Chapter 209: Syron (Part 1)

It was an exceptionally bright morning.

The passenger ship carrying Louis’s group entered Dortmund Harbor.

The cloudless blue sky seemed to welcome their arrival on the Autumn Continent.

Thud.

The gangway connecting ship to shore was lowered, and those who had endured the long voyage quickly disembarked.

Among them were Louis and his companions.

The moment their feet touched land, the twins took deep breaths of the autumn air.

“Sniff! This scent…”

“It’s autumn.”

Beside the twins taking deep breaths, Louis looked up at the sky.

The azure sky, abundant sunlight, warm air, and the cool wind mingling within it.

Though they had merely crossed one sea, the strikingly different environment felt like a fresh shock to those encountering Fall’s air for the first time.

”…Aren’t you cold?”

Lavina, who had spent her entire life on the Winter Continent, found the blue sky and cool air deeply unfamiliar.

Nabi was no different, constantly snuffling with her nose.

“This place is Fall…”

“Fall is warmer than Winter.”

The Flame siblings, who had recently been on the Winter Continent, also breathed deeply in amazement. At the same time, they realized how difficult it was for people to live on the Winter Continent.

While Louis and his companions were immersed in the essence of Fall…

“I found you here!”

Shiba, carrying a large backpack, came running quickly.

He flashed a unique Cyclops-like smile.

“I’m glad! I was worried you might have already left.”

“Why?”

“Well, since we’ve spent some time together, shouldn’t we at least exchange farewells?”

“Farewells? But isn’t that bag heavy?”

“Huh?”

“You’re planning to walk to Syron with that?”

“Oh, there’s a regular carriage service between Dortmund and Syron.”

“Carriage?”

“It seems so many people travel to Syron that a carriage service connecting the two places has become established.”

“Oh? Really? How long does it take by carriage?”

“About ten days.”

Shiba’s answer gave Louis pause.

We’re going to Syron anyway…

Since Shiba’s destination matched Louis’s, they might have traveled together. However, Louis dismissed that thought.

No need to extend ties with this guy.

If their connection was real, they’d meet again someday. Louis refused to force artificial bonds. He already had his hands full caring for those around him.

While Louis pondered, Shiba glanced backward at Kendrick, Tania, and Lavina. Their faces brimmed with disappointment.

Noticing this, Louis snorted.

Well, we’ve been stuck together on that ship for weeks. I guess they’d miss me.

Especially Tania among them, who seemed most disappointed.

“Shiba…”

Shiba and Tania, both 22 this year, had grown so close in the past few weeks that they dropped formalities and addressed each other by first names.

Tania took Shiba’s hand.

“You’ll ace the test! I’ll be cheering you on!”

“Uh-huh… Th-thank you! I’ll definitely pass!”

Though they were new friends, this was the first time Shiba had received encouragement from such a beauty. His face turned crimson.

Lavina smirked at the sight.

“Tania, you’ll get into trouble if you keep flinging yourself at just anyone.”

“F-flinging myself?!”

Startled, Tania abruptly released Shiba’s hand and dashed toward Louis.

“Te-teacher! Don’t misunderstand! This was just a simple gesture of support!”

“Oh? These days, do men and women simply hold hands to offer simple encouragement? Sharing each other’s body heat?”

When Kendrick joined in teasing her, Tania’s complexion turned pale. She desperately denied it.

“N-no! Teacher, don’t worry. I… I only have you! That’s just a friend. A friend!”

Seeing Tania waving her hands frantically as if to prove her innocence, Louis sighed.

”…Enough, you lot. That damn Shiba’s about to cry.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Shiba, whose shoulders had slumped in disappointment.

“That’s… that’s a friend…”

The twins snickered at Shiba’s crestfallen expression. Only after receiving Khan’s consolation that life was just like that did Shiba regain his composure. With a renewed smile, he offered another greeting.

“Thanks to you, the long journey wasn’t boring. I’ll pray from afar that your future travels are filled with joy.”

Having blessed Louis’s group, he turned without hesitation.

Watching Shiba’s departing figure, Lavina gave a light wave.

“He would’ve been a great guy if he wasn’t so talkative.”

“A really nice kid.”

“Shiba, you were a good lad.”

Tania and Kendrick chimed in, remembering the departed Shiba.

But the farewell moment was brief.

“Teacher, what do we do now?”

“Where to next?”

“Louis, what’s the plan?”

The three rushed to Louis’s side. Now known as the Vomit Trio, they were so cheerful it seemed they’d forgotten they’d just bid farewell to Shiba.

Louis snorted at their reactions.

Next plan…

It would take ten days by carriage from Dortmund to Syron. But with the Dragon Fly 3, they could reach their destination in two days at most.

There was no need to rush their schedule. The Tower of Wishes wouldn’t run away on its own, after all.

Given the circumstances, Louis’s next move for his travel party was…

“Our next plan is to rest properly first, then enjoy sightseeing and leisure.”

