Commercial City Glacera
As soon as the harvest was completed, we immediately set off for the commercial city of Glacera.
Freshness is everything when it comes to vegetables.
Even though the destination was quite far, we had to arrive as quickly as possible and deliver the goods to our trading partner.
Among the villagers transporting the harvested vegetables to Glacera, the one who naturally took on a leadership role was a young man named Reskel.
He was two years younger than me, with tanned skin and a bandana that he always wore as his trademark.
Originally, he had been a merchant in the royal capital, but he was so impressed by the taste of Curtis-grown vegetables he found at the morning market that he decided to move to the village—an unusual person indeed. If he had stayed in the capital, he could have led a stable life as a merchant, yet he threw that away to dedicate himself to farming… It’s not an easy choice to make, even if one wanted to.
"Man... I’m really nervous."
Since this was his first major responsibility, Reskel was understandably tense.
That said, the merchant association had long-standing ties with the village, and Chief Ganun had already sent a letter introducing Reskel in advance.
All he had to do was deliver the vegetables, receive the payment, and return safely to the village—a simple task.
Well, it was easy for a bystander to say that, but Reskel himself seemed to be under quite a bit of pressure.
As we continued traveling by carriage, the number of buildings gradually increased.
Their numbers steadily grew until finally, a massive gate loomed before us.
The gate was surrounded by tall walls, serving as a defense against intruders.
I was taken aback by the sight.
"I had heard the name before, but I didn’t expect it to be this large… It’s practically on par with the royal capital."
"Glacera is the economic and trade hub of the Landval Kingdom. Many merchants come here from other countries, and compared to the royal capital, business regulations are much looser."
I see.
It would certainly be unpleasant for foreign merchants to freely conduct business in the city where the king’s castle was located.
At the gate, we underwent a permit check, followed by an inspection of our cargo.
As expected from the top-ranking metropolis in the kingdom aside from the royal capital, its security was thorough.
It took quite some time to gain entry into Glacera, but we finally passed through without issue.
And what awaited us inside far exceeded my expectations.
"What a bustling place..."
It was comparable to the royal capital’s morning market—no, considering it was already past noon, this place might be even livelier.
Regardless of race or nationality, anyone could do business here as long as they followed the proper procedures.
That policy was likely the reason for this overwhelming liveliness.
Remaining on the carriage, we headed toward the merchant association’s building.
The streets were wide, with separate lanes for pedestrians and carriages.
A canal flowed through the center of the city, and the harbor was packed with people.
Just watching the bustling activity from afar seemed like it could take up an entire day.
"There it is. The building at the corner is the merchant association’s headquarters."
It was a stone building near the canal.
Reskel pointed to it as our final destination.
"Harvested in the early morning and delivered by midday… With this timing, freshness won’t be an issue."
"There’s someone there who can use teleportation magic. They use it to deliver the vegetables to various cities that placed orders."
"So that’s how it works."
That explained why there was no need to worry about time, and more importantly, it ensured the vegetables stayed fresh.
We parked the carriage in front of the building and immediately began unloading the cargo.
However, since Reskel wanted to greet the merchants first, a few villagers and I entered the building with him.
Soon after, a young man approached us.
"Who are you people?"
"W-We’re from Curtis Village."
"Curtis?"
The man scrutinized us with an annoyed expression.
… Something about his attitude seemed off.
What do you think about this chapter?
