In the early morning, the aroma of freshly fried donuts and soy milk filled the market, attracting the five Tanzanies and other shoppers with its delicious scent.
After eating more than ten donuts and drank three cups of soy milk, Michio turned and asked Abrafo, "We started eating since this morning, uh... will we have enough money for the next six months?"
Abrafo grabbed the freshly baked pie from the vendor and said, "How do I know? You need to ask U-ri that question." He looked back at U-ri and the others, who were looking at a stall selling clothes and fabrics. He looked at Michio. "I think we should stop buying food." He looked down at his hands, filled with packaged food and desserts.
Michio looked down at his hands. He looked up at Abrafo and said, "I think so to."
"I think this baby blanket looks great on the baby," Hajime picked up a baby blanket with a flower design and said with a smile. He turned to Yul. "What do you think?"
"Let's pick plain color one," Yul said. He grabbed a navy blue plain receiving blanket. "Like this."
Hajime asked, "Are you so sure that the child is a boy?"
Yul said, "The first children in my family have always been boys."
U-ri said, "I can vouch for that."
Hajime frantically put down the pink receiving blanket and said, "What if it's a girl?"
Seeing that the parents of the unborn child already have disagreement, U-ri grabbed a plain receiving blanket. "I suggest we buy natural colors," U-ri said. "For example, yellow, blue, red, green, these colors can be used by both boys and girls."
Hajime turned around and said, "Let's talk about it after the child is born. I believe his father will not let him be naked." He turned around and saw Abrafo and Michio, so he quickly left the clothing stall and walked away to Abrafo and Michio.
U-ri looked at Yul, shook his head and said, "Shh... Hajime's temper is getting shorter and shorter. Usually at this time, pregnant women are in the best stage of pregnancy." He put down the yellow receiving blanket. "We don't look at baby products until the baby is actually born."
Yul looked at Hajime, who was standing on the other side of the street with Abrafo and Michio. "I agree with that."
U-ri looked up at the hawker and asked, "Sir, how many cities or villages are there in Dreake kingdom?"
The hawker looked at U-ri and Yul and asked strangely, "Why? Are you planning to invade us?"
U-ri waved his hand and shook his head. "No... no..." U-ri denied. "We are travelers. This is our first time here, so we wanted to know how many towns there are and maybe in our limited time we want to go see the best places your kingdom has to offer."
The hawker smiled and said, "I'm just teasing you. We have gatekeepers of the South Sea as the guardians of our kingdom. Who dares to invade us?"
Yul asked, "Then do you know which cities these gatekeepers are?"
The hawker looked down at his goods and said, "Actually, we don't know which city the gatekeepers has chosen to call home. It is said that gatekeepers are sea gods who walks among us."
U-ri said, "So you don't know?"
The hawker shook his head.
Yul asked, "If we want to go to Kinigan Island, how do we get there?"
The hawker said, "Kinigan Island is a myth. There are many adventurers who wanted to find Kinigan Island, but ended up getting lost at sea or never came back." He looked up at Yul and U-ri. "Heh... heh... how did you two know about Kinigan Island?"
U-ri chuckled, "As you see, we are one of those many adventurers..."
The hawker said, "If you want to live, I suggest you give up this idea."
Yul said, "Since you say Kinigan Island is a myth, you must know more about it. Can you share some information with us?"
The hawker shook his head and said, "That's all I know."
U-ri smiled and said, "Thank you sir."
Yul and U-ri started walking towards the other three Tanzanies on the other side of the street.
"Although flying saves us time, Dreake is not a small kingdom, perhaps the largest and most populous city in the south," Yul sighed. "Before Baishui left, he did not give the name of the city or village where he lived. It would be very difficult to find Baishui in all these small cities and villages."
U-ri said, "I remember Baishui said that Dreake kingdom has the largest library. Maybe if we know which city has the largest library, the chance of finding Baishui will be much greater."
Yul said, "Let's find a place to rest tonight."
U-ri looked up at Yul and said, "You know we came with very little money. We never received the money Lady Lai had promised us. The only money I have is the money we made from selling Hajime's hair. It's a good thing that during out stay in the temple, we don't have to spend any money. Whatever money we have left may not last long."
Michio rushed to U-ri and asked, "U-ri... U-ri... how much money do we have left?"
U-ri looked at Michio and Abrafo holding many packaged food packages. He said, "If you two continue to buy unnecessary and random things, we will soon run out of money and sleep on the streets." U-ri saw an old-looking inn in front of him. "Tonight, we will rest in that inn. It looks very old, and the price may not be too expensive."
Yul said, "I will catch up with you guy later."
Abrafo asked, "Where are you going?"
Yul said, "I'm going to look around and see if I can find anything useful. I'll meet you before dinner."
