Chapter 31: Arrival at the Royal Capital
Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Arrival at the Royal Capital
"I... I understand."
Goddalir lowered her head.
The old Minstrel, who had been standing silently to the side, seemed to notice something. His gaze drifted between the two of them, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
Goddalir left with the Minstrel.
Before leaving, she glanced back, as if hoping to see reluctance on Gai’s face or hear words asking her to stay.
But Gai said nothing and did nothing.
Goddalir could only look away in disappointment.
She followed the old Minstrel listlessly for a long time, and before she knew it, they had arrived at a clearing filled with flowers in the woods.
Goddalir stopped in her tracks, startled.
She looked up, but among the waist-high flowers of every color, the white-haired Mr. Bedi was nowhere to be seen.
"Goddalir."
A mature, gentle female voice suddenly came from behind her.
The girl spun around.
She was dumbfounded to see a glowing Fairy standing behind her!
The Fairy had shoulder-length golden hair, with two strands woven into braids that circled her forehead. Her features were delicate, her skin fair, and she wore a pale green dress. On her back were a pair of brilliant, colorful, scale-like wings...
Just like a Fairy from the Legends!
Goddalir was completely astonished. She opened her mouth and said,
"You are..."
The green-gowned Fairy smiled gently and said,
"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Betina, a Spirit of Nature from the Flower Kingdom in the southern Magic Forest."
"Bedi... Fairy Bettina."
Goddalir quickly lifted her skirt and curtsied.
Any lingering doubt in her heart now turned into certainty and shock.
Betina flapped her colorful wings and flew in front of the girl. She lightly tapped the center of Goddalir’s forehead, and a faint, firefly-like glow appeared.
"I see loss and reluctance in your eyes, Goddalir, but I see no resolve."
The Fairy chuckled.
The girl froze.
"He’s using cold lies in place of the gentle truth, all to help you break free from a weakling’s fate."
The Fairy continued, her wings fluttering. Countless brilliant specks of dust scattered, conjuring the image of a heart covered in blue frost before Goddalir.
"Goddalir, do you see? The curse is gnawing at Lord Gai’s heart. His time is far more limited than you think... In just one year, he will die."
"When the ice and snow devour the last of his warmth, you won’t even be qualified to warm his hands for him."
"?!"
Goddalir was shocked.
"Gai only has one year left?!"
"It’s regrettable, but yes, that’s true."
Betina nodded.
She pulled her hand back from the girl’s forehead and waved it again. A ball of scorching fire dispersed the surrounding dust.
The image of the heart vanished along with it.
"The love Lord Gai has sealed in his heart is hotter than this fire; you were just too foolish to notice. In chaotic times like these, weakness is the original sin... His words were only meant to make you stronger."
"So, Gai was doing it all on purpose," Goddalir said in a daze.
"Does... does he love me too?"
"Of course."
"Then what should I do, Fairy Bettina?" Goddalir’s expression turned serious as she asked solemnly.
"What you must do is race against time, master Magic Power as soon as possible, and obtain great strength... I believe that with your talent, you will achieve it quickly."
With that, the green-gowned Fairy winked at the girl.
"And then go save him... protect him."
"Save Gai, protect Gai!"
Goddalir’s eyes lit up, as if a fierce fighting spirit and determination had been ignited within her.
’That’s right. Gai has always been the one protecting me. Now a curse is claiming his life, and I have the chance to learn Magic...’
’I shouldn’t shrink back anymore, shouldn’t hide in his arms.’
’From now on, let me be the one to protect him!’
The girl swept away her previous listlessness, now full of fighting spirit.
Seeing this, Betina couldn’t help but let out a secret sigh of relief.
...
...
’Goddalir is finally gone.’
Wang Xi sighed in relief.
He was currently on horseback, rushing with the Spinning Wheel Commerce caravan to reach the entrance of the Royal Capital before sunset.
A massive stone bridge sat atop a wide, clear river. Tall flags were planted on the stone piers on either side, bearing the emblem of a deer’s head entwined with roses.
That was the symbol of the Deer Royal Family.
Peddlers, porters, and merchant caravans streamed across in an endless flow. Carts laden with grain, fruits, vegetables, or iron ore rumbled over the stone bridge with a crisp sound.
An arched city gate, built from massive grey-white stones, stood majestically. A squad of guards stood on each side of the entrance. They were clad in armor and held spears and halberds, their stern faces constantly vigilant.
"Everyone line up for inspection," a leading guard shouted coldly.
The travelers dared not disobey.
Before long, it was the Spinning Wheel Commerce caravan’s turn.
Steward White obediently went forward to present their credentials, and only then did the group pass through the gate’s passage without incident, entering the Royal Capital.
After passing through the dimness, an incredibly wide, stone-paved avenue suddenly opened up before them.
The buildings on both sides were squarish, mostly with ochre-red tiled roofs and honey-colored stone walls. The windows and doors were all arched, and the third-floor balconies were all hung with red and green flags.
People came and went; it was very prosperous.
The cries of vendors, the clang of blacksmiths, and the rumble of carriage wheels intertwined.
The scents of cinnamon, flowers, and baking bread wafted through the air.
