“Lord Callius, are we still far?”
“Almost there. Once we cross this ridge, you’ll be able to see it.”
The national road from Silvaerin to the imperial capital, Belegard, was well maintained.
Of course, it wasn’t paved like the Gyeongin Expressway, but if a modern person could endure three days in a carriage on it, I’d call that pretty good.
“Jinwoo, is this your first time in the capital too?”
“Yes. The only places I’ve been on this continent are Silvaerin and Noirdel.”
Ailenna, sitting beside me, kept glancing out the window as well.
To be honest, I’d wondered why Ailenna had ended up coming as a construction laborer in the first place, but I never thought she’d be coming all the way to the capital with us.
Not that I disliked it… If I had to say, I was actually glad.
Callius would be busy handling the merchant company’s business anyway, and it wouldn’t be any fun for me to wander around alone.
On top of that, Ailenna could use basic magic, so there would probably be plenty of situations where she could help if something came up.
It was just surprising that Ailenna, an elf, had impulsively decided to go to the capital.
Callius had found it odd too, but since there was no particular problem with it, he readily agreed.
Ailenna and I craned our necks this way and that to catch sight of the city walls.
The horses, their manes glossy, climbed the hill with all their might.
Pushing against the gravity bearing down on us as we went up the slope, we finally crossed the hill—and the city walls came into view.
“Wow… That’s ridiculously huge.”
“That’s one city? It looks about the same size as all of Noirdel…”
Even outside the walls, there were well-maintained stone roads and post stations appearing here and there.
The satellite villages we had stopped at along the way for rest and supplies had been well kept too, so I’d figured the capital would be grand.
But I hadn’t expected it to be this enormous.
The waters that began at Lake Callian merged here and there until they became a proper canal,
and not only carriages, but boats as well were poking their bows into the capital.
Still, the main means of commerce was carriages, and large freight wagons were lined up from all four directions across the wide plains, heading toward the capital.
I felt bad for Duke Kailan, but it was hard to compare a backwater like Silvaerin to something of this scale.
The walls spread out so far before my eyes that their end was distant. Was it almost ten times the size of Yeouido?
Ailenna and I were wide-eyed as we beheld the overwhelming scale of the capital, Belegard, for the first time.
“Hoho! You two are adorable. We have permanent entry passes, so the procedures should be done quickly.”
“It’s our first time, though. What should we do?”
“It’s all right. You just need to complete a simple registration, so you can enter with us.”
We were still about a kilometer from the walls, but the entry lines had already split into two.
The relatively shorter line, the one moving swiftly like a Hi-Pass lane, must have been the permanent entry line.
It really was worth becoming successful.
If not for Callius, we would have had to wait in this insane line.
The temporary entry line was already so long I couldn’t see the end behind us.
“J-Jinwoo. I’m nervous. What should I do?”
“What do you mean, what should you do? There’s no reason to be nervous.”
“But it’s been so long since I’ve been to such a large human city…”
Technically, this was the first large city I was visiting in another world, so maybe I should have been a little nervous too.
But, well…
‘It just feels like I’m traveling in Italy or Greece.’
Or maybe like an old town district in Germany or France?
Looking at it with a modern person’s sensibilities, I was able to take it in rather calmly.
The urban styles of the Mediterranean European region and the inland Central European region were quite different, but this place strangely felt like a blend of both.
Since that canal seemed to continue into the capital, it had a bit of a Venice feel, and the architecture resembled Central Europe. That was probably why.
While I was sorting out my impressions of the capital, the waiting line quickly shortened.
“Show me your entry pass.”
“I am Callius, head of the merchant company.”
“Ah, the hardtack?”
A glint of interest appeared in the eyes of the guard, who had been working in a dry, businesslike manner.
Hardtack, out of nowhere?
“The captain of the guard managed to get some, so I tried it. It made ordinary hardtack feel like bricks. Did you bring more?”
“Haha! I’m glad you liked it. I brought quite a generous amount this time, so you should be able to purchase some.”
“That’s good to hear. Are the others inside members of your company?”
“Ah, this is their first visit to the capital. Could you help them with the paperwork?”
“Of course.”
Was this thanks to the hardtack effect?
Unlike his stern appearance, the guard brought us the documents with a much more amiable air.
Thanks to that, we finished our entry registration without any real difficulty.
