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Ulvala, Yoshos Empire, Time: 10:20 PM
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As James sprinted down the street towards the entrance gate of Yoshos Empire, he passed by a bakery stand and somehow found himself backtracking.
"I want two glitters, please!" he declared. The old lady packaged the glitter in a paper bag, and James paid for the bread.
"Thank you!" he exclaimed, unhinging his jaw to devour one of them whole. He then ran back in the intended direction, leaving the old lady to sweatdrop at the unusual event.
James finally reached the entrance where all his friends were waiting. "There you are, James!" Mianne, carrying a giant-sized backpack, questioned.
"Do you need that much stuff for this?" Ezra scrutinized the monstrous bag's size.
"Please, you know we'll be out of the house for like a year or so," Mianne replied, causing Ezra to feel a sense of déjà vu.
"Anyway, let's get going." Ace was about to leave when a voice stopped them in their tracks.
"Wait!"
They turned to see Julia running toward them. She was exhausted at how much distance was between her library and the entrance of Ulvala.
"Oh, you wanna come with us, Julia?" James asked, not knowing if she wanna go with them.
Julia tiredly shook her head. "No, but please, if you ever come across my brother, tell him to come back once in a while, okay?" she pleaded.
Ace reassured her, "Yeah, we know. He's probably still out there."
Julia nodded and gave them some treats before they left. "If you're feeling hungry, you should eat those."
Mianne examined the treats, star-shaped cookies with eye jelly filling. "They're so cute! Thanks so much, Julia!" Mianne packed one in a side pocket.
"Well, it's gonna be lonely without you guys, but I will support you whenever you are!" Julia said with a smile as they all reciprocated.
"Thanks for everything. See you later, Julia!" James waved back as they descended the stairs into the outskirts of Yoshos Empire.
Julia sighed as she watched them leave. "I will miss them."
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The Diamond Rise, Mountain Road to Sleekhill, Time: 10:30 AM
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The Diamond Rise, an icy mountain steeped in legendary tales of a cave filled with valuable gems, is home to dangerous natural disasters that could strike at any moment. Two mythical creatures also call this place their home. A line of horse-drawn wagons traverses the road, one of which is covered in gold. Inside that wagon...
"ACHOOOOO!"
Dy'valeth, a man with mixed skin, spiky hair, and gray eyes. He seemed to be wearing a black suit jacket, a green collared dress shirt, a pair of suit trousers, and a dog tag necklace.
"God, why did you bring me here? You know I hate the cold, boss. Should've grabbed either November or Toodies for this; they love Christmas, don't they?" he continued in a polite yet semi-aggressive tone.
"Oh, be more grateful, Dy'valeth. I gave you my exclusive winter coat, so you should be fine. Besides, it cost almost 2 million to give you it," At the opposite end of the wagon however stood a figure in all his glory.
The man with blue eyes, spiky dark blue hair, and a smug grin. He wore a black coat with a fur hood on his shoulder, a pocket watch in his black suit pocket, a black tie, a grey dress shirt, and a diamond ring on his left hand.
"Alright, fine. At least I should be grateful for not freezing to death. But next time, don't rope me into this, Boss Sugar," Dy'valeth exclaimed, holding onto the winter coat tightly as he still shivered.
"Dy'valeth, this is how you should get to know me more. Besides, we haven't hung out in a while. So, I decided to send Rosco and November on a mission while both of us pursue my gold laundering scheme," Sugar explained, retrieving his "Terrain Yonder" newspaper.
"I wonder how they're doing in their situation right now. I hope they're okay. I need to spar with Rosco today..." Dy'valeth expressed his worries, leaning back against the wagon wall.
"Ugh, nonsense. Those two are strong together; they'll be fine. Besides, if anything goes wrong, I can just teleport them back here," Sugar said as he started to read his newspaper. Sugar burst into laughter as he read the paper.
"Alright, what's funny, old man? Is it the dad jokes section again?" Dy'valeth said in his sarcastic tone.
"Well, no. But the guardians' team I sold the 'Cosmic Nova bomb' to was just found incinerated to ash this morning. I guess it backfired on them. Haha!" He laughed, finding amusement in his scamming scheme working.
"Well, Dy'valeth, today's Guardian graduation day, you know. That means my scam and overpriced wares would be even more effective on the newcomers this season," Sugar stated, showing the newspaper headline of the Guardian news.
"I guess so," Dy'valeth agreed, not caring that much.
"Do you remember how I present myself, Dy'va?" Sugar asked, He wanted to make sure his students knew his mottos.
Dy'va sighed, "Please don't..." He knew what it was and he heard it a lot of time.
Sugar didn't listen as he continued, "I stand up tall and say to the world, I am the true merchant of this world, the shop that will brighten the dark!" Sugar, mimicking his greatness, somehow made rose petals start to appear out of nowhere.
