Chapter 7: Places to Be, People to See

'GGRRR.' Megumin's stomach growled loudly again, and she scowled, glaring down at her midriff. "Still hungry," she muttered, turning back to stare up at him again. "We didn't even get a chance to eat anything."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, okay? My bad." With a resigned shrug of his shoulders, Harry shoved his hands deep into his pockets, dragging his feet as he slowly idled across the creaking wooden foot-bridge. It was getting darker now; the sun was starting to set on the horizon, its rays trailing across the sky like streaks of paint, transforming the sky above into a beautiful tapestry of vibrant pinks, oranges and peaches.

They were out here now, loitering about and standing out in the open air, instead of being back in there drinking and dining like they would've been otherwise, 'cause they'd gotten tossed out. After all of that raucous he'd caused, he'd been given a right talking to by the staff, and he'd been forced to leave the Adventurer's Guild for the night, sent on his way for instigating a fight. Which had been fair enough, all things considered.

Even if there wasn't any Statute of Secrecy in this world, to stop him using magic on or around Muggles (if there even were any proper 'Muggles' in this world, which he was starting to doubt). After all, there wouldn't have been any muggles to kick up a fuss about in Hogsmeade, but Madam Rosmerta would've tossed him out of the Three Broomsticks if he'd done the same thing, made a scene there like he'd done here; of that Harry had no doubt. Even if he'd done it to someone who properly deserved it, like some blood-supremacist Death Eater scumbag. And really, being honest with himself, he wasn't the slightest bit sorry. That fat, ugly old creeper, the guy he'd done it to? He'd totally gotten what was coming to him, what he'd deserved.

A few of the other adventurers back in the Guild had gotten the hang of volleyball far quicker than he'd expected, and the game was on; it had been a right riot. For all of a minute, maybe a minute and a half tops, before the staff had come rushing across and stepped in to break it up. And to clear up all the mess - tankards knocked over, plates smashed to pieces, spilled food and drink scattered everywhere. It'd been glorious. Last time he'd seen that sorry failed excuse for a human being, mashed potatoes and gravy had been splattered all over the over-inflated, stretched-out vestiges of what used to be the man's ugly face. Even if Harry could have taken it back, if he'd had a clue what the counter-spell (or counter-curse?) was, he still wouldn't have. Justice had been served…

"You're smiling, Harry-san." Megumin deadpanned. "A lot. It's kind of creepy."

"I am? Oh, well, you know how it is. Gotta keep a stiff upper lip, put on a brave face." Harry did his best to wipe the smug, contented smirk off his face, trying his hardest to adopt a suitably serious, civil and proper expression instead. After all, it hadn't been fair that both of the Crimson Witches had gotten tossed out of the tavern along with him, especially since neither of the two of them had done anything wrong themselves.

So yeah, maybe he was a teensy, tiny bit sorry. Course, he wasn't at all sorry for what he'd done, so it'd be kind of pointless, disingenuous, to come out and apologize out loud. But he was sorry that he'd wound up getting them in trouble too, that they'd caught some of the flak for what he'd just done back there. But even though he felt slightly guilty for putting them in the lurch, that twinge of guilt still wasn't making it any easier for him to wipe the mirth from his face either. And he could tell that his little effort to feign propriety wasn't fooling Megumin one bit, not for one instant. Her Adventurers' Card had said she was super-smart, and from the look of on her face, it wasn't wrong.

With the unconvinced, cynical look she was still tossing his way getting a bit much for him to handle, Harry awkwardly averted his gaze, turning away from the diminutive witch walking alongside him to stare down at the planks of the wooden foot-bridge they were slowly traipsing across, and through the gaps between them into the depths of the shallow, litter-cluttered moat below. Megumin was still staring at him unblinkingly though, her right eye peering out from beneath her overlarge witch's hat, like she could see right through him. Maybe a change of subject, focusing on something else, might do the trick of getting her off his case…

"So- anyhow, when Aqua gets here…" If that tardy fallen goddess ever does, Harry added without saying it out loud. Stepping off the foot bridge, his now eagle-sharp eyes combed the town square and all of the streets around it for any sign of her unmistakeable bright blue looping hair, but to no avail. What the heck was taking her so long anyway? A quick wash, she'd said. Only a few minutes, she'd said. But it had to have been well over an hour by now, surely? "…Y'know, she could heal that eye for you, no problem. She already fixed my eyesight, earlier today."

"What, this?" Stopping abruptly in mid-step, Megumin crossed her arms in an X-shape, making double peace symbols with her hands (dropping her staff in the process, which clattered to the ground at his feet), before slowly drawing them in across her face in unison to form a diamond-shaped frame around her eye patch. "Oh, it isn't injured. This eye patch is a magic item, which suppresses my inexorable magical powers. If I were to ever take this off, a great catastrophe would surely befall this world…!"

"NO? Seriously?!" Aghast, Harry stepped in, reaching out to grab a hold of her eyepatch, sizing it up and pulling it away from her face. The thing was shaped like a shield, with a gold border running around the edges; red with a white cross embroidered in the middle of it, kind of like the Swiss flag.

You could normally tell if things were enchanted from the feel of them, but for some reason, he couldn't with this. It didn't feel magical to him. But if it really did suppress magic, then given that he was holding onto it with his bare hand right now, for all he knew, it could well be suppressing his magic too, making it so that he couldn't tell. The strap holding it on though, that could well be magical. It was so thin that he could still barely see it, but it still wasn't snapping even when he was trying to pull it off, stretching it out as far as it'd go. What was it made of, Acromantula silk? Or was it something else…?

"Stop… Stop it!" Megumin protested. "Please don't pull on it! Please cut it out!"

"But sealing away someone's magic, suppressing it like that- that isn't on! You can't be okay with that, surely? You shouldn't have to put up with that- no wizard should…!"

"Um, well, the thing is… That was a lie." Megumin admitted, suddenly looking a bit bashful, twiddling her thumbs and peering up at him, with both of her eyes meeting his for the first time. There was obviously nothing wrong with her left eye- it looked just as pretty as her right one.

"Huh?" Bemused, still holding onto her eyepatch, Harry stopped trying to yank it off, staring blankly at her. "Then, why…?"

"I just wear it to look cool."

