[Chapter 12] - Light and Shadow - Part 2

– You are doing this on purpose! Stop uniting against me with these dead faces! – He looks down and mumbles. – I also wanted to train ... I almost died of being so tired that I was training with my beloved chains all day and now I can't use ...

Roldi opens the terrace door, dressed in a short-sleeved dress shirt and white shorts, both made of light material.

– Ah, children! How I love the clothes of this hemisphere! Heavy, warm clothes are not for me! – Rold says as he laughs.

– Are you going to play chess with us? – Asks Kahyu .

– Dress up in new clothes and take a shower with the products I bought for you. They will make your hair look more like that of the townspeople. – He answers. – Let's go for a walk.

After lunch, the group begins their walk around the city inside the wall, dressed in light summer clothes. Kahyu with a sandal, a short frilly baby blue skirt, and a short yellow blouse to the navel, with flowers embroidered on it. Whiger also with a sandal, a red blouse and a pink shorts. Kalui is dressed like Whiger , but with a dark gray blouse and light gray shorts. They head to the center to see the royal castle, which even though it has six floors, was built on top of a small plateau, making it even bigger and imposing. It is made of green, smooth and polished material. In front of such a place, Roldi exclaims to the children:

– Splendid, isn't it? The stone elemental who created it must have been very skilled. Not necessarily powerful, but wise.

Kahyu and Kalui watch with open mouth attentively the magnitude of the place. Already Whiger , remains bored.

– We will! We have a lot to see! Exclaims Roldi.

"These children need to be mentally prepared to get used to Elfen . This city is very small compared to ... "

Roldi took them to several places. A large and famous weapons store, with glass showcases and armor of rare materials. Leaving there, they also visited clothing stores, food stores with their own building – different from the previous ones that were street fairs. – and finally took them to a school gate.

The entrance to the Ruhm basic education institute is a gate made of bars large enough to pass two wagons at the same time. After the entrance, a large field with toys fills the place until the end of the land, where there is a large gray marble building with many windows almost the size of the walls.

– That is an elementary school. You didn't go to one like that and you don't go. You will study enough on your own to go straight to advanced school, where you will learn about your powers. I will do for you what your parents would have done.

Kahyu and Whiger look at Roldi with watery eyes. The girl hugs him and the boy strikes the man with a pat on the back. Kalui just watches. Sobbing, Kahyu murmurs:

– Thank you, Mr. Roldi!

– I'm going to buy a house inside the wall of the capital of Elfen . Live a good and safe life, with you studying and growing strong. With the money I have, I will look after you for much longer than necessary. Anyway, let's talk about it at home. Now, let's get back to the tour.

Roldi also takes them to the city guard headquarters, which is basically a large area enclosed by stone walls where soldiers are trained. After that, they pass through some social parks and finally go to the last stop.

– Now, let's go to the pier. I think you only know boats and horses, so it will be interesting.

Kalui is very excited about the tour. Kahyu a little less. Whiger , on the other hand , looks very bored. He feels that his day is being thrown away, even compared to staying at home.

– Most of these places we have been exploring alone! – Kahyu exclaims . – But it is much nicer to go with you!

A little awkwardly, the grizzled old man smiles and replies:

– Thanks!

After walking for another long period, the freshness of the sea is felt much stronger among the streets and houses in this part of the city. The wind blows stronger and colder, along with the unmistakable smell of the sea. As they saw the street corners, the group finally caught sight of the great lagoon. Looking to the right, they see the city surrounding the sea, as if embracing it. Looking ahead is also the city, almost invisible from so far away, still embracing the water and, looking to the left, is the open sea. In addition to the exit to the sea, the lagoon has two exits, as if the great river over a kilometer in width cuts it in half. It is through this river of salt water that the boats connected to the iron cable travel. The group crosses the street, going to the side without houses.

Excited, Kalui asks:

– Can we dive?

– No. – Roldi answers. – I didn't bring you here to see the sea. I want you to see that. – He points to the pier.

The pier has two iron ropes at seven meters above sea level, on two different wooden platforms, one on each side of the great river that cuts through the lagoon. The two strings continue until after where the vision reaches. They come from the other side of the lagoon and go upstream to infinity.

– What is special about the pier?

The gray-haired man smiles a little and replies:

– It is with him that we will go to Elfen . The boat is attached to an iron rope and is pushed at high speed with various possible aids. Be it the wind or an elemental pushing the sails; a water elemental moving the currents or men rowing. This is the fastest way to travel. Not cool?

Kahyu is delighted with the explanation of his caregiver and Kalui cannot hide his euphoria.

"Our! So you can explore even more places and faster? Incredible! " , Thinks the boy with black hair.

Flirting, Whiger replies:

– Yeah ... How incredible! Uhu !

Roldi looks at the tiger boy with an angry and serious look. The boy cringes and shuts up. Muttering, he says:

– Sorry...

The gray-haired gentleman takes Kalui's long hair and says:

– And, that also means that you can cut your hair now, if you want. You are already very different from when I met you, as well as much more muscular. They won't recognize you anymore.

– You don't know how long I wait for this! I don't even remember how much fresher it was!

The four sit on the sidewalk parallel to the sea and talk with their feet in the sand. A few minutes later, a large wooden boat with three floors appears, attached by several rings to the steel rope. It has four candles, some symmetrical holes at the bottom with large oars sticking out of them and windows on the upper floors.

The boat stops at the pier and elegant people leave it while others continue. After a few minutes he continues his journey upstream.

Roldi gets up stretching and says:

– I already took you to some places. Let's go back and rest, tomorrow will be an interesting day.

Kahyu and Kalui look at Roldi and ask:

– Why?

Whiger responds excitedly, scratching his hands:

– Training! Hehehe ...

The gray-haired gentleman strikes the tiger boy's head and says:

– Nothing like that. Tomorrow is the spring festival.