As soon as the caravans come to a halt, Carter knows that things are going to get even more complicated from here onwards. Daisuke told him that as soon as they reach their destination, he and Katharina would need to come with him in order to get some things settled. Carter has the feeling that they're going to interrogate him, but Daisuke promised to speak in their favor. He helps Katharina hop off the caravan's front most cart, holding her by the hand. The princess smiles in gratitude, and Carter returns it with a slight curt.
The two are soon approached by Daisuke. The caravan leader must be tired, so Carter really appreciates him going all the way for the both of them.
"You. Two. Ready?" Daisuke is getting used to using gestures in communicating, which explains why his delivery is better than before.
Carter gives a nod, his intimidating tall form makes it hard to believe that a person like him even existed. As usual, he has Katharina holding his hand so that he could keep her safe at all times, though this is not how he usually does it. It has always been fine to let her roam around back at the Kingdom, but they're in an entirely different place now. He can't afford to act lenient and letting Katharina into danger. Because what happened during the middle of the trip before was a hint that explicitly told him that he will need to be extra careful. Still, who would've thought that there are actually monsters in this land?
Monsters are not a common thing back home. Giants, dragons, wyverns, goblins… they're all dangerous and definitely are not very friendly with humans. However, there are dragons and wyverns tamed by the Burganlicht Kingdom in order to be used as cavalry. They are tamed by what one would call a Dragon Knight, a Knight still enlisted under the Burganlicht Knight's Order and are famous for their dragon riding skills. It's not easy to tame one, from what his fellow knights would say. You'd have to beat the dragon into submission, show that you're stronger and slowly build up some sort of connection with it.
Considering how tough, had skinned, dangerous and deadly dragons are; it makes the thought of taming one impossible. But believe it or not, there are quite a lot of Dragon Knights up in the ranks.
"Okay. Follow. Stick. Close." Daisuke gestures the signs in order to let Carter know that he and the young miss should stick close together.
Since the caravans are parked right outside of the village's gates, they walk to the main gates with Daisuke leading the pair. Carter's eyes are fixed at the tall, wide and most definitely sturdy wooden gates that looks more like a wall instead of a mere gate. Though they are not as big as the Kingdom's main gates, it is still considerably tall and large, making it not so surprising if this place is well protected from the dangers that lurk outside of the walls.
Daisuke has the gates opened, having shouted earlier presumably so that people from the other side could open the gates for them. The dragging of wood on the dirt causes a small shaking, due to the sheer size of it. The village is in view, showing Carter and Katharina a wide street with buildings on both sides, lined up orderly. Carter is impressed. For a settlement that is similar to a village, this place is really huge. There are a lot of people too, the central hub must be right ahead. Two men dressed in what Carter assumes to be stacked metal pauldrons and bulky chestplates walks in, stopping before them.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"
Daisuke waves a hand, getting the guard's attention. "It's me, we're back from a job." The middle aged man says with a gruff voice.
One of the guard notices the man, and is slightly surprised. "Daisuke-san, isn't it a little too early to return? We're expecting you for at least five more hours!" it's rare for the caravans to return right at midnight, especially with yokai threats constantly being a possibility.
Daisuke flashes the guard a comforting grin, he gestures his head over to the armored man, crossing his arms. "You can thank our outsider for that. The little miss with him helped too, she healed those who're injured in the middle of an attempted Yamabito raid."
The other guard looks flabbergasted, nearly dropping his composed expression. "A Y-Yamabito raid…? How did you survive it?" it's no secret that Yamabitos always raid in a group, maybe even groups. So, it's surprising to even see Daisuke unhurt.
"Caa-taah over there is good with a sword, very good." He nods as if to prove his point. "He also knows magic and I'm damn grateful that he does. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here right now. We had a giant one on our hides, and he dealt with it easily. Guy's more than good."
The two guards look amazed, if not interested to see how skillful the swordsman really is. But for now, they have a job to do.
"I see. Then please, go on ahead. I assume that you're bringing them to Keine-sama?" The first guard asks.
