The fall of the Halberd Hero

[Meredith sketch]

Meanwhile on land, Reginald was already panicking, thinking of all the ways this journey could go wrong. And since their father was nowhere to be seen and their mother remained disinterested, he had no one to turn to.

He acknowledged his inability to do anything to help, yet a deep churning in his heart remained.

After all, it was natural for him to feel this way. The situation was almost uncannily similar to what had happened to their father, and yet, Meredith insisted on sea travel being her undying passion.

Reginald couldn't understand his sisters sentiment in the slightest. Yet in his heart, he was simply scared. Scared, that she would be lost to the sea, just in the same way as their father disappeared, when he never came back from that damned fishing trip -something so unnecessary!

So, left to wander the streets, he meets up with some of his lads to indulge in a drink or two.

"Regin', yeh old bastard! This must be 'bout that sister o' yours again, eh?", The man across from Reginald said.

"What else could hae this guy day-drinkin' again, haha. He was always a thirsty one, wasn't he?", the waiter joins in on the conversation.

Though he wasn't exactly in the mood to joke around with his friends. Even drowning himself in enough drinks to blur his vision, his mind remained clear.

So, overhearing one of his friends' chatter,

"Did yeh hear 'bout one o' the heroes comin' 'ere? They said it was the little halberd girl."

He couldn't help but be curious, so he asked immediately, "Are yeh sure? Which joint yeh get this info from again?"

"Aren't yeh lively all o' a sudden, lad. Could yeh…

Perhaps hae a secret crush on t' halberd girlie?" his friend said, followed by ear-deafening laughter from all around the table.

"HAHAHAHA, finally took some interest in a woman that ain't his own blood for once!", another one added, increasing the laughter.

Surprised and flustered, a sharp pain filled his head.

'These guys are so helpless. Why did Ah think Ah could get any info outta them t' begin wae?'

.

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Having drunken till sunset, Reginald had pushed his liver to its limit, trying to forget his worries for his sister. And eventually, he gave in to the warm atmosphere in the pub.

"Ya Regin', yeh wanna step outside for a sec?"

Taken aback, he couldn't see why he shouldn't, so he agreed to accompany his friend out, probably for a smoke or two.

What he didn't expect however, was his friend leading him somewhere far away from the pub, somewhere along the shore. Along the way, he started asking all kinds of things, that Reginald tried answering truthfully despite his drunken state.

"So, 'bout t' halberd girlie comin' 'ere, yeh wanted t' know somethin' 'bout that? It seemed important t' yeh.", his friend asked, causing a single tear to flow down Reginalds face.

'So these guys DO hae a heart!'

"Ah, yes. Yeh know, maybe wae t' help o' a hero, Ah could help my sis. Ah've been fuckin' worried for 'er, yeh know?", he said, entrusting this information to his trustworthy friend.

Continuing, he asked, "What yeh heard 'bout this 'girl' so far? She can get t' job done?"

"Not much known 'bout 'er so far. From t' four heroes, she must be t' least well known. Though, Ah heard word 'bout some accusations bein' thrown 'round 'er recently."

'Damn, guess he doesn't really know 'bout that. Well, this was helpful enough.'

Yet, as they were walking through the streets, his friend drowning the air in tobacco smoke, they come across a curious little group of people.

He was about to disregard them, there were a lot of weird people in this street after all, but then, his dazed vision peeped a clear blue gem…

Immediately, he stopped, his friend eventually stopping to question his behaviour as well.

So, he screamed out, his voice shivering from the alcohol in his body,

"A-Are yeh that halberd girlie?"

.

It took a bit for the figures to acknowledge the question, though eventually, they stopped to tend to Reginald's request.

So, the girl with silver hair finally took to ask, "Do you need me for anything? I'm afraid I can't help with drinking problems though."

Though this made his friend let out a light chuckle, he was left frozen.

"I-It's 'bout my sis. Yeh… need t' help 'er."

Continuing, Reginald recognises, that his drunken state is not to be discussed with,

"Please, come t' Langeston hotel if yeh can spare t' time. It's where both my mother an' Ah live."

Taking a while to think, Reginald finally gets his answer, "Very well, I will see what I can do. This request isn't urgent, is it?"

"We hae until t' wave hits. Ah assure, that yeh will be rewarded handsomely."

Nodding her head, the girl takes her leave, her two companions following.

Breaking his daze, his friend speaks up, "There yeh hae it. That's 'er, Yukiko Takamura."

Yukiko Takamura. He would make sure not to forget the name of the beauty he had confronted that night.

No, it was more like he couldn't forget her -the shining moon glow, that had illuminated her silky, short hair, was still deeply engrained in his vision. And when her cold blue eyes met his, he could feel his heart beat faster.

"What a woman…", he spouted unconsciously, leaving his friend to break out in laughter.

.

.

.

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"The accent here is pretty strong, huh, Yukiko?"

Thinking back, I answer coldly, "And what a strange man that was."

Following a light cough, old man Bran adds, "This town was always one to birth some weird kids."

'Although I finally found out the old mans name, I just can't get used to it. Maybe I should keep calling him grandpa.'

Though, I was pretty happy with this turn of events. I was originally thinking of taking care of a request we got from this area, but that can wait until after the waves.

So after selling off the mob drops we got from hunting, we finally got to rest. And even though the town was dark and empty, the local pub still emitted loud chatter and the smell of booze.

Taking a quick look back at Elisa, her eyes were practically glowing in anticipation,

"Yukiko! We need to go there, pleaase. The booze in this town is top-notch, right gramps?"

Nodding his head, the old man can't help but add to Elisa's sentiment.

I was out for a long night, it seemed.