The Capital City of The Lesich Empire, Ilifel. It is a prosperous powerhouse of a city built from anti-magic runes as well as advanced magic barriers to dispel anything that’s not in the strict registry. Mages in this city suffer from severe punishment due to the restriction on mana, 

 However… 

 This has little to no effect on ordinary people or mages who are already used to the mana turbulence that the barrier generates. 

 In a world as dangerous as this, Magic should be used with the utmost care. In essence… Magic is a burden and freedom. Magic is the chaos in order. Hence… Those whose potential resonates with mana will naturally be burdened with responsibility. 

 But the safety of the city isn’t the only reason for its prosperity. The city is close to natural resources such as vast magical forests and icy cold mountains with metals and minerals. And also…they’re the only exporters of the most advanced generators every city uses. 

 Each of these magi–techs can be configured how the buyers want, but…it’s nearly irreplicable due to the unique materials used, which are only known by a few. 

 And in such a city lives a Saint, a lively yet shy girl. She performs miracles for the people, cures unknown diseases, and is oddly competent in combat. 

 Even though she’s just been appointed a Saint, people already love her. And since the previous Saint’s passing a year prior. She picked up the role. 

 It was the late Saint’s last will… She, too, wanted to fulfil that wish of hers. After all…it was her own grandmother’s last wish. 

 The previous Saint had many admirers. She was old and wise. But… It was still too soon for her to pass away. And the entire Empire mourned her death. Even if they couldn’t attend the funeral in Ilifel, they held one of their own in their respected city to show their respect.  

 (…Grandmother, I will do my best. And…rest well.)  

 With her teachings and the legacy now passed onto her. The Saint placed her grandmother’s favourite flower on her tomb. 

 And with determination and a face brimming with confidence, she promised herself, (I promise I won’t let the people down… I’ll protect our empire…) 

 …

 …..

 …

 Currently in a cafe with her friend Keilyn, The Saint leisurely enjoys the treats in front of her. With a sweet and innocent smile on her face, it was difficult to tell they were the same person. 

 Where did the elegance go? 

 Keilyn sighed and glanced at her friend. “The wanderers will soon arrive, right?” she inquired while sipping her tea. 

 But… The Saint didn’t answer as she awkwardly averted her eyes. The two of them were childhood friends and met in their early academy days and had just graduated. Well, the same year as the passing of the previous Saint. 

 “Are you just going to ignore me leisurely…?” Keilyn asked with a somewhat sour face, eyeing down her friend. 

 ‘Uuu…’

 Feeling nervous, The Saint peeked at her friend from the corner of her eyes while adorably sipping her honey tea. 

 “...well, you know? I… I’m shy around strangers, and I need to charge up before meeting them. Isn’t that right?” she elegantly answered. 

 “...why are you asking me? Besides… There’s no use feigning that elegance of yours now. I already know…” 

 ‘Uuu…’ 

 ‘Pff…’ Keilyn chuckled, asking, “Aren’t you a ‘Saint,’ Ame? A people person? Just get used to it already… pfft… Ahaha~” 

 With small drops of tears in her eyes, Amethely retorts back at her friend, saying, “B-but they’re from another world, you know!? That’s like… strangers plus strangers!” she exclaimed. 

 Bewildered, Keilyn started to tease her instead. “Oh, my? Is Miss Saint’s vocabulary doing alright? Need a Lexicon?”  

 Amethely inflated her cheeks and pouted. “Geez! Kei! You’ve been so mean to me nowadays…!” she replied. “Hmph!” she huffed, crossing her arms and turning her body away. “But…you’re right…” Amethely expressed after calming down. 

 Seeing how her friend flipped the switch to her [Saint Mode Ame], she chuckled. This side of her was the one people were most familiar with. 

 (Impressive as always; it wouldn’t be surprising if someone thought they were different people…)

*Sigh*

 Heaving a sigh, Keilyn, too, became more serious. “Although… Keep in mind that one of the wanderers is cursed.” 

 “...cursed?” Amethely curiously asked. 

 “I’m unsure what kind of curse it is, regardless. Do be careful, Ame.” 

 “...Thank you,” Amethely responded with a soft and elegant smile. “I will keep that in mind.” 

 …

 …..

 …

*A-Acheew…* 

 (…Is someone talking about me?) Alum pondered. Soon enough, a beautiful scenery presented itself. 

 “Did you catch a cold?” Miss Ilis inquired. 

