Dossoles, Bolívar
10 : 00 - 1 : 00
Sunny

If you are wondering why our story starts in a tourist spot of all things... I will tell you, it's because the Jay in this world moved to Bolívar with his parents after an... incident. Surely, they could've opted to Kazimierz, Leithania or even Victoria for a new start, but they instead chose Dossoles. Why? Because, according to them, if you ever wish to fall off the face of the Earth so no one would bother you, perhaps a place as random as Dossoles would be the best place for you to hide at. For about 5 years, he has lived there, with a very convenient 3-member family with an adopted member keeping him company throughout 5 years. Today, It's currently summertime in the Terran year of 1097. It is also the 8th Dossoles Warrior Championship, in which every 2 years the city will have its artificial seawater renewed during the hot summer when tourists across Terra flood the city, and the championship is pretty much a way to keep tourists from being bored during their stay at the city. Now, while this sounds jolly and carefree, I shall remind you that Dossoles is located in Bolívar, a nation that has been in the epicenter of the ongoing three-way conflict.

One side is the Singas Dynasty, which is formally recognized by Terrans as the de facto government of Bolívar. The second is the Coalition Government or Autonomous Government, formed by the opposition within Bolívarian parliament, is the most well-funded faction due to their covert aid from Columbia, and has been looking for opportunities to take control of Bolívar and becomes the worst opponent faced by the Singas Dynasty. The third and last faction is called The True Bolívarians, AKA the Bolívarian Resistance, is a populist paramilitary group of insurgents made up of the Bolívarian people who had enough with the conflict between the Singas and the Coalition Government, as well as Columbia's and Leithania's imperialism. The Arknights variant of Jay was a child soldier for the True Bolívarians for a short time alongside a certain Perro and a certain Liberi, before he decided to sign up as a worker under Mayor Candela, the mayor of Dossoles.

Candela is an... interesting person. To put it simply, she doesn't give a damn about morals, the ethics of even her own citizens. The thing she cares about is the "idea" or "concept" of Dossoles surviving, and she will do anything to preserve it, even if it means letting the whole city burn down and then rebuilding it from scratch. If you want to know how much of a powerful woman she is, she is basically one of the very few who can rival Wei Yenwu and Herman Doykos since, like them, she managed to create an entire city from nothing, and did so despite many political and practical roadblocks. Now, getting back to Jay...

His Arknights variant was actually sleeping during the time Candela was welcoming Ch'en Hui-chieh and Lin Yühsia on her cruise ship, the symbol of Dossoles itself. He was a feline with traits of the Blonde Main Coon's ears and tail, beautiful ocean blue eyes, and was wearing a white beach trouser and a tank top with a palm tree and a sunset, and he was also holding a 0.9 meters long sword, a blade tinted black, the hilt tinted blue and yellow, and a guard that's colored azure blue. There was a small tag hanging from the base of the handle, and it reads "Cerulean Birch" in cursive writing. A hand suddenly taps his shoulder, and Jay bolts up, his left eye briefly showing a glow of blue and green to signify that the Jay we know has taken root in this one's subconscious. He looks to his left to make the smile of a handsome man.

??? : "Good morning, sleepyhead. How was your nap? Did you have a nice dream?"

Jay : "Er... nesto?"

Ernesto : "The one and only. You do remember why we were called here by Lady Candela, right?"

Jay : "Uh... Does it hurt to ask for a recap?"

Ernesto : "You and I are gonna become guides for two special people staying here. How could you forget that?"

Jay : "Maybe I was just too sleepy..."

Ernesto : "Hm... Maybe a lollipop can help jog that memory?"

Jay : "The kind that are small and are literally the color of the flavor but are super easy to eat?"

Ernesto : "Well, you only eat those kinds of lollipops. Remember that time when you tried to stuff a spiral lollipop in your mouth at once?"

Jay : "... I thought we talked about that already."

Ernesto : "Oh, right... We did. Haha, sorry. If you want a lollipop, I got one just here in my pocket."

Ernesto opens his tiny yellow bag on his waist, and reveals a strawberry sphere lollipop to Jay, who was instantly starstruck.

