It took about 4 to 5 hours before the Magician’s troupe reached their destination, and in that timeframe, Rossa did nothing but stare out the window like an amused child. While the other three would have liked to tease her about just dropping the supreme elegant noble act, they decided to let their guest enjoy the view.
However, this trip wouldn’t all be done by a car since vehicles aren’t really allowed inside where they were headed. So for the last leg of their trip they were forced to literally use their legs.
Fortunately for them (mostly just Rossa and Estelle) the expressionless man that accompanied them carried their luggage throughout the walk while Sylvester and Artian were expected to tough it out.
As they made their approach, a comforting sea wind welcomed their arrival as they saw old fashioned houses and buildings all cobbled up together in sloping downward hills that point down to the sea.
The assignment that the Magician’s troupe accepted required them to do their investigations at an old fishing village west of London. It was antique in every regard as evidenced by the facilities and even the very cobblestone street they now walk on.
All in all, it felt very pleasant and from an outsider’s point of view it looked like they were merely a group of friends enjoying a recreational trip.
“Ohh wow. This place looks so nice.” Artian commented as he stretched out his arms.
“Wait, so you’ve never been here before?” Sylvester asked in a teasing way. “I thought you were a proud Englishman? I can’t believe you’ve never set foot in this paradise until this day.”
“Shut up. Just because I live in England doesn’t mean I have the freedom to go wherever I please. Unlike you, you magical hobo.” Artian retorted back with a jest of his own.
“As for me, I’m just glad I’m finally able to go places now.” Estelle said with a gentle smile as she moved closer and held Artian’s hand.
It was a tender picture, a touching moment. But Sylvester could see that there was an underlying sadness beneath that loving scene.
Opting to give the show-off couple some privacy he then shifted his attention towards Rossa who, for some reason, had a very nostalgic glint in her eyes.
“Okay, that’s something I did not expect.” Sylvester thought in his head. “Then again, her world’s name is Acqua, even if it’s a foreign word it sure really sounds close to water. So maybe that’s it?”
“Excuse me please!” Some men wearing worker clothes shouted from behind. Sylvester then turned around and saw that he was blocking their way. There were 6 of them, and they were carrying a very plain looking metallic box that was so mundane you would wonder why they were even bothering with it.
“Ah sorry.” Sylvester said as he stepped out the way.
As them men passed through Estelle’s eyebrows then furrowed and placed her hand over her nose.
“What’s wrong?” Artian asked.
“Don’t you guys smell that? Something smells weird.” She declared.
“Smell what? Eh, It’s probably just the sea.” Sylvester replied, taking note of Estelle’s peculiar comment as a strange ominous feeling went over him like a wave.
He then continued his silent musings until the bubble was popped when the expressionless man beckoned the group to follow him.
They were then led to a nice inn that was overlooking a good portion of the fishing town and from the outside one would expect that the view from there would be nothing short of spectacular.
The expressionless man led the way as he opened the door and waited for the group to enter.
The interior of the inn, like the rest of the town, looked very rustic as if it was frozen in time. Yet there were bits and pieces of modernity invading the timeless aesthetics such as electronic devices and other stuff.
Thankfully, it did not harm the atmosphere, but Sylvester and Artian couldn't care less as there was something far more amusing happening inside their heads.
Sylvester leaned over to Artian and whispered.
“Dude I expected to see the twins again what the hell.” Sylvester said jokingly as he pointed at the mundane somewhat middle aged woman who was manning the front of the inn. To which Artian only responded with a muffled laugh.
While the two boys were joking around, the man who came with them talked to the lady about the reservations.
It seems that the academy had considerable financial resources, they took care of almost every detail for this mission. This was something that did not escape Estelle’s keen eyes.
“Wow, the academy really outdid themselves with the whole travel arrangements huh?” She commented as Rossa nodded in agreement.
“Yeah. It feels like I’m on a vacation not a mission.” She said as she continued to eye the interior of the inn with gleeful eyes.
“Don’t get too comfortable and go full tourist mode. We’re still here on official business.” Estelle said with a cheeky smile, causing Rossa to get flustered.
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“Yes I know, you don’t have to remind me.” Rossa said in a calm and collected tone, but her flustered ears betrayed her again.
Soon, the expressionless man said his goodbyes and left. Aside from the panic button that was now present in their ID displays, there was also a new button that said “Return” that was probably just used to call back their ride.
Once he had left the lady at the front led the group towards their rooms. It seems that even here the no accidents policy is observed as they were given two rooms at the opposite ends of the floor. One for the boys, one for the girls.
“Damn, even outside it looks like no funny business for you huh?” Sylvester said as the pair placed down their luggage.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about my friend.” Artian said in a very forced innocent tone.
“Sure buddy, sure.” Sylvester replied, dropping the subject entirely. The two boys then went down stairs and waited for the girls to come down. After a few minutes of waiting the group then had lunch before beginning their first quick sweep of the area.
Essentially they were going to go scout the town casually, hoping to find some weird phenomena like out of the ordinary mana levels or even ghoulish activity itself. All while trying to keep it all out of the public’s eye.
