As time passed, Baron Raik's corpse began to stink. Left with no choice, Chris and Kewell followed Milder's advice: they cremated Baron Raik's body first, then carried his ashes toward the Free Alliance.
The journey that followed was no peaceful one either. From time to time, they encountered pursuit by the Fia Kingdom's army. Once they left Kenya's borders, they were beset by bandits and highway robbers again and again.
However, with Xiao Yun, a powerhouse comparable to a Grand Knight, among them, they arrived safely in the Free Alliance—Stowe City.
Stowe City's walls were immensely tall, as though some mighty god had descended to pile them together from blocks of ochre boulders. Taken as a whole, they resembled an ancient Magic Beast crouching upon the tranquil earth, watching the crowds coming and going.
"Stowe City is a fortress city of the Free Alliance, and it is exceptionally magnificent. I came here once with Baron Raik and bought a house here. We can stay there for the time being," Milder said.
Xiao Yun lowered his head to look at the dust covering him and his slightly tattered clothes, then nodded.
Xiya, Chris, and Kewell beside him all looked travel-worn as well.
They had had nowhere to bathe throughout the journey. In their current state, they were only slightly better off than beggars by the roadside.
"Lord Milder, why did you decide to buy a house in such a distant place back then?" Xiao Yun asked curiously as they entered Stowe City.
Did Baron Raik really have such foresight? Did he know to buy a house in advance so he would not be unable to afford one after prices soared?
The key was that lives were as cheap as grass in this other world, and the population was sparse. Housing prices