Chapter 27 - Hargeon Port

Hargeon Port in the winter was not as cold as people made it out to be. Mainly because Fiore wasn't that susceptible to the chill, but also due to The Calm Sea's presence. Locki had read a little about the odd little sea off the coasts of Fiore, and he knew that many scholars had described it as a Natural Magical Phenomena. While the specifics of the sea were rather lengthy to list, Locki enjoyed the fact that the salty breeze that rushed up the cliffside city of Hargeon wasn't as cold as the musty air in their part of the city.

Gyutaro and Daki had slightly marveled at the sheer scope of the city when they first laid eyes on it and Locki couldn't really blame them. He had read books and reports from the port to ready himself, and to not be completely lost in the new element he found himself in.

Still, Hargeon Port was impressive nonetheless.

The whole city was built along the cliffs that had long been eroded by The Calm Sea nearby. Each section of the city seemed to rest atop massive steps that had been carved by some S-rank mage's earth magic. The city's impressive structure had long earned it the name "Staircase to the Sea" from its design.

Of course, even if Locki was enamored by the city's make, he found his passion quickly chilled by their current quarters. Like Evermont, Hargeon had its fair share of seedier places where the undesirables lay. Still, Hargeon was basically a playground compared to the near warzone that Evermont had turned into.

Locki adjusted the thick jacket over his shoulders, watching in amusement as burly men quickly ducked into alleyways as he and Gyutaro stalked through the main street. The teen sneered and held his nose as the smells of urine, vomit, and salt brine mixed together in the air. A sickening combination that clued him in that they were closer to the bars and lesser districts of the city.

The sun just began to dip below the horizon, casting the city in a warm orange hue that reflected dangerously off the nearby windows. Gyutaro was forced to pull his large coat closer to himself as he dodged away from particularly large sections of light.

Locki paid his guild member a glance as he moved closer to the shadows of the buildings. Despite their silent march, the city itself never stopped making noise. The teen could hear the harks and calls of sailors and merchants from all the way at the bottom of the city's docks. Hushed conversations nearby were broken up by the calls of seabirds and the soft crash of the sea's miniscule waves.

A few men eyed Locki and Gyutaro from one alleyway, but before they could do something, Gyutaro flashed the handle of his [Zanpakuto] and they reluctantly backed off. Almost as quickly, several men armed with knives pulled them aside, whispering quietly and furiously. Locki spared one of them a look as they passed and they all nodded carefully, staring fearfully in Gyutaro's direction.

"You never told me what you did to them." Locki said when they were finally gone.

"It was my sister." Gyutaro explained simply.

Locki nodded seriously. That made a lot of sense. Over the past year and a half, Daki hadn't gotten as strong as Gyutaro or Kagura did, but the demon had learned more tactics from Berrel over the time they spent.

The blonde pursed his lips as they walked. "How are things going with her, by the way? With the Ume situation."

"Nothing." Gyutaro grunted, shaking his head. "She enjoys spending time with Ultear. They like talking and clothes."

Locki blinked. He had told Daki to watch Ultear just in case the spy found something, but he hadn't expected the two to be friends. Or maybe they were both acting? Loci found the situation slightly absurd nonetheless.

"So, you're jealous about that?"

"My sister can spend time with whoever. This is her second chance… third, actually." Gyutaro corrected.

Locki raised an eyebrow at the demon, choosing not to mention how the demon worded that sentence. "Her second chance" not "our." The teen didn't really know what went on inside Gyutaro's head most of the time, but the demon's actions had cemented him in Locki's guild.

As such, Locki took a moment to piece together why exactly Gyutaro felt as he did. The teen thought over all of the demon's actions since he made a deal with the Rose Tyrants. Gyutaro was what he liked to call a perfect soldier; always ready to follow orders, getting stronger to better help whoever gave them orders, or someone who took everything Locki said seriously.

Locki chewed his lips, unsure how to handle this issue. Even with his experience with Kagura, the blonde guildmaster was not that confident when it came to taking care of someone other than himself.

Was… was he overworking Gyutaro?

The blonde snuck a look at his companion. Gyutaro always walked with a slight hunch, taking calm and steady steps between breaths. The green-haired demon explained it as something to practice his Breathing exercises.

In any case, Locki decided he had too little information to work on despite all he knew.

"Hey Gyutaro," Locki started, trying his best not to be awkward. It was normally so easy to order around the demon.

"Hm?" Gyutaro inclined his head in Locki's direction.

