On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Fifty-Two

As Shaeula passed the now far-smaller bundle of wind energy over to her Kamaitachi she slumped down beside me, panting heavily, obviously exhausted.

“I am not sure that even the guards of my noble father train as much as this to be strong-strong. You are a cruel slave driver, master.” Shaeula complained, though I was sure she looked a little happy.

“True, but that is why you’ll soon surpass them. Talent is important, but hard work can either make up for a lack of talent, or polish talent until it shines brightly. Just think how surprised your family will be when you return to the Seelie Court so much stronger than before.”

“That thought is indeed pleasing to me-me.” Shaeula agreed, her eyes glancing constantly at the white heap beside me, agleam with curiosity.

Taking the hint I picked up the bundle and passed it to her. “Here, for you. I did say I wanted to get you some new clothes. It isn’t quite the same but consider it a start.”

Shaeula unwrapped the bundle, shaking it out, to see that it was a sleeveless dress of linked white leaves, forming a sort of scale-mail made from the durable wyrm scales.

“I call it the wyrmscale mail.” I said proudly. “It was a pain to make and I had to use quite a bit of aether to smooth out the rough edges in the design, but I think it’s turned out pretty well. It should protect you from damage and it looks pretty good too if I do say so myself.”

Shaeula hurriedly put the mail on, draping it over her yukata. “So, how does it look, Akio?” she asked, excited.

I guess all girls, Fae or not, love pretty clothes. “It looks good on you. Admittedly I reckon you could carry just about anything off well though, with your grace and figure. Well, except maybe a low cut dress, you don’t have the body line for that. Not that I’d be foolish enough to say it. The white scales seemed to shimmer around the edges in the light as she moved, and overall it was a tidy design, looking rather elegant.

“I accept your gift with approval.” Shaeula smiled. “It is a dress worthy of a princess of the Seelie court-court.”

“Well, we will have to get you some nice clothes in the Material plane as well, though cuteness rather than defensive merits is the priority there. Anyway, your Kamaitachi is pretty much done, so bear with me a while…” I snatched the remaining energy from him, continuing our practice…

********

“Oh my god, I’m so tired.” I grumbled, back in the Material, the early morning sun shining through the window. We had spent effectively a couple of days there without sleep again, though this time a bit longer had passed in the Material. “Maybe we should have a quick rest?”

I did have plans for us for today, most of which should be simple, but one of which was causing me some concern. Still, we could spare a little while for some sleep.

“I agree. The training has exhausted me greatly. We should rest while we can, lest we be found wanting should an emergency arise-arise!”

Since we both agreed, we had several hours’ sleep, which refreshed us. I was still a little bothered by sleeping next to a cute girl, but maybe because I had done it a few times now it didn’t embarrass me quite as much. Besides, there were two of them yesterday…

We had breakfast and then I went for a quick run and did my weights and combat training, until early afternoon.

I was soaked with sweat and ready to have a shower. Turning to Shaeula, who was once more playing her RPG, eyes glued to the screen intently, I was about to open my mouth when my phone rang. Hmm, that’s unusual, I wonder who it is… ack!

Answering the call I spoke as cheerfully as I could muster. “Hey Shiro. What’s up?”

“Don’t you what’s up me, Aki!” her voice came loud over my speakers, as for some reason I must have left it on speakerphone mode last time I used it. “I haven’t heard from you in weeks, and this is after you begged me to give you some stuff to do. Have you even done any at all? Is this some sort of neglect play to get me interested in you? Oh, and that’s Shirohime to you!”

Yeah, I admit I forgot to do any recently, I’ve had other stuff going on… still…

Beside me Shaeula piped up, still not looking away from the screen. “Shirohime? White princess? There is only one princess worthy of your attention here, Akio. Do not forget that-that. This fake princess is not worth your time.”

