Chapter 5 - Traveling Sucks

I didn't know it was this soon. We are already going to the capital now.

All the people coming with us are only a couple of knights, some chefs, and our personal maids, including Mary. Most of the stuff we brought was luggage. It was quite a lot that I was dumbfounded to the point of almost fainting. Is this the normal amount of stuff for royals to bring? I really can't get used to being royalty.

We traveled for quite a long time now. The breeze was refreshing and the weather was nice. Although the farther we go, the colder it is. I guess this is what Fuyumi-nee-san told me about. Good thing I wore quite the clothing, at least it's warm.

It's been snowing for a while now. Has it become this cold already? If it keeps getting colder and colder the closer we go, I wonder how cold is the capital.

We have been traveling for many days, to be honest, I didn't enjoy it that much. I've become bored really quickly. I never thought about it but living in a medieval world coming from modern times is pain. How the hell did I manage to not complain about not having any internet, heck any gadgets this entire time?! Ugh, I'm bored.

Plus, the technology is also bad here, especially these carriages. I mean since this is a royal carriage, it is more stable and more secure than what poor people use but I mean, it could use more work. Then again, I'm speaking from someone who has the luxury of experiencing modern technology like it was nothing.

I wonder if I could use some of my knowledge to improve some things… Eh, I'll think about it later.

After some time traveling in the white sheets of snow, we suddenly halted.

What the? What's going on?

"Monsters incoming!" One of the knights suddenly yelled. At that moment, all the knights started to surround the carriage in a defensive form. Wow, that was quick.

Also, monsters?! Oh, I want to see it! This will be my first time seeing monsters in this world. I keep hearing them in class but I have never seen one, I wonder what they would look like.

"Man, I want to warm up a bit, can I go Ooka-san?" It was my older brother, half-awake, asking our mom if he could join the fight.

Is he serious? Woah, am I also going to see my family fight for the first time?! Though I don't know if our mother would allow it.

"Can I go too, I've been wanting to try out the new spell that I made."

My older sister as well?! Are they really serious? A sword fanatic and a genius mage, I wonder how it will turn out. I wonder how they fare against monsters. Do they have any experience with monsters?

Argh, I'm so excited! My weebness is leaking out. I need to calm down.

Also, they said there are monsters incoming but I still don't see them. That's weird, are the monsters invisible or something? Even so, I've never heard of an invisible monster, or at least not yet. Or are the monsters still far away?

"Alert. Multiple hordes of monsters in a 50-meter radius are detected by [Magic Sense] and [Heat Sense]. The data gathered suggests multiple types of monsters that are hostile. Goblins, dire wolves, and slimes are the most likely monsters that fit the data gathered."

Oh, there we go. So the monsters are just out of my line of sight or something? I mean I am not using my [Enhanced Eye] but I should still see them normally in a 50-meter radius, right?

"Response. It is due to the monsters in this area are unique. Most monsters in this area have the intrinsic skill [Snow Camouflage] allowing them to be hidden in plain sight when there is snow. Anybody that doesn't have a good detection skill will not be able to see them at all."

So even my [Enhanced Eye] is not enough to see these monsters?! I guess I should train these then since I can't really fight something if I can't see them. Also, the fact that the soldiers managed to detect them faster than my unique skill tells me that they have a higher detection skill than mine. Maybe they have a higher grade of [Magic Sense] and [Heat Sense] or something similar. Either way, it's impressive. Expected of the knights that serve the royal family.

"Sure you can go, just make sure to not get overboard ok?"

"Don't worry Ooka-san, this place won't burn easily since it is snowing." I guess my older brother likes to burn stuff huh. Does that mean he has an affinity to Fire?

"Stupid, your fire is hot enough to burn the surrounding area even when it is snowing. Besides, we are still quite far from the capital so this place is not even that cold, your fire will burn everything. Just keep it down alright. We don't want to melt and burn an entire forest now can we?"

"But Nee-san, it wasn't my fault! I didn't know that one swing from my sword can produce that much fire!"

"That's why I told you to be careful you idiot. Make sure you don't repeat the same mistake."

Eh? His fire is hot enough to burn an entire forest in one swing? What the hell did he do to do that?!

