Astraea: The Journey of Magic

The evening sun poured over the city walls, its warm glow casting a shadow upon the road. It gave the city almost this golden halo, with huge sections of the city towering beyond the walls in sight, but not much seemed to peek out near the gate itself. The trees were flourishing however, and the road was well made. For awhile now, instead of dirt and gravel which had pierced Kuroki's feet, it had been smooth cobblestone.

The wall itself had come into view, and it appeared might and significant The sheer quality of the stonework was amazing it was completely smooth and refined, and appeared to be thick and sturdy. An unbreakable bastion that would protect them, no matter what was slammed into it. Old Runic markings had been subtly engraved as well. And furthermore, when they got even closer, they saw the gate A brilliant and beautiful gate, it wasn’t so much as a grid but an almost mosaic array of metal pieces brilliantly crafted together to create a strong and sturdy gate It too looked quite thick and reliable.

There were still pebbles and nuts here and there, not to mention the occasional excrement of horses, which quickly got whisked out of existence by the master mage Amyris. Ever since the orcs, not a single creature had come and attacked them. Nor had bandits come to strike at them either. Kuroki was rather relieved all things considered, especially since he had been distracted for a good portion of the trip.

At some point, Amyris had even started holding his hand so he wouldn't wander off. Kuroki might have been short enough to mistake as an elementary schooler, but he had hoped by now Amyris knew he was telling the truth about his age. Unfortunately, it was something Kuroki was used to. It took a few of the teachers awhile to realize he did not mistaken follow some older sibling to the school, and some had overlooked him entirely. He had been forced to ask for a seat change more then once when he couldn't see over his classmates.

Although, he did admit his height occasionally came with advantages. Considering that Kuroki suffered from all the negatives of his height, he had long since tried to find the silver lining by at least taking advantage of the positives. For one thing, adults were far more likely to buy a ten year old candy for free then a fifteen year old, and he could get into movie theaters for the under 12 price. Make no mistake, he loathed the people who were inconsiderate and all of it, but he was going to suffer through that anyways.

Plus, it had been Reiji's idea. This was largely because Reiji, the giant of their group, had often had his under twelve status doubted when he was a child. He had been tall quite early, and been made fun of for it as well.

Incidentally, the two had used both their heights to a rather nasty advantage for each Sports Festival. Mainly during the calvary battle, where their four person team would essentially be Reiji with the Kuroki Helmet equipment. This allowed their other companions to be more aggressive with how they battled the other, and Kuroki himself had picked up enough of his shitty dad's martial arts to be able to deflect most attempts at his headband, provided anyone could reach it in the first place considering they how to climb the tower that was Reiji.

Their class had subsequently won every calvary battle, although some people considered it absoute bullshit that Kuroki and Reiji had been in the same class every single year. Though, not as much as the other schools did, during the special "Inter-School Sports Festivals" they had started recently.

But that was getting off track. This was not something he particularly enjoyed, and had insisted on walking the rest of the way himself. Not only because they were finally walking on flat, solid surfaces, but also to keep some level of self respect.

"I mean, I am over two hundred. In elf years, you would still very much be considered a little boy even if you were fifteen".

"...that wording you just had there kinda pisses me off, master. You just said 'if' didn't you?"

"And the fact you keep calling me master instead of sensei isn't helping your case".

"Damnit!"

In all truth, this sort of banter was all stress relief. They had been walking fairly casually towards the gate, when Amyris prodded something from Kuroki.

"By the way, you might want to fasten your cloak closed".

Kuroki's face went red. He had become so comfortable around the elf already, that was more embarrassing then having been seen naked all this time. He was not sure why he had become so comfortable around the Elf, but perhaps because Master had saved his life a number of times, and taught him magic. But also perhaps...he was essentially the polar opposite of his father. He was kind and considerate, thinking about Kuroki's emotions and feelings and not just making him stronger or better. He had asked Kuroki's opinions on food every time Amyris cooked him something, while his father made him eat whatever health protient disgusting garbage went on his plate, which incidentally was most meals with him the last year or two.

He felt like there were a few odd things that were said sometimes, and he was awfully evasive about his past, but Kuroki didn't want to talk about his family, so he couldn't really say anything against that.

