Chyuuichi looked around in awe, opening his mouth and gazing at the windows of the many casinos around. "Capino," he muttered.

"Yeah, physical work ought to fit me best. Chyuuichi, you should consider it as well, since you're a Mirillian and everything." Atomu put the paper down, breathing out and putting one foot behind the other. A person passed by, carrying a large stack of boxes, almost falling to the ground. Another one chased a dog.

"I've already decided a long, long time ago, Atam!" Chyuuichi pointed. "I'm gonna win the jackpot at the Capino!"

"Oh, my," Atomu breathed out. "This is a very stupid and risky idea."

"Trust me, I'm good at doing the weirdest things and forgetting about them halfway through!" Chyuuichi raised his hand, leaning against the brick wall of the tightly packed street in confidence.

"That doesn't make it sound any better!" Atomu yelled out.

"Shh, shh." Chyuuichi shushed him. "Give me just five Silver, and I'll share some of my winnings."

"If you don't get any money from this then I'm not sneaking you into the inn." Atomu furrowed his eyebrows, taking five shining coins out of his pouch, and Chyuuichi quickly snatched them from his shaking hand.

"Don't worry about a thing. I'll make it very worth yer while," he smirked, and turned on his heel, before running off, jumping around. "Boots to boots rocks to rocks!" he sang, quickly disappearing in the crowd. "Put on your socks and talk the thinking thoughts!"

He sighed, pulling his bag under his arm and stuffing the pouch inside, between hundreds of other items. He turned to the large sign above a silver door and hesitantly stepped in.

Although Atomu wasn't as strong as the Mirillian, and generally way weaker than an average Paladian, he took on the job quickly, deciding to spend the next few hours, earning as much as he could.

Meanwhile, Morio and Jyuzou stepped into Homieo, greeted by tens or even hundreds of boats, floating atop water or near makeshift ports, leading to thousands of tiny islands all named by the first person who lived there. Some had tiny huts, the others, massive inns with extending red roofs and thirty windows on just one side, with a buffet at the bottom, next to small stores.

The buildings were of a characteristic white colour, with some fading into an oldish yellow, which Morio subconsciously avoided, pulling Jyuzou back. The islands that were closer to each other usually had these tiny bridges or planks above the shallow waters, which would flow above the ice, if the night was too cold.

Not many people stepped around, but many windows had these warm lights shining from the inside, followed by many muffled noises of people spending their time with families, or drinking cocoa while reading books borrowed from the library in the Midcity.

That reminded Jyuzou of something. Flipping through the pages, he spotted one detailing something about Magna. After a few words or so, he turned forward, before seeing Morio standing near a replica of the Darius statue, with a steel sign attached to the black fence surrounding it.

"Darius H. Qurnasar." Morio read aloud. "On the 50th of Yule, 263 A.F.W, this vagrant hero saved the town of Magna, sacrificing his life in the process. His weapon lays in the Tukman castle." Morio turned to Jyuzou. "He must've been a Demonear, then."

"Who knows? I think anyone can slay a goblin." Jyuzou shook his head.

"I swear I've heard the surname Qurnasar somewhere," Morio uttered. "Do you think Mr Bancho knows?"

"I bet he will," Jyuzou added. "Maybe there's a whole story attached to it?"

"Who knows?" Morio nodded, as his small smile eventually turned into a frown. "If he even arrives."

"Morio..." Jyuzou spoke.

"It's getting late now. Maybe tomorrow, then, but I'm starting to doubt it."

"Is that why you wanted to go to Homieo already?" he asked.

"Maybe, I don't know." he shook his head, leaning on the same black fence. "I'm just a little sad. I thought he'd be proud of me." he turned. "Us. Both of us."

"All four." Jyuzou smiled. "Nothing's set in stone, though, Morio. I'm sure, sooner or later, he'll see just how far we've all come."

"Heh." Morio chuckled. "Alright."

The two continued, following a rather straight path, before finding themselves in a secluded street, which led to a bigger square, known for its seven different inns, all named after the seven seeds of Shimori: Metho, Shato, Bullion, Sek, Lepa, Gawin and Furon. Jyuzou scanned for the same words in the book he held, and surely enough, they were there, all detailing the pluses and negatives with seemingly very personal facts stated at the side.

The Morians concluded that Sek and Gawin were the best, but Bullion seemed good as well. Either way, they continued, since there could've been a little more to see. Moving on from the stone buildings, they crossed a small bridge towards an isle next to a few wooden houses at the sides, separating the orange skyline from the setting night.

The lights were on, and much like in the Midcity, people stood on the balconies, observing something.

"Look out!" A man yelled from above, and Jyuzou glanced towards him.

"Jyuzou!" Morio pulled him to the side, and the Morian dropped the book to the ground, panicking. Suddenly, a stampede of horses ran through the streets, passing through its length in just a few seconds. One of the Tributals stopped, and stepped down from the stallion, picking up the book Jyuzou dropped.

"It's that Tributal!" Morio whispered, and Jyuzou punched him with his elbow. The other Morian quickly bowed, while the mentioned Tributal trod over, crouching.

He picked the book from the side, before tapping Jyuzou's head. "This yours?"

"Ah." Jyuzou fixed his glasses. "I g-got it from the library in Wendigo, so... technically."

"Good choice," they added. "I mean, I've only heard about it once or twice, but it seems-"

"Rowan Chicho! Come on, before the store closes!" A voice yelled, and Rowan quickly stepped back on the horse, giving Jyuzou one final glance before setting out.

Jyuzou gulped, before bowing again, as the two looked at the passing stations. He fixed his glasses and turned to Morio. "Tributals are kind of scary."

"He seemed kind."

"They, not he." Jyuzou raised a finger.

"Huh?" Morio raised an eyebrow.

