The road beyond Cresent Roseville was longer than Luciana had imagined.
Much longer.
She had spent years looking at maps and listening to travelers talk about distant cities, but none of them had ever mentioned one important detail.
Walking was tiring.
Very tiring.
Luciana adjusted the strap of her bag and continued along the winding road.
“I should have asked how long this would take.”
She glanced behind her.
Cresent Roseville was already far away.
The village was almost hidden beyond the hills now, with only the tops of a few familiar buildings visible in the distance.
She stopped for a moment.
There was a strange feeling in her chest.
Not sadness exactly.
More like the feeling of standing at the beginning of something she couldn’t yet understand.
Luciana turned back toward the road.
“Alright.”
She took a deep breath.
“Silvermere City.”
And continued walking.
The further she traveled, the more unfamiliar everything became.
The road passed through a wide forest.
Luciana slowed down almost immediately.
She had walked through forests near Cresent Roseville before, but this one felt completely different.
The trees were taller.
Their leaves were darker.
Some had strange blue markings along their trunks that seemed to shimmer whenever sunlight touched them.
Luciana stared.
“What kind of tree are you?”
She reached out, then stopped herself.
“Actually…
maybe don’t touch strange trees.”
That seemed like sensible advice.
She continued walking.
A rustling sound came from the bushes.
Luciana stopped.
Her hand instinctively moved toward the small knife attached to her belt.
Something emerged.
A little creature with round ears and a long fluffy tail stared at her.
Luciana stared back.
The creature tilted its head.
She tilted hers.
Neither moved.
“Hello?”
The creature blinked.
Then it disappeared into the bushes.
Luciana stood there.
“…Was that a magical creature?”
She looked toward the bushes.
Nothing.
She smiled.
“I saw one.”
She continued walking with noticeably more enthusiasm.
A little while later, another creature crossed the road.
This one looked like a small fox, except its fur shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight.
Luciana stopped again.
“Oh!”
The fox-like creature looked at her.
Its ears twitched.
Then it calmly continued into the forest.
Luciana watched until it disappeared.
“There’s so many things out here.”
She smiled.
Back home, magical creatures were rarely seen around Cresent Roseville.
Most of the villagers knew the ordinary animals around the village.
Rabbits.
Deer.
Birds.
Occasionally, a harmless magical creature might wander near the forest edge.
But here…
It seemed like the forest itself was alive with them.
Luciana couldn’t stop looking around.
Then she heard wings.
She looked up.
A flock of birds flew above the treetops.
Luciana stopped walking.
They weren’t birds she recognized.
Their wings were long and graceful, with feathers that reflected the sunlight in soft shades of blue and silver.
They flew in formation before suddenly diving toward the forest.
Luciana’s mouth fell open.
“Beautiful.”
She had never seen birds like that before.
The birds were already disappearing into the distance when one of them turned slightly.
For just a moment, its eyes seemed to meet hers.
Luciana blinked.
Then it was gone.
She looked after them.
“I wonder what they’re called.”
She made a mental note to ask someone in Silvermere City.
If she remembered.
She had already forgotten what the first magical creature looked like.
Probably.
Flowers appeared along the roadside too.
Luciana slowed again.
One flower had petals that looked almost transparent.
Another had tiny glowing dots at its center.
There were purple flowers growing around the roots of a tree, their petals opening and closing as though breathing.
Luciana crouched beside them.
“You definitely don’t grow near my village.”
She smiled.
For someone who had spent her whole life dreaming about traveling, this was exactly what she had wanted.
Something new.
Something unexpected.
A world she didn’t know.
She stood up and continued down the road.
But after another hour…
Her excitement began losing its battle with her legs.
Luciana dragged one foot forward.
Then the other.
“Maybe…”
She looked around.
“…I should rest.”
Fortunately, a large tree stood beside the road.
Its branches spread wide enough to provide a generous patch of shade.
Luciana practically collapsed beneath it.
She dropped her bag beside her and leaned against the trunk.
“My feet hate me.”
She rubbed one ankle.
“I knew traveling would be tiring.”
She paused.
“No, actually.
I didn’t.”
She sighed.
Then remembered something important.
Food.
Luciana’s expression brightened.
She opened her bag.
“There you are.”
Grandma Martha’s croissants.
She took one out carefully.
The pastry was slightly flattened from traveling, but it still smelled wonderful.
Luciana took a bite.
Her eyes closed.
“Mmm.”
She leaned comfortably against the tree.
“This was the best thing I packed.”
She took another bite.
Then another.
She looked down at the croissant.