The problem then lies in the fact that if there was an enemy, they’d have to deal with it in secret, but with Sylvester around, his favorite spell “Smoke and mirrors” can help lay down a layer of secrecy if needed.
“Okay!” Sylvester said in a boisterous tone catching the attention of the other three.
“Now how shall we go about our first sweep? Half the day has already gone past and we really don’t have enough to go for a more detailed search.” He said as he began their impromptu meeting, carefully using inconspicuous words as to not raise attention to themselves.
“Hmm.” Artian mumbled as he scratched his chin. “I think we should just go and tour the entire area. The town doesn’t look too big so maybe the four of us can ju-mpphhh!”
Before Artian could finish his suggestion, Estelle suddenly grabbed and covered his mouth.
“Shh Artian, you’re talking nonsense!” Estelle loudly declared to which Artian looked at her with a crooked brow.
“What why?” He asked in return only for Estelle to click her tongue while shaking her head.
“Tch tch tch. Artian, in times like these there is a very important measure we should be doing in order to gain more ground.” Estelle said in a humorous and knowing tone.
“Ah, are you suggesting we split up?” Sylvester replied.
“Yes! In pairs actually!” Estelle clarified. Sylvester and Artian seemed to have agreed to the suggestion but Rossa voiced her opposition.
“Miss Estelle. I would like to remind you that we are on an official mission. We are not here to frolic around and waste time.” She said in a stern tone.
Seeing Rossa's serious face again, Estelle could not help feel a little intimidated because it felt like it had been a long time since she last saw Rossa all commanding and responsible. It was mostly due to that fact that Rossa’s temperament has relaxed quite a bit during her at Inanis Orbis.
“Damnit. I didn’t think that little suggestion would awaken her high and mighty duchess persona. It’s not like we’re just gonna go play around you know? Well, maybe a little.” Estelle thought to herself.
“Nevertheless I will stand my ground. I will get some time to walk around with Artian and at the same time get to do some meddling for you!” She quietly steeled her heart ready to face Rossa.
But to her surprise, Sylvester agreed with her even though he seems fully focused on the task at hand and not exactly on the same page as her.
“I guess Estelle is right. We can cover more ground this way and if we find any anomalies we can talk about it in detail afterwards. Also I guess pairs would seem less suspicious than a group of four all snooping around.”
Sylvester said in a convincing tone.
Upon further discussion, Rossa finally relented and agreed to the new arrangement. Estelle and Artian were obviously paired up while Rossa and Sylvester were together.
Estelle and Artian would be responsible for the upper part of the town while Rossa and Sylvester would scout the lower part all the way down to the beach. Estelle actually complained about the surveillance area but upon being questioned by Rossa about her true motives she simply decided to back down.
“Alright guys, we meet back here in front of the inn at around 7PM. If you find anything strange go give me a call and do not do anything unless it is a complete emergency.” Sylvester then paused.
“Other than that, go and have fun.” He said with a smile much to Rossa’s chagrin.
“Alright guys see ya later-whoah!” Artian was then forcibly pulled away by Estelle who wrapped around his arm.
“Let’s go Artian!” She said with a soft smile that melted his heart.
“Hey! We’re not here for a vacation!” Rossa shouted towards the retreating figures of the pair. She then focused her attention to Sylvester.
“And you!You just enabled Miss Estelle’s very obvious plan. You should have been a little more strict!” She declared.
“Ah it’s fine. I know you can tell those two didn’t exactly have a fairytale life.” Sylvester explained, causing Rossa to let out a sigh of resignation.
“So, where do you want to search first?” Sylvester asked in consideration of his partner.
“I know this sounds hypocritical of me but, I want to check out the beach first.” She said as she looked far into the sea with a longing face. Sylvester could only smile and nod in agreement.
The pair then took a rather leisurely walk towards the beach, with Rossa eagerly taking in the atmosphere of the town with a wide eyed glow. Even if this seemed like they were sightseeing, the pair were still on full alert, their senses keen to find any sort of abnormalities.
On they went to the beach, without even speaking a word to each other as Sylvester decided it would be best to let Rossa bask under the earthly sun and take in the view. If anything he thought that any input from him would spoil experience.
As they reached the sands below and saw the boats tied to the shore. There was a glint of excitement and familiarity in Rossa's eyes as she saw the great blue waters, almost running ahead of Sylvester.
He could only smile at the silver haired girl who was basking in the sun.
“You seem awfully excited, Estelle will laugh at you if she saw you right now.” Sylvester said as he caught up.
Rossa then immediately reigned herself in and regained her composure, but her cheerful mood was leaking at the seams.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t help it.” She replied, still focused on the sea.
“The vast horizon beyond the blue waters, it was something that always captivated me. I felt like there was something out there, just beyond my reach. However, that was nothing more than a childish and selfish dream. Something that I had to let go.” She said in a reserved tone with her mood sinking rapidly. Rossa then looked over at Sylvester and asked a question.
“You traveled around this world did you not? How does it feel like to be free to go wherever you want?” She asked with curious eyes with a very slight tone of envy.
Before Sylvester could reply the pair then heard a loud crying from behind them. Upon turning around they saw a little girl crying her eyes out and screaming.
“Mama!? Where are you mama!?”