Chương 24: Chapter 123: Shenanigans I

Mel's senses were immediately overwhelmed by a plethora of new sounds, sights, and smells. The relatively open space of the docks became a distant memory as she and Amelia found themselves crammed in and between a maze of buildings that seemed to have been built without rhyme or reason. They were lost in the flow of Ishaq's citizens going about their day, carrying wares to and from their homes and little stalls that were squeezed into every possible space. Mel had never felt so out of place.

As she struggled to follow Amelia, who was navigating the crowd with surprisingly light feet, Mel couldn't avoid noticing how many gazes were thrown their way. Not that she could blame them. She and Amelia must have stood out; their tidy, form-fitting casual clothes couldn't be more different to the lightly-coloured loose clothing Ishaq's citizens wore. Many of the men were shirtless, and every pair of female horns Mel saw was adorned with colourful hornbands and elaborate hornweaving.

The ubiquitous, widespread accessories made Mel feel subconsciously plain, as her own horns and Amelia's illusory ones lacked any such additions. The contrast between their clothing and horns was further emphasised by the difference in skin colour. Here, the palest native Mel saw was darker than even the most tanned Eastern demon she'd ever seen. She saw a woman with a smooth bronze complexion and couldn't deny the smallest spark of envy in the back of her mind.

The woman's exposed shoulders glistened in the sunlight and, looking closer, Mel saw the demon had applied some kind of lotion mixed with crystal to catch the light. Flicking her eyes upwards, Mel made eye contact with the woman. With her cheeks growing warm and tilting her head apologetically, Mel passed by, doing her best not to lose Amelia.

And lose Amelia she would, if it weren't for the stallowners who not only called out to them, seeking to grab their attention and advertise their wares, but also boldly stepped in front of them, blocking their path. Every few seconds, there was some Arakian demon wanting to know where they hailed from, calling them Eastern beauties before attempting to flog their wares.

"Isn't this great?" Amelia asked, looking over her shoulder with a wide grin plastered on her face.

"Everything's so different!" she exclaimed, darting around another merchant who'd stepped in her way, trying to get them to sample spices.

"I'll come back!" Amelia called after the merchant before saying to Mel, "I bet the head chef could cook up all kinds of delicious dishes with those spices. Remind me to buy some, mmm? Oo, sugar fruits!" Like a shell being fired from a barrel, Amelia darted to the side, bouncing up to a stall selling the unmistakable fruit.

"Look!" Amelia picked one up and showed it to Mel.

"They're a different shape compared to the Eastern fruits. I wonder why?" The Southern sugarfruit was stouter than the slim Eastern variety, with a bulbous base and flat top. It looked like they would make good bowls. As if reading her mind, the stallowner clasped his hands and explained, "My anisas, don't throw away the rind once you've finished, yes? My cousin Azi will carve you a fine bowl that will last you in your travels."

Without waiting for any kind of affirmation from them, the merchant gave them directions to his cousin's stall and told them to let him know that he sent them.

"Mmm," Amelia nodded, handing over a few small coins.

"My anisa," the stallowner said.

"Don't you want to buy chilled fruits? It's only a little extra!" He reached and opened a box, revealing rows of sugarfruits bathing in ice.

"My cousin Azi knows the magic of Marzanna. If you need the services of an ice mage, let me introduce you!" The man chuckled loudly, placing his hands on his hips.

"Ishaq is hot for outsiders, especially from the East! You'll need better clothes, my anisa. Allow me to introduce you to my cousin Azi. He's the finest tailor in Ishaq, I promise you that!"

"Your cousin Azi is a busy man," Mel said, unable to keep the accusatory tone from her voice. The stallowner didn't seem to mind. He raised one hand with all his fingers splayed.

"I have five cousin Azis!" he declared triumphantly.

"Three Amils and two named Harun! Pyrinn has blessed me with a large family! Some are looking for a good wife, my anisas. Would you like to meet them?" Mel blinked and shared a look with Amelia.

