The day after the celebration seemed much more calm than what he expected, considering he had seen way to many people wasted. Weren’t monks supposed to practice abnegation?

Yena had stayed behind, telling him to rest easy and not wait for him(as well as calling him a party pooper, or that’s what Chaeyeon imagined, since he didn’t understand Yena’s words).

However, just because he had called it an early night didn’t mean anyone else had had. It was when an unknown monk opened the door, bringing him breakfast, that he realized that the rest of the rest of the party-goers had probably had a few excesses.

The monk had just placed the bowl on Chaeyeon’s hands, gave a passing remark about his performance, and left, probably to nurse his own hangover.

Finishing his bowl of rice quickly, he decided to pay Yena a visit, guessing that he would also be way too hangover to be on his own.

And right enough, Yena was in his room, sleeping on the floor, contorted in a fetal position which looked too painful for Chaeyeon.

“Yena,” the younger man called his friend, shaking his body slightly. “Yena, wake up.”

It took several tries, but he finally managed to arouse him from sleep. The older man groaned, slapping Chaeyeon’s hand sloppily.

“Go away,” he moaned as he tried to move into a more comfortable position.

“Are you a contortionist?” Chaeyeon teased, shaking Yena again.

“A what?” he mumbled back, slapping Chaeyeon’s hand again.

“A person that can get into very strange positions, like you.”

“I don’t even remember how I got here,” Chaeyeon received as a response.

“You drank that much?”

“No, my head just hurts and I feel a little dizzy.”

“Right, just that,” Chaeyeon mocked. “So you can’t stand up?”

“I can’t even open my eyes without feeling I’m about to die.”

“You don’t have a good alcohol tolerance, do you?”

“And you do, Mister Tough Guy?”

“No, that’s why I didn’t drink myself stupid,” the younger man chastised lightly.

“It’s the greatest amount of food I’ve seen at once,” Yena said, groaning as he twitched slightly. “Don’t tell me you’ve seen that much abundance, or in the future you have huge feasts everyday?”

“No, we don’t. But I’m just not that impressed, though some dishes were definitely delicious,” Chaeyeon answered pensively.

“Right, and the company was to die for,” Yena sighed.

“You talking about the princesses?” Chaeyeon inquired, his brows arching in surprise.

“Hah, of course not,” Yena slurred. “As soon as you left, they lost interest. Better for me, I could go look out for Juri.”

“And? Did she even talk to you?” If she did, it would definitely surprise Chaeyeon.

“No, but it was nice to hear her speaking to other people.” Chaeyeon face palmed, deciding to stand up and look for a cup of water. Perhaps his teacher had left something of use for a hangover.

“You are an idiot.”

“No bigger idiot than you, dear Chaeyeon,” Yena shot back. “Did you even notice how Princess Sakura looked at you?”

“The Princess?” What did Princess Sakura had to do with this?

“Yes, the Cherry Blossom. She looked at you as if you were Buddha himself.” Chaeyeon didn’t quite listen to Yena’s words, trying to get him to sit up, his back lying on the adjacent wall. Yena groaned.

“No, stop!”

“You can’t stay here lying all day.”

“No, but I can sure try.”

“Come one, sit. I promise I’ll help you feel better.”

“You promise?” And at Chaeyeon’s affirmation, he sighed. “Alright, help me out.”

Now with Yena cooperating, the older man was able to sit up, receiving Chaeyeon’s bowl of water.

“But I’m serious, Chaeyeon,” Yena said after he barely escaped choking himself with a huge gulp of water. “She looked at you like... like... I don’t even know if I should even imply it.”

“You really drank too much,” Chaeyeon exclaimed shaking his head slightly. “Princess Sakura dislikes me. She barely stands my presence and only because Princess Rino is the one to approach me.”

“You have spoken with them often? Why didn’t you tell me?” Yena turned to look at him. Well, not exactly look, as his eyes were swollen and half-lidded. He resembled a duck, specially with the huge pout he was sporting.

“It didn’t seem like something important.”

“It is! You said it yourself! Not even Juri will give me the time of the day, so why would a Princess pay this much attention to you?”

“Maybe they are curious about the foreigners...”

“If they were curious about the foreigners, they would have naturally taken interest in me as well.”

“Then I don’t know,” Chaeyeon answered, taking the bowl in his hands and placing it next to Yena. “Whatever interest they have, it’s not what you are implying, much less if it’s Sakura you are talking about.”

