Chapter 34: The Young Princess
[Chapter 34: The Young Princess]
After hours of searching, they encounter a royal-looking person.
"Make way." The young princess said, without an angry voice, but rather a calm one.
Katasu, Zach, and Raki made way for the princess. Pure wind energy can be sensed around her, and it seems to be a barrier to protect her.
"Who was she?" Katasu asked.
"She's Lieselotte Rinth-eternal, the princess of Ritsurin. You can call her Fleur." answered Raki.
"Dang… I can't even remember all the names of the royals, only the names of some of my clients." The cat-person sighed. "Let's ask her for any clues to the crystal of Ritsurin!"
The "ultimate crystal investigation squad very cute" team approached Fleur. This is why you don't let Katasu make the name.
"What do you want?" said Fleur. She had a green eye, green hair, and green clothing, just like Ritsurin. The difference is, they look different, and Ritsurin is biologically around 20 years old.
"Miss Lieselotte, do you have any clues on the Ritsurin Crystal's whereabouts?" Katasu asked.
"Tch…" Fleur looked away. "I do not possess the ability to find it. Please, just call me Fleur."
"Why don't you have the power? I thought royals like you can sense where the Chromatia are!"
"I cannot believe I am telling this to normal citizens, yet it is not a taboo topic for them… I possess the power of Ritsurin's Spirit Resonance. It allows me to have a fraction of Ritsurin's energy, but I cannot sense where the Chromatia is."
"Spirit Resonance? Do you know any other person who has them, Fleur?"
"The most memorable person for me is Raiyumi, but General Agito Kottako also possesses one."
"Oh… Can you join our crystal exploration squad, though?"
"I appreciate your effort in trying to find them, but I will decline the offer. I have something to attend to." Fleur seemed a bit more friendly to them. "If you don't have anything else, scram." Now a bit more unfriendly.
Fleur walked away, while the three devise a plan to eavesdrop on her something-to-attend-to for more clues.
After walking to a certain location, Fleur looked back. "I said, scram. What else do you want?"
It was the Monument of Wind, far away from the Statue of Ritsurin. Fleur can not only feel the wind, but let the wind feel them. She can just recognize their scent, but Fleur thought it would be pretty weird to do so.
"What are you attending to?" Zach asked.
"Oh, it's you. I'm going to the Ritsurin Military Base to give soldiers a command."
"What kind of command?"
Fleur looked around and the wind blew in the opposite direction, and she then let her hands feel the wind. "We will investigate every person who is currently in Ritsurin and guard every possible way out, so no one can get in or out unless permitted." As she said this, the wind barriers became more visible throughout Ritsurin, along with a faint green pattern that makes it look like a royal and grand wall.
"Putting Ritsurin into a lockdown is a ridiculous idea…" Katasu is scared, but the genderless cat-human's eyes made it feel like they were fascinated by a power as powerful as this.
"But it will make it less tiring to find the culprit. Anyone, and anything that attempts to cross the barrier will get brutally slashed by the vicious wind." Fleur added, looking into Katasu's eyes.
"GEEZ!!!" Katasu covered their mouths in fear. "E-Even if the crystal is gone… Why do you have this much power?"
Fleur sighed. "Regardless if the Chromatia is gone from our guardian's statue, the power granted by them will stay with us, while the guardian slowly loses their own power."
"Why can't you just protect the city by yourself?" Katasu asked, with basically nothing but curiosity after being terrified for a short while.
"It's because I only have a fraction of Ritsurin’s power, and she is ultimately more powerful than me. The underground city of Fukai-Kurai had a powerful beast which took 2 spirit guardians to defeat, the battle has been going on for a long time and it is still not over."
“Oh… I get it now. There’s entities that are that powerful, especially the ones from other dimensions, but if you practice enough you might be able to defeat that thing in one hit!”
“Fukai and Kurai are both one of the new spirit guardians, along with Kori-umi and Rokutori. There’s more cities in Mokkato than what the average person acknowledges, and we have also conquered lands from other dimensions.”
“So you’re saying there’s more places to explore in Mokkato other than those?”
“Yes. There are Mirunaka, Aokane, Rekuzu, Hantensekai and more. To make a city in Mokkato, it will always require a spirit guardian. Every single city in this region is named after their respective spirit guardian, and one can be born at any time. Us humans still do not have the knowledge to become one… Yet.” Fleur explained.
Some years ago, Fleur was an even younger child. She was a person who was really devoted to the history, geography, economy, and the culture of Mokkato. She was abnormally smart for a child, and had the mind of a mature woman, so there were rumors about her.
Was she dead in the past, and possessed by another ghost? Was she possessed by a mature version of her soul? Was she mentally abused by her parents?
None of them were true, however. Fleur was born a royal, lived like a royal, and trained like one. It was her own urge to speak fancy like a mature adult, but her body remains as a young teenager, or child, however you presume it.
Katasu was, however, a poor person at first, but after their magic shop became popular, Katasu got a lot of money. That was the reason they dropped out of school; to support their family with Katasu's income. They were known as the "Nicest Bully" in school, giving life advice while bullying them.
Raki was a victim of school violence, and died. When Katasu found his body, they contacted a necromancer student in school to do a revival ritual, but unfortunately, the only way for Raki to be resurrected was for him to become a zombie, but fortunately, his knowledge remained.
Zach is, of course, one of the best mechanics in Mokkato, and has been building many fascinating machines while waiting for Natoruyo to finally open. The reason why Natoruyo was closed was not just because of city renovation, but also that a supervillain is on the loose in the city, so they locked down Natoruyo with an almost unspottable, yet vicious fire barrier.
The villain was trying to get a hold of the spirit guardian's powers, but failed to do so. Maybe that was why some people decided to steal the Chromatia, to avenge the fallen villain. Still, it was only the crystals of the 6 main cities, and not Kori-umi and Rokutori.
It is nowhere near the end of the story. Only Natoruyo's crystal has been restored, it was an easy job, because Yushiro was a traitor and decided to easily give away the crystal to the squad.
The end, and the crystals, are nowhere nearby, but the Chromatia are more reachable.
"If you require support, you may contact me." Fleur gave her phone number to Zach, but she doesn't use social media much. Everything she does on her phone is communication, which she doesn't do much. "And now, for the last time, scram. We will meet again tomorrow, as you and your teammates are subject to being the first people who are investigated.”