CLIP-CLOP CLIP-CLOP~
"The wind today... is so very restless..."
Levi lay atop a cargo-laden cart on a bed of soft straw. A handkerchief was draped over his eyes to block the harsh sun, and the gentle breeze on his face prompted a wistful sigh.
Although it was currently July in Debei, and most regions were sweltering, the Northern Territory was clearly an exception, remaining quite cool.
Liya, who was sleeping beside him, stirred at the sound of his voice, then went right back to sleep.
After a while, as if finding the journey unbearably dull and monotonous, Levi scrambled up into a sitting position.
He stretched, yawned, and then rubbed his eyes.
"Haaah... Hey... you there. Where are we? How much further to, uh, what's-it-called, Bailiu City?"
The coachman, drawing on his vast road experience, gave a precise answer: "Lord, we are still about an hour from Bailiu City."
'Are we finally there?'
Levi's spirits lifted. He stood up on the cart and strained his eyes to peer into the distance.
At the edge of the hazy gray horizon, a thin, dark line cut between the sky and the earth, forming a distinct border. As the cart drew closer, it grew more defined—it was the distant city wall.
After fleeing Kolon, to make the journey easier, Levi had sought out a merchant caravan heading to the Northern Territory and hitched a ride.
After all, if they had ridden horses for half a month, forget him—Liya's butt would have probably been bounced in two.
The caravan was more comfortable, but it was also unavoidably slower.
It had taken them twenty-some days to finally catch sight of Bailiu City in the distance.
'But it's finally ending.' He felt like his bones had been shaken loose during the trip.
"Faster!"
The caravan, having traveled through the wilderness for a week, also yearned for the bustle of the city. The sound of horse hooves suddenly intensified into a continuous "CLIP-CLOP CLIP-CLOP."
The sudden, violent shaking of the cart jolted Liya awake. Rubbing her eyes, she asked groggily.
"Le... Levi, are we there yet?"
The Liya of today was a far cry from the one half a month ago. The cat's-eye-sized Sapphire on her neck and the pearls on her ears were gone.
She wore a simple, short-sleeved linen dress with a square white cloth tied around her waist. Her beautiful golden hair was somewhat disheveled, and her face and arms were covered in dust.
Her attire made her look just like any common girl you could find anywhere in Debei.
But even deliberately smudged with dirt, her delicate features couldn't be hidden.
"Yes, Miss Liya."
Levi offered a warm smile.
"In a little while, you will be able to see your aunt, Duke Fulina."
"Even if the current Duke of the South wishes you ill, he cannot reach across half of Debei to influence a powerful Duke of the Northern Territory. You won't have to live in fear anymore."
Hearing Levi speak so differently from his usual self, Liya felt a little uncomfortable.
For the entire trip, Levi had called her by her first name without any respect. And while he had taken care of her along the way, Liya felt he had only done it for the One Thousand Gold Coins.
Thinking of this, Liya said solemnly:
"Levi, thank you for escorting me all this way. I won't treat you unfairly."
"It was my duty," Levi said, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile.
'After working so hard for so long, it's finally time to reap the rewards.' The thought made him a little excited.
An hour later, the full view of Bailiu City unfolded before Levi's eyes.
This was a magnificent city, famous throughout Debei. Its original designers had gone to great lengths to divert an upstream river, transforming it into a natural moat.
Compared to the cities of the Southern Territory, those in the North were much plainer. The city walls had few extra decorations, only rows of flags embroidered with an "eagle holding a sword in its beak"—the symbol of the Martel Family, the Lord of the North.
The walls, built from Giant Stone, stood eighteen meters high, making the city worthy of its "magnificent" title.
The pockmarks and crisscrossing scars from blades and swords on its surface were proof that it had weathered many storms, yet it still stood here, safe and sound.
A long line of people queued at the city gate to enter, including local commoners and merchant caravans hauling goods.
Even the Alien Races, rarely seen in the Southern Territory, were a common sight here.
Beastmen, Dwarfs, Gnomes...
It was a clear sign of just how prosperous this commercial hub of the Northern Territory was.
Whoa, Levi even spotted an Elf—though it was only a Half-Elf, unfortunately.
As a frequent reader of Debei's hit novel, *Ah Bin Kingdom Travelogue*, Levi's knowledge of Elves was second only to that of scholars.
Generally, Half-Elves have slightly pointed ears and more human-like features. As long as their human parent wasn't too ugly, they were usually quite beautiful.
Full-blooded Elves, on the other hand, have long, pointed ears. Every one of them is stunningly handsome or beautiful; when it comes to looks, they are truly the darlings of the gods.
Among humans, only someone like Levi could claim to be more handsome.
At the city gate, eight Long Halberd Soldiers in Silver Armor stood guard by a half-man-high wooden chest, collecting the various City Entrance Taxes from each person.
When it was Levi's turn.
"I am a noble!"
He smugly whipped out his Noble Badge and flashed it, drawing a wave of envious and fearful gazes. With that, the caravan's City Entrance Tax was waived.
The tax soldiers respectfully made way. The wheels creaked as the cart rolled into the gate tunnel and soon emerged on the other side.
The caravan manager approached Levi, his face wreathed in smiles and holding a cask of fine malt beer, and said:
"Lord, thank you so much for your help on the road."
He had picked up these three bizarre travelers—a group that seemed completely random—back in the Southern Territory. The man had introduced himself as a noble and offered to help the caravan deal with any trouble on the road.
At first, the manager hadn't believed him. What kind of noble would do something like that?
But it turned out he was telling the truth. The noble's Beastman underling had taken care of all the bandits and robbers they'd encountered.
Just from the road tolls alone, he had saved at least ten-odd Gold Coins.
"Hmph. Trying to test me with this? Who do you take me for?"
Levi glanced at the cask in his hands but didn't take it.
He had traveled far and wide, worked as a mercenary, and guarded caravans.
If a caravan couldn't pay a proper fee, he wasn't above moonlighting as a bandit.
'And he thought a single cask of malt beer would be enough to pay me off? Even the prostitutes in Kolon cost more than this!'
At first, the caravan manager was confused by Levi's words. But once he understood, his confusion turned into deep admiration.
'I knew it,' he thought. 'Nothing is ever that easy.'
Although he was cursing Levi inwardly, he kept the fawning smile on his face and even slapped his own head.
"Look at my memory! I can't believe I grabbed the wrong thing for you, Lord."
He pulled a cloth pouch from his waist and handed it to Levi. "Please, take this."
Seeing Levi take it, the manager breathed a sigh of relief. He was just about to take back the malt beer when the cask was viciously snatched from his hands.
"This booze is mine too!"
Hearing that brazenly self-righteous voice, the caravan manager could only watch, dumbfounded, as the three figures disappeared into the crowd.