Chapter 29 - From Duo to Trio

Kazuya was in a private restroom, where he folded his hands and called on his fairy. "Alright, Gaichu, you can come out now," he said to it, and the little fairy popped into sight.

"Hello Kazuya," the fairy said, "you seem to require some vital information, I see."

"You are right, I need information," he said to Gaichu. "I want to know what a silver dragon's egg is and where to find it." "Can you help me with that?"

"Hmm," Gaichu thought about it for a few seconds, "Silver Dragons are extremely territorial creatures, and because of that, they can get very aggressive towards any other species they come across, especially when it is protecting its eggs." If you plan on stealing one of its eggs, I would highly advise against such a course of action, as you are way too underpowered for such a dangerous task.

"Can you show me a rough image of what it looks like?" asked Kazuya, unfazed by the fairy's warnings. 

Then Gaichu brought up a holographic image of one, and it was terrifying to look at. At first glance, it was clear that it was a silver dragon, but it looked way more terrifying than its name suggested it to be. A few short video clips also played on the holographic screen, and it was even more terrifying to watch. 

"As you can see, it is a very aggressive and territorial beast, and it wouldn't hesitate to kill any species that came along its territory—even one of its kind." "They are extremely paranoid creatures, and I believe I don't have to tell you what happens when it breathes fire at you." Gaichu said. 

"Yeah, I know—I'll be toast," Gaichu said as he rubbed his hand down his face, thinking of how he and Orihime could stand a chance against such a creature. It would have been much easier if the creature they were dealing with wasn't territorial and paranoid. This creature might be the type that never leaves its nest for anything when incubating its eggs and was even ready to breathe a whole stream of fire at a single fly if it came close to any of its eggs. 

Kazuya, at this point, was anxious but not confused. He knew what he wanted, and he was going to get it, no matter what. 

"Have you changed your mind, yet?" asked Gaichu, who was clearly against this undertaking. 

"What do you take me for?" Kazuya asked with an angry tone. "I will get that egg, even if I have to kill that dragon to get it."

"But you are going to die," Gaichu said to him, "there is no doubt about it."

"Let me make something clear to you, pest," Kazuya said to it. "Until my final breath in this world, I will not rest until I destroy the goblin hideout and slaughter all of those bastards in cold blood, and neither shall I perish until that task is completed." "Do you understand me?"

Gaichu remained silent, unfazed by his anger yet genuinely concerned for him. 

"Now are you going to tell me where to find the Silver Dragon's Egg, or will you make me figure it out for myself as usual?" he asked Gaichu, expecting the latter. But again, the fairy subverted his expectations by giving him a useful answer. 

"Make inquiries from the mages in this guild." "They are specialized in hunting Sentient creatures and items related thereto; they should have encyclopedic knowledge on where it is and how to go about getting it," Gaichu explained to him. 

"Well, what do you know?" "So you can be useful, huh?" Kazuya said to it. "Go now; I might call you by accident if I happen to need you again."

With that, Gaichu disappeared, and Kazuya walked out of the restroom. 

- - - - - - - - - - 

While Kazuya was in the restroom, Genta was still in her seat, pondering on her selfish intentions and how she had been wasting her time focusing on them. 

Even though, at face value, she had nothing to apologize for, she felt she had to talk to Orihime about it. So she got up, cleaned up the table as quickly as she could, and went to find her. 

After about a minute of looking around, she found Orihime right in front of the building, sitting on one of the steps leading to the entrance. 

"Orihime," she called from behind, but she didn't respond. 

Instead of leaving her alone, she spoke further, saying, "Look, I'm sorry for trying to use both of you for selfish purposes." I now understand that you take your work more seriously than I do, and I'm sorry for undermining that with my petty intentions. But I still intend to embark on this mission with you—but with new motives this time. While I do intend to impress my master, it will ultimately not be for my benefit but for her happiness. "She has invested a lot in me, and it would give me joy to make her happy that she did."

