We walked away from the bright, busy market square. The noise of the people and the smells of the food followed us for a short distance, but as we turned a corner, the atmosphere changed. The tall stone buildings began to look older and more worn down. The signs above the shops were faded, and there were fewer people walking around. Elphyete was still holding onto my arm very tightly, her shoulder pressing against mine as we walked. She was clearly still a bit annoyed about being left alone, and she was watching Hinashighi with a very curious and suspicious look. Hinashighi, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice any of the tension. She was still humming a strange, upbeat tune and bouncing on her feet as she led us through a maze of narrow streets.
As we walk, Hinashighi suddenly walked to an alley and we followed her. This alley was much darker than the main streets. The walls were made of rough, dark gray stones that looked like they had been there for hundreds of years. There was a damp smell in the air, and the ground was uneven and covered in small puddles of water. It felt like a place where someone would go if they wanted to hide. I felt Elphyete's grip on my arm tighten even more. She leaned in close to me, her silver hair brushing against my cheek. The rest of the group was right behind us. Ishighi walked with his usual quiet confidence, while Euphyne was still looking around, probably hoping to find one last food stall hidden in the shadows. Zhandra and Celdrich were quiet, their eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of trouble. We reached a dead end where a solid, flat stone wall blocked our path.
Hinashighi stopped right in front of the wall. She turned around to look at us, her glasses reflecting the tiny bit of light that reached into the alley. She had a wide, excited grin on her face, like she was about to show us a magic trick. She didn't say anything at first. She just stood there for a second, enjoying the confused looks on our faces. Then, she reached out one of her hands and knocked on a wall in a very specific rhythm. It wasn't a loud knock, but the sound seemed to echo deep inside the stones. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, we heard a heavy, grinding sound of stone rubbing against stone. Suddenly, it opened and we got inside and it closes. The wall slid back into place with a loud thud, leaving us in total darkness.
It's dark at first. I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. I could hear the sounds of everyone breathing and the rustle of clothes as we stood there in the pitch-black space. Elphyete let out a small, worried sound and pressed her entire body against my side, her fingers digging into the fabric of my coat. I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. The darkness lasted only for a few seconds. But it suddenly lights up. Rows of soft, glowing stones set into the ceiling began to shine with a warm, golden light. The light grew brighter and brighter until the entire space was revealed. We weren't in a damp cave or a basement. We were in a large, clean, and surprisingly modern-looking room. The floors were made of polished wood, and the walls were covered in smooth plaster. It looked like a normal room, which was the last thing I expected to find behind a hidden stone wall in a dark alley.
In the center of the space, there was a very large, plush couch made of dark leather. It looked incredibly comfortable, like the kind of furniture you would find in a wealthy noble's home. There were also several soft chairs and a low wooden table in the middle. The air in the room was fresh and cool, a nice break from the heavy smells of the town outside. We all sat on a big couch, sinking into the soft cushions. Elphyete sat right next to me, still refusing to let go of my arm. Euphyne sat on the other side of me, letting out a long sigh of relief as he leaned back. Ishighi and the others took their spots, and for a moment, we just sat there, taking in the strange surroundings. It felt very safe and quiet, far away from the noise of the world.
Hinashighi didn't stay still for long. She jumped up from the couch, her energy returning in full force. She walked over to the far side of the room where there was another flat, white wall. She looked back at us with a mischievous spark in her eyes. Hinashighi smacked another wall with the palm of her hand, and just like the entrance, it opened. This time, the wall didn't just slide away; it folded inward like a set of large wooden doors. Behind the wall was a room that made all of us gasp in surprise. It was a massive library and a laboratory all mixed into one. There were shelves that reached all the way to the high ceiling, filled with thousands and thousands of books. Some of the books looked brand new, while others were so old the leather covers were peeling and the pages were yellowed with age. Between the bookshelves, there were long wooden tables covered in glass tubes and metal tools. We saw a room of tons of books and glass tubes with stuff that I have no idea what is inside. There were swirling liquids of every color imaginable, glowing crystals sitting in metal holders, and strange machines that made quiet clicking and humming sounds.
We all stood up and walked toward the entrance of the lab, looking around in awe. Even Celdrich, who usually stayed very calm and serious, looked impressed. He walked over to one of the tables and looked at a stack of books sitting there. Hinashighi followed him, her eyes bright with pride. She pointed towards Celdrich and she said to him that she wrote that book. All of us are surprised. We all stopped what we were doing and stared at her. Celdrich picked up the book, his hands trembling slightly as he looked at the title. He looked at Hinashighi, his eyes wide with shock. "You wrote the book titled Everything About Mana?!" he asked, his voice full of disbelief. This was a very famous book that almost every student and researcher had heard of.
Hinashighi smirked and said yes. She didn't say anything else, just letting the weight of her reveal sink in. It was hard to believe that this chaotic, energetic girl was the author of one of the most important books on mana ever written. I looked at the glass tubes and the thousands of books again, and suddenly it all made sense. She wasn't just a nerd; she was a genius researcher.
I decided to take the chance to ask her something that had been on my mind for a long time. I walked closer to her, looking at the glowing liquids in the tubes. I asked Hinashighi if she knows how to cure mana exposure besides the absolute mana elixir. I was hoping that with all her knowledge, she might know a secret that no one else did. Hinashighi's expression changed for a second. The smirking, playful look vanished, replaced by a very serious and blunt professional look. She looked me right in the eyes and she bluntly no and she said that as the book said the only way for mana exposure coma to be cured is by the absolute mana elixir. But-
Suddenly she cut off and stopped talking for a few seconds before continuing. She looked down at the floor, her brow furrowing as if she was thinking about something very important. The room went silent. Then, she looked back up. "But it is currently held by the king and good for y'all because we are trying to find him too," she said. This was the first real piece of hope we had found since the journey began. If the king had the elixir, and if Hinashighi and Ishighi were already looking for him, then we were finally moving in the right direction.
I asked her how do we find the king and how do they know that the king is in this town. I wanted to know the details. We had been searching blindly, and I needed to understand how they were so certain of his location. Before Hinashighi could answer ishighi said that the king is supposed to go to a town that has the summer solstice celebration. That was his original plan, which was why most of the public expected him to be there. But an emergency report got passed to the king and he changed destination to here. This change was kept secret from most people, which was why we were having such a hard time finding any official traces of him. Ishighi explained that he's likely in the underground business city where the emergency report told him to go. The underground business city was a place hidden beneath the streets of this town, a place where people did business that they didn't want the regular authorities to know about.
I looked at Ishighi, feeling a bit confused. It seemed strange for a king to go to a place like that. I asked ishighi why would he go there anyway. It didn't make sense for a powerful ruler to personally handle an emergency report in a place meant for secret business. Ishighi looked at me, his eyes calm and unreadable. He didn't have all the answers, but he had enough to keep us moving. He looked toward the secret wall that led back to the alleyway. Ishighi said that "I have no idea but I'm very certain the king can handle it because he's the strongest human currently."