Annie's Otherworldly Adventure

6. Arrive in Cain Imperial City

Oh, I forgot to introduce them. The boy in the hat is named Kerry, and the big guy next to him is named Mark. They are indeed students from the Royal Academy of Magic, Kane, but neither of them comes from the most prestigious Department of Magic at the Royal Academy of Magic, so they don't use Kane's name outside.

Anne thought to herself that Kerry and the others probably wanted to show their brotherhood because she was going to the academy to take the entrance exam, and besides, it was on their way.

Much later, however, Annie learned that Kerry was not a fellow student at all; he was just a shrewd businessman who would make money at any time!

According to the escort contract of the Mercenary Guild, food, lodging and transportation during the escort are included in the commission. Of course, you can choose not to eat and live with them, but for Annie, who is paid a penny, it is of course necessary to strictly follow the contract.

That night, Annie finally got a good night's sleep in her long-missed bed.

The next day, Kerry and Mark prepared to set off. Because they couldn't stand her wrinkled dress, Kerry thought it over and signed a temporary loan agreement with her. He would pay for her clothes, and she would have to pay him back with interest when they arrived in the capital.

Annie readily agreed, without finding it difficult, since in Miss Ash's memory, the Ash family was quite wealthy.

Anne borrowed a gold coin from Kerry and asked for half a day of free time. She bought a brown leather outfit in town. The leather was soft and comfortable to wear, and the trousers made her move around more freely.

She changed into a pair of leather boots and bought a sturdy bundle, spending a total of 46 silver coins. Wearing her new clothes, she strolled around the market, which was just a few stalls set up by mercenaries or residents in the square.

In the market, Annie saw the crystal core she was carrying. After inquiring, she learned that it was indeed the lowest grade crystal core, which could be sold for at most one or two silver coins.

She had only brought out a few dozen crystals from the Dragon Cave, which meant they weren't even worth a single gold coin. After thinking it over, she decided to trade the crystal cores to the stall owner for one silver coin each.

After the transaction was completed, Annie took stock of her finances once again.

Money: -8+, because she has 91 silver coins, 37 of which were obtained by exchanging crystal cores. In addition, she owes Kerry, so she is currently in negative equity, and this does not even include interest.

Items: a pendant necklace, a broken dagger, a dark magic wand, a set of leather clothes, and a bundle.

After thinking it over, Anne finally decided to buy a lady's long dress. When she asked, she found out that it cost more than eighty silver coins. No wonder Kerry lent her a gold coin. However, after Anne's persistent pleading, the dress was finally sold for 78 silver coins. As a result, she only had 13 silver coins left.

The currency in the continent of Gerson is universal and has a fixed value: one gold coin = 100 silver coins, and one silver coin = 100 copper coins. These are the currencies that ordinary people can access. In fact, there is an even higher currency above gold coins: purple gold coins. However, only nobles can see these, so we will not discuss them here.

Anne tidied up her belongings, putting the dagger and long dress into her bundle. Leaning on her magic wand—well, well, she could hardly use it as a cane—it was just too inconspicuous. Not only her, but even the experienced mercenaries couldn't see its value.

If the great alchemist were alive, he would surely be furious and weep. But who can blame him when one of his greatest triumphs was that this magic wand could perfectly conceal magical elements?

Getting back to the point, although it was dark and unsightly, Annie quite liked the feel of it. It was slightly heavy, smooth, and a little cool, like jade on Earth. That's why she dug it out of the dragon cave. Besides, as a magician, or rather, a prospective magician, it would be shameful not to have a magic wand.

Anne took Abag back to their lodgings and met up with Kerry. She believed he already knew about her crystal core being exchanged for money, since the town wasn't very big. She had even prepared her explanation: that her family had given it to her to practice low-level magic for fun. But Kerry didn't ask any questions and simply took her on her way.

Along the way, Annie gained a deep understanding of Kerry's cunning nature. In every small village or town where they stayed, he would accept any delivery mission heading towards the capital.

