The Amazing Sidekick

Chapter 1 - Arrival


The sun was high, middle of the morning, temperature of 32ºc. Jack Snyder was riding his company car to visit another client. His phone rang over the radio, connected by Bluetooth. He pressed the small button on the lever at the right of the steering wheel and smiled at the name of his wife on the car radio display, "Hello, pretty girl. Miss me already?"

"Nah, just to remind you that I will come out late from work, and you have to go get Mia from School. Peter has an exam in the middle of the afternoon, so you can’t count on our older son to go get his sister, it has to be you."

"I know, don’t worry. I have one client before lunch, and two more in the afternoon but they are all routine services, it won’t take long. Do I need to take care of dinner as well?"

A small chuckle made Jack Snyder frown, "Heheheh! Yeah, right, good luck defrosting the meat that we don’t have in the fridge. You forgot to go shopping yesterday, remember? Don’t worry, I will go buy some groceries before going home. You can set the table and help Mia with homework if she has any. If she doesn’t, play a game with her, for example, I don’t know, you figure it out. See you later, dear. Kisses!"

"Bye… she hung up already. Like usual, she must always have the last word. Okay, where is that street, anyway?"

When Jack Snyder made a turn to the perpendicular street at his left, a truck appeared right ahead, driving at full speed with no breaks. Jack tried to avoid the collision, but it was too late. The truck collided with his car, crushing him between the steering wheel and the back seat, and everything went dark for him, immediately. He didn’t have time to think about his family or feel any pain. Luckily for him.
…

After so long, or so little time, Jack Snyder felt a pain on the left side of his head, and a faint light through his closed eyelids. A girl’s voice kept on shouting near him, and he had some trouble focusing on her words, because of the pounding on his head.

Then, he understood what the voice was shouting, but it didn’t make sense, "Nozo! Please, open your eyes! Please! Nozomu Shinchaku, wake up!"

Jack Snyder slowly opened his eyes, and blinked a few times, trying to get used to the light. He then saw a girl looking at him with her face covered in tears, and he strongly closed his eyes again, because everything about her felt wrong. As the girl was caressing his left cheek and sobbing, Jack Snyder opened his eyes again, and looked at the girl in front of him. Long blue hair, yellow eyes, cat ears instead of normal Human ears, dressed in a tight top that only covered her big breasts and he could see her shaped abs and muscular forearms. Jack glanced at her hand and saw sharp and long fingernails caressing his face. A fluffy blue tail was trembling behind her, signalling her worries.

He gulped and she hugged him tight, making him frown from the pain in his head. "Nozo! I thought you were dead! Don’t scare me like that, geez! I couldn’t stop the blood that was coming out of your head with my Magic, I had to rip my blouse to make a bandage and I spent the last few drops of my Healing Potion with you! You were not even swallowing! I even had to help you with that!"

Jack Snyder looked around, puzzled by the words that were coming from that unknown girl, and he looked at where she was pointing. A rock was there, covered in red and with so much blood around that it was impossible for someone to be alive after so much blood loss. He touched the left side of his head and frowned at the pain he felt.

He faced the crying girl and asked, "What happened? The last thing I remember, is…"

Jack Snyder stopped talking. He remembered crashing his car, but that girl was not a normal girl. Even the light around was different, it was brighter, and the grass beneath him was strange. It was soft, and brittle, light green instead of the normal green that he was used to.

He faced the girl again and asked, "I… don’t remember much. Who are you?"

The girl slowly opened her mouth and placed one hand over his right shoulder with a worried look, "What do you mean, who I am? It is me, Taisetsuna Kawa, you call me Suna for as long as I remember. Are you alright? You… don’t remember me? At all? Really? Such a lovely Cat-kind as myself?"

"I… am not sure. Maybe I lost some memories because of the blow on the rock. Or it is because I lost so much blood. I think I will recover over time, but in the meantime, I may need your help. Everything is a bit strange for me. Where are we? And what were we doing, for me to hit that rock? Did I fall? Don’t tell me you pushed me!"

The Cat-kind girl bit her lower lip and held his hands, "You were helping me practice my Magic, like we always do in the afternoons. I threw a huge Fire Ball at you, and you jumped to the side and rolled on the floor to avoid it. Not that you needed to avoid it, because we both know Magic doesn’t work on you, but you always do that, to practice your evasion skills and to make me work harder. That was when you hit your head on that rock. I tried to pour some Healing Magic on you in a panic, and I lost precious time before I remembered it had no use on you, and I ripped my blouse to make a bandage to stop your bleeding and I then opened the vial of the Healing Potion the Priest gave me and made you swallow it."

