Chapter 411: [Vol.4] Quest 306- Exploration

Early morning, Moonlight Tower.

"Hmm… yawn!" waking up, Hakushika gets up. He looks across the room to an empty, messy bed. "Hmm. Calli is gone. I bet she’s getting Dad to dote on her again."

He looked to his door as a set of footsteps reached his ears.

Slam!!!

"Haku!! It’s time to get up!!" said Ai, bursting through the door.

"I’m already up, Mom." He said, sluggish.

Ai has done it enough times that Haku knows when she is gonna wake him up.

"Then get changed and head to get breakfast in the cafeteria! Your sister is already up and about."

"I know Mom."

After changing and brushing his teeth, he goes to the 2nd tower.

He walks past other members of the Familia.

"Morning Haku!"

"Morning!"

"Morning to you too." He responded.

‘Why are there so few males in this Familia?’

 

When he arrives at the cafeteria, he finds Callisto on Cirrus' lap, eating with Artemis next to him. A tinge of jealousy rose in him. A part of him wished he were as close to his father as his sister was.

"Come on!" said Ai with two plates of food. "Your dad has been waiting for you to get here!"

As he turned to look at his father, he could see his silver eye on him, and a smile grew across his face before he moved his head to say, "Come on over.".

The sense of jealousy lessened as he walked over and sat next to him.

"Hey Haku!" Callisto greeted him.

"Morning Haku." Then his father greeted him.

Cirrus placed his hand on Haku's head, messing up his hair and fox ears.

"Eat up before your mother finishes," Cirrus said.

He could see Ai eating food rather quickly.

Today Haku wanted to do something different.

"Um, Dad, could I explore the district today?"

"…" he looked Haku in his eyes.

He could feel his father’s gaze descend to his core before rummaging through his coat and handing him a bag.

"Here, make sure you stay in the district, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it." Cirrus hands him a bag of Valis for him to spend.

His eyes glittered like stars.

"Really!"

"Yeah, so eat up."

And eat up he did, but he didn’t notice that Cirrus’s shadow moved into his.

 

Moonlight Tower’s entrance.

"You have your bag with stuff, right?" said Ai.

"I do. I have everything checked and double-checked, Mom."

"Well, alright, just be back for dinner, alright, or else I’ll hunt you down again, and you wouldn’t want that, would you?"

Gulp!

Haku once stood out a bit later than usual, walking around Orario, and Ai tracked him down, giving him a stern talking to.

"N-no!"

"Then off you go!" she said, waving.

"Don’t worry, kid," said a 12-year-old Bree. "You’ll do just fine."

Haku looked up at the stone wall to see Bree.

"Kid? You're like 10 years older than me. You're not even a teenager."

"You know what else is not a teenager? You, if you don’t hurry and get going."

"I'm leaving not because you said so but because I wanted to go!" He said walking away.

‘Bree… a level 2 of the Familia. Given the name of Watcher from the gods based on her observational skills. Someone, even Dad and Mom, have high faith in her observation and memory.’

Haku glanced back to see Bree's gaze on him.

 

He starts off, heading to the western section of the district run by Quetzalcoatl.

"Wow!"

The area was filled with lush, vibrant colors and children playing around.

'So much is going on!’

It fascinated Haku every time he comes by.

Clatter~!

Clatter~!

Clatter~!

When looking out at night, he would always see the bright, warm lights of the west area in contrast to the dim, soft lights of the east.

Clatter~!

Clatter~!

He looked around the area, smelling delicious food from stalls and hearing the laughter of men, women, and children filling the streets.

Clatter~!

While walking down a street, he saw some kids with red or blue colored faces playing with a black and white ball with 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons designed on it.

"Pass the ball!!" Shouted a child.

"I'm open!! I'm open!!" shouted another.

Haku walked up to them and spoke up a bit.

"Hey! Can I join in!" he said to them.

They turned and smiled.

"Of course! You’re on the red team!"

One kid tossed him a small can that had red paint. He puts some on his face to match his team, and he plays with them.

Haku enjoyed the game with the other kids.

"Shoot it!"

"You're not gonna get past me!"

Unlike them, he doesn’t go to school, not because of his age but because he doesn't necessarily need it given his intellect.

"Goal!!!"

He has already read most of the books in the Artemis Familia’s possession.

 

Up top at the Moonlight Tower, Artemis was watching from high up.

"Fufu, you are having fun; it was a good idea to seal your Falna to make the game fair." She reached for her earring on her right side and pressed the pearl. "Ai, I know you want to cheer him on, so hold yourself."

From afar, Artemis could see Ai watching Haku play around.

"Guh!!! But he’s smiling so much! He has Cirrus’s smile too!"

"I know, but restrain yourself, or else he won’t trust us alright."

"Mmmm…. fine…but I am taking pictures."

"I know you are Ai."

 

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An hour later, the game ended in a tie.

"Alright, see you later!"

"Bye-bye!!"

"Come around again! Your pretty good!"

They waved goodbye, as it was time for them to go.

"That was fun!" he said, rubbing off the red face paint.

Grumble!

"I guess it’s time for lunch."

He walked to one of the street vendors.

