Fihndreik: Rokas

Fihndreik was a large city. Much too large to even be called one that even critics claimed it to be a country instead of a city. 

The rulers never acknowledged that, though. They preferred to keep Fihndreik a city to avoid having to join in on global conflicts. 

Speaking of rulers, Fihndreik had many of them. Each of the races who lived there had elected one person to represent them in The Council, the governing body of the city. 

All decisions made by them were put to a vote beforehand in order to make sure they were as fair as possible and only worked in favor of the city's growth, and not for themselves. This was how Fihndreik was able to rise so quickly into the eyes of all races. 

Currently, Rokas was in the ninety seventh District, the Shopping District. This was where most of the city's inhabitants went to purchase goods, and was a popular tourist spot for anybody who wanted to buy souvenirs. 

He was surrounded by people of all races. Business talks were being made in every corner. Haggling of all kinds was taking place at every stand, with Rokas even spotting a lizardman trying to rip off a vendor. 

He did his best to push through the crowd, looking to head for the train in the Transportation Sector, where people went if they wanted to travel to other districts. 

"Navigator. What does Fihndreik look like from the outside?" Rokas talked to his earpiece. 

After a few seconds, Andrea responded. "Fihndreik was built around a mountain. All of the districts were constructed around the base of it, and the mountain itself was demolished to house the Council's Tower. So from the outside, you'd see a bunch of buildings located in a perfect circle around the middle tower."

"I see, I see. And where is the Hymerian Shield located?"

"It's on display at the Fihndreik Museum, which is in the seventy-seventh district. You'll reach it pretty quickly if you can catch the train."

"Then, please lead me to the Transportation Sector." 

"Right away. Make sure to follow my directions, or you'll lose yourself in the crowd."

The Shopping District at this time of the day was crowded. Rokas had described it akin to being packed like sardines. It didn't help that his armor caused him to bump into people he didn't intend to. 

***

"Halt. No entry to the Transportation Sector without presenting your visitor's pass." 

Rokas had arrived at the Transportation Sector at the perfect time. The train would be arriving in the next two minutes, and he would've been on it now and on his way to the Museum. That is, if the guards in front of him hadn't refused his entry. 

They explained that he couldn't take the train if he didn't secure a visitor's pass beforehand. 

"Well, then where am I to go so that I can obtain this visitor's pass?" Rokas asked. 

"Each district has a Tourist Station that grants visitor passes. Please come back when you have obtained your pass."

"Very well then." 

A bit irritated that he missed the train, Rokas headed for the Tourist Station. 

"Are the procedures necessary, Navigator? I do not recall Fihndreik enforcing their laws this strictly." Rokas asked. 

"They're normally not this strict, no. It's because of the recent increase in demon attacks that they're more wary of who they let in. A C-rank demon can easily change their appearance to match a human's, albeit not for extended periods of time."

"I see. Then I will just have to swallow the pill. Please point me in the direction of the nearest Tourist Station, Navigator, and I will try to get it done as fast as possible."

Thanks to Andrea's directions, Rokas was able to reach District seventy-seven's Tourist Station relatively easily. It wasn't hard to locate, but the crowded streets just made it much more difficult than it needed to be. 

Just as Rokas was going to enter the T.A building, he stopped himself. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a familiar figure. 

Of course, this was Fihndreik, where people of multiple races made their home. It was possible that he just saw a lookalike. 

Still, there was this sense of urgency in him that had suddenly arisen within him. Pushing past the crowds, Rokas did his best to catch up to that figure. 

"Excuse me." He placed his hand on the figure's shoulder to grab their attention. 

There was a split second when the figure shook in surprise the moment Rokas interacted with them, but the latter just wrote it off as a normal reaction. After all, who wouldn't be surprised if someone just randomly grabbed them on the street. 

"Yes?" The voice was masculine, but their figure itself was quite feminine. They would have easily been mistaken for a girl had they not turned around. 

With long blonde hair that glowed in the sunlight, the person was very reminiscient of a certain family member. 

"So it was you, Jesse! How have our brothers and sisters been?"

"Rokas…? Is that you? You finally returned!"

***

The name "Hassan" was never an officially recognized family name. In truth, it was adopted by a group of orphans who had lived together.

In a world where tens of thousands of people died everyday, there were bound to be children whose parents were unfairly taken away from them. 

Rokas was one of those people. At a young age, he had lost both of his parents, and was left alone. During his travels, he had found more orphans who had nowhere to be, and as such took them in. 

A few years later, these children numbered in the hundreds. That was when they established the Hassan Family, taking the surname of Rokas' old family as a sign of great respect to him.

And of course, he was the leader of said group. The family followed him everywhere, and thanks to Rokas, they were able to survive in this world by staying together.

It was only a few months ago that Rokas had left the group to join the Hero Academy. He was sent an invitation one day, and subsequently decided to enroll despite the family pleading him not to. 

In the end though, they let him go. He was their leader, but he was also a person. He was free to do what he did. The family would have to survive without him.

"So this is where we have been living. You all seemed to have handled it well."

Rokas stared at the building Jesse had led him to. It was an entire apartment a quarter the size of Fihndreik's tallest skyscrapers, and was painted in a cream color all around. 

The front entrance of the building had a shield painted above it, a sign of respect to Rokas'. 

"When you left us to enroll in the Hero Academy, the others decided to undertake mercenary work." Jesse explained. 

"That must've been difficult."

"They were surprisingly skilled in the field. Perhaps our chemistry with each other helped in our cooperation. The ones who couldn't handle fighting took to looking after the home."

"I see. I would love to see how they have changed." Rokas said. 

"Well, it hasn't been long since you left, so they're still very much the same people, hehe." 

Pushing open the door, Jesse announced in a loud voice, "Guys! Rokas is home!"

"What!?" "Wait, really!?" "We're coming!" 

Hundreds of voices could be heard from around the building. It was a given, since Rokas was the person they idolized. 

Just a few seconds later, Rokas and Jesse heard steps coming from the direction of the stairway. 

It was like a stampede had erupted. Children, some no older than eight years old, were pushing at each other to get down first. 

This was when it got… crazy. The ones who had given up on making it down the stairs by themselves decided to pull out their bag of tricks. 

Wind magic blew from one direction, forcing the others to hold onto the handrails in order to not fall off. Sand magic mixed with the wind, entering the eyes of the rest and irritating their pupils. 

"Rokas! Welcome back!"

The first to get down was a boy of the same height as Rokas. His hair, like Jesse's, was long and blonde. 

"I'm back, Victor. How have you been?" Rokas approached him and exchanged a short hug. 

"Been better. But now it's all good, 'cause you're here!"