Making sure the fastener on the cloak was tightly in place, it had made it so only his knee area and lower was visible, as well as his neckbone and up. It had occured to Kuroki that it meant anyone who really looked at him would be able to tell there was nothing underneath this cloak. He hoped the gate guard would be at least a little more considerate, or not very observant.

But leaving aside the importance of gate security, the fact was that all these knights were clearly likely high ranking and might be skilled. Their armor was very polished, and had minor extravagance to it Some parts were clearly decorative, and even a novice like Kuroki could tell they were of high quality.

As they made it to the gate, there were four guards on duty that were visible. Kuroki was half tempted to use Echo again to check more, but he had been warned by Amyris not to. To be exact, they had wards in place on these walls to not only detect but mirror any detection magic used, so unless he wanted to announce to the entire barracks he was completely naked under this cloak, instead of just any guards on duty. Amyris said that Kuroki should really give up on that unrealistic belief that they wouldn't notice ahead of time.

"Well now, if it isn't the Magician of the Silver Hour. Back from your research trip early?"

A female guard came over to them, and appeared to be familiar with Amyris. She mentioned him by title, and although slight, there was awe in her voice.

"Hello Desris. I ran into a complication, and then ended up with a new apprentice. I already put him through two trials you know".

The guard then looked over at Kuroki, his eyes sizing him up. Kuroki felt rather uncomfortable all of a sudden as he tried to push the feeling away.

All of a sudden, Kuroki found his cloak off and on the ground next to him, with his right arm twisted behind him as he was bodyslammed on the ground, pinned there. At the same time, a dagger made of wind was at the guard's neck, surprising her.

"Amyris, you need to reach your apprentice some manners. Why the hell did you teach him to repulse a guard's Searching Gaze?"

"Actually, I didn't. I really did not teach him about wards at all yet. He does have a natural talent for them and diviniations though. You must be slipping, Desris, if he noticed your attempts to investigate him without even knowing about it ahead of time and repulsing it. Now, would you mind so terribly letting him go. You should know by now that I would never bring anyone dangerous as my apprentice".

"Fine fine" she said, backing away and releasing him as she got up. Kuroki quickly got up, grabbing his cloak and getting it back on again. "Still though, another kid huh? And another naked kid at that? I know you mages have your rituals and its all about studying and becoming one with mana and all that, not to mention the whole Rookie Robes thing. But this is sort of becoming a theme isn't it?"

Kuroki looked at Amyris. "A theme?"

"He is misunderstanding and leaving a lot of details out" Amyris told Kuroki, as another guard came forward and knelt down to look at Kuroki at eye level.

"Amyris is known by many names, such as the Magician of the Silver Hour...but he is also known as someone who has crushed quite a few criminal organizations that target kids, especially little boys like yourself".

"Just last year, he came with a cage full of naked kids, having rescued them from a secret smuggling base. Since it had been deep in monster territory, and the carriages were used to escape, he had to have them stay inside the case so they didn't get eaten. About two years before that, he ended up crushing a rather...vile institution that utilized children in...ugly ways, but you don't have to worry about them since as I said that guy crushed them already".

"I wouldn't need to crush them had the Hero done his damned job a few decades ago. What an absolute moron" Amyris complained. This was the first time Amyris had ever mentioned a specific hero to Kuroki before.

"Wait, what did this Hero do that was so bad? I mean, people still call him a Hero it seems".

"Yeah, thats because he did actually sort of complete his Heroic Duties...sort of..." the male guard mentioned.

Desris was however less restrained with what she said about him.

"The guy was an absolute tool and a pig. He somehow got a party of only female companions, and went around and saved many women from bad situations, occasionally teach incredibly random things, and caused several businesses to go bankrupt and countless political nightmares. Sure, some of that might seem great, however, he basically ignored all the criminal organizations targeting guys. Apparently, the guy didn't even consider they might exist, even when they were right along side the others under his nose, leaving many to die. The conflicts between all his party members for him was really bad, especially since their families often got involved. This included dukedoms, and even kingdoms, not to mention major merchant groups. Not only that, but it was considered a major violation of the Equal Rights Act that many kingdoms have to only have a party of women, although admittedly that might have just been some excuse used by nobles to justify executing him. So even though he did defeat the Demon King, he just caused way too many issues. Rumor has it he even adopted the Demon King's granddaughter and got together with his daughter. He propagated the idea of gender specific roles too basically with his so called 'ideals' as well".

