One day has passed since Tem shared her weighty vow to Yumiko and her prophecy on Muro's true motivations. After the stormy night, the weather improved and got less dreadful as the sun brightly started to rise.
"So, all we need to do now is get rid of that guy, and we're done, right? Now that I am aware of his objectives, I suppose I have something to anticipate, and I detest it to the core."
"Tem. You're being too careless. Muro is a dangerous man, and I don't want to risk your own health to be possibly thrown away for someone so ludicrous as myself. It's fine, I swear!"
"You're making a fool out of yourself, Yumiko. I've seen what your heart truly told and there's no way I'll let it slide. I'm more than happy to show that guy what he really deserves... But... ~ I'm kind of hungry... I really need to eat... ~"
Yumiko stared at Tem with perplexed thoughts who softly tapped her stomach, which was growling from hunger. Yumiko sighed in return. Although she was appreciative, she was concerned that something would go wrong with the assignment that Tem had chosen to undertake. She groaned and raised her hand to indicate that they should move toward the north, to an alley where most residents in Harventona appeared to spend their days.
"There's a nearby market that sells lots of meat and some greens. We can go visit if you want, but I'll let you know it's rather expensive, unlike the markets in some other areas. So if you'd like, then ~"
As Yumiko struggled to finish her thought, Tem could be seen scurrying along the street, pink hearts glistening in her eyes. She hurried to the closest stall and began to sway back and forth as numerous hearts continued to spin out from her forehead and sparks began to shine all around.
In spite of not knowing her real identity, people in the city quickly spotted her blue and white hoodie, which she had been gifted the day before. While others appeared to have been horrified by her inappropriate behavior, some seemed to fall in love with her lovely appearance. Some voiced their complaints and asked numerous questions. Others simply starred, perplexed.
"What's in the god's name is that girl doing? She must be insane or something to be coming up with such a massive crowd. She's just arrived and people are already obsessed with her. It's almost unbelievable to see."
"Who would've guessed there were such sexy women in this area of the street! I should've been entering this area more often to see this princess in the front! Hey, angel, I have a request to make!"
Tem quickly diverted her attention away from the meat as the man rushed by the roads of the street. She appeared perplexed as she observed the man quickly kneel before her and warmly take her hand in his. This man's eyes were virtually gushing with hearts as they proceeded to flit about like flies.
"I've been blessed with such intense beauty! Shall I proceed with a delivery to the father that I have requested you to be by bride! I'll have you known that I've been one of the best chefs out here."
Tem's eyes stared at the man in uncertainty for a moment, then leaned in to look intently into the other's eyes, whose heartbeat could be audibly heard.
"Heeey! Ralphie! It's good to see you! I thought I'd never find you!"
Tem suddenly slapped the side of Ralphie's shoulder, and Ralphie's body stopped in place. He then looked straight into Tem's eyes. He was in the most perplexed of states even though it appeared that she was laughing aloud.
"Err... You know me? I mean, I know I'm a great cook and rather known, but I didn't think I was *THIS* popular? Wait, no, I get it! This is the true heavenly meeting I have been given as the gift from the gods! I shall never forget the day of our meeting!"
"The heck are you talking about? Have you been cooking too much, because I really would like to taste your cooking again! But, where're the others? I thought they'd be with you? I'm pretty sure you remained on the ship with Ayuka and the others."
As Tem attempted to gather her thoughts, she took a step back and placed a gentle touch on the tip of her lips. However, she was just thinking of a freshly made supper, preferably meat that she could eat. Tem's hand grew softer as Ralphie tore down like a car, frozen as a very solid item.
"Okay... Now I know I must have been gifted by your presence. How do you know about Ayuka? Are you her sister, you do look pretty similar to be honest. That white hair, those blue eyes and that firm body, I wouldn't be surprised if you were."
A second later, everyone started to see a boy flying through the street like a jet without stopping and extending his arms high above while loud yelling could be heard in the distance. He ran directly in the direction of Tem, who briefly glanced away when she saw the lad sprinting at her with the intention of embracing her.
Tem stepped slightly to the side, though, and saw the boy's corpse flung past her shoulders and into the pot of hot soup, where the elder was already screaming aloud.
She started hitting the youngster with a stick on the body for his inappropriate arrival and heedless catastrophe for his negligent mind.
"Hey, Elliott! Good to see you!"
Without the other persons being able to grasp much of what was being said, the folks kept asking endless questions and speaking incoherently to one another. Later, Yumiko ran up to the group of people, grabbed Tem's shoulder, and gently yanked her to the side.
"Stop making a scene! We'll get caught, Tem! Excuse us, but we have to be on our way. We've got to do something important, so please, try not to drag us away."
In an effort to comprehend what was happening in front of him, Ralphie got to his feet, cocked his head to one side, and stood. Then, before Tem and Yumiko had departed, he made the hasty decision to inquire aloud.
"Wait... Sorry to stop you, but I'd like to ask you a question. Have you by chance seen a boy, with nearly identical appearance as your friend? See, he's gotten lost. If you want details, he has white hair, blue eyes, just like her. His name's Tim and... well, he's a close friend of mine. We just came to visit this place for some... important... reasons as well."
With a troubled expression, Tem came forward and pointed a finger at herself. She appeared to be somewhat baffled by their failure to recognize her.
