"Testing, testing!" I spoke in a jumbled radio transmission like voice, "Cene, your papa here. The Eagle has landed!"

"Is mommy the eagle?" Cene tilted his head.

"Normally I'd take offense to this, dear, but..." Cecily breathed in the fresh air as she firmly planted both feet on the wooden planks of the dock, "We finally made it, so I'll let it slide! Oh, how nice this solid ground feels indeed!"

"I'd say that's one small step for woman, and one giant leap for womankid, oho!" The nice lady joked.

"Ma'am, once again, thank you for the remedy." I shook her hand once again after I plopping down everyone's luggage, "Where will you be going?"

"You can rest easy, my boy." The lady guffawed, "I'll be going in the opposite direction."

"Oh, right, you mentioned you're going to your hometown as well." Cecily nodded, "But please, we really enjoyed your company and help, so don't talk like we consider you a nuisance."

"Oh alright then." She chuckled as she waddled away, "Now go on, you three. Dawdling for too long on the docks only attracts scammers, you know! Ohoho!"

Ah, yet another piece of important wisdom for a traveler. I considered the possibility a bit before we arrived here, but this older lady might actually be a retired traveler associated with the ITA. I mean, she did say her family cultivates the alcohol that cures seasickness, but that doesn't necessarily mean she did that her entire life. Maybe she spent her youth traveling and questing, but later settled down to work with her family after retiring. It's not impossible. Maybe... Maybe my parents would appreciate some help as well, I think... N-No, they live on the other side of the world, it's just not possible!

"Alright, Cene!" Cecily smiled as she presented to our son the continent splayed in front of us, "This is where daddy comes from - Entropa!"

"Enwopa..." He recited the name to hopefully remember it better, something he seems to do often for newly acquired knowledge, "So then, who's gwandma and gwandpa?"

"Hm?" I followed his gaze as he inspected all the people arriving and departing to and from the dock, "Ah, no son! None of these people are my parents. The people we're looking for are still on the far side of the country."

"But you said we'we going to Entwopa to meet gwandma and gwandpa." Cene still seemed confused.

"Nevermind, you'll understand when you meet them." I chuckled before raising a hand, "But for now - Yo, need a wagon here!"

As soon as I gave the command, about 5 different wagon drivers were immediately there to offer us a ride. Right, this is a dock, or in other words - A lot of gullible foreigners who are willing to unknowingly pay a larger fee just to hitch a ride to wherever they're going to. This must be what the nice older lady said - lots of scammers, so we best be wary...

"Right here, sir!" The spiffy mustachioed man called out, "Special offer just for you! Just a single gold coin for the transport, no matter where the destination is inside Primis!"

"Sir, don't listen to this scammer, please." Another hunky guy interrupted, "Hey, you're one of us aren't you? Yeah, just one glance and I can already tell you guys are Entropic! Brother, it's a harsh world out there, so we gotta stick together! How about this - Just half a silver coin for every kilometer!"

"Pssh, you guys couldn't be more obvious!" A third almost feminine looking fellow rolled his Eyes at his colleagues, "Lady, you're not gonna let your husband get scammed out of his pocket change, are you? I bet he makes all sorts of stupid decisions that you have to monitor, right?"

"Well, you're not wrong..." Cecily smirked back at me.

"Ah, then...!"

"But he's gotten way better since we got married." She finished her previous sentence as she threw the guy off.

"O-Oh, I see! W-Well, that's nice! Congratulations!" He clapped awkwardly, "Then, what say you? I offer free drinks of any choice inside my wagon for the newlyweds! We can discuss the fees over a nice cup of...!"

"Ah shut it, you!" Finally, a young girl that looked to be a tad older than Nelly yelled, "They don't want your stupid overpriced bullcrap, they're not idiots!"

"And what the hell do you know, girl..." The hunk groaned, "Bethany, we've been over this. This is our territory, you have no rights to take our customers."

"There's a territory system for transport wagons?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Well of course!" The mustachioed man smiled brightly, "If not for it, then we would all be scrambling wildly for any and all customers, you know! Ahaha!"

"Yeah, I can tell you all about it if you choose me." The feminine guy took out and poured a glass of wine as he waved it in front of us, "Remember - Free drinks~!"

"Hmph!" Cene furrowed his brows, "You guys awe annoying."

You said it, bud. But sigh, Cecily and I are sadly adults, so we can't really just brush them off as easily and truthfully as you. Hmm, I need to think about which deal makes the most sense. The first guy offers a gold coin to wherever in Primis, but my parents are in Secundis, so we'll have to stop at the border, which might be a hassle. The hunky guy offers at least a fixed price and doesn't mind traveling to the other subcountries, but there's no doubt that half a gold coin per kilometer is way too much. The third guy didn't even mention the price, instead only waving his little glass of wine around, so he's out of the equation without a second thought. But the lady...

"Bethany, was it?" I called out to her, "I'm sorry, we didn't get to hear your offer."

"Bethany, you better not-!" The other drivers angrily warned her.

