Once I was out of the territory of the Church of Lumienere, I removed the barrier around me so the most likely frantically-trying-to-spy dragon can find his connection with me again. I have sensed his prying several times during my stay at the church’s territory but he was eventually bounced back due to my barrier. I thought he would eventually stop after a few days but he continuously tried several times each day nonstop even if it was always unsuccessful.

The travel time from the previous territory to the borders of the new one lasted for two days via carriage that I found and rented on the main road. It was a family of four humans that were also making their way to the same direction that I am heading. They were just glad that I offered them some food that will tide them over the trip especially with two children in the carriage.

With a carriage secured, I did take my time taking in the sights and gathering useful items along the way. I have always cherished these rare moments that I have some free time all to myself. Though I have companions, they did respect my preferences especially when I opted to stay silent to read or write something. Even the children were very conscientious about giving me space and keeping their noise low.

The kind couple named Elise and Jonas both had tall and bulky statures. They noticed how curiously I was looking at them so they told me readily that they used to be members of a mercenary corps but chose to retire when they decided to start a family. Now, they have two beautiful children that mean the world to them named Elias who is now 5 years old and Jenny who is 2 years old.

Since I promised to provide them all the meals during the trip till we reached the borders, they let me arrange the amount of time we traveled, having some ample rest in between which would actually benefit the children since their bodies aren’t as sturdy as that of us adults. They obviously would have opted to hurry on their way since they can’t have the children hungry for too long and for safety reasons but since they agreed to be employed by me on this trip, they did not have a choice by to follow my pace.

Having someone with me who are total strangers did not seem to bad at all every now and then. Since there isn’t much to do, I decided to teach the couple on ways on how to prepare some simple food from the ingredients I brought and those that I harvested from nearby forests and shrubbery that we passed by. I also taught them on how to identify common herbs that they can sell at the towns. They were very thankful since they were quite candid about the fact that they did not study that much, just basic reading and signing their name at least, when they were younger and only knew to use their strength and fight.

I kindly gave them a booklet with some drawings of the common herbs and their uses for their reference. I also added in some edible plants and mushrooms that they can harvest as well. As to why I am helping them, maybe I am just feeling good during the trip or perhaps I understand how hard it is to raise a family with growing children. At the same time, I do not want to make them feel that I am giving them alms or pitying them so it is better to teach them practical skills or ways to earn more money instead.

Able bodied people do not like being pitied or being given money they did not work hard for. So besides the food that we originally agreed on, I also gave them some money as a tip only when we reached the borders of the nearest town so I have a reason to give them extra. They did not want to receive it at first since they said I have taught them many other things and they can earn more money in the future but I insisted, using the children’s well-being as my other reason for giving it so they eventually accepted the tip.

We parted ways much to the loud crying of the two children who called me "auntie chef". It was a spectacle and some passersby even thought that I was selling my own children with human traffickers! Good thing it was settled easily with the town guards after some explanation. After we parted ways, I changed my physical appearance with that of my "Selene" persona which is more plain-looking, with different colored hair and eyes and a darker skin complexion to blend in with the crowd.

Upon reaching the new town named Anfang which is the first stop of my immersion, I walked around to observe the economic, social and political situation of the people. All of this was a part of the paperwork that I have to regularly submit to the academe to complete my immersion this time. I will be going from one town to the another, observing things, identifying problems and opportunities and suggesting solutions for improvement in my report.

Meeting with the officials or managers of the territory was not part of my job so I have to keep pretending as a tourist. As to why the assignment is like this, it was requested by the government (a.k.a my in-laws in the palace) and also a way to prepare the students of the academe for their future territories or jobs.

Anfang is a relatively small border town where people lived quite simply. If I would approximate its land area, it would only be about 2.5 square miles with a population of a little over 10,000 people which was comprised of both residents and temporary workers from more rural villages around the town. It is bordered by several smaller villages and was deemed as the central town of this region. For this area, this place is already the most progressive and wealthiest area by heir standard.

With this amount of area and number of people, I only stayed in Anfang for about three days. With that amount of time, I still had the time to sample their local food and buy some produce from local farmers. I became quite popular with the vendors because I usually buy in bulk and I never haggle with the price of items. I also befriended some of the vendors and other people living near the inn I was staying.

After just a day of stay in the town, I couldn’t help but decide to visit the nearby villages as well. The villagers live very basic huts made of wood and muds and were mostly farmers. As for water sources, they take it from drilled wells and nearby rivers. My visits did not even last for even a few hours for each. I did not say anything much to the people but I made sure to fill out the paperwork as detailed as possible for their sake.

I couldn’t help but sigh at the situation of the villagers. None of the villages even have a pharmacy or a doctor that can help when someone is sick or injured. They only depend on knowing basic herbs for wounds, stomach pain or fever. If the medical case was something that they can’t handle, they will have to bring the patient to Anfang. As to whether the patient can survive the travel before getting looked at by a physician, we all know that it is only up to their fate and will to survive.

As much as I want to help, there is only so much that a single person can do. I also have a family to raise so it is not like I can just give away money here and there. I also do not have the ability to solve all their problems for them. The only thing I can do now is to make my observation reports as accurate as possible, hoping that help will be sent over to them the soonest.

On the other hand, I can still offer short-term assistance so I gave them some food, medicine and also healed those that are currently sick and needed urgent care. I reasoned that I was a travelling doctor on my way to another region so it was no big deal to help them out. In this way, I can also list the common illnesses for my reports more accurately based on the medical cases I handled in the villages.

As for the town proper, I only visited some pharmacies and clinics then asked around. Since doctors are already assigned in the town, I do not want to meddle with their income source. With the medical certificate I showed, they easily gave me the information since they thought that I was just a newbie doctor going around for a study tour as I acted as one.