"You mean me? Come on, Ralphie! Don't tell me you forgot about your captain! I'm right here, right in front of you! I've helped you beat Alfred back at the Primal Restaurant!"
Instantaneously, Ralphie's thoughts began to tick with realization as he slowly began to drive his view across Tem's hard feminine form. He examined her from top to bottom, from her head to her feet, and then he tensely looked into her eyes and saw that she really had a nearly identical appearance, only with a thinner body and less muscles.
"Wait, hold on! What in the world?! What the hell happened to you! You're so much sexier and so much more firmer! Not to mention the fact that you've grown your hair... in a day?! Hey, hey, hey, this doesn't make sense! What the heck happened to your cool and murderous appearance! You're all sweet and cute."
"Wait! You two, stop! Right now! This is not a good place to talk about what's going on? Let's find a good cover before we end up getting caught by some stupid agents or something. Let's go behind that street. There's a quiet and very isolated place where people rarely come. I'll explain everything, about what happened to his... I mean, her body."
Tem grabbed meat on the bone and then took it as she was being dragged away by Yumiko, who was dragging both Tem and Ralphie behind the street so that some people could follow their view behind them. She said "thank you," but the woman who was watching her cram it in her mouth shouted at her.
"Yummy, that's a real good meat!"
"Hey, girl! Come back here, you need to pay! HEY!"
Elliott was left behind, being beaten by a grandmother, when the three of them finally made it to the quiet street behind the busy ones and stood there together.
"So, just to make sure... Tim was formed into a girl, which you decided to call Tem and hide his identity purposely to avoid other people knowing him. That's a bit messed up, although, I wouldn't mind keeping our captain as a woman. She's quite... um ... cute."
"Hey, thanks, Ralphie! I knew you'd like it."
Tem chuckled once more and delightedly patted Ralphie on the shoulder while Yumiko regarded them with disapproving eyes.
"While everything you said is true, we can't reveal his real identity. We have to refer to her as Tem and keep high guard on her. If we start sharing her true identity with the folks around here, with a person who has a $100 million bounty on his head, we'll most likely end up getting attacked or forced into the castle's cells. Whatever you do, whatever, he does, we will state him as a female, understood?"
"Sure... I wouldn't lie if I said it would be easy to call her a man. She looks nothing like one at all. I think this should be a very easy requirement if we want to stop this dumb disaster. Now, listen.... Yesterday, me and Ayuka ran into the "Sun Soldiers" and we were attacked at the ship. We were forced to hide it again after dealing with them, and must I say the three of them all together are a dangerous foe to deal with."
"Seriously? "Sun Soldiers"? How did they look like. Please, tell me... I think I might know them, because... well... I'm one of them as well... But before you jump to conclusion, please, listen to me! I'm not your enemy, I want to stop Muro as much as you want. But he has an immense army that guards him. First, the "Sun Soldier" Chief Garuda who's been known for having the biggest reputation in protecting the citizens of Harventona, along with his most-trusted second hand warriors Kizu, Bow and Trap, as well as the empress Oriyana with her close guards Rika and Tinna who also changed your captain into a girl. All of them are a danger for this city if I am honest."
"I think we probably encountered those three "Sun Soldiers" you just named. They were a threat, I won't deny it and we were lucky to escape them, thanks to Ayuka. But just because you've given us so much info, that doesn't mean we should trust you."
"You don't need to trust me, nor am I trying to persuade you into trusting me. But I would only like to ask you to help me get rid of these squads of foes!"
"I can't decide... That's up to our captain... Yumiko."
Tem listened to the two talk while standing nearby and continuing to chew the steak until she abruptly joined.
"You can trust her. She brought me my clothes and some food. I've already promised her that I'll kick Muro's ass no matter what. I won't allow you to deny my decision, Ralphie. This is what we must do, and I've been looking for a fight for a while. It's no fun, dealing with constant silence and boredom. We're already here, so that is what we'll do. Captain's orders!"
"Got it. We'll help you out. Those are the orders nor would I want to deny them. But how are we going to explain this to Ayuka and the others. They still don't know about your true identity, Tem."
"Guess we just tell 'em? Nothing else to do either way..."
"No, hold up. Tem, I know this may sound dumb, but I think we shouldn't share any information about your true identity to your crew. It could cause us more trouble than now. We need to stay silent, no matter what."
"We should at least tell Ayuka. She's the only person on the crew who I know would easily be able to keep the identity secret. She's the first mate of the crew so it's good for her to know as well."
"Very well, Ralphie. I suppose we can share the truth with her, but for the others, we'll introduce Tem as one of the "Sun Soldiers" on my side, all right?"
"But what the hell are we supposed to say about, Tim's disapearance? Others need confirmation from the captain as orders. Some may not act unless Tim or in this case, Tem, orders them to."
"That's simple. We can say he was imprisoned in the castle. That will surely cause the crew to join up with us to raid the castle when the time is right, but of course, the raid shouldn't be noisy and careless. Today's the day that Muro selects several maids to work under his command as experiments in the maiden selection which is planned today sometime at noon."
"I see... That could be a good idea to enter the castle as long as Tem doesn't mess up or reveal her identity, but I'm sure it'll go well."
To be continued...