Chapter 103 : Aspel Country ・ Royal Capital
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“Then, I’ll be going.”
“Yeah. If it’s Ren, I’m sure you will reach A-rank. Go hit them hard!”
“Yes!”
The day finally dawned for me to leave for the royal capital. Malik-san saw us off while I was riding on top of William who had arrived with Chris-san early in the morning before we finally departed.
“The royal capital is only one day away with a magical horse, right?”
“Yup, that’s right~ This time as well, we will travel in the morning, take a nap during the day then continue our journey at night…. We should be able to arrive tomorrow morning.”
Altair and Spica had returned to their original size and they were flying and running respectively together with us. It might be impossible with Altair but I had thought maybe I could ride on Spica’s back so I did try it for a little while. When Spica was just walking normally, everything was fine but the moment he started running, he was moving too precipitously so I couldn’t ride him. Because of that, it was decided I’d keep riding with William and the others when I needed to go somewhere else.
Actually I wanted to try practicing riding a horse all by myself but the three of them it was alright for things to stay this way so… Ah well, maybe I’ll get my chance later in the future… Under normal circumstances, I didn’t mind riding with them like this but just in case of an emergency, it’d be better if I could ride a horse myself.
“So beautiful…”
I muttered, soft enough so Chris-san couldn’t hear me. Viktor, William and Oscar were running in line in that particular order while Altair was soaring diagonally in front of us. Unlike his wings and the feathers on his body, his tail feathers were a mix of different colours. His tail feathers were swaying slowly, the movement was elegant and the morning’s sunlight was being reflected by his tail, laying scattered scintillating light on his multi-coloured tail feathers.
He’s actually a really beautiful kid if he keeps his mouth shut…
“And the other kid as well…”
Spica, who was running on my right side, had his silvery white fur basked in sunlight. The sunlight combined with his silvery white fur, made Spica look like he was glowing.
Yeah… Given how their appearance looks, they will still look conspicuous even if they stay small…
I need to make sure they stay inside the ring after we’ve reached the royal capital.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“We’re almost there… Look, over those hills are… This country…. Aspel’s royal capital.”
Fer-san pointed at the hill in front of us.
Our journey toward the royal capital was going smoothly. After we cleaned up our camp, we were finally about to reach the royal capital at 10.00!
“Whoa…. Oh! Which reminds me! Altair! Spica! Can you guys get in the ring?”
『Can’t be helped. We have an agreement after all… 』
『I got it.』
“Fufu~ The two of you are such good children.”
I had told them the reason why they needed to stay in the ring last night. That was why they agreed to come into the ring without making a fuss. Which reminded me, when they returned to the ring, they didn’t instantly disappear but instead they would turn into a smoke and slowly floated into the ring, as if they got sucked right into it.
Actually they could still come and go as they pleased but I could force them to come out and prevent them from leaving the ring. Jude-san had taught me how to do it the other day but my children were such good kids so I doubt I needed to force them.
“I can see it now… As I thought, the royal capital is so much bigger than Pedrell.”
We were climbing the hill and as soon as we reached the peak, I could finally see the royal capital but still, I couldn’t see the edge of the city at all.
“Why of course. They said the royal capital is the most prosperous city in this world, you know? The royal capital is about five times the size of Pedrel.”
Sig-san, who was riding on Oscar, said with a hearty laugh. He was riding alongside Viktor.
“I see… It’s very huge, huh…”
To think the royal capital was that big…! And here I thought Pedrel was already big enough. If I remember correctly, Pedrel had the shape of a circle with a diameter of about 20km. So that meant the royal capital was about 100km in diameter?! Well of course the city wouldn’t be shaped spherically like Pedrel but it was still quite enormous indeed.
“Look~ Can you see a glimpse of the castle?~ That’s Fer’s home, the castle where the royalty of this country live at~”
Chris-san, who was riding William, came from the opposite side of Sig-san and pointed his finger toward a building that looked like the so-called European medieval castle. Although from where I was standing from, I could only see a vague pea-sized building. Compared to the building around it, that castle looked pretty big, wasn’t it?
“Huh? That’s the castle? It looks pretty big now that I look at it myself,isn’t it..? I wonder if it’s really alright for me to marry and live together with Fer-san…”
“It’s alright. While it is true that I used to live there, I’ve become an adventurer ever since I came of age. I’ve been living here and there since then so I’m more than capable of living a normal life, okay?”
I was a little worried thinking about living with Fer-san in the future since he used to live at that kind of place but yeah. Just like what Fer-san had said, he had been living as an adventurer ever since so there must be times where he had to sleep while being covered in dirt or sleep together in a huddle. Not to mention, he had been living in a rental house while we stayed in Pedrell too so he must’ve known how to pick after himself at least. Well… I guess everything would be alright?
