Turbulent Blue

[Mini Magi]

So... Today has been interesting. All Eria expected was to get to a lovely little town, get rid of a monster, eat fish, and go home. Simple plans, right? But not only did the monster turn out to be a huge, but strong too. It even got the better of her for a moment. And then something wonderfull happened. So... Romantic~ Granted, he was also quite hurt from it, but a big dreamer, one of the farmers, threw a pitchfork as elegantly as a spear to buy her an opening. The monster thrashed about, the pitchfork obviously had hit a nerve. Fine with her. Now she had the perfect opportunity for something BIG. Amids the dust, an odd sound emerged. Some kind of whirring? The monster had made its way to the farmer, ramming him once already. It's fine. It's fine! ...Probably. Before it could tackle him again, Eria dashed across the field, holding a ball of energy 2 times her size above her with both hands.  "Meteora!" She slammed it down in front of her, then PUNCHED it, launching a brightly glowing cannonball that tore into the ground, carved out a bit of the earth too, and definitely the entire damn monster.

The beam travelled quite far, thinning out only after some time, and for now leaving just a gentle breeze. In front of the farmer was still the girl that was hired to deal with the mess. She might not have done her job perfectly, but she sure knew how to leave an impact. And now that the danger was over, she smiled, reached out with his hand to him, and in a chipper tone asked "Still in one piece little hero?"

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by Minibit

[Moon Hound Hati]

Kido Dayarrow

Kido Dayarrow was what you would call average. Born the middle child of a farmer in the small frontier town of First Light, he grew up not displaying any exceptional talent or skill. While his older sister displayed enough talent for magic that she was whisked off to a magic school and his younger brother was showing signs of great intellect and scholarly ambitions that would surely earn him a place at a university in the capital city, Kido was just… Kido. He worked on his parents’ farm, day in and out, taking care of the animals, tending to the fields, and so on. While it was not a bad life, he always dreamt of something more, something… adventurous.

Yes, he dreamt often of being an adventurer, to the point that he’d “train” almost daily, after work, behind the barn, doing various exercises, lifting weights, and using his trusty pitchfork to stab and throw like a spear. That was all he could do though, without proper guidance. All he had was that and his dreams.

Then, one day, a monster came to plague their farm. It would maim their fields with its trampling and take off with livestock in the middle of the night. Being just farmers, his father made a request at the adventurers’ guild and a single young woman came to their aid. A simple plan was made, involving traps and barricades to lure and force the monster into a sectioned-off area of one of the fields so that the adventurer could take it down without it immediately fleeing. But it would seem the girl struggled, even if for a moment, with the beast. Kido’s body moved in that instant, without thinking and ignoring the calls of his father to stay back where they were (relatively) safe. Even though his arms were sore from all the digging of ditches and holes for traps, and building barricades, he took his pitchfork in hand, just like he’d practiced countless times behind the barn with a stack of hay, and threw.

While nothing resembling a killing blow, the hit was enough to tear its attention away from the girl. Of course, he hadn’t thought this far ahead -- he hadn’t thought about this at all, in fact -- and he was too surprised to react in time as the monster came charging at him, knocking him off his boots and his lunch was nearly forcefully ejected from his mouth in the process. It gave the girl the moment she needed to evaporate the beast, which was good, as Kido was left laying on his back, dazed and winded, his chest aching and likely bruised for days to come.

Then Eria stood over him with a smile and an extended hand to help him up. “This might ache a while... But I’ll live,” he wheezed, wincing as he attempted to smile back. Taking the offered hand, he was slowly helped back onto his feet. It was an odd time to notice this, but he was only a little taller than she was, which wasn’t too surprising, as he was a bit on the shorter side for his age.

[Mini Magi]

He got tacked by something at least 5 times his weight, but took it like a CHAMP! Now that she could respect, and so she grinned as she put his arm around her back to help him move. "Good. Because it looks like your dad wants to have a round with you too." She chuckled. Ah, he'd be fine. One proper scolding later, the three found themselves standing at the fence, with Eria cheerfully watching as the father signed a document and handing it back to her. "Thanks miss. So... Is that all?" Technically it was. What he just signed was a confirmation that the job was taken care of. Standard procedure when it wasn't possible to bring other forms of evidence. Buuuuut... "Well, since you ask, I'd like to have a few private moments with your son." ...Wait, what? Why would she want that? Before his father or he himself could ask, though, Eria grinned as innocently as possible. "Because I either want to take care of his wound in private, or I wanna awkwardly flirt with him. Who wants to find out?" She looked first at the dad, then at him, and back, curious if anyone would answer. "I- I have... things to take care of." The father quickly left, catching onto the situation, and wishing at this moment for only one thing. To have his son make him proud as he gave them some precious alone time.

Eria giggled, having obviously made it awkward to her advantage, and locked onto the more interesting male as she hopped off the fence. "So... You mind if I take a closer look?" She didn't seem naughty, despite the implication earlier. A smile on her face, friendly big blue eyes, and an all around happy aura around her whole being. "Oh and before this gets any more awkward, my name is Eria, and I am not a doctor. Nice to meet you~" They didn't have the time to get properly introduced earlier, so hey. Better late than never.