 She and he hasn’t spoken a lot. In fact, Alum hasn’t really inquired about anything. Still, she seemed a little concerned for his well-being. 

 “No,” Alum indifferently replied. “I presume someone’s subject of conversation is about me.” 

 “...Do people of your world sneeze in those cases?” Miss Ilis curiously inquired while lifting an eyebrow. 

 “No. It’s just some superstitious remark. Don’t mind it.” 

 “Hmm? Is that so?” Miss Ilis responded and lost interest in the subject matter. 

 As their short conversation came to an end. An ocean came into view. But that wasn’t the only spectacle. An enormous city revealed itself as they got closer to the ocean. It was surrounded by lush green lands and large rivers flowing down from the nearby mountains. And as far as he could see, he eyed and inspected the city.

 (…looks fancy,) he thought. 

 Even from this distance, he could tell that this place was rich. In fact… he’d flown over some other settlements as well. And from above, all of them seem very sturdy and clean. 

 Well…he was interested, but as he gazed at the mountains… He found it a marvel and liked the beauty of it. It was a cold place, and…he could resonate with it. As he, too, liked the cold. 

 “...Isn’t it beautiful?” Miss Ilis asked. She wasn’t facing him, but she could tell that he admired the mountain’s natural beauty. 

 “...whichever does Miss Ilis refer to? The ocean, city or the mountains?” Alum inquired. 

 “...All of it,” Miss Ilis replied. She was well aware that Alum knew what she referred to and thought, (What a difficult guy…)

 Alum ignored that and responded nonchalantly. “I suppose…a scenery like this isn’t so different from that of my world, however…the vegetation here is more vibrant, I suppose?” 

 “...Which means?” 

 “Yeah. All of it is captivating.” 

 Miss Ilis chucked a little and softly smiled. “Anyhow, we’ll arrive sooner than the others. Don’t be afra—rather…do you have any questions about the city? Or anything in general?” 

 ...Alum pondered a little before asking, “Then… Miss Ilis, can I stroll around the city? I want to look around.” 

 “...” 

 Miss Ilis was a little reluctant to give him an answer as she didn’t know what the higher-ups had planned for him. But she knew one thing for sure, and that was that they were going to have a long discussion about the current situation. That and have Alum explain things about his world. 

 “I’m uncertain you’ll get permission on your first day of arrival. However… I’ll try and grant your wish. That is if time allows before the others arrive.” 

 Alum frowned a little but shrugged as there was nothing to do about it, “I see,” he said. “Well… It can’t be helped. And… I got another question for you, Miss Ilis.” 

 Miss Ilis glanced at him, “And what is that?” she inquired. 

 “Why am I the only one on this dragon with you?” 

 …Miss Ilis felt a little hesitant about telling him the reason, but…it was bothering her that he was calling her ‘Miss Ilis’ all the time. 

 “Please just call me Chely. Not you, not Miss Ilis. Just Chely,” she insisted. 

 “Very well, Chely. Your response?” 

 Seeming satisfied, Chely smiled and gave Alum a brief rundown. “To put it bluntly, you’re cursed,” she answered. “Although it seems to be a minor one, it’s better to be careful. This curse, however, probably won’t kill you. And as a Hero, I’m blessed with curse negation. Just being in my presence naturalises them. There are naturally more people similar to me. But since I was the only one present, this is the situation we’re in.” 

 Alum listened intently, thinking, (…Well, that’s a relief. If others knew about this, they might’ve blamed me for the whole situation, even if the effect is unknown. Although…she mentioned it was a minor case, who knows how people would react…)

 So…he’s rather grateful to hear about this now. After all… It would’ve been a pain to deal with. 

 While she was at it, she also went on and explained things about the city and its properties.

“—and that’s why you’ll have to be extra reserved and might have to get used to not strengthening your body with mana naturally. It can feel a little suffocating at first, especially for a powerful mage like you… But we don’t mean harm by any means.” 

 Alum titled his head. ‘...huh?’ he uttered before asking, “Me? A powerful mage?” 

 Chely was also bewildered. “Huh? Of course?” she said. But now…she started to have some doubts. (…could it be… He’s inexperienced? With that amount of condensed mana?) Thus, she had to ask. “How did you arrive at that conclusion?” 

 “...I’m not going to be a sad, useless good for nothing and get abandoned?” Alum inquired, tilting his head. 

 “No… Really? Where did you get the notion?” Chely inquired as she stiffly stared at him. 