“Okay now, let’s pick up the pace?”
“Yes. Viktor, keep up the good work for a little bit more, okay?”
Sig-san kicked Oscar on the flank, picking up the pace as we began to descend down the hill. We were closing down on the city wall soo. It didn’t take a long time for us to reach the city wall from on top of the hill.
“Wow… This… I wonder how tall the wall is…”
“Depending on the location, the wall can go from between 10 meters to 15 meters tall. It was built 500 years ago and the parts brittling from age are being repaired as needed.”
“That tall…”
I craned my neck to the limit but I still couldn’t see the top of the wall. You really couldn’t expect any less from this for a royal capital. There were about 10 people lining up for a check up at the gate nearest to us. We got down from our magical horse and joined the queue. They seemed to be checking people’s IDs. Pedrell didn’t have this kind of verification check so it felt kind off refreshing to see this kind of stuff.
Back on Earth, they needed to check the inside of your bag to make sure you didn’t bring any dangerous goods into their country but in this world, we had a magic bag so… Wouldn’t it be difficult to do that here?
“Take out your ID!”
“Okay, okay~ Guild Card 【Come】. This should be good enough, right?~”
Finally our turn came. The gatekeeper, donned in formal armor despite the heat, rudely demanded us to show our ID. Well…. He must be getting frustrated because of the heat. The guild card seemed to work as identification so we all handed our individual guild card to him.
“Wha-?! Red card? So you guys are A-rank…. Huh… Ferdinand-sama?! I deeply apologize for my discourteous behaviour!!”
When we handed our cards, he looked surprised to see the colour of fiancé’s card that represented an A-rank adventurer and once he realized Fer-san was here, he became flustered and quickly kneeled down to apologize for his arrogant behaviour.
“Haaah…. No need to make a big deal out of it. Can we get our card back already?”
Fer-san told the guard to stop making a racket while waving his hand lightly. Fer-san wasn’t speaking formally for a chance. His expression looked crisp and serious too. He was giving off the aura of someone with a higher status, something that befitting his royal blood.
“Yes!”
“Now then, good luck with your round… Let’s go, Ren-kun.”
“Yes.”
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“The road is pretty big, huh.”
“Yes. This is the main street. The road might seem like a straight line but there are some turns from that point on. If you keep walking forward by following this road, you will reach the royal castle. I think it takes about 15km from here to the royal castle…”
“That’s… Quite a distance, huh…”
As we passed through the gate, I saw one large road stretching straight ahead. The road was big enough for three horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side. Fer-san told me this was the main street. No wonder this road was so big.
There were various food stalls lining up on each side of the road. The drifting aroma was so good that I felt tempted to buy some but it was still too early for lunch so I held myself back. We planned on staying here for a while so I would have plenty of opportunities to try those stalls as much as I wanted.
“Hey, how far is it to Fer’s mansion?”
Sig-san asked as he pulled Oscar’s rein and began to walk on foot. During our stay in the royal capital, we were invited to use the mansion Fer-san used to use whenever he stopped by the royal capital. The residence was equipped with a stable so William and the others could stay with us. We didn’t need to leave them at the rental stable.
Though… The thing that bothered me the most was they chose the word ‘mansion’ instead of a ‘house’…
“It would take 30 minutes for us to walk there but… I don’t really feel like walking from here to there much…”
“Then how about if we ride William and the others there?~”
Chris-san turned to me and asked.
We had been walking on foot ever since we got down from the horses after we bypassed the gate. Part of me wanted to enjoy the vibe of this town and just walked down slowly but it was really hot! I wanted to get indoors soon and cool down first then take a stroll in the evening when the weather wasn’t as hot…
“Well… It is hot so I would prefer if I could reach Fer-san’s mansion soon…”
“Then this time you’re coming with me and Oscar.”
“Huh? Whoa!”
When I honestly told them I wanted to rush, Sig-san immediately held me up and put me down on top of Oscar. Sig-san then climbed up and sat behind me. Everything was happening so suddenly that my heart was beating erratically.
“If you do it all of a sudden like that, Ren-chan is going to get surprised, you know?”~
“Haha. Sorry, sorry. Now, Fer, I’ll be counting on you to guide us.”
“You’re really… This way…”
Chris-san scolded Sig-san but Sig-san only shrugged it off with a laugh. Doing that kind of thing was really bad for my heart so I wished he wouldn’t do it unless there was an emergency though.
“Is this Fer-san’s mansion….”
“Yes. It’s an old house but we take good care of it so please, do come in.”
Fer-san then guided us toward a stylish big mansion.
