The day of the beginning of our expedition finally comes. As of now, Ichijou, Ellisa and I will meet King Edwin once again to receive his blessing for our journey. The road we're taking to get to the castle is filled with the citizens of Croterin Empire. They all wanted to witness the antecedent of the day for this war to change its course.
These three day of rest that we had really helped us a lot. Ichijou completely healed with aid from Ellisa, fixing his wound. He's no longer wearing bandages, and he can finally move normally without aching in his body. On the other hand, Ellisa seems cheerful as always right after our date. I can't believe I just kissed her that night. But, we decided to act like it never even happened afterwards. Although I'm pretty sad about that, it's probably for the best for both of us.
Right now, we're walking across the bridge to reach the castle's main entrance. The line of citizens gradually changes into soldiers. Every ten of them is holding the banner of this Kingdom's crest pointed towards the sky. We were welcomed with open arms compared to the first day I was brought to this place.
When we entered the throne chamber, King Edwin has already been waiting for us in there. He had this smile on his face and said,
"Welcome, dear heroes. Hope all of you enjoyed your stay for the past few days,"
I blatantly respond to him, "It sure is fun! Although the food could be improved a little bit more if you ask me,"
I immediately got a punch on my chest from Ichijou when I said that. He didn't want me to speak like that in front of the King. I know I should act more politely, but hey, the King seems fine with how I behave before this.
To make Ichijou stop, I spoke again in a more polite way to the King, "With all due respect, I am genuinely amazed by the beauty of your Empire. I can't thank you enough, King Edwin, for the best hospitality that you've shown to us,"
Soon, everyone in the room started to sit on their one knee and showed their utmost respect to the King. Among those people, Cicily and her husband, Darren was there too. I was happy to see that he's finally back on his feet and doing okay. His face was no longer mutilated like I remember back then, although he still needed support from someone to stand up. Ellisa really did an excellent job nursing him until he's healthy again,
King Edwin then continues, "At ease. I don't want to prolong this meeting, and so we shall get to the chase,"
He deliberately waved his hands to call out his helper and the rest of his Commander. Those helpers were holding what seemed to be some supplies for us. There were bags filled with Prisma coins, food rations, some equipment and other necessity. They arranged it down in front of us while the Commanders standby on both sides of King Edwin's throne.
"I presented to you with all of this to support your journey. It may not be much, but I hope you will use it wisely. Now you may choose these men to join your team. You may take as many as you'd like," said King Edwin,
Ichijou swiftly stood up and replied to the King, "I am grateful with your modesty, Your Highness. But, you can keep your soldiers to yourself so that they can protect your thriving Empire from the wrath of the Devil,"
I joined him and pointed out my opinions too, "Ichijou is right, King Edwin. Having too many people on this journey will just slow us down. We are thankful for your generosity, but this is way too much to accept for just a recon mission. Besides, the Prisma Coin is more than enough for us. We can use it to buy ourselves some equipment along the way without having to carry a bunch of things at the beginning,"
"Is that so," said King Edwin while he stroked his beard, "Very well then. I will add a few more coins to your supplies so that you can buy everything you need. But please, I insist you bring at least one of my finest Commander to aid you,"
Right in between those Commanders, one person suddenly held their hands up and said, "I'm willing to come with you on your journey with the consent from the King,"
Surprisingly, when we looked at that person, we were thrilled to learn that it was none other than Nyoko. Ichijou had this soft smile on his face when she said that. He quickly replied,
"Then I shall accept her, Your Majesty."
The King was happy with the answer and replied, "Hahaha! That's great! I understand that she used to be under your command before when you were a Grandleader. I will have no doubt that you guys will make a good pair in this journey,"
When I peek at Ellisa, she didn't seem quite fond of this choice. I heard her said to herself, "Euukkk! I was hoping it would be Cicily. Nyoko is too fierce for me to be friends with her even though she's a girl," she whimpered,
I chuckled softly after seeing her reaction. She has to deal with it whether she likes it or not.
A moment later, Nyoko happily walked into our group. She swiftly wrapped her arms around Ichijou and nuzzled her face on his back. But, wait- did I miss something? She looked close to him right now. Back then, all she did was mocking him nonstop for his past mistakes. So how did it turn out to be this way?-
"Psst, Ichijou. Didn't she hate you? What's going on right now?" I whispered to him,
He just smirked and said, "Let just say we handled our old misunderstanding while we're at Fairdrift,"
"Ah-," So that's the reason. I'm glad Ichijou and Nyoko finally got their relationship back to the former state. There won't be any problem then for all of us on this journey,
Ellisa suddenly pointed out her dissatisfaction at me and whispered, "Uhmm... can we also bring Cicily to our group? Although she's not a Commander, I think she would be a great help to us too, Kiseki!"
