"Of course, Hero! We are totally safe here! Even if the Shadow Lord wants to retaliate, he will most likely choose some villages. To attack the city will be hard even for him. Don't worry, relax!" The magician answered as he was sipping some wine.

"Hmm, alright, you are right, the defenses of the city are enough to stop even someone like him. Fine, let's stay here for some time. To be able to relax after something like that is not so bad." Saying that Alfred took a sip from his wine too.

*****************************************************

The city wall was built with stone. It was fifteen meters tall. Erin was amazed at the size of that wall. But thinking about the forest, which was close by and the monsters that were in the forest, it was quite normal to make such a defensive wall.

Walking slowly forward, they finally got close to the giant iron gate. There were soldiers all over the wall. Looking at the gate, Erin could see about fifty soldiers stationed there, too. It looked like they were responsible for the duty of guarding the gate. As they came nearer, she started to regret having a better sense of hearing.

"Hey, look, aren't they beautiful?"

"You are right! They each have their charm. Look at that tall and slender figure! My G.o.d, if I just had the chance!"

"No, no, no, look at that one with black hair. She might be a bit smaller, but she looks like a doll! A true beauty! Just imagine what she will be when she grows up!"

"Hehe, look at the girl with the hood, ain't she similar to the other one, that is like a doll? I am quite curious how she looks like."

"Stop your foolish speech and check the man next to them! This is a true n.o.ble for sure! Do you want your heads to drop?"

Erin just couldn't believe what she heard from the soldiers. She was quite happy and sad at the same time. Happy that they acknowledged her beauty, but sad since she remembered how she got that body and what she had been before. Shaking her head, she looked at Richard, only to see him look back with a smile. He nodded to her, but she averted her gaze. She didn't know why she averted her gaze, but she just couldn't look at him at the moment.

The guards actually didn't stop them from entering. They even saluted Richard. That made her sigh in relief. She didn't want to communicate with them after hearing their discussion.

As they walked through the streets, Erin found the scene to be quite lively. There were a lot of people going in all directions. She could see shops, taverns, inns, and many other things. Watching this, she couldn't help but thought that it was like the ancient times in her previous world.

"Let's first find an inn. After that, Anna, take Erin for shopping. Hmm, you can take Lyse with you, too. Tonight will be Erin's first training here. Our meals from now on will be blood, so prepare for that, Erin. Here we can barely find magical beast meat, so we don't have much of a choice. And even if there is, you will still go for the blood. That's your training." Richard explained slowly.

The others nodded and followed his lead. Lyse was a bit nervous to go back to the city, but she was already here, so she straightened herself and followed the group. She didn't have any other choice now anyway. That was the last gamble that she would make. Will this group betray her and play with her like the others, or will they keep their word? She wanted to see that.

Anna, on the other hand, acknowledged Richard's command as Erin really needed new clothes and some other stuff. She started making a list in her mind for the things they needed to buy. Turning to Lyse, she nodded to herself. The half-elf girl needed some shopping too.

With different thoughts, the group finally reached an inn.