One's Eden: Hanayuki Travel

Chapter 19: The spirit den

Before the sunrise.

Hanayuki, together with Shaymi and Ninym, immediately goes toward the train station. They got their tickets immediately and rode the long train. It was Shaymi’s first time riding a train and it excited her. Her pupils beam in light and her body is giggling. She thought that this long mechanical vehicle was some sort of dragon told in ancient books.

Ever since Hanayuki and Shaymi started their adventure together they have always been riding carriages, but mostly they are both walking on foot. From one town to the next.

It was horrible for a little girl to walk long distances. But it is something that is already explained to Shaymi. Shaymi doesn’t have any complaints since Hanyuki is the one protecting her and giving her food.

Excited but still sleepy, the two girls, Shaymi and Ninym, end up sleeping in their seats waiting for the train to reach their destination. Hanayuki, meanwhile, decides to stay vigilant and focus on her.

Last night, the adventurer eavesdropping on their conversation was suspicious. The feeling of something was wrong remained in Hanayuki’s heart. It doesn’t have any concrete evidence, but her hunch is something that everyone should be paying attention to.

She is wary for different reasons. Hanayuki wasn’t telling Ninym yet, but there was another meaning to their meeting. Since it was Hanayuki, it is not particularly evil. She decided to take her time and if it was unavoidable. Hanayuki will tell you the reason for their meeting.

Right now, Ahnayuki was enjoying herself, looking toward the sleeping faces of Ninym and Shaymi.

Is this the feeling of having a little sister?

She thought…

And suddenly… a flash of memories came appearing in her mind. A certain blonde-haired girl. Beautiful as an angel was looking at her.

They both live in a small wooden house. Looking outside from the window. Everything was covered in white. The blonde girl walked beside Hanayuki and they both ate mushroom soup together with a smile. “Sorry… Hanayuki, this is the only thing her sister can afford.” The blonde-haired girl said with an apologetic tone.

Hanayuki's body shakes and her left eye shades a single tear.

Who is that person? My big sister? Why is it always snowing? Am I from the far north? Or far South?

The fragment of memories appeared in her mind and pulled her deep curiosity for a while. After processing, she felt happy that some of her memories returned. That means she indeed has a family to be called when she is young. She might not know where they are now. Right now, Hanayuki felt that she had taken one step towards her goal.

Her adventure and aimless travel are not for nothing.

The train travels from dawn to sunset. The whole day was spent seated on the train. Looking toward the scenery, they passed by and ate some delicious lunch boxes at each station they passed by. That’s how the day ended for Hanayuki and her friends. They made their step into Mona City.

Mona city is currently busy. A huge number of adventurers could be seen walking on the streets with their weapons equipped in their bodies. It's already sunset and the adventurers are on their way to rest. All of them from their quest go back to town to have some fun. Restaurants and bars are crowded. This resulted in the girls having a hard time finding a place to have dinner. Same with finding a place to eat. They have a hard time finding an inn for them to stay in.

“The rest was 1000 silver.”

“That’s expensive!”

Hanayuki replied to the receptionist.

“That’s normal here in Mona city. Mona City is good as a place for the wealthy.”

“That’s not a reason to raise the rent.”

“It is a reason that the rent rises. The tax for opening businesses in highly crowded businesses like Mona City is very high. We’re not raising our rent just because we want money. We’re business owners, not thieves… If you don’t have the money you could just sleep outside.”

The outside was noisy and camping outside the city was not an option because of the monsters roaming around the city, it was high leveled.

This inn was the 15th place they visited. This Inn probably has the cheapest of them all. Others offer 5,000 silver a night or more.

She promised to have Ninym and Shaymi’s safety. Hanayuki looked toward the little girls. Of course, she couldn’t make them sleep outside. (There was a time Hanayuki slept outside because she didn’t have money. She can take care of herself because she is powerful enough. Her logic can’t be applied to the cute girls looking at her with cute baby doll eyes.)

Hanayuki’s body vibrates as she takes her wallet and takes two gold coins equivalent to 2,000 silver coins.

“I rent one room for two nights.”

Hanayuki said trembling.

“Just one room?”

“Yup… They are both kids. I can’t take my eyes off them.”

“But you're also a kid.”

“I’m not a kid!”

Hanayuki took her adventurer card and put it on the receptionist's face. The receptionist apologized and handed the key to their room.

Arrived in the room, they saw a big wide bed. The room they got has a master bedroom. Sleeping together in bed wasn’t a problem anymore. Looks like the receptionist took pity on Hanayuki and offered them a room with a wide bed.

The three girls didn’t waste time and dived down to the soft bed.

“My body felt exhausted... My memory serves me right, all I did was sit down in that seat for long hours.”

“True… It felt weird.”

“Riding the train makes my head dizzy… But it was fun.”

Hanayuki, before closing her eyes, chanted that a magical barrier encircled their room. It didn’t take long for them to doze off to their sweet dreams.

...

Hanayuki gently opened her eyes. She pushed the covers off and sat up. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she turned her glance toward the two girls sleeping peacefully beside her.

“So cute… I want to hug both of them tightly.”

The little sister complex started to manifest in Hanayuki’s heart. What she’s saying is true. If anyone was granted to have a little sister as cute as these two. They will definitely awaken their inner sister complex.

Hanayuki can’t resist her urge anymore. She truly wanted to hug both of them by squeezing them tight. The problem was they would wake up and think of Hanayuki as a weirdo for doing silly things.

