153 Chapter 141 - Medicine…

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[Adam C. POV]

Minutes turned into hours, as the laborious journey across the desolate desert continued, until a shimmering mirage on the horizon finally gave way to solid structures. "The capital." 

After hours of seeing nothing but sand, and helping the caravan in anything I could, we were finally approaching the capital, a city described by caravan to be one with majestic walls and towering spires that stood out starkly against the barren sands.

"As promised," Jamal muttered beside me, his gaze focused on a spot far in the distance. "We have arrived, my friend."

I turned my gaze towards Jamal, gratitude etched on my face. "Thank you, for the ride, Jamal. For everything."

He waved off my gratitude with a chuckle. "Don't mention it, besides you worked hard for what we gave you, so if anything, I should thank you. Just remember, if you ever need anything, look for Paradise's Market. We'll be there for a week or so."

I nodded, not that I would actually keep this in mind. Seeing, I would soon become an enemy of the state by helping take out the current King, but yeah.

As we finally arrived at the gates of the Capital, the hustle and bustle of the city hit me. People of all shapes and sizes, dressed in a myriad of colors, filled the streets. The scent of exotic spices and the sound of music filled the air, as in the distance, the setting sun was casting a beautiful glow on the city, bathing it in shades of gold and crimson.

As I disembarked from the caravan, I grabbed a piece of cloth to cover my face, just in case there was an Edolas version of me here. 

The last thing I needed was to be recognized, or hunted for something I hadn't done.

I made my way through the crowded streets, avoiding the guards around, trying to blend in as much as possible. It wasn't long until I reached the outskirts of the city, where the buildings were shorter and less grandiose. 

In the quieter surroundings, I finally took a moment to fully assess my surroundings, noticing something at the distance. Towering over the rooftops of the city, there was a massive lacrima, its radiant blue sheen visible even from this distance. It was suspended in mid-air, at the heart of a grand structure that could only be the King's palace. 

The power that radiated from the lacrima was palpable, even from afar. "So, that's where my power went."

Good news, I knew where my power was. Bad news, it was at the heart of the enemy, which made my situation a bit complicated.

God damn it. Couldn't my situation have been like it had for everyone in the canon? They had lost their powers, but they had recovered them quite easily with a few pills.

I suppose the reason why I was so weak was the same reason why I wasn't in that lacrima. 

Perhaps whatever process was meant to seal me into a lacrima malfunction or couldn't finish the process due to unknown reasons. If the spell in question had a certain period of time to do its job, then I suppose it was safe to assume, at least to a certain degree, that the time given for such a task wasn't enough to completely seal me away.

That, or the spell had a certain limit of how much it could process. 

"Fuck," I sighed and leaned against a nearby wall, trying to devise a plan. My power had increased a bit since I got here, seeing my body was slowly recharging, that being said, I was still significantly weaker. 

If I let my power recharge itself alone, I would probably spend years in this place. 

I glanced up at the palace again, my mind racing with possibilities. Breaking into a heavily fortified palace, dealing with what would undoubtedly be a sea of guards, and reaching a lacrima that was most likely overly guarded with the best soldiers of the Kingdom had to offer, one of them being Erza, or her Edolas version anyways.

Fuck, the task was daunting, to say the least.

Erza Knightwalker nearly defeated my Erza in canon, and she had no magic of her own. 

I couldn't afford the luxury of fighting her as I was right now.  A fight between us in my current situation wouldn't be a quick one, meaning that in the end, even if I won, I would still be forced to deal with her companions.

I could deal with one of them at the time, but more than that would become unmanageable for me.

No matter how I look at this situation, my only bet is to find Mystogan, and see if the pills he gave the others in the canon do something for me.

If the pills work, I might be able to recover some of my power, increasing the range of options available for me. And in the case, they don't do anything for me, I would still have more allies to work this out.

Well, I might be fucked at the moment, but I had a clear objective in mind. It was now all about taking the first step in that direction.

Just as I was about to leave the area to start my quest to locate Mystogan, I heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching.

"Who the fuck are you?" 

I froze for a moment before turning around. In front of me stood a woman, her hair as blue as the ocean, and eyes sharp as a hawk's. Her attire was simple, a shirt, a tie, and a skirt holding nothing but an umbrella on her waist.

Juvia Lockser, her Edolas version.

"Can I help you, miss?" I asked, wondering why of all the people to meet first in this world, I would be the most aggressive one.

Her gaze narrowed, studying me intently. "Well, it's pretty fucking clear you're not from around here, so I'll ask again, who are you?" 

I don't recall the Edolas version of Juvia being this... aggressive.

Could it be that perhaps she was mistaking me for someone?

