Harvest, the land of Forever Fall, or at least that's what Akira of Venindale had told Matt as they walked side by side with one another down the dirt road. Harvest was apparently the name of the "Plane of Existence" Matt had found himself on. When he asked her what exactly was a Plane of Existence, Akira told him that it was by definition an alternative dimension of reality. She then went on to explain that the world of Tytaura itself was a multi-planar world that consisted of four distinct Planes of Existences, or P.O.E.'s. The first was the main plane of Tytaura itself. This main plane was where the capital of the world known as Deryium was located on the continent's western coast. It was also where Oasis was. When Matt asked about that, Akira sighed and summed it up as a holy ground where all the world's portals known as Gates converged together in one place. Before Matt could even ask, Akira then told him that the world was filled with these Gates and they were a more public form of insta-transportation across large distances or even between the different planes.
She then told him briefly about the other Planes of Existence. There was the heavily forested and jungled plane of Cillian where the Elves had both of their capitals. Apparently the Dark elves and the Forest Elves were at war with one another and had been for some time now. At first they had kept their conflicts to their plane but now their feud had spread to the rest of the world as well. Matt got a sense that Akira could have cared less for their conflict as she only mentioned it in passing while describing Cillian. However, Matt had taken a little more interest in the matter. He didn't bring it up again with Akira but he instead made sure to take a mental note to ask about it again either later to her or to someone else if he got the chance.
Then there was the plane that was simply called, "The North." It was the smallest of the planes apparently and mostly consisted of mountains and frozen tundra's. Akira explained that the North was often referred to as the "Forgotten Plane" as most people from the other planes never went there. It was far too cold for most and only the most hardened individuals could call it home. There were only three cities in the North, including its capital Colk, the former prison city of Druaburn, and the city sized tavern and inn known as the InnBetween. According to Akira though, the most important thing to come out of the North was the Company. The Company was the world's mail delivery service that was capable of delivering mail across any of the planes and at a moment's notice with ways of personal teleportation for its mail carriers.
Lastly there was the largest of the planes and the one they were currently on, Harvest. Harvest was known as the land of Forever Fall because their version of the autumn season took up most of the year. Matt wasn't sure how that worked but he assumed that in a world that had magic and such anything could be possible. Most of the world's crops came from Harvest itself and it was also home to the worlds most prestigious magic school, Caster Academy.
Akira told Matt that, as Matriarch of Venindale, she was actually in charge of a much larger area that included the city of Venindale itself as well as some of the other surrounding cities and towns. Fallvien, the city in which they were currently headed towards, sat just outside of her domain. However Fallvien was apparently where the closest Adventurers Guild was and Akira had been insistent that Matt join up to become an adventurer himself.
"It'd make travel easier and ultimately less expensive in the end if you had an Adventurer's I.D. Plus it's a solid way of making some coins." she had told him with a broad smile.
They had been on the road for a few hours when the sun had begun to grow lower in the clear skies up above. Akira had assured him that they'd reach the outer settlements of Fallvien around the time when it was starting to get dark out, and she knew of an inn there where they could possibly stay the night for free. When Matt asked her if that was one of the perks of being a 'Matriarch,' but Akira had laughed and told him that she was old friends with the tiefling man who ran the establishment and that he owed her a favor or two.
"But before we enter the city, we need to discuss an important matter," Akira said as she turned around and began walking backwards while facing Matt.
Matt had to admit, he was pretty impressed with how easily she was able to walk backwards in her heeled boots all the while keeping direct eye contact with him the whole time. She had a mischievous smile on her lips as she leaned forward slightly, her hands behind her back and was clearly pushing her chest out a little as her top struggled to keep her womanly charms contained. Matt did his best to keep his eyes locked with hers, even as she gave him a small teasing wink before she continued.
"The fact that you are human might cause more problems for you than you may realize at first. Though humans haven't existed on Tytaura in quite some time, people still have bitter opinions about them."
"Why's that?" Matt asked.
"That's because humanity was kicked out of Tytaura due to their war-like nature. Or at least that's what the legends say. Honestly it sounds like a bunch of hypocrisy to me when most of the world's races seem to always be at odds with one another. Especially the damn elves." Akira sighed
"Hmm. So then what am I supposed to do? Pretend to be something else, some other race perhaps?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well…"
Matt watched as the mischievous smile on her lips grew bigger as she stopped in her tracks, standing before him and looking him up and down. Her sparkling green eyes danced over his muscles and Matt could have sworn he saw her bite her lip a little as her eyes lingered in few places longer than others. It was only when Matt cleared his throat a little did she look up at him and he saw, she was indeed biting her lower lip a little and she wasn't hiding it either. She must have enjoyed his reaction to her as she began to laugh and gently hit his chest with a soft punch.
