Lost and Found

"Young Sir, we are now entering Wulon City" The coachman notified Max of the situation outside.

"Thanks for announcing me Mister!" Max responded to him. 'Just a bit more' He reminded himself.

A few minutes go by and the carriage Max is in stops, along the voice of the coachman once again was heard. "This is where our road splits young man." The voice of the coachman wasn't filled with respect as before, instead it was a lot more relaxed than before.

"I am going to a close inn nearby, maybe our paths will cross again" The coachman saluted Max after he had gotten his items out of the carriage then turned around and drove the carriage in a certain direction.

'So I am now alone... right.' Max was left alone with his thoughts, he didn't know anyone and he didn't even know where he was. He turned and looked around, searching for the academy or a place where he could get some information.

The city was a complete change of environment from what Max had known so far. The city of Wulan had huge and sturdy houses all around the place, filled with decorations and even though the sun is barely rising the light inside the city was present, droving away the darkness into the many alleyways the city had.

'This city is something else' Admiring the view Max thought. He had been carrying the crate ever since he had got off from the carriage. He was lucky it was still very early in the morning but in a city as populated as this one he wasn't completely saved as some people could be seen randomly walking around the place and more times than not they would stare for a while at Max like he was an object out of place.

'I really don't like the fact that I didn't ask for directions...' Max groaned, obviously annoyed.

"Young man, do you need to get somewhere?" A voice was heard behind Max, which startled him.

Max turned around to see the owner of the voice and he felt pleasantly surprised. A coachman approached Max along with his carriage. He got off it then looked at Max and smiled.

"You, young man, aren't from around here I can tell that much." He paused for a second then continued. "What business brings you here?" The man asked truly curious about Max's situation.

Max looked at the man in front of him. He was chubby and around his height, the man's face looked matured and filled with wrinkles. He wore muddy red silk clothing which was neatly and perfectly arranged around his round body.

Max looked at this man, he thought for a second and as even Matt agreed upon the idea, he tried his luck.

"Mister I see that you are a coachman of some sort, I beg your pardon but can you please help me find my way toward Mana the Magic Academy? I am willing to pay for the ride but I am truly lost. As you have noticed, I am no resident of this city." Max structured his sentence as respectfully as possible, the sooner he was getting inside the academy campus the better.

"Oh my, what a pampered style of speech you have for such age." The man chuckled then continued. "Sure, and that could only mean you are a new student there. This time the ride will be free-of-charge but don't forget my kindness, maybe someday I will need yours." He waved it off and began walking back to his carriage.

"Come on now, I won't eat you," The man said chuckling after seeing Max still standing there, big-eyed, looking as he wasn't understanding what happened.

'This was easier than I thought?' Max began walking towards the carriage and hopped in after neatly placing his crate inside first.

"So what is your name kid?" The man asked, gathering Max's attention. When he first entered the carriage he saw that it had a lot more to give the eye to explore than from what he saw outside of it.

"My name is Max, Max Edward." He quickly responded, but after answering the man's question he found himself once again looking around inside the carriage where the decorations were a bit too much for Max.

The little dark wood that could be seen inside was giving a bright shine along with the embroidery of the seats which looked like it was made out of silver-gold strings. The embroidery could be seen that it was made with care, passion, and talent. Alongside the seat in which Max was in a dark red dragon so detailed that each scale of it could be felt separated from the others. On the opposite seat, another similar sky-blue dragon was embroidered alongside the seat making the carriage look noble.

'But why the common exterior?' Max wondered but had an idea of why. Most probably this man was some kind of noble coachman, belonging to a family that didn't want to stand out on the outside.

"What a coincidence! My nephew's name is Edward! Haha!" The man looked like his mood improved after he met Max.

"My name is Lutz kid, nice to meet you!" The man named Lutz presented himself briefly, he didn't bother telling Max his family name.

"Thank you mister Lutz for helping me out... without you sir I would've been going around for a few more hours until I would've been able to get someone to help me with at least some directions."

"No need to thank me, a young man like you shouldn't be wandering around places like these with no knowledge. You might end up in lots of troubles!" Lutz advised.

"Thanks for the advice sir, I will keep it in mind." Max acknowledged the man's words.

Max and Lutz chatted briefly and after a while, the houses began scattering. Every once in a while you would see a house more grandiose than the other, shaming what residences Max saw before. Soon after a huge castle-looking building could be seen, entering Max's peripherals.

"That is your destination. Mana, you will be able to shine brightly if you were admitted to such place, don't falter from your training." Max was advised by Lutz once again, he was told this multiple times before.

"I will not sir," Max reassured Lutz with those words.

They approached the entrance and as Max and Lutz were getting closer the gate opened as in inviting them in.

"There is no checkpoint to check for identities sir?" Max curiously asked, normally there would be a place to check for identities especially for such a prestigious place.

"Haha, but what is there to check out? I am just a chubby old man bringing a young fella to his academy." Lutz laughed but didn't explain anything about what just happened.

The carriage finally stopped after a while, Max was preparing to get out of it but Lutz's voice was heard once again.

"The First-Years Dorms are in that direction" Lutz pointed in a direction where a huge building could be seen then seemingly continued.

"... but first you have to go inside there to get a room, it's just like checking in at an inn." He then pointed towards the central area of the academy.

Max thanked Lutz for his directions and followed his instructions. He didn't wander around and neither did he sightsee. He first wanted to get the crate off his hands. He went and checked in, after confirming his identity he got a room number.

'M-42, time to go to the dorms.' Max thought as he left the building he was in. He looked around, searching for Lutz but neither he nor his carriage were anywhere to be seen.

He looked towards the huge building that Lutz pointed at first and began walking to it, the seemingly heavy crate would for once be left behind after entering his room.