“Fine, don’t believe me, then. Idiot Chaeyeon. Dense Chaeyeon,” Yena said as he closed his eyes again.

“You make it hard for me to believe you,” Chaeyeon answered, but then bit his tongue. It was the wrong choice of words, but Yena didn’t comment on it.

“A-Anyways, there is a good remedy for hangovers. I’ll go to the kitchen and prepare you some.”

“Is it a remedy? Really?”

“Yes, it is. What else do you think I am going to do with you but help you get better.”

“I don’t know. Maybe with your future knowledge you could prepare something that would make my hangover worse.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Chaeyeon rolled his eyes fondly, despite his words. “I promised I would help you with your hangover and there is nothing here except water. Wait for me, alright?”

“Yesssss.” And with that, Chaeyeon stood up, slapping his thighs slightly.

It was a travesty to find the kitchen, as he had never even thought about the kitchen’s location until that day, and finding people who were awake at that hour was difficult. However, he managed to get to the kitchen, where one of the monks was already cooking rice and porridge.

“Good morning,” Chaeyeon greeted, receiving a greet in return. “Would it be fine if I prepared something?”

“What do you want to do?” The monk eyed him warily.

“Just some juice that would help my friend with his hangover.” The monk stared at him for a few moments, but nodded, motioning for him to do what he needed. Chaeyeon thanked him, quickly working on the juice.

It took a while, especially with mincing the ingredients. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that he had no blender in this time, so he could only rely on his scarce strength to do it. His arms would probably end up sore after this.

After finally finishing, he bowed to the monk, rushing to see Yena again, hoping he hadn’t passed out again. He was stopped by another monk, who quietly motioned for him to follow. Chaeyeon nodded, confused and critical about this event.

“What is it?” Chaeyeon asked a few steps away from the kitchen.

“The Prince demands your presence in his chamber.”

“Now?” Chaeyeon asked, holding the bowl tighter.

“Yes, right now.” He nodded, giving a deep breath.

“Do you know my friend?” The man nodded. “Excellent, could you bring this to him? Tell him I was accosted by the flower so I couldn’t go.” The man looked a little bewildered at his petition, but agreed to do. Chaeyeon thanked him and went on his way, to the Prince’s chamber.

What was what the prince wanted with him? Didn’t he expect everyone to be nursing a huge hangover? Wouldn’t the prince himself be nursing a hangover? Did he now know about his interactions with the Princesses and wanted to threaten him? Was he about to throw them out of the temple? Did he know the teacher had given him the writings? His mind was dizzying itself with these possibilities, and, as much as he wanted to shake those thoughts away, he couldn’t help but feel there was something out of place.

There was a monk waiting for him outside of the Prince’s chamber, pacing in front of the door. When Chaeyeon was close enough, he greeted the monk, bowing to him. The monk greeted back, and opened the door, sending him a “good luck” his way, which made Chaeyeon even more anxious.

“Excuse me, Your Grace?” he presented himself, trying to placate the Prince as much as he could.

“Enter,” the voice was calm, but Chaeyeon thought it was the calm before the storm. Walking slowly towards the Prince, he bowed before he sat a few steps before the Prince.

“Why do you think you’re here?”

“Because... you’re about to tell me what you are going to do with us,” Chaeyeon tried to answer as confidently as he could, but his voice wavered, nevertheless, as the Prince’s intense gaze bore holes on his face.

“Is that so? Is that what you think?”

“Y-yes, Your Grace.”

“How interesting,” the Prince interjected. “You know what else is interesting? The fact that you could speak japanese when you are JUST a peasant. The fact that you know about dance when you are a simple peasant. The fact that you have become more than a mere acquaintance of the Royal Princesses.” The voice got harsher with every word spoken.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace! Please, forgive us!” Chaeyeon said, bowing to the ground.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” Chaeyeon didn’t know what to say, as he, for the first time, hadn’t lied about his origin. If he tried reaffirming that he was telling the truth, he would probably not see another day, as the Prince already disbelieved his words. However, telling the complete truth was not an option.

“I assure you, Your Grace, I have no ulterior motives to be here. I just wanted to make the delivery.”

“You aren’t answering all my questions boy, so look at me like a man and answer.” His voice was harsh, booming to the point it would be easy to be heard outside the room. Chaeyeon flinched before he sat again.

