"So, you're saying that it originated from a small town in the northern region? In the territory of the ducal house of Pion."
The House of Pion is one of the ducal families of Gefya, overruling the coldest and most dangerous part of the empire. The northern territory is known for its harsh weather, snowing all year long, and multiple high mountains. Moreover, it inhabited the most dangerous creatures ever: dark creatures of unknown origins and the beasts of the last category.
It wasn't a place one could go at will. And even less a normal citizen, deprived of magic.
But we weren't normal people. We were magicians, and I had for company one of the strongest students of the royal academy, the most renown establishment of the country, Sylvester Ocnor Duvalion.
It goes without saying that, for us, it would be a piece of cake.
Or that was what I thought before I got trapped in a snowstorm in a small abandoned hut deep in the mountains.
.
.
.
.
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"I will come get you at five. We are going to take a carriage to the town, then a train. From there, at Sulvalis, we will go on horseback to climb the mountains. Can you ride a horse?"
"Yes, I do. At five, then."
After Sylvester took me back to my dorm and departed, I wrote another letter to my brother to keep him informed if he was ever to come to look for me.
Then I began to pack a simple bag with my favorite food. As for my clothes and potions, they were in my subspace.
Then I went down to the city, to ask for my sword. With everything that I had to do lately, I had completely forgotten about my order.
But now I had found a use for it. With danger lurking everywhere where I was going to make a "trip," I would probably need it.
Just like last time, the commercial district was full of varieties and all kinds of people, from humans to humanoids, etc.—the proof I was in a fantasy world.
As I walked into the wide streets, I went directly to the blacksmith.
It was located in two principal buildings: a clothing center and a bakery shop, making it look very out of place and far from inconspicuous.
It had an average size and was well built, with a blue and black facade.
When one passed by the place, they could directly see their workers—or at least a small part of it—working on their workmanship.
It was a fantastic spectacle: big, burly men and women working with iron in large magic furnaces. A heavy and heated task.
But as extraordinary as it looked, between two pink buildings full of women, it stood out as...nonstandard. Eccentric.
But I quite liked it. It had some flavors.
I took my receipt and directly went toward the team leader of the shop, Allan, the one who had taken my order.
"Hey, buddy. Sorry, I forgot to get my sword. Do you have it?"
When I was outside of the academy, or usually out of my social circle, I used to change my tone of speech to mask my origins.
I wanted to immerse myself in the crowd and get used to the way of life of normal citizens. "In Rome, do as the Romans do," they said, and that's what I did.
"Ah! It's you, child! How'd ya do?"
Allan was, like most blacksmiths, a tall man-typically from the south, just like the professor Dragoon—with a big beard and a street-like way of speaking. The street way of speaking in this world is utterly different from the modern world.
"Just good!"
"GREAT! Yes, your little darling is ready for ya. Got a shelve?"
"No. I'll just activate the hairpin mechanism; don't worry."
"Okay, kiddo. There, take it."
He gave me the brand new sword, which measured two arms long and had engraved in it "A killing flower", to honor the symbolism I found in it the day I bought it.
"It's perfect! Wow! The color is gorgeous!!"
It was a black lame, turning silver when I activated my magic. But since it wasn't aura, I couldn't use it too long, and it didn't have the same effect in combat.
If I wanted to use the sword to its fullest, I needed to forget magic. It wasn't what it was made for. I could only rely on my own techniques and body aptitude.
After all, I wasn't a swordsman; I couldn't do what they did.
"Satisfied? Come again!"
"Hell ya!"
Waving goodbye to Allan, content with his work, I went back to the academy. It was already four p.m., and I had to go deposit my notice of absence.
Since it was a mission submitted by the bureau, or more exactly, the power behind it, I wasn't asked to make a leave request, but I still had the obligation to write a letter beforehand to indicate my situation.
Just some paperwork.
I went into the administrative building, where the principal's office remained, and went into the secretaries' office. There I found six people—two men and four women—going from young adults to middle aged.
I turned to the nearest woman, a sophisticated-looking woman with light purple hair and dark brown eyes that were nearly black. She was soft and elegant, with a genuine, welcoming smile on her small, proportioned face. On her flowery shirt, she had a badge with her name written on it.
She was called Kearly.
"Miss Kearly?" I asked, smiling.
This time, though, unlike my usual forced smile, seeing her really made me genuinely, weirdly happy.
She just had the kind of vibe that made people want to smile. A ray of sunshine.
"Yes. What do you need, young miss?"
"I wanted to give my absence notice since I have to go on a mission in the north for two days. It will be in Pion's ducal territory."
"Okay, let me record all this." She said as she took my letter, then took out her hologram paperwork inventory and put it there.
Then, using another hologram, she began to tap something while she asked me the usual questions,
"Already have the authorization of the directive committee? And the principal's?"
"Yes, every procedure had been met."
"Are you going with a companion?"
"Yes, with the representative of the student committee, Sylvester Ocnor Duvalion."
"Okay. Did you take your…"
And like that, thirty minutes passed. When I finished answering everything, I was already tired. I hadn't even begun the journey, and I was already full of it. All this just for a two-day trip!
I went back to my dormitory, intending to take a little nap. Unfortunately for me, when I arrived at my doorstep, Sylvester was already there, dressed in more warm and simple clothes. But as much as he wanted to blend in, he still couldn't get rid of his noble and cold aura.
"Ready?" He asked me as he extended his hand to me, escorting me to the carriage.
"Always. Where are we headed again?"
"Our final stop is in a small village at the feet of the mountains, named Sulvalis. We will stay for the night. In the morning, we will travel by horse to the place our informant indicated. We don't know where exactly yet."
"We don't know? And how are we supposed to find it?"
"That is our job, justly. We should find a residence in the middle of snowy land in the mountains. It is said to look like a small castle."
"And then?"
"That is all we need to do. Then we have to ask for the experts to come up. They will take charge of the further investigations."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Wow, so simple…" I uttered with sarcasm as I thought about the distant future.
While it looked simple and not too much, it was, in fact, nearly impossible for only two students.
Moreover, in only had two days.
You just have to find a house in the middle of nowhere without exact locations—in a land as vast as an entire country, which was known for its terrifying snowstorms, threatening evil creatures, and cold weather—in the span of two days. So easy, right?
Bullshit!
'Who would believe this joke'
Well...me, if we looked at how I got myself into my future situation...