Kooki used to accompany me in my search for the Diamond Oyster and share trivia about the vast world of Meadowglaze.
But since the night all his fellow Pixiepops were abducted, he's turned into more than just a travel companion and a trivologist to me; he's also become a vindicator, hunting Mezoid and his henchmen.
Just when the hate dissolves in his heart, anger materializes.
"I'm gonna make Mezoid pay for all his sins," Kooki said angrily. "I'm gonna crush his body with all my cloud powers and feed his head to the Vulturaptors."
"You know, in our world, if someone commits a crime so heinous, their verdict will just be life imprisonment. Sometimes I wish the government would set the trend for the death sentence again, but in your world, it's a form of justification. It's okay to kill. No one gets jailed. Meadowglaze isn't bad after all."
"You have a point, Kintsugi, but in this world, if the victim is weak and the oppressor is powerful, justice is hard to achieve, but I'll climb my way to the top to show I can beat Mezoid."
"Mezoid is just a vermin. He's easy to dispose of."
I want to tap his back and offer a wordless piece of emotional uplift, but sometimes you just let someone be on their own, outsmart their pain, and watch them from afar with hope.
Rosenth just caught a Wildeboar, and man, if Grandpa were here with us, they'd click immediately. Just like him, Rosenth is adept at hunting and an atypical cook, which is why in most cases we never journey with an empty stomach.
Rosenth wants to throw a banquet for her mother's birthday, and as a contributor, I'm giving all my horsepower to catch as many Creamfishes as I can.
Floette collared a giant Grazgoat, and it horrified me that by the time it's edible, it'll look like a barbecued Demogorgon.
As we were on our way to Rosenth's family's farm, we were met by her bubbly younger sisters, who couldn't hold their excitement for our comeback.
"They've been waiting for you since last night; it made them sleepless," said Rosenth's father, Russo. "Your mother's in Bulkoln Town with your aunt on some business matter."
"She's unaware of our plan, so we mustn't waste time preparing our surprise, otherwise, everything will be a flop." Rosifie, Rosenth's sister, who is a monk at Oshiki Temple, had filed a leave of absence and was present at this juncture.
She warmly greeted us, and Helcus's sudden ascension gave me the heebie-jeebies.
In preparation for the surprise celebration, we were paired up, and if a chore needed more hands, it was done in a group.
There were responsibilities for arts and design, baking, and cooking.
I was paired with Helcus to fry the creamfish I caught, and as the two of us waited for the fish to golden fry, I could hear the chirping of crickets, 'cause it was getting awkward – not until he asked me how I was doing.
It was odd that he wasn't asking about the Diamond Oyster but about my welfare.
"I feel shitty about myself," I replied sullenly, looking at the stone pan where the oil was frying the fish.
"You felt disappointed maybe because you lack trust in yourself."
"I do trust myself," I pointed out, making his almond-shaped eyes widen more. "It's just that my circumstances here are different from my world. In my world, I'm considered tough, talented, top-of-the-line, and I was a leader in a gang. Whereas in your world, I'm the opposite: fragile, inept, and subpar. I've got a pretty good opinion of myself; I guess I forgot to be humble."
The whiskey sun is setting and all is well.
Everything's under control, and we're only waiting for Rosenth's mother, Rossiere, to come home.
It was nighttime when we caught a glimpse of an incoming palanquin, and it was our cue to hide inside the house.
When the door opened, Kooki and Helcus summoned a series of glowing spheres of light, and together with the kids, we sang her a "Happy Birthday to you!"
Rossiere cried tears of joy after she blew out her birthday cake candle, but the man who had offered her a ride home became the sudden cynosure.
He has an aura of experienced grit.
His name is Amphoro Sylvester, a tall, sinewy guy with cigarette-smoke hair, a skilled mercenary who once worked with Rosenth.
Amphoro coincidentally bumped into Rossiere in one of the marketplaces in Bulkoln Town, and due to his lifework in pilgrimaging, he offered her a ride on his palanquin.
"Have you noticed Rosenth has a pretty good standard in men?" whispered Floette as we began to feast. "But I favor danger-zoned men like Agnos with prominent veins in the hands. He's dreamy, intolerant of unfaithfulness, and has a potential to be a serial killer."
I scoffed and told Floette to eat.
"Years have gone by and I have no updates about you. What's keeping you busy these days?" Amphoro asked Rosenth in a raspy voice, as she sat and ate like a damsel in a Japanese coffee shop.
