Chapter 9

Amelie, the young noble girl traveling in a carriage with four knights was a wielder who could use fire. She is the daughter of a baron, though her father's status isn't considered to be that high, he was still a noble.

She grew up being treated like a princess and she was spoiled by her father who loved her very much. She was aware that she could not have everything she wanted and she realized that as she grew older and when she awakened as a wielder.

She become one when she was ten and although it had been four years since then, her power only improved by a little. At most she could produce pillars of fire but she could not make it last for even five seconds.

She had survived the attack from the men dressed in black but now she only had three knights with her and two were injured. Her father who was resting in the carriage was also not in the best condition.

In truth, she didn't know who those people were but they kept trying to kill her father. They were weak, she thought, but they had the advantage of numbers. The last time they attacked, there were twenty of them and out of her ten knights, only four survived but now only three remain.

She wanted to know what their goal was but as if those people were mute or deaf, they never gave her an answer.

Before the last attack, she had met a man who traveled with a horse and a beast. She originally thought that she could use him but she was wrong.

That man didn't even hesitate to leave when she and her knights were getting attacked. He didn't have a heart, she said to herself, he was heartless to the point to leave a girl such as herself to handle it.

The man had warned her about what was ahead and he also told her that what happens afterward will not have anything to do with him but he was also kind enough to help them without even receiving alvas and so she thought that he was a good man, someone who would help in times of need of other people.

But now she realized that he only helped them at that time because of the rings she had offered, and there was no other reason why. The thought angered Amelie as she made up her mind that he was nothing but a coward.

"Don't expect someone to help out of pure kindness because we don't live in a world you can call pure."

Those were the words of her mother and now she carved them in her heart.

† Mundivagant †

When morning came, the traveler awoke from his slumber and wrote the details of his dream in his journal. After he was done, he began to despair again as he remembered that there was no bathroom in his room.

In the end, he had to go to a public bathroom which was also in the inn to take a bath. It was packed with people who wanted to clean themselves just like him. However, he was not a fan of the idea of using the same bathroom like everyone else.

It didn't take long before he was finished taking a bath which was disastrous in his opinion. When he was done, he went to the entrance lobby of the inn to order some food.

Thankfully, there was no line of people at the counter as everybody's been shouting their orders from their seats. The traveler went to the lady at the counter, greeted her, and asked for some food.

He ordered a cup of coffee, rice with egg, and bread. After that, he found himself a seat and immediately began to write unpleasant things about the inn. Mostly about the cost of his food being so outrageous and ridiculous.

'It would be great to meet the person who decided to sell a single cup of coffee for twenty alvas. Nothing bad would happen, I just want to talk to them, that's all.' - Is the last thing he wrote in his journal before he started to eat.

The traveler did not like the city. Everywhere he goes, it was noisy. This inn, for example, everyone was talking so loudly that as if the person they were talking to was on another side of a mountain.

He could not tell if they were angry, yelling, or just fine. Some of the people there were also huge, they had enormous muscles, so much that he could not help but wonder if they were real. The inn was packed with countless people and the seats and tables were not enough.

"Hey, are you done using this table? If you are then get up! How can you sit comfortably knowing that some people are waiting for available seats!?" An adventurer came and confronted a group of people occupying a four-seat table.

"Hey, didn't we pay to be in this inn? We paid for food so who do you think you are to push us out of our seats!?" Said the man.

"Clearly you are done eating your food! There is not even a single grain left on your plate therefore it is time for you to leave! This city is a large place, you can spend your free time anywhere but like I said, some people are waiting for available seats! I hope you understand what I mean."

"We know what you mean but we paid for the food so we have the right to sit here all we want." Said another person in the group.

"Why are you people so unreasonable? I'm sorry for invading your privacy and talking to you all of a sudden but I and my friends have been standing here for five minutes and we noticed that you guys have done nothing but talk so if you're not gonna eat, talk somewhere else."

"So? I don't see a problem with that. We can talk all we want, why do you care?"

"Because there are people here who are waiting for an available seat! You and your friends are doing nothing but talk so I'm asking you nicely to go somewhere else and let others use this table! You're not the only one here!"