Ernesto : "... A thank-you can be nice, Jay. This cost 40 LMD off my paycheck."

Jay : "Alright, then. Thank you. Now, can I have that lollipop?"

Ernesto : "Sure. Let me just see if I can open this thing..."

The biggest upside to sphere lollipops were the fact that they are way easier to eat. The biggest downside to sphere lollipops is how it might be a bit tricky to take off the plastic wrapping, especially with newly-cut nails, or perhaps the Perro race is not that quite admirable when it comes to these sorts of things.

Jay : "Because why did you cut your nails yesterday?"

Ernesto : "I'd be insane if I didn't do that, else the Mayor might notice and remind me to cut them. That would be embarrassing. How come you didn't?"

Jay : "Us felines are just built differently, or maybe I just got lazy? Actually, give me that."

Jay snatches the lollipop from his friend's hands, and with his nails, he took off the wrapping and immediately stuffed the candy in his mouth.

Jay : "That's how you open a plastic wrapper, hun."

Ernesto : "I guess you are right... or maybe I should've just used a scissor to cut it off."

Jay : "Not if it meant damaging the lollipop itself, too."

Ernesto : "Alright, alright. You win this one. Lady Candela will call us in no time by this point."

Jay : "10 seconds."

Literally, 10 seconds later...

?

?? : "Ernesto, Jay, come in."

The Perro looks at his friend, and motions to him that they should enter the room wherein Candela and the two visitors were. He gets a sight of the two visitors; one Lung and one Zalak.

Ernesto : "Lady Candela."

Candela : "These are two of my sharpest diplomats, Ernesto and Jay."

Ernesto : "Pleasure to meet you, señoritas."

Jay : "W-what he said."

Candela : "They speak Yanese too, but most people here speak Victorian and Leithanian. They can translate for you."

Ch'en : "No need. I speak both."

Yühsia : "Same here..."

Candela : "Oh, wonderful. In that case, if you run into anything you need help with, such as the specifics of the championship, then they are the people to ask. Right, boys?"

Ernesto : "Yes, of course."

Jay : "Yes, ma'am! But, if it's something math-related, go ask Ernesto instead of me... for reasons."

Yühsia : "Alright."

Ch'en : "Thank you."

Candela : "Of course, if you find yourself annoyed by idiots like them, you are free to come to me with any questions directly, hahaha."

Jay : (Hey...! Who're you calling an idiot?)

Candela : "Okay, I still have other guests to meet, so please excuse me. I will leave the rest to the youth."

Yühsia : "Thank you very much for your time, Lady Candela."

Candela exits the room, and Jay is left with Ernesto, Ch'en hui-chieh, and Lin Yühsia.

Hell, one of them is not even wearing a swimsuit... in this kind of weather! Unless you have a high heat tolerance, Jay doesn't see anyone going to a tourist spot fully-clothed and barely showing any skin. But hey, they do them. If they wanna be cooked like barbeque in this weather, then so be it. Now, with Candela out of the picture, it was... a very awkward silence.

Ch'en : "..."

Yühsia : "..."

Jay : "..."

Ernesto : "Pleased to make your acquaintance, lovely ladies. I am the International Trade Management Department's deputy director, Ernesto Salas. Please just call me Ernesto."

Jay : "I'm Jayden. I also work under the International Trade Management Department, as a general manager. But, really, refer to me simply by Jay for short."

Ernesto : "I welcome you two to our city. If there is anything you would like to know about the city or there is anywhere you would like to visit, please feel free to ask. Our mission from Lady Candela is to make sure you feel at home."

Jay : "Sure, must've been from the other side of the planet, but... perhaps maybe think of this as a second home during your stay. I guarantee you girls, no one is gonna do anything funny around here... at least, the majority of them..."

Ch'en : "Please, don't trouble yourself."

Yühsia : "I'm good. Thank you."

Jay : (It didn't land...)

Ernesto : "Haha. Well, first things first, your phones have already been readjusted to connect to our intercity net. You are free to make calls or look up cute videos."

Jay : "And even videos that might get some very specific people in trouble, but you get the picture."