“I am Lee Chaeyeon, Your Grace. I...” he hesitated. “I had a normal family once. My parents and my sisters were together, and it was in that time that I was taught dance and Japanese. However, my mother fell ill, and died as a result. My father drowned himself in debt, so I had to resort to work in shady dealings, until know. I am just trying to go back to them, to help my family so there is no more debt.” The Prince observed him for a moment.

“So you are a noble,” the Prince said pensively.

“I am not a noble, Your Grace. I am just a courier, trying to make a living,” Chaeyeon said, hoping that his stretching of the truth would be convincing enough for the Prince.

“You still have noble blood in your veins, lad, so you are a noble still,” the Prince answered, his voice more serene. “But why are you hiding it? Why did you hide it until now?”

“What good would it make to say that? I’d rather not let people now how low I have fallen.” The Prince nodded, understanding the pride behind the statement.

“And? Why are you speaking to the Princesses? Why are you close to them?”

“I am not, Your Grace. Princess Rino found me once crying, and she pitied me.”

“Why were you crying?” the Prince asked, his features betraying amusement, which made Chaeyeon inwardly sigh in relief.

“I had a fight with my friend that day, so the Princess pitied me, and tried comforting me. After that, I am not sure why she called upon me.”

“You are sure you don’t know?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Very well. Given the circumstances, I have come to a decision. I understand your situation, and I can see you are not an unkind fellow, as I haven’t received complaints about you or your friend from Tachibana. However, the rest of the monks do doubt about you, and feel that you have overstayed your welcome.” Chaeyeon nodded, not knowing if he was in the position to ask about the delivery.

“So we are leaving to Silla?” Chaeyeon asked.

“Not quite,” the Prince answered, intertwining his hands in front of his lap. “We hosted you and your friend, helped you both to reach convalescence, fed you, and, in the case of your friend, taught him Japanese. It’s fair for you to do a favor for us, don’t you think?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Excellent,” the Prince smiled, although his smile wasn’t kind. “There is another temple, which is mainly close to the Fujiwara family. I want you to take this message.” He handed a writing to Chaeyeon, who took it from his hands. “To that temple. You and your friend managed to arrive and make an uneventful journey there. You don’t know Japanese either, so you will either need a translator or you won’t be able to talk to them at all. When they let you go, come back, and tell me what you have heard.” The younger man nodded.

“Ah, and one last thing. There is a something I wish for you to do. Don’t tell anyone, not even your friend. There is a special keepsake that Princess Rino has in her belongings. It is a green satin belt. Her room is in the left wing of the temple. The Princess takes a stroll after her midday meal, and I trust you will be able to retrieve such thing without being seen. When you arrive to the temple, you will sneak the belt into Fumiko’s belongings. You will know who she is right away.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” he answered, already panicking about his mission, but knowing he wasn’t in any position to refuse.

“Good, you are dismissed, then.”

Chaeyeon left the room dizzy, his mind going through his conversation with the Prince. He hadn’t the slightest idea where he was going until he ended in front of Yena’s door. He stood there for a while, trying to come to a decision of what to do.

Since he had given the writings to the Prince, that monster hadn’t spoken to him at all, which made it seem that he would make his promise of just giving him the hint of coming to Japan true. Because of this, he had no idea what was the correct course of action. What if, by agreeing to the Prince’s request (read: order), he was actually doing the opposite of what the monster wanted him to do? And if doing the Prince’s biding was actually what the monster wanted him to do, what next? Maybe he should just run away with the writings. But then, what? The teacher had mentioned some rocks... Shinfu...?

Shaking those thoughts for a moment, he opened the door to Yena’s room, where the older man was still lying against the wall, but looked more awake and less hungover.

“Hey! What was the idea of telling a monk to- Wow, you look as if you have seen a ghost.”

“It probably would have been better,” Chaeyeon muttered before settling beside Yena.

“What, what, what happened?” Yena asked as he gave another sip to the juice the younger man had made for him.

“The Prince,” Chaeyeon answered simplistically.

“The Prince? What did he want with you?” Yena’s eyes comically widened. “Wait, he wants to kill us, doesn’t he? We are as good as dead?”

“No,” Chaeyeon denied. “None of that. But the Prince gave me a new mission.”

“Gave you or gave us?”

“Us, if you want to come with me.”

“Shoot.”

“You want to come with me?” Chaeyeon was surprised, as Yena hadn’t refuted him before when he implied that they would part ways.

“Of course, you’re the brother from the future I’ve never had. If you are going, I am going, too.”

