My Demon Pet System

"I'll see you in Ambershire. Remember, Sleepy Owl Tavern. Enatsu knows where it is" - those were the last words spoken by Yoichi before prodding Ichiro with the heels of his boots. 

The young tamer rode away from the Dojo, still unable to believe that he had taken such a radical decision. His and Shioko's eyes met one last time before he crossed the threshold and passed the white walls that enclosed that holy place. 

The weight on Ichiro's back was perfectly balanced, and the saddle provided stability to the load. The amphora, which was undoubtedly the most fragile object, was wedged between two heavy tomes so that it would always remain straight and would not risk dispersing the Tear of Therion. 

The streets of Goldhaven were still crowded: blacksmiths and artisans were starting to close their shops, and people of all kinds and ages seemed to be still busy, walking from one side to the other. 

A group of guards suddenly popped up around the corner of the street, reminding Yoichi that he had not yet donned the cloak given to him by Shioko. 

Without getting off his horse, the young tamer covered his long blond hair with that wide hood, letting the rest of the cloak rest on the back of his horse, partially covering the bags that hung to the side.

The imperial guards continued to talk amongst themselves, chuckling at some nonsense and not paying any attention to him at all. The advantage was that Goldhaven was too big a city, and searching for a single individual was so tricky that it could take days, if not weeks. 

Inwardly, Yoichi knew that even if Kato's companions had alerted Yozo to the incident, it would have taken him several minutes to tell the guards and ask them to hunt him down. 

Moreover, the men tasked with guarding the streets could not be fully occupied with the search. In addition to the family men and citizens who strictly adhered to the rules imposed by the crown, the capital was home to villains from the lowest ranks of society. 

Wasting guards on the search for a young tamer whose only crime was to have taught one of the Heralds a lesson would have been too much even for someone like Shinzo Nishiyama.

After about forty-five minutes on horseback, Yoichi reached the city's northern gates, particularly close to the Tamer District. Although weight was not a problem for Ichiro, its movement speed would be less than usual. What's more, running on horseback in the middle of the city wasn't the best thing to do if you wanted to go unnoticed.

As usual, another group of men in armor guarded the entrance and exit, checking everyone who passed through the North Gates in either direction.

Keeping his gaze down and his face hidden under his hood, Yoichi once again went unnoticed, exiting the city with Ichiro. 

When packing his stuff, among Ryutaro's old books, Yoichi grabbed the book titled 'Ancient and Contemporary History of Tentochu' and an old parchment fell out from under its cover. 

With much ado, the young tamer discovered that that parchment was actually an old region map, not as up-to-date as Enatsu's but undoubtedly valuable for an inexperienced traveler like himself.

Yoichi's first instinct after leaving the chaos of the city was to dip a hand into the bag on the right side of the saddle and pull out the map he had carefully rolled up inside.

He laid it on Ichiro's back and took advantage of the light of the full moon to appreciate its details: that map belonged perhaps to Ryutaro, perhaps to someone older than him. Compared to the one shown to him some time ago by his merchant friend, it looked much more sparse, and many of the small towns scattered throughout the region were not there.

However, even though it was handmade and slightly inaccurate, it depicted all of the primary and secondary trails, all of the mountain ranges, lakes and coastlines, and even provided some details about the various biomes. 

Small symbols in the shape of trees, wheat or water lilies allowed the scrupulous observer to distinguish between forested and cultivated areas and swamps. 

Yoichi's finger slithered across the old crumpled map from bottom to top, following a south-north trajectory, searching for his target. Finally, hidden between the smudged peaks of two mountains, the small town of Oakenfair popped up under his fingertip.

"Oakenfair... how did you end up there, Shusaku?" Yoichi asked to himself, trying to imagine why the blacksmith had chosen that remote destination over any other.

If he had followed the main road, Yoichi would soon have reached a junction with three roads. From Goldhaven county, the one to the south led to the area he'd already explored, down into the southern zone to the Blackvault Mines; the one continuing west led to the 'Stonebreak Passage' through the mountains; and the one to the north ran along the Bronzeforest following the natural morphology of the mountains. 

That very road was the one that would lead Yoichi to Oakenfair. Once there, he would have to search and find Shusaku in no time, based on information from the locals. 

The Tetsuiasa was safe along with the rest of his equipment inside Ichiro's bags. Thanks to the magic saddle provided to him by his guild leader, the young tamer could use those large bags as if they were some sort of portable bank. 

In fact, it would be enough to call Ichiro back into its Demon Tooth to enclose their contents inside as well. Consequently, Yoichi had decided to keep the heavier and more valuable items in there, such as the books and the amphora and the ready-to-use items in his smaller backpack. 

He rolled up the map and stuffed it into his backpack, moving the two still-empty Demon Teeth among other junk. Firmly, never looking back, he prodded Ichiro and let the walls of Goldhaven disappear behind the hills. The terrain morphology was slightly different from those traveled before, and an unexpectedly muddy stretch obstructed part of the tiled street. 

After it, the path grew narrower and darker, delving into a wood of dense trees so tall they could touch the stars in the night sky.