Hesperia

Richard noticed with surprise that Prince Virgil seemed more open than himself to Nanako's story. Though still skeptical, the prince didn't fend off the girl's statements so easily, even before she presented him with all the arguments. He also had that look of his as if he had discovered something, but he was keeping it to himself.

"You may rise, Miss Flemmings," the prince said to the kneeling girl in his usual neutral tone, as if all he had just heard were his counselors' regular reports.

Nanako got up, impatiently waiting for his resolution. Prince Virgil was definitely a charming young man—as much as a manga character could be—with his deep blue eyes that reminded her of the morning clear sky, and his wavy black hair that contrasted beautifully with his impeccable light skin. His dark blue military uniform looked so well on him and he had the perfect body of a trained fighter. The prince was so flawlessly handsome that she imagined only a girlish mind could picture such a character. Well, that girlish mind happened to be her friend's. Nanako felt a bit embarrassed.

Truth was, there were other characters in Konoko's manga that got more of her attention than the good-looking prince. One was Herbert, the castle's guards' captain and the prison's warden. He was a large man with small eyes, big square chin, fat lips, and a flat nose. He had a vigorous body, but with a big belly and hairy skin. Yet, his demeanor inspired warmth and security. Whenever he appeared on the battlefield, Nanako felt relieved and happy. Her mind started wandering and, leaving the characters, moved to her Kenji. She thought to herself that a man with particular definite traits that she liked, regardless of any imperfections, would have always eclipsed a magazine guy.

Despite all of these considerations, she was still enthralled that she had the chance to meet the main character in person, something that Konoko—his creator—had not done! It was like meeting a VIP! She actually expected so much from him! Konoko instilled in her a sense of admiration to see the prince as an absolute hero, even with his aloof and arrogant demeanor. Though Nanako always hated these two traits about Prince Virgil, Konoko had explained to her that they were mere appearances. He was not really like that; not in his heart anyway.

Instead of providing an answer, Prince Virgil asked her a question:

"You say you have some knowledge of Hesperia even if you're not from this world, is it not?"

"Yes, Your Highness," replied Nanako nervously. "But it is because, as a human, I read this manga in the real world."

Prince Virgil gave Nanako an intense look as if he was trying to decipher some secret meaning beyond her words.

"Do you know Grace Flemmings of Leer?" the prince asked again.

"No! You see, that's the problem! I don't recall this character! But I know about Your Highness, Commander Blade, Captain Herbert, Miss Helena—" The prince made her a sign that it was enough.

"What about Albert Heiss, Baron of Nan?" came the next question.

"Never heard of him!" replied Nanako almost instantly yet disappointed. She couldn't understand when all these new characters appeared. Were they Konoko's creation or the fantasy of her own dreaming mind?

As she reflected about this, she did not notice Prince Virgil's sharp gaze. Nanako had no idea that Albert Heiss was Grace's fiancé. His real name was in fact another, but "Albert Heiss" was the only name Grace knew. Prince Virgil and Richard exchanged grave looks. The girl standing before them, now completely ignorant of who Albert was, had begged on her knees to help her find him just a week ago. They hadn't even known that name before she told it to them. Otherwise, the person before them and the one from a week ago had the same gestures, look, and demeanor; only now she pleaded for a completely different thing. It was not unlikely that Richard was right and the guardians did something to her, or she was the victim of one of those mysterious incidents. Still, none of these possibilities excluded what Grace presented to them.

"Miss Flemmings, the problem you are raising is not easy to investigate, let alone if it even has a solution for it," the prince began. "However, we will look into the situation. I will speak with my counselors tomorrow and I'll search for more information during the breaks as well. If you are correct, it may turn out to be a terrible issue not only for The Lost Kingdom of Hesperia, but for other stories as well; we can certainly not overlook it! In the meantime, I suggest you keep a low profile and not wander too much. I would particularly avoid the breaks if I was in your place. That is, if you want us to keep you away from the guardians, of course."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" exclaimed Nanako full of gratitude. She wanted to say more, to tell him that she never doubted he would understand her and give her support. Yet she could no longer speak because she felt suffocated by her own emotions. Her eyes started to tear up.

The prince made a sign to a servant and asked him to escort lady Leer to her quarters. She was to be served dinner there as it was late and she was tired.

After Nanako left, the prince and Richard remained together alone for another few minutes.

"Do you think it's possible, Your Highness?"

"I don't know Richard. But when one doesn't know something, this doesn't mean that 'something' is not possible or untrue. We have to be cautious at every moment and keep our minds open. I know I asked you before, but please continue keeping a close eye on Miss Flemmings!"

