The carriage shook as it came to a stop. The three of them jerked forward a little, but Himi saw that Aqueo didn't seem to notice. He seemed unaware of his surroundings while looking so confused outside. Himi had been observing him the whole time and it was intriguing for her to see him make such a baffled face. He did look amazed during the ride, but his confused face from time to time was for her, too, confusing. If he didn't say he had never been here before she would think the other way around. But what if he had been here before? She thought it wouldn't matter because she would still make a way to make him stay at the mansion.
His very existence was such a mystery to her. It was the first time she smelled this kind of magical scent.
In the entire history of the Liversprout family spanning centuries as she was taught, she was one of the few who inherited the ability of the first Liversprout, the founding ancestor of their family, the ability to smell magical energy. She grew up knowing everyone's magical scent and none was ever comparable to what Aqueo had been exuding ever since she met him at the fields.
His magical scent reminded her of the most powerful healing potion she had ever encountered, but it still couldn't compare. It was like a drop in a lake compared to Aqueo's smell. His was the most pleasant scent of all . . . and the most dense, and yet most comforting—in contrast to the unsettling powerful auras she had encountered before.
On top of that, he was the only person she knew who could recover his life force just by eating. And it was obvious he wasn't aware of it. None of her medical and alchemy books said anything about this phenomenon. His case would be the very first one in this field of study. That was why she wanted to make him stay—to study him.
It had been a full minute before she finally decided to wake Aqueo from spacing out.
"We're here."
Himi's voice pulled Aqueo from his deep wondering. His gaze had been affixed to the most prominent building around the townsquare since it showed at his side of the window, perplexed by the significant time difference since Aquifer's latest memories. But, was ten years really enough to make such a dramatic change? Barely anything completely resembled the places in Aquifer's memories.
"Stop thinking about my big sister. She only likes you to be her butler. Just another addition to her small army."
Aqueo's mouth fell on the ground, as well as his heart. He told himself not to hope too much, but with the stunning blow of disappointment he just felt, he knew his heart betrayed him.
'I bet they all had that same disappointed look but they all ended up joining her anyway,' Himi thought.
His response also confirmed Himi's other suspicion that he was also thinking about her sister, Himera. He was making those weird expressions in the carriage some time after meeting her, but Himi felt certain he wasn't when he was making those confused looks while sightseeing. She planned to just ask him what he knew about the place later.
She threw her attention to opening the door and went out of the carriage. Hermina was already waiting outside, she went out while Aqueo was in a daze.
Aqueo shook his head quickly to get rid of the current disappointment. 'There are other girls out there. I'm already free, I won't run out of chances.' He joined Himi and Hermina who were obviously waiting for him at the back side of the carriage.
"Hermina," said Himi in a knowing tone and with an equal knowing side glance.
Hermina understood it and said, "Our dear guest, Aqueo! Welcome to Hyndrel Townsquare! Our most popular tourist spot!" She gracefully motioned her entire left arm to present the scenery in front of her while proudly smiling.
Her action suddenly took Aqueo's mind into his memory at the museum before he died, the tour guide was also a young woman and had the same welcoming level of energy. He smiled a bit. He wouldn't get into an accident again, would he? He disregarded the thought and walked towards the back of the carriage because she was pointing to the scenery at the other side of the vehicle which he had not seen yet.
Aqueo was stunned. He had already seen it in Aquifer's memories, albeit somewhat different, but seeing it in person gave him a different kind of joy. He started smiling—or rather, grinning. The Hyndrel Townsquare was vast, more spacious than the latest one in Aquifer's memories. It must be as big as a football stadium. They were now standing at the elevated wide road at the front of the biggest and most prominent building here—the one with the year calendar that made him confused—and the view from there was so great.
Below them, the Hyndrel Townsquare was full of life. It was bustling with busy food stands and street shops. The townsquare was a huge park with a large fountain in the middle and some benches and tables here and there. The food stands and street shops were located quite randomly with most of them arranged in a circular line along the circular road encompassing the whole townsquare. And Aqueo could see all of this at the elevated road that was higher than most food stands. He could even see the open theater stage at the opposite side of the townsquare, there were people on the stage and he was certain they were doing some magical performance based on the sparkles of light they were producing. He wanted to go and watch them near.