But beneath this prosperous scenery, there were still some grim spots.
Wang Xi rode slowly, noticing beggars in tattered clothes huddled in many corners along the way. There were also some women wrapped in ragged sackcloth, kneeling on the roadside and begging mournfully.
They formed a jarring contrast with the nobles and wealthy merchants who strode past, wearing gold-embroidered Cloaks.
"Lord Gai, we’ve arrived."
At this moment, Steward White, riding beside him, said with a smile.
Wang Xi pulled his gaze back and finally noticed that the caravan had stopped in front of a tall, domed building.
In the center of the beeswax-colored walls was a set of five-meter-high double doors, through which respectably dressed businessmen came and went.
A long iron rod stuck straight out from the wall, from which hung a wooden sign with an exquisite design. In the middle were the words "Spinning Wheel Commerce."
"Lord Gai, please wait a moment. I’ll go handle a brief handover, and then I will present you with the promised reward."
White dismounted and spoke respectfully to Wang Xi.
"Please, go ahead, Mr. White."
Wang Xi also dismounted, nodding with a smile.
A short while later.
White emerged again from the commerce building, holding an exquisite wooden box, and walked straight up to Wang Xi.
"Here are 210 Deer Gold Coins. Please accept them, Lord Gai."
Wang Xi’s eyebrows rose. He accepted it with a word of thanks.
He hadn’t expected White to include the initial reward of 10 Gold Coins as well. Although it was a small, insignificant detail, it fully demonstrated that White was not only a good businessman but also knew how to handle people.
At that moment, White lowered his voice and said,
"I’ve already reported the caravan’s ambush by the Finger Association on our way back to the Royal Capital to the commerce president. Although you are a powerful Wizard, Lord Gai, you must still be careful of retaliation from those desperados. They have plenty of insidious tricks up their sleeves..."
"Thank you for the warning. I’ll be careful."
Wang Xi smiled.
On the way here, he had already gotten detailed information about the Finger Association from White.
It was a gray-market organization operating in Daphne. Its members were a motley crew of gamblers, drunkards, thieves, and fighters, and even included some wandering Swordsmen and down-on-their-luck Knights.
All in all, you never heard about them doing anything good, but they had their hands in all sorts of evil.
The scum of the scum, genuine bastards.
The reason they hadn’t been wiped out was, for one, that the Finger Association was hidden all over the place with numerous informants and hideouts, so only minor players were ever caught.
Secondly, they were also smart enough to never touch the interests of the powerful and noble. At most, they would bully merchants and the common folk.
Of course, the most important reason was that they had backers.
"By the way, Steward White."
Wang Xi thought of something and asked,
"I was wondering, does your commerce have any Demon Materials?"
"Demon Materials?" White chuckled, then lowered his voice and said with a proud expression, "Aha... of course we do! But not many. They’re all reserved by the commerce for the Royal Mage Corps... But if you need some, Lord Gai, I can help you secure a portion."
In White’s view, it was perfectly normal for a Wizard to need Demon Materials, and this was a perfect opportunity to do Gai a favor.
"Then I’ll have to trouble you."
Wang Xi had only asked casually and hadn’t expected them to actually have any. His heart filled with anticipation as he smiled.
If he could buy Demon Materials containing Energy with money, it would save him a lot of trouble.
He still had nine Universal Cards waiting to be drawn in his mind, but he just didn’t have enough Energy.
"Lord Gai, please follow me."
White gestured for him to follow and led the way.
The two of them walked into the commerce building’s main entrance.
White walked ahead quickly and whispered a few words to a young man who looked like an apprentice near the staircase. The latter nodded and turned to go upstairs.
Then, White led Wang Xi through the crowded main hall to a courtyard in the back. They finally arrived at the door of a small warehouse guarded by two guards.
"Mr. White."
The guards greeted him respectfully.
White nodded, took a key from his waist, and unlocked the bronze lock on the warehouse door.
CLANG.
Wang Xi followed him inside and immediately saw several wooden shelves against the wall, on which were displayed all sorts of materials.
There were cleaned fangs and claws, pelts of various colors, dried internal organs, and unidentifiable crystals and ores, among other things.
Wang Xi showed a satisfied expression, nodded, and then went forward to inspect them one by one.
After authentication by Kaos, it was confirmed that these were indeed parts from Demons. Unfortunately, most of these materials could not be converted into Energy.
Wang Xi did spot a few vibrant green Goblin Mushrooms, but they had already been dried, and most of the Energy they contained had dissipated.
"Lord Gai, have you found anything you like?"
At this moment, White, who was good at reading people, asked in a low voice.
Wang Xi scanned the room, and his eyes suddenly flashed with surprise as he discovered something.
He pondered for a moment, then said,
"I’d like to buy these few Goblin Mushrooms, and also the ore in the corner..."
Wang Xi gestured towards the wooden shelf, then pointed to the corner.
Several wooden baskets were placed there, filled with prismatic clusters of pale purple crystals.
[Ethereal Crystal: A crystalline ore born from the influence of a mysterious power, contains Energy.]
This crystal was none other than the new type of resource that was being mined from the Mazes in the Main World!
’Why is it here too?’ Wang Xi wondered inwardly.