In the end, Gauss still respected his teammates' decision.
Just as he had suddenly realized, his teammates had wills of their own. They were not puppets on his strings.
Over the next few days, time flew by as though someone had pressed fast-forward.
Many things also quietly began happening around Barry.
The dungeon was closed after the authorities released information about abnormalities within it, and adventurers withdrew from it in an orderly, unhurried stream.
The number of adventurer teams and adventurer groups returning to Barry City visibly increased as well.
Looking around, nearly one in every few people on the streets appeared dressed like an adventurer. As for the other citizens dressed as commoners, they might not have been ordinary residents either—they could simply have been more low-key adventurers.
Prices for many goods in all kinds of shops, necessities such as grain, oil, rice, and flour, quietly began to rise.
Yet after only a day or two, the increase seemed to be sharply reined in by an invisible force, returning to a level that was pricier than before but still acceptable.
It was just that whenever many commoners wanted to purchase certain special supplies, the clerks might inform them that purchases were limited.
Beast-drawn carts carrying military supplies, civilian goods, and other merchandise streamed in through the northern gate without end, like ants moving house.
Whether atop the walls, beneath them, or on the watchtowers, anyone paying slight attention could see that the number of soldiers patrolling and standing guard had increased considerably.
The noble griffin knights, who in the past might only have patrolled the blue skies in the mornings and evenings, now looked far busier. Quite a few flew back and forth between the inside and outside of the city walls, and between the outer and inner city.