Emery prepared the night before for the things he would be saying as to why he had to go out of Felaenalion. Although he didn't really have to reason it out fully and say goodbye to everyone, it would be wrong to suddenly disappear and reappear after a few months as if nothing had happened. Surely questions would surely be raised and aside from that, it felt like he was betraying them if he didn't at least let them know.
The next day arrived, first he went to the Lady of the Lake and before he could say more reasonings, she already accepted his decision. But when it came to the villagers, it was expected they were not fond of a person going outside the forest. Particularly by the members of the Akavi Warriors. He couldn't blame them because they were the ones who were dealing with the occasional skirmishes or wanderers getting lost in the forest. Not to mention, the last time a person had left this forest — Maeve — it brought them suffering which continued to this day.
However, when the High Priestess intervened by saying they didn't have authority to keep him here, those who were against him leaving backed down. Next thing happened, the village gave him a send away party by the evening.
After attending the send away party in the evening, Emery exited his tent the next day only to be surprised that the Fey sisters decided they would join his little adventure.
This would turn into a problem for him. Well, he couldn't even explain about the Magus Academy, there was no way they could join him there. No matter how many times he rejected them, however, the sisters didn't budge until he finally decided to say yes under a condition. There could only be one person who could accompany him.
As if this was what the girls were waiting for, the four grinned as they pointed at Morgana. Surprisingly, she agreed.
By this point, Emery was seriously considering sneaking like a thief right now. But of course, he wouldn't do that. Still, he needed a good reason to make Morgana go back home before he gets recalled.
Emery had already grabbed his equipment and some of the finished cleansing potion as well as the muscle paste. He then left the village and went toward the direction of where he had entered the forest with the Quintin Expedition group with Morgana.
What Emery planned to do first was to get information and be up to date as well as the general state of events of Venta, Lioness Kingdom and its surroundings. He had been trapped in the spatial space with Killgragah for half a year as well as spent a few weeks in Evernight Forest, so his knowledge of the news about the kingdom in general was as good as dust. He was hoping to hear as well if there was anything regarding the Crimson Fang Marauders and see if there were any strange rumors about mysterious disappearances. He wasn't particularly thrilled to hear any news about the latter though.
He needed to have more information, so once he was at the Magus Academy, he could plan better once he got back again and finish his to-do list here in this planet.
Exiting the Evernight or Forbidden Forest, he followed the path heading toward Venta, the closest town, where Luna Quintin, daughter of a powerful merchant-lord resided. If anyone had information, it would surely be a person who had a lot of money because they would surely have a wide range of networks with different kinds of people.
After about two to three hours of walking, Emery finally reached Venta with Morgana walking beside him. As he had expected, the town bustled with lots of trade carts and the streets were filled with lots of people and merchants trying to sell their goods.
As he walked on the streets of Venta, making his way through the busy crowd, his gaze fell on Morgana who was lagging behind because she was staring at all the little things the merchants were selling. Only then he realized that Morgana hadn't been outside of the forest before. This was probably the reason why the girls were so adamant in joining him.
He walked back to Morgana whose eyes were still glued to the merchant stall that was selling accessories. Emery noticed that she was staring with beaming eyes at a hairband of sorts. He then grinned and said, "Excuse me, can I get one of these?"
"Sure, young lad. This is a perfect gift for your girl there," said the merchant, handing out the hairband with a great smile.
Emery laughed while placing a bronze coin at the stall. He received the hairband and said, "She's a companion."
He then gave it to Morgana who immediately put it on. The dark shiny hair band made her messy red hair fall down beautifully. It must have been his imagination because he thought he saw her cheeks became as red as her hair before turning away. Well, no matter, since she was here anyway, he thought it would be a good souvenir once she returned to the forest.
"Let's go, follow me. There's something else I want you to try," said Emery to Morgana who immediately walked behind him with her blank expression that occasionally beamed whenever they passed at something that she probably hadn't seen before.
Emery led her to another market stall that was exuding the wonderful aroma of freshly baked pig's pie as well as roasted glazed skewers. He walked up the stall and said to the attendant, "Two please. Here you go, Morgana try it while it's hot."
This was the first time Emery would be eating this. The one that he had bought a couple of weeks ago had not been consumed because of the events that transpired the moment he bought one. But the wait was worth it, the hard looking pie was actually so soft that it almost felt apart the moment he took his first bite. He could clearly taste the pig's rich flavor as well as other ingredients which for the life of him couldn't figure out.
He had just finished his first bite but when he turned to ask what Morgana thought of it, hers was already finished and she grabbed another one without paying.
Emery was speechless and the attendant was giving Morgana a stern look. He quickly reached for another coin and handed it to the attendant. He said awkwardly, "Please excuse my companion here. She's a bit wrong in the head."
It was Morgana's turn to look at him with fierce eyes. She said, "Hey, what did you say? I feel like you were making fun of me…"
Emery twitched his brows, she said 'feel like', which implied she didn't understand him. He then asked, "What do you mean? I was paying for the meal."
Morgana gave him a sharper look and said, "It doesn't feel like it. When you were talking to that man, you said it in a language that I don't understand…"
Falling into thought, Emery believed that the symbol on his hand, translated his speech without him knowing it to whomever he had an intent of speaking with. He confirmed this with the attendant too and said the same thing as Morgana. Well, no matter, go ahead and finish the pig's pie.
After having a fulfilling snack, Emery dragged Morgana and proceeded to head straight to the Quintin's Estate. When Emery arrived in front of the gate, Asur was nearby and they both recognized each other.
"Master Merlin, you are back. Lady Luna will surely be happy to see you," said Asur, the dark-skinned scout. "You, announce to Lady Luna that Master Merlin has returned."
The guards in front of the gate actually also recognized Emery as they gave him a respectful bow. They asked him to wait and after a few minutes, the door of the mansion slammed open and Luna Quintin appeared and welcomed him.
"Merlin! I'm so glad you're alive!"
The last time he had seen Luna, she had her curled blonde hair not tied to anything, but this time it was beautifully braided, giving her a whole different impression aside from being a business lady. She approached Emery with a huge smile and warmly welcomed him inside the estate but then her eyes fell on Morgana, who once again looked at things with blank expression. Luna probably recognized Morgana as being one the forest people but nevertheless, Luna still invited her with him.
Luna led Emery and Morgana to enter a room that had a long table with silver cups, wonderfully embroidered rag, marbled floors, silver candelabra, amongst other things, which made the room look luxurious. Emery couldn't but notice Luna still eyeing Morgana — who had her eyes wide open gawking at things she seemed to have never seen before — from time to time, scanning Morgana's face.
Luna sat on the head set first and when the two followed after her, she opened her mouth and said, "She's the girl who can transform into a big wolf, isn't she?"