In the middle of the night Mary Carter woke up from her sleep, she realized that she had been asleep for about 10-12 hours and she felt refreshed and energized from her long sleep. Mary Carter started to sit on the edge of the bed and stretched, she looked at the window and realized that it was nighttime, she stood up and walked towards the window looking out of the window. The Kingdom was quiet and peaceful, but Mary Carter saw a mysterious person in a dark alley wearing a suspicious coat, the mysterious person looked around and then the mysterious person entered the dark alley. Mary was curious what the person was doing and she wanted to follow him but it was too risky because it could be a trap or illegal activity that she shouldn't see, she decided not to follow him because she didn't want to get involved, something illegal.
Then she sighed and turned to walk towards her backpack, she started to open her backpack and look for something. She took a book and then she sat on the edge of the bed, and she started to open the book and read them, the book are called 'Fãzkt Book' were book that contained basic information about the whole world, used by many adventurers to find important information about which Kingdom they should go to or which is nearest, and telling about which road they should take.
She continued reading for several minutes, meanwhile Jonathan was still fast asleep and didn't know the situation around him. Mary Carter was starting to get bored of reading the book and she put the book on the table beside her. Mary Carter immediately lay down and looked at the roof and thought about something, she was still confused about what The Voice actually was and who The Voice was. And why is it only Jonathan who can hear The Voice while she can't. Mary Carter kept thinking about Jonathan's words and Mary Carter thought about the correct answer to Jonathan's statement but there was not a single correct or logical answer, she started to get frustrated with the answer and finally she gave up, Mary Carter sighed and started to close her eyes and Mary Carter fell asleep again.
In the morning
Jonathan woke up from his sleep and started to sit up on his bed, he started to stretch and yawned loudly, after that he got out of bed and went to his backpack looking for something in his backpack. Finally he found something he wanted, a potion called 'Täzk', this potion could be said to be one of the rare potions on this planet, the potion has various abilities such as healing serious injuries, speeding up movement, adding strength, and so on. Jonathan took the potion and left his room and leave the inn. After Jonathan left he went straight to the market and he found a shop that was sure to sell his potions there.
Finally he entered the shop and was warmly welcomed by the shop owner. This shop had various items for sale such as weapons, manuals, herbs, potions, history books, and equipment for survival. All the items are of good quality and the prices are cheap, around 10-30 bronze coins.
"Hello young man, how may I help you?" The shop owner said with a smile.
"Oh, I want to sell my potions, sir." Jonathan said and gave him his potion, he trusted the shop owner and there would be nothing fraudulent.
The shop owner was shocked and amazed because he had never seen such a rare potion in front of him, "Th-this is a very rare potion, the material doesn't even exist on this continent. How did you get it, young man?" The shop owner asked he really didn't expect him to see the potion.
"Ah, I made it myself, and I still have a lot of that potions in my bag." His statement made the shop owner shocked and dumbfounded, he couldn't believe that someone could make this potion. The shop owner wonders whether he can really make this potion or is it just a lie?
"A-are you serious about being able to make this potion? That's impossible, I also told you that the materials for making this potion no longer exist in the world. And also making this potion is very complex and takes about 2 weeks if it works."
Jonathan nodded and said, "Yes, I'm serious sir, if I can't make it then how am I going to get this potion." This statement made sense, if he couldn't make it then he shouldn't have the potion either. Finally the shop owner believed him.
"Okay, if you say that, I will believe what you say. So the price for this potion is actually very high, around 30-100 gold coins, and that also depends on the size. What you are carrying is actually a large type potions which costs around 200-1000 gold coins, unfortunately we don't have that many gold coins. So we're sorry we can't buy your potions." The shop owner bowed because they couldn't buy the potions, Jonathan took the potion and put it in his trouser pocket, after that Jonathan bowed slightly and left the shop.
Jonathan walked and looked for shops where he could sell the potion, but 2 hours later Jonathan couldn't sell it because the potions was too expensive and was very valuable, practically equivalent to the country's own treasure. In the kingdom a knight entered the king's throne, and bowed to his king.
"Your Majesty, I have good news. That there is an adventurer who has the potions we need, Sire." Said the knight, the King named Berthur Calder was surprised and happy because he did not expect that someone had the potions he needed. Berthur immediately stood up and ordered all his troops to send the adventurer to meet him at his throne. "Good, I order everyone to find that adventurer and invite him to this place, right away!"
"Yes, your Majesty!" Said the knight, and immediately came out of the king's throne and gave orders to the knight's subordinates to meet the adventurer and take the adventurer to the king's throne, all the subordinates nodded and immediately carried out their Leader's orders.
