Chapter 83 : The Semicircular City
As soon as we’re clear of the woods, a massive city appears in the distance, hugged by a great defensive wall.
“Selina, you went the wrong way!”
We were supposed to be heading south.
“Just get in. We’re going to Alina City.”
I knew it. She has no idea how to drive a carriage. Is it because she grew up as a noble?
Well, I don’t feel like walking all the way there, so I climb onto the two-person driver’s seat.
A cobblestone road stretches all the way to the city gates.
With the carriage magically lightened, Noah pulls us along at a brisk trot.
“Does this road go all the way to the Royal Capital?”
“It does,” she says. “But Zoe, you are not to go to the capital. You’re still a child.”
Selina is so infuriating. Whenever it’s inconvenient for her, she pulls the “you’re just a child” card.
“Someone would snatch you up and sell you off in a heartbeat,” she adds.
“Hmph. I’d be fine! I’d just teleport away.”
Selina heaves a sigh. “And what would you do if they sealed your magic? The capital is full of powerful mages.”
Yikes. Are there really people who would do that?
“Humans,” she says, her voice low, “are far scarier than any monster.”
“Okay, that’s a little scary. But don’t you go to the capital all the time?”
She just scoffs at me. So irritating.
We keep bickering as we get closer to Alina City.
“Huh,” I say, finally getting a good look at the wall. “That’s an unusual shape, isn’t it?”
The defensive walls I’ve seen before have been pretty standard. Carlton’s was made of wood, and Raymond City’s was stone. Lang Village’s fence doesn’t even count.
But they were all basically squares.
“Ah. That’s because Alina City was built to enclose the harbor. It’s a semicircle.”
“A harbor? That means there’s an ocean!”
I grew up in the Great Forest, so I’ve never seen the ocean in my life.
“Zoe, please don’t shout. My ears are ringing. Besides, there are other people around. You need to behave.”
She’s right. The road is getting crowded, filled with people on foot, in carriages, and on horseback.
It looks like we’re heading for the north gate.
As we get closer, I notice how chaotic it is. A foul smell drifts toward us on the wind, and the line to get in is even longer than the one at Raymond City.
I hop down from the carriage and take Noah’s reins, just to make sure he doesn’t get spooked by the other horses.
Looking up, I realize Alina City’s wall is much taller and more intimidating than Raymond’s. There are even soldiers patrolling the top.
“Do they think someone’s going to attack?” I murmur.
I don’t sense any major monsters nearby. Just the usual mole and rat types you find anywhere, but nothing serious.
“Alina City is a major trading hub,” Selina says. “There are many wealthy people here.”
So, there are bandits going about? Seriously? I want no part of that.
I remember seeing quests to hunt bandits posted at the Adventurers’ Guild back in Raymond. They were for three-star Copper Ranks or higher.
I just thought, Nope, not for me, and didn’t even bother reading the details.
“The security here is terrible,” I mutter.
Even Selina manages a wry smile. “You’ll find scoundrels everywhere. The Royal Capital has entire slum districts. That’s why I keep telling you not to go.”
Speaking of slums, there seem to be shantytowns clustered all around the outside of Alina City. The smell is super bad.
“Why are people living out here?” I ask. “There might not be monsters, but there are bandits, right? It’s so reckless.”
Back home, no one in their right mind would be outside a town’s gates after dark, unless it was a festival or you were an adventurer.
I guess you could get away with it here since there aren’t any major monsters, but with no sewers or anything, the stench is nuts. It has to be unsanitary.
“You might not know this, Zoe, but it costs money to live in a city. It’s not just for a place to stay. You have to pay taxes, too.”
I’m pretty sure Selina has never paid a tax in her life. But I guess it doesn’t matter, since the Great Forest doesn’t belong to any kingdom.
“And,” she adds, “you need money just to get inside the city.”
“What? My Guild Pass won’t work?” I have enough to pay an entry fee, but I hate spending money if I don’t have to.
“If you have a Guild Pass, you probably won’t have to pay,” she says with a little laugh, probably at the look on my face. “It cost money to become an adventurer, didn’t it? For people who aren’t, they have to pay an entrance fee just so they can get to the Adventurers’ Guild to pay them.”
Now I’m even more confused.
“Does it really cost that much to enter a city?”
At Carlton, it was only five pennies. I got into Raymond City for free with my pass, but I think the people around me were only paying about five pennies, too.
“Well, this isn’t some little country town,” she says. “Besides, Alina City is full of the rich. I imagine the subjects of Count Alina do get a discount.”
It seems even she doesn’t know for sure.
The line inches forward.
I show my Guild Pass, and Selina pays one silver crown. That’s so expensive!
A farmer in the next line over, his wagon piled high with cabbages, must be a local, because he only pays five pennies. Merchants show their Guild passes and also pay five pennies.
“Looks like merchants in the Guild get a discount, too,” I observe.
Selina, clearly annoyed about her one crown, grumbles, “Maybe I should join the Merchants’ Guild.”
My first time seeing a huge city, and my excitement is already getting spoiled by the smell of the shantytowns.
Still, I gotta find a merchant who will buy my lumber.
I shake it off and lead Noah through the thick gate.