That last one actually got on Kuroki's nerves, considering what he had experienced from his own father just because he thought magic was a "girls only" thing.

"He also caused economic issues in many places when he tried to usurp the general culture and food culture with his own world's. He said that 'it always worked out in all the stories I read' and insisted on them using food from his homeland, which was in another world. However rather then success, either they took decades to get any traction at all, or more often, failed completely. After all, it wasn't like it was amazingly more delicious. We have plenty of our own tasty foods and preferences after all".

Ah, I see what happened now.

Basically, this Hero tried to do just about all the cheap things done in various animes and mangas, and it all went horribly wrong to the point he got executed. Harem, food culture take over, ect. Only instead of the sugarcoated version in fiction where everything somehow goes well, reality struck instead.

"Anyways, sorry about the rant tangent. Back to what I was saying. Because everyone thought he was going around all the criminal groups, the ones targeting men and young boys specifically were able to escape, and grew in the power vacuum thanks to the hero crushing their competition. Of course, we have been fighting back this whole time, but it totally disrupted the balance of power. So you should make sure to be careful, little boy".

Kuroki flinched and was quite angry with what was said, but then Amyris cut in before he could say anything.

"So, with everything that has happened and all that we dealt with, are me and my apprentice free to enter the city? I do need to get him new clothes after all".

"Is he actually going to wear them, or is he going to pull another Anna in the back yard routine?"

Is that story actually famous?!

"I think he has more sense then that, although...it has been several days, so I would like to hurry to minimize the risk".

"Right. Well, you are an adventurer, so you don't need to pay the tax. And this little boy is clearly under thirteen, so he is free as well. Welcome to the city".

Kuroki almost shot off his mouth, but Amyris quickly pulled him along as they hurried down the road. They passed by a few other travelers in a hurry, but no one seemed to think much of it.

"I am amazed you were able to hold back at the end there".

"...only because since you are doing so much for me, I did want to save you the money" Kuroki admitted. "Wait, that means you believe me?!"

"Well, I believe you will say that every time someone calls you little boy".

"I am not a little boy".

For a moment, Kuroki felt like he released something with his rage, and Amyris seemed almost startled for a moment. But then he just acted like his same old self.

"Sorry sorry, I couldn't resist. Now then, lets get you to a tailor's. We should get you some proper clothes for a mage. You can't just take up assignments in just a cloak after all. Well, for formal events, you will, but that will be with a full formal cloak".

"Wait what?"

"Its a long standing tradition for apprentices. See, things are better now, but for a long time, apprentices were barely able to scrape by between fees for teachers, food, and other supplies. To the point that many mage apprentices to cut down on laundry costs, and also because it was required for their budgets, wore only a robe and nothing else. Even underwear was too expensive. Naturally, the better their skills became, the better jobs they could take, and then eventually they would be able to wear more on average. Now, clothes are still expensive. I heard from Anna, but apparently clothing in your world got cheaper due to something called manufacturing. Well, that doesn't exist here. There are sometimes second hand clothes on the market, but those, especially for children, tend to be bought up fast. So the tailors have to measure you, and make the clothes by hand. And dont bother, this is a different world, and a lot of tailors have their own independent units of measurement they use anyways".

"Wait wait, doesn't that mean it will take forever for them to make my clothes?"

"Certainly, it takes time and resources. Hence why its expensive. But because they handmake things, they subconsciously add mana to it which increases its quality, durability, or other traits. People tend to have at least somewhat higher physical abilities in this world then your own by the way, so from what I understand, even if manufacturing was used, the clothes would be gone through so fast a tailor would actually be easier".

"...does this mean I am stuck like this for a week?"

"No. Only a single day. Because we are going to the greatest seamstress in the city, who also happens to be a mage who is a master at enchantment".

However, Kuroki had missed something in his explanation that was plainly weird.

In truth, this city is big enough and I have enough connections I could probably get quite a few things his size immediately, but...considering the situation, I need to get him clothes that will actually provide good protection for a mage. And a safe place to put him while I investigate a few things. My place might be being watched, so best not to go there yet. Which means, only one place can provide everything we need.

