It was another day, another day to set out to fulfill the penultimate goal of the adventure.
"Good morning Mr. Creatorius." The Bookkeeper said, taking a sip from his tea.
"Good morning to you as well, Mr. Bookkeeper." He sighed, getting up from his bed, letting out a yawn.
"It's time to start off the day, Miss Athena is waiting for us downstairs, we wouldn't want to keep her waiting." The Bookkeeper snickered, playfully patting him in the back.
The two of them went down the stairs where they glanced over Athena taking a sip of tea from her cup, her mind were racing with thoughts.
Without a moment of hesitation, Creo went to approach towards her, sitting next to her at the table.
"Oh, Your Highness, I'm glad you had a nice slumber, we should be getting ready later for our adventure." She spoke towards him with an embarrassed face.
"Your mind seems to be filled with something else..." He grabbed her chin and made her look towards him.
"It's nothing personal, but you never really informed much about the artifact we're looking for, aren't we best friends?" She asked, moving closer.
"The fair lady's right Mr. Creatorius, if you hide any secrets from those around you, then what's the point of a guild if it's built upon secrets?" The Bookkeeper continued, walking towards both of them.
"It's not that I wish to hide such things towards others but rather I simply wish to minimize the amount of trouble..." He sighed, standing up from his chair.
"After all, that crystal is something that the gluttonous, most envious and prideful hooligans would sought after, that very same crystal when fallen into the wrong hands will cause imminent danger." He looked back towards them.
"Still, you and me have encountered a similar event like this, have a little bit of faith in us?" Athena said, holding him by the collar of his cloak.
"Now, now; let's deescalate the uproaring rise of conflict and just focus on what matters more: finding the artifact." The Bookkeeper said, getting in between them.
"The Bookkeeper is right, my fears have gotten the best of me and I should not let them get the best of me." He sighed, taking a seat down on the chair.
All three of them went on to eat their food and eventually get ready for their upcoming adventure.
They left the mansion and went down the other side of the mountain where they will find themselves inside the dense, untamed forest.
"Let's see what dangers lies ahead before our very own eyes!" The Bookkeeper declared, leading the two of them deeper in the forest.
The forest was covered with an enigmatic mist, filled with an uneasy atmosphere, ominous noises scattered, the only way to describe the vibe was nothing more but unsettling.
The Bookkeeper felt uneasy and brought out his book. "Don't hesitate to draw out your weapons, we're getting a taste of the real world..."
From the darkness that shrouded mystery, the sudden emergence of footsteps and the formation of silhouettes were heard and seen, in that moment; a brawl was about to begin.
Athena gritted her teeth. "What the hell are those creatures?" She ignited the flame in her sword.
"Those creatures in front of us are classified as vampires, they're bloodsuckers and have a strong reputation as a species- I remember the last time I fought them when I was still studying in magecraft school..." The Bookkeeper sighed as he casted a fireball spell that effectively burned the vampire.
"They burned instantly?" Creo responded in disbelief.
"They're probably low level vampires, so something like this can be enough to end them..." He snickered, shooting another fireball.
Athena chuckled before getting cut off midway. "This is gonna be practically easy then-"
Creo stopped her and grabbed her from her shoulder. "The last thing I want you to do is ending up burning a forest..." He drew his sword and launching three swords towards the vampires.
Athena rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I'm not that reckless you know! And besides, wouldn't it be an easier and more effective job?" She grumbled, burning a vampire out of annoyance.
"Fine I'm sorry if I got mad and been going hard on you since the start of the day but know that I don't hate or ever meant to hurt your feelings..." He responded, throwing five spears towards the incoming vampires.
"I swear that this time I'll treat you as an equal, after all, you matter to me." He sighed, trying to catch his breath from fighting the vampires.
"Is that so? Then those are enough for me to forgive you! Ice Glacier!" She exclaimed, stepping her foot on the ground and freezing the incoming vampires.
"Time to wrap it up!" She began to burn all the vampires with her fire, the vampires slowly crumbling into ash, leaving out a thick smoke around the area.
"I guess that was an interesting start to our adventure..." Creo coughed a little.