"Yes, she oughta be busy even at this hour right? I swear, woman never sleeps…" the middle aged man mutters quietly.
"Then go ahead, Daisuke-san, we'll have the others park the caravans and feed the horse while you're away."
"Thank you.
Daisuke returns to the two outsiders, giving the okay. When passing the two guards, Carter could feel Katharina's grip on his gauntlets getting even stronger. She's more timid than afraid, quiet than unsociable. She's that kind of child; not really an introvert, extremely kind but always looking for a chance to make friends. They cross the gates and enter the village. Carter and Katharina are greeted with unfamiliar buildings structure, different writings on boards. From seeing Daisuke's group, people here are shorter, paler but more refined than your typical Burganlicht citizen, and it seems that the community here allows the possession of weapons; if the group of men Carter passes by earlier counts as proof, even though it's midnight.
All in all, it's a new experience for the both of them. Carter's sure that Katharina's eyes are looking at one thing and another repeatedly; the scenery is just a lot to take in, with most things clearly foreign yet accepting at the same time. A small gust of chilly wind sweeps past them, causing the young girl to shiver momentarily. A small squeeze of his hand is all it takes to comfort the princess, who in return smiles at him reassuringly.
Carter is reminded of his early years as a knight, when he was not guarding Katharina for the reason that she was away. Like many other in his position during that time, he was stuck in guard duty. But thankfully, he's not posted on the gates or anywhere boring like that. He's a street guard, tasked with civil protection and enforcing the rules of the Kingdom. Even though it's not as boring as getting posted somewhere random, it was still boring regardless. Thankfully, the streets of Burganlicht are filled with many kinds of interesting places like the market, community district, residencies and barracks for the Royal Guards.
Now there might be confusion between a Knight and Royal Guard. But believe it or not, technically, what he should be is in fact a Royal Guard. Originally, Royal Guards are the only ones tasked with the duty to protect royalties or nobles; but after Empress Karliah's rule as the Empress, the Knights are allowed to be used for private security for nobles who are willing to pay a better price. Knights are better trained, more experienced and efficient in dangerous combats; while this may hold true to some Royal Guards, not all of them are trained to be as good as knights in fighting. And that's exactly it. Nobles do not need people who are exceptionally good in fighting, they need people who could protect them from thieves, robbery or minor assault; other than that, those hired as security (regardless of being a Knight or a Royal Guard) are obliged to obey every order even to the most petty or downright ridiculous one.
Which is why Knights are not so keen on being charge of a noble's safety, they'll be treated like slaves. But not all gets treated like this, only most of them.
As they walk deeper into the village, the number of people carrying weapons increases. This must be the market district or something similar to it. The stands and vendors that are no doubt full during the morning, are placed neatly on the side of the road allowing access for people. . And now he's starting to understand why there are a lot of guards here; the place can be crowded, so very crowded. It's can be so crowded that he has no doubt that he grabbing Katharina's hand in order to prevent her from getting lost will be necessary. Daisuke seems considerate enough to lower his pace, so that they could follow. With so many guards in here, thieves or acts of robbery will have a low chance of happening. And since it is night, thieves will have to rethink of a better way to steal. Smart… it's too bad that they do not allow ordinary peasants to own swords, and that's if they could afford one.
The price of a sword is not expensive in itself. It's the costs that go along with it.
Customer is required to choose from a list of blacksmiths who have legal permits to own a forge or a smithy. Next, they will have to register their names in the records and pay a very small fee of one copper piece. After that, they will need to meet the smith and do transactions from there on. For additional fee, customers can give the smithy their own design for a blade or choose existing designs that the smithy has. The next step is to choose the materials for the build. Steel, iron or even rare ores like Orichalum, Mithral and Adamantine; of course the price depends on the rarity and quality of ores, the rarer the material the higher the price. After choosing their designs and materials, customer must pay the smithy whether straight up or in credit. Obviously, most would use credit since it is more budget friendly. However, should they be late in the payments, interests will be charge. Then begins the waiting process, once the blade is done, the smithy and the owner will need to register the blade in the barracks so that they could legalize the ownership. Until all of those are done, one cannot walk around the Kingdom with a sword in their scabbard.