U-ri said, "Okay, we'll wait for you." He quickly grabbed Hajime's arm. "You need to rest. Standing all day is not good for you."
Michio said, "I'll wait for you at the door."
Yul nodded and watched the other four Tanzanies walking towards the old inn.
While wandering around a street market, Yul overheard a cosmetics hawker talking about how his products were the best and that he had been to many cities.
Yul walked up to the cosmetics hawker and asked, "I heard that you have travel to many places?"
The cosmetics hawker looked at Yul and said, "Yes, I only sell cosmetics for three or four days in a city. Red lipstick is my best product. Buy one for your wife, son."
Yul asked, "Then you might know which city has the largest library?" He grabbed the small lipstick box from the hawker's hand.
The cosmetics hawker said, "There are thousands of big libraries in Dreake Kingdom. You must know which library you are looking for so that I can point you in the right direction. But if you don't know the library's name, the only way is to look from city to city."
"Let me revise my question, do you know which city has the oldest library?" Yul asked. He handed a small leaf to the hawker and stuffed the lipstick box into his inner robe.
The cosmetics hawker thought a for a while and said, "Well... Zans City is the oldest city in the entire kingdom. I suggest you start from Zans City, but Zans City is located at the southernmost point of Dreake Kingdom. The city, also rumored to be the homes of the South Sea Gatekeepers." He burst out laughing. "But you know how people's mouths work."
Yul thanked the cosmetics hawker for the information and started walking back to the inn. When he arrived at the inn door, he found Michio sitting on the bottom staircase.
"You're back, "Michio said, standing up and wiping the dirt from his robe. "Everyone is waiting for you."
Yul asked, "Why?"
"It's almost dinner time and we don't know if we can stay here," Michio said.
Yul looked at Michio," Huh? What do you mean?"
"All rooms are booked except for an unused firewood storage room" Michio said.
Yul said, "Let's go in and talk."
When Yul and Michio arrived at the opened on the first floor of the inn, there were already many guests sitting and having dinner. The two Tanzanies found their friends sitting at a small table in the corner.
Abrafo said, "Did Michio tell you about our sleeping situation?"
Yul nodded. "It's too late to find a new inn now, let's sleep here for one night."
U-ri said, "I did ask the hotel owner and they would give us blankets." He frowned. "I figured since we were in the city, I could lay down on a comfy bed." He shook his head and took a sip of water from the bowl.
Abrafo frowned, "I thought that since we are sleeping in the firewood storage room, it would be free." He gritted his teeth. "But they want to charge us one leaf for one night stay."
Suddenly, three waiters placed many dishes in front of Hajime. Hajime raised his head and said, "I... I didn't order these foods. Are you sure you have the right table?"
One of the waiters said, "The gentleman who booked the last three rooms said to bring you these dishes. I believe I have the correct table because you have white hair, white eyelashes, and white eyebrows." He looked down at Hajime.
"Hey!" Abrafo slammed his hand heavily on the table, and the three waiters quickly backed away from the table. "There's no need for you to criticize his appearance loudly."
"You two can leave. I'll stay," one waiters said, and he moved himself closer to Hajime. "Dear sir, your name is Hajime, right?"
Yul asked, "How do you know his name?"
The waiter said, "As I said before, the gentleman who booked the last three rooms asked us to bring these dishes here, and then guide Hajime and his friends to the last two rooms."
Hajime looked at the four Tanzanies sitting at the table, "Could it be Baishui?"
The waiter said, "Sorry, we don't know this gentleman's name. He just told us what to do and then went to take care of some business."
Hajime said, "I am Hajime. Does this person have white hair like me?"
The waiter shook his head. "This gentleman has no white hair. He instructed me to take you to your room after dinner," the waiter said. Then he looked at the other four Tanzanies sitting at the table. "Perhaps I would like to ask which of you is the servant named Abrafo."
"Why are you asking about him?" Abrafo gritted his teeth and looked at the waiter angrily.
Seeing Abrafo's angry face, the waiter frighteningly said, "Um...um...I was told that the servant Abrafo is not allowed to eat any food on the table, and... and... and... also, since he is a servant, he does not deserve to sleep on the bed. He should sleep in the firewood storage room."
Abrafo gritted his teeth and said, "I'm dying to meet this great gentleman."
The waiter asked, "So, which of you is the servant Abrafo?"
Abrafo said angrily, "If you use the word servant again, I will cut out your tongue."
"Why bother asking? It's obvious who the lowlife servant is. Can't you see? Only a lowlife servant can threaten people with their strength... Because that's all he has, strength."
The five Tanzanies looked towards the door, and the arrogant and familiar voice drowned out other sounds in the inn.
Abrafo's expression suddenly changed when he saw the man walking through the front door to their table. "I should have known," he said to himself.