-10 years ago -
"I'm leaving," I said to my cousin Go. He looked at me still in disbelief as I carried with me just a backpack as I exited the family house.
"You're… you're serious?"
"Yes, why is it strange? I already bought tickets for the communal wagon like I said I would for weeks."
"Yeah but…" He looked at me still in disbelief as I casually began leaving the confines of our home. "No one thought you were serious about leaving. Have you truly gone mad this time?"
"No one ever does until you actually do it," I said deadpan.
He sighed.
"I give you 1 month tops. You're such a dumbass man."
I smiled at him.
"If you say so."
"What the hell are you even going to do for money? Rob people? You'll get your shit beat in."
"I plan to be a merchant."
"Merchant…."
"..."
"..."
"...pfffff hahahhahahahahahaha, oh okay, this is just some kind of elaborate joke right? Ok, you got me Hu, that's a good one, you can come back in now, we still have to clean the place before both our parents come back."
He continued to laugh as I just stared at him deadpan. After a minute he calmed down.
"Wait, you're still serious?"
"100%"
"Alright, this joke has gone on long enough Hu,"
"What makes you think I'm joking?"
"You're a well educated academic, Hu, why the fuck do you want a peasant job?"
"So I can leave."
"...what?"
"So I can leave," I repeated.
"You are so fucking spoiled, you know that?"
"How so?"
He went up to me grabbing my shirt in anger.
"Hu, being a merchant is not a job people want to do, do you fucking understand? It's something lower middle class people have to do."
I continued just staring at him deadpan.
"I'm aware."
"THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU BEING SO FOOLISH?"
He slapped me.
"Just tell me you're fucking joking"
He dropped me down.
"Do you understand how many fucking people would KILL to be in your position? Your parents are highly respected members of the academic community in all of fucking Naka. Do you understand how fucking hard that is?"
"Not really, but I don't really care." I repeated, "I just want to leave."
"YOU LITERALLY LIVE IN A HOUSE MILLIONS WOULD DIE TRYING TO SLEEP IN."
He threw me onto the ground.
"Are you fucking… fine, whatever, you'll be back by the end of the month anyways, prick."
I got up and dusted myself off. It wasn't worth the trouble at this point arguing back, not that arguing was ever much of a fruitful thing to do. So instead I just sighed, picked up my bag, and continued walking.
"Take care now Go, live a good life filled with happiness and freedom when I'm gone."
"Yeah whatever, go fucking be alone by yourself, loser."
I smiled at the statement, though I didn't turn around to look at him, instead just looking at the road ahead.
"I will."
Present Day:
Location: Ship to Kauki
After not too much trouble, the Princess and I were able to go to the address on the flier Ahmed had handed us where we spent 150 Jiples each boarding a very crowded ship. The sea journey part was expected to take about 3 days total. It was a nice relaxing atmosphere filled with a variety of social events like dancing, singing, and card games. The Princess however, despite my best efforts to encourage going out of her comfort zone, spent most of her time so far just in her room reading the books she had brought along. It was a learning process I suppose, luckily she at least came out with me in order to eat at the ship's restaurants, where we were now.
The Princess looked down at the Restaurant's menu.
"Oh, wait Hu, what's uhhh… Cala… calamari?"
"That's deep fried octopus. It's pretty good if you want to try, as long as…"
"As long as?"
"I looked down at the price tag on the menu."
"25… 25 Jiples."
The merchant side of me immediately cringed at the price.
"Hu?"
But then I remembered half of my income this year came from what the Princess gave me.
"Uhh… nevermind it's nothing. Pick whatever you want, Riko! And we'll go from there."
"Mmm… I don't know what to pick though! Oysters, clams, calamari, I haven't tried any of these! How can I know what's good?"
"You won't."
"What?!? But then what if I order something and I don't like it?"
"You're thinking about it wrong, the novelty of the taste is itself, what will be valuable."
"What?! But what if I don't like the taste though?"