All of this added with the waiting, indirect costs and interest rates seem hectic or troublesome to do. But believe it or not, there's actually an easier way to get swords.
Buy from a freaking shop.
It's cheaper, quicker, less complicated and you'll have the certificates ready. But the downsides are there. Shop weapons tend to have a very terrible quality due to poor management, which is why most weapons found in shops are rusty or close to breaking.
However, from the looks of it, where even people younger than him get to carry around swords, this place is very good at maintaining their economy. He must praise the authorities here. It's still a little bit strange to see so many armed guards in the middle of the night though.
"Carter… where are we going?" Katharina unknowingly snaps Carter's attention of his surrounding by making him focus his attention to her. "There are a lot of people here."
Carter nods, armor clinking with the movement. "Yes, indeed. But I still can't say for sure as to where we're going, princess. Should I ask our host?"
Katharina put some thoughts into his suggestion, before shaking her head in negative. "No, there's no need." She smiles. "Watching this many people is fun as it is."
Beneath his helmet, Carter dons the same smile Katharina is showing. She is a really nice girl. Other's happiness is her happiness too. She believes that all people deserves to be happy, one way or another. Yet at the same time, she also thinks that indiscretion and carelessness in living is something to be frowned upon. She cannot respect those who refuse to find jobs, people who drink their life away and those who drown themselves in pleasure and other worldly vices. She's that type of girl who likes it if things are done in moderation; he finds it really sweet and cute. No doubt, she will definitely become like her mother, if not better.
They continue the rest of the journey in silence, with the two outsiders admiring every single thing that they have never seen before. Carter also notices the stares and wary glance he's constantly receiving from the people around him. It seems that wearing a suit of armor in this place is not common practice.
Daisuke suddenly stops in the middle of his walk, prompting the two outsiders to follow his sudden action. The middle aged man turns his body, walking towards the tall armored man with his princess charge.
Daisuke starts to flash hand gestures. "We. Arrive." He then does several more. "Follow."
Their destination is a large wooden building with the similar structure as the other buildings that Carter and Katharina have seen on their walk here. But, there's a difference with this one building. It's made out of darker wood, the size is also considerably bigger and Carter estimates that this building could fit one division of Knights inside, and it has this feeling of being one of the more important establishments in this place. If it helps, the presence of people entering and exiting the building might prove just how important this building is to the people here.
Not long later, they enter the building.
"So Daisuke-san… these two are outsiders?"
Both Carter and Katharina keep to themselves as they let the two sort things out.
A woman who wears a rather unique piece of headwear on her head is sitting behind a desk, currently in a conversation that the foreigners could never hope to understand with Daisuke.
"Yes they are, Keine-sama." Daisuke replies. "They speak a different language, and I've been communicating with the tall one in sign language."
The woman who is identified as Keine looks mildly surprised. "Oh is that so? That's interesting…" She eyes the two outsiders, who react a little bit when being subjected to her stare. "Outsiders they may be… their clothing is different from several of those we had earlier in the days."
Daisuke blinks for several times, just noticing the fact. "Now that you mentioned it… but they're still outsiders, regardless."
"Yes, that is true." Keine nods, somehow able to balance the hat she is wearing on her head.
"Another think, Keine-sama. They can use magic."
Keine is now surprised. She is not expecting for Daisuke to use the m word. Giving the man a skeptic look, Keine remains unsure. "Magic?"
Daisuke nods. "Yes, legit magic. The tall one, Caa-taah, is good with a sword too." he elaborates further. "On the way here, our caravan was attacked by Yamabitos. We managed to deal with a few of them, but there were just too many in the end. But mister magic user over there stepped in, killed an entire horde of them with only one slash of his sword before finishing the giant with a fancy lighting-fire magic spell or some kind."
Hearing Daisuke's explanation makes Keine's doubt slowly recede. It is unheard of for outsiders to possess powers, yet the testimony given to her by Daisuke could possibly be true. In fact, she has no gain by not trusting the man, after all, she can always ask the rest of the caravan folks for the story.
