Chapter 159 - Return to Fifth District (2)

The smell of fresh cotton from a simple dress was placed on top of the table beside the chair I sat. Beside the clothes was uncomfortable leather shoes with a wooden slit glued on the back. There was almost no difference between our clothes except for the design.

It was plain with its white colour without any colourful dyes. The bedroom, living room and dining room was all combined as the house was one big room. It wasn't surprising since the layout was similar to Jinny's house.

Unfortunately, there was only one bed in the house. I wondered if there were any sleeping bags for the other person. The mattress was filled with mixed goose feathers and soft hay as I expected from one of its holes at the cloth that covered the surface.

"I get the bed," I claimed since it looked better than sleeping on the floor.

"Our cover is that we're children of a rich merchant family that moved in before our parents," Luke read out the mission background.

"I don't care as long as I get the bed," I frowned when sticks of hay poked my hand.

"That's fine with me, we're going to be here most of the time anyways."

"What do you mean? I'm going to explore the fifth district since I didn't get a proper chance last time," I opened the window near the bed.

"In fact, I'm going to meet the rest of the villagers right now," I walked towards the door.

There was no way I would stay cooped up in this house for the entire week. The carnival I attended last time showed many delicious food, waiting to be eaten. I could feel the greasy meat simmering into my tongue with its chewy texture.

It was much better compared to the bowl of fruits in a weave basket on the table. The number of fresh apples and raw vegetables stored inside the kitchen made me cringe. It could feed an entire banquet of people for around three days. Did the school even want us to interact with other villagers?

"With your uniform?" Luke blocked the door.

He was right. I went to the bathroom to change. Unfortunately, the bathroom didn't appear much better than the rest of the house. There was a small pail instead of a bathtub and a steep hole in the place of a chamber pot.

I covered my hand to keep myself from vomiting the food I ate for lunch. I quickly changed to find myself in loose clothes of many layers. I had to tie and wrap around many strips of fabric for them to come together. In some ways, it was hard as changing into those complicated party dresses. Except I didn't have the maids to help me with my clothes this time.

I twirled around to show off my new dress that fluttered from the wind. If it wasn't for the messy knots that stuck out, it would've appeared somewhat neat. Luke walked up to me, already perfectly changed into his disguise with a frown.

He took out the messy knots and tied them into the shape of a flattering bow as if they were part of the design. By the time he was finished, the dress appeared like another entity as the layers weren't crumbled together like before. I had to admit Luke had talent for these kinds of things.

"I'm going to greet the other villagers," I ran towards the door.

I pulled the door open to find fields of grass tumbling all around me. Although we were inside a village, the houses were spaced far from each other as one had its own farm. The closest house appeared miles away from us with the size of an ant from where I stood.

I sighed since the sky was starting to darken into navy blues. It seemed like I would meet no one today because everyone got up early in the morning to go to sleep when the light vanished. I was disappointed with the location the school had put us in. It was a great difference from the city where the houses were stuck together like glue.

"How am I going to meet anybody now?" I sulked.

"That's why I told you we're going to be staying inside the house most of the time. The closest house is far compared to your stamina," Luke explained.

Unfortunately, Luke was right. My stamina was absolutely pathetic. I had a tough time during the field trip when I wasn't able to use my mana. I wasn't like Luke who practiced diligently with the sword every weekend.

My expectations of hanging out with the fellow villagers shattered. I guessed this was the consequence of taking the hover car all the time and practicing with teleportation. Magicians did always have low stamina in RPG games as well.

The next morning, I woke up with large roosters screaming like an alarm clock. When I checked the time on my marble, it was still 4:30 AM. Luke stretched his arms as he got up beside me. We ended up sharing the bed last night after Luke refused to sleep on the ground without a blanket.

I walked over to the basket and pulled out a crisp apple.

"Purify," I chanted to clean the apple.

The apple started to shine as it was surrounded by my mana. The red colour was getting eaten by my mana as it transformed into a magical golden apple when I opened my mouth to take a bite.