Yes, in truth, there was quite a few other motivations, but Amyris had decided to keep this from Kuroki for now, which was why events were heading the way they did.

As they spoke, they walked through what appeared to be a market. There was people all around, with storefronts that sold everything from books to fruit, to also places that sold weapons and armor. There were some makeshift stalls around as well that looked like they could be moved and cleared out when night fell, and there were a few foods that he didn't recognize. There was a smell of meat that tasted delicious though. That said, for a moment Kuroki felt like someone was watching him, but it faded almost instnatly.

Then again, perhaps it couldn't be helped. It was bustling with life, and Kuroki felt just a bit better when he saw some kids playing completely naked in the fountain, even if most of them were like, half his age. He also spotted someone else who appeared to be in nothing but a cloak. Obviously he couldn't be sure, but he als ohad no shoes at the very least. His cloak or robe was a bit more covering through, and looked rather nice.

"Those are formal robes. Remember what I said before about mage apprentices in the past only having the money to wear them? Weell, admittedly while still expensive, clothes are a bit cheaper now, and there is more work for mage apprentices, so they have it much better. However, partly because they want young mages to suffer the same ways they did, and also to keep up with tradition, there are various times where you can wear nothing but a formal robe. Well, they might let you wear shoes sometimes as well at least. Its still considered a rite of passage, meant to unite mages. However, thankfully those occasions are very few and far between. And if you rank up quickly, you wont need to endure it much. Its only for the lowest ranked mages, which are essentially always apprenticed to others, although they are mandatory".

At the very least the formal robes covered quite well.

"So this person can make clothes very fast?"

"Yes, but only for mages, and she only takes new clients by referral. Thankfully, I use her services all the time, so we are fine on that front. However, she can be...eccentric sometimes. And uhhh, dont bring up Anna, at least too much".

"Wait, what? Why?"

"The two hated each other".

"Because Anna refused to wear her clothes and ran around naked half the time?"

"Well yes, that was part of it...but also, she was determined to see Anna wear something girly. The whole underwear situation especially was a war between the two. Also, Anna never wore dresses or skirts. The seamstress was determined she would look cute in them, so she often warred with Anna to try and make her wear them. But Anna won about...90% of the time. Partly because the seamstress is a professional and never took it too far with a minor. But don't worry, she will complete the order we ask of her for".

Kuroki wanted to say it was a shocking development, except based on what he learned already, while admittedly not much, it fit her. Although, for some reason Kuroki felt like he had a dream or something that involved this, but he couldn't quite place it. There was some extra information in his head he just couldn't source right now.

As they walked through the streets, it was quite lively at this time. The streets were brimming with activity and cheer, and plenty of laughing children filled the streets. All sorts of people wandered around, such as adventurers and knights, but also the common citizen. Kuroki had sort of expected this, but most of the clothing was far more typical for a fantasy setting and medival and renassaince times, as well as the middle ages. it did seem more comfortable then what would have been at that time though, but there weren't any people wandering around in business suits, and no one was wearing anything like a swimsuit. Notably, there were no women in bikini armor and so far all the men he had seen were wearing shirts and were properly dressed, aside from one person who was getting kicked out of what Kuroki assumed was his girlfriend's apartment.

It should be noted there was no real outragously sized chests either, although there were a few guys who stuck out. A number of people with more tanned skin were at least two feet tall if not taller and incredibly muscular.

"Ah, you noticed them huh? Those are people from the Hanzo Tribe. You wont get along with them".

"I won't?"

"Yes, because you like magic. The Hanzo Tribe believes in muscles and might make right and that those who rely on magic are weak. They have often harrassed and annoyed, and sometimes gone after, mages. Incidentally, the Hanzo Tribe is peculiar in their birth rates, which is about 70% male and 30% female. Perhaps because of that, they think they are especially right when it comes to men and boys like yourself. Truly outdated thinking on their part, but their enhanced physical abilities do make them dangerous, so keep cautious. Hanzo Tribe culture cultivated genetics so their people would be tall and muscular like that, but they are normal humans incidentally. Just with a rather outdated and insular mindset, although I cant deny there are a number of non-Hanzo tribe people who might share such a foolish belief as well".

