“We’re close!”

“There are more people around now.”

“Seems so.”

Sequencee watched as the three of them peer out of the window into the surroundings.

They had reached one of the fork roads which led into the capital’s different entrances. The density of flowing coaches increased the closer they got to the city’s south gate.

The high forts were now visible in its magnificence. Tall keeps with sentries had walls plated with stone, onyx and some unknown metal, giving it a lustrous shine under the light of day. Small windows which served as shooting sites for crossbows, cannons and magicians were cut out in the thousands. At the pinnacle of the many guard towers, Equestria Empire’s flag fluttered.

The capital of Equestria can be divided into 4 zones. Structured in circlets, the innermost region is the royal palace where the royal family stays. One ring outside that would be where the manors of nobles or super wealthy merchants could be found. The third ring, which they were approaching, is where most of the amenities and trade posts for the kingdom can be found. The region outside the fortress walls is where some of the lesser commoners had their houses and farming plots built.

The caravan of four was slowed to a crawl due to the line at the gates. The locals at the paddy fields tending to the rice plants in the distance, kids frolicking about, merchants holding conversations with mercenaries leaving for somewhere. It was a mash of various interactions.

Some time had passed before they reached the gates, and everyone was inspected for their identity and were obliged to pay travel taxes.

The identity card which was issued by the Earldom for the four of them included an emblem mark and date which stated that they had just completed their basic education.

In cases otherwise where one did not have an identity card, or were from a foreign kingdom, they would have to pay for a single use pass that usually lasts for a month. The pass can be renewed at the administration office near any one of the gates in the 4 cardinal directions.

Once their caravan passed through the behemoth gates, an entirely new world opened up to them.

Fantastic buildings tightly packed together, most of which had at least 3 floors to them; bustling streets of mercenaries, mages, officers, children and knights. Narrow alleys shrouded the back streets, creating an ominous sense of dread while piquing the adventurous spirit of the curious.

“This place.. again..” Leticia muttered.

“Hm?” Sequence turned to Leticia.

“Ah.. no. Nothing.. just bad memories of the past,” she smiled bitterly. Sequencee thought it was better not to ask.

“Wow.. so this is the empire’s capital? It’s way busier than I thought,” Lilian was practically kissing the glass window.

“You can say that again.” Ro folded his arms with a smug on his face.

“Sequencee, after this do we head for an inn first or lunch?” Leticia asked.

“Lunch!” Lilian yelped.

“The inn should come with a spot for lunch, right?” Sequencee remember how most of the inns his mother used to bring him too had some sort of kitchen available for the guests.

“Do you have an inn in mind?” Ro asked.

“We could always ask Richard’s party or the scholars. Maybe they have recommendations?”

“I can’t really afford an expensive one just so you know. I only have around 3000G left,” Ro said.

“What.. I have barely 2000, you know?” Said Lilian.

“What? Did you guys come without seriously preparing enough money?” Sequencee said.

“Te-he..” Lilian knocked her head.

“Then how about you two?” Ro asked.

““...””

‘The home never taught kids how to budget their money did they now?’

Sequencee began to think that perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to have paid extra just for this caravan.

===

“If you’re planning to join a party in the future, we’ll welcome you two with open arms yeah?” Richard said with a grin.

“Right, right. What he said. I hope you guys manage to enter the academy,” the party’s female mage accompanying him followed up.

“Thank you for the advice,” Sequencee lowered his head.

‘He probably noticed what happened yesterday night. Well.. I’m pretty sure most of them know by now. They just kept it to themselves.’

Having consulted with the mercenaries and scholars, they decided to check out the inn called Fortbort. It was classified as a lower class inn which had rooms that ranged between 300G (3 silver) per night to 500G (5 silver).

They left the intermission station and headed off, dragging their luggage behind. It was quite the challenge considering how it was their first time in the capital. Everything felt foreign to them– well, at least to Ro and Lilian.

“Which direction did they say again?” Ro asked.

“It should be around here,” Leticia took the lead.

‘She’s probably been here before. She’s familiar with the capital.’

“Wow.. look at that girl..” Lilian nudged their attention towards the street.

Knights following a pair of young siblings around for a stroll. The two of them wore appealing clothes that screamed ‘watch out, we’re nobles!’. Many commoners watched them from afar with respect and reverence.

“Come on, don’t let that distract you. I’m hungry already,” Leticia grabbed Lilian by the wrist and pushed onwards.

“Okay. Okay! You can let go–”

Fortbort Inn.

It had a decent appearance from the outside, though it didn’t seem so busy.

Entering through the door, they instantly took note of the smell. A thick scent of sweat and incense perfused throughout.

The lobby was half-occupied by people that Sequencee thought could be mercenaries or otherwise.

The clerk at the counter greeted them with an amicable smile. Nearby was a pulsing dark blue rock which had a sigil carved into it. Cold air spread out from it as the center.

‘This place doesn’t feel too hot at least.’

“Welcome, how many days are you planning to stay?” the clerk greeted.

“Can we have 2 rooms for 4 people for 2 nights?” Sequencee requested.

