Trip to Niigata

(Moonfall Continent Arc)

(Character Sheet)

Kyrielle Buffet / Fujiwara Taki

Role : MC

Race : Ataraxian (Caucasian), Dragonkin

Gender : Female

Age : 16

Height : 159cm

Status : Alive

Description :

A young girl with red let down hair. She was once a boy from another world called 'earth' and was reincarnated to this world after being shot by Baal from across worlds using his God ranked magic, Chronos Ignis.

She's a calm but cheerful person, however her recent traumas is giving her a chronic sense of guilt that might become a huge problem if she don't keep her emotion in check. She still blames herself for the death of her father and the victims of the teleportation accident, and as a result she often times sacrifice herself just to redeem the guilt she feels.....

However, her frequent involvement with violence as well as her soul merging with Red has caused her to slowly become less and less empathetic to the loss of lives.... Although she constantly denies it, she secretly enjoy the thrill of combat and is constantly drawn to challenging strong opponents.

Her journey to the Moonfall Continent is to find a magic sword called "Severance" in order to seperate the dragon soul from her own. Under the guidance of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, she seeks forth in japan trying to find the sword that she is looking for....

____________

Marielle Buffet / Fujimoto Amemiya

Role : Sister, ???

Race : Ataraxian

Gender : Female

Age : 13

Height : 138cm

Status : Alive(?)

Description :

Kyrielle's sister who thought her older sister was dead. She was caught in the teleportation accident, and was sent to the Moonfall Continent unbeknownst to Kyrielle. For no some reason, she got albinism after the teleport iinciden, giving her white hair and red eyes.

A devil with the Spear, she is an extremely potent fighter capable of killing bandits even at the age of 12. As a user of the Spearmaster Style, she's extremely talented and was recruited by the Takeda clan as a result.

An old Spear Saint took care of her during her stay at the continent, and he later became her foster father. He was the one to give Marielle her new name, and his death made her realize that in order to protect her loved ones, she need to grow stronger..... But will her new found lust for power turn her into a killing machine that knows no love?

Another factor for her being drawn to power is because she is insecure about her own standing when compared to her sister who is stronger than her at magic, and her father who is yet another talented martial artist.... She seeks to surpass both of her family members in hopes of compensating for their death.

_______________

(16 years after reincarnation)

[Kyrielle's POV]

(Hiroshima Coast)

"Uwah! So this is the Moonfall Continent!"

As the ship approached the dock, I could see the port city much clearer from the deck. An old Japanese port city without stone walls, houses made out of thatch and wood, and a small Japanese castle in the middle of the city.

This is Japan!

The captain of the ship skillfully steers the ship until it had it's left side facing the dock.

(AN : Brackets () means the characters are talking in Japanese)

"(Release the anchor and drop the binding rope!)"

Following the captain's command, the sailors threw a thick strand of rope towards the port to bind the ship to the dock while a heavy anchor was dropped to the sea bed from the sides of the ship.

'Thump!' 'Splash!'

"(Passengers may all leave the ship now.)" The Captain finally said out, as he puts away the captain hat that he is wearing and pulled out a cigarette.

Alright. Time to leave the ship I suppose.

"(Enjoy your stay on the Moonfall Continent, thank you to everyone for taking this ferry.)"

I took my luggage, and when I was about to walk down the make-shift stairs to the dock I saw that it was filled with people.... As such, I decided to just jump down the ship.

"Yoisho!..." 'Thud!'

"(Now then....)"

As much as I'd like to just walk around and explore this city, first I need some information on this place as well as a dictionary to practise my Japanese on.

____________

I walked down the streets of the feudal Hiroshima, and I was completely taken by the sight like I was in Disneyland. My eyes gazed on the terraces and shops by the street, a sight that is only found in traditional Japanese tourist attraction.

This is no doubt a Feudal Japan, one before the fall of the Shogunate and the full reign of the Emperor.

"Sigh...." Originally, the school trip that I died to was planned to be in Kyoto to visit all these traditional japanese cultures and architectures, but that didn't turn out well....

"Nah, now's not the time to be sorrow over the past...." I must stay focused.

I searched the houses and terraces carefully until I finally found what I was looking for. "Honya...." (Bookstore)

It seems that at least I can still read most of the kanjis written on the boards. My japanese may be rusty, but it's not completely gone yet. It is my mother tongue after all.

Upon entering the book store...

"(Welcome!)" An asian woman with long black hair wearing a bland colored kimono greeted me. I instantly got flustered because I was taken off guard by it...

"M-mm...." I gave the counter lady a nervous nod before escaping deeper into the store.

"Phew...." Why am I so nervous?

It may seem like a complete joke to me as a former japanese but when she greeted me I just didn't know how to reply....

I need to be mindful about what I speak. I guess I should try and review my words while I search for the dictionary.

