Above the hotel entrance was the words "Old Blue House" written in such a bright blue that it stood out against the pale white facade.

"This place doesn't look that old!" Marmorel said. Elidana nodded and headed towards the revolving door.

Behind the counter, a well-dressed woman greeted them with a smile. "Good morning, do you have a reservation?"

Aran and the others looked at each other in confusion. "No, we didn't know it was necessary," Cora replied.

"Please tell me there are available rooms, I'm so tired of traveling and the man who brought us here made me nauseous with all the traffic running," Elidana said.

The woman checked the illuminated panel in front of her, half smiling. "You're going to the Grand Prix, I suppose."

"We just arrived in town," Cora replied, captivated by the artificial lights on the ceiling.

The woman's fingers tapped on the keys. "I have something for these days, but you'll have to settle for a double and a twin," she concluded.

"Ah, thank you! That's fine. Marmorel and I will take the double," Elidana said, not giving the others a chance to respond.

"Good, the rooms are 302 and 303."

Aran paid the full amount with his piggy bank.

"Can you also show me the stay permits, please?" she asked, extending her hand. Once she swiped it alongside the terminal, the woman looked up. "Done!" She pointed to the elevator at the end of the corridor and gave them the keys. "Third floor."

Cora looked at the cubicle hesitantly, but in order not to appear like a rural bumpkin, he headed in that direction, following his friends, showing confidence. Inside the metal box, everyone stood still and looked at each other. Cora had no idea what to do and it seemed the same for the others. Finally, Elidana shook her head and took the initiative, pressing number three on the keyboard. There was a jolt and the elevator doors closed. The others jumped.

"And if it falls?" Fez asked.

"We're all dead," Elidana emphasized jokingly.

Marmorel grabbed the brochure on the wall that described the main events during the Grand Prix.

"I would like to visit the first mines," she said.

"School has ended!" grumbled Cora. "Of all the things we can do in Edel, let's leave the sightseeing for last."

"I agree with Marmorel," Elidana added.

"As Mrs. Flint always says, 'we must always seize the opportunity to learn.'"

The boys looked at each other and Aran made a defeated expression.

"I didn't blow the trip," Elidana countered, "at least I want to see something interesting."

Cora sighed. But immediately after, caught by a strange idea, he continued to gaze at Elidana with interest. She could help him, he thought. She could help him with his research.

The elevator doors opened onto a corridor so wide that they could easily walk four abreast and with an ochre-colored carpet that reached the opposite wall. The rooms were numbered so they found theirs right away. The boys' room had a bed big enough for all of them to sleep on. Cora placed his bag on the chair next to the bathroom, and Fez's suitcase exploded when it was opened, scattering its contents all over the floor.

Cora and Fez arranged their luggage and said they were ready to leave. Their clothes were starting to smell unpleasantly, but they were both too excited to care. Aran, on the other hand, had time to take a shower and put on a new striped shirt with his initials embroidered on the wrist. "It's full of buttons, I've never seen a bathroom like that," he said once they were out.

The girls knocked after a good half hour. Cora opened the door while he was laughing at a joke Fez made about Mansell. He turned around and was taken aback. Elidana was wearing green pants that accentuated her young profile, which had always been hidden under Mrs. Flint's old skirts. The white wool sweater exposed one shoulder. They were clothes that Cora had seen Marmorel wear before.

Cora, intoxicated by the fragrance of flowers that his friend had on, lowered his head and looked down at his feet; perhaps she had not noticed him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Elidana asked loudly as she walked next to him.

"Nothing," he replied, but the more he tried to act indifferent, the more awkward and artificial he felt.

Marmorel confidently entered the room. "It stinks! And you've already trashed everything. Congratulations! Has no one explained to you not to make a mess in other people's houses?" she screeched. She picked up Fez's shirt from the floor and sniffed the air again as if she were a red-haired hound. "What is this smell? It's as if there were a dead body." The search ended at the sight of the shoes, left next to the curtains. "No, no. That's not good! The two of you go and wash yourselves immediately!" she ordered in an even louder voice. She pushed Fez into the bathroom and threw clean clothes at him. She slammed the door in his face. Aran burst into a loud laughter and put on the jacket amused.

Outside the hotel, Aran scratched the ticket as Mansell explained. Marmorel fluttered around him; she had applied makeup, her face was full of bright colors, a bit like Mrs. Flint did when she had to prepare for an important event in Lud, but at least in this case the effect was not unpleasant. The elegant blue dress fit her perfectly.

The young Allet was observing beyond the Garden of Senses, where the glowing motorcycles zoomed back and forth on the road. Fez, on the other hand, was standing a few steps away from Marmorel and was emitting strange monosyllabic sounds. He was so mesmerized that Cora had to push him several times before he had a reasonable reaction.

No time to wonder when Mansell would arrive, and his vehicle appeared at the end of the road.

Elidana took her seat next to the driver, buckled up and smiled with a bright light in her eyes. "Mr. Mansell, to the 'First Mines' please." The others, seated in the back, squeezed together to close the door.