"Oh. Right." No wonder the way she'd said it had been so over the top, like a pantomime performance- it'd been a joke. Of course it'd been a joke. Feeling a mite self-conscious at having fallen for it so easily, Harry did his best to laugh it off. "Ha, good one- you got me…"

"Anyway, if you could just, let go of it. Actually, it'd hurt if you just let go now, so if you could be so kind as to put it back, nice and slow- that's it, softly, gently…"

Wait, I'm still pulling on her eye-patch? Whoops, my bad… "Sorry, sorry- sure, there you go," he said, gingerly setting it back in place, and hiding her left eye away behind it once more. More's the pity… "So, does it at least have some charm on it which lets you see through it, or what…?"

"Alas, no. Lamentably, it does not. Why?"

"But- wait, hold up. Isn't that kind of, you know, impractical? Restricting your vision with that thing, making it so that you can only see out of one eye- how'd you manage to gauge distances, to focus that Explosion spell of yours properly and make sure you hit what you're aiming for, without any depth perception?"

Megumin shrugged, waving his query away with a broad sweep of her small hand. "By making educated guesses, I guess. Sometimes you just have to hop to it and do it, you know? Time waits for no arch-wizard…"

Whoa there, did she just say what he'd thought he'd just heard her say? Educated guesses? So it was nothing but just estimates and guesswork? Bloody hell… Stopped in his tracks, lost for words, Harry leaned back against one of the totem poles for support, thanking his lucky stars for his inordinately high luck stat. Without it, he could well have been a smoking crater right now…

BLAM. The heavy oaken doors of the Adventurers' Guild slammed behind them with a loud bang, shutting them out. He'd known it was coming- Harry didn't even bother turning around, or taking a quick peek back over his shoulders. Megumin didn't react either. But it certainly startled Megumin's friend, who'd been trailing a fair few paces behind the two of them. Let out a loud, shrill "EEP!", jumping on the spot and flailing her arms about like she was practising some weird combo of kung fu and yoga.

Though given what she'd just been through back in there, what with that slimeball creeper trying his best to chat her up, drag her off and have his way with her? Pretty much any girl in her shoes would've been pretty jumpy right now. Or rather, her- wait a sec. Glancing back in her direction, Harry's eyes widened in recognition at the sight of Yunyun's distinctive footwear. No way- she was wearing honest-to-goodness, bona fide Quidditch boots! So they DID have Quidditch in this world then? And she was a Quidditch player too- if she was wearing Quidditch boots, that meant she had to be one, right? Awesome! Was she in a team- did she have a team's badge on them?

Leaning over sideways a bit, to get a better angle, it didn't look like it. I mean, c'mon, course she wouldn't be. All he had to do was think about it for a moment or two- she was the same age as Megumin, around about a year younger than him. Although, having said that, she really didn't look like it. Her face might, sure. But the rest of her? That body…? Tearing his eyes away from her boots, slowly lifting his gaze, Harry couldn't help but notice how well-developed she was, for her age. Heck, how well-developed she was, full stop. Following his gaze, tracing his line of sight, Megumin's eyes narrowed. Oblivious to it though, Harry kept on staring.

This girl was supposedly only thirteen- she would've only been a 3rd year, back at Hogwarts. And yet, she already had an hourglass figure like that? Especially the size of those melons, accentuated even more by that petal-cut blouse she was wearing; back at Hogwarts, Lavender Brown had had the biggest ones in their year, and even Lavender could've only dreamed of having a rack like that. At least, unless there was some sort of breast-enhancing potion she could've taken. Or she'd been desperate enough to cast the Engorgement Charm on them.

And this girl here, Yunyun, definitely didn't seem like the type who'd do something like that. Not when she was blushing so fiercely that her cheeks were practically glowing, almost as bright red as her shining crimson eyes- with both her cheeks and her eyes flaring up to shine brighter still when he met her gaze. Think she could do with a nice bit of reassurance right about now… Flashing a near-flawless smile at her, Harry waved at her, beckoning for her to come over.

"Hey, Yunyun. Come on, join us. Take it easy- it's fine, everything'll be okay now. Hold up, where are my manners- I haven't even introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Harry Potter. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Th-th-th…!" Yunyun stopped for a moment, her chest heaving as she fought to get back enough of her composure and her breath to force out whatever she was trying to say. "T-Thank You! So much, for everything! You were so brave, so kind, so noble…!"

"Nah, it's nothing. It was the least I could do; no big deal, really."

"Bu-but it was! It is! No-one else would, but you did- you saved me! And what happened? You got in trouble, got thrown out, because you stepped in to help me. Because of me…!" Yunyun cried out, tears starting to stream down her face.

"What? No! Don't blame yourself for that!"

"But it was my fault! How can I ever repay you? There has to be some way, something I can do to make it up to you…" Fidgeting around uncomfortably, her hips swaying from side to side- was she a bit drunk, perhaps? Unsteady on her feet?- Yunyun clasped her hands to her chest. Wait, was he hearing things? Had to be. It didn't matter how springy and bouncy they looked, breasts didn't make 'BOING' noises, like a beachball would- did they…?

"Harry-san." Megumin spoke up, a fair bit louder than necessary, derailing that train of thought and drawing his attention her way. "You should have just let me chase the man away," she muttered, a sullen scowl marring her features.

"I know, it's just- I couldn't let it lie, you know? The look on that disgusting old perv's face. The way he was going on about her, leering at her, trying to drag her off to God knows where to do God knows what- I just saw red. All I could think was; I wanna blow him up. Blow him up, blow him up. Couldn't control it, couldn't help myself…"

"Oh." Megumin blinked, her expression softening. "Well, I suppose that's perfectly understandable. I mean, it's not like I, Megumin, didn't feel the same way- I know that feeling all too well…" Her scowl clearing away, the corners of Megumin's mouth piqued upwards, forming a prim smile. "But even so! There are times when we have to at least try and hold ourselves back, fight that burning desire to let loose the forces of destruction! Were we not to do so, this world would surely be plunged into the dark abyss, perishing in ash and brimstone…!"

"Kind Sir? H-Harry-san?" Turning back to Yunyun, still standing on the last plank of the wooden foot-bridge, Harry found she was blushing even more fiercely than she'd been before, staring down at her Quidditch boots as if she were too embarrassed to look him in the eyes. And when she spoke again, it was a soft whisper, with Harry having to strain his ears to hear… "M-m-maybe… If you re-really wanted to… You c-c-could, h-have your way… W-with my bod-eeeek! Ow, ow ow ow…!"

