At the city gates, Sailafei had already waited nearly fifteen minutes.
She checked her pocket watch, looked at the still-absent President in the distance, and paced anxiously.
‘What’s wrong with the President… why isn’t she here yet? It’s been fifteen minutes… Did she get diarrhea?! Or did Little Ai come back and cause some huge trouble…’
Just as she was about to explode from anxiety, she saw that brown-haired student running back.
“The President says they may pass.”
Sailafei looked at him. From the expression on his face, she could guess the gist of it.
“Something else happened at the academy, didn’t it?”
The brown-haired student’s expression stiffened, then he leaned in to whisper something in Sailafei’s ear.
After thinking it over, Sailafei stepped aside.
“Fine.”
She turned to Shalin and the other two, gesturing.
“You may enter the city. However, given the unusual circumstances, please avoid the academy’s core area. If you encounter patrols asking questions, please explain the situation truthfully.”
Shalin smiled and nodded.
“Thank you~”
Qiu Meng tugged at her mother’s sleeve and asked quietly:
“What do we do next?”
“First find a place to stay.” Shalin took her hand. “Then get rid of the things we don’t need.”
“Get rid of them…?”
“Like selling them.”
Qiu Meng looked at that big burlap sack.
She suddenly understood why her mother’s first priority after entering the city wasn’t finding an inn, but looking at the stalls and streets around them.
“Is this Mom’s ‘life hack’?”
“No, Little Meng. This is Mom’s ‘quick money-making guide for after looting mountain bandits’~”
Father just coughed lightly.
‘This mother-daughter pair… right in front of everyone…’
The three of them followed the crowd into Vilindros. They continued along the road, watching the canal flow slowly beside the street, stone bridges spanning the water one after another.
They watched small boats carrying cargo pass beneath the bridge arches, boatmen using long poles to lightly push, the hulls nimbly avoiding the stone steps on the shore.
Shalin watched very intently.
But not with the attention of someone admiring the scenery—she was looking for pawnshops, black markets, escape routes, and hiding spots.
Sailafei followed from a distance, and the more she watched, the more these people didn’t seem like refugees.
Dante was serious, Shalin was composed, and though Qiu Meng was somewhat startled, she couldn’t help looking around everywhere.
They looked more like people here for goods trading.
If it weren’t for the images the President had shown her of the border town disaster, Sailafei might even suspect that the catastrophe was just a cover for the Four Alliance Merchants’ Union to come sell their goods—some kind of “Border Town’s Trendy Little Trash Clearance Sale.”
“Dante.” Shalin suddenly spoke. “Help me find a pawnshop?”
“Yes, yes… Your Majesty, I’ll find one right away.”
While answering, Dante also observed the streets. Before long, he noticed a magic post office not far away, with a blue crystal lamp hanging at the entrance. Several magic messenger birds perched under the eaves, small rolls tied to their leg rings.
“Wait here for me.” Dante said. “I’ll go see if there’s any mail.”
About ten minutes later, he came out carrying a simple communication device.
It looked like a small metal pocket watch, with cheap magic stones embedded inside, capable only of short-distance or fixed-node communication. Dante tried it several times, but his frown deepened with each attempt.
“Can’t get through.”
Shalin looked at him.
“Who?”
“The guard unit.” Dante said in a low voice. “No reply at all, and no trial announcements from the Holy Council.”
Qiu Meng was startled.
“Father… what does this mean… Did something happen to Telaika and the others…?”
“Either they’ve all lost contact, or someone is deliberately covering their tracks. The former is unlikely… Even on the verge of death, they’d send some message to me.” Dante gripped the communicator, his voice dropping. “I want to ask at the Adventurer’s Guild. They might have commission records, or news of anyone who fled from the border direction.”
Shalin thought for a moment, then turned to look at Sailafei, who was still following and observing them from a distance.
She walked over and asked with a smile:
“Excuse me… do you know where the Adventurer’s Guild is?”
Sailafei was startled by her sudden approach.
“The Adventurer’s Guild? I think it’s in the northern part of town. But I don’t go there often, so I can’t guarantee the directions.”
“Oh, thank you~”
Shalin was about to go back when Sailafei suddenly spoke.
“Wait a moment.”
She looked at Qiu Meng, then at the injuries on Dante, and finally sighed.
“How about this: I’ll take you to someone. He provides inn and transit services for adventurers. If you want to find the Adventurer’s Guild, he’ll be faster to ask than anyone else.”
Shalin paused briefly.
“Much obliged.”
“Follow me.”
***
The Dream Travel Inn was located on a branch road near the canal.
Unlike the inns on the main street with their flashy signs, this building had dark stone brick exterior walls, several pots of blue-leaf grass on the windowsills, and a wooden plaque at the entrance carved with just four characters—Dream Travel Inn.
The calligraphy had an artistic quality, as if carved with magic. Dante could tell that someone who could carve such characters using magic was likely a combat master, or an old mercenary.
Sailafei stepped forward and knocked.
Soon, the door opened.
A tall man emerged, at least over 180 centimeters. He wore a monocle, light armor over a half-worn military uniform, black hair casually tied back, a bit of stubble on his chin, and an old scar near his right eye.
