Jinmu stood on the side of a cemented road. It was searing hot as the time was currently noon.
He was talking to a passing caravan who came from the Sanctuary. He, alongside his classmates, has been asking them and the other passersby for news inside.
Fortunately, the elves weren't hostile and told them of things that happened.
First was the sprouted conflict between the commoners and the nobles.
It started when a party from the nobility captured a general of commoner origin. The former argued that the said general was in cahoots with the Grurad Mystic Manor.
Those who sided with the general, mainly the commoners, countered that these nobles set the general up. The presented documents which served as evidence were 'forged' as they say, and continued pleading to Empress Aelin that the general be freed.
The confrontation worsened when they knew the party who captured the general. It came from a secular family. This made the commoners lash out in anger, declaring that they would persecute those who wronged their general.
Jinmu was intrigued by what happened.
'Interesting. The Zumfiel Noble Household went that far just to protect us, huh?', caressing his chin.
Another news was about an undead outbreak that happened in the volcanic grassy plains and the Morning Star Empire.
It devastated the two regions but was soon resolved with the help of the League of Wizardry and the Knights of Aludia. Nobody knew who started it but they weren't willing to learn anyway.
As long as the outbreak was gone, everything was okay.
"Alright, if you don't have any more questions, we'll be going now.", said the captain guard of the caravan.
If Eluard was here, he would recognize this man as Aurpiel's captain guard.
Right, the merchant caravan that Jinmu talked to just now was no other than Aurpiel's.
Aurpiel passed through the four students. He noticed them and thought that they were a familiar sight.
'Strange, where have I seen these youngsters before?', narrowing his eyes.
Jinmu was looking back at Aurpiel's carriage but he wasn't staring at the merchant man. He was staring at the elf peacefully sleeping on the side.
Her head rested on the wall with a slightly perplexed expression. The system brought out this elf's information which surprised Jinmu.
[ Name: Haera Zumfiel ]
[ Age: 24 years old (72 human years) ]
[ Race: Elf ]
[ Status: Alive ]
[ Affiliation: Alderian Terrestrial Sanctuary, Alderian Magic Haven, Zumfiel Elven Household ]
[ Magic Power: Adept Wizard (Full Ring) ]
[ Magic Root: Starfall Magic Root (Mythical) ]
[ Magic Aptitude: 9.2/10 (Adept Wizard) ]
[ Magic Affinity: Nature (Wood, Water, Earth) ]
'This is too big of a coincidence.'
That was the thought swirling in Jinmu's mind.
'She is the one with that senior from before.'
Glancing in the direction of their destination, he formulated a plan and went back to the academy after this short encounter.
"Jinmu, what do we do now?", Lucan worried.
There were patrols near Leeveria Forest. They reckoned that those people were there in search of their presence. It prevented them from hunting demon beasts in that area.
The students wanted to tell the academy master of this but he hasn't been seen for three weeks. Because of that, Emi, Lucan, and Olivia had no choice but to listen to Jinmu.
"What do you think about going to the volcanic grassy plains?", Jinmu suggested, "Of course, we're not going near the dangerous zones, just on the safer ones."
Emi, at the mention of the said continent, excitedly raised her hands.
"Let's go, let's go! I live in that place and I want to go back to my hometown. I miss my sister Akane. I want to see how she is doing now."
The other three laughed at Emi's enthusiasm. What an energetic girl she was.
"Alright Emi, we'll go to your hometown first and see your sister.", Jinmu agreed, "After that, we'll continue on our hunt, okay?", and patted her head.
The little girl nodded vigorously. She didn't want this opportunity to pass. Moreover, she wanted to introduce her small but proud hometown to her senior brothers and senior sister.
Too bad Solordo wasn't here which reminded Emi of his absence.
"Senior brother Jinmu, where do you think senior brother Solordo is?"
Jinmu shook his head, "I don't know Emi. I think the academy master must've given him a separate task. Or maybe he is undergoing the process of blood assimilation."
Emi wondered what Jinmu meant. Seeing her curious face, Jinmu explained what the blood assimilation process was.
