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墨書 Inktalez
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Half an hour later, the carriage smoothly entered the city.
After a brief rest, Freya moved forward again.
...
Four hours later.
Amidst the dense forest, a straight road extended to a massive brown iron gate.
The iron gate stood open, with guards dressed in Black Leather Armor holding long spears standing on either side. However, these guards appeared rather lax, merely giving a symbolic check to passing vehicles before allowing them to proceed.
Among the many carriages, a plain black carriage moved slowly forward.
Inside the carriage was a strikingly beautiful Blonde Woman wearing a brown long dress, who was looking around curiously.
Next to the road in front of her stood a giant Black Iron sculpture, with several letters inscribed in Helt Language on it.
If translated into the common tongue, it would read: Raymond.
After briefly observing her surroundings, Freya withdrew her gaze.
Although it was only a twenty-mile journey, Raymond City was already completely detached from the Dis Mountain Range.
This city was just as described in the documents—an ordinary city without any traces of sorcery or the scent of iron and blood.
Compared to the former Katia City, it was not much different except for being more resource-poor.
However, due to the extreme barrenness, there was almost no Wizard Organization stationed here.
It was estimated that only those with no way out or aging wizards wanting to spend their twilight years would come to this place.
The Black Carriage slowly drove through the city gate. The guards on both sides merely glanced at Freya, asked a few simple questions, and then allowed her to pass just like other carriages.
Once the carriage entered the city, the roads and pedestrians increased.
Trees lined both sides of the road, with sunlight filtering through the leaves and casting small circular patches of light on the ground.
Rows of brown spire-roofed buildings stood tall in the distance.
Freya drove the carriage along a wide road, observing her surroundings with a calm gaze.
This city seemed different from others she had experienced due to its lack of extraordinary powers. The way people lived and other aspects were quite distinct from what she had encountered before.
Along the way, she had already seen two entertainment performances. The people around appeared lively and energetic, suggesting that the city's administrators were quite focused on the well-being of its citizens.
Not far away, many people were gathered around a high platform where a young man dressed in a splendid Robe held an old man statue carved from white wood. He was earnestly speaking about something.
As she passed by, Freya's keen hearing allowed her to catch what he was saying.
"Why can we have enough to eat? Why can we live here in peace? All of this is thanks to the blessing of Archeldan Saint. He is omnipresent, protecting all regardless of nobility or lowliness, as long as we support him."
'It seems like he is promoting some kind of faith,' she thought lightly.
After listening for a while, she simply moved on.
As for deities, even in her past, she did not believe in such things. Let alone now.
After crossing two streets, Freya's carriage slowly came to a stop in front of a building with a sign indicating it was an inn.
The inn looked quite ordinary, and there were no other vehicles parked nearby.
Freya got off the carriage and walked straight inside.
Pushing open the door, she was greeted by a counter where a bald, thin man was dozing off.
After scanning her surroundings, she approached the counter and lightly tapped it, instantly waking the man.
"Uh, hello there, guest. Are you here to stay?" he said, wiping drool from the corner of his mouth as he quickly tried to appear attentive.
"Yes, for lodging," Freya replied calmly.
"How many nights will you be staying?" The man pulled out a Black Ledger and a Feather Pen from beneath the counter and asked.
After thinking for a moment, Freya decided, "Let's start with twenty nights."
"Twenty?" The man looked at Freya curiously and calculated for a moment. "For twenty nights, that will be three gold coins in total."
Without saying anything, Freya nodded and took out three gold coins from her pouch, placing them on the counter.
As the man reached for the coins, he frowned slightly upon seeing their appearance.
"Um, guest, do you not have Suter Coins?"
"What?" Hearing his words, Freya raised an eyebrow and glanced at the coins on the counter. "Are these coins not accepted here?"
Suter Coin is an alias for the currency in this country, and the coins Freya handed him were the same ones Baron had given to Freya.
In terms of size, there was no difference between the two, but in design, one featured an old man's head while the other displayed a sword and shield.
"Yes," the man said awkwardly as he pushed the coin back. "Since you are from out of town, you might not know that Raymond City has strict regulations regarding currency. Even if they are both gold coins, if you don't have Suter Coin..."
Before he could finish, Freya frowned and interrupted him directly.
"Do you know where I can exchange it?"
"It's at the Tax Office in the city, but the process may be a bit troublesome," the man replied.
Listening to the Innkeeper's explanation, Freya vaguely guessed that this currency exchange process might be a way for officials in Raymond City to extort money.
However, she realized that she had overlooked this matter.
After pondering for a moment, Freya tapped the table and pushed the coin back across to him.
"Then tell me if there's anywhere I can exchange it without going through the process."
"Well," seeing the three gold coins pushed back towards him, the man's eyes brightened slightly. After thinking for a moment, he whispered, "There isn't a place for direct exchanges, but I can rent you another house. However, you'll need to pay an extra coin like this one. What do you think? After all, this inn isn't solely mine."
