Chapter 7

Chapter 7; Lorem Natus.

Kazuhiko was the first one to wake up as he yawned and stretched his body. He rubbed his tired eyes and saw Maia making something, "Good morning...Kinoshita-san..."

"Morning.", she greeted back, "Go wash your face."

"Okay..."

He stood up and went to the nearby river. He started to wash his face and his hands before headed back to the camp, fully awake and sat down.

"What are you making?", Kazuhiko started a conservation.

"Omelets.", she replied shortly, "I hope you don't mind."

"That's fine with me. I'll go and wake them up."

He then went to Xenon and Daiki and tried to wake them up, "You guys! Wake up!"

"Ugh...five more minutes...", Xenon groaned as he rolled his body to other direction. Daiki aren't responding to Kazuhiko's wake up call. At all. The gunner pouted and continued to wake them up.

Breakfast was ready within another twenty minutes and Maia actually fixed everyone omelettes with melted cheese and peppers on top.

"Oooh! They look delicious!", Kazuhiko exclaimed.

"...Hm? They're not awake yet?", Maia asked when she saw Xenon and Daiki still sleeping on the ground.

"No...I can't wake them up!", Kazuhiko sighed in defeat.

"I see..."

Maia grabbed a frying pan and a ladle and went near them. She then started to make loud noises by hitting the ladle on the frying pan. That action made them jolt awake.

"Huh what...!?", Daiki and Xenon suddenly sit up with a tired look.

"Wake up sleepy heads. It's time to eat. Go wash your face."

Xenon and Daiki slowly stood up and walk to the river groggily to wash their faces. Kazuhiko just stood there before look at Maia with a serious look.

"Kinoshita-san."

"Hm?"

"Teach me your ways."

"Ah...okay then."

Timeskip

After Xenon and Daiki washed their faces, they sit down to eat the omelettes that Maia have prepared.

"Thanks for the food!"

They start eating their food. Daiki hummed in delight, "Delicious~"

Kazuhiko nodded in agreement, "Yeah. It's delicious, Kinoshita-san! Can you teach me how to make this next time?", the gunner complimented.

"Ah...it's nothing special really. I just followed the recipes and the seasoning was according to my taste.", she said quietly as she ate the omelette.

"Maybe I should try that next time...", Kazuhiko muttered as he took out a notebook and start writing on it. Xenon ate the omelette quietly, thinking about the yesterday's event, '...I ended up fall asleep. That's weird though. I never fall asleep while I was in the forest...'

Once breakfast was done, they were up and pack in ten minutes. They then continued their journey towards the Independent Town, Lorem Natus. However their progress was made slow when it started to rain three hours into their journey. It started out light but gradually increased throughout the day.

Maia closed her eyes, wearing her tattered cloak on her head, "If it keeps raining, I don't want to go any further."

"Why?", Kazuhiko asked curiously.

"I hate rain.", she said without hesitation, "I get sick very easily."

"Oh..."

Daiki frowned before he snapped his fingers, "I know!". He took out his white feather and muttered, "...Shield."

Suddenly a light surrounded them and the next thing they knew, they aren't feeling wet anymore, "Oooh! Good idea Daiki!", Kazuhiko gave a thumbs up.

"We need to hurry though. My spell won't last long than 3 hours."

They nodded and continued their journey. Unfortunately, the path to Lorem Natus was rather muddy. They had to walk slowly so they wouldn't fall on the ground.

After nearly agonizing three hours of walking, they had to keep themselves from cheering when they saw a town in the distance. Everyone was tired from walking. Plus the Shield that Daiki casted won't last any longer.

It was about five in the afternoon when they stepped into the small independent town. The town was also damp from all the rainfall. Daiki look around, "...We need to look for an inn so we wouldn't get wet."

They found the inn and went inside. Luckily, the Shield just worn off as soon as they stepped inside, much to their relief. They went to the innkeeper, who look outside the window.

"O-oh! We have customers.", the innkeeper jumped at their sudden appearance before smiling, "Would you travellers like to stay here?"

"Yes. We need two rooms...", Daiki said.

"That would be 200 crowns please."

Daiki took out his money and paid the woman. In exchange she gave him two keys. He gave one to Maia, who just took it gently.

"--The rain haven't let up yet...", Xenon spoke up, "I thought this part of region would be mostly...sunny."

The innkeeper sighed, "You're not wrong about that, young one but as you can see, it just keep on raining."

"I wonder why..."

"We don't know either. The mayor was trying to figure it out. If this keeps up, people might start leaving this town...", the innkeeper frowned, "Unfortunately, we have to wait for mayor's orders before we could do anything."

