A few days passed and the capital could already be seen.
Outside, some humans and beastmens using carriages were lining up to enter the capital.
Ward and Luna approached and went straight to the gate without bothering to get in line. The merchants, residents, and adventurers in line gave the two who were passing in front of them a frown.
But they said nothing, for right behind Ward and Luna, eight armors were silently following them.
Everyone who looked at the armors soon looked away because of fear.
Ignoring this, Ward and Luna approached the gate.
"Excuse me," Ward said to the guard who at the moment was searching one of the carriages.
"What? Urgh..." The first thing the guard did was reply in a rude way, but soon after he saw the armors behind Ward and Luna he swallowed dryly and became paralyzed with fear.
The other guards nearby also looked frightened.
Two of them who nearby ran into the capital apparently to warn someone about this.
"Can we come in?" Ward said dismissively.
The guard swallowed dryly and started looking at Ward and the armors trying to find a proper answer. After building up some courage he decided to open his mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry, but those guys over there won't be allowed in." He pointed at the armors while sweating.
"Why not?" Ward looked angrily at the guard. The guard who received his gaze turned away a little. He was feeling horrible that he was being bullied by a child, but since he didn't want to die today, he had to treat him with respect.
"They are very big and scary. The locals will be scared and you won't be able to get into an inn with them either." The guard smiled.
"Got it. So I guess they can stay outside the capital? Right?" Ward looked at the eight armors and they all nodded positively.
"Right..."
"So how do we get in? Do we need to pay a fee? We don't have an ID or anything." The guard kept looking at the eight armors walking away.
Because of this, he had become a little distracted.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
"Ah, you don't need a fee, we just need to search you to see that you don't have anything dangerous."
"You can touch me, but don't you dare touch my sister."
"Ward..." Luna standing next to Ward looked a little worried, but she was happy that her brother wanted to protect her in this way.
"Okay, I won't touch her." The guard began to search Ward and began to feel very bad that he was doing this to such a small child. But it was his job, so he did it carefully.
This went on for almost a minute.
"It's all right, you can go in now. If you need information you can go to the guard post, and if you are looking for a work I recommend the adventurers guild."
"Right, right, thank you." Ignoring the guard, Ward entered the capital along with Luna.
When he entered, he found the soldiers who rushed inside. Apparently, they were just scared. Ward looked at them and smiled. The guards could do nothing but remain silent.
"Right, we picked up quite a bit of money in that town. We'll stay at some inn for today and tomorrow I'll go to the castle. I'll do everything quickly, understand?"
"Sure." Luna smiled at Ward and then followed him down the big main street of the capital of Beastled.
Unlike Southlein, the street was not so long and the castle ahead was just a mansion, but still not a small town.
But one aspect very similar to the capital of Southlein and all the towns was a large number of inns, stores, and restaurants on the main street. So it was very easy for Ward and Luna to find an inn and stay there.
They chose the inn next to the guild that seemed to be of the highest quality.
Then they entered and were greeted with some strange looks, but no one dared to speak to them other than the hostess of the inn who was a rather kind woman with the stereotype of "Onee-san"
After they went up to the second floor of the inn and entered the room with two beds, the two of them threw themselves on their beds and had already prepared for bed.
'Haaa~~ That body gets tired fast. Ward, you should be more active.'
####
"So you guys can do it," Ward said as he watched one of the armors in front of him.
"Yes, we can hide in its shadow, it's quite convenient."
"Got it. But what should I call you? The master told me to look after you guys, but I don't know your names." Ward sat on his bed and looked at the large armor in the middle of the room.
While Luna was downstairs finishing her breakfast, he wanted to take the opportunity to talk to the armors.
"You can call me number 1."
"Number 1? The others have a number too?"
"Exactly. They are all my dear brothers. They all have a number just like me. I will tell you the numbers later when we are in everyone's presence."
"Hmmm, got it. And which of you is the strongest?"
"I am the strongest because I am number 1."
"I understand. The number 8 is the weakest?"
"More or less."
"Got it. But what do you think we should do now? Should I release you guys in the middle of the capital and cause an uproar? Or should we steal the throne in secret?"
"I don't know."
"You're useless, aren't you? But at least you're strong."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry, you can hide now. I think I will go to the mansion by myself and then I will call you guys. But first I have to figure out how to get inside the mansion of the king..."
"Okay, if you need help I'll be here."
"All right, just disappear."
After that little conversation, Luna came into the bedroom and Ward had a little talk with her. Although Luna was against it at first, it was decided that Ward would enter the king's mansion alone.
He had to calm Luna down because she couldn't stop saying that he would be killed if he was caught.
"It's not so easy for them to catch me. And if they catch me, I have the armors to help me, isn't that great?"
Luna was calmer now, but she still felt a little worried.
But since Ward didn't want to hear Luna's complaints, he quickly left the inn and left her there alone. Luna wanted to go with him at all costs, but Ward refused to let that happen.
She would be in the way.
So he gave an order for her to stay inside the inn for the rest of the day. Luna could do nothing but accept it.
####
"So that's the king's mansion... It's pretty big." Ward stopped in front of the mansion and looked up. Since it didn't have a protective wall like it normally would have to, the main street led straight into the mansion's garden.
But even without a wall, guards were spread all over the place.
And some of the guards were keeping an eye on Ward since he had come closer more than he should have. Ward who noticed this stepped back.
'What do we have here? Only residential neighborhoods? Did the king have the nerve to let simple residential neighborhoods be built next to his mansion?' Ward turned away and started walking around.
In front of the mansion was the main street where most of the people, stores, and traffic were located.
On the right and left sides of the King's mansion, there were residential neighborhoods where most of the buildings were constructed of wood and were not in very good condition.
Ward walked around these neighborhoods for some time. Although the quality of life didn't seem very good and the alleys and streets looked shabby, the people seemed quite happy and seemed to be enjoying life.
'They don't even mind the king living in a luxurious mansion next to them. They are used to living in a deplorable way.' Ward looked disgusted with such a social class difference in this country.
'But it's okay, that doesn't matter to me.' Leaving the residential neighborhoods, he finally arrived at a place where some mansions were built. Unlike the king's mansion, it had walls around the mansions.
'It seems they are afraid of being robbed, whereas the king doesn't seem to care much about it.' Ward didn't quite understand what was going on in the king's head, but he didn't care about that and went to the main street again.
'So, how do I get in here? It doesn't look like it's going to be that simple.' Ward looked at the king's mansion again. The only thing he had to do was to get inside without being seen.
After that, everything would be simple.
'Hm, do I still have a little access to my magic? I used it to kill the rabbits before, maybe I can use it somehow here.'
Ward walked towards a dirty, dark alley where no one could see him and then tried to use some of his magic.
'Last time I had a little help from the master, but it looks like I can still use it.. I think I can do that.'