Chapter 63 Hannes City
When will you hatch? Adam gently caressed the gray-scaled egg on his lap with a dispirited look. It had been more than half a year since he'd acquired this egg in the Spirit World.
Except from the time when it had called out to him, it had been completely silent ever since. No matter how much Adam tried to communicate with the thing inside the egg, it just wouldn't reply.
It felt as if the creature inside the egg had gone into a deep slumber.
"Look, Adam!" Edward's excited voice entered Adam's ears. The youth gently took the egg back inside his spirit sea. There, it comfortably lay on one of the green leaves, nestled against the petals.
Then, he looked in the direction that Edward was pointing toward. The speed of the traveling party had slowed down considerably as they were nearly at the entrance of the county seat of Hoffman County.
Beyond the city walls, the trio could see medieval-styled buildings, but that was not what caught the kids' eyes. It was what lay even beyond the buildings.
Dozens of sailing ships dotted across the vast sea!
"Wow…" Only one word escaped Adam's lips. This was the first time he had seen the ocean. He couldn't help but be moved by the scenery.
"Hehe, this is nothing. Wait till you see the actual harbor." Edward chuckled.
Lisa looked at him and curiously asked, "Have you been here before?"
"Of course!" Edward patted his chest. "Apart from our Moon City, the capital of Hoffman County, Hannes City, has the largest mercantile community in the Southern Federation. I've been here once with my father when I was little."
Both Adam and Lisa nodded in understanding. It would make sense for Edward's father, who was the guild leader of the Nightingale Mercantile Guild, to have business dealings with the traders of Hannes City.
Hannes City, also known as the City of Sails, was located in the southernmost part of the Uriel Continent. Being a coastal city, a lot of pirates gathered here. Of course, the pirates hid their identities and were inconspicuous in their matters.
Moreover, the reason why Hannes City could even compare to the trade volume of Moon City was that it was one of the two known coastal cities of the Southern Federation that had established a safe trading route with the Nahua Continent which was situated directly south of the Uriel Continent.
As the traveling party neared the city gates, Adam proposed, "Let's not meet the Count now."
"Why not?" Edward asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"We should separately investigate first. That way we'll have more room to operate," Lisa replied.
"Sure, whatever you say." Edward immediately agreed.
Seeing this, Adam rolled his eyes. He knew that if he had said something instead of Lisa, Edward would have vehemently argued with him.
There was a large number of people who were waiting to get into the city. The traveling party got in line and waited for about fifteen minutes before they were finally able to reach the guarded city gates.
"State your purpose for visit." A tall middle-aged man sporting a stubble and wearing steel armor stopped right in front of the traveling party. He seemed to be the person in charge of the gate security. His one hand was on the hilt of his swords and his eyes were alert.
Seeing such a level of vigilance, Adam was inwardly surprised. But still, he replied with a toothy grin, "Haha, me and my friends here are from the Leander Kingdom. We are touring the Southern Federation and Hannes City was the first one on our bucket list."
The guard looked at Adam's stupid face and then at Edward and Lisa. Then, his gaze shifted to the dozen mercenaries guarding the carriages behind them.
Hmm, looking at the quality of their steeds as well as those mercenaries guarding them, it looks like these kids are nobles, the guard thought.
He then ordered the other guards at the gate, "Men, thoroughly check all their carriages."
Adam looked at the red-haired mercenary leader behind him and instructed, "Cooperate with them."
"Yes, sir!" The mercenary leader nodded and then instructed the mercenaries to assist the guards.
After all the carriages were inspected, the city guard confirmed that there was nothing suspicious. Then, he and his men made way for the traveling party. Of course, the party had to pay a certain amount of money to enter the city.
Just as Adam's steed walked past the middle-aged guard, the latter cautioned. "Make sure you and your friends do not go wandering about late at night. There have been some strange happenings recently."
Adam's eyes narrowed and he wanted to ask the guard more about it, but the latter had already walked away.
The youth couldn't help but feel an ominous foreboding. He calmed the tension in his heart and soon entered Hannes City along with his friends and the traveling party.
As soon as they entered the city, they were drowned by the loud bustling of people. And that was not all, the salty smell of the sea mixed with the odor of countless people assaulted their nostrils causing them to slightly wince.
Unlike Moon City which was clean and full of greenery, Hannes City was just the opposite. It was an extremely dirty and unpleasant metropolis.
The cobblestoned streets were narrow and heavily crowded. The buildings were so closely built that there was barely any moving space in between them. But the most stark difference when compared to Moon City was the races that inhabited the city.
Unlike Moon City where one could see people from all races mingling with one another in harmony, here one could only find humans for as far as the eye could see. Very seldom would one find a lone elf or a dwarf. It was evident that the city didn't welcome other races.
Despite all its demerits, Hannes City had a unique vibe to it. Perhaps it was the smell of the ocean, or perhaps the spirit of commerce and freedom, but the City of Sails presented an unforgettable experience to all those who came by.
After asking around the locals, the traveling party arrived in front of a three-story building that looked relatively better than most of the buildings they'd seen on the way here.
The trio got off of their steeds and gave the reins to the servants. Edward looked at the signboard above the building's entrance and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Blue Mermaid… is this really the best inn we could find?"
"Haha, relax!" Adam patted his shoulder. "I'm sure it isn't all that bad. Let's check it out."
Edward grumbled under his breath and followed after Lisa who had already entered at some point. The mercenaries guided the horses and the carriages to the back alley and kept guard, meanwhile, the servants and the maids waited inside the carriage."
Adam, who was following after his friends, suddenly stopped at the entrance and turned around. His jovial expression from before was nowhere to be seen. His eyes narrowed and a sharp glint flashed through them as he looked at a certain area in the crowd.
He searched around that place for a while but couldn't find anything suspicious. His fists clenched tightly as a wave of uneasiness swept over him.
I'm sure someone was spying on us just now.
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