As we approached the massive walls I could spot a fairly long waiting line to enter. After asking the coachman about it, I came to understand the reason behind it. The capital like other cities or towns checks on the people entering and leaving. However, unlike other cities or towns, they are extremely meticulous about it. For this reason, they tend to spend twice or even thrice the normal amount of time checking. Well, I guess that is normal, it’s the capital after all. At least to keep the time people spend in line to a reasonable amount there are more entryways than in other towns or cities. Usually, in other places, you would have three entryways per gate. One for merchants one for nobles and one the common populace. Here it’s twice the amount so things should still take the usual amount of time.
I say all that but in the end, we had to way for two hours. It’s the capital so it is also normal for a large number of people to be moving in and out and so it is also normal for the wait time to be long. At least, I heard from the coachman that residents only have to wait from half to a quarter of this time since guards would be a bit more lenient towards them. When we were given the okay to enter the city the first thing was to go through a tunnel. This tunnel goes through the wall and with some rough calculations I think it is around ten meters deep. Truly a monstrous wall.
When we finally came out on the other side there lies a city. With magnificent middle-age European buildings made of brick and stone, there were wooden ones too. The rode was neatly paved with smooth stones reducing the shaking of the carriage considerably. We entered through the east gate that leads to the commercial district. Because of this, there were shops everywhere and of every kind. From weapon and armour shops to utensils and tools shops, with markets selling different ingredients and even food carts.
In my previous life, I had lived in a city of the modern world and yet here I am looking at everything with awe like a country bumpkin. Well, what can I say? This is the first time I see such a sight. Yes, there were commercial districts in Ingracia and Olandel but nothing to this degree, it just looks neater. After a while, we reached our destination which was the station of this transportation company. I say transportation since from what I heard they do not only transport people but also troops and resources even mail.
As I took my things and was preparing to leave a well-dressed man who I can only describe as a business-man approached me with a small mag in his hands and a wide smile. Behind him to well-armoured guards followed with stern expressions. I wondered what they wanted until the gentleman began speaking.
“Miss Amelia I presume. Here, this is a token of gratitude for aiding during the bandit’s attack. It is a refund of eighty percent of the ticket’s value. It might be a bit rude on my part but I will assume you are an adventurer right?”
“Yes, I am a C ranked adventurer”
“Perfect, I hope to be able to contact you in the future. However, don’t feel pressured, what I mean by this is that next time you wish to travel to a new city town or village our company would like you to choose us. Not as a client but as a business partner. We will pay you handsomely for your protection services”
The man gave me a wide smile while slightly rubbing his hands, presumably from nervousness. I smiled back and told them I would. This old man is a cunning fox, even though I am a C ranker he didn’t look down on me. From his manner of speech, I could tell he was trying his best to be polite. This is the kind of people I don’t mind helping even if they might have ulterior motives.
After another while, I left. However, before I could go too far I heard a voice screaming my name. It was sophy that had come running while waving. When she finally reached me her breathing was heavy and she had difficulty speaking. This proved that her physical strength is leagues behind her magic strength. When she finally regains her breath she began complaining about how I didn’t wait for her. For starters, I can’t remember any talk about waiting for her but I didn’t say a thing.
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“Hey, Amelia how about you stay with me for the time being? That way you won’t have to waste money on an inn”
“Is it alright? Wait, to begin with, where will you be staying?”
“Didn’t I tell you? My mentor is a teacher in the academy, he has his own tower and it has many guest rooms. I will be staying in one of them so you taking another is no problem”
No, there are a few problems already. For starters, it’s not your house but your mentor’s. You staying there is one thing but me a complete stranger doing so is a bit. Not to mention that said mentor wasn’t informed of this beforehand.
“Won’t I be a bother to your mentor? He doesn’t even know me so just appearing out of the blue is a bit-”
“There is no problem, my mentor is an honest and kind mind. He might have some screws loose but that is of no concern, I hope. Whatever let’s go! let’s go!”
Like that, I was dragged towards the academy by the hand. Thinking back to our chats in the carriage I remembered her mentor’s name. Bernard Barnhardt, a mage of a hundred and something years. Despite his age, the man looks relatively young thanks to his abundant mana. In this world, the ageing process gets slowed down by the abundance of mana. However, this does not mean that all long-lived races have an abundance of it.
As I kept recalling information about the exploits of this mage we reached the academy’s outer ring. The academy has multiple rings or levels that separate it. The outer ring is open to the public and anyone can access it. It is mostly made up of walkways and parks with some restaurants here and there. The second ring to fifth rings are for student use such as libraries and classrooms. The sixth to eighth rings are for honorary students special facilities or so I’ve heard. Finally, the ninth and tenth rings are for teachers and such.
They are called rings but in actuality, that is just the name given to it. For example inside the first ring, there are the student’s dormitories that belong to the second ring. As my thoughts kept wondering we reached a tower made of dark grey bricks that had moss growing on its walls. The guards at the entrance looked at us for a second before asking about our business. Naturally, Sophy was the one doing the talking while I stood by the sides.
When they finished one of the guards went inside and not long after he came back with someone else. His appearance was that of someone in their forties maybe fifties. His hair was white and his cyan eyes had lost some of their lustre with age. However, the wisdom contained in them was something one could feel from a mere glance. His face had some wrinkles but for some odd reason, these made him look more handsome.
“Welcome back Sophy! My little cupcake come and give papa a big hug”
And like that all the majesty his stance and demeanour exuded was shattered into millions, no, billions of pieces never to be recovered. Next to me, Sophy’s face contorted slightly torn in between happiness embarrassment and anger. All of these were directed towards the old man that had spread his arms wide with an aloof expression. Even the guards were shaking their heads not knowing what to do about this old man.
“You need to know about the time and place for everything you idiot!”
In anger, Sophy pinched his nose bringing his face in front of hers. It seems that anger had won over the other emotions as she gazed at the man in front of her. On the other side, the man’s aloof expression hadn’t changed, on the contrary, it seemed he was enjoying the treatment. Looking at what was happing around me I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell had I gotten myself into.
“I see your temper hasn’t changed my lovable disciple, despite your body growing beautifully”
“Y-you, pervert! scum! die!”
Suddenly Sophy began launching fireball after fireball towards the old man as he evaded or shielded against them. His expression never changed despite everything going on. The guards, on the other hand, were panicking slightly as they didn’t know what to do. I, however, remembered a similar scene that happened in manga or novels. By those standards, Sophy would be a tsundere and this old man would be the usual clown in the story.
“Ahem, let’s stop playing around. Sophy would you mind introducing your friend?”
“Ah! yes, this is Amelia, I met her while travelling. She is very strong and is going to apply for entry to the academy”
It took them a while but finally, the two had calmed down and we were back on track. After Sophy introduced me I re-introduced myself and we went into the tower. The old man didn’t seem to have a problem with me staying for the time being. We chatted about this and that while walking through the winding corridors until we reached a hallway with doors.
“This are the guest rooms, you two will be staying here until the examination is over. I will be participating in the examination so I hope to see bright results from you two”
While saying that with a bright smile the old man opened the first room that would be Sophy’s after that we walked to another door. This one would be my room. Looking inside it was small with a simple personal bed and a dresser nothing else. I guess this will do for now.