The carriage shook, making me feel slightly dizzy.
I could hear the sound of the horses’ hooves along with the footsteps of the soldiers guarding the procession.
I was sitting inside one of the carriages, with Sera sitting across from me, her eyes closed.
Marc, meanwhile, had been placed in a special carriage meant for the injured.
Right behind our carriage, Arturia was riding her horse.
She looked alert, and for some reason, she kept staring at me.
“Did I do something wrong?” I muttered to myself.
The evacuation was proceeding smoothly without any trouble, but the atmosphere felt tense because everyone was afraid and wary of the dangers lurking around us.
Everyone looked exhausted from the previous attack, yet they still tried to remain vigilant so they could immediately act if danger appeared.
A soldier approached Arturia and reported something to her.
“Captain, we’ve arrived.” “I see.
I’ll speak with the people there myself.” Arturia rode ahead toward the front of the evacuation procession.
I looked ahead, and sure enough, there was a massive fortress.
I had imagined something similar to the fortresses on Earth, where a single castle with simple defensive walls was used as a stronghold.
But the fortress we were heading toward was completely different from what I had imagined.
It had five-story walls equipped with small windows for archers to fire through, along with colonial-era cannons lined up near those windows.
I couldn’t see the buildings inside the fortress, but I could see their upper sections, which made it clear that some of them were more than ten stories tall.
“This is a little beyond my imagination.” Sera opened her eyes and looked ahead.
“Looks like we’ve arrived.” “It’s quite big.” “Fortresses are built this large to defend against giant Blight.
Even so, I’ve heard this one is still considered relatively small for a defensive fortress.” I couldn’t even imagine how massive the largest ones were.
Arturia went ahead with several soldiers to inform the fortress that an evacuation group was arriving.
After they spoke with the guards, the gate, which stood ten meters tall and was twelve centimeters thick, slowly opened.
As we entered the fortress grounds, I saw a massive, sturdy, but somewhat old-looking building.
The structure occupied roughly a third of the fortress grounds.
There were several smaller buildings behind the defensive walls, as well as an empty field on the other side.
“This place is bigger than your family’s mansion.” I said that to Sera.
“You’re right.
I wonder what all these buildings are used for.” There were so many soldiers here.
For some reason, they all looked busy.
Perhaps the previous attack had made them more alert.
I also felt like I was being watched.
Several soldiers were staring toward the carriage I had been riding in.
I was slightly worried that I might have been some kind of wanted criminal in my previous life and that the authorities were looking for me.
I pulled my hood over my head so my face wouldn’t be visible and tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible.
Sera looked at me for a while.
“You look like a criminal.” “Ha ha.” I only responded to Sera’s joke with a flat laugh.
Not long after that, I got off the carriage after seeing the other villagers get down first.
A soldier directed the villagers toward an open area where tents had been prepared for them to spend the night.
“Sera, do you know the way to the capital?” “No.
I’ve never left the mansion since I was brought there.” Since my destination was the capital, I had intended to leave the fortress immediately.
However, considering that Marc was injured and Sera didn’t know the way to the capital, I had no choice but to wait until he recovered.
I hoped he knew the way there.
Choosing the capital as my starting point seemed like a good idea.
It was better than wandering around without any destination, especially since I didn’t know the geography or locations of this world.
I saw Marc being approached by the medical staff.
They wore white armbands with a red plus symbol on them.
“Looks like this is going to take a while.” I should do something else to pass the time.
I left, intending to find somewhere quiet.
Personally, I wasn’t fond of crowds.
On top of that, there were too many things in this world that made my head hurt, from its cruel reality to its terrifying dangers.
I was talking about the Blight.
Back in my old world, whenever something made my head feel overwhelmed, I would usually do another activity to temporarily forget about it while thinking about my plans for the future.
The activities I often did were physical training and meditation.
They helped quite a bit.
However, I would get extremely annoyed whenever someone came over while I was doing something alone.
I walked past the soldiers, who were still busy with their respective duties.
The fortress’s infrastructure was quite interesting.
It had a gothic appearance that looked rather cool.
“It reminds me of the Cologne Cathedral in Europe, even though I’ve never been there.” As I looked around the fortress, I didn’t expect to find a small garden.
In the middle of it was a pond filled with small fish of various colors.
“Quite a contrast.” I noticed a garden bench near the pond.
Maybe I could meditate there.
I walked over to the bench and sat down, looking at the garden and the fish pond in front of me.
It was a peaceful sight.
I slowly closed my eyes and emptied my mind, thinking about nothing so I could calm myself first.
The tranquility allowed me to sense my surroundings more clearly.
The calm air.
The scent of the plants.
The sound of the water.
The movement of the fish.
As I expanded the area I could sense, I began to feel the footsteps of someone nearby.
Not just one person.
There were many.
Too many distractions.
I should narrow the area.
The footsteps disappeared from my perception.
Now I was calm enough.
It was time to think about what I should do in this new world.
The first problem was my lack of knowledge.
Because of that, it would be better to stay with someone for a while until I adapted enough to this world.
Second, this world was extremely dangerous.
Blight were creatures that needed to be taken seriously.
They had no hesitation about killing humans, and their appearances couldn’t be predicted.
I needed to find a way to become stronger.
Whether that meant learning how to use weapons, practicing martial arts, or finding useful equipment.
Third, only women could become witches.
If that was true, then the social status of women and men wouldn’t be the same as in my old world.
Perhaps women, especially witches, held greater influence.
I should be careful around them.
For now, I would make an exception for Sera.
Fourth, this civilization seemed to have already discovered gunpowder.
There were probably countries elsewhere that had already developed firearms and used them on a larger scale.
Also, because of the influence of the Blight, the technology of this world might not follow the image I had in mind.
Perhaps they even had advanced technology that was far ahead of what I expected from this era.
Learning about the history and civilization of this world would be important.
I should find books or other sources of knowledge about it.
Fifth, I still didn’t clearly understand Flux and Taint.
They sounded similar to magical energy or mana from fantasy stories.
Perhaps they had their own specific functions, but I still didn’t know what they were.
I needed to understand Flux and Taint because they were connected to the origins of both Blight and witches.
Now I had goals.
First, I needed to adapt to this world as quickly as possible.
Second, I needed to find some kind of power to protect myself.
Third, I should avoid getting involved with witches as much as possible because their social status might be different from ordinary people.
Lastly, I needed to seek knowledge about this world.
Most importantly, I needed to learn about the civilization of Oura and understand Flux and Taint.
That meant I had to go to the capital and seek knowledge there.
And during my journey across Oura, I needed to find a way to become stronger and protect myself.
On top of that, I should avoid unnecessary trouble whenever possible.
I slowly opened my eyes.
I was slightly surprised to see leaves from the garden swirling around me.
But not long afterward, they slowly fell back to the ground.
“Was there a small gust of wind, and I just happened to be at the center of it?” Probably.
It could happen, even if it was rare and usually didn’t last very long.
Putting that aside, I needed to figure out where I was going and what I would do next.
“For now, that’s my goal.”