I blinked, "I have?"
Ida Emean aep Sivney nodded, "An extension of the Brotherhood's systematisation of magic, in truth, but an impressive one."
She raised her right hand, speaking softly but clearly "Aine."
A verdant ball of light about the size of a fist appeared above her hand. Ida then raised her left hand, incanting again "Aine," A ball of light the size of a melon appeared above that hand.
"Fascinating, is it not? The Brotherhood has long been trying to apply their breed of rationality to Chaos. An obvious paradox, would you not agree? And yet," she nodded to the larger ball of light, before dismissing both spells, "It is a shame that your numeromancy outstrips our understanding of mathematics," she finished turning her piercing eyes towards me, making me a bit uncomfortable as I could not shake the feeling that she was seeing more than she should be.
Understanding dawned on me a moment later.
Ida was networking, if not outright trying to poach me! She must have really liked my thesis.
Much calmer now that I understood, I shrugged my shoulders, "Efficiency breeds efficiency."
Ida hummed, "A succinct way of describing the phenomenon. Is this what you humans call the march of progress?"
I nodded, happy to talk up my meagre achievements. It seemed that she was impressed with my attempt to introduce math-based magic to this world, a fact I felt little pride in, considering I wasn't the real inventor of the system, even if I had adjusted it to this world's conditions.
"My work builds upon the countless mages and mathematicians that came before me," I explained, completely truthfully, "I just integrated the two fields."
Still, it was good to see that my scheme was working. Attracting possible employers and contacts was one of my chief aims when I started working on the task, along with showing Tissaia the wisdom of her investment in me and securing my position further. That it would help me avoid a meaningless fight as well was an unforeseen, if welcome, boon.
Ida's smile slipped, her expression growing blank as she stared at me. Then she turned towards the lion's head above the altar, staring at it.
"You are heading to Xin'trea," she stated, "Your Rectoress will not be happy with me for depriving you of your opportunity to experience the world, but I am capable of creating a portal close to the capital."
I mulled over her words. At this point, I wasn't even surprised that she knew my destination, even if she used the old Elvish name for Cintra.
"That would be appreciated," I responded after a few seconds. Tissaia had wanted me to travel to Cintra in a more roundabout way, but I was sure that an attempt on my life warranted taking a shortcut.
In other words, I had no good reason to refuse her offer. It'd mean I'd owe Ida a favour, something she was no doubt aiming for, but that would also be an excellent opportunity to build a closer relationship with her. I had not heard of her before, but her skill and knowledge were undeniable. An owed favour would guarantee more chances to interact with the sorceress and hopefully forge closer ties. I had little to offer her now, but that would hopefully change quickly once I assumed my post in Cintra.
By all accounts, a win-win situation.
I quickly retrieved my suitcase from outside, before coming back into the temple.
Now that I thought about it, there was another, much smaller favour I could ask and test her a little in return, "Before I go, do you perchance know what this is?" I asked, pulling out the mystery coinage I got from one of my assailants. I thought about asking her about Coehoorn, but that could give away more information than I'd be comfortable with, depending on who the guy was.
Ida glanced at it, "A Floren. They are used in the Nilfgaardian empire to the south, though I imagine it will become more common as mercenaries return from Ebbing."
I frowned. I had learned of Nilfgaard in Aretuza, though there was little known of the city-state turned empire as it was on the southernmost edge of the known lands. I recalled that the Emreis dynasty had been overthrown a few years ago, but that was about it. Much more concerning was the second piece of information, freely thrown in by Ida.
"What do you mean, mercenaries?" I questioned further, a dark premonition in my mind.
"You have not heard? The Imperial army marched upon Ebbing a month or so ago," Ida explained.
My expression froze.
'Damn you, Being X!'
The King of Cintra was Roegner… of Ebbing. While he was only a former duke who married upwards, I doubted he'd be happy with his homeland getting conquered. Rumour had it that it was Queen Calanthé who wore the pants in that relationship, so hopefully the Cintran army wasn't getting ready to march south on some harebrained scheme. Not that the kingdoms between Cintra and Ebbing were likely to allow them passage in any case, but that just meant there was an opportunity for the whole thing to turn into an even bigger mess.
"I would not be worried much, little Argent. It is not yet time for the Hen Ichaer to spill," the elven sorceress interrupted my thoughts. Then, in an impressive display of sorcery, she opened a portal a few meters in front of me.
Hen Ichaer? The Elder Blood? Did she mean the blood of the elder races, of elves, dwarves and the like? I did not see how the elder races were connected to Cintra or Ebbing, however.
