Private Lyrwick Doggo Doko!?

[Chako]

Today, Chako had agreed to take on an escort request with Dynamax and Doggo to help a Herbalist go from Dunnstads to Lyrwick.

It was probably not going to be too hard, Chako thought. They just had to be careful with evil crystal stone thingy that emanated evil magic and they should be fine... Sounded simple enough.

Except... Where was Doggo!? It was getting close to the time they agreed with the client and she was nowhere to be found!

Chako had even logged out and sent a message to Bao already, but after a while with no response, she had no choice but to log back in empty handed.

They really were running out of time... Chako heaved a sigh out loud.

She stared at Dynamax a bit, and to the fairy that traveled with him... If she recalled correctly, he didn't seem to have a good relationship with the fairy... It made Chako wonder why she even stuck to Dynamax in the first place.

Well, it wasn't her place to ask though... She just sighed again and commented, "Doggo sure is taking her time, isn't she?" What else was she even supposed to say here...? She wasn't used to doing small talk with Dynamax.... It was awkward.

Chako decided to utter a silent prayer to lady Uene in hopes that Bao was well... Sure, it's not like Earth was within lady Uene's jurisdiction, but at least she actually listened, which was better than Earth's deaf god, so she preferred to pray to lady Uene anyways.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

Max was tapping his foot in a complete lack of patience. Where the hell was Doggo? What was wrong with her? They were supposed to be ready to go.

Granted, the damn NPC wasn't there yet anyway. So why was Max so annoyed anyway?

Well, obviously because there was this Cat with him, whom he had a very 'friend-of-a-friend' relationship going on. 'Friend-of-a-friend'. Barely.

Jade, the fairy, didn't seem to be minding the situation at all, simply sitting on Max's head while humming joyfully, brushing her pink hair with her fingers as if they were magical hair brushes.

"Hum huuum huum~"

"Damn she is taking her time!" He responded, twisting his head to face @Chako so hard that Jade fell from his head, rolling down his back.

"OW! Max?! Be careful!"

She complained, fluttering her wings and flying up to his face, pouting with her hair covering most of her face.

"Hmph, you should be careful. My head isn't a freaking throne." He retorted, crossing his arms tightly. Jade adjusted her hair, brushing it out of her face.

"So short-tempered, huh. I always sit on your head and your shoulder. Flying all the time is tiring, you know. Don't lash out on me just because you miss Doggo."

"HAH?! Who said I miss Doggo?" Max roared, then pointed at Chako. "I don't miss her at all. I just... Think that Chako needs her help. Yeah." He crossed his arms again. "I have no idea how to heal, and Doggo is good at that. I think Doggo and Chako were training healing. Right?"

He looked at Chako. His expression was so scrunched that if he kept it up, he would turn 60 by the next year.

 

[Chako]

Well... How was Chako supposed to react to that exchange...? She was at quite the loss.

"Maybe something happened on Earth that kept her busy...?" She suggested, "Also..." Chako desperately tried to find the most non-confrontational words possible to say it, "Maybe it could be a good idea to take slower movements when Jade is resting on top of you? If she gets hurt, she might not be able to help you as well..."

That... Was hopefully good enough? Chako certainly hoped it was... Though it's not like she knew what exactly Jade did to help Dynamax out.

And she decided to not add oil to the fire as Dynamax got angry at the idea of him missing Doggo, but it certainly felt that way to her. She also decided to not comment on the part of her needing help, because... Well, true, she did need help usually anyways.

Instead, Chako commented on one thing that truly surprised her, "Wait, Doggo knows how to heal!?" That was new to her!

... Or did he simply not even know what Doggo could and couldn't do?

... Please help me get through today, lady Uene. Chako uttered another silent prayer, "So... How did the two of you end up together?" Chako gestured to Jade and Dynamax with her tails.

Please arrive soon, client... I don't know for how long I can make small talk. Chako thought to herself.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

The exchange toned down as @Chako slipped a reason for Doggo to be taking so long, while also getting taught that he probably shouldn't be so abrupt while Jade was resting on him. Truth be told, he wanted to say 'Screw this glorified insect!', but his father's words echoed in his mind.