In his hand, he held a cup he had been halfway through wiping.
“Welcome to the Dream Travel Inn.”
The man gently adjusted his monocle, his tone steady.
“How can I help you all?”
Sailafei said:
“Walter, they’re travelers passing through. Please look after them well.”
As she spoke, she gave Walter a concerned glance.
Walter glanced at it. He didn’t press further, simply nodding lightly.
“I understand, Miss Sailafei.”
Then he looked at Shalin and the other two.
“Staying, or looking for someone?”
Dante stepped forward.
“A room for three.”
Walter studied them briefly before turning.
“Three silver coins.”
Qiu Meng did a quick mental calculation.
Sixty copper coins equaled one silver coin, sixty silver coins equaled one gold coin.
Three silver coins… not cheap.
The Shalin beside her clearly thought the same.
“No way.” She narrowed her eyes. “In Border Town, a room costs about thirty-five copper coins per person. Three people together shouldn’t be this expensive. Isn’t this a bit excessive?”
Walter’s expression didn’t change.
“Miss, this isn’t Border Town.”
His motions of wiping the cup remained unhurried.
“I’ve been to Border Town before. Over there, you might get killed by an assassin just from sleeping. Here at the Dream Travel Inn, I guarantee nothing will happen to you.”
Walter continued:
“The fee includes three meals. If you’re attacked by assassins during your stay here, resulting in lost property or personal injury, and responsibility is confirmed to lie with the inn, the Dream Travel Inn will compensate three times the cost.”
Qiu Meng was astonished.
Even her previous life hadn’t seen hotels dare to make such claims.
But Shalin didn’t agree immediately. She looked into Walter’s eyes, then at his hands wiping the cup.
Those hands were somewhat rough, with calluses at the knuckles, old scars on the fleshy part of the thumb. His stance appeared relaxed, but could evade a frontal attack at any moment. He wasn’t an ordinary innkeeper.
“Alright then. Please open a room.”
She pushed three silver coins forward.
Walter glanced at the amount, exactly right, then took a brass key from behind the counter.
“Third floor, room 304. Triple room.”
Shalin took the key and nodded.
Sailafei checked the time.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. There are still matters at the academy.”
Dante showed a grateful expression. A complete stranger had helped guide them and even brought them to such a safe inn.
“Thank you, Miss… May I have your name?”
Sailafei waved her hand and turned to leave the inn.
“Sailafei. Just call me Lafi… And if you need anything, feel free to come find me at the Magic Academy. Besides, I still have some annoying things to take care of.”
After she stepped out, she let out a helpless sigh. After finishing her patrol inspection, she still had to write a mountain of reports and brief the President. So exhausting… and she still had early morning magic class tomorrow.
***
Some time later, in the Student Council Room.
Sailafei finished her recounting.
“That’s how it is, President. I’ve arranged for them at the Dream Travel Inn. Walter should keep an eye on their movements.”
Wei’erna stood by the window, frowning slightly.
The explosion at the academy’s eastern section had only just undergone preliminary handling. The injured had been sent for treatment, and the scene remained sealed. Now, the city had three more complex individuals fleeing from the border.
One connected to the Four Alliance Merchants’ Union.
One Dark Decade veteran.
And one child.
Under normal circumstances, this would already be enough to give the Student Council a headache. But right now, what Wei’erna truly couldn’t ignore was the red-haired girl still sleeping soundly on the other side of the room.
Luna Kape.
The Border Count’s daughter. Instructor Sailianna had mentioned her before—she was a daughter she valued greatly.
She leaned against the sofa, her fiery red hair scattered over her shoulders, traces of tears still on her face. Even in sleep, her brow was tightly furrowed, still trapped in that fragment of her father’s departure.
Wei’erna looked at her and let out a silent sigh.
“We’ll ask for the specifics when she wakes up.”
Sailafei nodded.
“At least we need to know what she actually experienced.”
“And those three who just entered the city.” Wei’erna added. “I’ll reiterate, Lafi: don’t provoke them, but be more vigilant. Especially that woman from the Four Alliance Merchants’ Union.”
Sailafei recalled Shalin carrying that burlap sack, smiling as she claimed to be a refugee, her expression turning subtle.
“I understand.”
Wei’erna looked back out the window.
Meanwhile, on the other side, inside the Ice Shadow Group’s tent.
The old man smiled as he manipulated the border guards with his tendrils.
“Life Essence… how useful…”
The old man rose from his chair and extended his hand.
“All of you, search for traces of the Count’s daughter. We must capture her. That bitch from the Inquisition said the Divine Oracle states her heart is the only tool capable of fully mastering the Life Essence!”
Below, the Archmages and brainwashed border guards nodded and left the tent.
For now, Vilindros remained peaceful.
The canal flowed as usual, the bell tower chimed the hours as always, vendors on the streets still hawked their wares, and academy students still worried about coursework, exams, and romance.
But… the flames at the border had not been extinguished.
They had quietly followed the path of those refugees, the Inquisition’s list, and that sleeping Count’s daughter, tracking them to this water city. And they were about to make their move.
Yet the Duke of Vilindros remained unaware.