CHAPTER 534: CHAPTER 534 - PREPARING TO LEAVE CERYNEIA (PART 4)

I was quite surprised with the number of people who were technically hiding inside this warehouse. I scanned my eyes on each of them and I noticed that most of them are a few weak looking women and men, elderly and a few young ones. Most likely these are the family members and the families of the trusted companions of the people I gave Marius’ notes to.

It seems like they prepared quickly and gathered everyone here as if scared that somebody might get a wind of the fact that they are all leaving. Well, there is indeed a possibility that those that are against it will take these weaker merfolks as hostages to stop the plan. I don’t know if I should feel touched or angry about them not telling me about the number of people involved in this escape plan. Did they blindly believe that I have a way to sneak all of these people out of Ceryneia without anyone knowing?

Just to give you a figure of the number of people in the warehouse, I will give you a rundown lest you say that I am overreacting. There were 15 women, 28 men and 8 children with all their wide range of colorful and vibrant hair colors. This does not include the note bearers yet who seem to still acting as a front by still running their stores, shops and workshops. The others have closed their respective shops for the day and are already on their way to Ash City together with their close aides using the reason of buying slaves.

Don’t get me wrong. I am quite glad that I have a whole bunch of merfolks entrusting their lives to Marius and me. It is just that the number was higher than expected since this is only for Cobalt City alone. I am yet to fetch the note bearers and their people from Coal City then Ash City. I wonder how huge the crowd will be in total and if they will fit in the home that Marius prepared back in Marahuyo. When all else fails, I think the emptied houses of those that have moved to the new world tree realm should be enough to shelter them.

As I was pondering for the next step, the merfolks around me looked more and more nervous since I have not said anything or told them how they will get out of this place. I looked at Lir who was standing next to me and our eyes immediately met. His eyes were also filled with worry for me and for all these merfolks here including their tons of luggage.

I sighed heavily and spoke, "Is this everyone? Is this everything that you wanted to take away with you? Who is the assigned leader of this group?"

Most of the merfolks simply nodded their heads weakly or stayed quiet with pale and nervous faces. The warehouse manager stepped forward and approached me then whispered that he is the chosen leader of this group. I gave him one of the storage rings in my possession and asked him to place all the luggage inside it using his mana and his mind. He immediately did what he was told and all the bulky stuff was cleared up.

He looked at me gratefully but with a meek voice he asked, if it was possible to transport all the items inside the warehouse as well which included furniture, clothing, medicine and other daily necessities that all the families here have gathered together for this migration. He then pointed to some sacks and boxes on one of the corners of the warehouse. I nodded my head and he happily placed everything in the storage ring as well.

A few children uttered the phrases "mother" or "father" which may be pertaining to the people who are still manning the shops and those on their way to Ash City. I smiled at everyone, especially the children to calm them down. I assured all of them that I will ensure the safety of the others who are not in the warehouse and they shall meet at a later time.

After that, I asked the warehouse manager if he has already prepared everything he needs to bring as well. He nodded and pointed at a few people on the side who were members of his family and staff. I nodded and asked him to lock the doors of the warehouse from the inside so we won’t be disturbed by people from the outside.

He and two of his staff hurriedly ran towards the huge double doors of the warehouse and placed several locks and planks to secure it in place so no one can access this place. As they were doing so, I closed my eyes and started chanting quietly.

I made sure to set several barriers to keep the sound and my mana usage within the confines of the warehouse. This teleportation portal will need a bit more mana and focus from me since it has been quite a while since I have moved this many people to Marahuyo in one go.

By the time, the three merfolks were done with securing the door and they have rejoined the group, the ground lit up forming a huge circle for teleportation. All of them were surprised and the elders looked at me with a knowing look but they chose to stay quiet since it is obvious that I am keeping my identity a secret.

The nine elderly merfolks bowed their heads as a greeting and sign of gratitude to someone whom they knew was of higher standing and has given them a life saving grace. Upon seeing the elders do it, everybody else followed suit without being told to do so. I simply smiled in response and nod firmly to acknowledge their goodwill.

After that, all of them turned into specks of light then disappeared as they were sent directly to Marahuyo. With this, I am mostly done with the people of Cobalt City. Lir and I teleported to a secluded alley and then walked towards the other stores that were owned by the people from the list.

As I visited them, they closed their stores early and in that short period of time, I also teleported them one by one to Ash City first to reconvene with the others that traveled to Marius’ home. I will simply teleport them as a group once the time to leave comes.

I finished the transferring of the remaining merfolk by noon. Since "Fresh" is no longer open since its owner has already moved to another place, Lir and I simply bought some street food that we can eat while we walk towards the gate going to Coal City.

We walked leisurely not giving away that we are in fact in a hurry to get to Coal City. The reasoning is simple. Since my reason to come here was for business and sightseeing, I should look like a tourist checking on the different sights or else I will definitely look shady to the guards.

We were able to reach the gates and exited with no issues towards Coal City. I heard a sigh of relief from Lir as he is finally back to his home base. He immediately grabbed my arm and walked quickly towards the residential area, most likely to his home.

It took almost 20 minutes of walking from the gates before we reached the residential area. There were so many twists and turns in between the shanty-like houses that I started to doubt if we were lost or not. I stared at the back of Lir’s head and tugged on my arm too.

His body stiffened upon noticing that I tried to yank my arms from his grasp. He stopped walking and looked back at me. When he saw my questioning look, he automatically explained, "We are not lost. I know the way to my own house. I am just trying to lose some annoying tails."

I smiled at him as I realized that he knew that there were people following us from Cobalt City. They were quite persistent and continued following us even now that we are inside Coal City.

After a few more twists and turns, we suddenly turn to the path towards the right and then entered a door. We walked straight until we passed through the back door of the shanty and continued walking across it and entered another house. This time, Lir stopped and greeted the man and the little girl inside the house.

There was visible relief on the man’s face as he said, "I am glad you are back safe. It has been some time since you took a job where you had to stay outside for this long."

On the other side, the little girl ran and hugged Lir’s leg and looked up to his face with a sweet smile. Lir patted her head lovingly as he looked towards his father and immediately said, "I have a companion here with me and she will help us get out of Ceryneia. What are your thoughts, father?"

That was the only time that the man and the little girl noticed me who was standing on the corner obscured by the dimness of the lighting inside their shanty. Lir’s father asked directly, not minding that I can hear, "Can she keep the three of us safe while escaping this hell hole?"