“Thank you,” Chaeyeon exclaimed, touched, smiling at the older man. “Well, the Prince wants us to go to another temple, and give them a scroll he gave me. We have to lie to them and have them believe that we don’t know Japanese and that basically we never met him, or the monks in this temple. When they believe we don’t know Japanese, we spy on them and come back and tell the Prince.” Yena’s eyes bugged.

“Like an undercover mission?”

“I guess.”

“Woah, now we are spies?”

“Why are you so happy? Your leg isn’t even completely healed,” the younger man grumbled. Yena seemed more enthused about the whole thing than Chaeyeon was.

“Because this is an adventure! We are going as spies to the enemy camp and get some information on them!”

“It’s dangerous!” the younger man exclaimed.

“Chaeyeon, you really have no sense of adventure. Plus, we came here, and you knew that we could die in this.”

“But this is different. If they discover us, we’re dead.”

“So that’s why we are going to be the worst Japanese speakers ever.” Chaeyeon huffed, but he smiled again fondly.

“You make it sound more simple than it is.”

“It’s one of my talents,” Yena shrugged slightly, eyeing the empty juice bowl. “So, when are we leaving?”

“At most, the day after tomorrow.”

“I’ll be sure to not have a splitting headache by then.”

Chaeyeon snorted.

--

Although they had a small time frame to leave, Chaeyeon decided to wait until the next day to retrieve Rino’s belt. It had been a terrible idea, as he had had an awful night with zero to no sleep, oscillating between feeling scared at the prospect of being discovered, feeling guilty at doing this to someone who had cared for him, and thinking if it was better to just run away with the writings and figure out everything on his own.

When it was finally close to midday, he skulked near Rino’s room, which was the room where they’d had the afternoon tea a while ago. Hiding behind a tree, he waited with his eyes closed, prepared to use the excuse of being asleep if someone found him.

He heard the sound of talk, so he turned his head to see, just in time, that Rino was already leaving for her stroll, her maids trailing behind her, speaking among each other.

“That is my chance,” Chaeyeon unconsciously whispered, biding his time. When he was sure the Princess was far enough, he walked calmly towards the room, hoping that no one would be coming this way.

Slowly opening the sliding door, he entered cautiously, tip toeing as he went. He was probably excessively panicking, but would rather have the piece of mind that no one would be alerted to check before he came out of the room.

This room was also rather spacious, albeit sober in its decoration, with a few paintings hung around the walls, and some furniture. In the middle of it was a bed, which looked far more comfortable than it had any business looking. Chaeyeon decided to start looking there.

Crouching to look under the bed, he found himself relieved at the sight of a small chest which probably had Rino’s belongings. It was a little heavier than Chaeyeon envisioned, but tried pulling it using all the strength he had, anyways.

He huffed as he pulled, barely moving it from its place. How the hell had the Princess’ handlers managed to get this under the bed?

“Good afternoon,” a voice said, making Chaeyeon hit his head with the bed. Scrambling to get out from under the bed, he rushed to meet the eyes of an amused Rino.

“P-Princess. Good afternoon,” he said, mentally slapping himself for his disingenuous response.

“May I know what is your business here?” Her voice, as always, had a tint of of mirth. “Let me guess. You were lost and were trying to look for an exit.”

“No, Princess,” Chaeyeon shook his head, feeling shamed, despite Rino’s carefree front.

“Then you were looking for food?”

“No, Princess.”

“Then...” her eyes acquired a more serious glint. “My brother sent you here?” Chaeyeon blinked, trying to not convey the surprise he felt at her correct guess (though guessing by Rino’s expression, it probably wasn’t a guess).

“Yes, Princess.”

“What exactly did he tell you? Spare no detail, or I’ll make sure everyone knows you were in my chamber.”

“The Prince told me that I had to make him a favor because he took care of me and Yena, so he told me I have to take some writings to a temple with the... Fujiwara? Yes, and he told me I had to look for the satin belt in your belongings, so that when I arrived at that temple, I put in Fumiko’s belongings,” Chaeyeon said without taking a breath. “Princess, I am so sorry.” Rino looked pensively at Chaeyeon.

“No, I know it’s not your fault. You’re surrounded by strangers in a foreign land. You want to survive, and, as you have told me, you want to see your family again.”

“I could have declined.” Rino smiled.

“You could have declined, and you would have been headless by the end of the day. I know my brother.” Rino held a finger on her lips. “So that’s his plan...”

“If you’ll have me, I’ll do whatever you need,” Chaeyeon said, bowing.