These kinds of missions are usually among the lowest levels in the Mercenary Guild, or even lower, and only earn about ten silver coins per mission. They're quite tiring to run around, but for someone like Kerry who's going the same way, it's a huge convenience.

Anne greatly admired this way of making money, and it later deeply influenced her.

After all, he had taken on her mission, and to take care of her, Kerry brought over a pony. Fortunately, both Anne and Miss Ash had ridden horses before, so they didn't complain. At least they didn't have to walk on their short legs anymore. Thank God, no, thank the gods!

The journey to the imperial city was exceptionally smooth.

Anne later learned that Kerry was studying in the Adventure Department of the Martial Arts Division at the Royal Magic Academy of Kane, specializing in various scout skills such as reconnaissance and traps. Therefore, he often disappeared for a period of time, and when he returned, he calmly directed everyone to walk and stop, or detour or go straight, leading them through twists and turns to avoid dangerous areas.

As Annie traveled, she became acquainted with Mark. She quite liked Mark because he was a straightforward guy who would never think outside the box.

Mark was also very kind to Anne. The lovely Anne always reminded him of his sister. Apart from his sister, few children would get close to him because of his large size. He was often ridiculed. Therefore, he would answer every question Anne asked him.

During their conversation, Annie learned that Mark was a citizen of a small country on the Eastern Continent, while Kerry was a citizen of the Nisa Empire on the Western Continent.

The Mark family was just an ordinary farming family. Because of their innate superhuman strength, they were chosen by the city lord and sent to the Cain Royal Magic Academy to learn martial arts.

Throughout the continent of Kane, martial arts have always been the strength of the people of the Western Continent. Therefore, in the Kane Martial Arts Department, the best performers are always from the Western Continent. Mark suffered a lot of exclusion because of his identity until he met Kerry. The burly and honest Mark and the cunning and quick-witted Kerry formed the best mercenary partners.

This is what Mark told her. It seems that Mark was instructed by Kerry not to talk about things at the Nisa Imperial Academy in detail. Annie sighed. It seems that she can't get more information from Mark. As for Kerry, that cunning guy, dealing with him might inadvertently expose her.

However, occasionally chatting with Mark about the customs and culture of the Western Continent is also a great option.

It turns out that on the continent of Gerson, the people of the Eastern Continent are known for their magic, while the people of the Western Continent are known for their martial arts. Although Kane is a permanently neutral country, its predecessor was a duchy of the largest empire in the Eastern Continent—the Eddy Empire.

The continent of Gerson reveres magic, and the Eastern Continent is the birthplace of magic, with abundant magical elements in the air, making it particularly suitable for learning magic. In addition, the empires of the Eastern Continent have a much longer history than those of the Western Continent. Therefore, the people of the Eastern Continent have always considered themselves the masters of the continent as noble and orthodox, and they disapprove of the profit-seeking and rudeness of the people of the Western Continent.

The Western Continent borders the icy plains to the north, where giants and dwarves live. The giants guard the treasures, and the dwarves make tools. The people of the Western Continent make a living by plundering treasures and trading with the dwarves. In addition, the people of the Western Continent are good at business, so the Western Continent has the world's strongest army, the most powerful weapons, and the most shrewd people.

From Mark's narration, Anne could roughly sense that the Eastern and Western continents seemed to be somewhat at odds with each other.

After two weeks of bumpy travel, they finally arrived at the Grand Canyon where the imperial city was located. By the way, the time system of the Gerson Continent is similar to that of Earth, with seven days a week and 30 days a month. This saved Annie a lot of trouble, as she didn't have to spend time adapting.

When Annie arrived at the capital, she was completely shocked. If she hadn't known that the capital was built in the Grand Canyon, she would never have imagined that this seemingly endless array of houses and palaces was built in a canyon. To her, it was practically a basin!

