Chapter 34: The Girl Alone
At night, after settling into their lodgings, the students gathered again.
“The place to stay was specially built by Viscount Xue Feng. He occasionally brings his family here for outings.” Komiya was in a good mood.
“Though it’s quite ordinary, it’s relatively clean, much better than those houses full of straw and livestock smells.”
“We three share a room, and across from us are Iona, Valenie, and the others.” Among the students in this group, there were only five girls in total, while the rest, over ten people, were all boys.
Back at the village plaza, Scholar Heide was still talking with the Village Chief. Seeing Suolin and Baron bringing the students over, he waved to them.
“Today, just walk around the village area to get accustomed to the environment, but don’t go deep into the forest to avoid getting lost.”
“When it gets dark at night, gather back here. Then we’ll have dinner together and some activities.”
“Oh~”
Hearing they could move freely and play around, the students all cheered up.
After all, they were all young people. They had been studying and training nonstop for this period, so it was a rare chance to play in the wild and relax.
Soon, the boys began wandering and running around the village in twos and threes. Some prepared to go swimming at the riverbank, some wanted to check out the forest, and others wanted to go horseback riding.
“Lady Iona, where shall we go now?” Valenie followed beside this golden-haired young lady.
In response, Iona grew a bit impatient and casually waved her hand, telling her not to keep following.
“I’ll walk by myself. You don’t need to follow.”
“Uh, alright, Lady Iona.” Valenie felt a bit disappointed but still watched Iona leave with eager eyes.
Walking along a country path, Iona felt somewhat bored. She looked at the mundane village around her, without the excitement and anticipation of the other students.
Such villages—from the Royal Capital White Cliff City to the remote southern Jiaoshi City—there were countless along the way. The people in the villages lived simple and peaceful lives at best, or at worst, mediocre and laborious ones their whole lives, spending most of it on barren land.
For such a life and existence, she felt an inexplicable disgust and panic.
Many noble students envied her, but only she herself knew that her current situation was not good.
His Majesty had not only stripped her father of his nobility title but also confiscated his territory, wealth, family property, and estates. A year ago, there were still many servants and knights following him, but now almost all were gone.
She had lost important territory income and could no longer afford a large number of retainers. Now she could only stay with her distant uncle, Viscount Xue Feng.
Though Viscount Xue Feng treated her well, she didn’t think this kindness would last forever.
If she couldn’t tap into her potential in the next few years and step onto the true path of Transcendents as soon as possible, her final outcome might be an arranged marriage designated by Viscount Xue Feng, wedding her to a minor local noble and spending a mediocre life in Jiaoshi City.
But who was she? Once the lotus flower of the Royal Capital White Cliff City, the dazzling young lady of a prestigious family admired by all.
In the past, the noble youths and young ladies following behind her could fill an entire hall; she was the object of countless admirers’ pursuits.
To make her willingly stay here for the rest of her life was something she simply couldn’t accept. Just thinking of that dull and lightless life felt like being entangled by something viscous and disgusting.
Her irritable mood was like the overcast sky, with the layer of clouds never dispersing.
Immersed in her own world, Iona walked slowly along the small river until a burst of crisp laughter interrupted her thoughts.
Looking up, she saw the three commoner girls who had come with them.
That short-haired girl laughing playfully—was her name Komiya? She recalled the scene from yesterday’s sparring where Komiya used a special Pupil Technique.
Mist Shadow Nature, huh? It was rare in a place like this.
The one that countered Mist Shadow Nature most was Brilliant Moon, followed by the Blazing Sun that she herself practiced. So for Komiya, she only felt a slight surprise, nothing more.
There were countless geniuses in the Royal Capital White Cliff City, young talents practicing all sorts of Natures. She had even seen a boy who performed magic tricks for His Majesty at age 15—a prodigy who wielded Mist Shadow Nature.
Across from her, by the small bridge, Xilutiya was trying to fish together with Komiya and Karen.
“Tiya, look, I caught one.” Komiya stood up and showed the wriggling earthworm in her hand to the maiden, her expression excited.
“Yes, that’s it.” Xilutiya nodded.
“Cut off a small segment and put it on the fishhook. Then you can fish.” This was experience she had learned as a child in her previous life.
“Got it~” Komiya carefully hopped over the stones by the riverbank and walked to Xilutiya’s side.
On the other side, after rummaging around, Karen also found a few earthworms, grabbed them, and walked over.
“These are enough. No need to look for more, Karen.” Xilutiya reminded her.
Then the three found a suitable spot, sat on stones, and patiently watched the fishing line cast out and fall into the water.
“What kind of fish will there be? I want a roasted fish feast tonight~” Komiya happily shouted her goal for the day.
……
The interaction among the three was all seen by Iona in the distance. She just stood quietly under a tree, watching them chatting and laughing by the riverbank, fishing for who-knows-if-there-were-any fish. Even after a good while with no catch, they were still delighted.
Envious? No, she didn’t envy this simple joy.
These commoner children were like roadside weeds, happy with just a bit of dew.
Those who had truly experienced splendor and seen a broader world wouldn’t be numbed by such crude pleasures.
How long could their joy last? She placed her hand on the tree trunk beside her; the hard, rough bark scraped her palm, bringing bits of debris.
The best outcome for commoner girls was probably marrying some employee in the city and living a steady, boring life.
Iona averted her gaze and looked at the sky still covered in unbroken dark clouds.
Would that be her outcome too?
No—her fingers dug in hard, nails embedding into her palm……
A long time later, Iona released her fingers, glanced once more at the three by the riverbank, turned, and left alone down the village path—that was the direction back to the village plaza.
……
In the evening, Xilutiya stood up from the stone she had been sitting on and looked at the nearly dim sky overhead.
“Time to head back.” She reminded the other two.
“Ah, do we have to go already?” Komiya gripped the fishing rod, reluctant to leave.
“Yes, if we don’t go now, it’ll be dark.”
“Alright, let’s go.” With that, Komiya placed one hand on Karen’s shoulder and struggled to stand up.
Then Karen also reeled in her fishing rod and stretched her legs. “Whew, the afternoon went by so fast.”
The group packed up and headed up the riverbank.
“We caught five fish in total today~” Komiya counted the five silver-scaled fish placed on the grass by the riverbank.
“Does Tiya know their species?”
“I don’t know either.” She wasn’t very familiar with the fish species of this world. These five were slightly longer than her palm—not big.
“Alright, we’ll have to ask Teacher Heide when we get back.”
Karen found a small wooden branch and threaded the five fish onto it, then lifted it with Komiya to carry back.
“Actually, I could help too.” Xilutiya wanted to reach out and assist, but the wooden branch only had two ends, not suitable for three people.
“It’s fine, it’s not heavy.” Komiya waved her hand.
Though she said that, halfway there she switched hands, then Xilutiya smilingly took over to relieve her.
The three walked unhurriedly toward the village plaza. The sky gradually darkened, and at that moment, they also heard bursts of drumming from the plaza.
At first, it was sporadic beats, not continuous. Then the drumbeats gradually took on rhythm and cadence.
The closer they got, the more the distant blazing red bonfire emerged in the night, followed by waves of ancient, distant chanting spreading amid the flames and drumbeats.
Beside the massive bonfire, villagers held hands in a circle. Their footsteps matched the drumbeats, their expressions joyful and carefree. Accompanied by the collective chanting, the flames swayed with the drumbeats, flaring and shrinking, as if gaining some kind of life.
