The Angelic System That Turned My Life Into Hell

Chapter 177: Grat

Grat. The land of sand. True to its nickname, there was sand everywhere one could look. And aside from the hot and burning sand, the sun was shining mercilessly on the land. Paired with the already high temperatures and the mostly dry air, one would feel like melting.

Instead of trees, palms were providing the people with shadows. And aside from that, the tanned people were lightly clothed, revealing a lot of skin, and some wore a headscarf to fight against the intense sun.

But even though it was like hell temperature-wise, the people had happy expressions and were constantly smiling.

"Welcome to the nation of Grat!" Sara shouted excitedly as she jumped in front of everyone and spread her arms in joy.

"We’re currently in the port city Yurt. From here on, we will continue traveling to Youra, the capital of Grat, in carriages." Yarjak explained with a small smile.

The two were excited to be back home, even if Yarjak was not showing it as much as Sara, who could not stop humming. And even the people, living there, were excited to see the heirs to the crown.

Soon, the two were surrounded by smiling people, who were expressing their joy in seeing them, ignoring Mika and the rest completely.

"W-we’re sorry but we have to move again...!" freewebnσvel.cøm

"We will come visit here soon, we promise!"

Following those statements, the people reluctantly moved away from the two, leaving them room to head over to the carriages.

Thus, the group followed after the Tiam siblings, who led them to the carriages. And while doing so, Mika noticed the gazes of the people living there. Whereas the children gazed at them with curiosity, the parents and especially the older folks seemed rather angry.

"..."

Despite the heat, Sylvia, who put on a long robe, which covered her entire body, pulled further on her hood to hide her face. Elsa, too, was careful to not be seen by others.

For the entire trip, Mika even forgot the existence of Elsa, who was traveling with them as she was always inside her own cabin, minding her business. It was most likely that she would have only left her cabin if they had been in great danger.

"What’s wrong, Harik? Are you feeling unwell?" Rachel wondered, noticing the uneasiness of Harik.

"..."

Mika shifted his gaze to them. Even to this date, Harik wore his sunglasses even though his curse was effortlessly lifted by Mika. And yet, Harik had the aura of uneasiness around him just like Rachel said.

"I-it’s nothing..." he stuttered.

Mika tilted his head slightly.

"Why are they behaving so strangely...?" he pondered, thinking about Harik, Sylvia and Elsa.

But the attitude of the people here made him also think a bit.

"It will take two days until we reach Youra." Yarjak announced after he talked with the people, who would drive the carriages.

Then, one after another entered the carriages, which were pulled by lizard-like monsters with the size of an average man.

Mika shared the carriage with Ophelia and the Tiam siblings.

"Can I ask you two something?" Mika said after they departed from Yurt.

"Go ahead." Yarjak replied calmly.

"I was just wondering... Do the people have something against people from other nations...? I can’t help but feel the glares on me..." Mika asked with a nervous smile.

"..."

Yarjak still remained silent while Sara was casting her gaze down as she smiled saddened.

"I deeply apologize for my people." Yarjak began as he lowered his head politely.

"N-no, there’s no need for you to apologize!" Mika responded, waving his hands wildly.

"..."

Yarjak narrowed his eyes slightly.

"You’ve heard about the tales about The Nightmare in the Sea, right?"

Mika nodded his head slowly.

"Then, you surely know that the people developed an extreme fear about the sea."

He nodded again.

"Before those tales spread across the world, every nation was on good terms. People came to Grat to do some sightseeing or to rest here. Grat and other nations also were business partners as we actively traded resources with each other. However, when they started to fear the sea, the number of visits and travels dramatically sank. We were practically isolated from the world. Of course, there was the option to visit them but we, too, were scared of that sea monster. And compared to Grat’s location, the other nations were neighbors with no sea between them. In other words, Grat was on its own."

"The people here felt abandoned from the rest of the world, surrounded by nothing but the scary sea. There were tough times when we had to survive on our own resources but we somehow made it through that time. But it was overall tough to survive in Grat as we had to deal with many other problems while other nations could help each other out. That’s mainly why they aren’t fond of people from other nations." he added.

