Chapter 39 - Back At The Old Town

As one, Tano and Genta bowed their heads in respect the moment they saw the Master. "Good morning, Master," they both said in unison.

"Good morning, children," she said to them before looking at Kazuya and Orihime, who both almost reluctantly bowed their heads as well.

"Alright, you lot," Shizu said to them, "are we going or not?"

"Before you leave, Master...," said the blacksmith as he brought forth a chest from the same place he had hung their upgraded equipment and handed it to her, "I also made something for you too."

Shizu received it reluctantly and then opened it. She almost gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a bow and a quiver, filled with a lot of arrows. When she recognized the materials they were made out of, she shook her head and said, "I cannot...

"Take it!" the blacksmith said out loud as if ordering his master to accept the gift.

"This took you a lot of time and effort to build, my son," she said to him. "If you sell it, it could almost get you a whole fortune." The value of the material is almost as valuable as gold.

"Please try it on," the blacksmith said, as if he didn't hear all she had just said.

"You aren't listening to me, are you?" asked the Master. "I'm saying I cannot accept this; it is too valuable." You need its value much more than I do. You are barely middle-aged, so at least you still have a future ahead of you. I am just an old woman who isn't going to live for very long. If that is so, then what would I need a new set of weapons for? "Especially at such a high value?"

"Will you stop complaining, old lady?" Orihime said out loud, tired of hearing the master's constant refusal, "If you are so worried about dying soon, then stop worrying. After you die, he will take the weapons away from you and use them for himself." But for the few years you have left to live, he wants you to use them—until you inevitably kick the bucket. "So just accept it already!"

Kazuya clenched his fist and pounded it into Orihime's head so hard that she fell to her knees with her eyes moistened with tears. 

"What's the idea, big man?" she asked tearfully, holding on to her head. 

"You have no manners, do you?" Kazuya asked before looking at Shizu.

"Oh my... you take things too far, don't you, young man?" Shizu chuckled.

"Look, old lady, the blacksmith spent the whole night perfecting that gift after he heard you would be going on your next mission today. So for that purpose alone, can't you accept it? "Or at least use it for this mission he anticipated on your behalf?" asked Kazuya.

"Alright," Shizu said after pondering for a few seconds, "I accept it."

"Thank you, master. Its arrows have been tailored to match your magical energy. So they come back to the quiver after accomplishing their task, like a boomerang back into the hands of its thrower," Tano explained to her before looking at Orihime, who was still in pain from Kazuya's sudden hit.

"Alright, young woman," Tano said to Orihime, "it's your turn."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Orihime.

"I have something I think would complement your weapon quite well," Tano said to her, going behind his workbench to bring something forth.

Out of the concealed part of the cave, he brought forth a shield, handing it over to her. It was silver and majestic, and she could almost feel herself salivating just by looking at it.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Tano. "I made it for you, you know?"

She stepped forward and slowly took the shield from him, surprised by how light it felt. Yet she could tell how durable it was from the way it felt. She also knocked on it but regretted doing so, confirming her intuition was right—it was a very strong shield.

"I can't...", Orihime said, feeling butterflies in her stomach on such a high level. "I can't take it."

"Oh, so now it's okay for you to be the self-righteous fool, huh?" asked Kazuya. "Just accept the gift and stop acting like a wimp." "The guy spent a lot of time working on that thing, you know?"

So reluctantly, she accepted it. "Thank you," she said to him, and he responded with a slight nod before explaining the shield's abilities...

"It is not only a repellant to physical attacks, but also to magic attacks," he told her. "With that in mind, you should likely survive any magical attack that isn't beyond the durability of the shield." It also acts as a boomerang when thrown at distant objects, coming right back at you once it reaches peak distance.

"Wicked!" she said excitedly. "Those green bastards will surely have hell to pay!"

"Would that be all, Tano?" asked Master Shizu, or do you have another hidden present for Genta and Kazuya?

"Hey, cut me some slack," Tano replied. "This is my livelihood."

Shizu put her quiver on the back and hung the bow by her shoulder. Kazuya equipped his weapons as well, along with Orihime, who hung the shield on her back like it was a backpack.

Genta felt a bit off that she was the only one who didn't have anything, and Tano almost felt bad, as he hadn't anticipated it to be like this. He looked around, but he had nothing he could give her that would complement her type. She wasn't a physical fighter, so he couldn't give her any of the weapons he had forged, so he couldn't help it.

"Sorry, it seems you were the only one who wasn't considered," Tano said to Genta, "it's just that I'm not specialized in the kind of equipment you would need."

"It's alright, Tano," she said to him, placing a hand on his huge arm in a comforting manner. "I wasn't expecting anything, anyway."

About a minute later, the quartet (Kazuya, Shizu, Genta, and Orihime) went out of the cave, ready to take on the anticipated mission. When they got to the door of the guild, Kazuya looked back, noticing Shizu and Genta were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it," Kazuya swore, "what happened to those two now?"

"No, what happened to you guys?" asked Genta. "Aren't you coming?"

"I was about to ask you both the same thing—where is the old lady?" asked Orihime.

Then they heard a buzzing sound coming from above them, and they saw Shizu riding on a witch's broom about ten feet above their heads. "What are you brats waiting for?" she asked them.

"Wait a minute, were you thinking of going on foot?" asked Genta, trying to hold in a laugh.

"It was going to be by horse carriage, but you get the idea," Orihime admitted.

"Don't be silly," Genta said to them, grabbing a long broom and setting it afloat. "Now get on, both of you!"

The moment they did, Genta flew off, going slightly ahead of Master Shizu so Orihime could lead the way back to the town and forests they came from. It would be there where they would be able to find the hidden portal, housing the pathway to the land of the goblins.

At this point, Kazuya began to turn sceptical over everything Gaichu had revealed to him and hoped desperately that they were true, as the last thing he wanted was for them to get there and either find out the portal is gone or that the land beyond has nothing to do with goblins.

The ride lasted for about two hours, and compared to the whole day it took for them to get from the town to Magdal, it felt astronomically shorter. When they arrived back at the town, Shizu recognized it immediately from above: "The "town surrounded by the forests," huh?" I remember this place. It's too bad they've abandoned magic almost entirely. "Though I wonder why that is so...

"Let's head straight to the forests so we won't waste your time," Orihime said, directing Genta to the right place for them to land, and swiftly but gently, they arrived at the precise spot when the Kazuya had slept off the night before the duo went to Magdal. But they still didn't know the precise spot where the portal was. 

"I can sense it," Shizu said as she came down from her witch broom, looking around. 

"What exactly?" asked Kazuya. "What are you sensing?" 

"I can sense multiple hidden portals right now. "They all seem to have popped out of nowhere," Shizu said to them. 

"What? "How?" Kazuya asked. At that moment, he wanted to call on Gaichu to explain what was going on, but he couldn't, as he still desired for the fairy to be kept secret. 

"I don't know, but it is one of the mysteries of hidden magic." Just like regular portals, they could pop out of nowhere. "Everyone, brace yourselves!" Shizu said to them. 

Kazuya and the others widened their eyes when they saw ghouls walk out of thin air, shrieking and groaning with their bloodstained mouths wide open. 

"Just so you guys know, this wasn't a set-up, I swear!" Orihime yelled out defensively.

"Seriously, woman! "What is saying that supposed to accomplish?" asked Kazuya as they remained on edge, waiting as over a dozen ghouls walked out of thin air, surrounding them, ready to attack at any moment.