Oh yeah, as I said, life cruised along pretty easy after that. We did the usual, primary school, then next level, same deal no matter where you end up. Only real twist was the bloody magic classes and having to learn some random extra language.

  I reckon at first it was some old wizard lingo or somethin’. To my surprise, they actually let us choose, didn’t see that one coming. Getting around German was bloody difficult for me, let me tell ya.

  No clue what that’s about, but apparently, it’s “essential knowledge” or whatever.

  PE? Mate, that was a laugh. Other than, punch-on trainin’, I used to just leg it around the oval and swing a sword a hundred times til me arms fell off. Then they upped the ante — same drills, but now you’ve got a partner, and that partner’s allowed to hurl fireballs at your head.

  Builds character, they said.

  Different schools did things their own way, a bit ahead or behind, so I heard. Eventually my “training partner” turned into a proper sparring mate.

  Then, algebra turned into calculus, and before I knew it, I was knee-deep in all that academic rubbish, again. Might not’ve been the sharpest tool in the shed, but I could still pack a bloody mean wallop, if I do say so meself.

  One of the best parts about learnin’ in the Order, mate? The field trips. Desert planets, techno worlds, proper wild stuff. Met all sorts of characters too. Not humans, mind you, but other races.

  My favorites were these four-armed cat fellas. Let me tell you, mate, fair dinkum, deadset legends on the barbie. Not as hilarious as those giant croc blokes in armor, but they could cook up a storm, and that’s what wins me over every time.

  Then came uni, and yeah, things went way up. The difficulty, the workload, the expectations — everything.

  My instructor was this tough-as-nails African bloke, back straight as a flagpole, eyes like a hawk. I swear, he could stare down a charging hippo. Fair as they come, but you’d have a better chance getting a koala to sprint than getting him to crack a smile.

  And after that? You graduate, head back into the real world. Maybe you land a gig at a factory or on a construction site, just earning an honest crust. You’d think that’s the end of the story, yeah? Not even bloody close, mate. That’s just where the real fun starts. Yeah, the Order slips you a bit of dosh — good for a top-up with your day job.

  See, even with all the fancy magic stuff and being tougher than a roided up roo, I still had me duties. Keepin’ the world safe from all them nasties and whatnot. ‘Cause what’s the point of havin’ all that power if there’s no big bad bloke to smack down, eh?

  Only this time, the big bad isn’t some weird fella with horns—it’s a whole bloody dimension.

  -from the personal accounts of Ryan Michael Lindsay, Archon of Oceania.

  ========================================================================

  “Hello Shizuku, glad you could make it,” Karin said with a smile.

  “Hello Karin, I was lucky.” I replied with a smile of my own. “My grandmother nearly didn’t allow us to go.”

  “Oh? Your grandmother is still the boss of your family?” Aika asked curiously.

  “Yep, no one can still beat her, so—” I answered with a wry smile.

  “But your father is almost a police inspector, right?” asked Aiko. “My father told me that he is going to get promoted this year.”

  Aiko’s father also works in the police station, but in human resources. So, if he says that my father is getting promoted, that must mean that they are in the process of finalizing it.

  “So, your elderly grandmother, can easily beat up a police inspector?” Airi asked slowly though she looked like she was amazed.

  “Yeah, Baa-san is still strong, as ever,” I replied, the wry smile never leaving my face.

  “Shizu-Shizu, is it true that Reika is going to be late?” Suzu chimed in.

  “Will they even allow her to join?” asked Karin looking a bit worried.

  “Don’t worry Suzu, Reika said she will definitely attend,” I said placating the smaller girl before turning to face Karin. “It’s alright Karin, her mother called the hotel to explain, and the management said she could still attend. She’ll arrive tomorrow before or during lunch, but she might be a bit tired when the event begins.”

  “I’m glad, it would be sad if she misses out,” Karin said looking relieved.

  “So, her mother, called the hotel and they allowed her to attend even though she’s going to be late?” asked Airi looking awestruck. “Whoa—, as expected of the influence of an acclaimed author.”

  Reika’s mother, is an accomplished author. Many of her works, across multiple genres, had been critically acclaimed and are bestsellers. This earned her widespread fame and led to multiple TV appearances and interviews.

  Airi is one of the longtime fans of her work, particularly those in the romance genre.

  “It will be fine, Rai said she wouldn’t mind even if they didn’t allow her to join since it can’t be helped,” I said trying to reassure my friends. “If that was the case, she said we could just bring back some souvenirs for her.”

  “Now that you mention it, I wonder what kind of souvenir would be good to bring back?” Suzu asked before she closed her eyes, crossed her arms and thought deeply.

  “Listen to this, my sister, who has a job, wants me to buy clothes! From Isetan!’ Aiko grumbled, sounding indignant. ‘I can barely afford to buy my own souvenirs, let alone hers!”

