We lined up at the end of the line of wagons. We are moving forward little by little, but the wagons keep coming behind us, and the whole line is not getting any shorter. Between the waiting wagons, peddlers, boys and girls, are walking around with food and flowers.
"Hey, kid, can I have that?
I approached one of them who wore a hat. I gave him five copper coins and received three tangerine-looking fruits.
According to Camilo, the price of what these kids are selling is one copper for one fruit. In other words, three fruits are three copper coins, so I gave them two extra coins.
Thank you.
The kid bowed, and I waved my hand in the air.
"But I'm a girl.
I looked at her and saw that she had taken off her hat. It's true, she's a cute girl with short hair and big eyes.
I'm sorry.
I chuckled as I took out another copper coin from my pocket and tossed it to the girl.
"Thanks, mister.
The girl took it in her hat, put it back on and went to the other wagon.
She gave the tangerine-like fruit she had bought to the master and Camilo. The fruit tasted almost like an orange, with a lot of sourness, but it was good enough to be considered as such.
When he glanced at Camilo, Camilo looked dumbfounded for a moment, but nodded softly. I'm sure he'll stock up when he finds it.
Eventually, they arrived at the city gate. As a guard in armor with a short spear approaches, Camilo takes out his peddler's permit and presents it to the guard.
"Who are you?
I'm the blacksmith who followed this master. I make things for him.
When I answered him, he looked at me. Well, no matter how you look at it, you have the appearance of a 30-year-old man (though you're over 40).
For a few seconds, the guard urges us to pass with his hand. The three of us bobbed our heads and walked past.
I guess we're through the first gate.
I talked to Camilo in a not-so-loud voice.
"Once we're in, we're pretty much on our own.
He told me to look at the outer wall and the gate. There may be guards inside the city, but in a city of this size, it is unlikely that one or two people sneaking around will be detected and put in trouble. What's more, it was just a merchant and a person following him.
As for the guards earlier, even though a peddler from a kingdom related to Helen's (I assume) had come, they let him through without much checking, which means that they hadn't received any notice as expected.
Of course, it's possible that they were just acting to avoid being detected, but it would just be bad luck for me if I got hit by someone who could do that.
I'd better start gathering information as soon as possible.
I asked Camilo lightly about the future.
"The best time is today. It's easier to make the excuse that I'm asking this and that to do business.
"What about tomorrow?
We'll do it when we're done with the proof. I think we can figure it out today. I think we can figure it out today. Let's just get settled in.
All right.
I look at the city from the top of the wagon. It's a commercial city, so there's a lot of variety.
This is a commercial city, so people from all walks of life are gathering here, but I wonder what it's like in a normal town or village. I wonder if the atmosphere is more somber.
The first thing to focus on is rescuing Helen, that's for sure. I'll probably only be useful at the end, but I can't let my guard down until then. I'll keep my head up.
With this small determination in my heart, the wagon headed towards the center of the city.