Luda finishes his introduction.
Double notices that two men have emerged from the kingdom, striding towards them with an air of anger.
"Luda, what are you doing over here? A weakling such as you have no right to be introducing newcomers. Leave this part of the kingdom and do something else with your time."
The two individuals who seem to be guarding the kingdom tell Luda this with voices of contempt.
They notice Joki, Double, Kazu and Reima next to Luda. They burst into laughter noticing that they can't sense any power coming from the trio.
"You three! How the hell do a group of weaklings like you have the balls to enter such a place? I guess the Eternal Parsing has grown a bit soft, hasn't it?"
"Their lack of psycheia should not be a cause for amusement, these three are strong and should not be underestimated by the likes of you two."
Unfazed, Luda walks in front of the two sticking his chest out to them.
Joki walks in front of Luda, he stares in the eyes of the two individuals.
"Disregard any mockery that those two might show. Reacting to their provocation will only show weakness that they want from you. Keep a positive outlook, and let's just do what they say...and leave."
The two individuals shove Luda out of the way. Double gets angry and tries to walk forward but is stopped by Kazu.
They stare at Joki with a look meant to scare them away, but Joki stands where he is and doesn't move.
"That idiot may be a weakling, but newcomers like you still have no right to order him around. The way he acts, and the way he feels is completely up to us."
"I didn't exactly order him to do anything...I merely gave him a suggestion."
Wearing smug expressions, the two individuals reluctantly allow Joki, Double, Kazu and Reima to proceed.
However, as they pass through, the enchanting melody of a lullaby reverberates throughout the land, casting an eerie atmosphere.
"Umm you guys...that melody that I'm hearing. It seems extremely out of the ordinary for a setting like this."
"More importantly, you allowed me Double, Reima, and Joki in. Why is it that you haven't allowed Luda to come along with us? He was extremely friendly to us after all."
"You three should really dismiss whatever idea of friendship you believe you have with that boy. As a recent acquaintance...you simply have no connection to him at all. Luda isn't that type of person you wanna be around."
Double clenches his fist and raises his head ready to shout, but is immediately stopped by Joki.
Joki puts a reassuring hand on the shoulder of Double. Cautioning against stirring up trouble with these individuals through a meaningful look.
"You asked earlier about that lullaby you hear. Well...the answer is nobody truly knows. It's a lullaby that has continuously played out throughout this kingdom for decades."
"If you don't mind me asking, what year is it? In our world it is 1820."
The two individuals stop and take a look at Reima. Curious about the timeline in this world.
"We follow the same calendar system as your world. You four should stop asking questions like that. This world isn't mildly different from yours at all."
'Luda said the same thing, this world isn't vastly different. It simply just doesn't lack the fortune that we have in our world.'
They all approach a building amidst the dilapidated structures, they notice it's vibrant colors, a stark contrast to the sickly grey of the surrounding buildings.
The two individuals halt them inside this building, filled with scattered boxes and overgrown vines.
"You four will stay inside this place, and await the master's assessment before being granted permission to stay any longer."
"...Master?"
Joki, Double, Reima, and Kazu begin to look around the building trying to notice anything in pariticular.
As they cautiously survey their surroundings, they spot Luda hiding behind one of the boxes, gesturing with a wave.
"Luda! what are you doing here? You were told to stay back weren't you?"
"Yeah...but I don't really listen to those guys. Plus they can never spot me, i'm the fastest in this land after all."
As Luda explains to Double how he was able to sneak into the building.
Reima walks over, and pats Luda on the head and smiles at him.
"I am very impressed, you were able to somehow sneak past even us. I'm glad you are able to take care of yourself."
"Thank...you"
As Luda begins to blush with embarrassment, Luda begins to stare at Joki who was conversing with Kazu.
"Hey! Why did you tell me to disregard their mockery?"
Joki looks at Luda, and then immediately turns back to Kazu.
Kazu walks over to Luda and begins to pull him by his sweatshirt.
"I asked you a question! I wanna know why you told me to disregard their mockery."
"Because Joki didn't want you to cause problems, you...are way too used to these people belittling you, and not appreciating you for who you are."
Luda takes a step back, stunned at the response Kazu had given him.
'I've never experienced being looked down on because I was weak Luda. It's hard for me to give you a straightforward response, I'm sorry.'
Double, growing impatient, begins to stomp the ground in anger.
"Hey Luda! where's this master those two spoke of? Isn't he taking a awful amount of time."
"The master usually does take his time...but I do doubt that he will come. You guys sorta lack any type of recognizable power."
Just as Luda finishes speaking, a man enters through a doorwar, his voice resonates through the building.
"Luda, why would I not give a loving and warm welcome to a group of newcomers."