Vol. 2 Chapter 4: Rumors

***Somewhere in Manila...***

Kikuchiyo knew that she fucked up.

"..."

While she did enter Earth through Yukie's country, her next problem was to find that person. Her only lead was the video clip of the report from Fesbook Shorts, which she downloaded. The newscaster said the incident occurred in Salinas, within the city of Bacoor.

But where is Bacoor?

After carefully removing the SIM card from her phone and disposing of it to avoid being tracked, Kukichiyo connected to the Wi-Fi of a nearby convenience store and used her GPS maps to locate that city.

She remembered they always used the convenience store Wi-Fi as an emergency connection while on expeditions.

"Ah, so this Bacoor is a city to the south of Manila, huh?"

Kukichiyo was quite knowledgeable about human customs. While back in their kingdom, elves conduct public transport through buses, or dragon carriages, on earth, the latter was substituted with taxis, or ride-hailing applications. As she didn't want to activate her phone's GPS, which was a requirement for the ride-hailing app to work properly, her only choice was the taxi.

Buses are out of the question because she has no idea of what route to take when going to Bacoor.

However, Kukichiyo's next problem is that now that she knew where to go, the elf princess had to figure out how to get there. Her escape left her with just the clothes she wore, and the things inside her dimensional storage...which was every item about Yukie. She did bring her wallet; the problem was that she forgot to get some Philippine pesos for her expenses while searching for him.

She can try exchanging her wind elf bills for local currency. Her only worry is, if she does that, won't anyone track her whereabouts? After all, Kukichiyo had seen movies where criminals were tracked through their financial transactions while running from the law.

"..."

Knowing that she had no option but to exchange her money, the elf princess looked for a nearby money changer via Giggle Maps. As soon as one showed up, Kukichiyo marked it and walked in its direction.

However...

"I wouldn't go there if I were you."

"!!!" The elf princess quickly jumped away from the direction of the speaker. She also had her guard up, ready to strike back should she perceive herself to be in danger.

But the speaker, an old man with weird sunglasses, only laughed at her. "Easy there. I'm not here to kidnap you, though I told your mother I can help look for you."

Kukichiyo grit her teeth; she was weighing her options: strike the man, and earn public anger. Thus, she would attract unwarranted attention to herself. Or, let him go, and risk being tracked.

"There's no need to decide if you will try to attack me," he sat down in a nearby tree box. "For one, I did say I will help your mother in the search; I didn't promise I will tell her of your whereabouts."

"What do you want from me?"

"Well, first, don't go to that money changer. They scam hapless foreigners with their stupid exchange rates. Second, I'm here to ensure your safety. And third, if you are looking for Yukie, you won't find him in Bacoor."

At that moment, the elf princess relaxed, though she remained vigilant. She suspected him of being someone from her parents' employ, out to capture her once she lowered her guard.

"I told you; I didn't promise your mother to bring you back. Rather, I'm here to help you find Yukie."

"How did you even know I'm looking for him?"

"Let's say I'm one of your mother's distant relatives."

"You're a spirit of nature yourself?"

"If you think of me as such, then I am."

"I don't get it."

"Then don't try to. The limited minds of mortals keep you from understanding my true character. But one thing is for certain, which was taught to you by the queen of the wind elves; that is, we spirits don't lie. So, when I say I won't be a snitch, then I won't be a snitch."

The elf princess was taken aback by the old man's answers. However, as he said he would help her find Yukie, she had no choice but to give this guy a chance. She could always defend herself should he do something weird anyway.

-----

**Yuuki**

Ever since that incident at the dormitory, Alice never left our room. Not even when we go to training simulations. She would always give us reasons to skip those, and also whenever we just wanted to hang out together. Temaire, worried that our group's cohesion would be severely affected, confronted her one time.

"What's the matter? If you keep skipping our simulations, we'll be back to square one."

"I'll join you guys soon. Not now, but soon!" She would wave her hands to shoo us away, and then stare at the window outside, spending hours looking at the Manila skyline...from the time we left for training to the evening hours before we sleep. If Alice wasn't at the window, she would just sit on the sofa browsing the internet from her phone, though it was just random videos from YeTube. At dinner, she would also avoid eating with us, heading to bed early, and sometimes skipping her meals.