“And that is what I’m counting on.” Rino answered, grabbing Chaeyeon’s shoulder. “Chaeyeon, you cannot execute my brother’s plan.”

“Yes.”

“What I want you to do is to go to the Fujiwara and tell them everything you have told me. Spare no detail. Don’t tell the Prince that you found me. Take my belt and this pin,” she ordered, taking a pin from her hair and a belt from her clothes.”

“The belt...” Chaeyeon gaped.

“Is the one you were looking for,” Rino ended his thought. “Yes, I might have or have not heard about the Prince’s plan beforehand and I might have or have not decided to take this opportunity to enlist your help with this.”

“If you already knew, why did you ask me about it?”

“Because I wanted to see if you would go so far as to lie. Take both of those things and tell them I sent you. With the pin, they’ll know it’s definitely me.”

“Yes, Princess,” Chaeyeon acquiesced, more willing to look at Rino now that she looked more serene, though Chaeyeon was under no illusion that she was as calm as she looked. At this point in time, it was obvious for him that this was related to politics, and he, unfortunately, would have to be a pawn in this game.

“Also, I would like for you to take Princess Sakura with you.”

What.

“Excuse me?” Chaeyeon asked, flabbergasted at the petition.

“Take my sister with you.”

“In a carriage or?”

“Of course. Do you expect her to hide away like you do?”

“No, Princess.”

“You are going to leave first and will wait in the city of Gentai for the carriage I will send Princess Sakura in.” Rino turned around, giving her back to Chaeyeon.

“Yes, Princess.”

“Good,” she turned again, smiling slightly. “It’s time for you to go.” Chaeyeon nodded. “I have the feeling this is the last time we’ll see each other, so I hope you live healthily and that you find your sisters.”

“Thank you, Princess. I hope you also live a healthy, lengthy life.”

“It was nice meeting you, Lee Chaeyeon.”

“Likewise, Princess.”

--

“Yena, we need to leave now,” Chaeyeon ordered as he slammed the door open. Yena was startled, as he was also taking his meal for the midday.

“What? But I’m eating,” he said with his mouth half-filled with rice.

“It’s an emergency. It’s now or never.” Yena jumped at that.

“The Prince wants our heads?” he said after swallowing the bolus.

“No, but he’ll want them if he discovers us.”

“What? Chaeyeon, what did you do?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you on the way. For now, it’s time to run.” Yena seemed to consider the younger man’s words for a moment, but then nodded, jumping on his feet.

“Be careful with your leg!”

“You said we have to run, so forgive me if I don’t choose to crawl.”

“Don’t exaggerate,” Chaeyeon chastised. “Let’s go then.”

Yena grabbed a bag he had lying around, opening the drawers of his furniture to take clothes. Chaeyeon arched his eyebrow.

“What? They aren’t even giving us food for our travels.”

“It’s not that far.”

“We are running away anyways.”

“No, we are...” Chaeyeon seemed to think about it for a moment. “You know what, take whatever. It’s not like we are coming back.”

“I like this Chaeyeon! Would I be able to see an adventurous Tough Guy later?”

“Tch,” Chaeyeon clicked his tongue, but smiled nonetheless, despite the urgency of their task.

“Well, let’s go.” Rushing towards the door, Chaeyeon stopped for a moment.

“Wait, but we have to be conspicuous.” Yena gave him a look.

“So, through the woods?”

“Yes, we have a map, anyways,” Chaeyeon answered, getting a scroll from his clothes.

“Do you even know how to use it?”

“Yes, the Prince told me where we stand.”

“Oh no, the Prince will want our heads.”

“We won’t be here anymore if he does. Let’s go.” Now walking normally, they tried blending with the background. When they were finally in the woods, Yena asked.

“Hey, explain, then. What happened?”

“Well, you remember the task the Prince gave us?”

“Take some scroll to another place.”

“Right, but he had also given me a secret task. I was planning on telling you on the way to that place, just so you know.” Yena nodded, albeit skeptically. “He also wanted me to steal Princess Rino’s belt, to hide it among the belongings of some monk.” Yena’s eyes widened.

“And? You stole it?”

“Tried to,” Chaeyeon scratched his nape, still feeling apologetic towards the Princess. “She came back before expected, and discovered me there.”

“And she wants your head?”

“No one wants my head,” Chaeyeon answered, exasperated, making Yena sighed audibly in relief.

“So?”

