Chapter 125: Chapter 125
“You really want to accompany me towards Sylphid Coast?” Eru asked while leaning towards the table. Long nodded, “Yes, meeting a fellow dragon and accompanying him in his journey is a privilege for most young dragons. And besides, I don’t have anything to do in Gale now.”
“Don’t you want to change the people mindset?”
Long smiled slightly, “It turns out their governor had his own plan. I don’t even have to do anything.” Eru squinted, “What do you mean?” Long’s smile became even wider, “You’ll know in due time, brother Eru.” Eru shook his head, “Stop trying to be mysterious. And what do you mean privilege for young dragons?” Long rubbed his chin, “Of course. Most young dragons left their nest alone and never met other dragons until their adulthood. The ones that did, become friends and allies for eternity”, he explained.
“Is that so?” Eru looked outside the windows. The thick woods surrounding the inn and the cool air the mountains emitted made the atmosphere feel calming to Eru. After waiting a while, Mei finally brought Eru and Long’s food to their table. “Order coming up!” Mei said, then she neatly arranged the plates on the table. “Enjoy!” Mei left as Eru and Long stared at the food before them. “Let’s dig in”, Eru and Long proceeded to eat the food. “Not as good as Olga’s food, but it’s quite close”, Long stated. Eru nodded, “I agree.”
While Eru and Long were eating, somewhere in Gale Territory, Taiboku stood on top of a snowy mountain, scanning Gale Territory with his discerning eyes. “Where are you?” Taiboku mumbled as he was searching for Li Qiye’s aura signatures. “Have you found him yet?” Da Ji appeared from out of nowhere behind Taiboku. “Nope, no traces of him”, Taiboku clicked his tongue. Da Ji had a look of surprise on her face, “Really? Even with your special eyes?” Taiboku nodded weakly, “Yes. The Mirror Wheel Eyes could almost see through everything, but Li Qiye understood this really well.”
“How? Surely only you know how it works”, Da Ji approached Taiboku slowly. “No. There are people in this world who possess much more knowledge about it than I do. And Li Qiye was one of them”, Taiboku took a deep breath. Da Ji gasped, “Did he have one as well?” Taiboku nodded, “He used to have it. After all, Li Qiye was the one that created the Mirror Wheel Eyes, the original, the Progenitor Zero.”
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Eru came out from the bath in the morning feeling fresh, “Ah, as expected from an inn that had electricity. The bath was excellent.” As Eru tried to walk outside to catch fresh air, he came across Mei, who was sweeping the front yard. When Mei saw Eru, her cheek reddened as she remembered her previous encounter with the young man. Eru’s well-chiselled body was still fresh in the young girl’s mind. Mei tried to avoid Eru, but the latter greeted the young girl. “Good morning, miss Mei”, Eru said while he stretched his body.
“G-good morning”, Mei replied while slightly stuttering in her words. “Lovely day, ain’t it?” Eru looked up to the bright blue sky. Mei followed suit before nodding, “Yeah, yeah it is.” Eru looked at Mei, “Say, why do your inn opt for such a modern look? I mean, after coming back from Gale, I found that people over there did not respond to modernization very well.” Eru asked. Mei stared at Eru for a while before she let out a sigh, “Yeah, tell me about it. I know it all too well.”
Mei continued, “Will you listen to me talk?” Mei looked at Eru’s eyes with a peculiar gaze. Eru nodded, “Sure, let’s go sit somewhere then.” Eru and Mei head inside the inn before proceeding to sit upstairs by the window. Mei took a deep breath, “Where do I start this? Right, I was born inside Gale Territory, particularly in its central area. From childhood, I had everything I needed but never what I wanted. One day, bandits dressed in black came in and destroyed everything. My dad wasn’t there, and our family did not stand a chance against them. My mother hid me somewhere and used herself as a decoy so that I could survive”, tears started to appear in Mei’s eyes.
“For days, I waited, and until eventually, my dad came home and found me. He was so enraged at that time, and I remembered he butchered every single bandit on Gale Territory, but he never found the one dressed in black. After that, my dad took me and left Gale Territory. He took me on a journey all over Silvan Territory” Mei smiled as she reminisced about her life. “I learned many things while traversing the country. And then, I got curious, curious about Gale Territory as it was the only place I hadn’t truly visited yet. My father and I got into a huge argument, and we settled it with me going alone towards Gale without my father” Mei’s hair got blown by the wind, revealing her full facial features.
Mei’s lips curled up into a slight smile, “After that, I stayed in Gale for a while, particularly inside Tailwind City. I worked many jobs there while secretly looking for the perpetrators that killed my family. Even after looking for two years, I did not find them. What I found, however, was a little inn called Peace and Quiet.”
“Peace and Quiet?”
“You heard of it? When I first got into Tailwind City, a captain named An Lin showed me there, introducing me to the owner, Miss Olga”, Mei smiled recalling her time back in Tailwind City, “I was shocked when I found out that Miss Olga was embracing Magi-Tech. She taught me so many things when I was over there, so much so that I could not stand staying there without having to help around the inn.”
“When I told Miss Olga that I would like to help, she refused at first, but after pestering her for a while, she finally let me help her. And that’s where I learned the grave situations in Gale”, Mei added while she squinted her eyes. “One own homeland cannot be forgotten, but it can be hated”, Mei smiled deprecatingly, “My dad used to say that, and I could understand once I stayed in Gale for two years with Miss Olga. Since Miss Olga is a foreigner inside Gale Territory, the people there discriminated against Miss Olga. Any people who visit her inn would be beaten up or ostracized. It went worse as time passed by, and eventually, I can’t take it anymore.”
Mei’s expression contorted, “I wanted the Peace and Quiet Inn to prosper, you know?” she smiled wryly, “Miss Olga is a sensible person. She tried to introduce the people towards Magi-Tech, to not let the people be left behind, but the people of Gale blatantly refused her. It’s fine if they just refused her; however, they did so much worse than that. I was so angry, pissed off and wanted to beat them all out. However, Miss Olga somehow stopped me, preventing me from acting dumb.”
Mei sighed, “So much happened there that made me hate Gale to the bone. And that’s when Miss Olga gave me the idea. If you want to change something, change it from the roots, she said. After that, I left Gale and met up with my dad.” Mei stood up; she turned her head towards the windows, “That’s when I decided to make this inn” Mei flashed a smile towards Eru. “I persuaded my dad, and using all of our remaining money, we made this inn. I designed this inn to resemble Miss Olga’s Peace and Quiet Inn. Located between Gale Territory and the outside, I hope people stumbled on this inn when people went in or out of Gale Territory and upon visiting here, I hope they could at least slightly change their mindset” Mei smiled as her eyes were slightly wet.
“That’s admirable”, Eru genuinely praised Mei from the bottom of his heart. Eru could see the determination of the young woman in front of him as she tried to wipe her eyes. Mei sat back down, “I don’t even know why I’m telling you all of these things” Mei let out a small laugh while her tears were still streaming from her eyes. Eru did not know what to say looking at the young woman in front of him. “I’m sorry for asking”, there were so many words in Eru’s mind, but Eru could only utter those words to Mei. Mei shook her head and let out a brilliant smile, “Oh, no, it’s okay. Actually, I’m glad I told this to anyone else. But, I did not expect that I told my story to a stranger I just met twice.”
Eru chuckled, “Then it’s only fair if I told you my side of the story, only if you’re interested.” Mei giggled, “By all means.”
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