However, at that moment, my childhood friend insisted, pulling the brawler's arm. "Come on, Alice! We have to go; we can't form a proper adventuring party if you keep eating like that!"

Alice wrested free from Temaire's grasp and snapped at her. "You can just remove me from the list! I'll go back to Moscow and retire like Yuuki!"

Rico and I exchanged anxious stares at her answer. The amicable atmosphere inside our dormitory suddenly plummeted into a dark and heavy one. She grabbed the brawler's shirt and tried pulling her. But Alice's weight relative to Temaire's strength was greater; my childhood friend looked like a child trying to move a concrete wall.

Of course, Alice was pissed. "What's your problem, rotten croissant?"

"I will return that question to you! If you really hate partying with me, I'm not keeping you!" She pointed toward the door. "You can leave anytime! Just don't pull us down if you are going to sulk the whole time!"

The brawler said nothing, as if she wasn't affected by our team leader's words. Yet, we could tell she was struck deep; Alice kept doing random things before eventually settling at the front window, doing what she had been doing recently. Temaire, seeking to cool her head, pulled us towards the door.

"You got an entire day to think," she called out to Alice. "Whatever your decision is, my priority is my teammates!"

With that, Temaire slammed the door behind us.

-----

As we waited for the elevator, tense silence echoed throughout the hallway. Lady Yanari gave us the room that was on a dead-end and blind turn, obviously to keep other adventurers from seeing us whenever we go out. I got to be thankful for that arrangement; Temaire was still pissed, and it wouldn't do her celebrity status any good should someone see her and pester us for autographs and pictures.

"..."

I caught Rico glancing at my childhood friend several times now, maybe looking for a chance to open her thoughts about what happened. And, well, I thought of backing her, since our scout would be the most devastated should Alice leave for Moscow.

However, Temaire didn't give her a chance to be the one initiating the conversation. After taking a deep breath, she broke the ice, asking, "Have I been harsh?"

We both nodded. I added, "Alice obviously didn't take that well."

"I'm...frustrated," my childhood friend admitted. "I'm having difficulty getting our party started, see? Paperworks. Our training. Members. Yet, here she is, sulking about stuff that happened days ago."

"Maybe it is something personal for her, Tenma," Rico commented. "When I met her again after being separated for so long, she was what I would call a 'husk' of her former self. Yuuki, what do you remember of Alice?"

"Well, the Alice of today is similar to the Alice before we disbanded," I pointed out. "It's hard for me to imagine her having an opposite disposition."

"That's what she was when we reunited; silent, sad, and there's always a hint of bitterness in her words whenever she speaks of her past adventures."

"Oh...did she say anything about those?"

Rico shook her head. "But Alice hated me digging deeper."

Yep, typical Alice. That girl tries to be tough, even when she's already hurting...

The elevator finally arrived at our floor, and we entered. As we went down, Temaire told us, "Yes, I understand that it might be personal for her. I mean, when I just entered the spotlight, I also suffered from malicious rumors. But I didn't let that affect me; it's painful, yet if you let those idiots affect what you do, it's only you that loses in the end!"

Well, Temaire made her point. Public figures like her were often magnets for negative discussions, fake news/rumors, and worst, freaky people. Nevertheless, she spoke from the position of a celebrity, whose line of work required the development of a thick skin, so that they could last long in show business. In contrast, Alice was an ordinary girl who did adventuring. She may have a rude mouth, but her heart was as fickle as any maiden's.

"I don't know what to do with her!" my childhood friend admitted. "I want to focus on adventuring, not deal with personal issues!"

"It's part of being a leader, Temaire," I countered. "If not, you'll just become a boss, and everyone hates a boss. What people often look up to is a leader. Leaders understand their followers' struggles and decide based on what they learned."

"But you've also seen how we tried to approach her, only for Alice to push us away in the end. Even Rico, who is supposed to have been with her longer than us, is having difficulty reaching out to her!"

"She's not yet ready to talk about it, I guess?" I shrugged. "A lot of personal problems are hard to bring up, even to people close to you. The dangers of being judged, or your issues dismissed as 'nothing but easy,' are there."