'Remember Max, a gentleman shouldn't talk back to a lady trying to help him.'

"... Yeah. Maybe." He huffed. "And hell she does. She is the best healer in the market right now. Probably not the highest ranked, but we work well. She knows what she needs to do, and knows what I need to do. She heal, I hit and make sure she isn't hit, and success comes." Max thumbed up firmly.

"It was actually how we met, by the way. Max and Doggo both saved me, and Doggo managed to heal Max of a near-death experience. But ultimately, it was Max who freed me, so I've made a bond with him.

"Yeah. That's why I'm stuck with her."

"Stuck with— HEY! MAX!"

She stomped mid air.

"What. Do. You. Mean. Stuck?! We are a duo, you aren't stuck with me, we are together in this!"

Max handwaved. "Right..." He then looked at Chako, glancing around for a moment and similarly PRAYING for the damn herbalist to show up already. Did it get soft locked in some cutscene or what?

"How about you and Doggo. How did you two met?"

 

[Chako]

Hearing Dynamax and Jade's words surprised Chako... Wait, so the one who didn't know what Doggo could do was me!? She was sure that Doggo just fought on close quarters, but it seemed like she was mistaken...

Also, best in the market was definitely a huge exaggeration, but Chako felt no need to comment on that.

Instead, she ended up replying to Jade, "So this is why you stick with him..." The part of 'even though he treats you like that' was left unsaid.

And after their exchange, Chako coughed, "I-I mean, that's why the two of you act together..." She averted her gaze... It was really awkward to withstand Dynamax's constant rude behavior towards Jade.

"How...?" Chako was in disbelief at the question... "D-didn't we have this conversation already?" She was pretty sure they might have had it, in an adventurer's guild mission or something, "I-it was on the Trinity stuff, remember? Doggo was there too, and she recruited me to her group afterwards.

"Dearest lady Uene, how did you forget again...?" Chako sighed out loud, not trying to hide how exasperated she was, "You shouldn't pay so little attention to the things people tell you... Or to how you met them for that matter."

At that moment, Chako perked up her ears... It was faint, but she was definitely hearing steps coming their way... Seems like the client was probably going to be there soon... Well, either the client or trouble, but Chako hoped it was the client, since it didn't seem to be someone who was trying to muffle their steps.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

Max didn't care about @Chako's remark on Jade 'sticking' with him, but the fairy did catch it, and she did sigh, rubbing her nape with an expression that yelled that she had considered why she was sticking with him for a while now.

"It is my job as a gem fairy to make sure my soulbounded is safe!" She said with a gentle voice.

"Cheesy as hell." Max abruptly broke the mood.

When Chako mentioned the Trinity stuff, Max's expression shifted between a bit of anger, but then one of realization. "Oh, right. You were that cat." He pondered for a moment, but then looked over her.

Why she didn't look familiar at all?

"... I guess you've cut your hair or something. You are a bit different from back then."

She had changed, he just couldn't pinpoint what exactly. But at the same time, he didn't give it too much thought.

Before he could say anything else, the steps approached enough for their attention to be caught, and Max turned his full attention to the person who has just appeared. She was a dark skinned and slender woman, with a green hair that was tied in a pony tail, and a surprising height of two meters, completely towering the two children.

Her chestnut eyes peered down the two, her head tilting in slight curiosity as she lazily hunched down.

"Greetings... You must be... The travelers who I've... Contacted... Correct..?"

 

[Chako]

"Oh, soulbounded..." Chako did not expect those words to come out of Jade's mouth... It was hard to imagine the full implication of those words, but... Chako pitied Jade for a second there.

Then she shook her head and stopped herself, She wouldn't be happy with someone pitying her... Or at least, Lisa never was. If that was Jade's duty, then Chako just hoped that she would be able to see it through with a smile.

Dynamax's reply on the other hand... Chako figured it was better to not comment on that.

At least not until he replied to her that is... "That cat...?" Of all the ways he could refer to her... Chako felt like a headache was building.