"That's...too bad."

They left the lobby and went to their perspective rooms. Xenon was looking out at the window, "...Mayor...huh."

"What's wrong Xenon?", Daiki asked in concern, "Are you feeling sick?"

"Ah no...I was just thinking...", the prankster rubbed his chin in thought, "...I have a bad feeling about this."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know why but I just have this bad feeling. It's best if we keep on guard."

"O-okay...I'll make sure to tell Mai-chan later..."

Daiki was confused though. How come this area was raining cats and dogs? He knew this place won't receive any rainfalls for a quite a while yet it seems like it didn't stop raining for a while.

Kazuhiko sighed, catching their attention, "If it keeps raining...I might as well have cabin fever..."

"Not only you though.", Xenon said as he look over the window, "...At any rate, as much I want to continue our journey, we can't go out if it keeps on raining."

"You're right...even Shield won't help us...", Daiki muttered as he look at the window too, "Plus...Mai-chan will get sick if she was perfectly exposed to rain..."

The white haired boy stood up, "Speaking of Mai-chan, I should go back to her room."

"Wait Daiki.", Kazuhiko called out his name as he stood up, "We should buy some ingredients later for our journey. Can you come with me later?"

"Oh okay."

With that Daiki left the room. Kazuhiko look at Xenon, who was quiet the whole time, "Nii-san, you're being too quiet. What's wrong?"

"...I don't like this.", the prankster spoke up, "I don't like this town."

"What why?"

"...I felt something unpleasant at that mansion."

"Mansion...?"

Kazuhiko went to Xenon to look outside. He saw a huge mansion not too far from here, "Oh that mansion. They look okay to me..."

"...That may be but still...I don't like it."

The gunner was confused by his sudden serious attitude. He barely even see him being serious, "...You...really hate this place huh?"

"You can say that.", the prankster stood up and look at him in the eye, "Kazu, I want you guys to stay away from that mansion. Just...stay away from it."

"O-okay...I will..."

*Timeskip...*

Xenon decided to stay at the inn with Maia because he felt too uneasy. And so, Daiki and Kazuhiko were walking on the wet road, holding umbrellas.

They went to the store and brought some food and water for their journey. Along the way, Daiki brought chocolates for Maia, which Kazuhiko made a mental note that she possibly like chocolates.

While on their way back, they saw people gathering, "Hm? Did something happen?", Daiki asked Kazuhiko, "Don't ask me. Let's go find out."

They went near the crowd and asked one of them, "Excuse me. What happen?"

The girl look at them, "Ah...travelers. We're here to demand something."

"Demand something...?"

"Yes! The Mayor lied to us!", the older man suddenly yelled, "He didn't even try to find the reason why the rain haven't stop!"

"How long did the rain started?", Daiki asked.

"About a month ago. It all started when our previous mayor died and his second son took over.", explained the girl.

"Second...? Where is the first son?"

"Unfortunately he don't want to become a mayor so he passed the title to his brother. It's too bad since we all like him."

"I see...that was rather unfortunate...", Daiki mumbled before looking at the mansion, "Is that his home?"

"Yep. It is."

Kazuhiko widen his eyes when he saw the mansion. Xenon warned him about not getting close to it and he definitely felt chills from it. He gulped, "O-oh...Daiki, we should get going."

"Huh? Oh okay...", Daiki was confused but he saw fear on Kazuhiko's eyes so he agreed. They said goodbye to them and walked back to the inn.

"Kazu-kun...are you okay?", the timid boy asked, "You look scared."

"Well...Nii-san told me not to go near there.", Kazuhiko explained, "He told me to stay away from that mansion. Nothing more."

"I see...", Daiki raised an eyebrow and started mumbling, "...Why would he tell you that..."

When they arrived at the inn, they saw Xenon pacing around, look quite disturbed. He saw them and went to them, "You're late! I was worri--I mean, I just saw the crowd gathering around that mansion! What happen...?"

"Oh Nii-san...", Kazuhiko wanted to laugh at how Xenon actually stop himself from saying 'worried' but now it's not the time for jokes since the prankster look really serious, "They said the Mayor didn't even try to solve this town's case."

"The town's case...?", the prankster mumbled, "...You must mean the Mayor didn't bothered to find out why the rain haven't stop."

"Y-yeah."

"...You two haven't go near that mansion right?"

"Uh...well, I'm not sure since the crowds were gathering and protesting."

"I...see."

"Where's Mai-chan?", Daiki asked. Xenon sighed, "Probably in her room. I didn't even see her while you guys were out."

"Oh.", the white haired boy chuckled, "She's probably lazing around. Come on, let's go."

