Hakama shook her head. "No, that's the guild's job. Over there is the head of the local guild."
"I see," he answered briefly.
A large, powerful man, Padrach, came up to them and asked firmly, "So it was you who caused all this chaos here."
Cedo nodded. "Yeah."
The man bowed slightly. "I'm the head of the guild. Thank you for helping us catch that gang. You've done the city a great service."
Looking up at Cedo, he noted to himself: he looks like a lesser being, but my instincts are screaming that he is far from an ordinary person.
"We received dozens of reports of the damage they were causing," he added aloud. "Requests for their extermination came in one after another, but no one could even get close to them."
Cedo chuckled. "So the guild is in charge of arrests here, not the lords."
Padrach put his hand on his hip and grinned. "You must be joking. The lords don't have that kind of power. Dealing with criminals is the job of the guild, and the guild reports directly to the king. Even if the lord who governs these lands commits a crime, the guild is obliged to report everything to His Majesty. Although of course he is unlikely to be capable of such a thing."
Cedo translated all of this into the language of his own world. So the lord here is like a mayor, and the guild is like the police.
"So then," he said, and handed Padrach a scroll. "Here are the documents I found. Do you think this will help?"
Padrach unrolled the scroll and suddenly exhaled sharply. "This — this is a list of everyone the bandits did business with. With this we'll be able to track them down and capture them one by one."
Cedo tilted his head slightly. "Is the lord's name on there?"
Padrach immediately became serious. "You shouldn't take such speculation seriously. Of course he wasn't there."
Cedo frowned. I see, he thought. The real villain always remains in the shadows. Nothing can be done about it now. But there are more important things.
He gently placed his hand on Nino's head and asked calmly, "What will happen to the freed slaves?"
The guild leader shrugged. "Those for whom inquiries were received, or who belonged to well-known families, the guild will return home. As for the rest — nothing can be done about that."
Cedo sighed quietly. If I remember correctly, these two lost their parents. He looked up. "Are there any shelters here?"
"No," Padrach answered. "We can help them find work, but for lesser creatures it will be difficult."
Cedo gritted his teeth, hearing that disdainful phrase again. I want to help them, he thought. But what if no one will take them in?
Suddenly his head snapped up, as if a realization had struck him. Turning to Poval and Nino, he asked whether, if he could find a safe place for them where they would be fed and given a roof over their heads, they would agree to go there.
Poval clenched her fists and said firmly, "Yes, of course. Do you have something in mind?"
"Yes," he answered calmly.
He remembered a promise that had been made to him on the road. He had an excellent option.
Some time later, in the capital of the kingdom of Colmasia, at the Wilton estate, Argus was leading his horse by the bridle when he suddenly froze, as if a tremor had run through him.
Ria, walking beside him, asked anxiously, "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing. Just a shudder."
He dismounted, looked at the others and said briefly, "That's all. Good work on the expedition. Everyone should rest today."
Then he headed towards the mansion. The servants bowed. "Welcome home, Sir Argus."
He walked on, handed his case to the butler and asked casually whether anything strange had happened while he was gone. The butler and several of the household staff exchanged awkward glances. Argus sighed heavily. Something had happened, then.
The butler bowed again. He apologized for having to report it the moment his master returned — and then he explained the essence of the problem.
Lismeria watched them silently from above. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her gaze fixed on them.
Argus waved his hand. "Understood. Thank you for the report."
"No need to thank us, sir," the man replied quietly.
When everyone had dispersed, Argus pressed his palm to his forehead and sighed heavily again. The thought flashed through his mind: it's worse than I thought. A distorted one in the capital. How did it get here? No. Most likely someone brought it here on purpose. In that case, the main suspect is the Harness Academy. They stubbornly refuse to allow outsiders in. That means I need allies, and I need them fast.
Three days after the incident with the bandits, Cedo was walking along the road with his new companions. Poval glanced at him and asked quietly, "Do you really think there's work for people like us in the capital?"
"Don't worry," he replied softly. "You can read, right? And you're good at figures too. There will be work. Just believe in yourself."
She raised her head happily. "Okay."
Suddenly Hakama pointed forward. "Cedo, look. You can see it now."
Cedo stopped, and then his eyes widened. Before them, past the edge of the cliff, lay a huge city.
"So this is the capital," he murmured.
After a while they were walking along a bustling city street. Poval turned her head in every direction, unable to hide her amazement. It was so lively here.
Hakama pointed off to the side again and explained, "The capital relies on imports for everything. You can find goods from all over the world here." She raised a finger, emphasizing the thought. "And the people from our village bring their goods here to sell too."
Cedo nodded, remembering the grandmother. "Yes. She said so."
Interesting, he thought. In this new world different races and cultures have mixed. That's immediately obvious. The streets are clean and orderly, and yet there are still problems.
At that moment his gaze slid into a dark alley, where several poor people huddled together. It's like this in any era, he thought. Somewhere life is in full swing, and somewhere there's barely enough strength left just to survive.
He turned to Hakama. "By the way, when do the entrance exams for the academy begin?"
"In a week," she answered.
"So we still have a little time," he said calmly.
They walked a little further, and Hakama added, "Enrollment takes place immediately after the exam."
Somewhere behind them, in the shadows of an alley, Lismeria was watching them. She frowned. To the Harness Academy? And with a child and a lesser being, too. Were they serious?
Later, in a modest room at the inn, Nino and Hakama jumped onto the bed with a joyful squeal. Cedo sat down beside Hakama and breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, proper beds. She agreed with him.
Cedo glanced around the room. We made it to the capital as planned, he thought. But what now?
His gaze fell on the bag of coins. Whatever I decide, I'm going to need money. We were given a reward for helping with the bandits, but it won't last long. The main thing now is to find work for these two. The easiest way would be to approach that man — but without connections it will be difficult to get through to him.