5 Welcome to Thapia!

[ Greetings Koyanagi Party! You have done a great deed to the world of Runesky after slaying the Ice Drake! The Kingdom of Thapia welcomes you to a ceremony, and a chance to meet the Princess!

Best,

Nipha, 2nd Princess of Thapia]

…was the note Shotaro was handed when his party came back from the mission. Despite being dazed from all that happened during that quest, Shotaro decided it was time to move on. Even so, he'll never see his family in the same light again, even if they were mind controlled. The images of Rin, Fumiko, and his mother during that night often flash into his mind.

 He is trying his best to forget, but it may take some more time.

"Shotaroo~" said a soft voice, "we're here!" Shotaro awoke from his slumber to see that his mother was trying to wake him up. That's right, they were in a carriage traveling into Thapia. 

"A-already?" groaned Shotaro.

Rin smirked, "You've been sleeping the whole ride lil bro." 

"Did you have a good dream or something? Was it about us?!" Fumiko gleefully chimed in.

Shotaro sighed, "Ugh…yeah, sure." Shotaro looked out the window of the carriage to see the city of Thapia in the distance. IT was near the ocean, so there was a scent of salt in the air. A massive castle with gray stone walls and a teal roofing broke the sky, symbolizing what the country was all about. Shotaro was amazed. In Runesky, this was just a few pixels and badly modeled. But here? This was the real deal.

***

The Koyanagi party found themselves behind two massive doors with intricate wood carvings. They had just finished a rather long tour of the castle, seeing the sights of the royal garden, the training grounds, and some superb views.

Rin sighed, crossing her arms. "Ugh, the tour was booooring."

"Rin!" Shotaro tried shushing her. "Not in front of the guards!"

"Oh yeah, what're they gonna do?"

"Rin, please." Naru said, cutting in. With that, Rin kept quiet. 

Their tour guide, a short man with a monocle, pointed his palm at the door and smiled. "Behind these doors is the throne room for the Princess. I advise you to have the utmost respect. She is eager to meet all of you." He then eyed Rin with a threatening look. Rin immediately looks away, easing herself of any suspicion.

The large doors started to open, albeit very slowly. The party could grasp a better picture of the throne room as it happened. There were multiple large white pillars holding up the ceiling. The floor was made out of expensive wood, with intricate teal carpets. The walls were also teal, and were depicting the history of Thapia through art. Guards were lined against the sides, protecting the luxurious gold throne at the end of the room.

Rin looked up with her mouth wide open, "Well damn."

"Holy…Woooow!" Fumiko said, excited.

"It's beautiful, isn't it Shotaro?" Naru cooed.

"Y-yeah." Shotaro added. Again, why couldn't the actual game looks like this? Are the devs just that lazy?

"Welcome to Thapia!" boomed a rather cutesy voice from the side with the throne. The party looked to see the princess. She had flowing locks of blonde, wavy hair and was wearing a white victorian gown with teal accents. She was a bit on the smaller side, but her posture was very mature. Shotaro noticed three men standing beside her. One was tall, with large arms and a beer gut - the average dad bod. He was wearing a tank top and had an axe behind his back. The man next to him was the same height, but muscular. He was in full golden armor, and had a cool looking scabbard on his waist. The one closest to Nipha had a similar build to Shotaro, albeit a little taller. He was also in a similar tunic to him, but with the colors of Thapia.

Naru then instructed her children to take a knee before the throne. "Your highness~" she smiled.

"Please, call me Nipha," Nipha smiled back, "there's no need for formalities."

"Uooohhh she's so cute 😭" Fumiko silently squealed, garnering a look of disgust from Rin.

"How was your first time in Thapia? I'm sure my tour guide Benjamin helped you well." Nipha continued.

"Y-yeah Thapia is amazing and Benjamin was cool, haha." Shotaro spoke up, with an awkward stutter. Nipha eyed him with no emotion, but the boy next to her cracked a slight, derogatory smile. Shotaro didn't want to do anything but die in that scenario.

"-Anyways, I and the people of Thapia must thank you for killing the Ice Drake. Our kingdom thrives off our fishing and tourism industry. That pesky dragon would have flown over here and turned our coastal beauty into a blizzard! Again, I must thank you."

"Ah! It's no big deal." Said Naru.

"Yeah, that monster was easy." Rin smirked.

"That's good to know!" Nipha smiled, "Oh! I haven't introduced you to my right hand men. These are Thapia's strongest warriors, and are my childhood friends. We have been through thick and thin together, and I trust them with my life…May you introduce yourselves?"

"Heh," started the dad-bod guy, "Name's Charl, nice to meet ya."

The golden armor guy then bowed respectfully to the party, "Greetings, I am Nio."

Lastly, the smaller one raised his hand and had a big smile on his face, "Haiii! My name's Harry! You guys look cool!" He then eyed Shotaro with the same smile as before. Shotaro looked down to avoid eye contact.

"And there you have it" Nipha says with her arms raised, "My guards have prepared a royal guest room…but we only have room for three. So one of you will have to sleep in the servant guest room nearby. Is that okay?"

Rim then raised her hand. "Shotaro said he's down to sleep in the guest room".

"HUH, wait-" Shotaro said, startled.

"Splendid!" Nipha clasped her hands. "Benjamin will help you get settled into the room. You all have a long day of fun tomorrow. I hope your time at Thapia is memorable~"

***

Shotaro walked behind his family and Benjamin, who was leading them to their rooms. The hallway was long but luxurious, lit up by the setting sun shining through the fancy windows.

"I can't believe you made me raise my hand." Shotaro grumpily said, lightly jabbing Rin.

"Come on lil bro," Rin snickered, "we can't let a man sleep with a bunch of girls like us."

"There is nothing beautiful about you, big sis." Fumiko said with a stoic expression.

"Now now," Naru interrupted, trying to dissuade the conflict, "We're only here for one night. It isn't like these are permanent or anything."

As they continued to walk, Shotaro thought about the three men that stood before Nipha. They looked very strong and he probably shouldn't get on their bad side. Something about them reminded him of Gunther, but he couldn't place his finger on why. He got chills on his spine at the thought of the Hero.

"Here are the rooms." Benjamin said, stopping between two doors. One had an intricate pattern and the other was just…a door. "Please, make yourselves at home."

The guest room was clean and well kept. Three victorian style beds were at each corner, with cabinets around the walls and a meeting table in the middle. A massive window was covered by teal curtains. The servant room however…was just a room. White bed, wood floor, small window, basic cabinets. Absolutely boring. Shotaro sulked when he saw his living circumstances.

Fumiko patted her little brother on the back. "Hey, cheer up! If you ever can't sleep, just come to our room, okay?"

"I'll make sure Rin doesn't mess with you too!" smiled Naru, "I'll make space on her bed for you~"

"Tch. Yeah, just come on over if ya need to." Rin scoffed.

"Y-yeah sure." Shotaro smiled, admiring his family's generosity. Once everything was set, Shotaro and the rest of his family decided to part ways and say goodnight.