000 - What Makes The Sky Blue

While Djeeta and the others were struggling in Lumacie Archipelago, Rei finally appeared after being teleported by Lyria.

As Rei opened his eyes, he felt relieved because he could return to the Grandcyph-... On top of mountain???

Why am I on top of the mountain???

I tried to look around and rubbed my eyes several times to make sure what I was seeing was real or not.

But even after doing that several times, the scenery in front of me remained unchanged, and I was still on top of the mountain.

I finally decided to try calling out to Lyria and ask her what was happening.

But before I spoke, I could hear Lyria's voice coming from somewhere.

"Hey Rei, sorry, I think I chose the wrong coordinates to send you~"

Although she said that, I could tell from her tone that she didn't feel sorry at all.

"Don't worry, I will send you back soon, but before that, you need to resolve the misunderstandings with someone~"

Hearing that made me confused about what she meant... but suddenly, I saw a purple butterfly flying next to me.

A butterfly... wait? Why is there a butterfly on top of the mountain?

Suddenly, I felt something sharp touching my neck, "Who are you?"

Ehh... this voice? Hearing this voice made me want to look back, but unfortunately, I couldn't do that because when I moved my head, this sharp thing moved deeper into my neck.

"Don't move! If you move even slightly, I will chop off your head," the woman's voice spoke firmly.

Oh wow, this is really bad...

"Miss... I'm sorry for suddenly appearing here, but this is not my fault. My friend accidentally teleported me here," I tried to explain my reason to her.

But the woman that threatening me with her sword still hasn't put down her weapon.

"So your friend accidentally teleported you here?"

After that, I explained to her how I ended up here in the first place, starting from when I was fighting the Colossus with my friend, which made me pass out. And when I woke up in a village on a distant island far from my friend, until suddenly appearing here.

I hoped she wouldn't chop off my head after this because I didn't know if Lucillus' regeneration could reattach a severed head or not.

But the woman behind me hasn't said a word since then and remained silent... it seemed like she was thinking about something.

Slowly, I turned around to see if my suspicions were correct or not.

After turning around, I could see a girl shorter than me with a large horn on her head. The girl had purple hair covering one of her eyes and her iconic Draph ears were also visible.

The thing attached to my neck was the long katana she usually used for her Sword Dance.

Narmaya, huh...

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"Can I move now?" I asked her.

"Fight me," she responded quickly after hearing me.

Eh? Why?

"Why do I have to fight you?"

"Hearing your story about you and your friend encountering a Primal Beast and managing to defeat it makes me believe you are strong enough to test my abilities," Narmaya answered.

Oh right, I forgot about this... The reason why Narmaya chose to leave her village and travel to various places.

"There is someone that I want to acknowledge me, that's why I travel to various places to strengthen my techniques. And now you have appeared, and I can sense really great power within you, so you are the right person for it," Narmaya informed me.

I knew she was referring to Eahta. Eahta is one of the members of the Juutenshu, and Narmaya is a distant relative who grew up in the same village. After Eahta left the village, Narmaya decided to leave as well to improve herself and surpass her distant relative.

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But as Narmaya traveled, she often heard about her distant relative actions, including when he joined the Juutenshu. This made her even more determined to surpass him, constantly honing her skills to confront Eahta if they ever meet again.

If I'm not mistaken, in Fate episodes, Narmaya couldn't surpass him at all and eventually lost to Eahta.

"I'm sorry, miss, but I don't have time to fight you because I need to go to my friends," I replied to Narmaya.

Narmaya then remove her katana from my neck and sheathed it back at her side.

"Please, just a short while," she pleaded with me.

I also wanted to challenge Narmaya because I was curious about her sword techniques. If I'm not mistaken, she combines her magic with swordplay, creating her signature Butterfly Dance technique.

But I really wanted to go back to Djeeta and the others as it had been a while since we last met.

"Really sorry, miss, but I want to go back to my friends, so maybe if we meet again later, we can have a battle," I tried to politely decline.

After that, I turned around to face Narmaya because I had been facing away from her the whole time. I could clearly see Narmaya's appearance now, and being on top of mountain under the moonlight made it easier to see her.

Not gonna lie, she's really beautiful, and her Ara Ara attitude too is just perfect...