"Oh, I'll just take the gas money." She shrugged, "I already paid off my wagon debt, so I'm just offering people a ride for the stories they have, really."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Alright, thanks for having us." We already found ourselves written inside her wagon, luggage and all, "To Whitehood, please."

"Dammit, Bethany, you don't even need the money anymore!" The others fumed and raged, "What the hell is your problem!? We gotta work our asses off every day just for you to steal our customers!"

"Don't care. Give better deals instead of scamming the poor folks here." She shrugged before starting up the engine, "Alright guys, we're off now!"

"Bye bye!" Cene happily waved at the livid scammers as we left the dock.

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"Oh, sorry for not stating my prices outright." Bethany mentioned, "Those guys made me not reveal it until the customer asks, but given their terms, they can't do anything if you do, so good job."

"You sure you're gonna be alright when you come back?" Cecily looked worried.

"Yeah, those guys we've mad!" Cene too worried for the poor girl's wellbeing, "They might huwt you!"

"Haha, don't worry about it, kiddo." She smiled pback, "It'll blow over by the time I come back. Whitehood is a way's away, after all. Which brings me onto my next question - Why there?"

"It's my home village." I replied, "We're going to visit my parents."

"Ah, the fabled 'Meeting his parents' event. I'd be hyperventilating like crazy if I were in your shoes, missy." Bethany chuckled, "Congratulations on getting married, by the way. Dunno if I mentioned that."

"Oh, thank you." Cecily nodded, "But in truth, I don't really feel scared about meeting them. Sigh, I'd rather say they should be scared to face me."

"Is that drama I hear?" She seemed interested to hear more, "Then, go on, tigress! Tell me why you wanna beat their teeth out."

"Is mommy gonna fight gwandma and gwandpa?" Cene looked puzzled.

"No, they're just gonna talk... and maybe bicker a bit." I joked before addressing Bethany's plea, "But yeah, it's really nothing too serious. They just didn't come to the wedding, so we wanted to see what was up."

"It's way worse than that!" Cecily raised her tone, "They not only didn't show up, but the letter of reply just contained the words "WE DON'T CARE." in all caps! That's so despicable, it just-GRAH! Makes my blood boil!"

"Oof, that had to have stung." Bethany showed her condolences to me, "Sorry guy, I didn't know you were on such bad terms with your folks. When's the last time you saw their faces."

"Ah, I was a tad younger than you." I lied a bit to not have to admit I ran away from home at the age of thirteen, "Went off into the world, and uhh... stuff happened, so we didn't ever get to see each other since."

Pausing for a brief moment, I had thought she was silently judging me for giving such a stupid response, she finally continued the conversation without an issue, which makes me think she just wanted to see if I had anything more to say on the matter. She's incredibly mature for her age, and is a stark difference from her overgrown manbaby colleagues. Which makes me wonder...

"Oh, sorry for the pause." She apologized, "So then...?"

"Miss Bethany." I went ahead and asked, "I'm sorry if this is a bit personal, but how did you already pay off your wagon debt at such a young age?"

"Dear!" Cecily disliked me prying into her story.

"Nah, he's alright. I asked you guys a bunch of stuff, so it's only fair I return the same." Bethany stopped her, "But yeah, I'm 18 and already paid the debt off in just a year since I got my license. I don't usually say this mostly because people don't ask, but also because it feels like I'm bragging."

"As you should!" I shouted out, "That's an incredible achievement, so don't go being shy about it!"

"Right, not to mention you only ask for the gas money just to tilt the sides in the customer's favor." Cecily praised her highly, "That's so generous of you, miss."

"You'we a kind big sistew!" Cene too felt it needed to be said.

"Aww shucks, well aren't you a compliment filled bunch." She scratched her cheek bashfully, "But really, there wasn't any secret to my success. It's that exact kindness that let me pay the debt off so easily."

"Huh, so you mean...?" I already guessed the answer.

"Yep, I just underpriced my services, and that attracted all of my competition's clients to me." She grinned, "There's also the fact I'm what you call a wandering wagon driver, in the sense that I don't return to where I came from. I stop at one place and stay there until someone needs a ride to the next place. It saves on gas as well as time and really makes your profits rise."

So that's how it is. Unlike the greedy pigs over at the dock who just wanted to make as much from one single fare and then return to their established "territory", this girl figured out from an early age that that strategy of theirs could very easily be exploited. Incredible, it's such a novel take on how to make money. Hell, even while Ed, Anna and I worked here to spread the Arthur's brand, we too made the same mistake and as a result, almost all of our menu items were an extra few silvers pricier than what Arthur told us to put in. The younger generations are just so incredible...

"Hey, daddy." Cene pointed out an old man on the side of the road, "Is that gwandpa?"

"No Cene, we still haven't made it to Whitehood." I corrected him, "And that guy looks nothing like my old man."

"Oh." He paused before yet again pointing out an old lady this time, "Then, is that gwandma?"

"Cene, that's not grandma..." Cecily sighed, but still turned to ask me just in case, "Right?"

"...No, it's not." I gave her a disappointed stare, "And that lady's tall as hell! My mom was short even for my thirteen year old self!"