Chapter 103 : Aspel Country ・ Royal Capital
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“Then, I’ll be going.”
“Yeah. If it’s Ren, I’m sure you will reach A-rank. Go hit them hard!”
“Yes!”
The day finally dawned for me to leave for the royal capital. Malik-san saw us off while I was riding on top of William who had arrived with Chris-san early in the morning before we finally departed.
“The royal capital is only one day away with a magical horse, right?”
“Yup, that’s right~ This time as well, we will travel in the morning, take a nap during the day then continue our journey at night…. We should be able to arrive tomorrow morning.”
Altair and Spica had returned to their original size and they were flying and running respectively together with us. It might be impossible with Altair but I had thought maybe I could ride on Spica’s back so I did try it for a little while. When Spica was just walking normally, everything was fine but the moment he started running, he was moving too precipitously so I couldn’t ride him. Because of that, it was decided I’d keep riding with William and the others when I needed to go somewhere else.
Actually I wanted to try practicing riding a horse all by myself but the three of them it was alright for things to stay this way so… Ah well, maybe I’ll get my chance later in the future… Under normal circumstances, I didn’t mind riding with them like this but just in case of an emergency, it’d be better if I could ride a horse myself.
“So beautiful…”
I muttered, soft enough so Chris-san couldn’t hear me. Viktor, William and Oscar were running in line in that particular order while Altair was soaring diagonally in front of us. Unlike his wings and the feathers on his body, his tail feathers were a mix of different colours. His tail feathers were swaying slowly, the movement was elegant and the morning’s sunlight was being reflected by his tail, laying scattered scintillating light on his multi-coloured tail feathers.
He’s actually a really beautiful kid if he keeps his mouth shut…
“And the other kid as well…”
Spica, who was running on my right side, had his silvery white fur basked in sunlight. The sunlight combined with his silvery white fur, made Spica look like he was glowing.
Yeah… Given how their appearance looks, they will still look conspicuous even if they stay small…
I need to make sure they stay inside the ring after we’ve reached the royal capital.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“We’re almost there… Look, over those hills are… This country…. Aspel’s royal capital.”
Fer-san pointed at the hill in front of us.
Our journey toward the royal capital was going smoothly. After we cleaned up our camp, we were finally about to reach the royal capital at 10.00!
“Whoa…. Oh! Which reminds me! Altair! Spica! Can you guys get in the ring?”
『Can’t be helped. We have an agreement after all… 』
『I got it.』
“Fufu~ The two of you are such good children.”
I had told them the reason why they needed to stay in the ring last night. That was why they agreed to come into the ring without making a fuss. Which reminded me, when they returned to the ring, they didn’t instantly disappear but instead they would turn into a smoke and slowly floated into the ring, as if they got sucked right into it.
Actually they could still come and go as they pleased but I could force them to come out and prevent them from leaving the ring. Jude-san had taught me how to do it the other day but my children were such good kids so I doubt I needed to force them.
“I can see it now… As I thought, the royal capital is so much bigger than Pedrell.”
We were climbing the hill and as soon as we reached the peak, I could finally see the royal capital but still, I couldn’t see the edge of the city at all.
“Why of course. They said the royal capital is the most prosperous city in this world, you know? The royal capital is about five times the size of Pedrel.”
Sig-san, who was riding on Oscar, said with a hearty laugh. He was riding alongside Viktor.
“I see… It’s very huge, huh…”
To think the royal capital was that big…! And here I thought Pedrel was already big enough. If I remember correctly, Pedrel had the shape of a circle with a diameter of about 20km. So that meant the royal capital was about 100km in diameter?! Well of course the city wouldn’t be shaped spherically like Pedrel but it was still quite enormous indeed.
“Look~ Can you see a glimpse of the castle?~ That’s Fer’s home, the castle where the royalty of this country live at~”
Chris-san, who was riding William, came from the opposite side of Sig-san and pointed his finger toward a building that looked like the so-called European medieval castle. Although from where I was standing from, I could only see a vague pea-sized building. Compared to the building around it, that castle looked pretty big, wasn’t it?
“Huh? That’s the castle? It looks pretty big now that I look at it myself,isn’t it..? I wonder if it’s really alright for me to marry and live together with Fer-san…”
“It’s alright. While it is true that I used to live there, I’ve become an adventurer ever since I came of age. I’ve been living here and there since then so I’m more than capable of living a normal life, okay?”
I was a little worried thinking about living with Fer-san in the future since he used to live at that kind of place but yeah. Just like what Fer-san had said, he had been living as an adventurer ever since so there must be times where he had to sleep while being covered in dirt or sleep together in a huddle. Not to mention, he had been living in a rental house while we stayed in Pedrell too so he must’ve known how to pick after himself at least. Well… I guess everything would be alright?