Edited October 24, 2021 by Minibit

[Moon Hound Hati]

“My dad…” Kido winced both figuratively and literally at the thought of the ear-full he was in for now. If that wasn’t bad enough, his mother might finish what the monster hadn’t been able to and kill him for nearly dying when she heard of what happened. She’d even warned him not to be reckless and stay safe! “Gods have mercy,” he muttered to himself moments before his father gave him an earful that would stick for a while to come.

What happened next, after the more official bits of the quest were wrapped up with a signature, Kido’s father was weirded out into leaving, for a lack of a better description, leaving the two youngsters alone by the field’s fence. “Closer look? Yeah… Of course.” Without as much as a second thought, he slipped the suspenders of his blue jeans farmer overall off his shoulders and stripped off his dirty shirt, leaving him nude from the waist up. A bruise hadn’t quite visibly formed yet, giving Eria ample opportunity to gaze at his surprisingly buff figure. The years spent working on the farm, as well as his private training sessions had not gone to waste as his body was just a pack of toned and tight hard muscles.

“Ah, nice to meet you, Ms. Eria. I’m Kido.” Perhaps he was still a bit light-headed from being knocked around by the monster, but the awkward part she mentioned completely passed him by.

[Mini Magi]

To say that Eria was not staring was a severe understatement, for where she expected a good ol' fashioned lean complexion, was instead a deliciously muscular body. Just at the right spot between too buff and you call those muscles? spectrum. "Very well. Interest peaked", she thought, and snapped back out of a handful of lewd thoughts at the mention of her name. "Pfft! Miss? Really, no need for that. We look the same age, after all."

Eria then gave him a closer, not fantasizing close look, and could see that the spot he was hit at directly would be a problem soon. Nothing serious, but moving around would make field work absurdly annoying. Luckily she could help with that. "Can you stand there for a moment?" She pointed to one of the fence posts, wanting him to have something to lean against while she worked her metaphorical magic, and as soon as he sat down, she went down on one knee close to him. "I was told this can feel a bit weird, but try to relax anyway." Taking a deep breath, Eria relaxed, focused, and extended her hand. She was almost touching him. Then, slowly but steadily, her hand got covered in a soft blue glow, with teal sparkles shimmering in between her palm and his chest. The sound was difficult to describe since... well, how often would someone HEAR light and sparkles? Still, it wasn't too far off vibrating metal or glass. Like when one hit a bell and heard what came after the knock. A soft hum, high-pitched, but not hard on the ears.

And it indeed felt weird. An odd feeling. As if his chest had fallen asleep like an arm and was now in the process of waking up. Going by experience, this was the part where people usually got curious. "It's called Mana. You know how mages cast all sorts of fancy magic with it? Basically I am doing that, but faster. That beam earlier? One of my best attacks, even though it takes some time. Makes me faster and stronger than I look too. And right now specifically, I'm telling your body to hurry up the healing process. Kinda neat, isn't it?" It was no miracle, but damn, she knew from experience how useful it was to put weeks of recovery in a few moments. Saved a lot of trouble. 

Eventually the glow stopped, Eria took her hand down and back, and then gave him one last look over. And from her angle, he looked good again. Not that he was ugly to begin with, but there was definitely some improvement over the last few seconds. "What do you think? Anything still hurt?" Never hurt to make sure and ask. "And besides. Care to explain what you were thinking? Don't get me wrong. That toss was a fine one~ But I think we both know that this was a dumb idea."

Edited October 26, 2021 by Minibit

[Moon Hound Hati]

Kido nodded and sat down against the wooden fence pole she’d pointed at, slowly sinking down onto the grassy dirt with a grunt. Leaning back, he let Eria work her magic -- literally. As her hands began to glow and the air vibrated with an odd sound he couldn’t quite describe, but sort of like a high-pitched ringing, he was soon healed properly from his injury, all the while she gave him a rudimentary explanation about magic and mana. “I see. That is quite neat!” he agreed with a broad smile and another nod of his head.

Stretching and turning his torso and arms a bit once the job was done, he gave her a positive review. “Good as new!” But then he was prodded with the same kind of question his father had asked him, though with less swearing involved. “Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, he admitted, “Can’t say I was thinking much at all, truth be told. I just… acted when I thought you were in trouble.” Elaborating a bit, he added, “I would have regretted it if I hadn’t acted and you ended up getting hurt, you know?” Maybe that train of thought was a bit selfish, but that’s how things were for Kido.

[Mini Magi]

Now, this was a tricky one. On one hand, she wanted to lecture him about looking out for himself too. But on the other, it was a really sweet thought of him. Who wouldn't want someone there to make sure you are fine? She crossed her arms, got mildly irritated, then tilted it to the other... And sighed in defeat. She couldn't lecture that innocent face. And? Well if she couldn't lecture him, might as well smile. "Thank you for looking out for me. But for the record, I totally had this one!" She began walking, heading for the way where his father went to, and was more bragging than angry. "I just got cocky, fine, but one counter and I would have exploded it in another way. Maybe not as fancy, but it would have been awesome!" Then an idea got into her head. She grinned.

