Chapter 31 - To Enter the Town
"I see it! That's Nirouette!"
We had taken a wide detour around the Eastern Great Forest, crossed the vast plains, and cut through the hilly region. Before long, the towering town walls came into view.
"Whoa, those walls are massive. Do they surround the entire town?"
"Yes, they do. The Margrave family of Nirouette apparently built them over three hundred years ago."
The walls stretched as far as the eye could see, encircling the town completely.
The sheer size of the town was overwhelming. It was nothing like the Lulusena Village—it was on an entirely different scale.
"But more than that, Tohru, your camper van is amazing! Covering in just two hours what would take a day and a half by carriage... it's incredible!"
"I'm astonished at the speed!"
"And it's not even bumpy, despite how fast we're going. That's pretty great, too."
"When a carriage goes fast, it makes your butt sore."
While I admired the walls, Eslina, Dormund, Franz, and Rick—who were all based in Nirouette—kept marveling at the camper van's ride quality.
At first, they'd all been shocked when we set off, but after about an hour, they'd gotten used to it. We even had enough time to rotate seats so everyone could enjoy the passenger seat. By the time everyone had taken their turn, the town of Nirouette had come into view.
"It's nice having someone in the passenger seat to talk to—it makes driving so much more enjoyable."
"Isn't Haku-san usually in the passenger seat?"
"He falls asleep right away."
"That's because you drive at such a boring speed, Tohru."
When I inadvertently muttered a complaint, Haku's voice echoed from the bunk slide bed above.
For him, my pace might have been like a snail's, but I wished he'd join the conversation more often.
"Line up here. You’ll need to go through an inspection to enter Nirouette."
"Got it."
I slowed the camper van and joined the long line extending from the town walls.
Travelers ahead of us turned around, startled, while the horses pulling a nearby carriage neighed nervously.
"...Yeah, I figured the camper van would stand out."
"I-it does. There's even a chance they might not let us into the town..."
That would be a hassle. I wasn’t keen on explaining the camper van's mechanics to every curious person we met, and I wanted to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
"Alright, everyone, get out of the camper van for now."
"O-okay."
With questioning looks, they grabbed their belongings and exited the camper van.
I packed up my essentials for the town and stepped out with Haku by my side.
"Getting out is fine, but what are you planning to do with this giant thing?"
"Watch this. [Vehicle Storage]."
I raised my hand, activating my unique skill. A black vortex appeared in the empty space, and the camper van was sucked into it.
"There we go."
""The camper van disappeared?!""
When the camper van was stored, Franz and the others exclaimed in astonishment.
"How did you make something that big vanish?!"
"Wait... Tohru, do you have an Item Box skill?!"
"Knock it off. It's bad manners to pry into someone else's skills. You shouldn't force them to reveal it."
Rick interjected, cutting off Eslina and Dormund's questions.
Rick, with his calm demeanor, often played the role of the group's mediator.
"I see. So, it's considered rude to ask about skills here, huh...?"
"Unless you're working with someone or they're part of your party, you don’t go around asking about their abilities."
"There are plenty of adventurers who keep their skills a secret."
Franz added helpfully.
I understood now. While there wasn’t an issue with revealing commonly known skills, prying too much was frowned upon. I made a mental note to tread carefully when interacting with adventurers outside this group.
"Now that the camper van's no longer an issue, the real problem is your familiar."
Everyone turned their gaze toward Haku.
Bored with the slow-moving inspection line, Haku had sat down and let out a massive yawn.
"...Would it be a problem to bring a White Fenrir into Nirouette?"
"It's not just a problem—it's a huge one. Bringing a creature of the strongest species into the city? That’s asking for trouble. The lord's private soldiers and local adventurers might surround us."
That would definitely be a problem.
"Hm, if the lord sends his soldiers or adventurers come attacking, I’ll just scatter them like leaves. We're only here to resupply, right?"
"No, that’s a terrible idea. If we did that, we’d never have a peaceful journey again."
Causing such trouble just for supplies would make us the worst kind of nuisance.
Bandits? No, more like traitors to the realm. Actually, that’s not quite right either.
But semantics aside, I just wanted to peacefully travel the world in my camper van, free and easy. If we picked a fight with the kingdom, we’d end up on their wanted list, and camping would be out of the question.
"Do the people around us even realize Haku is a White Fenrir?"
"No, luckily, White Fenrirs are rarely sighted. Right now, he’s smaller in size and suppressing his magic power, so it seems no one’s noticed."
Dormund said, stroking his beard and lowering his voice.
"Good. If they haven’t caught on yet, we need to think of a plan to get him in quietly..."
"...Hey, why don’t we just call him a white wolf and let him into the town like that?"
As everyone was desperately brainstorming ideas, Rick looked down at Haku and said so.
""That’s it!""
"Don’t be ridiculous, halfling! Who are you calling a white wolf?!"