Jack Snyder had his eyes wide open. Everything the girl said was impossible, and he thought to himself,"|… I died for sure, and I was dead for God knows how long. She called me Nozomu Shinchaku. Judging by all the blood on the floor, Nozomu died, and my soul, or my mind, whatever, came to his body. She talked about Magic, Healing Potions. Magic doesn’t work on me? She helped me swallow a Healing Potion! And she has cat ears and blue hair! ...|"

The faces of his family flashed before his eyes, and as he was trying to hold back the tears from the realization that he was never going to see them again, the faces faded while smiling and waving at him, as if they were leaving for somewhere. He closed his eyes and saw them again, in their kitchen, talking and eating, with his seat empty, as if he wasn’t there anymore. They seemed at peace, and he took one slow deep breath while thinking that he should do the same, live his new life without them near him.

Jack tried to disguise the sadness in his voice and asked, "Help me out with this. What do you mean, Magic doesn’t work on me? And can you use Magic? I suppose Fire Ball is Fire Magic, but can you also use Healing Magic? How did you help me swallow the Healing Potion? The Priest gave it to you? What Priest?"

Taisetsuna Kawa became redder and redder as she was explaining, "This is not possible… you don’t remember at all… You can’t use Magic, and Magic doesn’t work on you. Only you, me and the Priest know about this. We never told anyone and no one can know, because everyone can use a bit of Magic, but someone that can’t use and that completely disturbs or is unaffected by Magic like you, is unheard of. We are both orphans that the Priest found near the river, in two small baskets. We have been living in the Orphanage for the past fifteen years, and we have been training since we were little. In a few days we are going to be sixteen, and the Priest already has a job for us, for when we leave the Orphanage and start to live on our own. I… helped you swallow the Healing Potion… using my mouth… on yours… I couldn’t think of anything else, and you weren’t swallowing on your own! I panicked, okay?"

She went silent, and Nozomu Shinchaku asked, "I understand. Thanks for helping me. Judging by your embarrassment, you wasted your first kiss on me, didn’t you? I won’t tell anyone, and we can pretend it didn’t happen and like that, it doesn’t count, right?"

Taisetsuna Kawa vigorously shook her head, "Yeah! It didn’t happen! It doesn’t count! So, how is your head? Do you think you can get up?"

"It’s still pounding, but it is way better. I suppose the Healing Potion is kicking in. You… I mean, is that your underwear? Do you need my shirt?"

Taisetsuna gently pulled Nozomu up and answered with a slight smile, "It doesn’t matter, this is my training bra. I normally only wear this when we are training."

Nozomu Shinchaku looked at his hands. They were smaller than when he was Jack Snyder, and had leather gauntlets protecting his wrists and the back of his hands. He was wearing a light brown shirt with three laces instead of buttons, dark brown trousers with a dark belt and leather dark boots. He grabbed the small shield that Taisetsuna gave him, and a sword. The shield was nearly forty-five centimetres in diameter, gripped in the fist with a central handle behind the boss.

Nozomu looked at the sword and frowned, "Weird… Do I normally use this? Because it feels strange, I am not even sure how to hold these weapons."

"Poor thing, you are really messed up… Normally you don’t use a sword, only the buckler, it is the shield’s name, and your gauntlets. Because Magic has no effect on you, when someone fights you, it has to be in close range, and the Priest made sure that you learned all sorts of blocks and joint locks to defeat an opponent. He always tried to get you used to fighting with a sword, but you are awfully clumsy with that. You can defend yourself, but you are way better with the shield and the gauntlets that you use to deflect weapons and kick, headbutt or punch your opponents. I was never able to beat you in a fight, but I am getting better with the years, and one day I will defeat you."

Nozomu looked at Taisetsuna Kawa and couldn’t help widening his eyes. With her colourful hair, eyes and cat ears, came along a pretty face and a nice muscular figure. Not too many muscles, she was more fit than anything, but more than enough to make him swallow with a dry throat. She was wearing a tight and short blue training bra, dark trousers and leather boots open at the front, leaving her toes free with her sharp threatening toenails in plain sight, with a sword in a sheath hanging on her dark belt and a matching dagger.

Nozomu stared at the waving and fluffy tail of Taisetsuna and smiled, "You are, indeed, a very cute Cat-kind. Can you control your tail, or does it have a mind of its own?"

"You never once told me that I am cute! The blow did a mess with your brain! I can control my tail when I want to, but most of the time it moves and acts as if it indeed had a mind of its own. Why do you ask?"

Nozomu pointed at the dagger, "Did you ever try to grab that dagger with your tail and use it as if it were a third hand? If you can fight with a sword and a shield, a tail armed with a dagger would for sure be a deadly surprise attack."

