Sarutahiko Okami froze and stared at him with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. “Alex! That’s a very mean thing to say! Just the idea of using my friends as distractions…”
“What? Would you prefer some of us die?”
“No, of course not, but… Wait a minute… You are joking, right?”
Alex shrugged. “Maybe I am and maybe I am not. I don’t value the life of food as much as you do. It’s better if you make sure we don’t need to do it because if we need a decoy, I won’t think twice about using them.”
Sarutahiko Okami was still staring at him in shock, and Suijin made a big smile for the first time. “I hadn’t seen Okami so shocked for I don’t know how many years! I like your way of thinking, Alex Brim! Sign that contract, so we can have a nice and pleasant talk, and perhaps you can scare her a little more!”
Alex winked one eye at the big, smiling man. “Normally she is the one scaring and embarrassing me, but it seems I found out her weakness. I will take my revenge for all the times she spooked me!”
The wine and juice came, and they all cheered and asked the Gods for a safe journey.
After Alex and James Macdonald signed both copies of the contract that Shinatobe had on the table, she kept one copy and handed the other to the Leader of the Party and after receiving half the payment, she spoke with an expressionless face, “The contract is now valid. You need to take care of the supplies for your group, and I will take care of my Master’s group. We will all meet here tomorrow at noon so that we can check if something is missing to begin the voyage. It was a pleasure to do business with you, Mister James Macdonald.”
Shinatobe got up and made a slight bow and pulled Kagu-tsuchi to make him get up and follow her. She looked back at the others and asked, with a frown, “Do I need to drag everyone with me?”
After nodding at the ones still at the table, Alex, Okami, and Suijin rushed to follow her. James Macdonald folded the contract and put it in one pocket, and he spoke while looking at the group nervously following a furious little girl, “Now that is a sight we don’t see very often. Anika, you know something about that little girl, don’t you? I saw you trembling in fear since she joined us, and you are still trembling.”
Anika Wright slowly nodded. “I do, but if I say something, I won’t be going tomorrow, because I will be dead. Let’s just say I understand perfectly why they are following and fearing her like that. If those two are even half as powerful as she is, we won’t have a problem in our Quest, believe me. I am not sure about the woman, but the man was disguising his Water Magic and my body shacked every time he spoke.”
Pearl Pearson took a sip of the wine and cleaned her forehead. “That woman has the strongest Earth Magic that I ever felt in my life, and she was hiding most of it. I am not sure how much she is able to use, but it is a lot. I don’t know why Mister Alex doesn’t do the Quest only with them, because I am almost certain that there are no Monsters around able to stop them.”
James Macdonald took a sip of his cup and narrowed his eyes. “Do you think Alex has some kind of hidden agenda?”
Pearl Pearson bit her lower lip. “I am not sure. He didn’t fail us on our previous Quest, and he has an excellent reputation…”
Anika Wright vigorously shook her head. “No, we can trust them. Shinatobe would never be with someone unworthy. And Suijin… He… I don’t know if he is the same being, but he has the same name, and he uses Water Magic as my… no, never mind…”
James Macdonald stared at her with a frown. “If you know something, spit it out. It is already weird to see you so scared with a little girl, and now you are becoming pale just by talking about that man? What is wrong with you?”
Anika glanced at Pearl Pearson and said, “Pearl also has her suspicions about that woman, as I have about that man. She even called her a daughter of the forest, and he called me a daughter of the sea. Among our ancient history, there are a few tales about those nicknames.”
Pearl Pearson frowned for a while, thinking about her words. She then widened her eyes and covered her mouth with both hands. “Sarutahiko Okami… It can’t be… but… yeah…”
James Macdonald looked at them both and asked, getting annoyed by all that secrecy, “Come on, not you as well, Pearl! Spit it out, what’s wrong?”
Pearl Pearson gulped a sizeable portion of her cup and spoke with an expressionless face, “I am sorry if I sound rude, but Humans are not allowed to know certain things about long-life beings like Mermaids, Elfians and Fairies.”
She then turned to Anika Wright and continued, “Let’s keep to ourselves our suspicions, because nothing good will come to us if we continue on this path. We may need to warn this knocked-out Fairy, or her stupidity might cause her doom and drag us along with her.”
Anika nodded while looking at Wenammy, who had her knocked-out face on the table, completely unaware of the danger she faced when she annoyed Shinatobe. “Not that I would lose my sleep if she lost her wings, but we might need her help during our voyage. I now understand why Alex Brim gathered such a good reputation, James. He is way more powerful than he seems. Fortunately for this World, he has friends to make sure he doesn’t misuse his power. We are in excellent hands, believe me. He is not called the Hero for nothing, you know?”