"Well, it's a big city," I shrugged casually. "First time visitor. I'm just... trying to find my bearings, you know?"

Juvia narrowed her eyes and growled. "Take the cloth out of your face."

It seems my suspicions might be correct. This level of aggression, and her request pretty much point in that direction. 

As things were, I had two options. One, comply with her request and hope she's willing to listen to me before doing anything stupid, risking in turn giving away my location to the enemy. Two, knocking her out now, and taking her away to explain without the risk of being discovered.

"I won't ask again," Juvia growled, reaching for her umbrella, her voice laced with a threat. 

Option two it is. 

I couldn't risk being discovered yet or giving away my location to the enemy. And unfortunately for her, she didn't seem like a reasonable person.

Taking a deep breath, I moved forward, my body tensing as I pulled back my arm and unleashed a punch that landed with a sickening thud in her midsection, knocking the wind out of her before she realized what had happened.

Juvia let out a sharp grunt as the air was knocked out of her lungs, and she stumbled back a few steps before she doubled over, losing consciousness. 

Sighing, I reached down and grabbed her, putting her unconscious body over my shoulders. "Now, where to go."

On that note, I needed something to cover her body. I will draw too much unwanted attention if people see me carrying a body over my shoulders. 

...

I could... probably roll her inside a large rug. If I'm lucky, and people is dumb, which they usually are, they would simply assume I bought a rug at the market, not that I have a body inside.

Now the question is, where to find a rug.

"Rugs, get your rug! Buy one, get one free! Rugs!" Almost as if answering my prayers, I heard a merchant shouting from a nearby alleyway.

Well, isn't that convenient?

Shoving Juvia's unconscious body inside a dumpster nearby, making sure nobody saw me, I made my way towards the merchant.

"Excuse me, sir," I said as I approached him. "Do you have anything large, around... I don't know, three meters tall?"

The merchant nodded, a toothy grin spreading across his face. "Of course, my friend! Weird way to ask for a rug, but don't worry, I have the finest rugs in all the land."

I trailed behind him as he led me down a maze of alleyways to a small, cramped shop. The interior was dimly lit, with piles of rugs stacked haphazardly against the walls.

The merchant rummaged through the piles, muttering to himself before he finally produced a large, red rug. "This one, my friend," he said, beaming with pride. "Finest wool from the East. You won't find better quality than this."

I examined the rug, making sure it was large enough to fit Juvia's body and heavy enough to conceal any lumps or bumps. "I'll take it."

The merchant grinned, rubbing his hands together. "An excellent choice, my friend. And as a bonus, I'll throw in a smaller rug for free. You can never have too many rugs, am I right?"

I forced a smile, eager to get back to Juvia before anyone found her. "Thank you, but I think one rug will be enough for now."

Wait a moment.

I have no fucking money.

"The total would be ten silver coins, my friend," the merchant said, holding out his hand.

I inwardly cursed myself for not considering the payment before moving forward with this idea. "Of course, but first, would you mind showing me more rugs?"

The merchant's smile faltered for a moment before he regained his composure. "More rugs? Sure thing, my friend! I have an entire collection of exotic rugs just waiting for someone with your refined taste." He gestured towards the piles of rugs stacked against the wall. "Take your pick!"

I pretended to examine the rugs for a moment, taking this moment to pickpocket the man, taking a few of the coins he was carrying on his person.

"Hm, I think for the time being, I will take the one I saw first," I said, holding up the red rug. "But I'll be sure to come back for more once I have a chance to look around the city a bit more."

The merchant nodded, seemingly satisfied with my response. "Very well, my friend. That will be ten silver coins, please."

I handed over the coins, making a mental note to tell Mystogan to give this man a little something once he became the King.

Now, time to make a burrito out of Juvia.

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Without wasting time, I returned to the dumpster where I had left Juvia's unconscious body, begging the gods nobody had found her. And thankfully, as I turned the corner, I found the alleyway still deserted and Juvia undisturbed.

"Good," I sighed. 

Lifting her body from the dumpster, I gently laid her on the rug and began rolling her up. I did my best to make the roll even and tight to ensure she wouldn't be jostled around too much. Soon, I was standing there with a Juvia-filled burrito rug.

It was comically odd, but as I stood back to examine my handiwork, I found that from a distance, it did genuinely look like I had purchased a massive, slightly lumpy, rug.

I looked down at my "rug," contemplating my next move. This was not exactly how I had planned my day, at all. But as I stood there, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. It wasn't every day you rolled an unconscious person into a rug and carted them around the city.

"Alright, next stop, Mystogan," I said, hefting the Juvia-burrito onto my shoulder, starting my journey once again.