7. Finding Lira

Adolin lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

It had been a while since he woke up, but he didn’t feel like getting out of bed.

He had a strange dream.

It was his life in this world. But Aylinth was there from the beginning.

That wasn’t the strange part.
What bothered him was how accurate it felt. Things had gone differently. Not impossibly so, just… smoother. He hadn’t spent a whole day walking around like an addict.

An hour after waking up, he already had decent clothes.

How she managed that, he didn’t know. He hadn’t seen it in the dream.

Just like he had never seen how she fixed most of the problems his party came up with.

In the Count’s estate, she had handled things before he could resort to violence.
And… she had scammed Eduard out of his gold.

Adolin felt a smile form on his face.

Five hundred gold coins.

In the guild, everything had gone smoothly. He hadn’t even needed to enter.

It had all worked.

Adolin exhaled quietly.

Maybe there was no need to go a decade without her.
She made things easier.

A lot easier.

He frowned slightly.

Thinking back, it had always been like that.

Problem comes up, and just as it came it was solved.

He had never paid too much attention to problems, because they didn’t stick enough for him to notice most of them.

Adolin exhaled quietly.

He should probably thank her.
Next time he saw her.

Adolin stretched and groaned.

He had to get up. It wouldn’t be fair to Lira.

She was probably still worried about him getting kidnapped.
And he was lying in bed, debating whether to get up.

He clicked his tongue and pushed himself upright.

The other problem was his coin.

At best, he had enough for ten days at the inn. Without food.
Or maybe there was food. He wasn’t sure.

Either way, it wouldn’t last long.

He needed work.

And he needed to cast a few spells so the blessing could record them.
That would have to wait until he returned to the inn.

He didn’t like the feeling of being low on mana. Not when nobles were kidnapping young boys off the streets.

Adolin chuckled and got out of bed.

The room was pitch dark, so he moved to the window and pulled the covers aside.

Golden light spilled into the room.

Adolin glanced around.

The room wasn’t large, but it had a bed, a drawer, and a desk.

More importantly, it was clean.

He had nothing to leave behind, so he opened the window to let some air in and stepped outside.

The common room was empty, just like the day he arrived.

The bartender was wiping a glass behind the counter.

“I want to extend my stay for two more nights,” Adolin said.

The bartender glanced at him, not stopping. “One gold.”

Adolin set the coin on the counter and left the inn.

The streets were already busy.

Voices overlapped as people moved past him, carriages rolling through the crowd.

After a night in the inn, it wasn’t as bad as before. Still, he walked faster.

It didn’t take long to reach the district where Lira’s mother lived.

What bothered him was that he had to figure out which house it was.
Which meant asking people. Or he might get lucky and run into Lira or Telian.

Adolin stood on the street where he had been kidnapped.

In front of him was where Lira and Telian had disappeared when he was surrounded. He started walking toward the street, then took a right turn.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

It led to another long street, filled with houses.

Time Rewind would help him find where she went next. But his mana pool was still too small.

He knew the house was somewhere in this district. He also knew it was close to the Academy.
That helped. A little. But there were still too many houses. Far too many.

There were a few ways he could go about finding it.

He could spend a few days increasing his mana pool. He dismissed that idea almost immediately.

The other two ways involved things he wanted to avoid, but he couldn’t. He quickly scratched one of them off.

He couldn’t go to the Academy and ask for her mother. He didn’t know her name or Lira’s last name. And going there would probably get him kicked out faster than he could ask the questions he needed.

That left him with the only option he could think of.

Find the Academy and try to narrow down the area where the house was. Then… ask random strangers in the area.

“Aylinth, where are you when I need you?” he muttered.

Adolin had to admit the district was pretty.

Every house was different, and most of them were pleasant to look at. The architecture varied enough that it felt like everyone was trying to outdo their neighbors. And every house had a garden. Every single one. A smaller one at the entrance, and a larger one in the back.

It was the same as in the Count’s estate.

Gardens. The people of this world seemed to really like them.

Adolin did too. Luc would love them too.

He wouldn’t mind adding another goal to his already low list. Buying a house here would do wonders for his mental health.

A garden. Evenings spent there, with a cup of tea.

It was a nice thought.

Adolin got lost a few times, but found his way again quickly.