Despite their comfortable journey on the passenger ship, sleeping on land felt fundamentally different from sleeping on water. They hadn’t even been able to wash properly due to limited water supplies.

This made Louis’s schedule plans particularly welcome.

“Oye!”

“I need to wash up right away.”

“I want meat! Not fish, but real meat!”

Thus, Louis led his travel party through the streets of Dortmund.

After enjoying their time in Dortmund, the group departed for Syron five days after Shiba’s departure.

A day had passed since they left Dortmund.

Louis and the children were climbing up a mountain slope.

The path was barely wide enough for a carriage to pass through.

The massive Dragon Fly 3 couldn’t ascend this way, so they had to cross the mountain on foot.

But since this often happened, no one in the travel party complained.

Rather, they were quite satisfied.

“This is what travel should be like!”

Kendrick nodded as he looked around the forest.

Frankly, when following Louis, it was very rare to walk normally.

They’d appear here, then there.

Sometimes they’d use space movement, and other times they’d be dragged into flying through the sky.

What about the Dragon Fly 3, which was several times faster than a carriage?

This couldn’t possibly be called a normal journey.

At some point, we had grown accustomed to such things, so now this ordinary travel felt refreshing.

Kendrick, Tania, and Lavina all shared this feeling.

The twins and Fin seemed to have no particular thoughts about it.

Thus, the travel party followed Louis, leisurely walking up the mountain path as if taking a stroll.

Their footsteps suddenly came to a halt.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Tania, who had sensed something appearing in the distance, hundreds of meters away, asked Louis:

“Teacher, that… is that what I think it is?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

What Tania had spotted were none other than people.

There appeared to be over twenty of them.

Each one wore a menacing face and carried a sergeant’s badge, their bodies hidden throughout the forest.

At this, Tania and Kendrick shouted in excited voices:

“Goodness, bandits!”

“Bandits! Those are bandits!”

Their cries startled Lavina, who began to fluster.

But no matter where she looked, she couldn’t see any bandits.

“Bandits? Where?!”

“Over there! They’re over there!”

“Can’t you feel their presence?”

”…Can you two actually see them?”

Lavina shook her head repeatedly at the story of the two monstrous siblings sensing something she couldn’t see.

Her gaze then turned to Louis.

If these two have noticed, then they must have known about it long ago.

The twins were of a higher realm than the Flame siblings. And with Louis here too. It was impossible for them not to have detected the bandit’s presence.

Yet they came here anyway… They must have some scheme.

As Lavina observed Louis with these thoughts, her suspicions proved correct.

“Kendrick, Tania,” Louis called with a mischievous grin.

“Yes!”

“Yes, teacher!”

The Flame siblings answered with sparkling eyes.

Lavina quietly watched these eccentric master-disciple pair, wondering what mischief they were up to now.

“It’s a field study. You’ll earn your pocket money yourselves.”

“We’ll be off!”

“Don’t forget to scrape the floor clean.”

“Of course! Leave it to us.”

The moment the answer ended, Kendrick and Tania shot forward like lightning.

Lavina’s jaw dropped at the sight.

So… they’re going to raid bandits now?

No wonder Kendrick and Tania looked so thrilled at the prospect of bandits. Truly, like master, like disciple.

As Lavina stared in disbelief, Louis answered in a grumpy tone:

“What? You want to come too?”

”…No.”

Lavina shook her head vigorously.

Meanwhile, Fin retrieved a chair and table from her pocket dimension and set them down.

Louis and the Twins naturally settled into the chairs.

“Would you like something to drink, Louis?”

“Yes, something warm.”

“Me too, Fin.”

“Here too!”

Gulp!

The twins casually extended their cups, while Nabi, cradled in Kani’s arms, raised her hand.

Seeing them enjoying Tea Time with bandits right under their noses, Lavina wore an expression that clearly showed she didn’t know if this was the right thing to do.

Just then…

Crunch!

“Aaargh!”

Rumble!

“Gah!”

“Th-that monster… Aaah!”

In the distance came the sound of something breaking, followed by screams.

Watching these utterly peaceful people, Lavina cried out with a look of utter confusion:

“Please give me some too, Fairy!”

A mere few hundred meters away, two completely different scenes were unfolding.

About twenty minutes later…

“It’s almost time to go.”

No sooner had the words been spoken than Tania’s voice carried over from a distance.

“Teacher!”

She came running with a joyful face, waving her arms wildly. Behind her, she carried a massive bundle that defied description.

Could this even be called luggage?

Thud.

Lavina’s jaw dropped at the sight of the enormous bundle, four times larger than Tania herself.

“What’s all that…?”

“What do you mean? It’s all valuable stuff. I scraped it all together!”

Tania’s answer came as her gaze shifted to Louis. Seeing the praise she craved in her eyes, Louis patted her head.

“Yes, well done. Leave this with Fin for now. We’ll sell it in the city later.”

“Yes!”

“But where’s Kendrick?”

“Oh, my brother…”

Before Tania could explain further, Kendrick appeared.