They scattered throughout the town, meanwhile Jonathan returned to his inn and he saw Mary Carter casually eating in the inn's cafeteria, Jonathan sat next to Mary and sighed because Jonathan was tired of walking around the towns just to sell his potions but they didn't sell because it was too expensive.
Jonathan called the waiter and he ordered the breakfast menu, because he hadn't had breakfast while he was walking around the city. The waiter nodded his head and immediately left. His stomach started to growl and a few minutes later the waiter returned with the food, the waiter put the food on his table and the waiter bowed slightly and left to continue his work. Jonathan immediately ate with heartily, and meanwhile Mary Carter had finished eating her breakfast and she started reading books as usual, because that was her hobby, she liked reading books and had even memorized almost all the books she had.
And at that time a group of people entered the cafeteria of the inn, which shocked everyone in the cafeteria and it turned out that the group were royal knights, and one of the knights who was the leader of the knights said in a loud voice so that everyone turned to him.
"We are the knights of this Kingdom, we want to announce that the King is looking for someone who has a potion like this!" The Knight Leader took out a piece of paper containing a picture of a potion that was exactly the same as Jonathan's potion.
"If anyone has the potion, please come with us to the royal palace and meet the king! The king wants to discuss with someone who has the potion." The Knight Leader said loudly, as he rolled up the paper and put it in his pocket.
Those words conveyed by the Knight Leader which made the people in the cafeteria shocked, why would a king want to meet the person who has the potion? Did something happen in the kingdom to require that person? Who knows. And at that time Jonathan (the owner/person who had the potion) was eating his breakfast casually but when the Knight Leader shouted, Jonathan turned to the Leader and saw a piece of paper. Jonathan was shocked and almost choked on his food, the picture was exactly the same as the potion he had. He thought for a moment whether he should meet the King or not, that was Jonathan's choice, which if wrong could cause changes in his future. Finally choosing to admit that he was the owner of the potion, Jonathan immediately stood up and walked towards the knights facing in front of them. The knight asked him.
"Are you the owner of this potion?" Said the knight, and Jonathan nodded his head, "Yes sir, I own the potion." Jonathan said as he took out his potion from his pocket as proof that he owned the potion. Seeing that Jonathan was the owner of the potion, the knights immediately told Jonathan to follow him, "Come with us to the castle, the king is waiting for you."
"Okay." Jonathan said, and the knights started to leave the inn and led Jonathan to the castle to meet the King. Jonathan is very cooperative with the knights and everyone because that is his nature.
As they walked everyone looked at them and asked each other, Jonathan just kept quiet and followed the knights. Not long after, they arrived at the Castle gate, the gate was very large and sturdy, probably made of very strong material, Jonathan saw the gate, he was amazed because how big and luxurious the gate was, it must have cost the equivalent of 20 million large gold coins. And he saw lots of guards guarding this palace, of course because the Castle was one of the most important parts containing the King, Queen, and others.
When they approached the gate, one of the guards gave a code to the another guard that are inside of the gate to open the gate, finally the gate opened and they went inside. The knights continued to lead Jonathan to the King. They passed through various corridors and it felt like there were a lot of corridors in the Castle, like a labyrinth. Fortunately, Jonathan was guided by the knights. When they arrived at the door, Jonathan felt nervous, his hands started to shake in response to his nervousness. Jonathan could feel a tense atmosphere, behind the door, and there was a throne room for the King and Queen. There were also noble-mans gathered in the room.
Jonathan tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath, before finally he was ready to meet the King. The knights approached the door and opened the door, Jonathan began to walk slowly into the room with the knight leader. His hands were shaking more and more and his nervousness began to increase, the Ministers began to glance at Jonathan as he walked in front of the King and Queen. After that, Jonathan and the leader of the knights knelt in front of the King and Queen.
"Your Majesty, we have found the person you are looking for, and the person is next to me, Your Majesty." Said the leader of the knights, Berthur Calder glanced at Jonathan and Berthur said, "Is it true that you are the person who owns the potion?"
"That's right, Your Majesty, I am the owner of the potion, Your Majesty." Jonathan said formally in front of Berthur. "Can you introduce yourself." Berthur said curiously.
"Okay, Your Majesty." Jonathan said, he slowly stood up and introduced himself politely and formally, "Let me introduce myself, your majesty, my name is Jonathan Leberto, I am the adventurer and also a alchemist who made the potion, and-"
And suddenly Berthur raised his hand to signal Jonathan to stop talking. This made Jonathan answer "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Jonathan, you said earlier that you were a alchemist?" Berthur said curiously, it turns out that the profession of chemist is quite a rare profession in this Kingdom, this is due to the lack of materials for chemists to make things and the lack of talented peoples in the field of chemistry.