I’d heard from Callius that the hardtack was popular, but I hadn’t expected to feel its influence already.
“An Easterner and an elf… You certainly travel with rare people.”
“Haha. It just turned out that way. Still, this black-haired fellow here is the chef who made the hardtack.”
“Really?”
When Callius revealed my identity, the guard looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it at all.
“Yes. I made it. I have some on me now. Would you like a bit?”
“Ah, thank you. I was just surprised because it was unexpected. My apologies. Your procedures are complete, so please go on through!”
I handed the guard a handful of the hardtack I’d been eating as a snack.
The guard wasn’t some nasty racist. He had simply been surprised because it was unexpected, so I didn’t feel offended.
And so, we passed through the thick city walls that looked as if they could stop cannon fire, and entered the capital.
“Waaah… I had no idea human civilization had developed this much.”
“I didn’t know the capital would be this big either. Huh, is that a market?”
“It’s not an ordinary market. It’s a wholesale market and auction house. Usually, merchants unload their goods here, and businesses come to purchase them.”
“Then where’s the normal market?”
“It’s in the city district a little farther in.”
Hmm, it was more systematized than I’d thought.
Of course, if merchants started unloading trade goods in the bustling city district, it would be far too chaotic, so they had simply placed the wholesale market on the outskirts by the first wall.
Since it was by the first wall, there were no gaps in the guard force either, making it possible to quickly handle any incidents that occurred during transactions.
“I’ll do one barrel of salted seafood for one silver. What do you say?”
“Hey, do you know how much trouble it is to bring this all the way here from the south? I’m not selling unless it’s two silvers!”
“Do you really think people in the capital will buy that much salted seafood? You’re being greedy.”
All throughout the wholesale market, retailers and merchants were busy haggling.
It was an extremely chaotic yet passionate scene, like a seafood auction center at dawn.
Admiring the fairly rational system in many ways, we passed through the second wall.
Only now did I start seeing houses, along with shops large and small, making it feel exactly like a bustling district.
As I sat in the carriage and leisurely looked around the streets, we arrived at Callius’s merchant estate.
Phew, we were finally here.
It had been three days since we left Silvaerin.
If we had made camp and slept outdoors by the roadside, rushing as quickly as possible, we could have cut down on the time considerably.
But this wasn’t just a trip for us. It was a merchant expedition by a trading company, so there were too many people for that.
I got down from the carriage and stretched out fully.
“Ughhh! I’m exhausted even though I was only sitting in a carriage.”
“That can happen if you’re not used to carriages. We’ll go to the Academy tomorrow, so rest today.”
“I think I will. What about you, Lady Ailenna?”
“If you’re not going anywhere, Jinwoo, I’ll rest too.”
It had been a long time since she’d seen human civilization, so it would have been fine for her to look around comfortably.
Ah, or was it a bit burdensome for an elf to tour the imperial capital alone?
That was entirely possible.
When I went to Noirdel, I probably would’ve felt a bit burdened if Beila hadn’t been with me.
It was still early afternoon anyway, so we could rest a little and then head out to sightsee around the capital.
“Lord Callius. Is there anything I can help with?”
“Hmm, nothing in particular. The staff will handle setting up the goods anyway. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Then I’ll go look around the capital with Lady Ailenna in a bit.”
“U-um? Yes. Good!”
Ailenna’s face flushed slightly as if she was embarrassed, but she couldn’t avoid my eyes.
Just as I thought… It seemed she had secretly wanted to look around.
Thanks to Ailenna’s help, the construction had finished more smoothly than expected, so I should guide her around as a way of repaying the favor.
Of course, this was my first time in the capital too, and I had black hair that made me look different from everyone else.
Still, I was human at least, so wouldn’t we draw less attention than if an elf wandered around alone?
“We plan to depart at nine tomorrow morning, but let’s discuss the contract in advance tonight. Don’t come back too late.”
“Understood. The capital is my first time too, so I couldn’t wander too far even if I wanted to.”
“Jinwoo, then let’s meet in the lobby in a little while. I’ll get ready and come out too!”
Ailenna and I went into spare rooms in the estate.
I’d organize my luggage, rest a little, and then head out soon.
Sharararak—
When I was kidnapped to Noirdel, I naturally hadn’t been able to prepare anything, but this time I had come fully prepared.