Taisetsuna used her tail to pull the dagger from her belt and made a few movements with it.
She pierced in front and did a few side slashes and spoke while staring at her tail that was now making circles in front of her, as a distraction to an invisible foe, "Yeah, I never thought about this. It can be useful. I never paid too much attention to my tail except grooming it or washing it. Most of the time, I use it to slap your butt or your head when you annoy me, but I see what you mean."

Nozomu scratched his chin and asked, "Taisetsuna… I mean, Suna, we know each other since we were babies, we are like siblings, friends, or are we something else?"

"What do you mean, something else? We are friends… aren’t we?"

"Yeah, no way such a cute Cat-kind would choose me as a boyfriend."


Chapter 2 - Unicorns


Taisetsuna turned bright red and said, "We… were never a couple. We are childhood friends, and I would do anything for you, as you would for me. Well, I suppose I can’t say that anymore, considering you don’t remember me."

"Sorry, my head is a bit blurry. So, you can use Fire and Healing Magic."

Taisetsuna made a small Wind Tornado on her left hand and said with her head tilted sideways, "And Wind Magic, thank you very much! I am also special, because being able to use three different types of Magic is extremely rare. The Priest once told us that he only knew one Mage that could use three types when he was a soldier, many, many years ago."

Nozomu slowly reached out for the Wind Tornado, and the moment he touched it, it dissipated, making him frown. "This is what you said, about me being able to disturb Magic? Because I couldn’t even feel that tiny tornado, it just disappeared."

Taisetsuna made a small Fire Ball in her right hand and threw it at Nozomu’s chest. It dissipated as well, and he slowly rubbed his shirt. "Weird, it is not even hot. Was that real fire? I mean, I know it is a Magic fire, but does it burn?"

To answer his question, Taisetsuna threw another Fire Ball to the rock that was covered with Nozomu’s blood and scorched it.
The blood on the grass around burned as well, and when she threw a Wind Slash at it, the fire disappeared. "It burns, alright. A normal person would be burned by the Fire Ball that I threw at you, but you have that weird way of dissipating or disturbing Magic, and it has no effect on you."

"Well, I would prefer to use Magic like you, but at least it means I can’t be hurt by Magic, and in a World where everyone can use a bit of Magic, I guess it will serve as protection just in case I annoy someone I shouldn’t."

Taisetsuna pointed to a place behind him, "Your weird ability has its usefulness, alright. How do you think we were able to catch those guys?"

Nozomu turned back to look at where she was pointing, and saw a white horse with a long, sharp horn on his forehead, tied to a tree. Next to him, another horse, but that one was red.

"N-no way! A-are those Unicorns? We caught them? How?"

Taisetsuna shrugged, "Beats me. It was all you, of course. Since Magic can’t do a thing to you, you went at them with your shield and gauntlets. I could only throw a few Wind Slashes to distract them, but you knocked them out all by yourself. Those guys are vicious, extremely violent, one can use Lightning and the other uses Fire Magic. Normally, Unicorns also use Healing Magic, but you didn’t give them time for that, you punched their heads until they fainted. No one messes with those guys, but they can be sold for a very high price if a person is able to tame them. Easier said than done, because they tend to kill anyone that approaches them, but they are extremely intelligent, more than horses, by the way. Don’t you ever call horse to a Unicorn, they get offended."

"I did what? How?"

"Magic doesn’t work with you, remember? They are Magical Beings. They can’t use their Magic against you, and they can’t even touch you. The white one tried to pierce you and got a headache when he crashed against your chest. The red tried to kick you, and almost broke his hoes. I don’t know why they came here, because Unicorns tend to stay inside forests or near mountains, they never get too close to buildings or Cities."

Nozomu looked to his left and saw a thick forest. A building could be seen in the distance behind Taisetsuna, which was most likely the Orphanage. He faced the Unicorns again and asked, "What do we do with them now?"

"I don’t know about you, but I want the red one for me. It will be a good match for my Fire Magic. I know they can give a boost to our Magic if they use the same type as us. As for you, I don’t know if you will be able to use Lightning Magic or if you will make him unable to use any Magic at all!"

Nozomu walked to the Unicorns and said, "What about if we tried? What do we need to do to tame them?"

"Well, the red guy is calmer now, maybe he will let me touch him if he sees that I can use Fire Magic. The white was the one that was angrier with you because he couldn’t do a thing to stop your punches. He might be resentful, or you may need to show him who is the boss. He looks too proud, maybe he needs to see that you are his master now."

Nozomu approached the white Unicorn and made a slight smile, "So, you are a Unicorn. What do you say, can we be friends?"

To answer his question, the white Unicorn threw a huge Lightning Ball at Nozomu that disappeared the moment it touched him.
Nozomu frowned and looked at Taisetsuna who was showing a huge Fire Ball in her raised hand to a puzzled red Unicorn, "Suna, I think this guy doesn’t like me!"