Ernesto : "Here's how you can get in touch with me, Jay, or Lady Candela directly. And here are the credit cards that the mayor has prepared for you. All your transactions within the city may be paid using this card, and there is no credit limit. All your expenses will be paid by the government. You can go on the shopping spree of a lifetime if you'd like."

Jay : (A recipe for disaster, frankly...)

Ch'en : "We don't need all this."

Ernesto : "This is the way the city treats its guests. Please, just accept them."

Jay : "And besides, you're on vacation. I don't think you're gonna call it a vacation anymore with the... how do you say this... very high prices for literally everything here? Even sandals can cost you around 900-something LMD."

Ernesto : "Aside from that... It looks like you have some catching up to do, so we will intrude longer. We will be heading to your hotel next. Jay and I will wait for you downstairs. Come look for us as soon as you're ready."

Jay : "Well, then... We leave you two to chat with each other personally."

Ernesto opens the door, and keeps it open for Jay to follow him. After that, he closes the door, and walks down to the deck. As they are doing so, it seems that the cruise ship is gonna be docking on shore soon. But, they decide to take this time as a little chat.

Jay : "... How come I can't get a credit card like that?"

Ernesto : "Jay, you are already employed and you are being generously paid monthly. Why would you need a credit card with no credit limit if you are already able to get tons of LMD?"

Jay : "Nothing! I just... feel like having a credit card sometimes. You know, remember that beautiful souvenir in the mall that we walked by and neither you or I had enough to afford it? I really want to get that souvenir if it's the last thing I do!"

Ernesto : "I went back to the store this morning and, sad to say, someone else got it before we did. That's okay... they'll restock the thing two weeks later at a 20% discount!"

Jay : "..."

Ernesto : "Are you frowning?"

Jay : "N-no! Of course, not! You did say they will restock two weeks from now, so... I guess I have more time to save up."

Ernesto : "You spent all your money on that eat-all-you-can buffet we had three days ago with your cousin, Alex. And yet, he paid for half of the expenses since you could only manage to cover your own fees."

Jay : "Well, I'm not a rich guy and you aren't, either. Don't come for me like that... Come on, you went to the buffet too!"

Ernesto : "I did, but I had enough to cover a good fraction of the expenses."

Jay : "... Maybe I shouldn't have tried eating all those cookies and cakes and macarons..."

Ernesto : "Well, then. We're gonna dock in a few seconds. Better go tell the girls. Do you want to come--"

Jay : "No, thanks. I'll just stay here and wait for you."

Ernesto nods, and heads up to the room where Ch'en and Yühsia are currently in. In the meantime, Jay spots a mysterious boy with pink highlights and red overalls, surfing. They lock eyes, and for a brief moment, the boy's left eye started glowing pink and red. He didn't notice it himself, but Jay's eyes glowed, too. Could that mean there are more people who are like him? Hm. Must be quite the small word. Ernesto, Yühsia, and Ch'en all came down and, after the ship docks, they went straight to the hotel where the ladies will be staying.

At nighttime...

Jay was currently in his room in his parents' home. They had a very big house, not too far from the beach side. The lights were already off when he arrived back from work, so rest assured, his parents already went to bed. They did leave some dinner for him; Yanese-style chicken fried rice. His stomach growled, and he sat on one of the table chairs to eat his food. They seemed to have heated the meal prior to going to sleep, and perhaps that was the best choice. I don't think eating cold chicken fried rice will be the best dish served to someone originally from Lungmen... considering he and his parents usually eat this every dinner on an important day. Specifically, it was July 23, the birthday of Lee, one of Jay's dads. They had fish for breakfast, then moon cakes and dumplings were Jay's snacks if ever he felt like eating during work time. That would make his papa... 28? And his other dad, Kamui, would be 29 this coming October 23. And Jay himself would be... [CLASSIFIED] by September 26.

After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, he gets ready to rest and calls it a day. On his bed, he was still thinking about that weird boy who was surfing a few hours ago. Could there be more Omnipresent Beings than he thought? And if that was the case, wouldn't that mean that all the worlds he has access to see just a small margin of the real picture? Perhaps he should just rest and get ready for tomorrow. Staying up all night thinking about that weird boy will do nothing but make him sleep-deprived.