“Grandma Martha really knows me.”
For a while, Luciana simply sat there.
Eating.
Watching leaves move above her.
Listening to distant birds.
She had imagined traveling as exciting adventures and mysterious encounters.
She hadn’t imagined sitting under a tree eating pastries.
But somehow…
She liked this too.
A little while later, the sound of wheels approached.
Luciana looked toward the road.
A small merchant caravan was coming from behind the bend.
Two horses pulled a wooden wagon loaded with crates, cloth bundles, and several covered baskets.
A middle-aged man sat at the front, holding the reins.
When he noticed Luciana, he slowed.
“Miss!”
Luciana stood.
“Yes?”
The merchant smiled.
“Are you heading somewhere?”
“Silvermere City.”
The merchant exchanged a glance with the woman sitting beside him.
“Really?”
Luciana nodded.
“I just left Cresent Roseville this morning.”
The woman looked surprised.
“You walked all the way from there?”
“Yes.”
The merchant laughed.
“That’s quite a walk for your first day.”
Luciana looked at her half-eaten croissant.
“I’ve discovered that.”
The woman laughed.
“You look exhausted.”
“I am.”
The merchant stopped the wagon.
“We’re heading toward Silvermere ourselves.”
Luciana’s eyes widened.
“You are?”
“Yes.”
He pointed toward the back.
“We have room.
If you’re comfortable traveling with us, you can ride with us.”
Luciana hesitated.
Her grandmother’s warning echoed in her mind.
Don’t trust strangers too easily.
She looked at the merchant.
Then at his wife.
Then at the wagon.
They looked ordinary.
Friendly.
Still…
She shouldn’t be careless.
“Do you often travel this road?”
The merchant nodded.
“We’ve been merchants for years.”
“Do you know Silvermere well?”
“Well enough to get you there.”
Luciana thought for a moment.
Then smiled.
“I’d be grateful.”
The merchant nodded.
“Then climb aboard.”
Luciana picked up her bag.
As she climbed into the wagon, she looked back at the road she had walked.
She had barely left Cresent Roseville…
And already, the world was offering her something unexpected.
She smiled.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
The wagon began moving again.
Luciana settled among the cargo.
Her feet immediately felt happier.
“Oh.”
She looked at the merchant.
“I already like traveling.”
The merchant laughed.
Far behind them, beneath the trees…
Raizen stood silently.
He had watched Luciana walk away from Cresent Roseville.
He had watched her discover the forest.
He had watched her stare at every magical creature as though she had discovered treasure.
He had even watched her sit beneath a tree and eat a croissant.
For some reason, that last part had made him pause.
She still loved sweets.
A faint memory surfaced.
Luciana from another time, smiling while holding food she wasn’t supposed to have eaten yet.
Raizen’s gaze softened.
Then the merchant wagon appeared.
He watched Luciana climb aboard.
His expression slowly became thoughtful.
The wagon moved farther away.
Raizen remained still.
“She left with merchants.”
There was nothing wrong with that.
The merchants appeared harmless.
They were traveling toward Silvermere.
Everything was fine.
So why did he feel slightly dissatisfied?
Raizen looked toward the road.
He had spent a thousand years waiting for her.
He could hardly complain because she accepted a ride from a passing merchant.
Still…
He needed to think.
If he simply appeared before her now, she would have questions.
Who was he?
Why had he been watching her?
Why did he know things about her?
And most importantly…
Why would a stranger care so much about a girl he had never met?
He couldn’t give her the truth.
Not yet.
Not until she was ready.
Raizen folded his arms.
There had to be another way.
He could enter her path naturally.
Perhaps through Silvermere.
Perhaps through a chance encounter.
Perhaps…
He glanced toward the distant road.
A small smile almost appeared.
He had spent a thousand years waiting.
Surely he could come up with a proper plan.
But one thing was certain.
He would not simply appear in front of Luciana and frighten her.
He wanted her to meet him because of her own choice.
Not because he forced fate’s hand.
Raizen turned away from the road.
“Silvermere City.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then that’s where I’ll begin.”
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the man planning his first appearance in her life, Luciana sat comfortably in the merchant wagon.
She opened another croissant.
The merchant’s wife glanced at her.
“That’s your second one.”
Luciana froze.
She slowly looked at the croissant.
Then at the woman.
“I have a long journey ahead.”
The woman laughed.
“Fair enough.”
Luciana smiled.
Outside the wagon, unfamiliar flowers passed by.
Strange birds flew above the trees.
Magical creatures watched from the forest.
And ahead…
Silvermere City waited.