James Macdonald frowned. “I thought his nickname was a joke because he was so young, but then I saw him fighting those Goblins and that big Four-Armed Orc. Very well, you two seem to have good reasons for not telling us what is making you so nervous, so I won’t insist on this matter. It’s better if we divide tasks for gathering the supplies. We must be sure we forget nothing.”
They began discussing what they needed to buy or take care of for the voyage, while Anika Wright and Pearl Pearson were glancing at each other, trying to make the other feel better with their looks, for discovering such an incredible secret.
Meanwhile, Sakamo was in his rented room on the top floor, with Shinatobe looking at the nervous Kagu-tsuchi.
Alex sat on the edge of the bed, frowning. “Can anyone tell me what’s wrong? I know it has something to do with the ‘Galtian Khaganat’ and that female Mage Summoner, but…”
Shinatobe interrupted without averting her eyes from Kagu-tsuchi. “That Mage Summoner made a contract with this stupid. He was deeply in love with her, and he forgot his sacred vow of protecting this World and every being living on it. Because of that woman and because of him, thousands of beings died. Humans, Fairies, Mermaids, Elfians, Beast-kind and Spirits. The previous Hero was forced, against his beliefs, to kill that Mage Summoner, and Okami and I helped. She didn’t have to die if this fool guided her better. At that time, Suijin had a contract with an Elfian that lived in a distant country, and he didn’t arrive in time to do anything. The previous Hero was your father, Yahei Brim. He was a peace lover and a true, gentle soul. Killing that woman was too much for him to bear, and he left us.”
Alex asked while staring at the silent Kagu-tsuchi, “It was because he had a contract with that female Mage Summoner? A contract forces a Spirit to do something against his will?”
Shinatobe slowly shook her head. “No, he could always persuade her, but he was deeply in love, and that woman convinced him that her purpose was honourable. She wanted to unite the World, forcing every country to join forces against the Monsters in a combined World Fighting Army, under her orders, of course. She was a maniac for power, and her ambition caused the deaths of so many.”
“That means Kagu is very powerful, right? If he is a Spirit of Fire and such.”
Shinatobe made a slight smile. “He is powerful indeed, and he tends to boil easily, but he is no match for my wind. I am the leader of the Four Elements because I am the most powerful of us, and this fool is envious of me because he came to the absurd conclusion that our parents like me more. Perhaps if he wasn’t such a pain in the neck, everyone would like him a lot more, but instead of improving his bellicose character, he always thinks that the problem is everyone else.”
Alex turned to her in surprise. “You are the Leader of the Four Elements? I never heard you say that! I bet there is a story that you strangely forgot to tell me!”
Shinatobe looked at Suijin and Okami, who nodded at her, and she explained, “We are the sons and daughters of the Gods of this World. Izanagi, the God of Creation and Life, and Izanami, the Goddess of Creation and Death. All the other Spirits in this World are our sons and daughters, whom we had with other beings. Because our power is diluted in our offspring, they are less powerful. We are responsible for maintaining the balance in this World, by regulating the elements that provide life and stability to all living things.”
“No way… My little and cute Shinatobe is already a mother. How many sons and daughters do you have?”
“A few hundred. This World is ancient, Alex, and we were born when it was created. Our sons and daughters made contracts with other beings, not only because of curiosity, but because we always told them to improve themselves, and to learn as much as they could about the beings under their charge. Azurath was peaceful until some centuries ago, when the first Magical Void appeared, and when the Monsters began to fall from the sky through those Voids, the Spirits that had contracts were the first ones to fight them, together with their partners.”
Alex grabbed his pendant and looked at it. After a couple of seconds of silence, he raised his eyes and asked, “And what is the story behind this pendant? Because if you four are so powerful, why do I need to be here?”
Shinatobe nibbled on her bottom lip and asked, “You never thought about the words you use to open a portal to Earth or to come here? Or what is implied in those words? We used the energy of two hundred Spirits that died in battle against Monsters to create that pendant. You use their Magic each time you open a portal. It was the only thing we could think of back then. To search for a being in another dimension or another World, that could use our powers combined to be a beacon to this World, to unite everyone against the Monsters or with his knowledge, to find a way to stop the Voids from appearing. You are our fourth attempt, Alex. Your father was our greatest hope because he was wise and peaceful. Every time he spoke, everyone listened to him. He was not only very kind, but he was also charismatic. And then, his soul shattered when he had to kill the Mage Summoner this stupid brat was so in love with.”