Temaire was silent. We could tell she was reflecting on what I said. Then, as the elevator reached the ground floor, the other adventurers spotted her and began to gather around. Seizing the opportunity to escape scrutiny, Rico and I went ahead to the simulation room.

-----

When lunch break came, Temaire opted to remain inside the simulation room. Her earlier encounter with her adoring fans caused my childhood friend to stay, for they would surely crowd around her once again.

"My lips are already tired of smiling," she told us. "I have to smile every second for the cameras. Good thing the employees noticed it, and they helped me return to training."

"Well, I guess it's up to me or Yuuki to submit our training results," Rico offered.

However, I presented myself. "Nah, I'll just bring the results myself. I'd like to check on Alice, then grab something to eat on the way back. Anything you'd want me to buy for you guys?"

"Ice cream!" Temaire demanded.

"No. Pick something proper," I insisted. "Desserts are not a substitute for a full lunch."

"Then, a sandwich will do," she answered, pinching her stomach for a bit.

"Alright, I'll get you a full rice meal."

My childhood friend grabbed my shirt. "Y-Yuuki...just a light meal, please!"

"Mademoiselle d'Anvilles, I hate to break it to you, but if you're worried about your weight, I must say that you are already beautiful as you are!"

"Then get me two full-course meals!" she demanded once again.

Heh, easy.

But, yeah, it was not a good idea. "No, one meal is enough."

"Ugh...right," she took a couple of bills and gave it to me. "Also...uhm, Alice...about her, can you get her some food?"

"This is an apology gift?"

"Y-Yes...I've been harsh with her. Tell her, 'Please cheer up, or I'll steal a march on you!'"

Rico was smiling; I could imagine her with puppy ears perked up and a puppy tail wagging.

Any case, I asked her, "What about you, Rico? Got anything you like to eat?"

"One Yuuki please! I'd like to eat him now!"

Yep, it was my turn to get flustered. And also, the technician, he eavesdropped on us while cleaning the simulation room.

-----

So, acting on my teammates' instructions, I went back to our dormitory to check on Alice. I expected it would take some time, so I bought her food but left Temaire's and Rico's for later. When I entered our room, I found our brawler sitting in the same spot on our window, still staring at the bright Manila afternoon urban skyline; her hair was a mess, and she only wore a shirt.

"Hey!"

Alice jumped a bit, probably surprised when I tapped her arm. She looked at me with disinterested eyes before going back to the scene before her. "Finished training?"

"Yep," I put the plastic bag of food beside her. "Temaire wants you to have it. She's saying sorry for her rudeness."

"Eh, I can't blame the rotten croissant," she muttered. "Her words are true; I've been holding you guys back."

"Everyone's got their shitty moments."

"True...and, really, mine's since we disbanded. Haa...I don't know, Yuuki; I just don't feel like doing anything at all. My life's like 'good times,' then a bit further, shit happens, and everything goes down."

"We don't look at you as a liability," I reiterated. "Look, you know Temaire; if she truly doesn't care about you, she will just continue training like normal. But she's bothered by what she did earlier. And, really, that's rare for her to admit that."

Alice only chuckled. I sat beside her; she leaned her head on me.

"Hey, Alice, what's wrong? I was also surprised by how those adventures from before treated you. And as your teammate, I didn't like what I see."

"Don't mind them. You know our fellow adventurers; they always spread the stupid rumors."

"Still, I'd like to know if that's okay with you. We simply want to defend you whenever someone says bad things about you."

The brawler remained silent. She never took her eyes off the Manila skyline, even as several light-rail trains already passed before her. I watched her; her eyes never moved, as if mesmerized by the scene. Yet, the glimmer was lost in her stare.

Maybe Alice doesn't like to open up for now...

As Temaire and Rico still waited for me in the simulation room, I stood up and gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder.

"Whatever it is, we don't want to lose you, Alice. We'll sorely miss our brawler if you leave, so please...I'm asking you, on behalf of Temaire, Rico, and myself, too; don't leave."

No reaction. She kept her silent vigil; it seemed like I was talking to a dead person. Nevertheless, I guess this was a good sign that she wouldn't leave. I mean, if Alice were determined to quit, she would've already said it. This time, she said nothing; maybe she was carefully considering her options, or realized that we love her as she was. Even when others were saying shit behind her...

