Chapter 19 : Preparation for Admission (1)

To the Director of the Orphanage,

Hello, it’s Emily.

The words you said when you gave me the letter of recommendation are still vivid in my mind:

“Those who document the world, if they are a disciple of Ilias, it’s important to experience the wider world.”

Just like you said, the world is truly mysterious. 

Things happen every day that I’ve never read about in books.

Thanks to Miss Joanna’s help, I was able to survive.

She even let me ride in her carriage without any discrimination because of my status.

But then—

Clunk!

The carriage jolted as if it had hit a large rock.

The sudden shake caused Emily’s quill to draw a thick, heavy line on the letter.

Fortunately, it wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t read it, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit upset.

At that moment, the window at the front of the carriage opened, and Thomas poked his head out.

“Sorry about the rough ride.

I’m trying to keep it steady, but it’s not easy.”

“It’s, it’s fine! 

I’m just hitching a ride!” 

Emily waved her hand exaggeratedly, hiding the letter. 

“And Miss Joanna is sleeping, so don’t worry too much!”

It was only thanks to getting a lift in the carriage that she had time to write a letter, so it wasn’t right to complain about a little bump.

“Heh, I appreciate your understanding. 

The load is heavy, so it’s tough to drive the carriage.”

“Hahaha… 

Yeah, right.”

Since she knew there was a reason for it, Emily couldn’t bring herself to complain.

When Thomas closed the window, Emily sighed quietly and turned her gaze to the back of the carriage.

“Kwa… kwaah…”

“Eyes… eyes… pee… poop…”

“Hehehe…”

In the carriage’s storage, strange figures were rolling around like bags of goods.

They mumbled incoherently, their minds seemingly gone, and squirmed like they had forgotten how to move their bodies.

She thought about how much trouble it had been to tie them up and load them.

“Joanna said we should just cut off their heads and bring them back.

That was really creepy.”

The image of Joanna calmly pointing a sword at them was terrifying.

Still, these people were worth keeping alive.

If they caught the worshippers of the Evil God, the city would offer a reward.

In fact, if they brought them alive, the bounty was even double.

“In the book I read, it said you’d get 2 gold coins for every head of an Evil God worshipper!”

That meant if they brought them alive, they could get up to 40 gold coins.

Having lived a poor life, Emily could barely comprehend such a sum.

But there was one thing that bothered her…

“But why are these people acting so crazy?”

She couldn’t figure out why these people had gone mad.

They clearly hadn’t walked all the way here in the middle of the night with their bodies barely able to move.

So, it seemed likely that something had happened to them nearby.

What on earth had happened last night—

“Emily, what are you looking at so intently?”

“Eeek?!”

Joanna’s soft breath brushed Emily’s ear.

When did she wake up?! 

And why does her breath smell so good? 

Her face and eyes are so beautiful!

Emily felt a sense of distance just from her very existence, regardless of status.

Quick as a hamster, Emily scrambled to a corner and waved her hands in a flustered manner.

“Ah, um, I was just wondering why those people are in such a state!”

“That doesn’t seem like something to be so flustered about.”

Emily tilted her head.

She wasn’t lying, but it felt like Joanna was hiding something from her, and that made her suspicious.

At that moment, a crumpled letter peeked out of Emily’s pocket.

“Is that a letter?”

“A letter?! 

Ah, I didn’t realize I had a letter here!”

“This ink is too fresh for it to be an old letter.”

Of course, she couldn’t just brush it off.

Emily awkwardly smiled and squeezed her eyes shut.

She thought they had become a bit closer, but the habit of writing down what came to mind made her feel like they might distance themselves.

She had been ostracized as a child for observing and organizing everything around her.

It would only be natural to feel uncomfortable if someone knew your habits or preferences when you weren’t even that close.

Kneeling on the floor of the carriage, Emily sniffled and took out the letter.

“I didn’t hide it with bad intentions, so please forgive me.”

“…I wasn’t trying to scold you, though.”

Still, since she was curious about why the letter had been hidden, maybe Joanna should take a look at it?

Just as Joanna reached out with interest,

“Miss!

We’re almost at the Gate City!”

A rope was thrown down from the heavens just for Emily.

They both forgot about the letter and leaned their heads out the window.

The city was visible in the distance, surrounded by cliffs and an imposing, massive wall.

The Gate City Teodor revealed its grandeur, welcoming them.

Upon arriving in the city, Joanna headed straight to the guards.

She intended to sell, or rather, offload the useless goods in the carriage.

The water of the guards glanced at the ten people tied up with ropes and looked at Joanna with a puzzled expression.

“Who are these people…?”

“They’re worshippers of the Evil God, part of a group called the ‘Recruitment Society’.”

“Hmm, please wait a moment.”

The water instructed his subordinate to check the wanted list.

Worshippers of the Evil God were often associated with bounties placed by the church.

The subordinate handed the wanted list to the water, who scratched his head after reading it.

“I’ve confirmed that they are part of an illegal organization designated by the church. 

Their appearance matches the wanted posters. 

But…”

“Is there a problem?”

“What on earth did they do to end up like this?”

“EEO…?”

The guard captain pointed at Joseph with a grim expression.