"Yes, Your Highness! Now, if you will excuse me…"

"You may go Richard! I bid you goodnight!"

"A good night to you as well, Your Highness!"

*

Grace's chambers were located in the eastern wing of the castle. She and the servant that accompanied her had to go outside the castle in order to reach the eastern wing. Illuminating their path was a starry sky that Nanako had never seen before in her whole life. The stars were so close one to another that the night sky was rather bright. Despite the usual darkness, the visibility had been considerably improved. When Nanako perceived the eastern wing, her heart suddenly jumped as she had recognized a familiar place. But she had never been there before. It was the same feeling she had in the woods and it was scaring her a bit. As she approached, she thought to herself that the walls would have looked nicer if some adjustments were made. Before entering the castle, she took another glimpse at the walls. They had changed! They were now exactly as she wished them to be a few moments ago! Nanako could not believe her eyes! She looked a third time, more attentively. The walls were still exactly as she pictured them! She said to herself that she was imagining things. After a good night's rest, upon seeing them again, the walls would return to their original form.

To the girl's amazement, she didn't have only one room. A small apartment had been entirely allocated to her. The food had been brought in a small cozy parlor. Although she didn't have the chance to eat dinner today, Nanako was not hungry. She couldn't touch the food that had been brought to her chambers. The girl went directly to bed with a heavy heart. It was so lonely here! Trying to fall asleep, she ended up recollecting her memories of how she got there. It was the first time today that such an occasion appeared.

She remembered the tea was getting cold and Konoko was late. Nanako decided to bring the tea to her friend's room. Surprisingly, Konoko was not there. She left the tea on a small tray nonetheless. However, before leaving, Nanako couldn't help but collect all Konoko's papers from the bed to prevent any accident with the tea being spilled over them. Just when she was about to place the papers on Konoko's desk, she noticed one last sheet hanging on the bed headboard's right side. She tried to reach it with extra caution without making it fall. Instead of climbing onto the bed, she bent over it. She feared that if she climbed onto the bed it could cause the sheet to fall. Nanako had to stretch her right hand so much that in order to keep her balance, she had to also raise her left leg. Finally, she managed to snatch the troublesome leaf, but she lost balance. Trying to avoid falling onto the bed so that she didn't spill the tea, she leaned her right hand onto the wall right where the new poster was located. The clear feeling of falling from a high place followed. She didn't remember anything else.

As Nanako went again and again through these memories, she came to the idea that she might have hit her head and fainted. A frightening thought crossed her mind like a spear: what if she hit it so badly that she was now in a coma? That would explain why this dream didn't end by now.

*

"Here you go Miss!" The energetic peasant girl gave Nanako a big basket with all kinds of fruits. "Should I add the usual spices as well? And the tea?" she added.

"Sure! Thank you!" replied Nanako delighted while she was passing the tasty basket to the boy who accompanied her.

The boy was John Wright, the person in charge of Brims' supplies. Despite his young age—he was only fourteen—John had many connections throughout Hesperia. Some say his contact network went past Hesperia. His duty was to make sure that Brims Castle had all the necessary supplies at all times. The boy got up early in the morning and immediately began his inspection of Brims. After listing all the needs, he usually traveled the whole day arranging for deliveries to be made to the castle. Upon his return, he supervised the last deliveries and inspected those that came during his absence. John seemed so fast and tireless that at the castle, he was nicknamed "Hermy" after the ancient Greek god Hermes.

Sixteen days had passed since Nanako had arrived in Hesperia. Ten days ago, she had expressed her desire to go shopping following five days of sulking alone within her chambers. The people at the castle felt relieved that she became more energetic again. John was happy to take her with him. Although it was a rather unusual interest for a noble person—especially since Nanako referred specifically to basic needs shopping—it was not something new for Grace Flemmings. She had done such shopping before during her first week in Hesperia when she had concealed her identity. Nanako quickly made friends at the market and, ever since then, she kept tagging along with John every day. Unbeknownst to all, she wished to take advantage of John's connections and make some investigations on her own about how she could return home. Following the night she arrived at Brims, whenever she met Richard, he didn't have any interesting news on the subject and she hadn't heard from Prince Virgil in days. Though not of a suspicious nature, Nanako still felt that there were things concealed from her and that she was being supervised. Henry Miles, the servant appointed to accompany Grace, remained always by her side and Richard visited her quite often. Was it because Grace Flemmings arrived in Hesperia incognito and people were wary of her? She wouldn't know. Though it didn't matter too much to her, she could not ignore this aspect either. However, Nanako didn't spend all day with John. After he finished his job at the market, the boy left her with her new friends and continued his errands.

