Adventure Awaits! Huzzah! 26

“Not too shabby of a place, huh?” Himmel was actually pretty proud of himself.

He had been scared that his whole group of brats would have been forced into accepting some kind of shady inn, but he managed to find a place that was actually pretty good, all things considered. 

Maybe it had been easy due to his and Clair’s outfits. As fucked as it was, looking like you had a lot of money helped a lot in this world… and any world really.

Alm nodded to himself, looking around. “Yeah, this place is pretty cool. Even though… Well, I guess it’s dumb to complain about this, but I was expecting something a bit more different looking from places in Valentia. We are on a whole other continent, after all.”

Kliff raised a finger and quickly explained why. “We may be on different continents, but in the end, all cultures originated from travelling dragons. That’s also why we speak the same language.” He put a hand on his chin. “If you want to see something weird, you should look for abandoned temples in Zofia, those who were constructed before the arrival of Mother Mila.”

Temples to the old gods huh…? Considering magic was real in these lands, Himmel didn’t know if he had the courage to explore one.

But that wasn’t important right now. “I’m sure we can explore and find weird things tomorrow, but for now let’s get some good rest. There’s a long day ahead of us.” 

Celica nodded her head. “Yes, some of the guards mentioned volunteering at the church to heal people, and I would like to do that, so… getting some rest would be wise.” They gave her the same talk he had received!?

And she actually accepted it… Celica was way too nice.

Although there was some merit to it. While it wouldn’t make them any money, it would make them look better to the eyes of the city. Honestly, Himmel might even join her, especially since it would be a good way to practice his Recovery.

But that would all be best left for tomorrow “Let’s get some sleep then—” He stopped himself. “Actually, you guys go to sleep. I still have that awkward conversation I can’t run away from.”

Celica flinched. “Ah, yes… Will you need any help with that?”

“That does sound nice… but I can handle it.” Probably.



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The conversation he had been talking about was one with his mother and his sister of course. After Deirdre left the ship, she had approached him and asked him for some of his time.

He was now giving her that time. “So, what do you guys need?” Himmel asked to be polite, but he knew exactly what Deirdre wanted.

Deirdre cleared her throat. “I’ll… get straight to the point. Don’t expect me to sit idle as the days progress, I still haven’t given up on bringing you to Jugdral.” Yep, exactly what he expected.

That was a pain of course, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. “I understand. I have no intention of going to that deathtrap of course, but do as you wish.” He sighed. “So was that all? Does Julia need something?” She was here too after all.

His little sister excitedly smiled. “I just wanted to ask if you wanted to go to the church with me tomorrow, Lord Himmel. The soldiers who—”

“You’re just like Celica…” Another one who had fallen to their talk. Amazing. 

Julia tilted her head, clearly confused. “Um? I don’t understand.”

“I got the same talk about healing the wounded as you did… and so did Celica. She’s already planning on going tomorrow as well.” Himmel scratched his cheek. “And I guess I might as well accompany you too. I’m curious though, how are you going to heal anyone?”

Julia had not progressed enough to learn Recover, She was still practicing with Fire. And he doubted his little sister was willing to cauterize wounds with that fire, it sounded a bit too gruesome for someone like her.

“I’m going to buy a healing stave of course. The Captain gave me and my mother some coins to spend.” Oh. 

Of course, now that they were on land, he couldn’t control what Julia and Deirdre bought anymore. If Deirdre wished to get some country destroying Tome, nobody could stop her.

And that was actually a good thing. Himmel and the brats would no longer be acting as their bodyguards all the time, so it would be wise for them to buy Tomes for self-defense. Julia’s Fire wasn’t all that powerful, after all.

Himmel had stayed weirdly silent after Julia’s declaration, so it was only natural Julia got worried and clarified her intentions. “Oh, and while mother plans to go with us, she doesn’t want to buy a Tome, right mother?”

His mother quickly nodded. “Yes, there’s no need to be scared, Himmel.” Geez, he was so easy to read.