"The little missy also did a great job of healing the injured, by the way."
Keine blinks, as she sinks into a state of quietness. Communication with the two, other than hand gestures, is impossible. She will need to do something to remedy this. "There are injured?"
"Yeah, but I made sure that they're sent away for further diagnosis." Daisuke says. "But the both of them did heal the injured pretty well, so well that they fell asleep afterwards."
Keine eyes the foreigners again, the one in armor in particular. He does not seem like a magician or a witch… and he's carrying a sword. She will need to confirm some things… "Daisuke-san, can you please ask for him to demonstrate another of his magic for me?"
Daisuke knows that there must be a reason for Keine to do this, but since he is asked, he does it anyway.
"Magic. Can. You. Show?"
Carter receives the gestures, but instead of showing what Keine wants, he whispers words into Katharina's ears. The girl nods, recognition flooding her face. Carter steps forward, closer to the two locals. He extends his right arm, showing Keine the leather palm of his gauntlet. He utters, "Schmieden: Langschwert." Purple particles similar to dust begin forming in the air above it, slowly taking form and elongating into a solid longsword. The sword in the Knight's hand is different than the one in his scabbard. It is not really solid, since it is a magical construct. However, it looks like a standard longsword, with the cross hilt, round pommel and double edged blade. The blade shines under the little amount of light produced by the candle that lights the room.
Keine's eyes never leave the blade, she suddenly stands, causing the chair to rattle by her action. It is decided. She will have to figure out how to make these two understand their language, in order to make communication possible. "Daisuke-san, please tell him that he will be coming with me." Keine tells the man.
"Okay… but for what?" he can guess, but none of them are probably right.
"To introduce them to some people who can help."
Daisuke shrugs, from here, it's no longer his business.
"You. Two. Will. Follow. Her."
"Why?"
A shrug is Carter's answer.
The Knight sighs, he knows that things will get complicated eventually. "Princess, we will need to follow the lady. I do not really know why, but I'm assuming that it is important." He relays the message over to Katharina.
"Oh…" she seems a little put off on having to move again so suddenly. "I'm getting sleepy though…" she stifles a yawn. The short amount of sleep that they had in the caravan was not enough, and the disturbance with the monsters did not help either.
"Do you want me to carry you?"
Katharina's face instantly becomes red, she shakes her head furiously, making her look weird and cute at the same time. "N-NO! There's no need! I-I can walk by myself just fine, thank you very much!" she huffs, pouting.
Daisuke watches with interested eyes. "Why?"
"I. Suggest. Carry. Kids. Sleepy."
Daisuke lets out a laugh, which increases Katharina's embarrassment even further.
Keine has lived a very long life, granted that it's not as long as her yakitori grilling friend, it is still long regardless. Even from a Halfling's perspective, more than eighty years is long. Keine has two jobs, and they are all very simple contextually. Her first job is to act as the Human Village's protector, protecting it from any threats that come from outside and even inside. Youkais are not so much of a problem anymore, they'd think twice than to mess with her, a village full of armed humans and the Hakurei Shrine Maiden who lives several distances away from the large settlement. Dangers do not only come from the outside, sometimes, within the village alone can be dangerous. Though the case of murder is low, very low, it happened and she has to make sure that it won't ever happen again.
Her next job is being a teacher. A way different outlet from her first one. She is tasked with teaching History, the History of Gensokyo and also snippets from the world outside. Compared to her first one, this job is less dangerous but nonetheless tiring. In fact, she's taught people longer than she has protected the village's walls. Teaching is her passion, it have always been. She finds joy in sharing educational values, knowledge and teaching people; she thinks that it's a job worthy of praise, respect and time to do it.
Gensokyo has several cases of outsiders being transported here, otherwise they wouldn't come up with a term for them. Most of them, from time to time, spoke a whole different language than the locals; but there are also those who spoke in the same tongue as they do here. It's safe to say that those outsiders, the ones who can communicate, were Japanese. And those who couldn't were not Japanese. And Keine can already say that these two are not Japanese.
"You. Two. Okay?"
