The Guild Master made a big smile. “I understand that, and if you are going to other Cities to teach the cooks in the Guilds and Inns to do this, you will get a ton of money in just a few days, because I am predicting huge sales.”
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“Well, ever since we started selling this in Ourelona, we have long lines every day. People come in the morning to buy pizzas and chocolates for lunch or for a snack in the afternoon, and others come by dinner time to eat at the Guild or to take home. We had an increase in our finished Quests because the Adventurers want to finish in time to return to the Guild for dinner. Since the Guild also earns a share of the sales, we are getting a big profit every day, according to our Guild Master.”
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Hinen Sukemoru faced Nozomu and said, “You still haven’t told me how you got those two Unicorns!”
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Nozomu acted as if he heard nothing and made a slight bow to the Cook and the Guild Master. “If you don’t mind, I need to leave for the next City.”
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The moment Nozomu turned to the door, Hinen grabbed Nozomu’s right shoulder and pulled him back.
Nozomu reacted by instinct. Or better yet, his body did. He rotated left, hit the boy with his left elbow and facepalmed his chin, straight upwards, with his right hand. Hinen stood up straight as a wooden board, and Nozomu punched his stomach, making his body bend forward, only to give him a straight uppercut to his face that sent him flying against the wall behind him.
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Nozomu crouched his body, going to his usual fighting stance. As he watched the young Cat-kind falling on the floor, Nozomu blinked and asked, “Miss Koyaga… what just happened?”
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“Nothing, you just reacted like usual when someone attacks or surprises you.”
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Nitani Sukemoru was looking at Nozomu with his mouth wide open. Koyaga shrugged and said, “Are you sure you want to put your kid in the Academy of Adventurers? If he grabs someone like that and gets a sword in his stomach, you can’t blame the Academy, you know?”
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“What the heck did he do… I never… I could barely see his movements! You trained him, Koyaga?”
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“No, he arrived just like that at the Guild. He learned from a very, very young age with an outstanding fighter who raised him and Taisetsuna, his Cat-kind friend. They are saving money to apply to the Academy, so I bet your kid will have plenty of opportunities to get a beating. How did you manage to raise such a dumb son, Nitani? Geez!”
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The Guild Master spoke as he was helping the Cook to seat the fainted Hinen on a chair. “He is not a bad kid, just a bit… I don’t know, unaware of how to deal with people? I was hoping he could learn something in the Academy, because he was always in the Guild talking with the Adventurers, and most of them are not good examples of how to act around others.”
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Koyaga tapped her friend’s back and spoke with a worried look. “Perhaps if his mother had been alive during his infancy, he wouldn’t have turned out like that, but you share some of the blame. You let him spend too much time with all those brutish Adventurers. Maybe Nozomu and Taisetsuna can keep an eye over him, just to make sure he doesn’t die in there.”
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Nozomu frowned and asked, “And why would I want to be near such an annoying kid? I am sorry Guild Master, but your son really has no idea how obnoxious he can be!”
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“Nevertheless, you will keep an eye on my friend’s son in the Academy, won’t you, Nozomu?”
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The way that Koyaga was looking at him so seriously was enough for Nozomu to nod vigorously. “Sure, I can do that, of course!”
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Koyaga hugged her friend and winked at the Cook, and Nozomu asked for forgiveness from the Guild Master for beating his son so badly.
They left the Guild and went to the stables. An immense crowd was at the entrance, trying to look at the extremely rare and dangerous Magical Beings that were peacefully eating hay. Nozomu went past them and called Rampage and Furnace to follow him. He walked out with the Unicorns, and the crowd opened a path for them, admiring the way the Unicorns were walking with their heads held high and their horns glowing with Magic.
From the middle of the crowd, two young Dog-kind girls made a low, excited scream, and Rampage looked down at them. He stopped in front of the two girls and lowered his back while signalling with his head for them to mount. Nozomu saw a woman, probably their mother, looking at him, worried.
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He approached the woman and said, “If he invited them to ride him, you can rest assured they will be safe. This won’t be the first time that he lets little girls ride him. I think you can mount Furnace, the red Unicorn, and walk with us to the Magical Circle.”
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The woman spoke with her eyes glowing, but still glancing at her smiling daughters, thinking if she should accept the offer or not. “A-are you s-sure it’s safe? E-everyone knows Unicorns are deadly!”
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“They are, but these two are getting used to people, and they really like little girls. Besides, how often do you and your daughters have the opportunity to ride a Unicorn?”
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The woman slowly nodded. She knew how rare such an opportunity was. Nozomu bent his knee for her to use as a stepping ladder and held her hand as she mounted Furnace. Koyaga lifted the two little Dog-kind and put them over Rampage’s back. One of them carefully grabbed his mane, while the other grabbed her sister’s waist.
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Nozomu caressed Rampage’s snout and said, “Be careful, okay? They are younger than Takanari, and they don’t seem used to riding. And thanks for this. You are awesome, Rampage.”
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The white Unicorn neighed and gently bumped his snout against Nozomu. Carefully, he got up again and walked slowly to give time for the little girls to get used to the movement.
