Arrival in Rose Harbor

I can smell the ocean! The sea breeze! Ah ha! I'm finally here! Just a little further and I'll finally see the beach! Ah, it's been so long since I've finally seen the beach! This'll be the first time I've seen it in this life too! Ah! Just a little farther!

Yes, yes, I finally see it now! This stupid port city was in the way, but I finally see the ocean again! Ah, that endless line of yellow sand followed by an endless dark blue expanse. Seeing water just go on and on like that will never fail to make me shiver. It's truly awe inspiring.

The sun has only recently just come up, I haven't slept at all in the past 24 hours because I was so excited to finally get here, and I'm really starting to feel the effects of that. My mana capacity's almost lower than 5% too, so I really need to stop flying soon.

As much as I want to go and look around at all the scenery that a port town has to offer, as soon as I land I really need to check into an inn. Check into an inn and sleep. Let's see, it's probably about 7 in the morning, so assuming I still get a full 8 hours I'll be heading around the beach at about 3 in the afternoon. Alright, sounds good.

I look down at the city I'm flying over. I want a building that looks like an inn. Preferably far from the beach too. I'm sure they get more expensive the closer they are to the actual beach and distance on this scale is just a non issue to me.

I do notice that the architecture here is also quite different from the other regions of Uclait. The buildings look much more modern, but only around the colonial era whereas everything else I've seen in Uclait looks very medieval.

There are no city walls either. Well I guess that does make sense. The really dangerous parts of Uclait are the Emednes, the Antisor, and the Ulfur Forests, and those are all right on the east side of the country. This is also just as far away in Uclait you can get from other nations. Any invading force would have to go through the entire country or over the oceans. I guess that environment doesn't really lend itself to military strength like the Elune or Alibas domains do.

If anything you'd primarily want to focus your defenses on some sea monsters. I don't really see anything resembling any of that, so I assume that isn't really much of an issue. Even then though, looking out at the ocean and knowing I'm in a fantasy world, I can't help but get a bit excited not knowing if anything really huge is going to come out.

Alright, I'm a few hundred feet in the air, my mana capacity just dropped below 4%, and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open. I really need to get down if I don't want "Thrill on Death's Edge" to suddenly activate.

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Well, I'm in my room, but…

"Is anything wrong, miss?" One of the inn staff asks me.

"One bed." I say. No matter how I look at this room it seems like it's a room for one person.

"Oh, that. You must be from further into Uclait. Well, we get many merchants from Meccaria and many other far off countries here to do business in our city, and to keep them here, we have to adjust to their culture. One aspect of that is much more privacy…

If this seems lonely to you, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Our normal rooms are fully booked though, so if you'd like I will inform you of when a spot opens up."

"It's fine." I say.

"Well, alright then." He says before leaving.

Ahah! An entire room! All to myself! It's tiny, probably only 400 square feet tiny, but it's mine! I love this!

I throw myself onto the bed. Man… I can't wait to touch myself on the bed again with no one to hear me.

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I walk into a clothing's store that sells beach wear specifically. Now that the summer season's gone into full effect these shops are pretty much everywhere. That's good, because there's no way I'm going into the water in my normal clothes.

After I woke up, I did the normal activity of checking my mana capacity, which was about 37%. I'd rather hold off on using mana a bit because of that. I thought that for about 5 minutes, before I got tired of walking and flew to the beach anyway. It's addicting. It's like driving everywhere and then suddenly having to walk. Of course I'm not going to do that if I can avoid it.

I was a bit worried about what Uclait's idea of beachwear was like, seeing as though they don't consider naked bodies sexual and bathe with each other literally all the time. Thankfully, it didn't seem much different from what it was like back in my old life. Swimming trunks, bikinis and the like.

There were a few shirtless women though, and I had to fly away before I wound up staring. I plan on avoiding said women while I'm at the beach.

I cast those thoughts out of my head as I look around at the swimwear I could buy. They all range from onesies to things that could honestly be considered lingerie. I'd really like to buy one of the lingerie ones, but I'd be way too embarrassed to pull it off.

I mean, I still really want to show off my body, but if it's too much skin I'm going to have a nervous breakdown the moment I talk to anybody. So let's see… Alright, I think I found one that looks good.