Leaving his side, striding forward to close the gap between them, Megumin cut Yunyun off, standing on her tiptoes and reaching up to grab a hold of her friend's ear, before yanking her head down and dragging her away by it, off of the end of the bridge and across towards the base of the other totem pole.

"Enough! What are you saying, Yunyun? Do you even hear yourself? Are you a Crimson Demon, or are you some shameless succubus temptress?!" Megumin exclaimed, lashing out with a gloved hand to slap one of Yunyun's boobs, hard- hard enough for the sound to echo across the town square like a thunderclap, and elicit an even loud squeal of pain from Yunyun. His eyes widening, Harry winced. Oww- that had to have hurt, a lot. Even with that much- padding. Whoa- with his vision all fixed up and sharper than ever, he could even make out the ripples- those things looked almost as jiggly as jello. Great big, round, mouth-watering mounds of…

SMACK. Megumin's other hand whipped out to slap Yunyun's other breast this time, snapping Harry out of his reverie. "And what the hell is up with that?! I mean, just look at these things! They've grown again, haven't they? Just keep getting bigger and bigger, every time I see them…! Stop fondling them in public like that! Are you trying to put them on display for the whole town?!"

"No! Ow! No, I'm nooot!" Yunyun protested. "St-stop it! D-don't hit mine, just because yours won't grow!"

Megumin froze up, stopping in mid-motion and going all tense for a few moments, like she was desperately straining to hold herself back. She failed.

"What the hell?! How dare you?! You dare to…?!" Going nuclear, Megumin lashed out, pelting Yunyun's boobs with an unending torrent of slaps, each seemingly even louder and harder than the one before. Left, right, left, right, left, right…

Now, normally, he'd have done his best to steer well clear of witches' cat-fights, following Ron and the rest of the lads' advice not to interfere, and run the risk of getting swept up in all of that melodrama. But this wasn't a cat-fight; Yunyun's hands were still raised up by her sides in a gesture of surrender, and she still wasn't even trying to fend off the blows to protect herself, let alone fighting back. Besides he was already involved- he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"Megumin? Megumin?! Merlin, at this rate you'll make them swell up so much that they'll pop out of her top… Knock it off! Quit hitting her already!"

"Dammit! You're, right- you're right. I apologise, Harry-san…" Panting from her exertion, still unsteady on her feet from her magical fatigue earlier, Megumin trailed off, mumbling an aside to herself under her ragged breath, too quietly for him to hear.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing! Anyway, that's beside the point. The point is, that you're getting tricked far too easily, Yunyun! What are you going to do if you get kidnapped?!"

"Bu-But, but! That man, he said his sick mother needs to see his lover…!"

"That was definitely a lie! Did anyone else do this!? Did anyone else ask you to do strange things when I was away!?" Megumin demanded, picking her crooked staff back up and shoving the tip of its hook up in Yunyun's face.

"N-No, nothing strange! Though- that nice older man, who frequently drinks beer throughout the day, requested, 'From now on, don't call me uncle. Call me daddy.' But that wasn't…"

Megumin silenced her with a bop on the head, and honestly, Harry couldn't blame her. Seriously? Bloody hell… The guy he'd dealt with himself had been bad enough, but this other guy, the old alcoholic, sounded like he'd send anyone's Sneakoscope into overdrive. What kind of creep would tell a young girl to call him 'Daddy'…? Actually, hold up- why the hell was she calling him 'uncle' in the first place…?

"That's already very strange! You refused, right!? Or rather, don't ever talk to him again! The chief will cry if he finds out that his daughter is calling a stranger 'daddy' in a faraway town!" Looking to be at her wit's end, Megumin tossed her hands up in the air, spinning away from her clueless friend and marching back towards him. "Why?" she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Why is she so vulnerable? She's only been in this town for a week, and already encountered such dangers…"

As if to answer Megumin's question, Yunyun reached into the hem of her skirt, pulling out a folded piece of paper that sort of resembled a Jehovah's Witness pamphlet, and flashing it to them. And flashed a shot of her panties- white, sheer lace, wafer-thin, semi-transparent panties, like something straight from an issue of those Playboy magazines that Uncle Vernon got delivered to him in the mail every month- to him as well at the same time, seemingly utterly oblivious to the fact that she'd just done so. Staring down at it, slowly shuffling across to where the two of them were standing, she sniffled, "But it can't be helped. After spending so many days in this tavern, the only person to talk to me was an Axis Cultist trying to convert believers…"

"Why are you handing out pamphlets for that person!? Throw it away!" Snatching the missionary pamphlet from Yunyun's hands, Megumin scrunched it up into a ball and tossed it away, casting it into the shallow moat to join the pile of all of the other discarded junk down there. The Axis Cult- Wasn't that the one which supposedly worshipped Aqua, as their 'divine goddess'? It didn't come as much of a surprise to Harry that they had a few screws loose- anyone had to, to revere Aqua of all people (No, of all goddesses. Deities. Whatever). But to find out that at least one of their number was a perv of that calibre? That did come as a surprise.

A lot more of a surprise than it really should have been, come to think of it. I mean, c'mon; she strolls around, letting the breeze fly free as a bird between her knees, all the while proclaiming that she's wearing 'invisible panties', for crying out loud. And if that wasn't a new thing, if she'd done that before he'd dragged her down here with him? Small wonder that one of her followers just so happened to have been a total pervert. Just like it wasn't really a surprise that the useless fallen Goddess still hadn't shown up yet. Figured. Know what, screw this. The sun had already dipped beneath the horizon, the first few stars starting to come out in the twilight, and he wasn't gonna waste much more of his time dilly-dallying around here waiting for her.

"So? What do you want to do?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Megumin admitted, bowing her head and pulling the brim of her witch's hat down over her eyes. "This won't do. If I leave Yunyun alone, to force her to overcome her communicative barrier, her social inadequacy'll just worsen beyond the point of redemption, I know it will. But I'm too busy, trying to find adventuring companions…!"

Her voice trailed off, cutting herself short as the realization hit home. Raising her head again, re-adjusting the brim of her hat so that she could stare up at him from beneath it, Megumin blinked, a sly smile spreading across her face. "—Oh. Right. Yunyun? You know, I joined Harry-san's party today; it's me, Harry-san, and Aqua-sama, an Arch-Priest. So, how about it? Do you want to join us, become a member of our party too?" Wait- huh? Say what now…?