I just notice it but the sword he's been carrying this entire time had a very weird shape that resembles a longsword. He unsheathed his blade to show a bright red sword that resembles a massive fire with a ridiculous guard that resembles a phoenix with a yellow star in the middle. How the hell is he gonna hold something like that?

My older sister also pulled out a weapon that is shaped like a staff or wand? I don't know, it just reminds me of that staff that R*deus used in that other isekai anime. It had a similar shape but the key differences are the materials and the tip. The materials that my older sister is using seemed to be made of high-quality metal and it doesn't have a tip but still has that large magic stone at the top. There is also that strange line circling the middle of the staff, I wonder why that is but maybe it's just for design purposes.

I still can't really see the monsters no matter how hard I looked. My older siblings don't seem to be having a hard time seeing them though, that's annoying. I suddenly heard a roar, probably coming from the dire wolves, signaling that the battle had started. Though I don't think this can be considered one.

Once they heard the dire wolves howl, my older siblings started attacking in an instant. I couldn't even see it but the next thing I knew, the surrounding area was burning, no it was flooded, no the area was filled with many gushes of strong winds. It was chaotic, to say the least.

My older brother was swinging his blade all around with each swing, blood splattered out of nowhere, probably from the monsters that I can't see, and immediately got burned by his fiery flames.

'He is very strong' This was my thought throughout the entire time. His swordsmanship was beautiful as if he was dancing but it also seemed chaotic at the same time. I wonder if I could learn that…

My older sister did not slack off as well, as she cast numerous magic at the same time. If this world works somewhat similar to that slime isekai, then my sister really is talented in magic. Multiple spells were cast at once with barely any incantation, what the hell.

'These guys are monsters.' I thought deeply.

I don't think any of these monsters got close to even scratching them, let alone hurting them, even though I can't see them.

Only a minute passed by and the battle was over, no, I think it was a slaughter rather than a battle. Like what the hell.

After they cleaned up, both of them started running back to our carriage with satisfied smiles as if they just had a good warm-up. I still can't believe all of this is just a warm-up to them. Now I want to know how strong they are.

"Did you see that Tomo-chan? Your Nee-san is pretty cool and powerful right?" my sister said. I don't know if my older sister is narcissistic or just wants to look good in front of me and her younger siblings.

"Eh, what about me? I was clearly cooler than you!"

"Huh?! What did you say, you idiot?!"

Both of them started fighting each other. I don't know why they started fighting.

'Man they are loud.' This was all I could think while they were fighting.

We continued traveling for a couple more days until we finally reached the capital. Goddamnit, this trip took so long.

The capital looked full of life. From the busy streets to colorful stalls and happy people around, laughing and seeming to be having a good time. This is nice. If the people are like this then I guess my parents are doing a good job then as rulers. I hope so at least.

We continued riding the carriage when suddenly our father suddenly pulled out a key. A golden key with a bright red gem at the head of it. It looked like it was very important. He held the key and spun it in a motion as if you are opening something with a key until the red gem suddenly lit up and the space around us slowly warped.

Eh??? What's going on? What's happening?!

Everyone except me and my younger siblings was fine while this was happening. I'm so confused, what is going on right now? And what was that key? What did it do? The space suddenly start to fix itself and then I saw it. A large and tall palace in front of us with heights that seemed to scrape the sky above. The sheer size of the palace overwhelmed anybody who sees it.

What the hell is this? I know this is a fantasy setting but how the f*ck is this possible? A large build like this should not be possible in this era. How did they manage to build all this? Also, we seem to be traveling towards this palace, is this where we are gonna live?! I know we are supposed to be rich but not this rich!

And that key…was that how you are supposed to enter the palace??? So that key really was important. So you can't really enter the palace whenever you want unless it's been opened by some special key…interesting.

We finally arrived and I was shown to my room by my mother. We were followed by some servants and Mary that were carrying what was supposed to be my luggage. I opened my room to see a large room. A much larger room than what I used in that vacation house. What the hell?! Is this really all mine? Ugh, I really can't get used to being rich.

After a couple of days of rest, mainly to recover from traveling for so long, we went to the temple to finally get my blessing. I can finally find what my affinity is! I wonder what types of magic I can use, huhuhuh I'm excited.

