Time rewound to about five minutes ago.
On a wide avenue in Karudia, a carriage escorted by a group of knights slowly made its way through, heading toward the city gate.
Seeing the carriage and the group of knights, the pedestrians around initially turned their attention to them, curious about the commotion they caused. But the moment they saw the crest on the carriage, they reacted as if they had encountered something terrifying and quickly stepped aside, making way for the carriage and the knights to pass.
Inside the carriage, four people were seated.
Among them, one was a young nobleman dressed in luxurious attire, seemingly in his twenties, and fairly handsome, enough to be called a good-looking man, but his complexion was sadly pale, giving off a weak and frail impression.
"Thank you so much for allowing me to travel with you, Grandmaster Nibald."
With a bright smile on his face, the young nobleman spoke to the person sitting across from him.
He was an elderly man in his sixties with graying hair, wearing a magician's robe and holding a staff embedded with a jewel. Rings and bracelets adorned both his hands, while a belt hung at his waist, decorated with various crystals and potions, making a faint herbal scent linger around him.
"No need to be so polite. If anything, I should be the one grateful."
Nibald, the elderly man, shook his head slowly, his tone respectful but his attitude indifferent.
"Since this is my first time visiting the Guardian Sword Saint's territory, I wouldn't even know how to get to the residence of the Mavros family without a guide. It's quite the trouble for Count Hadyth, sending even his eldest son just to guide me."
"Please just call me Felix, Grandmaster." Felix, the young nobleman, replied cheerfully, clearly trying to build rapport. "You're a renowned magician in Jinas, while I'm just a junior in front of you, so please, don't mind formalities—just call me by my name."
Hearing this, Nibald glanced at Felix and then gave a slight nod.
"In that case, I shall address you as Young Master Felix."
Needless to say, the use of 'young master' made it clear that Nibald was deliberately keeping his distance.
However, Felix didn't seem to notice as he remained just as enthusiastic while continuing to chat with Nibald.
"On the southern border of Mavros Territory is a city named Bessare, the closest city to the neutral zone in all of Jinas and also the most important military base in Mavros Territory." Felix explained with a warm smile. "It's also where the Mavros family resides, which is quite far from here. If Grandmaster wants to visit the Mavros family, it'll take about a day's journey to reach Bessare."
"A day, huh... hmm... that's not too long..." Nibald murmured thoughtfully.
"Yes."
Felix nodded, still grinning, but now with a hint of pride creeping into his tone.
"It's actually because the carriage we're riding isn't just any carriage but the most advanced riding vehicle in all of Karudia."
"It's a custom-built carriage specifically worked on by a Structure System Magician, making it both lightweight and reinforced. Even with several tons of cargo loaded on, an ordinary horse can pull it effortlessly at top speed."
"Besides the carriage, its wheels are also specially made with built-in magic items that maximize shock absorption and weight reduction. Plus, there's also a mechanism—or rather, a magic spell that generates lift over certain terrains, so even if we travel through rough mountains, the ride will be smooth, and we won't feel the slightest bump."
"As for the horses pulling this carriage, they're not ordinary horses either but high-end alchemy constructs—metallic horses that look exactly like real ones. From what I know, if they run at full speed and we don't count delays from obstacles, they could cross all of Jinas in just a few days."
Needless to say, the carriage they rode was an extravagant creation that must have cost a fortune.
In all of Karudia, there was only one carriage like it, making it clear just how rare and luxurious it was.
"Oh? Is that so?" Nibald seemed a little interested. "I guess this carriage isn't used very often then?"
He wasn't asking because he thought the carriage was particularly valuable but simply considering it from an energy consumption standpoint.
Since the carriage was practically built with magic and magic items, and even the horses were creations of alchemy magic, running it at full power would likely result in a massive drain on magical energy.
At least, that was what Nibald thought.
If the metallic horses ran at a speed that could cross all of Jinas in just a few days, then during those few days, it would probably burn through several high-quality magic crystals.
"Yes, you're right, Grandmaster."
Felix didn't seem to notice the deeper implication of Nibald's words, as his tone carried even more pride.
"Since this is a carriage my family spent a fortune on, using a lot of manpower and connections to get it built, my father rarely uses it and only takes it out once a year for the lords' assembly when he heads to Bessare. He only agreed to bring it out this time because of you, Grandmaster."
"Well, that's quite a bother for Count Hadyth." Nibald lowered his head slightly. "Please convey my gratitude to him on my behalf."
"I'll make sure to pass on your words, Grandmaster. I'm sure my father will be pleased to hear them." Felix agreed without hesitation.
Just then, the person sitting beside Nibald spoke up.
"We could've just flown there, Grandpa."
Saying these words was a girl who looked several years younger than Felix, around seventeen or eighteen years old.
Like Nibald, she wore a magician's robe and held a staff in her hand, which was inlaid with a jewel, while her slender, fair fingers bore a single ring—unlike Nibald, whose ten fingers were nearly covered with them.
She also had a belt around her waist, but instead of being lined with crystals and potions, it only had a small bag attached that emitted faint waves of magical energy, making it clear that it wasn't just an ordinary bag but a powerful magic item.
As for her appearance, rather than calling her beautiful, it would be more accurate to say she was cute, as her fair face, untouched by sunlight, still had a youthful roundness, making her look quite childlike. If not for her height, which was at least 160 cm, and her long ash-blond hair paired with clear tea-colored eyes that added a bit of maturity, she could easily be mistaken for a child.
