Kokkoro/Stories
While Alk and friends are out shopping, Kokkoro stops a thief from running away. Grateful townspeople reward her with plenty of groceries, and Alk brings her back to Starview to teach her how to make use of the ingredients.
Kokkoro: Hmm... Are these prices reasonable, I wonder...
Stella: Hello, Kokkoro.
Kokkoro: Good day, Stella. Alk. Thank you once again for the other day.
Alk: Always happy to help. Are you out shopping?
Kokkoro: Yes, I am attempting to purchase ingredients for dinner.
Kokkoro: However, I am having some trouble, as I am not yet used to Palpebra's markets.
Kokkoro: Would you happen to know any shops with reasonable prices in the area?
Alk: You bet we do. We're in the middle of shopping for dinner too, actually.
Stella: You are more than welcome to join us.
Kokkoro: Thank you. I appreciate it.
Kokkoro: What an impressive haul.
Kokkoro: I am astonished that such quality ingredients could be purchased for a good price.
Alk: Palpebra's a bustling center of trade. There are enough shops and products here to make anyone's head spin.
Alk: Makes it hard to find the good shops without the proper know-how.
Kokkoro: I see. I will keep this in mind.
Man: Get outta the way!
Townsfolk: S-somebody stop that man! He's a thief!
Alk: Sorry, Stella, look after our stuff!
Kokkoro: Alk, meager though my powers may be, allow me to assist.
Alk: Wow, your magic really is something, Kokkoro! I feel as swift as the wind!
Kokkoro: Stealing from others is a crime. Acknowledge your wrongdoing, and turn yourself in quietly.
Thief: Cut the crap and piss off, kid!
Kokkoro: It appears that you have no intention of repenting.
Kokkoro: You won't make any friends with that kind of attitude, you know.
Thief: Shut yer trap! Now move!
Kokkoro: I did not expect so many townspeople to shower us with gifts...
Alk: Well, they were pretty impressed. Plus they wanted to show their appreciation.
Kokkoro: I am a little embarrassed, but also relieved as my coin purse is in dire straits at the moment.
Kokkoro: Though... there are quite a few ingredients in here that I have never seen before. I am unsure how to prepare them.
Alk: Oh. Guess it makes sense you wouldn't know what to do with stuff that doesn't exist in Landosol.
Alk: How about I show you the ropes?
Kokkoro: I see you are very skilled at cooking, Alk. Your practiced movements indicate as much.
Light: He's had to spend a lot of time in here, considering how often we rely on him for meals.
Alk: I do it because I enjoy it though.
Stella: It smells good. I am starting to get hungry.
Kokkoro: Hehe, the food will be ready momentarily. Just be patient a little while longer, all right?
Stella: Okay.
Kokkoro: Ah. My apologies.
Kokkoro: You appeared so earnestly excited, I instinctually treated you as I would a child...
Stella: It's all right.
Kokkoro: Are those seasonings also native to Palpebra?
Alk: Nah, we brought these home from another world.
Kokkoro: I see... I presume you utilized the World Flipper then.
Kokkoro: To be honest, I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the existence of such an apparatus.
Light: If you're so curious, why not join us the next time we embark on an adventure?
Alk: That's a good idea. While we're at it, we might even find a way to get you home to Landosol.
Kokkoro: Are you sure it is all right for me to accompany you?
Light: Of course. Stella agrees as well, I'm sure. Stella?
Stella: ...
Alk: Uh, Stella? Something wrong?
Stella: I am being patient like Kokkoro instructed.
Kokkoro: And how patient you have been. You are a good listener.
Kokkoro: Good girl. You deserve all of the head pats...
Stella: Th-thank you...
Kokkoro: Hehe, you are very welcome. It is the least I can do after you have so graciously allowed me into your home.
Stella: You are always welcome here, Kokkoro.
