki**

"You're earlier than I thought!"

I turned to the man who summoned me to this nearby convenience store for reasons unknown, Grandpa Greg.

"What do you take me for, old man?" I greeted him with a smile. "I may be a government employee before, but I can still come to appointments on time."

"Haha...well, that's nice," Grandpa Greg tapped my shoulder. "At least you really mean it when you said you were 'on the way.'"

As it was way into the hot afternoon, I invited the old man to the small dining area, near the air conditioner of the store. A couple that sat on the bench moved so he could sit; I preferred to remain standing. I got too much 'sitting' down at the dormitory, anyway.

"So, why did you contact me?"

"I see that you already learned of Rico's true name," he replied; his face had a grim expression on it.

"Well, I won't be obliged to tell you."

"Come on, you're really saying that to me?" The old man was bewildered. "I, who called you on your phone even though you never gave me your number?"

"Of course, I'm aware that you are some kind of omniscient being, though you deny you are a 'god.' Just saying you can't make me tell it to you; you have your powers, use those."

"You're a funny guy."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Grandpa Greg took a deep breath, then sighed. "Any case, you trying to be a smart aleck aside, I know you got lots of questions in mind. But let me tell you something first; you should hurry in finding the others."

"The others? You mean Kikyo, Lucille and Rachelle? Temaire is already looking for them! And don't make me do it; I neither got the money nor the influence to make people move for me. We're talking of searching for the entire world for them!"

"Temaire is taking slow!"

"Whoa, wait there, old man! If you're in such a hurry, why don't you just tell me their location, so we can fetch them and be done with it?"

Grandpa Greg said nothing. Instead, he stood up and hobbled towards the nearby coffee machine. Then, taking a small cup for coffee, he poured himself some of the drink, paid the cashier, and went back to me. It took him nearly ten minutes for the whole process; once he settled down, he took a few sips before telling me...

"I really had to calm myself down; I nearly hit your head there, Yuuki."

"What the heck?"

"Look, I know you're not aware of it, but do you even know the power of names?"

"Well, I got an idea of how it works."

"No, you clearly don't. Listen, boy. Yes, if I want, I can tell you their location...ah, no, let's get straight to the point. I can even tell you their true names."

"Then why don't you—"

"I told you to listen, so shut it for a moment."

I did what he asked.

"Okay, remember the time I told you Temaire is a goddess?"

"I have difficulty accepting it as a fact, but yes, I remember."

"And that those girls are all 'part of her' that didn't 'fit in' her mortal body?"

"Get to the point, grandpa."

"Right, you impatient rascal!" But the old man took another sip before continuing. "So, here's the thing; names have power. Solomon controlled his 72 demons by addressing them through their real names. Do you have any idea how he did that? Well, he tricked them into trusting him, because, really, without trust, names will remain as a way to refer a person. But if you get their names and they trust you, you can ask, and they will do it."

"Hey, I don't like how you put it," I told him; listening to his explanation made my stomach churn. I turned my back on him, ready to head for the door. "Are you asking me—the friend of these ladies—to control them like Solomon's demons? What the heck are you asking me, grandpa? That is slavery! Besides, they are my friends! My teammates!"

But Grandpa Greg held onto my arm. "I understand you're upset, but hear me out. Yuuki, I'm telling these things to you because only you can do it. I mean, I can ask anyone to do what you are doing; the effects will remain the same. Get their names, make them trust this other guy, control them, and the problem is solved! But are you willing to have someone else do it? If anything, you're the bloke these girls trust. Only you can 'control' and never abuse them for submitting to you."

The thought of 'controlling' my friends was really heavy. My adoptive parents taught me to respect a person's freedom of will, and I believed in that concept ever since. However, the old man also made his point. Still, there was a question that lingered in my mind...

"Why do I have to do this?"

"Well, you're doing this world a favor. If Temaire's powers—represented by these girls—remain 'uncontrolled' after three months, we're all going to die." Grandpa Greg revealed, though he lowered his voice so that other customers didn't hear.

"Die?"

He nodded. "As in, snap! Gone! With no trace whatsoever."

"How do you know these things? And I only got three months? You surely say some scary words, grandpa!"

"Because it is scary!" He nearly shouted, drawing everyone's attention to us, as well as surprising me. But the old man quickly realized his mistake and apologized. "Yuuki, I may not be the omniscient being you have in your mind, but I can see into the future. And before you ask me about it, no, I cannot choose what I want to see. All I know is that this world will cease to exist three months from now. Everything you see—the elves, the mages, and the magic, everything will vanish in a blink of an eye."

I couldn't find the words to say to grandpa's revelation. Honestly, those were too much for my limited mind; all that sunk to me was that we're going to disappear in three months.

"And at the center of it all was your childhood friend, Henrietta Temaire Louise..."

-----

***OyasumiSe7en's dormitory...***

After making sure that she was alone, Alice knocked on the door of their room. A few seconds later, it was Temaire who opened it for her. Peeking to the left and then right, she gestured for the brawler to get in and quickly locked the door behind them.

"You got all the goods?" the team leader asked.

Alice showed her the plastic bags filled with fresh foodstuffs, including a few bottles of potions. Her lips drew a smirk, "Got them all."

Rico, watching them from the living area, came over to help with the groceries. However, she was apprehensive, especially when she saw the potions that were included. "Guys, I don't think we should be doing this."

"You already know; you're already helping us," the brawler pointed out. "So, you're an 'accessory' to the crime."

"Why do we even have to do this?"

Temaire gave her a long stare before saying, "Rico, sometimes, we have to do something drastic to goad Yuuki into doing something."

"Why do we have to force him to do something?"

