—We beg forgiveness of the dragon's descendant lords!! We had no idea such important people were visiting us.
—Daichi placed the sword before him and knelt, bowing his forehead almost until it touched the floor.
—The subjects of the forest ask your forgiveness for their humble reception, we should have brought offerings!! —Hikigaerou, overwhelmed by the situation, also made a deep bow.
The quails were delighted with such a revelation and continued documenting the encounter with passion, crying out for more scrolls since the ones they carried wouldn't be enough.
—Your lordships, we are delighted to present you with these silver seeds so that the paths among the grass, thorns, and brush in the immortal forest open wide for you —Daichi struck his chest proudly, handing over a beautiful long seed resembling a spike.
—And from the frog clan, these golden leaves that will grant you safe passage and lodging in any of our forests and ponds; though of course, you must respect the food chain of the other creatures —Hikigaerou took from his belongings a beautiful green leaf in the front with a golden marbled backside.
—Your gifts are incredible!! Are you sure you want to give them to us? —Mina stared in awe at the delicate beauty of both objects.
—We insist, it would delight us for you to have free passage to our home… which is also yours by right —Daichi snorted through his nose and looked at Hikigaerou for confirmation.
—That's right, your lordships, the waters of the immortal forest will always be kind to you, you may plunge into them with confidence whenever you are here —Hikigaerou blew a deep puff of smoke and exhaled over the water as if inscribing the mandate upon it.
—Your lordships… we, the scribe feather clan, cannot stay behind!! It would be an offense to do so, so we grant you a resting place in the fig tree house! Whenever you require it, you may come to the forest and the house will find you, you can live there if you like!! —The quails puffed their tiny crests and handed over a small colorful pebble shaped like a tiny seashell.
—Ahahaha… Ithil, Mina, this is turning into a race to see who gives the best gift… I suggest we accept all three and close the exchanges if we don't want to cause an incident among those involved —Jacob said in a low voice.

—Boy, what a problem… —Leonidas looked at the others as the situation continued; a bit of tension could be felt between Daichi, Hikigaerou, and the quails.
—Very well!! We are honored by your visit, we are here to help his Excellency Ayakashi solve the town's problem, we still need to prepare for this mission and we'd like to have time to get ready —Jacob said aloud. The animal groups seemed surprised, but they understood. The tanukis vanished into the branches playing cheerful tunes, the frogs croaked rhythmically as their sonorous choral chants faded into the waters, and finally, the quails painted the final details and moments with mastery and bade farewell more silently.
—That was a lot, I feel like we almost caused an incident… the pelt is so soft!! —Inola had traded a pair of gloves for some animal pelts. Joyfully enjoying their soft feel, he quickly tucked them into his bag.
—Very well, Magaska has enough rare fruits to last the winter!! —Magaska looked at her loot of crystallized rebrils; in her backpack, she had about ten packages made with leaves and cotton cord, each containing some twenty fruits or so.
—Hahaha, you know, Magaska, with those fruits you could buy a small house in the countryside —Jacob laughed while tucking gold nuggets, silver, and some gems into his backpack as Lizva adjusted it to make sure it was secure.
—Miss Magaska, what will you do with all those fruits? will you eat them by yourself? —Lizva was counting the quantity.
—No!! I'll eat them on special occasions!! Lizva is invited, but not Jacob, he can buy his own —Magaska gave Lizva a gentle hug.
—Well, I suppose I could, but only very few, ahahahaa… Alright, it's time —Jacob interrupted everyone.
—As you know, I’ve been working quite a bit lately; Íthil and I believe it’s time to upgrade your arsenal.—
Jacob reached for a large bag inside the enormous pack Leonidas was carrying.
—Very well, Ithil, here is your new blade launcher, I named it "Aella"! —Jacob picked up a mechanical braclet bearing bronze and metal reliefs, hiding a small internal mechanism designed as a hidden weapon. Jacob handed it to Ithil.
—Wooooaa, awesome, dwarf, then… —Ithil looked at Jacob with anticipation.
