“The Capital City Fialis is surrounded by large plains of farmland. This serves two purposes, the most obvious one is the quick supply of food which can enter the city and secondly an invading force will not have an option to hide within the forest which surrounds some other smaller cities in the kingdom.”

 

“As you arrive closer to the city only then can you truly appreciate the gigantic walls which surround the city and acts as the first line of defence from any invading army. The large walls were made up of carved stone and the gaps filled with mortar and other smaller stones to make sure they are strong and sturdy.”

 

“As you get even closer you can notice the large gate which can fit 2 large carriages side by side along with a strong wooden gate which is able to descend slowly from above. A few guards are positioned at the gate as they check incoming travellers' papers to make sure they are residents. If not, the new guests will have to pay a small fee to get a permit to enter the city.”

 

The guard who was standing by walked towards the front of the carriage and asked, “Papers please.”

 

The maid leaned to the side to access her bag easier and pulled out a small wooden shield slightly larger than her hand. “I do not have papers but I have a family seal, will this do?”

 

The maid revealed the seal of the Kensington Noble Family to the guards.

 

The guard became surprised that this carriage belonged to a noble family, it looked like it had gone through a beating. Not wanting to get involved further he replied, “Oh, please forgive me, Miss, you are free to go.”

 

“Thank you, good day to you Sir.”

 

“Anyways, the toll at the gates acted as a source of income for the Kingdom which has numerous expenses.”

 

“Wow, thanks for the detailed explanation which I didn’t ask for, It is my first time visiting the capital city, but you should have saved your breath. I can see out the small window anyway.” Kibo said in frustration due to the long periods of him sitting down.

 

The maid was not surprised by his response and sighed out, “Is that a way to thank your guide?”

 

Kibo ignored her and thought to himself, ‘Wow, it truly is like a fantasy world.’ 

 

When they entered the city, the first things he noticed were the deteriorating wooden shacks and other structures, they didn't go on for long, but they covered the inner walls of the main gate. The only thing which looked well maintained was the cobblestone roads, and not soon after, I started to see better maintained and better looking wooden structures.’

 

Kibo continued to stare out the small window and realised, the people closest to the walls looked like they were dressed in rags with holes in their clothes. But he couldn’t say much since he was wearing a dark grey cloak with a hood which wasn’t in the cleanest of states. But he found the atmosphere here was pretty heavy.

 

As they passed the doom and gloom he started seeing more and more stone brick buildings and it started to look like they were arriving at the market district where people were generally wealthier. They weren’t looking as depressed but they weren’t happy and all smiles either. It wasn’t just the Humans, the demi-humans as well looked the same way. Such as the cat ears, ‘What do you call them again? Because I have no clue.’ He thought to himself. He also noticed there were elves and dwarves amongst the people, to him it seemed like a nation where everyone is welcomed and can coexist.

 

He looked over to Lynessa who had been sitting quietly for the past hour or two and asked.

“Why does everyone look so sad?”

She became surprised by the sudden question she received out of the blue but replied, “Eh, don’t you know already? Rumours have it the kingdom will be going to war soon so a lot of people are upset since mainly the fathers will be drafted into the ranks and sent out to battle.”

“Oh, that makes sense, which kingdom are we going to war with?”

“Ehh! How do you not know that either? Who else could it be but the Caesinia Kingdom, to our West.”

“I see, well it’s not my problem, I got more important matters to attend to.”

A look of bewilderment crossed her face as she tilted her head. ‘What could be more important other than the war? Which isn’t easy as well since both kingdoms are evenly matched. He is a weird one.’ She thought to herself. She then remembered what had happened last night and blushed while quickly looking the other way.

 

Kibo, who had been still looking at her, saw that she quickly turned her head away from him. This led him to wonder what he had done this time to upset her. He dismissed her actions and thought, ‘Oh well, not long till we arrive at her home, I need to grab that reward money and head straight to the adventurers guild and also sort out my place of residence.’

 

[Kensington Family Residence]

 

“We are home, Yay!”