Locki pointed at the handle of the [Zanpakuto] that Gyutaro displayed openly. In any other time, the blonde would have taken back the weapon the second its name changed from a [Asauchi], but the description of it had stopped his hand.

[Zanpakuto – " "]

A blade that has absorbed the essence of Gyutaro Shabana. It is currently sealed.

Effects: Riot, " "

He could have taken the now [Zanpakuto] long ago. Locki would only need to frame a meaningless excuse for Gyuatro to hand it over. However, the teen hesitated. The weapon now was Gyutaro's, and to simply take it would be rather crude.

"Is your sword still talking to you?" Locki asked carefully.

Gyutaro grunted, nodding. "They do it more often nowadays… It bothers me when I am trying to train."

"What does it say?"

"The two of them insult me constantly."

The blonde tried to stifle a burst of laughter. Locki tried to hold in the image of Gyutaro getting verbally attacked by a sword, but the teen grew a little incredulous at the sheer absurdity of it. Perhaps it was the stress of the situation, but the teen found himself chuckling before he could help it. Gyutaro paused in their walk to let the teen calm himself down from the small fit of laughter he found himself in.

"Sorry, sorry," Locki said between breaths. The teen could almost see Max poke his head out of his shadow to offer his own cackles as well, but the ghost wasn't there. It had its own mission at the moment. "Its just… Kagura has a loyal sentient sword and yours just seems to want to inconvenience you. Its a little funny. So, how does it bother you anyways? Just ignore the insults."

"They cause my lungs to explode."

Locki shook his head from the whiplash of that statement. "What?"

"I am copying the method of Breathing from my memories, and they insult me whenever I seem to get close to it. Then, my lungs explode." Gyutaro explained simply as if he were explaining the weather.

Locki tried to wrap his head around the crazy facts Gyutaro had just spat out. He knew the demon had tried to recreate a technique from memories alone, which was wild in its own sense, but just how crazy was it that it caused Gyutaro's lungs to explode?

"Do… Do you think you could be doing it wrong?"

Gyutaro tilted his head as if that thought just crossed his mind. "It is possible. My lungs exploding helps a bit in the end, though. I just need to figure out how to control the process."

"I don't think that's your prob–"

"Oi! Guildmaster!"

Locki turned to find a cloaked Daki and another woman stalking up to the two of them. Daki's face creased into a frown as she came up to them, poking a bunch of cloth wrapped around itself in the form of a finger into Gyutaro's chest that popped out from her cloak. Locki ignored the siblings as he put the talk with Gyutaro for later as he focused more on the woman who Daki brought with her.

"I take it you're Nisuka? What a pretty name." Locki smiled evenly, studying the woman. She dressed in thinner, more suggestive clothes than the average person in winter, and the only thing to keep the chill out was a long, fur coat that barely covered her stocking-clad legs. A heavy coat of makeup stuck to her face as she stared blankly from Locki's flattery as if she had heard the line a thousand times before.

"You are… the guildmaster?" Nisuka asked anxiously. Locki could see her perfectly plucked eyebrows raise a little as if she just now realized his age. However, she hurried to catch herself, and bowed hesitantly. "Sorry, I hadn't expected you to be so young. Not everyone who comes here and protects us has good intentions. I wanted to say thank you for lending Mistress Daki's help."

Locki mouthed "mistress" to the demon in question, and Daki waved a hand made of cloth to gesture that it wasn't important. He then considered the woman for a second. It wasn't as if Locki hadn't seen comfort women who sold their bodies in the alleys at night, but they were normally tied to certain gangs, and subsequently magic guilds, in Evermont.

"I apologize as well. I admit my assistance was not without an ulterior motive." Locki revealed, and found the woman heaved a sigh of relief at the admittance.

"I figured as much." Nisuka said, eyeing him up and down. "I hope you know that I cannot call the shots. I am just another one of the girls, so I can't really offer you much. If you want, we can settle this in more… private quarters."

Locki immediately held up his hand. "You misunderstand me. I just need to know which group you and yours are affiliated with."

"I– I'm sorry? I don't know what you mean."

"I'm asking if you have ties to the two Dark Guilds or the Pirate Queen."

The woman froze momentarily, but forced herself to ease up. Anyone else would have been fooled. To Locki, someone who had watched the movements and actions of a spy with serious acting training, her reaction was painfully obvious and clumsy.

"What do you mean Dark Guild? And pirates? If you are thinking that just because we can't get a job that mages like you call more respectable," she spat the word "mages" with enough venom that Locki had to recoil from. "Then know that you are sorely mistaken. Look for your dumb little conspiracies in a place like Evermont."