The sight of him drooling and nodding his head didn’t seem like it belonged to a dangerous criminal.

But being a guard in a large city wasn’t something just anyone could do. 

After a moment’s hesitation, the captain pressed his forehead, waved his hand, and said,

“No, it doesn’t matter what method was used to catch a criminal. 

We’ll prepare the reward from the church and the guard’s bounty. 

Please wait.”

There was no good in getting involved in matters that didn’t concern you.

Once you get entangled, you’d find yourself worried day and night.

She already had enough stress from her thinning hair; the last thing she needed was another headache.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Joanna, too, couldn’t think of a way to explain things.

She bowed her head in thanks and glanced at Dantalion on her shoulder.

She didn’t need to ask; she knew Dantalion had used his power to protect her.

“I’ll work harder so I can relieve Dantalion’s worries.”

A short while later, one of the guards stumbled forward carrying a sack filled with gold coins.

With one hand, Joanna easily took the sack and left the guard post.

Emily, who had been waiting outside, calmed her racing heart and asked,

“How much did you get?”

“I didn’t check the exact number, but I think it’s a lot, don’t you?”

Joanna opened the sack wide.

The gold coins inside sparkled brightly like the sun.

Thud!

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of gold coins, Emily dropped to her knees without realizing it.

“So… so many gold coins… 

Hoo….”

“Your face is really amusing, Emily. 

How do you make that expression?”

“You’re right. 

It’s quite an amusing face.”

Even little Dantalion nodded, as if agreeing.

It was a rather impressive sight, seeing someone’s eyes spinning like that. 

It wasn’t something just anyone could do, so it could be considered a talent of sorts.

With a small laugh and finishing her observation, Joanna extended her hand to Emily.

“Get up. 

How did things go with Thomas?”

“Hoo… 

He just came by and told me he booked a room at an inn.”

There was still some time before the entrance ceremony.

More importantly, the cost of living in the capital was exorbitant. 

Since it was just a place to stay for a short while during the holidays or vacation, there was no need to bear such high costs.

Unless you were exceptionally wealthy, it was common for most academy students to rent a place in the Gate City.

“Is this the inn Thomas reserved?”

“Let me check the name…”

Emily looked at the name of the inn.

It matched the one Thomas had mentioned—the Rusty Sword and Shield Inn.

When they opened the door and entered, the smell of alcohol from the morning wafted through the air, and there were a fair number of people already drinking.

“Ugh… 

The smell of alcohol.”

“Well, if customers are already coming in the morning, it must be a decent place.”

Drunkards preferred to drink at good taverns, after all.

The hall was spacious and clean, and the kitchen emitted a pleasant aroma that made you feel warm inside.

The one-eyed innkeeper, noticing the new guests, smiled broadly.

“Oh! 

Are you the daughter of the man who just booked the room?”

“We’re in the same group, but I’m not his daughter. 

By the way, Thomas certainly has an eye for things.

Finding an inn like this isn’t easy.”

“Hahaha! 

Well, I take pride in running this inn. 

Oh, Thomas is in the stable taking care of the horses.”

He was a man with quite the outgoing personality.

But always being friendly wasn’t always effective.

“I’ll go bring Thomas.”

Emily, looking all wrinkled like mold exposed to sunlight, hurried off to the stable.

The innkeeper watched her go, scratching his head and laughing.

“Haha, looks like I asked too many questions.”

“Emily is a bit shy, you know.

Oh, by the way, my name is Joanna.”

“Oh!

It’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady. 

Call me Cesar.”

Joanna shook his hand lightly.

This was a city she would be visiting often while attending the academy, so it was a good idea to build some connections.

After the brief exchange, Joanna took some gold coins from her sack.

“This is for lodging.”

“Gold coins?

Miss, sorry, but don’t you have any silver coins?

Gold coins will leave a huge amount of change.”

“I’ll be staying here until the academy’s entrance ceremony. 

Is that alright?”

“It’s tough even to feed people three meals a day. 

If there was a bank open, it might be fine, but with the recent fire, the bank isn’t operating.”

Carrying around too much money caused a lot of trouble.

It was obvious that people would start targeting her for the money, and it was just cumbersome to carry around too much.

Wasn’t there a better way?

[Joanna, since you have plenty of remaining money, how about using the change to build some connections?]

“Dantalion?”

After quietly listening to the conversation, Dantalion offered his advice.

There was no immediate need for a large sum of money, so there was no reason to obsess over it.

[People tend to want to help those with good character, even without being asked. Sometimes small acts of kindness can return huge benefits later.]

Joanna nodded.

If that was the case, what would be the most efficient way to show kindness at the inn?

Quickly coming to a decision, she smiled softly and pointed toward the drunken customers.

“How about giving the remaining money to the customers for a free drink?”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? 

I’m fine with it since I’ve already been paid…”

Cesar looked at the drunkards with a grumpy expression.

It was a little absurd to think that they would be so eager for free drinks.

“Do they really need to beg for free drinks from a young lady?”

“It’s fine.

We’re neighbors, so we’ll see each other often.”

“Ooohhh!!”

Who would refuse free drinks?

At that moment, Joanna’s popularity among the regulars of the inn soared to the roof.