Maybe he could go to the Forest Nymph? That place would be safe for sure! But…would it be the right choice of action? Perhaps the Sovereignian lodgings would be better. And more realistic.

The closest sanctuary was actually the bear’s nest that was Kebrilio’s home, but Elric had no idea of where that was and didn’t think about him at all.

His pursuers were closing on him. Elric, in his desperation, began to think about finding the closest home to intrude and find sanctuary in. It was a coin flip whether he’d find safety or danger there. What if the homeowner was just as lecherous as his pursuers? He’d be a sheep walking straight into the lion’s den then. 

It saddened Elric a little that he was adapting to a completely different perspective with more ease than expected. 

At the very least, Elric figured he could use Kebrilio as a means out. No Karthian denizen would dare strike trouble with the grand magister of all people.

He looked around. To his right was a fancy-looking villa. To his left was a huge garden. 

The garden was large in area and had a granite wall encompassing it with a large golden copper-wrought gate. Quickly now, Elric strode toward the garden and peered through the gate at the three-storied building at the garden’s center.

Eyeing the gate in front of him, Elric took note of the sixty-something bolts locking the gates shut. Forcing them open was an impossibility, meaning he’d have to climb over the gates instead. The gate had plenty of decorations that’d double as footholds for Elric, and he was always confident in his tree-climbing abilities, so he had no doubt he’d be able to scale the gates. 

Without fear of the height of the gates, Elric nimbly and quickly scaled to the top of the four-meter gate. Looking at the people standing down beneath him, Elric then cautiously lowered himself onto the other side and stepped back down onto solid ground. With one last smile at the crowd, Elric turned around and sauntered toward the building.

His actions, unbeknownst to Elric, caused the entirety of his pursuers to be awestruck. The fame that was Fantasia would later grow by leaps and bounds without his knowledge.

Off in a distance, two figures walked out from the building toward Elric. Head held up, Elric strode toward them, it was time for him to face the light.

The moustache on the first person was noticeable even from a distance. He had black eyes and hair that was combed and had a shiny luster despite it being black in color. A black leather waistcoat he wore paired with a navy-blue overcoat to fit his entire frame. He was rather simply-dressed and only had a smoking pipe perched on his lip for his only accessory.

The one behind the first gave off an entirely different impression. Younger in age, this one felt more ‘energetic’. His hair was blond and unruly, as though untameable. He had an aquiline nose that paired well with his aquamarine eyes and an aura of dignified arrogance. Elric wasn’t sure of it, to be exact, but these two people were definitely not commoners.

Similarly, Elric was giving off a strong impression of his own to this duo. The two of them only came out onto the grounds when the servants reported them of a public disturbance outside. The guards were only just told to keep a closer watch when the two were told of the intruder. 

Looking out the window, the two were less than impressed and threatened at the intruder. It was just another social disturbance due to a beautiful woman, a common sight in Waldsk. Her plight garnered no sympathy from the two men, as she ought to have known better to walk around the capital in such clothes without accompaniment. The only surprise was how she managed to garner that much interest with the vestments she wore.

“How low Waldsk has fallen!” The blond barked with laughter to his companion. “Has Waldsk no more women? I remember even the most beautiful would fail to have pursuers in our day. It’s disappointing to see such trash garner this much attention…”

His companion said nothing in return. Silent, the man kept watch until the woman suddenly scaled the gates like a monkey. Awestruck, he and the blond watched as she straddled the top of the gates in a rather undignified position to look down.

“It appears standards aren’t the only thing to have fallen in Waldsk. Morality has as well, how shocking.” Muttered the silent one.

“Amazing. Amazingly barbaric. She’s as barbaric as your younger sister. How interesting.” Agreed the blond.

“Interesting enough to take a closer look?” 

“But of course. Where else would we find such a spirited girl?”

And so the two emerged from their rooms, curious about this young lady and how she managed to garner so much attention. She, in their minds, was most likely some flirtatious country noble or the heiress of some local merchant. What other household but theirs would have a daughter that enjoyed such clothing? 

This was a judgment made in personal experience. The two of them were social elites even among the upper society of Karth. Beauties of all kinds would hope for nothing less than to gain their eye and favor, subsequently leading to them having far greater standards and expectations of beauty.

So it came as a surprise when they took a good look at Elric.

She, they realized, was not the matured woman they imagined at all. 

Because Elric was young and was a male, the beauticians had to make use of alternative methods to make Elric more convincing as a woman. No amount of makeup could make up for the fact that Elric was a man, so the beauticians had to pad his chest with sponges and his appearance was dressed up so that Elric would appear as a woman still undergoing her growth. They were successful in their attempt and Fantasia was now a beautiful and young maiden.

The contrast between Elric’s appearance and the vestments he wore was also quite striking. Not even in Waldsk were there women as calm and composed as Elric was. People like Elric were already a rarity in the city, though these two men were admittedly not quite interested in such people. The two would most definitely say Elric was excessively unruly, if anything. Only someone like their emperor would enjoy such a young lady. 

The two of them thought Elric would be a wild-horse type of woman when they saw him vault over the gate, but instead, they saw a young sheep. This revelation caused them to reassess their opinion on her. Elric’s vaulting of the gates wasn’t ‘inelegant’, but simply the actions of a young and precocious girl that had yet to fully learn the etiquette as expected from her by society. 

Regardless, the two managed to school their emotions and retain a calm expression on their faces.

Their actions in turn caused Elric to let out a mental sigh of relief. Running from his pursuers and climbing the gate had been very tiring for him, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do if these two turned out to be just as bad as the pursuers on the other side of the gate. Hopefully he’d be able to get some rest in first.

Taking one last breath, Elric decided he’d need to speak up first. He’d have to use Kebrilio’s name right now if he wanted to make himself immune to any further trouble.