'My new life starts here,' he happily thought but paused when Aquifer suddenly blocked his view, dancing joyfully in front of him. 'My life with Aquifer starts here.'
Hermina waited a bit for Aqueo to digest the new scenery before speaking, "Welcome to Hyndrel Town, our dear guest, Aqueo!"
Aqueo turned to her and bowed a little, "Yes! Thank you for having me!" Hermina smiled so dearly. Aqueo looked at Himi beside Hermina and bowed ninety degrees, "Miss Himi. Thank you for saving me and taking me here!"
"What's with this overdone expression of gratitude? You're going to pay me back so there's no need for this," Himi said, feeling bad about her plan to study him.
"Uhh. Sorry, I just really feel grateful." He bowed again. Because of his terrible past Aqueo felt more than grateful.
Himi felt guilty for making him sorry for thanking her. She should've been a bit more lenient with her words. She cleared her throat and remedied her previous words, "I mean, I accept your gratitude, but you don't have to feel so much in debt like that."
She felt somehow conflicted. She wanted to make him feel indebted to her but her conscience said otherwise.
"Young Master."
The three of them turned around to see Azbert with a young man that looked like he was the same age as Aqueo.
"He's the child of the merchant," Azbert said.
The young man bowed and greeted, "Noble master, I'll be guiding you to a private place for the transaction as requested."
"I trust you will tell no one," she asked in her more imposing tone than usual. Beside her and Hermina, Aqueo seemed to panic a bit. The young man called her noble master. Was he supposed to call her that too? He might've made a mistake of not calling her noble master. But they didn't say anything about it, so he just took the worry aside for now.
"Of course, noble master," he responded, recognizing the tone.
"Very well. Lead us," Himi commanded.
"Yes, noble master! Follow me," he started walking and they all followed.
The walk was brief. Just at the shop near the entrance they passed earlier—one made of bricks and nicely done woodworking—but instead of going in, the young man guided them to a narrow pathway at the side of it.
They had to move in a single file in that narrow path until they reached a small open space at the back of the shop. The young man then guided them to a room that seemed to be a stock room. There were a few crates inside and a table.
"I'm sorry, there are no chairs to sit on. But please, let's wait here for a while," the young man said. Himi nodded.
"Hermina," called Himi.
Hermina knew what to do and pulled out the bouquet of herbs from under her long wide skirt.
'Huh?' Aqueo flushed a little at Hermina's action. He forgot about the herbs and didn't expect it to be under the maid's skirt. Hermina saw his look and blushed herself. "Uhm! I . . . had to hide it," she defended.
It earned a startled look from Aqueo and he just nodded after panicking about what to say. He just turned his attention to Aquifer that had been floating and glowing around them the whole time and nobody except him could notice.
"Oh. My father is here," the young man said as a man in his forties entered the room. He was carrying a large leather bag with him.
"Noble master," he greeted with a bow.
"Let's make this quick. I still need to attend the tournament," Himi immediately commanded. Hermina, being a fine attentive maid, stepped forward and held the bouquet of flowers in front of the man.
"Let me see." He placed them on the table and started separating the flowers into seven different kinds and observed them one by one. He even pulled out a book as a reference.
Aquifer just floated above the flowers while Aqueo tried to command it through their mental connection. He still couldn't quite grasp how to make the spirit understand most things he wanted it to do.
"I'm afraid I only know four of them. But great heavens! These are all rare and expensive! I would need to pay you in installments. But . . . these yellow ones," he looked at Himi with a questioning look.
"I'd like them to be turned into potions," Himi immediately said.
"Ah. Of course, your father's cure." The man said.
Aqueo was puzzled, thinking, 'Didn't she not want her father to be cured? And why does the man know? She may not be as bad as I thought.'
"And this one," the man held out a small flower. "This is still small and not harvested at its peak maturity, but—"
"—size doesn't matter for this herb," Hermina immediately interjected.
Everyone looked at her, her face was burning red and smiling . . . confidently? Her lips were pursed and her eyes were . . . unnaturally bright? Aqueo couldn't exactly tell what kind of smile was that.
"You know about herbs, young lady? You're right. Size doesn't really matter for this one. The buds are just as effective and as dense as the fully mature flower. The size is just really for looks. But I could have given you a higher price."
