Year 352 - Late Fall - City of Aves, Kingdom of Laurel
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A few minutes after the carriage rattled through the streets, I alighted. As soon as my feet reached the ground, a line of servants bowed before my presence.
“Welcome back, Your Highness.”
“You have my thanks.”
Beyond the line of servants was a manor. The manor—made of cement and a mix of iron and wood—was not too large, neither was it too small. However, the space for the garden and other building facilities covered about two-thirds of the land.
“Milady, I welcome your return.” As soon as I reached the antechamber, a medium-built man—wearing a black tail-coat—greeted me. His black hair revealed several strands of white.
“I’m back, Ark.” I returned a smile. “How are things going around in Aves?”
“I have prepared the reports in your room, your Highness.” Ark gestured towards the staircase past the antechamber. “But would you like me to give a brief summary of the current situation?” His clear brown eyes shifted back to me.
I waved my hand in dismissal. “No, it’s fine. I’ll just read through them later. But for now, could I ask you to prepare some coins for tomorrow? About one gold, three silvers, and five large coppers would be enough.”
Erina, who stood by my side, commented, “Amelia, are you perha—”
“I’ll return before it gets dark.” Then I reached into my pocket and brought out a small clip. “Besides, I have this. You could also inform the Royal Guards that I’ll be roaming around Aves tomorrow. And if you’re still uneasy, it’s fine to tail me from behind.”
“I understand.” Surprisingly, Ark answered instead of Erina.
“...” On the other hand, Erina remained silent.
I nodded. “Then it’s settled.”
I went up to my room and asked the servants to prepare some sweets. I sat down at my desk and began to check the piles of paper arranged in different stacks.
“As to be expected of Ark.” I could not express my gratitude enough. Ark was not exactly born from a noble house. He was originally an adventurer if I remember, but he was just as good as any competent diplomat I knew in managing information. Still, I wondered where my Mother even met Ark.
“He’s truly capable, but surely, he’s informing Mother of whatever information I’m trying to get hold of.” Amelia frowned with a sigh. “Well, it’s not like I’m aiming for the throne anyway. Might as well make use of Mother’s network.”
A knock came from the door and I immediately allowed the servants to enter. They brought tea and a plate of biscuits. After setting the plate I promptly mentioned my gratitude and began to read through the papers and consume the prepared sweets.
“Hero Summoning huh… Is it really that time?” Amelia tilted her head. “Well, I can't really call Libet sane judging by their movement. But they are performing it this Fall… Guess I should consider that the Hero is summoned considering the delay of information. Now, how would Mother and Father exactly handle them?”
Amelia tossed the paper aside and read through the other piles.
“The Duchy is working well. Mola is having fun with experiments. Glasses is the same as always. Academia is performing more experiments, but nothing off the usual. Brent is well… Brent. I hope they hold on well after Niveria’s fall… Still, the refugees will be a problem… Although I still wonder how they will handle Maxwell and Clarissa during this state.”
Amelia laid on her bed after a quick scan of the papers. “It’s still early, but guess I’ll sleep.”
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Year 352 - Late Fall - City of Aves, Kingdom of Laurel
“Amelia, aren’t you going to visit the palace first? His and Her Majesty might be waiting,” Erina asked. It was about an hour away before dawn.
Meanwhile, I climbed the carriage and sat behind the coachman. “Erina, it’s fine. There isn’t anything urgent in the palace. But maybe tomorrow, I’ll visit. But for now, I’d like to roam Aves. And you know? There might be a chance I meet Father along the way.” I chuckled.
“You shouldn’t take after His Majesty’s example,” Erina said indifferently.
“I know, I know. I’ve heard that too many times now.” I rolled my eyes. “But rest assured, I’m not like Father. He’s actually a good model of not what to become.”
“Says the girl who is about to do what her Father does.”
I heaved a sigh. “Unlike Father, I’m not running away from my duty.”