Himmel shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You guys are in a foreign country, it’s better to have some method of protecting yourselves.” Though picking fights was best avoided of course. “Not to mention how I don’t really trust the sailors of the ship.”

Julia put her hands on her hips. “We won’t be staying on the ship though.”

And now it was Himmel’s turn to be confused. “Huh? When did you guys have the time to sign up with an inn?” And how much money had the Captain given them!?

“When you and Lady Clair were looking for your own places to stay of course.” Ah, that made sense. “Also, that aside, not scaring you isn’t the only reason mother and I are avoiding purchasing Tomes. We also don’t want to spook any of the city’s soldiers.”

Right, they were probably being watched too. In that situation it was better to avoid doing anything suspicious like buying books that let one shoot fireballs.

“Hm… Then I guess if it can’t be helped, it can’t be helped.” Even if it was wrong, he felt relieved.



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There was nothing but void around him.

Seeing as he had gone to sleep in a normal room after having to endure Alm babble for hours like a child who had never experienced a sleepover before, HImmel was quite worried about suddenly waking up in the middle of nowhere.

“...” He tried putting a hand on the hilt of his sword, but found nothing.

Of course he had found nothing. It’s not like he went to sleep with his sword on his hip. Also, he had no body right now. That probably didn’t help matters.

Yes, no body. Nothing remained… nothing but feeling.

The feeling of loneliness. Deep loneliness. Loneliness that turned into curiosity, into hatred, into pride, into everything something could be. In this white void, feelings had become the color that painted it something else.

But… those feelings were not his own. They were somebody else’s. They were being shared with him, whether that was voluntary or not he could not tell.

It was not a one way street however, Himmel was certain that just as he felt what they felt, they felt what he felt.

This was a connection. An invisible bond.

“North.” That voice was not his own.

…

“What a weird ass dream…” As soon as Himmel opened his eyes, he let out a sigh of relief.

For some reason, he felt strangely violated.



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His plans for the day were simple.

He would go with Julia and Deirdre to the shopping district and buy some staves, then he would head to the church and meet with Celica who had gone there as soon as she woke up, then after a few hours of healing he would go look for a ship that was heading to Archanea.

The other brats had their own plans of course… plans that he didn’t really know, but it was as Clair had thrown in his face, he just had to trust them.

That plan had problems almost immediately.

“Traitorous pigs! You spit on the blood of Ordwin!” A man was screaming like a maniac.

Himmel didn’t blame him, seeing as he was about to be executed by hanging.

That’s right, on his way to a calm little shopping session, he had stumbled onto a public execution.

It was… a strange thing to witness. Something that didn’t occur back in Zofia where thieves were rarer than gold, though Himmel knew that was not the case in Rigel, and most other places in this world. And his own world had once had that practice too of course.

Still, it was just not something he wanted to watch, and yet he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

The executor ignored any words the man had to say, and began listing his charges. “Nemos of Port Brilehaven, you stand accused of conspiracy against the crown, for that you will be hanged. Say your last words, and prepare to meet your end.” The soldier sounded like he was rushing through his words. Maybe because there were many other executions to handle.

Conspiracy against the crown huh…?

Ordwin. The founding king of Grust. Considering the man’s life had been defined by his fight against Medeus, it was no surprise someone would consider Grust now being an ally of Dolhr as spitting on his face.

The soon to be dead man gazed upon the crown. “May Naga punish you all! Filthy wenches of the Earth Dragon!” Those would be his last words.

Himmel let out a groan of annoyance and began stepping forward. Just because these were the customs of the land didn’t mean he had to watch, he would—

Deirdre held him by the arm. “Don’t.”

Her words brought him back to reality. What was he about to do? Go and give some passionate speech about how this shit wasn’t gonna look good in the history books a few centuries from now?

For once he felt thankful to his mother.

She muttered to herself. “You really are just like your father…” The melody that accompanied that statement was the sound of a neck being broken.

