The first destination was Duskmore, a town bordering the elven forest and also the main trading channel for the humans and the elves.
Aeson needed to reach Whitvale, the capital of Aether city as his last destination. The journey from Duskmore and Whitvale could take up about a week to go by nonstop carriage journey.
'Then maybe I will reach there in half a month?'
He would take his time to the capital because the couple would stay at the capital for a month after the royal banquet in the time skip if there was no mishap. He did not want to go to their territory which could endanger him even if his martial arts skills were high.
The sun was already setting when he reached Duskmore town square, and most of the carriages stopped their services. Aeson could only try to find an inn to spend the night.
Duskmore was quite low populated so not many taverns and inns were built. The good ones were fully occupied by travelers, leaving Aeson depressed. He had to go further into the square corner and found a bar-tavern.
The first floor was a bar, very noisy and rowdy. On the second and third floors were rooms for people to stay in.
Aeson gathered his composure again and walked inside this new location. In the past, he hardly got the chance to explore because the tasks never issued him to leave his place or enter these places.
His face remained emotionless as he looked around, but his eyes were sparkling at the environment of a Western world. There was a bar opposite the door with occupied stools. There were other tables and chairs and noisy or sleeping drunkards.
Because he lifted his head to check the room, his hood no longer concealed his face when the light of the chandelier poured onto his face.
The people who noticed his presence subconsciously gulped at the cute youth with his milky white skin, platinum golden locks of hair, and jewel blue eyes.
One man with a ferocious face riddled with scars was feeling elated particularly.
'Ha! Looking at that appearance, he looks like someone who has never worked. I can hear the money jingle from here… if not, it would not be bad to play around with him for a little then I can sell him.'
Aeson wanted to remain lowkey, but it was futile. He could feel the hungry eyes of the people and cursed internally at them.
'Fuck your mother! I will pull eyes out and kick your family jewels if you dare do anything.'
He lowered his head again and quickly walked to the reception. And to his disappointment, a tall big man blocked his way.
"Hey, little guy, where did you come from? It's dangerous to travel alone." The scarred-face man's voice was deep and filled with malicious intent. He put one of his hands on Aeson's shoulder and kneaded it as he felt the body of the boy.
"…" Aeson had a blank face and quickly got out of the man's clutch before continuing to the reception.
Feeling offended and humiliated, the man's face scrunched up in anger, making him look horrendous and ugly. He stormed and blocked Aeson's way again, but this time, he grabbed the cloak's collar.
"I was being generous and offering you help! How dare you deny it! Are you a mute?!?" He shouted loudly and spit flew everywhere. Despite feeling disgusted, his face had no change.
'So just because you offered 'help', I should graciously accept it? What IQ is this?'
"Ha! This one is really a mute!"
The commotion finally drew the bar's attention as the atmosphere started to get quiet.
The man smirked at his silence.
'If this one is mute, then he won't be able to yell for help.'
Thinking of this, he felt inexplicably happy and perverted. So his hands were put on Aeson's shoulders and slid down his arms.
'H-How dares this bastard-'
Aeson began to lose his composure and prepare to kick the man's jewels.
But before he could act…
THUNK!
A silver shadow flashed by before his eyes, more precisely, it grazed the other man's nose. It made the man loosen his grip and stumbled backward.
Aeson looked to his side to see a dagger was halfway dug into the wooden wall.
'Damnnnn, it even pierced through the wall.'
And then, he turned his head to the opposite of the dagger direction to see a cloaked figure approaching them.
The person inside the cloak seemed to have a slender body as that one was only taller than him by a head but still smaller than the man.
"This is a bar, not a brothel. I advised you to go away before I called in legal authority, pig head." The voice was slightly high-pitched, making it obvious that it belonged to a woman.
"Legal authority? In this small town? Ha!" The man scoffed as he looked down at the cloaked woman with arrogance.
She simply snapped her fingers crisply and the man suddenly disappeared. The bar that was silent to watch the drama became stunted at that. Jaws were dropped on the floors and beers spilled out of their mouths.
"A-a wizard? Why would a wizard be here?"
"Did, did she make him disappear, l-like death?"
"No way, even if wizards are powerful, they have no right to carry out a personal execution."
Aeson just silently listened to the chatter of the people as he looked at the cloaked woman with no change in expression. She noticed his gaze and smirked.
"Don't worry, I only sent him to the authority." She patted his head with a friendly smile. But then it turned cheeky with one of her corners hooked up into a smirk. "Little cutie, why are you in a bar like this? You're too young to be in here!"
The formidable pressure disappeared like it never appeared. The woman lifted her hood, revealing her fiery red hair in a ponytail. Her features were sharp, her Phoenix eyes gave out a playful glint and her thin lips kept a smirk.
