By the time Annie and Fern reached their destination—the plaza before the castle gates of the lord whose name they had forgotten—it was already growing dark.
There was hardly anyone moving about nearby, either. The city folk had probably long since gone home to their families.
At that moment, Count Granat's castle stood at the highest point of this Northern Kingdoms city like a lurking giant, gazing proudly down over the entire city.
Now and then, patrolmen in gleaming full plate armor passed along the walls. They looked like iron giants, carrying sharp spears or broadswords as they marched with a clank, their wary eyes sweeping over their surroundings.
Unlike the little cities and towns Annie and the others usually visited, this castle was tall and imposing. The walls seemed to be built entirely from enormous, sturdy blocks of stone, with some kind of magical barrier inscribed upon them. It probably had considerable defensive power and could withstand magic attacks to some extent?
But unfortunately, it could only withstand attacks up to a point. Annie didn't take it seriously.
In fact, forget Annie—even a certain idiot, Fern, could easily destroy a barrier and walls of this caliber if she put in a little effort and used a bit of strength. After all, this place wasn't as well defended as the wall around the city's perimeter.
Of course, none of that mattered!
What mattered now was this: with Fern leading the way, Annie and her troubled companion soon strode up to Count Granat's castle gates and stopped.
"We're here?"
(_)
Sure, Annie's small figure looked especially tiny before the towering castle. Even the guards were at least twice her height. But she didn't particularly care.
After all, this world wasn't one where the biggest person was automatically the strongest. And she