"Welcome to the holy temple of our Goddess Frostine. We welcome the Royal Family, may I assume you are here for a blessing?" A handsome, tall figure that was at the altar of the temple suddenly spoke to us. He wore a large white robe with a design that tells me he is of a higher rank in the church, although he is wearing it loosely as if he didn't wear it correctly. His hair also looked as if he just woke up and he still haven't shaved. Heck, he looks like he is someone poor and hasn't taken a bath for so long. Is he someone important here?

"Indeed Pope. We are here to get our middle child a blessing from the temple to figure out his affinity." My father responded.

Wait, did I hear that right? The Pope?! This guy?! Really? I was dumbfounded. This guy…is the Pope…the highest-ranking person in most religions…this guy?! I really wouldn't have guessed, what the hell.

"Alrighty, well then, shall we start then? Can the child come here so that we can start please?" Wow, it's very unprofessional.

I went to him and he showed a smirk as if he was expecting me to go. What's he lookin' at?

"So you are the one right? Well, lemme ask you a few questions then and we will get right to it. So first of all, do you know why you need to go here to find out your affinity, young lad?"

"No?"

"Ha, knew it. Most people don't actually know either. Well, you actually don't need to go to a temple to find your affinity, what you do need is the blessing that you can get from a temple."

"Wait, I didn't need to go here to find out what my affinity is?"

"Yeah duh, there are many magical affinity detecting devices all over the continent from Guilds to Vacation Homes to some noble houses or even just plain old stores. It just depends if you can use them or not. But what's important to note is that if you get your affinity checked in a temple, not only you will have some privacy, but you will also be a blessing that lets you hide or manipulate your status to not let other people know about it. Plus if something goes wrong while checking then the temple is the best way to fix it since we have many priests and mages here to help, got that?"

I nodded. Wow, that's a lot. So basically going to a temple is only useful for getting blessings to let you hide your status and to help you if something goes wrong? That's more useful than I thought. I don't have any good experiences when it comes to any religious type of establishment whether from IRL experiences or from animes that I watch, I really don't have any good experiences with these types of things. But I think this temple is good, at least that's what I think. The Pope has a very good attitude, not fitting for a Pope, but certainly good for socializing. I guess I'll trust this a little bit.

"Ok, so do you have any other questions regarding what we are about to do? Wait, don't bother, I'm not answering your questions because time is ticking so let's do this already."

Wow, really professional.

I was led to a large room with a large crystal ball with a floating staff holding it in the center of the room. He told me that I need to touch the ball to find out what my affinity was or something. So that is the only thing that I need to do? That's simple. I slowly walked toward the center of the room and when I got closer, I instinctively touch the crystal ball and held the staff. Eh? Why did my body just move?

"Answer. The aura emitting from the staff is strong enough to affect your movement."

Woah, that's cool I guess. At the moment that I touched the crystal ball, a massive magic circle appeared at the bottom of my feet and a large black barrier covered the room. So is this what the Pope meant by having privacy? I guess it's not bad. Seconds later, the gravity inside this barrier started to change, I started to float around and my surroundings suddenly looked as if I was in f*ckin' space. Wow, this looks so cool.

After a while of waiting, the crystal ball suddenly glowed out of nowhere and numerous symbols started to appear on it. Eh? What's happening now?

"Activating [□□□□□□□□□ Soul]."

My chest started to glow. It had the color of purple. I looked down to see some sort of shape that is on my chest where it is glowing. I think it looks like a blob?

Wait, this is familiar. Oh, wait I remember now. This is the same blob that I saw in that endless darkness!

What is activating though? I don't know what it is but it did say Soul so it must be something about my soul. Maybe this is related to this glowing thing in my chest.

This glow in my chest started to get brighter every second until the symbols on the crystal ball started to glow and started to appear around me. What's going on? Man, this is a lot of symbols. I don't even know what these symbols do though.

"Response. These symbols are the types of magic that you have an affinity with."

Wait, really? Wow, I have a lot, though can you tell me what elements these are because it's not really clear which one is from just these symbols.

"Confirmed. The elements that you have an affinity with are…"

"Wait, what did you just say?"