"This is the first time nobody has woken me up to guard."
"No worries big guy, I don't need to sleep most times anyway... and it looked like you were having a good dream, with some 'dear'~ I wonder who that is."
"T-That can't be..."
"I didn't know you had a family, Andre."
"There are many things nobody knows, you should be aware yourself that not everything should be revealed to one's partners in this working circle."
"Her name is Sophia and we have a daughter, I haven't seen them in months now... she is thirty-five." He said solemnly and although he didn't get it straight away, she did.
"Has she started to present the symptoms?" Zamira inquired.
"Not by the time I was there, that's why I am in a hurry to go back, being captured in that damned cave was unexpected."
"You're talking about the curse." he got involved in the conversation with more than a single clue.
"Yes, most don't last more than forty years, I only want to be there when we part ways." Andre's words contained sadness as well as acceptance.
"..."
"..."
Zamira and Constantine simply sent each other a deep glance, just now she received a blessing from her new goddess, it increased her lifespan for ten years, to Constantine that was nothing, but to her, a treasure.
...
"That is the town's entrance, whatever you're concealing beneath those rags, is it important?" Andre asked as they concealed behind some bushes, there was a mural in front of them with several guards at the entrance.
He was referring to the rags covering his ears.
"Zamira, what will the implications be if they know I am an elf?" He whispered in Zamira's ears, if such a status would give him a good footing, he might as well just disclose it, but merely by instinct, the conqueror could tell such wasn't fated to be a good idea.
"They're going to ask for your delegated badge where it is stated that you're allowed to come here from the Elf Kingdom, if you don't have it, you will be immediately attacked and apprehended, causing a commotion here will only draw more guards, I don't advice revealing it, they won't pay much attention to it anyway." She answered also in a whisper while Andre awaited.
"What about them knowing I am a magus?"
"If you're not yet in an academy or belong to any family, your existence will be reported and you will be taken into custody and led to either the capital to study and become a magus or as a vassal for the noble families of the kingdom, regardless, it won't be a cute sight, Constantine." Zamira sighed, it wasn't easy regardless.
'It is troublesome, it might be useful to just report myself and be sent to the capital in the academy, but what will my degree of freedom be in that case?' He considered his options, and in no time came to a conclusion.
Freedom meant everything.
"Then I can't allow them to see, Andre." The conqueror relayed his decision and Andre nodded before exhaling deeply.
"They're going to try to inspect us, but I am a friend of one of the guards, with some words I can have them not search you, the problem is that they have never seen your face and someone coming to the outskirts of the Magnus Kingdom is odd, don't worry, I'll sort it out!"
Clearly, Andre knew his way around and that was something Constantine was paying extra attention to.
"They're going to ask about your mercenary badge, this is what you're going to say." As they headed to the entrance, Zamira started to whisper in his ears.
His backup story.
...
"Andre, you're back." One of the guards said while the other three stood on guard, not recognising this fellow.
"Felix, it's nice to see you, I am coming with Zamira and some mercenary we encountered along the way, he lost his badge in a cave." Andre showed up with a badge and so did Zamira while Constantine simply shrugged his shoulders.
The guards regarded him for a while before their sights turned into mocking grins, then they moved towards Zamira whose face was devoided of scars even as she tried to cover it with a cloak, yet her bloodied broken sword told tales on its own.
"What about the others?" The man asked, he had been present when Andre's entire entourage departed the city several months prior.
"They didn't make it, we're extremely tired, allow us in."
"Hmn..." The guard inspected them and didn't pay too much attention and simply focused on Constantine who was sending a neutral gaze his way.
"What's your name boy? aren't you too young and fragile to be an adventurer? where did you lose your badge" After a brief inspection, the guard's gaze settled on the big rock that was being held inside rags?
The covered Blood of Sandork.
"I lost it in a cave in Lindom Forest, as for my origin, I come from the City of Mailegars to the Northeast, I came for some minerals."