By my standards, it's a normal all black bikini. It would basically show off about as much skin as my underwear. Just my thighs, lower stomach, some cleavage… mm… this shouldn't be difficult, I've worn bikinis before, I should just buy it.

"Um… can I try this on?" I ask towards one of the shop keepers as I hold it out.

"Changing room's that way." She says, pointing towards a door on the opposite side of the door.

I just nod as I head to the changing room. I lock the door behind me and start to undress. As I do, I take out the manatite crystals I had embedded with mana from my connection with Beira and stuffed into my clothes and underwear.

As I start to pull down my panties, I realize I really need to figure out how I'm supposed to use these now. The summer heat is going to be a real issue, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle it without these little things. There isn't exactly anywhere for me to put them in my bikini either, is there?

Maybe the mixture of barely having anything on and the cold ocean water will make the heat a non issue? Oh, I hope so… If not though and I start to have a breakdown I should be able to cool myself off with some of Beira's spells. Oh, I'll really have to keep an eye on my mana then…

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I sprint across the hot sand. It burns my feet! Ahh! I hate this! I hate this! I hate this! Damn it, I don't want to fly. I have to keep my mana up for if I need to cool myself down! Damn it! Run faster! Why am I so slow?!

It feels like it takes forever, but I finally manage to step onto the wet sand, cooled down by the ocean waves. Ahh, that's much better.

I watch the waves of the ocean rise up, and eventually crash in on themselves, creating a torrent of chaotic water and white foam that rises up against the wet sand. Quickly at first, but it eventually slows down and its turbulence is calmed down.

By the point it reaches my feet, it's nothing but a small, slow moving stream, not even enough to submerge my toes. Then, just as it brushes past my feet, the water is sucked back up again into the ocean, and then the next wave comes and does the same.

And then the next, and then the next. A process that's been going on for as long as this ocean has been here, and will keep going on for as long as it is here. How many billions of waves must have washed past this sand over the millions of years?

I slowly walk further towards the coast line, and a particularly large wave brushes past me with enough water to submerge my knees. It hits me with enough force I nearly fall over. Then as it's sucked back into the ocean I have to plant my feet firmly into the ground to make sure I don't get sucked along with it.

Ahah, I love waves… It's been way too long since I've experienced this. I intend to enjoy this for a while.

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Man, it's probably been a few hours of just playing around in the waves. Let's see, I really lost track of time, it looks like the sun is about to set. A couple more minutes and the sky's about to start turning orange.

What's my mana capacity? That should give me a rough idea. Using Mana Detection on my own soul, it comes out to… 53%?! That's about another 16% or 17% than the last time I checked. That comes out to about… 4 hours?! I knew I was easily distracted, but I didn't know it was that bad…

Whatever, it just means I'll be able to fly when I need to. Um… I kind of want to stay here, though. I mean, I have Mana Location, I have no issues with operating in the dark. I could probably stay out here until I get tired. Yeah, I've made my mind up, I'm going to watch a beach sunset. I also would really like to look up at the stars while sitting on the sand.

Actually, scrap that. I'm really hungry. That should really be expected, I've had nothing to eat all day and now it's really starting to consume my attention. I'll go on a bit of a walk through the beach. Maybe I'll find a vendor selling food, and if not I can just fly to some restaurant.

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I walk until the sunset starts to set in. As the sky and clouds start to get died in really pretty colors that I smell something absolutely delicious. Barbeque. I've not had it once in this life or my past life, but I've tried all sorts of new things since coming here and I have no real intention of stopping that habit now.

Ahh, something extremely popular that I've never tried before… I can't wait to try it! I wonder just what I think it'll taste like? I start to use wind magic to fly so I can get there faster. I don't have my wind glider so this will drain my mana, but I don't care.

I fly towards the source of the delicious smell and find what appears to be a cookout. Several grills lined up in a row all cooking delicious meat, and many foldable tables and chairs. The table and chairs are both wooden and have completely physical mechanisms that cause them to fold up like the metal and plastic ones from my past life. I can only imagine how difficult they would be to make with woodworking alone.

All the tables have white cloths draped over them and rows upon rows of various fruits and vegetables. Meat is being piled on as it cooks as well. It's definitely a feast.

