The sun gradually rose.
The sky gradually brightened.
The morning at Saint Calloran was a picturesque sight.
It was clearly early in the morning, yet the streets were already filled with a throng of people.
The shop owners and assistants were busy moving the goods to set up their stall, preparing to open the shop for business.
...
Along the way.
Harlen took small, steady steps. Every single of his steps was especially stable.
His body did not rise and fall from the uneven surface of the road.
As for Mary, she was soundly asleep on Harlen's broad back after the travelling at night.
It was as if she finally didn't have to worry every night and slept peacefully.
"We're finally here."
Harlen stood at the entrance of Saint Calloran's city gate. He heaved a sigh of relief as he looked at the gate of the pass.
"Wake up, little one. We're here. Wake up."
Harlen shook a little and spoke softly to Mary, who was still sleep-talking.
Mary was unfortunately not roused by Harlen's shaking.
On the other hand, those small hands held even tighter onto Harlen's back, afraid that she would fall down and disturb her sweet dreams and continue to sleep.
Harlen shook his head helplessly.
"Hai, go to sleep."
"I'll call you when I find a house in the city."
He wasn't sure if Mary was really asleep or pretending to be.
However, when she heard Harlen's words, her drooling mouth gradually turned into a crescent smile.
...
"Stop, what are you doing, what are you doing here at Saint Calloran!"
At the entrance, a soldier in cheap armor stopped Harlen and questioned him.
"I'm a villager from the forest. It's my sister's birthday today, so I brought her around the city to buy some good food."
Harlen pointed to the forest where they had come.
The soldier glanced at Mary, who was wrapped in a blanket on Harlen's back, and said with a hint of contempt.
"Oh ~ ~ ~ So it's someone from the village of Fukalyon. No wonder they're dressed so dirty and shabby."
Harlen was surprised to hear that.
There was actually a village on the other side of the five-hour journey.
He had been surveying the area from the sky for so long last night, but he did not find any signs of the village.
The surroundings were pitch black, and not a single speck of light could be seen.
The soldier turned to Harlen again.
"Why are you dressed so brightly? You don't look like someone from the village of Fukalyon."
Harlen's mind raced, and he made up an excuse on the fly.
"This is my first time coming to Saint Calloran City from the village."
"The village feels that even in a remote area, we can't embarrass the people of Saint Calloran City."
"So, a month before my sister's birthday, the villagers had been preparing fabrics everywhere and spent a month making this costume."
"However, due to insufficient materials, my sister's clothes are a little thin."
"So I wrapped a blanket around her to keep herself warm. Please forgive me, soldier."
Harlen bowed low to the soldier.
The soldier laughed when he heard that.
"Hahahaha, good! Good!"
"A village abandoned by the country actually thinks about the face of the country. Very good! Very good!"
The soldier continued,
"But even so, it's going to be hard for you and your sister to get into the city."
Harlen was puzzled. "What's wrong? Do we need to go through any formalities?"
The soldier looked at Harlen, his armored hands deliberately avoiding the eyes of the cars that were coming and going, and he was quietly making small movements.
The soldier kept rubbing his thumb and index finger at Harlen.
Harlen saw this and was puzzled. He did not understand what the soldier meant.
When the soldier saw that Harlen had not yet reacted, he crept up to Harlen and whispered:
"Are you really stupid or pretending to be?"
"Didn't the villagers tell you?"
"The toll fee!"
"Anyone from the village of Fukalyon will have to pay a toll fee to enter Saint Calloran."
Harlen was surprised to hear that.
Come to think of it, when he was a Paladin, he had never experienced such a thing.
There were no obstructions when entering and exiting various countries. There was no need for any formalities and toll fees.
"So… how much do you need?"
Harlen lowered his head and asked quietly.
"No rules. It depends on how much you have."
"Just give me enough to express your sincerity."
The soldier answered quietly.
Harlen didn't know how much was appropriate, so he quietly reached his right hand behind Mary's blanket.
In public, casting spatial storage spells would definitely arouse suspicion.
So Harlen quietly cast it in the blanket.
Inside the blanket, Harlen cast a spatial storage spell that was only three fingers wide.
Using his index and middle fingers, he took out a coin from the space.
Harlen didn't even care what sort of value the coin he picked out had and directly gave it to the soldier.
"1 silver coin?"
"When did the people in Fukalyon Village become so rich?"
The soldier said in surprise.
"Is something wrong, soldier?"
Seeing the surprised look on the soldier's face, Harlen thought he'd paid too little for the toll.
"Young man, I'm afraid you've robbed the entire village of Fukalyon clean."
"One silver coin is enough for your village to live for a year."
Harlen had no idea what life was like in the village of Fukalyon, either. It was just a coin he had casually touched in the dark.
If he gave him too much, he would treat the rest as charity.
He just wished that the guard would hurry up and let him into the city.
"So… Can I go into town now?"
Harlen asked the still laughing soldier.
"Ohoh, okay, okay. Come in, come in."
The soldier put away the silver coin and retreated to the side, giving way to Harlen.
He also signaled the other soldiers not to stop him.
After Harlen wrapped the almost slipping blanket around Mary again, he set off for Saint Calloran City.
The moment he stepped into Saint Calloran…
The atmosphere of human life that he had been looking forward to for a long time came rushing towards him.
"Take a look. Fresh deep-sea fish and fresh deep-sea prawns. Don't miss them."
"New industry remuneration. Smashing jars and winning gifts. The highest you can get is superior magical equipment."
"Let's take a look. There's definitely no fakes here!"
After waiting for a year.
He had finally returned to the human world.
At this moment, Harlen could no longer control his feet.
He shuttled nimbly through the busy streets, completely ignoring the sleeping Mary on her back.
At that moment, Mary, who was drooling on Harlen's back, was shaken awake from her dream by Harlen's cheerful, bouncing body.
"Uwaaaammm~"
Mary stretched and yawned widely.
"What is it, Brother Harlen?"
"Why are you so excited?"
Mary said, rubbing her half-closed eyes.
Bang!
"Aiya!"
Mary's small head was bumped by a middle-aged man who had suddenly turned while carrying a thick bolt of silk cloth over his shoulder.
"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, young lady. I didn't notice."
The uncle hurriedly put down the cloth and walked over to the little girl. He gently caressed the spot where the cloth had hit.
Mary was fully awake after this sudden collision.
Mary opened her clear eyes and looked around.
She was stunned for a few seconds before hugging Harlen's neck and shouting while swaying,
"Brother Harlen, Brother Harlen, where is this place?!"
Mary completely ignored the spot on her head where she'd been hit and swung her tiny feet happily.
All her actions caused the uncle to be dumbfounded.
"Mary, stop shaking. You're going to fall."
Despite Mary's small size, the swaying was strong.
Even Harlen, who was a vampire, could barely stand.