Chapter 207
In spite of everything, the horses had a good long rest all the way up until midday, so our speed after that was great . They started at a good speed and did not slow down until we reached our goal .
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And so we arrived at the imperial capital in no time .
While we had reached our goal, we had not yet gone through the gates . This was the imperial capital after all, and security was tight . Other carriages joined the traffic from side roads . We were now moving slowly in a very long line .
“Will we even get through by the end of the day?”
“Hmm…I am not sure…”
We sat in the driver’s seat next to Mister and stared up ahead . The sun was casting long, long shadows .
I climbed up onto the tarp and looked behind the wagon . The driver, who Mister called Moosh, was looking at us with a bored expression . The line continued on behind him . There were Adventurers on foot and carriages . They would definitely be staying out here during the night as well . Night shift buddies .
“We will have to camp out here then . ”
“Even if we did get in, the inns will probably be full… After all, there is the Imperial Sword Tournament . ”
“I see…damn, that’s not good…”
Would there be an inn for us…?
“Daniela . What should we do? There may not be any inns open . ”
“That would be awful…”
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I called from the top of the wagon . Daniela turned around and looked at me . Indeed . We had only just heard about this tournament and hadn’t thought about it too much . We had never lacked for an inn to stay at before, but we may have to sleep outside this time . I didn’t want to do that . We didn’t come all this way to the capital just to sleep in the streets .
“Well, there is a post town, so it shouldn’t come to that . ”
“Hmmm… But if everyone in this line stays there…”
I scanned the procession once again . Hmm . There were a lot of people . The tournament was to be in three weeks . But we were surely the late-comers .
Well, there may at least be a very low-quality inn we could stay at . It wouldn’t be bad as long as they had a bar .
I told Daniela this and she agreed . It would be annoying that we had to be more careful in regard to security, but it was better than staying on the streets . We would probably wake up in prison after being robbed blind .
“But, well…the gates will close when the sun goes down . We’ll have to camp out here then . ”
“Oh, the gates are closing?”
I thought maybe a place as big as this city would be open twenty-four-seven .
“They usually are open at all times . But you know, there is the tournament . ”
A lot of dangerous folks had gathered from across the land . Mister said this in a whisper . I whispered back that we would be sleeping outside amongst them… We had to hope that nothing would happen .
When the red sun had sunk completely, the west gate closed with the sounds of creaking wood . A guard came out on horseback and shouted to us that we would be received on the following morning .
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Well, there was nothing to do then . Those who were in the line gave up and started to prepare to camp for the night . Though, people did not want to give up their positions, and the tents were all made in or as close to the lines as possible .
As we did not want to move either, we pitched the tent right in front of the wagon . One of Mister’s tents, that is . As we had used our own tent up until now, we had not seen this tent until its debut .
Ours had been made of two triangles, a pole and large rectangle cloth to go on top .
But this tent had one large pole in the center with a circular cloth that spread out from it . It was like a cone…like a mountain that I child might draw . As the pole was long and the cloth large, it was very spacious inside .
“I like it…”
“We should buy one like this next time . ”
Daniela and I inspected the interior and began making plans for our next purchase .
It was decided that two people would take the watch at a time and Daniela and I would rest first . Mister said we had done so well in the fight and deserved to rest . So I accepted .
“Hahh…that was a tiring day…”
“I am quite confident that I shall sleep until morning . ”
“Please don’t . ”
Of course, I wasn’t sure I could get up either . I was tired both mentally and physically .
‘Goodnight,’ I said as I pulled the blanket over my face . It did not take long for sleep to come .
Moosh woke me up a few seconds later . Actually, I had slept for longer, but it felt like seconds .
As hard it was, Daniela and I rubbed at our eyes and left the tent . The moonlight shone beautifully down . The sky was also full of stars .
“Wow…”
“I am tired…”
Daniela and I dragged ourselves to the driver’s seat .
“…Wait, shouldn’t we split up? You should go to the other wagon, Daniela . ”
“I am quite sure I shall fall asleep if I am alone…”
“Me too… Ah, well . It can’t be helped then . ”
And so we decided to sit on top of Mister’s wagon . From here, we would be able to see the wagon behind us .
I took some food out of the hollow bag, which I had brought . I had been more tired than hungry earlier, so we decided to have a late-night snack now . The skewers of meat and vegetables looked especially appetizing under the moonlight . By the way, we had given some to Mister and Moosh before going to bed . They would go to bed on full stomachs . The opposite of us .
“We will have to satisfy other urges once we get a room . ”
“Daniela . Are you even awake?”
“This is good . ”
I stared at her but she looked unconcerned, and so I decided to focus on the food as well . Yes, it was good . I had high hopes for whatever new food the capital would offer .
And so we sat there and ate . Now that I think of it, it was our first meal of the day…no wonder it felt so satisfying .
“Asagi . I want more . ”
“Yeah . Take any you like . ”
“Which one should I…”
I offered her the bag and she stuffed her arms inside . I ate three barbecue meat skewers and three spicy vegetable and meat rolls . That was enough .
“I will have what you were having . ”
“It’s very popular . As it should be . ”
We had bought that at the bar . As we could not get more, part of me wanted to save it for a special occasion . But humans could rarely beat their appetites .
As I had nothing better to do while Daniela ate and stared at the moon, I used Night Eyes to look at our surroundings . It allowed me to see quite a lot, which was kind of fun . Perhaps it was the notion that I was seeing what others couldn’t . Still, it was just a lot of identically covered wagons . And so my gaze turned to the sky .
There was something mystical and alluring about the night sky . I would often stare at it without any reason .
Perhaps it was a habit that started when I was a part-time worker . Of course, when there were no customers . That being said, living in the city meant the sky was never this clear . The best time to see stars was right after a typhoon .
I would often stare at the stars and wonder if I could really carry on with that job… Things were different now . I felt different when I looked at the sky . I felt sorry for my dead-end life at that time, but now I had Daniela with me and felt fulfilled in our days together . I still worried about the future, but I also looked forward to it . Back then, there was nothing but anxiety…
“Daniela . Do you mind if I go take a walk?”
“If you must… But do not go too far . ”
“I’m not your kid . ”
“More like a descendant . ”
It was sometimes hard to know when poking her about her age would annoy her . But I guess women were like that . And with that, I jumped off of the tarp and went on a stroll .