Keine has to make sure that they are willing to talk, for the reason that she could know that they are cooperative. Keine sees with certain warmness in her eyes the sight of the tall man garbed in black armor, sitting beside a sleeping girl on the back of the carriage. He nods his head once, giving her a reply.
Keine nods in return, returning to the road up ahead. She is not sure whether the two are capable of flight, so she rented a small carriage to take them to their destination. She's not one to meddle with the affairs of Youkais or other beings that is not humans; but this situation they have is important.
The people of the Scarlet Devil Mansion must know a little thing or two about spells that can make these two understand their language. Contrary to what the humans in the village may believe, the folks there are not so bad. The only trouble they've caused was the Scarlet Mist Incident, and that was a long time ago. Keine has even been inside of the mansion several times as a tutor for the little sister. She must say, she misses the little vampire's enthusiasm and joy.
Normally, she wouldn't go so far as to get two outsiders to understand their language, they would be sent home as soon as they end up in the village by the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. However, something tells her that these two are more than just outsiders. Daisuke's explanation in the village was only of little help, she will need to hear it directly from them. And in order to do that, she will need them to speak or at least understand the language here.
Their journey to the mansion will definitely take time, added with the fact that the moon is still up high in the sky, Keine doesn't feel really safe.
Only certain people know of her condition, and thank the Gods that it's not a full moon.
She parks the carriage right in front of a large lake, before using the small row boat in order to navigate to the other shore. Carter does the rowing, seeing that it's only polite for him to do that. Keine tells him to just row straight ahead, not minding the mist. Even with all the rowing, it's still a surprise that the sleeping princess is still in the state she's in right now. Rowing to the other shore does not take long, they exited the boat immediately, proceeding with the journey on foot.
Carter is now carrying a sleeping princess on his arms, carrying her with both of his arms in a bridal carry position. From here onwards, Keine takes point once again, leading them through the forest.
After a silent journey, their destination is already on sight.
It's a large castle, Carter can only assume of it being that. However, with how short the walls and small the gate is, it gives off the feeling of just being a very large mansion. Carter has seen ridiculously large residence back at home, but none of them have their own personal clock tower. The building itself is large, blocky and bulk; it really does its job of making it look like a place that could house many people. He's also noticed that red must be the color of the people that lives here.
He thinks that… but the moment they approach the gate, they are greeted by a sleeping girl dressed in green. She has red hair though.
"Meiling, Meiling?"
Meiling, the woman in green, wakes up from her dozing sleep. She seems startled at first at the sight of Keine being right in front of her, but she regains her consciousness and manages to keep her reflex in check.
"Ah… eh? Keine-san? What are you doing here?" The woman with the green beret with a golden star embezzled on the front part notices the small party behind the blue wearing woman. "Aaaand who is he?" Meiling will not lie if she is asked whether or not the tall armored person intimidates her. He looks like a moving variant of the empty suits of armor from inside the mansion.
"They are with me, Meiling." Keine reassures the gate guard with a small smile. "They are outsiders, and I need the help of a certain member in your household with something."
Meiling has been doing this job for a long time, so she knows immediately what Keine really means. "Is that so… but the only ones awake are the mistress, the little mistress and Sakuya-san; are you really sure you want to enter anyway?"
"I'm sure." A strong nod of conviction comes from Keine. "This is important."
"I see…" the red haired woman mutters. "Then please enter, Keine-san. Just… eh… make sure that your friends don't do anything funny inside."
"Of course, Meiling."
Carter follows Keine into the mansion after having the front gates opened for them. Inside, he lets the teacher lead once again.
Carter is greeted by familiar items, decoration and designs. He's starting to feel like home the moment he enters the mansion. Albeit creepy and haunting it may be, it's the closest kind of home he can get from this foreign place. It seems that everything here is different from the way they are decorated from the ones in the village. Chairs, paintings, carpets… it's all familiar to him, and Katharina too if she's not sleeping right now. He can appreciate the owner's likeness to the color red, but it wouldn't hurt to tone it down a little, would it not?