I unpacked the cooking tools I’d brought from home onto the desk in the room.
The chef’s knife and paring knife I mainly used, a fine mesh strainer, tongs, and so on.
Plates and chopsticks didn’t matter, but I preferred using my own knives, strainers, tongs, and other cooking tools.
There was no way stainless steel tools existed in this other world, and tools this delicate and sturdy weren’t easy to find either.
It was truly fortunate that the [Mana Market] had leveled up, so I didn’t have to bring along sauces like gochujang.
Well… I hadn’t come to the capital to cook, but while I was staying here, I could at least make enough for myself.
‘It’s not like I’m underestimating the imperial commercial sphere.’
In a barter society with crude tastes like Noirdel, I could have opened a shop if I’d set my mind to it.
But this was the imperial capital, Belegard.
When I casually asked the guard earlier, he said it was a major city with a population of five hundred thousand if the surrounding satellite villages were included.
This was probably the commercial sphere where the greatest number of humans on the continent gathered and competed fiercely.
There was no room for some black-haired guy who had rolled in out of nowhere.
The Academy might be a different story, but what I had come here for was only a large-scale hardtack contract.
I had no intention whatsoever of making things complicated.
‘Should I head down soon?’
I had organized my luggage and rested a bit, so Ailenna would probably be there around the same time.
I left the room and went down to the first-floor lobby.
Sure enough, Ailenna was sitting on the lobby sofa with her back straight.
Her ears were perked up too, and she kept looking around, making her look like some kind of meerkat. Cute.
“Lady Ailenna. Did you wait long?”
“Ah, you’re here. No. I just got here too.”
Before leaving the estate, I asked a passing employee about the nearby geography.
He handed me a simple sketch map and pointed out only the best spots.
“This side is the blacksmith district, and this side is the general market. If you pass beyond the second wall, there’s the central plaza, and almost this entire area here is the Academy.”
“Wow, what kind of school is this big? Thank you.”
Kang Jinwoo, a man who would score 100% P on an MBTI test.
There was no need to plan out every single detail. It was enough to grasp the general layout.
I was surprised by how much larger the Academy was than I had expected, but it wasn’t as though we were going to see all of it today, so I took it easy.
“All right, let’s go!”
“Okay!”
Looking at the map, the central plaza was closer to our location than the market.
In that case, in terms of route…
It would be better to look around the plaza and the Academy first, then come back toward the market.
Ailenna and I headed toward the plaza in light clothing.
Since we had come down from the north, it did feel a bit warmer, but it wasn’t hot.
With clear weather and a gentle breeze blowing, it was extremely pleasant.
And so, we headed toward the plaza with light steps.
But the closer we got to the plaza…
Somehow… we began to hear people shouting loudly.
“Do you think there’s some kind of festival today? It’s noisy.”
“Right. Let’s go take a look.”
Judging by the map, the sound was coming from slightly to the side of the plaza, in the direction of the Academy’s main gate.
Since the Academy was an educational institution similar to a university, maybe they held student-led school festivals too?
Maybe it just so happened to be festival season right now.
“The Acade…! …stop!”
“—stop!”
However, the closer we got to the Academy’s main gate, the more that expectation disappeared.
Ailenna had looked excited too, but bewilderment gradually began to spread across her face.
In front of the Academy’s main gate was a crowd gathered together with angry expressions, shouting a set chant.
At this scale, there were roughly three hundred people.
No… In a feudal monarchy, not even a democratic nation, surely not?
Bewildered by this absurd situation, I grabbed a man at the rear of the crowd who had been shouting along.
“Excuse me, is there some kind of… festival going on?”
“Huh? It’s not a festival, it’s a protest, a protest!”
No sooner had I heard the answer to my question than the chant rang out.
“The Academy!!! Stop abusing your power!!”
“If you suddenly cut off our ingredient supply!! How are we supposed to do business!!!”
“The Academy!! Resume ingredient distribution!”
““Resume it! Resume it! Resume it!””
Boooooo—!
Ten people shouting would already be noisy, so imagine three hundred.
Their voices, filled with resentment, rang out powerfully enough to reach the blue sky.
And using the protestors’ fearsome momentum as a shield, I quietly muttered.
“This is a real shitshow.”
The Academy contract hadn’t even begun,
and already, a bad feeling was creeping over me.