Locki chuckled for a moment and cast a glance at Daki. The demon immediately made a dainty cloth hand that showed off a middle finger. A second later, Gyutaro smacked the cloth hand hard enough that it lost its cohesion and fell back into long strips of lace. Daki responded by forming another three cloth hands that pointed their middle fingers at her brother.

Locki shook his head at the display. Daki had seemingly been on a rebellious phase when she learned she could get away with the behavior, and so the demon, with healthy support from Lon, Berrel and Ultear, decided to mess with him and her brother randomly. If anything, Gyutaro found the whole interaction much more endearing than actual annoyance. Locki found it was better to have a way for the demon to channel her mean streak in a friendlier light that wasn't a immediate instinct to kill something.

Still, Locki focused back on Nisuka. He crossed the small distance that separated them, standing close enough that she had to crane her neck up to see his face. At this point, she began to tremble, suddenly unsure about her chances with a legal mage.

"Y- you should know that there's Fiore's Rune Knights all around this city now. You shouldn't try anything stupid!" Nisuka stuttered.

"I know." Locki admitted. It was why he was at the upper sections of Hargeon Port; most of the Rune Knights were staking out the ports and lower sections. The places where common people could see them and feel relaxed in their presence. "Relax, I just need a bit of information. Then, you can go."

"Fine…"

Locki smiled warmly. "There was a recent conflict around this area, right? Between the two Dark Guilds that normally run things in these districts and the newcomer. Rumor has it that some of the girls saved saw the Pirate Queen. I need to get in contact with her."

"Absolutely not!" Nisuka said sternly, glaring back at Locki despite her previous meekness. "I don't care if you want to torture me or whatever your sick mind wants, I won't betray the people who kept us safe from those monsters. Never."

Locki sighed, rubbing his brow as he felt a headache come along. This was already the third woman who had reacted in the same manner. "Look, I swear I am not going to arrest her or kill her… or give her location away to whoever. I just need to meet her. Or at least send a message."

The woman's incessant glare spoke volumes for her answer, and Locki could only cross this lead off in his heart. Pirate Queen Rebecca. She certainly knew how to inspire undying loyalty into people who weren't even under her command. Locki could respect that.

Which was why he backed off when he knew he couldn't press things. He raised his hands in surrender, stepping away from his spot next to the woman. If he could, he would have either Daki or Gyutaro tail the woman and watch her moves for clues, but he needed the Pirate Queen's knowledge on The Calm Sea to get anywhere. And he'd be damned if he decided to go for either of the two Dark Guilds who might also be in the know.

"Then, that's fine." Locki said, seeing the woman visibly calm down. "I won't ask you about the Pirate Queen. Instead, if you can find a woman who had helped a small girl escape from some slavers like a year or so ago, then can you tell her thanks for me."

Locki jerked his head in Daki's direction, and Nisuka nearly snapped her neck to see Daki control a cloth hand from inside her cloak. The demon handed the woman a card with an address on it.

"It's where we're staying at the moment. If you find the woman, can you send her here? The girl wants to say thanks herself." Locki said.

Nisuka took the card and turned it over a couple times before she slipped it into a tight part of her clothes. She pursed her lips, seemingly having something more to say before she gave Locki a polite nod and left.

The young guildmaster sighed hard as soon as he saw he leave, shaking his head. Silently, he thought over his decision to track down the Pirate Queen. It had been a bit of a spur of the moment thing as soon as he got some confirmation from Bora, the forcefully turned traitor to the slavers, that the Tower of Heaven had a fairly strong chance at being out in The Calm Sea.

Which made it all the more difficult. The sea was called a Natural Magical Phenomena for a reason, and almost every single one was unpleasant. For one, many sections of the sea lost pretty much all wind and currents, stranding any boat that ran on those. In addition, there were several dangerous aquatic beasts that inhabited these places and they preyed on anything making vibrations in the water. If that was not all, those sections of sea actively stopped magic from working for weaker mages or diminished their effects, making them a death sentence for any unprepared mage.

Locki could get prepared if that was all it took, but Drumlowe was getting increasingly bothersome about Locki's promised S-rank mage. It didn't help even if Locki actively got the Rose Tyrants on their side. However, Locki knew he wouldn't feel confident going all the way to Desierto without taking out the Tower of Heaven. They were too much of a dangerous variable who were after Kagura, and an S-rank mission, especially if it was one about the Succession War, needed his full attention.

As such, he didn't have enough time to prepare to search all of The Calm Sea while dealing with his brother's mission in time. As much as he hated to rely on someone else, he needed to deal with the Pirate Queen as nicely as possible.