“So, she basically told me to go to that same temple and tell them the Prince’s plans, and tell them that I was sent by the Princess.”

“So, we are now double-crossing spies,” Yena exclaimed, looking at Chaeyeon in wonder.

“I guess so.” Chaeyeon shrugged.

“And what do you think this is for?” Yena asked as they resumed their trek.

“I don’t know. Probably something related to matters of the Palace and what not.”

“Like what? Why would the Prince want you to steal something of his sister?”

“You do know royals don’t necessarily get along with each other, right?” Chaeyeon asked skeptically.

“I know that, but to the point to steal something from her?”

“Why do you find it unbelievable? Haven’t there been many kings in Silla in the last few years?”

“Yes, but he’s a monk! He is supposed to be... pacific or something.”

“Well, he seems to have other plans, anyways,” Chaeyeon answered, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of not knowing the whole background of what they were doing.

“Well, the Princess wouldn’t want to kill you, anyways,” Yena said, speeding up.

“What do you mean?” Chaeyeon asked wryly, rushing to be at Yena’s pace.

“She probably liked you so much, she wouldn’t let your head roll.”

“The things rolling are my eyes,” Chaeyeon answered, sighing. “I told you, she isn’t interested in me in that way.

“Uh huh. Sure she isn’t. If I was her, and I wasn’t interested in you, I would have gotten your head as soon as I had discovered you in my room. What if you are a ert?”

“I am not a ert!” the younger man defended himself hotly.

“Hah, now that I think of it, what if the Prince didn’t give you that order, and you just wanted to take something to remind you of her during the trip?” Yena continued, as if he wasn’t listening to Chaeyeon’s defense.

“I did not!” Chaeyeon insisted.

“Chaeyeon the Tough Guy is now a ert,” Yena laughed.

“I am not!” Chaeyeon said again, crossing his arms.

“Are you...? Is Lee Chaeyeon sulking?”

“I am not,” he declared more weakly.

“You are!” Yena said with glee. “Don’t worry, Chaeyeon-ie. I know you’re too much a chicken to do that on your own initiative.”

“I’ll let you know I am not a coward!”

“You aren’t,” Yena acquiesced. “When it’s something related to you getting back home, but talking about a lover... Well...”

“I can’t even like girls,” Chaeyeon retorted.

“You can’t? Or you don’t?” The younger man sputtered helplessly, not expecting Yena to say that.

“I-I don’t,” Chaeyeon answered finally.

“Sure you don’t,” Yena said, turning his head away from Chaeyeon, who was confused at the former’s behavior. He was the one that started teasing him, didn’t him?

“Well, whatever the case, she didn’t tell you anything else?” the older man asked after a moment.

“Ah, right. She wanted us to Princess Sakura to that same temple.”

“What?” Yena looked as if the younger man had hit him on the head. “Why?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“And? Why isn’t she here with us?”

“I think it’s because they don’t want the Prince to know that we are going there together, so we’ll be waiting for her for a few days in a town called Gentai.”

“Woah,” Yena exclaimed. “So, what now?”

“So, we reach that town and wait there until the Princess reaches us.”

“Well, I can’t say I am not thankful for more time to rest, even when I was already bored out of my mind.”

“I get you. When we first got there, I didn’t know what to do with myself after a few days.”

“And, what did you do?” Yena asked, curious.

“Taking long walks through the temple, trying to study more Japanese.”

“I could only study Japanese at the time, and right now I’m already sick of it.”

“It’s a shame we are going to be here for more time.”

“Nah, I’m okay with speaking Japanese. Just... studying the writing...” he made a cross with his arms.

“I get it,” Chaeyeon laughed.

“You do?” Yena asked. “I thought you already knew Japanese.”

“I know how to speak Japanese, but not how to write properly.”

“I didn’t know that,” Yena exclaimed, surprised.

“Yes, well.” Chaeyeon shrugged again.

“Where is this city?” the older man asked, turning to look at their feet.

“It’s to the west to the temple,” the younger man answered as he took out a scroll. “In this map, I was told that we were here.” He pointed to a place in the map, making Yena turn to look at him. “And the city where we will be waiting for Sakura is here, and the temple we are going to is over here.”

“It seems far,” Yena interjected.

“It is, a bit.”

“And, is it safe?”

“That, I don’t know.” Chaeyeon bit the inside of his cheek. “I think it is. The Princess wouldn’t be coming here otherwise.”

“Hope so.”

Finishing their conversation for the time, they continued the travel towards Gentai.