The Trip

V1 Chapter 10: Merchant Town

Andrew wasn't happy with the treatment Jake was receiving. He had a frown on his face the whole time while the meeting with the Knights was going on. Those Knights acted as if nothing was wrong, but Andrew held onto his suspicions. 

Something felt wrong; this whole drama of Baron rushing them to make a decision was shady. It looked like they wanted to send Jake far away as soon as possible. (Are they trying to hide something?)

Andrew, who grew up in this town, had an idea of the dark faction or the Mafia, as the ordinary citizens called it, but he didn't have a picture of the actual depth of darkness. 

He could've suspected those people, but he didn't believe that the Baron would run away from those rag-tag rejects of society. It was too unfathomable to imagine that state authorities would fear the criminals. 

As absurd as it sounds. Still, it created an ink of doubt inside his mind. (What if it's true that there are people who want to capture Jake?) He wanted to make sure that no danger befall his son. 

So Andrew planned a trip to Ishara, giving an opening for those people who wanted Jake to attack him. If anybody dares attack his son, then he will have a perfectly valid reason for keeping Jake in this town for as long as his life remains in danger. 

There's no way Andrew was sending his son to an unknown danger where there are people after his life. He didn't know the actual reason for Baron's hastiness, but he wanted to make sure that his son would be safe from these greedy bandits and slavers. 

He planned this outing as buying supplies for school and just generally visiting a new city. But in his heart, Andrew was really cautious about making this kind of move. If someone did attack, he would have to defend Jake alone without any support. (I have to do it!)

He steeled himself, and soon, the day of travel came. 

– – 

[Jake's POV]

After awakening, my life has been changing daily. First, I got stuck in Noble's paws, unable to escape or defend myself. My family was also distressed about this situation, especially my Mom, who was still crying herself to sleep at the thought of not meeting me for who knows how long. 

My daily schedule also changed as I do double the amount of training now. The feeling of helplessness has ignited a fire and desire to become strong in me. (It still feels like I am not in control of my life)

I have been training in both swords and magic for a while now, and I can notice that my control of magic has become better. I was now able to form accurate shapes from my Ice. 

I had an idea of using weapons made by my Ice. That way, ill have near-infinite amounts of daggers or swords to use. I am practicing making accurate shapes with my Ice, starting with small sculptures and replicas of daggers that I own. 

My accuracy is limited to only 20cm right now. I can only make short daggers or miniature versions of my rapier or swords. 

My basic attack of Ice is, obviously, Icicles. However, I am trying to practice the area of effect magic that can change the environment. I am still far away from reaching that goal. Still, it is a good aim, in my opinion. 

Like this, time passed by, and the day of the outing arrived. 

I was curious and excited about my first travel in this life. In the past, I never really got to travel anywhere because of our financial condition, and even after I got the job and started earning, I never considered traveling anywhere. 

Out of both lives, this was one of the first family outings I will remember.  

I heard from dad that this city would be one of the largest and busiest cities of the whole Kingdom; I was excited to see a dynamic city with a 17th-century setting for the first time. 

One thing I can be sure of is that there will be no narrow skyscrapers and high-rise apartments here. Just western dwellings and immense castle-like stone structures cover the whole city. 

I woke up early today; I was really excited about the trip. Traveling in this world was vastly different from my last one. For commoners, there is only one way of travel, the carriage. But I've heard that Nobles make use of teleportation devices. (I want to get that feeling too) 

To book the carriage, dad and I went to the wagon station, which is like a bus stand. Most of the public running carriages are stationed there, available for booking. 

We booked our ride and set off early in the morning. I could see the farms and open fields from the carriage window; the view outside was calming. The cool, brisk breeze was only intensifying the feeling of calmness. 

I sat beside my dad; this was a public carriage, so other people were also seated with us. The carriage had two benches, both facing each other. 

I asked some questions about the town and culture. (This town looks like a mishmash of many different cultures)

Ishara was like that because of the busy trades and many different people passing from there. People from other regions, wandering peddlers, and buyers from all over the place come to Ishara for their respective businesses. 

The carriage was unexpectedly fast; it was pulled by a horse-like magic beast. (In this world, even animals can use magic, well makes sense)

The magic horse kept running non-stop all the way, and we arrived at our destination in a little short of three hours. 

I took a first look around the city while straightening my back. The setting was still the usual seventeenth-century European style. Apart from the obvious, the only thing unique to this town was its crowd. 

There were a lot of people. All of them do their own thing, shopping, selling, etc. I can pinpoint the different styles of clothing, meaning people from other regions here. 

My short height only added to this overwhelming effect. I was just looking around, walking beside dad. Shopping the listed things here and there.

My new clothes, books, leather armor, writing utensils, and much more. I kept shopping while my dad kept guiding me through stores. (Looks like dad is familiar with this city)

The Center of Ishara was really densely packed, with shops everywhere I could see. Many different things were being sold, with the streets packed with buyers. (I have never seen this many people together)

After a wild shopping spree, my dad and I picked a restaurant to have a meal at. It wasn't even twilight yet, and I was already mentally tired. (Thanks to the training and magic, my body doesn't feel tired at all)

The restaurant was the same as the outside, densely packed with people. Luckily we found a table after an hour of waiting and sat to eat our meal. 

(There are more travelers in this town than actual dwellers, *sigh*)

After practically swallowing all the food, it was time to go back home. Although we could stay in this town for tonight, my dad insisted otherwise.

We arrived back at Ishasra's wagon station and took a ride back home.