"No, thanks!" Amelia chirped.

"See you later!" Before the stallowner could try and delay them any further, the pair of them darted off, laughing at the outrageous forwardness of the man.

"Maybe we should have got them chilled," Mel said, glancing at the two sugarfruits Amelia was carrying. She tugged at her neckline and looked with envy at the natives and their loose clothing. Thank the Empress that the captain had instructed them to change out of their military uniforms. Aura or not, she wasn't sure she could handle the Southern heat otherwise.

"No need," Amelia said, passing her the sugarfruit. Mel found that it was almost ice-cold. Casting a surprised look at Amelia, she stretched her senses, only catching the faintest trail of aether from her friend. If it weren't for her experience with how Amelia's magic worked, she would have missed it entirely. Who needs a cousin Azi, Mel thought, when I have an Amelia.

"Thank you," Mel said, lifting the sugarfruit to her lips and tilting it.

"Moons, I need this right—ack!" Mel coughed as the liquid filled her mouth, an explosion of spiciness prompting her to almost spit the liquid back out.

"Moons," she groaned, wiping her mouth.

"Are they trying to poison us?" She looked at Amelia to see her happily sipping the sugarfruit.

"It's nice," her friend murmured between sips.

"Strong cinnamon that becomes like… like aniseed. Serena would like this, I think. I'll have to get her some when we head back." Amelia nodded to herself as if making a solemn vow.

"Maybe I'll get a whole crate and share it with the squad…"

"I don't think…" Mel began, trailing off as the image of Daichi doing his very best to maintain composure while drinking the sugarfruit came to mind.

"Actually, that's a great idea," Mel said seriously.

"They'll love it."

"I know, right?" Amelia said happily, twirling to avoid another eager stallowner. They rounded a corner. The narrow streets they'd been navigating since leaving the docks gave way to what must have been one of the main thoroughfares of Ishaq's upper tier. The width of the street was perhaps two dozen metres, with both sides lined with countless shops and stalls, with rows of trees offering some shade. Two tramlines were built into the street; one going each way.

In the very centre, a waterway traced a straight path, frequently crossed by short bridges spanning only a few metres in length. She could see children playing, encouraging each other to jump the gap. Seeing the waterway, Mel moved almost unconsciously to walk alongside it. Her instincts were right, and she was greeted with slightly cooler air, alleviating some of Ishaq's insufferable heat and humidity. Looking down, she could even see small waterborne fish swimming in the clear water.

"Whoa," came Amelia's voice.

"Do you think these run throughout the city?" Mel turned to see Amelia delicately walking the very edge, precisely placing each foot as she used her sugarfruit as a counterweight.

"The water must come from the mountains," Amelia continued, "and gravity carries it. Look"—Amelia pointed at a bridge-like construction running above the buildings—"it's an aqueduct. Isn't that amazing?"

"Amazing," Mel said idly, seriously considering whether she would get in trouble if she jumped into the water. If the air above it were so cool, the water would be perfect, wouldn't it?

"Ah…" she hummed, taking another spicy sip of her sugarfruit. Could she pretend to slip and fall? No, she couldn't do that. It wouldn't be how an Imperial Officer would act. She'd have to make do until—"Woops!" Amelia exclaimed, her foot slipping. She tumbled towards the water. Before Mel could react, Amelia grabbed her wrist and pulled her over the edge. Mel's vision twisted, and she felt a sudden rush of adrenaline course through her body.

Opening her mouth, Mel managed to get only the very start of a scream out before it was full of crystal-clear, cool water. Not just her mouth, her entire body was suddenly wrapped in the wonderful sensation of cooling water that sapped away the suffocating humidity, sweat, and heat. Ah… Mel thought, floating in the water. This might even be better than Amelia's healing. With her recently acquired orange aura, Mel could hold her breath for almost ten minutes.

If she could have had her way, she would have stayed under the water for every second of those ten minutes, floating in the endless bliss of the cold plunge. Unfortunately for her, the local inhabitants had other plans, and soon she felt herself pulled out of the water and onto the stone floor, surrounded by men who began lecturing at her and Amelia in thickly-accented Imperial.

