Chapter 37 - Converging 

"Can we really escape the death omen by staying here?"

I asked helplessly in the inn at Makalan City.

Due to Quintina's earlier prophecy, we had decided to stay in the city and not continue traveling until the three day later, after which we would decide our next steps. 

Although a big fire had just happened in the city, it had only affected one part after all. We later found another inn opening on the other end of the city and checked in.

"I can't be sure, but since the fortune teller said the future scene she 'saw' seemed to happen outdoors, wouldn't we be able to perfectly avoid it if we stay indoors in the city?"

Cyra thought about it and replied. Her logic was quite simple - just do the opposite of how the prophecy would unfold.

"But might some special circumstances come up midway, inducing or forcing us to leave the city?" 

Nicola asked with her head lowered. Although in her eyes, I might not escape the prophesied death so easily, she definitely could not just watch me die without doing anything, so she had no choice but to adopt Cyra's suggestion.

"It's a pity the information we got is so little. If we could find out more about the future, maybe we could make better preparations."

Since it was a matter of life and death, we had asked Quintina about every detail she knew, but the help we got from it was scarce.

"After all, she's just a disabled person..." 

I sighed. It couldn't be helped since the fortuneteller's predictive abilities were so limited. Pestering her further would be meaningless no matter how hard we tried.

Currently, the information we knew was as follows:

First, the person Quintina saw was indeed Nicola. Although she couldn't see with her eyes and didn't know what Nicola looked like in reality, she had also said that in situations like this where she wasn't actively using magic to predict, she could generally only "see" things happening to the target of the prediction. Moreover, the described appearance was extremely similar to Nicola's in terms of clothing, hairstyle and hair color, so it could be determined that the person was Nicola.

Second, the location Nicola was in the prophecy seemed to be outdoors, but the exact spot was unknown. All that was known was the ground appeared to have many rocks and weeds, which was a very common terrain. 

Third, looking at the time, since Quintina described the scene as quite dark, and could even vaguely see flames in the background, it could be deduced that the event happened at night.

Fourth, although the Nicola in the prophecy was calling my name and certainly mentioned I had died, she didn't "see" any other people or related corpses, not even any leftover clothes. 

Fifth, one strange thing was that Quintina didn't mention Nicola's angel identity at all, which was very suspicious! Because from the subsequent conversation, we could see that she had always thought Nicola was just a wind mage. So the truth could only be one - the Nicola she saw did not have wings unfurled behind her!

This was quite thought-provoking...

"What circumstances could lead to my death while Nicola still hasn't unfurled her wings?"

I bowed my head in thought, vaguely feeling this might be a breakthrough.

"That's right, if it was battling magical creatures or robots I would definitely have unfurled my wings, this clearly doesn't make sense..."

Hearing my words, Nicola also started pondering. 

"Could it be some accident happened, causing all of us to be unable to react in time?"

Cyra's expression changed as she suddenly thought of a possibility.

"But what accident could it be..."

Better safe than sorry. Accidents were the hardest thing to guard against. Reasoning to this point, it seemed we had completely hit a wall, as at least the few of us couldn't think of what accident could possibly lead to my instant death...

"Oh well, maybe we were just collectively acting at the time, and Nicola was only performing a scene where I died, the grasslands might even be props!" 

Since I couldn't figure it out, I gave up and casually found a reason to gloss over it.

"At least I don't think Nicola would act out the tearful, extremely grief-stricken appearance Quintina depicted after seeing me die!"

This reasoning did have some basis actually. I certainly hadn't forgotten that she used to be a playboy, and basically never saw her cry except for that one time she was drunk. 

Even if our bond was solid as rock, it probably wouldn't be an exception! To put it bluntly, after transmigrating I hadn't heard her mention her parents even once, so even if her dad and mom died she probably wouldn't react so dramatically!

"Who said that! I'm just more introverted!"

Once Nicola heard this, her face actually turned slightly red for once as she immediately retorted.

"And I can't act, there's no way I could have learned in just one or two days..."

