The Royal Guild of Aldranza

Night passed, and the third day of travelling arrived as morning dawned. It was nearly impossible for Shizaki to comprehend the craziness of what had happened in just three days of venturing out into the unknown.

The outside world is seriously a scary place, but it was peaceful and enjoyable sometimes as well, he thought.

As he was now deeply reading a novel that he had brought along in his trusty leather bag, he tried to keep the nervous thoughts of his future away for a while by reading. This favorite hobby easily drowned out the insecurities from his head, along with his surroundings. 

Little did he know, however, that as time passed, the carriage had kept passing by intersections of roads, and the road that they were on was getting busier and busier as it dragged along for a well known reason.

Only a few times did he raise his head, admiring the bustling Pandora City of the Northern Province.

There's so many people.

After a while though, he redirected his focus to his novel, and almost an hour passed before…

"Uwahhh, no way, no way, no way!!!"

The sudden outburst from Bella Kamazaki brought him back to the real world. Surprised, Shizaki looked straight ahead at her.

Although….as Kamazaki was leaning through the side of her window, all he was staring at was her bottom.

W-Woah.

Quickly turning away in embarrassment, Shizaki spoke.

"Wh-What…do you see..?"

However, she did not answer.

None of the others spoke either except for King, and it was not even an answer to his question as they all stared at the scenery outside from their windows.

"...…Is that what I think it is?"

Daizen Shizaki seemed perplexed, and then his expression slowly changed as if he knew exactly what was happening. He put away his book and quickly faced outside.

In the distance…. a large silvery-looking wall lay ahead. 

Several people and carriages swarmed around the place like ants. Intersections all seemed to merge into a street beside this one location.

He could barely see a tall, beautiful gate at its center. And beyond there lay several tall buildings and compounds.

The grandeur of this place seemed to be incredible. At first glance, it looked impeccable compared to the other sites around it.

This….

"Guild…."

"The Royal Guild of Aldranza…."

Alexandriya Aya finished Shizaki's sentence, as he looked on with awe.

The Royal Guild was awaiting the visitors just up ahead.

The starting point of Daizen Shizaki was right there, in front of him.

This is it…

It truly was a sight to behold. Seeing it for the first time simply took his breath away.

He then made a grim face, as the responsibility of what was to come hit him suddenly.

From here on out, every little decision, fight, relationship, quest…

Everything mattered.

…Alright.

***

As the carriage that had contained the Royal Guild Selection passengers slowly made a stop alongside the towering crystal wall, everyone quickly made their way out to look at their incredible surroundings. 

Both at the front and the back of them, a long line of carriages lay containing passengers or empty seats with carriage-riders loudly declaring their next stops so as to get any would-be passengers who were walking by. It reminded both Aya and Shizaki of the Main Passageway back at their own Sekoto Town.

Many young people with varying outfits slowly clamored inside the entrance to the Royal Guild as they were also present for their chance at being selected. The sight of how busy the site seemed made Kamazaki gulp in nervousness.

"Hey, don't sweat it, Kamazaki. Just take a deep breath."

"Yukikama…"

"You look as stiff as a board, goodness."

"I-I'm fine!! Let's do this shit!!!"

"Now you're way too worked up…."

Daizen Shizaki slowly walked to the front of the entrance and gazed upward, his small body overshadowed in size by the giant golden gates before him. At the top of the gates was the sign: 

"The Royal Guild of Aldranza- Northern Province."

His heart pounded like a beating drum, filled to the brim with excitement, anxiety, happiness, and more anxiety that began to overshadow all.

Right in front of him was the door to his future, the stepping stone to getting stronger. And yet, at every second, it seemed so nerve-wrecking now that he was here before it.

In the midst of the ever moving crowd entering and exiting, the soul of Shizaki kept still in awe and slight fear.

"So….this is it, huh?"

Shizaki turned to face the person talking to him. Interrupting his thoughts was the innocent looking half-elf Satou Yukino. He smiled as their gazes met and he stood next to Shizaki as he joined him in looking at the entrance. The latter smiled nervously.

"Yeah…yeah. This is it."

