Chapter 409: The Most Dangerous but also the Safest
Chapter 409: The Most Dangerous but also the Safest
Under the moonlight and the sky full of sparkling stars, a certain adventurer girl had just arrived at Aeddoterra Kindom's capital city, Holy Central Region.
The red-eyed and black-haired girl was brave enough to escape into dangerous territory for a devil to visit. But, it was also the safest place to avoid her father's pursuit.
"Phew, it's the fourth day and I've finally arrived at the heart of the Human Continent. Aeddoterra City, huh... I'm sure my father wouldn't have thought that I would run away to the city where the Holy Grandfather and the Emperor Knight reside, hehe." Sylvia heaved a sigh of relief despite gasping for air, then wiped her sweat with a handkerchief.
This was the fourth night since her departure from her father's palace on the Devil Continent. Although it might sound like a brief moment, it already felt like a month lost in a foreign continent.
This devil princess had been lost in the forests and lost her way several times before she reached Aeddoterra City.
Fortunately, she met both good and stupid adventurers several times. She used those humans to escort her to nearby cities with the final destination in the Holy Central Region's capital city.
And right now, she was riding in the horse-drawn carriage of one of the adventurers in question.
"Comrade Aivlys, we are almost at Aeddoterra City." The coachman looked back and told the girl in the carriage.
"Oh! You're right, Comrade Steven. Hm, it's almost ten o'clock. We'd better get into the city quickly or we'll be suspected of being rogue adventurers. I don't know if Aeddoterra City has a curfew or not." Sylvia brought her face closer to the small window near the coachman.
Steven stared at the adventurer beauty's eyes. His eyes were drawn to it just like that.
However, he didn't dare to look at it for too long. He immediately looked back ahead because he was afraid that his faith would waver and pounce on this beautiful girl.
For some reason, he felt that this red-eyed girl had a special aura that seemed to bewitch him just because of her beauty.
"Eh, err, erm... What are you going to do next, Comrade Aivlys?" Steven opened up a short conversation, remembering he and this adventurer beauty would part ways after entering the city.
"Huh? What do you mean by next? Of course, to find an inn to spend the night, right?" Sylvia blinked a few times in confusion. This was the umpteenth time she had seen a male human blush so quickly just by seeing her face.
"Ah, uh, yeah. You're right." Steven stuttered a little, but his mind went wild. He thought they would be staying at the same inn, or perhaps, in the same room!?
'Hmm...' Sylvia shrugged her shoulders and sat back down. She took out a mirror and examined her face.
'I'm still me, but the only difference is the color of my hair. Did the charm of a devil princess without a disguise have such an obvious effect on humans? I have to be careful that I don't get accused of being a succubus.' Sylvia put back her mirror and took out her Swype.
The communication device was utterly turned off because she didn't dare to use it. She was worried her father could track her down with it.
So far, she had been careful even though she got some strange looks from the humans. Maybe because of her red eyes?
'It's all father's fault! He will know where I am if I use magic energy. Hopefully, I won't be chased by the holy church for having red eyes.' Sylvia clenched her fists in annoyance.
She was lucky enough to not encounter any danger so far. Or maybe, she was protected by her first friend, but she just didn't know that?
'I know there was an uproar that occurred near this city more than a week ago. Ais has cut off contact with me since that night, I hope she doesn't get affected by that incident.' Sylvia sighed and looked at the large crater in the distance.
She knew it from other adventurers and rumors. That crater was caused by her first friend's magic to eradicate the evil monsters.
'Evil and cursed monsters, this world is getting crazier. The Goddess of Light, Elysia, my first kind-hearted friend, I hope we can meet soon. Ais too, I hope you are well and we can meet in this city.' Sylvia folded her hands in her lap. She tightly gripped her Swype, then put it back in her Space Bag.
A few moments later, the carriage stopped at the city's south entrance. Several guards and knights approached to carry out their duty.
"Halt!" One of the guards shouted.