"That's fine." Freya nodded in understanding and took out another identical coin to hand over.
Although the designs of the two coins were different, their nature was essentially the same. Even with strict management, there would still be loopholes to exploit.
Quickly collecting all four coins, the man glanced outside the inn and walked around the counter.
"Follow me. The house is not far from here; it was one I bought for my daughter but has been set aside for some reasons. I assure you, the environment is no worse than here."
"Oh? Is that so?" Freya replied casually.
Ten minutes later.
Freya led the carriage along with the innkeeper to a manor.
He took out a slender metal key and with a click, opened the iron gate.
"Here we are." He put the key away, looking somewhat proud. "Not bad, right?"
Freya glanced at the manor. The area wasn't very large, and her eyes were drawn to a dry fountain that had long since lost its water.
The surrounding walls were made of red bricks, with a few trees and flowers planted nearby.
In the center of the manor stood a light yellow two-story house, featuring large red and black wooden doors.
Although it appeared somewhat old, Freya could tell from her brief observation that the original owner had taken great care in its construction.
However, when Freya's gaze swept past the second-floor window of the house, a chill of being watched emanated from there, causing her brow to furrow slightly.
After a moment, she turned to the man and quietly asked, "Was anyone else living in this house besides your daughter?"
"Please don't joke, guest. This is a house I bought for my daughter; you are the first to stay here," he chuckled nervously. "But rest assured, everything inside is quite complete."
"Is that so?" She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes slightly.
At her current level, she would not be mistaken; that chilling sensation of being watched was definitely real.
Moreover, she recalled something familiar from that cold feeling.
"Anyway, there's still plenty of time, so I might as well test my hypothesis!" she thought calmly to herself, nodding with a serene expression as she pulled out a gold coin.
"Alright, I'll temporarily stay here. However, during this time, all my meals will be your responsibility. Is that okay?"
Seeing the gold coin in Freya's hand, the man immediately nodded and took it.
"No problem, of course not! I haven't introduced myself yet; I'm Jack Restefan. You can just call me Jack."
"Mm." Nodding again, Freya tightened her grip on the Reins and casually said, "Alright, I'm a bit hungry now. Jack, please go back and prepare some food for me."
"Sure, I'll head back now." The innkeeper named Jack turned around with a smile and left.
The five gold coins Freya gave him could be exchanged for four Suter Coins.
The value of four gold coins was equivalent to his earnings from two months of work. Even ordinary guests were not as extravagant as Freya. He speculated that Freya must be some noblewoman or wealthy merchant's daughter out for a bit of fun; otherwise, no one would expect a woman to carry so much money.
Watching Jack's figure disappear down the street, Freya finally glanced around the estate.
At this moment, she noticed that the neighboring estate also seemed to have been uninhabited for quite some time. However, compared to the neatness of the estate before her, the yards of the neighboring estates were overgrown with tall yellow weeds, and white cobwebs covered the front doors of the houses.
Moreover, there didn't seem to be many people passing by on this street.
Taking a slight breath, Freya looked up again at the second-floor window and then calmly led her carriage into the estate.
Suddenly, a muffled thunder rumbled in the air, followed by a flash of Blazing White lightning.
The originally clear sky had unknowingly accumulated gray rain clouds.
A heavy sense of gloom seemed to press down on the manor.
Ignoring the change in atmosphere, Freya settled the carriage and walked to the front door with two black leather suitcases in hand.
The slender key easily slid into the lock, and with a firm twist,
*click.*
With the crisp sound of the lock opening, Freya slowly pushed open the wooden door.
The room was large but also quite empty.
Aside from the main furniture, there were no special additions.
The sound of her leather boots echoed on the red floor as she surveyed the somewhat vacant room, nodding in satisfaction.
Though it felt a bit empty, it appeared to be well-maintained.
There wasn't a speck of dust anywhere.
After placing the suitcases on the ground, Freya drew back the heavy curtains and walked over to a high-back chair at the table.
On the wall by the window hung a portrait of a soldier dressed in black armor, wielding a longsword while mounted on a warhorse, depicting a scene of battle.
On the opposite side was a portrait of a woman dressed in a white dress, sitting expressionlessly in a chair beside a large window, through which hints of green grass could be seen outside.
Freya quietly gazed at the woman's portrait, feeling an odd sense of familiarity.
She glanced at the nearby window and suddenly realized that the position depicted in the painting was exactly where she was sitting.
"Ha ha, interesting," she said with a slight smirk.
'Boom!'
Another muffled thunderclap mixed with lightning sounded.
The white lightning instantly illuminated the somewhat dim room, casting a pale light on Freya's face as she sat in the chair.
Suddenly, she turned her head to look out the window.
Rain had begun to fall, and outside the half-open iron door, a thin figure in a black raincoat was quickly approaching.
Before long, a somewhat disheveled Jack arrived at the doorway, carrying a Black Box. A wave of fragrance wafted from the box.
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