It just sucked to stop every time he knew he could push further and get the information he needed.

Locki and the twin demons dragged themselves back to the small inn they had been staying at. The teen signaled Gyutaro and the demon went around to inspect the surroundings; they had poked their noses in pretty much any conflict in the red light district of Hargeon, so it wouldn't come as a shock if Locki was ambushed.

Despite that, it didn't take long for the duo to get back to their room where they found Kagura and Ultear. The little girl had taken to swinging her sword, training constantly. Locki furrowed his brow as he listened to the sound of Vali as it sliced through the air. Where before Kagura's strikes sounded like whistles of a small bird, thes one barely made any noise beyond Kagura moving to readjust her grip. He didn't know which was more intimidating.

Ultear, on the other hand, was crouched next to a man who had been gagged and tied to a chair. The purple-haired woman poked the man's cheek as he gave muffled screams for help, but those screams quickly died into whimpers as he saw Locki and Daki stride into the room.

"Heya, master." Ultear waved with a smile. "I take it from your frown you found nothing… again."

Locki grunted, uncaring about his attitude to the spy. He crossed the room, and saw the spy's shadow darken imperceptibly to his presence. The teen let a ghost of a smile cross his lips at that. Her presence was a dangerous thing, so sadly Max had been relegated to a spectral watchdog since he was the only one Ultear did not know of. And even if she suspects something, they could always blame Vali. The perfect crime– er, monitoring system.

"Its okay, guildmaster." Kagura said, stopping her workout to pat his shoulder.

Locki scrunched up his nose. "Ew, you stink." Kagura slumped. He looked over at Ultear. "How long have you let her work out without a shower?"

Ultear shrugged. "She's been at it all day, I think."

Locki turned to the girl who raised her hands in the air. "I was training my stamina! I lasted twenty minutes longer than last time."

"Good job." Locki forced a smile. At one point he might have felt a little pride or jealousy at that statement, but now all he felt was incredulity.

Gyutaro was a genius in his own sense. The demon had been the person who went back and forth between Scarlet Hand and Rose Tyrants to transport materials, yet the demon still found time to train and get stronger.

Daki had been harder to move, but Locki had given her a [Weaving] skill that was like his own [Carpentry] skill. Though, compared to Locki, Daki got infinitely more mileage out of the skill, constantly creating constructs out of fabrics and cloth. She hadn't gotten as strong as her brother, but Gyutaro constantly blew up his lungs for strength apparently.

… Locki really needed to ask about that.

However, out of everyone, Kagura was the one who grew the most. She had filled out from her malnutrition long ago, and her arms began to show defined muscles through her sleeveless top even if she was only eleven. Her long hair had been tied up into an intricate braid by Ultear of all people. On the side of her strength, the girl had long since been able to spam her [Unison] magics with only a little trouble. The most noticeable thing about her, though, was the sheer fact that no matter how much stronger she got, she continued to improve as if it was preordained for her to become S-rank.

"Is this the sixth time you came up with nothing?" Ultear cut into the conversation. "Maybe we should just leave it. I'm sure Bora here would like to go back to being… well, the scum of Earthland."

"Mmm!" Bora helpfully added from his place in the room.

"Quiet trash." Daki scolded him, stripping off her heavy coat to cover Bora like he were a coat rack and flopping on one of the beds in the room. Her head lolled over in Ultear's direction. "I'm also for giving up. This is getting us nowhere. I can handle you sending me to thrash some dumb humans, but you've been after this chick for so long. She either doesn't want to meet us, or she has better things to do."

Locki pursed his lips. Max's updates about Ultear's movements let him know that she was actively in talks with someone from Grimoire Heart, and there was a strong chance she was interfering with their investigations. However, he couldn't quite call her a spy just yet. He needed more assurance before they completely stopped their act.

The blonde chewed his lips in thought. He didn't know how much Ultear's actions affected him, and he understood that the Pirate Queen's influence was much stronger than he assumed.

Still, Locki faltered when he had to throw away this chance. He had already contacted Makarov to send Gildarts as backup, but to come up short would look bad on his end. On the other end, Drumlowe was the threat that couldn't be ignored. However, Locki didn't really have the confidence to beat or escape the old man even if he had a head start.

At that moment, Gyutaro came back inside with a woman beside him.

"She had something to ask." Gyutaro announced as Locki turned to the woman. She was dressed similarly to the other one he met that evening, and she trembled constantly from the cold.