He had to control himself. He couldn’t make more problems.



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Himmel wasn’t a good healer.

It was frustrating, but it was just the truth. In comparison, Celica was amazing… and so were Deirdre and Julia as well. Even with the cheap little Healing staves they had bought, they had been able to heal pretty much anything they had encountered thus far.

Meanwhile, Himmel had only healed minor wounds and watched Celica work. A learning experience.

Celica smiled towards a man she had just healed, the guy had a horrible infection on his leg. “There… but please don't force your leg for a few days.” In contrast, the future queen of Zofia looked pale as hell.

While Himmel had been watching executions and buying dumb magical items she had been working here, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that she had become tired far faster than everyone else.

The previously wounded man let out a sigh of relief. “May Naga bless you, priestess.”

“A-ah, thank you.” Celica took his compliment with as much awkwardness as possible.

And as the man left, Himmel couldn’t help but comment about it. “I guess it must be weird to hear about Naga when you’re a priestess of Mila, right?” 

Celica wasn’t a zealot or anything, but she was a believer. So even entering a church dedicated to another god must have been extremely strange for her, and actually being treated as a priestess of this strange god must be even worse.

The future queen let out a sigh. “Well, it cannot be helped… and… before you got here, I did tell a man I was actually a priestess of Mila and then he refused to be healed, so…”

“I understand.” Himmel nodded. “Just know that you’re doing amazing work here, it doesn’t matter what god you worship.” 

“Thank you… I must say however, I—” Celica’s face was filled with embarrassment. “I do not know if I like this Naga figure.” Her voice was as silent as a whisper.

Shit talking a god in their own church? How fearless of her. “Hm? Why?” Himmel couldn’t think of anything particularly egregious about the cult of Naga.

And he actually knew quite a bit of it. Mostly because Jugdral’s main form of faith was a modified version of it. Seeing as Julia and Deirdre had the blood of Naga running through their veins, one could even say Jugdral worked similarly to many old kingdoms of his world, where royalty was divinely chosen.

That also meant if their blood was discovered here a big mess would happen, so avoiding that was wise.

“It’s not that I believe there is anything wrong with their beliefs and practices, but…” Celica looked down. “Has this god not abandoned their people? I have healed far more than just returning soldiers today, disease is rampant. People are starving, weakened.”

That didn’t surprise Himmel one bit. “Of course. War affects more than just those who take to the battlefield, it affects commerce.” It was why the Captain had even made his journey in the first place. “Not to mention how the soldiers who come back bring new diseases with them.”

“I understand that, but… I can’t help but think Lady Mila would have never allowed this if she was in these lands instead.” That was a dangerous line of thought.

There was no denying that Mila was amazing though. She was the reason why even Tobin, who came from a pretty poor family, never faced hunger. She was the reason why not a single plague had ever hit Ram Village, and the reason why it never faced any bandits.

Thinking of that, really did it make it feel like Naga had abandoned these people, and maybe… “Well, maybe Naga really has abandoned them.”

“Huh?”

Himmel shrugged. “Grust is now allied with Medeus, the Earth Dragon who Naga once specifically made a super special sword to put down. Would it be any surprise if Naga had abandoned them after that?” With that said… “But I don’t think these people will fall into ruin or anything, they will pull through these tough times.”

In his world gods weren’t running around… probably, and people survived nonetheless.

Celica joined her hands together. “I do not think humanity can thrive without the aid of the divine… I shall pray for them. Be it either that the Mother shines her light upon them, or that their god becomes kinder.” Huh.

He didn’t expect such a world view from Celica. It felt weirdly pessimistic. 

“That’s… very kind of you.” He chose not to say what he actually thought. “By the way Celica, maybe you should take a break. You’re looking pretty pale.”

She pouted. “Are you of all people really telling me that? I remember how your last training session went. If you can call that torture training.” Drill sergeant Celica should be happy about his drive to improve!

