After discussing the situation, Aquarius and Grammi decided to pack up and head back to the Ishgar continent.
Aquarius gave a final nod before her body turned into soft blue light, vanishing back into her golden key so Grammi could get ready.
Grammi immediately started packing their things. She moved quickly around the small house, putting clothes, travel supplies, and important belongings into a few bags. Little Brandish watched her mother with curious eyes, holding her favorite toy tightly in her hands.
"Are we going somewhere, Mom?" Brandish asked, tilting her head.
"Yes, sweetie," Grammi said with a warm smile, gently patting her daughter's head. "We are going to visit a very special friend of mine."
After half an hour of packing, Grammi checked around the house to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Once she was sure everything was packed up, she picked up her bags and turned to Akira.
"We are ready," Grammi said, looking at him with a serious face. "It will be a long journey back to Ishgar, so we should leave right away."
Akira nodded, but then looked toward the window. "Will you need to talk to someone first, so the other villagers won't raise any alarms about your disappearance?"
Grammi thought about it for a moment before shaking her head.
"No, that won't be necessary," Grammi replied softly. "We mostly kept to ourselves since coming here. The villagers know I like to travel from time to time, so if they notice I'm gone, they will just assume I went on a trip. It's much safer if we leave quietly without drawing any attention."
"Understood," Akira said.
He glanced down at little Brandish, who was rubbing her eyes, looking a bit sleepy while holding onto her mother's dress. Walking across the empire on foot with a young child would take too long and expose them to unnecessary risk.
Fortunately, he wasn't idle in the past half an hour. Thinking so, Akira opened the trunk of his new car and began putting the luggage inside.
Yes, for the last half an hour, Akira spent that time creating a car that would allow all three of them to travel. Well, creating would be a bit of a stretch; this ride is something he found on his way here. It was abandoned near a riverside, and Akira, who was passing by, took it away and stored it in my storage ring.
With his Arc of Time Magic, he reversed time for this vehicle and did some modifications to improve its efficiency and comfort level. Akira can proudly say that if he were given more time, he could make luxury brands like BMW, Rolls Royce appear in this world.
After loading the last bag into the trunk, Akira closed it with a solid, satisfying thud and held the back door open for Grammi and Brandish.
Grammi stared at the sleek, beautifully restored automobile in absolute awe. She had seen various types of Magic-Vehicles back at the Heartfilia estate, but nothing looked as refined or modern as this.
"Get in," Akira said with a reassuring grin. "I thought this way of travel would be far easier for both of you."
Grammi snapped out of her stupor and nodded, carefully guiding a sleepy Brandish into the soft leather back seat before climbing in beside her. Little Brandish's eyes wide with wonder, running her small hands over the pristine upholstery as she snuggled against her mother.
Akira hopped into the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel. With a light pulse of his magic power, the engine purred to life with a quiet, velvety hum. He tapped the dashboard, instantly deploying a stealth barrier around the car that rendered it completely invisible and soundless to the outside world.
With a press on the gas pedal, the car shot forward smoothly, leaving the quiet rural village far behind.
The journey across the vast Alvarez Empire turned into a surprisingly fun road trip. Unlike the Ishgar continent, where roads were often rough and hard to travel, the western continent was completely controlled by the Alvarez Empire. Because local leaders had to travel to the capital city all the time, the roads here were wide, smooth, and well-maintained. This made driving long distances very easy and comfortable.
Inside the cool, air-conditioned car, little Brandish watched the passing view with wide, excited eyes. For a girl who had spent her whole life in a small, quiet village, this road trip felt like a giant adventure.
The trip took about a week, and every day brought something new to see.
On the second day, they drove past golden wheat fields that stretched as far as the eye could see. Brandish pressed her nose against the window, giggling as colorful birds flew right beside their invisible car.
By the fourth night, Akira parked on a quiet mountain road where the rocks glowed with a soft blue light in the dark. They ate warm food from Akira's storage ring while watching purple lights dance across the night sky. Grammi smiled and told gentle stories about her younger days with Lady Layla, while Brandish slowly fell asleep in her lap.
They drove past busy market towns, bright green forests with giant glowing flowers, and crossed tall stone bridges over rushing rivers. A long journey that usually took over a month on foot was over in just seven days. In these seven days, they crossed many towns. But Akira drove in a path that bypassed many towns that may actually be intelligence departments for the Alveraz Empire, so their journey was very smooth as they arrived at the port city where Akira first arrived.
Now they only need to find a boat to go back to Ishgar. Thankfully, there might be some passenger boats that would travel between the two continents, so they can rest easy on this point.
So this is why Akira decided to let Grammi handle their departure preparations. Since she had already travelled through the two continents before, she may have some contacts allowing them to go back to Ishgar.
Grammi, hearing about this, patted her chest and confidently said she could do this. Grammi immediately went to work. Taking Akira and little Brandish to a quiet inn near the edge of the port, she asked them to rest while she went out to contact her old acquaintances.
Just a few hours later, Grammi returned to the inn with a warm smile on her face.
"Everything is set," Grammi said, holding up three travel passes. "I managed to secure a private cabin on a merchant vessel leaving early tomorrow morning. The captain is an old friend who frequently trades between the continents, so we won't have any issues with local guards."
"That was fast," Akira said, impressed by her efficiency.
"Well, I used to do this quite often back in the day," Grammi chuckled softly, sitting down on the chair next to Brandish, who was fast asleep on the soft bed after a long day. When she and Layla were traveling around the world, it was she who was making accommodations and such for their travels.
Just as Akira opened his mouth to say they should celebrate, his expression froze. A sudden drop of cold sweat poured down his back, and his stomach sank.
He jerked his head toward the window, looking back toward the west. Far in the distance, an overwhelming, terrifying wave of magic power flared up. In an instant, the entire port town seemed to be locked down under its pressure, making him realize right away that he had been targeted.
What made his heart pound even harder was that he recognized this magic power.
****
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