Firmingsalos the place where Kiliffia first met Kana, the goddess who saved her. The place where she was born and raised by her loving father, who raised her alone after her mother passed away. It was her hometown, a place she will always cherish.
The carriage slowly stopped a small distance away from Firmingsalos at an intersection. This was where the girls would be dropped off, and they would carry on the rest of the way on foot. Both of them already had their rings on. Kiliffia's fluff fluff was not hidden in an illusion of a young sixteen year old human girl with brown hair and green eyes. As for Tia, her panda features were hidden to make her resemble a girl around Kiliffia's age with blonde hair and blue eyes. Both girls looked very pretty and were like flowers that had just blossomed.
"I still can't get used to you looking like that, Kili." Tia said as she held onto Kiliffia's arm.
"You are supposed to call me sister from now on, remember? Do not mess up." Kiliffia chided. Although they were still in the Rural Kingdom, Firmingsalos was still a border city and could be full of spies.
"Sorry..." Tia lowered her head as she apologized. She was still not used to this whole alias thing.
"Let's go in. I can not let my father know who I am, but I can at least check in on him. Our meet up with Dev is not for a few hours." Kiliffia and Tia were both briefed on the mission on their way down. They were told what to do and what not to do. And one of those things they were not allowed to do was tell even their own family who they were.
"Then we should hurry." Tia said as she pulled Kiliffia along.
The city was busy as usual. Many people were coming and going. As Kiliffia walked down the streets with Tia, she did notice a larger amount of humans within the city, which felt odd for her. Even before the war with the Yuthia Theocracy, there were not this many humans in town. She also noticed that the beastkin who lived here did not seem bothered by it either, so as far as she could tell, the humans here were either here legally, or they were staying low key and acting as if they did not mind being around beastkins.
After about two hours, the two finally stood in front of the Triten Armor Shop. But to Kiliffia's dismay, the shop seemed to be locked up tight. "What's going on… Tia, follow me."
"Huh? Hey, wait!" Tia yelled out as she chased after Kiliffia.
No one took much notice of the two girls as they ran to the backside of the shop. The backyard was enclosed by a tall fence, but with Kiliffia's and Tia's abilities, they were easily able to hop over it. Kiliffia walked to the back entrance that was normally only accessible from the inside and squatted down next to the door itself. She reached down and picked up a stone next to the door. At first look, this stone would seem like any other stone and also blended in with the stones around it. But at the bottom of this particular stone, there was a small hatch that Kiliffia opened up that revealed a metal key.
"Let's go in." Kiliffia did not wait for an answer from Tia as she opened the door.
When she stepped into the shop, she was met with a stagnant musty smell. One could tell the shop had not been aired out in a long time. There was only the dim light of the setting sun shining through the closed curtains of the windows lighting up the dusty floorboards. With each step, Kiliffia left another footprint on the dusty floor as she walked towards the front of the shop.
When she walked out from the back room, the shop that would normally be full of different kinds of armor on display was completely empty. All the items had been removed. "Kili over there..." Tia said as she walked up from behind Kiliffia. She had quickly spotted a white object sitting on the counter a few steps away. In such a dark room, it really stood out.
Kiliffia turned her head to see what Tia was talking about and walked over to it. "An envelope? My name is on it..."
Having a bad feeling, Kiliffia's hands began to tremble as she opened the envelope. Inside was a piece of folded paper that she pulled out. Seeing the scribbles on the paper, Kiliffia already knew it was written by her father. She took a deep breath and began to read what was written.
"Kiliffia, if you are reading this, that means I have taken off. I must apologize to you. You see… Although I raised you as my own… I have lied to you these years. I took on the role of your father in order to raise you in place of your deceased parents. You see, I grew up with your parents. We were childhood friends. Hell, I even fell in love with your mother. But your mom was in love with your father. Sadly or maybe luckily, your father fell in love with her as well.
"We used to head out on adventures when we were young, leveling up as a team in order to quickly reach our next evolution. As the years passed, we stayed friends. I was even there to watch your father marry your mother. Then you were born. You were the apple of our eyes. Your father immediately made me your godfather, and I was even able to name you. So in a way, I guess you could say I have been your father since birth even if we are not related by blood.
"Happy times prevailed… That was until one year later. Your mother was kidnapped by some human noble right before your father's eyes. He did everything he could to take her back, but there were too many. Your father could only hold you in his arms as he was beaten by those men.
"That same night during a rainstorm, Your father dropped you off in my care while he went out to search for your mother. I tried to persuade him to wait until we had more people. Since I knew the enemy was strong but he wouldn't listen….
"He came back three days later heavily injured. There was no way to save him. He struggled with everything he had to come back to you so he could see you once more. He said that your mother was already dead. She took her life to protect herself from being tainted by that sick bastard who kidnapped her. The next day your father passed away. The noble's name who took your mother at that time, name, was Walter Lambfield. I have healed up enough to take a trip to the human city of Bofelton. The place where that bastard lives.
"Kiliffia, do not act rash. I do not plan to act rash either. I will abide my time and gather information, and when the timing is right, I will skin that bastard until I bleed him dry! I will avenge my friends and your parents. I will not allow that bastard who took away my little girl's ability to spend her life with her parents.
"But one thing to remember, Kiliffia, although I may not be your father by blood. To me, you will always be my little girl. And I will always protect you in your parents' place as your father. Be good and do well in life. When I finish what needs to be done, I will come find you.
"I love you, Kiliffia. I will return…
"Dad..."