There was nothing noticeably different about this city compared to the other cities I had visited before.
If there was any difference, it might only be in the personality of the people.
Not that I meant to insult or belittle them, it was just that they weren't as sensitive as I expected.
If their city was divided into two, they should've felt that their neighbors in the other city were their rivals.
Because they chose to live in the city according to the leader who ruled that city.
I originally thought that was the case, but after Luke and I talked with several people we met at the guild, their reaction was very different from what I expected.
Ah, Hime and Yuu-chan were still talking with the receptionist about our party.
"Hmm… the fact is, my friend and I don't really care about that. As long as we can live and earn money, that's enough for us."
"Cases where citizens from both cities get into fights are very rare. I guess we all consider that there's no difference between us."
"The ones who were originally hostile were the leaders, not the people. That's why I think we're all the same."
Well, that's roughly the kind of answers given by the adventurers who took missions at the Vannis guild.
So, the feeling of hatred only came from people in the past, right?
The people now don't really care about that anymore, because to them, letting something like this bother them won't bring any benefit.
"But that doesn't rule out the possibility that the current leaders still hate each other, right?" Luke asked as he drank the water we had ordered earlier.
"That's why. We might still end up helping defend Danvis as well," I replied.
"Besides, until now, I still can't figure out the strongest reason why they're hostile to each other," Luke said.
The ones Luke meant must've been the leaders of the two cities.
"It's probably just a matter of inheritance or something like that, right?" I asked.
"Hmm…I did think of that, but I don't feel like that's the real reason," he answered.
Sluurp.
I drank the water in my glass until it was empty—well… I was pretty thirsty since I only drank a little water this morning.
Damn, I felt thirsty but at the same time my stomach also felt full.
"We just have to wait for Hime and Yuu-chan to come back, I hope they bring good news," I said.
——
The two of them returned and stood in front of us, who were still sitting on the chairs.
"So, how was it?" I asked.
"First, we heard that lately, many monsters have been appearing and attacking all the entrances of both cities," Yuu-chan said.
"But their numbers aren't that high, not enough to mobilize all guild members," Hime added.
"We tried showing the letter with the signature on it… but…" Yuu-chan said.
Ah, I could already guess that the receptionist didn't believe they were members of the hero party.
"They didn't believe you, did they?" Luke asked.
Luke thought the same as I did—makes sense.
"Unfortunately, yes. He also said that if we insist that we're the hero party, then we must first participate in defending this city," Hime said.
"If our abilities truly are strong, they said they would report our party to the leader of Vannis, and we'd be able to talk directly to them," she continued.
"So… we don't have any special tasks until the monsters attack?" Luke asked.
"Maybe we can pick a few missions… so we can earn enough money," I said.
——
After that conversation, the four of you immediately left the guild and started walking around the city to look for a cheap inn.
According to Hime, the receptionist didn't really know much about such inns.
So we decided to go to the marketplace area and gather a bit of information from the people there.
We stopped for a moment by a large fountain in the middle of the market street; I felt like this was the central point of the marketplace. Hmm, this is a market, right?
"You brought enough money, right?" Yuu-chan asked.
"Of course," I replied.
"Alright, then we'll meet here again at three in the afternoon. Until then, Yuu-chan and I will buy some supplies," Hime said.
"Luke and I will do the same. Wait, how do you two know the time?" I asked.
Maybe I hadn't mentioned this, but Luke had a wristwatch and apparently always wore it, it's just that I never noticed it.
I was honestly surprised that wristwatches already existed in this world. Well, it's not something extremely valuable or anything.
"Alright, see you later," Hime said, waving her hand at us before walking away with Yuu-chan.
Now it was just Luke and me here, and we had to get moving too.
"Luke, what kind of place do you think we should visit when looking for information from people? I already have one place in mind," I said.
"Really? Let me guess, that place is—" Luke said.
"Bar," we both said at the same time—yeah, I already expected him to say that.
"There must be lots of people drinking there, and we can take advantage of that to gather useful information," he said.
"Before that, how about we walk around the marketplace for a bit? We need to find a bar that's crowded so our information gathering is more effective," I suggested.
"Sounds good, I agree with that plan," Luke said.
——
We immediately entered the crowded atmosphere of the market, which forced our ears to stay alert to hear the conversations of the people here.
And eventually, I found a shop selling cakes on the roadside.
Usually, cake shops have their own buildings, right? But this one—the seller was selling under a cloth arranged in such a way that it formed a roof.
He placed the cloth and stacked boxes below, and arranged the cakes on top of those boxes using plates as their trays.
"Luke, let's go there," I said.
Another reason I was interested in approaching this shop was because I felt that the seller might have some information he could share with me.
Yeah, the seller was a man with a mustache, and he wore clothing like a chef from a famous restaurant.
I thought his outfit was a bit too flashy, and that's why I became interested in his shop.
"Excuse me, sir, may I know what kinds of cakes these are?" I asked.
He didn't answer immediately—instead, he took a drag from his cigarette before finally replying.
"You boys are new to this city, aren't you? No wonder you look unfamiliar with these cakes," the man said.
"Just try this cake first," he said, handing us a plate of the cakes.
Luke and I each picked up one of the small round cakes, and I could feel the crispy texture in my hand.
And sure enough, when I bit into it, the outer shell instantly cracked in my mouth, and there was chocolate filling inside that made it taste sweet.
"So? Want to buy a few?" the man asked.
I felt that Luke and I definitely wanted to eat more of these cakes later.