Breakfast passed fairly uneventfully. I got lots of compliments on the stew, and Nina offered to teach me some more recipes using the ember powder if we had the chance.

Kei also talked about our adventure so far, with me and Nina adding our jumping in with comments here and there. Alec had plenty of questions, and Kei patiently answered each and every one of them. By the time we were finished recounting yesterday’s events, we were back in the carriage and off towards Utau Kyookoku once again. 

“Alright,” Nina said as the conversation trailed off. “Your turn, Alec. You still remember your other life, right? Tell us about it!”

He appeared to think for a moment before answering. “Only if you answer the same questions for Sylvia,” he replied with a smirk. 

“Deal.”

“Hey!” I shouted. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“Nope!” Nina laughed. “Come on, you aren’t curious about yourself?”

“Well…” I mean, I was a little interested. But what if I was a criminal or something? I didn’t want to be a bad guy!

“Oh please, you were as boring as they come,” Nina teased, reading my thoughts again. I stuck my tongue out at her. 

“Fine,” I muttered.

“I’ll start, then,” Kei offered. “Let’s start easy. Where do you live, and what’s your occupation?”

Alec leaned back in his seat. “I’m a university student at UC Riverside in California. Second-year computer science major, but I don’t really like my classes. I was thinking about switching majors, but I don’t know what I’d switch to yet.”

Nina’s face lit up. “What a coincidence. Syl and her childhood friend go there too! Same major and everything.”

“Really? Maybe we had the same classes.” Alec stared at me, no doubt searching his memories for my face.

“I don’t actually look like this, remember?” I reminded him, albeit a bit painfully. I felt so disconnected from the me in Nina’s memories. There was a part of me that hoped she was making it all up.

It didn’t take long for Alec to come up with a cheeky response. “Ok, so I’m looking for a cute girl who hasn’t realized how adorable she is, right?” I started blushing again. How can he say that so casually?

“Goddess, it’s like you two were made for each other.” Kei sighed. “Are you dating yet or what?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Alec smirked. “How about we go get lunch together after this is all over? My treat.”

“Oh, there’s this cute little dessert shop in the shopping plaza, take her there!” Nina chimed in. She saw my face reddening and giggled. “Ha! Look at how embarrassed she is! You’re something else, Alec.”

My face was now entirely bright red. I did my best to cover it by burying my head in my hands, but all that accomplished was making me look even more flustered. 

I was surprised when even Kei took a stab at me. “Oh, are you talking about the one Karyl had to drag her to last month? Good choice, Nina.” 

“I didn’t say I was going!” I cried in frustration. Oops, was that too harsh? I stole a glance at my friend, only to find his face scrunched up in confusion.

“Karyl… she doesn’t happen to be queer, does she?”

“She is, actually,” Kei answered. “Why?”

Alec didn’t answer, turning to me instead. “And you said that the two of you were childhood friends?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Where are you going with this?” I stared at him, confused. He was obviously thinking of somebody he met recently. It took longer to click than I’d like to admit. “Wait, was she the one that told you about this game!?”

“I’m pretty sure, yeah. Guess we don’t need her to introduce us anymore, huh?”

Kriffin’s hearty laugh came from the front of the carriage. “Sounds like the goddess may have bent fate for the three of you.” He turned his head towards us. “You all make for quite pleasant company. I’d love to join in on your little adventure, but people depend on my trade routes. Well, I’m probably a bit too old for adventuring anyways. You’ll just have to fill me in later, Kei.”

There was a faint smile on Kei’s lips. “You got it, old man.”

“Alright, my question next!” Alec announced. He stared at Nina intently. “How is this world alive? Isn’t this just a computer game?”

Nina answered with the same intensity. “It was, in the beginning. But the developers quite literally put their heart and soul into creating this world, allowing Amateratsu to break away from the game code. She channeled her magic to give everyone else a chance to think for themselves. Each character and NPC has a piece of their creator’s soul in them, and that’s what gives this world life.”

“Normally, that piece of soul is tiny, and inconsequential to the creator’s well-being,” Kei added. “You two are a special case though. It’s like your entire soul got stuffed into your subconscious self-image.”

Alec frowned at that. “This body is just a younger version of what I made in the character creator. You’re saying that a part of me wanted to look like this?”

“So you’re ok with going back to how you used to look?” Nina asked.

“N-no, I didn’t say that! I just- oh. Point taken.”

Using borrowed souls to bring life to an entire world? It was pretty hard to believe. Even so, it left me with a lingering question. “Since a piece of my soul is with Nina, would that explain why I’m missing some of my memories?” 

“Huh.” Nina paused, taking time to think through my question. “Well, your missing memories are right here with me, aren’t they? Maybe you’re right.”

“I’m not sure,” Kei countered. “Like I said, missing that tiny piece shouldn’t affect you negatively. Although, I guess we’ve never had a player in a situation like this before...”

We played a few more rounds of the question game after that, with more mundane topics. Alec was a self-proclaimed introvert, but his attempts to convince any of us of that fact were a futile effort. He had chosen to play a protector, the game’s tank class, but there wasn’t much he could do without equipment.

Nina spilled plenty of my secrets too. My favorite color was pink, but that fact had stayed very well hidden under the pressure of societal gender norms. It did explain my current hair color, though. Apparently I also hated the smell of alcohol, which was my go-to excuse to getting out of dorm parties and the like.

At some point during the ride, Alec had trapped me and putting me back into cuddle mode. Thankfully, he didn’t bring up the lunch date again while I snuggled up beside him. Not that I would have been able to give him a lucid answer if he did.

