Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN) 2018

c56 - Ingrasia Kingdom

The journey to Ingrasia Kingdom proceeded without incident.
I summoned Ranga, and had him a.s.sume a smaller form. He also has fur armor equipped, so there shouldn't be any problems if humans see him.
That is, he currently looks like a slightly bigger black wolf.
Though the road we traveled by was unpaved, it was still considered a highway, so we did see some mounted soldiers.
Few monsters sp.a.w.n around here, and there's little magic in the air.
We didn't see any powerful monsters. However, the roads were infested, in some sense.
Robbers and highwaymen, those petty types were all over them.
But we didn't even run into them.
Well, I guess that's to be expected. What kind of being could catch up with Ranga's pace?
And it's not like we're running at neck-break pace; we're proceeding leisurely, but still at least 60 km per hour.
Far faster than any horse carriage.
Thus, the journey proceeded smoothly, and we arrived to Ingrasia Royal City in merely two days.

The scale of the city was surprising.
Sure, it's plenty wide, but there's also a large wall surrounding the city.
Two gates lead into it, and there's no way in except for the two gates. It's baffling to think just how much money and time was needed to construct this.
We entered the city and marveled at the sight.
Many tall structures filled the city, but that much we expected; however, the scale of the buildings was incomparable those in Brumund.
Most were at least five stories high.
The city was full of brick and wood buildings.
But more than anything, it was the strict city planning and the white castle in the middle of the city that made me wonder.
A large lake occupied the center of the city, and a castle was built in the middle of it.
Four bridges extend from the castle and connect to the city's main roads.
This solemn piece of architecture properly conveyed the country's military strength.
In short, all I thought was: amazing!
From the perspective of defense, every important junction has knights monitoring public order.
You'd have to be pretty desperate to even attempt a criminal act.
As expected of a city planned ahead of time by the Council.
I mean, just think of the consequences if some foreign prince ran into trouble here. To prevent such occurrences, the city has perfected its defense.

Thanks to the guild card I was able to quickly pa.s.s through one of the gates; normally, one has to undergo three different ident.i.ty checks to be permitted access.
At the first step, they check your identification doc.u.ments. If you successfully pa.s.s this check, you have to go through a thorough body search.
Then, line up in another line.
Each point is heavily protected, and the lines are far longer than the one in the Dwarf Kingdom.
In other words, I'm truly happy that I had the guild ID.
By the way, even if there are any problems during your second check, you could go on to the third, but you'd be treated as a criminal from then on.
You'd basically be treated in a way that will discourage you from trying to enter.
But still, there are many people trying to gain entrance. And so, extremely long lines stretch in front of the inspectors.
This all proves just how beguiling this city is to foreigners.

I proceed onward impressed.
As for Ranga, he's entered my shadow from the moment we reached the royal capital.
What? You thought I would just bring him here in the open?
Of course not. Wolves don't belong in cities. Even I have that much common sense. Don't worry.
And so, after having hidden Ranga in my shadow and spent half a day in line, we finally entered the city.
What's amazing is more than its appearance.
I was able to see a wonderful display of their advanced culture.
I saw many large gymnasium styled buildings that are used for concerts.
Busy squares are home to performers and theaters. There's also lots of advertis.e.m.e.nts for performances.
I don't know if paper is just that cheap here, but you see flyers thrown away on the streets.
Truly a metropolis.
I was finally able to smell the air of busy capital after such a long time.
No way! I thought in surprise, looking at gla.s.s buildings.
Behind the gla.s.s you could see products being sold, like the store windows of our world.
Actually, I guess that's exactly what they are.
The only difference would be that the main products on display are armors and weapons.
The stores that specialized in dresses and such were located closer to the castle—in the high cla.s.s district.
But those are not stores intended for the ma.s.ses.
You'd have to be pretty rich just to live inside the city walls, but housing near the castle is certainly limited only to the n.o.bles.
And that's a sign of wealth disparity.
Well, that's just how it is. Isn't it natural to treat those that contribute more to taxes better?
Thus, after wandering around the city for a bit, I started looking for an inn.
The city is separated into four large districts.
The merchant's district, the sightseeing district, the production district, and the residential district.
Separated by the castle in the center, a circular city.
And easy to understand.
So, I proceeded to the sightseeing district.
As I thought, I quickly found a section dedicated to inns. There was also a bar in the back.
That got me excited. However, that was not my goal today.
Unfortunately, I abstained from festivities, and reserved a room in the inn.