 (…Figures… I shouldn’t rely on Noel’s strange books. Then…I’m not a… Mob?) 

 While Alum was pondering, Chely gave him a stare. It was her lack of understanding, but…of course. It was natural since they were not on the same page. 

*Sigh*

 Letting out yet another sigh, Chely began another long explanation. “The Empire’s goal is to get you wanderers under our protection. You will learn how to live in the capital and help us develop technologies or spark interest in some fields,” she gently(awkwardly) smiled to reassure him. “Even if you were ‘useless’, we wouldn’t abandon you.” 

 “Mmm,” Alum hummed. He was still sceptical. But it was still better than living in the wilderness. 

 However… 

 There was something that had been bothering him. “How come you knew we were in the plains?” he inquired. (Do they have surveillance on a remote location such as that? Or…is that just my imagination?) 

 In response, Chely glanced at the city for a moment before saying, “There are Oracles that predict events such as these. Until recently, we weren’t aware that wanderers would come out of that spatial quake.” 

 “Mmm,” Alum intently listened. (Spatial quake? Is that how we arrived?) he pondered. “You’re telling me we arrived through one of those ‘spatial quakes?” he inquired.

 “...that’s right,” Chely affirmed. “Spatial quakes aren’t well understood. It’s speculated that they’re the results of colliding worlds in the celestial realm. Thus shaking the space in some areas of the world. They’re dangerous places to be, and we always make sure to investigate them after things calm down. Yet…this time. We’d received a notice that there would be guests from another world.” 

 “I see,” Alum replied. 

 “...thank you for understanding. But…refrain from getting any dangerous ideas.” 

 “...”

 “...”

 Chely’s stare stared at Alum, and the mood was slightly awkward. Alum did, in fact, have those thoughts. (…was it obvious?) Alum wondered. He thought if he’d arrived before a spatial quake could occur and jumped in, would that take him back to his world? (…judging from her stare. Likely not.) 

 And when he concluded that it was too dangerous and not worth it, he nodded. “I didn’t get strange ideas.” 

 Chely knew that it was blatantly a lie. 

 “...Anyways, we’re arriving soon,” Chely said as she shifted her attention elsewhere. 

 “Mmm,” Alum replied. 

 …after the somewhat tiresome and awkward journey, they arrived in the capital city. 

 …

 …..

 

 …

 As they entered the military section of the city, the view changed. They’d entered some sort of barrier that altered the perception of outsiders looking in. When Alum saw the base from above, it looked just like another part of the city. But…that wasn’t the case at all. 

 (…an illusion?) While thinking along those lines, it was time to land. 

 “We’ve arrived,” Chely said. She was speaking to some people on the ground. They seemed to have awaited their arrival. Thus, they greeted her both Chely and Alum. 

 They saluted, saying, ““Welcome back, Ma’am!”” 

 “Thank you, I’m back,” Chely replied as she jumped off the dragon. She urged Alum to do the same.

 So… He did. But…he almost tripped over.

 “….”

 Ever since Alum entered the city, he’d been feeling weaker and nauseous. And usually, this wouldn’t be a problem since he came from a world that lacked magic in the first place. But…since arriving here, his body had adapted, and yet another change by the barrier made him sick. 

 Catching Alum, who almost tripped by the shoulder, Chely asked, “Are you okay?” 

 “...I feel slightly dizzy, but… it’s better now,” Alum replied. (…it’s not as horrible compared to when I first arrived. But…will the others be able to tolerate such drastic change?)

 “I see…” Chely replied, seeing that Alum was in deep thought. (Usually, people don’t suffer this badly just from entering…) She was slightly concerned, but seeing how his expression didn’t change, she’d assumed he was fine. 

 “Welcome back, Miss Hero, and welcome to Ilifel, young man,” a young-looking knight greeted Chely and Alum. 

 Chely let go of Alum as he stood firmly, not needing her support. She glanced at the young knight who’d just greeted them and said, “Thank you, Alver.” she then turned to Alum, “Do you need to rest? Otherwise, we’ll head to a meeting,” Chely inquired as she looked at Alum, who was still a little in a daze. 

 “No, it’s fine,” Alum responded as his somewhat hazy gaze shifted to Alver. “Greetings to you, too,” he said with a slight bow. 

 “...well then, I’ll be your guide. Follow me.” 

 ““…..”” 

 And so, Alum and Chely quietly followed Alver. The mood was stern and for obvious reasons. Alver, who’d just met Alum, felt extremely cautious toward him. Alum didn’t mind. 