Turning her face to Kido as he caught up, she kept walking as she talked. "Saaaaaay~ Since I healed you because of something YOU did, you owe me a favor, don't you?"

Edited October 26, 2021 by Minibit

[Moon Hound Hati]

Kido knew better than to argue with girls. His mother and sister had given him plenty of practice in that regard, after all. “Of course, you totally had it,” he agreed with a chuckle as he followed after her, catching up quickly to walk by her side, heading down the trail leading to the farm. But as he caught up, she sprung a little surprise debt on him. “Ah? Uh… Yeah, I suppose I do?” He was a bit taken aback by the suddenness of it all but didn’t have the impression she was being malicious about it. Raising his eyebrows up a bit with a curious expression on his face, he asked her, “What did you have in mind?”

[Mini Magi]

"Gotcha!" she thought. But what to ask for? She hummed, thinking of what she even could ask for. Buuuuut since the end result would have to be spending more time with and getting to know him, there was pretty much just one thing she had on her mind. "A date~" If she wasn't chipper before, she sure was now, beaming from ear to ear, and cheating a bit using her mana to make it appear as if there was a blue cheery glow around and behind her head. "It doesn't have to be super special, but we could both bring some food, find some comfy place, chat a bit, or go somewhere special. Not that I would know where though since I just came here, so I am open to suggestions if you have any." She was curious of what he would consider interesting as well, so really. Suggestions go as far as she was concerned.

[Moon Hound Hati]

“A date?” Kido repeated, looking rather baffled by the idea, having not expected anything of the sort. The idea came completely out of left field for our oblivious young farm stud, but he went along with it all the same. “Ah, leave the food to me. It’s the least I can do since you fixed me up with your mana,” he went on to insist, speaking in a manner that made clear he would take no objections on this matter. Mulling it over for a moment, a bright smile spread across his lips as he had an inkling. “I think I know a great spot for a picnic. I’ll come to pick you up at the inn in town around noon if that’s alright. You’re staying there for the night, right?”

[Mini Magi]

He caught on quick. "Yup. But I insist that I bring something too. It's been a while since I was allowed in a kitchen." Again, little sparkles emerged from her face, excited about what to make. Of course, she already had ideas, but would choose the small ones. No need to overfeed each other after all. "Oh, and don't worry. I'm not part of that cliché. I'm just messy." She also tended to experiment on the equipment itself, but that was a story for another time.

A fork in the road seemed like a good point to split up, so Eria pointed to where she would go. "Since I'm going that way, see you tomorrow Kido~" And after a polite little weave with her hand, she went off, plotting and planning what she would do next. Preparations had to be made! And as soon as he wasn't in sight, PANIC set in and the girl ran, leaving a dust cloud behind.

Not 5 minutes later, Eria arrived at the guild branch, went right past the counter, up the stairs, second door to the right. "Miyo!" She yelled, panic all over her face. But the reaction she got was a rather calm one, because the other girl was asleep, now stirring under a blanket. "Ugh... Shut uuuuup." "I have a date!" Eria let herself in by now, closing the door behind her. The smaller girl perked up, pulled away the blanked, and sat up. While in the midst of fixing her hair, she asked. "U-huh..." Eria, on the verge of exploding, waited impatiently for her to react. Then the thought caught up with Miyo's trail of thought, her golden eyes now fully open. "Wait. YOU, managed to get a date?" Eria nodded energetically. "I was out for maybe 3 hours. WHAT did I miss?!"

A little while later, Miyo had her hair properly done again, and her Yukata showed off just the right parts of her sun blessed skin. She also was up to speed on what happened. She sighed. "And you even insisted on bringing food. You know Dirk won't let you in the kitchen again." Eria was by now somewhat calmer, but still worried and rocked back and forth on her bed, legs crossed and arms right on them. "I can deal with that part. The blacksmith owes me a favor, so I can use his forge for something." "You can cook with a forge?" A fair question. It had a lot more power than some standard oven that would usually only boil water. "Yes, but that's not the problem. What do I even do tomorrow?"  There was a lot to go though, but basically it would be quite simple. Miyo got up, to the dresser, and looked through Eria's stuff. "Well, first: Be yourself. If you got his interest by being you, (and no offense, I love you, but it worries me anyway), it would probably throw him off if you changed. So try to relax for now. Since you say you can still make food, I'll just trust you on that one. Which means... All that is left is-" She pulled out a simple one piece dress. Not too fancy... or at all. Nope! Back to whence it came. On more try and she found a turtleneck sweater. Same color as her usual shirt. "Too soon for that. Oh and we'll need perfume. Do you have any?" Eria shook her head, now even more calm and looking at the shirt Miyo held. "I used up my alcohol to make that drink you used, and the rest went into pepper bombs." Why did she... Nevermind. That was a can of worms she would address at another time. "Since it is still just afternoon, try making perfume. Since he is a farmer, go for an Eau de Cologne with a flowery... or maybe fruity scent. But after that, you are on your own." It wasn't much, but it was still a big help to have Miyo help her with these things. And in the next few hours, Eria was as ready as she could be for tomorrow.

