The carriage clambered up the slope, its driver steering the horses at a leisurely pace for a steadier ride. The incline wasn't steep, and the road was smooth, yet the horses seemed somewhat strained.
The driver figured that the customer who had booked this large carriage today must be a young and promising entrepreneur. Not only did he travel with a female companion and a bodyguard but also with a host of maids, headed towards the luxury estate on the outskirts of the city, presumably for a banquet.
But this entrepreneur was indeed peculiar; his companion wasn't wearing a fancy dress but rather a canvas outfit suitable for moving around, and she seemed to be... carrying weapons, like a frontierswoman.
Those maids were also strange, wearing shackles without chains on their wrists, and one was even masked like the bodyguard. If they were encountered in a frontier or war-torn area, the driver would probably have thought this young man was a trafficker.
