A wagon was not exactly a noble's transport. But it was what we could find in a town near the forest. Although I had offered to be a driver, the recently recovered Roy would not let go of the reins and insisted that I remain a passenger for the entire journey.

Since we took a reasonably direct path and stayed within the route, we were able to reach the capital in just a couple of weeks. Honestly, with [Boots of the Freezing Wind], it could have been a journey of only days, but I didn't want to leave Lord Edward and Roy behind. I had already been over the trouble of making us acquaintances.

When the path that our two horses wagon followed passed near the top of a hill, we could finally make out in the distance the capital of the kingdom of Forlan, Leirel.

It was located in a valley between mountains and hills and just in the bifurcation of the Ordell River. Its tall, smooth white walls seemed a product of magic rather than engineering, and weapons resembling ballistae loomed from its many towers. Surely more as protection against monsters than against armies.

Although Leirel was in sight, it still took us almost a day to get there. The sun was already low on the horizon, and the orange light of sunset reflected in the armor of the soldiers who stood guard at the many gates of the west entrance where we stood.

Fortunately, we managed to get there before the gates closed, and thanks to Lord Edward's presence, we didn't have to waste time with an inspection. Those are the benefits of having connections.

Lord Edward had offered me to stay at his mansion, but I wanted to experience the capital for myself. It's been a long time since I visited such a big city, and by "a long time," I mean a time when Leirel hadn't even been founded yet. So not long after, we parted ways with the promise to see each other again in the near future.

I must say that most of my life has been spent sleeping or away from civilization, so it was all very new to me, from the aromas of the different kinds of food in the stalls of the street vendors to the spectacle that was to see the hustle and bustle of thousands of people.

While walking through one of the main streets searching for an inn, my attention diverted from pure curiosity to a dark alley, mainly because that's where most cliches happen in a big city.

Although it was me who said that it was a cliche, I was quite surprised to see that there actually were three not-very friendly-looking guys surrounding a girl.

The girl looked up, and her watery eyes met mine. I nodded to reassure her with a serious expression... then I continued on my way.

What could I do? My only means of defense was the [Blue Phoenix Ring], and if I used it, I would end up incinerating the entire alley with the victim included. Nor am I such a saint to get into a fistfight with guys who probably have a hidden knife. And all because of a girl I don't even know. I'm afraid of pain; pain hurts.

Of course, it doesn't mean I don't have a heart (I hope I don't know how my body works anymore). My intention was to find a guard and take him to the scene. But before I could hurry up, I heard a loud commotion in the alley in question.

Upon returning, I saw that the three thugs were on the floor while in their place; a handsome blond young man with blue eyes comforted the girl who had come in to cry. The young man (who, if someone had told me he was the prince of the kingdom, I would have believed it) looked in my direction with an expression of disgust. He didn't say anything, but I'm sure he was reproaching my lack of action at the time.

I was still amazed about having seen a story taken from a book of cliches when a beautiful girl with hair as black as night arrived, followed by two armored guards, who then began to tie up the thugs without asking too many questions.

The newcomer's sharp red eyes also looked at me reproachfully for a few seconds. But soon, she diverted her attention to the prince, I mean, to the young blond man, and they started talking.

I decided it was time to withdraw from the place before someone else wanted to give me ugly looks. Who would have thought that my innocent intentions to leave this kind of problem to the corresponding authorities would leave such a bitter taste in my mouth?

However, I stand by my decision. In ancient times I was not dedicated to stopping bank robberies, and I am not going to start doing it now. That I can't die just means that if something happens to me, my suffering lasts much longer than a normal person's. In other words, I'm a coward.

It took me a while to find an inn. The prices were quite high, and my current money from this kingdom is what Lord Edward forced me to accept. My original plan was to camp in the outskirts before getting any money. But thanks to Lord Edward's gratitude, my adventure can begin inside the city.

Luckily I have gotten some trinkets in my travels, and tomorrow, I can sell them calmly; of course, I'm not talking about artifacts; those are not for sale.

And I said "luckily" because I didn't want to join the adventurer's guild to get money.

First of all, the adventurer's guild was not like that shown in fantasy worlds; here, a party of adventurers consists of a magician who is the leader, and the rest are magic knights who serve him.

Of course, they are called magic knights, but they can be archers, warriors, spearmen, etc. In short, any profession benefits if a magician shares their magic. The only difference is in the priests and priestesses who receive their magic directly from the damn goddess and are not servants of a magician. In fact, all clergy members serve only the Church of the Mother Goddess.

I'm currently wandering through my mind, thinking about all these topics basically to escape reality.

A young woman with almond-colored hair tied up in a short ponytail had just served me an ice-cold soup. And just like her soup, her cinnamon eyes gave me the last cold look of my day before she headed back to the kitchen.

As some could have imagined, I was dining at the inn and found out that the innkeeper's daughter was the girl who had almost been mugged moments before in the alley.

Tonight, I think I'm going to need [Morpheus's Pillow] to sleep…