Before I could respond to this my phone piped up. “Woo, fake princess. Hurtful. Anyway, you’ve got a girl there Aki? Is that your sister you always used to go on about? Everyone said you were a total siscon. Or wait… no, nooooooo it can’t be! Is that your girlfriend? That childhood friend of yours? I always thought you were after me! I’m so disappointed. Sob sob!”

“She’s just a co-worker…” I replied, well used to her antics by now. “And as for you, who’d be after you? Sure, you look cute, but your personality isn’t cute at all.”

“Bleh…” Shiro made some fake retching noises. “Seriously, this is why you are single. You can’t tell a girl her personality sucks… even if you compliment her appearance she won’t be happy. Besides, I’m not cute, I’m totally gorgeous!”

Shaeula was snickering loudly behind me, causing Shiro to complain and ask for a picture of my ‘co-worker’ if she was so confident. Shaeula agreed with a shrug so I snapped a pic and sent it over.

There was a long moment of silence over the phone before Shiro answered. “Well. Yeah, she can laugh. So… that’s your type eh? Guess I’m too stacked for you then. But it’s a little… lolicon-ny, isn’t it? Go out to a bar with her and you’d get arrested. With me you’d get complimented.”

“Firstly, like I say, she’s just a co-worker.” Man, talking with Shiro can be tiring. Her moods change as fast as her brains work… “Secondly, if I went to a bar with you, I’d only end up having to carry you home after you pass out. I haven’t forgotten that time you dropped from exhaustion just walking across the dorm building….”

“Well, do forget it!” she replied. “And now you reveal the truth of your master plan. You were going to get me blackout drunk and carry me back to your place and do this-and-that to me, all sorts of lewd and unspeakable things…”

“Seriously, can we stop this now?” Shaeula was rolling on her back, cackling uncontrollably and I was just mortified. Shiro was very beautiful, but was definitely not the elegant lady her fragile bearing would suggest. “I have to go out shortly. I’ll send you over the manifest of what I’ve done so far…”

Opening up email on my computer I sent across the spreadsheet labelling what I had done, which luckily was a reasonable amount, thanks to the stuff I had done early to test my abilities.

“Okay cool, so you have been working on my project.” Shiro conceded. “Though it would be great if you could go a bit faster. I know I can’t pay you yet, but I’ll let you buy me and that cutie there a drink as a reward. A real man would agree.”

“Yeah yeah…” the rest of our conversation devolved into banter, me dodging questions about Shaeula and why she was at my place, her jokily flirting inappropriately. Finally I hung up.

“She seemed… interesting. Though I do not approve of her being a princess. We should all go to this ‘pub’ she mentioned, us, Ichika, Karen and her-her. I imagine it would be rather amusing.”

I had to laugh at the thought of that, me surrounded by all those women. Maybe my spring had come? Shaking my head I told Shaeula I was going to freshen up before we went out.

Once I had my quick shower we headed out on our errands. The first was to buy suitable clothing and necessities for Shaeula. If she was going to be coming to my hometown there was no way she could only wear her yukata the whole time, it would attract suspicion, as well as being too pitiful. Girls have to have a lot of clothes and accessories. It’s just the way it is. I remember my sister and my mother both telling me that. Not that they said it in front of Eri-chan. Money was too tight for her after all…

We went to a large local fashion store, spending quite some time picking out a number of outfits for Shaeula, ranging from summer dresses to more casual clothing, as well as underwear, and for some reason another yukata, this one in white decorated by red and yellow orchids. We also picked up some make-up and a hand mirror and tools for her, as well as a make-up bag and suitcase. With that she would have had enough to blend in. As for me… the experience was rather stressful.

Not only did I have to put up with the stares of the largely female clientele of the store, I am sure the shop assistants were judging me too! Shiro wasn’t kidding about getting arrested… As adorable as Shaeula was, she looked young, so when she asked me in a loud voice to come into the changing room to see if the underwear looked right on her, the stares I received were very cold indeed. I had hurriedly explained to Shaeula that was not appropriate, so I managed to dodge the proverbial bullet. I still had to assess her other outfits though. Not that it was such a hardship. I was right earlier, Shaeula looked great in pretty much anything, and it was somehow fresh seeing her in more casual clothes such as summer dresses and shorts.