"Yes," Hermina responded, her face still bright red, "The size is just for looks. The most important thing is that it is effective and . . . potent." Her face became even redder at the last word she just used.
"I didn't know you had such knowledge of herbs, Hermina. But why is your face red?" asked Himi.
"Uhmm, I-I'm just a bit shy about my knowledge," she lied.
"I see. How much is everything?" Himi asked.
The man pulled out a pouch from his bag. "I can only give you one thousand silversprout coins for now. It would be over three thousand silversprout coins deducting the fee for the potion. And if the demand is high, which I think would be the case, the price will be higher. You need to come back for the rest."
Azbert received the money and the man took the flowers, leaving behind the three kinds he couldn't identify.
"Uh-uhmm," Aqueo uttered. "How about the white flower with black dots? I believe it is used for making powerful healing potions."
"Really? It's not in my books so I don't know about that. And I can't price it just based on what you said. But . . . I can bring it to an alchemist to see if they can turn it into a healing potion. Is that okay?"
"Uhmm. Yes," Aqueo answered politely.
"Then I'll take a sample of it. How about the other two?
"I, well, you can leave them behind." Aqueo wasn't sure himself. It was just based on Aquifer's memories that the flowers could be sold at a high price.
And then realization hit Aqueo. Most of the buildings in the town were different from the ones in Aquifer's memories. And now the knowledge about these rare herbs that should've been so well known between merchants in Aquifer's latest memories was gone. What could possibly have happened in that ten years gap?
"You should take a sample of each too," Himi suddenly said. "All of them are exuding unique magical energies. You didn't bring a mage with you for proper testing?"
"I, well, I lost my previous employee," he said sadly. "Something happened. With the situation right now. The King's soldiers. . ."
Himi just sighed in understanding. "Alright, you can go now. We'll contact you later."
. . . .
After the meeting with the merchant they were back at the elevated road where Himera's carriage was parked.
"Azbert will accompany me to the tournament. I need to be there hours before the games begin," Himi said, "And you," referring to Aqueo, "I'd like you to watch the tournament, but before that, you should explore our townsquare first. Hermina will accompany you to the tournament later."
"Yes," Aqueo responded.
"Azbert," said Himi. Azbert knew what to do so he gave the pouch he had been holding to Aqueo. "That's five hundred silversprout coins. I'll hold on to half of the money for now."
"Mnn," Aqueo nodded. "Thank you."
After that, Aqueo was left with Hermina. Himi used the carriage and went to the tournament.
Hermina looked at Aqueo and said cheerfully, "Now, our dear guest, I will be your tour guide for today."
Aqueo's face brightened at the thought that he could finally explore the townsquare and Aquifer floated joyfully around him as it sensed his excitement. He nodded and started following her.
. . .
Himi and Azbert finally reached the stadium where the tournament would be held. A neatly uniformed servant was waiting for them at the backdoor for nobles and led them to their VIP seat that was one of the numerous verandas arranged at the walls around the stadium. They could see the whole stadium from there.
The stadium was double the size of the townsquare, consisting of a spacious stage in the circular pit at the middle that was surrounded by high stairs of seats above the walls of the pit. There were many people ready to watch and people working on the stage for the tournament. The open ceiling allowed the brightness of the sky to illuminate the whole place, matching the anticipation and excitement of the people below. However, the mood of the stadium didn't match Himi's gloomy face. She was still a bit startled because of what happened earlier at the negotiation.
"Azbert," she said lifelessly as she sat there.
"Yes, young master," Azbert answered, standing beside her.
"How could you make such a mistake?"
"Forgive my ignorance, young master. The knowledge of our appraiser must be outdated."
"How do I tell him without getting embarrassed? The meals he ate were actually just worth less than a hundred silversprout coins. And it would only fetch up to three hundred silversprouts in an expensive restaurant. He might think I'm tricking him." She did plan to raise the price of her foods, but to raise it like that would be way too much.
A breeze suddenly blew her hair and gently shook her mage hat, seemingly trying to comfort her, but failed.
"My honor as a noble . . . is ruined."
. . .
Aqueo was now sitting on a bench while playing with Aquifer that was floating here and there based on his mental orders. He was wearing a hat that was shaped like an animal's head that he couldn't recognize. People called it the lucky beast head, but he couldn't ask Hermina more about the beast because she might find out he didn't know a lot of things in this world. Even with Aquifer's memories, he still lacked the knowledge about specific details about so many things despite seeing them already.
