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A four-wheeler rattled down the rough roads laden with bumps and stones. Mana filled the air as the wheels churned over every obstacle in their path with a pace faster than a horse and a comfort better than a carriage.

The giant vehicle sped under the swaying trees as a lady rested her hand against the windows of the backseat.

"The automobile sure is convenient, right ma\'am?"

Slow.

pαndα,noνɐ1,сoМ It was painfully slow to be called an automobile.

"Ah, my bad. The Inventor Hero\'s creation is much faster than this… Were there a lot of automobiles in your old world, ma\'am?"

Sighing, the lady sitting in the backseat shifted her gaze further out the window.

The icy wind stung her cheeks as she clenched her fists.

Much further than the covering of trees, the lady\'s gaze fell on the swaying sea of gold. Her eyes widened as she stared at the expanse, and with the next turn of her vehicle, the trees disappeared and the fields of gold spread all over like an ocean.

Maize, wheat, all kinds of grains filled the land as far as her sight went, abundant like the sea. A gasp of admiration left the lady as she saw a sight she had never had the chance to witness in the modern world.

Far in the distance, tiny birds fluttered over the crops while a single scarecrow spread its arms wide.

"Quite the sight, right ma\'am?" Her driver asked. "All of Maris Kingdom looks like this. This yield makes up for thirty percent of the entire continent\'s export!"

"Thirty?" the lady finally talked, intrigued. "Is all of the kingdom like that?"

"Not at all! About a third of the kingdom is focused on trade. The capital city, Soleda is even richer than all of the Zarak\'s territory that you had seen."

"Hah, that\'s not a high bar. But it\'s still amazing."

"Yes. Such a small place, yet it is so important. Goddess Maris is one benevolent deity."

"Maris… isn\'t this where that incident happened?"

The driver suddenly lowered his voice and gave the lady a wry nod.

The lady held her breath and turned her gaze outside. Word of trouble had started spreading with the top brass of all kingdoms, and that included herself amongst the many summoned heroes.

A god\'s powers had been snapped out by an evil being… that was the explanation they had received. But the heroes knew of a greater mystery lurking behind these incidents.

"How is the search for the other heroes coming along?"

"We believe to have made some progress, ma\'am. General Volfram\'s men are looking into the solvers of this incident as well. The adventurers who reported it were unique."

"What did they look like?"

What was a better way to recognize her classmates than their looks?

"One of them was a redhead, and the other… no one could describe the looks, they all kept saying very pretty."

The lady\'s eyes jerked open.

"Is something the matter?"

"Nothing… let\'s keep going. We have to reach the north before the others."

"Yes, ma\'am…"

The lady sighed again as she stared out the window.

An archmage\'s life was quite hectic.

***

"Um, sir…"

The red-tinted lobby of the Dreaming Blue Inn was dark yet again. With the fireplace burning bright and the suited businessmen smoking their cigars while gossiping over the upcoming celebration for the Maris festival slapped on the front page of the newspapers, the classiness of the inn never left.

Except for a certain part, right in front of the couches where the businessmen sat.

The sudden change in the layout of that place made all of them sweat enough to douse the flames of their cigar. The change was so weird that had the editorial of the newspapers been around, their god would have been pushed back on page two.

"Sir…" the young innkeep said. "You\'re becoming a hindrance for the other customers, sir."

A drop of sweat dripped from the girl\'s forehead.

"Sir…"

"I am a painting—"

"Ahak! Ahahak!" Violent coughs overtook the room as one of the suited men choked on his cigar. Another one patted his back while all of them stared at the… the painting…

"Sir, well," the girl continued, now beads of sweat tracing her forehead. "Paintings don\'t speak."

"Magic."

"Paintings don\'t hold up their frames either."

"It\'s 3D."

"And what about legs spilling out of the frame? Paintings don\'t have that either."

The painting averted his gaze before sighing. He let go of the wooden frame and shook his head.

"It seems I still can\'t match up to, Mrs. Blue."

"Match…? What?"

"Just look at yourself!" The painting, Elric, moved away from the wall and left the girl staring at him. "Your make-up skills are shining again, you look like a kid."

Saying that, Elric shrugged and tossed the frame to his side.

"Ah!" The girl yelped as she dived ahead and grabbed the frame before it could hit the walls. She sighed and glared at the auburn-haired man, but her glare melted away when she focused on his face. In a calm tone, she spoke. "Sir, as I said the last time, you must be confused with my mother."

Elric stopped.

"Ahaha, so it\'s the dedication that\'s key."

She had a feeling it won\'t be easy to stop this man the next time he pulls something.

"Don\'t worry, though, Mrs. Blue. I am on your side in this spy business."

"I am really not my mom…"

"Right, right, and I am a painting."

Elric nodded at her and looked at the clock behind the reception desk. The pendulum of the long case ticked as the hour hand was just nigh of hitting eight.

"Ah, I have to meet Claude," Elric stuck his tongue out. His sleeping for four days straight had made even Claude annoyed. Unpunctuality would be rather ugly.

"Then, goodbye, Mrs. Blue." The boy said as he made his way upstairs.

"Uh, your friend already went out."

"I know," Elric nodded. He wasn\'t to meet Claude for a few more hours. "I am just going to sleep."

Soon enough, he would be reaping the rewards of that sleepless night in the form of cold hard cash.

As Elric left, the young innkeeper sighed. She bowed to her guests who told her not to worry about it for a second.

Right then, the door to the inn opened.

"Are there any... adventurers living in this inn?"