Special Chapter IV - Left Behind (part 2)

"How is he?"

Eva asked me as I sat back down above the stack of corn. She seemed to be worried about the well being of the farmer as well, since his health is a factor to us arriving at Veldon.

"He said he is fine, so I decided not to ask anymore than necessary."

"Wise."

We decided to eat some breakfast for now. Lyona and Eva apparently had packed their own breakfast before they went. 

It's a simple bread and butter, but it's perfect to beat down the hunger we had right now. They shared it with me and with the farmer, who seemed glad when he heard we had food.

After moving for two hours, we finally arrived in the vicinity of Veldon.

"Look, Veldon!"

Lyona pointed at the tall tower far-far away in front of us. The tower was incredibly tall indeed. And we are still quite far away from the castle's gate.

"Woah... That is tall."

"That is the famous God Tower, owned by the King of Veldonia."

Eva explained.

"It was said at the top of the tower, you can see the entire continent."

"That's amazing!"

Lyona was very excited seeing the tower, but I only stared at the tower and studied it silently.

From a tower that high, it would be weird if you don't see the edge of the world. However, I only wondered as to how such a tower is even made.

I'm sure that the architecture of this world shouldn't have reached that level yet. Even the skyscrapers in my world need to be very large if they ever want to reach such a height. Which left me to only one guess as to what made it possible.

Magic. It's definitely with the help of magic. Magic-supported architecture, never thought I'd see such a thing.

"We will arrive in a little bit, so hang tight!"

The farmer shouted at us from the horse. And if what he said is true, then we will start walking pretty soon.

We entered yet another short forest. But this time, the forest seemed to be clean. Fifteen minutes later, we can see the castle walls the moment we left the forest. The walls are tall, it's at least twice as tall as Mazino's.

And from the looks of it, if we just follow this path, we will arrive at the castle's gate.

"By the way... we won't be able to enter without a permit, right?"

I said to Lyona and Eva.

"Well, the permit is only an identity card. As long as you have those, you can enter."

Oh. That's easy, then.

Before long, we finally arrived on the line to check on the gate. 

I can see the carriages from our group from before waiting just outside the gate. The knight captain quickly recognized the female knight and called to her.

We stepped out of the farmer's cart and paid him a good amount of money. The farmer was shocked by how much Lyona gave him, but she wants to reward the farmer for helping her have her first adventure, even though she slept for almost the whole trip.

She then turned around to face the knight captain, who was with us in the group. I was already gone before the captain approached. 

The captain begged for mercy to her, apologizing for not realizing that he left her behind. But she simply smiled and forgave him, and she enjoyed it too. After preparing a bit, we all finally went to the gate.

Preparing as in, changing back to my disguise costume. I wore my mask and black robes again. Then, I returned to the carriage and lined up with everyone else.

"Identification card?"

I gave the guard at the gate my fake id card, the one that Valon managed to create at the last second.

The name says Rile Viozet, but the nickname was empty. It doesn't even mention my age nor my origins. It also had white-silver borders, which should reveal the rank. However, the guard seemed to think that it was just the card's design, and he didn't even mind it.

"You may go."

Funny... He didn't realize the card was for White ranked adventurers.

I finally entered the castle's gate, but I can sense some tails behind me. I realized that they don't seem to be watching quite closely, and they are prioritizing staying hidden.

I can always leave them in the dust later. For now, I need to start listing out what I need to do.

First, I--

"Rize?"

I looked to my left, and Lyona was standing there.

"We need to part ways here. There is something I have to do."

She suddenly said to me after she followed me inside the gate, and I turned my surprised eyes to her.

"You're not going to need me?"

"We're in the city now. There shouldn't be any obvious harms done. And if there are, the knights should be more than enough, right?"

Lyona gave her argument, which confused me because I thought she needed my protection. Then again, we are indeed already in the city. If we were outside, then surely she would need me protecting her.

"I can't come with you?"

"That's... I will be meeting a bunch of people. I've already mentioned before that bringing in a combat powerhouse can change the way the negotiation goes, so..."

"Right. My presence cna ruin things for you. I understand."

Lyona smiled softly at me, but I already turned my gaze to the city in front of me.

"In that case, I'll be doing my own things. Don't mind me."

"Be careful... this isn't Mazino, and there could be enemies anywhere."

"I should be saying that to you. Be careful."

Lyona nodded firmly at me, and she turned around to walk back to her knights.

"Then, you will meet us later, right?"

"Yes. Where should I meet you?"

"For now, let's just meet up at the gate here later after sundown. And after that, we can exchange information."

"Okay. Good luck."

"You too!"

Lyona parted ways and headed back to her group. Seeing her running back made me grin a little.

Now, then... How do I remove the tailers behind me?

With a single leap, I jumped towards the nearest roof. The guards were too fazed as to what I just did, they quickly went out of their hiding spot to where I was at previously.

"Where did he go?"

"I don't know. Search for him!"

The two guards then run around like ants, trying to look for me. Meanwhile, I just hid behind the roof while pondering.

"This will be fun."

I start off by stretching my entire body. Sitting for hours on a carriage is very tiring, especially when you have to lean on a bunch of corn. I made my fingers twist and created a snap sound, then I took a deep breath.

"Time to find out exactly what kind of a kingdom this place is."