Somehow, from the very beginning, I preferred to keep my belongings to myself. I'm not talking about clothes-you can buy them anywhere. I'm talking about artifacts, materials, weapons, and so on.
Now it was only to my advantage, because if I started to collect the things I had laid out, they would notice it right away. So I went to the operation with the lion's share of my possessions, leaving behind two pairs of jeans, a tracksuit, and a few sets of shorts and t-shirts that I'd been wearing around the house lately.
I liked the little town with the strange name of Torado. As it turned out, it was not by the sea, but forty kilometers away, on the banks of a river that flowed into the sea. I liked the clean air, the high magical background, and the original Japanese lifestyle of the sixteenth century.
I wanted to stay here for a week or two, to get to know the living history of the country, the simple life of magical creatures. But my mood was quickly replaced by a working one: looking at the "people" leaving these places in a hurry and dreaming of staying here is a bit strange.
To stay on task, I dismissed my thoughts and immediately felt a nudge in my thigh. I lowered my eyes and saw a frozen boy of about three years old, with sunny yellow hair, wearing a simple house dress. The child looked at me with round yellow eyes with great interest, even opening his mouth. On impulse, I smiled slightly and took the boy in my arms, which he did not resist.
— Lost? — The boy nodded slowly. — I'm going to put you on my shoulders, so you can see your parents and they can see you. Do you mind? — He jerked his head sharply. — That's good.
For about ten minutes, I received strange looks from my allies and smiles from the locals, until the boy's mother jumped up. A full-figured woman in a simple kimono, a noisy, panicky woman who, as my magical sense suggested, had something birdlike about her, but from the boy I felt only the warmth of the sun.
The natives always tried to look human, but there was a tail on one of them, ears on the other, or an inhuman quality in their voices. They all carried a lot of luggage, household utensils, bundles of clothes, and so on. Many also carried various boxes, pots, troughs, and wicker cages in which they carried some plants, small magical animals, and even some water creatures.
One that surprised me was a sad octopus with a brood, whose caged animal face clearly showed an expression of sadness and humility. And also a vine-woven cage carrying flying balls of blue-blue color and the size of a child's fist. Neither "octopus" nor "radish" could be identified, and I decided that I needed to purchase something on the local magical flora and fauna in addition to the already available "Catalog of Magical Materials".
Meanwhile, the evacuation procedure had run its course. The mechanism used was well-oiled and completely magical: residents, such as my group, would gather in the center of town, coordinate, and rip out their throats, explaining the sequence of actions.
The resident/family approaches the operator, who separates them two by two and takes them to a trio of teleporters. One teleporter carries ayakashi, one carries cargo, and one carries critters. Twenty-two groups work this way, and the transfer takes five to ten minutes for a family, but with a population of about a thousand adults and children, it's much longer.
I was amused by one moment: waiting for their turn was a family of some dog people, two old men and two granddaughters of different ages, who were entertaining the children by weaving wreaths and necklaces of herbs and flowers.
So, teenagers and very young children were yelling and having fun in the meadow (one of the wreckers had planted it to entertain the children), and I was standing at the edge of the meadow with my kitsune partners.
And then the youngest of the "dog's" granddaughters, about five years old, came to me, wagging her ashy dog tail a little, pressing her fluffy ears to her head, and holding a wreath in her hand. The puppy look is a well-known "dishonest" technique — the most powerful and destructive in all the universes, and it works even on Dark Lords and Lords of all sorts. I suppose. So I was immediately defeated. I knelt down and smiled stupidly, and the girl smiled back.
— Is this for me? — I nodded in agreement. — Thank you. Why are there two? — There were indeed two wreaths, and they were so beautifully made that one would never think of children's hands.
— For you and your bride. — said the girl in a low voice, with a strange expression in her eyes, as if she was looking through you somewhere far away.
— But I don't have a fiancée. — I tilted my head slightly to my right shoulder, not stopping to smile even though I already recognized the characteristic look and behavior.
