"The sun disc of the Al-Qahirah Palace has provided prosperity to this city for over a hundred thousand sunrises." Our guide explains as we walk through the city. It's a man who's clearly not a native of these lands. His skin tone is quite light and he doesn't have an accent, but the fact that he's wearing the clothes of the Khurut Sultanate means that he has somewhat integrated into this society. I didn't ask him where he's from since I honestly don't really care to do small talk - there's a reason we stopped in the capital rather than find a boat to take us upstream during the night, as we did last time.

Considering the size of this city, they must have knowledge of magic here. I want to know if there's a magic academy, and if there is, find information on space magic, so I can teleport back, rather than take the long way by traveling physically. For that, I'll temporarily play the infiltration game and get close to it without causing a scene. After all, I have no idea about the power of the people in this nation.

Hestia is covered in a heavy robe, doing her best to hide her wings from view. I'm not so hard-pressed in that matter, since I can just change my outwards appearance. Currently I'm closer to the look I had in my previous life, with black hair and slightly tanned skin from being exposed to the sun - it would seem unnatural not to have that, although Hestia doesn't seem to get a tan or a sunburn at all.

"Do you know if there is an academy for magecraft?" I asks directly after the introduction of the palace is finished.

"Learning magic is forbidden in the Khurut Sultanate, except for those from the chosen caste of shamans." The guide responds and looks at me with a gauging expression. "If you know any magic, you should hide it."

"Where might I find those shamans?" I ignore the warning, since the moment I have to unleash magic, it'll be for a life or death battle. At that point I won't care about whether it's a taboo or not.

"The Shaman caste lives in the Qaeat Alrruh, the Hall of Spirits, but you may be lucky to meet one of them as wandering scholars or acting as guides to the most powerful tribes of the Nagirah Desert." There are a lot of foreign names, but at least he's so kind as to explain what they mean. As long as there's a gathering place for the shaman caste, I can go and find someone to obtain the info I need.

"Can you lead us to the Hall of Spirits?" I look up to the sun disc and see that the light of day is slowly fading from it, too. Night is coming to the city and lamps are being lit everywhere, as the man guides us through the streets.

"The general public cannot enter the depths of the hall, but people can visit it to pray to the spirits in the main hall. With some luck you may see an initiate or even a master making rounds." He sounds excited at the prospect, but I don't know what I should think about those shamans. They make me think of some fraud new religions that preys on the mentally weak people, but if they're ingrained into this country's culture, then that means there must be truth to their powers.

We pass through a marketplace and I catch myself eyeing the mountains of foodstuff that I could buy. However, we're undercover now, so I can't just consume them on the spot, and I have no means of transporting them. Maybe I can find a warehouse full of ingredients and just consume everything in the middle of the night without anyone finding out. At this point I only have becoming stronger in mind, and apparently the one sure way for a Crawling Chaos to increase in strength is to increase in mass.

Then we come upon the slave trading area. It's out in the open and there are many people looking to buy, as traders display their merchandise by making them perform certain tricks or household duties. Normally I wouldn't hesitate to break up this party, but not as I am now. Still, why do humans have to do such things to each other? While I can understand the mentality behind such practice if it's with other races, such as elves - although I'm still strictly against it - to submit fellow humans to it seems so illogical.

As I expected, there are no non-humans on display, but it makes sense when considering the fact that this seems like a rather low-quality place. All the slaves are for doing chores and not a single one of them has the looks associated with warriors or sex slaves. I guess the underground bar in that first town was one specialized on the trading of the last one. It's good that Kamii isn't with us now, since the memories of her time before meeting me would surely resurface. Then again, the sole reason we're here is because Kamii isn't with us.

We leave the market behind and walk along a main-street looking road that leads us towards an impressive building shaped like a fortress. While it's certainly large, it's nowhere near the size of the palace. Our guide almost proudly presents it as the Hall of Spirits, although it makes me think of a government building more than anything else.

There's a steady stream of people going in and out of it, passing through the steel gates that remain open at all times. When we enter, I see that they're intricately decorated with what I assume to be hieroglyphs. They look different from the written language of this nation, which I could catch a glimpse of on many occasions, so this must mean that this temple was built in an earlier time period.

Indeed, its interior architecture looks unlike anything I've seen before. The immensely tall main hall is covered in colorful mosaics depicting all sorts of divine beings and scenes from lore, although I don't know any of them. Hestia seems quite fascinated by the grandeur of this place, in complete contrast to its simple exterior, and I have to admit that I doubt anything like this exists in my previous world.

"The decorations were made by the shamans throughout the generations." Our guide says when he sees our expressions. "It is an impressive piece of art and cannot be found anywhere else in the known world." I somehow don't doubt it. But we're here for a purpose, so I look around.

"Can you tell us if you see an initiate or a master?" I request of the guide and try to identify anyone who might fit that description. There are many peasants and even beggars in these halls, and when I look to one corner, I understand why. A line is forming, leading to a group of young men in uniform reddish brown robes, who remind me of monks, that are handing out bowls of food. A smile involuntarily appears on my face. So this isn't one of those religions that exploit the people by asking for donations while only returning empty promises of heaven after death. Considering the fact that our guide isn't pointing them out to me means that all those young people are not even initiates.

"Luck must be on your side. That over there is a great master who is walking the path between Sky and Earth." The guide gestures to the end of the hall, where a wizened old man with a frizzy white beard and his head covered in a turban is slowly walking among the people while leaning onto his gnarled wooden staff as a walking aid. The two crystals embedded in the staff are clear white and dark brown respectively, denoting an affinity in wind and earth magic. Sky and Earth, huh? Wherever he goes, the people are bowing to him in worshipping gestures, closing their eyes and muttering in prayer.