[The next day]

Eria went with her usual attire over anything else. Green shirt, skirt, and her jacket. She did at least went for cuter shoes, though. Black Maid shoes specifically that showed her white socks and wrapped around her ankles with a little leash, which she had thanks to a previous quest. And she was still a little nervous thanks to that annoying waiting. She sat by one of the tables at the window, taking peeks through it while Miyo watched over her at a distance. What? She couldn't miss out seeing who managed to get Eria's interest.

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Minibit

[Moon Hound Hati]

“I can’t really decide which is the lesser of two evils there,” Kido responded in a joking fashion when she assured him her food wasn’t bad, but that she was just messy while preparing it. “But have it your way then. I know better by now than to try and argue.” Well, it was more of a compromise for them each to bring some food. Once he had waved her goodbye and she was out of sight, he returned to the farmstead, where his mother both fussed over him like a concerned mother hen and scolded him mercilessly. However, the fact that he had gotten himself injured was seemingly instantly forgotten when he mentioned the date he was going on with Eria the next day.

“Oh, how wonderful!” his mother exclaimed, positively brimming with excitement. She was already scurrying around the kitchen, pulling out pots, pans, and all manner of things that made her son regret mentioning that they were going to have a picnic as part of their date. “It’s almost like one of my novels, but with the genders reversed! What should we cook? Does she like meat? Maybe she’s a vegetarian; so petite and slender that she is!”

“Mom, please…” To say that Kido looked embarrassed was an understatement. Turning to his father did not help, the graying farmer simply shrugging his shoulders in response to the pleading look his son gave him. He’d somehow have to steer his mother clear from turning a picnic basket filled with a nice lunch into a five-course dinner large enough to feed a family with just as many members.

Somehow he managed.

The next day Kido headed out in time to pick up his date from the inn. His mother had attempted to dress him in the old suit his father wore to their wedding, but luckily he managed to avoid that landmine as well. Instead, he was dressed in something more casual, something he’d usually wear on days off, when he went to hang around in town; a pair of nice jeans and a dark green, buttoned shirt. With a stuffed picnic basket dangling from his arm, he stepped into the only inn their small town had.

Taking a moment to look around, it wasn’t long before he spotted the blue-haired adventurer sitting by the window. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” he said with a smile as he approached her. “The spot I had in mind isn’t too far from here, so we can go there whenever you’re ready.” She didn’t look too different from yesterday, so he reserved any comments on her appearance, but also couldn’t see her change in feet attire very well while she sat at the table.

[Mini Magi]

Luckily it turned out that she didn't have to wait long, and she smiled again once he came into her view. "Not at all. And you're looking good, by the way." Guy fashion was so simple. But she appreciated the green shirt instead of a white one. "Oh! I look different, too. Look~" Cheerful as ever, she promptly put her leg on the table, showing off her shoes. "I don't have the uniform that goes with them, but I can always dream, right?" Unknown to her, she also accidentally showed off her panties this way... To half the bar. Luckily Kido stood conveniently in the way to shield anyone's view but his own. Striped blue, by the way. Having shown off her efforts, she got up from her seat and took 2 small black boxes with her, taking care not to tilt them. Not even 5 steps out of the door however, Eria asked: "Did you see my panties?" To the obviously negative response, she reacted by stacking the boxes in one hand while lifting the hem of her skirt just a little. "Do you want to?" Her expression was a normal as ever, because in her head, she asked something that made sense... Which of course it did not, and causes an onlooker that followed them to feel bad for the boy she chose. Before he could answer, she almost tripped over something, not being used to these soles, and almost dropped her 2 boxes. Quickly catching her balance, she gave them a look over, then held them to him. "Think you could put them in your basked, just to be sure?"

A little girl came up behind them, having a hand on her head and both pained and amused expression. He didn't know her, but this was Eria's friend Miyo, who watched the whole scene, feeling both amused and pity towards the young man. Eria noticed her, about to greet her, but got interrupted by Miyo pulling her down by the hem of her shirt. "Eria? What exactly did we say about quick questions?" Eria thought, mildly alerted by the small one's anger. "Uhm... Don't?" Miyo nodded, satisfied she reminded her friend of something important, and let her go. "Please think before you speak. As for you." She turned to Kido, pretty much walked past him, and gave him a pat on his arm. "Good luck. Though I'm not sure if you'll need it." And with that, she left back inside. Eria, who now handed him the two small boxes, was still a bit confused, but decided to just go with the rules. "Sorry about that. That's Miyo. And believe it or not, she is an adult. Just a small one, and I asked her for advice because I never had a date and... Hey, how about I stop talking, and you start leading for a while?" Telling him that she felt nervous around him was probably one of those things Miyo would warn her not to blurt out of nowhere. Just as they prepared. Time, place, occasion.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Minibit

[Moon Hound Hati]

Kido’s eyebrows made a good attempt to reach for his hairline when the blue-haired female adventurer swung her leg up onto the table to show off her footwear, because the first thing he saw, instead, was her white and blue striped panties. “H-Huh?! Oh… Yeah, a-absolutely!” Tripping over his own words, he nodded furiously. Luckily, the moment of accidental pervertedness -- which would be burned into his memory for some time to come, for sure -- didn’t last long and they were soon on their way out the door.

