“Woooow! This place is already so different from that previous town we went to!” Delmare gasped while being carried on Odeta’s back.
Right now, we were in the midst of disembarking from the ship, all of us walking down the specially prepared gangplank as a group.
It’s a shame that Emilia was still busy with her own ship since most of her officers were involved in her betrayal, thus she had to do quite a lot of things by herself while she looked for replacements.
Well, we aren’t really picky about such details in the first place anyway so we saw ourselves off the ship.
As Lisa had helpfully educated me beforehand, I thought I was at least prepared for what I might find here.
But even that was not enough to prepare me for the reality of this city.
When Lisa told me the streets of this city were intentionally made wide to accommodate troop and wagon movement, I was already expecting roads that were perhaps four or five lanes wide using my old World’s roads as comparison. Apparently that wasn’t even a close enough guess as I believe the streets were at least ten lanes wide in total when I saw it with my own eyes.
They really needed that much space back then apparently.
But right now, it looked like it was being used for transport wagons filled with various goods to be brought to and from the docks.
As the main road stretched in one straight line through the city from the docks to the outside of the city, the traffic flowed very smoothly with everyone having space to manoeuvre regardless of how big their size and wagons were.
Odeta looked around, clearly not as impressed as I was, “Meh… Such a waste of space. They should have just covered this place up instead.”
Speaking of which, Odeta ended up giving me a red flower this morning that she received from Emilia as thanks for yesterday. Katsuki had helped me clip it on my hair just above my ear, which made Odeta’s eyes sparkle whenever she saw it.
“So what is there to do in this city?” I asked, already trying to find if there was anything interesting around.
Mother giggled, “Ufufufu~ Since this is a trading port, there are a lot of different shops around here too~ This city specialises in wares that come from the Nekinumi Kingdom, the Elhiria Republic and the Arwan Territory in particular~”
I gasped, “Oh! Does that mean we can find one of those tracking compases that Emilia used here too?”
“Ara, ara? Is there someone in particular that my little one would like to keep track of?”
“Ehehe~ Of course I would like to be able to see where everyone is! That would mean that no matter how far I am, I can always find everyone!”
“Ufufufu~ My little one is the cutest indeed~ Unfortunately, that particular item requires specialised tools to make which you won’t be able to find here I’m afraid. But if my little one wishes to, I can have Mary make an order for you?
“Awww… It’s ok, that just gives me another reason to head towards the actual place itself to explore anyway!”
Ufufufu~ In that case, how about we walk along the main street and see if there’s anything else that catches your eye, my dear?”
Everyone ended up agreeing to Mother’s suggestion and we proceeded down the road.
Katsuki then came up to me while the others were distracted.
“Mistress… If I may be allowed to ask… Did something happen between you and Miss Lisa?” She whispered, making sure no one else could hear us.
“Eh? Why do you say so?”
“Because she has been looking at Mistress rather weirdly for a while now.”
I turned my head just in time to see Lisa staring at me with a longing look before she quickly averted her gaze, acting as though I did not just catch her staring at me.
I giggled at her reaction, it seemed like the kiss really affected her. Or maybe it’s just because I still do not understand the seriousness of a kiss in this World.
She’s even keeping a set distance away from me as though she was too embarrassed to get close to me right now. Yet, I could tell that she really wanted to with how she was wringing her fingers.
“Don’t worry about her, she’s just really shy after we’ve been separated for so long~” I explained, which was partially true anyway.
Katsuki saw through me easily and knew I was hiding something of course, but she chose not to question it and simply nodded in response.
We didn’t get to go far from the harbour when I noticed a certain wagon that was shaped differently than the rest being pulled along by a few horses coming up from behind us.
While most of the other wagons had a tarp covering their cargo, this one in particular was basically a box with metal bars at its sides.
It only took me a moment to guess that this must be a slave wagon and as it got closer to pass by us, I could see that I was right.
Within the wagon were several people of different races all chained up with their heads down and clothed in tattered clothes. I believe these people must have been one of the things being transported inside Emilia’s ship.
It has been a while since I last saw slaves being transported and even though Katsuki was still technically my slave, I’d like to think that she has already transitioned to the role of my personal maid now.
Katsuki barely even reacted to the sight of the slave wagon passing by us, a sign that I believed meant she no longer saw herself as one of them. Although someone else did notice me looking at it.
“Ara, ara? Is my little one looking to get another slave?” Mother asked with a knowing smile.
“Mother… That’s not it at all… I was just wondering how they were being transported since I’ve never seen slave wagons before…” I pouted.
“Ufufufu~ Then shall we go and see where they are headed? Mary, where are they going?”
The maid bowed her head, “I believe they would be joining the auction Madam. There is a building just down the road near the intersection that is being used to hold auctions regularly. Coincidentally, the next one would be starting in about an hour’s time. Shall I make the arrangements for our visit?”
Sure enough, the wagon that was transporting the slaves went down the street and made a turn at the building she haid pointed out.
I would very much like to know how she found out about these things when we literally just got here but I decided not to question it.
Mother tilted her head at me as a silent question of whether I wanted to go and I nodded to express my consent.
“Ufufufu~ In that case, do help us make the arrangements, Mary~” Mother instructed.
The Trasif maid bowed her head before disappearing through a portal, presumably to contact the auction house to get us our seats.
I feel like I need to say this first, but I’m not going there to get another slave.𝔬𝗏𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t
At least… That was definitely not the intention I had when I told Mother I wanted to go there. It was more for the novelty of it and to see if there was anything interesting there as well.
Like Lisa had told me before, there were some potions that can only be found in an auction, so surely there must be other interesting stuff being sold there that can’t be found anywhere else, right?
Maybe… Maybe they might even be selling delicacies and sweets from other parts of the World! There’s no way I’m missing out on that!
In fact, since Mother said that they are focused on items being brought over from those three places, I might even get a sneak peek on the delicacies there even before I get there! This is perfect!!
“Umm… Aster… There aren’t any auctions around that would be selling sweets…” Lisa suddenly whispered.
I snapped my head towards her in shock.
Ok, how did she know what I was thinking in the first place?!
Lisa giggled, seemingly recovering from her earlier shyness, “You have that dreamy look on your face when you start thinking about sweets, Aster~ You’re so cute~”
Wha-wha-what?!
I looked at Katsuki and she hesitated for a moment before nodding her head to confirm the Infrid’s words.
Umm… Ok… I don’t know if I should be glad about that…
“Ehehe~ You don’t need to worry that much Aster, you really are cute when you’re like that~ I love that about you, you know~”
Kuh… And to think you were being all shy and embarrassed just a few moments ago after kissing me… Why do you recover so fast?!
But wait a minute!!
“Why wouldn’t they sell sweets in auctions?! This is ridiculous!! There should at least be some right?! Like some really special or yummy cake!”
Lisa waved her hand, “No, no… There’s no way. There isn’t a cake out there valuable enough to be treated like this. The closest one to sweets to be auctioned would probably be special enhancement pills or such that alchemists might make.”
“E… Eh?! You mean… There aren’t special kinds of sweets like… I dunno… Ambrosia or something like that?”
Everyone looked at one another in confusion before turning back to look at me.
“What’s ambrosia?” They asked me back.
Is there really no special sweets?!!
Nooooo!! This is a lie!! I won’t accept this!!