Chapter 3: Outside the walls

 We haven't walked for too long yet but the city had already come into view. The castle was located on a big hill overlooking the busy city, so we steadily walked down the hill to get to the city below. It seemed to be a bit enological to have a castle on a hill in the middle of the capital city doesn't it? I thought to myself as we walked.

- Hey um… since we will be traveling together from now on, would you like to get to know each other better? I asked Mimi, I'm not sure if the Question was out of my personal interest or habits but it is worth knowing.

- What would you want to know? Mimi was back in her human form but this time she doesn't have any cat ears and tail.

-Anything really your age, likes and dislikes maybe? Anything that you haven't told me yet. I replied a little bit more interested in what she had to say.

-Alright hm…I'm 4 years old, I like sweet things but not too sweet, and i don't like bad people…How about you? Mimi said with a teasing grin.

-I'm not too sure… I was eighteen when I died but I'm not sure how old Marie is. I like warm cozy things. I don't like people who cross my limits, I guess. I answered deludedly.

 Before long we reached the city, the sights there were not exactly as I thought it would be. There were big buildings and many shops and cafes but there were not as many people as there should normally be and some shops have already closed down for some reason. I wonder where is everyone?

- Not very crowded today huh, this is kind of expectable for the Platinum kingdom. Mimi said with an unpleasant expression on her small face.

- What do you mean? I turned over to look at her.

- Well ever since the current king came to power no one wants to live here any more. She said as she looked back at me.

- But why though? I'm curious. I stared at her wanting to know the answer.

- He had a really bad relationship with monarchs of other nations and seemed like they might invade this country. Mimi then pulled my skirt and said.

-Hey why don't we have some breakfast first then talk while we eat, I'm really hungry now. She was pointing to a small restaurant across the street.

-Well it's a bit too late for breakfast but we can eat lunch now if you want. I think I'm hungry too. I said as we walked through the door of the restaurant.

 The place wasn't very crowded and the furniture was rather nice and the place was well equipped. We sat down at a table near the entrance and made ourselves comfortable. There wasn't much on the menu but it was decent enough. We ordered some fried rice and started talking about the previous topic again.

-So what did he do for people to think that? I asked in a small voice.

-Um.. well he closed the shortest road from Eden to Lestia which is located in our country, the two most important countries of trade and magic, they are pretty strong too so having their fastest trade routes shutdown is a really big deal. The other routes goes up mountains that are almost impossible to cross and make it alive so they're not an option really.

-Why would he do that? Did he not consider the risks? I asked, surprised.

-Well a while ago huge magic stone minds were founded in Eden and since Lestia needed those stones to protect its borders huge amounts of trade happened. They were using the roads through this country so the king got greedy and demanded he get 20% of the stones that were transported through the borders. It's quite easy to see how that went. Mimi said with a sign.

-You know what, i think we shouldn't stay here either, It might be dangerous in the future. Mimi said, looking thoughtful.

 She sure knows a lot of things for a young child, I think she will be very helpful in the future. Just then the waiter brought us our food, and we started eating our meal. I think Mimi is right though political corals like this are no joke and could lead to serious blood shields. I should plan our next moves carefully. I just started my new life after all, I Wouldn't want it to end so early on.

- If so, where do you reckon we will go next? I asked while chewing my food, a rather bad habit but i can't help it.

- Well I'll say that it would be best to just leave the country… We do have a few options of where to go. She said, reassuringly to me. 

- Let's plan our trip after we finish eating. I don't wanna spill anything. Mimi looked back down at her food after saying that. Well I can't really disagree with that as it is indeed impolite to speak with your mouth full.

 I ate my food quickly because it had been a while since I had eaten a proper meal. Back then I just ate instant noodles to pass the days since that was all I could afford at the time. Now thanks to Mimi's magic bag we have plenty of money to buy what we want, that is a good thing that now I just need to focus on enjoying this life… right? I'm not too sure about where to go next but Mimi will probably have a map for that, since she did once pull out a huge mirror from her pocket after all. When we finished Mimi put ten copper coins on the table and called the owner over to pay for our meal. She seems much happier now that she has had her fill, she deserved that meal she is indeed a good kid. But of course all of that was said in my head so no one could hear it but me.

-So let's discuss where to go next shall we? I asked eagerly, actually I really want to know more about this world that I'm living in. It would be beneficial to know more and it seems like an interesting topic at the moment.

-Oh, that's right I totally forgot hehe…Mimi looked down scratching her head in embarrassment. I personally find that amusing to see every now and then.

 Then Mimi pulled out a map from her pocket and placed it on the table, then she looked up at me and said cheerfully.

- This is the map of this world , as you can see it is zoomable so we can look at a pacific area or the entire world easily.

- I see… that would make it much easier then. I looked at Mimi as I spoke.

- We are here , the capital of Platinum. Mimi pointed to the two red dots on the map.

- Those dots, they're us aren't they? I was examining the map closely as I spoke.

 The platinum kingdom is smaller than I thought, there were multiple countries around it and it seems like even the smallest country on this continent is twice as big as Platinum. The capital is at the east side of the country, if we want to leave soon we have two choices either going to Lestia or Valdora. Lestia probably wasn't the best option since we weren't on good terms at the moment. Then we have to go to Valdora. I wondered what it's like there.

- So? What do you think? Where do you want to go next? Mimi excitedly said, I could see that she didn't really care where we'll go, she just wanted to go somewhere.

- How about Veldora, it's close to here right? So it would be perfect for us. I answered and pointed to the map.

- Oh? I really like that place, the beast people live there. I won't have to hide my ears and tails! Mimi smiled widely out of joy.

- Wait, if beast people exist here then why do you have to hide your ears and tail? I don't get the point of that. I said, this it's confusing to me.

- Well, the king is racist… Beasts aren't allowed here, even if they are, they're probably slaves that were kidnaped from their homeland. I hope that king guy burns in hell. Mimi was pretty unhappy after saying that.

 Looks like the king is worse than I thought, favoritism, greedy, and now slaves?! I see why no one wants to live here anymore now, this guy is horrible, even worse than my stepdad. I didn't think anyone could possibly beat his level of bad until now.

-Ah…right, if that's already decided then lets go early tomorrow would you like that Mimi? I looked at my little companion as I spoked.

-YES! Mimi springs up and it looks like she had already forgotten what she was upset about.

-Now let's look for somewhere to stay the night. We should do a bit of shopping later too if you want. I said as we stood up to leave.

- Yea! wo ho. Mimi said as she ran out of the restaurant.

 And she had left our bag behind, well at least I saw that in time. I think I'll carry it from now on. Well I'll probably have a lot on my hand from here onward, but it's nice to have her around anyways. Now that we've got our routs we can relax for a while. I wonder how long it will take for us to get to Veldora? A few days, weeks, maybe months but who cares.