Chapter 396 - The Land of Ged

"Father, I want to see them," Alinea told Perun as soon as the carriages arrived at the palace. 

She had on a resolute expression as she locked eyes with her sire. Even before coming here, she and her father had already discussed her plan to visit her friends' grave. Perun stared at her for a while and was about to speak when Ryuu interrupted. 

"My love, we just arrived. I know you want to see your friends but this is not yet the time. Also…" His voice trailed off as he glanced at Yuuka who remained quiet and waiting on the side. 

As if remembering her, Alinea bit her lip as she looked at Yuuka with a guilty expression. Her husband was right. "Another time then," she agreed as she walked towards Yuuka and took her arm. "We'll let the men talk their business. I'll go with you to your room," she said as she looked at her father. 

Perun then turned to Fredek who gestured towards the servants to lead the women away.

"See you later," Ali told them as she and Yuuka followed the servants to Yuuka's quarters. 

Alinea was familiar with the castle of course as she was born and grew up there in this lifetime. Yuuka on the other hand had never been in a real occupied palace and was amazed by what she's seeing. Ali looked at her fondly, at how she turned to eye everything akin to a tourist. 

The Purple Palace, the place where the Ritz king lived was straight out of a fairytale. 

"What do you think?" Alinea asked Yuuka with a knowing grin as they walked. 

"Amazing,"Yuuka murmured as she eyed the intricate decors of the spacious hallway in gold and purple motif. "This place gives me similar vibes with the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany," she added. 

Alinea nodded. The palace indeed looked similar to the mentioned castle in Europe. The only difference was that the entire castle was covered with light purple glass. It was the color of Ritz, the hue symbolizing Raiden, the deity who could command the lightning just like his father, Perun. This was also the reason why the people called Ritz Perun's Country. 

However, that's where they were wrong. Perun's color was actually white. It's why Alistair always wore white. 

"But I think it's bigger," Yuuka added thoughtfully. "You grew up here, right? You don't get lost? Also, I noticed when we came here that life here seemed to be medieval. There are no elevators…"

The last part was spoken as they reached the grand staircase, and when they looked up, they could see that it continued to spiral up to what seemed like infinity towards the glass dome above. Yuuka's expression made Alinea laugh. 

"It's not that bad. The castle only has four floors, but the ceilings are high. This place," she said as she pointed at the very high ceiling where the spiraling stairs disappeared above. "—is the tower. It's like this because it's sixty-five meters high."

"Wow,"Yuuka was amazed, but her astonished look didn't last long. It was replaced by question. "But what's the tower for?"

Alinea grinned. "It's where my father spends his time daily. The whole tower is a library."

"He goes there every day to read?" Yuuka eyed the staircase and Alinea laughed this time. 

"He can fly," she said. 

Well, before he came out as Perun, Alistair did use the staircase, but instead of climbing, he just glided along it when there was no one looking. This area was strictly for the king so no one was ȧssigned there even guards. 

"Ah," Yuuka commented with a giggle. 

Alinea smiled at her mother fondly. Who could have thought that the day Shitara would walk with her like this in Ged would actually come? The place was spacious and so they talked a lot as they followed the servants. 

"How big is this world?" Yuuka asked. 

"Hmmmmnnn… not as big as Earth since the land here is originally from there. There are only two continents, eight kingdoms, and two empires."

"Yeah… That really isn't a lot,"Yuuka agreed. The Earth had seven continents and around two hundred countries. As to the exact number, she was not sure. Still, compared to Ged, it was bigger. 

"But remember that the size of Atlantis is bigger than the whole of South America and the size of Lemuria is as big as Asia,"Alinea reminded the other. "That means at all those six kingdoms and two empires are a lot bigger than the countries on Earth. Actually, Ritz is one of the smallest kingdoms in Ged. But, even if the kingdom is small its size is still as big as Australia on Earth."

"And all of the people are demigods?"Yuuka asked. 

Alinea shook her head. "Only the royal families are— at least those who are related to them by blood. The citizens are mostly mortals��� remnants of the people of the Earth that were transported along with the two continents."

"Oh, so there are ordinary people here too,"Yuuka murmured as she nodded, but Ali shook her head. "W-What?"

"The people might be from Earth, but the transport itself already changed their bodies and capabilities. They're no longer "ordinary". They may not have the same skills and strength, but they're no longer normal."

"I see…"Yuuka looked stumped. "Did… I mean I came here, but I'm planning to go back to Tokyo… I mean…"

Alinea laughed again. She had a clear idea of what Yuuka was worried about. She patted her arm to calm her mother down. "Don't worry. We came here via Uncle Stribog's portal. You're still unaffected by transport."

"That's good," Yuuka was finally relieved. "I'm planning to forget everything after my parents return to normal. If by chance I picked up some weird talents by coming here, I will be shocked."

With her words, Alinea's smile dimmed. She was reminded again of that wish. After this, Yuuka would forget about them. But her father already had a plan, and so she would just wait. After all, she's no longer a mere mortal. One year, two, years— even a decade or a century, these years were just insignificant numbers to her.

"We arrived, Your Highness, Your Majesty," the servants announced, but it made Yuuka puzzled. 

She leaned over to whisper in Alinea's ear. "Why are they addressing me as Your Majesty?"

With this, Alinea's amusement returned as she smiled mischievously at the clueless woman. "It's because my father just introduced you as his wife earlier."

Needless to say that Yuuka who promised to be unshockable still got the shock of her life. 

EEEEEEEEEH?