"Little cutie, it's dangerous for you to be here. Why don't you find another place to stay? I can help you if you want!" The playful smile did not disappear from that pretty face. But Aeson felt no ill intention from the person in front of him, he even found this presence pleasant.
"Thank you for your help, no more rooms are available at other inns." He decided to reply this time with a flat tone but lowered his head slightly to appreciate her help.
"Wow! Your voice is so nice! You can call me Al, cutie. If you want, I can protect you while you're here. A privilege for a pretty face!" Her energy was still high as she patted the shoulder of Aeson with vigor.
Aeson only needed to stay here one night and not cause attention so near to his elf village, the village was not fairing so well with a sudden disease lately. He carefully pondered then nodded at her suggestion.
He proceeded to book one room on the second floor, which was a bit more expensive than the first floor but he did not want to suffer from the noise of the drunkards. Al also got her room key, incidentally the room next to Aeson.
"Where are you going next, cutie? Is it Highmond?" She asked with her left arm wrapping around his shoulders. His face might not show it but he was depressed at his height.
"Yes." He curtly replied.
"Oh~ Are you going to the capital? It seems so to me!"
"Yes... but I intend to travel too." He hesitated, he did not want to share his plan at all but somehow, he could not help but share a little with this wizard.
"Then I can accompany you! I'm going there too! But... I have business in the morning so we can only meet at night." She stroked her chin, thinking of something while smiling.
Aeson only nodded. He needed to limit what he said because he had been talking a lot to a stranger. It was not in line with Aeson's characters at all.
"I have to leave early tomorrow morning. But don't worry cutie! I will cast a noise-cancellation spell for you so you can have a good night's sleep." She winked at him and sent him an air kiss.
Aeson nodded his head once again and headed inside his room. Only until he closed his door did Al turn to her room. Her smile became wider as she glanced at the wall separating them.
For Aeson, he was tired from jumping and running the whole day, plus, the whole ordeal before made him exhausted. It drained his energy. The bed in the inn was fairly clean so he just immediately jumped on it and slept comfortably.
He managed to have a nice deep sleep as always. His heavy eyelids blinked slowly before feeling the sun touching his skin. Feeling drowsy, he just wanted to roll into a ball and continue sleeping. But he had to catch a carriage to the next town and they only accept requests in the morning.
He dragged himself off the bed before heading to the simple washroom to freshen up. After taking care of his hygiene, he grabbed his bags and started to leave until he saw a piece of white paper stuck under the door.
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"Hey, little cutie! I already went to Highmond to do some work. If you want to find me, go to this address!
Miss you already,
Al."
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Aeson was reading this and his left eye was twitching like crazy. This was the first time he met someone so straightforward, except for his husband. This behavior was so similar that he began to doubt that she was his husband!
"But... a woman?"
Aeson clearly saw her neck with no adam apple, her chest looked completely normal and her voice did not sound fake. Even though he was in disbelief, his gut was telling him that he should observe this 'Al' more to know the truth.
The problem was that he could feel his husband's aura before, but he did not feel anything toward her except a little bit of familiarity.
"Could it be... related to my soul state? It was a bit weaker than when I entered Sun Gui's body..."
It was a speculation that had no answer. But he believed that his thought was correct. And the matter of his husband turning to a woman... he would think about it later.
He shook his head to get rid of those complicated thoughts and walked out of the inn. Thankfully, not a lot of people were present in the bar in the morning.
People outside were busy with their day job. They were mounting horses to prepare for the goods delivery or on their way to work. There was also someone yelling.
"Going to Highmond! Two more spaces left! Only 5 Aeds!"
It was a transport carriage for eight people. Noticing some people were running to the carriage, Aeson, in the furthest distance, got in front of the man in just a few steps. The man was startled at his sudden arrival and stumbled backward a bit. He quickly regained his composure as a merchant and offered him a seat when receiving his money.
Aeson got on silently with his head low, not looking at the people inside. There was a woman with a small child, three adult men, and two ladies. The woman sat on one side and the men sat on the other side. There were some friendly greetings but Aeson ignored it all, he only looked outside the carriage when it finally rolled.
After two hours, his butt was starting feeling sore from the bumps on the road. Then glancing at the small child suffering but refusing to complain, his eyes turned a bit nostalgic before turning away again.
A few minutes later, they finally got to the gate and were stopped for inspection. Verifying that no dangerous individual was present, they were allowed in.
Aeson stepped down and bowed at the driver before walking to the center of the city. It was truly different from the small town Duskmore, the atmosphere was livelier with ladies and men going out on the streets to stroll and shop. There was even an open market in the middle of the square that sold trinkets and food.
The smell of food was so good, Aeson almost stood on tiptoe, being carried away by it. He decided to enjoy his time here first, marking this place as a vacation place when he reunited with his husband later.