It wasn’t even five steps past the aforementioned door, though, before Eria straight up asked him if he had seen her unmentionables. The knee-jerk response the farm lad had was to furiously shake his head and blush. His cheeks turned even redder, however, when she followed it up by asking him if he wanted to while raising her skirt. Even stumped by complete surprise, Kido’s male instincts had his eyes glued to her creamy, white thighs as she began lifting the hem of her skirt. Before anything of note was revealed to him, though, she tripped and almost fell over with the pair of black boxes she’d been balancing in her free hand.

“Ah, yeah, sure,” he said while gingerly taking the offered boxes and slipping them into his picnic basket, closing the lid of the woven basket securely afterward. In the meantime, a small girl with chocolate-colored skin had appeared and begun scolding his date as if Eria was a small child. “Um, thanks?” He wasn’t sure what else to say when the girl wished him good luck.

“I think… That’s probably a good idea.” Agreeing with Eria’s suggestion for her to stop talking and him to start leading her around. While he wasn’t having any negative thoughts or regrets, it took him a solid minute or two to process what had just happened in an almost similarly short time span. But once his mind was clear again, the tour began to find momentum. Making a trip through the small square in the middle of the small town, it happened to be market day, allowing them to peruse the various stalls of local and traveling traders a bit for fun before they moved on, with their final destination being a pond filled with crystal clear water that sparkled in the sun. They settled down on top of a small hill that overlooked the pond, with a single, large, oak sitting at its peak. Laying out the red, checkered blanket he’d brought with him in his basket, the pair sat down and took in the view.

“Hope it’s to your liking for a date location.”

[Mini Magi]

Eria seemed to enjoy being able to take a look at the market. Being an adventurer meant that she was on a strict budged, and it certainly didn't hurt to know that certain fruits were on discount at 2 stalls competing with each other. That aside, it also gave her a chance to get to know the general mood of the place. And all in all? Everything was absolutely fine here~ Before long, they then arrived at the date spot Kido had chosen for them. A small pond with a hill and tree. "It's small, it's calm, some water nearby, I love it!" Who didn't enjoy a place straight out of a painting?

Eria took went straight for the tree and considered jumping up the branches, but decided against it for the sake of the mood. Instead, she plopped down on the blanket Kido had set up, and went to the basket to take out her boxes. "Let's get to those first or the'll get cold." She handed him one of them, and upon opening it, he'd find only one thing in it. It looked like a big piece of flat bread roughly the size of his entire hand, but baked over with cheese. Quite a rarity considering how costly cheese was. On top of it were slices of meat. Not too much. Maybe 6 pieces tops. "It's called Pizza. Careful when you bite though because that cheese tends to bite back if it's still hot." A lesson she learned herself a while back, but hey. Now he didn't had to. The box she used was also a bit odd. Wood on the outside, but the inside was... something else. White, smooth, and soft. Questions for later. For now, she took a good bite out of her own slice of pizza and enjoyed the texture to the fullest. Because she might be a messy cook, but by no means a bad one~

[Moon Hound Hati]

After plopping herself down onto the blanket, the blue-haired adventurer retrieved her two black boxes from the basket, handing one to him with the suggestion they eat them right away, with the implication that it was a food best enjoyed while still hot. Taking the lid off, his nose was immediately assaulted by a warm waft of air laced with various scents that were mouth-watering and stomach-growl inducing. Peering inside, he found what appeared to be a large piece of flatbread, topped with molten cheese and a few thin slices of meat -- though he couldn’t quite discern at first glance what kind of meat it was.

“Pizza… I think my sister mentioned them vaguely once in a letter,” Kido responded as he gingerly began to lift the warm food out of the container. It felt quite warm still, even laying in the palm of his hand, so he headed Eria’s warning and gave it a few blows across its surface before carefully taking a small bite, nipping at the corner of one of the meat pieces to get the full experience. Eyes lighting up almost instantly as the flavor sensation assaulted his taste buds, he couldn’t help but exclaim a muffled, “Delicious!” with a full mouth. He’d certainly never experienced anything like this before. While cheese itself was obviously not that rare in a town made up largely of farmers and associated businesses, he’d rarely had any dishes that used it molten, let alone combined with bread and meat to form a finger food! It reminded him that the world outside his town was filled with many amazing things he couldn’t even imagine.

[Mini Magi]

Got him! Of course, she knew this was some good stuff, but it was great to see he enjoyed the little meal she prepared. And it didn't take long until they were almost done, enjoying the crispy crust maybe a minute after the meal. The perfect time to strike! Eria grinned, turning her eyes to him while keeping her head just slightly not at his direction. Subtle details like that mattered when she was ready for her little attack. "So... Now that we are alone, away from others, with no witnesses..." A small pause... She purposefully gave it a small moment to let a slight fight or flight question pop up in his head. But just then her face went back to smiling as usual, and her voice being quite chipper. "How come you know how to properly toss a pitchfork?" Assuming she had thrown a bit of a curveball at him, she added: "What? I can't really ask you these things while people are around, right? I know how fast rumors can spread, and in your case, how long it will take until your father would hear about it." 