As I browsed the book store, I picked up a dictionary as well as a few novels that caught my attention so that I can read while I travelled.

Once I was ready to actually practise speaking, I approached the counter lady again with the books in hand. My back starts to sweat nervously....

"(U-umm...)"

"(How may I help you, ojou-san?)"

"(I am a foreigner on this land and I actually wanted to ask you something about the country....)"

"(I'd be willing to help answer your questions.)"

"(Thank you. I am planning to travel to Niigata from here... do I have to bring any documents or papers with me?)"

"(As far as I know, you don't have to. Foreigners are allowed full traverse of the continent under the emperor's orders. But this territory is the Oda Clan's, and Niigata is ruled by the Uesugi Clan, so I am not too sure.)"

She mentioned a lot of clans.... During the Sengoku period, Japan is split into multiple different clans each with different rules. I need to know the territory as well as the relation of these states if I'm planning to travel here.

"(I see.... As for the states in this country, how many are there?)"

"(There are three in total. The Oda Clan is the largest, and it controls every single state in the South East all the way until Kyoto, the emperor's city. The second largest clan is the Takeda clan, which controls almost the entire japan that is on the far North East Side except Hokkaido, which is a free state.)"

"(What about the Uesugi Clan?)"

"(As the smallest clan, it only controls the entire west side of Edo. Niigata is one of the states of Uesugi clan.)"

"(I see.... Thank you for the explanation, you are a really big help. As for the books, I'd like to buy these three.)"

"(Do you really need a dictionary? You are speaking such fine Japanese already, I don't think you need one do you?)"

"(Well, I'm getting one just to make sure I know the kanjis...)"

"(Hmm, that makes sense. Kanji is difficult afterall. Well then, all the books will cost 50 coppers.)"

"(Here's the money.... By the way, how can a foreigner like me earn some money here?)"

"(Hmm.... You seem to be a skilled swordsman, since you are already carrying a katana. In that case, there will be jobs for you to take in most taverns or tea houses, and you'll be paid once you completed these jobs.)"

"(Are there no adventurer guilds here?)"

"(Sadly, there's no guilds like that on the Moonfall Continent.)"

"(I see.... Thank you very much for your service, farewell.)"

"(Take care, ojou-san.)"

I exited book store after that.

"Phew!" That was tiring! I've never felt so exhausted about socializing before...

"Now, what should I do..." My gaze went to one of the shops in front of the book store. The sign reads 'Menya Ramen'

"Ramen noodles huh? I've never had it since I was reincarnated here...."

____________

I stayed for two days at Hiroshima before I headed towards North East, to Niigata prefecture.

I need to head there and find a man named Uesugi Kenshin.... Someone who holds the black lotus katana that I was looking for.

I travelled along the highway with the guidance of the map that I bought in Hiroshima, and passed by a lot of towns on the way.

I went by Kyoto, a big capital city in the Moonfall Continent. I also went by a lot of different small towns, each just about the same as the other.

As a white skinned girl travelling alone, I attracted a lot of attention every time I went to a town or a city. It seems that travellers that are also caucasians were generally male, so people are surprised when they see a caucasian female.

But generally, there isn't any discrimination towards me whatsoever. Quite the opposite actually, may of the store owners and inn keepers welcomed me.

Like this, a month of travelling just sort of happened. There isn't a lot of incidents during my journey, and it was peaceful almost everyday....

It's been such a long time since I've travelled alone. When you cover large distances by yourself without anyone to talk to, it gets very lonely sometimes....

But it is also during these very moments that I can reflect on the things that I did wrong in the past.... I should've asked Red more about her past when I had the chance. I should've talked with mom about trying to find Marielle in the Moonfall Continent as well... And I should've talked with Lynn a lot more....

But all of this self reflection comes to end when I meet other travellers while walking. There are many races of people that travelled just like me, many of them seemed like experienced warriors and mages. This continent has a lot of these skilled people around that I don't meet any where else.

I continued on my journey for almost a month without much happening. At day time, I'd walk and rest when I reach a town.... At night, if I'm out in the wild I'll set up camp and sleep in the wilderness, or sleep at an inn in a random town.

Occasionally when walking in the wild I'll have to fend off wolves, but it's not the monstrous kind of wolves, it's easy to fight them now especially since I'm experienced with using my katana....

Shadow Cross! 'Slash!' (2x)

With two quick and powerful slashes, I cleanly sliced the two wolf's mouth and severed their jaw muscles with my slash.

"Uuu...." (2x) The two wolves groaned in pain and ran off back into the forest. The final Wolf barked loudly at me before retreating as well.

"Hmpt, don't treat me like an easy meal just because I'm small."

My journey alone made me practise with my sword even more.... And now I'm extremely proficient at quick draw attacks using my katana.