"Indeed, although those vampires were relentless we managed to subdue them, mostly due to Miss Athena's fire ability." The Bookkeeper sighed, scraping off some dirt on his cloak.
After a couple of hours, Creo, Athena and the Bookkeeper eventually make their way out of the deep dark forest, as they ventured farther and farther, they eventually stumbled upon themselves in a vibrant and colorful small, peaceful town known as Cherry Village.
"This place looks humble and peaceful." The Bookkeeper sighed, catching his breath.
"It definitely gives off a cozy and warm atmosphere." Athena chuckled a little.
The village was serene, different shops were around, people were busy, the colors making everything distinct.
But before they could even continue their sightseeing, they were blocked and confronted by a man wearing a rice hat equipped with a sharp sword and gave them a cold glaring, stare of death towards them.
He was a man known as the sole guardian of the area, the infamous ronin of the Cherry Village, Zion Lee.
"You three must have come from the outside world therefore you must be intruders! Leave now or die trying." Zion Lee said as he pointed his sword, moving towards them.
"You must have misunderstood, we mean no harm, humble samurai. We had just ended up here out of exhaustion after travelling for days." Athena said as she explained their situation to Zion.
But Zion was not convinced by Athena's explanation, he felt that she was hiding something much deeper.
"Oh really, did you think I was going to fall for that same old tiring message that you outsiders speak of." Zion said as he mocked them, spitting on the ground.
"You and the other intruders say the same old thing before they attempt to colonize us and exploit us!" He rebuked, angry as he was about to draw his sword towards them.
"Now now, good sir, I believe we have gotten ourselves on the wrong foot, we are but humble travellers who seek to rest, so I hope you don't mind if we stay even for just one night?" Creo asked genuinely, begging for him to let them stay for a while.
"I'm going to warn you three, one last time that be gone before I have to use brute force upon you!" Zion shouted, approaching Creo with haste.
Creo analyzes Zion's movements and begins to think of a plan on how to deescalate the trouble.
But before Zion was able to do anything, the sound of screams could be heard across the village as a group of bandits started terrorizing across the village.
"Not those filthy crooks again! Don't do anything funny while I'm away!" Zion sighed as he left the three and went to rush in, chasing them around the village to fight and charge against the group of crooks.
Creo, Athena and The Bookkeeper remain standing at the outskirts of the village, thinking about their next plan.
"Although he showcased an impudent and rude behavior, we should help him nonetheless." Creo said as he saw how Zion was fighting against the group of bandits alone.
"I agree with you, Your Highness, let's go and aid him!" Athena exclaimed as she rushed in to confront and dispatch the chaotic bandits.
"Alright then, I guess I can't disagree with you guys on this." The Bookkeeper said sarcastically and ran in to help aid them.
The Bookkeeper went to use his magic to neutralize the bandits, Creo rushed in and assisted them, with him using his gauntlets, and out of thin air, he created a sword to fight against the bandits.
Zion was impressed by how the strangers were willing to help him in defeating the bandits, he couldn't help but smile as he didn't have to carry much burden seeing how kind they were to aid.
"Maybe I was quick to judge about these travellers..." He grinned and proceeded to deflect an incoming attack from one of the bandits.
To end things off, Creo chained them all up together to restrain them from getting far away.
"You know, I cannot help but say thank you for helping me in defeating those pesky bandits." Zion remarked, seemingly impressed by the three figures.
"You know, you guys aren't as bad as initially thought you would be." Zion said sarcastically.
"You're welcome Zion, we're glad that we were able to help." Creo and Athena said and smiled while the Bookkeeper remained silent.
The people in the village, overjoyed by their courageous act, began to celebrate and began to prepare gifts for them all.
"They're quite a hospitable bunch." Athena giggled a bit, accepting gifts left and right.
"They really are grateful for our gratitude, although I appreciate the gifts they are giving, I'll store them somewhere for safekeeping..." The Bookkeeper sighed, opening his book to open a portal to store away the gifts to his mansion.
A kid looked up at him surprised. "Woah! Are you some sort of onmyoji mister?"
"An onmyoji?" The Bookkeeper questioned himself.