"What do you expect? You punched him and tied him to that tree!"

"I did the same to that red one, didn’t I? And he doesn’t seem angry!"

Taisetsuna smiled and dispersed the Fire Ball and slowly approached her hand from the red Unicorn’s snout. "It wasn’t me that punched this guy, it was you. I bet that if you approach, he will try to kill you as well. Here, that is it, calm down, I want to be your friend..."

The red Unicorn slowly nodded and let her rub his nose. He then tilted his head and pointed with his head at Taisetsuna’s left hand.
She made a Wind Tornado and showed it to the puzzled Unicorn. "Yeah, I can also use Wind Magic. And Healing Magic like you. Aren’t you proud of me? I can be an amazing and worthy master! Or friend, if you don’t want me to be your master. That is okay? Friends?"

The red Unicorn gently licked her hand, and Taisetsuna caressed his neck, and continued to his left side. She then groomed his mane and started to make a braid. The Unicorn pointed his head at her, and at his back. Taisetsuna made a big smile and by using his mane to hold, she jumped to his back.

She then spoke at a surprised Nozomu, "I guess he wants to be my friend. Be a dear and untie him, will you? I can use his mane to guide him, I don’t need a rope around his neck."

Nozomu quickly untied the rope from the tree and slowly approached the red Unicorn to take the other end from his neck, only to jump back when he tried to bite Nozomu’s head.

Taisetsuna laughed as she was taking the rope from the Unicorn’s neck, "Hahaha! Yeah, he doesn’t like you. Don’t be angry at him, pretty thing, he is my friend, okay? He is a nice guy, he only hurt you because you and your friend attacked us while we were training. If you guys didn’t mess with us, we wouldn’t have to defend ourselves, okay?"

The red Unicorn snorted while looking at the white Unicorn and Taisetsuna said, "Yeah, I know, it was that white Unicorn that attacked first, he has a bad temper, right? Unluckily for him, Nozo is even worse. He tends to attack first and think about the consequences afterwards. Or he used to, because after bumping his head on that rock, he got a bit calmer."

Nozomu was looking at the angry white Unicorn that was kicking and pulling the rope, trying to get free. He then faced Nozomu again and tried to hit him with his horn. The loud bang and the headache told him that it was a bad idea to go against that young Human, and he slowly shook his head, trying to stop the dizziness.

Nozomu grabbed the Unicorn’s snout with both hands and whispered while staring at the Unicorn’s eyes, "Can you stop that? It is annoying. I want to be your friend. In another life, my young daughter loved Unicorns and made me read to her a lot of stories about Unicorns. I never found a story saying that Unicorns are evil and mean, they were all peaceful and gentle beings. Why such a pretty Unicorn like you is so angry?"

As a response, Nozomu got another Lightning Ball aimed at his chest, only to be dispersed again. Nozomu slapped the Unicorn’s snout a few times, and with each slap, the Unicorn was getting dizzier and dizzier.

Taisetsuna shouted a warning, "Careful, Nozo, or you will kill him! Even a slap from you can be dangerous for a Magical Being!"

Nozomu stopped with his hand ready for another blow and asked the dizzy Unicorn, "Will you stop now, or do I need to continue? I can do this all day, but I am not sure if you will endure it!"

The white Unicorn froze, and he slowly lowered his head, looking down while blinking to focus his sight.
Nozomu caressed the Unicorn’s head and made a slight smile to Taisetsuna, "It seems he can still use Magic even with me touching him, but I don’t feel anything different, so I think I can’t use Magic yet. I have to feel something to use Magic, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose you can call it a tickling on your body that you have to concentrate on your hands and visualize what you want to do with it. If you don’t feel anything, then you can’t use Magic."

Nozomu frowned while caressing the white Unicorn and gently raising his head to look into his eyes, "That’s a pity, I would love to use Magic. Well, at least my strange ability doesn’t make you unable to use Magic, that is good. So, if I untie you, will you let me ride you? Or do you still hate me and want to run away? Because you heard Suna, we were only practising when you attacked, I didn’t intend on hurting you, but you attacked first, so I had to hit you. I am really sorry for that, and if you forgive me, I will be your friend forever."

The white Unicorn looked at Nozomu for a few seconds before neighing and nodding. Nozomu untied the rope from the tree and slowly took the rope from the Unicorn's head.
He put both ropes around his shoulder and waist and grabbed the Unicorn’s mane. "Warn me if this hurts, okay? I never did this."

