030 A Week Later

A week later, 

The trio was back on the road the moment the horses had calmed down and were now heading toward a port city where they were going to board a ship leaving for the demon continent. 

Aurelius stared at Esper's back as his mind drifted back to the information he had learned from the meeting a week before. 

After getting an idea of how to survive meeting his mother-in-law, he asked a few more questions before wrapping up the meeting. 

'The demon continent consists of seven kingdoms, with each representing a deadly sin…' 

Lilith belongs to the country named Velariax, representing the sin of Lust. The country is located at the edge of the demon continent, with seas covering its west and south directions. 

'But the countries bordering its east and north are going to be a pain, though!' Aurelius grumbled as he slouched a little. 

And he is not to be blamed; after all, the countries bordering Velariax are Zelthoria and Mammonia, nations representing Envy and Greed. 

'I don't need to know anything about them to realize that they're going to be a pain in the ass! And I'm pretty sure they have something to do with the rebellion!' 

Aurelius continued grumbling and sighing for a while, complaining about why it had to be Greed and Envy and not Sloth instead. 

"Hmm?" But then he mumbled as he felt the horses slowly coming to a stop, making him glance at the fifteen-foot wall looming over in the distance with soldiers wielding bows and arrows guarding them. 

His eyes then darted down, where he could see a sea of movement with two thick streams of people moving around the massive open city gates, one going in and one going out. 

"Is this the city?" Lilith asked as she got down from her horse, her eyes turning toward Esper. 

"Yes, we are at Arcadia, the second-biggest port city on this continent." 

Aurelius dismounted his horse, and the trio joined the line going into the city. 

They patiently waited for their turn, with Aurelius listening in on the conversations of the people around him. 

"Hey, have you heard about the war…." 

Aurelius listened curiously as some people talked about the ongoing war in the middle of the continent, while others talked about starting a new life on another continent. 

"Next!" 

But then a stern voice cut through the crowd's chatter as the guard at the gates called out the next people in line, making the trio walk up to the guard. 

Esper walked at the front, followed by Lilith and Aurelius. The guard looked at the trio nonchalantly and asked, "Are you going to stay long, or are you all passing through?" 

"Passing through," Esper answered curtly; she and Lilith were wearing their disguises and hiding their beauty. They would have had a lot of problems and annoying cockroaches surrounding them if they hadn't done that, while Aurelius was wearing a hood that covered his face. 

The guard nodded his head and looked at the trio once again before he gave Esper a token and informed them, "This token works for three days; if you want to stay longer, you have to pay a small fee at the city administration building and register yourselves." 

Esper nodded her head at the guard and motioned for Lilith and Aurelius to follow her. 

The trio snaked through the bustling streets of the city as Aurelius and Lilith curiously watched the street vendors selling their goods. 

Aurelius could feel the salt in the air and the faint sound of waves crashing onto the shore as he walked further inward. 

Esper didn't waste any time lingering around the city streets and took them directly to a building that read "Orion Merchant Company." 

The trio entered the lobby of the building, which was heavily decorated with gold and soft silk fabric, showcasing the wealth of the company; it had expensive chandeliers draping down from the ceiling and expensive paintings decorating its walls. 

At the center of the lobby was the reception area filled with young, beautiful women ready to serve their wealthy customers. 

Esper walked toward one of the receptionists and, without further ado, said, "I need VVIP rooms for the ship to the demon continent!" 

The receptionist raised an eyebrow at Esper as she eyed them skeptically. Esper and Lilith were wearing common robes and added some blemishes to their disguise. 

'Can they really buy VVIP tickets?!' the lady thought to herself. Her instincts, honed from working as a receptionist, were telling her that these guys were the real deal and not to annoy them, 'but no matter how I look at them, they don't look like they can pay the price!' 

The receptionist lady looked at them for a while, 'I will trust my instincts!' She resolved to herself after some deliberation and asked, "How many passengers, Miss?" 

A small smile bloomed on Esper's face as she liked the receptionist and nodded lightly at her. "Three." 

The receptionist lady nodded her head and continued, "May I know your names?" 

Esper nodded her head and said, "Mary," pointing to herself, "Alice." She added, pointing toward Lilith and Aurelius, "Mark!" 

The receptionist lady nodded her head and noted down the names given by Esper; she didn't ask for proof and had already understood that the names given to her were fake. 

But she didn't bother with it as this was a common thing, and many important people gave false names to hide their tracks. 

The lady then looked at Esper and said, "That will be 30,000 gold royals, Miss!" 

Aurelius's eyes immediately went wide when he heard the price of the tickets. Although he didn't know exactly how valuable they were, from what he had read in the novels in his past life, he knew they were really expensive. 

'But then, I guess it's required as Lilith is royalty!' 

CLANG 

"Here," Esper said as she placed a bag of coins on the desk, making a small smile bloom on the receptionist lady, 'I was right!' she mumbled to herself, praising herself that her instincts were working really well. 

She carefully took the bag of gold coins from the desk, placed it inside a drawer, and closed it. 

Esper raised an eyebrow at her actions and asked, "Aren't you going to check whether they are the right amount?" 

The lady was a little startled by Esper's question, but then her smile widened as she replied, "We trust our customers!" 

A wide smile adorned Esper's face as she liked the wit of the receptionist. "I like you!" 

The lady in turn smiled and bowed curtly and replied, "It is my deepest honor to be liked by the lady of your stature." 

The receptionist then took out three papers that were white with golden embroidery draping on their edges; she wrote the three names given by Esper on each of the tickets and then gave them to Esper and said, "Here you go, Miss. The ship leaves tomorrow morning." 

Esper took the tickets from the receptionist and said, "I need a hotel room then." 

The receptionist lady nodded her head at Esper, as if expecting this response, and replied, "We have a luxurious hotel right across the street, Miss. The hotel is owned by the company, so you can be rest assured about the services. Please show the tickets to the hotel receptionist, and she will guide you to your rooms." 

Esper nodded her head in reply and took out a platinum coin from her pocket and placed it on the table. "This is for you." She said as she slid the coin toward the receptionist. 

The lady's smile widened while her face brightened like a bulb when she saw the coin. She immediately took the coin from Esper, hid it in her pocket, bowed toward Esper, and said, "Thank you very much, my lady! I hope you have a wonderful journey!" 

Esper didn't reply and motioned Lilith and Aurelius to follow her. They got out of the building and walked for a few moments before Esper turned around; looking at Lilith, she said, "We will stay at the hotel for the night and board the ship tomorrow. After that, it will be a three-week-long journey, so do you want to buy anything?" 

Lilith didn't immediately answer Esper but looked at Aurelius. 

A small smile bloomed on Aurelius's face as she shook her head, which made Lilith turn toward Esper and shake her head. 

TWITCH 

Esper's mouth twitched heavily as she looked at this blasphemy, but she held herself and didn't say anything; she just turned around and continued walking. 

Aurelius watched Esper continue walk with a frown on his face. 'Interesting...' His gaze lingered on her back before he began walking, following her to the hotel.