— Really? — The girl was childishly surprised and opened her eyes wide, the color of liquid silver. — Then... then... — the child was completely confused, her eyes darting from side to side.
— Let them be future ones, okay? — I am helping the child.
The girl beamed, nodded, and her tail began to wag. She smiled again and ran to her sister to tell her something, and an elderly couple approached me.
— Forgive her, sir, if Ruri has inconvenienced you. — The man and woman bowed.
— It's nothing like that. — I shook my head negatively and looked at the two wreaths, one dominated by lilac and purple flowers, the other by blue. — You have a good granddaughter, and she has a strong gift. — The old men didn't seem surprised. — I suggest you contact the Dorogumo who serves Tenno-sama. Her name is Wakana, and she can teach Ruri well.
They bowed deeply and left, but I hid the wreaths in my bracelet. Such gifts don't come for free, especially from the native seers. Especially when the gift is imbued with elemental magic.
A few hours later, as ten more teleport groups arrived, I noticed some movement in the trees at the edge of town, by the river. The sun had already set, but it wasn't completely dark, and the light clothing was easy to see against the dark forest.
Deciding to check it out, I walked that way and noticed that this "movement" was someone small peeking out from behind the trees. As I got closer, I could see a child looking out with a very amused expression on his face.
When we got within fifty paces of each other, the child became visibly nervous and seemed to be contemplating an escape. I, on the other hand, having had time to look at the unusual azure hair, as if studded with silver sequins, and the small, thin horns that stood just in front of her ears and curled up at the back of her head, could not leave her alone.
Yes, I considered the small pearl earrings in the pointed ears, similar to fantasy elves. By the way, there were elves in this world a long time ago, a thousand and a half years ago, but then they clashed with the demon worshippers, then with the Church, and then they took off, left this world. It is as if their city has been preserved somewhere in the Amazon basin, where the Divine People continue to live. I'd be curious to meet them. To see if the science fiction writers were right about them.
With a wave of my hand, I stop the kitsune at a distance, noticing that there is a strong guard of two dozen fighters, divided into fives, at the edge of the city. Slowly, I approach the girl of unknown origin, who has accepted me much more calmly and only glances warily at the foxes. There! Even this little girl doesn't like these furry vipers! A man of the house!
— Hello! — I smile cautiously and crouch down a meter away from the tree — children don't like to be hovered over, and it's harder to make contact. — My name is Sora Hoshino, and yours?
— You are deceiving me. — The girl frowned, her blue eyebrows knitted in amusement and her forehead furrowed.
— What? — I was stunned.
— Mom said all the Hoshino died a few years ago, so you're lying. — The girl spoke confidently, so her mother must be an authority to her.
— Actually, my mother was kidnapped by our enemies and deceived me, but we were recently released from captivity. Like your mother, everyone thought that Hoshino had disappeared.
— How can you prove that you're not lying? — asked the child, looking doubtfully into my face.
— Prove it, you say... — I hesitated for a few seconds, and then it hit me. — Did your mother tell you that our distinguishing feature is our purple eyes? — The girl nodded. — Can you see mine, or can you light them?
The girl shook her head negatively, and her eyes turned gold with a dash of blue, glowing slightly, and her pupil dilated, snake-like. She stared into my eyes for a few seconds, checking each eye very carefully. She nodded, and her eyes changed again, becoming a human green with honey dots.
— Nice to meet you, Hoshino Sora-san, — the girl bowed respectfully in a mature manner. — My name is Okami Ryuko, daughter of Okami Mayumi.
I blinked in surprise when I realized what I had heard. Gods? No. Who else would be called that? In Japan, only one kind of creature has the right to be called 'Okami' — dragons! I looked at the True Dragon Child in shock and couldn't believe I wasn't imagining it. I mean, they were gone, almost right after the elves, only the wyverns were left! Apparently not all of them, and I was lucky again... or was I? I didn't have time to finish the last part — a new noise distracted me.