They sounded just like his father, which caused Kuroki's impression of them to plummet drastically. In fact, it sounded like his father could have been from the Hazo tribe. He was also at least two meters tall and very muscular.

As they passed by, they also saw a few other things. A Dwarf apothacary, administering medicine to a patient on the street. A young elven bard, as he played wonderful melodies on an instrument. As well as what appeared to be a young boy with cat ears and a cat tail, working hard at a blacksmith with someone who could have been his father, with similar facial features and pitch black hair for both of them.

Either way, they made it to the seamstress. The door said to knock, but Amyris just shoved it wide open and went in. Kuroki was a bit concerned, but he decided to follow him in.

The moment they did, they entered a space that was clearly bigger on the inside. The storefront outside had been rather small, but this one was large and full of various things. There was a young girl of about ten manning the front desk, although despite being in a seamstress' shop she was not wearing a stich. She was also standing.

"Oh, I don't recognize you. Are you her secret lovechild or something?"

"Wait what? No no no!" she said, clearly refuting. "I am just new here! I don't know where my family is, so I am working here while the master of this place gives me a place to sleep and eat, and makes some clothes for me".

Hearing that, something in Amyris' mind clicked instantly.

"Ah I see. So she found a Starfallen did she?"

The girl's eyes went wide, and then she nodded.

"That is what she called me! She found me lying in a crater...naked...and brought me here! We just returned late last night!"

Kuroki had a feeling it was like that when he saw her. She looked like someone who could be from his world, but even before Amyris had asked, her explanation made Kuroki suspect. She didn't say she was orphaned or that they were missing or dead, but that she didn't know where they were. And she had needed a place to eat and sleep and make money. The fact she didn't even have clothes also kind of gave it away.

That made two other Starfallen whose fates he had now seen. The burned man, and this girl. Three if one counted Anna. The hero mentioned before didn't count, since he was summoned, which is different from being a Starfallen.

As they were speaking, the seamstress came out. She immediately looked at Kuroki and nodded.

"I see you found another Starfallen, Amyr".

"I see you found one as well".

The girl looked at Kuroki surprised, coming out from behind the counter in a flurry of excitement.

"No way! So you too? It wasn't just me?".

"It might be...everyone who was in the city. Apparently, there were tens of thousands of shooting stars. Master thinks each one might have been a Starfallen".

"...woah. So my parents might be here somewhere after all...wait, master?!"

Kuroki turned around, only to realize his cloak had been fully removed and that the Seamstress was now measuring him a bit.

"Kaede, please get a box for him to stand on so I dont have to crouch down while taking these measurements".

It was only then that the two realized they were naked in front of each other. That said, although their faces were red, they only remained still until her second reminder. The girl, whose name was Kaede, got to work, although Kuroki noticed she had quite the red butt when she did, pulling out a box for Kuroki to step on. She quickly did so, while he was made to move his arms outward instead of covering himself so she could measure properly. She seemed quite strict.

"Is this normal for tailors in this world?"

"Yes" Amyris, the Enchantress, and Kaede said at the same time, although Kaede sounded a bit dejected.

Once he stood on the box, a few other employess, all female for some reason, came out and began to measure Kuroki along with the owner of the shop. Kuroki, desparate to distract himself, threw Kaede under the bus immediately.

"So, what is with that red rear of yours?"

"Ah...well...I admit, I was in the wrong there. I kind of threw a hissy fit this morning. I was upset because my clothes were not ready yet, but she was only able to get her machines to start making them today, so she said I would have to wait till tomorrow. She also said I still had to man the shop, but I got so embarrassed I threw a hissy fit. And well, she punished me for it. Technically still is. But considering I am getting fed, given shelter, and am being given clothes by a stranger who took me in out of kindness, my hissy fit was wrong. Things take time, after all".

"She has to work the front desk like that for a week even when they are ready. She has no room to act entitled".

"Ouch. Thats kind of harsh".

"Harsh but necessary. She needs to know throwing a fit will only get her into monumental worse trouble. And she needs to learn humility as well".

"She did say that's only when I am manning the storefront or working through, and I can wear them all I want otherwise".

Amyris mused a bit over something, but Kuroki wasn't sure what. Suddenly, he heard Amyris' voice in his head.

"Ellie is being quite soft and nice with Kaede. I wasn't aware she had such a soft side".