Still, now the fun is over. Time for the task I am not looking forwards to. We were walking to a destination I had not been to before but had researched, pulling the large suitcase we had bought, which was stuffed full of the purchases for Shaeula. Man, girls’ clothes are damn expensive. I had dropped a ton of money on everything, although of course compared to yesterday’s winnings it was still only a portion. The cashier had certainly seemed pleased when she saw the total cost of what we had bought, and for the first time I saw a look of approval in the eyes of the staff there and the other women who were shopping. I guess they finally saw me as a big-spending boyfriend then huh. If only they knew…

Shaeula was humming cheerfully beside me, wearing her new summer dress, which was a soothing white with blue accents on the cuffs and hem. She could resummon her yukata whenever she wanted, so she had decided to wear something new for the rest of the day. It gave her a different appeal, that was for sure.

Her yukata gave her a more refined image, like an antique doll, but this dress gives her the air of a young girl.

Shaeula saw me looking at her and grinned. “Have you been struck down by my beauty Akio? I am sorry but I am a princess, so there is no hope for you if you would seek my body-body.”

I ruffled her hair playfully. “Don’t worry I wasn’t thinking that. I was just admiring how different you feel in that. You picked out a good dress.”

“Hmph.” She pouted, cheeks puffed. “Of course I know what looks good. It is not like I bought it because you would like it. I only wanted you to check that it would be suitable to blend in, like you wanted-wanted.”

There we go. It’s been a while since the tsun.

Shaeula went even redder at my knowing smile so she changed the subject. “So, where are we going next? Do we need to buy more things-things?”

“No, we are going to see about getting you a family registry, a koseki. Once we’ve got that we can get you a passport so you can travel between countries here.”

“That sounds like it would be difficult, after all, I am not human, I am a noble Fae from the Seelie Court. Surely they would not accept that-that?”

I had to sigh. “Yes, you are right. I’ve been wracking my brains for a way around this. I had considered you travelling in the Boundary to meet me rather than leaving the country here on the Material plane, but that strikes me as not possible and way too dangerous. I wouldn’t want you to take that risk. I was stuck, until we saved Konoe-chan that time.”

“Ichika? What does she have to do with this?”

“Well, your Blessing of Befuddling Winds could solve our problem. If you use it, if we play it right we can probably persuade a clerk. Once we have your koseki sorted then we can easily get you a passport quickly if we pay for the express service. Once you have those you have a solid existence here on the Material plane. Then we can do all manner of things. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough, and you can use befuddling winds to smooth out any issues down the line.”

“Do you think it will be that easy? It sounds to me as though this … koseki?...  is very important here-here.”

I sighed again, feeling sick in the pit of my stomach. Somehow this is more scary that fighting for my life in the Boundary. Dealing with real life problems just seemed more real. Still, while making a false statement for a koseki was most definitely a crime, I was certain that even if we couldn’t persuade the clerk to do what we wanted, the befuddling winds would probably be enough to make them forget our attempted fraud. In the worst case, Shaeula really doesn’t actually exist here, so I could claim I was being misled myself… damn, this sucks.

“Man, I wish we could have a drink beforehand to steady my nerves, but that is a lousy idea…” I trailed off as Shaeula took my hand in hers, the warmth of her skin reaching me.

“Relax Akio. No master of mine should be so nervous at dealing with a mere functionary. You forget that I am a princess! I shall persuade them with my royal majesty, have no fear-fear!”

Damn, that’s cute, her reassuring me like that.

We continued to banter until we reached the local registry office. Taking a deep breath we went in and checked in for our appointment. After a tense twenty minutes it was time, and we were called in.