 

Lynessa rushed out of the carriage to see her mother and father standing at the door, and she gave her mom a big tight hug. Her mom noticed the carriage had been damaged but also noticed her daughter was okay and smiled.

 

“I’m glad to see you are doing well however, what happened to all the guards which were accompanying you? Did you annoy them away?”, the Mother playfully asked.

 

“Not funny, we were attacked by bandits. I barely escaped with my life, if I hadn’t wasted all my mana I could have taken them all out.”

 

She looked back towards Kibo and her face became mixed with different emotions. Not only was she a little embarrassed, but she was also angry.

 

“Hmph!”

 

She looked back towards her mother and with a disappointed face and complained, “We met a passing adventurer who saved our lives, the first thing that left his mouth was him asking for compensation!”

 

“Just give him his money and throw him out straight away, I don’t want to see his face ever again mom!” She begged as she became more annoyed the longer she stayed with Kibo.

 

“This ungrateful bit…”

 

The father became angry and lectured, “Stop it, is this a way to talk about the person who saved your life? You should be grateful, we had no idea you were in any trouble, and to the extent that your life was at risk. Not only did you lose all your guards, but the carriage also has been damaged. If it wasn’t for him I would have been receiving my daughter's body in a coffin!”

 

“But...”

 

“No buts, he is an honorary guest of the Kensington Family, and he will be rewarded handsomely.”, the Father commanded.

 

Kibo smirked and looked towards the Father and said, “Of course, Mr Kensington. If your daughter was ever in trouble ever again I would not hesitate to save her time after time. It was extremely fortunate I was passing by to prevent such a tragedy from taking place.”

 

Kibo observed that the Father was becoming more upset, and Lynessa was fuming. He continued, “It was my first time in that area and it was truly a blessing from the gods, maybe I was destined to be there that day to save your precious daughter. I do not want any reward; it was only my duty to save a helpless girl in her time of need.”

 

She clenched her fist and retaliated, “What bullshit are you…”

 

“Enough!” condemned the Father.

 

“Go inside and go to your room, and may I know your honourable name, passing adventurer?”

 

He noticed Lynessa became more infuriated by the second and she had bitten her lower lip, she wiped the blood away with the back of her hand. ‘I want to laugh but I need to hold it in. Oh god, she looks so cute when she is mad but I got more important things to do.’ He thought.

 

“My name is Kibo.”

 

“Kibo?”

 

“Just Kibo.”

 

“I see, it will not feel right in my heart to not give my daughter’s saviour some sort of compensation for your troubles, please step inside and rest for a while while we arrange your reward,” the Father politely invited.

 

Kibo cheered internally that he has secured his reward and replied, “Mr Kensington, you and your family have already done enough for me, I am a simple man and I would appreciate it if you just arrange the reward while I wait out here. I would just like to breathe in some fresh air and admire the beauty that is your residence and your garden.”

 

The Father was about to insist further, but he realised it would be a pointless argument, so he gave in a little earlier out of respect for his daughter's saviour.

 

“I see, but please if you ever need anything in the future do not hesitate to stop by. He walked up to Kibo and grabbed his hand. “Here take this it's our family seal it might get you out of trouble one day,” he said with a genuine expression of gratitude.

 

Kibo lowered his head slightly and respectfully said, “Thank you very much, Mr Kensington.”

 

‘Sweet, not only do I get some money I also got a seal, not sure what the value of this is yet but I’m sure it means something since I saw the maid use a larger version of this to enter and exit the city freely.’

 

Kibo who was thinking back about Lynessa couldn’t help but laugh. He realised he must have teased her a lot and she is most likely not used to it at all due to her living a somewhat sheltered and protected life behind her family name. He wanted to tease her some more, but he knows he is still in a lot of danger. If humans from Earth crossed they would definitely make contact with this Kingdom, and not soon after his name was going to be on every wanted poster.

 

He reconfirmed his plans in his head. ‘Go to the adventurer guild as soon as possible to register, and then start clearing dungeons to find some strong summons to protect him. Unfortunately, Zana won’t be enough.’ He told himself.