They followed Daiki to Maia's room and the timid boy opened the door, "Mai-chan, I brought you some--...Eh?"

He look around, not seeing Maia, "Mai-chan...?"

They only saw a blanket wrapped in burrito style. He walked to the bed, seeing if she was there. Xenon and Kazuhiko started to feel worried but then they jumped when they heard Daiki screamed, "KYAH!"

He jumped because Maia was actually inside of the burrito blanket and she popped off her head to reveal herself.

"Y-you scared me...", Daiki said, trying to calm his heart down.

"Oh sorry, I was sleeping...", she yawned and rubbed her eyes, "I was up last night so..."

"Oh really? Is that mean you accompany Xenon-kun on night watch?"

Kazuhiko raised an eyebrow, "What? But earlier, Nii-san was sleeping."

This time Daiki raised an eyebrow, "Oh...? But didn't Xenon-kun volunteer..."

"I told Fukumoto to get some sleep.", Maia explained, cutting him off, "He look tired."

"Mai-chan...you should worried about yourself every once in a while.", Daiki gently scolded, "I know you don't like to sleep early but still..."

"I'm fine now.", she unwrapped the blanket and stood up, "Did something happen while I'm asleep?"

"Nothing interesting happen.", Xenon responded, "Except they bought some ingredients for the journey."

Maia stretch her body before looking at Daiki, "Oh...I'm hungry...I want to eat."

"Oh right...let's go to the dining room and eat lunch then."

They went out of the room and headed to the dining room. When they reached their destination, they heard a cry.

"My husband and daughter...!", they heard a mother's cry, "They have taken my husband and daughter!"

"K-keep it down Mana-chan!", the innkeeper tried to calm down the woman, or Mana, "I have travelers staying here! The last thing I wanted is to let them get involved!"

"B-but...the Mayor took them away...!"

Daiki couldn't stand it anymore so he stepped out, "I apologized for eavesdropping but I heard everything."

The innkeeper gasped, "O-oh no..."

"Ano...Mana-san...right?", Daiki kneeled to her level as he gave his handkerchief to her, "What happen?"

Mana sniffed, "My husband and daughter...the Mayor have taken them away...", she wiped her tears with his handkerchief, "B-because they're the one who started the protest outside..."

"Protest...", Kazuhiko gasped, "Wait a minute...you look like that girl back then...could it be...?"

"It must be them we've been talking with before we left!", Daiki exclaimed, "But why?"

"I...don't know...but suddenly the guards came and took them away..."

Maia frowned, "That can't be good...especially they don't have a good reason..."

Daiki stood up, his face read determination, "I--I will go to the Mayor's house and ask him!"

"E-eh!? N-no way!", the innkeeper exclaimed, "The guards won't let you in!"

"But I can't just stand here, doing nothing!", Daiki fight back, "Please rest assured! I'll get your family back!"

"Daiki..."

Maia had to admire his determination to save people but at the same time, she had to believe that he should stop meddling into other's business.

In the end, the group decided to drag Daiki out for now and started to eat their lunch. Daiki look down, "S-sorry...I couldn't help it..."

"Well, it's understandable.", Maia stated, "But you should stop meddling into other people's business."

"L-look who's talking!", Daiki puffed his cheeks, "You always rush in to help animals and got injured!"

"It's for my training."

"That's what you call reckless, Mai-chan!"

Kazuhiko sweatdropped, "You guys..."

"Hey!", Xenon stood up and smirked, "The only person who can create troubles is me!!"

"You're actually proud of it!?"

The argument continued before they went back to the topic, "Okay we got side tracked. Should we help her or not?", Maia questioned. Without a question, Daiki nodded.

Kazuhiko pondered for a moment before nodding, "We probably should. I feel sorry for her. What about you, Nii-san?"

"Me?", Xenon sighed, "...I prefer not to get involved..."

"To be honest, me too.", Maia agreed with Xenon, "But...fine. You want to save them then so will I."

"...Alright. I'll come along too."

"Yay!", Daiki cheered.

And so, they decided to see Mana again to tell her that they want to help them. Mana was surprised that they actually wanted to help her so she tried to help by telling them everything she knew about this place and the Mayor.

"The first son was missing for a few days already?", Kazuhiko asked in shock. Mana nodded, "Yes. That's what I heard from a friend of mine."

"Maybe he was held as a prisoner like your husband and daughter?"

"... I'm not sure."

"Have people seen him go outside like he used to?"

"No. We rarely seen him out ever since his younger brother was appointed as a Mayor."

"...That's odd.", Xenon muttered, "He wouldn't just go and disappeared."

