YM778.TV Book 2: 300
Book 2: Chapter 300
When dawn came, Lukas went down to the first floor of the inn.
The first floor of the inn was quiet. The caravan was scheduled to depart in the afternoon of the next day. Their departure was delayed more than initially planned after Peran had a conversation with Rina and the others.
This meant that the mercenaries were suddenly given another free day. They would probably slowly begin to trickle back now after visiting all the bars in Bairak. They would then go to bed and sleep till noon.
Lukas ate his breakfast slowly and wasted a bit of time before leaving the inn in the afternoon.
His goal was to get the identification card he’d applied for.
When he entered the building which seemed to be the city hall, he saw Rina’s acquaintance, the woman named ‘Tia’.
It seemed that she remembered him as she nodded as soon as Lukas appeared.
“Were you able to get my identification?”
“Yeah. Here you go.”
He looked at the card Tia handed to him.
It displayed his name, age and origin. At the bottom of the card was an engraving of a herb that had been cut in half.
This insignia signified that the identification card belonged to a member of the Red Herb*. (Note: I did think that it was ‘herb’ at first, but ‘red hub’ sounded like a more plausible name for a merchant association. It’ll be Red Herb from now on. For reference, the word is ‘?? - heob/hub’)
Lukas was registered as an apprentice merchant. Because he was a merchant who could not work on his own, the herb on his card was only half.
‘It says that I am 30 years old and from a rural village in Luanoble.’
Rina had probably written this on Lukas’ behalf since he’d forgotten his memories. Nevertheless, he still wondered where the age 30 came from.
As far as he could tell, this body was still in its 20s.
‘Did she think I was older because of the hair color?’
Putting those useless thoughts aside, he left the city hall. When he returned to the inn, he found Peran standing at the entrance.
“Good afternoon.”
A bright smile stretched across his face. Peran was probably in his early 30s by now, but he didn’t look older than someone in their mid 20s.
If they were to walk side by side, Lukas would probably be taken as the older one between them.
“Where’d you go?”
“To collect my identification card from the city hall. I got it with Rina’s help.”
0
“That’s good news. There are many restrictions in the empire for those without any form of identification.”
Peran nodded.
“Are we going to head to the forest in the east now?”
“No. We’ll be going to Westroad Academy first.”
“…Westroad Academy?”
Now that he thought about it, Snow did say that they still had some things to do first. Did that have something to do with their trip to the academy?
“We plan to use the Warp Stone in this city. I try to refrain from using the Warp spell in cities as much as possible.”
Lukas nodded since he naturally knew the reason for this.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go with the caravan? I heard that they were also headed to the academy.”
“It wouldn’t be cost effective to move that many people and carriages over.”
“Then why didn’t you just take the things that were supposed to be delivered?”
If that was possible then there wouldn’t have been a need to hire the carriages or mercenaries.
Peran answered sincerely without any signs of being annoyed by his questioning.
“Those items were bought in a different region. There are many restrictions on Warping between countries. That would only be used for very special cases.”
Indeed.
As Lukas nodded in understanding, Snow walked out of the inn.
Her wooden mask was on her face once more. Well, if she didn’t wear it, she’d be even more noticeable while walking around.
“Peran, have you contacted the academy yet?”
“What about Syris and Sonya?”
“I’m sure they’re already waiting… By the way, are you sure this is okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about the meeting. If things don’t go according to plan…”
Peran’s voice was serious but not grave.
“It’s not like I don’t already understand the situation. There’s no need to worry even if a problem arises.”
“Why is that?”
Snow responded in a calm and soft tone.
“Because I’ll be the strongest.”
* * *
For Lukas, Westroad Academy was one of his many ‘starting points’.
It was the first place he opened his eyes after escaping from the Abyss and inhabiting ‘Frey Blake’s body.
Nevertheless, nothing really came to mind when he thought about it. After all he’d only stayed in the academy for a month. He left at the beginning of the vacation and never returned.
But there was still one thing he remembered.
At that time, there hadn’t been a Warp Stone at Westroad Academy.
Woowoong-
The Warp ended successfully.
Although there was still some brightness in his peripheral vision, that would soon fade.
“Welcome, your Majesty.”
As the light from the Warp faded, they heard a voice.
After blinking a few times, he found a woman bowing in front of them in a dignified manner.
“Such a stiff greeting as always, Syris. It’s been a while. Did everything work out?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
Snow nodded before rubbing her chin.
“Lead the way.”
“Yes.”
Syris.
The woman bowed her head once again with an elegant gesture before turning around and walking away.
Her gracefulness seemed to be second nature. This meant that she was a noble who learned about etiquette from a young age.
“The others?”
“Your Majesty is the first to arrive.”
“I see. That’s not too bad.”
Snow clicked her tongue softly, to which Syris nodded before naturally turning to look at Lukas.
“By the way, this man is…?”
Instead of Snow, it was Peran that answered.
“He’s a new member of the alliance.”
“…I see.”
Regardless of whether she was convinced or not, she didn’t ask anything after that. The sound of their footsteps was the only thing that resounded in the hallway.
‘This place.’
It was a building he’d never been to during his time in the academy.
It wasn’t a building where the cadets were taught, nor did it seem to be a dormitory, library or cafeteria.
This meant that it was probably one of the buildings for the professors. A place that students generally weren’t allowed to enter.
Syris continued to lead them through the building before finally coming to a stop in front of a door.
Then she opened it and gestured for them to enter.
Just as Lukas was about to follow Snow and Peran inside, Syris spoke to him.
“You wait outside.”
“No. Let him come.”
Syris’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Do you mean this man will accompany you?”
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“Sir Sonya is still waiting for you.”
“I know. Sorry, but tell him to wait a bit longer.”
Syris remained silent instead of responding. She didn’t show it, but she was obviously dissatisfied with Snow’s order.
Snow waved her hand with a lazy expression.
“It’s not an official meeting anyway. Why are you being so strict? This is fine, isn’t it? It’ll allow us to hide our power a bit. Peran alone is enough to deal with any unexpected situations.”
“…understood.”
For some reason, Syris’ displeased gaze turned to Lukas.
Maybe she was taking it out on him… maybe not. Lukas decided to not think about it as he slipped inside the room.
It was a very large space. It had probably been used as a conference room in the past, but now, the furniture was far from sufficient for such a large space.
There were only three chairs surrounding a large round table.
Snow calmly walked over and occupied one of the chairs. Peran naturally took his position at her side before blinking at Lukas. He was hinting for him to stand on her other side. As he complied, Lukas couldn’t help but feel like an attendant accompanying his monarch.
In fact, Snow was a Queen and Peran was a noble, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“You might feel like your life is in danger later.”
It was Peran’s voice.
He was looking at Lukas with a serious expression.
“The ones who are about to appear might seem to transcend common sense, but they won’t harm you. I don’t understand her Majesty’s intentions, but you shouldn’t be afraid. We’ll protect you.”
“…”
Snow swung her feet back and forth with a sullen expression.
Peran’s words were like a riddle. But it didn’t seem like he was intentionally being mysterious. Instead, it was more like he didn’t have the time to explain in more detail.
Lukas’ entry into this conference room had probably been an unexpected situation for Peran too.
But Lukas soon found out the reason.
“-she here?”
A deep voice sounded from outside the door.
Lukas’ eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Yes. Her Majesty is already inside… W-, wait. What are you doing?”
Bang!
—The door flew towards them.