"Norn" she finally said, beaming up at him with a triumphant look.
"W-What?" Matt asked
"Norn. It's a humanoid race native to the North known for their larger size and aggressive attitudes. Many belong to nomadic tribes or even raiders of smaller coastal villages, though there are a few more civilized Norn Cities in the North as well. I've never heard of a Norn having fiery orange hair like yours before but then again most people have never even seen a Norn as they tend to stick to the Northern Plane. They are tall, muscular beings with lots of tattoos and giant beards to match." Akira explained as she stood facing him with her hands on her hips.
"So what you're saying is that I should try to pass myself off as one of these Norn." Matt replied
"Precisely. We can come up with some tragic backstory as to why you're no longer in the North. Perhaps you were disowned by your tribe because of the color of your hair or maybe because of your weird fashion sense." Akira giggled a little as she looked him up and down once more.
"Hahaha, very funny." Matt sighed and rolled his eyes
Akira smirked a little at him before she turned around and began walking away from him down the road. Matt watched for a moment and noticed she was putting a little more sway into her hips as she walked away, her tails flicking back and forth. At some point during their travel Matt had noticed that most of her tails looked to have disappeared leaving her with just three now. She must have noticed his confusion at one point when she made a small show of spreading all nine of her tails out before closing them all back to the three like a peacock opening and closing its feathers. She was even able to bring her tails down to just a single tail as well but it seemed she preferred to have three of them out instead. Matt watched her for a moment longer, admittedly a bit hypnotized by the sight of her, before a sly glance over her shoulder shook Matt from his stupor and he moved after her to catch up a little.
"For the time being though it may be a good idea to call yourself a Norn if anyone asks what race you are" Akira continued once Matt was by her side again.
"Is that a commonly asked question?" he asked
"It's not uncommon, though it can be seen as a bit rude at times. And if anyone asks about my race, then I am simply just an Okamimimi" Akira explained.
"Isn't that a… wolf girl?" Matt asked as he thought for a moment.
"You… are accustomed to such?" Akira asked, looking surprised.
"Not really. It's a term I've heard used for fictional characters. Usually a woman with wolf ears and tails and such." Matt replied.
"I see, so they are more like creatures of legend then?"
"In some ways I guess you could say that. There's a lot of books and stories and such that use similar creatures as characters in their make believe worlds. Actually the term you used, Oka…mini?"
"Okamimimi" Akira chuckled a little as she corrected him.
"Right, well that term comes from a language in our world and it literally means 'Wolf Ears.' But why not go by Kitsune or something like that? I thought you were more fox-like then a wolf"
"I am. It's just there aren't very many of my kind left in the world. We have become the thing of legends in some ways. Calling myself a Kitsune would only bring more unwanted attention"
"Aren't you like the ruler of a kingdom or something?"
"I'm a Matriarch, but yes I understand how ridiculous that may sound. However, only a few of my most trusted advisors know of my actual race though. To everyone else, I am simply an Okamimimi." Akira explained.
"So assuming Okamimimi are a bit more common than your kind in this world, do they naturally have orange hair, fluffy ears, and multiple blue tails?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Orange hair, yes. And I have met a number that have a bit more fur in their ears than others. As for my tails…"
Akira then made a show of pressing her three tails into one before it changed colors to match the color of her hair. Darker hairs then began to sprout out and made her tail look more like a slightly fluffier wolf tail with some orange coloration to it.
"There, see? No one would be the wiser" Akira said as she smiled confidently with her new tail wagging back and forth behind her now.
"That's pretty impressive," Matt replied honestly.
"If you find such a trivial task impressive then I would be able to truly amaze you with a fraction of my abilities" Akira boasted proudly.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Matt laughed.
Clearly a bit more proud of herself now, Akira began walking with a bit more of a strut in her step. She was clearly someone that loved the praise, and Matt had to take a mental note to remember that.
"So this whole being my guide thing, how's that supposed to work if you're a ruler? Don't you have responsibilities and such? And I'm sure people would start talking if you suddenly began having a… Norn, in constant company. Seems like a lot of unwanted attention could come of it if you're trying so hard to stay out of the spotlight."
Matt watched Akira's demeanor change a little in the way she walked before she looked up at him with a look that could quite honestly kill. Though he did his best to keep looking calm, he could feel the chill running down his spine from the way she looked at him.
"That was a bridge I was hoping to wait to cross until we were within the city but fine, I guess we can discuss it now" Akira replied, sounding a bit annoyed with him now as she crossed her arms over her chest. "The answer to that problem is easy really. We simply get married."