They walk through halls, make small intersections and turns before eventually ending up in a large library. There are a lot of shelves containing a lot of books, the small of paper and dust is pungent in the air, so strong that even Carter can smell them through his helmet. As expected from a place like this, the library is just as grand as the halls. A large chandelier hangs from the ceiling, its brilliance shining with lit candles placed inside to provide illumination for this already dimly lit place. Carter is awed, not even the library in the castle is this grand.
Keine does not have to walk further into the maze they call library, because a figure floats over towards them, and its presence brings alarm to Carter's mind.
"A devil…?"
Said 'devil' raises her eyebrows. "Oh? Someone who almost got it right… this is interesting." She smiles, and though it's charming, Carter cannot bring himself to like her.
The woman is another red haired woman. But unlike the one guarding the gate, she is dressed in completely different attire. She wears a white collared long sleeved shirt with a red tie keeping her collar neat, a black vest is worn over it all. She wears a matching black skirt and a pair of black shoes. The features that identify her as being a non-human are the two bat like wings on her head and another pair on her back.
"You can understand him?" Keine asks.
The red haired devil's attention is shifted to the blue haired woman, nodding her head once. "Yes I could. As a Succubus, a sub species in the line of devils, we are gifted with the ability to speak in many tongues. He assumed that I was a devil, but I'm not really one."
"Can you ask him who he is?"
Koa looks at the teacher weirdly. "You brought him and the girl here without knowing who they are?"
Keine shakes her head. "I just want to know."
"Fine then." Koa redirects her attention back to the armored man who is carrying the sleeping beauty in his arms. "What is your name? And hers too?" Koa begins speaking in a language that Keine has no knowledge or whatsoever, she can only assume that she is asking his name.
Carter is still wary, but he allows himself to relax. "I'm Carter, and this is Katharina."
Koa, having found out their name, relays it over to Keine. "He said that his name is Carter and the girl's Katharina… not a very weird name, if you ask me." then again, they could not help but get a little bit lost in translation.
Keine nods, feeling glad that she can now confirm their names. But she remembers her original objective here. "Koa, is Patchouli up yet? I need to know if she could do something about their language problem."
Koa unfortunately shakes her head in negative. "I'm afraid that Patchouli-sama is not awake yet, Keine-san. She is not like the mistress, after all."
Keine may be persistent, but she is not rude. "I see… how long will we have to wait for her to wake up?"
"None at all."
A different voice interrupts the question. Carter turns his head and is greeted by the approaching form of another woman dressed in a purple pajama who has purple hair herself. "Out of all the time you could come to me, you chose now? I have a serious case of worry for your health, Halfling."
Keine crosses her arms, flicking a lock of her hair with a little bit of sass. "Were-Hakutaku never sleeps, Patchouli… we find it harder than most people to do that."
Patchouli nods, shrugging her shoulders lightly. Her bag filled eyes would roll, but there's no need for her to do that. "Acceptable." She walks over to the group, leaning over to the dark Knight. She eyes him from top to bottom, not minding the sleeping girl on his arms. "Tell me, Knight, is your armor blessed?"
Carter is a little bit surprised to hear her speak in his language. "Yes, it is. Are you a mage?"
Patchouli shakes her head. "Not by profession, if that's what you're asking… I'm a magician by species."
A magician by species? He has never heard of it before… while magicians, witches, warlocks and wizards are common profession to those who dabbles with the arcane, he has never heard of someone being a magician in species itself.
"If your armor's blessed, it explains why you're not feeling disturbed the moment you enter the mansion. Are you under the command of a certain Holy Order?"
Carter is continually pressed with more questions, but he's more surprised at how well she's asking him. "Not really. The Ministry is different from the Order, the Knights are allied with them, but they have their own military figures called the Papal Guards. But sometimes, we are required to spend time in the chantry to restore Faith."
Patchouli nods, all the while muttering, "Interesting… Interesting…" Thankfully for Keine, Patchouli is quick to return her attention back to her. "So Keine, what's your purpose in here?"
