Chapter 576: Return to Goralia

Training was perfectly in Kai's wheelhouse. Whether his own, his wives', or even his students', he enjoyed making meaningful progress without any of the complications of politics. The problem was, he was committed to going to Goralia, which likely wouldn't involve any of that, and he didn't want to.

For a time he thought that there would be nothing driving him except his own sense of obligation. Zae Zin Nim did not particularly want to return and was inwardly-focused in any case, and while some of his students planned to fight there, they had work to do meanwhile.

So Kai was taken off guard when Omilaena was actually the one to nudge.

"When are we taking that trip?" she asked while leaning back against him.

"What incentive do you have to go to Goralia?" he asked.

"Did you forget? I've never actually been. But you and Juray are both from there, so I have to admit I'm curious."

That was all it took: Omilaena's prompting activated his own sense of obligation and so, when the incursion failed to come early and save him the trouble, Kai arranged to tour Goralia. He wasn't sure exactly what he needed to do, other than that the elites wanted him to spread some of the same benefits he'd already visited on Irun and Krysal.

Obviously his wives were coming along with him. He'd hoped to have Inafay and Orotaisin join them, but they were currently in intensive training, trying to hit their own goals before the incursion. Raghi and Juray joined them instead - Lofgan was in private training as well, and they seemed to be feeling lonely. Then there were two surprises: Ankrastor and Untariin asked to come along. Normally Kai would have said the students should keep working, but they were both limited by Physique, so he gave the approval.

Seven was an unwieldy group for him - nothing compared to the entourages that many traveled with, but he was accustomed to three if he wasn't on his own. The elites took them to the fields outside Goraykan, one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in Southern Goralia, where they would need to figure things out from there.

Goraykan was an impressive place, trading the traditional walls of a Goralian city for "walls" of trees with interlaced branches. Not much use against monsters, but Kai had to admit it was impressive, and this far south, they likely didn't need the defenses. From a distance he could tell that the buildings were towering and it likely had all manner of things you'd want from a city, but his eyes moved further up:

The Clanless circled over Goraykan.

Had that been coordinated by the elites? Kai headed in automatically, leaving the others behind in his drive to figure out the situation. Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena seemed happy to go on their own, observing the city and likely whispering to one another about Deadwaste. Meanwhile, Kai attracted some attention but nothing like in Krysal, and his appearance blended in here, so it was easy to cut to the city center.

"Kai!" The voice came from above and Kai spotted Razzagah Lantrian sliding down a rope from the Clanless. As soon as he landed, the younger man rushed up with a grin to shake his hand. "I had a feeling you'd get here soon!"

"Did the elites tell you about our trip?" Kai asked as they shook hands. Razz's dramatic entrance had attracted more attention, which meant plenty of people in the square were now focused on them.

"Not exactly, but I put some things together. You ready to reunite with the Clanless? I have some ideas for how you could help, in less time than you're probably thinking."

They walked together between merchants' stalls as Razz caught him up on what he and the Clanless had been doing. Truthfully, Kai hadn't been thinking about it, as teleportation was much faster, but apparently the ship was being used as a symbol of cooperation. It was still tied to him, and as people started to make the connection, Kai lost his anonymity and more people began to watch.

Goralia itself was doing fairly well, at least as far as Razz was concerned. The conflict between north and south had softened as everyone came together after the last incursion, and strengthened relationships with the Southern Reach gave them another boost. But with the damage to the wall, Razz was convinced they needed a bit more, and that was where Kai was uncertain.

"What do you expect us to do?" Kai asked the question more softly, as there was a crowd now. It was probably good for people to see Goralian merchants and hunters speaking together, but they didn't need to hear his doubts. "We don't have ideas for improving Classes, and we're running out of time for training."

"I don't expect you to give Goralia power," Razz said with an odd smile.

"What else do we have to give?"

"Hope." Razz stepped closer and looked up at him sincerely. "The people have gone from being skeptical of the incursions to terrified - monsters pierced far enough south to leave real scars. They need to believe that the Frontier can hold the line so that they continue to send support."

"Huh." Kai looked around at the crowds and realized that he could see it: the people were looking for a sign that someone competent was in charge. Most of the time Kai felt like he had no idea what he was doing, but he supposed that compared to everyone here, he had a plan.

Furthermore he had Razz, whose profile had apparently risen in his absence. Journeying across the Southern Reach and coming back in a fancy ship like the Clanless probably helped with that. They spoke with some local leaders and merchants, developing a plan to skim across multiple cities, distributing supplies.

Aside from abstract benefits like "hope" Kai would also be giving training and advice, which would hopefully bolster southern forces. At this late hour, the latter might be more important: people couldn't increase their strength much in the time remaining, but good tactics could make all the difference.