"Do you have a picture of him? The current Mayor I mean.", Daiki asked.

Mana nodded and show them the picture of the appointed Mayor. Maia raised an eyebrow, "He...look normal? But yeah, don't judge book by its cover."

"We heard of something unpleasant recently.", Mana explained, "Some people mention about the current Mayor kill people who opposes him and sell their dead bodies to the black market."

"That sounds sick.", Kazuhiko remarked.

"We don't know if it's true or not. But with that scary rumours still around, it might happen to my family if I don't act now..."

Xenon pondered hard for a while before nodding, "...We should sneak in."

"Eh!?", Daiki expressed his surprise as Maia nodded in agreement.

"As much I don't want to sneak in, we actually don't have a choice. And in a way, we opposed the Mayor too."

"B-but..."

Xenon frowned as he thought of the mansion, "...Besides, it's been bothering me for a while. The mansion look normal but I could feel something dark emitting from it..."

"...Now you mention it, you're right.", Kazuhiko nodded in agreement as he rubbed his chin, "When I noticed I was close to that mansion, suddenly I felt chills."

"...Me too.", Daiki muttered, "It feels scary..."

The eerie silence occurred as they look down. Maia got goosebumps and started to rub her arm in discomfort, "We should sneak in tonight. I had the feeling that our worse nightmare will come true if we don't act now."

Xenon nodded, "Yeah. Let's buy some medical supplies, just in case we need it. Or them."

"Okay then."

The innkeeper tried to convince that they shouldn't help them but they insisted. Four of them walked around the town to look for medical supplies. Unfortunately, they had to walk pass the mansion. Xenon frowned as he felt dark aura coming from the mansion, '...I fear for the townspeople safety. And the current Mayor's brother too. I should sneak in as soon as possible.'

When they're done shopping, they headed back to the inn and disscuss their plan in Xenon's room.

"Obviously we're gonna sneak in but how? The security there is high.", Kazuhiko stated, remembering that he saw many guards when they walked pass the mansion.

"I got an idea!, Daiki, call Max while I get something.", Xenon said as he stood up and walked to his bag. Daiki tilted his head but nonetheless he called Max.

When Max arrived and landed on Daiki's shoulder, Xenon brought a laptop and a small bracelet.

"What's that?", Daiki asked.

"It's a laptop.", Xenon sat down and turned on the laptop, "And this is a small spy camera. Now we have Max to help us, we can see the layout of the outside mansion."

The boys gave a surprise look while Maia look a bit impressed.

"Impressive...", she muttered.

"Now Max, I will attach this to you. Don't worry, it won't hurt you."

Max chirped and hopped to Xenon, who then gently attached the bracelet to the pigeon. Daiki frowned, "I heard machines will explode if they hit the water and I don't want Max to get hurt."

"Don't worry, it's waterproof. Alright, done!"

Xenon look at the laptop and checked if the camera were functioning very well. He asked the pigeon to move around and he obliged to do it. This went for a few minutes before Xenon was satisfied with it, "It's functioning very well. Max, I want you to find a perfect view of the whole mansion and stay there for 30 seconds and then come back okay?"

Max chirped and flew off.

Everyone focused on the laptop. It didn't took very long for Max to find a spot that would capture the whole view. Xenon took many pictures before the pigeon flapped his wings and flew back to the inn.

The prankster carefully checked the pictures he took, "Hm...Kazu was right. The security are rather tight. We need to find another way to enter the mansion."

"The gate is a no. But the back entrance seems okay...", Kazuhiko said but then he shook his head, "No wait, the Mayor is rich so he probably have guards there. Hmm...what to do...?"

"Wait, I have an idea."

They curiously look at Xenon, who smirked, "We'll have to enter the mansion right after I tell you the plan."

"What are you planning, Nii-san...?"

Xenon told them his plan. They were rather taken aback when Xenon finished telling them.

"It's going to be a grand one!"

The prankster laughed. The others sweatdropped.

"He's acting like a villain...", Daiki muttered.

"Don't forget sadistic...", Maia said.

"Tsundere, prankster devil.", Kazuhiko continued Maia's sentence.

"Oh shut up!", Xenon yelled.

To be continued...

Bonus!

Daiki: Hrm....

Maia: ......

Kazuhiko: What's wrong you two?

Daiki: This will be my first attempt to break inside someone's house.

Maia; ...Same.

Kazuhiko; Ooohh. It's my first time too! ... I'm not sure about Nii-san though. He looks like he actually break in someone's home.

Xenon: Hey!! It's my first time too!!

Maia: He's sketchy enough as it is.

Xenon: I'm not sketchy!!