15 Heading to Vya
----
Flowery: '(of speech or writing) full of elaborate or literary words and phrases.'
----
Twenty-nine-year old Yu Yan had taken a gap year at eighteen to piss off her father. After taking an exam to enter a private prestigious university, she had transmigrated; as a January-born, she was older than most of her classmates. Age didn't equal maturity, but she was, in a sense, more mature than all of them.
It was a pity her maturity couldn't help her with decisions.
If she were with game options, she would most likely have three options floating at eye-level right now.
----
[1: Find out how to get out of this world]
Condition: Change the future of this world
+Plan B (Quantity: 1)
-Time, effort, and energy (Quantity: Unknown |Likely: Great|)
+Reputation (Quantity: Unknown; Category: Unknown |Existing: Revered, Feared|)
-Enemies (Quantity: Unknown, depends on Reputation Category)
*
[2: Stay put and do nothing]
Condition: Nothing happens that disturbs the current world
+Peace and quiet (Duration: Unknown)
-No guarantee that the peace will last
+A turbulent political position (Category: Unknown |Existing: Mayor, Administrator|)
+Reputation (Category: Unknown)
+A home
*
[3: Figure out Yu Yan's hidden ability]
Condition: 'Level up' enough to equal the power of the original 'Ye Zhao'
-Time, effort, and energy (Quantity: Unknown |Likely: Great|)
+Ability to protect endgame (Quantity: Great)
----
The easiest option - and the one Yu Yan decided to choose - was the third one.
After an hour of eating her cakes, she had decided.
"Lucia." Since Ginna was around, Yu Yan addressed Belluse with her alias. "I've decided to go to the capital."
Vya Academy was the most accessible way to carry out said option, or fulfill 'Quest 3.' Figuring out the limit of her impact on this world was crucial. Besides, nobody liked having a secret ability. Before curiosity killed the cat, she would figure out the answer.
Surprisingly, Belluse didn't seem surprised.
"I support every one of your decisions." The flame-haired maid-turned-boutique-owner said, calmly.
'Huh.'
"Thank you." A hesitant pause, from Yu Yan's side. "My 'Omniscient' ability is leading me to the capital. If you need anything, you can send a letter to Vya Academy. I'll be going next week."
"Alright. Should I help you pack?"
"No need. Could you hire a carriage?"
"Charon?"
"Wouldn't he be too expensive?" Yu Yan asked, frowning.
"A normal one, then." Belluse looked relaxed.
"You aren't surprised?"
Belluse took one of the remaining small cakes and bit into it. "Why would I be?"
Yu Yan didn't like unnecessary questions, but she was curious. When her question was faced with calmness, she didn't push further. "I guess you shouldn't. I'll miss you."
"Mmm. Me too. Want to purchase a cake?"
"Yeah sure, I'll ask Ginna to wrap it up."
To outsiders, the relationship between them might seem cold, but both of them were aloof individuals at heart. There was no need for flowery words, as both of them knew the other would sacrifice their lives for them. It had been ten years since the original Yu Yan had swapped out, but there hadn't been any remarks about the topic.
Yu Yan liked to assess choices, not people she trusted. Rather than worrying about whether or not she would get betrayed, she would just come up with a plan in case she was. Trust was trust, even if Yu Yan's definition was a warped one.
Belluse's personality had turned rougher around the edges, and a tad colder, but the essence of her personality hadn't changed.
Currently, Yu Yan was somewhat of an expert of her element. Her [Air Manipulation], [Air Summoning], and [Air Sensing] were honed to its peak, and she could shift parts of limbs, a beginner level in the extremely rare skill [Air Shifting]. But there was only so much Yu Yan could learn. It was different from homeschooling - at least, in homeschooling, you would have the materials and a coach. For Yu Yan, she had only the materials she bought from Rook's bookshop. Her swordsmanship was undoubtedly powerful, but having a mentor would be a priority now that she had 'accepted' the 'Quest.'
Vya Academy.
One of the Anisa continent's four Academies, with Vya Academy producing the best and largest amount of air mages in Anisa. Although Yu Yan's stats would be more than enough to apply for a teaching position in another Academy, she knew she would be lucky to land an assistant position there.