Cora found himself squished. A too brisk movement and his elbow stuck in Marmorel's side who leaned on Fez and had his breath right in her face. "Next time Fez will sit in front!" Marmorel shouted. The young man, now red, opened his mouth a couple of times before he managed to murmur a "Okay." not very convinced.

"To reach the First Mines, we need to get to Lower Edel," Mansell explained. "It will take a bit of time, but trust me... the view is worth the wait." They took a spiral road that went down and once in the streets of the lower city, Mansell's vehicle sprinted away, overtaking other vehicles.

"This is the real Edel. The old city," he said with a smile on his face. "It may not have the glitz of the rich neighborhoods, but here I feel at home," he explained without hiding a note of pride.

The driver took a sharp turn, a narrow street where the vehicle barely passed. Yet Mansell seemed to think it was time to speed up. Cora's stomach crumpled. Another turn so tight and he would vomit on Marmorel. "Slow down, please! Slow down!"

The vehicle slowed down and Cora started to catch his breath. The homes and buildings were decaying, parked vehicles everywhere that blocked portions of the road, throngs of people crossing without pause or loitering in front of local shops. A neighborhood immersed in shrieks and the strong smell of garbage. Even the way of driving in that area was different: the rules of the road seemed useless given that no one respected them. Mansell repeatedly avoided vehicles driving in the wrong direction and small motorcycles that popped up like bullets from intersections. He laughed in amusement every time he avoided a collision.

Cora, holding his mouth closed with his hand, saw a square structure placed between two buildings. In front of the entrance were numerous military vans and some men in uniform. "Mr. Mansell, stop!" he suddenly shouted.

The others looked at him in surprise. "Why? We still have a long way to go," Mansell snapped.

"Stop the car! Elidana and I have to do something," Cora said instinctively. Elidana lowered her head and turned around: her cheeks red.

Cora didn't want to involve her, but it was the only way not to raise suspicion. "You made me a promise," he lied.

Marmorel propped up Fez with a short elbow. "I knew it," she said. "Oh, I knew it!"

Mansell pulled over and Aran let Cora out of his side. He opened Elidana's door and pointed to a small street nearby. "We'll find a way back," Cora said finally.

Aran looked at Mansell, "Can I also pay for the return trip?" he asked.

The driver nodded and passed the piggy bank over to the terminal again. The young Allet took the metal box and handed it to Cora. "Don't squander it all," he said with a hesitant look.

"Cora..." Elidana muttered when he approached her. "What do you have in mind?" The other three friends continued to watch them and whisper until Mansell's vehicle drove off. "Why didn't we go see the mines?" the girl asked.

"I needed to be alone with you," Cora replied.

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, just under the hair clip, and looked around. She hesitated for a moment and smoothed out the fabric of her pants with her hands.

"You need to trust me," Cora whispered, but his focus was already back on the military men.

"Should I be worried? I hope this isn't another one of your jokes," said Elidana.

Cora shook his head. This time he was serious. He took the medallion from his pocket and gently placed it on his palm. "Mrs. Flint gave it to me on my birthday."

Elidana studied it carefully. "Is it from a Kharzanian soldier?"

He nodded. "They left it in my basket."

Elidana's face became increasingly worried. "Don't wrap your head around it"

"I came here for that exact reason," Cora said. "I came to Edel to find out. I want to know the truth about my family."

"But Mrs. Flint...," Elidana started, then looked back at the medallion. The street was a frenzy of people and vehicles, lined with posters advertising the Grand Prix. Elidana grabbed Cora's wrist and pulled him towards an alleyway.

"She kept this from me for fourteen years...," Cora continued.

"That's why the charade with Aran and Fez," Elidana added.

"You're the only one who knows the truth, they don't know anything," Cora turned towards the barracks. "Aran wouldn't take it well if he found out his best friend is a Kharzanian."

Elidana gave him back the military plate. "I won't say anything."

Cora smiled at her and pointed to the glass entrance. "Let's go."

They approached the door and slowed down as they walked beside the armed guards. The two soldiers only gave them a brief glance as they crossed the threshold. Strange, Cora thought: no questions, no requests for documents. Elidana proceeded with an anxious expression, but Cora was determined. At the end, the counter touched both walls: a single white block with the emblem of the nation prominently displayed in the center. Numerous screens were displayed on the sides: some showed an officer in the middle of a speech, others listed the technological achievements of the Kharzanian army. On another screen, a list of strange names such as Smoke or Grass or Ice, accompanied by blurred photos representing their last sightings. What was curious to Cora was that most of the wanted people were of Zalesian origin.

Meanwhile, in front of them, a queue of young people their own age. Boys and girls excited as if they were about to go to a party were standing in line among the rope dividers. Cora and Elidana joined them, ready for a long wait. She seemed captivated by the screens, so he took the opportunity to think.

What was he going to say? That he was perhaps the son of a Kharzanian? That that medal had been left in his basket?