Gryphinto Territory

The journey through the Kingdom of Leoria had progressed relatively safely.

After all, inside Leoria, it was rare to find someone who didn’t know about Vim. Most people simply had no desire to cause trouble with him of their own accord.

They passed through several towns, and four days had soon gone by.

“We will be entering the territory of the Gryphinto Empire shortly,” a voice called out from the driver’s seat.

Vim looked out the window. Ahead was a checkpoint for crossing the border.

Once they arrived at the checkpoint, it was immediately the turn for Vim’s carriage.

“I recognize this crest as belonging to the royal family of the Kingdom of Leoria. Excuse me, but do you have anything to prove your identity?”

“Will this do?”

Leaning his head out of the carriage, Vim presented his S-rank adventurer card, a card bearing the royal crest, and a letter bearing the King’s signature that proved he was traveling to the imperial capital as Leoria’s ambassador.

“Ah, so you are the famous Mage of the Abyss! Forgive my rudeness! Please have a safe journey.”

The checkpoint knight gave a crisp, vigorous salute.

The carriage began to move once again.

The scenery visible outside the window didn’t look all that different from Leoria just yet.

“Looks like the long stretch starts from here.”

He had heard that the distance from the border to the imperial capital was quite substantial. Since they had only just crossed the border, the long journey was still very much ahead of them.

“We plan to push on to the town of Mail today. We’ll stay overnight there and set out again first thing in the morning,” Captain Camil, sitting across from him, explained.

“Understood. No objections here.”

Looking outside, the sun was beginning to dip. The calculation was likely to arrive in the town of Mail before it grew completely dark.

The carriage rode on for a few more hours from that point.

“The town of Mail is in sight.”

The voice called out from the driver’s seat once again.

As far as the scale of the town went, it was neither particularly large nor particularly small. It was a very average-sized town.

After completing the entry procedures and entering the town, they headed straight to the inn where they would be staying for the night.

“Thank you for your hard work. Please get some good rest.”

“Thank you. Make sure you get as much rest as you can too, Sir Camil.”

Since they were accompanying them as escorts, the members of the Order of Knights would likely be on high alert the entire time.

“Thank you. We will be resting in shifts, so please don’t worry about us.”

Hearing that, Vim and the others stepped out of the carriage.

“Hmm?”

The moment his feet touched the ground, Vim shot a sharp gaze toward the rear flank, looking slightly upward.

“Lord Vim, is something the matter? You have a scary look on your face,” Hana asked, noticing his reaction.

“No, I just felt eyes on me. A pretty unpleasant gaze, at that.”

“I didn’t feel anything at all,” Misa noted upon hearing his remark.

“Me neither,” Hana agreed.

“Maybe it was just my imagination. Sorry about that.”

“Not at all. If you felt something, Lord Vim, it might be best for us to stay on our guard just in case.”

“That’s true.”

“Well, let’s turn in for now anyway.”

With that, Vim and his companions walked inside the inn.