A day had passed since that little encounter, and Deliah was now riding in the back of a carriage heading towards the kingdom of Atria, with her son idly watching as the scenery rolled by.

She'd normally just hitch a ride on one of the few merchant carriages that came to her village, but she had her son this time, and she wasn't going to risk any unfortunate incidents to befall her son. So, she rented a small personal carriage instead, paying a fellow villager to drive their carriage there.

Her son had worried about the cost, but she didn't mind all that much. She'd saved quite a sum throughout her life, and there wasn't much point of saving it if she wasn't going to spend some of it.

She didn't tell her son how much she actually had of course. He'd probably faint if she did that.

And so, here she was, reading one of the few books she carried in her bag to pass the time. She was expecting to spend most of the ride answering questions from her son, but he was surprisingly silent today, his attention mostly taken by the passing scenery.

Well, this was his first time adventuring so far out in quite some time.

That aside, it'd take several more hours before they'd reach Atria, and even more time before they'd gain entry. Their gatekeeping was by no means slow, but the line of carriages waiting for entry was consistently high.

Then again, Atria is a kingdom of merchants. It'd be rather strange if there were only one or two carriages waiting to enter at a time.

Ah, she could already picture how troublesome it'd be. Back when she was still the baron's maid, she was given quick entry, but that privilege wasn't hers anymore.

It did make her wonder who the baron's maid now was, or if the baron was still alive at all. She hoped he still was; he was quite the charming man, but the man was old. She wouldn't be completely surprised if he'd passed to the sunless lands.

She gave a quick prayer to whoever had her job now. May they persevere against the mounting stress of the job.

"Hey, mom?"

"Hmm?" Deliah hummed as she turned to her son. "What's wrong?"

"Why are there no monsters around us?" He asked. "I mean, there are no trees for the monsters to hide behind and nothing to defend us, so why aren't there any monsters?"

She blinked for a moment, before she smiled. She leaned over the edge of the carriage and pointed at one of the many unassuming rocks placed across the rolling hills. "Do you see those rocks over there?"

"You mean...those?" He asked, his eyes following the direction her finger was pointing.

She nodded. "Those are enchanted. If any monsters come close, they'd cast a magic spell and burn everything around them. If the monster doesn't die, or if the stone gets destroyed, then they'd send a distress call back to Atria, and people would come to see what's wrong."

"Ooh." He hummed out, and then stopped. "Wait, but why aren't they around our village then? Wouldn't that keep the monsters away as well?"

Her smile turned just a tad wry. "Well, they'd torch our forests, and it'll take a lot of money and magic to keep the stones active when they're so far away from the kingdom."

That, and it also forced the goblins to make their homes in the surrounding forests and remain there, which would then allow the Goblin Lord to rise periodically.

"Hmm." Her son hummed, pondering over it. "...Why isn't it being used against the Goblin Lord then?"

There it was. She'd been waiting for her son to ask that.

She didn't really know why. The cost might be too high. There might not be enough magic at the Goblin Lord's resting place for the stones to be much of use. The fire it produces might do more harm than good.

Whatever the reason may be, it didn't matter any longer. The Goblin Lord had a grue by its side, and she doubted that grue was the only special monster it had.

The magical stones wouldn't do much. They'd need a brutal, powerful attack to end the threat.

Which wasn't all that hard to find. Atria had no shortage of funds; they could easily gather a group of powerful adventurers and mercenaries.

Deliah shrugged. "The rocks wouldn't do much against the Goblin Lord." She answered simply, and her son nodded with a small hum.

As his mom said, they made it to Atria a couple hours later.

It didn't mean they'd enter soon though. The moment Atria came into view, so did the large line of carriages waiting before the gates for entry.

It's amazing really. Evel had never seen so many people lined up in one place at a time, and certainly not so many carriages in one place.

More than that however,

Atria really was amazing! Or, well, the walls surrounding it were. The walls were taller than anything he'd ever seen, covering the equally massive kingdom behind them. They were made of cleanly carved stone, and seemed to glitter under the sunlight.

But, that aside, the massive line meant that it'd take quite some time before they'd finally be granted entry. His mom said that they could cough up some money for a quicker entry, but it wouldn't really mean much. The carriage inspections were slow and thorough, to make sure nothing ilegal could be brought in.

So here they were, idly waiting as they waited in line, slowly crawling forward towards the gates. Evel was reading one of the few books he had brought in her bag, while his mom and mister driver were talking about something.

He wanted to join in, but he couldn't really understand anything they were saying, so he sat back and listened instead.

Humming a nameless tune, he looked around, curiously staring at the other carriages waiting in line. Most of the other carriages were filled up, either with people or with items. He wondered what they were coming to Atria for.

Could there be someone who was coming to Atria to buy seeds like him?

There probably was. He wasn't the only farmer in this world, after all.

It did make him wonder if there was someone else who was planting monster corpses like he was. He couldn't have been the first to find it out, right?

Right?

...Hmm.

Nevertheless, what seeds should he buy? Some more berry seeds would be nice, though he wouldn't be able to sell them. Cucumbers would be nice as well. Oh! Chili peppers would be great! His dad said that they tasted great, but he hadn't been able to find out if that was true.

And then there was that green vegetable he remembered his mom talking about. It was...brocil? Brocilio?

Wait, no, it was broccoli. He didn't know what that was, but his mom said that she missed cooking them, so they were probably tasty.

Evel sighed.

He was really bored, and his book could only do so much. He could only hope they'd reach the end soon.

By the time they reached the gates, evening had come, and Evel was close to falling asleep. Well, he did fall asleep, but his mom woke him up.

"We're here." She said softly, gently patting his head. "Stay awake a little more, okay?"

"Mm." He hummed back, leaning his head onto the side of the carriage as he waited. His eyes were heavy, but he fought with all the strength he had.

Then,

"A kid?" A gruff voice said, and Evel jolted wide awake, accidentally banging his head onto the carriage. He whimpered as he pulled back, and his mom giggled as she held him close.

"Sorry about that, sir. It's almost night, after all." His mom said.

Blinking, Evel turned to the side to see a soldier. He was mostly covered in armor, but he could still see the warm smile he had.

"Hya, I'll have to agree on that." He began with a sigh. "Been standing here for hours now. Wish I could go to the pub for some grub."

"Hmm, any recommendations, sir?" His mom then asked, and the soldier hummed, rubbing the short beard he had as he thought.

"If you want something simple, Wonton's should fill you just fine. Hull Quir's up if you want something expensive, but I don't think that's your style, yeah?" His mom shook her head, and the soldier nodded. "Yeah, thought so. Wonton's your go-to then. Just ask one of the patrols, they should be able to point you there."

His mom smiled. "Wonton it is then."

"You're free to go, by the way." He said. "Ain't much to check after all."

With that said, their carriage continued, and he couldn't help but reach to the front of the carriage.

And his eyes went wide.

The kingdom of Atria was massive. Anywhere he looked, buildings seemed to stretch to no end, and the castle that stood at the center towered over everything else. The buildings themselves were large and colorful, built from clean stone and wood and painted with inviting colors.

The roads were bright, lit by glowing stones that were contained in strange glass casings and placed atop an iron pole. They were wide as well, divided into two, with one split allowing carriages to go one way and the other split allowing the opposite direction. There were paths by the roadside as well, made for people to walk.

It was completely unlike his village. When evening came, the roads would turn dark, and the village would fall asleep. Here, the roads were consistently bright, and there were people walking about even under the darkening sky.

He was immediately captivated, and Evel couldn't help but smile.