They visited a lot of food stands and shops, tasted a bunch of things and played a lot of games. It reminded him of his happiest memory when he was still ten years old. He felt like a kid again. So liberated. Away from the human traffickers that held him captive for so long.
However, there was something about Hermina. He wasn't sure if it was purposeful that she mentioned 'size doesn't matter' repeatedly while exploring. He was certain she also said that when they were at the gate and during the herb trading. He was starting to have a bad feeling about it. She told him to wait at the bench while she was looking for something. Maybe he would try asking her.
When she finally came back, carrying two sticks of fried looking food, like golden-brown hotdogs. "Sorry, it was quite hard to find it." She sat beside Aqueo and gave him a stick.
"What's so special about it? For you to take the time to find it?" Aqueo asked.
"This one has special fillings and coatings. All sticks are made in the same size, but when you finally fry them in oil, some would shrink and some would get big. But the amount of content and weight will stay the same." Her face started to blush again. The one she was holding was indeed smaller than Aqueo's. "Another thing is, once you break open the fried coating, the fillings inside will expand." She looked at Aqueo with a burning face, "Go on, try it."
Aqueo bit the tip of the fried food, but he was stunned when Hermina, yet again, suddenly said, "I call it . . . size-doesn't-matter sticks."
The fillings inside started to flow out—or rather—bursted out inside Aqueo's mouth, but since he was stunned by what Hermina just said, it oozed out of his mouth, violently.
Hermina saw it and panicked, "Waahh! Our dear guest! You have to suck it! Suck it! Suck it! Suck it!"
Aqueo, with a confused and panicked face, did as he was told, he frantically sucked the white fillings that were coming from the fried food. It kept on flowing out and he had no choice but to just suck it up until it finally stopped. He was catching his breath. He felt like he was forced to drink two glasses of melted cheese from a gushing faucet. The white fillings were dripping from his chin. He felt so weirdly violated.
"O-our dear guest!" She said with a hand gesture of trying to remove the white fillings on Aqueo's mouth but couldn't continue to touch him. "I'm so s-sorry. I must've messed up the proportions. It must've been embarrassing," she said in a worried tone, noticing the people around them looking.
Aqueo was stunned by what she said again. 'She messed up what? W-wait-wait-wait! She made this?' Now, Aqueo knew there was definitely something going on. But before he could say anything, Hermina suddenly spoke, "To make you feel less embarrassed, I'll also do what you did!"
"Eh? . . . N-no, you don't have to—"
Too late. The white fillings were already bursting out of her mouth; Aqueo's mouth was agape; and after a while, she frantically sucked the fillings the same way Aqueo did, except that her face was full of determination.
When she was done, she was panting. "There! Now, we're the same," she said smiling, referring to the white stuff on their faces.
Aqueo's mouth fell on the ground, including some of the people around them that were watching. It was such a sight to behold. Both of their faces were dirtied by the white fillings, but the people must've only focused on Hermina who was wearing a maid uniform and a maid headband. Aqueo slightly felt conscious that the people around them might be thinking he forced her to do it.
He completely lost the chance of asking her about it when she pulled a piece of white cloth from her pocket and wiped his face clean. He couldn't manage to object and just let her while his face felt both cold and burning.
After that, he wasn't able to speak properly and just nodded most of the time and let Hermina pull him here and there with Aquifer following them around.
They were now in front of the theater stage and had been watching the performance for a while. On the stage, there were three pairs of men and women dancing with some magical flashes and sparks appearing with their every move. The joyful music didn't seem to reach Aqueo. He had been thinking about how to ask Hermina. Being raised by human traffickers in fear and other unspeakable things, he didn't really manage to learn how to interact well with people.
Once again, Hermina spoke, "Our dear guest, can you see that small man carrying that woman over there?"
Aqueo gasped a little. This was it. The chance he was looking for. He felt like he already knew where this conversation would be going. He finally realized the signs and patterns.
"Compared to the big man at the other side, he can easily do those difficult dance lifts and reaches," she continued. "It's because the man is skilled at what he does, so—"
"Size doesn't matter." He finished her sentence.
Hermina froze, blushing deeper than she already was.
