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Chapter 82: Arrival at a New City

The group had been traveling through this forest for 5 days and would soon leave it behind to reach Cannon, a border city of Barnite.

Reiner turned back and asked Junice, “What if your brother comes looking for you?”

“If he really shows up, I have no solution; I can’t hide from him forever, so I’ll try talking to him, and I might need a small favor from you then…”

“Help? What could I possibly do?” Reiner asked in confusion.

At the critical moment Junice kept him in suspense and said, “You’ll know when the time comes.”

Just then, an adorably whimpering sound came from behind her.

Elyanna was clinging tightly to Junice’s waist, and a trace of unease flickered across her face.

According to her, this was her first time leaving the forest.

Reiner could not resist teasing, “You might as well go home now so you won’t be bawling later.”

Elyanna jabbed Reiner’s butt with her staff, puffed out her cheeks, and said, “I… I’m not a child anymore, I won’t cry.”

The party kept moving, and the dense trees gradually thinned; every so often they met hunters prowling nearby who did not seem surprised by the arrival of outsiders.

Their view suddenly opened up, and they emerged completely from the forest.

What came into sight next was a low city wall built of rubble.

Snow blanketed both sides of the road leading into the city, and the surface itself was not even paved with gravel.

Most of the locals appeared to wear thick, rough furs, crude sandals woven from straw ropes, and numerous bone ornaments.

Though both were border cities of the kingdom, this place seemed even more backward than Melod.

In comparison it was practically a primitive tribe.

Junice apparently had not expected it to be so undeveloped; hugging her staff, she narrowed her eyes and asked, “Barnite is the 3rd-strongest kingdom on the continent, did we come to the wrong place?”

Reiner spread out the map, compared a few landmarks, and then relaxed with a smile. “We shouldn’t be mistaken; maybe the gap between rich and poor cities in this kingdom is huge… the wealthy areas are extremely rich while the poor are extremely poor.”

Junice scratched her cheek. “Let’s hope so…”

Elyanna, who sat behind her, was thrilled; she widened her eyes and exclaimed, “So this is the outside world? How fascinating!”

She struggled down from the horse, hugged her staff, and trotted to the head of the group, her eyes brimming with curiosity about everything new.

Reiner turned to Nora and Martina. “We may have to stay here for a while; do you two like it?”

Nora shrugged. “I like wherever Master is.”

Martina was about to speak, but Nora’s line choked her up; she ended up sputtering angrily, “Sneaky Nora, you hog all the affection.”

When the two locked eyes, Reiner could almost smell gunpowder in the air.

Just as they were about to bicker again, Reiner decisively maneuvered his horse between them. “Enough, stop fighting; we’ve traveled a long way, so let’s find a good place to rest.”

The two beast-eared girls answered in unison, “Okay.”

Yet their inner voices drifted over right afterward.

Martina: (It’s Nora’s turn today; she’s really lucky, taking all the good stuff.)

Nora: (I really hope we find lodging soon; I haven’t bathed in days, I need to get myself clean.)

Hearing their inner thoughts, Reiner’s lips curved slightly.

It seemed he had to secure a place to stay as soon as possible.

He lifted Elyanna with both hands and set her behind himself. “Come on, let’s head into the city.”

Reiner led the group into Cannon.

Because it was winter, the streets were nearly empty; after wandering for a while, Reiner roughly located what looked like a tavern.

Inside, many bearded patrons sat around tables eating stew, and a faint smell of alcohol hung in the air.

When the party entered the tavern, the patrons naturally let their eyes drift to the women behind Reiner.

Elyanna felt uncomfortable under their gazes; she pulled up her hood and followed closely behind Reiner with her head down.

“Reiner, what is this place? I hate it here,” she muttered softly.

“A tavern, a place to gather information. When you arrive in an unfamiliar town, the first thing you do is visit a tavern to ask about the area; tavern keepers are well-informed and well-connected. Right now I want to rent a spacious house to rest for a while; we may be staying in this city for some time.”

Elyanna nodded. “It… sounds interesting.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Reiner noticed that several unusual travelers had gathered in a corner of the tavern.

Seeing the middle-aged man at the counter and the densely packed notice board, Reiner more or less understood.

He turned back to Junice and said, “That looks like the local Adventurers’ Guild.”

After observing for a moment, Junice also nodded. “Indeed. Reiner, you go ahead and ask around; I’ll go take a look.”

Reiner struck up a conversation with the tavern keeper and learned about a two-story cottage on the edge of town that had 5 small bedrooms, exactly what they needed.

Two bedrooms would suffice for Reiner’s family of four, while Junice and Elyanna could each have one, leaving a small room near the backyard that could be converted into a bathroom.

Barnite gold coins seemed to have decent purchasing power; renting such a large house for a year cost only 1 gold coin.

“Could I rent it for half a year first?”

Reiner was not sure how long he would stay here.

“Sure, that would be half a gold coin.”

Reiner took out his purse, handed over a gold coin, and asked, “Will foreign currency do?”

The tavern keeper picked up the coin and inspected it. “A Dyast gold coin? The gold content is shockingly low; we don’t accept that. You can go to the guild next door and exchange it with that old bald guy; he’s a money changer.”

“Oh, I also have Barnite gold coins; just give me the change in silver.” Reiner handed over a coin stamped with an ancient tree.

“No need for that hassle.” The tavern keeper took the coin, chopped it cleanly in half with a small guillotine at hand, and handed the other half back to Reiner.

???

Wait, seriously, man.

“You’re from out of town, right? Don’t be surprised; around here we cut gold and silver coins at will… only copper ones stay whole.”

Reiner let out a long breath and decided to follow local customs.

The tavern keeper rummaged through a pile of odds and ends, then handed over a ring of slightly rusty iron keys. “I’ll have a runner take you there in a bit.”

Just then Junice walked over.

She was clutching a pouch of coins and seemed to be in a good mood…

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