“But you are running away right now.”
I looked away from Erina. “… Anyway, I should go. See you later, Erina.” I waved my hand.
“Take care, Your Highness.” Erina promptly returned a wave herself.
And so the carriage began to move. The horse’s hooves clopped against the pavement. And the iron fence that surrounded the manor began to run past me. Meanwhile, I looked at the sky and said, “Seems like it’s going to be a clear day, huh.”
“Indeed it is, Your Highness,” the coachman replied.
It was an idle ride to the main streets from the Noble Quarters.
“Hup.” The sole of my leather boots struck the stone pavement. Afterward, I turned around and waved at the coachman. “Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome, little missy.”
When the carriage vanished from sight, I took out a shard-encrusted clip. Promptly, I inserted my hand into the hood of the cloak and clipped my fringes to the side. Then, after pouring a handful of mana into the shard, I took out a mirror.
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“Now then.” I pulled down my hood as soon as I confirmed that my hair turned chestnut brown. I roamed my eyes and took in the position of the sun based on the gradient of the morning sky.
“For now.” I shifted my sight to the side. “I’ll check some wares.”
Here and there, the shopkeepers began to pull open their stalls. Some latched a wooden pole against hinged roofs. The others brought barrels and baskets of varying sizes. Each contained products that were different from one stall to another.
At the sides, there were people handling a ball of water in mid-air. They took a glance from left to right before splashing the ball of water onto the pavement—washing down the built-up dirt into the open canals.
“Nothing seems to be different from before.”
I skirted around the plaza, eyeing anything that would catch my curiosity.
“Mister, how much for the chub?”
“Hmm?” The shopkeeper turned around. “Why, aren’t you early missy?”
“A young bird chirps early, doesn’t it?” I took out a large copper and handed it to the shopkeeper. “Please give me as much as you can with this.”
The shopkeeper received the coin and returned with a paper bag of three chubs and a copper coin.
“Thanks for the patronage, miss.”
“You're welcome.”
With the bag of chubs in hand, I exited the plaza and walked next to Ave’s river-fed canal. Next to it was Ave’s walls. Opposite the wall was the river called Twins.
Along the way were unique cats. These cats, rather than the ordinary quadrupedal cats, were bipedal. They were a race called Lynxes. Lynxes were easily distinguishable to cats due to their size. They were thrice as large as ordinary cats.
Also, we could understand their speech despite them crying like an ordinary cat.
Along the way I found a Lynx and a cat bathing in the sun.
[Plans today?] The lynx asked the cat. [Or want fish?]
Out of curiosity, I nimbly took a seat about half a meter away from the lynx and the cat. Then, invoking telepathy towards the Lynx, I said, [Want fish. Go catch.]
[Aye!] The lynx, oblivious to his situation, ran down the stairs and concentrated on the surface of the water. [Fish closer!]
I giggled at the sight of the lynx. “As always, they’re quite an oblivious race.” At times, I thought that ordinary cats were more clever than Lynxes. They were not exactly the brightest. “Well, I guess that Lynx would take time before it catches one.”
I climbed to my feet, walked down the stairs, and approached the lynx. “Here.” I reached out two of the chubs I had. “One for you and the cat.”
The lynx quizzically stared at me for a moment before jumping into a dance. [Fish! Thanks! Very much!]
Then, I resumed my tour. Next in the list of my destination was the guild.
“Hmm… there’s nothing interesting from the list.” I took a second look at the requests posted on the guild’s board. “Yep, nothing, but understandable.”
There were few requests listed. Most were herb gathering requests. The others were minor hunting quests for Al-mi’raj or Tusked Boars. The rest were subjugation requests for far-away villages.
Your gazes are quite obvious, you know? I turned around and walked towards the counter next to the guild reception while ignoring the on-lookers. Can’t blame them though. Academia’s cloak is rare in these parts.
“Do you have any mana herbs in store?” I asked the girl manning the counter.
