Born Without Magic… So What?

After they passed many underground checkpoints, they finally reached the outside of the town.

The underground tunnel ended inside a hidden cave.

After coming out of the cave, they entered the forest area through a secret path.

There were many horse carriages waiting there.

Arya quietly got into the middle horse carriage.

The journey was very long.

It would take them more than two days to reach their destination from there.

But Arya still chose to go with them.

Arya knew that if he followed them, he might discover something important.

After nearly two hours of traveling, they would reach the border area of this kingdom.

There they would take a short rest.

After that, they would continue their journey without stopping.

There were still a few hours left before reaching the kingdom’s border.

Arya thought that once he reached there, he would secretly return to Miyuki and inform her about everything before continuing his next plan.

As they continued moving forward...

Arya noticed something strange.

This forest was filled with monsters.

But until now...

Not a single monster had attacked them.

They were already traveling through the middle of the forest.

This was known as the most dangerous route.

Many people had tried to cross this forest before.

But none of them had ever returned.

Some even disappeared without leaving behind a single trace.

Yet...

It had already been nearly one hour since they entered the forest.

Still...

Not a single monster had attacked them.

Arya hadn’t even seen a single monster until now.

That strange silence made him even more alert.

Something about this forest didn’t feel normal.

Arya was sitting beside one of the horse carriage drivers.

That person didn’t doubt him because Arya had taken the form of one of their members whom he had killed before.

That was why no one suspected him.

After staying silent for a while, Arya asked,

"Why are there no monsters in this forest?"

"I heard that many dangerous monsters live deep inside this forest."

"Some of them are even A-Rank or higher."

The man looked at Arya for a moment.

Arya felt something was wrong.

Then the man laughed.

"Oh... I understand why you’re surprised."

"This is your first time going out of town."

"You’re right."

"There are monsters in this forest."

"But they’re not as dangerous as the stories you’ve heard."

"Most of the monsters around this road are only D-Rank."

"Along both sides of this road, many magic items have been placed."

"Those magic items stop monsters from entering here."

"There are also many guards patrolling this road."

"And there are several guard camps nearby."

"As for those A-Rank monsters..."

"They’re only rumors."

"We spread those rumors on purpose."

"So normal people won’t dare enter this forest."

"Even the Lord of Sunlight Town believes those rumors."

"As for those who still enter this area..."

"They’re either killed by the guards..."

"Or captured and turned into slaves."

"It’s rare for them to become slaves."

"Most of them are simply killed the moment they’re found."

Arya quietly listened to everything.

Half an hour later...

They finally reached the border area.

A huge stone wall stood before them.

Both kingdoms had their own massive stone walls.

Between the two walls was an empty space.

Each side had a giant gate.

But...

This wasn’t a normal border gate.

It was a secret gate used only by both kingdoms.

Only a few people were allowed to use it.

They weren’t given permission by the kings.

Instead...

The Lords who controlled the border secretly allowed it.

They did everything without informing the royal family.

Arya was still confused.

Because they were taking slaves to another kingdom.

He couldn’t understand why they had to travel such a long distance just to sell them.

Then Arya remembered something.

In this kingdom...

Selling slaves was legal.

But only with permission from a Lord.

The third son couldn’t openly sell slaves himself.

So he secretly made a contract with a border Lord from another kingdom.

According to that contract...

The third son would secretly provide drugs and other valuable items to that Lord.

In return...

That Lord would issue official slave permits with his signature.

Then the slaves would be taken into the other kingdom.

After receiving legal documents there...

Those same slaves would later return to this kingdom.

But this time...

They would be brought through the official slave market.

Since they already had legal permits, they could now be sold openly.

Because both kingdoms legally allowed the buying and selling of slaves between each other...

It made everything much easier.

The last three horse carriages were carrying drugs and many other illegal goods for that Lord.

The slaves were only one part of the business.

The real profit came from the drugs.

Most of the money was divided between the third son and that border Lord.

The border Lord didn’t care about the slaves.

The only thing he wanted...

Was the endless supply of drugs he kept receiving.

Then all of the horse carriages stopped at the border area.

They left the horse carriages there.

Arya also came down with the others to take some rest.

During that time, the border guards would guard all of the horse carriages.

After a few hours, they would continue their journey.

Until then, everyone was allowed to rest.

Arya looked at the man who had been with him before and asked,

"Why do they allow us to go into another kingdom?"

The man looked around first before answering.

"Before, they didn’t allow us."

"What they used to do was..."

"The soldiers took all of the horse carriages themselves and crossed the border."

"Then, on the other side, they handed everything over to that Lord’s men."

"But using only their own members became too risky."

"That’s why the Lord finally allowed us to come here."

"We only stop here because we need some rest first."

"After that, the border guards will check every horse carriage."

"They’ll inspect everything inside."

"When the inspection is finished..."

"They’ll allow us to cross."

"And after we enter that kingdom..."

"Many of that Lord’s members will guide us."

"They’ll also follow us until we safely reach the destination."

After saying that, the man sat down on a nearby rock and quietly waited for the inspection to begin, while the border guards continued moving from one horse carriage to another.