At this moment, the girl, who had been silent this whole time, seemingly absorbed in the view outside the window, casually spoke up.
"We can just fly with your little dragon, Grandpa. Carrying the two of us is a piece of cake. Didn't we come here like that? Can't we just keep flying to Bessare? Why bother with a carriage?"
Upon hearing this, Felix's expression stiffened slightly.
"Andrea, don't say things like that." Nibald immediately gave a small reprimand.
"I'm not saying anything wrong though..." Andrea muttered in annoyance.
"What do you even know?" Nibald tapped his granddaughter's head lightly with his staff. "Mavros Territory is full of monsters, including plenty of flying ones. If we just fly through its skies without a care, what do we do if we get attacked?"
"What do we do? We fight them, of course." Andrea puffed up her cheeks. "We're magicians, not swordsmen. We don't need to get up close to fight. We can just cast magic from a distance. What's there to be scared of?"
"You..." Nibald let out a small, helpless chuckle before turning to Felix. "I apologize, Young Master Felix. My granddaughter doesn't interact with people much, so she doesn't really understand social etiquette. Please don't mind her words."
"I—"
Andrea seemed unconvinced by her grandfather's statement and wanted to argue, but when she met his sharp gaze, she reluctantly fell silent.
Seeing this, Felix regained his composure.
"No, it's fine." Felix responded quickly. "Miss Andrea's pretty simple-minded and doesn't mean any harm. I can tell."
As he spoke, he didn't notice that Andrea was looking at him with a slightly disgusted expression.
It was obvious that she didn't like Felix.
She really wanted to say that while she had no ill intentions, she had deliberately set him up just to embarrass him.
She just couldn't help it.
He kept throwing disgusting glances her way from time to time, and on top of that, his reputation in the city was also terrible. If her grandfather weren't right beside her, she would've already taught him a lesson herself.
'It's all Grandpa's fault. Why'd we have to stop in Karudia?' Andrea grumbled internally.
Nibald and Andrea had come to Mavros Territory because they were invited.
Yes, their destination was indeed the Mavros family, but since they had been traveling for a long time, they wanted to take a short break, which was why they stopped in Karudia.
In fact, they knew exactly where Bessare was and how to get to the Mavros family since they had a map, so getting lost wasn't a concern, and there was no way they wouldn't know how to reach their destination.
In other words, Nibald's claim that he didn't know the way was none other than a lie, just a polite excuse.
Why?
It was because some people from the Hadyth family suddenly showed up when they stopped in Karudia, saying that Count Hadyth, who ruled over Karudia, wanted to host Nibald before forcibly inviting him to the Hadyth family as a guest.
Afterward, Count Hadyth enthusiastically insisted on having his son escort them to the Mavros family, leaving Nibald with no choice but to accept, which left them stuck riding in the Hadyth family's special carriage with Felix on their way to Bessare.
Andrea was really annoyed about this.
Sure, she knew that her grandfather was highly esteemed in Jinas and the surrounding countries. He was a great magician respected by many, so no matter where he went, he always received the highest level of hospitality. It wasn't the first time this had happened, and not just happened—it happened so often that she had already gotten used to it.
It was just that Felix's behavior really pissed her off, making her feel increasingly annoyed.
'Whatever, forget it.'
Seeing that her grandfather was still exchanging a bunch of pointless pleasantries with Felix, Andrea could only turn her head away.
'Just pretend I didn't see anything. I just need to bear with it.'
Unfortunately, they still had a whole day left before reaching Bessare, which meant she had to stay in the same carriage as the disgusting man for an entire day.
'Scumbag, here we go again...'
Feeling another one of those nasty stares from Felix, like he wanted to lick her body all over, Andrea held back her revulsion.
"Hope this day passes quickly..."
Andrea let out a sigh and muttered under her breath while imagining herself beating the crap out of Felix in her head.
With Andrea's anticipation, the luxurious, special carriage, built at great expense by the Hadyth family, finally left Karudia, passing through the city gate and heading outside.
However, the moment they were outside, Felix and the others inside the carriage immediately heard an extremely noisy commotion.
Before long, a knight's voice came from beside the carriage.
"Young Master, something's happening outside the city. For some reason, the refugees have blocked the road."
As the knight reported the situation, Felix furrowed his brows.
"What's going on?"
At this moment, Felix didn't sound as polite as he had been with Nibald but spoke with barely restrained frustration, clearly annoyed.
"It's so noisy, and why's the road blocked? How are we supposed to get through?"
Just as Felix finished speaking, Walter arrived outside the carriage with two guards.
"Greetings, Young Master Felix." Walter bowed slightly in the direction of the carriage. "I apologize. It seems there's been an incident here. I'll have it taken care of right away and clear the road, so please wait a moment."
Hearing this, Felix's frown deepened, and the annoyance in his eyes grew even stronger.
If this had been any other time, he would've already lost his temper and vented his frustration on these refugees.
Because his time was precious, wasting even a second on these refugees was an absolute waste. A bunch of filthy lowlifes daring to waste his time was nothing short of a crime, something that had to be punished.
Unfortunately, he had to maintain his image in front of Nibald and Andrea right now, so he couldn't just lash out.
Suppressing his frustration, Felix lifted the curtain and glanced outside—his gaze quickly swept over the dirty refugees and landed at the center of the commotion.
As soon as he saw it, his eyes were instantly drawn to a particular figure.
"That's..."
Felix froze for a second before his eyes flashed with unprecedented amazement and greed.