“Will it be alright if those rooms were apart from each other?” the clerk asked.

I turned to them.

“I’m fine with it.”

“As long as we stay in pairs.”

“Me and Leticia alright!” Lilian claimed her property first.

“Then we’ll go with that,” I turned back to the clerk. “If possible, even though the rooms aren’t adjacent, I’d like if both are on the same floor please.”

“Alright then..”

“And, can I ask what amenities are available? Are towels and warm water included, or is that an extra charge? Are there laundry services available, and how is it charged? As for the food, are there complimentary tickets distributed, or..” Sequencee went on.

As someone who has gone on plenty of adventures with his mother in the past, he knew that small details like these were different depending on which inn you took.

“I’ll answer them in sequence. Warm towels with water are provided one set per room. So for 2 rooms, you would have to top on 2 sets to mark it up to 4 people, that would be an extra 50G. We do not provide any laundry services, however, there is one just across the street. You’ll have to look at the rate yourself, though I don’t think it’s particularly too expensive. As for the food, unfortunately we do not provide any complimentary tickets. They are charged separately. There are two lavatories located at each end for each of the floors, and they are separate by gender. If you find that there is anything suspicious happening inside the inn, you may come to the counter and inform us. Any other questions? Oh, and as for the total price, that would be 2200G for two nights.”

‘So each room is 500G. I suppose that's the case since its peak season. The new hero is about to arrive after all.’

From the system, Sequencee took out 22 silver and placed them on the counter.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you for your patronage!”

The waiter took the coins and began to process the documents.

The other three froze up.

“Alright, so each person’s share is..” Ro began calculating the quotient.

“Ah, no need,” Sequencee said.

Ro and Lilian froze up.

“Don’t we need to split the bill?” Lilian asked.

“Shouldn’t I’ve been the one to pay for that instead?” Leticia said.

“It’s fine.”

“Oh, right. Do you need information regarding the regulations if you overstay? All items inside the inn become confiscated by the management if you forget them. We typically have a no return policy so it is wise if you take caution of your belongings.”

“Got it.”

“What? That’s unfair..” Lilian who didn’t know better could only say as such.

“Nope, that’s just how it works,” Leticia corrected her.

“So this is the real world huh.. it’s quite savage..” Ro sounded amazed.

‘That’s just how it is.. well, it’s not as dark as it looks. They’re just not used to it yet.’

“If I may ask, for what reason did the four of you come to the capital?” The clerk, with the key and receipt in hand turned to us and asked.

“We’re going to Riestallia Academy,” Lilian said.

“Oh? The try-outs?”

“Yup.”

“I hear that there are a lot of students who are going. Rumor has it that they’ve expanded slots to accommodate more students. Well, even so, it’s not going to be easy so you better prepare yourself for failure. Don’t put everything in one basket.”

“Hehe..” Lilian giggled tiredly.

Sequencee and Leticia took the key and the four of them advanced to the stairs just beyond the passage to their right.

Their rooms were located on the third floor but at different ends of the corridor.

“Leticia and Lilian will take a room, Ro and I will take another. Will that be alright?” Sequencee confirmed before they advanced any further.

“Yup.”

“Sure.”

“Kay.”

“Hold on, after this where do we gather? I’m somewhat hungry,” Leticia complained.

“Right. Then whoever is done will wait out the stairs.”

“Got it.”

Passing one of the keys to Leticia, Sequencee and Ro brought their luggage to their room.

A lonely table placed against the wall, wedged in between two beds, a single cabinet near the entrance which looked like it had been worn and purposely modified so that clothes of the two people can be separated. There was a lightswitch to the side, and a fan on the table.

Ro flicked both on and the two of them began unpacking the luggage– actually, Sequencee just tossed his under the bed.

He walked towards the louvered window and pushed it open.

The streets opened up below, to the opposite he could see the laundry store with a veranda filled with potted plants. There was an auntie there watering the flowers and shrubs with water magic. When she saw Sequencee, she waved. Sequencee waved back in response.

“Ah.. this’ll take a while,” Ro said behind Sequencee.

“Don’t be too late. I’ll go wait outside first,” Sequencee didn’t have anything to unpack anyways.

“Alright. Give me 5 minutes.”

He walked out into the hall and found Leticia already outside. Sequencee approached her.

“Ro said he’ll take another 5 miuntes.”

“Lilian said she wants to change first. She’ll take some time too.”

“I suppose we’ll just wait.”

“Yeah.”

“...”

“...”

The hall was rather quiet. Only muffled sounds of chatter from the lower floors were transmitted to them.

“Thank you for yesterday night,” Leticia siad.

“So, what happened exactly? I still don’t understand why you freaked out then.”

“That’s well.. I was scared okay.”

‘Scared of failing the appraisal.. really?’

“I guess my predictions weren’t too far off.”

“Yeah.. seriously, how long are they going to take anyways?” Leticia fummed.

For the past two years having known Leticia, he knew that she was someone who’d hide herself when something was wrong. So seeing her expressing her feelings in this manner, it’s clear that..

‘She’s feeling much better now.’