The next morning was a peaceful one. Everyone was up by the time the sun had reached 2 fingers into the sky. We all had a quick breakfast and we were off. Along the way, I chatted with Ainz some more, and gained a lot more information about the capital, as well as the tournament.
Mother had left me in charge of the three of us, and so I need to ensure that Krog and I are registered for the tournament. And after the tournament, we have to register ourselves with the adventurer's guild, and Shem needs to register herself with the Guild of commerce. I assume there will be complications for that, since she is unconscious, but I think we can figure out a way.
Anyway, firstly, we need to find a place to stay, and Ainz has recommended a 'nice place,' however I feel like trouble will be finding us there. But it’s not like I know of any other pace, so I told him we would be staying there. Ainz has been acting somewhat suspiciously when it came to being open about one's life. Therefore, I never fully trusted him, and so I would prefer it if he doesn't know what our plans are. I actually don't wish to go to that place to stay, but I also want to see what the shitty lord has planned for me. I also want to know how he was able to find out where we were staying last time. So I'll change my plans this time. There is also that thing mom told me about, that those without identity proof, travelling on carriages are considered and branded as slaves at the entrance of the capital itself, by the guards.
Just as the caravan was about enter the city, everyone stopped, and the people in one of the carriages began to climb off. Out of curiosity of not being informed by Ainz, I asked him, "Why is everyone getting off?"
"Oh, it’s nothing customer, it’s just that they were tire from travelling on the long journey and decided to get off and stretch out for a bit. Nothing more."
Now, I was sure, that this f*cker is trying to make us slaves! I knew something was up. The way he addressed two 7 year olds as ‘dear customer’ was just too extreme, and I doubt that even fancy restaurants in Taberna do not call children dear customers, unless they are nobility of course! Therefore, I decided to take action.
“Ainz, we’ll be getting off here as well. Here is the rest of your payment.” I could see that he was beginning to sweat, and his heart rate was rapidly rising. These things were simple to observe, since my initial breakthrough. I can observe most things and noises within a 10 meter radius.
“Also, we’ll be going straight to the inn you told us about, and take a room there first thing and rest for the day. We’ll then go to apply for the tournament tomorrow. Bye!” Saying this, I told Krog to pick up Shem and we got off, and stretched our limbs out. I could still hear his heartbeat, and it had returned back to normal. It seems he has already though of a plan, and I’m confident of what it is. So when we entered the city, I asked the guard if we could enter without identity proofs.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Of course my young lad, that would be 5 silver for each one of you, and it will last a day. Staying inside the city for longer will be a crime punishable by death.”
Of course, I know about this, because there was an NPC who fell prey to a scheme similar to the one Ainz is cooking up for me. The NPC was Hein Battleborn, an incredible character who the player has to rescue from slavery from the hands of an evil baron. You know, the typical quest, except it is a guy, who later joins the player’s party, as a fixed character, who cannot be replaced by a real player, because many hidden quests happen due to his presence. When you recue him, he begins his story, from the year 19,907, when he enters the capital, the same way we did, and overstays his welcome. The city pass is only for a day, and he is prevented from leaving the city, until the third bell rings, at which point he is taken to the court to be trialled. But a slave merchant begs the judge to lower his punishment to slavery instead, and that is how he is made a slave. The story was so heart wrenching, and the way he told it was even more saddening, so much so that it was the top trending back-story in the entire game for 2 years! Anyways, I also intend on preventing him from suffering through this fate. Why? Because he was the only NPC party member who stayed with me after the Klyde incident. All the rest betrayed me, some even tried to kill me!
Therefore, I will change his fate right here. But in order to do that, I must protect myself first. As soon as we entered the city, the first thing I did was to go straight to the adventurers guild. I know where it is, because the capital is exactly the same as the game. Taberna may have differed slightly, because 100 years could change a lot, but the capital is built inside a thick wall, making hard for change to take place. Some building had different paint etc, but the layout is still the same.
Without wasting anytime, the three of us went straight to the guild to register Krog and I. After about an hour, we were handed our copper badges, adventurer identification cards and official documents. Next we went to the guild of commerce, to register Shem as a merchant, and as expected there were problems with the member in question being unconscious. However, a dignified looking lady, in pure white came to our rescue. While she was speaking with the guild manager, I noticed the symbol on her headgear, and it was of a golden crown sitting atop a mountain of gold coins. I could recognise that symbol from a mile away, it was the symbol of the goddess of wealth. That is when everything fell into place. After 5 minutes, we were handed her documents and merchant card. That was some special VIP treatment we got there! The even had a magician make ice for our orange juice!
Anyway, after we finished that, we went to register for the kings tournament, just as the 6th bell after midmorning rang.
[SM: Just after the 6 pm bell rang]
And that was where I saw him, Hein Battleborn!