"Eh—!?" Visibly shocked by Megumin's invitation, Yunyun's eyes widened like saucers, staring at the two of them like a cat caught in the headlights. "Bu-But…! I- I…"

"Sorry Yunyun, give us a sec, kay…?" Harry gave Yunyun a little wave, flashing another smile at her, with whatever words had been on the tip of the timid witch's tongue stuttering out. Turning back to Megumin, he leaned in to talk to her quietly, skepticism etched across his face. "Um, Megumin? If that was a joke, you're being really cruel to her…"

"What? No, I meant it." Megumin said, not batting an eyelid. "Why? Was the invitation that strange?"

"Not really, but- no offence- she seems kind of, well… Jiggly. No, damn it, that's not the right word, what's the word I'm looking for- jittery, that's it. I get you- you want to protect her, keep her safe. And don't get me wrong, I'm definitely on board with that. But adding her to the roster? You really think she's up to it…?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," Megumin tutted, waving away his concerns. "Naturally, she's nowhere near being on my level, but she's still a Crimson Demon. No shame whatsoever in being second-best."

"Suppose not," Harry muttered, unconvinced, running a hand through his already unruly hair and messing it up even more that it'd been before. To be fair, it wasn't like the first impression he'd gotten of Neville Longbottom had been any better, and Nev had turned out to be alright. He'd let Neville tag along when they'd had to race Voldemort to get the Philosophers Stone, and he'd come good- they wouldn't have been able to do it, either thwarting Voldemort's plot or winning the House Cup for Gryffindor that year, without him. Maybe she'd have hidden talents too, ones that could come in handy some day. Guess I could at least give this girl, give Yunyun, some chance to prove herself. Same as I did with Nev, back then… "Alright then. Least I can do…"

"B-B-Bu-But…!" Managing to bring her stammer back under control, Yunyun stomped down on the ground, trying to get their attention. "I made my decision with such determination…! It's only been a week since I said it… That…"

"What are you talking about, Yunyun? What's the problem? I merely asked if you wanted to join our party. To join Harry-san's Party…"

"I- I DO! I really, really do- I'd love to! To join your party, Harry-san…!" Clasping her hands to her ample bosom, leaning in towards him, Yunyun craned her neck to look up at him longingly, her eyes as wide as saucers and positively sparkling. Her cheeks rapidly flushing redder and redder, the heat building up until steam was practically billowing from her ears; only managing to hold his gaze for a second or two before having to break away, staring back straight down at her Quidditch boots again. "T-That is, if you'll have me… I mean, if it wouldn't be too much trouble…! But, but-"

"Then why are you troubled over it?" Megumin asked pointedly. Turning back to her friend, Yunyun's face twitched.

"…S-Say, Megumin. Do you still remember what I said last time? You think, that… Once I learned advanced magic, we'll have another match…"

"Oh. After defeating Arnes, you were mumbling something in the carriage. What was it again?" Megumin's forehead furrowed for a fleeting moment, trying to remember, before giving up with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, waiting on Yunyun to offer a reminder. Okay, now I don't have the slightest clue as to who or what they're talking about. This person who- wait, who Yunyun defeated? So she had to be at least half-decent, then, to have beaten- whoever, or whatever, this 'Arnes' was…

"You're asking me…?!" Yunyun stared at Megumin in disbelief, her eyes tearing up. "Wait a moment! How can you so easily forget such an important promise?! Megumin, you are always like this! Why are you always like this? What kind of Crimson Demons' 'top genius' are you?"

"What did you say?!"

"You're just an idiot who can't remember important things! Why can't you remember? Did your memories get blown off by your own Explosion magic?"

"What are you saying about my Explosion magic?!" Megumin yelled, brandishing her staff fiercely. "You want a fight? We're outside now, so nobody will stop me even if I make a scene!"

"Wh-What? Want a fight!? Your mana's depleted; you can barely walk properly. Do you think you can win against me in your current state…!?"

ENOUGH, already. And he'd had enough of fobbing around here, waiting for Aqua to finish her bloody spa treatment and turn up. A quick wash, she'd said. Only a few minutes, she'd said. Seriously, how long did it take to have a bath? It had to have been at least an hour since he'd left her back at the baths, and there was still no sign of the tardy fallen goddess anywhere. Then again, this was Aqua he was talking about here. So really, he shouldn't have expected anything more from her…

Letting out a heavy sigh of exasperation, Harry stepped in between the two girls, raising his hands to try and calm things down. "Hey, hey! Megumin, Yunyun, knock it off! Just- try and take it down a notch, alright?"

"B-but seriously…! It was my once-in-a-lifetime declaration, and she completely forgot about it…! Unbelievable! Simply unbelievable!" Yunyun covered her face with her hands, and shook her head angrily.

"I know, I know. It's my fault for forgetting it." Megumin solemnly admitted. "So, what is that important promise? Please tell me again."

"Eh—!?" Yunyun seemed taken aback, lost for words.

"What do you mean by 'Eh'? What is that important promise? I will listen carefully this time. Come, please say it out loud." Standing upright, pulling herself up to her full height (which really wasn't much- she could only be 5ft tall at most, even including her witch's hat), Megumin took up a serious pose, staring unblinkingly up at Yunyun, who seemed to be getting more panicked and flustered by the second.

"N-No. No. Uh, err… Forget it. Yes, forget it. It's nothing! I will say it next time…"

"Well, alright then," Harry interjected. "We're all on the same team here, remember? United we stand, divided we fall. And speaking of falling, I'm practically dead on my feet here. Either of you got any decent ideas, about what to do now? Some place we can go, stay the night…?"

"Ah, no need to worry about that," Megumin said, theatrically sweeping out her arm as if to brush any concerns aside. "We've already got a couple of rooms reserved for the two of us, at a luxury hotel on the outskirts of town. We'll be heading back there now- do you want to come with us, Harry-san?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, course I do." So, they were staying in a proper luxury hotel, huh? Well now, that sounded like it'd offer a more than satisfactory upgrade on the rooms he'd booked at the Adventurers' Guild Lodge. And it wasn't like he couldn't afford it or anything, not any more. Not with all that dosh he'd gotten his hands on last night… Oh. Right.

