Published: January 15, 2026
When I told Bell and Rosalie that we were heading to the capital city of the Yelinetta Kingdom, they immediately asked to accompany us. Just as I expected. Ort and the others also agreed to come along. I’m truly grateful.
As a result, Bell and Rosalie only brought a single carriage and two traveling merchants along to facilitate the crossing this time. Our group consisted of the Panamera knight order, the Seato village knight order, and about twenty adventurers.
“The Yelinetta Kingdom, like the Hesel Federation, trades with the Central Continent, so you can get precious spices and fabrics there. Many adventurers earn some extra money by taking escort jobs along the way,” Panamera explained.
“Merchants usually travel with at least two large carriages because of customs duties, but how much do adventurers usually buy?” I asked.
“Huh? What’s customs duty?” Bell replied.
“No idea,” Ort said.
As I overheard this terrifying conversation among Ort, Bell, and the other adventurers, I winced a little. When I asked further, I learned that adventurers rarely travel the main roads because moving along forest and woodland edges increases their chances of gathering demonic beast materials and ores.
No doubt, they must take the roads during escort missions, but this felt like a calculated move. Tax-evading adventurers, the lot of them.
By the way, since the usual trade route was via the coastal road, it was their first time traveling from fortress city Murcia through fortress city Cayenne en route to the Yelinetta Kingdom. Occasionally, you can spot mermaids there, which piqued my interest. I thought they’d be like the sea version of apcaluru, but apparently, their appearance differs slightly.
We chatted along the way as we headed straight toward the Yelinetta Kingdom’s capital city. Naturally, the road from fortress city Cayenne to the capital was well maintained, making the journey quite comfortable. Though some parts were worn with potholes, it was still far better than traveling mountain paths. The Wolfsburg Mountains’ roads were inevitably full of winding slopes, so this was a relief.
After crossing the mountains, the roads were mostly straight and flat. The nice weather helped make this one of the most enjoyable carriage rides I’ve had. Even the towns that acted as checkpoints let us through without hassle once Panamera introduced himself—face passes all around. I knew the townsfolk murmured in hushed voices, “Is that the Empress of Flames…?” and “They say she turns anyone who opposes her to ashes…” in fear, but I wasn’t surprised.
“The people of the Yelinetta Kingdom sure are docile,” Panamera murmured curiously. I just gave a polite smile. I’d prefer someone else explain the truth.
“Oh! There it is. That must be the capital,” Panamera said enthusiastically, unaware that some called him the Great King of Terror behind his back. We all looked up at the sight he pointed to.
Ahead, a straight road paved with gray stones led to a long, horizontal fortress wall. Behind it, several tower-like shadows were visible, but not the royal castle itself.
Even from a distance, the city had an air of history, so perhaps it didn’t have many large buildings. That was my initial thought, but as we drew closer, I was proven wrong.
The walls were simply massive. Up close, they appeared about twenty meters high and loomed even larger, surrounded by flat land. Van-kun could surely build something bigger, but these weathered walls had to have been constructed nearly a century ago. The enormous wealth, effort, and time invested in this was astounding.
“A pretty sturdy wall. But with such a wide stretch, defense would be difficult. Field battles combined with magician attacks from atop the walls might be the most efficient. It’s good that enemies can be spotted from afar, but some additional defensive equipment would be nice.”
Panamera immediately assessed the walls with a warrior’s mindset.
“But it’s impressive and grand. Building this must have been tough,” he added, snorting and giving me a sideways glance.