Hanayuki thought about other things besides hugging. She looked at their cheeks and poked her index finger at them.

Soft as marshmallow cheeks were felt. Hanayuki pokes Shaymi’s cheeks again and giggles. She started poking Ninym’s cheeks too.

“Ninym is also soft.”

Before, things got weird. Hanayuki woke up the two girls gently. The Spirit den is a rock throw from Mona City, there is no need for haste. They will take their time in having breakfast and preparation.

After their breakfast, the three girls started their journey toward the spirit den.

“Hanayuki, is it fine to bring Shaymi with us? It's dangerous in the spirit den because of the monsters and we’re going to fight the Luster dragon.”

“It's fine, I can’t leave Shaymi back in town… Remember the time when we were bathing together?”

“Yes… what is it about it?”

“I have a bad feeling that we’re being followed by someone.”

“Aren’t you just overthinking things? Why will some follow us? Wait, don’t tell me they're after the rare items in my body? Am I in trouble?”

“There is a possibility… But a rare item like that dagger and ring wasn’t fancy-looking enough. They are both rare magic items, they both look so simple. People around us think that it is just a normal weapon.”

“True, it doesn’t even have a unique style.”

Simplicity is the best. One of Hanayuki’s beliefs in life. Being too high is not good and being too low is not good. Being simple but not simplest was her objective. The same goes for rich people. Being rich without other people knowing you are rich will give you a sense of security.

The magical weapon given to Ninym is designed for Hanayuki’s liking. It is simple, but you won’t say it's bad-looking. It's above-average to be exact.

“It's just a hunch or maybe I’m just being overprotective to Shaymi… Shaymi has been my traveling companion for a month now. She has become somewhat important in my life.”

“I see, Hanayuki is truly a wonderful person. When I was traveling I never met a person as wonderful as you. Someone who will help someone without anything in return.”

“I’m not like that.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“ It means what it means.”

“You’re being complicated… Look at Shaymi running ahead of us.”

Shaymi is playing running ahead of Hanayuki following a harmless monster called a rainbow butterfly. Just like the name implies, it was a butterfly with a wing pattern resembling a rainbow.

Ahanyuki smiles seeing Shaymi having fun.

The butterfly landed on a flower. Shaymi stared at it for a moment, appreciating its beauty. Suddenly, the flower transformed into a giant carnivorous plant monster. Its giant mouth opened widely, going to swallow Shaymi fully.

Hanayuki was alarmed and ran as fast as she could. She took Shaymi’s body and her feet swung, creating a blade of lightning… Cutting the Carnivorous plant.

“That was close… Don’t go too far from me, Shaymi.”

“...”

Shaymi nodded in silence, feeling guilty that she had troubled Hanayuki. Once again, Hanayuki saved Shaymi’s life and it was a favor she knew she couldn’t return.

“I… I-I’m sorry.”

Hanayuki patted her head and replied:

“ It's fine… If you learn your lesson, then it's good enough for me.

Shaymi nodded again.

The battle continues with insect monsters and plant monsters. Ninym and Hanayuki defeat each monster appearing in front of their eyes.

Tips for battling were also told to Ninym. Their journey going to Spirit Den becomes training for Ninym to get stronger. Ninym was a smart child and learned quickly.

“ A dead tree monster is coming… Ninym!”

“I’ll handle it!”

Ninym first speeds up her body with wind magic. Moving at high speed, she moves around the monster, cutting its branches, serving as limbs. From above she collected magic for her dagger. Enhancing the dagger's strength. The dagger lit up in dazzling green light. Slashing downward from the top to the bottom.

Ninym defeated a high-level monster on her own.

Her heart was racing and sweat from her forehead slid down to her chin. She could not believe what she had just done. Making her remain speechless for the moment.

“I defeated a high-level monster on my own… Is this true?”

“It was your hard work and ability to learn things easily. Ninym is very smart, as I thought. Looking at you, I bet you use too much magic in that combo. It's great at using a powerful combo move. But you should learn to conserve. There is a possibility that you will miss it and without magic to back you up. You’ll find yourself in a dire situation.”

Hanayuki said and handed over a potion that replenishes one’s magic to Ninym.

“Yes… Master!”

“When did I become your master? If we continue at this pace, we’ll reach the spirit den in no time.”

As said, they indeed reach the spirit den. Monsters were defeated one by one. It didn’t take long for them to reach the bottom area of the spirit den.

The boss area and the location where the spirit gem will manifest were reached.

“This place felt so sinister."

“...”

Hanayuki entered the boss's room silently. No hint of fright was shown.

Shaymi and Ninym were trembling in fear. Resting in the center of the room was a giant dragon. Sapphire serving as scales was shining brilliantly in blue colors. The dragon immediately woke up, sensing Hanayuki’s approach.

Fable said that the Luster dragon was one of the most beautiful monsters in the world. The description wasn’t wrong at all. The presence of the dragon was majestic indeed.

But the light-brown-haired girl didn’t have time to appreciate its beauty.

“Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The luster dragon let out a roar that echoed throughout the entire den. The ground and ceiling rumble. Making the other two girls hug each other in fear.

“Lightning magic…”

Hanayuki curler her hånd in fist. She leaps up high and her hands get ready to throw a punch.

“... Lightning punch!”

The fist dug deep into the dragon's cheeks. Destroying the sapphires that were meant to protect their bodies.

Just in one strike.

The powerful dragon was defeated.

“For real?”

Ninym was dumbstruck at what she had just seen.

“It's to be expected… Hanayuki is the strongest after all.”