"Silly outsiders. You can't swim in the waterways!"

"Maybe they fainted. Did you faint, my anisas?"

"Of course they fainted, wearing such restrictive clothing!"

"If you want to cool down, go to the beehive around the corner!" Mel looked at Amelia. Her friend's disguise was still holding true, but her dishevelled and soaked appearance made her look like a peeka caught in the rain. As if on cue, Amelia spat out a column of water from the side of her mouth and gave Mel a look. Realising she probably looked no better, Mel burst out laughing. Amelia quickly followed. While they giggled, the men around them became confused.

"We're fine, thank you," Mel said, climbing to her feet, struggling to stop giggling.

"We just slipped, that's all." After assuring their rescuers that they weren't suffering from heatstroke, they eventually left, but only after promising that they would visit the 'beehive' to cool down. They began following the waterway to their destination, this time keeping a few feet away from the edge. It didn't take long at all for Mel to feel herself start to dry off. For now, at least, as steam rose from her and Amelia's clothing, she felt like she could handle the Southern climate.

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"Did you slip on purpose?" Mel asked. Amelia turned around, an expression of shock on her face.

"On purpose!?" she mocked with an exaggerated tone.

"You're asking if I purposely fell in and pulled you in with me, because I could see how awfully hot you were, and whether I thought it would be a much more fun way to cool down than using a bit of ice magic? You're asking that? Of me!?" Amelia punctuated her words by jabbing her chest with her thumb.

"... Yes?" Mel said, tilting her head.

"Hrmph," Amelia turned away. After a few seconds, Mel could hear her mumble, "... Maybe."

"What was that?"

"Mmm? Nothing."

"Is that so?"

"Yup!" Mel made a mental note to push Amelia into the water when no one else was around.

"Look at the trees," Amelia said, breaking Mel's train of thought regarding her upcoming vengeance.

"There are people up there." Mel followed Amelia's pointing. Along both sides of the street, the trees—big enough that Mel wouldn't be able to wrap her arms around their trunks—were spaced every few dozen metres. Unlike the massive ironwood trees of the Eastern wilderness, these trees were much shorter and sprouted great shale-like outcroppings, upon which the locals had set up furniture or viewing platforms.

Each tree had a winding staircase that could carry them to the different levels, and at the very top, the canopy spread wide, covering much of the ground in shade that protected them from the worst of the heat. She even saw that some of the local eateries had expanded their floor space with large balconies that stretched out and around the tree trunks. Each shale outcropping boasted tables and chairs, and waiters traversed between the levels carrying food and drink.

"The views from there must be great," Mel said, nodding at the platforms that were higher than the buildings.

"I imagine you can see out over the entire city. Must be rather romantic."

"Mmm!" Amelia nodded.

"I can't wait to bring S—" She coughed, cutting herself off.

"I can't wait to bring everyone. Delicious food tastes even better when eaten around friends, doesn't it?"

"Y-Yes," Mel said, trying to keep her voice even. Surely Amelia hadn't been about to say she was going to bring Captain Halen to a romantic dinner? Here? In Ishaq!? It was like Amelia was barely trying to hide it from her! Maybe… maybe she was letting things like that slip intentionally? Was she testing Mel to see if she would pick up on it? If so, what should she say now?

"Umm," Mel began, chewing on her words.

"Who would you bring?" Amelia suddenly asked.

"For a romantic meal, if you had to pick one person."

"From… from the Vengeance's crew?"

"That's right," Amelia said, a cheeky grin spreading across her face.

"Think of everyone you've met. When you think about a romantic Ishaqian meal, whose face comes to mind first? Quickly!" Amelia raised an almost accusatory finger.

"Who are you thinking of right now!?"

"I don't know," Mel said, frowning.

"I guess—oh." What in the Seven Hells, she thought. Why did that person's face come to mind? That didn't… that didn't make any sense.

