Chapter 10: A New Acquaintance and Internal Conflicts (4)

We approached an inn on the outskirts of the fortress city. The presumed resting place for most of the common caravaners was a slightly worn three-story building with a stone first floor and wooden second and third floors. Nearby stood a stable and a few other outbuildings. The extensive area was surrounded by a wooden fence.

Looking closely, one could see that in the distance there was a monumental fortress surrounded on both sides by an equally monumental wall. In the fading slanted light of the pre-sunset, the eyes couldn't discern notches or the greenish hue of moss; the ancient walls, nearly forty meters high, appeared new and commanded respect, even a certain awe. Against this backdrop, the two, three, or rarely four to five-story city buildings looked like dwarf houses.

The Southern Gates, like the Northern, Eastern, and Western ones, had served not only as a stronghold against unfriendly guests, such as rebellious nobles or monsters of high rank who decided to come to visit, but also as a transit center and a place for collecting trade duties.

In my opinion, collecting customs duties within the country was a questionable idea. But vague memories indicated that the dragon's share of the collections went into the pockets of the protector lord. Considering the fact that the commander-in-chief traditionally held the position of the gates' protector, promoting the idea of free trade was... unwise.

Quite interesting information. And not very correlated with the propaganda they flooded us with at the Base. I tried to remember where I had heard this information, but I failed. Certainly not from the life of the Imperial Assassin, and the memory of an Earthling didn't seem to contain such an episode from the manga.

Strange. As if the fact surfaced in my mind on its own, flavored with a clear aversion to the genus of commanders-in-chief.

Very strange. I, on the contrary, sympathized with old Budo, and about his lineage, I only knew that he was very old—dating back to the founding of the Empire.

Not for the first time, snippets of memory, seemingly from nowhere, floated in my head. They didn't pose any threats, but their accuracy needed to be verified. It's one thing to have unclear but useful fragments of knowledge, and another to have delusions that pretend to be the truth.

After we made our way outside, Akira rode up to us on her black colt.

"So, what's the plan? Are we staying the night in this dump, or shall we, like normal people, look for a better place?" the redhead cheerfully inquired. Apparently, the horseback ride had lifted her spirits.

"Well, well, Akira-chi, why insult this splendid establishment by calling it a dump?" Kei responded in his usual semi-mocking manner. "Soon you'll be reminiscing about this wonderful inn!"

The guy enthusiastically began telling tales of the filth and superstitious nature of the southern provinces of the Empire. According to him, there were plenty of disgusting and ubiquitous insects, the local inhabitants feasted on all sorts of filth, and their manners vividly reminded me of the denizens of medieval Western Europe, with the tossing of slops out of windows, the stench of unwashed bodies for months on end, and golden zibellino (a device for catching fleas crawling on the body) court ladies and other "charms".

The joker had an incredible talent for narrating even complete nonsense with such a confident demeanor that people involuntarily believed him. Akira, despite having been on missions with him beyond the central Empire herself, had succumbed to his charm. To be fair, everything he listed did exist, but only in the slums.

But in this regard, even the capital shelters for the poor didn't look much better.

"...And the cockroaches there! Mmm!" Kei rolled his eyes with admiration. "Locals catch them and fry them in oil, or so they say; it turns out to be quite delicious."

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"Shut up!" The girl's face, losing all her cheer, twisted into a grimace of disgust.

"Don't be mad, Ogonyok. I just want to prepare you mentally," the guy looked at his friend with sympathy, "with love."

"Guys," Akira cast a plaintive look at the three of us, "this isn't true, right?"

"Ahem," Natal tried to look serious and not laugh. "He's exaggerating."

From the left, there was an audible chuckle from a grinning Bayb.

"He's exaggerating a lot," the other guy added. "Very much."

Watching as contemplation gave way to realization, and then to outrage and anger on the girl's face, I couldn't help but smile. Natal began to chuckle quietly, and after a second, both the joker and I joined in. Even the coachman sitting on our carriage's horses began to laugh, but upon encountering a furious glare from green eyes, he pretended to cough.

"Oh, you villain! You've made me look like a fool again?!" The redhead, dropping the reins, rushed to exact revenge. Her four-legged transport, sensing freedom, stepped aside but was intercepted by the brawny man's hand.

"Ouch! Not the head, it's my weak spot!"

"It's your empty spot! Idiot! Don't you dare hide behind my bag!"

"Hmm, they aren't lying when they say the happiest couples are made up of a sadist and a masochist, or vice versa," I smirked, turning to Natal.