"Cut my hair...?" She was in disbelief... Was he just saying the most random generic excuse he could think of to create an excuse to why he didn't recognize her...?

Had Chako changed? Well, yeah, she had. Her behavior had changed, and she was able to buy a few different dresses since she started doing bard work... But that didn't make her any less recognizable!

It was a real relief to hear the client's arrival. She did think it was a bit troublesome to have a client in Falderen know about her being Starcalled, but she also knew that this was going to be inevitable when she decided to continue on taking tasks with Doggo and Dynamax... And well, as much as Chako wanted to preserve her fake Lander act, she was not going to put a distance between her and her friends for it... Or well, between her friend and her friend of a friend.

So, she just smiled upon the client and answered, "Yes, that would be us! You wished to be escorted to Lyrwick, right? We'll do our best to protect you along the way!" Or well, Dynamax would, though Chako would do what she could to support him from the side.

... Should she talk about Doggo? Did they tell the client about there being 3 escorts? Chako actually didn't remember... Better be honest about it though, otherwise they might lose the client's confidence, "Our third member was sadly unable to come, but the two of us will do our best to aid you in this journey!

"Oh, and I'm Chako! You are?" She figured Dynamax and Jade would just introduce themselves, so she didn't introduce them.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

Jade rubbed her head, seeming to be afflicted by the same headache that was building up in @Chako's head. That was looking like a disaster, even if she did understand where Max was trying to get at by saying the cat girl had changed.

With the newcomer at hand, however, Jade simply introduced herself—

"Greetings ma'am. My name is Jade, and my partner here is—"

"— Max." He completed, looking at their 'client' up and down. That woman was enormous, did she really need their help?

Max gave it a thought, but soon stopped caring. As long as they got their paycheck and managed to snatch some exp in the escorting, he was more than happy to go along with the escorting.

"... Right... Third... Member... Hm... Hmmmm..."

The woman tilted her head, squeezing her eyes shut, ignoring the introduction of the trio at first, then opened with a small smile.

"... The third member... There he is... No..? There are three of... You..."

She pointed at Chako, Max, and Jade. Then, she giggled in a joyful but very lazy and carefree way.

"Mine own name is... Clivia... I will... Be at your care... Travelers..."

Clivia bowed.

"Yeah. We will make sure you are safe. You have the best fighter, the best healer and the best fairy on the escourting market. You can bet you will get to Lyrwick in one piece and unscathed." Max said, trying to hype them up.

Jade blinked, looking at Max while completely baffled. What happened to the Max of a minute ago?

"Ye... Yeah! Yes darling, we will make sure you will be all safe and sound~ Lyrwick is a bit dangerous, but we will fend off any danger~!"

 

[Chako]

... Shouldn't Dynamax introduce himself by his full name? Chako wondered... He really lacked basic etiquette, she figured.

The woman's words made Chako realize that she had been quite rude to Jade just now though, "R-right! Definitely! Jade is a very important friend, after all!" Not like she knew Jade very well, so calling her a friend might be weird, but that didn't matter right now, "I-I meant third Starcalled member, b-but Jade is definitely a very important part of our group!" It was a relief that the client didn't seem to worry about those things though. It meant that they could proceed just fine.

... Chako felt like Dynamax should have been the one to say something when considering he was the one who was soulbound to Jade, but well... Chako also understood that Dynamax didn't really treat Jade nicely, so that was not happening.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, miss Clivia!" Chako gave her a curtsy.

... And then Dynamax proceeded to lie about their capabilities, just like how Doggo did it... Those two really do mesh well, huh?

For once, Chako decided it was better to not say that was lying was bad. It felt like it was the better course of action in this situation... Besides, Chako was very guilty of lying recently anyways, so she felt uncomfortable saying it, which led to her deciding to just leave Dynamax's words uncontested.

