Preparing For The Journey

Over the years, Daichi had had multitudes of experiences dealing with different kinds of people—it didn't matter who. For their own unique reasons, journalists would try to interview him, teachers would try to gaslight him, and women would try to approach him. But at a certain point, he'd realized it was better to approach rather than be approached.

The answers he sought—about Dominion's involvement with the death of his mother—wouldn't just be handed to him like all the attention he usually received. So now he was the one approaching others instead, until he'd finally summoned enough courage to even confront a herculean Collector. Myriad social interactions had given him confidence to commune with almost anyone, though there was still one personage he lacked much mettle with.

"So what if I'm a kid?" Abby blurted. She was donned in casual clothes but still wearing the blue hair ribbon from yesterday. Meanwhile, her cat tail was puffing up like it was offended on her behalf.

Ah geez, I kinda suck at babysitting . . . Daichi plucked the canned spice from the store shelf. "See this jalapeño? On the label? That means it's extra spicy."

"But I don't know what jalapeños are! There aren't any in Paradise!"

"U-Uhrg . . ." His head swiveled around to hopefully spot Sanae somewhere in their cramped aisle. The trio had entered a small, quaint shop that specialized in food supplies. Every shelf was made of old wood and there were several cobwebs where products should have been.

Being a new guild, Pearl's Tears didn't have much money saved in Guild Funds, so Sanae was subsidizing most of their essentials they'd need to travel beyond even Trinket. Though, she herself was on a tight budget, which had meant shopping around in hole-in-the-wall stores all day.

"I can handle spicy stuff! Promise!" Abby raised her cute little fists as if cheering for herself. "Adventurer food has always tasted really yummy!"

Somewhat disillusioned, Daichi examined the can once more. "Well for one thing, these aren't jalapeños. It's just full of Paradisian spice. Hear the shaking inside?"

Abby's red cat ears perked up and twitched around like radar antennas. Apart from the tail as well, Felonians were exactly like humans. And it did elicit some innocent curiosity.

After a cautious glance around him, Daichi crouched down and talked to Abby in a quiet voice. "Hey, I'll buy you this spice if you tell me more about Felonians, or maybe about your family."

"E-Ehhh?" she said her signature cute catchphrase. "Erm, I don't know if I wanna do that yet . . ."

"Come on, it'll be quick. We don't even have to tell Sana—"

"Tell me what?" a woman's sharp voice from behind said.

"E-Ehhh . . ."Both Abby and Daichi turned in terror towards their seething benefactor. She had several jars tucked in her arms, but all were on the verge of shattering from crushing pressure. If her restrained face doing its best to hide a blind rage was anything to go by, the duo was in trouble.

Snap, I'm busted!

Sanae tried smiling without grinding her teeth. "Hey Abby, I can see the cashier from here. Why don't you take this jar of grapes over and ask how much it costs? For a few minutes."

The little girl gulped as she accepted the container into her hands. A quick nod and then she was racing away—for her own safety.

"L-Listen, I can explai—"

"No explaining!" Sanae shouted, but lowering her voice afterwards. "I told you to not ask Abby about her life. It's obvious she doesn't wanna talk about it; maybe she's still traumatized about being kidnapped."

That was another fact that wasn't quite adding up. For someone that'd just escaped the clutches of human traffickers, the cat girl seemed a bit too upbeat. Maybe it was just her personality, but it did warrant some theories to how she was possibly raised or handled before meeting her.

I was just curious about Felonians in general though . . . Daichi stood up and placed the can of spice back on the shelf. "Sorry, yeah, I got ahead of myself, haha. Won't happen again."

"Geez, well as long as you understand," she huffed. "But I'm sure she'll talk to us more when she's ready."

He peered across the store over short shelves. Abby was still mingling towards the back, making small chat with the kind cashier who was offering free candies.

"It's just a bit weird though," Daichi said. "If she's an escaped slave, shouldn't she have a slave collar like Masato?"

"Probably just escaped before they collared her. Nothing fishy if that's what you're thinking." The feisty Cleric sent over an annoyed glare.

"I-If you say so. No problem." He'd always been a bit conspiratorial, so he brushed off his concerns as simple delusions and nothing more. "Oh, do you need help with those jars?"

"Being helpful won't get you off the hook, but it's a start," she finally smiled for real then handed over some cargo. "Just more food we'll need for the road. I can store a bit in my Inventory."

"How does that work exactly?"

"Same as basically any video game. You get some free storage to store extra stuff besides equipment. But it's not infinite so we should still be mindful."

