Chapter 103 Destination Change

Evan left the two females in the room and went over to the Adventurer's guild temporary building to bid the guild master and the priests that officiated the funeral ceremony farewell before making his way back to the inn to call the duo he left behind.

He did all this while ignoring the glare he received from a certain royal knight while chuckling to himself.

Of course, he didn't forget to take the money the guild owed him.

'Thankfully, the guild treasury was in a different building. With that, I have secured travelling expenses for the three of us.

I also have to go and request for another adventurer rank up when we get to the next town over, Pride also needs some sort of identity if she is going to remain outside her sword too.'

As Evan was having those thoughts, a familiar notice board popped up in front of him, making him narrow his eyes in displeasure.

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' asks why you changed your next destination.]

'What?'

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' says that he believes you did not go to 'Wolfen' like you originally planned because you wish to find a way to heal the two injured spirits residing in your body, and what better place to search for a cure than the 'City State of Magic'.]

'Tsk...'

Evan clicked his tongue in annoyance as the real reason he had changed his plans was promptly uncovered by this foreign god-like being.

'I hate the fact that he can read my mind.'

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' says that he doesn't read your mind as much as you think he does.]

'Yeah, right.'

Evan rolled his eyes as he tossed the sack of gold coins into his inventory, along with the other outfits he bought before making his way back to the inn.

Evan did not forget the fact that Kayla and Kuro played a big part in his survival against Xakon, especially Kuro, as Evan doubted he would have survived the first attack if not for Kuro.

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' says you would not.

He further elaborates that the demon had intended to finish you off with the first strike, hence the reason he loaded more than half his magic reserves into it and the reason the spirit was out of commission after protecting you.

The fact that the shadow spirit still succeeded in restraining the demon long enough for you to kill him was simply because the shadow spirit burnt a bit of its life force for power.]

"What?!"

Evan exclaimed out loud without a care for the looks people were giving him as he heard the real reason Kuro was able to help him kill Xakon.

The shadow spirit had shortened its own life to do so.

But before Evan could grow distressed, the foreign god-like being extended an olive branch to him.

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' says you should visit the temple of Artemisia in the next territory.]

The temple that this being spoke of was the same on that the priests who officiated the mass funeral ceremony had come from.

'Why should I go there? How would it help Kuro regain his life force?'

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' says that you would find out when you arrive there in person. He also suggests you set off immediately to ensure a faster arrival.]

Evan was skeptical about it, but so far this being had not taken any actions to cause Evan intentional harm, besides, saving Kuro was more important so Evan decided to keep his suspicions at bay and do what he was told.

◇　◇　◇

And that was how the trio found themselves departing Geto City a bit over an hour later, their destination, not being the city state of Kasteblum that was over the border, on the other side of the gigantic forest, but a border city on the outskirts of the Empire like Geto, one that had a proper entrance to Kasteblum.

Its name was Bonas.

The city was one that was far more advanced than Geto City in every known area, be it trade, infrastructure, medicine, etc.

Walking in through the gates after passing through the checkpoints, Evan could not help but marvel at the difference in appearance between Bonas and Geto.

Unlike Geto, the number of tall buildings in Bonas, while not distinct enough to spread across the sky, was enough to show the difference in levels between these two cities.

Many of these buildings, have clearly been built within the last five years, further cementing the fact that the territory was growing continuously.

Business was booming in Bonas and it had attracted a lot of attention. Many new cultures had left their mark not just on the city's history, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of plain, ordinary people had grown into a multicultural hub and it was this that united the thousands of people to this day.

It was this multicultural identity that had truly left its mark. Hundreds of gastropubs, diners and ethnic restaurants offered a plethora of culinary choices and those who felt hungry for something else could enjoy nature, dance, sightseeing or one of the many other recreational venues.

All in all, Bonas had a glamorous atmosphere, which was a breath of fresh air for Evan, Eliza and Pride, having just left Geto that was in a state of mourning.

The main attraction was the greenhouse, which was built 43 years ago by the lord of that time and designed by elves.

The ruling family of Bonas, the Amano family, was a Viscounty that had very good relations with the people, with members of this family often seen mingling with the commoners despite their noble status.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, as there were those who were not satisfied with the current state of things.

However, the Amano family, also had a good relationship with the No 1 religion in all of Aidos, the Church of Artemisia.

The gigantic temple building that was dwarfed only by the Amano family's mansion was proof of how good their relationship was, after all, not every territory had a temple built in their main city.

Even some lords who were on good terms with the church, did not grant them permission to have temples constructed in their territories.

'It seems that although the church has sufficient power in Aidos, the nobility and royalty aren't letting them run free and are keeping them in check.'

Evan thought to himself as he asked for a refill of his glass of strawberry juice, adding an extra copper coin as a tip for the bartender who smiled and accepted it.

"Bonas has a good economy, which is mainly supported by carpenting, herbalism, medicine and baking. But our dear old city's biggest strengths lie in our rare crop farming and sophisticated cooking.

Sadly, we seem to lack a lot of people skilled in wine brewing. Which is quite sad given the number of wine lovers who would love to have a drink to go with their food in our top tier restaurants."

The bartender was able to easily guess Evan was a traveller and fed him information about the city while refilling his glass of juice.

"Any festivities coming up soon?"

"Nahh, it's winter season so festivities are put on hold until spring. Though the cold and snow seem to be coming late his year."

Evan nodded in affirmation as he dropped his glass. It was December already, yet there were no signs of snowfall at all.

'Weird...'

He decided to put that at he back of his mind as it was not important and stood up to leave the diner, intending on meeting up with Pride and Eliza who had gone to look for accommodation for their stay in Bonas.

He stared at the tall bell tower of the church from a distance and shook his head before turning around and walking towards the two females he could see in the distance.

[The 'Eternal of Time and Destruction' suggests you request to see the bishop of the church when you eventually go over there.]

Evan ignored the message in front of him as he met up with the two, finding out the inn they had booked and how much they had spent before moving off to the adventurer's guild building to get their party registration.

In order to make things easier and prevent themselves from wasting an extra thirty minutes at every city's checkpoint like they did at Bonas due to Pride not having any means of identification, the trio saw it best to get her registered as an adventurer and then get all three of them registered as a party.

"Come to think of it, why did you leave your previous party in the first place?"

"I had a few arguments with some of them, saying I was the reason that Tel-, I mean, one of us died.

Our relationships were pretty strained at that point and our party leader was too depressed to try and smooth things over.

So, when Laurene came over at that 'Oh So Convenient' timing, I accepted her offer and left them."