"No… no one comes to mind," Mel said, a little too quickly. Her rash response wasn't missed by Amelia, who twisted around and said in a teasing tone, "Now I have to know who it was. Someone you didn't expect, I'm guessing? Ahh!" Walking backwards, Amelia placed both hands on her cheeks.

"How scandalous. You have to tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"... Shut up," Mel said, rolling her eyes.

"Watch where you're walking, you'll fall in again."

"Fine then." Amelia gave her a wink before turning around.

"Keep your secrets. Oh!" Amelia bounced forward, pointing around the corner.

"That must be the beehive! Look at that!" Thankful for the distraction, Mel turned the corner and saw a bizarre structure. It had the appearance of a bridge made up entirely of terracotta pipes that were stacked tightly, held together by a wooden frame. The bridge-like structure wasn't for walking on; instead, part of the aqueduct was redirected above it. Water fell freely onto the terracotta where it was siphoned through thousands of pipes before trickling to the ground in a perpetual rain.

The water was then collected into channels that led to the central waterway. Under each arch of the 'bridge', dozens of people lingered. Either directly under the water or near it, groups of people talked amongst themselves. Mel approached, not caring about the few looks their recently drowned appearance earned them. Immediately, she understood why they'd been told to go here to cool down by the locals. There was a sudden drop in temperature, perhaps as much as ten thols.

A constant breeze came through the terracotta pipes, cooling not just Mel and Amelia, but the entire area.

"It's actually cold here," Mel murmured, looking at Amelia, who was examining the pipes.

"Isn't this fascinating?" her friend asked, grinning as she tapped the pipes.

"Terracotta is porous, so it absorbs the water raining down. The heat pulls the air through the pipes, and the energy is transferred to evaporate the water, cooling the air. It's a passive cooling solution! I would never have thought of something like this, not in a million years!"

"My anisas," someone called out.

"Are you new to Ishaq?"

"Mmm!" Amelia affirmed.

"It takes a few weeks to adapt, but you'll get used to the heat," the masculine voice said.

"But…" the man chuckled, "you'll need to wear more appropriate clothing. Outsiders faint all the time from the heat, especially women." The person speaking was a human, which Mel found rather strange. The man—a young human with short black hair and a confident expression—spoke to them as if they were human as well. Well, he would be half right. Watching Amelia continue the conversation, Mel reflected on why she felt so strange. It wasn't just that a human appearance was unusual.

She always found that human faces, especially their foreheads, always seemed empty and flat without a pair of horns crowning them. No, what was strange was how casually the human was behaving, as if it were entirely natural for demons and humans to act so friendly with each other. Is this how things were in Ishaq? Mel was used to the subtle hostility or meekness of the human population in Kenhoro. There, in her home city, the humans mostly kept to themselves in their districts.

The conflict had wiped out most avenues of integration, and the longer the war had gone on, the more pressure establishments faced to only hire demons. The few humans she'd come across were always overly polite and deferential, as they understood they were on demon territory. Is that the right way to think about things? Mel thought, watching the animated conversation between Amelia and the human. Amelia is human, after all.

"Got it, thank you." Amelia bowed to the human in the Samino style, before turning to Mel and saying, "Let's go get some new clothes!"

"Right," Mel said, glancing at the human.

"Thanks."

"Be careful," the man said.

"It's easy to get lost in Ishaq. In more ways than one." They left the beehive. Amelia hummed cheerfully. Mel cast her a side eye.

"What's the plan, then?" she asked.

"Buy clothes to blend in," Amelia replied, raising a finger.

"I need to find a special kind of wire for something I'm making, so we need to find an aetherscope repair shop." Amelia raised another finger and continued, "Also, I was told there should be an arena down this way. Remember how I sponsored Hinako? Well, Serena said she was fine if she took part in duelling. You never know"—Amelia punched an open palm with a closed fist—"Ishaq might be the start of the greatest duellist the world has ever seen!" Amelia flashed Mel a grin.