If Matt had been taking a sip from his canteen while she had answered him, he was sure he would have done a spit take right then and there, and probably all over them both. He did stop dead in his tracks though and looked at Akira with a completely bewildered expression on his face.
"Di-di-di-Wh-What?" Matt asked with a stutter.
Akira's face suddenly went a few shades darker as she looked down and slightly away from Matt. Her previously annoyed expression was replaced by that of embarrassment now as she hugged herself a little tighter.
"Am I not, befitting enough of a wife for you?" she asked.
Matt's mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he tried to think of any coherent response to make to such a question. Akira continued to look embarrassed as her eyes darted back and forth from his face to a spot on the ground she found particularly interesting.
"Wh-Whoa whoa whoa, let's back up the train here for a moment." Matt said as he finally was able to muster a response "First of all, how in the world does us getting married solve anything? We only just met after all. And second, I'm not saying that you wouldn't make a great partner to anyone, I'm just… a bit blindsided by your statement is all"
Akira stared hard at the ground for a few more moments, her cheeks red with color as she avoided his eye contact before she let out a shaky sigh and looked up. Her eyes met his and like before, Matt found himself unable to pull his gaze away from hers and in that moment a thought ran through his mind that he normally wouldn't have even dreamed of if it hadn't been for the turn in their conversation.
'Damn, I wouldn't mind waking up looking into those every morning though.'
"For many reasons, actually. You and I being married would allow us to be at each other's sides much more, especially in the eyes of the public who knows me. It's not uncommon for Okamimimi and especially members of my race to marry outside of their species either, and especially to a strong mate. It wouldn't raise too much concern if I were to be married to a dire-man of the North as they are often thought to be amongst the strongest of the races. Our love in marriage doesn't have to be real, but our union would allow us to spend more time together naturally. As for the attention it would undoubtedly bring…well, we'd have to do our best to deal with it."
Matt looked at Akira as she spoke, but got a feeling that there was more that she wasn't telling him about her reasons for such a crazy proposal. Her other reasons were sound when he thought about them. A marriage of convenience for this 'Grand Mission' he was supposed to be on could help cover the reason someone like her was suddenly spending a lot of time around a stranger to some degree.
"Plus, it'd help me out immensely" Akira added as she looked away again
"How's that?" Matt asked her
"Well, I may have been shrugging off my duties already for some time now. I've been gone for a few months on 'important business,' and I left my advisors in charge. Really I just needed a break. I'm sure to be in trouble when I return but if I were to return suddenly with a mate then I doubt they could be too mad at me"
Matt could see the sliver of hope in her eyes as she chanced a look back up at him. He was almost certain that she was still holding some further explanations for her proposal, but he'd let sleeping dogs lie for now. What he needed to do was think of what ways this false union might actually be helpful to him in the end as well. For starters, putting the whole hero destiny thing that he wasn't sure he believed in either aside, if Akira was honest about helping him integrate into this world then having her by his side would be a major benefit. Not only did she apparently have the political power and backing on her side, but Matt had the suspicion that she also had incredible combat power too. Even if she wasn't as strong as he thought she might be, having someone like her on his side in a fight might at least help even the odds a little bit more. There was the obvious bonus of having a smoking hot traveling companion that every otaku nerd dreamed about. However, he could see that this arrangement could also be a double edged sword.
Any enemies she had would now become his as well, not to mention if there were any former suitors out there that might suddenly become over jealous if they found out their love was suddenly married. Then there was the blinding fact that he just didn't know her that well. He didn't think she was a bad person. Mischievous as hell, sure, but not a bad person over all. However he couldn't discount the fact that he had no idea what her morals were yet. Matt took a moment as he continued to weigh up the options in his mind, seeing both the benefits and disadvantages of the arrangement as best as he could. Then with a bit of a sigh, he came to his conclusion.
"Alright, fine. I can see how it'll ultimately help us both out with our current problems but there's going to be some matters we will need to iron out if we want to make this work." Matthew answered
Akira's face suddenly lit up with joy across her delicate face as her eyes went wide and sparkled in the evening sun. Her wide smile exposed her larger canine teeth before she took a step forward and threw herself towards him, wrapping her arms around his midsection as she cheered.
"Hooray! I'm so happy you see things my way!" she cried
Matt felt like the stereotypical main character in an Isekai who had just been tackled by the main love interest and was now frozen in position as he felt her warm soft body press against his. An unnerving feeling crept over him as if to tell him that he had just opened up a whole box of problems for himself with all sorts of issues that were gonna become a huge pain in the ass for him at some point. But… as he looked down at the fox woman in his arms, the feeling subsided a little and was instead replaced with a small ember of a flame that sparked deep within him.