  “We could try Takashimaya,” Karin suggested while scanning her phone. Apparently, she had pulled up a list of the stores to buy from and was looking at the reviews of each place. “It says here that it’s easier to find mid-range clothes there.”

  “Of course we know that! But, the selection from Isetan is trendy,” Aika countered a bit impatiently. “Sure, Takashimaya has a wider selection, but you’ll have a hard time finding what’s good compared to Isetan.”

  “Okay, wait up, hold on,” Aiko deadpanned, before leaning forward and hissing, “my budget is only around the range of Uniqlo.”

  “Really?” said Aika with a look that said she was unimpressed.

  “That low?” Airi asked, her eyes and lips, narrowing with humor.

  “Did you get into trouble with your parents?” asked Karin, her voice above a whisper but heavy with amusement.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “What? Of course not!” Aiko said indignantly.

  “If you’re not even planning to buy clothes,” I asked, one brow lifting, “then what were you planning to buy?”

  “Sweets and snacks, of course,” replied Aiko matter-of-factly as she crossed her arms.

  “Right! Suzu thinks Tokyo Banana is good, they have a Chocolate Flavor, that also looks cute. Tokyo Campanella’s langue de chat, cookies filled with chocolate.” Suzu rambled. “Oh, there are also different kinds of kit-kat!”

  “It’s all sweets and chocolate,” Akane said quietly, her first words since we had started talking.

  “Right, Suzu loves chocolate too,” Aika said, a teasing light dancing in her eyes as she turned to me. “Just like someone my grandmother used to talk about.”

  “What’s so bad about liking chocolate? Everyone likes chocolate,” I said innocently, though the 3-Ai’s just smiled at me.

  “This is why Reika should absolutely attend!” Suzu said, her voice bubbling with energy. “Just talking about snacks like this is getting me excited!”

  “Right? It’s not every day you get an all-expenses-paid trip — and to a high-class hotel, no less,” Karin agreed with a nod and a satisfied smile.

  “It’s a shame about our other classmates though,” said Aika thoughtfully, as she tilted her head. “Tanigawa's going to be so jealous.”

  While in the middle of our conversation, loud and boisterous laughter came from the direction of the entrance.

  “Although, we could do without those 3,” Airi said a bit darkly. She stared with undisguised hostility at the three newcomers who had just arrived.

  Takumi Takashiro (高城 巧), Hiroto Ishikawa (石川 大翔) and Daiki Morita (森田 大輝). They not only didn’t get along well with others but also had a very notorious reputation as delinquents in school. The 3-Ai’s, and some of the girls from other classes had been the receiving end of their so-called pranks. Which, only deepened the resentment towards them.

  When they saw us, I half-expected them to cause trouble. Fortunately, with the parents watching and our teacher close by, they only exchanged a glance, shrugged, and moved on, positioning themselves as far away as possible from us.

  “I really hoped they’d decided not to come,” Airi muttered, her voice sharp but quiet.

  “Yeah,” Aiko replied with a frown. “But, considering their personalities, I don’t think that they would miss it.”

  Needless to say, there were few among us who were happy to see them, if any at all. With their arrival the atmosphere from earlier was gone, replaced by something heavy.

  “Come on now, everyone, be calm. Whew, that was a little awkward,” Suzu said while making circular motions with her hands. “But, hey, we’re on our trip! A free trip! Let’s not let it ruin our vibe. So—, quick reset! What’s the first snack we’re buying? I vote ice cream.”

  In times like this, you can always count on her wide smile and bright demeanor to shift the mood. The tension eased and our laughter returned, and a few minutes later, I heard someone call my name.

  “Oh, hey Shizuku, you’re here already.”

  I turned around to see Haruto along with two of his friends, Kazuki Kuroda (黒田 和気) and Sora Igarashi (五十嵐 輝空). Sora is the shortest among the three at 175cm, Haruto is next while Kazuki is one of the tallest people I knew at 185cm.

  Unlike Haruto, who is in the soccer club, the other two are in the Karate club with Sora being the current captain.

  “Where were you three?” I asked candidly as they approached.

  “We went to the toilet first,” Haruto replied not meeting my eyes directly.

  “Is this all of us?” Kazuki asked as his tall frame looked around. “I thought there would be more of us?”

  “No, the three delinquents arrived before you did,” Aiko answered, and pointed at the direction of the three people in question.

  “Well, the more the merrier, I suppose,” said Haruto with a wry smile.

  “Hanzo, Shunsuke and Yuuto just arrived,” Sora called from beside Kazuki, tilting his head toward the entrance where the three boys were stepping in.

  Hanzo Kirishima, Yuuto Takase, both at 173cm tall, and Shunsuke Fujiwara, slightly shorter at 172cm, were pushing and shoving each other playfully as they made their way towards us. These three had always been close, having grown up together as childhood friends, since they lived in the same apartment complex.

  “So, everyone’s going then?” Yuuto said good naturedly just before Shunsuke dunked on him.