[Moon Hound Hati]

Her initial phrasing took him aback, leaving the hairs in the back of his neck standing upright as his mind processed the possible implication being “alone, away from other, with no witnesses” could have. Had she been a man, Kido would have made a break for it already, but, instead, he wondered if she meant…

“Eh?” was what the young farmer uttered softly, looking quite surprised, as he had thought she was implying something… else… at first. “Oh, uhm…” Faking a small cough, he tried to unscramble his thoughts and focus on her question. Her motivation for asking him this in private felt a bit odd and forced to him, but Kido brushed it aside, thinking to himself that answering her truthfully was the least he could do, since she’d gone through the trouble to heal him after his little stunt last night backfired somewhat on him.

“I practiced it. A lot,” he told her, looking a bit sheepish as he scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. Peering out onto the small pond below, at the foot of the small, green hill sat atop of, he continued, “I know it’s kind of childish for someone my age, but I always dreamt of being an adventurer, so I often practice behind the barn; exercising, throwing the pitchfork like a javelin or stabbing with it like a spear. All while dreaming about what it would be like to be a real adventurer.”

Turning back to Eria, he beamed at her. “Like you!"

[Mini Magi]

Oh she just couldn't help teasing him at least a little bit~ And the more she listened, the more obvious it was that she really really wanted him for so many reasons. He was kind, brave, dedicated too. Odds were he practiced a whole lot with his farm tools, and it sent her heart aflutter that it paid off. She couldn't be more happy for him. 

Spoiler

Eria Left Brain: I want him! I want him so bad!
Eria Right Brain: I know I know, but let's calm down a bit. We're having a bit of a moment here.
Eria Left Brain: Well, what are we supposed to say?! I wanna ruffle his adorable head so badly right now! 
Eria Right Brain: Oh calm down already. So long as he doesn't say anything that hits her heart, we've got plenty of time. 

 

"All while dreaming about what it would be like to be a real adventurer. Like you!"

 

Did... Did he just? Eria, in the middle of shoving another bite of Pizza in her mouth, stopped right there when he said he wanted to be an adventurer. Like her even?! Good thing he made her short circuit, or otherwise those big, full of joy eyes would be raining down crocodile tears because of how touching this all was. But what now? Okay. First of all, she had to deal with the Pizza, so she took another bite finally, and looked into the distance. She had to think. How should she word this? 

Spoiler

Eria Left Brain: FUCK! 
Eria Right Brain: She's got her mouth already open! Okay, okay. We can do this. He just said something nice, so we have to say something!
Eria Left Brain: Like what?!
Eria Right Brain: Look, just... Just say anything.
Eria Left brain: Anything? 
Eria Right Brain: ANYTHING! Just... say it with confidence.
Eria Left Brain: A-Alright. Here goes nothing.

Eria calmed herself, and with nothing but genuine love in her eyes, and a soft smile, she said "We should get married." 

Spoiler

Eria Right Brain: "NOOOOOO!"
Eria Left Brain: What?! You said: say anything.
Eria Right Brain: Anything except THAT, obviously!
Eria Left Brain: I'm sorry! I don't work well under pressure!
Eria Right Brain: *Sigh* I know. Look. How about you go play a bit? I'll do damage control. 
Eria Left Brain: O-Okay. You'll let me know when you need me right?
Eria Right Brain: Of course. Now shoo off though. I REALLY have to work this time.

"Uhm... I mean." Okay, maybe a bit too on the spot. And Miyo did tell her not to be that direct after all. After clearing her throat, she put the box away to focus on Kido. "I'm looking for a partner since a while now. An adventuring buddy, I mean. And unless you have other plans, I'd love it if you could be that. And as a bonus, I can even offer you something up front." He was capable, sure, but he lacked that special something to make sure he actually could compete with monsters. And Eria had just the thing, so she got up, and went to the lake. She held out a hand, towards the water, and with a thought, a blue pulse was sent outward, creating a ripple along the water. Then she sent out another, and another, and another as she spoke. "What I do can be seen as magic, but I don't really cast spells. All I did was unlock my mana circuits. Think of it this way.
Mages become more proficient in their mana manipulation by strengthening their mind and acquiring more knowledge. The downside to that is that most spells have an incantation of sorts, and heavy gear can block the flow of their mana, turning them into glass cannons since all they can wear are usually robes of some sort.
My way of handling mana is technically weaker. I have 4 attacks, 1 barrier, and 2 support skills, and that is it. But I can use and combine them freely, and instantly, except my biggest one. And I am also a bit faster and stronger than I look. Not exactly a weight lifter, but I'm pretty good at arm wrestling~"

Eventually the pulses stopped, and she turned back to Kido. Her face started looking excited, but changed to a more nervous than anything near the end of what she said next. "My idea is that I could try unlocking your mana circuits, but it's not without risks. I think it can go 3 ways. Either you get out of it with some new power, nothing happens, or... well... you explode... violently." She didn't know at which percentage each chance was, but considering there were more mages than casters like her, it didn't look too good. But it was a free chance at getting one step closer to his wish. And he even would get a buddy to travel with. In her opinion, a cute one at that! But she didn't expect it to work out flawlessly. "Do you want some time to think about it? I can stay here for a few days."