Nozomu pulled the mane and at the same time he jumped, landing on the Unicorn’s back on his belly.
He made a huge effort to raise his right leg and sat on the Unicorn’s back with Taisetsuna laughing, "Hahaha! That was a weird way to mount! You need to practice that, Nozo! What do you say if we go for a run?"

"No way! You go, I just want to sit here to get used to this. Maybe if he walks slowly, but I don’t want him to run anytime soon with me on his back! I know how to ride, at least?"

Taisetsuna answered at the same time that the red Unicorn made a wheelie, "You used to know, but you seem to have forgotten that as well! Tough luck, Nozo!"


Chapter 3 – Explaining the World


The red Unicorn jumped ahead and ran at full speed with a screaming Cat-girl having a blast. He then made a tight turn and ran in the direction of the Orphanage.

Nozomu tapped the white Unicorn’s neck and said, “It’s better if we follow them, but go slowly, okay? I don’t know how to ride, and my head still hurts a bit.”

The white Unicorn walked slowly and made a turn. After a couple of minutes, he changed to a trot, with Nozomu holding the mane and squeezing his legs against the Unicorn’s sides, so as not to fall. Like that, it took them longer to reach the building where a smiling Cat-kind girl was already talking with an old man that was dressed in a long dark brown robe with a rope tied around his waist as a belt.

Nozomu slowly got down from the Unicorn, and made a slight smile to the worried Priest, who noticed the bandage on his head, “Nozo, are you alright?”

“If we don’t count the memory loss, I am. Suna already told me a few things, but there are many things that I don’t remember. Like you, for instance. I suppose you are the Priest that raised us, but I don’t have the faintest memory of ever seeing you, I am afraid.”

The Priest checked the bandage and nodded, “Yes, Suna told me that you had an accident after catching these Unicorns. Suna, put them in the stable, I need to disinfect Nozo’s wound. Since Healing Magic doesn’t work, we have to use other methods, like washing the wound and pouring some alcohol over it. I am also going to put on a proper bandage. Is that Suna’s blouse?”

“Yeah, she used it to stop the bleeding. I think I owe her a new blouse.”

Taisetsuna spoke while guiding the Unicorns to the stable on the left side of the building, “You owe me a lot more, you brat! Like a bucket of tears that I wasted because of you!”

Nozomu spoke as he followed the Priest, “I scared her a lot, there was so much blood on the floor! I am not even sure how I am still alive, after losing all that. I am a little thirsty, I may need to refill the liquids in my body and rest for a while, if that is okay.”

The Priest said while opening the small cabinet in the room they were in, “Sit on that chair first and let me take care of your wound. there is water on that jug over the table, and… here is a glass. Let me get a bowl to clean the wound.”

Nozomu drank two glasses in a row, and he then took a slow deep breath, preparing himself for the pain of the removal of the soaked improvised bandage. As the Priest was slowly unravelling the lairs of cloth around his head, Nozomu was surprised because it didn’t hurt.

When the bandage was out, the Priest carefully washed his wound, and made a slight smile, “At least she gave you a Healing Potion. It is almost healed, a few more minutes and it will close completely. Let me wash the dirt or you will end up with a dark line on the scar.”

While Nozomu was enjoying the freshness of the water, Taisetsuna entered and said while looking at the wound, “I cleaned it with my spit and tears because I didn’t have water nearby. It will leave a mark?”

The Priest unbottled the strange looking rectangular bottle that he had and said while carefully pouring the liquid on Nozomu’s head, “You did a fine job, and I bet you cried a lot, because the wound is very clean. Well, you learned over the years how to take care of his wounds, because every time he got hurt, we couldn’t use Healing Magic on him. And he got hurt a lot mostly because of him, he couldn’t ever stand still!”

Nozomu cleaned his face from the strong-smelly liquid with the clean cloth the Priest gave him. As he was staring at the old bandage drenched in dry blood, the Priest asked, “What do you remember, Nozomu? Or you don’t remember a thing?”

“Nothing, zero, a complete blank. Suna told me my name and that I was an orphan, because even that I don’t remember. She said something about leaving this Orphanage and living on our own, but I may need a few more explanations, because I have no clue of what I know or what I can do to earn a living.”

The Priest glanced at the worried Taisetsuna and said, “I did my best to teach you two how to defend yourselves in case of need, and you both always said that you wanted to work as an Adventurer. I talked with the Guild Master, and he has a job for the both of you, but not as Adventurers because you lack experience, and no Party will ever accept you without proper training. Suna has a job waiting for her as a waiter at the Guild, and you will be the Cook’s helper and serve the tables as well, if needed. The Guild Master will see how much you know to work as an Adventurer, and one or two Adventurers might give you a couple of lessons. That is the best I could do. Considering that you forgot your training, you may need to start all over. If you are not able to become an Adventurer at least you can help on the Guild, and Suna will be the only one to become an Adventurer.”

