Midnight

"Ugh..."

Thud!

The bodies of several Amazonians litter the premises where the Poseidon Familia resides.

"Fuu~" An Amazoness with a scarf covering the lower portion of her face let out a deep breath. "He is my prey. Keep trying to slip in and I'll make sure to kill you."

"I have never seen you like this, Bache." said another Amazoness with a red skirt.

"... That goes for you as well, Argana."

"Heh~," she smiles, like her goddess. "Don't worry, you can have him if he isn't to my standard."

 

Morning.

"Hmm…"

Waking up, Cirrus finds himself not surrounded by Amazoness.

"Well, this is a good morning… so far."

Cirrus gets up and checks the locks. Seeing that they are all good, he gets himself ready for the day with a shower when he hears a knock.

‘Cirrus it’s the Amazoness! I can hear their voices! I'll bar the door until you get dressed!' Nox turned into her human form without a flash and held the door back.

Cirrus quickly dressed as fast as he could. Once he was done, he put on his clothes and his Lernaean armor that hides everything but his eyes, and in case he needs to really hide, he just equips the rest and blends into the shadows.

'Get ready! I can't hold on much longer!'

'You're good! Turn back!'

As Nox turns back into an owl, she flies back onto his head.

Creak! Bam!

They broke the door open with brute strength. Walking in were two Amazonians.

"Hey there, kid!" said a woman with long sand-colored hair and a red skirt.

Another one came after her with semi-long sand-colored hair and a black scarf covering the bottom half of her face.

"You were a scarf like me?" said the one who had just entered with a calmer tone of voice.

 "Who are you two?" Cirrus said as Nox watched the both of them intently.

"My name is Argana Kalif! This one here is my sister!"

"I am Bache Kalif. Lady Kali sent us to be your guide to Telskyura."

"Ah, I see. Very well, lead on."

"Before that, I want to—" Argana said, walking and standing before Cirrus.

"Bache was it? Lead on."

"Hm, very well."

Cirrus walks past Argana, ignoring her as Bache leads him.

"Hey, wait!"

As Cirrus and Bache leave out onto the streets, Argana comes with them.

"I said wait, dammit!" she shouted.

"Hm? What is it?" said Cirrus. "You aren’t my guide, your sister is, so what’s the problem?"

"The problem is you think you’re the boss!"

"… Do you just want a fight?"

"What!? Of course, I do!!"

"Alright..." Cirrus cracks his neck and warms up his arms. "Well, come on then, I would rather not have you screaming all day long. It is a waste to throw out your nice voice."

"Kuk! Fine then! Bache! Get out of the way!"

"Argana…" Bache said, walking up to her sister. "You saw the fight Lady Kali showed to the whole country. He can easily crush you."

"Don’t care!! Like I said last night, I want to see where he stands!"

Cirrus, hearing this, made a smirk that was hidden under his scarf.

"Heh~ I don’t know whether you're brave or reckless, though there is a blurred line distinguishing the two."

"I’ll show you reckless!!!"

She then charged ahead and went in with a straight right punch.

Smack!!

"!!"

"Is that all?" She punched his head, but Cirrus met her strike with his forehead, and nothing happened.

Argana was a level 4, and she had never faced one stronger than her or her sister. She didn’t expect the difference to be this severe.

Cirrus placed his hand at her solar plexus and simply… pushed.

"!!!" Argana's eyes went blurry as the scenery quickly changed.

Whoosh!

Bam!

Whoosh!

Bam!

Whoosh!

Bam!

Argana was sent through several buildings, and many of the Amazoness who were watching were astounded.

Cirrus turned to Bache, who looked okay if not, but her cheeks were a bit more blushed.

"So, shall we get going?"

"Y-yes!" she said, leading the way.

 

Walking around the city, Cirrus was rather excited that the architecture resembled that of the Aztec and Hindu cultures. Cirrus could guess where the Hindu came from, but the Aztecs? He only figured that Kali had usurped the country some time ago.

Their food was very nutritional and hearty, with meat and vegetables of the highest quality, even by Orario standards.

"So, where does your food source come from?"

"Oh, from the slaves." She said it flat out. "We have the men farm while the women fight to get stronger."

"…" Cirrus didn't know what to say to that. "Um... I know you Amazoness have a taste for strong men so... you know why not have some men join the Kali Familia and have them get stronger?"

