She Arrives At An Impasse-Part 1

As Dirk eagerly set to work on demolishing the large bowl of noodles, Robin noticed the rest of the company staring pointedly at her.

"Heheh. Can I help you?" She asked them cheekily.

"Do you perhaps have any more of that Rah-min noodles dish in your storage device?" Sir Drago asked.

"I do not." Robin shook her head. Everyone's expressions drooped.

"That's because I handed the rest over to Ponzu to take care of." Robin grinned mischievously. Everyone's eyes instantly focused upon Ponzu, who flinched from the sudden attention. But, once they confirmed the fact that Ponzu was not holding anything , they turned back to Robin.

"Don't look at me! Ponzu really has it. Ponzu, you can take them out now." Robin said, smiling brightly.

Ponzu sighed and pulled a cord around his neck out, displaying a small leather satchet with designs painted on the front.

"Hey, isn't that one of the satchets we bought earlier today?" Jasmine asked.

"Yep!" Robin nodded. "Ponzu, you can use it. There's no one else here."

Ponzu nodded, and opened it, aiming at an empty part of the room. "Dinner Time!" He called out, and a beam of light burst out of the satchet onto that spot. When the light disappeared, a table appeared, with multiple bowls of Ramen on top.

"So? Do you like it, Jasmine?" Robin asked, a sly grin on her face.

"What is this? Is it an illusion?" Jasmine reached out, and was surprised to find the table was solid. Then a light glinted in her eyes as she immediately grabbed a bowl of noodles for herself.

"Hmm..." She sampled the soup for herself. "You're right. This is way better than the one we sampled earlier."

"I was talking about the food storage." Robin indicated, pointing at the satchet around Ponzu's neck.

"Oh! That...Does that mean that all the other satchets are food storage bags as well?" Jasmine suddenly had a thought.

"No! That was my first try at enchanting." Robin explained.

Jasmine almost spit her food out. "Enchanting!?" She exclaimed after swallowing that mouthful down. "Where did you get a spacial crystal!? Don't tell me you apprenticed yourself to those conceited fogeys back in the capital!" She exclaimed worriedly. "Don't be fooled! They can only create small charms without a crystal matrix."

"Okay, First: you need to calm down." Robin pointed out. "And second: actually, according to this book I read, you don't need a crystal in order to create a spacial bag." Robin said, pulling out a rather old looking book.

"Oh! Isn't that-" Christian recognized it as one of the books from the ruins they had explored. But he was interrupted when Jasmine squealed.

"Isn't that 'Millin's guide to Spacial Storage Enchanting'! That book was completely lost after the great magic library was half-burned down due to an idiot practicing fire magic during the war 15 years ago! How on earth did you manage to find this!?"

But when Jasmine reached out to touch it, it disappeared back into Robin's bracer.

"I'm not done reading it, so you can't look at it right now." Robin said.

Jasmine glared at Robin furiously. "I'm your teacher! I have a right to see what magic books you are reading."

"I'm not denying that,but why are you acting so upset? All of my books here will go to you when this quest is finished. You will have plenty of time in the future to pore over them then. Why do you begrudge your student expanding her magic knowledge?" Robin reasoned.

Jasmine's face fell. That's right. If they succeeded in their quest, Robin would be leaving.

"Hmmph! Fine." Jasmine grumbled as she returned to eating her ramen in order to placate her bad mood.

Dinner suddenly became a rather quiet affair, as even Skye and Elise were quietly eating their portions. Everyone in the company except Sir Drago and Dirk knew that Robin was searching for a way back home. And once she found it, she would definitely leave them.

Robin sighed lightly. She would have to get them accustomed to the idea that she would be leaving. If they grew too attached, then it would only be more painful when it was time for her to leave.

But she had to return. She couldn't let her boss, annoying though he is, get implicated due to her disappearance. Not to mention how worried her brother probably is.

If she knew her brother, he might have torn down her work's building brick by brick by now, looking for her. He wouldn't believe anything until he saw her face to face, not after what happened with her uncle.

While they ate, Robin reorganized her itinerary:

1. Find Dirk's family.

2. Gain The Strategist's Approval-continue gathering demon guardians approvals.

3. Learn more magic

4. Gather Foodstuffs

5. Find a way home

Hopefully nothing screwy would happen. But, Murphy's law indicates that if things can go wrong, they usually will. Robin sighed, and planned out contingency strategies for the remainder of that evening, in order to minimize any potential chaos.