There's probably about 60 or so people here, and they're all either dressed in white dresses or normal swimwear. I think those are the same white dressed that Jody and Ulnoa where during my congregation. Is this what I think it is?

"Woah! A wind mage that can fly?!" I hear someone yell.

Crap, right, I would be super noticeable like this wouldn't I? I slowly land back onto the sand. I notice that everyone else is staring at me. It's making me really nervous.

One of the women in a white dress walks up to me. Her hair's a really nice pale blonde color and her eyes are a sky blue. She's a tad bit taller than me and has boobs a bit smaller than mine. Her butt's about my size. Overall, she's extremely attractive and it's clear she takes good care of herself.

"My my, such excellent manipulation of the wind. I take it that your connection with Kari is quite strong. Would you happen to be a member of our cult visiting here in Rose Harbor?" She asks.

I realize now that everyone is staring at me because they're legitimately impressed. This attractive lady also mentioned my connection with Kari, and I'd recognize Jody's dress anywhere.

"Yes. I am." I answer.

"Then please join us, you must be hungry. As a member of Kari's cult, it wouldn't be right for me to let you remain that way."

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Barbeque is good, it's very good. I can't believe I've never had it before. It took a while to get used to the taste, but after that it was very good.

After that though, they had also brought art supplies out, and I decided to do something with them like always. All it took was a sketch of two guys holding each other and looking at the ocean to get their attention.

One thing led to another, and I wound up sketching out a bunch of things and pitching a bunch of my original ideas. That dark God that lived off of humanity's collective fear was particularly popular with everyone pretty much telling me I should definitely become an author and that they would buy my books.

Seriously people, I'm not that good.

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"A lot of your ideas seem to be a bit too serious to be focusing on Kari's cult members as your demographic. That idea about that fear God would probably be super popular with members of Beira's and Diana's cults."

The person speaking to me is a person wearing a bikini that looks extremely like a girl. The proportions, the face shape, the long taken care of hair. His voice sounds unmistakably male though, which is a bit of a shame. Nothing compared to Jody's voice. Well, I guess Jody's voice is my favorite I've ever heard so I really shouldn't be comparing Erika's to his.

"I'd like to walk on my own now, Erika." I say. It's night at this point, and I'd honestly rather be alone to look up at the stars.

"Oh come on, don't be that cold. You'll really hurt my feelings…"

"Sorry, I really want to look at the stars alone."

"Hmm, do you always look at the stars alone?"

"I have a boyfriend…"

"A boyfriend? With as pretty as you are I would think you'd have your own harem. I wouldn't mind joining your boyfriend, for instance…"

The idea of having several men being mine is… certainly exciting, but I doubt that Kiaran would like that very much. I also really don't think that I could pull that off.

"He isn't in Kari's cult." I say.

"Huh? Well that just sounds really annoying. I don't want anything to do with that. Well, I'll see you later, I guess."

Then I feel the wind blowing around me. I look over at Erika and he's started to fly. He floats up into the air and starts flying away at rapid speed like I normally do. This is my first time seeing anyone do that other than Inell. Is this what it's like for everybody else when they see me taking off?

Ah, flying is so cool. I'd gotten so used to it that I kind of forgot about that, but seeing someone else do it really brings back that nostalgia for me. It wouldn't be unfaithful if I wanted to fly around with Erika, right? I'm sure Kiaran wouldn't mind…

I'll think about that tomorrow. For now, I'm alone. There's no one here, and the only noise that I can hear is the sound of the ocean waves. There are a few city lights out in the distance, but for the most part, the only real light is the moon and the stars. A view I've seen many times, but the fact that I'm on the beach makes it so much more aesthetic.

I walk around the beach feeling the rough sand on my feet. Hmm… it would probably be better if I walked around in the wet sand so that I could feel the waves rushing past my feet. Yeah, yeah, that feels much better.

Ahh, this is nice. I guess I could live out my fantasy of walking around a beach in the freezing cold now. Actually, no, I'm still in my swimsuit and my feet are wet. As much as I like the cold, I'm not actually all that interested in hypothermia. I'll do it tomorrow, or some other time. There's no real need to rush.

