The silhouette of a giant city surrounded by hundreds of small mountains soon entered my sight.
There were several roads filled with carriages going in and out of the city, so it was safe to say the city was bustling.
Since we didn’t co with a carriage, we just followed after Aliyah, who led us along the paved cobblestone road where all the carriages traveled, until we eventually reached the city’s gates.
It was surprising how the gates were just two small mountain peaks leaning against each other.
As for the blue robed guards checking everyone out, they seed prepared enough for a battle to break out.
Yet when we approached the guards, I definitely didn’t expect them to wave at Aliyah as though she was their friend.
And, well...
"Aliyah! Long ti no see. I still rember when you were doing errands for that brat on the mountain. Have you co to do so more?"
Aliyah scoffed.
"No, I’m done doing errands for him."
Then, she turned around slightly and pointed at the two of us.
"I’m actually here to get identification for these two."
"Oh? I won’t waste your ti with small talk then."
The guard stamped three pieces of paper and handed a piece to each of us.
Signaling for us to pass through, we did just that.
But even so, his voice soon rang out from behind us.
"Send Eric my regards!"
Even though Aliyah didn’t reply, I saw a faint smile tug at the corner of her lips.
I knew she was happy.
And honestly, I was glad that Aliyah had a life before the ga too.
An actual life.
Putting those thoughts aside, I glanced around the city of Ventra.
As a city surrounded by mountains, it didn’t get a lot of light, so even though it was currently morning, half of the city was blanketed in darkness.
The other half, however, was filled with training yards, training courses, and many more facilities.
After all, to maintain their image of strong people, the people of Hanazora had a bunch of training facilities in every single city.
Because Ventra was so small, even though it was the capital, it didn’t have that many.
Still, the people followed all the rules of the Western continent and dressed properly, bowed to the nobles, and lastly, enjoyed their drinks at the inns without disturbing anybody.
It was a pleasant city, to say the least.
"Hey, what’s up with all these tables?"
At Clentine’s question, I glanced to the side.
There was a whole row of tables, leading from the entrance of the city all the way to the center.
"It’s a tradition, you could say. Every day, when the sun is at the highest point in the sky, Ventra’s whole city is lit up with light. During that one hour, the citizens play table-top gas."
"Oh... That’s a silly tradition."
She giggled.
"Do you think we could try it out later?"
"Absolutely not," Aliyah chid in.
Then, she turned her head slightly toward Clentine.
"I spent a few hours yesterday convincing Adam to give you his healing technique, so you best go back and learn it before he changes his mind."
Clentine pouted and crossed her arms, ignoring Aliyah.
It didn’t look like Aliyah was in the mood to deal with Clentine’s rebellious phase, so she continued to lead us.
Finally, we reached a plain brick building in the very center of the city, and without wasting any ti, we entered it.
There were so kind of tal wires strung above the door when we entered.
To my surprise, those tal wires sent out a small pulse of energy, scanning from head to toe.
I instinctively used Telekinesis at the uncomfortable feeling.
But before I could crush those tal wires, I found Aliyah’s katana resting on my chin.
"This is not the place for that. Calm down and just follow ."
"Ugh..."
Clentine gently pushed forward and got inside.
The inside of this building reminded of a hospital, sa with the reception.
Except the receptionist wore a luxurious suit and stared at us calmly.
"Amon Everness, Clentine Noir, and the Sword Saint herself. What a pleasure it is to et you all."
He knows about us...?
Does he—
"Charles, you still have a habit of entertaining your guests despite being the mayor of the capital?"
At Aliyah’s words, Charles just shrugged.
"You can’t expect to not be interested when people with bounties nearing 2 billion Crowns show up at my doorstep."
"Yeah, like that’s the real reason."
Aliyah scoffed, then pointed at us again.
"Get them their identification. Do the whole process too, and don’t half ass it."
"If you say so, miss Sword Saint."
With a quick bow, Charles stood up and snapped his fingers at us.
"Co with now. I’ll get you two started."
As he began to walk away, I glanced over at Aliyah.
"This guy talks like a pervert."
"He’s not a pervert, but he’s obsessed with Gifts and whatnot."
I haven’t heard of him before, but it does sound like he’s a pain in the ass to deal with.
Or maybe not?
Right as Clentine and I were about to follow after him, Aliyah said:
"If you want your reputation to be worth sothing, then go all out in these tests. Show all your Gifts, and don’t hold back. That’s all the advice I’ll give you."
She slowly began walking toward the exit.
Noticing that, I raised my brow.
"You’re leaving?"
"Do you need to hold your hand through all the tests too?"
I scoffed at her remark.
"No, I guess not. I’ll be seeing you at Christmas then."
A faint smile appeared on her face as she approached the exit.
Though...
I began getting a bad feeling about sothing.
With Clentine and my intervention, the future changed drastically.
And because of that, I feel like so things might co faster than others...
"Hey, Aliyah?"
She turned to , puzzled and a little pissed off.
"What?"
But even if she was pissed off, warning soone of their death before it happens is better than keeping quiet.
"If you ever see a portal out in the open, don’t enter it under any circumstance. Promise on Eric’s na that you won’t enter it."
"Huh?"
She narrowed her eyes at .
But seeing how serious I was being, she rubbed the back of her head in annoyance and nodded.
"Sure, why not. It’s not like I was planning to enter any portal anyway."
Right...
With that, Aliyah finally left.
And now that only Clentine and I were here all alone, I knew that the mont we leave this building, all the people who were staring at us from the shadows are going to attack.
Who wouldn’t attack when a billion Crowns is right in front of them?
Though...
I’ll worry about that after I’m done getting my identification.
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