The Kingdom of Eonis

[Bloodedge]

The musical preferences of Miki were spoken, but the lass stopped speaking when she mentally looped back to Kou's random outburst from moments ago. His brow rose; he didn't expect the statement to be heard, much less understood. When Miki latched onto it, he was a bit taken aback. Still, he managed an eventual response. "Yeah... it's written by my favorite mangaka. Or... pair of mangaka. They co-wrote the novel too. I read through the whole first book, but that second one keeps getting pushed back for their other things. You know the first movie was animated already? It released the day before this happened..."

As this pair discussed the novel that had yet to become a series, their blacksmith returned from the back. In his right hand, he carried Kou's sword, which didn't look any different, but felt more high-quality to the lad's senses. His left hand held, slung over his shoulder... a large, mottled, green pillow, which happened to be the weapon of Miki. "Alright laddie, lassie. I've got yer weapons for ye!"

[Apollymi]

Miki in admitting that she liked Transylvania had technically admitted to something very strange. Her love of this particular novel and soon her love of the pair of mangaka that wrote them, though all of their works had a bit of an extra problematic aspect. "Yeah, all of their projects get pushed around like that... I am always waiting for the next volume of something... but when they are motivated they give so many extras it's worth it!~" she said of this couple of mangaka she enjoyed reading. The news about the animation of the first Transylvania book made Miki's eyes widened. "Oh no. I was... supposed to watch it. I was going to download it release day, but I got distracted by AOE," she said. "The Orc Lord showed up and I was gonna take it down then watch the movie... I can't believe I missed it," Miki said thoroughly distraught by the intersection of her favorite activities.

As she bemoaned the experience of her life, Miki was soon enough confronted by the blacksmith. Kou's sword seemed to have undergone some kind of quality improvement. Miki however was soon confronted by the sight of what had been a spear in the form of a giant pillow. "I... um... gave you a spear... and you're giving me a pillow," Miki mumbled her index fingers tapping together. There was almost no way for her to explain this shock, so she decided to test it, and whistled aiming to call the pillow to herself to make sure it was actually hers.

[Bloodedge]

Kou nodded when Miki spoke of the mangaka they both followed, and continued doing so when she mentioned missing the movie due to being brought to this world. "I missed it too. I was planning on watching it before bed, but... yeah..." This was all Kou could say. He deeply regretted his loss of this particular movie, as the sorts of things happening with the novel were set to be something amazing when translated visually.

Speaking of visuals, Kou was soon taking and inspecting his sword. Upon closer inspection, it did have a certain gleam to the blade that it was previously lacking. With it in his hand, he could easily feel the difference in quality. Miki, however, questioned her weapon. This was justified, considering she was offered a pillow in exchange for a spear, but the blacksmith merely smiled at the girl as the pillow responded to the whistle, and he released his hold on it to let it return to her as she desired. "Aye, ya did! That's the best I could get that weapon for ye, but ah think ye'll be surprised, lassie."

[Apollymi]

It seemed Miki wasn't the only one who missed out on the Transylvania movie. Kou admitted that he'd wanted to watch said movie before bed, and instead ended up traveling to this world as well. It wasn't really a big deal, and she was enjoying the experience of being in this world, but... that moment was a bit regrettable nonetheless. As they moved along in conversation the hour of fixing their weapons had come and gone, and now, as Miki whistled the pillow held by the blacksmith was released by that man, and traveled to her. She looked at it quizzically within her arms. The blacksmith claimed she'd be surprised by it. She gave it a gentle squeeze and it was soft but also felt strangely durable. She supposed in this way, it could double as a shield but, that wouldn't do much for her killing people with it. As soon as her thoughts switched to something more destructive, the business end of a broad spear began to shift out of the pillow. Sucking up the mottled pattern into it became a full-length spear a bit different from the one she'd brought but still very deadly. "Sugoi! It's one of those transforming weapons. I never had one of these before... Arigatou Gozaimasu~" she chimed seemingly happy with the outcome. She turned it back into a pillow and was content this way for whatever reason. She wondered what other forms it could take, but knew that such things were influenced by a great number of factors and it would be something she found out as she adventured. "How much do I owe you?" she asked of the blacksmith, as she figured though they'd gathered the materials there was still labor and the like to account for.

