Arriving in the vicinity of Saltstar City in the rented carriage of the Fuller family, the members of that family were in different moods than they had imagined they would be upon arriving there.
While some looked at the province's largest city seriously, others merely listened to the more and more agitated sound of that place reaching their ears.
Andrew had a solemn expression on his pale, dehydrated face. Today he looked a few years older compared to the lively man who had left Martell Village weeks ago.
His white hair had taken over his head and beard, having appeared along with his increasing pessimism.
'I have to find a doctor for Nina...' He thought about his priority.
This man had a whole world of problems on his shoulders, but he ignored them while he didn't solve his biggest concern, his youngest daughter's life.
Vicente was physically fine, and Lauren, however much she had lost her sight, would eventually be able to live without major mishaps.
Only Nina was not guaranteed anything!
As Andrew thought about her, this little girl looked out over the city in the distance on her father's lap, seeing most of that place as their carriage drove down a hill.
But she wasn't sure what to think since not only was everyone sad, but she had lost her mother and could no longer listen.
So even though she saw this seaside city in front of her, from where she could see the sea, this girl was not happy at all.
On the other hand, Lauren could not see this place. Still, from the occasional descriptions her brother gave her, she was aware that the noises she heard were coming from Saltstar City.
'We are finally getting to this place...' She sighed as she heard the noise of wagons, carriages, and people talking further ahead.
Her hearing had been improving significantly since her recovery. Due to the loss of her sight, she could now hear things that others would have difficulty hearing.
But she didn't care about that. All Lauren wanted was for time to pass and for her to go through her awakening.
Weeks after she had lost her mother, she slowly accepted the situation she was in. She now no longer had her mother present, and she was blind. Either she would learn to live like this, or her life would be even more miserable than it already was.
So she was focused on her 14th birthday, which was due in a few months.
One of the purposes of this family's trip to Saltstar City was for her to awaken her powers while her father did business locally.
Awakening was not something that a magician could go through just anywhere. Only cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants had the Awakening Temple, a special place where Magic Gems were usually found.
Since she was close to coming of age and going through an awakening, Andrew planned to use the opportunity to awaken his daughter's magical powers in the largest temple in Scott Province.
So all Lauren wanted now was to awaken her powers and return home.
From then on, she could learn to live better with herself and even plan what to do next.
But this was totally different from what Vicente had in mind.
Looking at this city, the eyes of this black-haired boy were sharp as those of an eagle.
In this place, he didn't see a place for him to have fun and learn more about this world. There was his opportunity to start doing business with his father and slowly take over what his old man had.
'I will use this to finance myself and get the necessary information for my family.' He thought, with several things in mind, but needed the basic information to identify the best way forward.
He definitely couldn't steal anything for the moment since he didn't know how magic could influence treasure defenses and the like.
But as a bandit in his past life, he had absolutely nothing against stealing what he needed to achieve his goals!
For now, he kept this alternative aside and would get contacts and information through his father's business partners.
His father had also already promised him 50% of the profit he made when he himself was behind the business, so this would also be Vicente's opportunity to earn coins on his own.
'We will stay in this city until Lauren awakens her magical powers. After that, we will return to the village.' He thought as he watched his carriage approach the entrance to the city. 'At that time, I will join Rory and begin my plans to form my own organization.'
After his conversation with his older sister, Vice no longer touched the subject of revenge. He was too weak and poor in comparison to his enemies.
As he was no fool, he was putting his purpose of revenge aside to plan his organization's first steps, something he could do.
But thoughts of revenge would repeatedly pop up in his mind to irritate him.
So, while everyone inside that carriage remained silent, the coachman hired for this trip directed the horses through the entrance of that city.
"Where are we going, gentlemen?" This man asked the two guards of the Fuller family group.
Soren then said. "Go to a good inn. Nothing too fancy, but not too bad to the point that these children are in danger."
That man they had hired in the town where Doctor Marcus had treated Nina and her siblings nodded and soon made his way to a place he knew.
When they arrived in front of Lord's Lagoon Resort, these three men immediately unloaded the Fuller family's things while Andrew made his way to the reception area of that place.
There were storage items in this world, but they were expensive magical items for simple people like them.
So all the luggage they had brought from that town where they met Doctor Marcus was in that carriage to be unloaded.
"Good morning, sir. Welcome to Lard's Lagoon Resort. Do you have a reservation?" A beautiful blonde attendant asked shortly after seeing the group that had just entered the front desk of this place.
While Andrew was answering her, Vicente and Nina were looking around, from where they could see the beach not far from them.
When his father had paid the receptionist for the keys to his apartment, they set off from there, with Vice directing his two sisters as he took their hands.
Nina was walking with difficulty, which had been worrying Andrew recently, while Lauren needed a guide due to her visual impairment.
But this was not a problem for Vicente, and soon they arrived at the place where they would live for the next few months.
Their apartment had only two bedrooms, a living room, two bathrooms, a kitchen, plus a beautiful balcony overlooking the beach.
No one from this group wasted their time looking at the view, and as soon as their bags arrived, Vice helped his sisters put their things away in the closets of the room that the three of them would share from now on.
Then, while the two family guards stood outside that apartment, Andrew went to his children's room and called for Vice.
"Vicente, finish helping your sisters and come to me. Tomorrow I intend to begin to settle the business I had in this city. You will accompany me and lead some smaller deals I have scheduled." He said without much emotion in his voice before going back to his room and locking the door.
When Vicente finished, he promised his sisters not to delay and went to his father's room.
"Father, what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked as he entered there and saw his old man sitting in an armchair with a glass of drink in one hand and a large cigar in his mouth.