"Haha, chill out, my friend. I'm Steven, the adventurer and merchant from Sholmore Town. Sorry if we came a little late. This is for the procedure." Steven casually showed the guards some documents, including his adventurer card and his merchant certificate.
After that, he handed over some silver coins, and the guard accepted them. "Oh, this is the city entrance fee. I came with my adventurer comrade."
"Alright, looks like you know the rules. Even if everything is ok, we still need to check what you brought inside the carriage, including the identity of your adventurer comrade." The guard nodded in understanding. This adventurer understood the procedure even though he hadn't said anything yet.
"Oh, of course. Let's check it out, I'll come with you." Steven got off the coachman's seat and went with the three guards to the carriage door.
Sylvia immediately put on the sleeping blindfold as if she was resting, then she leaned back in her seat.
When the door opened, Steven showed the items in the carriage. It consisted of dozens of Space Bags containing various items to be sold later.
"Okay, everything is ok. But, miss, can you wake up from your sleep and show us your proof of identity?" The guard returned the last Space Bag to Steven and asked with some courtesy to the sleeping adventurer.
"Oh, I almost fell asleep. This is my adventurer card." Sylvia showed her ID like she was half asleep.
"Miss Aivlys, hm... Alright, sorry for the inconvenience. Now, you may proceed to enter the city. It's almost curfew, you'd better head to the inn right away. You know what happened last week, right?" The guard nodded after that and pointed his palm at the city entrance.
"Hoho, well then, we shall go. Please continue your night duty, my friends. Ya-hoo!" Steven closed the carriage door and climbed into the coachman's seat. He waved his hand at the guards before he spurred his two horses into the city.
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
The sound of horses' footsteps accompanied the quiet night. Even though it was a capital city, it really looked like an abandoned city. If it weren't for the guards, knights, and lights that were lit, then that assumption might well be correct.
"Comrade Aivlys, are you still there or are you asleep?" Steven was hesitant to check into the girl who might be asleep.
"Hmm, I'm still here. What's the matter, Comrade Steven? Did something happen? Have we entered the city yet?" Sylvia answered while peeking out from her sleeping blindfold.
"There are no problems and we have entered the city, but, which inn would you like to go to?" Steven scratched his head awkwardly.
"All right, then, could we stop for a moment?" Sylvia peeked out of the carriage window and felt that her first steps in this most dangerous city for her had been smooth.
"Sure." Steven didn't mind at all. He pulled the rope to order the horses to stop.
*Swoosh!*
Sylvia rushed like a gust of wind and sat right next to Steven in the coachman's seat.
"I've troubled you a lot to drive me to Aeddoterra City from the previous town. However, I won't bother you any more than this. Take this. Please take this as my thanks." Sylvia handed over a pouch containing several tens of silver coins.
She did use every human she could use to take her to her destination city, but that didn't mean she would just walk away and left only a thank you behind. A travel fare should be paid for their service to her.
"Ah, you don't bother me at all. It's just a coincidence since I'm also going to this town. Rather than going alone, it's better if I'm accompanied by a strong adventurer like you." Steven rejected the pouch by pushing it back to the girl in front of him.
"I insist." Sylvia pushed the pouch as well. She didn't want to be followed or monitored by a third party, so she needed to leave immediately for her own safety.
Pushing the pouch between each other continued until Steven finally accepted it with a bit of a complicated feeling.
"Well then, that's all from me. See you next time." Sylvia waved her hand and hurried off. She didn't know where to go, but she knew the inn had a signboard in front of their building.
"Wha, wait, we can go together. Ah, she's gone." Steven stretched out his hand, but the adventurer beauty had already disappeared from his sight.
He was silent for a few minutes, then he just shook his head and ordered his horses to continue their journey toward an inn.
"Sya-la-lala, hum-hum~" Sylvia walked with a slight jump toward the downtown area. All exciting and incredible things must be present in the city's center.
At that moment, she accidentally saw a beautiful girl with black hair and purplish-blue eyes on a billboard of a magnificent shop.
"Huh?" Sylvia stopped in her tracks on the relatively quiet street.