"Guess we should get going, then? We won't disappoint you!" Chako then joined her hands and made a silent prayer to lady Uene to protect them during their travels... Though well, she knew that lady Uene was not the goddess of travels, so it probably wasn't going to amount to much but... She thought that it was better to pray for her patron goddess instead of switching around according to her needs? It would... Show that she is committed, maybe? She at least hoped that her feelings would come across in one way or another.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

Jade didn't seem to mind @Chako's 'rudeness'. Or perhaps, she hadn't realized the potential implications of it. Instead, the fairy's cheeks flushed being showered with acknowledgement. First Max of all people said she was the best fairy, now Chako said she was a very important friend and part of the group.

The little fairy's wings fluttered, eyes shimmering with a mix of surprise and emotions bubbling enough to make them teary.

"O-Oh... Y-Yes! Yes darling, I am very important! So don't worry, Starcalled or not, I will show my full capabilities protecting you!"

"I... Already understand it..."

Clivia smiled lazily, seeming confused to why the trio was trying to justify the lack of a member so much.

"Yeah, Chako is right. Let's go ahead before it gets too dark." Max huffed, moving his hand to open the UI and send a mail to Doggo telling them they were going ahead with the mission. "Damn this Doggo, gonna make us have to cover her..." He pouted, then turned to look at Jade.

"Jade, you stay with Chako on the rear and make sure nothing touches her." Max started walking, with Clivia following right away. Still at a slow pace, enough for them to adjust their position as they needed, Max asked:

"Chako, do your cat thing. If you hear or see anything weird, let me know—"

Five seconds passed.

"— Please."

 

[Chako]

Was 'darling'... Miss Clivia? Chako was surprised by it the first time, but this was the second time Jade said it... It was so... Unexpected! It made it feel like Jade had known miss Clivia since forever, but with how they were talking, it really felt like this was their first meeting!

... Was it just because Jade was overwhelmed or something? Or was this just how she talked to Landers? Chako pondered... It didn't really matter, but it did make her curious.

... Wait, how old is Jade anyways? Should I be talking to her so casually? She said she was a gem fairy and that she was freed, so... Maybe she was actually sealed away for a long time now? Chako wondered if she was overthinking things again... It was hard to be sure with the little information she had available though.

Then, suddenly, Dynamax just took on the role of team leader and started designating duties to her and Jade... It was... Surprising? Chako didn't know he could be this reliable... Besides, she was more than happy to let him take the lead, as she wasn't suited to that at all.

So, Chako turned to Jade... Miss Jade? Uhn... "Well, guess I'll be in your care, miss Jade." She figured she'd just say it and see how Jade reacted to it. It was better than to worry about it all on her head.

Although... "My cat thing...?" Chako took a few seconds to try figuring out what that could mean... And by then, Dynamax had already said the 'please', which made her open her eyes wide, "Ah... Y-yeah! Sure! I'll definitely do that!" Whatever that was, "I'll be sure to ask lady Uene for guidance in..." Don't say figuring that out. He'll take it as sarcasm, Chako stopped herself, "In finding any threats that might be coming our way!" Better.

... Oh! He meant echolocation! I can do that! Chako was about to start, when she remembered she should probably reply to the suddenly polite Dynamax, "Let's do our best together!"

... Great reply, Chako. 10 out of 10. You really showed how you appreciated his politeness there. She sighed at her own lack for words and started echolocating.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

"So... Excited and reliable... Huhuhu... You three are... Good adventurers..."

Clivia clasped her hands together, following along while staying on the center of the march, making sure she was being protected both on the front and on the rear.

"Huuum huuum huuuum~ Ah darling, there is no need to call me 'miss', just call me Jade. We are very important friends, after all!"

Jade chirped, gently landing on Chako's shoulder and sitting there with a happy but attentive expression. She had to do her best to keep the little cat safe, and to broaden her vision to make sure nothing would catch Max or Clivia blindsided.

Max turned his head to look back at @Chako, giving her a nod. "Yeah. Our best. Probably even more than that—"

— Because the goddamn dog that was supposed to be with them was MIA.

Max suppressed the urge to complain. The customer was there, they couldn't fluke it harder than they already had.

"Our biggest issues on our way to Lyrwick are bandits and dangerous animals. But as soon as we are in Lyrwick, our problem will be those stupid bloodrock stuff."

"The... Bloodstones..."

