Milishion

Milishion was a beautiful city built around a lake fed by a large river flowing from the Blue Dragon Mountain Range. It was divided into four districts surrounding the lake, and a large castle was built, floating in the center of the lake. There are seven magic towers surrounding the city which control the weather to prevent flooding and also create a barrier around the city, negating the need for walls.

The four districts surrounding the lake were as follows.

The Residential District was to the north, and was the first district you would reach when coming from the Blue Dragon Mountains. Average citizens, as well as knights and noble family members live here.

The Commercial District was to the east. All of the city's businesses, large and small, were located here.

The Adventurer's District was south of the lake. The Adventurer's Guild headquarters was in the district's center. This is the main headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild for the entire world, and was by far the largest building in the district.

There was some residential housing in the Adventurer's District as well, but they were mostly slums where failed adventurers lived.

Lastly, the Divine District was to the west. This was home to many of the church's high ranking members. You could also find the city's giant cathedral, known as the Great Church, here as well. It is the headquarters of the Milis religion.

We decided to circle around the outskirts of the city to enter through the Adventurer's District. Geese informed us that entering the city through any other district often leads to suspicion and much lengthier inspections, especially when you have demons in your party.

First off, we dropped off our carriage at a nearby stable. As we started discussing what we should do next, Geese made an announcement.

"Alright guys, thanks for letting me tag along, but this is where I part ways."

"Leaving already? We just got here", Roxy asked.

"What's the matter? You going to miss my cooking?", he said as he winked at her. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll run into you again one of these days, but I have my own business to attend to, so I must get going."

"That's just how Geese is, don't think too much about it", Elinalise commented.

"Yeah, he's always been like that", Tallhand laughed.

After Geese went on his way, the rest of us agreed that the first thing we should do is find an Inn. Elinalise guided us through some alleyways off the main road until we reached a small cluster of inns.

Once we paid for two rooms, we went upstairs to unpack our luggage. As usual, Eris, Ruijerd, and I stayed in one room, while Tallhand, Roxy, and Elinalise stayed in the other.

While we were unpacking, I let Eris and Ruijerd in on what I planned to do next.

"Eris, Ruijerd, after I finish unpacking, I plan to visit my grandparents and ask them for help on restoring my missing arm."

"Your grandparents?" Eris questioned. "They live here?"

Eris looked confused as she was imagining Paul's parents and was fairly certain they lived in the Fittoa Region.

"Yes, my Mother, Zenith. Her parents live here."

"Oh! Is that so? I can't wait to meet them!"

"Well, that's the thing. My parents are Milis Nobility and they firmly believe that all demons should be expelled from the land. As much as I hate it, I don't think they will be willing to help me if I go with Ruijerd or Roxy with me."

Eris didn't respond, but instead grimaced as she recalled how she saw demons being mistreated and overly taxed at the entrance to the city.

"Perhaps you could take a job at the Adventurer's Guild while you wait? Although I don't think they have many strong monsters in the area, mostly just goblins and the like."

Eris' eyes lit up at this. She had always dreamt of going goblin slaying since she was a child. Weak monster or not, it was a staple of being an adventurer that she has never got to experience.

"I guess I have no choice!" Eris said with a smile. "I'll go goblin slaying!"

Ruijerd offered to go with her, but Eris insisted that she will be fine on her own.

After we finished unpacking, I told Roxy, Tallhand, and Elinalise that I planned to visit my grandparents.

"Oh no. I'm not letting you wander off on your own again!", Roxy objected. "The last time you went off by yourself you ended up losing an arm!"

"I hate to say it, Roxy, but I think Rudeus is right", Tallhand interjected.

"Indeed. Zenith told us many stories of her parents. They look down on anyone who isn't human; especially someone with my peculiarities", Elinalise agreed.

Roxy pouted, but she eventually caved and agreed to let Rudeus visit the Latreia's on his own.

"In the meantime, we will stop by the Adventurer's Guild and see if Paul has made any postings about you here", Elinalise proposed.

"In that case, I will use this free time to meet up with an old acquaintance of mine. I heard he lives here in Milishion", Ruijerd added.

With that, each of us headed out to take care of our respective errands. Before heading to meet my grandmother, I decided I should get something proper to wear. While my robe has treated me well, at this point it is ragged with several tears and holes in it.

I made a stop at a high end clothing shop in the commercial district and purchased some proper attire for myself. They didn't have many options in my small size, so I had to make do with what they had.

I bought a black vest with white and gold buttons, which I wore over a white undershirt. I also bought a gray overcoat to wear on top of the vest. It had a black collar and cuffs with white lining. With earth magic, I also created and wore a custom cufflink in the shape of my motif on the monument to the Seven Great Powers.

After getting dressed up, I made my way to the residential district.

The Latreia household was in the nobles section of the residential district. The entrance to their estate was blocked off by a large gate with lion statues on each side.

As I neared the estate, I noticed two familiar faces waiting outside the gate. One was a skimpily dressed warrior wearing only a small bikini. The other wore an unassuming black robe with her head mostly covered by the hood as she nervously stood beside the bikini clad warrior.

I immediately recognized the two to be Vierra and Shierra. Once I saw them I couldn't help but get a bit excited as I thought this meant Paul was likely to be nearby as well.

"Hello!", I waved as I called out to them.

Shierra pulled her hood down over her face and hid behind Vierra.

Vierra bowed to me. "Hello. Do you need something from us?"

"Ah, no. I'm a relative of the Latreia household. I came to pay respects to my grandmother."

"Your grandmother?"

Vierra paused for a moment before widening her arms in surprise and asking, "Wait! Are you perhaps Rudeus Greyrat?"

"Yes, I am. Do I know you?"

Vierra jumped up and hugged me.

I took a step back, a bit startled. It's a good thing I didn't bring Eris with after all. I could see her ready to throw punches if I had.

"The boss is going to be so happy! He's been searching for you for years! I can't wait for him to... hold on, what happened to your arm!?"

"Oh. Yes, that is why I came to meet with grandmother. I was hoping she could direct me to a high ranking healer in the Milis Church to heal me."

At this point, one of the guards waiting on the other side of the gate took notice and called out to me.

"I hear you claim to be the grandson of Mistress Latreia. Come with me. If that is true, she will want to meet you."

The guard then opened the gate for me and motioned me to follow him.

There was a long cobblestone path leading from the gate to the Latreia household. In the center of the path was a long fountain with pristinely trimmed hedges along the sides. At the end of the cobblestone path stood a large, white manor with blue trim and roofing. There were six steps up from the ground to reach the doorway to the manor.

As we approached the door, we could hear some faint yelling coming from inside.

"What kind of a cold hearted witch treats her own family like that!?"

"You're no family of mine, you scoundrel! Get out of my house now! Before I call the city guard!"

After this we heard some rumbling sounds of people falling and armour clanking.

"Get off of me! I'm going! I don't want anything to do with this household anyway. From this day forward I spit on the name of Latreia!"

At this point, the door flew open as Paul stepped out, looking behind him, still yelling as he walked.

He turned forward as he took the first step on the stairway down and then stopped, staring wide eyed directly at me.

He reached up his hands to rub his eyes and make sure he wasn't seeing things when one of the guards kicked him from behind, causing him to fall down the stairs and land right at my feet.

After faceplanting on the ground, he slowly looked up at me with tears welling in his eyes.

"...Rudy?"