"It’s super high!" Ramia exclaimed, as she looked down at the ground from the room’s window.

She wasn’t exaggerating the slightest when she said that it was "super-high." After all, Ramia, Mael and I were in one of the rooms located on the highest floors of the castle.

"Yes, Ramia. It’s super high."

We were in this room for three reasons.

First and foremost, because this aisle of the castle was one of the most rarely visited parts of the castle.

Second, because this room provided a window on a side of the castle with very few windows, and the fewer windows there are, the easier it would be for us to escape unnoticed.

And finally, because, if we were to flee from here, we would be able to exfiltrate not only the Edouard castle but also the noble district. The path to the nearby lower district was the shortest from here.

"Hey, you two. Are you sure it’s a good idea to jump from here? " Mael asked.

It took some time to come up with this, but I realized while planning our escape that the best way to escape without anybody being spotted by anyone would be for us to leap from this window.

"We know it's a bad idea, but there aren't any other options. So, my dear friend, I fear you'll have to brace yourself and prepare to jump," I said before announcing,"So lady and gentlemen, put your hoods on because we're about to do it," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.

Ramia, Mael, and I were all wearing a black hood and a black backpack that was tightly wrapped around our backs, shoulders, and hips.

Ramia and I put on our hoods and placed one foot on the edge of the windows, ready to take our leap. Only Mael was still hesitating and was still stuck on the spot.

"Don't worry, Mael, there won't be any problems; everything should go smoothly as long as we stick to the plan," I reassured him.

"Yeah, it’s like what Ronandt said. Stop chickening out and come here." Ramia said, trying to reassure him in her own very unique way.

We both extended our hands to him.

You two are crazy, and so am I for following you in this madness. "

Mael took a deep and long breath, then accepted our extended hands and stepped onto the window ledge with one foot.

"At three, one, two, three..."" We counted down.

The moment we reached three, we took our leap.

The natural outcome of someone jumping from the highest windows of a castle would be to fall flat to the ground. But that wasn't quite what happened to us; instead, like thin paper, we were gradually gliding down toward the ground.

We could see the castle walls scrolling beneath our feet. We finally made it to the ground after about a minute of drifting in midair.

The moment we landed, Ramia fell on all fours on the ground.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She slowly raised her head, revealing a big smile.

"That was crazy!!!"

"Yeah, sure it was," Mael said, also kneeling on the ground. "I didn’t expect it to work so well."

"I told you guys, it would work."

The reason we didn’t fall flat on the ground was what was inside our backpack: A reality figer. We used our books' floating ability to glide through the air.

To be honest, if it wasn’t for how Ramia knocked me with her Reality Figer during that battle, I never would have thought about using it that way. So though the credit was certainly hers, I had to relinquish all the credit for discovering how versatilely powerful the Reality Figer floating ability was.

"Since the first step of our operation was successful, I believe we should move on to the second step of the plan right away."

"Escape from the Edouard Noble District," Ramia said, with a voice full of motivation and excitement.

I confirmed with a nod.

Since there weren't many noble residences between where we landed and the nearest outskirts of the Lower District, this part of the plan should be fairly simple.

With Aina, we should be able to run right past them in no time.

***

After running around for ten minutes, we finally reached the outskirts of the Lower District. Hearing the words "lower city," one might assume that the location is some sort of bidonville, but it was not the case, at least not here.

The term "lower district" arose primarily from the fact that a common district was and would always be located lower than the noble districts.

Nobles have the tendency to prefer living at high altitudes.

Maybe to look down upon the others...

Maybe, who knows?

Well, I do, but that was a particular detail, I, myself, was avidly trying to forget.

We could see the city's great castles and the cathedral from where we were if the view wasn't obstructed by the nearest building.

This lower district was known as the South-District, which was a cross between a bustling town and a bazaar.

The buildings here aren’t how I imagined them to be. From the ones that I've seen so far, they didn’t come across as sumptuous as those I’m used to, but they exuded a certain air of beauty.

It was more colorful, if I may say so.

Some structures were painted in yellow, while the ones next to them were painted in blue or orange, which changed greatly from the castle's homogenic shade of structure. Some structures seemed rather old, others seemed to have recently emerged. On the wall, green vines climbing on the wall even furthered that colorful and lively impression the district exuded.

Some city guards, dressed in heavy armor with spears in hand, saw us, but they didn't seem to pay much attention to us, which was of great relief.

Numerous small shops were selling a wide variety of items.

We could see people dressed modestly, at least compared to what we're used to seeing, rummaging here and there in the castle. while children who weren't even our age were running around on their own with no one watching over them.

To be honest, it was a little bit overwhelming, and as I glanced at those who came with me, I realized I wasn’t the only one feeling that way.