And it seriously wasn’t anything crazy. Plenty of people across this world’s history, and his own world’s history, had trained in something until they passed out. That’s just how someone with mediocre talent got good at things.

Himmel really didn’t want to argue though. “Training is completely different from what you’re doing. You don’t want to let exhaustion mess up anyone’s treatment, right?”

“I suppose you’re right… even if I don’t like it.” She crossed her arms. “Until then I’ll supervise your work however.” That sounded pretty good actually.

Differently from Julia, Deirdre, and Celica, who were all here to do good for goodness sake, Himmel was here to get better at magic.

Once again, Celica would be his teacher.



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“Zofia, all the way in Valentia…? Sorry kids, but you’re not gonna find any ship heading there anytime soon.” Another disappointment.

Himmel didn’t know how many hours he and Celica had wasted trying to find a suitable vessel, and so far they didn’t have any luck. Continental travel wasn’t a nice little journey you could find anywhere, especially during war times, so he knew it would be like this. It was still annoying though.

Celica put on her best puppy eyes. “We understand sir, but may you at least give us some tips about how we may find such a voyage?”

The man crumbled, because everyone on the planet would have crumbled to such power. “Sure. If you guys wanna go to Valentia you all should go to Port Warren first… It’s a city in Archanea—”

Himmel immediately cut him off. “You’re fucking with us, aren’t you?” Stepping foot in Archanea was just begging to be sold off as a slave.

Grust, a victor in this war, was already in a bad state, so Himmel didn’t even want to know how bad Archanea, the vanquished, was.

The man burst out laughing. “Hahaha! Calm down there, I’m serious. Port Warren is the biggest port city you’ll find in all of Archanea, kid. More importantly, they didn’t get grinded down to dust during the war, though in exchange they’re paying a hefty sum to Dolhr. Better than being conquered though.”

“But…”

“But nothing. They sold their own countryman, their pride, and their gold… all a worthy price for freedom, wouldn’t you agree?” The man raised an eyebrow. “Not that it matters to you. All you need to know is that it’s your best shot if you wanna go to Valentia.”

Himmel bowed. “You’re right. Thank you for the information.” He was the only one who had bothered helping them at all so far.

Celica imitated his bow. “Yes, thank you.”

And so, both him and Celica left the pier and returned to Julia and Deirdre. The two women had come with them after they left the church.

Julia greeted them with a happy wave. “Any luck this time, Lord Himmel?” She and her mother didn’t participate in negotiations, but they were always willing to hear them mopping about their bad luck.

That had its own value. “Nope. same old, same old.” Himmel put a hand on his chin. “Though we did get a tip about going to another port city. One that is apparently way bigger than this one.”

Julia’s eyes widened. “Oh, that sounds promising… Though leaving Brilehaven is going to be hard without getting permission.”

Himmel waved her off. “Eh, if we wanted to travel by land, sure. But we can take a ship to this port.” It went without saying that he refused to meet this dragon governor.

The only thing Himmel feared more than the ocean right now was dragons.

He continued. “I think we might look for a Valentian ship here for a few more days though. What do you think, Celica?”

“I agree. We just arrived, after all.” Everyone was still tired from their travels.

Deirdre interjected. “Well, here’s an idea.” She raised a finger. “You can all follow me to Jugdral, and then once we are there I’ll use my authority to arrange the best ship possible to take everyone to Zofia.” Wow.

How absurdly shameless. Himmel didn’t even know what to say to that. Hell, neither did Celica or Julia.

Though the latter tried, bless her heart. “Mother, I’m sure everyone appreciates the idea, but…”

Himmel finished for her. “We’ll explore our other options first.” His mother must have been getting desperate now that the clock was ticking so fast. Himmel really had no intention of going to Jugdral though.

Even if Kris’ reaction if he heard about it would be really funny.

He continued. “Although…” He looked at Celica. “How about we grab some lunch before we go back to our search? I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.” Thankfully, he would now eat like a king.

