Royal Princess of Blood

As their carriage traveled through the dirt road, Hartwin watched with a smile as Mayumi strummed the lute in her hands. She was a bit better now after all the practicing, she was a fast learner, almost a natural. And from how she had been acting while playing, she seemed to enjoy it a lot.

On their travels, they had faced some monsters. But, fortunately, they were nothing both Hartwin and Velar couldn't handle. Still, that didn't mean they were easy to deal with — it was just that they won, suffering no fatal wounds. If there were any wounds, Hartwin could cast some healing magic.

As a lone traveler, if he would ever get wounded, he would have no one to rely on. That was why he had to learn how to cast healing magic. Although it was not as strong as what Estelia and Taneva had, it was usable in most cases. Better to have something than nothing.

Mayumi had been trying to learn a very simple tune, which used the basic chords. He had already taught her the other higher difficulty chords, but she was still struggling in transitioning from one chord to the other, especially during playing a song.

"We're almost there, right Hartwin?" Mayumi asked, referring to their destination.

"Yes."

She smiled. "You have been an amazing company, both of you. I'm thankful for everything you have done for us." She bowed her head.

"That's what friends do."

"... Indeed, but I do hope I could do something for you two. As a show of my gratitude."

"Oh come on, there's no need for that." He shook his hand. "We're not really the type to put some debt on the people we save."

"Still… If I get to have a good life in the new city, if… I get the money, I could either bring you out for some food, or cook for you."

Hartwin smiled widely. "Sure, I'm looking forward to that." But he wasn't quite certain of that. It wasn't sure if Hartwin would ever find himself back here so soon. Once they set out again for their original destination, they wouldn't know how it would go if they did.

Hartwin heard of some kind of prophecy regarding the princess, and he inquired about it to Taneva. It was a dark prophecy. Where, for some reason, the princess died. But still, she was alive. Anyway, it ended up implying that she would wipe out these non-human people called the Mystic Race.

When Hartwin first heard the details, he was shaken. He found himself in quite a serious situation. But he was incredibly intrigued. As a poet who loved to document stories, he would like to see it all unfold. He would follow the path of Estelia no matter what and witness how her story would go. That was why there was no telling how far he'd reach, and how long it would take.

He might not even survive to reach the end. But he was fine with that. He just had to survive, to not die.

"... Once you reach the city, what will you do, Hartwin?" she asked.

"Search for my party. I imagine it will be a big city, so we should act on that immediately." Although, he still did not know how exactly he would do it. But if it was Taneva, he should be in a bar or somewhere there was liquor. As for Estelia, she might be looking first for a place to stay. One that was at least decent.

Therefore, they just had to search for such places one by one.

"Your party…" She had a sad smile on her face. Perhaps she was sad about separating. Hartwin did mention them to her. "Are you going far?"

"Oh, yes. To the next island."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Definitely. But don't worry about that. My friends are quite strong."

"... Stronger than you two?"

"Yes. There's no way we could beat them."

"That's… hard to believe."

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Hartwin casually shrugged. "It's very true. Especially this girl, she's pretty scary sometimes."

Mayumi frowned ever so slightly. She seemed to not like mentioning another girl. "Is that the girl you mentioned to be your leader?"

"Yeah."

"I thought you said she's incredibly beautiful…"

"Oh." Hartwin awkwardly chuckled. "She's also pretty scary. A beauty as bright as the moonlight hitting the still ocean, but mighty and fearsome as a raging tide in a storm," he said with closed eyes and extending hands, all dramatic.

Mayumi looked away with a slightly pouting expression. "You seem pretty passionate talking about her."

It was then that Hartwin sensed what Mayumi seemed to be feeling. He had forgotten that he shouldn't talk about a different woman to a woman, especially praising. They do not seem to like that very much. Although, Mayumi seemed more sensitive about it.

"Well, I am following her so… Anyway," he cleared his throat. "Considering that we'll be going to a fairly new place, how about we all walk around the place, eh?"

Mayumi slowly turned towards him with a surprised expression. "Really?"

