Teto and I journeyed through the Sunfield Empire, stopping in various towns along the way. We’d take on a few quests at the guild and use the money we’d earned from those to buy books at the towns’ libraries. I also made a point to check the reference room of every adventurer’s guild along the way and buy any book that caught my interest to read in the carriage when I was between things.
“Lady Witch, is that book interesting?” Teto asked me one day.
“It’s pretty nice, yeah.”
The papermaking techniques I had developed to save the orphanage in Apanemis had evolved significantly over the years, and, as a result, paper manufacturing had become more widespread. Printing techniques using magical transcription tools had also been invented, allowing for a more efficient way of reproducing written materials. Printing presses didn’t exactly fit my idea of a fantasy world, but hey, if it meant that books would be more affordable and accessible, then I was all for it.
The book I was reading was an adventure novel called The Legend of the Heroes. From what I’d heard, it was all the rage these days. To summarize it simply, it was the story of several adventurers inspired by real-life heroes forming a party and going on an adventure. All of the characters were of different races, and the witty banter and silly arguments they engaged in as they journeyed together were pretty entertaining. The writing was simple and to the point, making the most of its casual, middlebrow prose—a far cry from the flowery language favored by the nobles and intellectuals. It truly was a book for the masses. Well, the wealthier masses, I supposed; the literacy rate was still low in this world, so this book was most likely marketed towards middle-class citizens.
“So they even have books like those now, huh?” I commented.
To be honest, the book itself was quite short and it left me wanting more, but I really hoped to see similar books in the future.
“Lady Witch, we’re almost there,” Teto said.
Raising my head, I noticed the city walls in the distance.
“So this is Liefe.”
“There are lots of people coming in and out of town, just like we were told,” Teto noted.
Liefe was the trading hub of the Sunfield Empire. Just as its name suggested, the Sunfield Empire was blessed with abundant sunlight and fertile soil. Agriculture was its main activity, with thriving farms located all over its territory. A highway system had been put into place to transport the crops as quickly as possible, and Liefe was located smack-dab in the heart of this network. This allowed the town to flourish and turned it into the bustling center of commerce it was today.
Teto and I lined up behind the other carriages, went through all of the procedures that come with entering a new town, and at last, passed the city gates.
“Lady Witch, where should we go now?” Teto asked.
“For now, let’s stop by the adventurer’s guild to park our carriage.”
The guild used carriages to transport loot and to help high-ranked adventurers move between towns, so all guildhalls had a designated parking area, as well as a stable for the horses.
“Here’s the guild,” I said when I spotted the building. “Excuse me!” I called out to a guild employee outside. “Where can we park our carriage?”
“There’s a passage around the back, just follow it and you’ll get to the stables. Here, I’ll show you the way.”
“Thanks!” Teto chirped.
We followed the man to the stables.
“That carriage of yours sure is unusual,” the guild employee noted with an amused smile as he looked up at our caravan.
Most adventurers used horse-drawn carts to transport the bodies of the monsters they had defeated, or large covered wagons to accommodate their party members. Caravans were much more comfortable, but they didn’t offer a lot in terms of living space and storage capacity.
“Well, two gals traveling alone can always use a guaranteed safe place to sleep on the road,” I said. “Besides, we store most of our belongings in our magic bag,” I added, patting the pouch on my hip.
“I see. Well, it definitely seems a lot more comfortable and economical than staying at a crappy inn, that’s for sure.”
He explained how to use the carriage parking area and headed back to his duties. We had stayed in a bunch of towns over the past few months, so I was already pretty familiar with how the stables worked. Some of the details varied from place to place, but the overall process remained the same.
Teto and I placed chocks against the wheels of our caravan so that it wouldn’t roll away on its own, and installed parking boots on the wheels. After that, we removed the harness from our horse golem and led it to the stables.
“Thanks for taking us here,” I said, petting it on the head. “Charge!”
It happily nuzzled against my hand.
The horse golem used to act a lot more mechanically, but as time went by, it started developing more and more animallike reactions, almost like a real horse. I was a bit worried it was evolving into something else entirely.
“Let’s go introduce ourselves at the guild, shall we?”
“Roger!”
Teto and I entered the guildhall and made our way to the reception desk.
“Good afternoon. We’ve just arrived in town.”
“Here are our guild cards!”
“Miss Chise and Miss Teto,” the receptionist read. “You two are C-rank? But you’re so young! How impressive,” she noted with a smile before handing us our guild cards back. “What brings you here today?”
“We wanted to notify you of our arrival, and also to pay for the carriage parking fee. How much is it?”
“Two large coppers a day.”
“We’ll pay for a week, then.”
I paid one silver and four large coppers to the receptionist, and she handed me a pamphlet.
“All of the town’s inns and their prices are listed on this pamphlet,” she explained. “You can refer to it when choosing where to stay.”
“Thanks, but we don’t need it. We plan on sleeping in our carriage.”
The receptionist froze. Staying at an inn would cost us at the very least two silvers a day, meals included. Renting a house would be cheaper, as we could find something for ten silvers a month for the both of us, but we’d have to buy ingredients and cook our own meals. Sleeping in our caravan would be much, much cheaper.
“T-Two girls sleeping alone in a carriage?!” the receptionist exclaimed, a worried look on her face. “That’s too dangerous! Besides, you should take the chance to sleep in a real bed when you get it!”
She was so loud that everyone had started looking in our direction. Our caravan was basically a studio apartment, and we could even lock the door, so to us, it beat the hell out of any cheap inn. But I couldn’t tell her that without blowing my cover. It wasn’t the first time I’d encountered this situation, and every single time, I struggled to deal with it.
Thankfully, the guild employee who’d shown us to the stables earlier stepped in. “Hey, give the poor girls a break. You can see you’re bothering them.”
“But it’s too dangerous for two girls to sleep in a carriage alone!” the receptionist insisted.
The man let out a sigh. “Listen, I get that you’re worried, but you don’t even know what kind of carriage these two have. It’s pretty much a house on wheels. They’ll be just fine.”
“A house on wheels?” the receptionist echoed, a look of puzzlement on her face, before dashing to the stables behind the guildhall.
When she came back a few seconds later, she immediately bowed her head to us.
“I’m really sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you!”
“It’s all right. Your reaction was only natural,” I reassured her.
“Teto didn’t mind either!” Teto piped up.
A look of relief appeared on the receptionist’s features.
“Well then, we’re going to rest in our carriage. Ah, but before we go, could you recommend us a spot for a bite to eat?” I inquired.
“Something yummy, please!” Teto added.
Whenever we stayed somewhere, we always prioritized trying out the town’s specialties rather than cooking for ourselves.
“Of course.” The receptionist nodded and gave a little chuckle. She took out a map of the town and pointed at an inn. “The dining hall attached to this inn is very popular among the townsfolk. There’s also a street full of food stalls nearby. Just follow the path to the right after exiting the guild and you’ll get there eventually.”
We thanked her and left the guild to go grab something to eat. The food we ate that day was delicious. As I mentioned before, we were square in the middle of the breadbasket of one of the most agriculturally blessed countries on the continent, and with Liefe at the heart of its highway network, all sorts of ingredients, seasonings, and recipes converged here. It came as no surprise that the food there was of exceptional quality. For that reason alone, we decided to make Liefe our base for the foreseeable future.