Chapter 28 - The "Curse" of the Prophet

"Let's set off then!" 

Nicola didn't say much more, simply instructing the coachman to move forward.

"Here I come, Holy City!" As the carriage began to move, Cyra also excitedly shrieked.

"Keep it down, is that necessary?"

I rubbed my ears, feeling a headache coming on from her voice.

"I've never ridden in a carriage before, of course I have to enjoy the novelty!"

Like a child, Cyra stuck her head and hands out the window, ceaselessly surveying the scenery along the way.

"This is my first time riding in a carriage too. I've been on planes, ships, sports cars and limos, just never a carriage. It's not bad to experience it occasionally..." 

Nicola also had a smile on her face. She had readily agreed when Cyra first suggested renting a carriage.

It was quite ironic - we had wanted to use the fastest transportation to get to the Holy City in the shortest time, but ended up choosing the slowest option with a carriage.

While not as lengthy as an airship, the entire journey would still take two to three days at the carriage's speed. Annoying!

"It's not bad, just a bit boring and cramped!"

When it was noon, we would naturally stop and rest for a while. Cyra stretched and got off the carriage.

"You chose this carriage yourself! And you're already complaining of boredom after such a short time?" 

I said irritably, also getting off the carriage for some fresh air.

The inside of the carriage was actually much more spacious than a normal one, thanks to some "modifications". 

Though it was a carriage, the horses in this world were slightly different from Earth's, seeming more excellent in speed and stamina. Magic had also been used to achieve a shock-absorbing effect. In terms of experience, it was close to a small sedan.

But no matter how lovely the scenery, one would eventually tire of it. As for passing the time - naturally it was the forever unchanged playing cards!

"Don't worry, we survived that time in Edenmere when sleeping was prohibited, didn't we? Besides, if it really becomes unbearable, we can just fly directly there!"

Cyra nonchalantly answered. She had already thought of a solution.

"Alright, I just hope you guys don't change your minds at night..." 

I couldn't help but glance at Carl, the coachman beside us. He looked rather old, a middle-aged man, and I wondered if he had heard our conversation.

As a coachman hired by the association, his job was just to take us to our destination, nothing else. As for abandoning the carriage midway, that would likely affect his earnings paid daily, though who knew if he would complain.

"Carl, how much distance have we covered? Will we pass any other cities along the way?"

Just then, Nicola also got off the carriage and went straight to ask him. Currently we were surrounded by wilderness, without another soul in sight, and had no idea how far we'd come.

"We're taking the main road, so we'll definitely pass cities. Based on the plan, we should keep heading north, then turn east in the afternoon. If all goes smoothly, we should reach Makalan City by evening."

Carl didn't know we were angels, but answered respectfully out of professionalism. 

"There are several more cities ahead, big and small, mainly in the Cresthaven Papal Dominion area..."

"Sounds pretty fast! Makalan is quite close to the border, so if we're lucky, we may cross into Cresthaven tomorrow." 

After glancing at the map, Cyra suggested happily to me.

"Let's stay the night in Makalan City then!"

"Huh? This place..."

I leaned over for a look. Suddenly I noticed a familiar name northwest of Makalan City - the town of Tethys.

That place had been the epicenter of the monster invasion. It was only recently that the allied forces had retreated from the hilly area between Makalan City and Tethys Town - the very spot we first met Michelle.

"Makalan is just a small city with sparse population. Though near the war zone, I heard it only suffered minor harassment from monsters, quite fortunate! Don't know the current situation though."

Hearing we wanted to stop there, Carl introduced it very professionally.

"Let's go take a look then. With some luck we may even have dinner there!"

I nodded. Although we had brought some food for emergencies, local specialties were still best sampled when traveling. 

However, reality was harsh. By the time we reached Makalan City, it was nearly midnight. The city gates were open but we were stopped by the guards.

"From this evening to noon tomorrow, Makalan City will be under high security alert. No entry or exit of personnel and vehicles!"

"What kind of stupid rule is this? Why the high alert?" 

Cyra couldn't help but curse loudly. Thankfully the outside was noisy and the guards didn't hear, only urging the coachman to quickly turn the carriage around.

"Maybe something happened in the city?"

But I sensed something amiss. Even under high alert, the gates would normally be shut this late. Yet not only were they wide open, we could see people and vehicles queued up inside waiting to leave.

"Let me go find out..."

Carl parked the carriage at the roadside, volunteering on his own initiative. 

We saw him stop someone who had just come out of the city. After chatting for a while, he rushed back and explained through the carriage window.

"I finally got it - Makalan City has been cursed by a prophet! These people are residents afraid of being affected, now fleeing in panic overnight!"

"A curse? What does that have to do with prophets?" 

Nicola was confused, just like me.

"Prophets are those who predict the future! Don't you know?"

Carl looked at us strangely, wondering why we didn't know such common sense. Still, he patiently explained:

The so-called "curse" was just exaggerated phrasing. Since future predictions were highly accurate in this world, any misfortune foretold by prophets or astrologers was termed a "curse"!

With such high accuracy, preventive measures were mostly futile. Just like for Makalan City - a prophet had predicted a disastrous fire tonight. Though the scale, cause, origin, and extent weren't known, many residents had chosen to evacuate just to be safe.

As for the authorities, they had given up trying to prevent it. The city guards were only tasked with stopping outsiders from entering.

"If the prophets are so powerful, why not ask them to predict more details so the cause can be prevented?"

Cyra still thought the future could be changed. Naturally she would ask this.

"I already said preventive measures are useless. Prophets probably can't continuously predict either." 

I pointed out the crux of the issue. I vaguely recalled learning about prophets in Edenmere - a wind mage specialization, if I remember right. 

But humans had limited magical talent, so it was difficult to clearly see the future through time. That probably explained the 80% accuracy.

"True, prophets can only see a very fuzzy future through advanced wind magic, and cannot use it continuously. That makes it easy for the user to misinterpret things."

Nicola nodded in agreement. As a wind element user, she had some knowledge of related fields, especially time-related jobs.

"Astrologers are stronger at predicting, with accuracy near 90%! Combined with wind magic, they can precisely calculate an event's cause and process. But sadly, astrologers seem to only exist in the Sage Alliance."

I recalled the astrologer I'd met who promised a reading. Back then I thought it no big deal, but now it seemed quite rare.

"Forget it, no point dwelling on such mystical things unrelated to us. Since we can't enter the city, we need to consider where to spend the night!"

Yawning, Cyra reminded us to focus on the present issue. Staying up any longer would turn into an all-nighter.

"Any lodging options outside the city?"

Left with no choice, I asked coachman Carl.

"I'm not sure, this is my first time in Makalan too. But it's a small city, so lodgings outside are probably limited..."

Carl surveyed the surroundings and replied.