Ch 20.2 - The Itinerary

As I opened the door, I was greeted by a young woman dressed in a maid outfit.

"Greetings Almond family. The Ceremony organizers send their regards. Your designated bracelets have arrived and you must wear them at all times until you return back to your home. Before handing out the bracelets I would like to have your family head's signature in this agreement please."

She then hands a paper with a lot of words.

I grabbed it and started to read all the contents thoroughly.

It stated that the wearer of the bracelets must follow and adhere to the city's laws. Failing to do so will lead to severe punishment. And many more such clauses were written on it but before I could read it, my mother snatched it and handed it in my father's hand.

"Now Benji, Miss Maid here have other things to do. Let your father sign it already so that she can return to her duties."

They didn't even bother to read the agreement and just signed it blindly. The maid said nothing but smiled like she was some kinda doll without any other emotions. It was downright creepy. Is everyone working on these railways are oddballs? I have yet to see a normal person.

After the agreement was signed and handed back, my father stepped forward and took three bracelets like it was a prize award.

The maid also handed me another paper leaflet,

"This is the event itinerary of the Ceremony express, all the events that are about to take place are written down in this pamphlet. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you for your hard work." replied my mother with a bright smile.

After hearing that the maid gently bowed her head,

"Then I wish you a wonderful stay. I'll take my leave now."

After the maid left we went back inside our room.

My father handed me the bracelet and I glanced at it quite curiously. He even instructed me with the set of instructions on how to wear it.

My parents wore the bracelets without any hesitation. It didn't cross their mind to check if the bracelet was rigged or faulty. I let out a sigh, maybe I am just a little too cautious.

I was a little curious about this bracelet so I first inspected this thing before wearing it.

The bracelet was a simple purplish metallic bracelet with some rune text embedded on it. The bracelet itself was quite sturdy and looked like your ordinary bracelet. Nothing that looked out of the ordinary. After examining for some time I finally wore the bracelet.

As soon as I wore it, I felt as if something pricked my wrist. It was just a tiny little feeling like getting stung by a mosquito, it lasted for just a mere second. There weren't any changes on the bracelet or in my own body.

"Benji!" Soon an excited voice of my mother came to my ears.

She grabbed my shoulders,

"You need to suit up because it's your big day. They are about to hold the mage ascension ceremony this evening. They will be testing all the kids who manifested a mana core or not. Things might have changed since we last came here but all you have to do is behave in a good manner."

"I always am on my best behavior." I replied confidently, "But that information… Was it written down on the itinerary? Can I have a look?"

My mother handed me the itinerary and I started reading it curiously.

"Listen, Benji, I know you have been working hard ever since you were a kid to become a mage. But… I don't wanna sound discouraging but I just want to tell you that even if you don't manifest a mana core, you will still be our dear son. So...~ Hey, are you even listening."

"Huh?!~ Ah... Yes. I-I am listening." I replied meekly.

To be honest I didn't hear a single word my mother just said. That's because I was busy suppressing my shock after what I just read in the itinerary. I can't believe it!

I tried to calm down and not let the excitement and shock be revealed in my face.

"I don't think you listened to a single word that I said just now~ huh? What's the matter? Where are you going when we are having such an important conversation." my mother scowled at me as she stopped me while pinching my earlobes.

"Ah! I am very sorry but I can't ignore nature's call." I replied and freed myself from her clutches.

I rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.

"Hey! At least give back the itinerary" my dad shouted back.

I didn't bother to reply.

I just went inside and sat on the edge of the bathtub to re-read the itinerary.

The itinerary was a paper card-like leaflet with ceremony express written on the front side in bold letters. Inside the leaflet, there were various events listed that will take place in this train itself to entertain the guests.

The events are written quite in an orderly manner.

The event name with the details jotted down here, along with the precise date and time of when it's about to take place. So that the passengers can make sure that the children will be prepared to participate in these events without making any delays.

The first event is the mage ascension test that will be held this evening. They will segregate the children with and without the mana core by this evening. Those without mana core will be instructed to shuffle carriages.

The next event will be held tomorrow morning which will be the Present ceremony.

In this event, the kids will be handed down presents in a lottery manner. The contents of the present will be a secret.

There were more events like Mage Dual Demonstration, Memory Stone exhibition, Historic Event lecture, and many more.

But what caught my attention is a particular event that is going to be held on the 2nd day.

This particular event is named, The Fall of evil Demon King.

This event is going to be held by a puppet mage who's going to demonstrate his puppeteering skills to show how the 12 heavenly Virtues managed to slay the demon king. From the looks of it, the event transpired not much long ago.

I mean slaying the Demon king should be a pretty big event. It should already be spread all around the world. But it's been a decade since I came to this world, yet not a word I had heard about anything of this until now.

Are they really talking about me or is it some other demon king?

I still don't get why the demon generals let the human heroes take credit. What will they benefit from this deal?

I still can't wrap my head around it. I have to wait until this event takes place.

The only stories about these heavenly virtues are stories and lore praising their heroism. Many of them were just right out saying the heroes are equal to gods. Whatever the heroes do and think are just.

Not interested in one bit of these stories praising these heroes. Most of them are just full of lies.

I know this new tale is also just another lie but I wanna see how much they are willing to share with the world. Is the demon king they are talking about, is me?

The more I think about this, the more questions arise.