I'm not a Witcher anymore.

The heat finally subsided a bit by the evening of the second day after we decided to go to Water City.

The lights were still on on the main street, and the stalls selling bread and smoked meat had already begun to close up shop, but the blacksmith's shop was still ringing with clanging sounds.

When Sieg came out with the neatly arranged armor-piercing heavy arrows from Joel, he saw Ravenna waving at him from afar under the oil lamp at the street corner.

"Did you finally get Joel all sorted out?" She rushed over, first checking the arrows in his arms. "The captain said the general store would close if we stayed any later."

"Almost done." Zieg slung his quiver over his shoulder. "What about your side?"

"Hill is picking out a map, Lucy is looking at the medkits, and Captain..." Ravenna shrugged, "Captain is checking the list, of course."

When she said the last sentence, her tone became a little lighter. Sieg didn't need to look to know that Valeria was probably standing in front of the counter right now, checking the items she wanted to take away one by one, and remembering the prices clearly as well.

As the two turned into a small grocery store on the other side of the main street, they indeed witnessed that scene.

Valeria held a piece of paper that had been folded twice. The paper was neatly listed, from tinder, candles, and rope to dry rations and water bags for the road, with the quantities listed afterward.

A small stack of items had already piled up in front of her, and the shopkeeper was wiping his sweat while making change.

Lucy, carrying two newly bought medicine bags, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Zieg enter.

"You're back just in time." She handed him one of the medicine packets. "I've stocked up on some extra bandages and medicine."

Hill stood by the shelf against the wall, an old map spread out in her hand. She didn't look up, but said calmly, "The main road to Water City is fine, but you'd better memorize the route after you enter the city. Big cities are not like border towns; if you get separated, it will be very troublesome to find someone."

"I knew you'd say that." Ravenna leaned closer, glanced at the map, and quickly frowned. "This thing is giving me a headache. Just follow the captain."

"You'd better remember something," Valeria said, placing the last two silver coins on the counter without turning around. "At least don't get lost and not be able to find your own inn."

Ravenna immediately snorted, "I'm not exaggerating that much."

"Who was it that wandered around the capital city a couple of blocks more last time, only to find their way back by following the smell of grilled fish?"

That was an accident.

"You always say it's an accident."

Everyone laughed.

Even Lucy, who had been tense the whole time, smiled slightly. She added softly, "Actually... I almost went the wrong way that time too. Ravenna brought me back first."

Ravenna, who had been about to argue further, perked up immediately upon hearing this and raised her chin: "Did you hear that? That's called navigating instinct."

"You were just lucky." Hill rolled up the map and finally glanced at her.

"It's pretty much the same thing."

"no."

"Yes."

Valeria didn't let them continue fighting; she folded the list and tucked it back into her waistband.

"Pack your things first, we'll leave early tomorrow morning."

After she finished speaking, her gaze swept over each of the people, as if to make sure no one had forgotten anything. Finally, when her gaze landed on Zig, she paused for a moment.

"Are we using enough arrows?"

"That's enough," Zieg nodded.

"That's fine then."

The group walked together toward the tavern.

The border town is not as noisy at night as it is during the day; when the wind blows through the streets, even the lights seem steady.

Ravenna walked in front, still wondering if there would be barbecue that night;

Lucy carried the medicine bag carefully, as if afraid of breaking the medicine bottles inside;

Hill tucked the map under his arm and occasionally looked up at the road ahead.

Valeria walked in the middle of the group.

Zieg fell to the back of the group.

Only then did the thought of going to Water City finally feel real.

……

The team left the border town early the next morning.

At first, the journey of those two days sounded like just "two days heading east." But once we got on the carriage, we realized that those few days were not short at all.

During the day, the highway stretches across the plains, and the wind whips up dust that constantly seeps into the carriages.

As evening approached, the road gradually disappeared into the edge of the woodland, and the dampness and shadows of the trees pressed down, making the sky appear even darker than elsewhere.

We stopped twice along the way: once to feed the horses water at a small roadside shed, and once to stop briefly by the river to stretch our legs and eat the dry rations we had brought with us.

But no matter how many times we rested, the bumps along the way didn't lessen at all.

By the afternoon of the next day, the carriage had finally climbed the last gentle slope, and the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Zig sat by the car window, and the first thing he saw was water.

It is not a single river, but a large network of lakes and tributaries cut through by forests and sandbars.

Sunlight falls on the water's surface, shattering into layers of dazzling silver.

Many boats shuttled back and forth in that waterway, their masts, sails, hulls, and the wooden bridge on the shore all crammed together. From a distance, it looked even more chaotic than the border town at its busiest.

Further ahead lies the city.

It was a large city that was almost entirely white, standing quietly between lakes and sandbars.

The high walls, towers, bridges, and even the layers of rooftops deeper inside all shone brightly in the afternoon sun.

The most striking feature is the towering white building at the highest point in the city.

Even from a distance, you can see it looming over the entire city, as if it grew out of stone and light together.

"We're here," Valeria said softly from the front seat.

Ravenna, who had been lounging around complaining about the stuffy carriage, immediately leaned out the window upon hearing this, and her whole demeanor perked up.

"This is way too big."

She said that, but her tone was full of barely suppressed excitement.

The carriage continued forward, traveling along the long bridge spanning the water towards the city gate.

The bridge was already congested with people and vehicles.

Merchants' pack animals, carts loaded with goods, travelers carrying bundles, peddlers hawking their wares along the bridge, and pedestrians occasionally coming from the other side were all crammed together.

The sounds of different accents, haggling, shouting, and the muffled thud of wheels rolling over the stone surface mingled together, making one's ears throb.

After entering the city gate, the excitement didn't dissipate; instead, it intensified.

Above the doorway are carved interlocking scales and a longsword, the emblem of the supreme god.

As the carriage passed underneath, Zieg glanced over instinctively, only to be pulled back by the sounds and smells of the city.

Shops lined both sides of the stone-paved road, with signs and banners hanging everywhere.

Some people were loudly hawking freshly unloaded fish and spices on the street, some were pushing their donkey carts forward, and porters from the riverbank were carrying bags of goods, running from the bridge into the alleys.

The wind carried a mixture of moisture, animal odors, spices, and the smell of roasted meat, along with the lingering heat that always seems to linger after a large influx of city dwellers.

The border town is quite lively, but compared to this place, it's much smaller.

The carriage bumped along the stone-paved road for a long time before finally stopping at a relatively open square in the center of the city.