Harry's fleeting grin abruptly fell off his face, at the realisation that all of that booty he'd nabbed was still in that Adventurers' Rucksack he'd bought earlier on, in the morning. Along with his Invisibility Cloak, and practically everything else of value he owned in this world. And remembering that he hadn't actually taken his Adventurer's Rucksack with him when he'd gone off adventuring on his first quest, but had left it behind instead, locking it away where he'd assumed it'd be safe and sound. Back up there, inside that room he'd reserved for the night in the lodge. Great…

Well, there was nothing else for it. Pulling his wand out of his pocket, Harry twirled it around between his fingers for a few seconds while sizing up the task at hand- with Yunyun letting out a loud gasp of wonderment, and even Megumin raising an eyebrow, at the red and gold magic sparks which shot from the tip of his wand as he did, leaving glowing contrails in its wake in the twilight. He didn't have a clue whether this spell would work, whether it'd be capable of breaking through the Colloportus spell he'd placed on the door. But it wasn't like he had any other options, so it was still worth a try.

Focusing his mind, entirely and absolutely, on the bag into which he'd packed almost all of his worldly possessions, turning back around and looking back towards the Adventurers' Guild, Harry raised his wand in the air, and shouted out, "Accio Rucksack!" Waiting, hoping and praying, concentrating so hard that it felt like he was looking at everything around him through some sort of heat haze, which made the Guild and both witches' faces swim strangely. What if it hadn't worked? What if it wasn't coming? What if it couldn't break through the door…?

SMASH. As if to answer that question, one of the windows up on the second floor of the Adventurers' Guild loudly exploded outwards, sending a shower of broken glass shards and timber splinters cascading down into the moat below. With the haze over his vision quickly clearing again, he looked up and saw the large, bulky bag speeding through the air, hurtling down toward him. Yunyun let out a little half-shriek, crouching down and throwing her hands up as if to try and ward it off, but there was no need; his rucksack stopped dead in midair in front of him, before plonking itself down on the ground at his feet, with a audible 'ching' from all the coins inside.

Sweeping a few bits of broken glass off of the rucksack, hoisting it onto his shoulders, Harry tossed a glance back up at the broken window. Groaning as he saw the lights in the rooms on either side flicking on, heard angry exclamations wafting down to the ground. And I'm supposed to have unrivalled luck? Yeah, right. "OK, so what are we waiting for? C'mon, hurry up, let's get a move-on! Which way do we go, to get to this hotel you're staying in…?"

"Um, it's…" Megumin raised her staff aloft, twirling it around above her head over-dramatically (clipping the top of her overlarge witch's hat a couple of times, almost knocking it off her head in the process), before bringing it back down with a flourish and pointing it in one direction, down one of the streets to their left. "That way!"

"Great, let's go!"

There. That had to be the place, surely? Slowly plodding along down this long road in silence, with the two witches on either side of him, even with no street lighting along this length of the path, and with the stars coming out in the night sky above, Harry could clearly make out a pretty large, posh-looking inn, at the end of this long road, on the corner with the road that ran along the inner rim of Axel's town wall. Again, he reminded himself again to thank Aqua for giving him the kind of eyesight he could only vaguely remember having in his oldest memories, back in the days before the Dursleys cleared out the clutter in the cupboard under the stairs- before again reminding himself that it was Aqua, and taking it back straight away. Ruddy stupid goddess- he wasn't gonna feed that over-inflated ego of hers, she was way too conceited already. Still… Harry cast a glance back over his shoulder, toward the center of town, where he'd left her behind at the public bath.

Should he go back and get her? Nah, she probably wasn't even there any more. If she was still there, well, she was clearly having a great time, basking in her element. And if she wasn't, well, he knew full well where she'd be instead. Glugging down pint after pint of alcohol, running up a tab at one of the bars and taverns around town. Which she'd beg him to pay off for her, when he did find her. Pfff. Still, it, she, could wait. At least, until he'd escorted these two girls back to their hotel, and booked rooms for the night. And eaten dinner, he added, as he felt his own stomach grumbling its discontentment. After that, then he'd head back into town and track Aqua down, dragging her back with him. Harry let out a wide yawn, raising a hand to cover his mouth. It had been a very, very long day, and he was properly knackered. So knackered that he couldn't even be bothered to pull out his wand, and cast a basic Lumos to light the way for the final stretch. Wasn't worth the hassle.

"Well? I'm still listening."

Speaking of hassle… "Huh?" Turning his head, Harry cast a bewildered look down at Megumin. Who was glaring through him in Yunyun's direction, stony-faced. "What? I don't get- no, wait. You're at it again?"

Pouting, Megumin sat herself down on the grass verge by the roadside with a loud huff, setting her magic staff down and crossing her arms. "Hey. She did just insult me as an idiot back there, remember. And I still even don't know what for."

"D'you two really have to do this now?" Harry groaned. "Can't it wait til we get to the hotel- isn't that it there, on the corner?"

"Yes, we do. And yes, that is the place. But no, it can't wait. Do you want us to risk getting tossed out again?"

Fair point. Can't really argue with that, I suppose. "Fine, fine. Let's just get this over with…" Harry muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. Girls…

"Yunyun, I don't know why you're so embarrassed, but spit it out now. I will seriously listen this time."

Tossing a glance across at Yunyun, it looked like she was on the verge of tears. But still, after what seemed like an age, she managed to gather her composure, summoning enough courage to look Megumin in the eye, and open her mouth to speak. "I- I'll… I can still only use intermediate magic. I know, I can still only use intermediate magic. But I can learn advanced magic soon! I will! And once I've learned advanced magic, once I'm no longer a liability, I will—"

"Excuse me, you three! May I have a moment of your time?"

What? Caught off guard, Harry span around and whipped out his wand, aiming it in the direction of the intruder who'd somehow managed sneak up on them from behind, cutting Yunyun off in mid-speech. Turned out that it was just some old man though- a butler, from the look of it. And easily the most stereotypical butler he'd ever seen- like the spitting image of Alfred Pennyworth, from those Batman cartoons Dudley watched, but with a large top-hat perched atop his crop, on top of the tailcoat black suit he was wearing. Or like a slimmed-down version of that fat controller from those 'tank engine' collectible toy train sets that ickle Dudders had thrown tantrums over back in the day, until he'd gotten them all, and which he'd never been allowed to touch or play with himself. Looked pretty ridiculous, truth be told.

"No. We are talking about something important. Go away." Without averting her gaze to so much as take a glance in the newcomer's direction, her unblinking carmine eyes still drilling into Yunyun, Megumin raised a hand to shoo the butler away.

"What she said," Harry agreed, tucking his wand away safely again, more than a tad embarrassed that he'd been jumpy enough to draw it on a doddering old man like this in the first place. "We're busy. Bugger off."