"You are right, your highness, I am a alchemist who made the potion that you asked for." Jonathan answered Berthur's question.
Berthur was shocked and all the nobles in the room were shocked too, everyone started whispering because he, Jonathan, was a alchemist and even made the rarest and finest potions in the whole world.
Jonathan looked around and saw the nobles talking about him as a alchemist. Jonathan looked at the King, Berthur, and said, "What is it, Your Majesty? Why are you and the others surprised?" Berthur answered Jonathan's question.
"Jonathan, you don't realize that alchemists here are a rare profession! For centuries we have only had 3 chemists, and finally there is an adventure who is a alchemist. Namely you, Jonathan! And you even made a potion that is almost extinct!"
Jonathan is increasingly confused by Berthur's words, why is the profession of a alchemist rare? Isn't that a common profession throughout the world? And Jonathan also thought about why the potion he made was almost extinct? This question is still a mystery to him.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry I don't really understand what you mean, isn't the profession of a alchemist is a common profession?"
Jonathan is still confused, why are chemists rare in the Kingdom and what is the cause of the scarcity of the alchemist profession?
Hearing Jonathan's words made everyone in the room, including Berthur and the Queen, not expect it, because Jonathan easily said that the profession of a alchemist was an ordinary profession. Berthur placed his palm on his forehead and Berthur Calder sighed. And explained to Jonathan.
"O Jonathan, we only have 3 alchemists and we don't have the materials for alchemists, nor do we have talented people in this field in this Kingdom."
Berthur paused for a moment and continued his explanation.
"And most people aren't interested in making potions, that's why we usually buy potions from the neighboring Kingdom. Never making my own, I honestly don't know how to solve that problem."
"So we ask you, Jonathan, to give us knowledge and of course we will pay you. And we also want to buy the potion you made."
After Berthur finished his explanation, Jonathan thought to the King's request, Jonathan doesn't wanted to teach them his knowledge because it would waste his time. In fact, he still had a long way to go before reaching the next continent called Kāyskh.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I refuse the request to teach alchemy. Because I'm still on my way to Borobudur Temple. But I can accept your request to buy my potions, I have a lot of unused potions, Your Majesty." Jonathan said, lowering his head.
Berthur forgave him and Berthur just asked for the potion, "Okay then, I will buy the potion from you. So how much do you want?" Berthur said, his hand raised to tell his soldiers to take all the gold in this castle.
"I will only charge 200 gold coins per potion that I have. And that's all, your highness." Jonathan will not ask too much, because it would be rude to the King. He just wanted his journey to be sufficient and peaceful.
"Okay, I will buy 1,000 potions, do you have that much?" Berthur asked, 1,000 potions was a lot and the request was unreasonable, how could anyone have that many potions. But not for Jonathan,
"Of course, Your Majesty, tomorrow I will prepare the potions." Berthur nodded his head, and Jonathan finally agreed to the King's request.
"Okay, I declare this meeting is over."
Berthur stood up and left his throne with the Queen through the back door, the nobles slowly left the room.
Jonathan turned around and left the room. He continued walking and looking for a way out, passing through a group of people in the castle, such as servants, knights, wizards, and of course a entertaining clowns. Jonathan kept walking until he finally realized that he was lost in the castle hallway. When he was looking for a way out, a woman approached him from behind. When the woman tapped Jonathan on the shoulder, Jonathan was immediately shocked and looked back to see the foreign woman. The woman asked,
"Excuse me sir, are you the King's guest?" The woman asked Jonathan, Jonathan answered her question.
"Ah yes, I am the King's guest but I am a bit lost here." The woman saw the clothes Jonathan was wearing, these clothes were iconic for adventurer clothes.
"You're an adventurer, aren't you? It's only natural that you get lost here, because only servants and knights know the route of the passage here. And the important part is that you get lost in a place where a man like you shouldn't be here." The woman said, crossing her arms over her chest. Jonathan is confused and curious why men are not allowed here? Is there something serious or is there something that men are not allowed to do in this place? Finally Jonathan asked the woman.
"I don't understand what you mean, why can't men enter this place?"
The woman let out a chuckle and answered his question.
"Okay, I will explain why this place cannot have men. That's because this place is a place specifically for women, of course for the princesses of the Kingdom. Because this is also a place of privacy for women."