And by that he meant he wouldn’t need to eat trashy rations.

Celica seemed to reach paradise by his suggestion alone. “I must admit, I am quite hungry. So your idea sounds lovely.” She worked quite a bit at the church, so she needed the energy only food could provide.

Julia interjected with a blush on her face. “May mother and I join as well?”

“Of course!” As far as Celica was concerned, the more the merrier.

Himmel thought it was funny though. They had already been following them everywhere anyways, so was asking for permission even necessary?



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Modernity had weakened man’s greatest tool. Their natural GPS.

Well, Himmel was mostly joking with that idea, but there was some modicum of truth in it. Back in his old life he had constantly relied on Google Maps and the like to get around, but now that such options weren’t available he had quickly learned to live without them.

Which is why he and his little party could travel through the city without much difficulty.

“Hmmm…” Celica hummed while she looked around. “I don’t even know what I want to eat.” Food was everywhere.

The city had its own section filled with… well, Himmel hesitated to call them restaurants. Nonetheless, these cookshops were almost as convenient as modern day fast food. And they needed to be.

In big cities like these, most normal people didn’t have their own kitchen, so they went and ate at these cheap places everyday. And there was also the fact that these cookshops had the goal of draining money from tired sailors who had come from far away lands.

There were actual expensive restaurants around too of course, but seeing as his group was supposed to save money, Himmel skipped the luxury.

If Julia and Deirdre minded that, they sure didn’t comment on it.

Himmel narrowed his eyes. “I kind of want to eat some meat… Like pork.” 

“I don’t know… I guess it can be anything.” Woah, so women who gave this type of answer existed even in other worlds.

Himmel had a feeling they would spend most of their lunch time discussing what to eat. “How about eating some kind of pastry then?”

“If you want to. I don’t mind it.” Even though Celica said that, she had a frown on her face. Yep, indecisiveness when it came to food was apparently a multiversal trait.

Ugh, this was going to be—

It was that voice, once again reaching him. “Himmel… over here…” It was faint, but he could hear it.

Something that happened once could be ignored. Something that happened twice could not. 

So before he lost the voice once again, he had to find its source. Hopefully he wouldn’t embarrass himself by answering a call for another guy named Himmel. “Sorry everyone, give me some time.” He made a quick excuse.

“Huh?” Of course his friends got confused, but Himmel had no time to waste.

He moved towards the source of the voice, though he also decided to stop if he was forced into entering an alleyway or something of the sort in his pursuit. This could be just some magic prick trying to rob him…

And as if trying to aid him, the voice continued. “Himmel… here…!” Yeah, this was definitely not just someone calling for another Himmel.

He finally found its source… a water fountain. One not too far from where he had left Celica behind. Now he just had to find who actually said those words, since there were plenty of people around the fountain—

“Look down.” 

He did. He saw his own reflection gazing at him. Its lips moving even when Himmel himself didn’t talk.

Oh.

So he was actually insane. During the last time he had talked with himself, Himmel had assumed it was just due to the stress he had been facing, but no. He was genuinely insane, insane enough to even hear voices.

Was it lucky or unlucky that he could recognize his own insanity?

“Finally…” His reflection let out a sigh of relief. “I have been trying to reach you since yesterday, child of man.”

Himmel scrunched his eyebrows together. “what…?” He was shivering in fear, in trepidation. Just what form would his insanity take?

“Are you confused? Worry not, we have much to talk about—”

“Don’t just suddenly run off!” Himmel felt a hand on his shoulder. 

He would have a heart attack if he hadn’t recognized the voice. Though then again, the voice was just as panicking inducing as a hallucination. “S-sorry, but…” 

His mother, the woman who had come after him sighed. “Did something happen?” She was extremely worried.

Himmel looked to the fountain once more. His reflection was no longer talking.

“I… just thought I heard someone calling for me.” At what age did people start developing schizophrenia again?



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AN: Schizohimmel. Schizommel. Himmelzo. So many options.