Mountains and Buffalo.

Chapter 11: Wednesday Again.

"The guard to the right will be with you. Just show him your card and you should be fine."

The coachman bowed before us. He was kind and polite, so I felt a little wrong about what I was about to say.

"Thank you. Can I make a report on the man who rode with us? He attacked me and my friend."

The coachman released an exhausted sigh. I lightly chuckled.

"I apologize, sir, but I'm currently unable to do anything about it."

"...I don't mean to be rude, but he attacked us. No, 'attacked' isn't right, he assaulted us. I can't just stand by and let someone like that walk away scott-free."

"As we are in the realm of His Majesty, we cannot reprimand him. However, after the ride back, we will gladly put him under arrest."

I felt a vein bulge in my head.

"Are you serious? Why are you letting him in the palace anyway? He's dangerous–"

The coachman put a hand over my mouth and leaned in.

"Listen, we're perfectly aware. But that man is a special person, and we are in very special times. I promise that you won't go unheard, okay? Just avoid making a scene."

"...Fine. Flinty, let's go."

Figuring that arguing wouldn't get me anywhere, I turned back to motion Flinty. She had her face pointed to the sky. After I called her, she awkwardly shrunk.

"R-Right. Sorry, it's just that this place looks way bigger up close."

"Wait until you see the inside."

"I-Inside...?"

She repeated my last word with an astonished breath. When we made it to the guard, I handed him my card. After a short inspection of our bodies, he gently bowed to us and led us through one of the three doors. Flinty covered her face for a moment before taking in the view.

"It's so... shiny."

The interior of the building was clad in marble and avant-garde designs scribbled throughout the floor and ceiling. No one column holding the interior had the same design; they each possessed an exaggerated illustration of an animal, some I didn't recognize.

"You young ones have good eyes," the guard said, "Now if you two would follow me, I'll take you to The Garden."

"The Garden?"

"That's where the plants are," I replied, "It's a lot smaller than you'd expect, and it's all indoors, but they have some wonderful specimens in there."

"I could've guessed that the plants were in a place called The Garden, Kenny."

We traveled up a set of stairs. Even the steps were polished and spotless, which made me feel slightly guilty about stepping on them. Once we arrived at the second floor, we traveled down a lengthy hallway.

"Hey, Kenny."

"What's the matter?"

"Do you see that thing hanging from the ceiling?"

She pointed to the left at a chandelier. It was grandiose, undeniably, but I wasn't particularly impressed by it.

"The chandelier? What about it?"

"That's called a chandelier? W-Wow... it's so shiny, and big."

"It's pretty, but I can't help but think it's overkill. And just look at that lone little chain keeping it hanging; it looks like it's gonna break any second."

"That chain is reinforced with the head royal mage's mana," the guard interrupted, "so despite its small stature, it's very sturdy."

"Ah, that makes sense."

I wouldn't put it past royal mages to know mana suspension of that degree. It was likely an earth infusion, or maybe the mage just had dense mana. Either way, it made me wonder how many more appliances in this building had mana in them. I immediately thought of the doors, but considering how many we've passed in this hallway alone, that seemed unlikely.

"...Then again, this building is quite old, isn't it– oop!"

I broke out of ruminating when I ran into the back of the guard. He stopped moving. and I could tell by the side of his face that he was surprised. I peered around his body to see what it was that he was seeing.

"...Oh no."

White hair, green eyes, crossed arms; these features were exhibited by a young boy in an exquisite outfit. The boy had two guards behind him.