"Then you'll know for next time. But you can't discover something new that tastes good without trying it the first time, right? Anyways, like I said, order whatever you want, it's fine.
"Hi! I'm back with some water for you 2. Are you ready to order?"
As I said that, our waiter, a middle aged looking dark haired man dressed in formal attire returned.
"Hmmm, I'll have the swordfish sandwich, never had that before."
"Very well, and for you…?"
He looked over at Riko whose head was still covered, trying to ensure he had the right gender.
"Madam," I replied, "This is my sister."
I felt a foot kick my shin as I held my tongue not to shout in front of the waiter.
"She's uhhh… quite the lively one!"
"Ummm… alright. Madam, what is it you would like to order today?"
"Anything I want, right big brother?"
Did I say something wrong?.
"Uhhh… yeah, like I said, anything you want."
"Then…"
She turned to the waiter with a smile.
"Let me have the calamari, tuna, clams, swordfish, sashimi platter, anchovies, and for drinks… premium Matcha Tea!"
"..."
The waiter chuckled, writing everything down.
"Very good Madam, will that be all for the 2 of you."
"Ye.. yes…" I said as I felt my wallet crying. Even with the extra funds from the palace goods, at this rate it would be back to eggs and bread for food only soon. Well, the Princess is quite small at least, so maybe we can just pack up the rest for leftovers. That would last us a few days.
-1 Hour later.-
"Mmm mmm mmm mm mm mmm. That was so good, oh my god! So good."
*Burp*
The Princess cleaned the last calamari piece from her plate.
"How can someone so small eat so much in one sitting?"
"What can I say! I have an all time fast metabolism."
She put her hands on her stomach.
"It's always been like this ever since I was little! I can eat plates of food at a time, no problem!"
She wiped her mouth with a napkin in satisfaction.
"Life is so not fair…" I thought as I picked up and finished the last piece of my only sandwich. I could already feel the extra weight piling on me as I did.
"What a good meal! So much better than that boring kingdom palace…"
"Shh Shhh…"
"Huh?"
"Little Sister…"
She paused for a moment before remembering her disguise.
"Oh right. I mean uhh… ahem, I dare say big brother of mine, this platter that we shared was quite the delicacy and will add brilliantly to our memories. But alas, it doth not be, as good as dear mother and father's platters. Oh, how I do miss their broths."
"Okay, you don't have to go that far, normal talk is fine."
"I do because you insisted I am your sister!" she said, before crossing her arms and turning away from me.
"Hmmph."
"Uh…"
"Why did you insist on me being your sister? Especially when there are absolutely no ties of blood between us."
"I mean, that seems like a pretty natural relation to have on a journey, no? I'm pretty sure you're not young enough to be my daughter, so…"
"Grr…"
I looked at her puzzled.
"I don't understand Riko, why do you look so irritated? Is it not simply logical to…"
"Urgh… forget it."
She interrupted, rolling her eyes.
"You probably did it because you read those dirty incest books, but sister's fine as a disguise, I guess."
Her expression didn't look fine.
"No, but really Riko, you're just Riko to me." I said with a smile placing a hand on her shoulder, "Riko is just Riko, just like you said, Hu is Hu."
"Hmm…"
She still didn't turn around,
"Alright, you get a pass for now Hu, but next time don't just repeat everything I say, got it! It's cooler if you say your own dramatic lines!"
"What? Is that really that important?"
"Of course!" she said getting up and pointing to the sky. "Dramatic lines are why life is worth living Bwhahahahahahaahahahhahaahahahaah."
"... Riko, you stole that line from 'the Vampire Tales'"
"What!? Nooooo. How would you know?"
"You literally told me they said that line in the story when you explained the entire plot of the series to me one afternoon while blazed out of your mind including all your favorite ships…"
"Did I? Well it's still true! Life is all about getting to say your favorite dramatic lines and catchphrases. Next, you are about to say, yeah that makes sense, let's get dessert."
