The Amazing Sidekick

Chapter 9 – Arriving at the City Ourelona

During dinner, the Priest took one deep breath before speaking, “Nozo and Suna, tomorrow I will take you to the Guild of Adventurers to meet the Guild Master. After that, a new chapter in your life will begin, and I hope I didn’t make too much of a bad job while raising you both. Nozo, try to avoid returning to your silly pranks and misbehaviour. Suna, you need to keep your bad temper under control, because I won’t be around to take you out of trouble if you go on a rampage because someone annoyed you. Nozo, I am trusting you to keep her away from trouble.”

Nozomu glanced at the embarrassed Taisetsuna and said, “Last time I heard, I was the one that was always in trouble. Suna is very kind and peaceful, I don’t understand why you say I have to watch over her.”

“She is peaceful near us, but she never had any patience for someone else besides us. She tends to get angry rather easily, and even with all the meditation training I made her do while growing up, she tends to blow up and answer with violence if someone makes her angry. It’s up to you to make sure she doesn’t hurt someone too much. It would be even better if you were able to stop her before she could attack someone.”

Nozomu made a slight smile while looking at the embarrassed Taisetsuna, “She is a nervous kitten, then. Okay, I guess I can make sure she doesn’t kill anyone.”

The Priest frowned at the strange word, “Kitten? What does that mean?”

“I think it can mean a cute and pretty Cat-kind, just like her. Come here, kitten, let me hug you, you pretty thing!”

Taisetsuna tried to stop him but without putting too much effort into it, and Nozomu was able to easily grab her and kissed her head, making her laugh.

The Priest smiled and said, “I hope everything turns out alright with you two.”

…

After dinner, Nozomu was in his room, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He touched

his cheek and mumbled, “I look so different. Blond, wild-looking hair, a young plain face and serious eyes. I used to be kind of pretty in my youth, but this face looks plain and without anything attractive about it, just your average Joe. Well, better if I compensate for this plain face with my charismatic character if I can manage that. Darn, I really miss my family. I wonder how much time has passed, and if they are doing alright.”

A knock on the door took him out of his thoughts, and when he opened the door, Taisetsuna entered, carrying a thick book.

“I brought my book about the types of Magic. I was searching in my room, but so far, I haven’t found anything about a Mage able to change someone else's Magic into a weird dark and white cloud like you did. Explosions are not even mentioned anywhere, here.”

Before he could say anything, Taisetsuna sat on a chair and put the book over the table. She saw the book about History still open and asked, “You were reading more History?”

“Yeah, but then I took away from my eyes a strand of hair and I went to the mirror, to look at my reflection. I don’t know how most guys look around here, but would you say I am pretty?”

Taisetsuna turned bright red and avoided looking at him by pretending to be reading her book as she answered, “I don’t know, I never thought about that. You look rather normal for a Human, but I can tell you that you never gathered too much attention from the young girls in the City every time we went there with the Priest. There are a lot of pretty boys there, and the girls were always crazy near them. With you, they never looked a second time or even answered when you greeted them. Maybe it had something to do with your reputation as a prankster, because you annoyed a few people in the City over the years.”

Nozomu sat on the chair in front of her and flipped one page of the History book, “It seems I will have a lot of trouble to erase my bad reputation. Well, I guess I have to work hard for that, there’s not anything else I can do about it.”

While he was reading the book, Taisetsuna glanced at him occasionally, thinking that he sounded more mature than he used to be, cooler than he ever was, in fact. Strangely, she felt her heart racing, and she made a huge effort to concentrate on the reading.

…

In the morning, right after breakfast, Nozomu and Taisetsuna were placing a bag with their extra clothes and weapons on the back of the Unicorns with ‘Rampage’ snorting, annoyed for being used as a carrying mule.

The Priest was on his dark brown horse, admiring the pose of the two proud Unicorns. He nodded in approval when Nozomu and Taisetsuna mounted them and said, “You two are going to be a success at the Guild, no doubt about it. Do you have everything you could think of? You can come and get the rest when you are all settled, but it would be better if you didn’t forget anything you may need in the near days.”

Taisetsuna answered while fixing the strap on her one-shoulder bag, “The clothes and shoes are on the big bag, books and basic necessities are on this one-shoulder. As for Nozo, I don’t really know what he has on his, but I helped with his clothes and extra shoes.”

Nozomu shrugged while grabbing the mane of the frowning white Unicorn, “Just some books that I thought would be handy, underwear and a brush for this wild hair of mine. Did I ever have trouble brushing my hair? Because I tried to tame it, but it seemed like it has a mind of its own!”