[Moon Hound Hati]

Wait, did she just say…?

With the pizza in hand, a piece of molten cheese dangling above his open mouth, he blinked blankly at Eria when she suggested that they marry. No, he must have heard that wrong. Yeah, it would make no sense. After all, they barely knew each other! Plus, he was just a farmer and she was so cute… and strong… and… uhm…

“A… partner?” Her words were soon followed by the words “adventuring buddy,” which made things a lot clearer to him. “Ah…” Wait, why did he almost sound disappointed? He shook his head, getting his mind out of places it shouldn’t be in. Putting the pizza away for a minute, he refocused his mind on Eria as she began explaining further, extending an invitation to become an adventurer like her, as well as giving him a rudimentary explanation of magic that still partially went way over his head while displaying her sorcery by making the water in the pond ripple visibly – even from where they sat atop the hill.

Next, she spoke of unlocking his mana circuits, implying anyone could have them, though they might not do anything or they might… cause human combustion. Not a pleasant thought, if he had to be honest, but that was not the reason that he appeared hesitant. “Yeah… I might need some time to think this over,” he told her, looking conflicted and even a little sad. This was more than any opportunity he could have ever dreamed of, but, at the same time, thoughts of guilt plagued his mind, for leaving now would be abandoning the farm, his parents, who weren’t getting any younger. It was not like his younger brother would take over the farm; they all knew he had the potential future of a scholar of some sort ahead of him, bright and studious as he was.

“I’m going to have to talk this over with my folks,” he admitted with a pained smile but decided to bury his lamentations for now by picking up the delicious pizza and taking another bite. “Sho gud!” he exclaimed and they would resume their date like before, speaking no further of her proposal.

By the time he returned home, the sun was setting, bathing the farmlands in an orange hue. Taking a deep breath as he stood on the porch of his family’s home, he stepped inside to talk to his parents. What followed was an odd and awkward conversation. His father was uncharacteristically quiet for once, while his mother seemed quite vocally opposed to the idea of him leaving and becoming an adventurer. While she made a point in saying that she did not think poorly of the profession or its practitioners, she did not want a child of hers to become one, knowing full and well how dangerous the tasks could be that he might face. While Kido attempted to make an argument for his case, he was easily shot down when she pointed out the events of the previous night, where he’d gotten injured while trying to help Eria.

“Son… How about you turn in for the night. I’d like to speak to your mother alone about this,” his father would suddenly interject, looking quite calm yet serious, a state he’d rarely seen him in. Nodding his head, their son would leave the room, and on his way up to his bedroom, he could barely make out a single sentence his father spoke quite clearly and loud enough to make out.

“If he doesn’t make this choice for himself now, he might regret it for the rest of his life. Do you want that for him?”

And it was not until the next morning that Kido found out that it was his father who was the turning point of his destiny. He had convinced his wife to agree to let Kido make his own choice in this matter, and to give him their blessing no matter what. His father also seemed to have understood what reservations were on his mind when he brought this before them last night, assuring his son that they would be fine if he decided to leave and that the farm would also be fine.

“Mom… Dad… I… Thank you,” Kido muttered, wiping his eyes as tears welled up a bit in them. Standing up from the table once he’d hastily finished breakfast, he announced, “I should let Eria know that I’ll accept her offer!”

[Mini Magi]

Risk of explosions aside, this was the only right answer. This was a big decision to make, and would change not just his life, but that of his parents after all. "Then take some time. It's not like I need an answer right away. Plus: This means there are more opportunities for free food~" And while he was busy with Pizza, Eria helped herself to what he had brought to them. She even gave him the recipe for the Pizza later, and they parted ways on good terms. 

The next few days went by like a blur. Where to start? The start of their travel of course. They had traveled together with a merchant caravan, and Eria used that time to unlock Kido's Mana. The process was a lot more simple, and involved less explosions than assumed. All she had to do was share some of her mana with him, over and over, until his mana started circulating on its own. Almost like trying to get an engine to work. After that however, it was all on him what he would do with it, and what he could do in the first place. And before long, they arrived in the city of Velder. Plastered streets, brick and mortar walls, busy streets, and dedicated shops rather than an open market. Not that there wasn't a market occasionally, but it was more for merchants who simply travelled through. Both of them had some time by now to explore the city, shops, and most importantly: The adventurer guild.

Eria left Kido at one of the tables for a while, but returned after some time with some paperwork, beaming from face to face. She pushed some of it to him, which contained a picture with a scale of the ship in question. "Done~ We have an airship now! A used one that doesn't fly, but still." Any curiosity around them practically poofed out of existence once Eria mentioned that it doesn't fly. So on the bright side, nothing to worry about yet. "It's not as easy as fixing it and flying around, though. We need to register the ship under a name, assemble a crew. We could still use it without all of that for a permit, but docking would be costly, and some cities can even deny us. Any ideas for a name?"