After the woman finished explaining, Jonathan finally understood and apologized for entering a private place.
The woman forgave him, and the woman offered to lead him to the exit, Jonathan accepted the offer, they slowly left the place. As they walked the woman looked at Jonathan and introduced herself,
"Oh wait, I forgot to introduce myself, so let me introduce myself, my name is Millia Avto Calder and I am one of the King's daughters."
Hearing this made Jonathan look at the woman and was shocked, his eyes widened because he couldn't believe that he was with the princess.
"W-wait, you said you were a princess?!" Seeing this reaction made the princess laugh a little. "And you can call me Millia." Jonathan couldn't speak because he was too shocked and didn't expect it.
"O-okay then Millia, s-so why did you offer to lead me to the exit?" Jonathan asked, Millia faced forward and answered with a smile. "Because I just want to help lost people." But there was another intention besides that from the princess, Jonathan was aware of this but he didn't know what Millia's other intention was.
Finally, they reached the exit and Jonathan said goodbye to Millia and left the castle. But the woman continued to follow him from behind, then Jonathan turned and said
"I thank you for taking me here, but... Why are you still following me?"
Millia smiled and said,
"I... am interested in you, can we meet or um... maybe go on a date together... when we meet again?"
Jonathan was immediately shocked, his cheeks turned red and immediately turned his head back to avoid Millia's loving gaze. It was impossible that the Royal Princess would want to date an adventurer like Jonathan.
"What are you talking about? You know, if my rank is low, how could I possibly date the King's daughter?"
Millia pouted because she was disappointed with Jonathan. Millia didn't care about rank or caste. If it's about love it's all irrelevant.
"Come on, don't use the caste system. I don't care whether your caste is low or high."
Jonathan responded to him, hoping to refuse him politely and casually.
"I'm sorry, but I can't date now Millia, I'm still on my way to my destination."
Jonathan said, Millia frowned even more because Jonathan rejected her. Millia has indeed fallen in love with Jonathan, but because Jonathan has to find what he wants, namely finding out about The Creation. Millia took a deep, long breath, Millia said.
"But I can come with you, of course I won't burden you, Jonathan. I promise."
But Jonathan still rejects her, and will not allow a King's daughter to come with him on a journey that may have danger ahead.
"I'm sorry once again, I won't let you come along. This is not a ride but it is a very long journey and we are afraid there will be monsters or dangers we would face."
Millia kept begging him over and over again, but Jonathan kept refusing and refusing. Finally Jonathan made an agreement for both of them.
"Okay, that's it, when I come back from my trip. I'll go on a date with you, Millia, how about it?"
Millia immediately nodded her head enthusiastically, which meant she really agreed with Jonathan's agreement.
"Okay, then I will wait for you until you visit to this Kingdom and meet me again."
Jonathan responded by saying "Okay I promise." And finally Jonathan said goodbye and went straight to the inn, Millia waved her hand, tears formed in her eyes and she started walking back to the castle. After this incident, Jonathan arrived at the inn and saw Mary Carter who was still reading her books, even beside her there was a pile of Mary Carter's books.
Mary Carter was obsessed with information and books which made her interested in the book. Mary Carter saw and realized that Jonathan had returned. Mary Carter started smiling and greeted Jonathan and asked him to sit next to her. Jonathan sat next to Mary Carter. Mary Carter was curious and asked Jonathan.
"Hey Jonathan, how have you met the King? What did the King say? Is everything okay there?"
Jonathan responded and told everything but not confession of Millia's love feeling for Jonathan. A few minutes later, Jonathan finished telling everything and Mary Carter finally found out that the King asked for and bought Jonathan's potion. Mary Carter closed her book and took her books, after that Mary Carter went upstairs but stopped for a moment and look at Jonathan again.
"You have to rest first, tomorrow we have to leave this Kingdom, right? You must be tired from meeting the King."
After that, Mary Carter went straight upstairs and headed to her room, Jonathan finally came along. He stood up and walked to his own room which was on the 2nd floor. He opened the door and entering the room he saw that his sword was still there, namely the Constant Sword, Jonathan sat on the bed looking at the Constant Sword. He thought about whether he would use the power of the sword to get what he wanted or not? And Jonathan's choice is no, he doesn't want to use this power because it is his own responsibility, and he will only use this power if the situation is urgent or near death.
Jonathan lay down and slowly fell asleep, however. The Figure is still remain watching Jonathan's development calmly. The Figure hopes that Jonathan will truly reveal the secrets that beneath The Creation. And meanwhile Mary Carter packed up her things after which she lay down and slept too.
-To be Continued...