One of Ye Zhao's first things he did when taking over Resilia, at the end of "REBUILD," was to reestablish Silia Academy, the source of Resilia's esteemed reputation for producing formidable water mages. From the details that had been divulged, Yu Yan assumed that Silia and Vya's systems were similar.
Yu Yan's somewhat simple plan:
1. Bring her savings and move to Vya, Elevyar's capital. Leave Rook to the next mayor and administrator under the excuse of a two-year-break to see the world and find herself. In short, the same excuse Yu Yan used for her gap year.
2. Go to Vya Academy, apply for a teaching assistant position, and make her savings last until then until receiving her salary.
3. After learning discreetly along with the students and finding a mentor for two years, return to Rook.
Fleshing out the details of her plan, Yu Yan walked alongside the stream of carriages, on the sidewalk besides the cobblestone path. She passed storefronts, walking side by side silently with Belluse, when she spotted a familiar figure.
A handsome face.
'Ah. Mavis.'
Signalling for Belluse to go on, Yu Yan deliberately put a glazed look on her eyes. Walking towards the figure, she pretended to be daydreaming as she collided with the butcher. Yu Yan preferred to dress in collared shirts and cheap pants, an affordable fashionable choice. Mavis, on the other hand, was dressed in the same apparel, but managed to look like a model. Of course, Yu Yan's current looks weren't shoddy either; however, Mavis had that crisp advertisement jawline that resembled some of the nicer-looking heirs from Yu Yan's past life.
They weren't a thing, though - if Yu Yan fell in love, it couldn't be helped, but so far Mavis was just a close friend and they treated each other as such.
Not close enough for Yu Yan to sacrifice herself for him, though. The bumping was just an excuse to rip off the I'm-leaving band-aid as soon as possible.
It was the least she could do, and it wasn't crossing her lines.
"Ah, Ingrid." Mavis put a broad smile on his face. When he saw her bothered expression, though, his smile shifted into genuine concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, sort of." Yu Yan looked up at him. "Do you have time to talk?"
"Sure, let's walk."
After Yu Yan broke the news to him, Mavis blinked. Once. Twice.
'Are you in shock…?'
"Mavis, are you alright?" Placing a hand on his shoulder, Yu Yan looked up at him in somewhat genuine worry.
"Yeah, yeah." Mavis looked a bit surprised. "I probably should've known...A person like you won't settle for a place like this…" he muttered.
'Eh? Is this fanfiction now?'
Yu Yan blinked. "Excuse me?"
Mavis shook his head. "I mean no harm. It's just that you're different. You're a noble for one-" seeing Yu Yan's fake confused expression, he laughed, "-everyone knows, you did a frankly horrible job of hiding it. Nonetheless, we've known each other for a long time. And I can tell your personality isn't fit for Rook, even if you've been an administrator. I wish you luck on your future endeavors."
Fixing a brotherly clap on Yu Yan's shoulder, he smiled.
"I hope you won't forget me. Or Rook, for that matter."
"Ah, I think you're misunderstanding something, Mav. I'm coming back - it's only two years," Yu Yan clarified. She returned the shoulder clap, so the scene was somewhat of an awkward bromance. "I'll be back. I can promise you that."
This was a rare time when Yu Yan was sincere.
She hoped it could be conveyed through her gaze.
'Farewell, my friends. You will be missed.'
After concluding the friendly conversation, Yu Yan went around the town of Rook and informed them about her departure.
Sigmud Laver was a gruff, overly familiar man, whom Yu Yan decided to label as 'greasy.' Of course, she did have to give it to him that his brother, nephew, and now his sister-in-law had died, but still she disliked the man. But with the Lavers being the most influential in Rook with the Bassets moving elsewhere, Yu Yan had to inform him of her leave.
"Ah, Ingrid."
The creepy old man had the habit of going in for a hug every time he saw her, which Yu Yan usually took as a signal to pat him on the shoulder.
"Ah, Mr. Laver." Yu Yan smiled lightly. "I'm leaving for two years."
"...What?"
'Snake eyes.' They looked reptilian, in sharp contrast to Liu Yaxi's leech-like ones. But both contained hunger, which was why Yu Yan dealt with him the same way she did with Liu Yaxi.
"I'm leaving. For two years," she repeated.
