Morning of December 21st.
The day starts off in a somewhat hectic and unusual way, although it is still technically mundane if you ignore the methods. After all that time packing their things, Vektor and his mother begin moving into their new home on Netern Island.
The paperwork for the old house was already sorted out during the first few days after the previous incident. They were living in a rental, and officially have a few more days as tenants, enough time for Sych and his father to also be able to move back to their old home on the island, which requires even more time as their items will have to be moved to the large portal in Vektor's old house manually.
The method of moving is somewhat confusing but practical: Vektor exits through the Drenn Portal and helps to pick up the things his mother sends through the open portal, from boxes to large pieces of wood. It's an uncomfortable method, leading to accidents such as boxes falling to the ground before Vektor can grab them, or heavy items being practically pushed toward him.
From here however, things become surprisingly easy.
With the help of Naoto, the Unique with the power of flight, all the items are taken to their new home in a truck driven by him.
"Wait, you knew how to drive a truck this entire time?"
"Of course I can drive, I may not look like it but I'm already 19 years old!"
"That's not exactly what I was... You know what, whatever..."
As the truck continues along the long but safe trail of the Valley of Music, Vektor and his mother keep walking along the Wind Hills shortcut until they reach their new home.
A house isolated from the rest of civilization in the middle of a beautiful setting that resembles a nostalgic computer wallpaper. The house's electricity is generated by wind energy through wind turbines.
"Well, these are the Wind Hills after all..."
As expected of a moving day, Vektor spends the rest of the day helping to organize the items that are slowly being removed from the boxes. The furniture will have to wait until tomorrow to be assembled.
After the incident a week ago, Hayato has been living in Drettonus Castle to take care of his broken arm, as the battle against Null has damaged his bones to an almost irreversible extent.
According to Vektor's mother, Master Noogard helped Hayato move to the castle, but soon after decided to move to Lightning Island to prevent major conflicts like that from happening again.
However, keeping Wind Hills deserted would open a gap for enemy infiltration into Netern Island, so they were invited to live in his home.
"Enemy infiltration... It's probably Kards' group. I know there was a war a while back, but all the Etykiran families live on this island, right? Is there a sixth family I've never heard about? "
While these random thoughts wander through Vektor's head, who spends the day focused only on organizing things in the house, the hours pass, and it doesn't take long until sunset arrives, which is when most things are stored in their proper places, at least the things that are not supposed to be stored inside the furniture.
Finally with some free time, Vektor looks at his smartphone, which by the way is the same one he had since his journey a month ago. Miraculously having survived every battle, remaining better preserved than its owner's own body.
"These inexplicable conveniences of life are what save my wallet from having to buy a new one every time I go somewhere different."
After unlocking the screen, Vektor finds a notification from a few hours ago.
"A message from Sych? Well, if it was sent from his phone it shouldn't be anything too urgent. "
He then opens his messaging app and starts texting:
[Hey Vektor, are you there? I managed to talk to them]
[Yo, sorry for the delay. And what did they say?]
[They agreed to go with us]
[Nice!]
[But they want to talk to us on a voice call first to organize things better. They said they have to look at their schedules and stuff]
[Oh, ok fine then. I also wanted to talk to them again. It's been so long after all]
[I'll send you their new phone numbers, make sure to add them]
[Sure. And when will that call be?]
[They said the 23rd is fine]
[Just before Christmas Eve then. I'll use this time to talk to the other apprentices then]
[Ok, good luck]
After leaving the conversation, Vektor continues his day normally. With Christmas approaching, it's pretty obvious that he won't be setting off on his new journey any time soon. He should use this time to gather as many people as possible to accompany him on his journey to the supposed enemy territory of Netern Island.
The people Sych was referring to are two childhood friends of them, who drifted apart after the two moved to a different school at the age of 11. Since he still keeps up to date with the two's social media, Sych was tasked with recruiting them for the journey.
It isn't long before the day comes to an end, and the morning of December 22nd begins.
After breakfast, Vektor thinks about starting to plan his route to recruit the 4 Etykiran apprentices. Considering that his starting point is a bit different from last month's journey, taking the same steps is not a good choice, especially considering the different variables on the island, since he won't have Kder's help this time...
"Oh, right. I could ask Kder to also come with us. If I can convince all the apprentices, I can use the excuse that it's an escort mission or something. I mean, he did it himself to come to the party last week, so I can do the same thing but in reverse."
As his thoughts gather, Vektor receives a new task from his mother:
"Hey Vektor, today I want you to contact the furniture assemblers from here."
"And how do I do that? I don't know the island at that level."
"All you need to do is notify Master Kageki. He should provide professionals for us."
"And why him in particular? Can't I ask Master Haidora, for example? She lives closer to here, by the way..."
"Well, the Kageki are the ones who can teleport, so bringing people here will be much faster. Besides, the people at the arsenal know me well, so there's a better chance they'll agree to help us for a low price."
"Now that's being pragmatic...
(As hypocritical as it is for me to say this...)"
"Could you do this for me?"
"Sure, I've been to the arsenal before after all, and the Valley of Music makes things easier for me.
(Plus, I can hit two targets with one shot.)"
With the start of his new route decided, Vektor heads towards the Arsenal of Shadow, with two goals in mind: to ask Master Kageki for help in finding professionals who can help with the move, and then to recruit Mitsuko to accompany him on his trip to Lightning Island.