"So where are we going now?" Ramia asked, unable to stand in place.

Well, I won’t say I didn’t understand her.

"I think it all depends on Mael now."

We both turn our attention to him.

He didn’t seem to precisely know where we should be going next, so I proposed,"Let’s just wander around. We'll eventually see."

We began walking aimlessly, without any real objective in mind. Finally, we reached something that maybe could be called a market plaza.

There were stalls on every corner, selling things ranging from food to clothes.

Pigeons and several other birds were hovering above the place, waiting for the right opportunity to steal anything from the stalls.

"Hey, look, what’s that?" Ramia said, while pointing at a nearby stand.

She pointed to a stand with unusual red fruits, displayed in a wooden basket alongside other fruits.

"Don’t know."

"Neither do I," Mael said, while shaking his head.

"Let’s ask the vendor then."

"Ramia wait-"

Before we could stop her from asking, she had already fled to the vendor.

"Hey, you, old man, what are those things called?" She said, pointing at the unusual fruits.

The vendor was a bald man, maybe in his late fifties.

"Huh...Those...Are… hiccup... Lamoty… It’s three...small...sato for one " The man mumbled, obviously drunk.

"Hey old man, You’re drunk?!" Ramia boldly said.

"Yes... and? I drin-"

Before he could finish what he was mumbling, he was pushed away by a young boy of about twelves years old.

"You’re bothering the clients." He said to the drunk old man.

"What can I do for you three?'' he asked with an amiable smile.

"We were just curious about these fruits," Mael answered before Ramia could say anything.

"Those are called lamoty. Those are fruits that only mature for a period of one month a year. " You guys should give it a try. Those are very tasty fruits." he boasted, "It’s only three medium sato for one."

Aira is the currency of the Altaira kingdom.

A small sato would have a value of 10 Aira

A medium sato would have a value of 100 Aira

A Large sato would have a value of 1000 Aira

A Small rivo would have a value of 10.000 Aira

A Large rivo would have a value of 100.000 Aira

A Small Lina would have a value of 1.000.000 Aira

A Large Lina would have a value of 10.000.000 Aira

Confusing isn’t it?

To give a better perspective; the average monthly income of a city guard should be around 3 small rivo (or 30.0000 Aira) and the monthly income of a maid working in the Edouard castle should be around 5 small rivo (50.000 Aira).

So basically, a city guard should be able to buy 100 of these fruits for one month's worth of salary, and a maid in the Edouard castle would be able to buy 166 of these fruits on a monthly basis.

If a city guard decided to eat only this fruit for a month, he would only be able to afford three of these fruits daily.

So, yes, these fruits felt a little pricey, especially if your monthly income is below that of a city guard or if you're particularly greedy.

"We’ll take three of those," I said before giving him the equivalent of three of these fruits, with a little surplus of one small sato. "There's something, I’d like to know. Where is the closest hospital center in the district?"

He then enthusiastically indicated to us the way to the closest hospital center.

As Mael has said, the hospital center wasn’t particularly what was interesting to him, but rather the lower district itself, but deep down, I’m convinced there is something close to the hospital that has captivated his attention. So, toward the hospital we go.

The path the boy pointed out took us through several very sketchy alleys, which we boldly took anyway.

"Pfftt… blergh… What the hell is this... blergh... it’s super sour," Ramia complained while making a very expressive sour face. Let’s get back to the stall. I think we’ve been bamboozled by that boy. Tasty, he said. I fail to see which part of this could be described as tasty."

The "lamoty" we bought had the strange appearance of a strange blend of an apple and strawberry, yet tasted sourer than the sourest lemon I’ve ever been given the opportunity to taste in my nine years of existence.

"Let it go, It’s not worth the trouble, And actually..." Mael said while taking a mouthful of the fruit.

His entire body was instantly traversed by shivers the moment he took the bite.

"... actually, the taste is not that bad."

"You know, you don’t have to force yourself," Ramia said, as if pitying him.

"I really mean it," Mael said, with, I could see from where I was, teary eyes.

After about ten minutes of wandering, we came across another alley, but this time it was larger, longer, and more crowded with merchants and people.

Small shops and stands were parallelly placed along the alley, selling more than just food and clothes this time.

From the pan card hanging above the entrance of these shops, I could tell that some of them were armories, while the others were selling diverse things.

"The boy said that after this alley we should reach a square. All we would have to do when reaching that square would be to go north," I announced.

"Let's take a quick look at what's available in this small market then."

We took our time exploring what each store had to offer; some merchants were strangely staring at us from behind their stalls, but we didn't pay attention to them.

"Hey look!" Ramia exclaimed, pointing at a strange food stall.

The owner, a woman, was grilling something that looked like some sort of long and thick sausage.

