Five days have long since passed. I am now sitting on a carriage to catch my ship ride. And by gods, I miss my f*cking car. This flying carriage is good too except it isn't as comfortable as my Jeep. Man, Grandpa must have been scammed. These cushions aren't the best there is in Resse that's for sure. The security measures and stealth mode are an advantage though. At least my grandpa's trusted coachman didn't have to fear for his life if the carriage unfortunately crashed down due to bad luck.
Me, you ask? I'm a freaking Grand Magister, if I can't survive a carriage crash I should just denounce my magic. Seriously.
Anyhow, the ride was smooth. There were no signs of the carriage crashing. Bummer. There was also nothing I could do except pig out and sleep or loll my head out on the window like a crazy person. This is the reason I installed the finest car stereo on my Jeep. The only music I have here was from that tiny music box Carlisle gave me. And it plays a single song. I was so annoyed I almost threw it down the window.
I set off from Count Liszt's territory three days after I left the Trier state and they still haven't realized that their only daughter has run away. And here I was so excited for them to figure my message out only to be disappointed in the end. Those bunch of wet blankets.
At this point I might have arrived at Mirus already before they piece two and two together. Well, not that I expect any better from them and I'm not really hoping for them to suddenly launch a full-blown search party. That would just impede my plans.
There were still two more days of carriage ride before I reached the Port Town of Syracuse. There was a merchant ship there that was bound for the Spice Islands via the Atalenta Gulf route. If you, my dear readers, think that I'd be reaching Mirus after that, then I'd have to rain on your parade. There were still a bunch more stop over points that I'd need to reach. What was I expecting from this kind of travel? What was I thinking when I decided to take the long way? Sigh.
I'm reacting like this because I've just found out that the ship ride would be taking a month. I wanna flip tables. A whole month at sea? I'd be salted fish once we reached Spice Isles. How fitting. I'd be ready for frying then once I passed by from there. Sigh.
Salted fish.jpg
Oh well, I'm already here. Might as well enjoy it. If I get bored I'll just look for entertainment. Better yet, I'll make it myself.
I reminisced about the precious three days of fun at Grandfather's place. The night I arrived, a sumptuous feast consisting of all my favorite dishes welcomed me. There was even pudding and a sinfully delightful lemon créme cake. Yep, I should have moved in with Grandpa permanently long ago. Why did my stupid head not think of that?
Hmm. Well, if I did I might have gone from a smöl bishoujo to a hamster personified. From the mere three days of my stay, I feel like I have gained ten pounds... or more. I reasoned that I won't be able to be as gluttonous as I am during the journey to Mirus. But honestly, even I find it hard to believe myself.
The three days of my stay at the Liszt County was not only for me to spend time with grandpa. It was also so that he could arrange everything that I might possibly need on my travels and in Mirus. He insisted on it in fact, the moment he learned that I decided to live in Mirus.
I gave him an applause for that. Yep. Old Man Hal's connection even reached the capital of another kingdom. As expected of a magi. He did reason out that it was because he tried to reach out to Eashen roots and had them settled down in the nearest possible place, which coincidentally was Mirus itself. Not that it really matters to me. Whatever floats Grandpa's boat. I'm benefitting from it anyway.
He asked me why I chose Mirus. I answered honestly and told him my three criterions. He laughed at that. Although he did praise me for choosing well. He then told me about the surrounding countries around the Resse Empire while we were playing chess (which ended in a tie).
The Republic of Rueben Alliance, according to Grandpa Halcyon, was full of military men obsessed with strong people and fighting. I will be eaten alive had I gone there, he said. Well, I'm not so sure about that. I might be in chibi form now but I'm pretty sure I can still kick ass.
As for the nearby country south of Resse, the Solar Theocracy, Grandpa snickered and very disdainfully commented that it was a country of delusional fools obsessed with their religion. Yep. I'm gonna say no to that as well. Just imagining myself trying to be devout and pious every day, all day is enough to make me break out into cold shivers. It wasn't that I was being blasphemous. It was just that I had enough bad experiences with religion to last me a lifetime.
The Sultanate of Sarabi on the one hand was a desert country. Grandpa figured I wouldn't even last a day in that place. He's got it right, ladies and gentlemen. On the other hand, Suri Kingdom had a relatively good climate and ambience but they were mostly ethnocentric people. They weren't really fond of foreigners. Veridia Archipelago belonged to the Other Tribes which was also a big no-no.
When I went over all those choices, I had the inkling that I was destined to go to Mirus. Every single factor points to it. But since I like leaving anything beyond my comprehension on the back of my mind, that inkling went as quickly as it arrived.
On the day of my departure, Grandpa gifted me three ancient artifacts. Artifacts themselves are difficult to find. Ancient artifacts even more so. They were the types of treasures that were priceless since they won't run out of energy reserves no matter how many times they are used. They can change the tide of any crucial situation.
Grandpa handed me a teardrop shaped earring which has the ability to change my haircolor along with a pretty, silver butterfly mask that could diminish my presence. This sakura pink hair was something only Trier's possessed. It was too much of a giveaway. Pair it with this pretty face of mine, it was asking for trouble. Better to be safe than sorry if I don't wanna be found or meet up with hassles. Along with the earring was an inconspicuous stone that was stringed into an intricate bracelet. Grandpa said that it was something capable of changing into any weapon the wielder desires. He knew I didn't have a decent weapon on me. It was something for my protection.
Aside from the ancient artifacts, Grandpa also stuffed an identity crystal to me and a bunch of papers. As to what they were, I was told to check it once I arrived in the capital of Mirus. I sent all these valuables into my spatial ring of course. No way am I holding them in my hands. What if they got lost? I'd be in trouble.
I was touched by the old man's gestures. Grandfather Halcyon may be stern and not as vocal but he truly cared for my well-being. I vowed to return this gratitude to him someday.
Two days passed by as quickly as our flying carriage. I finally arrived at Syracuse.