Since it was too dark out to look for Dirk's family, that task would have to wait until tomorrow. Thus, everyone soon turned in for sleep. As usual, Robin managed to get a room all to herself, which no one was allowed to enter.

Quinn didn't return until the next morning, when it was discovered that Christian had disappeared.

"Did anyone see him leave, or know where he's going?" Robin asked.

"No, but yesterday, he wanted to sightsee around town. I didn't let him because we all know his mouth is his greatest liability."

"Are you sure it wasn't his lack of intelligence?" Jasmine snickered.

Keith, remembering yesterday's conversation, felt a headache coming on. That disaster prince had left him behind and gone out sightseeing in a foreign demon city. Either he was very brave, or very stupid. But, Keith was inclined towards the latter.

"In any case, we need to find him before he gets into trouble!" Robin said, and everyone else left the room to prepare to search the city.

Robin turned to Quinn. "Apologies, but I'll have to wait until we find Christian."

Quinn scratched his head, apologetically. "Er, uh, actually...I know where he is."

"What?" Robin's eyes suddenly flashed with understanding.

-----

A half hour earlier, Christian had been walking the streets carefreely, taking in the sights when he was called out to from a nearby stall.

"Come play for a chance to win riches untold. Our motto is, yer not a man if ye don't try!" the fox-kin goaded.

Christian disdainfully snorted and muttered something, continuing on his way.

"Whazzat? I couldna hear you!" The fox-kin smirked, stepping in front of Christian, blocking his way.

"Speak up, or yer a coward!"

Christian stood still and shook his head, then stared the fox-kin straight in the eye.

"I disagree! There must be something wrong with your motto. You say we're not a man if we don't try? Ho? Then why aren't there any men among the people playing? It would be more accurate to say that if I do actually play, then I'm not a man!" Christian called out each word clearly so that all the surrounding fox-kin could hear it.

The stall owner's breath hissed through his teeth as he felt his face burning under his fur. He had always been on the giving end of the insults. It was true that women here were easier to snag than men, but his method had always been foolproof against men. How did this smart one extricate himself so easily?

Instead of jumping to that stall-owner's aid, the surrounding fox-kin nodded their heads and chortled.

"True, true! He's swindled so much from tha folks as couldn't refute his motto. Now he's getting his comeuppances! Good fortune and luck come to those who don't bring misfortune upon themselves." An elderly grey fox nodded to his neighbor. "Who you gonna bet will win?"

"You mean before the secret guards arrive? Hmm...yanno what? I hate that fox so much, imma bet on the human this time." The neighbor fox with greying brown hair said.

But his bet was bound to fail, because a third party had butted in between the two glaring individuals.

"Now now now now now, what seems to be the problem?" A middle-aged man with glasses and a Colonel Muster moustache waved his cane about, to gain their attention.

"This hu-man insulted my shop motto!"

"I was merely pointing out that his motto is clearly false!" Christian replied icily.

"Oh? what's the motto?" The gentleman asked.

"The motto was: you're not a man if you don't try." Christian replied. "I simply told him that clearly isn't the case because his clients are all females."

The gentleman instantly burst out into laughter. "Ahahahaha! You hit him right where it hurts, huh?" The man

"I don't understand. I have not even begun to hit him." Christian replied.

"Never mind that, I have something I need your help for. And only a sharp bloke like you will I be satisfied with." The gentleman asked, smiling jovially at Christian. Christian could sense no ill will from the man, so he didn't immediately refuse.

Perhaps helping him out would gain them an ally.

"At the very least, I can hear you out, but I definitely won't agree to do anything without understanding fully what you are asking me to do." Christian replied. "If it's perilous, then I'll immediately refused right now."

"No no no no, perish the thought! I assure you that you won't have to do much of anything, and it isn't harmful at all!" The gentleman nodded his head emphatically.

"In that case, I'll hear you out." Christian said.

"Good! Good! Come! Let's go discuss things over at my place." The gentleman said, leading Christian out of the crowd. As they walked away, unseen by Christian, the bottom flap of the gentleman's long coat tilted up. Everyone else caught a glimpse of bright crimson fox tails hidden underneath. The area suddenly fell silent until the two had completely disappeared from sight.

"Mommy, how many tails did he have?" A small fox-cub asked.

"Nine. Landsakes! It's the Strategist!" the mother fox gasped.

The old brown fox sighed and passed his gold to the old grey fox. "You win. That kid has already been captured."