—Yes, Ithil, it fires hollow discs, here are three simple magazines and I must say, though I could put explosives in the discs this gadget launches, I don't think they're safe due to a multitude of mitigating factors I'll spare you from listing, so for now you'll have to play without explosions. —Jacob stretched out his hand and Lizva handed him another wrapper.
—Haha, alright, dwarf, this one is great, it's barely visible under the glove. —Ithil put on the leather glove, completely covering the weapon.
—Here it is, Mr. Jacob!! —Lizva proudly handed over the next one.
—Thanks, Lizva. This one is especially important, Lizva herself helped me weave the polycrakelite knots. Magaska, this front torso, leg, and arm armor will give you resistance to many types of attacks, though it's not as strong as original materials; it's more of an jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none piece. It's tough enough to act as a weapon, so your kicks and bare-handed strikes will be much more effective. Lizva named it "White Mail." —Jacob handed Magaska a light breastplate with boots and gloves that gave the appearance of a snake's underbelly; it was light and soft to the touch.
—Ooohh, Magaska is grateful, and Varneth too —Magaska ran and hugged Lizva while Jacob watched.
—Right, if she's happy, that's fine… I guess. Lizva, hand me the next one. —Lizva was hugging Magaska tightly, but hearing Jacob, she ran to the huge backpack Leonidas was carrying.
—This one is yours, Leo… hope you like it, I called it "Procyon." —Jacob struggled to hold a carbon-black triangle; the matte finish of the object seemed to absorb the light. Jacob handed it to Leonidas with a smile.
—Mm, brother Jacob, this shield is certainly unique, but pretty heavy for its size, don't you think? —Leonidas adjusted the shield perfectly to his right arm.
—Aa, yeah, hehehe, there's a trigger system on the handle, give it a try! Back up, guys! —Piaaaang! The shield extended, taking the shape of a teardrop pointing downwards,big enough to cover Leonidas's entire body by the front.
—!!! Incredible —Leonidas, astonished, pressed it again and the shield retracted, leaving his fist covered by a black block that looked like a gauntlet.
—That's not all, hehehe, now press just the upper part!! —Kchaaang! Once again the shield expanded, but this time a spiral of metal plates created a circular shield in front of Leonidas.
—Here is the manual, you have six shields in total, each possessing a specific material granting you resistance and functionality —Jacob laughed before the huge guy, proud of his creation.
—Hehehe… hahaha, HAHAHAHA! Brother Jacob, you're the best!! —Leonidas hugged little Jacob, lifting him off the floor.
—Haha, Mina, yours is in the next bag, Lizva, give her her weapon!! —Lizva searched through the backpack and found Mina's weapon.
—Your weapon is similar to Leonidas's too, it's composed of three sections… these can assemble like your old staff or become a triple staff… If you point at that rock and press the middle, you'll get a surprise. —Mina glanced at the tip; it had four small tubes at the end.Mina pointed to the stone and pressed Kccchhhang! A fist composed of four claws shot out from the end of the weapon, embedding itself in the rock without a problem.
—Wooooaa, this is incredible, Jacob. —Mina gave Jacob a hearty slap on the shoulder; he rubbed the spot where Mina hit him and stood back up.
—Ahaha, yeah, we call it "Alba," it has those hooks on both sides, they can hold up to 850 kilos each; to unhook just twist and done. —Smiling, Jacob turned to look at Inola.
—Aa, yes, Inola, yours was a bit harder. —Jacob picked up a small rosary unlike the ones they normally used; in the center, it held a small crystal that seemed to flicker rhythmically.
—What is this??? —Inola stared at the small metal fitting.
—This item will help you with two things: I analyzed your primary battle style, your approach is very static, so this item will help you both conceal your presence and accelerate the charge of the rosary you regularly use. —Jacob smiled at Inola.
—… He, he, thanks. —Inola softened her voice, giving Jacob a sincere thank you and a hug .
—Hahaha, don't worry, now you can unleash all your fury against whatever we fight. And those were the new weapons, folks. I think it's almost time, don't you think, Ithil? —Jacob looked at Ithil, who was adjusting his gear.
—That's right, guys, let's let Ayakashi know and head to Nichiren. —Everyone raised their fists and exclaimed:
—We all go together and we all come back together!!