Normally, this would take a few hours on foot, even following the Valley of Music's trail. However, with the speed of his ancient form, Vektor can reach the vicinity of the arsenal in just a few minutes of running.
Despite the short time spent, Vektor can't help but feel tired the moment he undoes his transformation, as if he had just finished a sudden anaerobic session. He spends a few minutes resting his body and catching his breath before continuing his journey, this time walking calmly.
Once again in front of the Arsenal of Shadow after a month, Vektor rings the bell at the main gate, expecting to be answered by Mitsuko like last time. However, the person who answers him is a tall man with gray hair and beard, and a cigarette in his mouth.
"Hello, how can I..."
The man pauses for a few seconds immediately after seeing who is in front of his gate. Although his expression remains indifferent, it is not difficult to notice a certain level of surprise in his gaze.
"You are... a Drenn, right?"
"(There it is.)
Y- Yes, I'm Vektor Drenn, I moved to this island yesterday."
"If that's the case, nice to meet you. I'm Master Kageki, owner of this arsenal. You were also a victim of that kidnapping, right? Are you and your mother okay?"
"(She really is known to the people here...)
Oh yes, we're all fine. A- Actually, I came here to take care of something..."
"You're here to see Mitsuko? I can call her, but it might take a while for her to show up."
"I- It's not that... I mean, it's that too, but I came here for another reason."
Vektor then explains the entire situation and his mother's request.
"I see... Well, I can get some assemblers, but you'll have to wait until after Christmas. Can you handle it until then?"
"No problem, thank you very much."
"As for the payment, you can just let me pay for everything this time. Consider it my welcome gift."
"Wait, seriously?! I don't even know how to show gratitude."
"Well, since you're here, you might as well get some rest before heading home. Come on, get in."
"I- If you'll excuse me..."
Vektor enters the Arsenal of Shadow and follows Master Kageki to the living room, where Vektor sits on one of the sofas while the host sits on another, facing the boy, who wastes no time and decides to pursue his personal goal:
"S- So, could you call Mitsuko, please?"
"Oh, sure. But I'll let you know right away that she might take a while. She's training right now so it might take a while before she decides to come here to the living room."
"I can wait. I actually got here early so my mom shouldn't be in too much of a hurry."
Master Kageki promptly goes to call his daughter, and returns seconds later with the same slight surprise he showed at the entrance.
"She said to just wait for her to change her clothes, that it won't take long."
"A- Alright then..."
The two sit in silence waiting for Mitsuko, while Master Kageki's dehydrating gaze remains fixed on Vektor...
"(...Okay, again, this is really uncomfortable! Why are these situations becoming so frequent recently?! Is this an evolution of that whole thing about everyone being shocked by my last name or what?!)
U- Uhhh..."
"Ah, sorry if I made you uncomfortable, that's not my intention."
"(So he noticed...)"
"It's just... it's something kind of strange..."
"W- What, exactly?"
"The more I look at you... the more I see how much like your mother you are."
"Yeah... Genetics are something weird, right...?"
"It ain't even that, but rather the fact that your expressions, your behavior, are all similar to your mother's. Your appearance is the same as your father's no doubt, but I can see practically nothing of him in you, it's so strange..."
"I- I get it now, hahaha..."
"Your father lived here at the arsenal for a while, so I can remember what he was like before, and I must say he was quite different from you in many ways."
"..."
Vektor Drenn's father, the Master of Flames of the previous generation. Vektor has never cared much about learning more about his father, and what little he knows is the information he got from his mother.
From the way Vektor was treated by everyone on Netern Island, his father was probably an important figure. However, the boy refused to seek more information. In his mind, seeking something like that would not add any value to his present life, because what was lost will not return just by gaining knowledge. At least that was what he wanted to believe, so he wouldn't have to deal with the constant doubt filling empty gaps in his memory.
However, a recent memory begins to echo in his head. The voice of a girl he met on his journey to another universe...
"That's not natural at all!"
Maybe seeing reality this way isn't so common after all. It's not what a normal person would do...
...
"Could you... tell me what my dad was like...?"
"Your father? Well... He was a complete idiot."
"(That's how you start describing someone's father?!)"
"He spent his life always trying to help people. He wanted to be a hero and would never shut up about it. He wanted to put an end to a war that had lasted generations without even knowing how, just by sheer willpower. His whole attitude always pissed me off, it always gave me the impression of empty arrogance."
"I see...
(Very different from what I was expecting.)"
"But don't be fooled. When he said he wanted to end the war, he meant it. It's inexplicable, but it was his efforts that set in motion all the events that led to the end of the war, to this day I don't know how. If we have anyone to thank for our current era of peace, it's him."
"He really was an amazing person...
(After hearing all this, I'm starting to feel insecure about my future... How am I supposed to become a worthy successor to someone who literally stopped a war that lasted for so many years?!)"
Vektor's mind begins to drift off into his thoughts, but quickly returns to reality when his brain is interrupted by Mitsuko's voice:
"Dad! You just met someone for the first time and you're already talking non-stop?!"
"I'm sorry, but he was the one who asked to hear it."
Mitsuko is standing next to the sofas, not exactly between them.
"Heya Vektor, how's it going?"
"Doing good, new house, etc. But anyway, could we talk real quick? There's something urgent I need to tell you about..."