Following the encounter with the Orc band, our journey went smoothly with no other unplanned surprises.
The first checkpoint of the journey was located outside of the castle walls within a small guard post. As the soldiers stationed saw us, they laid down the cards in their hand and lazily got up with a look annoyance.
The representative who was resting in the carriage shot out, taking out his identification and trading permit. The guard captain leisurely skimmed through the papers while shooting suspicious glances at the mercenaries.
“Hmm, Vermillion Bird? For what purpose are you traveling to Kalmore?”
“We have a small branch located in Kalmore that needs to be resupplied. About our luggage, it is mostly wheat and fine silk.”
“Is that so? Are those men mercenaries? Have them take out their Rank Passes.”
At his command, the Champagne Mercenaries took out their pendants without hesitation one at a time. The fluidity of their motion made me think that they have gone through this procedure multiple times.
Isana and I hurriedly followed along. But compared to the metallic pendants that flickered light under the sun, our wooden Rank Passes looked so mediocre in comparison.
This dull design made it stand out even more than Hosane’s Gold Pass.
I was worried that the guards would take interest in our wooden passes and have Isana take off his hood, but those worries turned out to be unfound as the guardsmen walked away with only a glance without even inspecting to see if they were genuine.
This made me believe that theses inspections were done out of formality rather than need.
“Champagne Mercenaries 8 people, Vodka Mercenaries 8 people, Salad Mercenaries 7 people. Compared to the cargo, isn’t there an excess number in your personnel?”
“That is not true. We have already met a pack of monsters that were over 30 in number. In order to ensure our safety, we need to hire at least this number.”
“Hmm. Really? Monster activity have been increasing this past couple of days. Fine. I authorize your passage. Hey, open the gates!”
As the guard who was in charge of the inspection shouted, the iron doors began to open.
I had previously anticipated that the guards would at least rummage through the goods and search for any suspicious individuals so a sense of discomfort in my heart because the process was too easy.
“Excuse me, are the checkpoints usually like this?”
Unable to endure my suspicions, I asked Harol who answered in a small voice.
“It’s because we’re not at the border. The checkpoints located within the Empire is done more as a formality. It’s because as long as someone is still within this country and haven’t escaped to another, the Empire could still capture them.”
“Heh? That’s possible?”
“Of course it’s impossible. Something like that is doomed to be a failure. To be truthful, how can the Empire be okay when the Imperial palace is a mess? The top water needs to be clear so that the lower stream can be clean.”