"And what is that?"
pαпᵈα-noνɐ1·сoМ "It is some pirita that we found, nothing important." Before Constantine could answer, Zamira interjected and scratched her cloak, Pirita was one of the cheapest minerals in Sandoria, even rock this big shouldn't be any value for them.
"I see, to think they'd send a pretty boy to get minerals, the Dukedom of Mailegars is truly declining~ very well, you can go in and don't cause trouble, make sure to get a replacement badge, boy." The guard Felix warned them before standing aside, allowing them in.
"Sure." Constantine rolled his eyes, never had his pretty face been disrespected such.
'No wonder Zamira scarred her face, with imbeciles like these all around...' he thought with irritation, let alone those guards were all bulky and looked like they had gone through thousands of battles, this world is truly something else.
The trio entered the 'town' and that was when Constantine marvelled at the architecture displayed.
'What is this...?'
The buildings presented a gothic design, bricks covered the entire ground without a wisp of soil to be seen.
Zamira and Andre noticed Constantine's reaction and they were slightly curious about what kind of scenery he had lived in so far, a forest?
For the current Constantine, used to soil grounds, wooden buildings and straightforward architecture, with his castle being the greatest of creations, the current setting was nothing short of the 'future'.
"What is that Zamira?" He pointed towards something with four wheels that was moving, there weren't many like those, but they're certainly were.
It was a horseless carriage.
"That's a vehicle, it is impulses with magic arrays of combustion, only rich people have them, there are several such families that spent their time in the town of loup, although it is not one of the best towns in the Magnus Kingdom, it is also not the worst... most come here to spend their last years as they find the capital oftentimes too 'corrupted'.
"Vehicle..." He saw how a man sat in the driver's seat while twisting some sort of wheel, the machine was rather silent
'Fuck the horses, I want one of those!' A carriage that could move on its own! who needs some gossipy talking gigantic horse anyway!
The carriage can't talk, that's the magic.
[HEY! RESPECT YOUR SECRETARY!]
'Hmph! Horses shit too much everywhere too, I am sure those machines won't leave shit around as you will!'
[STOP DISRESPECTING ME, MORTAL! I WILL KILL YOU!]
'Kill me then, come on~'
[...] Zebellia's bravado died off as his audacity increased, and it would eventually explode through the skies.
It was then that he felt a disruption in time and something slapped his butt, hard!
*SLAAP!!*
'You bitch!'
!!!
"Is everything okay?!" Zamira saw him jump like a cat who got a bucket of cold water thrown at it and she got worried.
"I am okay..." He answered her while rubbing his butt.
'I will remember this, Zebellia, just remember that, each and every single slap, I will give it back.' He growled
[Go ahead, come here and slap me now with that small hand of yours~]
'...'
His bravado decreased yet again as her confidence settled down, there was once again balance in the universe.
And just like the universe, a lot of time would be needed before these two left each other's throats.
...
*BROOMM!*
Something resonated and he saw how a woman wearing a rather delicate dress was moving in one of those 'vehicles' but this one had two wheels instead of four, the air made her dress flutter and he gulped, seeing that beneath her dress, she was as plain as the day, not even a single curve.
'How disappointing...'
"And that is?" He pointed at it and moved his gaze around, there were people, scarce but present.
"That's a bike..." Zamira's eyebrows twitched, she felt like she was teaching a kid the most basic o the basics.
Females were dressed in foreign attires that he hadn't seen before, one-piece dressed, plates, skirts, boots. The same could be said of men.
Most of them however showed a remarkable physique that showed signs of training.
His interest in this world increased several notches.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm, saviour, but I'd like to see my family now, if that's okay..." Andre felt anxious and Constantine realised that he had been constraining the man inadvertently.
"Oh, then we will follow you for now." Constantine suggested, Zamira didn't have a problem.
Andre simply nodded, trusting that they wouldn't cause trouble and ran in a single direction.
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