Clivia giggled while correcting.

 

[Chako]

Chako was technically an explorer, not an adventurer, but... It didn't really matter, did it? So she decided to simply not comment on that.

Then, as Jade landed on Chako's shoulder, Chako could notice how happy Jade seemed to be right now... To think just treating her a bit nicely made her this happy... It made Chako get a bit angry at Dynamax, but this was not the time and place for a quarrel, so Chako decided to leave it be, "Alright, just jade it is, then! Like how good friends talk to each other!" Which made Chako feel horribly guilty about how she spoke to both Ruby and Fina in Pormont... Stop, focus on what we are doing now. You can worry about that when you're not escorting a client.

"Even more than our best...?" Doing more than our best... So if our best isn't good enough, then our best won't do... Chako smiled a bit as she thought of an old song. It wasn't exactly her preferred genre, but her mom liked it, so Lisa had listened to it together and had grown to have some fondness for it... Not like this mattered right now, but thinking about it certainly helped her relax, "Yeah, sure! There ain't no way we losing to anything or anyone that comes our way!"

... The hell are you saying with this stupid confident tone, girl? Get a grip and focus on reality and not on saying parts of random song verses. Chako admonished herself and got back to focusing on the situation at hand.

"Right, bandits, animals" hopefully not the scary kind, "and the bloodstones... What exactly are they though?" More like Chako had no clue of what they were and thought that this was a good chance to ask.

Then, she got back to her duty, keeping her ears focused for any noise, and echolocated too to continue making sure that if something happened, they wouldn't be taken by surprise at the very least.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

"Yeah. Even more than our best." Max reaffirmed. You had to keep up a 'can do' attitude in front of a customer.

"Yeees, we won't lose!"

Jade chirped along with @Chako's confident boast, something that made the herbalism chuckle lowly. It seemed like she had got herself around an excited bunch of adventurers. So perhaps the travel wouldn't be that much of a bore.

"Bloodstones are like. Red colored stones that does something bad." Max nodded. "Very bad, yeah."

The vagueness of the answer made Jade cross her arms, confused.

"Bloodstones are... Heavily poisonous stones... They cause Hemomorphos... A magical poisoning that makes one bleed... A lot..."

She explained calmly, and smiled faintly.

"I'm here... To harvest Blood Blooms... Vegetation that managed to survive and mutated through the... Hemomorphos..."

Max scratched the back of his head, then glanced at Jade. "We have a Gem specialist, so we can just count on Jade to spot those stones."

"Of course, I am very good at... Huh? Count on me?"

She blinked, tilting her head with her face flushing.

"Y-YES! You can count on me!"

Jade beamed, and after a moment of them moving, Jade couldn't help but watch the herbalist and Max from behind, before leaning in to Chako.

"He is being oddly reasonable today. Did you cast a spell on him?"

She whispered to the cat girl.

 

[Chako]

Chako was really surprised by the way Dynamax was behaving... Something was just off about him right now, but Chako couldn't understand why it was happening.

But then he said the stuff about the Bloodstones and... Yeah, he doesn't know it either. Well, it felt like he was still himself to some extent.

Luckily enough, miss Clivia seemed to be willing to explain things to them, so Chako perked up her ears and paid extra attention to it... Though the explanation left her kinda confused, "So you want plants that survived some heavy blood-related poison?" How did that affect Plants? Chako wasn't quite sure, but... "Wouldn't those be very dangerous?

"... Though I guess they might also be great as medicinal herbs?" Like for making antidotes or something? Chako was still a bit worried about it, but... "Well, if you're confident in safely picking them up, then we'll safely escort you there!" She decided to just trust miss Clivia, who seemed to know plenty about the subject in question.

Chako then blinked a few times as Dynamax spoke, and Jade made her confusion apparent, like... Yeah, was that really Dynamax? Was he going to be okay? Chako wouldn't know what to do if he suddenly collapsed and was forcefully sent back to Earth midway through their escort.

Then, when Jade asked her, Chako could only shake her head, "I don't know any spells that can mess up people's minds... Maybe he has a heavy fever?" Chako whispered back, then continued, "Maybe we should try forcing a break to see if he gets better?"

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

"They... Can be..."

She paused to give it a momentary thought.

"Blood Blooms... In particular entangle themselves on their victims... And suck all of their blood dry... Before tossing them aside in the nature to fertilize other plants..."

Jade shuddered at the thought, with Max frowning at it. "That sounds disgusting as shit."

The woman then looked at @Chako, pondering.

"It is... As for its uses... Medicinal herb..? More or less... I want to study it... To know what benefits I can use it for... And perhaps to find a cure for the Hemomorphs... And in the worst case... If I can use its hemomancy capabilities... Without resorting to hemomancy myself... It can be fairly useful in the medical practice, yes..."

"I can see how it can be useful then. But a plant that has hemomancy capabilities? That's not too surprising. Magical plants aren't unheard of in the forest!"

"You know all about magical plants, being a fairy, right? You are really going to be useful this time, Jade. Don't be too curious though, let me handle the plants myself." Max warned, looking at Jade with an awkward smile, but a hint of annoyance in his eyes.

Jade looked at him for a second, then shifted to Chako to whisper closely.

"That's not a heavy fever, that's a whole delirium."

She looked between him and Chako again.

"And I'm not sure if I want him to get 'better'. No, he is better now, darling! Look at him, he is being caring for once in his life, even if it is kinda weird and creepy coming from him."

 

[Chako]

Chako shivered with miss Clivia's explanation, "Yeah... Those definitely sound very dangerous." Would they even be able to do anything if one of those plants latched on to them? Maybe Nature Magic could help? Chako wasn't really sure, so... It was best to be very careful once they arrived in Lyrwick.

Dynamax's comment felt a bit off to Chako though, "Disgusting? To me that's more like terrifying..." Could plants even be disgusting? Chako wasn't sure if she could imagine a disgusting plant... Unless Dynamax was referring to someone with their whole blood drained being disgusted? Chako felt like she could agree to that point.

Miss Clivia's next words snapped Chako out of those thoughts though, "Wait, a cure!? Can that actually be made!?" It's not like Lisa was particularly faithful in regards to people finding cures to stuff, but... Maybe Chako could be a bit more hopeful on that. They did have gods that actually listened to them here, after all, "I pray that lady Uene, or whichever god protects you, helps you find this cure, miss Clivia." Chako said while joining her hands together in prayer.

Was curing an illness that affected plants something that was within the domain of the goddess of the beauty of nature? Chako wasn't really sure, but it's not like she was going to pray to any other deity anyways, so she decided to pray to lady Uene for this too.

Then, after hearing Jade and Dynamax's exchange, Chako added, "We will be in your care, Dynamax! We won't be getting too close to any plants until you say it's safe!" Though Chako felt like she would totally panic if one of the plants decided to latch onto Dynamax to drain his blood... She just hoped she'd be able to help him if that happened.

Jade's whisper made Chako force herself to hold back a giggle though... It took her a few seconds before she managed to calm down and whisper a reply back, "Yeah... A delirium sounds about right... And it's nice to see him being caring for sure." Chako wondered what was it that was causing him to behave like that... Had something happened to cause a change in behavior? Chako couldn't really think of anything, but it certainly felt off...

Then, as if she had an epiphany, Chako asked in a hurried whisper, "Y-you don't think he got a crush on miss Clivia, do you?"

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

"Yeah. It is goddamn disgusting. But it isn't terrifying because I won't let it do anything to us." Max huffed, with a hint of annoyance in his voice, almost edging the behavior of his 'older' self.

The tall woman smiled both at the little boy's bravado and at the little girl's excitement.

"There is always... A cure... It just needs to be discovered..."

At the mention of gods coming from @Chako, the tall woman looked at her with an intrigued expression, but spoke nothing, continuing her path.

"Yeah. And just Max is fine." He said, seeming to fade the hint of annoyance his voice slipped from last time.

When Chako suggested a crush, Jade almost jumped off her shoulder.

"M-Max..? A crush on Cliva? D-Does he look like the type who likes older women? No, not that can't be right, if he did, he wouldn't treat me the way he does."