"I already feel…reaalllyy nervous. But then….um….I try to remember that when in tough or scary situations like this one, there is always someone who is silently cheering for me back home, and….I cannot allow myself to let them down."

Shizaki kept staring at him with thoughtful eyes.

What he said was especially true in his case. If not for that persistent old man, he would have felt completely alone, but….somehow, he knew that he was definitely wishing the best for him. It was now up to him to give it his all.

"You…just tried to encourage me, huh?"

"U-Uh, did it…work?

He instantly became a bit flustered as he continued.

"S-Sorry….I normally say some random stuff like that sometimes…."

"No…no, it's fine. Actually, thank you."

"H-Huh? Thanks?"

Shizaki let out a smile of relief.

"Yeah, because the same applies to me too, and I think I feel juuuust a bit better now. Thanks. Let's ace this Selection."

He extended a fist bump and Yukino returned it with a heartwarming smile of his own. 

"Right."

"Right!!!"

"Wha-!"

Kamazaki entered the conversation from behind the duo with a fist bump of her own, but both Shizaki and Yukino instantly turned back with both reflexively pulling back their hands.

"H-How long have you been there, Kamazaki-san?!"

"You…scared me."

"Haha, sorry, sorry, you guys. Seriously though, I've heard how cool this place looks, but seeing it in person? It looks more superb than I thought!"

"Mhm!"

Shizaki nodded in agreement as King, Aya, Neo and Kiyotai finally approached the entrance.

Kiyotai, the carriage-rider, spoke from the driver's seat as he held onto his hat with his left hand and winked.

"Well, after three days, we've made it. My Timberwolf must be starving since the last time it ate was yesterday evening. I plan to find a butcher around this district and get her fed and afterwards, I aim to gain other passengers that want to travel back to where I came from and around its routes. Three day journey here, three days back."

"No rest? I'm surprised."

Replying was King, who made a statement of slight concern, but Kiyotai shook his head with a smile.

"No rest, my friend. I have to get back to my family sooner than later."

"A carriage-rider who has a family is pretty uncommon. I hope that you get back home safely."

"Thank you. It was a pleasure to take you all here. I wish you good luck on your endeavors."

After bowing, Kiyotai said his goodbyes as the group waved him off.

Shizaki silently wished to somehow see him again in the not too distant future.

Finally, with the group of passengers reaching their destination, Aya proclaimed silently:

"Well, how about we enter as a group and get ourselves someone to guide us to the Selection?

"Agreed."

"But of course!"

King and Kamazaki excitedly responded, and Neo, along with Yukino and Shizaki, nodded.

With that, the group consisting of six individuals all entered the Royal Guild as they peered into the complex.

A beautiful paved, chiseled stone trail led into the complex.

At the left was an immensely tall structure polished with a brilliant black and white striped color, and at its front, lavish weapons were on display. Swords, spears and more glimmered as they all varied with contrasting shapes, sizes and colors. Many passers-by looked on as blacksmiths sat near the showcase.

At its opposite view, the right hand side revealed a small series of buildings that extended much further to the back. Nobody could tell where exactly the length from behind ended.

Now looking straight ahead, the grandeur of a red building that was taller, wider and bigger than all the rest stood strong. This was the only building that Shizaki knew about, as he had read about it before.

The Guild Hall, where the quests are located.

Much further behind it was most likely where the famous Duel Arena was, and it was obviously the site of where the Selection would take place.

At the center of the Guild Hall and the buildings from the left and right was an interesting sculpture, however.

Between them all was the massive grey sculpture of what seemed to be a woman with a sword, her long knightley cape stuck in place as the finer details like the eyes, nose, mouth and more were omitted. Only the distinguished short bob hair ending with a ponytail at the rear was shown along with a flashy outwear of clothes.

The sculpture was on a pedestal of iron that was just twice as high as Shizaki by itself. Altogether, the pedestal along with the sculpture was about nearly three times bigger than the average human there. The lady showcased there was very well known. In fact, the reason she was famous was due to the fact that none of the residents in both Aldranza and Dragonia would have survived without her.

The one who helped in winning against the Mala Region, or rather, the-

"The Savior."

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(Chapter 21: The Royal Guild of Aldranza.)