[Bloodedge]

Kou gave his own weapon a few test twirls while Miki confirmed the status of hers. He found his sword to be lighter than before, though perhaps this was due to it properly registering to him as a... "Legendary class weapon? Sugoi..." This was a true sword, and though it was presently a low-tier legendary item, it had a growth feature as well. The same could be said of Miki's pillow, which was already showing its powers. "Arigatou gozaimasu, uhh..." Kou only just realized that he didn't know what to call this blacksmith, but the red-haired male let out a hardy guffaw and gave his answer to both Adventurers immediately. "Dreyfus, lad. And I'll tell ye what... you two let me hang onto the rest o' that Magic Ore, an' I'll call it square!"

[Apollymi]

"Yours too?! Sugoi, sugoi!~" Miki said as she squeezed the pillow and noticed that it was holding her up, instead of the other way around. She hovered gently a few inches off the ground while holding on to the pillow in this way and this made her exceedingly happy. Moreover she was soon given the name of the blacksmith, who was aptly named, Dreyfus, and along with that the price he wanted for the Legendary Weapons he'd so recently crafted them. "Ano, I mean... if that's all you want I don't really have a problem with it..." Miki said, not really seeing an immediate use for Magic Ore and knowing that she could always mine for more if necessary now that they weren't locked into a single area of the map any more. Still she'd look to Kou as this bounty was in large part his own, she didn't see why he wouldn't have agreed considering that was a huge bargain considering the worth of two legendary weapons.

[Bloodedge]

The blacksmith's name was Dreyfus, interestingly enough. Kou was quite surprised at himself for not asking before, but now that he had it, he'd commit it to memory. More importantly, Dreyfus' only desire in exchange for the legendary weapons he'd crafted was to keep the remaining Magic Crystal from the crafting process. Miki had no issue with this trade, and as both she and Dreyfus looked to Kou, both would find him shrugging to say he had no qualms either. "If that's all it'll take, I can't give it a second thought. You've got yourself a deal," he said, reaching out to shake the blacksmith's hand while also sheathing his blade. With their trade done and their blacksmith thanked, Kou looked to Miki. "So... to the castle?"

[Apollymi]

Within a few seconds of her gaze being directed at Kou, the lad seemed to be fine with the trade between themselves and the blacksmith. Kou shook this man's hand and soon after Miki extended one as well as she floated on her pillow. When asked if they should head to the castle, the blonde lass nodded as she turned on her pillow and headed out the door. "Hai hai, sooner we take care of that the better..." Miki said. Assuming they left without further interruption, they moved through the city fairly easily and the difference as they approached the city surrounding the palace and the place where the blacksmith's shop was located was like the different between night and day. Though the lower rungs of society seemed to be suffering quite a bit, the nobles in the area were moving about as if it was business as usual. 'Hm... that, doesn't bode well...' she thought but she carried on regardless because it was for the good of the people.

[Bloodedge]

"Come an' see me again sometime!" These were the final words of the blacksmith Dreyfus as the Adventurers left his shop. Soon enough, they were traversing the noble region of the kingdom, the area closest to the royal palace. Kou quickly took note of the difference between this area and the more common region of the kingdom, and the more he saw of these luscious lifestyles nearby, the more angry he became at the state of things. 'Must be nice... being on such a pedestal that you can just ignore the problems of everybody on the ground down there. These people haven't missed a bite... and they're still wasting more and more every day. Fuckin' disgusting...' he thought as they continued toward the castle.

[Apollymi]

Miki was left feeling slightly uncomfortable by what she was seeing. Perhaps this was simply because she knew the difference in how the lower set were living. Perhaps there was another reason entirely. Regardless, she cast a lurking eye towards Kou because she was quite sure that he was upset. The lavish estates they passed with no one seeming any worse for wear, confirmed her thoughts about the food shortage not having reached this area. That being said, Miki wasn't dumb, and history said that if this area was so much better off, then they were likely the cause of the food shortage in some way. 'Hm, I wonder if we're about to make enemies of the Kingdom of Eonis.... I mean, I figured something like this might happen but, I didn't expect such an obvious difference across the Kingdom...' she thought as they found themselves standing in front of a large castle gate. It was manned as usual by a pair of well armored Knights both of whom held their weapons in cross formation to bar the path of the two travelers. "Halt! You approach the castle of the King of Eonis. What business do you have here travelers?" the Knight on the left questioned.