Jade was baffled at the possibility. But again, Max was still a mystery for her.

"But if he does... Oh, for the Alfather. She is way too old for you, Max..."

The fairy looked at him with a troubled and worried expression. His emotions were always explosive and straightforward, if his feelings weren't accepted, what could happen to his poor little heart?!

 

[Chako]

... When had Dynamax become a knight in shining armor?

... Dearest lady Uene, please protect this poor soul from whatever madness has inflicted him... Chako prayed silently after hearing Dynamax go crazier and crazier with each passing second, "Well, we'll be relying on you, then." Was all Chako could tell him.

Then, miss Clivia's words dampened Chako's mood a bit, "Well... I suppose that may be true, but... Sometimes nothing short of a divine blessing can be a cure." Which wasn't exactly attainable for people who had to rely on a deaf god, "... I'm glad that the gods actually listen to us here in Arcia though. They may not answer often, but knowing that lady Uene at least hears my prayers is already plenty in itself." Chako wondered if she should elaborate any further, but... She chose not to. It's not like Chako ever tried to hide that she was paraplegic, but she also saw no reason to bring that up to someone who was just talking about the possibilities of medicine... It's not like it was miss Clivia's fault that the doctors couldn't help Lisa anyways.

Either way, she pushed those thoughts away as she heard Dynamax's words, "Max...?" Were they close enough to talk to each other through nicknames? She felt like they weren't, but... Well, Dynamax was trying to be strangely nice today, so Chako felt like she shouldn't say no in this situation, "Alright then, Max. Let's do our best today!"

With that taken care of, Chako focused on the much more interesting discussion... The one with Jade, "Well, I don't know much about boys, but back on Earth, people say that boys will sometimes bully... I mean, bother the girls that they're really interested in..." Something that made no sense to Chako whatsoever, but if so many people said it, then it must be true, right? "Maybe it was just his way of showing affection and he had an epiphany that made him realize that this wasn't the right way to go?

"Or maybe miss Clivia just awakened something special in him and now he wants to impress... Poor boy." Chako couldn't help agreeing with Jade that miss Clivia was too old for Max... He was just setting himself up for disappointment there.

"... I wonder if it would be okay to pray that the rejection doesn't hurt him much..." Sure, Chako was willing to pray to lady Uene for all kinds of stuff outside of her ladyship's domain, but... Praying to the goddess of marriage for a less painful rejection was probably a bad idea.

@Dynamax

 

[Dynamax]

Max could only feel a shudder coming from nowhere in particular. He looked around, scowling as if ready to face some incoming danger, but nothing appeared. He could only wonder what exactly was happening, but he suddenly felt strangely safe right after the spike of dread.

Cliva listened to @Chako's words, her gaze focused ahead for a moment as she thought before glancing back at the little girl.

"The Serene Beauty... Listens to you..?"

The disdain in Cliva's voice was almost palpable, and soon, she carried on with her walk, her expression growing more distant as they moved, with Max marching forward with a faster pace, as if trying to scout a bit further ahead.

As Chako spoke to Jade, however, the little fairy stared at her intently for a moment. Her gaze grew eerie, unblinking as the cat girl continued to speak. When she was done, Jade blinked a couple times, smiling while tilting her head.

"Back on earth? There is plenty of earth around here."

Her wings fluttered.

"Whatever happened... Probably we should only try to find out after we are done with this mission... I just hope Max don't do anything weird..."

And then, Max, who had took steps further ahead, slowed down enough to get closer to Clivia. He glanced at her a couple times, eventually clearing his throat, looking sheepish as he forced his words out.

"Miss Clivia. You are good at Nature and stuff, right?" Max asked, crossing his arms. "I've been curious about this stuff lately. So when we stop to rest, I'd like to talk with you."

He paused, averting his face. His cheeks flushed very slightly.

"Just the two of us."

Jade's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped listening to the development. What in Arcia was happening?

Clivia, who had an indifferent expression on her a moment ago, soon smiled at the boy's request.

"Of course... That sounds... Perfect..."