"D-Don't be like this! Please! I'm actually looking for someone! I'm sorry to bother you, so dreadfully sorry, but please, help me find her…!" The elderly gentleman pleaded, bowing so hard that the top of his top-hat was brushing the paving tiles of the road. Yunyun and Megumin shared a look, before both turning their heads to look to him.

Groaning internally, not particularly happy about having the burden of yet another task dumped on his shoulders out of the blue, Harry relented. "Alright, we'll help. So, who is it that you're looking for, trying to find?"

"The young lady of my household, Miss Lalatina. In this country, having beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes is a sign of noble bloodline- she has long, blonde hair, set behind her head…"

Typical, Harry thought to himself, with memories of the Malfoys, Greengrasses, and half of the other Slytherin purebloods' features immediately coming to mind. Guess some things never change. "Great," he muttered coldly.

"Our dear, dear precious little Lalatina! If you see someone like this, please, inform the Dustiness family. We will reward you for the trouble…!" The old man said, still keeled over as if he'd been punched in the stomach, practically grovelling at their feet. The daft old plonker was going to do his back in at this rate, if he hadn't already. His own back was almost starting to ache just from looking at the guy.

"Merlin, ease up a bit. I said we'd help, didn't I?" Harry was tired. So tired. But the thought of a little girl like that wandering about, out on these streets all alone, at this late hour? That didn't sit well with his conscience.

Or Megumin's either, from the look of it. The diminutive witch's ears had visibly perked up, cat-like, with the gleam in her ruby-red eyes burning brighter still at the mention of a reward. "Yes, leave it to us," she announced, her little spat with Yunyun seemingly swept aside in the blink of an eye. "If we find her, we will properly protect her."

"Got anything more to go on?" Harry continued, pushing for more information, trying to narrow things down. "When and where'd you last see her?"

"Almost two days ago now," The old butler sobbed, with tears starting to stream down his wrinkled face. "The last time, we saw Lady Lalatina, was when we tucked her in bed, blew out the candelabras and put her to sleep for the night! And when we came in the morning, to wake her up, serve her breakfast and get her dressed up, she was gone…!"

"Flipping heck," Harry breathed, clenching his fists in righteous anger. This sounded so much worse than he'd thought at first. Poor little girl- he could only begin to imagine…! "What, d'you reckon she might've been kidnapped?"

"No, she ran away from home! Because she didn't want to get married…!"

Huh? "Wait, say what…?"

"She ran away from home! Left a note on her bedside table-"

"No, not THAT! What was that about bit about marriage? Marriage?!" Harry recoiled in disgust, utterly appalled by the revelation. Isn't this girl, this Lalatina, supposed to be a helpless, defenceless, innocent little girl? But she'd run away from home, HAD to run away from home- because she didn't want to get married?! They were gonna make her get married, against her will? At that kind of age?! Ruddy hell- was this how they did things in this world?!

Megumin looked a bit taken aback as well. "You know, I heard that ladies from the high nobility often have marriages arranged by their families at a fairly young age, but this is a bit beyond the pale. I wonder… Exactly how old is this cute and delicate little girl?"

"T-twenty-two," the old man mumbled, keeping his eyes fixed on the cobblestones at his feet. Ah. Blank-faced, Harry, Megumin and Yunyun exchanged glances with one another. "B-but she's out there, on her own, all alone! Without her servants, without us to wait on her and take care of her, however will she hope to cope?"

"Well, good luck," said Harry, his voice dripping with contempt. "To her. You lot, and the ones trying to force her to get married when she doesn't want to? Not so much." Shaking his head, he turned on his heels and started strolling off, down the final stretch of the road towards the luxury inn straight ahead.

"But, but- young sir, I beg you! Please, reconsider! We're offering a reward- a sizable reward for her safe return! Surely you…?"

"What, you want us to capture her, and sell her on to you? Like some escaped slave, or exotic pet? Tell you what, you can keep your money. Buzz off, and go hassle someone else. Or better yet, go home. C'mon, Megumin, Yunyun. We're done."

His back turned, without so much as a glance over his shoulder, Harry waved away the butler's desperate, spluttering attempts to muster one last protest; beckoning for the two young witches to follow him. Yunyun bounded off after him without hesitation, jogging to catch up with him- her approach unmistakable, thanks to the boinging sound of her boobs bouncing up and down. Again, were boobs really supposed to behave like that? Or sound like that? It wasn't just Yunyun's, Harry mused, Aqua's had been making those weird noises too. I'm pretty sure breast mechanics didn't work that way, not back in my world. Is this world just weird like that…?

A minute or so later, just before they reached the door of the hotel, Megumin caught up with the both of them as well. Looking a little bit downcast, with her head and shoulders slumped over, the wide brim of her witches' hat obscuring her face from view. "Um- Megumin? Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Fine! It's just, just that- are you sure about this, Harry-san? After all, the Dustiness family are very rich, high nobility. And for us who lack money, protecting this lady is a great opportunity…"

"We wouldn't be 'protecting her' though, would we?" Harry stubbornly insisted, opening the hotel's front door, holding it wide open for the two witches to walk through before letting it shut behind them. "We'd be hunting her down, capturing her and turning her over to them. Besides, we don't exactly lack money. Not any more, anyway, and not for the time being. Speaking of which…"

Just like at the Adventurer's Guild, and all of the other inns in this town (just like in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, come to think of it), they had a dedicated tavern and pub, down here on the ground floor. Though it looked like this place was set up more like a restaurant than a pub. It was a fair bit quieter and less rowdy than the Adventurers' Guild tavern had been, but there were a fair few more tables, with far cosier, comfier looking chairs than the flat wooden benches back at the Guild. And it was packed to the rafters, the hotel's restaurant section almost full to capacity with myriads of relatively smartly dressed, well-to-do looking people tucking into their dinners. Were there even any free tables? Yes, just the one- one of the waitresses was taking away a set of dirty plates, cleaning and clearing the space. "Megumin? Or Yunyun? D'you mind grabbing that table, that one over there? I'll just go check in first, to the reception desk, then I'll join you there. Order whatever you want- dinner and drinks are on me."

Megumin's slender eyebrows shot upward, any reluctance or hesitancy evaporating in the blink of an eye. "Got it, Harry-san! I'll hold you to that! Yunyun, let's get that table! Quickly, before anyone else gets it!"

"Hey, I'm not even hungry! I've eaten already- that nice old man from earlier was kind enough to share some of his meal with me!"

