From above tens of strange dull creatures trodded towards us. Their height rivaled skyscrapers and towers as their long, skinny, limbs stretched out like spiders encroaching the forest. Their appearance was almost specter-like; gray at first glance and luminescent at the next. Atop their heads they bore something akin to horns, but they curved around to connect in a complete circle. A ring horn. While the five of us marveled, Rosentine D’Émori issued orders to the other mandarins. She covered her head once more with her hood. 

Her demihuman colleagues soon took off their detachable hoods and offered them to her. Then she looked at Tursun. “You. You are demihuman, correct?”

Tursun, who had been irritated by her at first, replied with an attitude, “I’m a Kucharen.”

“You display physical characteristics that of a demihuman,” D’Émori answered for him, and walked over to hand four gray hoods to the rest of us, “Wear these on your head. There’s a reason why people with visas cannot enter Koroné without them.”

I took the clothing and pinned the buttons together. “That is…”

She forcefully pulled the hoods over our heads as soon as we buttoned it around our necks. “Above us is Koroné the Fealty. The overseer of this promised land. Anyone that passes the northern Nuovasperanza Steppe without a visa will be erased—” 

“E… erased? What does that mean?” Tursun changed his behavior real fast with his hands raised like a guilty puppy. “Then I should get one of those hoods, right? They protect you against those beings, right?”

“Maybe you should let me finish, ‘Kucharen’.” D’Émori placed one hand on her hip and gestured with the other to the mandarins that donated their hoods. “Pure-blooded demihumans are exempt from Koroné’s gaze. But it seems you are of descent, ‘Kucharen’, and should not worry about the Eradication, alright?” 

Tursun growled silently while she paid no attention to him afterwards. I couldn’t get why they clashed with each other. Although what progged me the most was how D’Émori still had her gray hood on. All the other mandarins seemed fine not wearing them. 

I sighed in relief. I wasn’t sure whether she recognized Sorah, Ruri, and I as criminals. The Royal Marshal referred to me as a devil and the two as conspirators. D’Émori never had any significant reaction, so I guessed we were in the clear. We could follow our goal.

The duo of the tall man and the demihuman. I still hadn’t forgotten their promise to meet in Mogumogu—in two days. They witnessed people that resembled Sorah’s father and sibling, so that was of priority. My mind dwelled on the tall man especially… who gave off an uncomfortable feeling. He had a katana on his back, no doubt. I’d never seen such an oriental sword so accurate to my world’s version in this one. 

And so, past the entities in the sky, the mandarin arbitrator showed us the path. 

We left the Nuovasperanza Steppe and continued southward. The mandarin arbitrator led us along a clear dirt path, with the occasional carriage going the opposite direction. Endless forests fluttered and sang with various songs of birds and small animals. I couldn’t get enough of how green this world was, compared to the urban jungle back in the apartment. 

“Is Koroné the Fealty a deity?” I randomly asked in order to break the silence. Ruri, Yuanyuan, and Tursun shook their heads and kept walking. Sorah turned his head back at me. 

“I don’t believe so. If they truly were, the people of Koroné would be the only nation with an active god.”

“Correct. Did you study that?” D’Émori said from the front, her metal gauntlets jingling with her longsword. “They are sacred beasts that protect this country from outsiders. We’ve avoided major catastrophes and the influence of the Royal Marshal this way. However with the situation in Regione Straniera…”

Yuanyuan jumped at the mention of Regione Straniera. “Situation?”

The mandarin arbitrator kept walking. “Aquitaine committed a Straniero massacre in Città d’Onde, trying to oust potential members of L’ordine Silenzioso. I hear the purpose is to bring out Il Medico, La Sostenitrice, and La Donna out from hiding.” 

“I have some unfinished business in Tolosa, the capital of Patria. Can’t tell you why, but I need to go back.”

‘Maîtresse’—real name, Irati Azzurro… did my master had an agenda there? Had not she left in a hurry, maybe she would’ve tutored me more in her sword art. 

“Um, let’s see… He did seem to be in a rush, and instead of his doctor’s uniform he wore a red coat.”

Doctor Yang… was he also affiliated with Maîtresse? Had not he left so abruptly, perhaps Yuanyuan wouldn’t be here with us. 

“...The crisis has caused a wave of Stranieros flooding into Koroné’s western border via D’Orient, which I’m afraid does more harm than good.” D’Émori coughed and cleared her throat. Anyways… I apologize for boring you with politics. A town should be up ahead.” 

Unfolding around a bend did I figure out we were traveling in the highlands. Through the break in the trees were hills rolling in the distance, along with buildings sprawling up from the bumps. For what I had seen in this continent from flatlands, deserts, mountains, and sea, this country had the most forestry. 

I could feel the call of the birds, the green of the tree leaves, and the mystical billowing of peculiar creatures; Rodents of two heads, reverse-winged birds, and legless eagles were among the fauna that occupied this foreign habitat. A scent redolent of my world’s nature felt twisted in my nostrils, as I breathed the waft of clean air. 

It took hours just to head down from the hill. Wagon traffic became more lively, and a hustle and bustle greeted us. Large spires sprouted from buildings and reached into the sky. Stores made of stone lined the plazas and central square. Conversations in a new language spilled over the streets once again and enveloped me in a foreign embrace. Buff, scrawny men without animal ears walked and hauled around. Words in the street were in Aweda, not Koronese.