'Ah, the look on your face is so satisfying~'
Most would reprimand Yu Yan for just blatantly diving into a plan she had just come up with, but she was short on time. She wanted to solve all the quests and come back to Rook to live her peaceful life as soon as possible. Besides, while conversing with Mavis, she had solidified the logistics of her plan.
Yu Yan wasn't a genius. Although some claimed she was, she was just competent and believed in her own competence. Any of her plans could go awry, so she prepared for possible contingencies.
If you murder someone, you should be prepared in case someone murders you.
If you kidnap someone, you should be prepared in case someone kidnaps you.
If you extort someone, you should be prepared in case someone extorts you.
Do not do if you cannot be done to.
Unlike those protagonists who killed people willy-nilly and was surprised when they made enemies, Yu Yan was a more cautious person than before... most of the time.
Yu Yan's Self Preservation Rule Number 1: Do not needlessly pick fights or look for trouble, and 5: Ensure that your plans will cause minimal damage to yourself in the long run, meant that she would try to reduce the number of people running amok in the name of revenge. She really was too tired to deal with revenge-chasers; what if the revenge-chaser was even stronger than her?
Even though it was unlikely, it wasn't impossible. Yu Yan would get crushed instantly.
However, she was, in a way, breaking Rule Number 2: Do not associate yourself with dealings amongst those more powerful than you. But this was the safest long-term option, rather than just sitting and keeping her head down with no guarantee that the peace would continue.
After shedding a few tears and spreading the rumors that she would be leaving next week for two years, she started packing.
'They'll probably assume it's out of grief after Alessia's death.'
She cursed the System internally.
'The damn bastard. Always making me move.'
Grumbling, she took her clothes from the cupboard and folded them into a nearby trunk, a piece of luggage that she had brought from Resilia. After getting rid of the telltale Resilian markings on the wood with ink, Yu Yan fleshed out her plans, calculating her savings. After investing in the Lavers' expanding merchant business as well as other promising companies, she had received a stock yield of around a hundred gold. After adding that to her administrator salary of ten years, it would be around two hundred.
Elevyarian currency wasn't that different from Resilia, but Elevyar used gold, silver, and copper, instead of Resilian gemstones.
An apple was around three copper, while a mid-sized house was around twenty gold. A meal would be around five copper, while monthly board at a small inn was around one silver.
Ten coppers were one silver, and five silver equaled one gold.
Two years here equaled twelve months, which meant cheap board would be four gold, four silver. Three meals a day would be seventy three gold for meals for two years.
'Ai...that would be spending too much.'
She needed sword appliances and magic books, too.
'One meal a day?'
Additionally, in order to not get bothered, the best thing would be to seem intimidating. Digging deeper into the trunk, Yu Yan felt her hands meet a cold surface.
'It's nice to see you again.'
She pulled out the full face-covering mask that she had worn on the way to Elevyar. It would somewhat attract attention, along with the robe, so Yu Yan drew her cheap sword out of her scabbard and slashed the long robe into a more casual style, cutting it above the waist but leaving the hood.
Yu Yan muttered internally as she contemplated the next step. 'Shit…'
This part would hurt. If she did it later, it would seem like a fresh wound, which would be less significant. A battle-hardened veteran? Would that be her image?
She placed the blade against her fingers, testing its sharpness. It drew blood. Good.
Placing the weapon against her temple, she slashed, drawing a long, somewhat deep cut from her eyebrow to the back of her neck.
'Fu...'
It hurt.
A searing pain alongside the injury, severe enough to leave a scar. Blood dripped from it, staining her face. Yu Yan had originally planned to somewhat mangle her ear, but that would mean a sensory disadvantage - and besides, nobody wanted to hire a teaching assistant who was too injured.
She fumbled for the wine jar by her bedside, uncorking it and spreading it over her scar. The raw alcohol made the pain sharper, but it would - hopefully? - defend it from infection.
It hurt more.
If she got the position, she could hide it underneath her hair.
Even though the scar didn't prove much, Yu Yan didn't want to look like a physically easy target. Coupled with a nice-enough sword, her image hopefully would warrant enough fear to not be followed, since if citizens saw a scarred, masked figure with a sword in their hand, most of them would steer clear.
Should she make it deeper?
After deciding against it, she sheathed her sword, and cleaned off the blood. Finishing packing, she rearranged her hair strands and collar so they covered up the scar, heading towards Rook's shops for a new sword.
'Preparation…'
----