Then, he bowed his head again.

"Let me apologize again."

"..."

Mika was surprised by what he just heard.

"No, please lift your head... It isn’t your fault..." Mika said softly.

"..."

However, Yarjak was stubborn and did not lift his head. Unbeknownst to Mika, Yarjak felt guilty for something else, which Mika would learn about only later, thus, he had the urge to keep apologizing.

The mood did not really lighten up during the trip until the sun was slowly setting.

"Wait, isn’t Fyuna in the vicinity? How about we spend the night there?" Sara wondered.

"Hmm...? I guess that’s an option." Yarjak responded after thinking about it.

"Fyuna?"

"It’s a small city near Youra." Yarjak explained to Mika.

"And our eldest sister is currently there!" Sara said, excited like a child.

"I see... That’s why you wanted to go there..." Yarjak remarked, massaging his forehead.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. If you also don’t have a problem with it, we can camp there for the night." Ophelia said.

"Yes. I will relay the message to the driver."

Because they were in the carriage at the front, the other drivers only had to orientate themselves on their carriages, meaning that Yarjak had to spare himself the trouble to relay the small change in plans to everyone.

Thus, their course was now changed slightly and they headed to Fyuna to spend the night there.

"By the way, what kind of person is your sister?" Mika asked.

It did not take long until they would arrive in Fyuna.

"Why does that interest you?" Ophelia remarked silently, assuming that it was rude to ask about a member of the royal family.

"It’s fine." Yarjak calmed Ophelia down with a slight smile.

"She’s the best in the family!"

"The best?"

"Yes! She’s the most beautiful and her body is incredibly erot- Ack!"

"Mind your language, Sara..." Yarjak cut her off by chopping her head.

Embarrassed, he cleared his throat.

"Among us siblings, she is the only one, who can wield S-rank magic. Furthermore, her skills with the sword and with diplomacy are nothing to scoff at." he explained.

"Huh? Wouldn’t that qualify her as the crown pr- Ah!"

Mika pressed his hands on his mouth as he realized what he was about to say in front of the current crown prince and princess.

"Haha, really it’s fine..."

Yarjak’s laugh was anything but genuine. Rather, it sounded forced and sad.

"To be honest, I’m also wondering why she wasn’t given the title of crown princess. It’s true, that I was excelling slightly more in diplomacy and our sister also knew that she would not stand a chance against Sara in combat, however, she’s someone, who could do everything."

"But in the end, it seemed like both Mom and her agreed to not make her the crown princess." Sara added, still suffering from Yarjak’s previous chop to the head.

"She did what...?"

Mika was flabbergasted.

"It was right before we were declared as the crown prince and princess."

Yarjak palmed his own face.

"Really... It was a huge shock for us, too..."

"Fyuna is in sight!" their driver announced from outside.

Putting their conversation on hold, they prepared for Fyuna.

When they arrived they inhaled the fresh evening air.

As it was night, only a few people were on the streets of the small town, which had no buildings or similar things, which were catching one’s attention. Furthermore, the lights inside the buildings were out and the lamps on the streets were only few.

"?"

Mika noticed the silhouette of a strange person.

The person was swaying slightly to the right and then to the left as they approached the group.

"..."

After squinting his eyes, he realized that it was a woman with long legs, slim arms, a small waist and a voluptuous chest. Her hair was also long, reaching to her waist. She was most likely a little bit taller than Mika and on her hip was a long item, resembling a sword.

Unconsciously, Mika was stepping towards her.

"Oh, isn’t that..." Sara began talking as she also perceived the person.

"Hey, who are you? I’ve never seen your face here before~?"

Under a lamp, the black-haired and tanned woman, who was in her twenties, revealed herself. Her cheeks were red and her blue eyes, whose colors were the contrast of her bright red lips, were not focused.

"..."

Mika was taken aback by the alcohol he was smelling from her.

"Big S-"

"I knew it! You’re a bandit, aren’t you?!"

"Huh?!"

And the next thing they knew was that their swords clashed against each other.