Ignoring Yunyun's feeble, half-hearted attempt to protest, Megumin grabbed hold of Yunyun's sleeve, dragging her along and running off to claim the free table. Taking in a deep breath, the sumptuous aromas of all the freshly cooked food was almost enough to make Harry's mouth water, evoking a growl from his stomach that was loud, deep and vicious enough to mistake it for the sound of Fluffy snarling, drawing in more than a few startled glances from the people seated at the nearest tables. Man, he was famished. And knackered. Couldn't wait to have a nice big all-he-could-eat meal, then turn in for the night, back in a proper bed again, for the first time since he'd left Hogwarts and his old life behind.

Unfortunately, though, it looked like getting a room wasn't going to be as quick as he'd hoped. Not with a group of three- adventurers? Had to be, looking at the way they were dressed, and the weapons they were all carrying- standing in the way, in front of the reception desk. The two girls, both of whom looked about the same age as him and the two 'Crimson Demon' Witches- though aside from their hooded cloaks, which were barely long enough to reach the smalls of their backs, they were both ridiculously skimpily dressed- were having a very noisy and animated argument, echoing around in the hotel's lobby.

"…Listen to me! If you are looking for a companion, Kyouka, I have a good recommendation! There is an excellent spearman by the name of Rein Chelka in this town! He should be the youngest Dragon Knight from the neighboring country. He's very famous…!" The slightly taller of the two girls, the one carrying the spear on her back, tugged on the gauntlet of their far taller (though he actually wasn't that tall, standing only a couple of inches taller than Harry- about the same height as Ron had been), light brown-haired male companion, staring up at him with pleading eyes, trying desperately to get his attention.

Looking at them, Harry couldn't help but notice that, unlike the two girls leaning into him, the guy wasn't the slightest bit underdressed or exposed; instead, he was fully clad in blue and gold plate-mail armor, with a thick, silken navy blue cloak draped over his own shoulders, flowing all the way down to his knees. With palpable magic emanating from the large broadsword he had strapped onto his belt, currently sheathed in an ornate, bejeweled scabbard dangling by his side.

"Don't you find it suspicious though?" countered the other girl, tugging on the guy's cape from her side. Her clothes looked even more revealing and threadbare than those of the spear-wielding girl, almost as if she were playing dress-up as a house elf- even to the extent of wearing nothing besides the plain white loincloth thong/micro-skirt around her hips and all. "If he's so famous, why would he be adventuring here in the Rookie town anyway? By the way, do you even know what he looks like, Kazue?"

"Hm… Uh… I don't know what he looks like, Sayua. But I heard that he is of noble birth! Except for those who bought their status with money, nobles should have blond hair and blue eyes! That's right. Just find a polite handsome guy with blond hair and blue eyes…!"

Eeurgh, not that steaming pile of flying horse crap again. Harry groaned inwardly, rolling his eyes.

"…Kyouya? Kyouya!? Are you listening?" With the two girls- Kazue and Sayua?- clamoring for his attention, practically playing tug-of-war with the guy's cloak, they finally managed to get the sword-bearer, Kyouya, out of whatever reverie he'd been lost in for the past few minutes. Blinking, he looked down at them, still looking a bit out of it.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, what was that? An excellent, spearman, was it? Yes, well, blond hair is very conspicuous, isn't it? Anyway, enough of that. Just remember, you two; we only came back here to the rookie town, to Axel, for one reason- to recruit a priest. Or maybe a mage. And you heard what they said, back at the Guild. Just this morning, they gave an adventurers' card to a budding new archpriest, one with stats the likes of which they'd never seen before! An Axis Sect Archpriest, purportedly with grace, beauty and flowing blue locks of hair, rivaling those of the goddess herself- it has to be fate. I want her. I have to have her…!"

Kyouya clenched his right fist, raising it and his face up towards the heavens. Or the rafters, at any rate. With his eyes half-closed, meaning that he completely missed the worried glances exchanged between the two girls standing on either side of him, both of them taking a step away from him and visibly shuddering at the mention of the Axis Sect. Strangely enough, so far as he'd seen thus far, Aqua's cult seemed to elicit that sort of reaction from most people here in this world. Almost like the sort of reaction Harry'd gotten from most people whenever he'd mentioned Voldemort, back in his world. It was almost enough to make one wonder- what in the seven hells did Aqua's lot get up to, for them to garner that kind of rep?

"Er- Kyouya?" The girl with the spear, Kazue, tapped the guy on his armored shoulder with it, bringing him back down to- earth? Or whatever it was that this place, this planet, was called.

"…Oh, I mean, we have to, have her. We, could really use someone like that, in our party. And you never know, perhaps one of those three wizards who supposedly signed up over the past two days as well, each with a higher magic stat than the last, might make for a worthwhile addition as well. So, if you two spot someone like that, please, try to persuade that person to join us."

The spear girl, Kazue, nodded enthusiastically, beaming as Kyouya flashed a gleaming, Lockhart-like smile at her, offering her a token pat on the head. The other girl, Sayue, didn't seem to be quite as oblivious to her surroundings as her two companions were though. Turning her head, she cast her gaze back over her bared shoulder, taking note of the messy-haired, scarlet-robed figure who just happened to be standing right behind them in the queue. About time too.

Fiddling around with his ear, nonchalantly picking out a speck of earwax and flicking it away, Harry figured that he'd been standing around in silence, eavesdropping in on their rather loud conversation, for long enough. He'd already heard plenty, more than enough to get the gist of it. And hey, why not give it a try, find out just what it was that these three could use his help with? "Persuade us to join you in what?"

"Heh—!"

"Ha—!"

Caught off guard, Kyouya and Kazue span around to face him, their hands flying to the hilts of their weapons as they took up defensive postures. Unimpressed, Harry waved it away, trying to weave his way through to the hotel's reception desk. "Oh, and by the way, d'you mind? I need to book a room, and you're kind of standing in the way."

To no avail. Completely ignoring Harry's polite request to stand aside, Kyouya widened his stance, stepping across to block him off. Looking him up and down, Kyouya's mouth gaped open in a silent O for a few moments, before he remembered to blink again, recovering his voice. "Wait, you're- Hari Pootar, right? You're that latest wizard they were talking about, back in the Guild! The one with that absurd, super-complicated, over-the-top backstory, and the crazy high starting XP, who came in and got his adventurer's card together with the arch priest this morning…?"