I immediately walk over to the old man, aiming to talk to him. However, several young monks bar my way and speak in their language in a heated tone. My movements must have seemed a little too abrupt, so they may be thinking that I'm trying to attack the great master. What should I do here? I don't really want to cause a scene, but I'm sure going through the normal route will take too long.

Then causing a scene it is...

I take off my hood and show off my silver hair. My skin color has changed to be completely white, and underneath my robes - which are made of matter from my body - white wings form. I've become a copy of Hestia from before her corruption. Waving over the real deal, I gesture for her to fully reveal herself, just as I shed my outer layer, and we complete the illusion I'm trying to create.

Twin goddesses of peerless beauty are now standing before these mere mortals, and I can see many pointing at us and whispering. Our guide stares at us in awe, and as a foreigner who surely knows the legends surrounding Fatas, an expression of veneration fills his face. I demonstratively stretch my wings to show that they are real, and several peasants drop to their knees in prayer.

The old man's eyes are opened wide, as is his mouth, and there seems to be some form of understanding in his expression, as if he has seen something like us before. He comes over, still awestruck, and falls to his knees before us. This is the final switch for the people gathered around, as they all unanimously do the same and lower their heads. Alright, that was too much of an impact...

"Gnilivst Zisadag!" The great master exclaims and tears fill his eyes. "Hki nib yoza drena, raf ri nenyahsred redye rim rediv hkno yoza gnal!" I have no idea what he's saying, and as I turn to our guide slightly, he seems to understand what I want from him. Quickly walking over to us while making sure not to step on anyone along the way, he stops a few paces - a respectful distance - away from us.

"He thinks that you are The Twin Goddesses and feels honored that you appear before him once more after such a long time." Yeah, I didn't know that there was an existence such as The Twin Goddesses in this nation, and I sure as hell haven't ever seen this guy before, so he is clearly under the wrong impression here.

"Explain to him that I wish to know if any great masters know space magic." I ask our guide to interpret for us. At the same time my brain works in top gear to make up a plausible reason for goddesses to wish to know about such a thing. I didn't expect him to have history with what he believes us two to be, so it's becoming quite awkward trying to begin and explain that we're only Fatas.

"Grand Shaman Abd al-Malik Karimi is the only one within the Khurut Sultanate to know space magic." Only one person, huh? I hope this isn't going to be too hard.

"I need to meet that person right away. Tell him that another demon attack is imminent. I can feel it." I think that should do enough for creating urgency. It certainly does on our guide's face. While he translates for us, I can see the expression on the old man's expression change and terror fill it. Luckily, nobody else seems to hear it or understand it, since I would have expected a panic to break out in these halls and potentially spread throughout the city otherwise. "Great Master Mahir el-Amin will bring you to him immediately. Please, this way."

We're led through a door in the side of the main hall, through a long corridor, up several flights of stairs, before we finally come up to a door that somehow reminds me of the principal's office at the Royal Academy. I seriously hope this isn't someone who has a special ability which allows him to see through my disguise, or I'll despair.

After Mahir announces us through the door and a slow and calm voice answers from the other side, the door is opened and we enter a room ornamented in colorful tapestry. There's not a hint of luxury, however, as they are filled with hieroglyphs that are most likely all religious texts. Sitting on a cushion in the middle of the room in a meditating pose is a skinny old man, barely more than skin and bones. His sunken face and eyes make me think that he might actually be dead, but when we enter he looks up to us I can see that he has an incredible life force in his eyes.

I doubt that a man this old and wise doesn't speak our language, so I step forward while holding Hestia's hand, making sure that she keeps up with me to keep up our disguise a little longer. My eyes meet his and we share a wordless exchange for a while, during which neither of us speaks. Then his bushy eyebrows move up as surprise fills his face. I don't know what he realized, but I take that as the cue for me to speak first.

"We are here to warn you about an attack by the demons, and wish to know the extent of your space magic. With your help, we can seal the transportation network that they are using." I say it directly. There's no point trying to fool this man into believing that we're goddesses, since I'm sure he won't fall for it, but I also won't explicitly state what we really are - even if my identity should be obvious from one look, for those in the know.

"... how do you know?" Abd al-Malik talks slowly and has an obvious accent, but I can understand him very well.

"You will have to believe us." I keep eye contact with him, not a hint of doubt in mine. "Time is of the essence."

"... what is it that you wish to gain from me?" The way he barely moves and the slight strain in his voice makes me worry for his health. If he dies from old age in front of us now, we'd be in a bind regarding space magic.

"Do you understand how to use transportation magic?" I get to the point. I'm sure teleportation requires magic circles like the one I saw in the demon palace, but there has to be an incantation involved. "And do you have an entrance to the network nearby?" And then I'll be able to use the incantation to travel through it right away.

"I am unable to cast transportation magic. All I am capable of is the manipulation of weight." The old man explains slowly. I guess he means gravity, then. There's one more hope, though.

"If you have any scriptures about it, I will be able to teach you." And the moment I look through them and find what I want, I'll break out of this place and immediately transport back to the academy. Still, I keep up a poker-face, as to not show my impatience at how slowly he speaks and my desire to get the knowledge as quickly as possible.

"Teach me? Hohoho..." Abd al-Malik laughs, although it sounds more like a cough. "It has been ten thousand sunrises since I last had someone tell me that." I can't read his expression at all, as he smiles and seems to reminisce about something. "But do tell, what is your real goal, demon?"

I have an overbearing feeling of déjà vu. Oi, I'm about to cry here! What's with the old men of this world and being able to so easily see through my disguises?