"And, of course, I want to buy treats for Romulus!" Rolling her eyes, Mel continued down the street. There was a slight curve to it, and Mel predicted it ran the entire semicircle of Ishaq's upper tier, only stopping when it hit the mountains that backed the city. Occasionally, they would come across a steam lift, rumbling as it lifted cargo and people between this tier and the ones below. They would pass over the lift via a bridge, and each time they would have to stop and admire the view.

Not only could they see the tiers of Ishaq layered out beneath them, but also distant farmland stretching as far as the eye could see, butted against the mountain range and the continent's edge. Ishaq wasn't a major trade hub like the Three Sisters, where every second a cargo ship was landing or pulling away. Still, it was a popular tourist destination and more than a dozen wooden ships hovered in its skies.

Alongside the white ships were hundreds, if not thousands, of kites flown, each one dancing in the sky as the kite flyers pulled their strings. They were brightly coloured, creating a festival sky of vibrant excitement.

"It's hot," Amelia said, breathing in deeply.

"But I love this place already. Maybe we should bring back some kites to the East and start a trend? It could become a sport, don't you think?"

"I think there are regulations against it," Mel said.

"No one wants to risk a kite getting caught up in the propeller of a landing ship."

"Bleh." Amelia stuck out her tongue.

"Fair enough." They continued their walk, eventually coming to a large plaza, filled to the brim with demons and humans. At the centre, a plinth held half a dozen bronze statues that shone in the sunlight. The largest statue, standing tall above the rest, was of an Arakian woman dressed in robes, bearing an expression of confidence with a sly smile. That must be the Empress, Mel thought. But who are the statues below her? They seem important.

There were two more women and three men, each standing proud as they looked out over the crowd. Their metallic clothes were intricately patterned, and their expressions ones of authority. They seemed almost divine. Were they representations of the gods? Perhaps they were representations of Suijin, Bayle, and other gods that were part of the desert's heritage. The Three Sisters had more than a few statues of equal grandeur, and Kenhoro was full of bronze statues of the various Kami.

While the crowd surrounded the plinth, it wasn't the statues that caught their attention. It was instead a speaker, brandishing a large piece of paper. His voice carried loud and clear, enrapturing the crowd with his message.

"It's not a coincidence!" the man shouted, waving the paper.

"That the arcwhale stranding happened after this! One omen begets another omen! That is the way of the world! Is it not unfair that Ishaq should shoulder the burden of this mistake!? Is it not unfair that we should risk annihilation from one of her children, due to the decision of penpushers thousands of miles away!?" As he spoke, the crowd threw out intermittent cheers, while a few others shook their heads and whispered amongst themselves.

"And now she sends us a black ship!" the man exclaimed, waving the paper even more aggressively.

"A ship that brings death and destruction wherever it's sighted! How do we know it wasn't this ship that attacked the arcwhale? How do we know it's not working with the pirates? The same pirates who extort you? The same pirates the council refuse to handle! Is it not unfair!?" The man got a few more cheers. Mel looked at Amelia to see that her friend had a nervous expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" Mel asked.

"Of course," Amelia said a little too quickly.

"Just… It's a bit awkward."

"Awkward?"

"Well…" Amelia nodded at the enthusiastic speaker.

"Look at the paper." As Mel flared her aura to get a good look, the man continued, "It's decisions like this that upset the natural order of the world! Why has she, who has inherited Mura's wisdom, done such a thing? The council must send a delegation to Centralis! We must have answers!" The man held the paper up high, and Mel saw that it was a broadsheet. Focusing slightly, she mouthed out the headline, her eyes growing wider and wider as she read each word. AMELIA THORNHEART NAMED LIVING SAINT, it read.

Mel blinked once, twice, and then thrice. She turned to look at Amelia. Her friend stood there with an awkward expression on her face. She met Mel's eyes before turning away slightly and scratching her chin.

"Well…" Amelia said quietly, kicking a small rock.

"I was going to tell you…"