The deck felt peaceful once again after the battle was over. Joshua did not like that. He wanted things to kill to get his experience points. On the contrary, Frederick was glad, as no thugs got in his way. Losing that many crates of Aetherium would drive him mad, that's for sure.
"Hey, Joshua," Philip checked every one of his crew after the fight. Joshua was not part of it, but he still contributed to their winning.
Joshua knew who Philip was as he escaped from him a couple of days before that.
"What's up, Philip," said Joshua, keeping up a bright smile.
"Thank you for the help you gave us. I'm sure the fight could have gone the other way without your help," Philip said.
"You're thinking too highly of me," Joshua said.
They shook hands, and that was it. Joshua was not expecting a reward anyway. He only wanted the experience points and for the ship to not sink.
~~~~
Aurora left her room less anxious. The enemy had the advantage in numbers, but her faith in Joshua kept her confident that victory would be theirs.
"Is it over? Aurora had seen bodies before, so she did not puke after reaching the deck.
"Yes. We are safe now," Joshua said. He did not know why but he enjoyed the feeling of keeping Aurora safe.
"It's so sad we soon part ways," Joshua kept these thoughts to himself.
Khali had never seen Joshua fight before. Everything that happened made him even more surprised. Leo was the only one with a carefree expression. He had fought with Joshua, so he knew how strong he was.
"I don't know if he's good at hiding his powers or these people are dumb," thought Leo.
~~~~
No more fights happened on their trip. After four days and nights of sailing, the capital was in their sight.
The capital was called Slyvein. It was gigantic. Some old stories said that giants built it, and that's why everything was so big. Joshua had no idea if those stories were true or not.
They parked the ship at the city's port. Before arriving there, Joshua and Khali had come up with a plan. Khali used his wooden magic to create a hole inside the storage room, turning it into a secret passage. That way, opening and closing it could be done without problems. Sneaking up and getting a crate at night would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
Once they got there, Frederick called Khali and said thanks for the things he did. And, of course, he paid him the promised gold coins. At that time, Khali felt ashamed for trying to steal for him, but everything pointed to Frederick as a not-so-good person. If he truly attacked an entire city just for money, he was a lunatic.
Usually, guards would look up all of the people who entered Slyvein. But, Frederick being a noble, only gave him a few words, and they were all inside the city.
~~~~
Joshua stood in the middle of a street with his friends.
"We are inside? This easily?" Joshua knew nobles had power in this world, but this much? Slyvein was the place where the King lived. It had restricted surveillance, and anyone seen as a suspect would be behind bars.
"Hey Joshua," everyone was exhausted from the trip, but Khali wanted to take the opportunity.
"It's already late at night. Don't you think it's the perfect opportunity to steal the Aetherium? I believe they'll count all the boxes in a few days," said Khali.
He was right. Frederick was a powerful nobleman, but it would still take a few days for them to check all the things he had brought on his ship. The best thing to do was try to get the Aetherium as quickly as possible.
"Yeah, I was thinking about that too. Let's find a place to sleep first," Joshua said.
Joshua first decided to find an inn for the night. They wouldn't sleep, but Hanrog and Aurora needed to rest.
Slyvein was a huge city, and full of people. Even though it was late at night, several food stalls were everywhere, and people walked without fear. Joshua noticed how safe the city was when he saw several patrolling guards. And all of these could not be identified, which meant they were extremely strong.
Maybe stealing the Aetherium wouldn't be as easy as he thought. Well, that was something to think about at another time.
~~~~
A fancy sign that read, 'The Resting Place of the Fortunate.' This wasn't the first inn Joshua encountered in Slyvein, but it was the first one that caught their attention. The building was huge, and it appeared to be decorated with gold.
"I wonder if this place isn't too expensive?" asked Leo.
"Don't worry, our friend Khali is rich, isn't he?" Joshua said. Everyone laughed and entered the inn without worries. Well, Khali wasn't laughing much at the situation.
"Good evening, gentlemen. Would you like a room to spend the night or just a table for dinner?" a beautiful woman greeted them as they entered. Joshua was amazed at the beauty of the place. The exterior of the inn was impressive enough, but the interior? That was something surreal. Several tables spread out on the first floor, and most of the people seated were well dressed, clearly wealthy. The foods served in that place were also not common, and all were prepared by renowned chefs of the city.
"We'd like two rooms, please," Joshua wasn't going to pay with his money, but he was the one who answered the attendant anyway.
"But of course. For one night? That would be 50 pieces of silver per room." The girl replied with a smile.
It was an exorbitant price. The two rooms together would be worth a gold coin, which was very expensive. The attendant seemed to read Joshua's thoughts, so she told him, "maybe you don't know, but you also have three free meals. And our inn also has several bathtubs with hot water that are known throughout the city."
"We want both rooms, please," the one who answered this time was Aurora. She was already shivering with anticipation as she imagined the hot tubs...