Kane's city walls are made of large blocks of stone, as high as a three-story building, and faintly glow with a bluish light. From a distance, they appear majestic and imposing.

The entire imperial city was radiating outwards from the palace, with commercial and residential areas. The palace was the most magnificent structure in the city. The buildings in the commercial area were connected in large rows, forming the central street of the entire imperial city. The residential area included independent noble residences as well as small clusters of commoner housing.

At the city gate, armored soldiers stood imposingly on both sides, their shields gleaming in the sunlight. The city gate was wide open, and the broad avenue was wide enough for ten four-horse carriages to pass side by side. Although Miss Ash remembered what the Imperial City of Prisat looked like, compared to Kaneby, it was truly insignificant.

As Anne rode on her horse, her eyes kept catching sights that amazed her.

Upon arriving at their destination, Anne dismounted, completely ignoring Mark's warnings to be careful. She excitedly looked around at the magnificent surroundings, then looked down at her own travel-worn appearance, feeling rather out of place. She laughed.

Abag stood on her shoulder, his round eyes darting around, occasionally whispering in Annie's ear. Kerry and Mark were already used to this behavior between the man and the mouse, simply assuming that Abag and Annie were being affectionate.

A scout's ears are the most sensitive, but the little guy Abag firmly remembered what Anne had said: he must not let outsiders know that he could talk. So when he whispered in Anne's ear, he lowered his voice to the lowest possible level, so that only Anne could hear it.

In fact, Abag had unintentionally acquired another skill: telepathy. So, in reality, it didn't make any sound. After Annie discovered this skill not long ago, the two became very careful when communicating, which is why the scenes became more frequent.

"Annie, these houses are so beautiful! They're so sparkly, I love them!"

Hearing Abag's childish voice say such things, Annie laughed. Sure enough, he's a dragon; his favorite thing is still something shiny.

'Abag, when I become a top-tier magician, I'll buy you lots and lots of sparkly things.'

'Mmm, Anne, look at that…'

Finally, this excited conversation was interrupted by Kerry, who had already found out the location of the Priscilla embassy and was preparing to take her there to complete the mission. However, before that, Kerry took her to a hotel, booked a room, and told her to go in, wash up, and change into her ladylike dress.

Anne stayed in the room for a long, long time. Her medium-length black hair was still uneven. Due to long-term outdoor life and unbalanced nutrition, it was severely dry. In addition, it was naturally curly. Anne spent a lot of effort to tie it up neatly. She put on the long dress she bought and cleaned her little boots. She carefully looked at herself in the mirror.

She had a black princess hairstyle, big eyes, and fair skin that was tanned pink all over, especially her small face with two red cheeks. She wore a gray-white long dress that wasn't very fitted, with a little lace trim on the collar and hem, and shiny brown boots.

This image doesn't quite fit the description of a noble lady. Thinking back to Miss Ash in her memory, Annie felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Miss Ash herself was quite beautiful, and even with this country girl-like attire, she still looked cute and charming.

After changing her clothes, Anne came out and received high praise from Mark.

The burly and powerful Mark, living on the Eastern Continent where noble magicians are revered, has been discriminated against and ridiculed since childhood, except for his sister. Annie feels like a younger sister to him.

"Our little Annie is so pretty!" Mark genuinely liked his little sister Annie. He wasn't good at judging people, but he could sense that Annie didn't discriminate against him in the slightest.

Anne paid no attention to Mark's praise, because she was surprised to find that Mark had changed into a clean robe, and the sword at his waist was polished to a shine. Coupled with his tall and muscular figure, he was quite eye-catching. Kerry had also changed into the same robe. Anne thought that this must be the uniform of the Royal Magic Academy of Kane.

The uniforms of the Kane Kane Royal Magic Academy are of course well-made. Standing next to the two of them, Annie doesn't look like a noble lady being escorted at all, but rather like a little village girl they picked up from the countryside!

Anne was somewhat deflated.