The sun was on the horizon, slowly hiding behind it.
"So this is North Star city. I expected nothing less," spoke Patricia enthusiastically as she stood on the road within the forest while looking into the distance.
Vanessa also was seeing such a big city for the first time.
She didn't know much about it, only some basic information from books and from villagers that were allowed to travel here for trade purposes.
She only knows that there were roughly 100,000 inhabitants, that if someone has a lot of wealth then this city was a perfect choice for permanent stay, and the city was ruled by two clans and partially by a trade guild.
The trade guild didn't have enough power to rule the city, but with huge finances it possesses, the two clans don't dare to mess with it.
But the most crucial thing was that extreme and radical xenophobia propagated in the city.
You'll rarely find any non-human people within its ranks. And if even you'd be lucky to see, one, one will notice that they are enslaved.
That's all Vanessa knows about this place from the words of others.
"Let's go in and find a place for temporary dwelling," Vincent calmly spoke and took the lead.
Patricia and Vanessa slightly nodded and followed suit.
…
Several minutes later, the trio stood in a line of people that wanted to enter the city that slowly moved.
As they stood in the middle, Vincent calmly spoke, "Remember, this is no longer your peaceful village. This place is dangerous, especially for two women like you without decent background, so when I'm not around, do not leave without a solid reason. If you manage to get lost or get yourself into trouble, it will be hard for me to find you."
Vanessa looked at her son and nodded after a brief pause, "Okay, son."
Patricia also nodded. She came here to find her daughter, not the problems.
"Move aside!" Suddenly, a rushed male voice sounded from behind them.
After a brief hesitation, Vincent calmly stepped to the side while the two women followed closely behind.
Shortly after, a well-made wooden carriage with two windows on each side passed through them with two horses in front.
Some clumsy people in the line failed to move in time and were hit by the carriage wheels and screamed in pain after falling down.
The man in charge of the carriage raged in frustration, "Mute retard! Next time move as you were told!"
The carriage gradually entered the city with inspection from the gate-guards.
"Son?" Vanessa suddenly asked when she saw Vincent stopped with an odd look on his face.
Vincent curiously looked at the disappearing carriage on the busy road within the city.
'What was that?' he wondered.
When the carriage passed through them, he sensed something odd yet somewhat familiar within.
He wondered for a moment, before saying without replying, "Let's go back in line."
…
Half an hour later, the sun gradually set away and the sky turned dark and the city light lit up.
The trio stood in front of an inn with a simple name Pleasant Dwelling before walking inside.
The inn was separated into 2 sections. The first floor was for dinner and other activities, while the 2nd and 3rd floors were solely for clients' dwellings.
Upon entering the inn, Vincent went straight towards the desk where he was warmly welcomed by a middle aged man.
"Welcome to Pleasant Dwelling. What can I do for you?" said a man with a friendly smile after briefly observing the trio.
"Is there a free room with two beds?" Vincent casually asked.
The man slightly nodded before looking at the registration.
"Yes, there are two. One on the 2nd and the other on the 3rd floor."
"2nd floor please," Vincent said calmly.
The waiter nodded and said, "It'll cost 2 silver per week. Is that an acceptable price?"
Vincent didn't reply and instead took several silver coins and casually passed them to the man, saying, "Here is the payment for 4 weeks."
The waiter nodded, "Please state your name."
"Vincent."
"Please, wait a moment," the waiter responded and left the desk.
Vanessa and Patricia were quite surprised that Vincent casually spent 8 silver coins for simple lodging. After all, if this was the village, 8 silver coins would be enough to have food for the entire family for almost 2 months.
She doesn't know where exactly he got this money, but after what he did in the village, she can guess to whom this money belonged, so she didn't speak.
Patricia was also curious, but since Vanessa was silent, she decided to not ask.
Soon, the waiter came back and passed the key to Vincent, "2nd floor, Room 7. The dinner is served 3 times per day and is free of charge for our customers. Have a pleasant rest."
Vincent slightly nodded and went towards stairs while the women followed.
As they walked to their room, he couldn't help but recall that odd feeling he had from the carriage.
When he entered the city, after paying the guards 3 silver coins to avoid inspection, he encountered several more carriages going back and forth, yet none of them made him like the one he had encountered in front of the city's gates.
He never felt anything similar to it before which successfully got his attention.
But that can wait for a later time as he has more urgent matters to resolve.
With a crack, the door opened and the trio entered.
Vincent looked at two small beds before walking towards another door in the distance. Opening it, he saw an empty place around 2 meters wide. He casually nodded.
'Enough.'
Vincent then turned towards women.
"The main room is yours. Take a good rest. Tomorrow, I will require your assistance," after Vincent calmly spoke, he entered the narrow cabin and closed the door, leaving the women speechless.
"I previously wanted to scold him when he had ordered only one room, but now I understand the reason. Does he truly plan on sleeping there?" Patricia spoke with bewilderment as she looked at the closed door.
But inwardly she was pleased.
How can she share a room with a young man like Vincent and not feel worried? She would've naturally suppressed her discomfort if he had decided to sleep in the main room. She still clearly remembers the scene how Vincent sliced the throat of the village guard.
She was quite fearful of sleeping with him in the same room.
Vanessa weakly smiled.
She thought that she would have to share the bed with Vincent upon hearing him ordering one room with two beds and she didn't mind it though. He is her son after all. But his sudden choice was quite unexpected for her.
…
Several hours later, Vincent's eyes gently trembled before slowly opening as he sat in a meditating position the entire night.
When he was in the cave, he was spending days in a barely moving position, so he got pretty used to it, though he'd still prefer to sleep on the bed if possible, but he didn't want to make his mother and Patricia uncomfortable without a decent reason.
Taking a deep breath, he stood up and picked some stuff from the backpack before opening the door.
The two women had already woken up and were doing some women's morning routine that their current situation allows.
"Good morning, son. Was is… comfortable there? If not, you can always sleep beside me if you want," Vanessa suddenly spoke upon seeing Vincent.
Patricia's eyes were slightly narrow, but she was silent.
Vincent briefly looked at his mother and did not give a reply. Instead, he placed several silver coins on the table.
"Use this money to go to the nearby places and gather some information about the current situation in the city. Also, buy some new clothes. Those we're wearing might gather some unnecessary attention."
He then turned specifically to Patricia, "The city is quite big, so it might take a lot of time to find your daughter, so don't do anything rashly. But I have rough guesses where she might be, so I'm going to check those places in the coming days."
"If everything goes smoothly, after I bring back Alisia and gather some other information, we'll immediately leave."
Vincent casually continued as he looked at the two women.
"After you two complete what I've requested, immediately go back and wait for my return. Don't bring unnecessary attention to us or even I might not be able to resolve them."
"One mistake and everything might go downhill very fast. Neither you nor I want that to happen," though he spoke calmly, the women felt quite intimidated from his voice.
"I'll be back at sunset," as he spoke, Vincent left the room.
Vanessa and Patricia exchanged glances.
"Your son developed quite a dominant demeanor. I'm worried for the future of my Alisia," Patricia spoke with a dejected chuckle after she was being casually ordered by someone who was more than twice younger than herself.
Vanessa oddly smiled, "You don't have to worry about your daughter in this matter. Though my son had significantly changed physically and mentally, he's not heartless," she spoke before adding in her mind.
'Not heartless… yet.'
She prayed that it would not turn out to be the case in the future.