  “It appears so,” Haruto replied as he watched the Yuuto retaliate against his friend by ruffling his hair.

  “What’s going on with you three?” I asked, curious at what caused them to start playfighting like this.

  “Same old reason,” Hanzo replied casually as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Shun’s father.”

  Of course, Shunsuke’s father, a teacher at our school, was known to have divorced his first wife, a fact that made him particularly strict about relationships among students. He would often lecture students on such affairs, a sentiment that made him unpopular for sure, but often made his son the target of jokes.

  The atmosphere, once tame, became quite rowdy now that we were nearly complete. After a few more minutes of friendly banter, our teacher called our attention. While we were waiting, my father and my two sisters arrived to see us off.

  “Ok everyone, settle down,” Kaname-sensei called as she walked towards us along with my mother.

  “It’s almost time for departure. The instructions given to us are that, 10 minutes before our train arrives, we are to get our tickets for the trip. I have already spoken with the ticketing officer, and he said, he must confirm if all us will attend so he can report to the hotel.”

  “Sensei, Takashi-san’s group isn’t here yet,” Haruto said with a slightly raised hand.

  “Yes, I got a call from McMillan-san, he said they will be attending, but got caught in traffic. They should be—oh, here they are.”

  From around the corner came three people. In the lead was Takashi Fuyuhara(冬原 隆史), followed closely by Trayn Rosemont and his father Terrance.

  At first glance, Trayn and his father who were both 183 cm tall almost looked like twins. Dark brown hair, their shoulders perfectly aligned as though someone had measured them with a ruler. Next to them, however, Takashi was noticeably shorter at only 169cm, the shortest boy in our class.

  “Oh, everyone’s already here,” Takashi said as he straightened his round glasses. “Looks like we’re the last ones to arrive.”

  “Go call Spence and Art,” Terrance ordered to his son.

  Trayn for his part, did not walk all the way to where Arthur and his father were. He stopped once he spotted them, stopped, raised his left hand above his head, put his right hand to his mouth, drew in a deep breath, and let out a sharp, piercing whistle.

  Terrance’s right hand smacked his face before he dragged it down, and scowled at his child.

  “I meant, call them, normally,” he said to Trayn who was smirking.

  “Its fine, faster this way,” Trayn replied with a nonchalant wave of his hand.

  Terrance sighed before mumbling beneath his breath, ‘Twenty-one years old and still you act like a child.”

  Despite the age difference, Trayn and his best friend Arthur McMillan, were our classmates. Due to an unfortunate incident, both of them had been held back when they were in the US. But when Arthur’s father managed to get a job at the city university, the two took the chance for a new start. They transferred during the start of our middle school days and we have been friends since.

  A few seconds later, Arthur along with his father Spencer also rounded the corner. In contrast to the Rosemonts, anyone could tell Arthur and his father apart. There wasn’t much difference in both their height, Arthur is 180 cm tall, being only a centimeter taller than his father. It was their looks that defined them with Arthur taking after his mother more, right down to his blonde hair.

  “Sorry everyone, we got caught in traffic on the way here,” Spencer said while looking apologetic. “So many stoplights, and our schedule at the university made planning tight.”

  “It’s alright Spencer-san,” Kaname-sensei replied with a reassuring smile. “Did you come from university?”

  Everyone knew that Arthur and Trayn’s fathers both work at the city university as professors, Spencer, a professor of physics, while Terrance, works as a professor specialized in TESOL.

  “No, we had to double back home,” he replied with a tired smile before scowling at his son. “It’s because someone decided to pack only at the last minute.”

  Arthur managed to look away, though he seemed a little embarrassed and contrite.

  “Oh, that’s too bad, considering where all of you live,” Kaname-sensei said, her eyes widened a bit from surprise. “Well, we’re just glad you all made it safely.”

  “Thanks, and again, sorry for the delay,” Spencer said apologetically. “So, what happens now? Have you already got the tickets?”

  “That’s not fair, I packed most of my stuff," Arthur said to Trayn from behind his father. He ran a hand through his hair while sounding a bit indignant. “It’s just that we needed to pick up Taka, so I kinda forgot to finish.”

  “It’s fine, I was just about to get them,” Kaname-sensei replied and explained to the newcomers what the ticketing officer instructed.

  “I see, then please, if you need help, take these two,” Terrance said before pushing his son to stand side by side with Arthur. If they weren’t indignant before, they were certainly annoyed now.

  Grumbling, mostly to themselves, they followed our teacher. A few minutes later, they began handing out our tickets. Around us, parents gathered to say their goodbyes, most gave warm wishes for a safe journey, while others offered last-minute reminders or warnings.

  A few exchanged hugs while others were getting nagged by their parents, reminders to behave and not cause trouble. My father and my two siblings also took the chance to say their farewells.

  This was because we only had to wait a few minutes for our train to arrive, and the trains in Japan have always been on time.

  Fortunately, the train ride to the capital was very pleasant, though uneventful.

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