If it wasn’t for the ship already being in motion when he woke up, Severin would’ve assumed he was the first to wake up on this day. It was still dim outside, and the interior of the ship wasn’t illuminated either.

Once he reached the deck, however, where during the past two days the four people spent basically all the time they weren’t sleeping, he realized he was, in fact, the last person to arrive.

His surprise about this was short-lived. Though for a moment he wondered whether the two youths had even slept at all, if they were woken by Samuel, or if, as adventurer’s, they were simply accustomed to make to with comparable little sleep, he soon noticed something far more interesting.

He hadn’t noticed it looking through the small porthole in his cabin, partly because of the poor light conditions, partly because he hadn’t really paid attention to it, but now he realized they were flying lower than the previous days. Considerably lower, and from what he could tell, they were still on a gentle but continuous descent.

This in return made Severin finally realize just at what kind of speed they were traveling.

He had known early on that his shop was located very much desolated and far removed from all civilization, so much so that up to this point, people found him only by pure coincidence.

People needed multiple days crossing the Golden Mountains his shop was located within.

Markus, though he admittedly had made many detours and breaks on his journey, had taken at least a week or two for his trip.

So how was it now possible to make the same trip in less than three whole days?

It hadn’t been a question that had been on Severin’s mind, but now he knew the answer.

He was shocked.

Sure, the few noteworthy landmarks usually disappeared rather swiftly, but from up high, especially when they were surrounded by nothing but clouds or traveling across the seemingly endless lakes, there simply was no real point of reference to accurately estimate their speed of travel.

Now that more and more details of their surroundings became discernable, so the speed they were traveling at also became more clear.

It was something Severin was vaguely familiar with back from his few flights back at home, but never to such a degree.

Furthermore, now it was still rather dark, and the height they were traveling at couldn’t be considered to be low. The longer they would keep this course, the more would the dizzying sensation grow in intensity.

Startled and with a sudden bout of vertigo, Severin took a quick step back from the railing.

For a moment, he even feared being swept off the deck.

Only to find that at no point in their journey had he even felt the wind that should now be whipping their faces and make breathing impossible.

In that regard, the situation was rather similar to when he had first arrived in this world, he noticed.

Back then, when the invisible barrier kept him captive to the then still comparatively tiny store, had also cut off any weather effects; in fact, it still did. After all, the barrier never completely disappeared, but simply had grown in size whenever Severin expanded his premises.

Though still shaking, Severin moved back to the rail, tempted to reach out his arm and try to feel if there really was a similar barrier surrounding them right now. Something he could touch and feel.

Before Severin was able to think things through, a voice reached out to him.

“Sev! You’re already up. Great. I was just about to clarify some things before we enter the city. Most of this does not concern you directly, so I didn’t want to wake you, but now that you’re here, you might want to join us.”

“Ah? Right. Sure thing.” Severin felt like a child that had been caught doing something stupid, but quickly found his bearings.

“Have you guys eaten yet?”

They hadn’t, and so Severin provided everyone with his seemingly endless supply of bread while listening to what the [Berserker] had to say.

“First things first. Unlike last time, we will go through official channels. That means once we arrive, we will have to deal with a bunch of questions and inspections.

I understand it’s annoying, but those guys are only doing their job. I want no complaining or the same. If they ask you something, answer. Truthfully. Is that clear?”

It was clear who these words were meant for, so Severin remained silent.

Miriam and Timothy, however, answered obediently.

“Of course.”

“Yes, Master.”

Satisfied by the immediate answers, Samuel nodded to himself, and his voice become considerably softer as he continued.

“Great.

Then next is this. Once we set foot on the ground, it falls to you guys to find us an inn. I suggest you don’t dawdle too much. The city will already be rather crowded, and with only more people to come. So, if you want a place to sleep, you better get a room when it’s still early.

That means two things.

First, you can’t be too picky; not much to say about that.

Second, there will be people trying to take advantage of the situation. Therefore, I suggest you take Severin with you.”

At the last part Samuel turned his attention from his two mentees towards the [Shopkeeper] , who immediately agreed to accompany them, though he wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered by the suggestion that he would probably be less likely to fall for a scam than Timothy and Miriam, or if the comment was a jab at his occupation and work ethics.

He decided not to dwell on the matter as the youths started to complain.

“Can’t we do it like last time, instead?”

“Exactly. Why look for an overcrowded, overpriced, and probably noise hole when…” Miriam’s voice became lower and lower as she looked into the old man’s face, until it faded completely, realizing that the man wasn’t too happy about their objections.

The two quickly changed their tune.

“Ha, which self-respecting adventurer needs a clean bed?”

“Right, right! How could we learn from other people’s experiences if we try to avoid them?!”

But they didn’t give up completely.

“I just wondered…”

“What is it?” Samuel asked with a smirk.

“I wondered why you won’t be joining us?”

“I’ll join you later on. First, I’ll have to take care of some business. Which includes securing seats for you guys. Unless…” Samuel stretched the last word.

This time, the two shut up for good.

“As I thought,” Samuel laughed.

“Well then. Lastly, I expect you guys not to cause any trouble. Especially, don’t disturb the regular citizens. Also remember, no offensive, or generally combat related abilities. So you, Miriam, better don’t use any abilities at all. As for you Tim… well, you know what? You better don’t use any, either. Just to be safe.

If you really can’t help it, you might check out one of the many training grounds near the Arena, once you’re done. I believe this time around there should be more than enough other knuckleheads like you to challenge. Might even do you some good. Get to know some different fighting styles.”

Severin could see the two’s eyes sparkle in response; they could hardly wait to challenge someone else besides each other, or some boring monsters.

Luckily, they didn’t have to wait for much longer for the flying ship to reach their destination. Just shortly after Samuel was done with another lecture, and the sun began to show herself on the horizon, Miriam called out,

“We’re there!”