Chapter 83 - Welcome To Ilbistirum
Chapter 83 – Welcome To Ilbistirum
Del finally arrived at the shoreline of Ilbistirum, its naval base to be exact. Even from afar, it really reminded him of the 1930s or the early period of the 20th century. It didn't look like a fantasy world at all. It looked like an entirely different society from the other countries in that world. Horses were carrying ammunition into the ships alongside some trains.
Yeah, there was a train that came in and out of the naval base. Del was speechless, this country had its own industrial revolution way before the other countries. It was simply astonishing. However, Ilbistirum was 9,000 miles away from Elbanian or any other country in general. But well, now he was here.
Andrew was waiting on the edge of the ship for Del. He wanted to say goodbye to his friend. Del was still in the cabin, packing up his things and finishing up the administration for refugees. It would take him long enough before he could get naturalized to Ilbistirum. For now, he was only filling the documents to show his identity as a refugee and a foreign citizen. After all, Elbanian didn't exactly issue an ID for him except the status plate.
Del got out of the cabin and greeted Andrew, "Hey, what are you doing here?"
"I'm just looking at the port while waiting for you to come out. You are going to leave, huh?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah, I think so. My sister and I will have to leave, for now, don't worry though, if there's an opportunity, I will join the military, but well, we just have to see," Del said.
Anna, Cassandra, and Cole walked out of the cabin. Cole and Cassandra were in their Ilbistirum formal military uniform while Anna was in more casual clothing, a white shirt and black pants with bandages covering her entire body as usual. Del was also the same, he dressed more casually as well. They dressed in a more civilian look as per the advice from Cole.
"Cole, I will leave Del and Anna to you. I doubt my fiance will let both of them stay," Cassandra said.
"Ah, don't worry about that, I think my sister and I will welcome them with an open hand," Cole said.
Cole led the way and Del followed him from behind. The gate to get out of the military base was located on the north side. Soldiers were patrolling the base with a rifle in their hand, probably a bolt-action one. They were looking really similar to a first world war soldier with their brown uniform.
Some of them were transporting munitions to the ship while others were being trained by their commanding officers. Some horse carriages were also there to transport cargo from one place to another.
"Cole, do you want to introduce Ilbistirum to us?" Del asked.
"Later, my way of introduction isn't really fitting to be done inside of a military base," Cole said.
"I see, well, the more I look around, the more that I wonder what kind of technology that made this happen. After all, as far as I know, I haven't seen any country in this world with this kind of technological advancement," Del said.
"Technology here, technology there, damn, Del, could you relax and chill for a while? Whoever is hunting you down won't go thousands of miles away just to look for you," Cole said.
"Are you sure about that?" Del asked.
"I'm 100 percent sure about that," Cole said.
"Knowing Eric, I think he will have a way to annoy us, even here, don't get me wrong, but Elbanian is more resourceful than you think," Anna commented.
"If that's the case, I also don't know what to do. Maybe, you can take refugees in one of the protection programs, but that's for intelligence workers for the most part," Cole gave a solution.
"So, you are saying that I have to work for the intelligence to get into the protection programs, well, to be honest, that's not really a bad idea. However, Cole, you need to remember that I'm only 17, do you really think something as delicate as intelligence will recruit a 17-year-old boy?" Del asked.
"Well, to be honest, if you catch their attention, they might have an interest in recruiting you, and if not, killing you. Still, Del, attention is something that you will always get, especially with your tendency in taking a high-risk job with the guild," Cole commented.
"High-risk job, huh?" Del asked.
"Assassination, destruction of automata squad, you name it. If it's highly likely to get you killed, the job is going to attract some attention," Cole said.
"I see, basically, any hard job is a good job, eh?" Anna commented.
"Correct," Del said.
They eventually got out of the military base and arrived at the small town near the military base. There was a port with a lot of ships. Some of them were engine-powered ships while some of them were sailing ships. They were unloading their cargo in the port. Unknowingly to Del, the sail ships were way smaller than even the smallest of warships, such as the frigate that Del boarded.
Immediately after getting out of the military base, Cole started his introduction to Ilbistirum. "Del, welcome to Ilbistirum. The home of cheap booze and most importantly, HOOKERS!!!"
BONK
Someone smacked Cole's head from behind, it was another demon, but it was a woman. Looking at it, they looked somewhat similar. It could be said that the woman was Cole's female version. She had long braided hair, a slender figure, and quite an attractive look. Somehow, Del felt a strong secretary aura from the glasses that she wore.
"Shhh, bro, what kind of introduction is that?" She asked.
"Ah, it's your sister, I see," Del commented.
"Oh, you must be the refugee that he was talking about on the telegraph. Nice to meet you, Del, my name is Alina Aguirre, call me Alina if you want," Alina said.
"Ah, nice to meet you, Alina. I'm Del Moore and this other person is Anna Moore, my sister," Del said.
Alina shook her hands, "Nice to meet you, Anna. I heard what you have been through, it must be hard, eh?"
"Hard is an understatement, but I appreciate your concern. By the way, Alina, would you kindly introduce yourself, please? We really don't know about you," Anna said.
"Oh, sorry. My name is Alina Aguirre. I'm 19 years old. Currently, I'm studying at Lullin State University in the medical major. What else do you want to know about me?" Alina asked.
Del was surprised, "You're a medical student? Would you mind telling me how to enroll in the university? One of the reasons why I want to move here is because education is far more guaranteed here."
"Well, first of all, you need a high-school diploma or any equivalent diploma. You also need some funds to enter medical university since it's one of the most expensive universities around. After that, you need to pass the examination consisted of written test, background test, and lastly, an interview," Alina explained.
"How do I even enter the high-school?" Del asked.
"Easy, you just have to enroll and pass the examination. If you know basic sciences, you should be able to pass it quite easily. There is also an aptitude test to test how much magical knowledge that you have. To put it simply, the bigger your spell, the better," Alina said.
Cole coughed, "Enough introduction, do you buy enough train tickets for us all?"
"I did," Alina showed four pieces of tickets. "Don't worry, dog is allowed to enter as long as you keep him from shitting."
"Hey, this dog has manner," Del commented.
"I'm glad to hear that," Alina said.
They walked to the train station. The town that they were staying was called Aister. Lullin was located two hundred kilometers north of Aister. It would be a long ride with a train, but it wouldn't be a tiring one. Del was waiting for the train in the platform.
The train came from the west direction. It was a steam-powered train, not diesel. Well, just as he expected to be honest. The culture in Ilbistirum was in the early of 20th century. For example, men were wearing suit and shirt with a tie maybe with the exception of blue collar worker. It was really the roaring 20s in Ilbistirum. Heck, maybe Del could find some good establishment around there.
"Train to Lullin is arriving at platform 2. Train to Lullin is arriving at platform 2"
Once the train stopped in front of the platform, Del went onboard of the train. He sat down on the chair near the aisle. It was blistering hot there. However, the window could be opened to let some fresh air in.
"How long will this train take?" Del asked.
"Three hours, at most, if we count the delays and all," Alina answered.
"I see," Del said.
"You better spend your time sleeping, Del," Alina said.
"Right…"