Hedin was surprised.
Surprised that Emilia, someone that seemingly had no money - which in itself was shocking considering her backer, a Margrave - has come to the capital in such an opulent carriage and a maid to boot.
The maid was a peculiar lady. The first thing Hedin noticed about her was that she was short. The next thing he noticed was her hair, a bright pink, impossibly so, sprawled over her head, cut short in a bowl shape. The next thing he noticed was her attire. Her clothes consisted of a typical french maid dress, though one had revealed a bit too much leg and was overall, revealing a bit too much skin on the chest area.
But the thing that struck him the most was a realization. Why had the maid left Emilia alone?
Hedin didn't care to ask. Mainly because he didn't wish to be caught as disrespectful to the maid of a man that was going to pay him. But regardless, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Leaving a guest of your employer alone and then having them put in a dangerous position was the height of uselessness.
It certainly didn't help that the maid jabbed at him constantly from the moment they met. He and Emilia met her after travelling back over to the noble district, where the Margrave, Roswaal L. Mathers, as he had come to find, had a manse.
The maid stood before the large building, standing quietly beside the carriage which was embroidered with opulent symbols and vibrant colours. A bit too vibrant for a carriage which was meant solely for showcasing; much less travel. It stood as a fact from face value that the Margrave might be deeply ostentatious in nature.
"Well... that certainly wasn't a good experience." Hedin smiled awkwardly as he looked outside the carriage window. The curtains were drawn over the windows, leaving only a small gap by which he peered out into the dimly lit streets of the Capital.
Lamps were lit in the streets and the city which had been alive by day felt a different kind of electric intensity coursing through it by night. People still went about their day and the streets were still full with the hum of activity.
"Ram is oftentimes like that with strangers. Don't mind her. She will grow accustomed to you." Emilia smiled sweetly and spoke from the opposite seat.
Hedin could only nod in response. He was questioning why they had even chosen to travel at night but didn't mind it. He didn't need much sleep in the first place. 4 hours every 3 days would do easily. If pushed, he could go a whole week without sleep.
And Emilia, considering her nature as an Elf and a spirits art user, might not need the same amount of sleep but he was merely theorizing.
But at the end of the day, he knew they would be safe either way. He and Emilia were strong enough. And Ram, from the feeling he was getting, was plenty capable of defending herself.
"Hedin." Emilia called out.
Hedin turned to her.
"What's the name of the place you come from?" Emilia said, her eyes gleaming with curiosity.
At that point, the carriage had already gotten out of the capital and was on the main road to Irlam Village, the territory that came under Roswaal L. Mathers.
"The name? Well, the city was named Mulberry." Hedin said, removing the hat from his head and keeping it on his lap. His red eyes continued to look outside, scanning the landscape. "It was in a country called England."
Emilia tilted her head. "England? I don't know anything like that. The world only has four major countries."
Hedin nodded, analyzing the information.
"Well, it's possible that your country was one of the split off states from the Vollachian Empire or even Gusteko." Emilia chimed again.
"Hmm. I suppose."
"In the first place, how did you even arrive here?"
Hedin turned to meet her eyes, a small smile on his face.
"Woukd you believe me if I said that I magically appeared here? Like, simply popped into the capital from thin air?"
Emilia frowned for a moment before she nodded. "Well... it's not impossible. Though that might have to do with higher applications of Yin Magic."
Hedin was a bit surprised. He had half expected to throw off his sentence as a joke and drop the matter; but she did, in fact, seem to believe his words.
"Yin magic... you say?"
"That's right." Emilia smiled. "Magic is divided into six elements. Fire governs temperature, Water governs healing and protection, Earth governs everything inside the body of living things, Wind governs everything outside living things and Yang and Yin cover strengthening oneself and suppressing the opponent respectively. Furthermore, Yin may also divulge into space affinity."
"I see." Hedin listened in attentively.
Emilia, seemingly pleased that she was teaching Hedin something new didn't let up and continued to speak.
...
The carriage ride was very bumpy. It was unlike the train rides Hedin was used to taking or simply running to his destination. He could, after all, outrun any conventional vehicle. It did not escape his note, however, that the carriage was unusually fast; too fast, even, for something being pulled along by a beast.
And as he found out from Emilia, it was because the creature that pulled the carriage, an Earth Dragon, had the divine protection of wind evasion which nullified any and all wind resistance. Hedin found himself quite envious of such an ability. Many a times he had wished that he could rip through the wind and not have to worry about constantly accelerating to maintain his speed. Of course, glory could allow such a thing as it was practised among the named generals, but he was hardly at that level.
It did not take long for them to pass by a large tree; about 2 hours of travel. Hedin had large trees before, some towering over buildings but seeing one here was peculiar to say the least. Trees were, after all, blessed by the Miracle to contain 2 gifts. One of growth and the other of life.
Emilia took note of his attention quickly.
"That's Flugel's tree. It was planted centuries ago by the sage Shaula." Emilia chimed.