"I've been joining the Fragment Collector in the search for the missing Diamond Oyster fragments," she simply said.
Rosenth is always a soft-spoken person; her exterior is delicate - celestial, while her interior is infrangible - malevolent, and she's like an elder sister to me whom I always look up to.
"Oh, that must be an uneasy chore," said Amphoro after he took a chunk of roasted Grazgoat. "As a mercenary, I've heard a lot about the scattered Diamond Oyster fragments. Many are looking for it: people like me, bounty hunters, poachers, ghouls, all sorts of evildoers, and even the emperors from the three great nations. It's expected that many will oppose your mission."
"What about you, Amphoro? Did you feign interest in searching for the fragments?"
I took a bite of the Creamfish as Rosenth's tone became spicy; her aura was searing.
Amphoro just laughed it off like a nice guy in a hot seat.
"Honestly, I was curious at first to obtain one, but I don't need a fragment to make me stronger. Real men always rely on their own deftness and strength, add to it his weapon and the love he receives from the woman he loves."
This banquet is just like a family dinner with your closest friends, and albeit I'm sixteen, these people let me drink rice wine, and in the abandoned warehouse at Sasuke Street, I drink all types of liquor with the boys.
Everyone's asleep, and I must take a piss before I damage my bladder. And while the sky is bright, I can see Rosenth under the moon on the sweet potato field, wind in her hair, sharpening her poniard that she has with her on our journey.
Not from a distance, Amphoro can be sighted, standing like a post light.
As a kid, Rosenth was fond of the mercenaries who passed by their home asking for a glass of water or a bowl of soup.
When she was done with her chores, she would sneak around and sprint to a remote cave where a hermit resided.
This hermit taught her combat skills, hunting, and slaying ghouls. This hermit was her grandmother. When she was old enough, Rosenth left their home and pursued her dream to be a mercenary on Earthron: fighting in conflicts, providing security services, conducting raids, offering protection, carrying out missions, escort services, and intelligence gathering.
As she became a pro, she met Amphoro, a mercenary native from Skyrban.
She and Amphoro joined forces, but she also happened to meet Agnos Lurandar, who was the closest comrade of Amphoro.
"What's that look in your eyes?" Amphoro asked Agnos after the latter was given a freezing treatment by Rosenth.
"I must have her," Agnos said in delight as he was still frozen. "She's the one. She'll bear my children. She should be mine and mine only."
The three of them traveled from one unfamiliar town to another, and when Amphoro realized that Agnos' romantic and amorous feelings for Rosenth grew bigger and bolder each day, he ghosted the two.
Amphoro left them without explanation.
Rosenth got hurt, and as a result of her extreme sadness, she went home and decided to work on the farm with her family.
Agnos, on the other hand, became a businessman in Bulkoln Town and made Rosenth's family a supplier of produce.
Agnos courted Rosenth, and due to his never-ending desperate persuasion, she accepted him out of pity.
Months later, Rosenth dumped Agnos, and Agnos still can't accept it, appearing anytime to persuade Rosenth.
And Agnos has a fragment of the Diamond Oyster that I must retrieve.
Amphoro, in his magisterial demeanor, walks circumspectly so that Rosenth won't notice him, and I can't help but eavesdrop because the preview of the Diamond Oyster ends in botheration.
'That's all? No happy ending?'
"You shouldn't be here," Rosenth said calmly as she continued sharpening her poniard.
"I know," Amphoro replied in a gentle but sad tone. "I know I caused you pain, and I know that pain still lingers in you. If only you could kill me to erase that pain, I would willingly die in your hands. But let me explain, I left you because I just wanted to protect you, Rosenth."
For the first time, I saw Rosenth burst out in anger, her hair and beauty dazzling with the wind.
"I've uncovered your deed! You left us because you were paid a hefty sum of zicron bars to kill both me and Agnos, but you ended up killing the one who devised that plan, who happened to be Agnos's long-time lover. Though I've forgiven you, and I almost forget what you look like, seeing you, remembering you, makes me want to take it all back."
Rosenth, with her poniard, glided debonairly through the air.
She was going to give Amphoro a finishing blow, and when she was about to land an attack, Amphoro seized her hand and guided her poniard to his chest.
Because she didn't want to stab Amphoro, she resisted, but Amphoro was defiant.
"End my life," Amphoro said in a challenging tone.
Amphoro then rushed to embrace the sobbing Rosenth, and since they now have closure, I'm going to take a nap because tomorrow is going to be a restless day for us Diamond Oyster seekers.