Encounter

"Thanks for the meal, peko", the blue-haired girl said after eating.

Amelia and I found her lying on the ground. She looked so pitiful that we agreed to buy her a meal. That was why we were in a restaurant.

"Thanks for helping me out, peko. I thought I would be a goner", she said.

"You're welcome. What happened to you anyway? Judging from your clothes, you're not a homeless person. Did you get robbed?" Amelia asked.

"This is embarrassing but I blew all of my money in gambling, peko. The stall said that I could win a really cool prize so I spent all of my money trying to get it, peko", she answered.

"You spent all of your money in gambling? That's a stupid move", I couldn't help but tell her that.

"It's been some time since I last got outside so I got a bit carried away, peko. Anyways, what's your name?" she asked.

"His name is Mikage Kamishiro. I'm Amelia Watson. What's yours?" Amelia introduced us.

"Hmmm... You can call me Pekora Usada. Yep... That's a good name, peko", she replied.

Good name? Was she using an alias or something?

"So... What brought you here to Pekoland, peko?" Pekora asked.

"We're actually looking for the Hall of Memories", Amelia answered.

"Why would you need the Primordial Memory, peko?"

"This guy lost his memories. That's why we are looking for it. We're hoping it will help restore what he lost."

"You lost your memories? Pain peko."

"Yeah.... One thing led to another and I lost them. That's why we're trying to solve the riddle and find the Hall of Memories", I said.

"What's the riddle, peko?"

"[North of the land of the rabbit people

The valley of the red river

Pass through the black sandstorm

Head towards the blue cave

The Hall of Memories will be ahead of it]", Amelia recited the riddle.

Pekora thought for a while.

"Land of the rabbit people definitely talks about Pekoland... And the valley of the red river probably meant Krev Valley, peko", she said.

"Krev Valley? It's true that it's north of Pekoland but why do you think it's the valley we're looking for?"Amelia asked.

"More than a thousand years ago, Krev Valley was a place where two great armies fought. They said that none of the two armies surrendered so they ultimately killed each other, peko. The fight had so many casualties that the blue river turned red for many days because of all the blood. It's a pretty famous story here in Pekoland, peko", Pekora answered.

"I see... Thanks for the information", Amelia said.

The red river could mean the story where the river got filled with blood. That made sense.

Amelia looked at the map and asked, "What about the "pass through the black sandstorm"? What could it mean?"

"I don't know... But I think the Peafowl Duchy could have an idea about it, peko. After all, the Krev Valley is near it", Pekora answered.

"So we don't need to head to Pekorias. We have to head to Krev Valley", I said.

"Say, can I come with you, peko?" Pekora asked.

"Why do you want to come with us?" Amelia asked.

"I'm actually bored, peko. Finding the Hall of Memories sounds fun."

"You know we're not on a trip, right?"

"I know. Memories are important, peko. I want to help the people who gave me food. Think of this as my way of repaying the favor, peko."

"But we aren't going to travel with caravans all the time. We might have to fight monsters on our way", I told her.

"Don't worry, peko. I can handle myself pretty well in a fight."

"Well, what do you think? Shall we bring her along?" I asked Amelia.

"Hmmm... I suppose we could use an extra hand", she said.

"Alright!! You won't regret this, peko!"

We left the restaurant. Krev Valley could be found north of Pekoland right near the Peafowl Duchy. If we were to travel there, it would take around a day or two.

"For now, we gotta stock up on supplies here", Amelia said.

"I know a lot of good shops, peko", Pekora told us.

While Amelia and Pekora went shopping, I waited at the plaza. Rabbit people were walking around and I just watched them.

"Have you heard? The princess disappeared from the castle", a rabbit woman gossiped to another rabbit woman.

"Really? She's quite a troublemaker, isn't she? I feel sorry for the Peko Knights", the other rabbit woman said.

A princess disappeared from her castle? That sounded like trouble. However, they didn't look anxious. From their conversation, the princess was a troublemaker. Could it be a common occurrence?

I felt my stomach twist and an eerie feeling came over me. What was this feeling? The source of the eerie feeling was nearby.... What should I do?

I decided to check it out. The eerie feeling was too much and it could cause trouble. Where have I felt this feeling before?

The source of the eerie feeling was an alleyway. I entered it and cautiously walked forward. It was getting stronger and stronger as cold sweat dripped down my face.

"So... You have come", a voice said.

I turned around and saw a robed man. He had bandages all over his body and a wooden staff was on his right hand.

"I was surprised to find out that Hector was killed. Although he still hasn't fully embraced the darkness, he was still a powerful mage", he said.

I unsheathed my sword. Everything about him was sending alarms in my mind. And there was something about him that was unsettling. The eerie feeling became stronger inside me.

"I have researched about you since our last encounter. Mikage Kamishiro, was it? It seems you are from another world", he said.

Last encounter? Have I met him somewhere before?

"The interesting part is that you were summoned by him."

"Him?"

"Shiroe, a former member of our organization. He was a powerful man who was in charge of our greatest ambition. Unfortunately, he disappeared after taking all of our research materials. Our only lead is you, the person he summoned in this world."

"Sorry but I don't remember anything like that."

"Of course you do not remember anything. I heard that you lost your memories."

He knew that too?

"How did you know?"

"We have eyes and ears everywhere. Also, it is interesting how you absorbed the Dark Corruption. Even absorbing the vestiges was a great feat. However, you still lost control over yourself. I thought you were unaffected by the Dark Corruption. It seems you only have a high tolerance for it. Maybe I should see how much you can handle before going out of control", he unwrapped the bandages around his arm and darkness oozed out.

His black arm was definitely dangerous. How can I get out of this situation?

"Mikage!! Where are you?!" Amelia's voice shouted just outside the alleyway.

This was bad. If Amelia would get dragged into this battle, I don't know what would happen. I was not confident that I could protect her against a dangerous guy like him. Maybe Pekora was a strong fighter...

"I will leave for now. This is not a good place to experiment", he said and his shadow swallowed him up.

The bandaged man disappeared. My tensed up muscles relaxed as I sighed.

"Mikage!!" I heard my name getting called.

"I'm here!" I shouted.

Amelia and Pekora arrived at the alleyway and saw me sitting on the ground.

"What happened?" Amelia asked.

I told her all about the bandaged man and our one-sided conversation.

"I see... So he'll come for you. We have to leave this city", Amelia said.

"That's right, peko. If he attacks you, then it'll be better if there are no civilians", Pekora added.

"The Dark Corruption, huh?" Amelia muttered.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing... For now, let's leave. We already stocked up on supplies."

And so we left the frontier town as we headed north towards Krev Valley.