Divine Contract

Chapter 4 - The Journey

While we were making our way towards the hidden city of Astropia, I decided to get Highlander to explain to me more about the details of the contract.

Apparently, the contract provided a mental passage between the Contractor and the Angel, allowing them to speak telepathically; however, while Highlander would be able to project her thoughts to me, I would be unable to do so until I got some practice.

“We’ve been ordered to leave all of that work to the designated instructors, but I don’t see any problems with getting a little early practice in.” Highlander suggested.

I understood that the instructors would ensure that we were taught everything correctly, but preferred the idea of starting to learn these things as soon as possible. I didn’t like knowing that I had abilities that I wasn’t able to use, so I liked Highlander’s proposal.

***

After getting lost several times, I took over as the guide. Highlander gave me the name of the closest human town to the Angel city, which I would be able to get us to, with ease. The biggest problem was that the town was three days away on foot, if we walked at a reasonable pace, even with the shortcuts that I knew about.

We decided that it would be best to avoid drawing attention to ourselves, so I chose paths that would help us to avoid contact with Demons. This meant that the paths we walked across were not very stable most of the time. Fortunately, I was accustomed to taking such paths, so I was unaffected, and Highlander could use her wings to stop herself from falling, so neither of us were at much risk of injuring ourselves.

As we made our way over the rocky path, we discussed what our cover story would be if we were asked by any Demons, curious travellers, or innkeepers.

“We could tell them that we’re siblings, can’t we?” asked Highlander.

“We look nothing alike. They would never believe us,” I brushed off Highlander’s idea. “I think that the best option would be to say that we’re a couple, and that we decided to travel the world together. That would bring the least amount of questions.”

“T-true,” Highlander stuttered in response, her face slightly red. “But wouldn’t that mean that we would have to act all... lovey-dovey?”

“Not all couples act like that,” I stated. “As long as we don’t act too distant, we should be fine. But if anyone does ask about that, we can just say that I’m too embarrassed to act that way in public.”

“O-okay,” Highlander replied, looking ever-so-slightly disappointed. “We’ll go with that... as a start.”

“What do you mean ‘as a start’?”

“Well, what if we get asked about how we met, where we plan to travel to, and other stuff like that?”

“Hmm. If we meet some curious people, they may ask such questions. I’m good at coming up with stuff like that on the spot, but we’ll need to make sure our stories match. Okay, we’ve still got a little over an hour before we make it to today’s destination, so let’s discuss that stuff until we get there.”

“Yes, let’s!” replied Highlander, with a smile on her face.

***

After reaching today’s destination, the sun was already starting to set, so we started looking for an inn.

I tried looking for a decent looking inn, rather than the dingy places that I would usually stay at, because Highlander was with me and we needed to make our story seem as believable as possible.

Highlander noticed one that seemed to fit our requirements. It looked a bit too posh for my liking, but Highlander seemed to think that it was nice, so I just went along with her.

Upon entering the establishment, I realised that my earlier impression was slightly off; this place was a lot less posh than its outer appearance would suggest.

Highlander was looking around curiously. I had no idea what she was thinking, but from the looks of it, she had never stayed in a place like this before.

I left Highlander to gawk at the surroundings and headed towards the reception desk. The receptionist smiled at me, “Hello, sir. How may I assist you?”

I was slightly taken aback by her polite speech. The places I usually stay at typically greet you with a disgruntled look and a rough ‘What do you what?’, so I would respond with the same kind of attitude. This time, however, I felt that I should be more courteous than usual.

“Hi. Do you have any rooms for two available for one night?” I responded, gesturing towards my awestruck companion.

“We certainly do, sir,” replied the receptionist. “That will cost you 40,000 Linux.”

Hearing this, I mentally clicked my tongue. It was far more expensive that I usually spent on a night in an inn, even for two people. However, I would look like a cheapskate if I backed out now, which could blow our cover, so I reached into my satchel, pulled out a pouch of coins and dropped it on the desk.

“That should be the whole amount.” I curtly responded, no longer caring about responding politely.

The receptionist quickly counted the coins. Seemingly happy with it, she placed it in a locked box under the desk and handed me a key and said, “I hope the two of you enjoy your stay.”

I took the key and turned away from the reception desk.

“I’m not good at dealing with places like this.” I thought.

***

After getting the key to our room, I dragged Highlander to a table in the corner of the dining room, where we could talk. Even in a place like this, I decided that I should keep my usual habit of always having my back against a wall. This helped to ensure that no one could sneak up behind me while I had a meal.

I sat in silence, looking over the menu, while Highlander continued to gaze about the room. I was starting to get worried that the other customers would start to get suspicious of her behaviour, but decided that it could be explained away with the back-story we came up with before.

After a few minutes, a woman, who I assumed was a waitress by her attire, approached our table. “Good evening. May I take your order?”

This seemed to snap Highlander out of her stupor, because she grabbed the menu and started scanning its contents. I had already decided on my order, so I decided to place it first while Highlander made her choice.

“I’ll have a Wyvern Steak and Gingerberry Ale.” I said in response. The waitress took a note of that, then turned to look at Highlander, who seemed to be struggling, somewhat.

After a few seconds, Highlander shyly looked up from her menu, “I... I’ll have the same.” The waitress nodded, noted that down and then left to put in the order. Highlander let out a sigh of relief when the waitress left.

“What are you so nervous about?” I asked, slightly confused. “We’re just ordering food.”

“I can’t help it,” replied Highlander, softly. “This is the first time I have eaten in a human establishment. I’ve never heard of many of the things on this menu.”

“Is that so?” I asked. “Then, you’re probably not aware that Wyvern meat is extremely tough and difficult to eat, but is good for providing stamina. While Gingerberry Ale is low on alcohol content, so you won’t get drunk on it easily. They are a good combination, due to the fact that the meat will quite quickly dry out your mouth, while the ale can be drunk in large quantities.”

After finishing my explanation, I looked over at Highlander, only to see her looking back with a rather blank expression. I realised that my explanation might have been too much for someone who doesn’t tend to put much thought into their meals, but I just ignored that fact and turned my attention elsewhere.

***

It took a few minutes for our meals to arrive. I dug into mine without caring about manners, while Highlander was using proper etiquette. I felt that this showed just how different our upbringings were.

“This is quite difficult to eat,” Highlander stated, after having her first bite.

“I told you that a few minutes ago,” I responded, indifferently. Unlike Highlander, my attention was not wholly on our meal, but something else in the room that I had noticed.

“That’s true, but it does taste nice, and it goes very well with this Gingerber…”

Highlander didn’t get to finish her sentence before I pulled her back with one hand and flipped the table with the other, just in time for two knives to imbed themselves in the table, directly in line with where our heads had been, mere moments before.