[Bloodedge]

The anger within Kou turned into an absolute fury as he witnessed more nobles enjoying their life and engorging themselves. His teeth were constantly grinding by the time they reached the castle, and a fire raged behind the lens of his eye. He barely saw the pair of knights guarding the castle gates, but he heard one of them speak, and noted that they were holding their spears out to block his and Miki's path. Nearly on impulse, Kou's sword was drawn the moment he reached the blockade of weapons. This draw led directly into an upward slash meant to cut through the two spears at the point where they met one another. If he managed this, Kou would continue trudging forward into the castle. "Move. You're useless."

[Apollymi]

By the time their approach was stopped by the guards, Kou's fury had bubbled over into something bordering upon insanity. Miki understood this at least a little, but it was brought to full light by the actions of the lad. The Knights were called useless but before they could speak on the matter the ends of their weapons fell to the ground around them and they managed to look shocked by the occurance. So much so that Kou moved right on by them and it would be Miki who floated up afterwards with less grit in her entrance. "We know a good blacksmith if you need to get those fixed," she offered as she floated by atop her pillow. She caught up to Kou with relative ease and spoke to him directly. "I can hear your teeth grinding..." Miki commented, she didn't know if she could diffuse this situation at all, but she could see several bad potentials coming from approaching the royalty of this area with an attitude like the one Kou presently possessed. "I get that you're angry... and I know this situation is shit, but... if we approach this too recklessly, we won't be able to help anyone..." she said, and her point was logical and even a bit detached. She didn't experience poverty in life, but she was also a caring individual raised by people who cared for those beneath them. Given this she didn't like what she saw either, but she knew many rich people didn't see the value in the people who worked for or under them.

[Bloodedge]

Into the castle, Kou went. He sheathed his sword, but he was ready to draw it at any moment. Even as Miki began speaking to him, he didn't calm down one bit. In fact, her claim that his fury wouldn't help anyone resulted only in his burning gaze being set upon her. "Yeah? Take your own approach then," he said before he looked away. Regardless of Miki's intentions, Kou had one method of approach he intended to use. Perhaps he was being reckless, but he doubted royals who allowed this sort of situation would listen to reason. If they did, they would have been doing something about the famine in the common region already. No, instead they were here in their safe-haven, in need of a more direct approach that Kou certainly intended to bring their way.

[Apollymi]

Miki soon enough was confronted with the burning gaze of Kou. She fully understood in seeing such resolve that he was going to act the way he wished to irrespective of anything she said. She had her own problems with what she was witnessing but she was quite sure her feelings about it wouldn't change what she would do. Still a bit of explosiveness was useful from time to time, and she was a rogue after all. If anything truly bad happened she could use any situation created by Kou as cover to help him out. "Yare yare daze... I'm not your enemy here. Do what you think is right..." she said with the same tone, she had the entire time. At the same time she held her hands up in mock surrender. She knew when she couldn't argue points, some things had to be done and she understood it. Though she would have rather tried something less abrasive, she was content to see how this played out. She floated along within the castle, trying to recall anything pertinent about this area, trying to figure out what had changed enough to cause the problem in the lower quarter but not enough to reach the the Royal Quarter and Castle properly.

[Bloodedge]

Kou hadn't intended to lash out the way he did, but... he knew things. There were certain facts he understood now, comparisons he couldn't stop making, and a loathing he couldn't get out of his mind. Either way, he pressed onward until he eventually reached the doors to the throne room. The doors themselves were as tall as Kou's house in the human world, and they looked too heavy for a single person to push open. Regardless, Kou had no intention of pushing anything besides the proverbial buttons of whatever royals lay behind this threshold. For the door, he drew his sword once again and slashed twice in an X-formation, causing the doors to fall before him in four sections. Now, at last, he could face whichever royal would be the target of his fury.