A large brown feather descended from above and landed right in front of Aleister. Flying through the clear sky were massive eagles, much larger than their cousins.

  “Those,” Gilmore pointed his finger out, “belong to the Osetia Eagle Cavalry.”

  “How do you know that they aren’t just random ones flying about?” Aleister asked.

  “If you look close enough, you will be able to tell that they’re flying in an inverted wedge formation, and besides,” Gilmore said, “How many Vast Eagles did you just see flying about on your way here?”

  “Not many,” Aleister admitted. Along his two-week journey, he hadn’t seen much of anything, really. The primary reason being that he didn’t want to waste his time and heavily focused on studying Gynmish. With the help of Syn, he could now translate most of the first couple of pages of his alchemy book and was able to identify a few herbs during his travels, even if none of them were particularly rare.

  The one major subject of interest he did notice, though, appeared to stem from Osetia. From a much further away distance, he noticed a purple crystalline structure erected in the middle of the city. From what he was told, it was the one of the seven major concentrated sources of anima in the world. This caused Aleister to remember a similar spectacle in Leley, the capital city of the Vallonian Empire. Entering the pearlescent southern gates to Osetia, the salty ocean breeze filled up his lungs in an instant.

  “Be mindful of your surroundings,” Master said, as she clutched onto his arm and dragged him back to their group before he could get lost.

  “Wow!” Mitre exclaimed from behind him. “So many people!”

  “I concur, there is a lot more people here than I expected,” Aleister said.

  “That would be because today is the annual parade in celebration of the Day of Construction,” Ryellia said.

  “Parade? I want to see it! Where can I see it?” Mitre asked in an even more excited voice.

  Ryellia chuckled. “It’s going to start here in the Venerable Ward and then end in the Castle Ward. So you have all day.”

  “Aw, but I want to see it now!” Mitre said. Ryellia looked at him with an annoyed smile as Mitre put on his most innocent face.

  “Fine,” Ryellia said, after a couple of seconds, unable to bring herself to say no.

  Mitre grew a wide smile and hugged her as he said, “Thank you, mommy!”

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  “Do you want to stay too,” Master asked, looking at Aleister.

  “No, I think I will pass for now,”’ he said. “It goes on for the entire day, right? So I’ll just see if I can catch it near the end. Besides, there are way too many people here.”

  Master nodded while Gilmore spoke to Ryellia, “Then you two can stay here and just come back when you’re done.”

  “Alright,” Ryellia said.

  “Do you even remember where our manor is?” Master asked.

  Ryellia rolled her eyes. “How exactly would I have forgotten?”

  “Just wanted to make sure,” Master said before starting to walk again.

  Aleister waved Ryellia and Mitre goodbye and followed Gilmore and Master, staying just a step behind in order to not get lost.

  An hour or two, he wasn’t exactly sure, passed by, but they had finally stopped at the front gate of an expansive estate. White metal fencing surrounded the perimeter, with multiple guards patrolling the area. His experience of the Shield Ward was a stark contrast to the gigantic mass of people from earlier. Now, if he saw people, it would only be one individual, or a small group, walking about. All of whom would be important figures and nobility. After all, the Shield Ward was the most expensive ward to live in thanks to its extravagant structures and maintenance. Not only did the labor for the construction needed payment, but so did all the Officers of the Osetia City Watch, the gardeners, street cleaners, and everyone in between.

  “So this is where the two of you used to live?” Aleister asked Gilmore.

  “Correct,” Gilmore said, eyes quivering, staring at the manor. “It sure has been a while, hasn’t it?”

  “It’s only been a while because of you two insisting on wanting to recover the slower way,” Master said. “So don’t get all sentimental on me now.”

  Gilmore chuckled. “Don’t worry, I won’t burst into tears until I see Castle Kaynmur again.”

  “Then I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear that it hasn’t changed at all since then,” Master yawned.

  Aleister stopped paying attention to the conversation going on between the two of them as they walked past the gate and into the front garden. He went to grab a peculiar flower, but Master’s foot blocked him. “What, its just a flower.”

  “Who do you think you’re fooling?” Master said as pushed her foot down even harder. “I’ve already wasted so many resources on you, so from now on, if you need anything, you need to pay me for it. And, you aren’t allowed to give him any money.”

  With a shrug of his shoulders and a sigh, Gilmore said, “How about I give him just a little of starting gold.”

  “Absolutely not,” Master said. “Instead of being fed with a silver spoon—”

  “How have I been—” Aleister tried to speak up in order to defend himself, but stopped and let out a groan of pain instead.

  Master dug her heel into his hand even further before saying, "Fine. Maybe you haven’t by others, but I didn’t just feed you with a silver spoon. I used a platinum one. Don’t worry, this will be a good teaching moment. You’ll be able to understand the true value of not just money, but time."

  “When I said a little,” Gilmore said, still trying to help, “I only meant like twenty-pieces of gold. Besides, you’re ruining the mood.”

  Master took her foot off Aleister’s heel and propped him up. She took out a coin pouch and tossed it into his hands. “Fine. You can have whatever is in there and you get to keep my pouch, but don’t think about touching, or even looking at anything in my garden unless you talk to me about it first.”

  Aleister didn’t get a chance to say anything as he chased them into the manor, unable to understand how quickly she changed her mind.