They met up with the others, who had finished their own business, and their arrival ratcheted up the enthusiasm in the crowd even more. Zae Zin Nim and Omilaena turned out to have done some shopping and changed into tailored Goralian tunics - the sight of two women from other continents dressed as Goralians was a strong symbol that the crowds clearly approved of. It didn't hurt that they were beautiful, and though Kai was used to that, seeing them in those clothes did more for him than he expected.

As they all prepared to board the Clanless and begin their tour, they split up to conduct different tasks. Juray worked with Razz to manage the loading of key ingredients, with Raghi serving as muscle. Normally Kai would have joined them, but he was apparently too important for that now, so instead he went to talk to some city leaders, who threw out too many names for him to catch.

"Goralia may be strong," the mayor - a middle-aged woman - told him, "but it's falling behind the other Frontier nations."

"The problem is mid-tier hunters." That came from the head of the local Hunters Guild, a young and muscular man. "It used to be, we got someone to near 100 Power, that was enough to stand out. But that's becoming commonplace in Krysal these days, and the new Irunian soldiers are hitting 200. The standard is rising and we can't keep up."

"We've gained some potent mana, but it won't bridge that gap." An older man was some sort of prominent merchant, Kai was fuzzy on the details. "Don't let Goralia fall behind."

It was surreal to have people from the nation that had exiled him coming to him for help, but if Kai punished unrelated people for what happened to him, what kind of man was he? He tried to give the leaders of Goraykan some hope without making any false promises. They seemed grateful enough, or at least that was what they were displaying.

As he headed back to join the others on the Clanless, Kai was surprised to see a huge crowd had gathered around Raghi. Observing more closely, he saw that it was a lot of young men and women - not merchants or hunters from major clans, just average people. He realized that made sense: Razz acted like a noble, and beauties like Omilaena looked untouchable, but Raghi was one of them.

When the Clanless landed and they all jumped aboard, Raghi got a loud cheer from the whole crowd. The man looked stunned and Kai made sure to move beside him and pull up his hand so that he didn't forget to wave to the crowd.

"Not used to being considered a hero?" Kai asked as they pulled away. "It's strange for me too. I was a pariah in Goralia once, so it feels odd to be liked."

"I'm... not used to being noticed at all." Raghi turned toward him with a slightly stunned expression. "Fighters like me and Lofgan... we're just muscle. Background to somebody that actually matters. It's strange to be treated like a person."

Kai considered in silence as he realized that he had again underestimated the difference in their experiences. As many times as fate had cursed him, it at least noticed, whereas many considered themselves ignored by fate, destined to be no one.

Well, he would try to defy fate like this too.

"If not for you..." Raghi put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "If you hadn't noticed us, none of this would have happened."

"Hey, don't be like that," Kai said. "You're well on your way to 400 Power. That's far above normal hunters, and you'll be moving to the elites soon."

"Only because you noticed us. If-"

"I'm not the only one. Juray noticed you too, didn't she?" Kai nudged Raghi to look to Juray, who was leaning over the railing to wave to the crowd one more time. With the wind whipping her hair and clothing, she looked good, and she flashed Raghi a brilliant smile.

That seemed to encourage Raghi a bit, so Kai clapped him on the shoulder and headed on. He'd wanted to talk to Razz, but the merchant had disappeared into the ship. Instead, as he passed Juray, she separated from the railing to talk to him in a low voice.

"Is Raghi okay?" she asked. "He gets quiet sometimes."

"Self-worth issues," Kai said. "Do you two talk?"

"We talk, but... Raghi is very sweet, but he's not as communicative as you were."

"Well, he's having a hard time believing all this. Make him feel special."

Juray's eyebrows shot up and she gave a strange smile. "My, we're forward today."

"I didn't mean that, but hey, you're good." Kai returned her odd smile and their expressions both shifted to grins. "You know, if we'll be traveling together, we should have dinner sometime. The two of you with us, since I know Omilaena will want to talk to you."

"I know some good places in the south, so consider it a plan."

He passed Juray and felt her go join Raghi's side, but Kai didn't look back. Instead he continued on, still with a residual smile on his face. They had a plan for their trip that didn't sound so bad, so things seemed to be looking up. That lasted for all of a few seconds before Zae Zin Nim stormed up with Omilaena not far behind.

"This is a disaster," Zae Zin Nim said.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

"Razz took our bed. That was a good bed."

"I'm pretty sure he'd trade if we asked."

"No, he's ruined it." Zae Zin Nim fell into a pretend sulk, but she did seem irritated. Before Kai could act, Omilaena shifted up beside her, putting an arm around her waist.

"Come on," she whispered, "aren't we the important part of any bed?"

Kai wrapped an arm around her shoulder to help convince her. They might have some unknown trials ahead, but this, at least, he could handle.