Taisetsuna bit her lower lip and spoke while nervously fiddling with her fingers, “Me and Nozo… We always said we would be Adventurers in the same Party and watch each other’s backs. But if he forgot everything… I don’t want to be in a Party without him, I won’t know anyone!”

Nozomu held her hands, “Don’t worry, I will learn whatever I can and join you the fast I can. If I am not able, I will make sure to help the Guild and I will not be a burden to you. You can live your life without me around because you are strong and powerful. You don’t need someone like me near you, one that is not even able to use Magic.”

“What are you talking about, you moron? You can’t use Magic, but being able to disrupt Magic like you do, you are way more powerful than me or any Mage that exists! That is why we never told anyone what you can do, for sure the army would draft you to join their ranks and send you ahead on every drill, to protect them from any Magic attack!”

Nozomu frowned, “Wait a minute, this country is at war with someone?”

Taisetsuna shook her head, “No, but the army has to protect our borders if needed, it catches criminals and rogue Mages, and also fights Magical Beings and Monsters that threaten everyone.”

Nozomu widened his eyes, “What kind of Magical Beings exist? And Monsters? Like, Orcs, Goblins, Harpies, Lamias, those kinds of Monsters?”

Taisetsuna vigorously nodded, “Yeah, those kinds of Monsters! And violent and mean Magical Beings, like Unicorns, Dragons, Drakes, and sometimes Fairies. Humans, Elfians, Dwarfs and Beast-kind normally are not a problem, but there were cases of some of them becoming criminals.”

Nozomu gulped, “I understand… I think! What are Drakes and Gailies? And there are Dragons around? They spit fire and use Magic?”

“Drakes are smaller than Dragons, they can fly and have long claws, tough skin and sharp teeth. They don’t use Magic, but Dragons do. Those big guys use Wind, Water, Earth or Fire Magic. Nasty fellows, Dragons. They can also be tamed, but at great cost. Well, maybe not for you, because they are Magical Beings.”

Nozomu made a slight smile, “And like that, their Magic doesn’t work on me, and they can’t touch me. It is sounding better and better, my weird ability! What about Gailies? What are they?”

“Plant people. Or people plant. Walking, breathing, Human-like plants. Many Humans married with Gailies and are quite happy, but that is not for everyone, because they like to live in the forest, and Humans prefer living in a City or village.”

“Amazing! What about Beast-kind? What kind of… I don’t know if half-animal or half-person is the right designation.”

Taisetsuna frowned, “No, it is not. In fact, it is a great insult. I will let it slide because of your memory loss, but don’t you say something like that to another Beast-kind. There are Cat-kind like me, free spirits and strong-minded with these ears and tail. Dog-kind that are different in behaviour, ears and tail. They are very loyal to their friends, and they are very peaceful. They can also be dangerous when needed. Lion-kind, always looking for trouble or an excuse for a fight, don’t mess with them. Snake-kind, treacherous, defying, and rude most of them, with some rare exceptions. It is better to be always on your guard with them until you find out if they can be trusted or not. There is also Bovine-kind, with pointy, dangerous horns. The males are big and able to crumble a house all by themselves, but they are very friendly, and the females have three big boobs. Human men tend to like them a lot. I suppose there is some weird attraction over their breasts, among the male population.”

Nozomu spoke with wide open eyes, “Yeah, I can totally understand the attraction over a woman with three breasts! What about the Fairies? How can a little Fairy be dangerous and life threatening, with what, five centimetres tall?

“You wouldn’t say that if you had to flee from a flock of them! They never fly alone, and two of them can easily kill a young Human such as you. They use Earth Magic and can make vines to grow from the ground and squeeze you to death. Or they can make you swallow a few seeds and turn you into a nice table garment, from the inside out.”

Nozomu made a disgusted frown, “Nasty little buggers, aren’t they?”

The Priest returned from the other room to where he went when Taisetsuna started to explain the Magical Beings and he gave three books to Nozomu, “Here, go to your room to rest for a while, and if your head doesn’t hurt, read these. It explains a lot of things. You do remember how to read, right?”

Nozomu opened the book and stared at the pages. He frowned and said, “I can, but there are some weird words in here, and runes. I don’t recognize them. Is this the normal writing?”

“Those are Elfian terms. You may need to know the runes and the words that Elfians use because they have been around longer than Humans. At least for three thousand years, because no one knows what happened before. We all know there used to live other civilizations in this World because of what they left behind, but no one knows why they disappeared. We have abandoned Cities, Magical Circles that allow for travels between them, and many caves with hidden relics from the past. Those are very profitable, at least the ones that still work or that people manage to understand how to use them, but most caves are infested with Monsters and it is very dangerous to go inside. Only a big and strong Party of Adventurers dares to enter a cave, and even they lose a few members on a Quest to one of the most dangerous caves.”