Alk and co. investigate mysterious pedestals popping up around Palpebra and discover they are altars created by Kokkoro in an attempt to contact Ameth, her goddess. They help her erect an altar in another location, but this attempt is unsuccessful too. Kokkoro is undaunted by the failure, as her duty remains unchanged even without her goddess's voice to guide her.
Alk: A mysterious object?
Pur Lilie: Yeppers. Someone's been building weird pedestals all over Palpebra's surrounding areas.
Pur Lilie: Nothing's come of it yet, but there's still the possibility it's a setup for a dangerous ritual...
Pur Lilie: That's why you'll be looking into what those things are for and who made them!
Alk: So this is what's causing all the hubbub...
Light: It certainly is odd, but at the very least, I don't sense any evil housed within it.
Alk: Wait a second...
Alk: I swear I've seen one of these back in Starview! Just popped up one day out of the blue!
Light: Truly? What could this mean...
Kokkoro: Hello, Alk. Light. I did not expect to encounter you out here.
Alk: Hey, Kokkoro... We're actually here on Guild business.
Light: Do you know anything about this weird pedestal?
Kokkoro: I do, as I am the one who made it, but... Is something amiss?
Kokkoro: I see... My apologies. I did not mean to cause such a fuss.
Alk: That's okay. I'm just glad we didn't have to deal with anything dangerous...
Kokkoro: This is an altar to the goddess Ameth. I had intended to use it to pray to her.
Kokkoro: When I resided in Landosol, Lady Ameth would sometimes bestow oracles upon me.
Kokkoro: But since I came here, I have not felt the presence of her power whatsoever.
Light: So you were hoping the altars would reestablish a connection.
Kokkoro: That is correct. I had hoped that building multiple altars in different locations would allow me to hear her words once more.
Alk: That would explain the one I found in Starview.
Kokkoro: My apologies. I received permission from Miss Stella to build it, but I should have let the rest of you know what I was doing as well.
Alk: Don't worry about it. Once we let the Guild know what's going on, I'm sure they won't be mad either.
Light: Have the altars produced any results?
Kokkoro: Unfortunately not.
Kokkoro: To be honest, the altars I made were only imitations of those I have seen. It would be more surprising if they worked.
Alk: Hmm...
Alk: I've got an idea, if you're up for it.
Light: Interesting. You think there is a possibility of success if the altar is built within an appropriately sanctified space.
Alk: That, and it might help to change worlds too.
Shrine Priest: You are welcome to use our space if praying is all you wish to do.
Kokkoro: Thank you very much.
Kokkoro: Now for the moment of truth.
Kokkoro: Lady Ameth...
Alk: How'd it go?
Kokkoro: The attempt failed...
Alk: Ah...
Alk: Sorry, I didn't mean to get your hopes up.
Kokkoro: It is all right. We learned from the experience, even if the lesson was about failure.
Kokkoro: Besides, even without Lady Ameth's instructions, my duty remains unchanged.
Light: You, too, are bound by a sacred obligation, I take it?
Kokkoro: Yes, Lady Ameth entrusted me with the task of guiding my lord on his journey.
Kokkoro: I am supposed to watch over him from sunup until sundown...
Kokkoro: From the cradle all the way until the grave.
Kokkoro: I am meant to attend to his every need, whether it be cooking, cleaning, laundry, or being his cuddle buddy—
Light: E-excuse me? Come again?
Light: I'm afraid I might have misheard something in that list.
Stella: What exactly does being a cuddle buddy entail?
Kokkoro: I sleep next to my lord and hug him so that he can rest well.
Nimbus: ...Are you serious?
Kokkoro: Of course. I take this job very seriously.
Stella: Is this what they call a cultural difference?
Kokkoro: At the very least, for my lord and I, it is a nightly custom.
Alk: I guess it makes sense that different worlds have different standards of normal...
Kokkoro: All this talk of my duties makes me want to perform them this very second!
Alk: Ahaha... Let's buy him something before we head back. The rice here is pretty good, by the way.
Kokkoro: Perfect. My lord does appreciate a good bowl of rice, hehe.
