Chapter 2: Veil, Part 8

I dont want to sound like Im bragging, but this city is the best one out of all the ones built in this region.

The merchant says.

Aside from our own, several merchant wagons were gathering near the ramparts, making a queue that was coming and going in and out of the city. The city of Veil had a main gate, but there was no gatekeeper to guard it and no one was conducting any kind of checks or inspections.

Is everyone free to enter the city as they please? There are no restrictions whatsoever?

But of course. The walls themselves are not high since this is not a castle town and they wont be able to stop those who posses the Movement Magic or other means of teleportation so everyone just stopped being bothered with such procedures.

Movement Magic, huh? So they even have such a thing here? Truly, if this world possesses such methods of travelling then upholding the checks at the gate that pretty much everyone can bypass would really be a futile effort.

Huh? But then what is that wall even here for? If a war was to ever break out, Im sure that the soldiers could be transported magically over it, without any need to come out of the city on their own feet. Also, if there is something as convenient as movement magic here, then why did we waste our time with coming to Veil by a wagon in the first place? And do they have any countermeasures against the monster attacks?

Hoo boi.

I had so many things that I wanted to ask about, but for now the best course of action would be to wait until we will get ourselves into the city proper.

A few minutes later we had passed through the walls and found ourselves in the city.

We will pay a visit to the Slave Merchant first, then we will go to the station of the Knights Order so you could turn the Intelligence Cards in and then we can go to the Weapon and Armor shops so you could buy yourself some new equipment. Is that okay, Michio-sama?

Sure, no objections here.

We proceeded through the town along the wide, cobbled road. The buildings on both sides of it were all well-kept and about four-five storeys in height. For a civilization where goods and building materials are not as easily accessible like in modern day Japan everything looked to be relatively advanced. The streets were busy and filled with lively, energetic people, but not to the point where you could call this entire place chaotic. Quite the opposite, actually. All in all, this place seemed like a good town.

I activated my Identify Skill out of curiosity and saw that the people who were walking past us were a mixture of various professions, like villagers, farmers, peddlers and even warriors. To think that such a menagerie could actually coexist in peace.

If you keep going straight along this main road youll reach the citys center, but for now were going to take a right here.

Okay.

But of course. Here you go. And heres a copy for you, Michio-sama.

The merchant Im going to call him Picker-san from now on, it will be easier that way. Picker-san produced two documents and handed one of them off to me.

And this is?

An official Deed of Slave Ownership signed by the Village Chief.

Oh, so I even get to have written confirmation of me having a slave, huh? Thats neat, but also a little disturbing at the same time. I continued to look at it while we were guided to one of the rooms at the back of the shop, clearly meant for taking guests in.

Soon after we made ourselves comfortable on the large leather sofa, a man appeared before us. He looked to me in his forties and Identify revealed that he was a Slave Merchant. In other words, he was the owner of this whole establishment. His level, 44, was also the highest I have ever seen since I came to this world. Or could it be that this village where I spawned was a literal stick in the mud in the middle of nowhere?

I am Alan, the owner of this shop.

Michio. Kaga Michio.

And Im Picker, a Merchant from the village of Somara. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

The pleasure is all mine.

We stood up, greeted each other and sat down again. But damn, this sofa is really comfortable. Could it be that this Alan guy could afford to buy such a luxurious item because of how much money he was earning from the slave trading business?

The main gate looked to be quite lively. Did something happen?

Picker-san began with a little small talk.

So I take it that the two of you dont know yet?

Dont know what?

He glanced at us and revealed some curious information.

A Labyrinth was found two days ago.