Chapter 25: Chapter 24 - Arrival
Several days after our incident with the Orcs we arrived at our first stop, a town called Garten.
As we arrived at the gate we were stopped by the guards, but luckily thanks to Serena showing them her proof of identity, an emblem made of gold inscribed with the logo of the Magic Association, we managed to enter without a hassle.
They were of course skeptical at first, but once they brought over the mage who was on standby, they quickly verified it's authenticity.
Naturally they were much more amicable after that.
In fact, they even lent us one of their members who showed us around and led us to the Magic Association branch, though the sights weren't exactly what I'd call attractions. Even though the town should've been at the same level as Remea, I couldn't help but feel like it was missing something.
Once Serena and I arrived at the association it didn't take long before we were swarmed by the mages there. Serena was bombarded with questions while I ended up as a plaything for the female mages, and much to my dismay she was too busy answering them to help me out.
It turns out Serena is quite the famous figure.
Thus we ended up moving to a larger room where she ended up giving a lecture fit with a tiered seating layout and a podium at the middle of the back of the room. Supposedly every association branch has a lecture hall where mages can teach others or share their discoveries.
I guess that the association choosing her to teach me wasn't just a coincidence.
After around an hour she was finally done, and so we bade the others farewell and headed straight to an inn that we had been recommended by the guard.
It was called Floating Cloud Hotel, prestigiously known as the best in town. When we first entered I could immediately tell why. Even though it was summer, the interior showed no sign of it. As we passed through the entrance which was held open by a porter, I was greeted with the familiar feeling of cool air like the one at the Magic Association.
Since this was just a stop on the road we were only booking a room for one night, but even so the employees never slacked off in their efforts to treat us like royalty. In fact it was so extravagant that I started to worry whether we'd have enough funds for the rest of the journey.
The next day I realised how much I missed having a real bed. I think the ones in the hotel were even better than my own at home, though that might just be because we'd been camping out for a while and I'd forgotten the sensation of it.
By late morning we met up with our coachman who had replenished our supplies and continued on our way.
The rest of the journey was much the same, though without the excitement of meeting with Orcs who wanted to eat us.
Travelling on the road, stopping by at a nearby town or village, visiting their Magic Association if they had one and then leaving once everything was ready. Occasionally we would meet with other travellers heading to our next stop, but aside from those moments it was quite the boring trip.
Every time we stopped at a new place I always got the same feeling as the one I had in Garten, though it wasn't until a month into our two month journey that I understood why.
It was because I only saw humans.
Because I'd been living in Remea my whole life, I always thought that the ties between the other races and Humans had gotten closer, but apparently that wasn't the case at all.
In fact the only other race I saw during our travel were Beastmen, but even that was a rare occurrence.
After the war the Humans, Beastmen and Demons of that time all decided to isolate themselves to recover and lick their wounds. Though there were some places near the borders where people still mingled, it was far more difficult for impoverished families who'd lost homes and other members to travel long distances inland.
By the time they'd recovered enough to do so, the border towns had already become established as hubs for interracial relations.
Of course there were still merchants and the likes who would travel to the capital, but their numbers weren't enough to make a noticeable difference in such large cities.
It was weird at first, but gradually I got used to only seeing humans. After all, it's easy for people to get acclimated to things.
Finally, after a gruelling two months on the road, the capital was in sight.
Even though Serena didn't visibly show it, I could tell from the time we spent together that she was feeling at ease.
There was a large queue in front of the city gates composed of carriages and wagons, and an empty lane next to it. To the left and right stood two turrets upon which sat a guardhouse, while men clad in shining silver armour wielding bows watched over the train of people and patrolled the walls.
I was expecting a long wait, however the coachman took us down the empty lane instead.
As I looked outside the carriage window I saw heads turn, trying and find out our identities.
Once we reached the gate, it was a simple matter of showing Serena's emblem in order to get through, though not before the guards gave a deep bow to our carriage.
Indeed, Serena seems to have a very high status here.
After that, we headed straight for Serena's house in the center of the city, in the nobles district. There she introduced me to her maids and butlers who would take care of me from now on, and I was led to my room.
Though we originally intended to visit the Magic Association today, we were all far too exhausted and so instead we spent our time relaxing.
I hadn't been slacking off on my studies with Serena or my swordsmanship practice at all during our journey, and so it was a welcome and well-needed rest.
That night, all I had to do was shut my eyes before sleep had already taken hold of me.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone