Chapter 79 - departure
After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Amy and I headed to the dining room.
Mom was already waiting for us.
We greeted her together before taking our seats.
She smiled warmly.
"Welcome back."
Then she looked at us.
"So?"
"Did you find suitable clothes?"
Before I could answer, Amy excitedly jumped into the conversation.
"Yes, Mom!"
"We picked so many outfits today!"
"It was so much fun!"
"I even picked more than ten outfits for Gray!"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement.
I, on the other hand, replied with a lifeless expression.
"...Yeah."
Mom looked at my exhausted face and immediately understood what had happened.
A soft smile appeared on her lips.
"I see."
Then she spoke gently.
"We’ll be departing the day after tomorrow."
"So make sure both of you are ready."
"And Gray..."
"Don’t make yourself uncomfortable just because it’s a banquet attended by the noble families."
"Just be yourself."
"That’s more than enough."
I nodded.
"Okay, Mom."
The three of us began eating dinner together while Amy enthusiastically recounted today’s shopping trip.
She explained every detail, especially how difficult it had been to choose clothes for me.
Mom listened quietly with a smile.
Occasionally, I added my own version of the story...
Mostly about how the two of them had turned me into a living dress-up doll.
The peaceful dinner soon came to an end.
After saying goodnight to Mom, Amy and I returned to our rooms.
The following day passed peacefully.
Since we would be leaving soon, I spent most of my time preparing everything I might need for the journey.
I filled my Space Storage with snacks, drinks, spare clothes, medicine, and other daily necessities.
After making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, I finally relaxed.
Before going to bed, I decided to check my status.
It had been a long time since I last looked at it.
I wanted to see how much I had grown since awakening.
⸻
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Gray Starlight
Age: 10
Rank: E-
Bloodline: [Unawakened]
Physique: [Unawakened]
Class: None
Talent: SS+
⸻
Attributes
Strength: E-
Agility: E-
Endurance: E-
Mana: D-
Mana Capacity: D-
Will: D
Intelligence: A+
Charm: S+
Luck: ??? (Random)
⸻
Affinities
• Ice Affinity
• Darkness Affinity
• Space Affinity
⸻
Skills
• Ice Control (E-) (Passive)
• Darkness Control (E-) (Passive)
• Space Control (E-) (Passive)
• Gravity Control (E-) (Passive)
• Devour (E-) (Growth-Type)
• Space Storage (E-) (Growth-Type)
• Dimensional Awareness (E-) (Growth-Type • Semi-Passive)
• Blink (F) (Spell)
⸻
Arts
• Void Step (F)
⸻
Bound Weapon
ECLIPSE (E-)
Ability:
• Lifesteal
⸻
A satisfied smile spread across my face.
Compared to when I had first awakened...
I had become much stronger.
There was still a long road ahead of me.
But I was steadily moving forward.
With that thought in mind, I closed my status window, lay down on my bed, and slowly drifted into dreamland.
Tomorrow...
Our journey to the royal capital would finally begin.
⸻
The next morning, I woke up as usual.
After taking a shower, cleaning my room, and getting dressed, I headed to the dining room.
Amy and Mom were already waiting.
We greeted each other before sitting down for breakfast.
While we ate, Mom spoke.
"After breakfast, we’ll be departing for the royal capital."
"Everything you need should already be packed."
I nodded.
Almost everything I needed was stored inside my Space Storage, while the rest was inside Amy’s Space Ring.
There was nothing left for us to prepare.
For some reason, I couldn’t hide my excitement.
This would be my first long-distance journey in this world.
Mom noticed the look on my face and smiled.
"You seem excited."
"Once we arrive, I’ll introduce you to everyone."
"After that..."
She turned toward Amy.
"You’ll take care of the rest."
Amy confidently nodded.
"Don’t worry, Mom."
"I’ll take care of him."
Mom nodded in satisfaction.
After finishing breakfast, we left the mansion together.
Our carriage was already waiting outside.
Astrid would be accompanying us.
That alone was enough to ensure our safety.
No one in their right mind would dare attack a carriage carrying both the Matriarch of the Starlight Family and Astrid.
Doing so would simply be courting death.
Several additional carriages followed behind ours.
Inside them were the Starlight Family guards assigned to protect Amy and me.
Selena was among them as well.
Once everyone was ready...
Our convoy departed for the royal capital.
The whole journey, I couldn’t help looking out the carriage window.
Beautiful waterfalls flowed down towering cliffs.
Majestic mountains stretched across the horizon.
Dense forests covered the land, while towns and cities occasionally came into view.
Everything felt new to me.
Amy eventually noticed me staring outside.
"What are you looking at?" she asked curiously.
I smiled.
"This is my first time traveling such a long distance."
"I just want to see everything."
As we continued traveling, I took out some of the candy-coated fruit I had made from my Space Storage.
I offered some to Mom and Astrid.
"Would you like some?"
Both of them accepted with warm smiles.
I deliberately ignored Amy.
Then I smirked.
Mom and Astrid immediately understood what I was doing.
They simply smiled to themselves.
Amy, however, narrowed her eyes.
"Oh?"
"So that’s how it is?"
Before I could react, she suddenly reached over, stole my candy-coated fruit, and immediately started eating it.
"H-Hey!"
I tried to grab it back.
But she simply raised her hand higher and finished the entire thing before I could reach it.
Then she looked at me proudly.
"Hmph."
"That’s what happens when you don’t share with your amazing older sister."
I looked at her with annoyance.
Without saying anything, I calmly reached into my Space Storage again and took out another candy-coated strawberry.
This time, I pretended I was about to eat it myself.
Just as I expected...
Amy instantly snatched it from my hand.
"Hehe."
"Mine."
Without any suspicion, she stuffed the entire strawberry into her mouth.
Crunch.
A second later...
Her expression froze.
An unbelievably sour flavor exploded inside her mouth.
"Pwah!"
She immediately spat it out.
At that moment, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Your face is priceless!"
"I specially prepared that one for you before we left."
"I injected it with an absurd amount of lime juice."
Amy desperately tried to get rid of the sour taste.
Even Mom and Astrid couldn’t hold back their laughter after seeing her expression.
"You..."
Amy glared at me while still trying to recover from the overwhelming sourness.
She swung her hand toward my head.
I leaned back just enough to avoid it by an inch.
That only made me laugh even harder.
Grinding her teeth, Amy pointed a finger at me.
"Just you wait, brat."
"I’ll get my revenge sooner or later."
I only laughed in response.
The cheerful atmosphere continued throughout the rest of the journey.
After two days of traveling...
The magnificent walls of the royal capital finally appeared before us.
Without stopping anywhere else, our convoy headed straight toward the Imperial Manor.