"Because if you wait for that bloke," Alice snickered, "we'd be spinsters before he marries us!"

"Hah? Aren't we like, just out of the age of minority? And isn't it that we can only marry one person?"

"That marriage will be mine, the childhood friend," Temaire puffed her chest. "You can be content to stay as mistresses if you want. I'll allow it."

"You wish, you rotten croissant!" the brawler countered. "Yuuki's going to tie the knot with me; it's you who should stay as the mistress! Childhood friends are always set to lose!"

"Guys! Guys, please don't fight!" the scout pleaded. "Actually, I read last time that elves marry who they want, no matter how many their lovers are. So, what if we move there, in Alfheim, and get Yuuki to marry us under elf laws instead?"

Temaire and Alice stopped in their catfight mid-way and blankly stared at Rico.

"R-Right...I-I should've never said something stupid like that..."

"No, no...actually," it was the brawler. "Rico, we can exactly do that!"

"Huh? Aren't humans forbidden to set foot in Alfheim unless the kings of the four elf tribes agree to let us in?"

"Yes, I think we can do that!" Temaire agreed with Alice. "We can ask Kikyo to convince all the elvish kings!"

"But what if they don't? Only one disagreement, and the entire effort is voided!"

The team leader and the brawler chorused, "Then we'll force our way in!"

"Why do you guys only agree on crazy ideas?" The scout silently regretted she said anything.

-----

"Okay, now that we settled the marriage issues, it's time we cook these mung beans," Alice declared the moment they moved to the kitchen.

"It's called 'Ginisang Munggo' in Tagalog," Temaire added, looking at the recipe on her phone's screen. "My Yuuki always liked that, along with some crunchy pork rinds."

"And uh, don't forget, we're supposed to spike it with the love potions..." Rico pointed to the potion bottles on the counter. "Which is also illegal, by the way."

"There's nothing illegal if no one catches us," the brawler said. "Besides, we're also going to eat the same spiked food."

"Y-You will?"

"We will!" the team leader insisted. "Also, Alice needs it for courage; she may be a powerful barbarian, but she has a heart of a pure virgin."

"As if you're not a virgin yourself, rotten croissant!"

"W-Well, my heart is only for my Yuuki...I'm a virgin, but I know the techniques..."

"Kyaa!!!" Rico squealed; her face flustered.

"Stop that, rotten croissant! You're overloading our youngest sister here with erotic ideas!"

"R-Right," Temaire chuckled. "I think we should start cutting up the ingredients. Rico, can I put you in-charge with the ingredients? Alice will be the one to cook the pork, and I'll boil the mung beans!"

-----

Yuuki came back sometime around evening, just before the clock hit 7 p.m. The moment he entered their dormitory, he was immediately greeted by a burning smell.

"What the—" he rushed to the kitchen, following the black smoke on the ceiling. The sprinkler system was disabled by a magic spell, so Yuuki worried that something happened to his companions.

"I told you; you shouldn't leave the store unattended on high flame settings!" Alice scolded Temaire, who was trying to scrape off the burnt mung bean paste on one of the stainless steel pots. "You're the one who suggested this, yet you're the least careful!"

"I can't help it! Back in France, I got maids cooking for me!"

Rico stood between them, holding whatever distance was left on the warring sides. But, as Alice and Temaire had bigger chests than her, the scout was hopelessly sandwiched, restrained by the lumps of flesh about to smother her.

"This is why you West Europeans are weak! You have everything spoon-fed to you!"

"And you think living in Mother Russia is great?"

"Mmffmm...h-help!"

"Guys, I'm home..." Yuuki finally intervened to pull Rico out. "What are you doing?"

At once, Temaire flung the dirty pots inside her dimensional storage. Alice followed with the other 'incriminating evidences,' especially the potion bottles. The scout distracted him by showing the product of their efforts.

"Uhm...you like mung beans, right?" She handed him a bowl of sauteed mung beans, "Though, it's been a while since we cooked stuff from your culture, so...uh, it's not the best."

Yuuki did see the pot Temaire hid in her storage, as well as the strange bottles Alice tried to keep away from his sight. But while he knew they were up to something, he also noticed the band aids on their fingers, the messy aprons they wore, and the soot on their faces.

"Are you guys kidding me? This is sauteed mung beans!" he took a mouthful. "And you cooked it just right! Thanks!"

The girls exchanged bewildered looks as the porter ate it halfway. Alice asked, "Uh, don't you think the taste is...off? Temaire burned the mung beans because she kept looking at the door, waiting for you to return."

"And Alice put in too much water because she thinks it will make lots of sauteed mung beans for you to enjoy," the team leader added.

"Well, Alice did the cooking, Temaire took charge of boiling, and I cut the ingredients," the scout explained to clear things up. "But, yes...we messed up."

"There's the burnt taste, yeah. But who cares?" he chuckled. Grabbing a chair, Yuuki sat on the dinner table and invited them. "Come on, guys, let's dig in. I also bought some ice cream for dessert!"

The girls watched Yuuki as he finished the bowl of rice, together with the dish. Temaire whispered to Alice, "You sure you bought the concentrated love potion?"

The brawler showed her the bottle label, which confirmed it was the correct item.

"Then why is Yuuki still acting normally?"

"I dunno! I made sure to check its authenticity through my magic! And I poured everything into that dish! Maybe it's because you fucked up that it became ineffective?"

"Isn't love potions ineffective if the target is under hypnotism?" Rico told them. "Or, if the person is already in-love?"

Strange silence covered the entire kitchen/dining area as the girls realized the scout's point. Perhaps it was the effect of the spiked food, but their loving feelings for their porter increased even more...