"Interesting." Hedin scratched his chin.
Suffice to say, it was late into the night and there wasn't much to do in the carriage. Emilia had taken along one book to read through the travel and had offered it to Hedin. Hedin had refused of course, given that he could not yet read the language. Hedin could only hear so much about the 'magic' that dominates this world from Emilia. Even to her, magic was mostly about practice than theory.
She could impart knowledge, of course, but without him knowing of his affinities and getting to interact with his 'gate' it was practically impossible for him to practice magic in any usable form.
Time passed. Emilia told him about the mansion and the village close by. The residents of the mansion were people Hedin was happy to learn about. Apparently, the pink haired maid was the older twin of another girl, Rem. And according to Emilia, they were practically identical in appearance if not for Rem having blue hair and eyes.
The other resident was Roswaal L. Mathers himself, the lord of the mansion. She refrained from saying too much about him; saying that it was difficult to explain his mannerisms in words and that he would understand when he met him. Suffice to say, that did not make Hedin too eager.
And the last resident was also quite peculiar. She was named Beatrice, and was apparently a spirit that guarded a place called the 'forbidden library.'
By the time the moon hung in the middle of the sky, an hour past midnight, the carriage was passing through thickets of wood between which a road was carved, splitting the woods into two. The dark brown woods, standing like insurmountable walls on either sides were dark and creeping with many unseen dangers. Even the moonlight dared not tread into the recesses of these woods, much less humans.
As per Emilia's words, these were uninhabited areas, spread about evenly throughout Lugunica. The nearest settlement, aside from the one they encountered at the start of these woods, was 30 minutes away on carriage - which was saying something considering the speed of travel.
As the carriage blazed it's way through the forest, Hedin felt as if he was being watched. As if dozens of pairs of eyes were prowling through the woods, hunting, stalking and running at speeds that would put any horse to shame. Of course, most were left behind, unable to keep up with the ground dragon who had the gift of the wind. But that didn't help Hedin's instincts which screamed at him to do something about the stares.
He was accustomed to being the one being stalked, but more often than not, it was by blasphemous creatures and so, his body was constantly on high alert.
Emilia seemed to notice this as she tore her attention away from the book and stared at him in question.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her soft voice cutting through the silence.
Hedin almost shook his head but decided to share his worry.
Hearing his words, Emilia's face tightened.
"They might be witch beasts."
"Witch beasts?" Hedin asked. Instantly, he remembered the conversation they had at the capital. The witch beasts were apparently something of repeated concern throughout the country of Lugunica and even beyond that in the other countries.
"That's right. There might be wolgrams and some other small beasts around the area. They're a large problem and they breed so quickly that it's practically impossible to get rid of them in their entirety." Emilia explained. "They were... um." Her expression turned doubtful as her amethyst eyes found Hedin's blood red ones. "They were made by the witch of envy..."
"Interesting." Hedin mused, turning back to look outside again. He sensed some nervousness and fear from Emilia when she mentioned this 'witch' and so, he was quick to change the subject.
"I take it that they cause a lot of deaths around the Kingdom?"
Emilia nodded. "That's right. They're a leading cause of death. Although they might seem harmless if seen in small numbers, they can quickly grow, and so, they can appear anywhere in the kingdom in a matter of a few weeks. Furthermore, the three great mabeasts have been known to cause calamities all over the world. The white whale even killed the previous Sword Saint... Reinhard's Grandmother." She explained.
Witch of Envy. Previous Sword Saint. Three Great Mabeasts. Magic. Divine Protections... there's a lot I need to learn about this world. She did mention there's a library in the mansion right? Maybe I can learn something from there after I learn how to read.
"Why don't the kingdoms take measures against these beasts? Like rally against them? If a single sword saint isn't enough, an army is surely enough right?"
Emilia shook her head. "It's not that simple. The great beasts have reigned free for centuries. Their strength is more than what can be toppled with mere numbers. And although Reinhard can take care of all of them by himself, he is bound by the kingdom law."
Reinhard can take them by himself? Is he so strong? Hedin narrowed his eyes. "Law?"
"It was made after Reinhard ascended as the New Sword Saint. It's a law that prohibits him from moving out of Lugunica or even the Royal Capital without necessary orders from the Council of the Wise Men."
"And who is it that enforces that law?"
"...Reinhard himself?" Emilia tilted her head and chuckled. "The Wise Men aren't the best at dealing with the lineage of Sword Saints. The Astrea Household is as old as it is powerful. There's not much they can do, especially when the country is in the state that it is."
"...I see."
Hedin, so far, was not impressed by this country and it's ruling classes. He would see if his opinions would change after seeing the Margrave.
...
Hey you. Your pockets look heavy. Why not drop some stones here?
Bonus chapter at 150 stones.
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(Image Here)
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A/N: Read upto 10 advanced chapters on my patreon: patreon . c o m/Yesnth Just remove the spaces from between.
Cheers~