 But… 

 (…Maybe I should’ve just feigned illness…) he thought, playing with the idea as he didn’t feel like meeting people in power. And more evidently so if they’re ones from another world. 

 Alum never really liked authorities, not because of their tendency to spout pretentious nonsense—in general, they gave him a headache. 

*Sigh*

 Letting out a soft sigh, he could only follow them. Soon, they reached a massive door. 

 …

 …..

 …

 After having a meeting with the higher-ups from another world, Alum sighed yet again. (We’re not so different after all. Still…to think they’d let me walk freely in the city, or well…not entirely.) 

 He played with the mana control amulet he’d received, freely strolling the streets. And while he was looking around, his assumptions about the city from above were correct. 

  (An advanced civilisation based on magic…the general feel isn’t too different from what I’m used to, and it’s more advanced in some aspects…which is rather intriguing.) 

  As he was in deep thought, he realised that he was lost. And well… not that he knew his way around the city, to begin with. 

 Looking up, he saw a stellar view of the vast and blue ocean, the dim star at the horizon and the buzzing city streets below… It was all beautiful. (…maybe I did change how I view these sorts of things…everything used to be more…monotone…) 

 Alum was never the type to be intrigued by anything, but when he met Noel, he thought that maybe things weren’t so grey after all. 

 Some time passed, and he relocated to another place. Currently comparing prices in the market. He concluded that he’d received a pretty hefty amount of money to play around with. Well… Not that he was going to splurge.

  (To think they’d let me use this….)

 As cautious as he was, he now began to interest himself in their affairs further. (What are they after?) he wondered. 

 They’ve given him more freedom than he’d imagine they’d do someone new to the world and even let him stroll around free of guards at his request. 

 Well…sort of. 

 He felt rather grateful, and they seemed like nice people in general. But one shouldn’t trust another’s intention unless they want to end in misery. 

 Well… He also received clothes and was blending in well. Just one problem… his hair colour and eye colour were rather…memorable, to say the least. So, he stuck out more than he’d hoped. 

 But if he wore his usual attire, then he’d stick out even more. (In the end, it was the right choice, but…)

*Sigh*

 He sighed again, taking a bite from the skewer he’d just bought from a vendor. ‘It’s tasty,’ he uttered. 

 And so, he walked around, speaking to different vendors. He even asked for places that were affordable for the night. To get a point of reference, of course. After all, he’d received his own room and needed to return by the evening as promised. 

  “A place to stay the night, huh? Kid…don’t you do research before travelling long distances to get here? Well… I’ll kindly tell ya, for a night at a reasonable inn with great service. I’d say 1000 Lech or so,” the stall owner said as he grinned while curiously observing Alum. 

  (That allows me to stay a few days, huh?) Alum shifted his gaze to the owner, who’d been staring at him. “...I see, thank you… Is there something you need from me?” he later inquired. 

 The stall owner leaned closer, inspecting him. “Say…are you single? How about I introduce my daughter—” 

  “—I have a lover…” Alum lied. He softly smiled and waved, “Well then…thank you for the info and…the delicious treats.” 

 The stall owner was a little disappointed and heaved a sigh, “Well…can’t be helped. Also, why are you thanking me? Consider it a service for buying them!” the owner energetically grinned. 

  “Mmm,” Alum responded with a nod and headed elsewhere. 

 He’d repeatedly do this; eventually, he wanted to know where to find a quiet place. Now…he just wanted some quiet peace. 

  “A...quiet place? How about the central park? It’s not very occupied at this hour. But…in the evenings… It’s a popular place for families to go after work,” the clerk said while handing him a sweet of sort that looked like a crepe. 

  “I see, thank you,” Alum replied, taking the sweet she’d handed him. 

  “S-Sorry…” the clerk flusteredly apologised as their hands accidentally touched. 

 Alum tilted his head a little, “No worries,” he replied and walked away. 

  (It’ll get lively in the evening, well… I want to see what sort of place it is, so…better hurry.) Alum thought, taking a bite of the sweet he’d just gotten his hands on. 

  ‘...!’ his eyes widened in surprise for a moment; (…this is delicious…!) he thought as he made his way to the central park. 

 

A/N  

 

Trivia about the capital city: It’s about 6 km square and is actually not the biggest city in the empire. Although its base is magic-resistant, most buildings built after the old town aren’t, but the barrier is enough for that, though...