Before I could ask for clarification, the sorceress spoke again, "Váfáill, Sorceress of Aretuza. May your future be as peaceful as your past."
I bowed slightly, suppressing an eye twitch, "Váfáill, Aen Saevherne, you have been most helpful. I will remember this."
A smile worked its way onto my face as I thought her words over more. She likely did not know of my past after all. My stay in Aretuza had been peaceful, while my past life had not, so her farewell would not make any sense if she truly knew of my past life.
All in all, this entire venture took an excellent turn. I may not have gotten a horse, but I made an acquaintance with someone of influence and successfully forged closer ties, while also securing transport to Cintra.
Really, I should return to thank those idiotic villagers.
I gave Ida one last nod, then turned to the portal.
As one of my legs went into the portal, I saw Ida's expression grow stony out of the corner of my eye.
The spell flickered for a moment, before stabilising.
Then I was through.
Ida Emean aep Sivney watched as the portal safely closed, no trace of her previous smile on her face. Uncertainty plagued her mind, the information she learned too strange. Had she made the right choice? Yet killing the prodigious child would risk too much.
With a wave of her hand, she dispelled the invisibility spell cast over her two guards. They immediately relaxed, lowering their bows. Staying so utterly still was trying even for elvish bodies.
Ida ignored them, staring at the place where she had opened the portal a scant few moments ago.
She stayed like that for a while.
In her mind, the unborn dream of the Valley of Flowers turned to cinders.
Once the last embers faded, she quietly breathed out and walked out of the temple. Her gaze was glued west. To Cintra. The uncertainty was gone now, with only resolve remaining.
"First the earth will flow with the blood of Aen Seidhe, the Blood of Elves," she muttered.
But the sword of destiny was double-edged. Whether one could make use of it depended solely on one's grip. Ida intended hers to be tight.
Stepping through the portal, I heard and saw nothing, feeling only a bit of pressure in my head. Cold quickly crept into my bones, until suddenly, I stood in a meadow, the sun rays warming my skin, the previous sensations, or lack thereof, gone as if a mere dream.
Turning around, I quickly spotted a road, along with an open-mouthed merchant staring at me. As I spotted him, he awkwardly bowed from his wagon's perch, before he used the reins to urge the mules into motion.
As my gaze followed the departing wagon, I gazed over the surrounding farmland, until my eyes landed on the city walls in the distance and the plethora of wooden houses built in front of them.
"So that's Cintra, huh," I muttered. The city looked fairly impressive from a distance, certainly better than Maribor, the biggest city I had seen so far in this world.
I suspected it'd lose its lustre once I made it closer, but then again, I doubted there were any cities in this world which could come close to the Imperial standard, let alone to that of Japan.
I hastened my step, eager to get acquainted with my soon-to-be home.
As I neared, the towering, yet weathered stone walls, loomed. People, mostly humans, but I spotted a few dwarves and halflings along with the occasional elf among them, mingled in a sort of shanty town in front of the walls.
Immediately, I thought the place a ghetto, but many of the inhabitants smiled, while the guard contingent overseeing the nearby gate seemed indifferent, rather than wary as one would expect.
Ignoring it, I beelined it for the back of the line at the gates, right behind an older man with a backpack. As I stepped behind him, the man glanced back, frowned, and turned his gaze back to the front.
While I waited, my mind went over the encounter with Ida.
In truth, the entire venture had been very sloppy. I had clearly gotten too used to the peace and familiarity of Aretuza, but there were lessons to be learned here.
The untrustworthiness of the common people, for one. I should have questioned others before agreeing to the request of the villagers and I should have scouted more. I had been simultaneously too emboldened by the presence of the meatshields and too cautious to devote my concentration to a scouting spell.
I'd like to think I did decently well with Ida considering the circumstances, but if I counted our talk as a fight, then I had definitely lost. I might have figured out her game, but I still did not have a good idea as to the extent of her knowledge in regards to my past. Thanks to her farewell, I knew she did not know much, if anything, but that was not nothing. Worse, had she not been inclined favourably towards me from the start, then my fumbling might have jeopardised what was bound to be a very valuable relationship.
Of course, considering my fumbling had been largely her fault…
Still, while definitely not my finest moment, it had worked out well enough.
Before I knew it, I made it to the front.
"Name?" The guard, equipped in chainmail and leaning on his halberd, asked.
"Tanya von Degurechaff," I responded, brandishing the letter I had received from Cintra, royal seal and all.
The guard did a double take, "Wait here for a moment, err, my lady. Please."
Then he slinked off.
A few minutes later, a much better-dressed man approached, checked the letter, and then led me to the royal castle.