Fixing up the carriage wasn't too hard with Haruki's emperor of void ability, and so once he created a new wheel from darkness and masked it with Fay's help under an illusion, everything seemed normal about the wagon and it worked just fine as well.
"We're close," while maneuvering the horses, Riley noticed a giant wall of logs lining the Dolatian territory.
Thankfully, even as the Dolatian farmer working outside noticed their carriage, none of them seemed suspicious about the wagon or even the passengers riding on it.
'The illusion works.' Since Illusion was Moriyana's domain, Haruki had been concerned if Fay's illusion was enough to fool anyone or not. Reaching the gates with the demi-human dogs and being allowed in as traveling merchants, Haruki's trust in Faty's ability was strengthened even further.
"Demi-human, as guards?" Still a bit baffled by the sight, Asuka's eyes glared through thin air, all the while her mind was struggling to accept reality.
"Don't get too excited though, they have demi-human slaves here too. Only people who are deemed useful to the emperor are given special privileges," Fay pointed out as they got into the second chamber of the gates. "Besides, it's a great dump for the emperor to keep people from other races since humans don't want them infecting their cities."
"Yeah, I don't imagine it'd end well for demi-humans to live in a place where they're constantly being hunted," Haruki added.
Reminded of how elves were treated back in Lamenia, Haruki wondered if any other races which were considered monsters would be in the cities as well.
Breaking his chain of thought, however, a pair of lion-headed guards suddenly walked up towards the wagon. Circling it around once both of them stood at its back to check on the ware being taken into the city. However, since nothing was inside, they grew quite a bit suspicious.
"A traveling merchant group with no goods, what is this?" Smacking his hand on the back of the wagon, the lion guard didn't seem too pleased.
"We're stocking up, now get your dirty hands off my wagon," shooting right back without showing any signs of weakness, Fay glared down the lion guard.
He kept glaring back at her for a moment, but throwing his hand to the side, he moved away from the wagon with his partner and helped him get the gate open. Finally being allowed in, a stream of light invaded the dark space between the two gates. It blinded the passengers at first, but slowly as their vision turned to normal, the sigh in front of them was, to say the least, baffling.
The crowded streets teeming with life were filled with all kinds of dem-humans and even some monsters wandering around carelessly. Their bodies decorated with fluffy jackets and jewels, and even leather boots and all forms of luxuries let Haruki and his party know that their pockets were full just as much as their bellies.
"I'll try to find an inn…" overwhelmed by the crowd, Riley could barely manage to get the horse to pass through the people.
And while searching for an inn, Haruki noticed a pair of collared wolves being dragged behind by a pair of demi-wolf ladies. Dressed in light dresses of pink and purple themselves, they had the two young boys following them around while naked to their skin.
"This feels worse…" Whispered Asuka, watching the same sight as Haruki.
"It is what it is, the wealthy enslaves the poor, nothing new," Haruki replied before drawing the curtains shut.
After wandering through the city of pretentious demi-humans and monsters, Haruki and his party couldn't find a single inn to spend the night. Instead, they were mocked for even asking for directions, and when they did find a building that appeared like an inn, they were greeted by a salesman instead of a bookkeeper.
"So ladies and gents, what are we looking for?" No bigger than Riley's boot, a dwarf in striking purple clothes greeted them at the store's entrance.
Extending his hands inwards, he waddled sideways with his clownish shoes tip-tapping to get away from the guest's path.
"We have mansions, luxury cabins, haunted non-haunted houses along the southern district," as Haruki walked in with his companions, the dwarf moved before them with his hands rubbing against each other. "Of course with a ten percent discount for every ghost presence in the building, so! What are you looking for, Sirs and Madams!"
The over-the-top welcome into the shop was completely overshadowed by the beauty of the shop's inside. Looking down at the dark oakwood floor, Haruki could see his own image being reflected through the floor polish. Letting his gaze wander some more, he moved closer to the oakwood desk with a wine bottle shelf all stocked up behind it.
"What about this place?" he asked, leaning against the counter.
Instinctively drawn to the light, his gaze shot up to the warmly light chandelier giving an even more premium shine to the entire place.
"This place?" Confused by Haruki's question, the dwarf tiptoed his way closer. "You wanna buy this place, sir?"
"Is that a problem?" Haruki asked, looking down at the dwarf.
"No! Of course not! We're using this place as a temporary shot anyways!" Excited for a sale, the dwarf didn't seem to mind at all.
Glancing at his companions, Haruki decided to take their opinion about the place as well.
"We might be staying here for a while, so, what do you guys think?" None of them seemed all that opposed to the idea, instead, Riley and Fay seemed just as amused by the decor. As for Asuka, just one trip up and down the dark spiraling staircase reminded her of the castle, which instantly sealed the deal for her.
"Leave the wine, and you have yourself a deal dwarf," speaking for the group, Fay decided to finalize everything while the rest of them went to check the upstairs rooms.
With their housing situation settled, it was time for them to lay low for a while until the heat from the demon hunt dies down a little. In the meantime, however, Haruki had plenty of ideas on how to spend his time.
'Challenging dungeons and monsters as an adventurer doesn't sound like the worst pass time.' Thus, hiding himself in plain sight amongst the kingdom of creatures, Haruki decided to do some adventuring until they got some conclusive news about the library from Moriyana.
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