"Onmyojis are what we call people who practice magic, when I was younger, the elders would talk about how active they all were during the Heian era..." Zion chuckled, sheathing his blade and patting The Bookkeeper's shoulder.
He looked back at them and said. "I'm sure you're all tired by now so I'll be taking you to my house for you guys to rest..."
Zion leads the three of them to his house: a traditional Japanese house, it was not small nor big, rather a medium sized house.
"Make yourselves comfortable." Zion offered.
All three of them sat down on the floor whilst Zion hastily began preparing food for his guests.
"He seems trustworthy and a man of his word." The Bookkeeper snickered, adjusting his position on the floor.
"We can appreciate the effort he's doing for us, considering we came here unexpectedly, isn't that correct?" Athena looked over at Creo.
"Indeed, as such, being his guests we must showcase our appreciation." Creo sighed, smiling softly.
Zion returns, bringing forth the only food he had to offer- some rice, miso soup and noodles.
"It isn't much but I hope you appreciate it." Zion chuckled, looking at them closely.
All three of them looked at the food and began eating the food they were offered, Zion watched anxiously, hoping they would like it.
Eventually after a couple of minutes, they finished the meal they were given, all of them were contented.
"That was different and delicious." Athena licked the smear of soup on her lips.
"The food was definitely good, I won't lie about that, it was a refreshing experience from what I usually eat..." The Bookkeeper chuckled.
"Well you've heard from them, the food was quite fit for our appetite, you're good as a samurai and as a person." Creo continued, rising up to walk towards him.
"So Zino, I hope you don't mind if I ask you this question but, are you interested or maybe willing to join us on an adventure? Like going out of the village?" Creo asked Zion as he moved closer, waiting and begging for his next response.
He froze for a moment then began to think about it deeply, as he considers how big of a risk it would be to leave the village. "I'm quite hesitant about your offer, knowing how small and outmatched this village is- but considering the kind act that you three had displayed earlier in aiding and helping me dispatch those crooks..." Zion stated as he paused to come up with his final response.
Creo, Athena and Bookkeeper were left surprised, wondering and waiting what will Zion say next.
"Then I've settled my decision, despite the risks that will arise, then sure I'll be glad to accompany you three on your adventure!" Zion stated in excitement.
"But first thing, I have something important to do before leaving this village." Zion said.
"Sure if it's something important, then I won't mind, go deal with it first, we have the time to wait." Creo replied as he smiled and let Zion off.
Zion thanked him and went running and rushed somewhere around his home, he went around and there was someone sitting down, waiting for him, and it was none other than his little brother, Zaraki.
"Oh welcome back Big Brother!" Zaraki jumped in joy.
"There's my little buddy, sorry for keeping you waiting, I was caught up with guests in our home..." Zion chuckled.
"But hey Zaraki, can you promise something to your Big Brother?" Zion asked his little brother, holding his shoulder, waiting for his next response.
"Sure, what is it, Big Brother?" Zaraki asked Zion, as looked at him, concerned.
"So your Big Brother is going to be gone for a while, Zaraki, can I entrust you the role of being the protector of the village for a while? Helping alongside the captain around." Zion asked his little brother, waiting for his next response.
"It will be my pleasure, big brother. I won't let you down!" Zaraki exclaimed as he nods in approval.
Zion could not help but chuckle at his little brother and hugged him for one last time, he went to his room shortly after and picked up a journal before leaving their house.
He heads back and reunites with Creo's group who had been waiting for him.
"Alright, I'm all settled and I'm ready whenever you guys are ready." Zion said as he rushed towards them.
"Ok then, let's go back on track." Creo stated as he led the others the way outside the village.
All of them have left the village and as they continued walking down the road, they eventually stumbled themselves entering inside a giant, mystical forest
"This will be our next stop guys, are you guys ready?" The Bookkeeper asked towards all of them, waiting for a response.
"Yes, yes, no." Creo, Athena and Zion replied to Bookkeeper.
"Great, it's settled then, let's go in!" The Bookkeeper exclaimed.
They all nod at him except for Zion who is a bit worried but reluctantly followed and all of them have entered inside the giant mystical forest.