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by Minibit
typos

[Moon Hound Hati]

The following days were quite turbulent for Kido. Going from his quiet and samey life as a farmer to that of an up-and-coming adventurer slash trader where no two days were the same was quite a shift in gears, but he tried his best to keep up with the pace. Once they had arrived in Velder, the first order of business was procuring the airship Eria had spoken of. After being left to his devices for a while at the establishment where they’d buy the aforementioned ship, his bubbly companion returned with papers in hand.

“Baby steps,” Kido responded with a nod once she’d listed the things they still had to do, mainly fix the ship and assemble a crew. But first, a name for their new home. Having grown a bit more comfortable around her over the course of their days traveling together, Kido felt a bit cheeky and made a suggestion with a playful grin. “How about the Turbulant Blue?”

Edited January 13, 2022 by Moon Hound Hati

[Mini Magi]

Eria paused, a bit surprised by the suggestion, but grinned when she connected the dots. "Smooth." And quickly wrote the name on the form. "I'll put us up as adventurers and transporters for now. You'll see why once you see the ship. Which leaves us with the task to find crew members. Hm..." Going a bit back and forth, it turned out that there were a few people they couldn't start without. Most important of all would be a navigator, since Eria could modify an engine, but not keep track well of where she was on that scale. 

"Meh." Eria was happy they made some progress at least, but... "I doubt we will find anyone without a functioning ship. With the funds I have left, I can rework the engine as planned and still have some savings left over. But no offense, you wouldn't be of much help during that time." And leaving him without anything to do would also be bad, so she pointed to the quest board. "How about you try taking a few of those in the meantime? Get some experience, maybe even meet some interesting people?"

As for the quest board itself, which was not crowded luckily, had multiple pamphlets pinned on it. On top of each of them, a letter to indicate the assumed difficulty of the task, a summery of the request in the middle, and rewards at the bottom. Usually gold, or services such as free lodging, food, even potions. But a few of them stood out. While most were on white paper, a couple of quests were on red. Just when his puzzled expression gave away that he was new, "Those on red paper are urgent quests." a voice chipped in from behind.

Just a bit shorter than him, a girl in red, with a bunny ear ribbon on her head, joined in while he perused the quest board. "Hiya~ I'm one of the new guild guides. You mind if I explain a thing or two to you?" 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Mini Magi

[Moon Hound Hati]

“Like butter,” Kido responded playfully with a wink when she called him smooth. Their days of travel and companionship had developed their relationship quite a bit and they got along perfectly well. As such, he did indeed not take any offense when she suggested he tackle some quests while she preoccupied herself with the preparations for the ship’s engine. This was simply how he experienced Eria to be; chipper and cheerful one moment, a bit boorish and blunt the next. She never meant any harm though, and luckily the former farmer was raised with thick skin.

“I’ll go have a look, then,” he said with a slight shrug as he slipped out of his seat. “Meet up for dinner later?” Kido asked before making his way to the quest board. There were a lot of papers pinned to it, with various quest descriptions and even different colored papers. While he’d gotten a rudimentary explanation from blue-haired companion during their travel, it was a whole lot different looking at them in person for the first time. Luckily for him, a feminine voice came to aid him. Turning his head, he faced a girl with long, chestnut-brown hair amber eyes. She was just a little shorter than him, dressed in mostly red and brown, with a splash of white, and gold trimmings to accentuate her outfit. Atop her head sat a large, red bow, tied in such a manner that it somewhat resembled a pair of bunny ears. 

He nodded. “That would be great! I’m quite new at this, to be honest,” he admitted with a bit of a goofy grin as he scratched the back of his head. “Ah, sorry, where are my manners? I’m Kido.”

[Mini Magi]

"And I'm a new guild guide, Amber. It's a pleasure~" Taking his eyes back to the board by pointing at it, she began her explanation. "White pamphlets, or for the sake of simplicity "White Quests" are the most common kind. They are things like "looking for a kitchen hand", "Requiring monster slime", and even "need a replacement guard". If they have an official seal, like the guard, it even gets on the form. Red Quests are, as I mentioned, urgent ones that usually can't be solved by the client themselves no matter what. Like "Armed escorts needed for caravan", "money required to save house" and "medicine required". The reason those are urgent is because they usually have a higher priority, security or even lives being at stake. They pay out bigger because of the urgency, but also punish more severely in case of a failure to deter slackers." The guards as example could simply hire full time guards, but short time work was easier to handle. Judging by the request, one guard was simply ill. No need for a full replacement, and hence no urgency. The urgent request to save someone's house on the other hand couldn't pay in gold, but offered a permanent free bed. And then there was the medicine quest. It listed exactly which plants were needed, and roughly what amount of them, and even where to find them. This one felt more like an errand quest, but was still dangerous due to being outside the walls. 

"Once you chose anything for you, take it off the board and bring it to the counter over there." What she pointed to was the reception, which had a few counters, and lovely looking people of both genders ready to attend to the needs of the people around them. A few of them busy, others not. "You would then usually take care of the quest, hand in the items at the counter, and get your free guild membership card. But wait. There is more: Because it is your first quest, you can take a guide with you. Guides are usually all ready to head out and have a care package, and a bag ready at a moment's notice. You can even choose one. Preferably," She raised her hands to her head, and let them flop like bunny ears. "A really cute one."