Hammerman

In Search Of A Missing Friend

"U-uuuhhh..."

Luckily for him, Gilda didn't receive any major injuries. She was simply knocked out due to the impact.

The girl looked up towards him and said, "W-what happened? W-where's the-the monster? T-that wasn't any ordinary tornado. That was a wind spirit for sure!"

She then tried to stand up, only to wobble and fall towards Kaito, holding him for balance on his chest.

"O-our house... i-it's destroyed... O-oh no, what would I say to Pops?" she said to herself as she looked around.

She released her hold on Kaito before walking around to inspect the damages closer. The first big thing that took her attention was of course, the ice in the middle of the room.

"T-the spirit... it's in there?" She cautiosly touched the surface, feeling just how strong and tough it was.

"Magic! This must be ice magic!"

She then ran back towards Kaito and grabbed both of his hands.

"Sir Kaito, you're the one who did it, didn't you? Oh thank you so much for saving me and my house!" she said with a bright smile. She then released his hand and turned around. "Don't worry! All this can be fixed! I'll just have to ask for the help of the other villagers!" Her eyes then went back towards the frozen spirit. "Though we have to take care of this first. Sir Kaito, could you shatter the ice? It should shatter the wind spirit too. Here, in the land of wind, we used to have hostile wind spirits when the Demon Lord still ruled, so we knew how to deal with them. You just have to shatter their eyes for this particular spirit," she explained smoothly. The eyes were indeed physical objects; small oval-shaped red gems.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

The figure watched as the monster did its work, tearing apart the feeble ceiling of a villager's house where he had been staying. When the ceiling tore open, and the inside of the house was revealed, she frowned when she saw that he was holding hand with a girl.

What is this? Why is he being close with another woman?

Her mistress had told her that the new hero was her old acquaintance and a "very precious friend", and that she was not to kill him. And looking from the softness on her mistress' eyes when she talked about him, she couldn't help but think that her mistress had some feelings towards him.

And now she saw him frolicking around with another girl.

Unforgivable! How dare he betray Milady's feelings!

She would've went down there herself if she had been a more hotblooded person. Instead, she took a deep breath to calm herself.

My mission is to test him. And it would be unfair to him if I fight him right away. Milady told me that he hasn't even awakened to his power yet.

She then saw how her monster knocked the girl unconscious, leaving only him and him alone to fight it.

Good. If he ran away, leaving her behind, then he would undoubtedly be unworthy of Milady.

To her surprise, he actually stood and fight.

What can you do without your power?

As ordered, she would not take his life. However, harming him was perfectly fine, as it was just another part of the trial. So she watched as her monster slowly approached towards him. She would only stop it once she was sure that he would not be able to last any further.

But to her second surprise, instead of kneeling over in front of her monster, he actually managed to kill it with what looked to be ice magic.

So, he finally awakened. Right on time while he's in a pinch. Hmph, what a drama queen.

The figure then vanished into thin air, satisfied of a job well done.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

Indeed.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

"A-A tornado?" Gilda shouted in horror.

The wind got stronger and stronger, until it was strong enough to blow the hay ceiling right off. As said ceiling were unraveling, Gilda quickly grabbed Kaito's hand and dragged him towards the door.

"W-we have to run! Now!"

However, before she could do so, the ceiling finally gave in, and the tornado monster landed right in the middle of the room. Naturally, it caused immediate chaos with all the furniture flying and swirling around; table included.

And said table crashed into Gilda, sending her flying to the brick wall, knocking her out instantly.

The tornado monster then looked towards Kaito, before floating towards him, intending to swallow him whole with its body. Its target was only Kaito. It paid no attention to GIlda.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

Oh no, I think I didn't write my post quite properly back there. What I meant was that Lilia took only the gem while Gilda took (and shared later on) the rest of the treasure. I can see how it reads more like Gilda took the gem.

Sorry.

Also, the tornado monster is about as big as an adult human. Maybe slightly bigger, but not by much.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

I'm fine with that.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

Guess I end up updating after all.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

"Hmm? Oh, you're awake already, Sir Kaito!"

From Gilda's muffled voice, he could surmise that she was outside. And indeed she was, up doing laundry early in the morning. She had woke up around two hours earlier than Kaito, even before the sun had risen across the hill. She was perfectly used to waking up so early, as she had been doing it almost every day ever since her mother passed away.