"You call this soft, Master?"

"Certianly, she might be made to do a delivery or two if she is unlucky, but Ellie has often left things up to fate. However, Kaede might only be seen by a few people, likely less then ten. But its possible it wont ever exceed five, or even be zero. Normally when kids get this punishment, they would end up having to deal with plenty of people. But not Kaede, not in this shop".

"But isn't she running a front desk?"

"Remember what I said about this shop? About how it only accepts referrals? Well its also hard to find. You have to open the door just fast enough as well, and you cant knock, or else it will send you to an empty storefront instead. Furthermore, she deals in elite high end mage clothes. These things are enchanted to have crazy durability, and last a long time. They are even meant for combat after all. So while highly expensive, it means her store is often empty, and could go days without anyone entering. Frankly speaking, if it wasn't for us, Kaede's plight might have never been seen at all. Of course, this all depends on Kaede's luck. Its always possible it could get busy for some reason, but thats quite rare. Although...given the amount of Starfallen, if plenty of other mages found their own, they might indeed see an influx of activity to get clothes for them. However, that means two things. One, Kaede will meet a lot of fellow Starfallen, and given her circumstances with their own, will empathize with her, giving her a number of contacts. Two, it increases the odds of her parents finding her as well. Also, there is a very strong possibility Ellie will shorten Kaede's punishment for good behavior, although she would absolutely extend it for bad behavior as well".

In other words, the odds were stacked in Kaede's favor. And Ellie had planned it all. That was rather shrewd, finding a way to punish her and help her at the same time. Of course, it all depended on Kaede's luck in the end. But there was a serious possibility that no one would walk in at all during that week, or if they did, it would only be Starfallen.

Of course, given how Amyris figured it out so quickly, there was one thing that he wondered about.

"...by any chance, do you take all the kids you rescue here to get clothes as soon as possible? Not just your apprentices, even even that time you had like twenty or thirty of them that you rescued?"

"...yes actually. How did you know?"

"And she still deals with you and works with you the whole time?"

Both Amyris and Ellie the Enchantress nodded.

"By any chance, do you both have a soft spot for children?"

"I would really like, for the sake of my reputation, that you at least rephrase that question".

"Yeah, I gotta agree with the old man here".

They both brilliantly deflected in identical ways, and even both averted their eyes.

Ellie talked a good game about being harsh and making people earn their keep, but it seems she planned to secretly spoil Kaede while not letting her realize it, even if it meant her punishments might be a bit harsh to compensate sometimes. More then likely, she was going to teach Kaede everything as well, so that even if she left she would be guaranteed to be able to start her own business to make money.

And Amyris sure did like rescuing children. Anna, Kuroki, all those victims of those criminal organizations. No matter how you looked at it, the Elf was always brutal against anyone who tried to go after a child. He had been rather protective of Kuroki as well, to the point he basically picked a fight with the city guards for him and kept babying him. For the briefest of moments, Kuroki wondered if Amyris knew the truth about his family life, but he didn't want to dwell on that topic.

The only real discrepancies between what anyone from Kuroki's world would think about if they were soft or not came down to the cutlural differences between his modern world and this world that appeared to be from some fantasy story.

But Kuroki was sure. Ellie was the type of person who liked to act strict and harsh, but then was actually secretly nice and sweet. At least for children. And Amyris was the type who was all cool and intelligent, but actually was quite passionate and a storng believer in justice. He was a little bit vain and cared about his reputation too much, but considering how he was such a kind person who also displayed great levels of being able to teach and care for children, he was basically a superdad in disguise. To the point that Kuroki, who had been starved for parental affection but even had a supposed father figure who was in the negative, and so quickly and subconsciously become attached to Amyris psychologically as his father figure. Perhaps that spoke to just how damaged his relationship with his father was.

Either way, the legion of women finished measuring, and retreated into the back, while Kaede looked around confused.

"What is it Kaede?"

"...it was a legion of hot guys when I was measured. While you got a legion of beautiful girls. Although both teased us relentlessly".

Incidentally, this entire internal monologue was another one of Kuroki's escape attempts to evade the remarks made about his size and his boyhood. Of which there had been many teasing comments about those and more, like how cute he was. However, none of it sounded serious, but more like they were using Kuroki for their own entertainment and stress relief.