The peasant girl immediately pulled out a small bag from underneath her counter and passed it gently to Nanako.

"I added some extra flavors just for you Miss!" she said gleefully. "I put them separately in a red cloth! I hope you'll like them!" she winked at Nanako.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you Marly!" remarked Nanako ecstatically. "I'm sure I'll love it!"

As Nanako, John, and Henry prepared to leave, a vigorous voice shouted:

"Wait up Miss! Miss Flemmings! Wait up!" It was Mike, Marly's uncle, a sturdy cheerful man with such thin eyes that one would have said they were always closed.

"Mike! I'm so happy to see you again!" exclaimed Nanako excitedly hurrying toward him. He had been absent the past three days.

The man seemed out of breath. He was a little chubby and running to stop Nanako and her group had tired him.

"I brought you watermelons Miss!" He had to pause again as his breath was not completely recovered. Nanako looked a bit confused at him.

"Yes Miss, you said you used to make a special watermelon juice where you came from... during the summer… remember? I told you they were hard to get around here, but not impossible. Well, I did it, Miss! I brought some!"

Nanako's face lit up as she suddenly remembered. She was so moved that she immediately hugged Mike with tears of joy in her eyes. The girl missed those things that she used to enjoy at home! Mike and Marly were the only people she could freely talk to about her home. From the first time she visited the market, they showed such warmth that she opened to them instantly. Though most of her friends were nobles—her closest one being none other than Richard—she felt so much more at ease with Mike and Marly! Her noble friends were rather Grace's friends, not hers. There was a part of her that cared about them too and certainly loved their company, but there was another part of her that felt lonely around them. For Mike and Marly, she was not Grace nor was she Nanako. She never told them about her real identity since she had promised to Richard to act like Grace as long as she remained in Hesperia. However, she used to tell them about the real world as if she was talking about Grace's country. The two accepted her for who she was regardless of her name or condition; that was what she liked most about them.

At the sight of the lovely lady in navy blue silk dress hugging a dirty sweaty peasant, Henry felt a sudden urge to intervene, but he refrained because Miss Flemmings looked so happy. Mike felt a bit embarrassed too. When his charming friend finally released him, he stuttered for a few minutes until fully regaining his composure. He guided Nanako to a cart full of watermelons. They were all for the castle.

"I'm sorry Miss," intervened Henry, concerned. "I'm afraid we are not prepared to take the cart now."

Nanako seemed disappointed. But then Mike came with a marvelous idea:

"I can deliver it myself! Marly managed without me for three days, I'm sure she won't mind another few hours!" he announced enthusiastically. Marly nodded approvingly.

"Well, in that case, I see no problem!" concluded Henry. Then, he approached Mike to give him the necessary instructions.

After Nanako's group left, Mike hurried to prepare the watermelon cart.

"Nice move Saitou!" exclaimed Marly, winking at him. "Now you can sneak into the castle."

"It was about time that a chance opened for us! We were making no progress, Chie!" he answered, completely absorbed in his preparations of the cart.

"Oh, don't be like that, Saitou! We made friends with her, didn't we?"

"What help was it? She still hasn't told us a thing about her real identity! That would be our best excuse to safely encourage her to come at the breaks!"

"It won't be that long until she does! I can feel it!" replied Chie in a hopeful voice.

In fact, she was worried too. Things didn't progress as smoothly as they wished for. It had already been more than two weeks since Nanako was stranded in Hesperia. That was not good for her. Although, taking things slowly avoided incidents that could have worsened the aftereffects of a human being here; a fusion's condition bore additional danger. Nanako living here and eating the Manime food for such a long time, Grace was gradually becoming the dominant personality. The character would have eventually taken over Nanako completely, ejecting her spirit out of her body. As a character had no use for a human body, that body would have been directly sent back to the real world, leading to dreadful aftereffects in both worlds; not to say that Nanako would have already been dead.

The two guardians were lucky that the girl was a person with her feet on the ground who cherished her real life dearly. Clinging to that life helped her spirit resist. Other people would have never lasted that long in her condition, especially since a character's life could be so interesting. Nanako surely liked Grace's; fortunately, not more than her own. Though Nanako and Grace were not the same person, they were alarmingly alike. Because of that, Nanako couldn't clearly see that Grace slowly gained influence over her. Both were tenacious women of action, yet Nanako never had the reckless nature of Grace that brought the latter to Hesperia. The desire of making research on her own was not Nanako's particularity either. Nanako would have waited patiently as instructed. If things went too slowly, at most, she would have pestered Richard and the prince.

