Chapter 64: Kingdom of Caerleon (2)

"Why do we have to wait in line when we can barge inside?!" Fenrir retorted, while clicking her tongue.

It was what she had mentioned. The three of us blended in with the groups all lined up before entering the gate. We met all sorts of people including traders, villagers, adventurers, and even foreigners. Since the villagers inside this kingdom wore a different dress compared to the ones outside, I guessed they were just tourists passing by.

As I listened to the merchants and people ahead of us, they were all whispering to themselves about the new hierarchy inside the city. I could only hunch that these dealers kept gossiping about the conditions of each town.

"If it wasn't for the king of Camelot, we could've entered this place without getting through this inspection!"

"What did the king of Camelot do to the king of Caerleon?"

"Haven't you heard about the news? I would have charged you two silver coins for this but I will give this information to you for free! The king of Caerleon died because of those damned Camelots!"

"Really? I thought nobody knew who started that war? Tsk. It happened especially when the king of Camelot offered a peace contract to the Caerleons."

"I should've sold twenty rings if I was already inside!"

"Hey! Check those women out! They're a real beauty, aren't they?"

"Yeah! Isn't that man their master?"

"It must have been nice to have sex slaves while working every day."

"I hope that the mercenary guild puts a stop to this madness! Why does the Kingdom of Caerleon want thorough inspections?"

"Just because the people wanted the mercenary guild to rule this kingdom, the new king strengthened their guards."

Those were the conversations I listened to from the crowd of people. And the last person who narrated the situation piqued my interest. They discussed to themselves about the mercenaries becoming rouge because of the new king. Since the king of Camelot killed the former king of Caerleon, a strife still enveloped the town. Hence, their heavy inspection.

Among those lines were villagers and traders monitoring our every move. Since Merleen and Fenrir had hourglass bodies, they attracted the attention of the surrounding crowd. It was as if there were a million eyes staring in our direction.

But I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on our goal. 

After a few seconds, the three of us finally arrived at the front door of the kingdom. As we walked closed the gates, two guards stood at each side. They armed themselves with bastard sword and plate armour to protect them from any attacks. 

These two soldiers were also the ones interrogating everyone who wished to enter the kingdom. Within a moment, we would be the next one to receive their questions.

"I want the two of you to shut up. Just follow my lead so we can enter the kingdom," I asked Fenrir and Merleen to cooperate.

I did not have any problems with Merleen since she would always listen to me. The only issue I had was about Fenrir and her peculiar personality. If the guards pissed her, Fenrir would unleash her power and make an enemy out of the kingdom. Considering her pride and powers, Fenrir would stop at nothing to entertain herself!

It was the sole reason why I wanted to tape her mouth and keep her silent for a while.

"Once we're inside, you can talk at any time! Just… please don't interrupt me while talking with the guard, Fenrir," I pleaded once more, hoping Fenrir would heed my request.

"Fine… But I will snatch some livestock inside the kingdom! That's my only condition."

Although I did not want Fenrir to steal pigs and chickens from the villagers, I had no choice but to accept her offer. It was a small price to pay compared to sleeping outside and not meeting with any humans.

"Alrigth. You can eat pigs and chickens from the village. Just...don't get yourself caught, okay?"

After our exchange, I stepped forward towards the two guards, with the pair of women tagging behind me. The guard's eyes ogled at Merleen and Fenrir. Since these two looked like models in my world, it cannot be helped that these girls would attract some attention.

"Are they your sex slaves?" one guard asked, with his eyes still glued at Fenrir.

"No. They're my friends," I answered. "We're adventurers."

"Hmmm."

The guards let out a lengthy hum, thinking to themselves to shove us away. However, the guard who had a perverted look nodded to himself and looked me in the eyes.

"Do you know the king of Camelot? And where did you come from? You don't look like someone I've seen before."

"Now that you've mentioned it, you have strange tastes in clothing, young man. You look like a knight, but no kingdom dresses like that."

Those two guards exclaimed, while scrutinizing everything about my team.

I cleared my throat and tried placing some sense out of these two. "I came from the village of Cornwall… these two came from another neighbouring village. A monster horde destroyed our town, and we would like to seek refuge in this kingdom," I explained, while crossing my hands.

Those words I told the soldiers were the truth. I did not want to lie, and I found these two around the village of Cornwall.

"Ah, that village! We apologise that our kingdom hasn't brought reinforcements to those nearby villagers. Since our kingdom is...under heavy inspections. I hope you understand,' the left soldier said, and handed me a paper. "Sign this document before you can enter inside. This paper would serve as your identification card. Please take good care of it."

"Thank you-,"

"That would be two silver coins," the guard cut me off before placing the paper on my hand.

"We don't have any money yet… we plan on taking some jobs inside the kingdom. Is that possible?" I apologetically answered.

"Hmmm. I guess it can't be helped. I don't usually do this, but I will let you pass for now. I want you to give me the sum for this card within tomorrow. Or else we would put you to the dungeons or kick you out from the kingdom," the guard on the left side announced, and finally handed me the paper.

I gave him a nod and replied, "Of course, I will! Thank you for your kind consideration."

As soon as I thought that our problems were over, the soldier on the right side slapped his hand at the bottom of Fenrir. The guard let out a perverted chuckle, together with a hideous smile carved on his face.

"Such a beauty. You go and have fun, missy~," the right guard teased, while waving his hands.

I launched myself in front of Fenrir before everything else would become dirty. If I paid close attention at Fenrir, she had her eyes glowing bright red with her fist ready to attack the man. Even the left soldier realised the event, but never tried seizing the man beside him.

"Let's go, Fenrir."

"This pervert touched my-... I will kill this man! Let me kill him!" 

"I know, I know… But if we do something, we'll make the entire kingdom our enemy. Would you want that?"

Thanks to my words, Fenrir finally calmed down and followed close beside me. Even though she had an unstable personality, Fenrir was still a reasonable wolf. She massacred every monster in the wood, but still listened to my advice.

However, that scene did not end there. The man on the right followed us and tried glancing at Fenrir. It looked to me that the guard wanted to meet with Fenrir for more, even escaping from his post.

I turned around and met with the guard, hoping we could work things out. But I knew what the man's motives were with a glance of his eyes. "I'm the brigadier of the army. I assigned myself to oversee the people passing by in our kingdom. And I can't help myself but be fascinated about your looks! Why don't we get some time to get to know each other and have fun inside a fancy inn downtown?" 

He did not look like it, but the soldier wearing heavy armour was a general. Although his looks told otherwise, there was a stone carved near his breast. 

Despite the guard's perverted looks, he still converse with the three of us with dignity, excluding his watery mouth while looking at Fenrir.

Before Fenrir could even make a move, I went in front of her and raised my head.