After thirty minutes of driving on the rough, bumpy roads, our small horse carriage finally arrived at the gates of Greenhold, the capital city of Viridale.
A tall male guard – dressed in chainmail armor, with a green sash around his neck – marched towards the carriage, a sharp spear in his right arm.
"Who seeks passage into the Queen's city?" He yelled out.
"They are from the academy sir," the carriage driver quickly replied, his voice tainted with a slight nervousness.
The guard, doubting the words of the driver, marched over to the window and cast a cold glance into the carriage.
Noticing his apprehension, I quickly pulled out the permission slip from Miss Fumiko and handed it over to the stern-looking guard. He stared at the slip for a while, darting glances back at me at intervals. Reluctantly, he handed the slip back to me.
"Thank you," I said, feigning a smile.
The guard didn't respond. Instead, he kept his eyes locked onto Lucy, who sat in the carriage beside me.