After failing to find Kokkoro a way back home, Alk and co. stumble upon an emergency in the docks and quickly rush to aid injured sailors. Once the commotion settles, the gang asks why Kokkoro looked down earlier, and she reveals that she was preoccupied with how to reward her lord. No matter where she is, so long as she has her lord and friends by her side, she is content.
Alk: No luck today either, huh...
Kokkoro: Tracking down a specific world is no easy task, it seems.
Kokkoro: *sigh*
Stella: Kokkoro...
Nimbus: The heck's goin' on over there?
Townsfolk: This is a state of emergency! The ship that just pulled in was attacked by monsters!
Townsfolk: Get the doctors over stat! I want all first aid we have on deck!
Sun-Kissed Sailor: Damn it... It hurts! I can't take the pain!
Doctor: I need sedatives over here! Hurry!
Nimbus: Man, this hurts to see...
Kokkoro: I may not be capable of miracles, but I will lend my aid however I can!
Light: We won't just stand by either! Stella, after me!
Alk: Nimbus! We can carry the injured off the ship!
Kokkoro: Phew... I am exhausted.
Light: The doctors were quite impressed with your healing abilities. Thanks to your efforts, no one died today.
Kokkoro: That is a relief.
Alk: Good work out there. You really pulled it together, despite how down you were earlier.
Kokkoro: ...Was I in low spirits beforehand?
Alk: Uh, maybe I read you wrong? It's just... You gave this big sigh when we failed at finding you a way home today.
Kokkoro: So that is where the confusion stems from. My apologies, but that sigh was regarding another matter.
Kokkoro: It is something I have been mulling over for a while, and my frustrations must have seeped out.
Kokkoro: I am sorry my childlike behavior has caused you concern.
Light: No apologies needed, but... perhaps you could share what you're worried about? We might be able to help.
Kokkoro: Very well. I shall confide in you, if you truly do not mind.
Kokkoro: You see, I have been debating what to do...
Kokkoro: About my stamp cards.
Alk: Your... what?
Kokkoro: Ah, forgive me. Explanations are in order.
Kokkoro: I want a way to reward my lord for working so hard every day.
Kokkoro: The solution I came up with was a stamp system. For every task he completes, he earns a stamp on a card.
Nimbus: Uh... Huh...
Kokkoro: The problem is... I am unsure what exactly his prize should be once he fills in a card.
Kokkoro: What kind of reward would you like if you were in my lord's shoes?
Alk: Err... Hmm, good question...
Nimbus: Sheesh... You'd think finding a way home would take priority, but it's a present that's got you wound up...
Nimbus: Don't you wanna go back to Landosol?
Kokkoro: Of course I do.
Kokkoro: But my duty is to guide my lord. I belong at his side, no matter where he is.
Kokkoro: I am happy to live in any world, so long as he is in it.
Nimbus: Huh. You know what... You've got more spunk than people twice your size.
Alk: That's how much he means to you. I respect that.
Kokkoro: Yes, I treasure him greatly.
Kokkoro: But I hold Miss Pecorine and Miss Karyl dear to my heart too, as well as my other friends...
Kokkoro: You are all irreplaceable people who I care for very deeply and am honored to call my friends.
Stella: I, too, am honored to call you my friend.
Townsfolk: Hey there, little miss! Good thing we caught you and your friends before you left!
Sun-Kissed Sailor: Thanks for all your help! I don't even wanna think about what woulda happened if you hadn't stepped in!
Sun-Kissed Sailor: It ain't much, but please, take this as a show of our appreciation! I swear, nothing's fresher and tastier than this!
Kokkoro: Are you certain?
Alk: Wow, we can make a full-course seafood dinner outta this!
Kokkoro: In which case... I will have to carefully extract every bone so that my lord will not choke!
Nimbus: Ain't that nice? You get to pamper your man tonight.
Kokkoro: Indeed!
Kokkoro: To be blessed with my lord and surrounded by so many wonderful friends...
Kokkoro: I could not be happier!