Grace manifested from the very beginning, yet her influence started to grow as early as the next day following Nanako's first night at Brims Castle after the latter enjoyed some European cuisine at her breakfast. Since Nanako relied on Richard and Prince Virgil's help, contending to follow their counsel to stay mostly hidden, Grace felt trapped and doomed. Nanako soon fell into a deep melancholy. Day after day, she laid morose for hours in a siesta long armchair with rose print upholstery, incapable of defeating that feeling of languor which subdued her heart. Nanako discovered that she missed Kenji in a painful way that she hasn't felt for a long time. She knew that this didn't help her to reunite with him and her friends, yet her dampened mood stood in her way obstinately. To make matters worse, it seemed that every meal and every glass of water made her even more drained. Little did she know that her feelings combined with Grace's. Grace missed Albert. Just like Nanako, she didn't know how to reach her love. The two of them were exactly the same in this respect, only that Nanako didn't hurry to act on her own. She was more cautious. This made Grace desperate. Every time Nanako ate and drank, Grace's influence grew stronger. It was like Grace was a seed that was gradually turning into a plant. And so, Grace's longing spurred Nanako's.

After two days of agony, Nanako felt so bad that she could no longer eat properly. But that lack of food proved life-saving. Starving made her feel more like herself again. Then, she began visiting the market. For Nanako, it was a means to have some fun and free her mind from her troubles for a while. However, Grace seized the moment to start investigations about Albert. Though Nanako began asking a lot of questions and feverishly listening to different discussions, she didn't realize that this was not really her way. Since this conduct benefited her own interest as well, namely to find a solution to get home, she convinced herself that it was her own doing—a new behavior stemming from her adjustment to the new circumstances. She didn't see any connection between her recovery and eating frugally either. As she and Grace became hopeful that the investigations were being fruitful, the food and water no longer led to mooning. Grace became spry and Nanako as well.

Saitou and Chie did their best to always bring to their counter something that reminded Nanako of her real life. Based on what they learned during their visit at Nanako and her friends' apartment, but also based on what Nanako recounted to them during her visits at the market, the two came up with some productive ideas. Additionally, Saitou chanted some special incantations over all the products that he and Chie sold to Nanako, which acted as an inhibitor. They slowed down Grace's influence. The incantations had no effect on characters, yet they worked wonders for fusions. Sadly, it only delayed the process. The guardians were still running out of time. As this was not troubling enough, while their relationship with Nanako strengthened, she spent less time with them lately. It was obviously Grace's influence, whose interests Nanako mistook for hers. This made Saitou desperate for a new idea and he asked Chie to cover for him for three days.

"Where did you get the watermelons from?" asked Chie curiously.

"I searched for them all the way to the Western side of Hesperia, but I only found a few. Yet, there were more in Larnum and Broth. I didn't go farther than that. What I got was already enough and I didn't want to lose any more time either."

"Oooh! That's why it took you so long! You really exerted yourself!" observed Chie admiratively. "I thought you went to the commander or the Venerable for assistance."

"Didn't the Venerable say that we were supposed to do this job using as few tricks as possible?" came Saitou's answer, as if he admitted he only complied with an order. He would have acted otherwise if it was his decision.

"I didn't think you were listening," teased Chie. Though she looked provocatively at him, he ignored her. Contemplating his burdened demeanor, the pink-haired girl felt immediately sorry for her condescending attitude.

*

"Chie, quick! We must become Marly and Mike immediately!" Saitou ran to her agitated.

"Why?"

"I just found out that Nanako is coming here!"

"Did you have the chance to speak to her when you delivered the cart?"

"Only a little and merely irrelevant things. I was actually lucky she came outside! There was no chance to get inside the castle! The guards are very tight since Prince Virgil is preparing for the invasion from the south."

"Then why would she come at the break all of a sudden?" asked Chie worriedly.

"I'm not sure, but we have to find out directly. It's a chance we cannot afford to miss!"

Just as they finished the transformation process, they heard a shrill sound of surprise behind their backs. As they turned around, the two found themselves in front of the most unusual group: Nanako, Richard, Prince Virgil, and Hesperia's secret agent Darts—a tall slender man with white hair and light grey eyes, his face covered from his nose to his chin in a grayish cloth.