“Yeah, that wild blond hair of yours was always like that, but you managed to make some sort of hairstyle. You have a strap in there, don’t you?”

Nozomu turned his head a bit, “I made a ponytail at the back to keep the hair from my eyes. I may need to cut it a bit, it’s annoying to always have hair on my face.”

Taisetsuna almost shouted, “Are you nuts? Don’t cut your hair, I like it as it is!”

She then turned bright red and turned the Unicorn around to follow the Priest, hiding her unusually unsettling emotions. Normally she was always very composed and used to see Nozomu as if he was her brother, but since he split his head on the rock when she thought he was going to die, and after seeing how much he changed, she was feeling different near him, and she didn’t know why.

Nozomu shrugged and followed them while saying, “You may like it, but if it annoys me too much, I am going to cut it for sure.”

As they were riding along the main road in the direction of the City, Nozomu was looking at the scenery around. They crossed paths with several open wagons, driven by one man or a couple, that judging by the contents of the wagons were either returning home or going to the City to sell vegetables in the market.

Nozomu greeted them all with a slight bow of his head and a smile, receiving some puzzled looks and hesitant bows because most of them recognized him and knew his reputation. He disguisedly looked at the clothes the other people were wearing, and how they acted when they saw the Priest and Taisetsuna, realizing that they didn’t receive as many puzzled looks as him. A few surprised looks fell over the Unicorns, and some people asked the Priest how he managed to capture such magnificent Magical Beings, receiving a smile and a gush of good fortune, as an explanation.

When there was no one on the road, they made the mounts run and changed to a trot when they crossed paths with someone.

It was almost an hour since they left the Orphanage when the tall thick walls that surrounded the City could be seen, and Taisetsuna asked, “Ring any bells in your head? Or the name Ourelona? That’s the City’s name.”

“Nothing, never heard of it. It’s a big City? At least it seems like it because the wall goes on and on.”

“I suppose it’s rather big because the Capital is not far. A couple of hours ride, I think. This region is mostly agricultural, and Ourelona serves as a very important trading City, delivering goods to the Capital. There is also a huge forest nearby good for a hunt, and a mountain range after it, where some very profitable caves are located. They are also plagued with all sort of Monsters, of course, but when a Party of Adventurers returns with some useful piece of technology or Magical Item, most of the times they don’t have to work anymore, the Adventurers normally buy a farm and live in peace for the remaining of their lives. Unless they are completely useless on maintaining a farm and have to work as an Adventurer again, but it rarely happens. Being an Adventurer is extremely dangerous, and more times than not, an Adventurer dies before gaining enough money to have an easier life.”

Nozomu wrinkled his nose, “Tell me again why we always wanted to be Adventurers?”

“Well, first, for the adventure, of course, and last, for the opportunity to have an easy life. You used to say that you would love to spend your days on the porch in front of your house, looking at the cows and chickens. A little boring for me because I prefer to work the land, but we agreed that you would take care of the animals and I would take care of the land if we ever managed to be that lucky.”

“What, us two, as a couple?”

Taisetsuna turned bright red and averted her eyes while speaking, “No, with our partners, but we would live near each other, and our families would always be together.”

“That’s actually very nice. I am all up for it. So, we must learn as much as we can and aim for that nice future.”

Taisetsuna nodded, “Yeah, I would like that. I was afraid you didn’t want to anymore, considering you lost your memory, and you wouldn’t remember our plan.”

“I don’t remember it, but it is a nice plan, and I am already seeing myself enjoying that nice life. Maybe not spend every day on the porch, because that would be boring.”

Taisetsuna made a big smile and squeezed the Unicorn’s mane. He looked back, wondering why she was so excited because he was feeling her trembling.

The Priest’s voice warned them, “We are arriving at the gates, let me do all the talking, Nozo. Last time we were here, you annoyed the Guards a little too much and they didn’t let you in, you had to wait for us outside.”

“Darn, I was such a brat! Why no one slapped my butt to teach me some manners?”

“Even more? I have calluses on my hands for doing that, but you never learned how to behave!”

Nozomu frowned, and while Taisetsuna was laughing, they arrived at the City gates.

The two Guards glanced at them, and one of them asked the Priest while looking very seriously at Nozomu, “Hello again, Priest. I see you brought company today. Is he going to push his luck again?”

“I don’t think so, he is calmer lately, he will for sure surprise you. They are going to the Guild to work and to live there because they reached adulthood. You will be seeing him a lot more, from now on.”