When Shade left Grandma Natalie's tailor shop, it was only noon. Since Mia's lunch had already been prepared before he went out, there was no need for him to hurry back.
He still had much to do here, but considering that he was not yet especially familiar with the region, Shade returned to the Green Lake Inn for lunch. Then he hired a carriage, intending to visit Mikella Blast Furnace City in the south.
Although the two cities lay in different countries, crossing the border was quite easy due to the peculiarities of the era. After getting into the carriage, Shade chatted with the coachman, who wore a straw hat to shield himself from the sunlight, about local customs and scenery. From him, Shade learned that travel between the two places normally required no inspections at all.
It was only after the recent decision to hold negotiations between the two countries in the Green Lake Region that border checkpoints had been established. But it was not difficult for locals to avoid them if they wished. This was flat country, and there were no barbed-wire fences or walls between Delarion and Kasonlik; only the main roads had checkpoints. And for those willing to go to the trouble, they could even travel back and forth by boat across Green Lake.
After leaving the city limits, the carriage traveled along country roads. Because travel between the two cities was frequent, even the rural roads had been maintained quite well, about on par with those outside Tobesk City.
Shade knew the two cities were close, but he had not expected them to be this close. In fact, less than five minutes after leaving Green Lake City, he could already see, through the carriage window, tall chimneys rising along the distant southern horizon, belching black