"Oh, cool. Didn't you cram in all of Abby's new outfits last night though?"

"Well, that's why we gotta be mindful," she giggled. "It's basically full now, teehee."

A few gears turned in his head. "Wait, can't we just use my storage too?"

"Yeah, but you can't store much yet until you're a higher level, so I'll be our pack mule for now."

"Roger!"

Together they explored more of the store for a bit. They'd gathered a few fresh apples, mangos, and then visited the front counter to ask for some meat. Abby was hard at work sucking on a slab of purple taffy while her friends paid for everything else. One by one, Sanae zapped every jar, can, and piece of food into her personal Inventory that was capable of storing varieties of essentials. It would save them some trouble of needing to carry overburdened backpacks, or any backpacks at all.

Sanae waved goodbye to the nice vendor as Abby and Daichi were already waiting outside. The trio soon huddled together and departed down their bustling street.

"Where to now?" Daichi asked. "We've already hit up an apothecary, an attire store—window shopped a weapons shop—and we just did a food place."

"Hmmm, how about you pick where? I'd feel bad if it's just me dragging us everywhere."

"Me?" he pointed at himself. "Ummm, if we don't need anything else, there's a little shop that caught my eye the other day."

"On our way to the Ohdeer forest?"

"Yeah, around downtown."

"Oh!" Abby's eyes lit up with sparkles. "Downtown Outset is pretty! Let's go!"

That settles that then! "Probably gonna be a bit of a walk though, haha."

Bright sun and clear skies led to a scenic stroll through Outset's iconic streets. Tall lamp posts lined every corner while the medieval, ramshackle buildings gradually shifted into more renovated counterparts. Looming over in the distant horizon, the tall clock tower of Outset's Guild House overshadowed everything like a watchful parent.

Now once again within the heart of the city, a roundabout that connected all four major streets was alight with activity, ranging from pulsing crowds of Adventurers to the flow of carriage wagons. Princess Dominion's picturesque statue that stood in the center of everything seemed to be currently undergoing repairs. Maintenance crews were scraping off food splatters from her ornate dress, while a hired Adventurer used magic to place a new head atop Dominion's decapitated neck.

Tax dollars hard at work? He absorbed more vibrant scenery all around while him and his friends paced along towards their next destination. 

The trio continued down a wide street bustling with flows of people until arriving at a small, rundown store that looked like a pawnshop. Daichi who'd led the way plastered himself onto the display window.

"Woah, I knew it!" he exclaimed with excitement. "It's a newspaper!"

"Hmm?" Sanae joined him by the window. Beyond the glass were assortments of rickety trinkets like wooden swords, worn books, old-fashioned dolls, and vintage shoes. But framed prominently in a vertical display case was a pristine, entire newspaper.

“Headline!” Daichi started reading off the words. “Says, 'Faction Leaders Are Decided! A New Era Begins in Paradise!’ Huh?”

“Ah, they must be selling famous newspaper copies,” Sanae said. “This one is almost two years old.”

But it wasn’t the headline that fascinated Daichi. “I’m just surprised that they have newspapers in this world in general. So the printing press is probably invented then?”

“I guess?” She seemed a bit disinterested compared to his enthusiasm.

“Oh, sorry, haha. My dad runs a newspaper agency, so this is kinda one of my hobbies—sort of.” No way am I mentioning my walls are covered in news articles.

"Hehe, it's just another cute hobby then, like your warship stuff," she smiled. "Don't know much about them but don't hold yourself back for me."

Sanae moved aside as if allowing him a path inside the shop. It was true he would have liked to explore around in there, and maybe even try buying the collectible, though it was doubtful he could afford it. Instead, new gears started turning in his head about what he wished to do.

"Nah," he replied with a headshake. "We'll probably run into other newspapers later on. How about we head to the Guild House again?"

"Guild House?" Little Abby approached from the side. Curiosity sparkled in her eyes.

"Yeah. For me to reserve a quest and see what it's like. Maybe earn a little spending money too."

Sanae's face cringed, like she thought it wasn't a good idea. "Might be a little tricky actually."

"Hmm? Why?" he asked.

"Well, the receptionists can probably explain it better than me. Let's just head over there."

It was an odd way to word things, but since she'd lived in Outset for a while, her familiarity with the culture was likely kicking in. Daichi had no reason to disagree.

"Mm! Yeah, still got some daylight!" he said with confidence. "Let's go!"

And with that, the impromptu little family was on their way to the next pivotal leg of their excursion.