Nova followed his gaze and found himself staring at a man standing near a wagon, inspecting its cargo.
This man was wearing expensive clothing and looked rather distinguished compared to everyone else nearby.
But the way he acted showed that he wasn't snobbish at all, just busy.
He had short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a fat belly protruding from beneath the expensive vest.
He seemed to be about the middle of his forties in age and didn't seem bothered by their presence whatsoever.
Gregory waved at the man and called out loudly to him.
"Hey, Bernard! These two here will join your caravan to Sissar with me as their guide! You have no problem with it, right?"
The man known as Bernard looked up from his work and glanced at Gregory briefly before shifting his attention to Alicia, studying her figure for a moment.
"Yeah, sure... It's no problem. Just make sure they don't cause trouble on the way there. I don't want them distracting anyone from their job."
"Ahaha, don't worry. I will take responsibility for them! You will barely even know they are there." Gregory grinned at Bernard's words while patting Nova on the back.
Bernard returned his gaze to Alicia with a hint of lust in them, and he couldn't help but lick his lips a little bit.
"Is that right... I believe I wouldn't mind having your lovely companion for company. What's your name?"
Nova frowned at the man's perverted gaze, but he didn't react to it, not wanting to make a scene.
Instead, he wrapped his arm around Alicia possessively before answering his question, "I'm Nova, and the woman beside me is my wife, Alicia. Nice to meet you!"
Bernard's eyes narrowed slightly from that gesture, but he nodded his head nonetheless. "I see... Very well then, nice to meet you as well!"
He gave one last look at Alicia's body before turning away, heading towards another carriage, and checking its cargo.
"Don't worry, Nova. This man won't dare lay a hand on your wife unless he wants to lose them," Gregory chuckled and motioned for the two to follow him. "Come! Let's board one of the empty wagons. We have a long journey ahead of us. If everything goes according to plan, we should be at Sissar by tomorrow morning."
Nova and Alicia did as suggested without another word and got inside the back of one of the empty wagons.
The old man joined them soon after, settling down for the ride while trying to get comfortable.
It turned out there were three more passengers on the same wagon with them, two young men sitting in front of Nova and Alicia.
And there was a middle-aged woman sitting in front of Gregory.
"Oh, you're also traveling to Sissar, Village Chief? That's unexpected..." The woman was the first one to speak up, greeting the old man in a respectful manner.
Gregory shrugged and replied, "Hahaha, well... Sometimes even I need to get away from this boring village for a bit, Hilda! What about you? How come you're going so far away?"
The woman smiled wryly and answered, "Aaah... A friend of mine is getting married and invited me to attend the wedding. Since there was this caravan going to Sissar, I thought I could join them and enjoy my trip to the town without any worries."
"I see. That sounds like a fun occasion indeed! What about you boys, going to look for some women in the town?" Gregory teased them jokingly as he glanced at the two young men next to Hilda.
"Don't say that, Chief. If our parents heard this, they would never let us go to Sissar. We're going there for work! Although if we happen to come across a cute girl there, who knows... Maybe something may happen between us."
The young man sitting closest to Hilda grinned while nudging his friend beside him with his elbow, earning himself a stern look from him.
"Idiot, you shouldn't talk about that around Aunt Hilda. You don't know if she might tell your family after she comes back."
Hilda just shook her head while looking amused. "I won't say a thing to your parents, trust me! Just take care not to get in trouble, okay?"
"Yes, Aunt Hilda!" The young men answered simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Nova and Alicia kept quiet, listening attentively to everything being said but not speaking themselves.
It was quite interesting for them to observe these people.
It gave them a good impression of the people living in this village and the way they spoke and interacted with each other.
However, soon enough, Hilda glanced towards them, and noticing their presence, she introduced herself, "Hello there! I'm Hilda, one of the villagers of Barrie. And you are?"
"Nice to meet you. My name's Alicia, and this man here is my husband, Nova. We're traveling around to find a new place to live. Maybe in a big town like Sissar."
"Is there a reason for leaving your old home, if you don't mind me asking?" Hilda inquired curiously, feeling interested in Alicia and Nova's story.
Nova nodded at that question before responding, "Mmhm. Our previous village was attacked by a group of goblins, and we barely managed to escape. Afterward, we traveled around until we came to this little village, where we met Gregory."
"Attacked by goblins?! Oh no... I'm glad you made it here in one piece then. Goblins are nasty little creatures with an even nastier habit of abducting women for their personal use..." Hilda shuddered at those words. The mere thought of it seemed to frighten her to no end. "I hope our village isn't next to receive a visit from those disgusting things."
Gregory quickly added in reassurance, "There's nothing to worry about! I will issue a request to the baron of Sissar to issue a request to exterminate those goblins as soon as possible. As a village under his protection, he will not leave us alone against such danger."