Seated behind the desk was an older woman, maybe in her late thirties, wearing a charcoal business suit and white shirt. Her black hair was short and tidy, and perched on her nose was a pair of round glasses. Damn, she looks like a schoolteacher. I’m not good with authority figures, that’s one reason I went into freelance work.

As Shaeula and I went to sit down she gazed at us expressionlessly. “Oshiro-san and Dannan-san, is it? I see you are here regarding the koseki for Dannan-san. We have of course done some preliminary checks, and I must say we have been unable to find anything regarding her family register. Quite displeasing.”

Yes, the schoolteacher vibe is even stronger now. Any minute she’ll purse her lips disapprovingly. I gently patted Shaula on the leg, which was the signal we had agreed upon to start using the wind of befuddlement. Damn, I need to hope our Charm and Majesty stats are going to pull their weight.

Putting on a smile I hoped was both charming and sad at the same time I spoke. “Yes, I can imagine. Dannan-san is a distant cousin of mine, like me she is half-Japanese. Her family moved to the area around my village when she was just a baby and we grew up as childhood friends. Unfortunately due to a fire her parents were killed recently. All the documents for the family such as passports, koseki, juminhyo and bank details were lost as well. It was quite the tragic time.”

Remembering the plan we had hastily discussed earlier Shaeula put on a sad expression, even managing to wring out some tears. “I had always left those matters to my parents. They were rather overprotective as… I look so young.” Shaeula stumbled over those words a bit. “But to think that I would need my family registry so soon afterwards, and to not have it-it. The fire took everything….”

“I understand how this might be distressing for you, Dannan-san, however there should have been records on our database in your locality, to say nothing of banking and school records. However when I did a preliminary search none of these were found.”

Of course they weren’t. This was of course the main stumbling block of my plan. Feeling the wind blow stronger around Shaeula and the clerk I played my hand. “Yes, when we went to our local registry office in my hometown first they said there had been an issue in updating some of the registries and data was accidentally wiped during a changeover from paper records to digital storage.”

“That would be a significant problem.” the clerk pursed her lips. There we go, just as expected. “I would expect there to be a notification of this on the system and measures taken to…”

“But you’ve already seen notification of this-this.” Shaeula said, the power of the wind spreading through her breath. “We had just been discussing this, and you have seen the copy of the document the local office gave me.”

It was a barefaced lie on every level. Still, we only needed to convince her to create the record, and then her mind would rationalise away what she had done.

“I have…” she said slowly, scratching her head, eyes looking a little glazed. “I don’t remember seeing…”

“You were just about to enter the replacement registry details.” Shaeula interrupted her.

Holy shit this is scary as hell. If this goes wrong my reputation is going to be ruined. I’ll be a damn criminal! I could feel the energy pouring from Shaeula, it being far harder to use wind here in the Material plane. Still, she had strengthened her control due to our training, so it might be enough…

My hopes suddenly took a blow as the clerk shook her head. “I… think I need to call for a supervisor, I feel light-headed. What did you say about a database error, I don’t…”

Shaeula’s face was stricken as she struggled to befuddle the woman in front of us. Seeing her so tense sparked something within me. I could feel my lunar chakra pulsing, beating in time with Shaeula’s.

Maybe I can…

My own wind energy cycled through me, moving from the heart to the lunar node. There it split into two rushing streams, one of which flowed into Shaeula, reinforcing her own wind. The other twirled around the clerk, trying to replicate the flow Shaeula was using. It was crude, but... if this doesn’t work we’ll use it to confuse her into forgetting this whole thing. Since we wouldn’t be forcing her to break the rules and law that should be far easier to achieve…

“We have the details for the koseki here, as well as the family crest for her seal, and the postal order for her new residency record as you requested. I thank you very much for your hard work.” I passed over the paperwork that I had made earlier.