We arrived at Utau Kyookoku just as the sun began to set. The port city towered around us as we entered its gates into the economic district. While the stores were closed for the day, I could see all sorts of novelties through their windows. Brightly colored exotic clothing filled one store window, and a set of revealing beachwear took center stage in another. Of course, most of the stores looked to be selling adventuring equipment, but nothing really caught my attention.

Eventually, we stopped at a small marketplace near the docks. A few vendors were still closing up, loading boxes of produce and fish onto their own carriages for safekeeping. I scrunched my nose as we passed a stall that reeked of the remains of the morning’s catch.

“Alright, end of the line,” Kriffin said to us. “You should be able to get a room at the inn nearby for a decent price. It’s called The Mermaid’s Rest. I’ve got to check in with some of my suppliers, but I wish you the best of luck on your travels.”

We filed out of the cart, stretching out after having sat for most of the day. I was mid-stretch when Kriffin gave me a light tap on the shoulder. I gave him a curious look as he handed me the jar of ember powder. “Make me some of that curry you were talking about next time we meet, ok?”

I smiled at the gesture. “Sure! Thank you very much, mister merchant!” I gave him a final wave and started to walk towards the pier with Nina and Kei. I stopped them when I noticed Alec hesitating to follow.

“Hey, aren’t you coming?” I called.

Alec looked surprised at the offer. “Is that ok? I don’t want to intrude on you all…”

Kei rolled her eyes. “Are you serious? You’re in just as much danger as Sylvia is, and you’re expecting us to ditch you? Now hurry up, or we’ll leave you for real.”

I saw a faint smile form on Alec’s lips as he jogged to catch up with us. “Thanks,” he said.

“Oh good, my little sis would’ve been heartbroken if you didn’t stay.” Nina giggled, watching my startled reaction. “Now come on. We need to find someone willing to take us to Utau Kyookoku.”

We were pretty close to the docks already, so it didn’t take long until we were asking around for a ship to Kin no Kaigan. Most of the sailors ignored us, busy with managing their ships or loading up cargo. The few that greeted us weren’t heading anywhere close to our destination but pointed us towards a few others that were. We approached one of those people, only to be met by a sour look when we asked about passage.

“Sure, fer 10 gold each. 25 fer the beastfolk. Gonna need some hush money to willingly bring rats on board,” a gruff sailor sneered. He was big, burly, and staring us down with a look of contempt in his eyes. He towered over me, and it was definitely intimidating compared to my tiny stature. Not my favorite of the many new experiences I’ve had so far. He leered at me, and I quickly ducked behind Nina to hide. She grabbed my hand and held it tight, but otherwise didn’t respond to the sailor’s remarks.

Kei, on the other hand, was having none of it. “What’s your problem? Got something against my friends?” She leaned in close, a razor-sharp glare daring the sailor to say something.

“And wot if I do? Ya gonna beat me up, girlie? Pah! I’d like to see you try. You oughta stay out of other’s business, elf.” The sailor spat in Kei’s face. If looks could kill, that man would be dead at least 20 times over.

There was a flurry of movements and a flash of steel as Kei drew twin daggers from some fold in her clothing that I hadn’t noticed before. The resident jerk drew a cutlass from his side and parried it, forcing her to step back.

Having stood his ground, the sailor taunted. “Aw, how cute. Did your little rat over there make those tiny blades for you?” Goddess, I hated this guy. As much as I wanted to see Kei kick his stupid butt, I had a gut feeling that terrible was about to happen. I tried to intervene, but I found my body was frozen in fear behind Nina.

“Last chance, asshole,” Kei growled. She took a fighting stance, looking ready to spring at the sailor at a moment’s notice.

“Pah! Go to he-” The man's insult was cut short by a swift hand chop to the neck, after which he collapsed to the ground in a heap. A hand that belonged to an androgenous beastfolk, actually. They had short brown hair and were wearing a black shirt wrapped with a few belts and buckles. A deep red cloak jacket was layered above that, and their black boots and matching tricorn hat gave them a look that was halfway between a pirate and a merchant captain. Their ears were hidden, but the annoyed cat’s tail flicking behind them gave me a pretty good idea of what they looked like.

“On behalf of the entire merchant fleet, I apologize for this pain in the neck,” they sighed. “I wish the higher-ups would hurry up and kick him out already.” They gave the man a swift kick to the side, quite literally kicking him out of the way. “Was there something you needed from us?”

“Um, thanks for… handling that, uh…?” Nina paused, unsure how to address the captain.

They gave a faint smile. “Robin. I’d appreciate it if you used they/them to address me.”

Kei sheathed her weapons before coming to join us. “Not a problem for us, captain. We’re looking for passage to Kin no Kaigan. Would you happen to know if there are any ships heading there?”

“You’re in luck,” they said. “My crew and I are planning on heading there tomorrow morning. If you don’t mind helping out on deck, I’ll take you free of charge, as an apology for having to meet that pile of garbage.”

“We’d appreciate that,” Nina replied. “We’ll pull our own weight, don’t worry.”

Robin clapped their hands together. “Excellent. I’ll be expecting you lot bright and early tomorrow morning then.” We exchanged a few more pleasantries before parting ways, then we headed back towards the city in search of The Mermaid’s Rest.

Ninichu

Boat secured! Next stop, Kin no Kaigan! Constructive criticism appreciated as usual! I'm really enjoying writing and sharing with everyone, and I hope you'll continue to follow my little story!