Chapter 4 – Furnace and Rampage


Nozomu widened his eyes, "Or someone like me that can be used as a shield for the Monsters! Yeah, better to hide my ability, or I may be kidnapped and forced to enter one of those caves!"

The Priest spoke with a worried look, "Another good reason why I told the Guild Master to take you in. No one messes with a Guild of Adventurers, unless they want to die. They have a saying, ‘mess with one, you get all of us’, and they always protect their members against another Guild, any kind of Monster, an army or a foreign country."

Nozomu got up and when he was about to leave the room, he asked, "What about the Unicorns? What do we do with them?"

"You can keep them. The Guild Master will for sure be impressed, but you may have to come up with a cover story, instead of saying what you really did to catch them. Unicorns are very low maintenance, they can eat grass or Magic. Suna might need to take care of that, because if it is going to depend on you, they will starve."

Nozomu made a slight smile and went for the door. He then looked back with a puzzled face and Taisetsuna said, "Second door on the right."

Nozomu winked and opened the door. As he was walking along the corridor, the Priest asked, "Suna, do you think he is pretending?"

"I don’t think so. You didn’t notice that he didn’t say one of his stupid jokes? Even his eyes seem different, they have a strange glow, as if he is continuously amazed and surprised by everything. I like him as he is now, he looks more mature and serious than he ever was."

The Priest slowly nodded and cleaned the remains of Nozomu’s treatment. As for him, he was seated on the chair in his room, reading a book and looking at the map of the World. At least, the known part, because there was a big blank space up North and another on the right side of the mainland, as if no one ever went there.

Nozomu was thinking for himself, trying to put his thoughts in order, “||... What happened to me? I got reincarnated or transported to another World? And I am now inside a teenage boy? I hated my teenage years, and I have to do it all over? My family… How much time went by since I passed away? My wife, son, daughter, how are they? I was supposed to get Mia from School! I must learn more about this World if I am going to live here from now on. They use Magic, shields and swords. There are Monsters and Magical Beings. I need to find out how is the technology they use, if any. Let me see, a book about Magic, this one is History of the World, and it has maps. …|"

Nozomu spent the rest of the afternoon reading in his room, and he only came out when Taisetsuna called him for dinner. He sat at the dining table and stared at the food on his plate. Roasted manioc and some kind of meat.
He touched the meat with his fork, and the Priest frowned, "What? Too fancy for your taste?"

"No… I don’t know this kind of meat. It is yellow, what’s this? It is not chicken, I suppose."

"That’s fish, not meat. You caught it early in the morning. You really forgot everything, didn’t you? Not even the slightest memory?"

Nozomu shook his head while munching a piece of the yellow fish, "Nothing, but this fish is tasty. I read in the History book that there is a theory claiming that the World might be older than what everyone thinks because there are remains of different civilizations, some more advanced than others. While one civilization was better with Magic, another was not and created several devices that could do many things that are now made with Magic, but no one knows why they disappeared or when. We are in the ‘Principality of Khiz’, right? It is a peaceful country at least, or the Emperor of the ‘Infraluan Empire’ is always trying to increase the borders of his country by conquering the neighbouring countries?"

The Priest shook his fork in front of Nozomu, "My boy, it is never a good idea to voice out things like that, you never know who could be listening. To answer your question, despite the several tries some years ago, the Empire has fixed boundaries and the countries around made an alliance to prevent further invasions to enlarge the Empire. If their army gets their hands on you, who knows what might happen, maybe the Empire will try again, and succeed. In a Guild of Adventurers, you will always have someone to protect you, just in case a spy of the Empire tries to kidnap you."

"I see. What about you, Priest? After we leave, you will be all alone, right? You won’t be lonely?"

The Priest tilted his head, "You think I will miss your craziness around here? It will feel like I am on holidays! Don’t worry, I have plenty of things to keep me occupied. I have service at the City’s Church, and there is always someone in need of Healing Magic. I may find a new orphan to raise now that I will have two rooms available when you and Suna go live in the Guild. There are two rooms for both of you on the upper level, but you will have to pay the rent for that, of course."

Nozomu nodded, and Suna asked with a worried look, "That means we will live at the Guild? We can visit you sometimes, right?"

"Of course, my dear. My door is always open for you, but you have to learn how to live and earn money for your expenses, like every adult. I did my best to teach you two, and I think everything will be alright."

Taisetsuna Kawa slowly nodded and glanced at the distracted Nozomu Shinchaku, who was eating the fish and the manioc with a puzzled look. He noticed her looking at him, and asked, "What? Do you feel nervous about living all alone? I will be right there, remember? I am not going anywhere."