It usually went like this. She took a bath first, using the water she drew from the well beside the house, and then she changed her clothes, with the old one being sent to the laundry, to be washed right away afterwards along with the clothes worn by her father. And after that, she would hang them all to dry.

Now, she was in the middle of said hanging process.

"Wait just a second please, I'm almost finished!"

And indeed she was, as she rushed in after hanging her bloomers last.

"Oh right, you want a change of clothes," she said after being in front of him. "That makes sense. But Lilia doesn't really change hers though. But hers don't really look that different from the clothes of this world..."

She then started to ruffle through the wardrobe inside the bedroom. They only had one wardrobe so both her clothes and her father's were stored there together.

"Hmm, not this. Not this. This is old. This has a rip on it--I really should fix that. Ah, yes, this is it!"

With a bright smile, she took out a light brown tunic and a pair of dark brown trousers. They were the furthest thing from fancy clothes, but they looked decent enough to wear.

"They might be a bit too large for you though. Here, try them on!" She handed them over to Kaito.

"And while you do, I'm making breakfast! Omelette is good enough, right?"

---

So, this is where he is...

A humanoid figure stood above the village, far away enough that no one could notice her presence.

The man that Milady took an interest in. The so-called Second Hero.

Her face was stern, almost of that of a judge.

Even without her order, I would still wish to test you nonetheless. To reach Milady, you will need the gems. And I would never surrender mine without a fight.

With her breath, she conjured what looked like a small tornado in front of her. However, said tornado gained a pair of arms formed out of even smaller tornadoes. And a pair of red glowing eyes appeared inside it.

So show me. Show me if you truly deserve to meet her.

The tornado then descended right towards the village.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

Hey, just dropping in to say that I might not reply in the weekend. Sorry.

In Search Of A Missing Friend

"Tee hee, thank you!" Gilda replied to his compliment with a blush. "Well, the people on the Order should be more knowledgeable about a Hero's mission than me, so I don't think it would be a bad idea to go there."

At Kaito's suggestion of Gilda going with Lilia, the shepherd just laughed in response.

"That's impossible! I have Pops and the farm to take care of! Besides, I'm no warrior! I'll just be in the way!"

With that, their dinner was finished. It was time to sleep.

"That's all I can tell you about her," Gilda said as she poured Kaito some water to flush any of the beef or wine taste he still had in his mouth. "Sorry. It seems we don't have to talk all night after all," she added with a smile.

The two slept apart with their own mattresses and blankets. The blankets and mattresses were clean, although they were obviously worn-out from years of use. It was clear that Gilda took cleanliness really seriously. Unlike a more well-off girl would do, Gilda didn't change to her pajamas or nightgown before tucking herself in since she didn't really have any. It might be not that comfortable, especially since she had sweated through the day wearing the dress she wore to sleep, but she was an easy sleeper, and it didn't take long at all until she fell asleep.

She would just change into a different dress and undergarments tomorrow.

---

Holy Land of Fana
Throne of The World

Lilia stood up from her throne after she saw Kaito falling asleep, dispelling the scrying spell with a snap of her finger.

Oh, Gilda. I'm glad you are still in good health., she thought with a smile. And thank you for taking care of Kaito.

Her cat had returned to her room on its own, going for an earlier sleep than her master. And so she was truly alone there.

I'm glad you didn't become my companion. Or else I would have to betray you in the end.

Her barefooted steps echoed as she walked forward. The castle was like her home now, and she never liked wearing shoes or even socks at home. And her minions always kept the place sparkly clean.

How interesting that he was sent to the same place I was sent. But it seems he has not yet awakened to his power, nor that he knows what his goal should be. My intervention bore some fruit after all.

I know he would go after me. But to reach this place, it wouldn't be an easy as just taking a simple trip.

I'll just have to show him that reality.

She stopped in her steps.

She had someone to call.

---

Land of Wind
Village of Autumn

Kaito's sleep was restless.

He dreamed of flying through the skies, in search of his long lost friend Lilia.

No, to be more exact, he had already known where she was. He now just had to go there.

And then, midway through the flight, he suddenly crashed into an invisible wall mid-air, making him fall to the ocean below.

As he sank, deeper and deeper to the abyss, he heard a voice whispering to his ears.

The gems... necessary... to break through the barrier...

And then, he woke up.