It's been 2 days since I regained consciousness, and I'm scheduled to be discharged tomorrow. We'll continue to travel again, but this time we'll take a ship to the Holy Land, where the Vatican is located. I discovered that we are currently residing in a church in the city of Segwarry.
Segwarry is part of the Kingdom of Zulorths and has the largest port, where you can see a lot of imported and ready-to-export products, making it the center of trade between the kingdoms.
Merchants are also here to sell and buy products, as evidenced by the numerous stalls and bustling people.
If the portal isn't destroyed, we might be able to get to the Vatican way more faster. No one knows why the portal was destroyed, and it is still being investigated.
When we arrived, the portal had already been destroyed, trapping many people here while they are waiting for the ship that would take them to the Holy Land.
The Holy Land is not an easy place to visit, and in order to get there, you must use the portal because the ocean through which the ship travels is dangerous. The ocean is unpredictable where the Holy Land is located because it is protected and guarded by a swarm of sea monsters.
There will be a ship that will sail tomorrow, and Ken has already booked our tickets. I'm addressing him by his first name because he wants to; it's not like he'll turn younger if we do, or rather he might just want to be close to us for his little scheme.
He seems to want to close the gap between us, getting close to us in the hopes of catching Noel's attention. Despite the fact that it has nothing to do with us, or more specifically with me.
My body is still hurting, and I need one more day of rest, but I can already move. I'm not completely recovered, but since we're leaving tomorrow, I'd like to go for a walk and look around. I can't pass up this chance to experience what only the City of Segwarry has to offer.
I'm currently strolling around with Carole, Noel, and Ken. Ken, of course, is our tour guide. He's very familiar with the area, and I'm confident he'll take us to the most beautiful and interesting spots. Specifically, which restaurant serves the most delectable cuisines.
We chose to walk because it allowed us to explore and look around more than riding in a carriage. The twins are discussing our plans for today with Ken, and I'm here just tagging along with them as I'm simply looking around.
Because the city is so big, there are a lot of tall and large houses and stores everywhere. If I were alone, I'm sure I'd get lost. It was already lunchtime so we decided to eat first.
Ken brings us to a tall building with a unique architectural design pattern that is unlike the typical designs of the buildings here. It sticks out the most as it can easily capture your attention.
"WOW!... This place seems to be different." Carole's mouth dropped open in astonishment as she gazed at the building.
"It is, indeed..." I mumbled and was slightly dazed by how unique the place was.
Ken smiled softly as he looked at me. "This place is owned by a chef from the eastern continent, and I can assure you that they serve unique and delectable foods."
Eastern? The eastern continent is known for being aggressive and arrogant, with a strong desire for power and wealth. That's what I've always heard as a common stereotype about the east, but I don't see much of a difference here in the west. Wherever you go, power and wealth are everything, but people here intend to be more pretentious and act as if they are good on the outside while being a real asshole on the inside.
It comes mainly from my personal experience as to how talented many people are at acting and concealing their true intentions.
I looked up at the building and there is something that caught my eyes.
"How do you read that?" I ask Ken because I noticed a plank above the restaurant with an unknown symbol written on it that I couldn't read.
They are all looking up at the spot where the plank is placed.
"Waaahhh!... What kind of writing symbol is that? It looks peculiar, but it is written in a more refined and elegant style." Carole said with an excellent observation.
"The symbol written above means as 'The Great Pavilion', dear sister." Noel responded with a look that said, 'Isn't it obvious?!'
We looked at him strangely. How does he know? We are not literate enough to understand other people's languages. However, the assurance in his voice indicates that he is certain that he is correct.
"What Noel said was correct." Ken stares at Noel with a smile of pride plastered on his face.
"How did you pull that off, brother? I don't know you're that smart." Carole laughed so hard after saying those words as he could see Noel's face show an unbelievable expression.
"How can you degrade your brother?" He looks taken aback.
"Tehee~... Sorry." Carole said while running away from his brother.
"Carole!... Hey!" Noel yelled at the running Carole, but she ran inside the restaurant to avoid being scolded by his brother.
Carole smiled widely at Noel before she totally entered the restaurant.
"That brat!" He sighed, but I can tell he's not really upset.
After that, Ken motions for us to follow him inside, and we do so without hesitation because Carole is already there and we are already starving. We're also curious about the food they'll be serving.
When we walked into the restaurant, the design was spectacular, with those perfectly refined small details of crafts in the wall and ceiling. There are also various vases, both large and small, with flower designs, as well many ornaments and paintings everywhere.
There are a lot of people in the restaurant and with how many people occupying the tables here on the first floor to the second floor, it's clear that this place is popular. Customers on the second floor can be seen easily because they are watching the performance on the first floor, and the second floor is not that large. In the corner of the first floor, there's a stage with a woman playing an instrument I'm not familiar with.
What exactly is that instrument? I haven't seen anything like this in the books, and I'm intrigued; perhaps Ken is familiar with it.
To get Ken's attention, I gently tugged on his clothes. "What kind of instrument is that, Ken?" I said this while pointing to a beautiful lady on stage.
I'm really curious about the instrument that a beautiful lady is playing. It produces soothing sounds that relax you, and it also has distinct sounds that pique my interest in how it is played.
Noel Looks into the stage to see what I'm portraying. "That instrument is called a zither, and it's relatively rare here, but it's very common in the east."
"Will I be able to learn that? It seems to be interesting and I'd love to have something like that." I said with visible interest plastered on my face.
"That would be difficult because only people with mana could play it, and even if you had mana, it would still be difficult to play. You must train diligently and have a good teacher to guide you." He responded.
I felt so down because I know I won't be able to easily play it. I may have mana, but I don't have a teacher to teach me how to use it. I just stare at the woman, filled with awe and jealousy.
Ken appears to be aware of what I've been thinking, as he softly pats my head and smiles at me. "Maybe one day you'll meet someone who knows how to use zither and you'll be able to learn from them. Don't lose hope." He said as he wanted to console me.
I brightened up and gave him a genuine smile. Maybe in the future, I'll try to lighten my mood and be more positive. I'll try to learn it someday. I'm confident I can do it.
I look around to see where Carole is. I notice her conversing with a woman dressed in a seductive red robe. Noel rushes up to Carole, wrapping his arms around her head and jokingly choking her.
"I've got you! Do you believe you can get away from me?" He laughed triumphantly as he jokingly tightened it.
"Brother! I'm sorry, I was just kidding... *cough* You're choking me." He softly pats Carole's head after slightly tormenting her.
"Do you have any reservations, Sir?" She inquired respectfully to Ken.
"No, we don't have a reservation. Is there no available table?" Ken asked.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but we are already fully booked. The private room on the third floor is the only one available right now."
Ken lifts his hand, and the spatial ring in his finger emits a small light, revealing a golden card. He handed it to the woman, who was taken aback by the sight of the golden card.
"Get us a four-person room and serve us all your special dish." Ken pointed the card. "Use that card to deduct everything."
"Yes, sir, I'll get everything ready." She's holding the card tightly and bowed respectfully before rushing away.
Based on the woman's expression, that card appears to contain a large sum of money. I haven't asked Noel about Ken's identity yet, but based on my observations, Ken appears to be wealthy.