The coach suddenly moves closer to the gates. As Rein glances outside, she sees another coach before them and a carriage behind. The walls of the Empire cover up half of the skies in her vision.
“The Entry Guard is here, folks! You'd better get your butts out here.” The coachman announces.
Rein steps out, followed by the other seven passengers, to see a couple of Entry Guards standing beside the coach. The other Entry Guard finished talking with the coachman and enters the coach for examination. At the same time, Rein and the others fall in line before the Entry Guard. On his left arm, he is holding a magic tool having a magic orb above a tablet. It is supposed to verify the legitimacy of the contents on every entry and exit of approval.
That looks heavy, she thought.
When her turn came, she hands her entry of approval. While the Entry Guard slips the parchment on the tablet, a couple of rays of light appears from the orb scanning. As soon as the rays disappeared, the Entry Guard gives the parchment back to her and she walks back to the coach.
Maxine is already inside the coach as she sits. “Their job looked tiring,” Rein says.
“Yeah. Imagine bringing that stuff half of the day.” Two women walk inside and sit back in their seats. “But, that orb was interesting.”
“That was my first time seeing magic on the act.”
“The Empire is filled with magi, girls. You'll get tired of seeing them in the streets almost every day.” The woman across Rein responds in their conversation.
The men get back in the coach. “All of them are wearing their military uniforms, though. And you can't see them doing magic unless there's trouble.”
“Oh, I see.” Maxine looks mesmerized upon hearing them.
As the last woman came in and sits beside Rein, the coachman propels the horses into the gates.
To even enhance the security of the Empire, magi built wide cage magic around the walls to disapprove of anyone who is considered a threat to the Empire. They will be pushed away from the cage magic even with their verified entry of approval.
People said passing the cage feels like being warped into the Empire. However, for Rein, she feels a strange painless excoriation on her skin. Afterward, she grows pale and feels vomiting but suppresses it to avoid disturbance.
The coachman maneuvers the coach into the coach parkade near the gates. Rein gets her suitcase and leaves the coach while the other passengers walk in their ways.
“Rein, are you alright?” Maxine asks. She had noticed her face paling on the entrance.
“Oh, yes, yes. I am.” She was still out of her senses upon entering. “Maybe I'm just sleepy.”
“Tell me if there's something wrong.” Maxine hands all of the sketches she did to Rein. “We'll write letters. I'll definitely write back no matter what.”
“Okay, thanks. I'm fine.” She slips the parchments into her suitcase.
With a worried look, Maxine steps back. Her flaxen curls shine underneath a streetlamp. The rouge corset on the peach frock shows her delicate curves. “I'll be off, then.”
“Bye.” As Maxine walks further into the street, Rein turns right into the main street.
This was Prayne, the main street of Suden which was the southern district of the Empire, where businesses from smaller to bigger arise. As it is getting late, there are hardly any people walking in the street. Few windows on her way are lit while most of the windows are dark.
Rein hears a nearing clamor. Cheers and laughs flood in the street as she arrives before the ajar door of a tavern. Some men are dining and some men are drinking brews while women are serving food and beverages to the tables.
“Would you like an order, young girl?” a woman bringing a tray full of leftover dishes suddenly invites her in.
“Oh, no, thank you.” The energy in the place overwhelms Rein making her walk away. She is too exhausted to be enthusiastic. A cozy bed is what her body asks at the moment.
She turns left into the next block. Rein had never been in the Empire. Knowing where to go was all thanks to the owner of the place she bought. They were kind enough to give her directions.
Rein is the sixth person to walk in Trayl, the street next to Prayne. As she looks at the young lady walking on her way, she is enthralled by her emerald eyes and fine chin-length silver hair.
When the young lady passes beside Rein, her purple frock moves in harmony with her steps. To think such a gorgeous face exists, she thought.
Rein finds the building and arrives before its doors. She feels anxious and excited as she imagines the opening of her restaurant in the next two days.
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