Suddenly, Ellie and Amyris both looked out the window, sharp looks in their eyes, before returning to the business at hand.

"Now then, your clothes should be done by tomorrow afternoon, night at the latest. Amyris, do you want me to keep Kuroki here while you go handle things with the mage's guild, adventurer's guild, and your own home? Just make sure you dont come too early, okay?"

"...yes, that would be helpful" he said, as she tossed him his cloak back. Of course, this left Kuroki with nothing.

"Ummm..."

"You Starfallen are too shy! Just get used to it! Incidentally, its closing time, so I will prepare the bath for you both. I want both your butts in the bath in ten minutes, or I will deal with your butts personally! There is nothing more important then personal hygiene! Now, get in the bathroom now!"

Both Kuroki and Kaede reacted to that comment though.

"Wait, together?!" they said in unison.

"Yes, together! We don't have enough hot water for separate baths for everyone, so suck it up! I don't get why your world's people is always so antsy about that, seriously. Boys and girls bathe together and go swimming together all the time you know? Now, go! Both of you!"

The two were rushed into the bathroom, leaving a confused Kuroki and Kaede who, leaving aside being embarrassed, were confused. Ellie had just said ten minutes, but then rushed them in immediately. She even followed them in and locked the door, saying she wanted to make sure it was done right before getting back to making their clothes.

"Not even..."

Before he could answer, Kaede interrupted him.

"No, swimsuits don't exist in this world. They don't understand even why anyone would bother to wear something just to get soaked and wet in, and I dont think the material or perhaps even the technology exists in general. Everyone just swims in the nude here" she told him.

To be fair, they didn't really exist during the Middle Ages or such in their time either, so that actually made some sense.

Or rather, it was animes who kept forcing it in to make beach episodes and all that which were the weird ones.

However, Kuroki couldn't help but briefly wonder why Amyris and Ellie did that all of a sudden, without any previous conversation. Amyris never mentioned anything like it to him, so was it a spur of the moment thing? But then, how did Amyris and Ellie both know of it?

At the same time, Amyris walked out of the shop. Immediately afterwards, a barrier was raised over the shop and a few over the surrounding area. Especially the bathing area. Kuroki and Kaede were unaware of this, but in fact Ellie was rather cautious about ambushes. Her shop had countless defensive wards and barriers on it, but the rooms that had the most were the bedrooms, and the bathrooms and toilets. And of those, the one the two were currently in was the most fortified of all. Even the most powerful mage in the world would not be able to break that in a single attack, or even a few of them. The spells woven into the room were so complex and fortified, it made bank vaults look like child's play.

In other words, the impromptu bath was really just an excuse. As the adults, they had no desire to risk the two children being exposed to unnecessary worry and danger.

Although it was also true that as someone who had walked around barefoot the whole time in the forest and been exposed to various dangers, Kuroki had worked up a sweat and some parts of him needed a thorough scrubbing and bath. Kaede was probably the same.

As for what caused them both to go on guard, Amyris looked at the sky, where he saw a black robed figure floating above him.

"Well now, what do you know. They sent a single demon...well that's a problem".

The black cloaked figure seemed shock, but didn't waste any time unleashing several beams of fire at Amyris. However, the attacks just seemed to misdirect themselves away from him, leaving him totally unhurt.

"Tsk. Bring out the children, both of them, and I will let you go in peace".

"As expected. You really are here for them. Which means...you have no idea who I am".

Suddenly, Amyris appeared behind the black cloaked figure. It turned around in shock, only to be flung into the ground with some sort of magical telekinetic force. It found itself pinned, its body suddenly ten times as heavy. An ice sword tried to stab Amyris from behind, but he shattered it with a snap of his fingers.

He then appeared at the ground level.

"Ah, there are your friends" he said, as two more black robed individuals appeared. The first robed one's hood had fallen though, revealing a horned individual with blue skin and black markings on it, yellow eyes devoir of love or compassion.

"You think you can stand against all of us, mage?!"

Another three appeared on the opposite side of the alley.

"It seems you placed some barriers and wards over this area to make sure we are not noticed. What an exorbitant waste".

Saying this, Amyris did not appeared worried at all as he began a six versus one battle.