“We’ve seen people that you describe.” The demihuman faced us with her hood masking her face. The tall man also said the same thing seconds before. He kept his back towards us.

Sorah squeezed himself in between Ruri and I with a hand at each of our shoulders. His eyes grew wide with desperation. “You’ve really seen them?... Where are they? Where did they go?” 

I rubbed my forehead. These two people had supposedly seen Sorah’s father and one of his brothers. Whenever I tried to get a look at the tall man’s face I spaced out. His demeanor… felt so familiar. As if I’d met him somewhere and couldn’t remember. I searched my past memories to find no recollection of him. Just who was he?

Travelers that walked passed us and into the woods were stopped by something in the distance. Then they began trekking again. 

The demihuman continued to speak and pointed southward. “Yes. Just a few weeks ago they were headed towards the twin cities in Koroné. Shall we discuss—”

The man raised his voice to her. “We should not meddle in people’s affairs—”

“It will be fine, this will be an endeavor I will take, so you just sit along. Consider it a debt. You won’t even have to talk to them.” She argued with him as he looked away in disbelief. Then she bowed to us in a foreign manner. “I apologize for his rudeness. I wish to discuss this matter further. If you all are heading towards the twin city Mogumogu, then let us meet up there. Gariyuchi Terrace, the next two days in the afternoon.”

“The mandarin is coming.” Without batting an eye the guy warned her. She whirled around. “We better go. Take out the visa.”

Before we could even process anything they prepared to take their leave. Sorah reached his hand out while they tightened their knapsacks and equipment. “Sir, ma’am, thank you for the information! We will head there as soon as possible.” 

“I look forward to seeing you again. We shall be heading out now to Mogumogu, Koroné.” The demihuman smiled before grabbing two gray armbands from her bag. She wore one on her left arm and handed the other to the tall guy. Then they went their way, without us ever seeing their faces. What a weird duo. 

But something was off. As they entered the forest’s entrance someone had stopped them before letting them through. Were they acquainted with them? Now I could see why previous travelers were being stopped. A person walked to each one of them and consulted them. 

After checking the strange duo, they looked and started storming towards us in a flash. What was going on? Tursun and I immediately jumped in front of the rest of our group. As the person approached I clearly saw the figure of a young woman. She wore a gray cloak, her detachable hood covering her matching hair fluttering downward. 

“Halt!” The woman drew a metallic longsword and threw out her arm. Her face sharpened a glare and repeated a warning in several languages. “You are in Koronese territory. Display your visa at once.” 

Tursun growled at her as his ears flared up. “First lower your weapon. We aren’t causing any trouble, guard.”

“Show me your visa. Then we’ll talk.” She didn’t budge. Were we in Koroné already?

“How about we all calm down a bit?” Sorah lifted his arms free of any weapons. Then he threw his backpack to the ground. I followed and did the same. Yuanyuan and Ruri did as well. Tursun bitterly took off his rucksack and sat on the ground in protest. “Ma’am, we aren’t aware of what ‘visa’ you are talking about.”

Her mouth widened, albeit confused. She planted her sword in the ground and rested her hands on the pommel. “A visa is required to enter the country, as well as territory affiliated with Koroné. Do you see the armbands worn by every merchant and herder?”

The woman sideëyed a few lone nomads wearing the item in question. The exact ones the tall man accompanied by the demihuman brought out. Those lone nomads halted to oncoming mandarins in gray cloaks. Did they survey the entire area?

“See? We had no idea what visas were and yet you impulsively unsheathed your blade, huh.” Tursun crossed his arms, still sitting on the ground. For someone that worked in a Kucharen Guard… he sure held no regard for others in similar positions. The woman simply cleared her throat. 

“…I apologize for the misunderstanding. Let me introduce myself.” She blinked her eyes open and sheathed her sword. “I am a mandarin arbitrator of Okayu Court, Rosentine d’Émori.”

That name didn’t sound remotely Koronese. More akin to Aquitani based on how it sounded. 

“‘Arbitrator’? I read that the rank in a court of government is a pretty high position… why would an arbitrator work as border patrol?” Yuanyuan gave a spiel. We all tilted our heads to her. Now was not the time for that.  I loosened the tension in my arms. 

The mandarin clenched her jaw and looked away at the ground. “Ahem… anyhow, if you wish to obtain a visa, you must apply for one at any local consulate in Aquitaine or Kucha.”

“About that…” Sorah rubbed the back of his neck. “We don’t have any time to go back to Kucha. Could you possibly let us go?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have you all turn back the way you came until you get that visa,” D’Émori said with a reluctant voice and put her hands on her hips. Sorah tightened his fists but released them. Tursun scowled, while Ruri had disdain on her face. I had to think. We didn’t have the time to return to Kucha to apply for a visa. We’d traveled this far. All of our efforts coming here would result in a setback. 