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I walk around the city in the dead of night. That feast was amazing, but it's been a while since I've eaten at this point, so now I'm hungry again. I kind of forgot how difficult it was finding something to eat at this hour. Flying out of the city and hunting something seems like overkill but it's also near impossible to find any restaurant that's open this late.

Using Mana Detection doesn't really help either, since restaurant doors are normally closed anyway and Mana Detection doesn't go through anything solid. I'll have to consider making it pass through certain solids in the future, if that's possible. Doing that could help me find all kinds of things.

I pass by a small place with a sign over the door that says "Rogue Bounty Restaurant." The lights aren't really on, but I can make out some faint candle light. I'm really embarrassed to try to walk into somewhere that might be closed but I'm hungry.

I grab a hold of the door, and it opens. I guess they're open then? I walk in, and it seems fairly standard for a smaller restaurant. Booths by the walls, tables in the middle of the floor, kitchen behind the back, the usual.

I notice there's no one eating and there's no staff. I really get the distinct feeling I'm not supposed to be in here. It's like seeing a liminal space online, but actually being there. I activate Mana Location, and there is definitely somebody in the kitchen. One person, but there is someone here.

I sense them walk through the kitchen and up to the counter. The person I had detected was a tall and a bit overweight man. He looks fairly muscular and has a wide frame. His face also looks quite masculine and his hair is cut short.

He was clearly preoccupied with something else, because when he sees me, he looks at me like I really shouldn't be here. He looks extremely confused. Hey, don't look at me like that! You're the one who didn't lock the door! Probably…

"Um… are you… open?" I ask.

"Well, not really, but if you're going to pay…" He says, looking slightly annoyed.

I would really rather head somewhere else so that I don't have to deal with the embarrassment, but I don't want to take any chances looking for somewhere else that will make me food this late. I am really hungry.

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"Ahh, so many different flavors… all in the same bite." I mutter out loud.

"It's seriously just a salad. Have you not had one before?" He says, looking annoyed. There's really no winning with you, is there?

"Your ingredients though… they're all really good… how did you get them?" I ask as I take another bite out of my fruit salad.

"I don't know, ask my brother. He's the one who gets all the fruits and vegetables."

"Oh… so he gets everything, and you serve it?"

"No, he gets fruits and vegetables, I get meat. We both cook and serve. We only both come in when it gets really busy. It never gets really busy at 2 in the morning."

I ignore that as I put my fork through a piece of an apple. I take another bite, and it's still absolutely delicious.

"Look, I was about to leave. I can lock up the kitchen and there isn't anything valuable in here anyway. Can you just pay me so I can go home?"

"Of course. How much is it?"

"A copper and two woods."

I reach into my pockets to grab the money, but I come to a realization. He isn't going to like this.

"What's wrong? Don't have the money?" He says, getting nervously irritated at me.

"No! No! It's just… I only have silvers…" I say, looking down nervously.

"What?! What kind of spoiled rich kid are you, that you're only carrying around silvers?! Ugh… let's see… 14 woods comes to two coppers… That's 6 coppers and 14 woods I owe you in change then. Just give me one so I can grab that money and leave… I'm too tired for this."

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I walk back into my room on a full stomach. That salad was honestly really good. I'll have to stop by that restaurant again later in the morning. I just hope it'll be his brother working instead of him. He seems to be really angry at me. I can't really blame him either, I'd be really angry at someone coming into my work when I was just about to get off of my shift.

I try to forget about that by looking around my room. When I first saw it, I was too tired to really pay any attention, and even when I woke up I left immediately. I never really got a good look at this place, even though it's mine for the time being.

Let's see, twin sized bed, cabinet, two doors I haven't opened yet. Let's see, door number one is… a closet, it looks like. I don't have any other clothes than what I have on though. Door number two is… a private bathroom?!

A toilet, a sink, and even a shower! The shower head detaches too, so I can spray all over my body! Not only do I finally get to bathe by myself again, I get to have some special fun with the shower head while I'm doing it!

I imagine the real reason it does that is to wash off sand from the beach, but I know now that's definitely not what I'm going to be using it for. Ahh, it's getting me excited. I need to hurry and undress, I want to do it now.