Midnight Brew

The young lord was a bit amazed at how different the place was from other areas from his predecessor's memories.

"Surely, even Aliester had not been here before." He mused.

Aliester had glimpses of the original's memories. He seemed to have a mild case of wanderlust and have been to different fiefdoms and nearby kingdoms.

But none of the places that the original had explored has this kind of ambiance.

"This is almost similar to that wizard's world." He muttered when he recalled a popular series in Fahren about a wizard boy.

As they strolled, he could not help but notice certain things. The market was how they all expected it to look like-stalls with goods, vendors and buyers.

But the huge difference is that the sellers are mostly casters and the items being sold are quite unusual. There were hooded casters who sold potions, magical tools and even raw materials.

The mode of transportation in this part is also something that Aliester was not accustomed with. There were several witches and wizards who were riding their broomsticks and flying about.

"This place is lively unlike the towns in Verbena." Terrano commented.

"Nightshades is protected by a powerful spell from different casters who belonged to various covens. The layer of protective magic here could not be less than twenty." Ertz said as he guided them to their destination.

They entered Midnight brew, which was one of the famous bar in the area.

Since it was only little past one in the afternoon, not much of the patrons were present. It was as if the place was for themselves, save for a couple of mages who were eating their late lunch.

The knights and Ertz were the first ones to sit on their tables. Since they won't fit in one, they had occupied two tables.

Aliester, who had to ask for information, had chosen to sit on the counter as instructed by the healer.

The group had ordered their food and drinks and silently observed their young master.

Aliester who sat alone also had his fill. While he was eating, a glass of sparkling mixture was placed in front of him.

"Hello, sir, I am Caramel Caraway, the owner of this bar." A female voice said as the she dropped a few seeds inside the glass. "This is on the house."

Aliester wanted to see who gave him the drink but his attention was diverted on the glass. The seeds that were dropped suddenly sprouted when they hit the bottom of the glass and when they grow a few centimeters, leaves and small pinkish flowers appeared.

"Oh… pink blossoms! How unusual." He heard the woman muttered.

Aliester looked at her properly this time and was pleasantly surprised at how young and beautiful the bartender is.

'She must be on her twenties.' He thought as he eyed her. She wore a simple black peasant dress with a white apron.

Her name was written on her breast plate. "Caramel". Her name reflected the light brown color of her hair which was as glossy as a caramel.

Aliester shifted his gaze from the woman and eyed the concoction suspiciously.

"Is this potable?" He asked before looking back and forth from the woman and to the glass.

Instead of getting offended the woman smiled. "You can drink it. It is not poisoned. It won't make sense to put such nasty things to our costumer's food."

"That quite logical." Aliester muttered before taking a breath and drinking the mixture. It was sweet at the same time tangy, almost like a flowery cocktail.

For some reasons, he felt a bit refreshed. He had gradually relaxed as the anxiousness and fatigue left his body.

Aliester was taken a bit by surprise when he felt a tiny surge of mana from Caramel.

Her purplish eyes glowed before she said as if in a trance.

"young lord, who is not from here… a person accidentally chosen by a guardian… you seek something that may be hard to attain… your path is a hard one, but failing is not an option for you."

The knights who were watching almost stood and drew their swords. But Aliester signaled them to stop.

"What do you mean?" Aliester asked. It seemed that this woman knew something and what she had said piqued his interest.

Unfortunately, the daze-like state she was in vanished.

Caramel then smiled like a businesswoman. "If you want the answer, please give me your order."

That was the code whom Ertz had mentioned before they got here. If he gives the correct code, the bar tender will lead him to the inner room and give him the answer he seeks.

He glanced at his comrades and nodded.

"I would like to order the special brew with silver apples and milk."

The woman smiled and motioned for him to follow. She led the way to the secret chamber.

She allowed the young lord to take his seat on the vacant chair, then she pulled a string.

The draperies opened and a crystal ball which was on top of a table shone bright.

She then placed her apron on a hanger and in exchange wore her black robe before taking her seat.

'She looked more like a witch now rather than a bar owner.' Aliester thought.

Since the young lord was getting uncomfortable with the silence, he asked. "How did you know?"

"Know what? That you are not from this world? That you were accidentally brought here? And that the guardian could not simply return you, hence, he had given you a mission?" she asked in succession.

When Aliester nodded, she smiled. "when the blossom turned pink earlier, I had figured it out. Besides, I do get visions from time to time. I have to check the background of my client, you know."

Though he was suspicious of the woman, he admitted that she might have known something.

Even though he did not leak any information to anyone.

Not even the knights nor Ertz knew that he is a transmigrator, this woman must have known through her ability.

"If you know, then you must also figure out why I am here?"

"I am not all knowing, my lord. But I can roughly guess." She cryptically said. "Since you are from Verbena, you must be seeking a spell to break the curse and fulfill your mission. Am I correct?"

"Yes."

The woman sighed before placing her hand on the ball. The ball glowed for a bit before she finally talked. "The curse was put on by the Queen of Verbena. It affected the entire country. Breaking it might be a challenge."

Aliester was perplexed. "Why is it a challenge?"

"That queen came from a different coven. She is using ancient dark arts which was banned by the Enclave. Since the kingdom of Verbena is under her curse, King Ignys nor the other members of the Enclave could not move."

She then continued. "People under that curse had their powers sealed and they must obey her so that they can use their skills. Only a small percentage of you were able to resist that curse, which can only be broken by a stronger magic. Not even our head witch could break that curse."

Aliester would have said something but she had spoken first. "But there is a loophole. There is a way for you to use your skills and abilities even though you are affected by the curse."

He almost jumped after hearing that. "How?"

Her purple eyes bore on him with utmost seriousness. "It may be considered a treason, but you have to swear allegiance to someone higher than your position and allow them to order you. You can use the abilities that you have, if you obey their command."

"What?!" Aliester was taken aback.