But none of those mattered; I already told her our true sentiments about her. And I hoped she would stay with us.

Any case, I went out and closed the door gently.

-----

On my way back to the simulation room, some of the adventurers who recognized Alice joined me at the elevator. Apparently, they also headed to the ground floor, since it was way into the lunch hours. While at first, there was an awkward silence between us—I didn't want to talk to them, soon one of the guys got curious and approached me,

"Aren't you the green band adventurer who was with Klubnika last time?"

Klubnika must be Alice's other name outside Oyasumi. Well, it took me a few moments to answer, because I debated with myself whether to answer these fellows. But I guess this was a chance to learn more about the issue surrounding Alice, so I obliged. "Yes, she is actually training me to become a proper adventurer."

The two guys exchanged amused looks before the first adventurer asked me another question. "Are you in a party with her, though?"

"No, not yet...why?"

They chuckled. The second adventurer put his hand on my shoulder, like a close friend giving advice. "So, listen, uh..."

"Yuuki. That's my adventurer name."

"So yes, Yuuki, I am Tenda," he ruffled his blonde hair. "Make sure to remember my face and this hair. I'm a platinum band adventurer, like Steve here. His name is Steve, okay? Remember that. Now, where were we? Right, about Klubnika. Uh, do you think it's possible that you hook us up with her?"

"Hook up? As in party?"

"Heh," he turned to his friend. "This guy is really clueless. Should we tell him?"

"Go on, Tenda," Steve had a nasty smirk on his lips. "Guy's a green; it's better he doesn't get his hopes up."

"What do you mean?"

"Yuuki, listen to your betters," Tenda began. "Be careful not to fall for that girl, Klubnika."

"Why?"

"Come on, admit to us—we're all guys here, anyway. You find her pretty, right?"

"I do."

The adventurers snickered and exchanged high-fives. "Look here, greenhorn. That girl, Klubnika? You shouldn't get your hopes up with her! She's a real beauty, yes, but you can only admire her from a distance; otherwise, you'll be in danger."

I didn't like where this talk was heading, though I pretended to be an idiot to keep them talking. "Danger? But Miss Klubnika is kind to me."

They burst out laughing. "That's exactly it! Her nickname is 'Klubnika the Breaker' among us platinums, you know? That is not because she is skilled in dungeons."

"Hey, hey, Tenda, she is skilled in dungeons, but not in killing monsters!"

"Pfft! Right!"

I wasn't born yesterday. Of course, I knew the innuendo behind their words, and it made my blood boil. Alice was not like what they say...we-well, she could get, uh, 'horny' but she would never do it with random people.

I saw her lots of times doing 'that,' and heard the name of the person she always thinks of during those moments...

"Dude." Both of them put their hands on my shoulders. "If you are thinking you got a chance, we're telling you—Klubnika has a high body count. You're better off leading her on than falling for her manipulation. Come on, what do you say, huh? Hook us up, and we'll let you in after we finish!"

"Makes you wonder, Steve, how Klubnika got her platinum rank. She must've bribed her way up by se—guoh!"

Well, fucking hell, that did it for me. Without warning, I sent my knee crashing into their crotches, causing the bastards to writhe in pain on the elevator floor like the worms they were. Yeah, I could still let their 'body count' accusations about Alice pass, after all, nowadays, whatever she did with herself wasn't exactly my business. But to accuse her of using sex to achieve her rank...how low could these fuckers get?

I saw with my eyes how Alice cried and suffered for her platinum rank. We started with her as 'Alice the Green Band' and disbanded with 'Alice the Platinum Band.'

The anger surged from my chest, going to my fists, which I used to knock the living daylights out of Alice's accusers. I probably would've killed them, had it not been for my senses returning just before I dealt the killing blow. Yaw-yan meant 'dance of death' in my language, after all.

"..."

Staring at the CCTV camera on the elevator ceiling, I could only shake my head as I realized I created another big headache for Temaire and Lady Yanari. But, yeah, I didn't regret beating these fuckers up; sometimes, I got to stand my ground as a man.