"Yeah, thanks. We have to do our best, right?"

Nozomu Shinchaku made a big smile and nodded, making Taisetsuna feel more at ease.
...

After finishing and cleaning the plates, Nozomu went to the stable with Taisetsuna, and watched as she made a Fire Ball for the red Unicorn and a Wind Tornado for the white one, to feed them.

While brooming the white Unicorn's mane, Nozomu asked, "Did you think of a name for your guy?"

"I thought of calling him Furnace. What about yours?"

Nozomu looked at the curious white Unicorn that was staring at him as if he was waiting, and said, "I suppose Pikachu would be a stupid name. Maybe Rampage would be more appropriate, considering his bad temper. Or White Virus. What do you think, you crazy Unicorn?"

The Unicorn vigorously nodded, and Nozomu repeated the names, watching his reaction.
He then smiled and said while facing Taisetsuna, "Rampage it is. You said they could be sold for a bunch of money. Are Unicorns that valuable?"

"Yes, they sure are, and yours is the most valuable one, because Lightning Magic is very powerful and rare. If you sell him, you won’t need to work for the rest of your life, and you can have a very pleasant life if you buy a farm."

Nozomu caressed the snout of the frowning white Unicorn, "I am not going to sell him, he is my friend aren’t you, you cute little thing? Yes, you are! Stop frowning at me like that, geez! Mind your temper, will you? You look like you are about to pierce me with that horn, and we both know it will only give you a headache. Suna, you said that Dragons can also be tamed, maybe one day we can catch two of them, and we can use them to fly around. That would be cool."

Taisetsuna Kawa answered while holding the stable door for him, "It sure would, but it is also a lot more dangerous. There are always Adventurers trying to catch one, and some of them don’t return from that kind of Quest. Maybe with you, we could accomplish it, but we may need a few years to get a chance of joining one of those Quests."

"Maybe one of these days we will get lucky, and we are attacked by two Dragons like what happened with the Unicorns."

Taisetsuna Kawa answered while entering the main building, "I will pass. Dragons are extremely dangerous and scary for just the two of us to go against one, not to mention two of them. Are you going to your room to read those books? Do you want some company? It is still early."

"I wouldn’t mind, maybe I have some doubts and you could enlighten me."

Taisetsuna Kawa opened the door to her room and said, "Go ahead, I will go in a moment. I am going to grab a book as well about herbs and medicines. I want to make another Healing Potion just in case you get hurt again."

Nozomu Shinchaku nodded and went to his room while thinking, "|... She is still worried about what happened, I could see in her eyes. She got quite a scare, I bet. No wonder! If she and Nozomu grew up together, she cares for him and probably sees him as family. Me, as her family, I mean. This is a little confusing. ...|"

When Nozomu was studying the World Map, Suna knocked on his door and entered, going straight to the table where he was and sat on the empty chair ahead of him.

She pointed at the drawing of one plant and said, "See this? This is a very difficult plant to find, but the Priest once told me that he found one in the forest from where the Unicorns came. Maybe we can show this to them tomorrow and ask them to help us find one. We have three days before going to the Guild, that will give us little time to get the plants, let them dry and make the Potion."

She then asked while Nozomu was looking at the recipe for the Healing Potion, "You… are not nervous about leaving the Orphanage? We went to the City several times with the Priest, and we visited the farms around with him, but this time we will be all alone. I am a bit scared."

"I am, but what can we do? We have to leave this nest and find a place for us in society. We can visit the Priest from time to time, but I am sure everything will work out."

Taisetsuna bit her lower lip and said, after a few seconds of silence, "I may need your help with that. Except for you and the Priest, I never had any patience for anyone else. I get easily annoyed and people tend to think that I am rude and mean. You never had problems with talking with people and making friends, but I always preferred to be left alone. Like any other Cat-kind, I guess…"

"Maybe I used to be like that, but I think I am not so amiable right now. I guess I also prefer to be left alone, instead of being surrounded by a bunch of beings that I don’t know. Besides, with your cute face and pretty smile, I am sure you will be just fine."

Taisetsuna stared at him with a red face, "You know, this is the third time today that you said I am cute, and you never said I have a pretty smile. Are you mocking me? Because if you are, I will slap you!"

"What are you talking about? Did you look in the mirror lately? You have a nice and sexy figure, a cute face, big and round breasts, an amazing hair colour, not to mention those yellow eyes of yours! I could stare into your eyes for hours! If I never said that, then I was too stupid for my own good! You may need to be careful out there in the World, you can’t be naive. I bet there are a lot of men that will try to gain some kind of advantage over you or fool you to get you into a bed."