"That was suggested long ago but Lady Kali said she 'I liked flowers to be bloomed in blood and madness. Men as beautiful as they are bathed in violence, when gaining enough power they begin to hoard strength and women. I do not want to deal with internal conflict so no men.' is what she said."

Cirrus did not want to get involved with this matter of Telskyura, it was the same reason he avoided politics in Shalzard, but still the men's lives could be better.

"Okay... but you know the men's lives could be you know... better? Like days off so they can recover and live longer? From what I see they look near death."

"Hmm..." Bache looked at the men and nodded. "I see your point. I will bring it up to Lady Kali."

"Cool, so, could you show me to the port?"

"Follow me."

While walking to the port Bache took a few more glances around to see that the men were wearing rags and were rather skinny while the Amazoness wore far finer clothing and are more of a healthy weight.

'How did I not see this before?'

Bache tried to recall all the men he had seen, and aside from Poseidon and the ship's crew, there were very few in between.

'What he said holds truth. But steps will need to be taken... Ah what do we need to do?' She had no idea and was lost on where to even begin.

While they were walking Cirrus could see the state of highly matriarchal society. Not that a patriarchal would be any better.

‘Hmmm… this really doesn’t sit too well with me… I can feel a disgusting layer forming on my skin looking at these men.’

‘Ah… still the same matriarchal brutish refinement as it was when Evelda founded this place… it’s much better now.’

'Goddamn Nox, how much have you seen?'

‘Hmm… I really don’t know. It all kind of blends together. Is that bad?’

'Kinda yeah.'

"Is something the matter?" Bache asked.

"Oh, um, no!" Cirrus said he was putting on a façade. "Just that the men sort of giving me a bad vibe."

Bache nodded.

"Yes, the male population is dreary." She turned to him. "I apologize for the sight. I assume you know what their statue is in the city, correct?"

"I do. They are slaves. Honestly, I'm not comfortable with the concept."

"...Zephyr may I ask you what you think should be the first step to fix this sight?"

Bache's ears were wide open for any advice.

"Uh... I mean I think you should just start with some basic rights? Like a home, or clothing? You know baby steps."

"Hmm... Zephyr. I do not see this country changing." Bache said honestly. "I find it hard to see it anything but this?"

"Then simply gain the power to change it. Your society runs on might makes right, right? So just be the strongest and enact your changes with Lady Kali's help to make things go smoothly and not end up you destroying a country or something."

Cirrus could see her eyes widen by a tiny but noticeable margin.

"I shall keep that in mind. Shall we keep going?"

"Let's."

 

When they arrived at the docks, Poseidon and most of the crew were there. They waited for the crew hand on foot with beautiful Amazoness'.

"Lord Poseidon," Cirrus stated firmly.

They looked at him, and he quickly got up to talk with him.

"Ah, sorry! Sorry!... Say, did you have a taste of the country's "delicacies"? " He said it with such smoothness that it was really natural for him to say it.

‘Greek gods...'

"..." Cirrus remained silent, looking at him sternly.

"Not saying, huh? That’s fine! Nothing more trustworthy than a guy who doesn’t gloat!" He said, shaking his clenched fist. He then let go of it and placed his hands on his hips. "So about the seal. Lance went on and checked it out, and um, well… it's underwater."

"… It's underwater? As in buildings, the seal. All underwater?"

"Yup, there is even an air pocket down there, but Lance doesn’t know what to make of it. Nothing was out of the ordinary and nothing seemed broken."

"Where is he now?"

"Uhh, probably with some girls."

'He is still his child, despite being rather noble.'

"Well… guess I'll go down and see for myself." Cirrus turns to Bache. "I'll be back in a second."

"I shall wait for you here," Bache said.

"Hm."

Nox flies up and lands on a nearby crate.

‘I’ll be keeping an eye out on the place.’

Cirrus nods his head, and just before he jumps into the sea, he gets his charms and puts them in his bag, and hands them to Nox, who walked over the strap.

"I’ll be back in a minute."

Cirrus then takes a running start and dives into the sea.

While in the sea, Cirrus’s magic circle appears and fully equips him, activating the armor.

Cirrus truly moved through the water as naturally as a fish.

"He’s a pretty damn good swimmer," said Poseidon. He turns to Bache. "So...you like the kid?" he said with a shit-eating smile.

"Hello, what is your name?" Bache said, sitting next to Nox, ignoring Poseidon.