“Could I ask for your identification?” With a practiced smile, the girl replied.
I took out a silver card and handed it to the girl. “Mia Spencer.”
The girl sprinkled a pinch of bluish dust over the card. In return, the card reacted with a dim blue glow.
“Mia Spencer, Second Level Scribe, is it?”
I nodded.
“Please wait a moment.” The girl returned the card and vanished through the door on the back. After a few seconds, she came back with a small chest. “That’s 12 silvers a piece.”
“I’ll take one.” I handed one gold and two silvers.
In return, I received a small case containing a translucent herb. After confirming the contents, I left.
Ugh… Why do I have to deal with this?
As soon as I exited the guild, I heard a few chairs rattling against the floor. And so, while walking down the street, I darted my eyes in search of an alley.
There.
Neither increasing nor decreasing my pace, I started muttering a chant.
O’ ruler of the light, and ruler of the dark, I beseech you.
Darkness shadows the light, and in the shadows, I hide.
Light triumphs over darkness, and thus conceal from prying eyes.
At the exact moment I turned towards the alley, I resumed my chant.
Manifest, Cloak of Concealment.
The moment I finished the chant, I stood to the side and waited. Soon, the people tailing me arrived.
“Where did she go?”
“Wait, what?”
Two men wearing light leather armor stood at the entrance of the alley, blinking their eyes in search.
As they wondered how I vanished from sight, I took their features into mind. They looked like your run-of-the-mill adventurer. They did not look suspicious in any way.
“Tch, you were damn slow.” One spat.
“Why are you blaming me?” The other snorted.
They turned around and went down another alley as I followed them. They took some turns into the shady region of the city and eventually entered a dilapidated shack by crawling.
I would have guessed this is something children would have used as a secret base, not by adults.
I went downtown on a jog and joined the throng of people coming and going from the market. I dispelled the magic after a minute and walked as if nothing happened. It did not take long for me to spot a roaming guard in the market.
“Excuse me,” I called.
“Hmm?” The guard turned. “A student from Academia? What can I do for you?”
I reached into my cloak and pulled a necklace out my robe for a brief second.
“Shack, northeast, 4 streets south of docks, three blocks from sunrise.”
“Huh?” The guard reacted in confusion. “Wait… Really?”
“Give it a check. Least take 2.” I waved my hand as I passed the guard and disappeared into the crowd of people milling about in the market.
“Nothing much changed around Aves...” I dwelled on the streets and alleys I passed by. I was away from Aves for at least a season so I expected some changes. “Well, it’s not entirely like nothing changed other than the barrels for Lynxes. Still, I wonder where they originally came from anyway?”
I walked towards the noble district in thought. True enough, the appearance of the Lynxes in Laurel about a decade ago was mysterious. There were no Lynxes accounted for in the other Kingdoms. So, in essence, they began to appear only from Laurel.
I walked into a nearby cafe with nary a customer in sight. Still, I sat on the corner farthest from the street and the bar. I raised my left hand and formed a fist, a number two, and lastly a one.
“Well received.” A person from the back of the bar answered.
“Lynxes are definitely harmless on their own. They are more like kids in all honesty,” I muttered. “Still, tracing back, they came from Alabaster… Which means they came from beyond the mountain range.”
I heaved a sigh at the thought of the oblivious race called Lynxes surviving the terrors of the infamous mountain range to the south. There were multiple attempts to wipe the place clean of beasts, including expeditions, but it was never fully successful. The thought of these harmless cats journeying beyond it was one of the unanswered questions in society.
As I lost myself in thought, the clack of the teacup against the table brought me back to reality.
“Thank you for the patronage,” the waiter mentioned as he bowed similar to a butler.
“Have them disperse, please. Call for a carriage as well.”
“Understood.”
I reached my hand to my clip once more and poured mana into the embedded crystal. “That should do for a bit longer.”