Chapter 186 Calm Before The Storm 1

Raggnall told her that usually there would be a veteran tier barrier that would prevent all students from ever leaving the academy's premises that included the marketplace below the mountain. But since the day was a special one, the Headmaster temporarily nullified it to allow the students to roam free, though he still prohibited teleportation to avoid students from causing mischief then getting away easily.

And so, Raghnall and Inna had no choice but to walk all the way there for nearly an hour. When they finally arrived at the village, they couldn't help but be amazed at how crowded the place was.

Hundreds of people about their age, wearing all their best and colorful garments, filled the streets of the village as Inna and Raghnall toured around. Some were familiar to them while the others looked slightly older and more mature. Inna surmised that they were probably upperclassmen.

And looking at the busy street before them, Inna could really say that the village was certainly a lively one.

It was obvious that the villagers have been anticipating the arrival of the students from the Academy judging from the colorful paper lanterns decorated around the streets and by the walls of their houses.

And the more she looked around, the more she felt as though instead of reincarnating, she time traveled instead.

The houses throughout the whole village were made from a mixture of maroon bricks and dark wood that made Inna recall the olden towns from her history books. And each house seemed nearly identical with each other, but they had varying number of floors and decor around them.

There were also some strange looking structures that looked out of place in Inna's eyes. But according to Raghnall, it seems like they were specialty shops. And also he told her that sometimes houses and some shops might look the same since some people live in their shops so, to distinguish one from the other, usually a small hanging signage would be shown near to its front door. And each signage has a corresponding symbol to show what the store was or what it sells.

With that piece of information, Inna couldn't help but play a small guessing game with Raghnall to figure out what each symbol she saw meant. But as she looked around, she failed to see the path ahead of her which had a small irregular stone jutting out from the road. And so, before she knew it, she already tripped and fell to the ground.

After laughing for a short while, Raghnall helped her up gently while casting a spell to heal the scratches on her knees and on her palms which she used to support herself from completely laying flat on the floor.

Apparently, the streets they were walking on were made from stone so there would be instances where little pieces would be jutting out. Hence, Inna tripping while walking was something Raghnall both expected and anticipated.

Inna dusted herself off as she tried to control her face from turning red. Her tripping made a few students stop to turn their head and observe but Inna's embarrassment didn't stem from the fact that she fell in public.

It was because Raghnall was straight out laughing at her from falling in public.

So, unknowingly pouting, she slapped his arm lightly as she tried to hide her shame.

"You do not laugh at someone who just fell, asshole. You help them right away."

Raghnall snickered as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"Thanks for the compliment. And, you see, I was about to but then, it's just that your face..."

He couldn't finish because he suddenly busted into a fit of laughter.

When she fell, her eyes were comically wide open and her mouth was agape. Her whole face scrunched up and it was by far the most hilarious way he's ever seen someone fall.

Inna huffed when she saw Raghnall was still laughing after healing her. So, with a small stomp on his right foot, Inna angrily walked away from him.

Raghnall exclaimed in pain from the stomp and he was about to apologize again for laughing when he saw her walking away.

He hurriedly caught up to her as he chuckled.

"Okay, okay. I'm done, I swear."

Inna ignored him and proceeded to walk faster. Feeling troubled, Raghnall looked around to find anything that'll cheer her up. And when he found something that caught his eye at a near small sidewalk jewelry shop, he walked over to buy it.

Inna felt Raghnall's presence vanish behind her and in a panic, she tried to look around in fear that she might be lost. But when she looked behind her, she just saw him by a small shop. He seemed to be buying something and in her curiosity, she can't help but walk over to see what he was buying.

Raghnall grabbed the item as he paid it. And when Inna arrived beside him, he hid it behind him.

"Hey, what did you buy?"

Inna asked as she looked at the items on sale. It seems that the shop was selling cute handmade jewelry for women. There were earrings, necklaces, hairpins, rings, and many more.

While Inna was scanning the items, Raghnall slowly decided to use the item he bought.

He softly gathered all her hand in one hand. When Inna felt his hand on her hair, she slightly drew back from surprise. But Raghnall calmed her down with his words.

"Don't worry. I'm just using what I bought."

Inna was curious about what he exactly bought so she behaved herself. Then, she suddenly heard small chimes from what seemed like small bells near her ears.

"Done."

Raghnall announced with a smile as he stepped back to admire his work. It was his first time tying someone's hair into a ponytail so he was not too sure if it'll look good but he was surprised at himself. He did quite well tying the white ribbon hair tie on her.

Inna tried to catch a glimpse of what it was but every time she moved, the annoying sound just kept ringing by her ears.

"What is this?"

Raghnall tried to hold his laughter again as he saw her twirling around, making the bells ring incessantly.

"It's a white ribbon hair tie with two small golden bells attached to it. That way I'll be able to know where exactly you are from the sound of the bells."

Inna scrunched up her face as she tried to hurriedly take it off. But Raghnall grabbed both her hands before she had a chance.

"Now, now, you wouldn't actually remove a gift I bought for you with my own hard-earned money now, would you?"

Inna gritted her teeth when she noticed the shopkeeper openly judging her. But then she saw something glisten by the corner of her eye and an evil smile unconsciously slipped out of her.