But then I noticed Narmaya's eyes widen as she looked at me.

"My~ My~ I didn't expect you to be this handsome," she immediately spoke with a teasing tone.

"Sorry, miss, even though you're trying to compliment me, I still won't fight you," I spoke with a blank expression.

"No, no, I'm just admiring your face because I've never seen someone with a unique appearance like yours," Narmaya replied.

"Ah yes, let me introduce myself, I am Narmaya, a wanderer seeking to enhance her sword skills," Narmaya introduced herself.

"Ah, if you want, you can also call me 'Onee-chan.'"

... Of course not, I won't address you like that.

"In that case, let me introduce myself. I am Rei, one of the members of Djeeta's crew."

"Oh, so you're a member of a crew? Is this Djeeta person a friend of yours whom you want to meet again?"

I nodded as I replied, "Yes, and our crew's goal is to head to Estalucia."

Hearing this surprised her, as it seemed she didn't expect us to be seeking a place that was only a rumor and in children story book.

"Estalucia, you said? Hmm, I didn't expect you to want to find that place," Narmaya seemed to be contemplating something.

"Hey Rei, I'm ready to send you back, are you finished?" Suddenly, I heard Lyria's voice again.

Finally, I could return properly, and hopefully this time Lyria wouldn't make a mistake and send me to another place again.

"Sorry, Narmaya, I have to go. It seems my friend is ready with the teleportation and will send me back to them. Even though our meeting was brief, and you almost cut my neck, but this conversation was really fun. If we meet again, I'm definitely going to fight you."

After saying that, I waited for Narmaya's response... but she just smiled, and her purple eyes seemed to be seriously looking into my blue eyes.

"Let me join you~" she said to me.

Wait, what?

"Hearing your story and about your battles makes me believe that if I join you, I might be able to improve my sword skills more efficiently. And we can practice together anytime without waiting for our next meeting," Narmaya spoke with a smile, moving closer to me.

Wait, what? Before I could answer Narmaya to tell her that I didn't know how to bring her along, suddenly I heard Lyria's voice again.

"Alright Rei, get ready."

Then, my body and Narmaya's (?) started emitting a blue light. Wait, why is Narmaya also glowing?

"Oh, so this is what teleportation feels like," Narmaya spoke, observing her glowing body.

"Eh, Lyria, why is she also glowing??? Lyria???" I spoke around me, as I was sure Lyria could hear me.

"I don't know what you mean Rei~. Well then, I hope you have a pleasant journey, and please try to approach my innocent self"

was the last thing I heard before Narmaya and I disappeared from that place.

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Not long after, Narmaya and I appeared in a certain place, and this time I recognized where we were.

I could see that we appeared in a room, and this room was my bedroom on the Grandcypher.

The room looked very tidy, with no dust at all, as if someone had been tidying up even though I wasn't there.

"Is this your room, Rei?" I heard Narmaya speak.

Hearing that made me turn to Narmaya, and I could see her sitting on my bed.

"Yes, this is my room on the Grandcypher. Oh yeah, the Grandcypher is the name of the airship we use," I explained.

Narmaya didn't hesitate and lay down on my bed, resting her head on my pillow.

"Ah, it's been so long since I've felt a soft bed like this," Narmaya said, moving her legs up and down on my bed. As she did, I could see the gaps in the shorts she was wearing.

Oh wow, she's thicc... but I shook my head immediately and tried to push that thought away.

"Um, Narmaya, that's my bed. If you'd like, I can provide an empty room for you," I told her.

However, after a few moments, I didn't hear any response from her at all.

"Narmaya?" I tried calling her again.

"Zzzzzz..."

Huh? Did she fall asleep??? How did she fall asleep so quickly?

Seeing Narmaya suddenly fall asleep, I sighed and thought wasn't she moving her legs just now?

I wanted to wake her up or at least move her to another place, but suddenly I felt something.

This aura??? A Primal Beast?? I immediately looked out the window.

It seemed Djeeta and the other were on an island. I couldn't remember which island this is, but from this aura, it seemed they were fighting a Primal Beast.

I then ran out, leaving Narmaya sleeping soundly on my bed.

I ran up to the deck of the airship and used my four wings to fly towards the aura I sensed.