Eventually, my journey landed me to a small commune town right besides Mount Asama, a volcano.

This town is famous for it's hot springs, and my path goes directly through this town while going around the volcano.

'Rumble...!' As I walked down the road, a distant thunder sounded.

"Hmm, this is going to be a bad thunderstorm...."

I suppose I should stop by at the onsen town huh?

It'd be nice to relax a bit after such aong time of travelling by myself right? I should treat myself to something nice for once....

____________

(A few hours later....)

'Splash...'

"Hah...."

Inside the one of the inns of the town, I submerged my body in the hotspring while wrapped in a towel. No one is in the women's bath, so it's just me. Without anyone to see my naked body, it is extremely relaxing....

"(I could very well fall asleep right now....)"

"(That would be dangerous, ojou-san.)" The voice of an adult woman sounded.

'Splash....' Someone had entered the hot spring right next to me. It's an Asian woman in her mid twenties, wrapped in a white towel like me.

I averted my eyes to try to be respectful and not stare too much at her bare body.

"(Ojou-san, do you mind if I sit next to you?)"

"(No, go ahead.)"

"(They say that this onsen is good for skin health... A lot of young girls like you tend to favor this bathhouse in particular.)"

"(Is that so? I could use some skin care....)"

'Splash...' I poured some of the hot spring water over my face. The water drips down my face, and makes me feel warm to the core.... This is great.

"(Hah.... Are you a regular here, onee-san?)" I asked out.

"(Mmm. I come here about twice a week.... You are a foreigner right?)"

"(Yes.... I'm Ataraxian, from the Centralia Continent.)"

"(The biggest kingdom of the world huh.... So what are you doing here?)"

Well... It'd be very hard to explain to her that I came here to find a magic sword to seperate a dragon from myself and also to find my little sister.... I'll just bring up something.

"(...I came here because I wanted to visit the Niigata area.)"

"(For sight seeing huh?... What a strange girl you are.)"

"(Excuse me?)"

"(I don't mean it in an offensive way. Our country just had a civil war half a decade ago, so no one really want to visit here yet.... Law and Order is still weak in some places after all.)"

"(What do you mean by that?)"

"(Because of the last civil war, the feudal lords are now trying to compete with each other in technology and economy in order to gain control over the Shogunate. War is something that is lurking over the horizon here, with bandits, mercenaries and even the occasional killers running rampant around the country.)"

"(And the feudal lords aren't doing anything about it?)"

"(They are trying to, but the effectiveness of their military campaigns against these outlaws are questionable at best....)

"(I see...)"

"(Well, these politics are nothing we should care about. We women should focus on our own safety first... You are young and beautiful, bandits like to target girls like you. Watch yourself out there.)"

"(Well, you aren't the first one to warn me about that....)"

I had met quite a few people during this month long journey, and a lot of them warned me about the same thing.

"(Mmm.... Can I look at your dominant hand?)"

"(Eh?... Sure...)" I showed her my left hand.

She grabbed on my hand and gently massaged it...

"(Ow... It feels great....)"

"(I knew it... You are a swordswoman, and that's the real reason you are travelling here. You want to get better at swordsmanship!)"

"(You can tell from just touching my hand?)"

"(My father is also a swordsman, and his hand feels rough to touch because of the calluses on his palm.... Although your hand is soft and smooth, there are still visible calluses.)"

"(Maybe I do need to wear gloves.... I don't want my hand to grow rough, it's less attractive.)"

"(Hahaha, right?... Skin care is difficult after all.)

'Splash....' I poured a bit more water over my face.

"(....I think I've soaked for long enough in the bath now. Please take your time here, onee-san.)"

"(You take care of yourself, ojou-san.)"

______________

(Next day...)

(AN : From this moment on, Kyrielle will be speaking in Japanese even without the brackets.)

I continued out of the town next morning. Following the highway, I travelled by myself up North West and went around the volcano. Just two more day of traveling and I'll be at my destination.

I've never encountered any monsters for weeks already, it's was kind of refreshing to be able to just travel without being ambushed by wolves or giant insects.

"But still...." A sense of doubt lingers within me.

Things won't be so easy.... I won't be able to just make my way to Niigata without something happening.....

"Sigh.... Why am I raising such red flags?...."

'Splash....' The river nearby made relaxing water sounds as I walked by.

'Chi chi chi!' (?x) Sparrows chirpped as they flew past while I walked on the mud highway.

Yep... This is relaxing.

....Or so I thought, until I saw a body lying on the river bed right next to the wooden bridge that I am going to cross. On his back is a protruding arrow, he had been shot.

There may be bandits nearby...

"Cough... Cough...." He's still alive!

"O-oi, are you okay?!" I ran over there as I yelled out.

"You are...."