Cicily heard what she said and swiftly interrupted her, "I'm sorry, Ellisa. But that's not possible. You see, we still haven't done with recapturing Fairdrift just yet. I need to stay here and aid the soldiers in that battle. I am the only person left that know the current state of that location. Besides, Darren will miss me if I come with you! There's no way I would let that happen,"
"Shut- Shut up, Cicily! Don't make me look like a wimp to them! And no talking while the King is watching! Show some respect!" He yelled at her,
King Edwin agreed with her as well and said, "She's right, young lady. We need to set up a base camp in that city no matter what cost it would take. You must have already known that there is an enemy stronghold located not far from there. We would have a considerable advantage against the Devil's army if we could conquer that city."
Ellisa was embarrassed when she heard both of them point out the facts. She just covered her face and replied, "I- My bad! I should not have shown my selfishness to all of you,"
A moment later, King Edwin asked us, "Before that, may I know what your plan on reaching Elmwick Mountains is? Do you have an idea which route will you take to go there?"
Ichijou then takes out the map that Han gave to us and says, "Allow me to come closer to you, Your Highness, so that I could show it to you?"
King Edwin nodded and moved his fingers back and forth at him, "Very well. You may proceed,"
Ichijou politely walks towards and stands right next to the throne while pointing the map at him, "As we all know, King Edwin. Elmwick Mountains is located at the heart of Demon's Territory," said Ichijou as he pointed to the location on the map. "Based on my understanding, the only possible way we could get there is by going through the Dwarven states and past the Elven Continent. Since yesterday, I have already marked all the locations to reach Dwarven state where my team and I will go, including places to stay and resupply," He then scrolled back the map towards Croterin Empire and continued. "First and foremost, we will head east to reach Avonline Port to find ourselves a ship to cruise this vast ocean ahead of us."
Nyoko, who was listening to him, suddenly interrupted the conversation and said, "Uhm, we might have major issues if we take a ship to go to Dwarven state,"
"Why is that, Commander Nyoko?" King Edwin asked,
"Your Majesty, based on the news we received from our neighbouring country, the ocean had been controlled by the Devil's army maritime. They had their sea creatures surveying and protecting that area twenty-four hours. If somehow they found us trying to boat our way through, they will immediately attack us on sight." Nyoko explained to them,
Ichijou started arguing with her and said, "We had no other choice but to fight them. Besides, our neighbouring soldiers haven't seen any abnormal activities coming from the ocean for the past six months. The enemy has probably stop guarding the area ever since we cut any intercontinental trading with the other Specia."
"We can't take such risk in our hand, though! What if they are still there? We will get ourselves in a massive situation to fight them off. Their ocean creatures aren't something to play around with! Our boat could get smashed to smithereens with just one hit from those creatures! They are the most advantageous out there, not us!" Nyoko countered,
"Then do you have any alternative route we can get? If yes, this is the time to tell us," Ichijou said to her,
She began to stutter and replied, "Well- there's none that I know of. But, taking the boat is a stupid idea!"
This is going nowhere at this point. Just a second ago, Ichijou and Nyoko were already friendly towards each other, but now they're back at arguing again. Do we really have no other way to go around rather than the ocean?- Suddenly,
"If that's the case, why not take the Orchard Passage to get to Dwarven state safely? It is the shortest route to go between Ender Human and Dwarven State Continent, from what I remember. Best of all, we don't really have to use a boat. Just walking is enough," unexpectedly Ellisa intervened in their argument,
King Edwin, Nyoko and Ichijou were shocked when Ellisa recommended that route to them. What's wrong with it, though? Somehow they didn't seem too happy with her idea as well.
"Ellisa! No one has ever used that route for thousands of years!-" Nyoko responded,
Ichijou also replied, "We have no time to joke around right now, Ellisa. Do you want us to get killed with something else other than the Devil's army?"
I then joined the conversation and asked, "Wait- why can't we take that route? Sounds harmless if you asked me. If it didn't include the Devil's army, then it's more than enough to be the reason for us to use it,"
Everyone began to let out a long sigh, and then King Edwin explained the reason, "Orchard Passage is one of the most avoided routes by any Specia in this world. It wasn't being used for a millennium because the location is cursed."