When she said this, Orihime remained silent. So Genta took a deep breath, ready to get back inside to resume her work, knowing she had said what she had to. Even though she wouldn't go on a mission with those two, at least she had managed to learn a vital lesson from both of them. 

A few seconds passed, and just as Genta turned to get back inside, Orihime groaned out loud, "Damn it, you little brat! "When you put it like that, you make it difficult for me to hate you!" she said as she got up and placed a hand on Genta's head, messing up her hair, "I look forward to working with you, puny fry!"

Genta's eyes nearly teared up when she heard those last words, and she nodded in ecstasy, excited for the mission ahead of them. 

"Alright, so where do we start?" asked Orihime. 

"Oh, first we have to get my kits, and you might want to try on some of our weapons," the gentlemen said to her. 

"Kits?... Weapons?... "That reminds me, you don't seem like a warrior to me; what is your specialty for missions such as this?" asked Orihime. 

"Oh, sorry, I haven't told you. I am a healer and general welfare specialist. "I am quite versed in all of the survival skills required for survival in long-running adventures, and I also specialize in healing magic, taught to me by the great Master herself," she explained to Orihime. 

"That sounds impressive," Orihime said. "I don't mean to be rude, but how old are you?"

"Fourteen," replied Genta. 

"Alright, Genta-chan," Orihime said to her, and in response, she slapped off the woman's hand from her head.

"I am not a child!" Genta said to her.

"Okay, Genta-chan," she teased, and Genta came rushing at her angrily, but she held the little girl by the head, stopping her from coming any closer while she kept ranting and struggling.

Then Orihime looked around. "Speaking of childish people, that reminds me—where is Kazuya?" she asked.

Genta immediately stopped ranting to answer the question, "Oh, the man you came with?" He said he wanted to use the restroom.

Orihime then came up with a mischievous idea, and she turned to Genta with a silly look, one that gave her the creeps. "Can you tell me where that restroom is?" she asked, wanting to take this chance to tease Kazuya a little bit.

But Genta was creeped out by her mischievous look and refused to tell her. "You can ask him when he comes out," she said to Orihime.

"Oh, you are going to tell me, little fry," Orihime said to her as she brought down her fingers for her waist, tickling her while she laughed out loud until tears began pouring from her eyes.

"Are you going to tell me now?" asked Orihime as she tortured the young girl with never-ending tickles, but she refused to give in.

It was at that point that Kazuya had come out of the restroom and arrived back at the main hall, and she was surprised to see the two young women laughing together.

"What is up with the both of you?" asked Kazuya, grabbing their attention before Orihime finally let go of Genta, who was now trying to catch her breath from laughing for so long.

"So the both of you are friends now?" asked Kazuya, wondering what happened during the short time that he was away.

"Forget about us. What about you?" asked Orihime, wanting to tease him a little bit. 

"What happened to me?" asked Kazuya.

"You seem to have spent way too much time in the restroom for a single toilet session," she said to him.

Kazuya arched a brow. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"What were you doing in there, Kazuya?" Orihime asked.

"I don't have time for your ridiculous behavior, Orihime," Kazuya said to her, realizing she was trying to tease him. 

"Oh, I see," Orihime said, trying to hold back a laugh.

"You see what?" Kazuya asked with a slight frown, causing Orihime to laugh out even more while Kazuya got more annoyed by the second.

Genta was surprised by how easy it was for Orihime to get under his skin and wondered if he hadn't figured out that she was just messing with him.

While this went on, Master Shizu was on the highest floor, watching what was going on from the high point. One of her direct subordinates came from behind. "It seems she had been accepted to join them on the mission, my lady," said the man.

"Yes, I know." "They seem to be having a lot of fun, don't you think?" she responded.

"I'm sure they are, Master." But aren't you concerned? "It is a very dangerous mission they are about to embark on," he said to her.

"Have a bit more faith in my disciple, young man." "I believe in her, and that is enough for me—whether or not the mission turns out to be a success," Shizu replied. 

"Yes, Master," the young man replied with a respectful bow before retiring back to his duties, while the old woman smiled at the trio down below, having a feeling that things would turn out as she anticipated.