"Really. Because why not? Let's be enamored by this new city together." Besides, for Hartwin, it didn't feel good for them to just go their separate ways the moment they step into the new city. They could at least hang out for a day and get lost in the new city together.

Mayumi's eyes sparkled, and she nodded enthusiastically. "That will be wonderful!"

"Perfect. Is everyone up for that?" Hartwin asked everyone in the carriage.

Everyone agreed.

And thus, they continued on. Mayumi's melodic strumming faintly echoed around the surrounding dead land. Eventually, the old man driving the carriage raised his hand and pointed ahead of them.

"There it is."

Everyone paused and turned their heads to look at the city in the far distance. Its walls were so tall that they could see it pretty well from afar.

Mayumi let out a sigh of amazement. "It looks massive, incredible."

Hartwin and Velar looked at each other and nodded. Finally, they had arrived. That encounter in the badlands truly delayed them from their goal, diverting the situation in a direction they did not desire.

Some time later, they arrived at the front gates. The guards approached them.

"Good day to you all. Purpose of your visit?"

"We seek refuge," the old man answered.

The guards stared at their faces one by one. "Refuge, what happened to you?"

"Our village was destroyed by monsters."

The guard nodded. "In the west district, there's an institution for refugees there. City staff will be present to help you, especially for jobs."

"Thank you."

"Go in."

They went into the city, protected by massive gates. There were many people on the streets bearing arms, but there were also many that didn't. It was incredibly crowded, carriages passing by, people walking while chattering, a couple of people boxing at a corner, drinking, laughing, children running.

The style of buildings were not too different from the first city Hartwin and the others came in first. The difference was their scale and density. He noticed Mayumi smiling as she looked around with eyes full of anticipation. It would seem she was looking forward to living in this new city. For there would be a lot of opportunities to find here.

"This place is beautiful!" Mayumi said.

"Yeah, this is my first time in a place as big as this!" said another in their group.

"There's so many people. And the buildings here, wow!" added another.

"There's also so many warriors."

"And the wall protecting the city, it's incredible."

Mayumi nodded. "We're going to be very safe from the monsters here."

Indeed, Hartwin also noticed as they got closer to the city, there were hardly any monsters to see or encounter. They might indeed be killing or driving away monsters on occasion. Even if there were monsters that could get close, they wouldn't be able to breach into the city. They would even have to face countless warriors in this place.

They followed what that guard said and headed to the west district. On the way, Hartwin noticed a food establishment, and saw that they appeared to be serving good food. Their group had not eaten something very good in a long time, perhaps they could spare time to eat something proper. They had plenty of money, a lot, in fact. Estelia left plenty of money in the bags.

"Hey guys," Hartwin said. "How about we stop for the time being and eat there?" He pointed at the eatery.

"Really?" Mayumi asked. "But we don't have money for that."

Hartwin shook his hand. "No worries, let me handle that." He grinned. "Come on, let's get some good grub. You fine with that, Velar?"

"Yes. It will be nice to eat something cooked well."

Mayumi raised her hands. "Yehey!"

They parked their carriage to a free parking spot and headed their way inside the eatery. The customers around were eating peacefully, and the aroma coming off their food was pleasant. Hartwin immediately felt incredibly hungry.

They sat down at the available table. A waitress approached them and told them what was on the menu. The group selected a couple of large bowls of soup with meat and some fried meat. Hartwin noticed Mayumi sitting beside him, tapping her hands on the table, a wide, excited smile on her face. Seeing how happy she was warmed his heart. He lived for a woman's smile.

That was why he became a bard. To put joy into people's hearts and faces.

It took some time before all the food arrived. But when they did, everyone started diving in. Hartwin felt so pleased when he finally tasted the food with a good flavor. As for the rest of their group, they basically kept scooping food into their mouths. They looked happy, and Hartwin was satisfied to see that.

Mayumi choked on her food, coughing. Hartwin chuckled and handed her a cup of water.

"Slow down. The food isn't going anywhere."

After gulping down the water, Mayumi shyly laughed. "Sorry. I got carried away."

"Heh. Just don't die on food now."

"Hehehehe." Mayumi subtly pushed back the hair by her ear.