"Cursed? Can you explain to us in detail, Your Highness?" I asked him confusedly,
The King continues with his story by saying, "It is said that the route used to be the golden passage for all traders worldwide back in the days. There was a nearby town not far from that passage always saturated with Specia seeking fortune in their trading. But one day, something strange happened. A mystical mist suddenly appeared out of nowhere and filled the entirety of the passage. At first, nobody seems to care about that phenomenon. They considered it to just be natural causes. However, things took horrible turns when the sun went down and the moon shines upon the route. Anyone who's camping outside of the passage always heard an eerie cry coming from the mist. Those who tried to seek what's the reason behind it always disappeared in the midst of the night,"
"Some speculate that crying came from an Ancient Creature called Eytelis that was exile by God. The others think that it's the voices of the traders who got lost in that mist. Nevertheless, nobody ever dared to walk in that path from that point onward and called it a cursed route. Soon it was abandoned completely when the boat was introduced to be a better option to do a cross-continent trading." said King Edwin,
"My mom used to tell me the story of this misty route when I was a kid. At first, I thought it was just small folklore and fairytale until my dad and I passed that location when we were fugitives. There's a song that came with it if I remember correctly, and in one of the lines, it said, 'Once white smoke rises, only truthful, and sincerity could lead your path to victory,' if you listen to it closely, you can tell that it's actually a riddle. If we were able to decipher the answer, we might be able to walk past the mist with no problem," Ellisa replied to us,
"And what if you failed? Do you prepare to deal with the consequences, young lady?" The King asked her,
Ellisa just poked her fingers together and answered, "To be honest, I don't, Your Highness. But, at least now we have another option to take if the ocean seems impossible to cross."
King Edwin seemed sceptical in the end but didn't question Ellisa any longer. He briefly rested his back on the throne and said to Ichijou, "The choice will be in your hand. I expect you to lead this team safely,"
Ichijou bowed to him instantaneously and replied, "Yes! Your Highness. I will not disappoint you!"
"I guess this is the time I shall give all of you my blessings. The name I will call out right now, please move forward. Kiseki!" said the King,
If things sounded a little confusing, Blessings are basically the aid you can get from many great Kings and leaders in this world. I learned from Ichijou the night before; Blessings that came from these people apparently mean that they can buff you up with anything they said to bring you the utmost efficiency from your body. So, for example, if the Blessings is in the form of power, it will grant the users better stamina and strength than those who did not receive it.
I went up to him and sat on one knee while having my head lowered to the ground. The King had his hands rested onto my head, and he then said, "You will be their sword and their shields. Protect your companions with all your life. With the blessings from King of Croterin, I shall bestow you the essence of great Knight," His palm suddenly glowed brilliantly. I felt a sudden surge of strength came through his body that went into mine. He then said to me, "And do not forget what I deemed from you. Learn to control your Sinner's power for the future of this war,"
"I am honoured to receive such blessings from you, King Edwin. I will show you how far I've grown up to be when I return from this mission," I replied to him politely,
King Edwin proceeded with another person after I returned to my position, "Ichijou, come forth."
Ichijou did the same thing like I did. The King said, "You will be the coordinator and their leader. Show them your qualities and lead them to a great victory," again, the King placed his hand above Ichijou's head, "You shall be granted with the blessings of good fortune and an open mind. This will help you greatly in making decisions when dealing with an unknown anomaly,"
"I will accept this humbly! Thank you, my liege," Ichijou replied,
"Next, Ellisa and Commander Nyoko. Come forth," stated King Edwin,
"You will be these people greatest blessings that incomparable to what I can give to them," King Edwin said to Ellisa, "What's left I can do for you is to open your mana pool and grow it larger so you can aid them in battle," he continued,
"That's more than enough for me, King Edwin." She answered,
"Commander Nyoko, for you. I will bestow you the Wise-man blessings. Every great leader needs an excellent assistant. This blessing will help you to think rationally and support your leader, Ichijou, in making choices along the journey."
"Thank you, My King," Nyoko replied,
When everyone had received their blessings, we all lined up in front of the King and gave him our last salute. Our journey begins here. We will head to Elmwick Mountains and learn the truth about this war.
"Rise above the clouds, Heroes! Bring back hope and faith that we all had lost! Find out the way to defeat Lucifer and her henchmen! Glory to the Empire!" King Edwin shouted and saluted us,
Our morale was high up, and we replied, "Glory to the Empire!"
When we walked out of the castle, huge crowds was waiting for us at the gate. They were all cheering up and calling our names. It seems like they celebrating the victory that hasn't been achieved yet. This is truly a huge responsibility to uphold on our shoulders. But there's no turning back; this is the time to change the future.
"Dear Sinners, for all who seek the truth about this world can begin their journey to the top of Elmwick Mountains. There lies an ancient ruin that might provide you with some hint to start peeling the secrets behind Ruina." the Callings repeated itself in my head,