"I want to know if it's possible for them to understand the language here. It will be much easier for them to communicate with us." Keine states her reason. But being a little bit experienced with people like Patchouli, she expects several questioning from the woman.
"For that reason only? Nothing more? Woman, if you can communicate with them from the start then why not stick with that? And is it not possible to directly send these two back to the outside world?" Patchouli is spitting out questions faster than she can read. And she can read fast. Very fast.
Keine is actually expecting deeper questions, but these will be easier to answer. "I know that this might seem crazy or plain absurd, but I suspect them to come from a different version of the outside world." Her conclusion has brought the normally lazy faced Patchouli raise her eyebrows. "The way they dressed is way different from the outsiders that have been popping up here ever since a few months ago and I know for a fact that they do not wear suits of armor anymore in their society."
Carter can only watch in interest as the woman in purple is placed into a deep thinking trance. Whatever the hat wearing woman might have said, it causes her to think that much and deep.
Patchouli has placed the book she has been carrying on a nearby shelf. What Keine says got her thinking deeply, as it opens up the closed doors in her mind. "Time shifting rifts… or past relics… no, no, no… a possible alternate dimension then…" her eyes land on the Knight quickly, too quickly for his comfort. "Yes, yes… these are possible…"
Carter is approached by the purple woman again.
"What is the name of the place that you came from?" Patchouli asks, seriously.
Carter then answers without hesitation, saying, "Burganlicht. The Kingdom of Burganlicht."
"Continent? Or something similar to that."
"If you mean the world I came from, we call it the Far Mundus." Carter answers, his voice echoing from within the helmet he is wearing. "Why is it necessary to ask me these questions?"
"She," Patchouli gestures to Keine. "thinks that you two came from a whole different world. Gensokyo, this world's name, is already a whole new world for people who lives outside of this place. I won't go into deeper explanations about Gensokyo, you will have to ask her" she is referring to Keine again. "later. Now, I'm going to cast a spell on the both of you; and I require the girl to be awake."
Carter begins to get defensive, taking a quick step back, bringing the sleeping Katharina away from the magician. "Clarify your intentions, what do you mean you're going to cast a spell on us?" there's not really any hostility in his tone, just paranoia and suspicion. Normal, considering the circumstances he and the girl are in.
"She wants you to understand the language that the local folks here speak, not all people here can speak the language that you speak; it's only due to my status as a magician and Koa's as a lesser devil that we are capable of understanding you." Patchoul elaborates, while making several books float around her. "I give you my word that it will not hurt you nor the girl, all I ask is you let me do my job properly."
In any normal circumstances, Carter would have refused with outright conviction. He is not going to let a magician put a spell on him or Katharina for that matter. However, seeing that her explanation makes some sense, and knowing the language here can actually be a useful perk; he decides to go with it.
"Thank you, if you would please." Patchouli begins to make the books she have floating open themselves in different pages.
Carter kneels, so that he can wake Katharina without the risk of her falling from his arms. The girl opens her eyes, she is about to ask their whereabouts, but Carter silences her with his finger. "The magician over there is about to cast a language barrier breaking spell for us, please do not fret princess, I will be here."
After having heard his answer, Katharina nods slowly, still registering the fact that they are indeed at a different place. Did she really fell asleep for that long?
"Magician, we're ready." Carter gives Patchouli the sign that they are prepared. And Patchouli immediately responds by chanting.
Her chanting is in another language that neither Carter nor Katharina understands, but the magical energy swirling around them is enough proof for Carter to know that she is in fact a very strong magician. The strong magical energy became more than a small gust of wind; it spins rapidly, gathering into a small tempest of mana that both Carter and Katharina can feel very well. Despite the large amount of energy summoned, Carter is amazed at how stable the magician is controlling it. Several purple magical wards, or barriers begin to form in the air; coming out from the books that they have been summoned from. Carter watches as a large magic circle appears underneath his and Katharina's feet. It glows a bright red color, similar to blood.
"Tălmăci!"
Red and purple envelopes their form, covering Carter and Katharina. Then, they disappear, fading away light the distant evening sky. Then simultaneously, everything dies down, returning into its previous state of quietness.
