Arrival

Ghislaine coldly woke Roa up. When he opened his eyes, he found Rudeus wearing an inexplicable smile. That smile instantly startled away the last bit of sleepiness Roa had left.

Roa complained, "Rudeus, what are you laughing at?"

Rudeus held back his laughter and muttered, "I really wonder what the other party will think when they see you like this. They'll probably take you for a girl, right?"

As he said this, Rudeus unconsciously raised an eyebrow.

A golden-haired, aloof, tsundere girl like Roa would be knocked unconscious and sold for coins if she went out alone.

Of course, that was assuming anyone could knock him unconscious.

Facing Rudeus's ill-intentioned gaze, Roa gave a disdainful snort and flexed his right arm slightly. His formerly well-proportioned biceps bulged. Roa curled his lips and said, "If you've got the ability, why don't you try?"

Rudeus swallowed, his expression turning somewhat unnatural.

He remembered the times Roa had taught him a lesson.

"Let's go. Stop chatting over there." Ghislaine's cold voice came from ahead.

This town truly deserved to be the largest city in the vicinity. It was full of life.

The first thing that came into view was the city wall.

The wall was roughly seven or eight meters high and looked sturdy enough to surround the entire city.

Carriages came and went around the enormous gate in the wall. After entering through the gate, they could see rows of open-air stalls.

Not far inside the town were several shops resembling stables and inns.

Seeing people in armor moving among ordinary townsfolk and merchants really gave the place a "fantasy" feel.

A strong Western New World atmosphere hit them in the face.

At that moment, a middle-aged man running a stall saw the group and called out enthusiastically, "Miss, would you like an apple?"

Roa, who was walking in front, sighed helplessly. With a serious expression, he said to the middle-aged man, "You should say, 'Young man, would you like an apple?'"

As he said this, the corner of Roa's mouth twitched. Why did those words sound so familiar? He certainly wasn't Subaru Natsuki, the student who refused to reveal his name.

At that moment, Rudeus suddenly noticed people carrying large pieces of luggage sitting in a place resembling a bus shelter.

"Ghislaine, do you know what that is?" Rudeus asked curiously.

"...I say," Ghislaine said, her expression displeased upon hearing Rudeus's question.

"Are you looking down on me?"

Rudeus jumped when Ghislaine glared at him fiercely.

He hurriedly explained, "No. I just didn't know what that was, so I wanted to trouble you by asking you to tell me..."

Ghislaine tilted her head. "Oh, sorry. So that's what you meant?"

There were too many things to comment on, so Roa decided not to say anything.

He had already figured out Ghislaine's personality. She looked frightening, but she was actually very kind. In some ways, she was even naturally airheaded.

Although "airheaded" was generally used to describe a cute, vacant-eyed maiden, not a hulking figure...

She really was naturally airheaded.

Seeing Rudeus's expression as if he were about to cry, Ghislaine hurriedly answered, "That's the waiting area for public carriages. Generally, when people want to travel from one town to another, they use those carriages. Alternatively, they can pay traveling merchants some money for a chance to hitch a ride."

Afterward, it became clear that the two of them were rookies who had only just left Beginner Village. Ghislaine pointed out the various shops and told them which was the weapon shop, which was the tavern, which was the Adventurer's Guild branch, and which was a suspicious shop of "that sort."

After passing through a corner of the town, the atmosphere around them changed.

Weapon shops, armor shops, and other stores catering specifically to adventurers lined both sides of the road. Farther ahead, they gave way to shops aimed at the town's residents.

The layout was well designed.

When enemies attacked from outside, the people near the gates would be the first to defend against them, while the town's residents could use that time to flee deeper into the town or in the opposite direction.

Because of this structure, the farther they went inward, the larger the buildings became, and the more shops they found that specialized in high-end goods.

In this town, the closer one lived to the center, the wealthier one was.

A huge white palace stood in the center. When he saw it, Roa felt as though he were looking at a grand European white palace.

Calling it magnificent would not be an exaggeration.

"That's the lord's residence," Ghislaine said blandly.

Roa sighed in admiration. "Rather than a residence, it looks more like a castle."

"That's because this is a fortress city," Ghislaine explained.

The group entered the residence. Ghislaine was easy to recognize, and the two guards standing by the entrance only needed to glance at her before letting all three of them inside.

Led by Ghislaine, they crossed the front entrance and headed straight toward the center.

Along the way, Roa saw many Cat-eared Beast Girl maids.

Most of the maids were pretty and delicate-looking, all around seventeen or eighteen and in the prime of their youth.

Rudeus's eyes lit up. He smiled and exclaimed, "This lord unexpectedly knows his stuff! Don't you think so, big brother?"

Roa looked at the Cat-eared Beast Girls without feeling anything at all. They simply did not appeal to him.

"Hmph. Nothing special." Roa kept a calm expression. Since they did not appeal to him, he saw through everything and already understood that beauty could be a dangerous weapon. No matter what, he would not approve of the lord's wanton attitude today.

Rudeus smiled and said quietly, "Oh, is that so? What if Master Roxy dressed like this?"

Roa fell into thought, his mind subconsciously imagining what Roxy would look like.

Roxy, with her petite figure, wearing a Maid Outfit, her slender calves outlined by White Stockings in a perfect curve, and cat ears on her head as she struck a cute pose...

Could he perhaps accept Roxy like that?

Damn, the damage was off the charts.

He took back what he had said.

Yes, it was still the same: he loved White Stockings. If Roxy wore a cat-eared Maid Outfit, Roa would not mind.

"This guy unexpectedly knows his stuff."

Roa sighed in admiration as he exchanged a glance with Rudeus.

Both of them wore faint smiles.

The residence was large, but the reception hall for the central meeting was not far away. After walking for a short while, they were nearly at their destination.

However, before they even entered the hall, a rough voice came from inside. "Where are they?"

Roa subconsciously frowned. He actually hated being shouted at, even when it was merely the other party's habitual manner of speaking.

Accompanied by the rough footsteps following the roar, a man around fifty years old—but still looking strong—walked out of the room. He was a broad-shouldered, hulking man standing roughly one meter ninety tall, with a few strands of white mixed into his dark-brown hair.