"If we can go somewhere else to talk then why can't they go somewhere else to eat? Mind your own business."

"Maybe because you don't own this place and..."

The traveler found the conversations around this place funny. It was way different than White Rose village as the people there were understanding, polite, and kind yet in this city, people were arguing nonstop.

"So what if you're a silver-ranked mercenary? We are guests of this city, if you dare insult us, I will consult the knights and have them throw you out!" A lady on the traveler's left was arguing with a man.

The mercenary responded, "I don't mean to be rude but lady you just stole my purse! You have the nerve to threaten me when you clearly stole something from me?"

The woman felt insulted, "Excuse me?! Now you're accusing me of stealing! Do you have proof that this purse is yours? I have had this since I was eight! How dare you say it's yours?"

"Excuse you! This purse was just made two years ago, by my father! Now you're saying you've had this since you were a child!?"

The traveler quickly finished his meal as he didn't want to be caught in some trouble. It looks like these people were so bored that they end up picking up a fight with everyone they see.

"Hey, you!" As if someone read his mind before he could even take a step away from his seat, someone called him.

The traveler felt troubled but he was polite so he couldn't just walk away. He turned around and met the gaze of a man who was a foot smaller than him. He had light brown hair and sapphire eyes.

The traveler knew who he was. He had seen him in one of his dreams and in the altered version of that memory, he had saved this man from a woman in a forest.

"Four months ago I met a man who wore the same mask as you, is your name, Cassius? Cassius Tarquin?"

The traveler nodded, "Yes, that's me. Why?"

"I knew it! I couldn't possibly forget the man who saved me!" He jumped up and down in excitement. "Anyway, I live in this city. Are you looking for something? I can show you around!"

The traveler smiled, "Well, great timing! I was hoping to meet a blacksmith, do you know one?"

"Of course! White Stone city is quite famous because of its outstanding blacksmiths you know? Oh right," The young man said, "I forgot to introduce myself, my name's Caesar Marcus! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Caesar." He said, "Well, shall we go?"

Caesar nodded but he did not respond. He started to walk and took the lead and as they were heading towards the door, "Ever wonder why I ended up in that situation?" Opening the door, he added, "You know, back there in the forest."

Following behind him, the traveler said, "Not that interested but I would like to know."

"You see, I live here in White Stone City. It's famous for its naturally talented blacksmiths and also for the mines around this area. The name of this city originated from those mines as they were composed of white stones!" The man explained as they walked, "Take a look at the structures here!"

The traveler looked around, the buildings were made with white stone. It was summer yet it appeared as if the houses were covered in snow. Even the roads were white and the traveler acknowledged its beauty.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Caesar said, "But one day, as I was buying goods in the market, I passed by this beautiful woman. I was captured by her stunning beauty that I couldn't keep myself from coming to her and asking for her name."

Caesar continued, "Her name was quite unusual, and ever since that meeting, I have never seen her again. She was the first woman who made me feel a certain way therefore I was determined to find her. I did some research and found out that her name originated from a small village in the West."

"It sounds like a fairy tale but I was able to meet her. I saved up a lot of money because I was planning to live there for a while before I come back here with her."

Caesar continued with his story although the traveler only pretended to listen, "My uncle's a baron and my father's a businessman so it was easy to make money. Little did I know was that in the village she came from, witches gather. As for why it still stands despite being home to witches? I have done my research but found no reason."

The traveler's steps halted when he heard the term witches. When Caesar finished talking the traveler interrupted, "Hold on, could you repeat what you were saying just now?"

Caesar was confused but he didn't mind telling his story so he repeated it once more.

"You're saying, the king hasn't done anything against the witches in that village? If you were able to figure out that there were witches there, I'm sure the people from above also know so I wonder why they aren't doing anything. Fifteen years ago, the village that was referred to as the cursed village was exterminated because they harbored witches. According to your research, when did witches start to gather in this village you mentioned?"

After he was done speaking, the traveler felt confused as he has never spoken this much before and he also could not help but wonder why the first thing that came to his mind when witches were mentioned was the cursed village.