"It was in the book. Tributals don't have genders." Jyuzou explained.

"How would that even work?" Morio asked.

"Morio, things aren't always the way they seem to be." Jyuzou breathed out. "That doesn't make them weird, right?

"Obviously. I'm friends with you, somehow." he chuckled.

"Not what I meant!" Jyuzou yelled out. "Remember that one guy in Mistwick who used to be a girl when younger?"

"Oh yeah! We went hunting together once!"

"Exactly my point. I'd be more worried about going hunting at the age of nine than anything concerning things we shouldn't discuss." Jyuzou rolled his eyes.

"Well spoken for a glassy idiot."

"Shut up, Morio."

"He also wore-"

"They."

"They also wore glasses." Morio nodded. "You two might be going head to head in the annoying league!" he smirked.

Tributals often found themselves riding around the districts, checking if things were safe or, as seen here, simply moving from point A to point B. They'd step onto bigger boats, specifically designed for their large horses if they didn't have a bridge to follow. They'd get down from their animals, and steer carefully, avoiding overhangs.

After making it to a few more wooden inns, Jyuzou looked around excitedly, checking out more of the subjective opinions written in the book, even giggling at, what he called, their 'intelligent, and humouristic approach'.

Morio rolled his eyes and stepped away, with a loud sigh. It was either those specific words that made him scrunch up or something else entirely. For a few minutes there, he walked around, aimlessly, without the usual smile visiting his face.

His eyes were glued to the snowy ground, and if that wasn't enough, he seemed to be lost in thought for those moments until a few distant noises caught his attention.

He stared forward, hearing a distant conversation. A shaky voice, coming from a blonde boy with a worried look in his eyes, with two other Morians, pushing him and laughing.

"I bet you can't even lift a sword, Jeffy!" the tall one yelled.

"Frail arms, just look at him!" the other pointed, a bit fatter than the other. "You can't even carry laundry baskets! How do you expect to pass in the first place?"

"S-stop it you guys, we know that's not true!" the blonde one replied, and the two clapped their hands, as if they achieved something great, before walking off.

The Jeffy guy in question turned around, with a gasp that met Morio's curious expression.

"Oh, darn it!" Jeffy put his hands together. "You've seen it, didn't you? Shuckle seeds." he looked embarrassed, and a bit scared at the same time, but nevertheless, he approached the other Morian. "I can lift laundry baskets. I can explain my darn self."

"Ah, there's no need to!" Morio uttered, waving his hands around.

"You look cool, though! I don't want more Morians to think I'm some sort of mess." Jeffy looked down.

"C-Cool?" Morio opened his mouth, with a tight smile. "Well, those pricks don't deserve the honours to be considered-" he cleared his throat. "Cool."

"But they're my teammates for the Demonear test, and I embarrassed myself again! I couldn't lift the basket that my papa usually carried, and they saw me in the shucklenutted flesh!" he was visibly stressed.

"Come on, dude!" Morio continued. "I can't cook, for example. I leave it to the glassy guy somewhere there." he pointed, and Jyuzou noticed him, angered.

"W-Well, have you ever met a darn Demonear who can't lift a basket?!" he asked. "If I manage to put it back home, I won't be an embarrassment!" he moved his fist.

"There you are!" Jyuzou yelled out, pulling Morio's cloak.

"Khggh! You're killing me, killing me!" Morio muttered, sinking to the ground.

"Don't just wander off without saying anything!" Jyuzou said. "Who's this guy?" he stopped, looking at Jeffy.

"Oh, I'm Jeffy! Yello!" he waved.

"Yellow?" Jyuzou waved back, and Morio made a strange face.

"I've heard! He's going to the Demonear exam as well," Morio informed, standing up.

"As well? You're in the same darn basket as me!" Jeffy scratched the back of his head. "Crackers," he looked to the side. "You're cool too, then!" he pointed to Jyuzou.

"Wow." Morio huffed. "Him?"

"Told you, Morio," Jyuzou smirked.

"You haven't said a thing!" Morio yelled.

"Y-You're not from Magna, are you?" he asked, scratching his head.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Morio turned, eyeing Jeffy. "Is Mistwick not cool enough for your culture?"

"What is that even supposed to mean?!" Jyuzou shouted.

"No, like!" Jeffy put both hands up. "I passed by the glassy guy here earlier! You talked about Metho seeds, right? My mum is from Mistwick, and Metho seeds are only from around those shuckle parts of Shimori, right?" he gulped. "You looked cool, and I was wondering if that's how I could start a darn conversation." he scratched his head. "Y-You know..."

"We were talking about the inn, specifically." Jyuzou folded his arms.

"Yep, we were looking for a place to sleep in for the night!"

"Oh. Ooh. You didn't come with your parents" Jeffy looked at them, sticking his fingers together. "No, forget that. I'm twelve years old, it's not cool to rely on your parents so far in my darn life." he nodded. "Mama said so when she and Papa left for Lignoria."

"Yeah, totally cool," Morio spoke, with a deeper voice. "I've been on my own for years, now!"

"Ah!" Jeffy gasped.

"He's lying." Jyuzou pointed. "A-Anyways, does that mean you're all alone in your house?"

"Yeah." Jeffy gulped. "...and especially when the Demonear test is darn right by! I thought they'd at least get to see me try." he folded his arms, huffing, before turning to the two Morians, who wore very desperate and semi-cool expressions on their faces. "What?"

"Can we come for the night?" Jyuzou whispered.

"The next one too, preferably," Morio added.

"Ah! S-Sure!" Jeffy smiled. "I always like company..! I have two more beds in my house. Mama and Papa don't sleep in the same one, and I don't know darn why..." he started walking, and the two followed, without a word. "When I was over to drop off some stuff for Mama's friend it was different!"