"Hey, they kid! Where are your parents?"

"Can I get two corns?"

"Do you have money?"

"I do."

"Two corns coming right up! You want it with hot sauce or lime?"

"Which one tastes better?"

"How about I make one corn with hot sauce and the other with lime so you can try them yourself?"

"Fine."

After giving him the corn and finding a bench to eat, he found it rather tasty.

‘Mmm! Next time, I should try them together! And also...’ he looked to find himself rather messy. ‘Some napkins or something.’

He cleaned himself off and continued walking around.

 ‘Hmm... the south is usually filled with homes, and I can’t go to the east for... The north is filled with medical stuff, so… guess I could try to—’

He heard some familiar-sounding voices.

"One pomegranate-carrot-spicy potato snack, please."

"Is that a new flavor, Ais?"

"It is. I have looked hard for this, Bell."

Haku turned to see a 19-year-old Ais and a 17-year-old Bell together.

Their appearance has more or less stayed the same. Ais grew just a few more inches and she came into her own with a more lively demeanor.

Bell's appearance was a bit more noticeable, he was a bit more built, lean like a marathon runner crossed with a gymnast. His hair was a bit similar to Cirrus' with one side swept back to give him a more charming look.

"Uncle Bell? Aunty Ais?" he said.

"Oh?"

They turned to see Haku.

"Haku, what are you doing here?" Bell said.

"I’m exploring. What are you doing?" Haku tilt's his head a bit.

"Helping Ais find some rare potato snack flavors. The rest of my Familia are on other jobs in the dungeon."

"I thought their captain of the Rescues Type Familia, The Hestia Familia would be with them?"

With their Familia's growth, the Hestia Familia was strong enough to travel to the 50th floor on their own with some struggle. It was Bell's own decision that steered the Familia towards this new type of Familia. They would upon request from both other smaller Familia or Guild, to look for or save people from the Dungeon. It garnered them a very positive reputation among Orario and its citizens.

"Is Malion still away in her home forest?" Ais asked taking a bit of her snack.

"She is." Haku nodded. "She should have gotten there by now, by her estimation."

"And do you miss her?" asked Ais, as she stuffs her face some more.

"Somewhat. She was teaching me how to paint and shoot an arrow before she left. Oh, speaking of, Uncle Bell, you’re also like Dad, aren’t you? You have 5 girls hanging off you, huh? Is it hard to juggle so many feelings and emotions?"

"Haha, um.." Bell made a stiff expression. "You’ll understand when you're older, Haku, or maybe not."

Bell has gotten with Ais, Hestia, Syr/Freya, Haruhime, and Tiona.

"Hmm… Probably not. It looks like a lot of trouble."

"Well, maybe one day you’ll find love as well."

"Yeah, I keep hearing."

"Here," Ais said, handing him a potato snack. "You shouldn’t be thinking about these things. You should be out having fun."

Haku takes the snack.

"Thank you, Aunty Ais. See ya!"

As he leaves, Ais and Bell can see a shift in his shadow.

"It seems we don’t have to look after him." Said Bell.

"Hm, let’s go find more potato snacks." Ais then took Bell's arm. "Let’s go. I don’t want to let this day off go to waste."

 

After walking around for a bit, Haku found himself in the northern section of the district.

"…Dammit, I’m lost."

He looked around to try and find the main road, but after a bit of searching, he was lost.

"…Mom is gonna hunt me down."

"Are you lost?"

He turned to see an elf with long black hair and heterochromia. One eye was red and the other green. For some reason, he felt she reminded him of his sister despite how more similar she is to his father with her mismatched eyes.

Next to her was a handsome god with golden hair and eyes as green as his father's, dressed in a purple suit.

"My name is Dionysus. What is your name?"

"Hakushika."

"Oh? You’re his child, huh? Well, Filvis, could you help him find his way back—"

"Can you take me to the main road?" he interrupts him.

"Oh? Do you not wish to go back home?"

"I do, but I wanna go on my own! And... mom would scold me if you took me back."

"Hahahah! Yes, that is very worrisome, Filvis?"

"Hm, Dionysus tells Miach I will be a bit late for the checkup."

"That’s fine."

Filvis grabbed Haku and carried him like a bag under her arms.

‘Whoa! She has such a slim body, but she’s so strong! She must be at least level 3!’

"Hey, can I ask what Level you are?" Haku asked. "Are you a level 3 or around there?"

"I am a level three, did you guess based on my strength?"

"I did. It feels similar to other people in my Familia when I spar with them a bit."

"And do you win?"

"Almost!" He said a bit excitedly.

"Well, when you reach my level shall we have a spar as well? I am sure you would put up a good fight." She makes a light smile.

"Deal!"

 

Filvis quickly takes him to the main road.

"Here you go. Don’t go getting lost again." She said, dropping him off.

"I won’t! Thank you!" he said, giving a slight bow.

"Hm, so long as you understand, I must be going now." She quickly left back up towards Miach’s clinic.

"Hmm, she was nice... but why did the edges of her hair have gold?" He looked to the sky to find the sun setting. "Dammit, I need to go home!"

He hurried back home.

 

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