Journey

Belicha arrived just after Ronan cut off Belik's head.

"Belik had substantial bounties on his head in every country, but they generally required him alive. What a pity!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier?"

After that little episode, Ronan sold Belik's head to a merchant for another 100 gold coins. He heard that Belik's head could fetch 300 gold coins in Gaoling, while capturing him alive would earn 700. But Ronan did not have time to go to Gaoling, and preserving a head required preventing it from decaying. Carrying a head around with him would be rather creepy, too.

Although losing out on the bounty made Ronan quite upset, the 237 Reputation points and 2 Honor points he gained from that performance eased his gloomy mood.

After resting up, the caravan set out again, heading for the next town, Mazan. Beyond Mazan lay the heartland of the Holy Cross Kingdom, where there would be far fewer bandits and the journey would be relatively safer. After passing through several more cities, they would reach Whiteport, on the border between Holy Cross and Sinterland. Whiteport was a port city and the most economically developed city in the Holy Cross Kingdom, with many merchant caravans from another continent passing through.

Ronan knew very little about the other continent. He only knew that it seemed to be governed by city-states, since much of its terrain was desert and unsuitable for large human settlements. Countless islands lay between the two continents, inhabited by people who called themselves the Sea People. They were fishermen in ordinary times, but pirates once they took up weapons, causing no end of trouble for merchant caravans traveling between the continents. Yet with so many islands, it was difficult for armies to capture them.

Despite the rampant pirates, merchant ships still traveled back and forth in an endless stream, because the profits were simply too high. As long as one was lucky enough to complete a run, there would be plenty of gold to earn.

After several more days of travel, Ronan and the others finally arrived in Mazan. The first thing the dust-covered group did upon reaching the inn was bathe, especially the women led by Daisy. Ronan was suffering too. Having been a modern person in his previous life, he still found it hard to adapt to going so long without bathing.

Fortunately, water was abundant in this world, and nearly every inn and household had a bathtub. It was not like the customs Ronan had read about in books, where some peoples bathed only twice in their lives: once at birth and once at marriage.

While Ronan and the others rested at the inn, Belicha took two guards to deal with the goods. Ronan did not know what he had told Daisy, but somehow he had kept her from becoming suspicious.

Lazily slumped in the bathtub, Ronan felt the warm water continuously wash over his body and narrowed his eyes in comfort.

"Ah, I wonder where I can find hot springs in this world. If I find some, I definitely have to give them a try."

Sleepiness washed over him. Ronan stood up, dried himself, put on his nightclothes, and collapsed onto the bed to sleep.

Early the next morning, Ronan's body clock woke him on time. Since coming to this world, his internal clock had become increasingly accurate and earlier, while his sleep had grown much lighter than before. Any slight disturbance would wake him. Ronan could only attribute it to the changes brought about by the Great Serpent and the Guardian Template.

Many merchant caravans traveled around Mazan, and the town itself was close to the kingdom's prosperous regions, so it was exceptionally rich in produce. This breakfast was better than any Ronan had eaten before: white bread, honey, sausage, mashed potatoes, steamed lamb with peas, creamy turnip soup. He even saw some tables order an entire roast chicken, but Ronan did not want anything so greasy in the morning and did not order one.

Belicha, Daisy, and the rest of the caravan had also woken up by then. Ronan quickly called to them as they came downstairs and invited them to breakfast. Having just made a small fortune, he decided to be generous and treat them.

In the end, however, Ronan felt a slight pang of regret. No matter how cheap each dish was, there were still so many people, especially the Nord, who could practically eat for two and ate like their lives depended on it. Ronan could not help worrying about future food expenses, since his forces would certainly grow larger.

Having unloaded its cargo, the caravan immediately became much lighter, and its traveling speed increased dramatically. They would probably arrive a third sooner than originally expected.

After Mazan, they only needed to pass through several towns, including Bart, Malda, Yellon, and Qinghe, before reaching Whiteport. Less than five days beyond Whiteport, they could cross the border into Sinterland and arrive at Tree Wall, Sinterland's southern fortress.

Yet after passing the fortress, they would still need nearly another month to reach Teldrasil, Sinterland's royal capital. This route did not pass through Tongshi City, the capital of the Holy Cross Kingdom, which disappointed Ronan somewhat. After all, he had not visited any truly large cities since coming to this world.

The journey that followed was completely unhindered, as though the Moran Kingdom had given up. Then again, they were already deep within Holy Cross territory. Moran could not easily infiltrate manpower this far, especially since its elite troops were highly recognizable.

The peace along the way also brightened Daisy up again, restoring her usual lively personality. Perhaps because they had become familiar with one another, Daisy often prepared little pranks to target Ronan. But after falling for one trick and learning his lesson, Ronan became exceptionally cunning. More often than not, Daisy's schemes backfired on her instead.

Seeing Daisy's unwilling expression whenever she suffered a setback, Ronan laughed unkindly. After battling wits and nerve all the way, Ronan's group finally arrived at Whiteport, the last city in the Holy Cross Kingdom.

Built along the sea, Whiteport was the largest port on the Holy Cross Kingdom's short coastline, with merchant ships arriving and departing every day in an endless stream. It was the kingdom's largest import and export hub as well as its seafood supplier, ranking among the top three cities in importance to Holy Cross.

This was also the largest city Ronan had reached since coming to this world. Whiteport had a permanent population of fifty thousand, making it the most populous city in the Holy Cross Kingdom aside from the capital. Its standing Knight order consisted of fifty Knights and around five hundred professional soldiers, while the remaining militia and mercenaries numbered as many as two thousand.

The reason Whiteport maintained so many standing troops was the pirates who called themselves the Sea People. Every month, Whiteport had to dispatch fleets to patrol and drive away pirates in order to ensure the safety of its sea routes. Fortunately, Whiteport's tax revenue was high; otherwise, it truly could not afford the daily expenses of those professional soldiers and the wages of the mercenaries.

After being inspected by the guards, Ronan and the others entered Whiteport without issue. On the streets, Ronan saw many yellow-skinned people walking about. Curious, he asked Belicha about them, since everyone he had seen since arriving in this world had been white.

"They should be merchant caravans from the other continent. Most people on that continent have yellow or black skin."

Ronan nodded in understanding. His sense of familiarity toward the yellow-skinned people made him decide that he would definitely visit the other continent if he ever had the chance. But his immediate priority was to finish the work at hand, then find a way to make a great deal of money. After all, traveling to another continent required at least enough money for the journey.