"Y- you guys are a magic guild, right?" She asked, suspicion clear in her tone. The second she saw the tied up Bora, the woman looked ready to bolt. However, she still stayed when she caught sight of Kagura.

The woman looked over Kagura for a second, trailing over the girl's figure. If Locki could guess what she had looked for, he'd say she looked for any signs of abuse or distress. However, Kagura was the picture of a healthy mage. A happy girl.

She sighed, giving the girl a sad smile. Locki could recognize the jealousy in her tone, but she hid it pretty well. "I guess you found a good place."

"Do I know you?" Kagura asked curiously. Vali hovered behind the girl as she draped a towel over her neck to wipe off her sweat.

"No, you probably don't." She shook her head. "My friend, Lova, helped you around a year ago."

"Oh! Do you know where she is? I wanted to thank her for her help." Kagura beamed, bouncing over to the woman.

The girl didn't notice how the woman froze, but Locki did. Already, his mind knew that Lova probably wouldn't be meeting Kagura again. He had half expected it when he found out Kagura had gotten someone's help, but he had liked to think that other places weren't like Evermont.

Locki supposed he expected too much.

"I- I can take you to her later." The woman stuttered out, offering an apologetic smile before she turned to Locki. "I… To be honest, I didn't really expect to be greeted when I came here, but I want to offer you a mission. If possible. I don't have much to pay, but I'm sure I and a couple of my friends could get enough to make it a C-rank mission… If you want more, then I could–"

"C-rank is fine." Locki said, feeling like he finally saw the light. "What do you have for us?"

"Its a little hard to say…" she clammed up reflexively, grabbing one of her arms. Locki watched the action more as a nervous tick; he knew a bunch of women who did that around Bommir back in Evermont. "A couple of my… co-workers were captured last time the Dark Guilds fought with Rebecca in the city, and while I know it is a little dangerous, I can't just leave them at their mercy…" she offered a wry smile. "And even if Rebecca would come in guns blazing, asking for help from her at this time would not be the best."

"I thought the Pirate Queen was the good guy here. Why isn't it a good time?" Kagura questioned innocently.

Ultear chuckled a bit, patting the girl on her head. Kagura tried to swat away the offender's hands. "Oh you sweet little girl. Why don't you go play with sharp objects in the corner, okay?"

"Ultear, don't antagonize Kagura. Especially, when she can beat your as– beat you up." Locki censored his speech, turning back to the smaller girl. "The Rune Knights we saw on the coast are not just after the Dark Guilds. She might have good intentions, but her epithet is still Pirate Queen. You stir stuff up in your city, and Fiore's military will come down on you. No matter what your intentions are."

"Typical humans. Fighting over things that don't matter for people who will never care." Daki spat as she lay on her bed. Above her a mass of cloth and lace floated above her hands, weaving into some abstract shape before losing its cohesion to start again.

"Um…"

"Right, sorry. Can you tell me the specifics of the mission?" Locki quickly pivoted back to the woman who came in.

"I– I just need you to save my co-workers. They're trapped in one of Black Trance's safehouses in the port, and I can't sleep at night thinking about what's happening to them."

"Should we kill them?" Gyutaro suddenly asked, butting into the conversation with an odd intensity. Daki inclined her head to watch on, eyes gleaming. Locki caught Ultear freeze slightly at Gyutaro's utterly unexpected bloodlust, but the worst reaction was the woman who hadn't quite been acclimated to the demons.

"W– what?" She looked a little frantic as she turned back to Locki, searching for an answer. "You guys are a legal guild, right? Not another Dark Guild?"

"Sure, I can show you the credentials." Locki said, uncaring. He was sick of that question. "And no, Gyutaro, we can't kill them. I don't know anyone in Hargeon's Magic Council Branch, so its best to not break too many laws."

Gyutaro grunted in agreement, losing the sudden intensity that had been building up. Locki knew he'd need to address that concern sooner rather than later. However, right now he focused on the lead he had.

The woman didn't notice it, but she constantly referred to the Pirate Queen by her actual name. While it could mean anything, Locki strongly felt that she knew Rebecca personally. Which meant that he'd accept the mission no matter the conditions.

"Now," Locki turned back to the woman again, hoping there wouldn't be another distraction in the form of a member wishing for murder. At this point, that hope was a toss-up. "Let's hash out the details. After all, I'm sure we can add something to the deal to make it fairer. [Don't you think so]?"

As the woman nodded, Locki repressed the urge to smile in victory. He finally got the leverage he needed for his magic to finally stick, and it wasn't like he was going to skimp out on his end like most deals. For his goals, he didn't mind playing the hero once and awhile.