GUARDIAN OF THE END

Jason was wrong about getting a peaceful sleep as he woke up more than a dozen times throughout the night. Overall, he barely got five to six hours of sleep which wasn't good for a child his age.

For the next two days, they didn't stop anywhere and the new year passed without any of them celebrating or even subtly mentioning it.

What surprised Jason the most was the fact that he hadn't seen another town or even a village from the time they had set out.

However, the road below them had changed to a concrete path which meant that there were getting close to another town.

"Ok, everyone. We will be stopping for a break today and in a day or two, we will reach the capital." Issac's voice suddenly echoed inside the carriage as it came to a sudden halt.

None of those inside the carriage felt the sudden jerk this time as Jason stared out of the window in his room.

He couldn't get a view of the city from there and decided to just see it up close.

He moved towards the carriage door and exited the carriage with the rest of his family.

They were standing in front of a huge entrance to a city as Issac went to talk with the guards standing at the entrance.

Jason's eyes examined the boundaries of the city— twenty meters tall stone walls surrounding the city from all sides.

"You are good to go." A guard spoke to Issac before returning to stand on his post.

Issac stepped towards the stallions and freed the reigns around them, thus setting them free. The stallions turned away from the city before rushing out into the wild.

Having freed the stallions, Issac touched the carriage with the golden ring and stored it inside it.

"Grandpa, are you sure that they'll come back?" Jason inquired while stepping into the city with the rest.

"Don't worry, they will come back if I whistle loudly enough. There are quite loyal to the one they consider worthy." Issac replied casually.

As the Syrward family progressed through the city, Jason and Nora curiously observed their surroundings while wondering what the name of this new big city was.

The beginning of the city only had a handful of shops while the rest were just people's homes. The clothing and talking style was mostly similar to that of Duphia, making Jason feel relieved.

Unfortunately, he had made his judgment quite early on as they were yet to explore the noble section.

The shops soon turned into expensive jewelry and clothing stores whose prices went so high that Jason's mouth was left hanging open.

The houses also turned into manors much bigger, grander, and more luxurious than the Syrward family manor.

Jason soon started feeling a bit uneasy as he felt weird in the middle of such a place. The people they now started encountering were wearing fashionable clothes and dresses which made them stick out like sore thumbs.

Issac very well knew about this yet he had still brought them to the particular section of the town.

'It's better that they learn about the outside world starting from here. Things would be much easier for them at the capital.' Issac thought while staring at a few humans passing remarks about his family.

He maintained his silence and took them to a massive black and red building situated barely a kilometer away from the residence of the city lord.

"This is where we will be staying for the next three hours," Issac explained as Jason looked straight up to see the building having more than thirty floors.

It was a very luxurious hotel which made him wonder whether they would even be allowed to step inside.

Surprisingly, the two guards standing outside paid them no attention and allowed them to go inside without any obstructions.

Issac walked in front of the family as he appeared at the reception. A beautiful woman wearing a white silk dress was sitting at the reception with a permanent smile plastered on her face as she looked at Issac and the rest of the Syrward family's appearance.

"How can I be of help to you?" The woman asked with a creepy smile.

"I would like to have a room here for three hours and I want to have a room with a view," Issac replied politely as the smile suddenly slipped off the woman's face.

"People like you shouldn't even be allowed to step in here and you are already bold enough to ask for a room? What makes you think you can buy one room in such a place?" She asked with a sneer as Issac sighed.

'Another cliche or trope or whatever this is.' Jason observed while staring at the woman.

[ Host, I think it's not right to pass it off just as a cliche. You think anyone on Earth would have treated you better if you had appeared in plain clothes in a supercar showroom or one of the best hotels on the continent? ]

'I guess that is true as well. I am sure she would have reacted differently if we had better clothes but I guess most people just judge someone by their clothes and appearance.'

[ And that is why this thing is used in many novels to show that no matter where you might go, most of humanity will remain the same. ]

"I guess I should have worn this from the start." Issac sighed a second time before a half black, half white ray of light shot out from the golden ring on his finger.

The light settled down on his shoulders before spreading around his body. Suddenly, a coat adorned Issac's upper body which made the receptionist's face go pale.

The coat went down to the starting of Issac's knees while it was loosely hanging around his shoulders.

The coat wasn't too formal and was a mixture of black and white spread evenly throughout the coat. There were only two designs on it and both of them were the same.

It was the bird of balance that Jason had seen on the carriage. The bird was drawn on the breast pocket of the coat as well as at the back of it.

The coat in itself didn't seem that much expensive yet the effect it had on the woman was priceless.

"The thirtieth floor is yours, sir…" She mumbled under her breath and took a golden card from the desk in front of her.

Issac took the golden card from her hands calmly before gesturing for the rest of the family to follow him.

Jason couldn't help but stare at the receptionist's face while walking as he could see the sweat lining her forehead and the rest of her body.

"Grandpa, why didn't you do anything against her?" Jason couldn't help but ask the question as he caught up to his grandpa.

"Jason, the only thing I would have done by taking any action against her was getting her fired and ruining her life," Issac replied with a smile as they reached the end of the hallway.

There was a slot in front of them for the card and as soon as Issac placed the card in the slot, the ground below them shook a bit.

Their vision was also blinded by a flash of light but once they had recovered it, the Syrward family found themselves standing in a luxurious room at the top of the hotel.

"I won't destroy someone's life just because they were stupid or rude. She would also learn from this and be careful next time. I don't want to create a scene anyways." Issac finished with a smile as Jason slowly nodded.

Perhaps his grandpa was much more wiser than he had originally thought.