At that moment, Annis's voice came from inside the carriage again. "All right, deal with it quickly. Fred, let's go inside. Don't waste time."
"Yes, Miss!" Ford hurriedly waved his hand, signaling the blue-clad strongmen to disperse the onlookers and clear the road.
The carriage started moving again. Surrounded by the Four Seas General Goods personnel and watched by the saluting guards, it entered Rose Town's bustling gates without obstruction.
Inside the carriage, He Xi watched the dramatic scene outside through the window. Seeing Wilson's pale face and the manager Ford's drastic change from arrogance to obsequiousness, he couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.
It was solved that easily?
The world of the wealthy really was plain and unpretentious.
The carriage entered the east gate.
Looking through the window, He Xi couldn't help gasping in amazement.
They were both called towns, but Plint was, at most, a large village. The Rose Town before him, however, was clearly a vibrant little city!
They were currently at the eastern entrance of the town, on higher ground that offered an excellent bird's-eye view.
Roofs of all heights stretched as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight.
The crowds flowed like swarms of ants, darting in and out of the complicated alleys.
Nearby stood row after row of smithies, thick black smoke billowing from their chimneys.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The hammering rang without end.
Most of those near the smithies were warriors wearing chainmail and carrying various weapons. A few inconspicuously dressed scouts with wary eyes were mixed among them.
They were carefully inspecting freshly forged weapons or equipment that had just been repaired.
As lunchtime approached, the aroma of food began to spread through the air.
The charred fragrance of roasted meat, the rich scent of ale, and the sweet smell of bread mingled with coal smoke and the odor of pack animals, creating a roughness unique to this place.
After the incident at the town gate, He Xi noticed that Annis had been gazing out the window with a troubled look and had fallen silent.
Only when the carriage entered a relatively broad main road did she finally speak. "You can get off here."
She took a glittering gold coin from her exquisite purse and handed it to He Xi.
It was the Gold Shield they had agreed upon earlier.
He Xi nodded without saying much and accepted his payment.
He knew perfectly well that this beautiful, wealthy young lady of extraordinary origins belonged to a completely different world from his own.
Being able to ride along with her and receive such a generous reward was already a stroke of incredible luck.
A journey that should have required four or five days of arduous travel had been completed easily in a day and a half.
He hopped neatly out of the carriage with Bruce.
After climbing down, the Ford manager of Four Seas General Goods gave him a friendly smile.
Though he had no idea what was going on, He Xi politely nodded back in response.
After He Xi left with Bruce, the carriage door remained open.
Annis said to Ford outside, "Manager Ford, come inside."
"Yes, Miss." Ford answered respectfully and ducked into the carriage.
The carriage continued rolling smoothly forward.
"My father was the one who notified you, wasn't he?" Annis asked bluntly. "Did he say anything else?"
Ford answered cautiously, "Yes, Miss. It was President Raymond's order.
He instructed that while you are in Rose Town, you may take the opportunity to learn how to manage the shops.
Also, he said that until the heir of the Atmesia Family is found, he will not interfere too much with your actions. It's just..."
The moment Annis heard that surname, her pretty face darkened. She let out an irritated "Hmph!" and cut Ford off.
Ford wisely shut his mouth and said no more.
Annis became furious whenever she heard that surname!
Everything stemmed from an incident in her father Raymond's past.
When Raymond was young, he had received financial support from the Atmesia Family in Holder City. Later, he traveled south to a port city to conduct business. Relying on his wisdom and good fortune, his business quickly expanded, and he eventually established the enormous Tidal Trade Union.
After learning that the Atmesia Family had fallen into decline, Raymond wrote them a letter.
In it, he said that he hoped to marry his daughter into the family and was willing to provide a huge sum of money to help them resolve their bloodline curse, thereby repaying the kindness they had shown him back then.
However, the letter vanished without a trace.
The people sent to Holder to investigate returned with news that the person who had once funded him had died. Only a single orphaned descendant remained, and that person's whereabouts were unknown.
Annis was naturally a hundred times unwilling to accept such an arranged marriage.
You've got to be kidding me! Marry someone I've never even seen?
She didn't even know whether the other person was round or flat, alive or dead.
Besides, she had never cared for the titles of those nobles.
What she yearned for was a free and unrestrained life of adventure. She dreamed that her future husband would take her to explore ancient jungles, mysterious ruins, and even dangerous Dungeons.
But her old-fashioned father insisted that the matter was non-negotiable. He had even purchased property in Holder and forced her to move there, calling it "becoming familiar with the environment."
She had lived in that rural place for only a month before nearly going insane.
Thus, relying on the swordsmanship she had learned since childhood, she planned this escape from home. She intended to sneak away to the more distant Rose Town and register as a true adventurer.
Unfortunately, the old butler sent by her father still discovered the plan.
The old butler probably knew he couldn't stop her, so he had no choice but to compromise.
However, for the sake of her safety, he insisted that they hire an adventurer for the journey.
He simply hadn't expected them to hire that damned con man, Odin.
At the same time, the old butler had secretly notified her father.
That was how Manager Ford had ended up waiting at the gate today.
Annis thought angrily.
"He thinks he can trap me with shop chores and all these people watching me? Hmph! He's underestimating me!"
"Just wait. I'll definitely find a chance to slip away!"
"I'll register as an adventurer, learn powerful skills, and become a formidable professional!"
"I heard... that fellow from the Atmesia Family is called He Xi? Hmph, you'd better never show up! Otherwise... I'll beat you until you beg for mercy and make sure you never dare mention that ridiculous engagement again!"
Elsewhere.
He Xi stood at a crossroads with Bruce, looking somewhat lost.
He walked over to a peddler selling miscellaneous goods by the roadside and asked, "Hello. Could you tell me where the Adventurer Guild is?"
Seeing He Xi's dusty, travel-worn appearance, the peddler knew at once that he was a newly arrived adventurer, and his eyes lit up.
"Oh, dear customer, you've just arrived in town, haven't you? The Adventurer Guild? Follow the Rose Avenue beneath your feet all the way west. When you see a three-story stone building with a huge oak sign standing at the entrance, you'll know you've found it!"
As he spoke, he magically produced a small booklet bound from rough paper from beneath his stall. The cover bore a crooked drawing of what appeared to be a map of Rose Town.
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