I Became My Healer Elf Character - Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Imperial Capital

Hikari saw the massive city in the distance. In terms of size, nothing she’d seen so far could compare. There were towering white walls of pure marble, and the coast had large docks with hundreds of ships. She never expected that the Imperial capital would also be a port city based off everything she heard about it.

“Master, I smell a dragon here.”

“A dragon?” Hikari asked, tilting her head.

“Yes, Master. I believe that its somewhere in the city. Though, it’s not very impressive, to say the least. Other wise, it would come out and greet me instead of hiding like a coward.”

Hikari made a mental note of Kuryami’s words as they finally docked their ship. The guards here wore armor that was more ceremonial in nature. All of them had a flaming dragon emblem stitched to the chest of their white sailor uniform. Many of them carried even more fancy swords, like well-fashioned rapiers.

The open dock had someone sitting at a bench towards the end. The man waited for Hikari to depart the ship.

“Proof of passage please,” the man said.

Hikari took out a small trinket that Lord Vuldragon had given her and handed it to the man.

“Lord Vuldragon? The older brother? Is he well?”

The elf nodded. “He’s better than he’s ever been.”

“That’s good to hear. A lot of us sailors look forward to meeting him again. I hope he comes back to the capital.” The man paused before handing back the trinket. “With this, you can go to most places in the city. Just be careful while you are here. I’d avoid the castle altogether.”

“Why is that?”

The man leaned forward over his desk, cupping the side of his mouth with one hand, and lowering his voice. “The Emperor has been on a rampage as of late. Don’t get caught in the crossfire. All of the men who were wise have taken stations as far away from the castle as possible. I think something big is bound to happen soon. I just hope to be far away when it does.”

“Thanks for the information, but should you really be telling me all of this?”

The man chuckled. “Nonsense, there’s no need to be quaint. Anyone who’s been given this rite of passage is friendly with the older brother, and that’s a man that all sailors respect. Now, if it was the army stationed here, maybe you’d have a different experience.”

“Is there any place you recommend visiting while I am here? As a tourist?”

“Normally, I would say to check out the palace, but again, the Emperor is on a spree. What you should do is go to the college. There is also several of the churches and the dragon coven. Alternatively, a lot of tourists enjoy some of the food here, but personally, I find it miserable.”

“Why is that?”

The man shrugged. “When you’ve had the good stuff out in the boonies, it makes you not want to eat this city food. They can’t even prepare a proper fish, let alone making something edible from the meat around here.”

“Thanks again, you’ve been a big help, but I think we’ll be on our way now.”

The sailor waved her off. “Don’t worry your little head about it. If you see me around town, don’t be a stranger. If you’ve not had any good food by then, my wife can cook up a mean pot of fish soup.”

Hikari waved and set off towards the city. They were stopped at the gate once more before being allowed entry.

If the city seemed large before, it was even bigger now. A bustling crowd walked between market stalls and different buildings. The Imperial capital was so packed with structures that it made seeing the other side of the wall impossible. The only thing visible from a distance was the palace high up on a cliff side, facing the sea.

“Master, are we going to pay that place a visit?”

“I guess the first order of business should be getting a room and bed near the college. Though…I guess we should have asked where that is first.”

Ayase sighed and tapped on Hikari’s shoulder. “Did you forget that I am here? I went to that college before, remember? Even if it’s been a while, I will still remember where it is. Besides, it’s not far from the castle. All of the important things are in that direction.”

Hikari looked behind her once more at the towering white walls at the edge of the city. “I wonder if they ever get tired of looking at these all day.”

“You have no idea,” Ayase said.

Hikari chuckled as they continued walking. Moving quickly along the road was not much of a challenge for them, despite there being so many people. The elf was just glad that nobody had tried to pickpocket her again. She didn’t want to have to take in more poor children if she could help it.

In a giant city with crowded side walks, all of the people sort of blend together. It reminded Hikari of Japan’s large cities. If one observed all of the people from a high vantage point, they sort of blended together like ants. It made it impossible to distinguish different characteristics from person to person. This brought more strange thoughts to the elf’s mind.

How do gods and goddesses pick out individuals among a crowd when all of them are basically the same from that vantage point?

However, Hikari knew the answer. Even if someone could hide really well, they could not hide the essence of their soul. If there was a person that needed to be singled out among the masses, the elf knew that she could do it. Though, thinking like that it makes a god’s life more challenging if they need to give out blessings.

The elf sighed, remembering that all of the gods and goddesses had not visited these lands in hundreds of years, aside from Amelia’s trip. “Maybe it will be a good idea to visit a shrine while I’m here, too?”

“Why does Master want to visit a shrine?” The dragon asked.

“It’s simple really. I want to see if there are any elder gods who will come down here. Remember all of that stuff we’ve been told. They’re supposed to have some kind of council, yet I’ve seen none of them. Nor have they even sent me a message. Don’t you find it strange?”

Kurayami tilted her head, placing a finger on her chin. “It is a little strange Master, but I’m not sure why you care about those guys. They’re cowards anyway. If they weren’t, then they’d be down here to talk to you.”

Mizuko shook her head, disagreeing with the dragon’s assessment. “It could be a number of things. If they’re a council, perhaps everything just works slower than it should. I’ve heard that large bureaucracies tend to move slow. Maybe this is something like that?”

Hikari narrowed her eyes at the vampire. “Where did you learn that?”

Mizuko simply looked towards Ayase.

The witch sighed. “You don’t have to tell on me every time I teach you something. You make it seem like I’m a bad guy!”

Hikari giggled. “Don’t worry, I’m not angry at all. I just didn’t know how Mizuko would find such information. As far as I’m concerned, the only bureaucracies here are guilds.”

Either way, the elf continued walking. “I guess it doesn’t do us any good to contemplate these things without knowing for certain. In the end, whatever we come up with might be far from the truth.”

The elf looked at a gate blocking their path and separating a part of the city from the upper districts. The portcullis had many guards around it, who seemed much sharper than the guards she’d seen before. For this entrance, it was clear that the Emperor only selected his best men.

Incredibly, the man who stopped them had what appeared to be a small firearm on his hip. Though, on closer inspection, Hikari realized it was a magic weapon in the shape of a revolver.

[Magi-Revolver] – This weapon was fashioned by the golem smiths of the Imperial Capital. It features a self-loading system and requires very little input of mana from the user. Once all magic bullets have been depleted, the revolver will take from the user’s [Magi-Bandoleer].

Hikari observed the satchel on the man’s side.

[Magi-Bandoleer] – This piece of equipment was fashioned by the golem smiths of the Imperial Capital. It serves as a magic bag that can carry magic bullets. Once bound to a revolver, the bullets inside will load themselves after a cartridge is depleted.

Another man seemed to have a repeater rifle, and it was much the same thing with the bandoleer and all.

I guess these guns would be effective against the average populace trying to storm the gate, yet it wouldn’t do much against a decent mage. Hikari made her assessment before presenting her token to the waiting guard and entering the palace district.

Inside, she observed all of the buildings that got more wealthy the further they went up. The elf chose the closest inn they could get to the college, which was still quite a distance away.