The crowd was in absolute silence. No one dared say a word, because they all knew how impossible it was, what they were seeing. Not only were there two Unicorns in their City, but one of them kneeled on the floor to let two little Dog-kind girls ride him, while the other Unicorn let their mother mount him as well.
Nozomu and Koyaga walked down the street, towards the Magical Circle. The crowd kept on following them, whispering, with two excited little girls laughing and smiling all the way.
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Koyaga was walking next to Nozomu and asked him, “Why do you think Rampage did that? He tends to be nasty to people.”
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“I guess he got used to Takanari and Asadate that were always near him, and he probably misses them already. At least he is not trying to murder anyone, and that is enormous progress.”
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Koyaga looked back and saw the Dog-kind woman riding the red Unicorn and said, “Even Furnace looks calmer. I don’t know what you and Taisetsuna are doing, but keep doing it. I never saw such docile Unicorns. Most of them don’t even let people get near them, and those two don’t mind strangers mounting them, or people that approach them to caress their sides.”
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“I suppose it’s like you said in the back garden of the Guild. If we treat Unicorns with respect, they will show the same respect for us. Well, Rampage doesn’t seem to respect me much, considering he is always pranking or mocking me, but I think he likes me.”
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“What’s not to like, Nozomu? I like you a lot, and that’s not an easy accomplishment.”
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Nozomu wondered what she meant, and when he looked at her, she winked with a smile.
When they arrived at the Magical Circle, Koyaga went inside to speak with the Mage, while Nozomu assisted the woman and the little girls in dismounting. The two Dog-kind girls hugged him and thanked him for the ride, and then they went to hug the head of Rampage, which kept on neighing in a low tone as if he was talking with them.
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The mother hugged Nozomu with watery eyes and said, “Thanks for this, it was amazing! I will never forget it, neither will them!”
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“It was a pleasure, Milady. Please take care of these little ones, make sure they grow up strong and wise.”
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The woman smiled and nodded, and Nozomu crouched to be at the same height as the little girls. “One last thing before we go. Unicorns are very dangerous. You shouldn’t approach one of them if they are not with someone. They don’t like people very much because most of the time, people are mean to them, but if you are kind to a Unicorn, they are kind to you.”
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Both girls nodded and promised they would always be careful, and they hugged him again.
Koyaga returned and called him and the Unicorns to get inside the Magical Circle. She waved at the Mage, and he activated the column. When the Magical Dome was appearing, Nozomu waved at the two little girls, and then the Dome blocked his view. When it opened again, he was already in a different City.
Like what happened in Kolga-Jaani, the Unicorns called all the attention, and as they were walking along the main street, more people arrived to look at the unknown visitors.
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Nozomu smiled at everyone that looked at him, and he asked while looking around at the buildings, “Is this Tabivere? It doesn’t look too different from Ourelona or Kolga-Jaani. There are more shops, I think.”
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“Because this City is a major trading post near the border of the Kingdom of Garam. The name doesn’t ring any bell?”
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“No, nothing. Why? It should?”
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Koyaga made a weird smile. “Oh, you will find out in a moment, don’t worry.”
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As they were walking, Nozomu was wondering what she meant by that, and then something green caught his attention from the corner of his eye. When he looked there, a woman in front of a shop smiled at him. He turned to face Koyaga, and there was a green face staring at him.
Nozomu blinked, and the face blinked back at him. He looked at that strange being, from top to bottom, and wondered if what he was seeing was real or not.
It was a plant person. Or person plant. A walking, breathing, Human-like plant. It had long, dark green hair, while the body was light green. The eyes were pink, pairing with the pink lips. Nozomu noticed it had breasts, partially hidden behind the long hair that reached her stomach, and a perfect hourglass figure. She was walking barefoot, and Nozomu noticed that coming from her back, near her butt, there were four vines, twisting and moving near her shoulders as she walked. Each vine had one flower on the tip. One blue, one yellow, one green and one red. She looked more or less his age, and she kept on looking at him, matching his walk. She was so cute that Nozomu felt his heart skipping a beat.
He then heard a clacking sound and looked down. Between her feet and his, there was a plant that reached his knees. It had a head the size of a ball, with a big mouth in the middle that opened and closed, full of sharp teeth. Arms made of four vines, a thick trunk nearly as large as Nozomu’s leg and three strong roots that worked as feet the plant used to walk.
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Nozomu faced the girl again and asked, “Hello, who or what are you? I never saw anyone like you before.”
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The plant girl smiled, showing perfectly aligned white teeth. “This one is a Gailie. This one name is Tresuria. Pet near you is Draiky. This one hopes not to be disturbing, but if it is, please say so, and it will leave you alone.”
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“Huh… no… You are not disturbing me. Neither is your little friend, but he looks kind of dangerous. He keeps on clacking his teeth as if he wants to eat me.”
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“Oh, no, Draiky is harmless unless this one is in danger or orders him to attack. This one doesn’t sense danger coming from you, so you are safe from Draiky’s wrath.”
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