Chapter 367 - Distance

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When morning came, Aleni returned and then guided Zaos to the hideout of the bandits. They moved to an area where the grass was pretty tall between some hills, so it was hard to find the underground place that they used. The entrance was blocked by a boulder that was almost the size of a human, so there was no way a few people would be able to move it, even if they found it. However, that wasn't a problem for Zaos. Not to mention, the hideout was open since the idiots who used it left last night.

"You didn't find anyone else here?" Zaos frowned since there were no signs of battles around.

"Yes…" Aleni said, visibly displeased since she said that she would deal with others and her anger hadn't been quenched.

"I find it hard to believe that only seven bandits managed to steal the cargo of a ship…" Zaos rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Inside the underground hideout, Zaos found some things resulting from the bandits' several weeks of 'hard work.' There were all kinds of things there, clothes, food, wine, gold… but not a single other magic weapon. As expected, those idiots only attacked easy targets since they were cowards. In any case, Zaos could sell those while traveling around with the excuse of being a merchant. He wanted to settle down in a single place as soon as possible, but it probably wasn't a good idea to do that so close to any port. Now that the Ashiris kingdom was preparing for war, everything could happen…

"Using this place for too long might give away its position, so we won't be able to use it…" Zaos said and then sighed. "Unless we only come at night, but even that doesn't make it perfect. Considering what we know, there is a high chance that these guys have friends somewhere else, and we will have some headaches if those friends appear. Let's just get everything we want and then move on."

After the clean-up in the hideout, Zaos told Aleni to rest a little since she had been up all night. They still had some other villages in the region to visit, but he wondered if he should check all of those. People that usually live the same lives usually only talk about the same things, so he wouldn't gain much Intel by staying there. Not to mention, they are still only a couple of days from the Northern border, which divides the territory between Ashiris and Sairus kingdom. The war might easily reach their position…

While riding, Zaos checked the map he bought the other day, and he couldn't help but feel a headache. There were some mountains in the West and South, and there were some mines as well. It doesn't matter which direction they go. They will have to deal with some troublesome individuals. However, it couldn't be helped… they had to start sleeping in some inns for a change. Hopefully, the inhabitants of the next villages and towns will be too busy with their mining to worry about newcomers.

By proceeding toward the West, they will eventually reach the central area of the kingdom and then find the capital. That was a big no for Zaos. Nothing good would come in getting any close to the nobility of that country, so he decided to head south.

Several days passed, and they finally reached one of the biggest cities of that kingdom, a place called Solime. Although Zaos had seen a lot of green when he arrived at the kingdom, now he could see a lot of grey and brown due to the mountains around and the fact that the whole city had been built by using the stones they found in the mountains. There weren't many tall buildings in that city, but it was a pretty large and wide place. As if they were still expanding the place, several workers were transporting square-shaped stones to the city's interior. Maybe it was thanks to that, but the guards paid no mind when they saw Zaos and his weird wagon.

"The people here sure are lax…" Zaos muttered as he looked around, and the inhabitants still paid him no mind.

That was good for Zaos but too good to be true was also a problem since it would make him paranoid. However, Aleni also informed him they weren't pretending. The people there really were too busy to care about every single traveler that comes and goes.

In any case, Zaos noticed that the number of shops selling things related to magic stones was pretty high. Still, despite that, the shops didn't seem all that prosperous. Was it because of the competition? Based on the things Zaos saw until now, even the most humble folk used those magic stones to help with their daily lives, and by doing so, they could produce more, to earn or sell more.

"Now that I think about it… none of the places we passed through seemed that prosperous or advanced," Zaos rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This kingdom is supposed to be more technologically advanced, but the towns and villages are basically the same as in the Sairus kingdom."

That was odd… but soon Zaos understood why. At the center of the city, he found the largest and tallest building of the city. It was almost a castle, and it even had a ten meters wall surrounding it. Zaos lived in one during all his life, so he could easily recognize the house that belonged to a noble house. In the end, the population didn't prosper all that much because they had to pay high taxes for certain individuals to live the good life. Or maybe it was due to the commerce of magic tools… they weren't that expensive, but that was the opinion of Zaos, someone who always had an easy time making money due to his knowledge and his background.

"Yep… let's make sure to keep away from this place as much as possible," Zaos thought.

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