"..."
"Come on, say it Hu, say it!"
She made a pose.
"Say it!"
"... wait, you actually still want dessert after that huge meal?"
"What? No, maybe, I just wanted you to say…"
She sighed, looking disappointed at me.
"Nevermind, dessert sounds good, let's see here."
"..."
Maybe eggs and bread for 2 weeks actually. I took out the menu which I had placed on the seat next to me and handed it back to the Princess. Well, nothing wrong with eating just bread and eggs for a while. Compared to the farmers living in the countryside, it would probably still be considered a high quality meal that they would only get to eat on occasion and I should still consider it a privilege to do so. Plus, any money saved meant more opportunities for reselling goods later.
What right did I have to complain after the Princess had done so much for me anyways? Right or wrong, she did just earn us an extra 100 Jiples a few days ago. It really wasn't a big deal if that was the plan. That said, as privileged as my life was, it was not a life privileged enough where all things went according to plan.
"You're Hu, right?"
"Huh?"
Before we could return to looking at the menu, a different person wearing a dark robe covering most of their face approached me. When I looked closer, it appeared he or she was wearing a gray theater mask disguising their entire face.
"Hu, you're Hu Shuilui, no?"
"How did you know my…"
"A llama trader by the name Ahmed gave you the tip to come to this ferry, correct? I'm guessing you, like many, are coming to trade with the people of Kauki? My apologies, but at this moment, I can not give you further details about who I am."
"That's all correct. Now hold on a minute, you can't just say something so personal and then say your information is confidential."
As you might expect, being a merchant exposed me at all times to robbery and assault which meant always keeping a low profile. I don't even recall saying my full name to Ahmed to be honest. Instinctively, I reached near my pocket where I kept a knife preparing for the worst. The masked figure however, just stood there, not making any sudden movements.
"Hu what's going…"
"It's fine Riko," I said, holding out a hand. Around us, it seemed like most of the compatriots had begun drinking and didn't really pay much attention to our table area. Sighing, I got up instead, and walked close to the masked figure so I could whisper out of range of everyone else.
"Tell me, I don't want to cause trouble, but I need to know for my own safety, how did…"
He leaned over to whisper something in my ear.
"What? But that's…"
He nodded before handing me a small piece of paper with some writing on it.
"Go here, or else we sell out your information.
He walked away as I covered my mouth in shock.
"Hu, what's going on, what did he write?"
"Come on," I said to the Princess. Quickly I counted out the money needed to pay for the meal, setting it on the table, before grabbing Riko's wrist and pulling her to walk back towards our designated room.
"Hu, what's going, why are you in such a hurry."
"I'll explain when we're back in private," I said. I wandered my eyes around, paranoid at any person now that crossed our path. I was a fool, did information really spread that fast?
"Hu… Hu! Hey…"
She whimpered as she struggled to keep up.
"At least grab my hand instead."
I looked at her and sighed, doing just that, causing her to blush. If the situation wasn't so serious, perhaps I would have done the same. Finally, after what felt like forever, we made it back into our room where I quickly locked our door.
"Hu, what's going on? Are we in trouble? Who was that?"
"I don't know…"
The opal in her eyes glowed as she stared at me worried.
"You don't know?"
I shook my head
"But it's not very important because we don't have a choice about things right now."
I opened the paper he had given me where I revealed to the Princess a map of Kauki, as well as an X indicating a small woods area next to a general store named "Kauki General" and some writing that read "this is the spot, follow the road out of the general store heading towards the woods area. Come by the 2nd day of your arrival in Kauki or we will sell you out."
"Sell us out? Hu…" the Princess said, voice trembling, "I'm scared, what did the masked person tell you?"
I turned away from her. How could I be so foolish? I had forgotten I slipped up once and had told one of the llama traders why I was buying so much Kush all of a sudden.
"They told me…"
I turned to her gulping.
"They told me they knew your identity was Princess Riko."