Wait. Did this guy just call me 'Hari Poo-tar'? And call the story of my life, 'absurd, super-complicated, and over-the-top'? Well, excuse me for having had a pretty shitty previous life… Stony-faced, Harry glared up at Kyouya through narrowed eyes, seriously tempted to pull his wand on the guy and hex him for that. Too tempted. Wand or no wand, all it took was a momentary lapse of restraint, and the damage was already done- with a barely audible 'poof', half of Kyouya's flowing, Lockhart-esque wavy locks of light brown hair spontaneously vanished in an instant, leaving behind a perfectly circular friar-style bald patch, slap-bang in the middle of the guy's head.

Whoops a-daisy. What was that now, twice in a single day? Ruddy hell, he needed to get a handle on these little outbursts, stat. Still, neither Kyouya, nor either of the two girls standing by his side, seemed to have cottoned on to the sudden hair crop-circle phenomenon that he'd just been subjected to, not just yet. And it was probably best to keep it that way, at least for now, Harry figured, with a sly smirk flickering across his face.

"Yes, I am. Harry Potter," he announced. "And those other two witches that you mentioned? Don't worry, they're with me too- left them back through there, to catch a bite to eat. And yeah, that arch priest-ess, the one you seemed especially interested in? She's with me too. Has been from the very beginning. Went gallivanting off on her own a few hours ago, though, so haven't got a clue where she is right now. But judging by those prices I saw at the bar, this place does sell some of the most expensive alcohol in town. Meaning that she's practically guaranteed to drop by here tonight. Sooner or later, at any rate…" Scowling, Harry trailed off, holding his tongue rather than going off on one about the fallen goddess and her unearthly lack of common sense.

Having largely run out of what little patience he'd had left, he barged past Kyouya- who theatrically staggered backward into the hotel's front desk with a loud clang, as if he'd just been struck in the chest with a mild stupefy, clattering into it hard enough to leave a sizable dent in its polished marble surface- and reached out to grab onto the room card which one of the hotel receptionists had been holding out to him at arm's length over the counter, deftly snatching it from her grasp. Taking note of the number written on it in the blink of an eye (with his remarkably improved reading speed serving as a pertinent reminder that said goddess admittedly wasn't utterly useless after all), slotting it into his pocket alongside his wand, he span back around with a flourish. Flashing his own roguish grin at the two girls, with all traces of hostility from the both of them visibly melting away in mere moments.

"But enough about them. And enough about me. Who are you lot anyway? Care to introduce yourselves? And in the meantime, what sort of noble and arduous quest d'you want to try and persuade us to join you on then? I'm all ears…"

"Well, I- that is, we- um…" Lost for words, Kyouka looked back and forth at his two female companions, trying to get a bit of support. Visibly deflating, with the lion's share of his arrogance and bravado ebbing away, as neither of the girls even noticed him, with both their attentions firmly fixated upon Harry instead. "Well, there is supposed to be some sort of Devil, lurking around in the forest," he mumbled sullenly, stroking the scabbard of his over-large magical sword, over and over again, like a nervous tic. "S'pposedly. An extremely dangerous, powerful one- enough to drive out all these other monsters which've been coming close to town recently, out from the deep forest. We were gonna go after it. Tomorrow. Or whenever we recruited a good enough priest, anyway…"

That got the girls' attention. Both Kazue and Sayua gasped loudly, turning to stare back up at Kyouya. "What? A real Devil, here? So close to the rookie town! We have to defeat it, Kyouya! You have to- you're the only one who can, with the Cursed Sword Gram…!"

"I know, I know," Standing tall once more, his over-confident aura restored, Kyouya reached out to patronizingly pat Kazue on the head again, with Harry rolling his eyes at the sight.

"It'll be so dangerous, though! Oh, Kyouya-" Sayue sighed- before letting out another gasp, a comically horrified expression pasting itself on her face as she raised a shaky finger, pointing up at the newly bared crown of Kyouya's head. "K-k-kyouya? W-whatever happened to your h-!?"

"Sure, no problem. Guess it's a start, at any rate," Harry interjected, cutting her off before she could clue Kyouya in about his 'little bit off the top'. The three of them started, turning as one to stare at him in stunned silence. What, were they scared of it? Did they think he'd be intimidated, or that he should be? Aww. Fat chance, fellas- Gryffs didn't scare that easy. Harry gently inclined his head, his unnervingly calm and contented grin broadening further as he turned it upon each of them in turn, lingering on Kyouya the longest. "Tell you what. Tomorrow morning, we'll meet you over at the Adventurer's Guild. Then, our two groups can both venture into the Forest and deal with that Devil together. Sounds like a plan, right?"

"I- I guess-"

"Great. So, that's settled. Laters- I'm famished, and we've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. See you three there, then. First thing, don't forget…!" Making an about-turn, Harry waved back at them over his shoulder, strolling back down the foyer towards the restaurant section.

Taking one last glance in their direction before leaving the hotel lobby behind, his smile broadened still further at the sight of Sayua tugging on Kyouya's cape, and standing on tip-toe to hiss something in his ear. And navigating his way through to the table where Megumin and Yunyun were tucking into their hearty meals, even through all the hustle and bustle, he could still hear Kyouya's voice bellowing out throughout the establishment, loud and clear.

"What? What do you mean, something's happened to my… WHAT?! MY HAIR! NOOOO…!"

Well, hello there- long, LONG time no see. First up, just want to say I'm really sorry for how long it's been since the last update. Things have been really busy IRL. What with having to balance working two new jobs, trying to finalizing my plans to emigrate and start up a new business enterprise in a new country where I have no connections or contacts whatsoever, and dealing with more family commitments and conflicts than ever before- I haven't been able to spare much time for writing, and I've had writers' block for most of the time I've been able to spare. This chapter's been around 70-80% complete since October 2018, but I've either been dragged away or bashing my head against the keyboard in the middle of the night, trying to power through the writers' block through sheer stubborn force of will, and get on with it without messing it all up. And I've been plagued with the ill fortune to have lost almost all my work on this, and having had to start over again nearly from scratch when this chapter was finally on the verge of completion, at least three times- last time, lost to a power cut, and the time before that, lost thanks to my 8yo nephew deliberately deleting the whole thing because I was too busy typing it up to play the game he wanted me to let him play on my PC instead. It took me so, SO long, and took so much effort; but here it is, at long last. Fingers crossed, writing the next chapter won't be quite so stressful or arduous, and I'll be able to pick the pace back up again to update this at a rate of least one chapter every other month. But I'd recommend not holding your breath...