Chapter 76

The next morning, we were heading for Ferit in a carriage.

Caro seemed to have been thinking about something and couldn't sleep, so she's sleeping now.

Marina, who had been practicing with her wind bow, is also sleeping now.

I haven't slept much either, but since I was born in the Heisei era, staying up late isn't a hardship for me, so today I've been talking with Haru.

As usual, I can sense the presence of monsters underground.

I asked if it wasn't the ants from yesterday, but it seems that Army Ants always build their nests starting from an anthill, so it's probably the Itomizus.

An anthill of such large ants. How enormous must it be?

"Could it be that the hole we fired the Fireball into yesterday was actually an ant nest? Could that hill have been an anthill?"

"I don't think so. That hill is too big to be an anthill."

"You're right."

If that hill was an anthill and a single ant colony, this country would be full of hills.

"There was a unique smell in that monster's nest, so if I come across a monster that emits that smell, I'll let you know."

"Sure. Thanks. But just keep it in mind, okay?"

I appreciate Haru's consideration as we continue south.

Around noon, we let Fuyun rest for a bit, then traveled another three hours south.

As the sky turned red and the white clouds turned black like black paint mixed in, we finally arrived at the town of Ferit.

Before entering the town, we changed Caro's occupation back to merchant.

A town in the center of the great grassland.

Surrounded by high stone walls, with a grand castle-like building in the center.

"I heard it's the capital, but it's about the same size as Velasra... except the walls are much higher."

"It's more of a precaution against attacks from Corat. The skirmishes with Corat have been going on for hundreds of years. Look, Ichino-sama. The walls have multiple layers, don't they? That's the result of repeatedly adding to and reinforcing the walls."

Caro, who had woken up in the afternoon, explained.

Indeed, the walls look like layers of earth.

It feels like we've seen our first tourist attraction.

We paid the entry tax and entered the town.

Unfortunately, our civilian level didn't go up.

There are a lot of brick buildings in the town. On the contrary, there are hardly any wooden houses.

Stalls selling grilled meat are prominent.

It's nice to see cheese and other items for sale.

On the other hand, vegetables are quite expensive, almost double the price in Florenz.

There's hardly any fish for sale.

"Ichino-sama, let's go to the trading post first, then to the stables."

"Sure. After that, we'll sell the ant materials at the Adventurer's Guild, and finally deliver the knives to the inn and rest... that's the plan, right?"

When I said this, Marina glared at me resentfully.

I tried taking off her mask while she was sleeping to see her reaction, but instead of getting angry like before, she just glared at me silently.

Well, I can't have her causing trouble during negotiations, so I'll leave it as it is.

Silence is a good thing.

I took out some spices and iron from my item bag and loaded them.

The carriage suddenly felt cramped, so we got out.

"Can I leave all the negotiations to Caro?"

"Is that okay?"

I nodded and took out a purple scarf.

"I bought it at the border town. It's perfect for hiding the slave collar, right?"

Just like I put a red scarf on Haru, I put a purple scarf on Caro.

"Haru, can you come with me as a guard? I'll wait outside after bringing the goods into the store."

"Thank you, Ichino-sama. I'll do my best to meet your expectations."

I smiled and patted Caro's head, then we carried the goods together.

Marina watched us intently.