Chapter 20

After Doremi finished setting up where Akudama was going to sleep, she noticed that Akudama had just woken up and said, "Uh, where am I?" As Akudama turned around, he pointed and asked, "Wait, who are you?" Doremi smiled and replied, "I am Doremi. Well, Ryūji-kun went to pick you up and he'll be back shortly. We're taking a break on our journey." Akudama nodded and said, "Oh, okay, Miss Doremi... but where is Ryūji?" Doremi whispered, "Oh, he's by the pond, washing his clothes." Akudama responded, "Oh, I see. Anyway, I'm just going to go back to sleep. Nice to meet you, Miss Doremi." Doremi scratched her head and said, "Oh, it's no problem." As Akudama quickly fell back asleep, Doremi whispered to herself, "Oh my, he fell asleep so quickly." Just as Doremi was about to lay down, she noticed Ryūji approaching without a shirt on. Doremi blushed and covered her face, while Ryūji looked at her and asked, "Oh, is something wrong?" Doremi nervously moved her hand away and said, "No, it's fine. I'm just going to lay down. Good night, Ryūji-kun." Ryūji scratched his head and replied, "Oh, well, good night to you too, Miss Doremi." Doremi smiled after hearing his response.

As Ryūji lay down with them, he noticed that the spot they were in had no grass or any crawling insects. But as he looked up at the sky and raised his hand, he remarked, "What an extraordinary ability I have... It seems quite special to me." As he settled down, his mind kept repeating, "Ryūji Kai... Ryūji Kai, RYŪJI KAI!?" His eyes widened in shock, and he whispered, "What was that?" However, he quickly dismissed it and fell fast asleep, completely ignoring the strange occurrence.

In the morning, Akudama woke up Ryūji and said, "Yo, Ryūji, it's time to wake up. Can you hear me?" Ryūji slowly opened his eyes and replied, "Oh hey, Akudama. You're feeling good, I see. And you too, Miss Doremi." Doremi smiled, although she had been the first one to wake up among them, she felt too shy to wake up Ryūji—it was a feeling she kept within her own heart. As Ryūji got up, he said, "So, we're really going, huh?" Akudama and Doremi both nodded and said, "Yup, it's time to go." Ryūji smiled and said, "Alright, but let me grab my purple T-shirt real quick." However, before he could do so, Doremi already had Ryūji's purple T-shirt in her possession. She started to stutter and said, "It's right here, Ryūji-kun." Ryūji turned around and said, "Oh, thank you very much, Miss Doremi." Doremi smiled and replied, "Oh, it's no big deal." Akudama looked at them and thought, "Is Miss Doremi in love with Ryūji?" But he didn't mind it at all and looked ahead. As Ryūji put on his purple T-shirt and stood up, he said, "Alright, let's get going. By the way, how far is your city, Miss Doremi?" Doremi answered, "Hmm... It's about 3 miles away, so it would take us maybe an hour to walk there, or an hour and thirty minutes?" Ryūji raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up, saying, "Already!"

As they continued walking, Akudama started complaining, "Damn, it feels like forever. How long have we been walking?!" Doremi responded, "It's only been about 12 minutes." Akudama screamed out, "12 minutes?! Damn, we still have a long way to go." Ryūji wanted to complain as well, but as he looked at himself, it felt like he was in a different body. Nevertheless, the trio kept walking towards the city called "Nozomay." Even though the place seemed intriguing, they still had a long journey ahead. As they walked and walked, Akudama checked the time and exclaimed, "Wow, it's only 9:04 am. So, we've been walking for 36 minutes." Akudama looked at both of them and exclaimed, "Damn, you guys have a ton of stamina." Both Doremi and Ryūji smiled at Akudama, while he whispered to himself, "When I was traveling, I didn't feel tired. But as I told myself, I lost my unnatural abilities, and I'm going to live like a human. I mean, I'm not a sorcerer or a saint. I'm just an ordinary human." Ryūji placed his hand on Akudama's shoulder and said, "Do you want me to carry you instead?" Akudama was a bit confused and replied, "Oh no, it's fine. But thank you for offering to help." Ryūji smiled and said, "It's no biggie." Doremi smiled at both of them as they continued their journey towards Nozomay.

After 30 minutes had passed, they finally caught sight of the city. Akudama, with drops of sweat on his forehead, exclaimed, "Wow, we're almost there!" Ryūji added, "It looks wonderful and very huge!" Doremi raised her hand and closed her eyes, taking in the sight, and said, "Yeah, it's very wonderful, and it seems kind of magical and awe-inspiring." Ryūji and Akudama nodded in agreement and said, "Oh, we see."

Ryūji raised his hands and declared, "My countless beautiful ladies, I will protect all of you from any powerful evil entity that dares to come here and attack, no matter if they are truly almighty!" The girls screamed in excitement, and their messages appeared, saying, "Good speech, my lord." Ryūji smirked, pleased with his short but impactful statement.