The Apathetic Mage Loves Cats

Chapter 5.5: New Home

Approximately two weeks earlier.

"We are going where now?" I asked, watching as Romand stepped out from his study doors, flicking his wrist so they shut behind the both of us. Romand let out a small sigh, walking ahead of me at such a fast pace I knew he had never been around the small legs of children.

"The island," he muttered back, "that's where you'll be training to be a mage." I frowned, unhappy that I was being forced to quicken my own steps to a light jog in order to catch up with him. Iban trailed behind us, not caring at all about the quick pace, taking his own time towards our destination.

"How long will it take to get there?" I asked. Romand, however, didn't answer, as we reached the front of the castle where a carriage awaited us. Despite never seeing a carriage in the slums of this world, I knew from other fantasy novels in books and movies that I had read and seen in my previous life that carriages would typically have a chauffeur or even a butler, that would take you to one destination to another. Because Romand was such an important person, I even expected another group of knights to escort him. However, when we arrived in front of the castle, there was only an empty carriage gleaming under the sunlight. There weren't even any knights hanging around it, just a carriage without any horses or even a chauffeur waiting for us.

I froze at the sight, watching as Romand hopped over to the carriage and swung the door open, leaving it be as he swiftly went inside and sat down on the red-velvet seats. I frowned, watching as he did this, and briefly looking behind me at Iban, as if he would be able to understand the situation. However, Iban only briefly glanced at me, not stopping as he walked past and hopped up the steps into the carriage, making his way to the seat directly across from Romand and settling there.

"Hurry up!" Romand snapped, bringing me out of my stupor. I brought my way to the carriage and hopped inside, frowning the entire way.

"How the hell–" however, before I could ask a question, Romand waved his hand, and the door shut to my left the carriage taking off with a jarring start. I would like to say that I quickly adapted to the situation and didn't show anything on my face. But I knew that I had some sort of child-like awe plastered across it as I stared out at the world below me. The view of the entire kingdom spread out before me, clearly showing the distinction of the poor and the rich, as well as the border of our Kingdom and the next. It was an experience that I had never seen nor felt before.

I didn't even try to hide the amazement on my face as I watched us approach the island above me. The bottom of the island was a typical rock formation as if someone had picked up a chunk of rock from the earth and threw it up into the atmosphere where it stayed. I could barely see the outline of buildings as we approached the entrance of the island. I couldn't help my growing curiosity as the word, "Welcome to Ceapan!" glittering above our heads in gold sparkles as we came to an incredibly soft landing on a gravel paved road. The road was lined on the right with carriages that all formed a line, waiting for their turn to leave on a separate paved road that left this island.

Romand barely waited for the carriage to park before he hopped out, Iban quickly following after. Meanwhile, I slowly exited, looking around at the world before me. It all felt so magical to me, considering everything, so I wanted to take in the place. I made enough of a scene that caught the eye of people waiting for a carriage. Their giggles were hidden behind their hands as they watched me follow after Romand.

"Hurry!" I heard Romand bark. I turned my eye away from the people dressed up as mages, away from the flying carriages, and away from the entrance of the floating island, and quickly ran after Romand, curious about the next destination. Following him as he entered a building and walked behind a set of steel doors, opening up to reveal another study, similar to the one he had at the castle. However, Romand didn't give me time to worry about it, because he and Iban were already up the stairs and waiting for me at a separate door.

"This is my house," Romand said at my confused look.

Upon opening the door, I was greeted with a very clean smell, one that I wasn't accustomed to living out in the slums. Even more so, the overall presentation of the house itself was very different from the homes in the slums. We first entered a kitchen, that stood on the far right wall of the house itself. The kitchen was very modern, compared to what I'd imagine kitchens look like in a fantasy world. It had a fridge, a stove, and even a countertop and sink. There stood an island countertop in the center, and after looking around the rest of the home, I realized that that was where he ate his meals.

To my left was the living room. It wasn't that special, with a couch on the half-wall of the kitchen and a wooden coffee table in front of it. However, the only other thing of value was books that lined the walls, the rest of the room sat empty. There was another door to my left, but Romand turned to my right, making his way to the edge of the kitchen. There, he pressed a mechanism on the wall and a "click" sounded off, causing part of the wall to shift inwards slightly before sliding to the left, revealing a staircase.

"Come." I followed Romand for a few moments before we reached the top of the staircase.

I know I didn't have many expectations of homes considering where I lived before, but as I watched Romand wave his hand to light some candles on the walls around me, I felt my hands clench in irritation.

"You'll be sleeping here."

It was an attic filled with miscellaneous items such as papers, discarded boxes, and more. It was also littered with cobwebs and dust like no one had been up here in years. Well, considering the only light sources I got were from the circular windows and the candles around me instead of through magical light stones or electricity, I knew that this had to be somewhere he hadn't touched ever.

"Seriously?" I droned out. Romand turned around, getting ready to snap back when we both froze at the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs.

"Sir, the girls and I have a question about these old textbooks–" a young maid similarly dressed to the maids in the castle froze as she spotted Iban and me. "Hello." She muttered, a light seemingly flicking in her eyes, "will you be living here?" her voice was soft as if she were talking to a child. I frowned and crossed my arms across my chest.

"I'd rather sleep on the streets than here. It'd at least have air." Romand clicked his tongue in irritation. The maid, however, seemed unfazed at him and quickly came to crouch before me.

"Don't worry! The girls and I will make you an amazing room!"

~~~~

Hey guys, Saph here! Sorry for not uploading last weekend, life got the better of me. Hopefully, this mini-update about the first time Alan went into Romand's house will make it better! I'm still aiming for an update sometime this weekend, so stay tuned for that!

As always, please don't hesitate to leave questions or comments about my writing and I'll see you all next update!