Not that we already had setbacks. Sorah and Tursun didn’t have their weapons with them. Sorah left his axe back in Itogutshi with the Guiral incident, and Tursun lost his spear during the wildfire in my world. If anyone powerful enough were to challenge us… then we’d be beaten. 

I looked at Yuanyuan who detached herself from the conversation. If she read something about Koroné, then perhaps she knew about how to deal with them. I pulled her back for a moment. “Yuanyuan, do you know anything about Koroné? Like their culture? Mannerisms?” 

“Eh? Um…” she paused and rubbed her arm, “They value stuff like piety, loyalty, and trust? Afterall, they worship a sacred animal known as Koroné the Fealty, where the country’s name originates from.” 

“It will be fine, this will be an endeavor I will take, so you just sit along. Consider it a debt. You won’t even have to talk to them.”

My brain took in the sudden load of fresh information. Cultural values. If I could argue with that in mind then we had a chance. I stepped forward and decided to take it from here. 

“Why haven’t you repaid mom for what she taught you? She raised you yet fail to do your obligations,” were the words of my older brother. I breathed in and out. 

“I have a proposal to make.” 

Everyone stared at me. The instant silence made me shiver. For the sake of Sorah’s family I looked at D’Émori in the eyes. Her gray pupils almost stunned me. 

“First, can you reäpply for a visa in Koroné?” I had to get some clarifications. 

“Why, yes you can, in case that it gets damaged or lost.” 

“If that is the case, why haven’t you detained those who ‘lost’ their visas? How could you verify?”

“...A person that had a long stay would’ve signed a document to enter the twin cities. And that requires a visa.” 

I reeled back. She had a point. Ruri and I had to sign a parchment in order to enter Han’ei in Waqwaq. “Okay then… does the law contain any procedures to enter in an emergency? We have no intention of staying in Koroné permanently.” 

“That would require authorization.” She folded her arms and gestured with a hand. “If you hold any seals from any reputable faction then I may consider.”

Seals… I recalled the Faith’s Charm given to Ruri and I by Tshiqara in Port Lungchiang. “I think I might have one. Am I allowed to search my bag?”

She nodded, and I knelt down to open my rucksack. I dug my hand around for a few seconds and found the charm all battered and worn. The symbol of the Kokmin. I presented it to her as D’Émori grabbed it to inspect. “Hm… ‘Kaokana’. So you are affiliated. More leeway to you. I’m all ears.” 

“Thank you.” I gulped after finally making progress. “I’m aware that you have your duty as a mandarin arbitrator, so this is a big thing to ask. If you escort us to Mogumogu to get a visa there, then you could see how we have no ill agenda. After we’ve dealt with our emergency, we would be happy to compensate you for your troubles.” 

“...” D’Émori paused. She rested her hand on her head to think. Sweat perspirated on my face. I wasn’t confident my suggestion would go through.

“Miss D’Émori?…”

“I accept your plea, on two conditions.” She pointed at me. “Remove your friend’s Masking skill. It’s a pain to judge your honesty. And this compensation… may it be anything I ask for?”

She had Foresight? I clasped my hands together. “Y… Of course, as long as it’s within our capabilities. Ruri, turn off your skill.” 

Ruri opened her chart and deactivated Masking. Now we were really in hot water. If the Royal Marshal notified the Koronese government of our bounty, we were done for. Considering they were close in proximity to Aquitaine they probably did. My fingers fidgeted and my palms sweated. Whatever happened next I needed to mitigate it.

The mandarin arbitrator leaned in and took a long stare at us. Her cloak fluttered in the anxious wind while her sword dangled in her belt. Then she leaned back, folding her arms with a nod. “Very well. I will now escort you all to Mogumogu.” 

“Yuriibiyuso D'Émori, éo chioki chi miné?” A demihuman mandarin trudged through the nearby bushes. He immediately reached for his sword hilt at the sight of us. “Biese biese—”

“É éoronu! Yuso’ese é.” She raised her hand at him with a yell. He let go of his weapon. “Bi robi isu soyuka so shibi shi… yu ‘néribiguyu koyu’.” 

They spoke Koronese so their exchange was lost to me. I could only sigh in relief. Sorah and Ruri joined in that same emotion by putting their hands on my shoulder. Tursun stood up satisfied and Yuanyuan gave a thumbs up. We were so close. To finding Sorah’s father, and one of the Totshigui siblings. 

The ground rumbled as pebbles bounced in a frenzy. Birds chirped in hysteria. Large silhouettes blocked out the sun. A waning cry blared like a narwhal. We looked upward. Colossal gray four-legged beings walked up in the sky, numbering more than ten crossing the entire woodlands. They had two horns that connected in a round circle, their white eyes glowing without pupils. 

“Welcome to Koroné,” Rosentine d’Émori said in a salute, while the other mandarins lined up in formation. The fierce gales of the creatures above blew her hood down to reveal no semblance of animal ears. “The land of the demihumans, presided by Koroné the Fealty… who all march over us at this very moment.”