"Come on, Haku. This is the best way to get into Nirouette without any issues."
"I don’t even care about entering the town."
"Maybe not, but I do. We need money for the camp life, and magic stones too."
"I’ll gather the magic stones myself."
"How about money? Magic stones alone won’t cover everything. To make good meals, we need ingredients and seasonings, and there are limits to what I can prepare."
Sure, with the Shop function, I wouldn’t be completely stuck even if we couldn’t enter the town. But without access to this world’s unique ingredients, my cooking options would be limited.
Now that I had come to this parallel world, I wanted to try cooking with the unique ingredients and seasonings here.
"Grrrrrr..."
"If I’m the only one allowed in, what happens if something happens to me? You’ll never taste Wagyu beef again."
In this dog-eat-dog world, there was no telling what dangers I could face even inside the town.
Outside, I could set up a barrier around the camper van and stay relatively safe. But in the city, if trouble broke out, I could be incapacitated before I even had the chance to summon the van and take cover.
Setting aside the camper van, there was no way Haku didn't understand my own fragility.
"...Fine! I’ll pretend to be a white wolf!"
After showing a few seconds of hesitation, Haku reluctantly agreed.
"Thanks, Haku."
"Stop it. Don’t touch me so casually."
I’d hoped to sneak in some fluffy head-patting, but he turned his face away with a huff.
I was disappointed, thinking I could naturally pet him, but that wasn't the case.
"Still, Rick, I’m impressed you suggested that to Haku-san."
"You know he’s a White Fenrir, right? He could’ve torn you to shreds on the spot."
"Well, I didn’t see him in his full-sized form like you guys did."
By the time Rick had woken up, Haku had already shrunk into his smaller form and suppressed his magic aura.
Without those intimidating traits as a White Fenrir, he didn’t seem nearly as threatening.
I had to hand it to Rick for his quick thinking.
As we were discussing how to behave in Nirouette with Haku and the others, we arrived at the town gates.
"Show me your identification."
A gate guard clad in metal armor and holding a long spear commanded.
Franz and the others reached into their pockets and pulled out card-like items attached to chains, which they presented to the guard.
"Alright, no issues. ...How about the one traveling with the white wolf?"
Haku’s brow twitched at the term "white wolf."
Please, Haku, hold it together. We just need to get through this peacefully.
"Apologies. I come from a far-off countryside and don’t have an identification card."
When I honestly told the gatekeeper I didn't have an ID, he gave me a suspicious look.
Franz and the others quickly stepped in, speaking to the guard on my behalf. Their words seemed to ease his expression a little.
"It’s a bit suspicious, but your attire is proper, and you have the trust of adventurers. Nirouette is tolerant of visitors from other nations. Just pay a deposit at the office over there."
When I looked in the direction the gatekeeper pointed, it seemed that a soldier was stationed in an adjacent building.
I thanked Franz and the group for vouching for me and headed toward the office as instructed.
"I’m here to pay the deposit since I don’t have an identification card."
"The deposit is four silver coins. However, since you have a familiar with you, the fee is doubled to eight silver coins."
"R-right, I’ll pay."
It turned out that having a familiar meant double the fee.
But it made sense. A person without identification bringing a monster into the city was a risk. The townspeople wouldn't feel safe unless this kind of deposit was paid. For now, since I had no proof of my trustworthiness, I had to rely on money to smooth things over.
After paying eight silver coins, I signed my name in the ledger provided by the soldier.
The amount was more than I expected, but this was all in line with what Franz and the others had explained to me, so there was no problem.
"May I ask what your purpose is for visiting this town?"
As I was writing my name, the soldier asked.
"I’m traveling and looking to do a bit of business. I’d like to sell herbs and monster materials I’ve gathered on the way."
I took out materials such as kirik herbs, grey wolf pelts, fangs, and magic stones from my backpack and showed them. This should prove that I was not lying about wanting to do business.
"In that case, I recommend registering with the Merchant Guild. Conducting business without proper registration is a serious crime."
"I understand."
"...By the way, is your familiar registered?"
The soldier asked, glancing down at Haku.
Good, judging by his calm demeanor, he hadn’t realized Haku was a White Fenrir.
"No, he's not registered. Is that going to be a problem?"
"If something happens and you lack backing, you could find yourself caught up in trouble. Whether it's the Merchant Guild, Adventurer Guild, or Magic Guild... anywhere is fine, but please make sure to register your familiar."
Apparently, while it wasn’t mandatory, having guild support was important. Without it, any disputes—especially with nobles—could end badly. In the worst-case scenario, my familiar might be seized or worse, executed, after a simple trial.
"I-I see. I’ll make sure to register."
Of course, registering a familiar came with additional fees.
It seemed like all the money I earned in Lulusena Village was about to disappear in one go.
Keeping an eye on the dwindling contents of my wallet, I passed through the town gates, bracing myself for what lay ahead.
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