“Okay now, let’s pick up the pace?”
“Yes. Viktor, keep up the good work for a little bit more, okay?”
Sig-san kicked Oscar on the flank, picking up the pace as we began to descend down the hill. We were closing down on the city wall soo. It didn’t take a long time for us to reach the city wall from on top of the hill.
“Wow… This… I wonder how tall the wall is…”
“Depending on the location, the wall can go from between 10 meters to 15 meters tall. It was built 500 years ago and the parts brittling from age are being repaired as needed.”
“That tall…”
I craned my neck to the limit but I still couldn’t see the top of the wall. You really couldn’t expect any less from this for a royal capital. There were about 10 people lining up for a check up at the gate nearest to us. We got down from our magical horse and joined the queue. They seemed to be checking people’s IDs. Pedrell didn’t have this kind of verification check so it felt kind off refreshing to see this kind of stuff.
Back on Earth, they needed to check the inside of your bag to make sure you didn’t bring any dangerous goods into their country but in this world, we had a magic bag so… Wouldn’t it be difficult to do that here?
“Take out your ID!”
“Okay, okay~ Guild Card 【Come】. This should be good enough, right?~”
Finally our turn came. The gatekeeper, donned in formal armor despite the heat, rudely demanded us to show our ID. Well…. He must be getting frustrated because of the heat. The guild card seemed to work as identification so we all handed our individual guild card to him.
“Wha-?! Red card? So you guys are A-rank…. Huh… Ferdinand-sama?! I deeply apologize for my discourteous behaviour!!”
When we handed our cards, he looked surprised to see the colour of fiancé’s card that represented an A-rank adventurer and once he realized Fer-san was here, he became flustered and quickly kneeled down to apologize for his arrogant behaviour.
“Haaah…. No need to make a big deal out of it. Can we get our card back already?”
Fer-san told the guard to stop making a racket while waving his hand lightly. Fer-san wasn’t speaking formally for a chance. His expression looked crisp and serious too. He was giving off the aura of someone with a higher status, something that befitting his royal blood.
“Yes!”
“Now then, good luck with your round… Let’s go, Ren-kun.”
“Yes.”
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“The road is pretty big, huh.”
“Yes. This is the main street. The road might seem like a straight line but there are some turns from that point on. If you keep walking forward by following this road, you will reach the royal castle. I think it takes about 15km from here to the royal castle…”
“That’s… Quite a distance, huh…”
As we passed through the gate, I saw one large road stretching straight ahead. The road was big enough for three horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side. Fer-san told me this was the main street. No wonder this road was so big.
There were various food stalls lining up on each side of the road. The drifting aroma was so good that I felt tempted to buy some but it was still too early for lunch so I held myself back. We planned on staying here for a while so I would have plenty of opportunities to try those stalls as much as I wanted.
“Hey, how far is it to Fer’s mansion?”
Sig-san asked as he pulled Oscar’s rein and began to walk on foot. During our stay in the royal capital, we were invited to use the mansion Fer-san used to use whenever he stopped by the royal capital. The residence was equipped with a stable so William and the others could stay with us. We didn’t need to leave them at the rental stable.
Though… The thing that bothered me the most was they chose the word ‘mansion’ instead of a ‘house’…
“It would take 30 minutes for us to walk there but… I don’t really feel like walking from here to there much…”
“Then how about if we ride William and the others there?~”
Chris-san turned to me and asked.
We had been walking on foot ever since we got down from the horses after we bypassed the gate. Part of me wanted to enjoy the vibe of this town and just walked down slowly but it was really hot! I wanted to get indoors soon and cool down first then take a stroll in the evening when the weather wasn’t as hot…
“Well… It is hot so I would prefer if I could reach Fer-san’s mansion soon…”
“Then this time you’re coming with me and Oscar.”
“Huh? Whoa!”
When I honestly told them I wanted to rush, Sig-san immediately held me up and put me down on top of Oscar. Sig-san then climbed up and sat behind me. Everything was happening so suddenly that my heart was beating erratically.
“If you do it all of a sudden like that, Ren-chan is going to get surprised, you know?”~
“Haha. Sorry, sorry. Now, Fer, I’ll be counting on you to guide us.”
“You’re really… This way…”
Chris-san scolded Sig-san but Sig-san only shrugged it off with a laugh. Doing that kind of thing was really bad for my heart so I wished he wouldn’t do it unless there was an emergency though.
“Is this Fer-san’s mansion….”
“Yes. It’s an old house but we take good care of it so please, do come in.”
Fer-san then guided us toward a stylish big mansion.