“I knew Koroné is the land of the demihumans…” Ruri answered my thoughts exactly, “But this place has almost none here.”

“Ah, so you do notice that…” D’Émori stared at her moving feet. “For decades men from D’Orient kidnap Koronézuki along our border in trafficking rings… and some use them to settle here in our country. The offspring created from a demihuman and human result in a child bearing no animal ears.”

“...Meaning most of citizens in this town have significant D’Orientois admixture.” I already figured it out. The majority of the people here were of mixed-race due to the significant waves of D’Orientois settlement. But when I looked at D’Émori, it seemed she did not seem happy of the topic. 

Sorah and I spent our afternoon adventuring around town. We asked people whether they saw a silver-haired man and child, and only one out of twenty witnessed them. That alone gave me hope. And Sorah as well. Him and I sat outside on a pile of boxes, while the others got something to eat. 

“I’ve been thinking,” I said to Sorah, eating a piece of local pastry, “About why the Royal Marshal is after me. Why they have influenced this world as is.”

He rubbed his foot on the stone pathway. “That’s still a mystery, Kawari. I know that they are after me because I joined the Kokmin. But as for how they call you a ‘devil’... is out of my comprehension. Everything that has transpired this far has made me realize that you really are from another world.”

“You sure took the situation lightly back then.” I chuckled and leaned back. 

“That’s true. I didn’t think anything of it.” Sorah frowned a bit. “I was under the impression you were a lost foreigner with some kind of teleportation skill. Assuming that was my biggest mistake. I shouldn’t have sent you off to the Guild in Itogutshi that day… or none of this wouldn’t have happened.” 

Assumptions… the key root of all of my failures thus far. The cause of everything. But those errors in the past couldn’t be mended. “We’ll reünite with your family and see where it goes. With a bit of courage, I now believe tomorrow can change.”

I did say that, not knowing what I’d been doing this entire time.

After our brief stop we departed to the final destination, Mogumogu. From the map, Koroné was never a large country in the first place, spanning less than a thousand li in area. Cutting through farmland the roads became grand and wide, and I could see why they called it the twin cities. Two large settlements rose from the horizon. Their tall castles and estates contrasted to the seaside blue in the background of the sunset. 

“Hmph. Having two cities next to each other on the same coast… is not a good idea,” Tursun scoffed and swished his head away. Was he still pissed about the first confrontation?

“Yes, but unlike Kucha, we aren’t landlocked between two major powers, and in the middle of a desert.” D’Émori shot back right at him. Tursun clenched his jaw. “From your brown uniform, you appear to be from the Kucharen Guard. Shouldn’t you be upholding the Kucharian code of conduct? Protecting the citizens of your city-state?”

His back went straight. “I joined the Guard and took the oath to protect travelers—and my parents that live in the City of Crossroads. There is a code for how we should act… but what’s the point if idiots don’t coöperate with law enforcement? All those shitheads, thiefs, murderers, Royal Marshall, that make my home unsafe and threaten my parents… that is the reason why I swore the oath.”

“Family… huh. If you left them dry all these years, leaving them alone and aging, then you have promised nothing.” She spat out the last bit of her assertion as he balled his fists.

“Tch. If you say that then you should give up your role as a mandarin—”

D’Émori looked down with a sullen face. “I apologize. Unlike you, I no longer have any family.”

“...” And just like that, Tursun shut himself up and crossed his arms. 

Like Han’ei, the city had rows of kiosks at the front entrance. As D’Émori said, usually we would have to sign paperwork in order to enter, but with her authority she brought us straight through the municipal security without any hassle. By this time the streets draped in darkness and moonlight. 

“Should we search for a local inn for the night?” Ruri dug in her bag for some money, as the rest of us grouped up after stopping at a toilethouse. “We might need to exchange our money to the local currency…”

“Right. We should scout the vicinity for the cheapest—”

“Guys, I think I’m gonna take my leave.”

Ruri and I turned to Tursun, who scratched the back of his head. I’d completely forgotten about what he’d said. He promised he would only escort us from Wakh’an Pass to Koroné. That was the extent of his obligation. I nodded and put my hand on his shoulder. “...I see, Tursun. Thank you for bringing us this far. And all the help you’ve done in the steppe.” 

“No, no. You guys are my benefactors. In this short time I’ve experienced more than ever compared to never stepping out of Kucha. After all this… it makes me want to explore my roots.”

He had several banters on the way here with D’Émori. I couldn’t get why he acted so hostile towards her, but perhaps he had a bad experience with the law before. Tursun did say that he got in trouble a lot as a child, in a throwaway story. 

I patted him on the back. “Good luck. Since you can pass through the northern steppe without a visa, I’m sure you’ll get home safe.”

“Right.” He nodded, before walking a bit down the road. “Tell Rosentine d’Émori, that I apologize for my impudent behavior towards her. I was… reminded of many things.” 

Ruri and I bid him farewell, while the others came out from the public toilet. D’Émori disapproved of our cheap hostel search and opted to pay for a modest one for the night. 

Now that we were in Mogumogu, we could finally get the scoop with that duo on Sorah’s father. But while I stared at a Koronese-printed map on my suite’s wall, little did I know that our peaceful days here were coming to an end.