“I’m back!”

But he wasn’t alone.

If Tania had come carrying a large pack, he had brought back a person.

The feet of the one who had been carried like luggage touched the ground.

He gave Louis an awkward smile.

“Uh… um… we meet again.”

Louis stared at him in disbelief at the greeting.

“What’s wrong with you? Why are you here?”

“Ha ha, that’s…”

He scratched the back of his head in response to Louis’s question.

“I was caught by bandits…”

”…”

“Ha ha…”

The one who had been captured by bandits and rescued by the Flame siblings was none other than Shiba.

Seeing him repeatedly scratch the back of his head in embarrassment, Louis was certain.

This bastard, he’s got Carrie’s blood in him.

The way he pretended to be clever while being utterly foolish was exactly like Carrie’s pattern.

Louis sighed and asked, “So what happened?”

“Well…”

Shiba began to tell his story.

About 15 minutes later.

Tania and Kendrick, who had just cleared out a bandit’s den, were busy unpacking their loot and sorting through items that could be sold for money.

Meanwhile, Louis clicked his tongue after hearing Shiba’s situation.

”…So you got scammed?”

“Exactly… that’s what happened.”

Louis shook his head while watching Shiba laugh.

This bastard… he’s just as unlucky as always.

Having grown up doing hard work from a young age, Shiba knew the value of money well. That’s why he took a slightly cheaper carriage to save even a penny.

Little did I know those bandits were part of the same gang.

They were the type who preyed on travelers from out of town.

Louis glared at Shiba, who looked like a beggar.

Unaware of Louis’s gaze, Shiba laughed cheerfully.

“Wow, when they caught me there, I thought my life was over… But that’s how things work out in this world. I never imagined I’d see you all here! Truly, you saved my life!”

”…If I were a bandit, I’d have gagged your mouth first.”

“Haha, I was already gagged for the bandits’ racket. You saved me, boss Kendrick. It was so frustrating…”

Louis’s gaze turned toward Kendrick.

Kendrick flinched under Louis’s piercing stare that seemed to ask, “Why did you let him go?”

“S-Should I gag him again?”

“We shouldn’t have brought him in the first place.”

“Ah, I meant to, but he promised to pay…”

“How much?”

“One gold!”

“What? How much does he actually have?”

“You don’t know? Shiba has no money.”

“What about the money from selling the necklace and portrait? Shouldn’t there be leftovers after paying the debt?”

Under the questioning gaze about the funds, Shiba cheerfully answered:

“Haha, after paying the debt, there was exactly enough for the enrollment fee!”

”…”

So… he’d thrown all 5,000 gold at paying off his debt?

Huh…

It seemed Bunt’s collapse had been utterly catastrophic.

Louis waved his hand dismissively at Kendrick. “Where did you pick that up? Take it back.”

This led to a prolonged standoff between Kendrick, who genuinely tried to discard the item, and Shiba clinging desperately to his leg.

Eventually, Shiba was permitted to stay under the condition of maintaining absolute silence.

“Woof…”

Seeing Shiba’s face contort in frustration at being unable to speak, Louis snorted derisively.

I told him we’d meet again if our fates intertwined, and here we are reunited within days.

It appeared the connection between himself and Bunt hadn’t been completely severed after all.

Shaking his head at this cruel twist of fate, Louis rose from his seat.

I’m helping because of Lucia, not because some Carrie bastard.

Having made up his mind, Louis shouted at his group:

“Let’s move out!”

“Yes!”

As he watched them pack their gear, Louis turned to Shiba.

“Follow us. We’ll take you to Syron.”

“R-really? Thank you!”

Though the Flame siblings had helped retrieve their stolen luggage, Shiba had been at a loss about how to reach Syron alone. In that moment, he couldn’t refuse Louis’s offer.

Shiba bowed his head deeply and fell into step behind the group.

With the new member in tow, Louis’s party quickly descended the mountain slope. Soon they reached level ground.

“Wh-what’s that?”

Shiba’s jaw dropped at the sight of the magnificent Dragon Fly 3.

“What’re you waiting for? Get on!”

“Ah, yes!”

Shiba boarded the Dragon Fly 3 with a bewildered expression.

“Hold on tight.”

“Huh?”

Vroooom!

“Ugh! Aaahhh!”

The Dragon Fly 3 roared to life as Shiba’s scream echoed through the air.

Hours later…

Click.

The moment the Dragon Fly 3’s door opened, Shiba staggered out. His face had grown gaunt in mere hours, yet his eyes burned with an intense light. Within those clear eyes, the majestic cityscape of a colossal metropolis was etched.

“This is… Syron.”

The homeland of all Transcendents.

And…

“The location of the Tower of Wishes.”

A Holy Land where dreams were pursued relentlessly.

As Shiba gazed upon Syron, his face flushed with fervor.

Meanwhile, Louis emerged from the Dragon Fly 3 after completing his preparations.

”…”

His face, as he gazed silently at Syron, was etched with profound emotion.