"If you count as introverted, then I can say I'm introverted too!" 

Hearing her words, Cyra rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, let's check in first! For safety, we'll all stay together, absolutely not letting Feliciana take a single step outside this city. I don't believe there will be any unavoidable situations that could force us into the wilderness!"

"It's the only way..."

I nodded. The only countermeasure we could think of now was this.

Actually, for safety's sake, Cyra had specifically asked us to change into a different set of clothes, because the clothing Quintina mentioned in the prophecy was exactly what Nicola had been wearing then - the adventurer's suit she had bought at the adventurer's guild.

"You guys wait here, I'm going out now to burn these changed out clothes! I don't believe, even if the clothes are gone, Nicola would still wear them like in the prophecy!"

Probably influenced by our previous talks of various "destined calamities", although Cyra still didn't believe fate could not be changed, she still showed proper caution.

"I'll go out with you! Anyway we're in the city, it should be fine to walk around casually."

I thought about it and said this - even if I wanted to avoid calamity, I didn't need to be under house arrest! It wasn't even noon yet, being locked up in the room all day would definitely be unbearable. 

"Since Feliciana wants to go out, then I definitely won't stay behind alone. We can take the chance to stroll around the city, and might as well go to the marketplace to take a look, don't know if that area was affected by the fire..."

Nicola immediately voiced her stance as well. With the decision made, we left the room.

"But where can we burn these clothes..."

After leaving the inn, Cyra looked around hesitantly. Lighting a fire on the streetside felt much too eye-catching. Moreover, a fire had just happened in the city, so everyone was sensitive now. We could only find a more secluded spot to do it.

"Why don't we go take a look by the river?"

I thought about it and suggested this. Here was the north side of the city, and the Sildenga Bridge I had passed through when chasing Blanche earlier wasn't far from here. That bridge stretched across a river that ran through Makalan City.

"Then lead the way!"

Nicola nodded. As long as they didn't have to leave the city, she naturally wouldn't object.

...

"Alright, now these clothes have all been burned up. I don't believe they can turn back from this scorched condition!" 

Relying on memory, we quickly found our way to the riverside. Cyra took out a fire starter and lit the clothes, dusting off her hands as she spoke.

"See, I said changing fate isn't that hard!"

"You guys... doesn't this riverside scene look similar to the one in the prophecy?"

Nicola gazed at the opposite shore with a thoughtful expression as she suddenly asked.

Since it was a city in the magical world, not only was the water flowing through the city clear, even both sides of the river banks maintained a primitive natural appearance.

Hearing her words, I also took a look at the embankment across the river. Apart from the scattered rocks and weeds everywhere, it did feel somewhat similar when she put it that way.

"It's still daytime now so we shouldn't need to worry, but this fire..."

Nicola lowered her head to stare at the fire on the ground, then looked back at our side of the shore, wanting to confirm if this was the location in the prophecy.

"Ah! Nicola, watch out!"

Cyra suddenly cried out, pointing at her lower body. Being too close to the fire, a gust of wind blew and the silk dress she had brought from Edenmere immediately caught fire.

"Crap, hurry put out the fire!"

I quickly took out cups and bowls from my storage ring, improvising with river water to douse the flames on her. 

"Oh no, these clothes can't be worn anymore. Even my butt is exposed!"

Although she was unharmed, Nicola's current state meant she couldn't be seen at all! Luckily there didn't seem to be anyone else around the riverbank now, so she hadn't lost too much face at least.

"Do you guys have spare clothes? I don't have a change of clothes anymore..."

Nicola glanced at the empty space in her storage ring and pleaded for help from us.

"My last one was lent to Cyra, and your size is too big to wear ours anyway!"

Earlier, due to Cyra's insistence for safety reasons, we had all changed into a new set of clothes, and they had all been burned together, so where could we find more to change into?

Moreover, my and Cyra's figures were both petite, so clothes we could wear clearly wouldn't fit Nicola's relatively taller build either.