The clerk took them, but she was struggling against us, her common sense telling her that this was wrong. Damn, it’s going to take one more push. I started drawing in ether from around us, pulling from the clerk as well. As I gathered it I used it and the reserves I had within me to strengthen the wind, my enhanced mind picturing the effect clearly. Aether gushed from me, vanishing rapidly, having only a fraction of the effect it would have in the Boundary. “Thanks for verifying the incident.” I gave it one last push. “Dannan-san has suffered so much since she lost her parents. It is reassuring to know that the Japanese civil service is efficient and compassionate during her time of crisis.”

“We do strive… for excellence.” The clerk said, hands moving slowly towards the computer. I continued to draw aether from her, guessing that Shaeula would tell me if it became harmful to her.

“I feel… rather unwell…” the clerk muttered. “I must not have had enough sleep last night…” her words were becoming fainter, but she had begun to type.

“I thank you for this.” Shaeula pushed out every ounce of her own aether now, adding a tiny trickle of extra strength to the befuddlement. “The sooner you finish, the quicker you can get some rest-rest.”

She nodded, eyes glassy as she continued to work. Several minutes later she went to the printer, official papers in hand. When it was printed and sealed, she finished inputting it to the computer and saved the data. Handing the certificate copy to Shaeula she spoke slowly, almost robotically. “Dannan-san, your koseki has been updated on our system. Your juminhyo registry is updated to the same address as Oshiro-san here. I am sorry to hear about the death of your parents and the loss of your seal. Please apply for your replacement seal as soon as possible.”

“I am most grateful.” Shaula said. “Now I suggest you forget about this trying visit and carry on with your day-day. Remembering this would only fatigue you further. By tomorrow all this will be is a faint dream you had-had.”

“That sounds wonderful.” The clerk agreed vacantly, and we showed ourselves out.

As soon as the door shut behind us I let out an explosive sigh, sinking down against the wall. “Man that was nerve-wracking. And now I’m really spent after using all my aether and wind energy. You look tired too.”

“I am indeed.” Shaeula nodded, certificate clutched to her chest. “But your plan worked. Somehow-somehow. Still, I hope you have seen how difficult it is to manipulate the strong-willed into doing something they know is wrong.” She smiled a bright smile tinged with exhaustion. “So it is no use-use you trying to use the blessing to make females fall for you. That would take more power than you possess!” her tone made it clear she was joking at my expense, and my heart felt warm at the bond we shared, made from shared trials and spending time together.

“Don’t worry, I have enough of a time with just you.” I laughed back, causing her to blush. “Now we just need to pick up your seal, and then we can submit your application for a passport…” Issues might come to light further down the line with the system alterations, but the Japanese civil service is renowned for their scrupulousness, so foul play is less likely to be suspected than simple error, and if we already have a passport issued by then it should be fine… I hope so, anyway.

********

The long day was almost over, so I finally relaxed as we sat on the metro on the way back to our home. Shaeula was admiring her new seal, amused at the family crest, the kamon that I had chosen. In comparison to the wretched, stressful time we had getting the koseki created, ordering a passport was simplicity itself, as Shaeula was now an officially registered Japanese citizen, with a family history. Of course it probably wouldn’t stand up to intense scrutiny, as her now sadly deceased parents were fake and thus only had their own barebones record we had forced the clerk to create, but looking into a routine passport application would rarely require that much research. Luckily almost all Japanese people were extremely law abiding, so they would be unlikely to suspect anything amiss with what was a valid koseki registered on the national system.

We had paid the fees for an accelerated service, and it would be ready for collection when we returned from my hometown. Looking at the exhausted yet happy Shaeula I had a thought. “Hey, want to stop off for something to eat and drink? I’d say we’ve earned it today, right?”

“That is a wonderful idea, master.” Shaeula agreed. “I could use a drink. Perhaps we should have some good whiskey to celebrate-celebrate?”

“A nice try! We’ll see.” We got off at the next stop, which was the one before our usual station, and headed for a nearby pub. We were just about to enter when a sweet-sounding voice called out “Hey Big Bro, wait up, wait up!”

Eh?