The intense rattling of the carriage stopped, announcing our arrival on the main road to the capital.
A day and a night had passed since the bandit attack in the village.
The trip so far had gone smoothly.
I turned my gaze to the window where the valley lay.
In which a large stone structure about 7 meters above ground level, with a width of about 10 meters, stood next to us.
An aqueduct.
Tasha told me.
The aqueduct carried water from Pocstar Lake that flowed into the Trksmdi Sea to the east.
We continued along the road, which was becoming more and more beautiful thanks to the numerous trees, streams, and rivers that adorned it.
As we passed a small mountain, the outline of the walls was already visible in the distance.
Every minute we got closer the pale blue, almost white, the color of the ramparts was shining.
We had already reached the line of carriages and people waiting to pass the ramparts.
The driver took a detour, which was smaller than the main road, and was guarded by a couple of guards.
Being completely alone, we soon came to a huge gate in the wall.
In front of it, we stopped.
Daniel and the other knights, apart from the one who went to report the attack on the duchy of Hall, rode forward.
They got off their horses and pulled out a small golden plate that instantly mobilized the guards.
RUUUMBLEE~
The gate opened, thanks to two guards who allowed us to pass by bowing.
As we passed completely through the 100-foot-high walls, the sight of a bustling city flooded over us.
Carriages came and went, as well as people moving everywhere.
To my right, there was something resembling a street market with hundreds of voices, advertising, and ordering goods.
As we moved on, we passed the melee and reached the residential area.
Where all the houses, whether small or large, had light navy blue, mostly tile roofs.
And for the first time since waking up as Adad, I saw the ones that had generated immense curiosity in me.
Rasas are different from human ones.
A girl holding her parents' hand, who like her had a long tail and furry dog-like ears, walked down the street, smiling.
Up ahead, a young woman with pointed ears and smooth white skin was handing out something resembling handouts to passersby.
As the sunset, we could finally see the second wall, about 20 meters long and light blue.
We went through the same control procedure as before and crossed the second wall.
Instantly we noticed the difference concerning the first wall.
The navy blue roofs were still there, but now the walls of the houses, twice as big as before, were painted pure white.
The division of the street for people and carriages existed, and the street itself was decorated with small trees cut into figures.
Large poles were erected on the sidewalk from which emanated a white light, something that did not exist in the first wall.
The rivers, aqueducts, and bridges that crossed everywhere were visited by people in extravagant and elegant clothes who were nobles or people with money.
The city was the same as in the game and according to what it said there was still one more wall to see.
The city of Aren was divided into three walls.
The first was that of the common people, the commoners, and where the small and medium-sized businesses were located, for example, the adventurers' guild.
The second protected the nobles and large companies, as well as religious and public institutions.
In this same wall was located the academy of the Great Magician where the story of Emilia Zeijrn took place.
And finally, the third wall, as mentioned in the game is surrounded by a lake both inside and outside, and in the middle of this is an island, where the castle and gardens of the royal family are arranged.
The carriage stopped announcing our arrival at our destination.
As we alighted, both Tasha and I were greeted by servants, who lined both sides of the road.
At the end of the road was a mansion with a flag on its door.
The flag of the Duchy of Hall.
I walked, ignoring the looks of surprise and doubt from the servants.
They were most likely surprised by my hair color.
The door opened and we passed through the halls, guided by a man who called himself the butler of the house.
No tour was necessary, as he was supposed to have arrived earlier, or rather Adad.
We finally stopped at a couple of rooms across from each other, which of course were for me and Tasha.
"Good evening, Adad."
After returning the gesture we each went into the room.
Thud
The bed rumbled as I fell on it.
After arriving I had taken a bath and thought about the things that would happen from now on that I had learned so far.
First, Ice Heart only worked if I had mana, like any other skill, but I had doubted it because I hadn't lacked mana since I had come to this world.
Second, I woke up after the events that led to Adad becoming a villain, which led me to the next point.
Third, to learn a sword art that consisted of distancing myself from the story and the protagonists of them for at least 1 year.
I had decided to do this because staying in the kingdom would probably end in a war between duchies thanks to the previous assassination attempt.
Thanks to the in-game telling of this fact I knew that Nickolas carried it out and most likely this would lead to a war between house Hall and Hairbear.
And a war between humans, when there was a bigger threat lurking, was stupid and a nuisance.
Just before I left, Keith had spoken to me, saying that it was currently possible to get into a school that carried a level five manual and focused on speed.
That reminded me of someone mentioned in the game.
Alan Dawnwinter, heir to one of the ten known sword king positions.
The Dawnwinter style.
This had been created by his grandfather who won the title of king of the sword and this had been maintained by his father, the current king of the sword.
He appears in the game later as one of the boys who fall in love with Emilia and tells a bit about the test that had to be passed to become a disciple.
This takes place every 5 years in the mountains of Auto, north of the capital of the kingdom of Aren.
According to the story, only five people are chosen from all those who are taken to the test and those five, after years of training and quests, are chosen to read the book of NV5.
Art of Dawnwinter.
And so they are officially recognized as swordsmen.
This is the easiest way to learn an NV5 art other than putting my life at risk.
Plus the creator of the sword art was a lightning deviant mana child, like me.
Still.
Funny to think that a few months ago I had thrown myself off a building and now I was thinking about keeping it.
I didn't understand why, but I did know something.
I don't want to die, other than in this life.
I want to be free.