The girl raised her hands in a defensive gesture, waving them nervously as if trying to calm me down.
– "I don't mean any harm, so you can put that sword away. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have helped you escape, right?" she said with a slight smile.
I kept my eyes on her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth.
Eventually, I sighed and sheathed my sword.
– "Alright, fine. Have it your way."
The girl leaned back, resting on her hands, and looked at me with curiosity.
– "I've been watching you for a while, wondering how you'd handle things. You did pretty well—bold move, approaching them like that."
I didn't comment.
– "From your clothes and the way you look, it's clear you're not from around here."
Well, no surprise there.
– "How long have you been in the capital?" she asked.
– "One day."
I sat down beside her, sensing that this conversation wasn't going to end anytime soon.
– "You probably want to know what's going on here. I can explain it to you," she said, stretching lazily.
I took a closer look at her.
She had burgundy hair, cut in a distinctive style—layered, falling just below her shoulders, with a part almost exactly in the middle. She wore a white shirt with a tight leather corset over it, short leather shorts, and a cloak a shade darker than her hair.
She looked like someone who wasn't afraid of trouble.
The girl rested her chin on her hand, thoughtful.
– "Hmm… where to begin…" she muttered, glancing down from the rooftop at the crowd flowing through the streets.
After a moment, she made up her mind.
– "You could say the current king was murdered. That's what the rumors say, at least."
Hm. That sounds interesting.
– "He was young, had no family, no wife, so there's nothing left of him. The entire continent is left without a king."
Well.
– "That's just the general outline, hehe…" she turned to me but noticed I was deep in thought, staring off into the distance.
– "I need to get stronger," I muttered to myself.
If low-lives like those two think they can mess with me, then I must look like an easy target. And they were just common thugs. What if one day I face someone much more powerful? I have to do something about it.
I finished the thought in my head when I heard a familiar word.
Magic.
– "Hm? Do you have something any connection with magic?" the girl asked, watching me more closely.
I looked at her, surprised.
– "What magic? I don't understand."
– "Some people can use magic. Where have you been all your life that you don't know that?"
– "Uhh… well, you know…" I began, trying to come up with an excuse. "I've been living out in beast territory this whole time, haha…"
Not the most convincing lie, but what else could I say?
The girl raised her eyebrows.
– "What? That's impossible. No human survives there for more than a week alone."
Oops.
I need to change the subject fast.
– "Let's go back to the magic thing. How many people can actually use it?"
The girl sighed but followed the thread.
– "For the past four hundred years, no new person has gained that ability."
Great. So much for my dreams of getting stronger.
The girl noticed my reaction.
– "Apparently, around two thousand people on this continent have that power. There used to be more, but many died."
– "Those people live much longer than normal humans. Right now, only five have lived past four hundred years. When a magic user dies, they can pass their gift to a descendant. For some reason, most haven't."
I frowned.
– "That doesn't make much sense."
– "The king who died ten years ago was one of those who lived over four hundred years. The government couldn't find a new ruler for a long time because you have to have magic to become a king."
Wait. Didn't she just say he was young?
I rolled my eyes.
– "Over ninety percent of magic users are high-ranking members of society, so none of them want to be a king."
– "Can't blame them. Who'd want a title like that?"
The girl snorted with laughter.
– "Exactly."
She took a deep breath.
– "Because of all the chaos after the king's death, people started pushing boundaries. There's way more theft, murder—everything's gotten worse."
– "Wow" I commented.
She noticed something was still bothering me.
– "You know what? About magic… I didn't tell you everything. There are actually two types of it, and only one is rare, so maybe you don't need to worry."
Intrigued, I looked at her intently.
– "What kinds?"
– "Type A is the first. Everyone has it. It lets you enhance weapons during combat, heal minor wounds, and experienced users can pull objects toward them."
– "Meh. Boring. What about the other one?"
– "That's Type AB. Only those from before four hundred years ago have it."
– "You know what their powers look like?"
– "Everyone's is unique. Hard to define."
– "And you're saying only two thousand people have it?"
– "In Limervan, yes."
So that's what this continent is called.
The girl stretched and stood up.
– "Alright, I've got to go."
I jumped up quickly.
– "Wait! What's your name? And where can I get magic?!"
The girl turned with a grin and put a hand on her hip.
– "I'm Sydeniya. And there are ways. Like the Eriau Academy—but only nobles get in there. Or… you could get an artificial magic core."
I perked up.
– "You know where I can find one?!"
Sydeniya just laughed.
– "If you're this ambitious, I'm sure it won't be too big a problem."