As I followed the map, I saw the walls of a city in the distance. I couldn't help but get excited, yet a little nervous at the same time. What if they thought I was some kind of metal monster and freaked out? And how were we going to communicate with the language barrier? And the lack of a driver inside? And what if they try to capture and disassemble me?

But despite all the risk, I don't think I could stand just driving around in the wild aimlessly. How horrific would that be?

I got on the path leading to the gates. It was a lot more comfortable than driving around on the bumpy and uneven grassy ground. Near the gates, there was a surprisingly short queue. A single carriage and a few people were waiting as the guards went through... whatever was needed to get the people in.

A few heads were turned as I approached. They looked at me weirdly, then went back to minding their own business. I felt slightly relieved. It seemed that machines weren't a huge oddity considering how nonchalant they were.

After a short wait, my turn came. By then, a few more people had arrived behind me. The guards said something I didn't understand. I wasn't sure what to do.

"What if you opened your window and I said something so that they'd know we speak in a different language?" suggested Radio.

I thought about it for a while.

I'm not sure. How are we going to explain the lack of a driver then?

"Maybe they'll assume you're some sort of Ai driven machine?"

I think we'll just wait and see how they react first.

"Okay then."

Suddenly, I got an idea.

Hey Tablet, do you have any translation powers by any chance?

[No.]

[But if you get me enough books, I might be able to decipher their language and translate it to you.]

Wait, what about the spoken language?

[Don't question how this works. Just get me a bunch of books.]

Alright, fine then.

I felt relieved. That didn't seem like too big of a hurdle.

Meanwhile, the guards seem to be getting upset from my lack of response despite them constantly yelling at me. They discussed something with each other. A woman walked up near me and said something in a menacing tone, then pointed away into the distance. It seemed like she wanted me to go away if I wasn't going to show them documents or whatever.

"I think maybe we should just go?" mumbled Radio.

But if we just go away, then we might never get in!

I decided to just stay put and see what they would do.

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, to be honest. And aren't there people getting impatient behind us?"

Then do you have a better idea?

"I'm not sure... Maybe we could try to find some books somehow at a different place?"

Seems like too much of a hassle. And where outside of towns or cities would we find books?

"Mayb-"

Just then, the woman raised her hands. I was lifted a whole metre into the air. What the heck! I immediately began to panic. Was she going to kill me just because I was hogging the gates? I should have known guards in a fantasy world would be really strong and unreasonable!

I was then placed back on the ground, albeit a bit violently. She shouted at me, then pointed towards the distance again. It seemed she was just giving me a warning.

Fine then. I drove away, sulking, finally letting the people behind me finally pass. They gave me dirty looks as I went away.

"Yeah... like I said, not a good idea."

I decided to just stay at a distance where they could see me, but not in the way of the queue. There was no way they could just keep ignoring me! And they probably won't attack me again since I was not in the way, right?

Radio sighed in exasperation. I was surprised Tablet did not comment once throughout the whole encounter.

[What? Do you get off me talking down you?]

It was only surprise. It's not like I asked you to talk to me or anything!

Geez.

As I continued to wait from morning till evening, the sun began to set. I saw a different group of people in the same attire as the guards walk up. It seemed they were taking the night shift. The new people pointed at me and asked the previous guards some questions. Probably why there was a machine just casually sitting there. I imagined them saying it was just some weirdo and to just ignore me.

Midnight came. A different shift. The same deal. Was I really going to be treated as a background object and ignored?

Eventually, one of the guards on midnight shift approached me, probably bored from the lack of people coming in so late at night. He looked like the typical dwarf from fantasy, short and with a well-braided beard. Wait, he probably was an actual dwarf considering the circumstances. He said some words to me that I didn't understand.

It was then that I had an idea. What if I opened my doors and let him see that no one was actually inside? Maybe they'll think I'm a rogue intelligent machine and bring me into the city to look for my "owner"?

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," said Radio.

Better idea?

"..."

I opened both my car doors. The guard stepped back, looking wary. A few seconds later, he decided to peek into my cabin.

Noticing the lack of people inside, he seemed really surprised. He stared at my cargo compartment with suspicion. Fine. I opened that too. He looked inside. There was also nothing.

He said something to me again, then walked back to the gates and told something to his fellow guards. I waited in anticipation, hoping that something would happen. Hopefully, that would let me in.

But they didn't follow up by doing anything. Disappointed, I decided that I should just activate sleep mode. Maybe they'd do something in the morning.

[The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.]

The definition of insanity is your constant berating!