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After departing from Central, we’ve passed through several villages and towns, and our next stop is finally Royal Capital Ausente.
We’ve only been in Central for less than a year, not even a tenth of the time we resided in Estoque. Even if I start counting from our escape from Rispelgia’s mansion, it’s been only half the time.
Even so, if I’m asked what place I consider our hometown is, I can proudly answer that Central is our true hometown.

That’s how attached we are to that place and how comforting it was to us.

When we left Central, I somewhat expected to encounter some issues upon entering Ausente, but that wasn’t the case at all, and we had a rather smooth entry.
Actually, I don’t know if it was because of the black hair and mask or just my height, but they looked apprehensive when I first showed my A-rank card. However, when I presented the Grand Master’s signed letter, they immediately let us pass.

The mask that covered my face was expressionless and pure white except for a dragon wing insignia.
I suspected that this was a symbol representing relation with Fiiyanamia—Mother Fii, but that interaction clearly showed that it served practically no meaning at all.
Still, it looks better than just a plain white mask, so I don’t have much else to say.

After entering Ausente, it was the usual routine: simply heading for the royal capital while doing hunter work on the way.
But then I realized that, for this time’s itinerary, we failed to take Mia’s presence into account.
It actually started when we left for the border, as we initially planned to travel from the sky.

And while it may be obvious, Mia can’t fly, nor can she run, jump, or dance in the sky.
Just to be sure, we did try having her fly, and after some struggles, she was able to walk in the air for a moment. Though she fell on her second step.

When she witnessed Ciel danced mid-air, Mia’s eyes were sparkling with excitement.
After all, while she isn’t at the same level as Carol, Mia seems to be also a bit of a sorcery geek.
Come to think of it, there was no way she could have learned how to perform a feat done with the collaborative effort of two highest-grade Jobs—Song Princess and Dance Princess—on such short notice.
I　was made to realize that even in this world of sorcery, humans being able to fly with their own power is not the norm.

So with that said, going by carriage is the typical way to travel, but since Ciel and I aren’t used to riding a carriage, I felt sorry for Mia, but we opted to travel on foot.
With physical reinforcement, we can move faster than a horse-drawn carriage, and, more importantly, we don’t really know how to take care of horses to begin with.
We can also go through places where we otherwise couldn’t if we had horses around.

Mia seemed to have expected this, as she immediately agreed and even said that it was quite hunter-like and would be an interesting experience.
We stayed over at villages and towns as much as possible, and if we had to camp out, I’d set up a barrier, so nothing happened and all was well.

As for hunter work, Mia has also gotten hunter qualifications, so I had her join as Ailneige’s party member.
In general, we would only deliver medicinal herbs and monster materials we collected along the way. And if we took on requests, it would be limited to those with deliverable materials we already had at hand.
Since we are actually A-rank, we have promised the Grand Master to not do too many low-ranked requests; so it’s mainly Mia, who’s a new hunter, that is actually turning in the requests.
This fact and how I keep watch at night left Mia feeling conflicted, but I convinced her that it’s fine since we’re not only master and servant but also party members. Well, you can say that I ordered her to accept it.

Whether it was camping or going to the Hunter Guild, Mia seemed nervous at first, but now, either due to the nearly one month of travel experience or simply seeing us act unfazed in general, Mia has a more confident demeanor.
She’s gotten used to it to the point of fending off people who troubled us for being two girls traveling unattended. With all that, you could say that everything’s going without a hitch, but there was one issue.

In the country of Ausente, elves are surprisingly common. To the point where you can find them around moderately big towns.
That would have been unimaginable at Estoque, and we didn’t travel much within Central, so I really didn’t take notice.
As elves can see spirits, they can easily notice our—or rather, my—unusual nature. Well, since the spirits approach Ciel to play when she’s out and fawn at me when I’m out, discovery is basically inevitable.

At a place where there was an elf receptionist, her eyes went wide in shock at seeing our E-rank card. It isn’t because our rank was high for our age, but instead because we display high affinity with spirits, and yet it was just an E-rank card.
So since it was unavoidable, I presented my A-rank card as well. And then, after a smile, she fortunately took the hint.
The matter of spirits aside, by seeing that I simultaneously hold both E and A-rank cards, she should have at least imagined that we hold some influence in the Hunter Guild’s upper management.

So, taking the opportunity, we accepted as many long neglected requests of C-rank and above level as we could.
With this, our Guild Master Rhavelt shouldn’t have any complaints for a while.

And taking this chance, I asked why elves can be frequently seen in Ausente, and it appears that it’s because there’s an elf settlement near the country.
While it is nearby, it’s apparently concealed and can’t be entered easily. A so-called hidden village, if you will.
I’d like to visit if given the opportunity. Though even if there is an opportunity, they’re apparently somewhat exclusionistic, so I guess it’ll be best to just observe the place from afar.

Now then, back to the topic. We expect to reach the royal capital today or tomorrow. The entrance exam will be held in three days, and we have already finished our application via the communication magic tool at a Hunter Guild.
That’s why, while we don’t have much time to squander, we’re sure to be there on time.

「Should we take a rest now?」
「Thank you for your consideration. Then allow me to take you up on that.」

It must have been roughly 3 hours since we departed from the last town.
Ciel called out to Mia, and we’re now taking a break. We’re doing this to avoid overworking our travel novice sorcerer Mia, but we actually weren’t able to notice her exhaustion in the beginning.
Being the former noble that she was, Mia was good at masking her emotions, and she apparently didn’t want to trouble us as well.
I’m partly to blame for not paying attention, but since it’ll be a problem if she collapses from exhaustion, we cautioned her to speak up if she ever feels exhausted.

Since then, Mia now informs us before she reaches her limit, while Ciel and I have been gradually adjusting to take note of her physical condition.
Come to think of it, these kinds of subtle considerations are important when living with others.
With Ciel remaining top priority, it seems like I might need to reassess my priorities a bit.

『It’s been a while since we lived like this, but it’s going to end soon.』
『Are you going to miss it?』
『I wonder. If Ain stays with me wherever I go, then I’m fine either way.』
『Me too. I’ll accompany you wherever you want to go, Ciel.』
『That’s wonderful, really.』

And that’s the start of our new arc! It be school time~! (In a few days, lol)

As with the previous arc starters, this chapter was mostly about the journey to their new location. But this time we have Mia along, yay~! Honestly, it’s amazing that Mia was actually able to fly for a second with only Ciel as the frame of reference on how humans could fly. Also, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, they’ve been power level-ling? Mia’s hunter rank, lol. Can’t accept requests your overqualified for because it could take opportunities from lower ranked hunters? Luckily, we have a low ranked hunter to turn in the requests. Also, funny how Ain noticed high elven presence here and now in Central, where they literally saw their first elves, and where there’s a large enough elven (and dwarf) population that they have representatives in the Central governing body. Maybe they just mostly populate towns outside the main Central area where hunters seem to roam? And now, as Ain reflects on giving other things a smidgen of the attention she dedicates to Ciel, we continue on our journey.

Now then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to comment. Stay healthy, stay safe, and have a nice day~!