"Oh, no wonder senior brother Solordo isn't here for a while.", she said with a sad look on her face.
He was the most energetic person of them all and he would take Emi out to show her a thing or two about knighthood cultivation. The little girl was easily awed and Solordo continued with his antiques.
Jinmu didn't approve of it and caused friction between the two.
Reminding of the past made Emi miss her senior brother Solordo even more.
Lucan patted her shoulder and relieved her sadness.
"Don't worry Emi, you will see him soon enough."
Jinmu sighed and concluded their meeting.
For the next two days, they prepared themselves for their journey on the volcanic grassy plains.
It was a land full of dangerous natural calamities. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tornadoes, and typhoons were normal here.
Coupled with the demonic and magical beasts who adapted to a terrifying environment, the difficulty of living and hunting monsters here was extremely high.
Fortunately, the nearby regions frequently assisted the people living in the volcanic grassy plains. It was also used by several factions to train their soldiers and other people.
On the other hand, the thing that makes the volcanic grassy plains dangerous is its direct connection to the Wastes. There was a narrow valley that connected the two continents.
It was known as the Valley of Death.
This was a place where many Aludians and demonic creatures alike died in battle. Until today, the skeletal remains of whichever species remained there like a landmark.
It reminded the Aludians of the grim battle that occurred when their ancestors defended them from the Otherworld's demonic invasion.
…
The four students teleported to the volcanic grassy plains. Emi sensed this location as a bit familiar.
Wasn't this the place where the academy master fought a group of human poachers?
Olivia's eyebrows wrinkled in disbelief as well. A nostalgic feeling hit her, worsening her heart's worry about her father's life.
Jinmu coughed, interrupting their thoughts.
"Ah, yes! Sorry about that, senior brother Jinmu!", Emi scratched her cheek, "I can't help it! This was where academy master found me and big sister Olivia together!"
The two boys were surprised. They looked at Olivia and she explained her side.
"I was caught by some human poachers and was to be taken to the Morning Star Empire. Academy master found me here and rescued me from their grasp."
Emi jumped in, "They also rescued the other villagers as well! Academy master is so powerful! That bad dark wizard guy wasn't a match to him at all!"
After the short interruption, they made their way to Emi's hometown on her lead.
However, an unexpected sight met their eyes.
"No-! I-it can't be!", Emi stuttered. Lucan quickly covered her eyes and hugged her.
'What sort of brutality is this?!', he was in disbelief.
Apart from the skeletal remains that littered the ground, a barren wasteland was the only thing left of her hometown.
Emi struggled out of Lucan's embrace. She wanted to slap herself. It was a futile attempt on persuading herself that this was just a dream.
Powerless of her senior brother, the little girl teared up and cried in despair.
"Lucan, Olivia, take Emi out of here. I'll go and investigate what happened.", Jinmu ordered.
He took off and upped his guard.
'A complete destruction. This isn't done by demonic beasts. It must have been done by human bandits, or something similar to that.'
He stared at the dark marks on the ground. Jinmu knelt and touched it with his index finger.
'It's charred. There's no longer any burnt smell. This incident happened a long time ago.'
He stood up and started looking elsewhere.
Jinmu arrived in the center village. It was evident since there were stone foundations on the side. The materials were similar to what was used in constructing a town center.
He continued his search and noticed a vague animal track imprinted on the ground. He crouched to take a closer look and recognized where it came from.
'A polar war bear. Don't tell me they came from Norva Assili.'
A bad feeling rose in his heart.
He connected Olivia's identity as a royal princess from that area, and how the academy master chanced upon her near Emi's hometown.
He deduced that a party was sent to retrieve Olivia but they stumbled on this place. The leader must have been a ruthless person for him to slaughter an entire village regardless of whatever reason he had.
Two outcomes came out of Jinmu's mind. Either the entire village was destroyed or some were spared or escaped.
He was hoping for the latter as they wouldn't be able to comfort Emi of the loss of her sister.
Jinmu sighed and chose to go back instead. He'll try explaining things to Emi as clearly as possible.
Otherwise, she might think that Olivia was the reason her hometown was destroyed, rifting the stable relationship she have with her big sister.
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