With only about two days of travel remaining until they would reach the capital, the group began to come into contact with civilization again. Monster attacks ceased, and they entered areas dotted with city-size farms and small villages, all focused on agriculture. Jin explained that these farms were strategically planned for times of war, ensuring that even if everything else was destroyed, the capital could sustain itself for decades with its vast food stocks they were getting from these farms in times of peace.
On the horizon, the imposing walls of the capital, Azuria, came into view. The city was a sprawling metropolis, home to approximately 8 million people, and its most striking feature was an enormous 800-meter tall wall that encircled it and completely hid the city inside if you where near enough it.
Normally, carriages would have to wait in long lines to enter the city, but Jin had the privilege of swift entry. However, before they entered the bustling city, Mia was carefully taken outside of the carriage. She had the opportunity to see the city's immense walls from both the outside and inside, a unique experience that she might not have the chance to relive, considering her uncertain future.
Once inside the city, the carriages had to slow down considerably compared to the speed they had maintained on the road. To Mia's surprise, the presence of Onyx, their wolf companion, didn't seem to draw much attention. Perhaps it was because many other people in the city were accompanied by a variety of animals, so it didn't stand out. Besides that, she wasn't able to really take a look at the city.
Their journey through the city didn't take long, and they soon arrived at their destination: The Blue Flame Military Academy, one of the top ten educational and military institutions on the continent.
Following Jin's instructions, they all disembarked from the carriages and made their way to a building on the campus. Marry carried Mia on her back so that Mia could take in her new surroundings.
The academy's campus was vast and walled, this time with a more modest 10-meter wall. It comprised three main buildings: the academic building, the governance building, and the military building, each dedicated to subjects relevant to its name and as big as castle you would expect from a fantasy film. It was common for students to study various disciplines across these buildings so there was no real segregation of the students here. Jin also explained that there was a coliseum, not visible from their current location along with other smaller buildings used by the staff. Among these buildings was the academy's healing center, where injured students could receive medical care and Mia's destination.
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Guided by Jin, they entered the place and ascended to the top floor of this four storey hospital, more or less the size of an apartment building with the same amount of floors. There, Jin greeted a stunning woman dressed provocatively. Mia couldn't help but take a good look at her. She had long, straight black hair that hung just past her shoulders, black eyes, and stood at around 160 cm tall, not counting the heels she was wearing. Her clothing resembled what Mia would have expected from a prostitute or a stripper in her old world – a red mini skirt and a matching top that resembled a bra. She also wore a black bodysuit that covered the rest of her body, except for her face. It was so transparent that from a distance, it almost appeared as if she wore nothing beneath it.
“I have arrived with your patient.” Jin said to the woman as he entered the room.
“Oh, you are dismissed. Good job in bringing these in.” The woman said to a man in front of her. It looks like he delivered some scrolls to her.
After the man leaves the room, Jin let us walk towards her. It was strange how big her rooms was, taking almost 2/3 of the floor with the rest of the floor being some kind of waiting room.
“This is Kat, the head healer of the academy and as far as I am aware, one of the best in the world.” Jin said as he introduced the woman named Kat.
“Hello darlings. I see some good manly man here, uhuhu.” She said, taking a really dirty look at the men in the room, minus Jin, while walking between them before receiving a few glances from the woman there. “My name is Kat as it was explained. I am the head healer here. If I can't heal you, you will probably die before anyone who can, reaches you.”
During her little round of fun with the men, Kat still had one of the scrolls in her hand and it unrolled a little. Mia noticed that the scrolls contained pure and simple English, not the characters of this world. What surprised her even more was that the scroll she glimpsed appeared to contain assassination orders intended to be specifically carried out by Kat.
Inadvertently, Mia voiced her thoughts. "So, the head healer is a big-time assassin, the perfect cover."
Jin and Kat looked at Mia in horror. How had she figured it out? They hurriedly ushered everyone else – Marry, Liza, Lin, Choi, Kai, Elara, and Mei – out of the room, threatening them with dire consequences should they ever speak of what they had heard. They were not pleased, but Kat was their only hope for healing Mia.
Mia was placed on an examination table, and before anything else, Kat couldn't help but ask, "Explain!"