"Where the hell did you even...?" Dy'va was confused but was just deaf to Sugar's ear.
"The question of Gold or Silver, it will always be gold!"
"Like seriously, how the hell did they even come here????"
"I am the true shopkeeper; every single ware you bought from anywhere else is fake or cheap!"
"Like, what the fuck???"
"I am Sugar! The president of Sugar's Enterprise!" Sugar finished as he spread his arms in greatness, and all the rose petals fell to the floor.
"Are you done, boss?" Dy'va said muffled as his mouth was full of roses that just kept appearing.
"Yes, and we might arrive in a bit." Sugar sat back down.
A demon wearing a hat opened the curtain, "Sir, we have arrived."
Sugar with a smirk on his face decided to get up from his seat, "Alright then, Dy'valeth. Let's go get our protection money," Sugar said with an evil smirk, Dy'valeth scoffed and decided to tail behind him.
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East of Ulvala, Balcony of Galadhor Keep, Time: 11:23 PM
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"Oh, look me in the eye, tell me what you see," sang a male voice.
"Perfect paradise, tearing at the seams," followed a female voice.
"I wish I could escape it, I don't want to fake it," continued the male voice.
"I wish I could erase it, make your heart believe," the female voice echoed.
"Oh, but I'm a bad liar, bad liar, now you know, you're free to go," concluded the male voice, finishing the song.
"That was amazing singing, my knight," she said, complimenting the man who sang for her.
His black hair flowed in the wind while he carried his wooden guitar around his neck, wearing a white dress shirt with a half-moon symbol as the pin.
"Thank you, my lady, Elizabeth," he replied to the woman named Elizabeth, who wore a pink dress with her black and pink hair blowing in the wind. She also wore a crown on her head.
"Oh, my Jhoan, you don't have to be so formal with me. You make my heart flustered," Elizabeth said back to Jhoan with a completely red face, holding her cheeks.
"My lady, I have a proposing idea where I can help you explore the world," Jhoan said in a well-mannered tone, making her want to hear his voice more.
"Oh, my Jhoan, please ask away. Whatever you ask, I will happily answer back," Elizabeth replied with pure love and happiness, excited that Jhoan was finding a way to make her get out of the castle once more.
"Please, come with me on an adventure. I will make your true wish of exploring the world come true," Jhoan proposed to Elizabeth, who was about to have a heart attack from Jhoan getting down on one knee.
"I will go on an adventure with you," Elizabeth said, with hearts in her eyes, symbolizing her feelings. "But first, I will ask my father for his permission to leave the kingdom," she continued.
"I shall go ahead and wait outside the castle, My lady," Jhoan said as he prepared to leave and wait outside. With this, Elizabeth approached her father's door and gently opened it.
"Elizabeth," Salvador said, engrossed in his paperwork to manage the kingdom's army.
"Father, I want to have permission to leave the kingdom momentarily," Elizabeth requested, wearing a deadly serious expression on her face.
"I assume you're going with our knight, Jhoan, isn't it?" Salvador inquired. He knew those two were very close to each other.
"Yes, Father," she replied. She started to sweat as she waited for the anticipated 'no.'
"You may leave, but on one condition," Salvador stated, which surprised Elizabeth. Her dad used to be the one who denied her from going with Jhoan.
Suddenly, she started to hear some loud clown footsteps coming toward the room as someone barged in.
"DID SOMEONE SAY ADVENTURE???"
A purple jester with black hair, whose eyes were like stars, barged into the room. His costume was a mix of black and purple.
"You have to take Sunop with you," Salvador stated, making his own daughter melt in despair.
"Father, you can't be serious..." Elizabeth pleaded, fearing something more as her plan to go with Jhoan alone together was on hold.
"MISS LITTLE LADY WANT TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE???" Sunop said while he continued his jester-like attitude.
"If you don't bring Sunop with you, you may not leave the kingdom," Salvador said in a dead serious tone.
"UGH! ...alright, fine." Elizabeth gave in, wearing a depressed face. Sunop decided to dance around her in celebration, making her wish death upon the jester.
Finally, we went outside, "So, how did it go, My lady?" Jhoan asked, wanting an answer about the situation, not realizing Elizabeth's depressed state.
"We can go," she said. "But, we have to bring HIM with us," she continued, pointing toward the happily dancing jester.
"We will have so much fun! Beating up people and helping others!" Sunop stated with a laugh.
'GOD DAMMIT,' Jhoan said mentally, as his plan of going on a two-person adventure was ruined by Salvador and Sunop.
"Anyway, let's go form the team. I guess our team name would be 'Haunting Travelervania' then..." Jhoan said, defeated, wishing death upon Sunop one day, who continued to do his jester tomfoolery.
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