"Hey, you, what are these things called?" Ramia said while pointing at the bizarre sausages.

"Huh,... dog-hot..."

The moment she heard what the woman said, Ramia's face contorted into a grimace of repulsion and disgust.

"Euh Ramia, I don’t think that it’s really made of dog meat, I think it’s just a name, right?" Mael asked, also visibly unsure about the nature of the strange sausage.

They both looked at the owner, hoping she'd confirm that yes, dog-hot was just a name, but when she saw their reaction, she burst out laughing and said, "Of course this isn’t dog meat. What kind of madman would voluntarily eat dog meat?"

Voluntary?

What the…?

"That’s reassuring." Ramia sighed.

"Do you want to take a bite? It’s only for 30-"

"Actually, we're in a rush. Perhaps another time." Ramia said as she urged us to leave the stall.

After we reached a certain distance from the woman’s stall, I asked Ramia. "You didn’t trust her when she said it was not dog meat?"

"I did, but I’d rather not take any risk."

We resumed our errand. None of the stores particularly attracted our attention, so in no time we had reached the end of the alley.

Still closely following the boy’s instructions, we went north.

What was awaiting us north was a big step street that wasn’t mentioned by the boys. "Do you guys think he also bamboozled us about the location of the hospital center?"

"I hope no, I can’t see why he would lie about that."

We started climbing the step street, but since the place was slightly desertic, we played rock-paper-scissors while allowing the vainqueur of each game to climb one step at a time. The absolute winners would be the ones to reach the first to reach the top of the step streets.

It was very childish, I concede, but hey, it was fun. After all, I did won.

We soon found ourselves, after the steps, in a square with a magnificent and giant tree in its center.

Children of various ages were playing under the giant tree's shade, while mothers were seated on benches disposed around the tree watching over them.

"Waouh … " We let out in amazement as we approached the place.

Not to discredit the place we’ve been before, but this place, compared to the place we were before, is simply a hundred times more gorgeous.

Mael went to take a seat on one of the benches under the tree’s shadow, and Ramia and I took a seat next to him.

"I think… I remember this place. " Mael muttered, "I think now I understand why I was so eager to visit the lower district, it wasn’t really because there was something different between when I went with my parents or when I went with my attendants."

I did not comment, I simply listened.

"When I went with my parents, I was already looking for something. All these years, I thought that there was something around the hospital center that had attracted my attention, but it wasn’t that. All those years I’ve been looking in the wrong place and been nostalgic for the wrong souvenir. What I had really wanted to see in the lower district was this place."

"I think Uncle Damian used to bring me here to play when I was younger." Mael nostalgically said after a long silence. "Thanks for accompanying me here."

"There is no need to thank us. It was an exciting trip. I'm down for another one next week," Ramia said, slapping Mael on the back.

"I completely agree with Ramia, except for the part about another trip next week. Maa will kill me if she finds out what we did. "

"You and your fear of your "Maa, be a man, dammit."

"It’s not fear, it's respect."

"If it was "respect," you wouldn't have kept our trip a secret from her, let alone come up with the idea of jumping from a castle's highest room."

We stood quiet for a short instant before bursting out laughing.

We lingered in the shade of the tree for a while before deciding to return to the castle; after all, we'd completed our quest here.

We took the same route we had taken to get here, passing through the same alley, the same people, and the same stall we had passed through before.

***

Syrius and I were on our way to one of Grandfather's office rooms. Syrius had in his hand a medium-sized rectangular box.

As soon as we saw the desk room, an attendant opened the door for us.

"Oh, boy! We were expecting you." Grandfather said this in his characteristically upbeat tone.

He stood up from the chair he was sitting in when we entered the room, and Luke, who was sitting on the other side of the desk, also stood up.

"How was your little trip? I heard some details from Luke but I’d like to hear it from your mouth. After all, it was your idea." Grandfather said comfortably while sitting in his desk chair.

"Very exciting, I'd like to do another one if feasible, but I don't want to trouble Father too much by having him watch over us every time the urge to visit the lower district is tackling us. In either case, thank Grandfather for allowing us to go there. "

"It was nothing. I was quite impressed with how smoothly everything went for you three. "

"It's all because of these," Syrius went to place the rectangular box he was holding on top of the desk the moment I said that. "Thank you very much, grandfather; these hoods came in handy when we were interacting with people."

"It was nothing. You can use these whenever you need them."

"Thanks, Grandfather."

"So, what did Mael think of the trip? Did he enjoy it?"

"He was a little anxious about the jump, but I'm sure he had a great time overall."

"Oh, this child, I would have accompanied him to the location if he had asked. But I believe allowing him to accompany you and Ramia on the trip was the best decision."

"I believe so as well."