Lin says "While I am in the mage trials will be the perfect time for you to figure that out."

"You know, this is a really strange conversation to be having right after I asked you to marry me?"

Lin says "Yes, it is. Pretty much everything to do with you is strange. At the same time I am glad that we can talk openly and honestly like this. It is much better than having to worry about you doing things behind my back."

"Yeah, that is something you never have to worry about. But I bring a lot of other worries with me, sorry."

Lin says "I'm not worried. I feel like we can face anything as long as we are together. That is, as long as you don't try to hide things from me so that you can deal with them yourself."

"I do have a habit of doing that, you are getting to know me a little too well. I will try my best not to hide anything from you."

Lin says "You can hide some things from me, I do like surprises. Just don't hide anything important, like changes to your time limit or crazy ideas that pop into your head."

"Alright, I can handle that. We should get up and get moving. We still have a city to find today."

Lin says "What do you mean find? Ash, are we lost?"

"Not exactly, but I did make my map a part of the ship. I know generally where the city is, we just have to follow the coast."

Lin says "So, we are only a little lost then?"

In response I just grumble and Lin continues to tease me as we get ready to leave. I put the castle away and then take off. Once in the air I fly north until I spot the coast and then turn west. I fly high enough to keep the coast in sight while still being low enough to scan as I go.

As we proceed west, I continue to zig back and forth collecting materials. Lin stays in my saddle working on her sewing, until we stop for lunch. Not long after we continue traveling, we come across a fairly significant road.

It goes towards the southeast and northwest, it also appears to be fairly heavily traveled. Assuming it will lead us to the city I start following it until I spot movement ahead of us. I quickly land and once Lin climbs down I shapeshift into my human form.

We start walking along the road and soon we are passed by a line of wagons heading the other direction. The wagons look fairly weighed down, making me wonder what they are carrying. Supplies heading into the city would make sense, but what does a city of demon hunters export?

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Cresting a final rise in the land we get our first look at the city, which strikes me as odd. The north side of the city is docks, the west and south sides are walled, but the east side is completely open. Are they really that confident that nothing will attack them from the east?

To the west and south they probably have to worry about demon attacks, hence the walls. What I am curious about is why the demons wouldn't just circle around and attack the open side. Lesser demons might be stupid, but they are normally commanded by higher rank demons that are anything but stupid.

Unless there is something hidden in this side of the city and there are no walls to lure the demons in. However, I don't see or sense anything like that, although it could be hidden from me. There is enough magic in the city that from this distance I can't tell anything specific.

Lin activated her disguise when I shapeshifted into a human so we approach the city openly. Where the buildings start there is a guardpost, with a couple of guards stationed. When we get close enough one of the guards waves us over and looks us over.

Guard says "Adventurers huh? Alright, go on in."

"What, no fee for entering the city?"

Guard says "Nope. Adventurers don't have to pay."

"Oh, well thanks."

The guard smiles and returns to the others as Lin and I walk into the city. The buildings here at the edge of the city are all built of wood with none over two stories tall. After a few minutes of walking that starts to change and more stone is evident.

The closer we get to the center of the city the bigger the buildings get. Once we leave the area of wooden buildings, the road turns from dirt to cobblestones. The oddest thing is that about half the people I see on the streets are dressed as adventurers.

At the center of the city is a huge square full of stalls, the only wood to be seen. The square is surrounded by large stone buildings, the biggest being on the west side. It covers the entire side of the square, but surprisingly it isn't what I was expecting.

From the location I figured it would be the government building for the city. Instead, according to the sign out front, it is the Adventurer's Association. However, I don't plan to enter just now, I want to understand more about the city first.

After asking a guy running a stall we head to a building on the south side of the square. According to the guy, this is the best inn in the city and the most expensive. When we walk in I can see why, the lobby is what I would expect from a five star hotel.

Clerk says "Welcome! How can I help you?"

"Hi, I want the best room you have and I will need it for at least a week."

Clerk says "Our best room would be the Diamond suite, but it is two hundred gold per night."

The clerk doesn't even blink when I pull fourteen hundred gold out of my pouch and drop it on the counter. To my surprise she takes out a wand and taps the pile of gold, which instantly stacks itself. The clerk counts the twenty-eight stacks, then hands me a key and has an attendant guide us to our room.

The room is one of three on the top floor and we take an elevator up to it. Our room takes up almost half the floor and wouldn't be out of place in a palace. When I scan the room with my mana I find that it is enchanted to protect from all types of spying.

"This place is protected from spying so it should be safe enough to talk."

Lin says "That's good. This room is nice. So, what's the plan?"

"We can relax tonight. Tomorrow I want to find the merchant group, they should be able to answer my questions. Other than that, we can explore and have fun."

Lin says "Alright, sounds good. Are we eating dinner from the pouch?"

"No, this place has a restaurant, we can try it out."

Lin says "Yay! Let's go!"