C16 Brainstorming A Plan

"Hey Vans, how can you also use magic? Since when have you been able to do that?"

Nick had been asking me incessantly, bombarding me with various questions. Meanwhile, I kept my mouth shut, not giving any response because I didn't think there was a right answer to Nick's inquiries. Every time I provided one answer, he would follow up with more questions. He was the type of person who asked a lot and was stubborn.

"I just learned magic from the guild master a few days ago," I replied casually to Nick.

That was a complete lie, wasn't it? Although I could use magic due to my innate magical talent, I had also learned some magical techniques from the guild master.

"A few days, you say? Are you trying to deceive me again, huh?" Nick complained.

Perhaps Nick was still upset with me for lying to him about the sword I possessed. Besides, I had my own secrets that I couldn't share with everyone. If I honestly revealed them, he wouldn't believe me anyway. It would always be risky for me to be around someone who was constantly curious and didn't respect others' privacy.

Especially with everything related to me now, it would spark various curiosity and questions from others' perspectives. A simple example was my current strength, which showed abnormal growth to anyone who saw it.

Achieving significant rank advancements in just a few days, who wouldn't ask when someone achieved everything so quickly? I would certainly inquire if I encountered someone like that. It was probably similar to asking about the secret to success or how to obtain such power.

"Enough, Nick. You're asking too many questions. Maybe Vans doesn't want to reveal it because it's his secret. Don't you know that adventurers sometimes have things they can't tell others?" Flitz advised Nick.

"Fine... I won't ask anymore," Nick reluctantly replied.

Thanks to Nick for finally understanding my situation, and thanks to Flitz for giving advice to Nick. I would undoubtedly be bothered by answering Nick's numerous questions when I did something new.

There were too many aspects about me that could lead to various questions—my weapons, my strength, my body, and my background. They all held secrets that weren't easy to share with everyone.

"Um... Vans, do you also have mixed blood of an Elf?" Viola, who usually remained silent, suddenly asked me.

Just as I had been contemplating the potential dangers I possessed, Viola now posed a troubling question. Moreover, where did she assume that I had mixed blood?

"I am a pure human. I don't think I have mixed blood with any other race," I answered Viola.

In Edvans' memories, I also vividly recall that both of Edvans' parents were humans. The King and Queen of the Fostia Kingdom were pure humans, showing no signs of having mixed blood from other races.

"Viola, why do you think I have mixed blood from another race?"

"It's probably because of your appearance. It's very rare to see someone with white hair in the Easternia Kingdom. From what I know, usually only those with mixed blood have white hair like yours. The most common hair colors for pure humans are black, brown, and blonde. On the other hand, the hair color of a pure Elf is white or green. So when I see someone, like you, with hair of both those colors, I assume that person might have mixed blood. The countries with the highest number of individuals with mixed Elf blood are the western part of Fostia and the northwest part of Vargas. They are directly adjacent to the Asfarian Kingdom, where the Elf race resides. Vans, are you also from one of those countries?"

"Maybe I'm from the Vargas Kingdom, but I don't feel like I have mixed Elf blood."

I answered Viola with a slight lie. It was dangerous to be too honest with someone who had such sharp intuition, like Viola or the guild master.

"Perhaps you are a distant descendant of an Elf, so you're not aware of it, as racial mixing happened a long time ago," Viola explained to me.

"I see... I'm not really knowledgeable about such things."

I also noticed during my week in the city of Castalla that I hadn't seen anyone with white hair besides myself. This sometimes drew curious looks from people.

Perhaps I should search for more comprehensive historical information about the Fostia Kingdom, the Vargas Kingdom, and maybe even the Asfarian Elf Kingdom. In Edvans' memories, I only had limited information—just a few basic details and his everyday memories.

Prince Edvans was truly banished far away from the Fostia Kingdom. I realized it when I looked at the map of all the countries and matched it with Edvans' memories. Castalla City was located in the southeasternmost part of the Easternia Kingdom, while the Fostia Kingdom was in the north.

To reach the Fostia Kingdom, one would have to traverse almost the entire Easternia Kingdom from southeast to north, only reaching the Fostia border. From the border to the capital of the Fostia Kingdom, the distance was even greater. I had set my goal to go to the capital of the Fostia Kingdom promptly, but just seeing the estimated distance made me reconsider my decision to go there.

"Flitz, do you often move from city to city as an adventurer?" I asked Flitz.

"Yes, of course, as an adventurer, we frequently move from city to city. Why do you ask?" he replied.

"Oh, no, I was just wondering what means of transportation you usually use to move around," I said.

Although it was somewhat strange to ask Flitz that question since I had previously told Viola that I came from the Vargas Kingdom, I should have known about simple things like transportation if I really came from Vargas. After all, Vargas and Easternia were different countries. However, I hoped he wouldn't suspect anything with my question because I needed additional information before embarking on my journey. While I could ask others, adventurers typically had more accurate answers due to their frequent travels.

"Transportation, huh? There's no specific transportation for adventurers like us. Usually, we travel on foot from one city to another while encountering monsters along the way. If we want to be faster, we can take escort missions, such as guarding trade caravans. Alternatively, we can join the delivery services for letters and documents provided by adventurer guilds or merchant guilds. However, if we choose to accompany them, we have to pay a fee. That's the transportation we usually use. I don't know of any other means of transportation," Flitz explained.

"I see. Thank you for the information," I said to Flitz.

"No problem. Why are you asking about this? Are you planning to go to a specific city?" Flitz asked me.

"Yes, there's a place I want to visit," I replied.

Besides traveling on foot, all the transportation methods Flitz described involved using horses as a means of propulsion. On average, horses could only travel at a speed of forty to fifty kilometers. Considering the distance I would have to cover, this would be an incredibly long journey for me. Moreover, I still didn't know the exact distance from Castalla City to the capital of Fostia.

Throughout my time in this world, I haven't seen any means of transportation faster than horses. Every form of transportation relies on horses. Maybe if there were dragons or similar creatures, my journey would be faster. But are there dragons in this world? After all, this is a world filled with monsters.

"Truly troublesome," I murmured softly.

If it weren't for Prince Edvans' destiny, I would probably be more relaxed in Castalla City and not in such a hurry to go to the capital of Fostia.

Reflecting on the reasons why the second prince was banished this far, to the farthest side of the Easternia Kingdom, I really didn't know what his purpose was. Prince Edvans himself was just the second prince, so he shouldn't pose a threat in the power struggle. The first prince was clearly the automatic heir to the throne. So what was the motive behind the assassination of the second prince? I also couldn't find a definite reason for this issue in Prince Edvans' memories. His memories only contained very limited information.

From what I saw in Prince Edvans' memories after he was killed, it seemed that he was also banished using teleportation magic. Maybe because of that teleportation magic, Prince Edvans' corpse ended up in Castalla City. But why was Prince Edvans banished so far, to the southern part of the Easternia Kingdom? Wouldn't it be easier to burn or bury the body if they just wanted to eliminate any traces? There was no need for the clearly more troublesome teleportation magic.

"Whatever, many things are making me more confused," I murmured softly.

Regardless of the world, politics and power affairs are indeed troublesome. I just need to gather more information from various sources while continuing my journey to the Fostia Kingdom.

"Hey, Vans, what are you thinking? You seem lost in thought," Nick asked me.

"Ah, just thinking about small things," I replied to Nick.

"Vans, once we arrive, can I fight you?" Nick asked me.

"Fight with me?"

"Yes, I want to test myself against you."

"I don't mind," I answered, agreeing to Nick's challenge.

There's no harm in having a fight with Nick. It will also add to both of our combat experiences at the moment.