"Haha, seems like it, Kurome," the blond guy laughed, watching as the blushing Akira, her eyes gleaming, enthusiastically hit her playful partner.

Kei only grinned even wider at the comments. However, the fiery-haired girl with a fiery character pretended she hadn't heard anything. She just blushed even more, stopped hitting her sharp-tongued companion, and took back her belongings. Grabbing the reins from Bayba's hands, she walked toward the stables with an independent stride.

"We'll stay in the town. I'll find out when the caravan is moving on, and you catch a cab," Natal decided and headed toward the head of security, who was conversing with a bald, portly man with a beard down to his chest.

"Look, Kurome-chi, your not-lover-just-friend is looking for someone. Isn't it you?" Kei pointed in the direction of the blonde girl who had disappeared around the corner.

Kei and Bayb strode toward the small man dozing off on the horses harnessed to a pair of carriages, and I headed toward the girl.

"Hey, Eris, looking for someone?" I asked, reaching out and touching her shoulder.

"Oh!" The girl jumped and turned around abruptly. "Hello, Kurome. Don't sneak up on me like that; you scared me."

"Didn't you hear my footsteps?" I was surprised. — With such control over the environment, even a child could kil... ahem!" I cut myself off in mid-sentence.

"I didn't hear anything," the blonde shook her head negatively. "What were you going to say about the child?"

"There are plenty of little thieves on the streets. If you're not vigilant, they'll swipe your shoes right off your feet. So, try to look around and train your hearing."

"Really?" Her bright green eyes looked at me in surprise. "Alright, I'll be careful. Kurome, has your group decided where to stay yet?"

"Not yet. Why?"

"We're planning to stay at an inn run by a friend of Hunter. The old man says it's clean, inexpensive, and they serve delicious food."

"Are you inviting us to stay with you?"

"Yes!" The blonde smiled. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the troupe. And Hunter promised to put on a performance tonight. So, what do you say? Are you in?"

"Are you sure the other artists will be happy to have us?"

"Of course! The old man said his friend has a few vacant rooms. And I told all our folks not to listen to the nonsense they're spreading about you. Can you believe it?! Some liars were spreading rumors that you attacked those two scoundrels and beat them up! How could they even think that? You saved the whole caravan!"

"I heard," I shrugged indifferently. "People like to make up and spread rumors. Should we kill them for it?"

"Don't these rumors bother you?" the girl wondered. "Because of them, people might think badly of you and your friends."

"And who are they for their opinion to concern me? Let them gossip and think whatever they want in their corner. If they decide to stick their noses in or talk too loudly... they'll regret it. I don't understand your reaction. You're a noble, Eris. When did the aristocracy care about gossip spread by commoners?" I asked with a hint of mockery.

"You talk just like my father," Eris said with a strange tone, shaking her head. A shadow passed over her face.

"Alright, enough wasting time discussing idiots; they don't deserve it," I decided, trying to divert the blonde from unpleasant thoughts. "Tell me, what's the name of Hunter's friend's establishment, and how do we get there?"

"Haha, right! They don't deserve it!" Eris replied somewhat off-topic. "Um... I don't know where it is," the girl admitted shyly. "But I can ask! And you can come with us. There."

"Let's go; I'll announce your offer to our group," I said, seeing Natal, who had returned to the others. Kei, Akira, and Bayb had already loaded their belongings and were waiting by the hired carriage.

"So, your group plans to stay at a city inn nearby?" Natal clarified with Eris after listening to me.

"Yes, Hunter, the head of our troupe, said he always stays there. It's quiet, clean, and has good food. And I wanted to invite Kurome and you, if you don't mind, for dinner and our performance."

"So, what's your positive answer going to be?" I asked with a smile at the corner of my mouth.

"Haha!" my friend laughed. "Since you left us no choice, I can only agree."

"Yes, yes, we're fine with it too, right, Akira-chi?" Kei Lee embraced his friend.

Bayb nodded silently and got into the carriage.

However, we couldn't leave immediately. First, we had to go to the artists' carriage and find out the address of the inn. Then Natal went back to Rutger and told him where to find us in case of need. At the end, we had to break up a fight between our carriage driver and his colleague.

Well, how to break it up? Irritated, Akira grabbed the two brawlers by their collars, who had turned into the front-row seats, and tossed them a few meters apart. And when the "horse drivers," groaning and grumbling, got to their feet, she threatened to switch their heads with their behinds, which, in her opinion, was what they were thinking with.

In general, the group arrived with a breeze.