The Prosperous Capital

We were riding on Asp's back, flying toward the city from which we had departed.

As we approached the city, dawn was breaking. Asp landed in a nearby forest, then transformed into a baby dragon and flew onto my shoulder.

Thus, the three of us proceeded toward the city. Entering the city, there was the familiar bustling atmosphere. We headed to the Adventurer's Guild headquarters to complete the goblin extermination quest I had accepted.

Herme and the others had not yet returned. Surely they would have to undergo treatment for quite a while before their battle wounds could fully heal.

Today, I decided to leave this city. Perhaps we would go to the capital of this kingdom.

After receiving the quest reward, the three of us headed toward the North Gate and straight for the kingdom's capital.

Leaving the city, I intended to walk for a while to a deserted place, then ride Asp to the capital to be faster.

When we reached a rather deserted stretch of road, we decided to ride Asp. However, immediately after, I detected three figures approaching us.

"Hey, leave all your money and luggage here!"

One of the three bandits spoke up, pointing a sword at me. As expected, they were highwaymen; all three looked quite large, their faces full of scars and extremely arrogant.

"Hey, this girl is truly beautiful; you should leave her behind too!" He said while pointing at Yui.

He was the leader, approaching Yui while she looked at him with eyes as cold as ice.

"Come with me, we'll make you ten thousand times happier than going with this clown!"

Before I could act, he took a hit to the stomach, followed by a gust of wind magic that blew him far away, rolling several times on the road.

"You dare to insult him?" It was the first time I saw Yui take action against a human; she looked quite indignant.

The bandit was helped up by the other two, his face panicked and fearful. Then he tried to appear calm, holding his sword and slashing toward Yui.

Immediately, a wind blade cut the man's sword in half and slashed across his face, causing a streak of blood to appear.

His face turned pale, then he turned and fled from us.

"I intended to kill them."

"Mhm."

I had no words left after seeing Yui handle them like that.

Ignoring the incident, Yui and I climbed onto Asp's back and told him to take us to a place near the capital.

Asp soared into the sky, passing through the cloud layers and heading in one direction. We couldn't see below because the clouds were quite thick, which also helped us camouflage while flying in the sky during the day.

With Asp's speed, reaching the capital in less than an hour was normal, whereas if going by warhorse, it would take at least a day from the previous city.

I think no one has dared to think of using a Death Dragon as a means of transport yet. Using dragons for combat is already very difficult because they have high self-esteem and are extremely intelligent, let alone using them for travel.

After about half an hour, we saw a vast city with a magnificent castle located in the center of the capital, surrounded by a high city wall enclosing the entire city.

This was a large and very developed city; just looking at the architecture of the houses, one would know the development of this place.

Asp landed in a forest a few miles from the city. He shrank and hid himself to follow us; that seemed to have become a habit of Asp's, so I didn't need to remind him anymore.

We prepared to enter the city but had to pass through a checkpoint to get inside; the tax was five copper coins. I gave the gate guards one silver coin and entered the city.

As the brain of the whole nation, everything was just as I expected; this place was extremely developed. There were buildings growing close together, the streets were crowded with people, and many shops and stalls lined the streets.

Looking at that scene, I felt like I was in Japan, my homeland. This place was different from the cities I had visited. Here, other races such as Beastmen, Elves, Dwarves, etc., all walked freely on the streets.

First, we had to go to the Adventurer's Guild; this was the center of the Adventurer's Guild for the entire country.

Walking on the streets, I encountered many items I had never seen before. Countless stalls were opened along the roadside, and many shops also sprouted up around.

Most were weapon and clothing stores; they were always bustling with people. Countless calls from the stall owners on the street made everyone want to stop and take a look.

Heading straight to the Adventurer's Guild according to the gate guard's instructions earlier. Arriving, I found a very large building, built extremely grandly. It had the symbol of the Adventurer's Guild, which was two crossed swords.

I entered, an extremely polite and clean space. The room inside was very large and had many receptionists and many adventurers. The quest board was placed in a quite easy-to-see spot; just stepping in, one would see it immediately.

We entered and also drew everyone's attention in the room. Afterward, they returned to their business, but there were also a few gazes that kept following Yui, which made me quite uncomfortable.

I approached a reception desk to ask about inns and necessary information.

"May I ask for the location of a few inns with good security and comfort for adventurers?"

"So you are a newcomer to this city? Then you can go to the Great Moon Inn opened by a former adventurer."

In front of me was a quite attractive receptionist, with pale yellow hair and quite sparkling eyes. Naturally, I also knew that the receptionist was the 'face' of an Adventurer's Guild.

She seemed to pay quite a lot of attention to Yui and me, as she kept looking up while writing the location of the inn.

"Their stats don't seem very high; probably new adventurers," the receptionist thought to herself.

"But that girl is so beautiful; probably the child of a noble."

After she finished writing the address, she handed it to me. I continued to the quest board to see if there was anything interesting, but it was quite similar to the previous quests.

At F-rank, there were almost no attractive quests at all.

Afterward, I left the Adventurer's Guild and headed toward the place written in the address. We went through many alleys and finally arrived.

The sign clearly said Great Moon, so this must be the place mentioned.

Stepping inside, there was a quite cozy atmosphere. It was like just stepping into one's own home.

I stepped inside and proceeded to book a room.

"I'd like to book a large room with a private bathroom inside, please," I said to the woman sitting at the reception desk.

She looked at us and then smiled happily.

"You two look like newlyweds, don't you?" She teased both Yui and me while checking the room list.

"Yes, ma'am," Yui suddenly replied to the woman, making her freeze and then burst out laughing.

"Ah, here it is; there are still a few large rooms vacant. So how long will you rent? The price is one silver per day, including two meals."

"For one month."

Afterward, I placed thirty silver coins on the table.

Next, the woman gave me a key.

"Your room is on the second floor, the room at the end of the hallway; it's a quite large room with a bathroom inside," that woman told me the room's location while smiling.

"By the way, my name is Mei Lin, nice to meet you both."

Yui and I also went up to the room after hearing Lady Mei Lin explain the inn's rules. It was quite comfortable yet ensured security.

In the room, we decided to bathe and wash up after the long battle during the past night.

Princess's perspective:
In the early morning, we set out for the capital. When leaving, the army consisted of several hundred people, but when returning, there were not even twenty people left. All the remaining members were extremely saddened after last night.

The fact that we were about to return to the city and face the demons, I had sent word back to the royal palace.

The plan was that around tonight we would reach the city.

Currently, I am blaming myself for falling into the demon's trap, leading to all this. If those two people hadn't arrived in time last night, we would all be dead and failed, with the risk of them continuing to attack the capital.

Afterward, I constantly thought about the figures of the strange young man and girl I met last night, the ones who had tamed even a Saint Dragon.

Aruto's perspective:
After several months of training, we have become much stronger. I have almost mastered the Saint Sword. All strategies and military tactics I have been taught.

I also frequently go on expeditions to cultivate knowledge and experience.

All members of the team are much stronger. Emi follows the Mage path, Seki follows the Swordsman path, Isuka follows the Support Mage path. We form a quite perfect and strong team.

Today, I went to meet the King and was given the responsibility of accompanying Him to visit the Kingdom of Apeat, to discuss the strategy against the Demon King in the coming weeks.

I think with my strength and the team's, we can already defeat the Demon King. Why bother discussing strategy, then having to cooperate with those called the Heroes of this world.

But since the King requested it, it cannot be refused. Consider it an occasion to see how far the strength of that nation goes to be called the strongest nation.