"Hermina." She flinched. "I now understand what you've been trying to tell me. I appreciate it. Thank you." He smiled at her, but the kind of smile that was tainted with pain and embarrassment.
"I-I see. I'm glad then," she said with a burning face. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about it. Including the one when your face was tainted with sauce when I led you to the guest room."
"Eh? Sauce?"
"Yes, your jaw and chin were covered in sauce stains when I fetched you from the kitchen. I am a trained trustworthy servant. You can trust that I will tell no one."
"Nnm," Aqueo just nodded weakly, he didn't know what to feel about the sauce, he already felt somewhat devastated by the knowledge that she heard him scream that. He thought he had managed to wipe it all off, Himi even pointed out his chin. Maybe she thought he was going to take a bath anyway so she didn't tell him further. He must've looked like a mess that time.
"Uhmm. I guess I'll leave you for a moment. Let's meet at that restaurant after an hour," she said sensibly, referring to the restaurant at the other side of the street beside the stage.
Aqueo was left alone and Aquifer just floated around while looking curiously at him. He just forced himself to focus on the show and try to feel every touch of Aquifer's warmth even deeper beside him. Then it wasn't all that bad and embarrassing. It was one of the few things that made him endure the abuse of the human traffickers—to try to focus on the good things around him, and most importantly, within him.
After some time, he decided to go to the merchant stand he had been eyeing while exploring the townsquare with Hermina. 'Aqui, let's go!' he mentally called Aquifer and went across the street.
The merchant stand was full of magical stuff like crystal orbs, old looking artifacts, gems, magic swords, magic staffs, giant shields, armors, and other things that Aqueo couldn't identify even with the spirit's memories. He immediately picked a book, titled: Basics of Magic. He wanted to learn magic and go to the academy. He was tempted to pick more than one but he stopped himself. He wanted to have a reason to keep going back here. He then paid the merchant after asking how much and proceeded to visit another shop.
This one was a clothing shop. He saw the academy uniform displayed behind the glass pane. He wanted to buy one. Since he was going to attend the academy and learn magic, he decided why not buy one already? He wanted to feel like he was a student already and most of all, a part of this new world.
A man wearing a long sleeve that was almost puffing greeted him inside, he looked buffed. "Welcome! Please take a look at our clothes or are you looking for something specific?"
The voice of the man was heavy, matching the build of his body. Aqueo slightly wondered why a man with such a muscular body was working at a clothing shop. "Uhmm, the uniform of Hyndrel Academy," he said, while glancing at the displayed clothes at the front.
"Is it for you?" he asked while already walking toward a shelf.
Aqueo nodded.
"I see. I see. A student. Are you in your senior years? You don't look like a first year."
"I'll be a new student," he responded hesitantly.
"Here. Try it." He gave him the clothes and led him to a small room in the shop for fitting and left him there.
Aqueo changed into the academy uniform but the sleeves of the clothes were too short for him. He came out and found the man waiting for him.
"Uhmm. I think it's too short for me," he raised his arms to show him the sleeves.
The man's eyes widened the moment he saw Aqueo's wrists that were painted with the black-gold tattoo. He suddenly looked at Aqueo's face and found that he didn't seem to mind him seeing it.
"A-ah! I see, I see," he pretended not to notice the tattoo. "Let me see it more."
He held Aqueo's arm and pretended to examine it. He noticed that Aqueo was really oblivious about the exposure of his tattoo, so he slightly raised the sleeve to see it clearly and to make sure it was as he had thought it was. It was as he had thought—the mark of shackles and chains. He gasped at the sight. The black-gold tattoo reflected the light of the sun that was shining from the window. And the man's eyes glinted a desire that failed to match its shine. But a glint still.
"Hmm, I see. I know what size fits you now," he said in a dark tone that Aqueo failed to notice. He took a new size and watched him carefully as he walked back inside the fitting room.
Aqueo finally finished the purchase. He thanked the man and proceeded to get out of the shop, happily carrying the bag containing the uniform and his other things. Aquifer reflected his joy by dancing around him.
The man was standing outside the clothing store, looking intently at Aqueo. He called a guy that was standing at the next building, and the guy approached him.
"White rabbit. This one's special. Only report to me and make sure nobody finds out that he's a rabbit," he said in a low voice.
The guy understood the code, briefly nodded, and then left.