Patchouli's books floats back down for Koa to pick them up, the purple wearing magician approaches the two outsiders, eager to ask them if there's result. "So, can you understand me?" she speaks.
Carter nods, Katharina doing the same. "But I don't feel anything different, do you feel anything different, princess?" he asks his charge.
"No. No I do not." Katharina says softly.
"Well, it worked regardless." Patchouli nods, satisfied with her work. "I'm talking to you with the language used by the local folks here; try speaking to Keine if you won't believe me."
The mentioned history teacher walks up to the group, eager to introduce herself. The first thing she does is bowing her head, again, passively showing her balancing skill. "I'm sorry for bringing you here so suddenly and end up tiring the both of you, but you should understand that something has to be done." She speaks with politeness in her voice that could rival several well trained nobles from the Kingdom, Katharina knows this.
"It is fine. It should be us apologizing since we have taken much of your time." Katharina returns the gesture, doing a small curtsey. "Carter and I are grateful, and we would like to thank you for taking our situatuion into consideration."
Daisuke did not lie when he said that the girl is a princess. Such sincere politeness coming out from her mouth makes even Keine feel a little shy when talking to her. The teacher shakes her head, dismissing the display of politeness towards her. "It was nothing; any normal person would have done the same in my position."
Carter lifts himself from a kneeling position, standing back up on his two feet. His armor clatters as he shakes his head. "We don't doubt it. The people here have proven to be such a friendly bunch, we are glad to have been under their care."
"Ahem." Patchouli dislikes it when no one is paying attention to her when they're inside their library. Koa passes by to return the books back to where they belong, and the librarian of the mansion sees this chance to exploit more of the current situation. "If you do not mind, can you tell us a little bit more about yourselves? It will be interesting for me to know about this unusual and rare occurrence where special outsiders found themselves in Gensokyo."
Keine follows up with her own statement. "The same reason for me. I will need to record your names down anyway, so this will be like killing two birds with one stone."
"Of course… but where to start…" Katharina mutters, unknowingly to have averted her gaze downwards. "It all happened so sudden, the next thing we know… we're already in a forest somewhere."
"Please, let us resume the conversation over tea." Patchouli beckons for her familiar and assistant. "Koa, prepare us five cups of tea. With all that magic I let out earlier, she's bound to enter any moment from now."
The sound of doors creaking open is heard.
And this time, Patchouli cannot restrain herself from rolling her eyes. "Speak of the devil…"
"…And she shall appear."
Yet another different voice, entering just at the perfect timing. Standing right in front of the library's opened doors is a young girl who is barely on her early teens, short yet defined by the clothes she's wearing, emitting an aura of extreme charisma by her mere presence alone. She walks towards them with an elegant posture and mannerism, it reminds Katharina of the way her senior tutor would walk whenever practice is in session. She wears a garment primarily consisting of light pink and purple, it gives off a nice gradient and contrast with her bluish purple hair. Though short and young looking, there's really no explaining the pair of bat-like wings on her back; this alerts the Knight, yet he caught sight of the silver cross hanging down from her neck.
"A vampire…" he cannot restrain himself from unintentionally blurting out the word. It gets the personal attention from the girl herself.
"Oh?" she smiles, showing him the two fangs poking down her lips. "Was it so obvious?" she has walked far enough to be closer to the Knight. "Tell me, was it the wings, the cross, or the presence?" she asks, the smile showing no signs of disappearing. It's a mixture of amusement and cheek, one that gives Carter bad vibes.
The Knight does not answer, if anything, he's tense.
"I shall assume your silence as the result of my overwhelming presence." She haughtily declares, showing a proud smirk. "But before anything else, let me introduce myself." She does a full bow, stretching the corner of her dress lightly, and her left leg extended and bent slightly. "My name is Remilia Scarlet. I am the mistress of this mansion and will be your host starting from today." She raises her head, seeing the surprised look on everyone's faces except for the Knight's. "It would be a pleasure for me to listen along to your tales."
Carter has unknowingly brought Katharina into the Devil's house…
And they're going to be staying in it.
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