"Just be quiet, I'll get you out of there." I put down my luggage and pulled his soaked body out of the river bed and let him rest his face on my lap.

"Cough cough!..." More blood comes pouring out of the wound on his back, I need to heal it or else he might lose too much blood.

"Listen carefully, I want you to bite onto this cloth and I'm gonna pull the arrow out of your back. It's going to hurt a lot, so get ready."

I pulled out my napkin and stuff it into his mouth. From my luggage I pulled out a bottle of healing potion.....

"Here goes...." 'Shsk!...' I pulled the arrow out of his back.

"Mmgh!!!.... Urgh...."

"Good...." I grabbed the healing potion and poured it over his injury.

The medicine seeps into the wound on his back, and the open hole slowly starts to regenerate.....

"Here, drink some as well." I said as I pour the rest of the potion to his mouth.

"Gulp.... Hah.... Water..."

"Here." I grabbed the water bottle by my luggage, and then gave it to the boy.

"Gulp!... Gulp!..."

"Do you need anything else?"

"A... girl?..." He said as he reaches his hand out for my face.

'Thud...' The boy's hand dropped on the ground, his face lies on my lap.

"Great.... I guess I'll bring him to somewhere cooler."

_________

(1 hour later....)

I pulled the boy to the shade of a nearby tree and let him rest there. He slept extremely sound while I sat next to him keeping watch for the entire time as I read my book.

I checked the watch on my wrist... it is now 5 p.m. evening.

"Zzz.... Mmm..."

"Hmm?" He's waking up.

"Urgh.... My back...."

"Rise and shine sweet heart, your wife is here besides you."

"My wife?... Huh?!"

He sat back up after I woke him up from his nap.

"Are you alright now? You've been unconscious for an hour now so I'm getting a bit worried...."

"You are very kind to guard me while I slept...."

"It's fine but who are you, and why have you been shot?"

The boy looked around him to confirm his surroundings before he looked back at me.

"My name is Fujiwara Jozu... I managed to escape somehow...."

"Escape from who?"

"Bandits! I was actually running towards Niigata to call for backup...."

"But Niigata is still at least 6 hours away, you wouldn't make it in time to save the village."

"I have to ty... the bandits are strong, we need help from the military itself. The group of bandits surrounded our village and we have almost no way to escape...."

"Then how did you get out?"

"...A few guards sacrificed themselves to let me escape in order to call for reinforcements...."

"I see.... Are the bandits strong?"

"Aside from the few mages they aren't particularly strong... But there are a few individuals who are extremely strong."

"Can you tell me more?"

"The leader of the bandits is called Goketsu.... He is actually a Sumo Wrestler from our village previously, and when in combat he wields a giant nodachi about 1.7 meters long."

"....A nodachi great sword..."

"Wait, why are you asking me all this? Don't tell me you are planning to attack those bandits?!"

"You got that right."

"Are you insane?! You're just a girl- wait, are you a onna busha? (Female samurai)"

"Y-yeah, something like that.... Is your village on that direction?" I said as I pointed to the distant smoke up at the sky.

"Oh no.... They are attacking the village again!"

"Do they use fire?"

"Yes! The mages of the bandits used fire magic to burn down the forests around the village, and most of our defenses are useless against their flames...."

"Fire...." I looked at the clouds up on the sky, a distant group of rain clouds gathered and is blowing towards this direction. It'll rain at around half an hour later.

"Hmm.... You are in luck, the rain is about to come, that means the fire will lose the effect by a lot."

"But are you seriously going to head there to help?..."

"Well, I'm not going to be fighting alone right? There are guards and men inside that village as well I assume?"

"Yes but still.... It's going to be dangerous, you know?"

"You don't have to tell me that.... But I guess I have no choice but to go."

"Thank you very much!.... Now, I must go and find help for my village!"

"Alright. And I'll go to the village and try to at least take down the fire mages and rescue a few villagers...." I said as I took out my map to check the location.

There, Tengu Village which is about an hour away, just in time for the rain to fall.

"What should I do...."

"Go to Niigata and find whatever help you can. We have no time to lose here so get moving, Fujiwara."

"Y-yes! And you definitely shouldn't die alright?"

"I don't plan to die here. Now, I'll be going so take care of yourself."

I picked up my luggage, and then walked off. He yelled out from behind me.

"Thank you for rescuing me, lady! What's your name?!"

"It's Kyrielle!"

"I'll definitely remember your name!"

I gave him a thumbs up gesture as I walked towards the village.

In reality, I don't actually have a reason to go there and help them at all.... But I'd feel extremely guilty if I know that I could've done something about it but ignored their call for help.

And I guess I just needed to do something to redeem myself after I caused the Teleportation Incident huh?...

But I am not invincible now, I need to be extra careful on my up coming fight with those bandits....

"Now then, let's get started."

(Chapter end)