The carriage sat in embarrassing silence, the girls were to shy to say anything after what happened a while ago. Except for Cassidy, of course, who sat there with a smile, wondering how she can tease the girls a bit more.
As they stayed in silence, the carriage eventually came to a halt.
"One last stop and then we'll be at Aubergine." The old man said, circling over towards the rear carriage.
"Quicker than I thought." Sable said, stretching her legs.
Everyone gathered outside, making a small camp to stay at until they decide to get back on the road. Surprisingly, nothing really happened this time.
Everyone talked to each other, had fun with the kids, ate some basic camping food, then went to sleep. Then, early in the morning, back on the road. This time, Aviris, Veronica, Kazue and Sirtia were in the same carriage.
Veronica silently thanked the fact that this ride would be the last. Though, she was feeling restless. After all, nothing happened. Maybe soon. Perhaps when they get to the gate. A vicious creature? A dragon! All Veronjca had were her thoughts, sitting in boredom as the caravan slowly made it's way to Aubergine.
"Do any of you know what kind of place Aubergine is?" Veronica decided to ask.
"It's the largest and most successful farming city in the kingdom, with a specialty for eggplants. And a few... other things." Kazue shortly explained.
"Other things?"
"You'll see when we get there." Kazue responded with a sly smirk, which only confused Veronica more.
After a short while, Veronkca had started to yawn. The ride was really getting to her. She was bored and had nothing to do. She's already finished the romance novel that Sirtia let her borrow.
Veronica was going to ask Sirita if she had another book, but she started to remember the day before, and even the time where they were in the lake doing...
It embarrassed her too much to ask this soon, so she kept her mouth shut. So, she waited, and waited. She looked around at what the other girls were doing.
Sirtia was reading her book, just as she was doing all the times prior. Kazue was meditating. And Aviris seemed to be napping. But something seemed different about the way Aviris was sleeping. It was a bit more similar to Kazue's meditation. She was clearly way to all forms of outside stimulation, but she never reacted. Veronica wondered what Aviris was doing, but something told her not to be a bother.
Time seemed to pass slowly. Every time Veronica looked out the carriage, she always saw where they last were. The same tree, only slightly further. The same rocks, only slightly closer.
But, at some point, the caravan stopped. No said anything. There's no worry. So, what happened?
Veronica took a peak outside the carriage to see what was going on. And, right in front of them were huge city walls and a gate. They were in line to Aubergine.
"We're here?" Veronica asked, just to make sure.
"Yup. Welcome to Aubergine." Siritia said, taking a deep breath.
The line kept moving, then stopped, move, stop, over and over again. Until the caravan came to the gate. Veronica tried to listen for what was going on.
"Caravan for resupply. Three carriages, no goods, six caravaneers and eight adventurers." The old man said.
"Six silver for entry." A guard said.
The old man put up no fuss, paying for the entry fee, and the caravan continued into the city, stopping at a nearby location.
Here, everyone had stepped out of their carriages, stretched for a moment, then came together.
"Thank you for the escort, girls." The old man said.
"No need. We didn't really do anything." Seraph humbly responded.
"Nonsense. I'd rather have guards and not need them, instead of not having guards when I do need them. Anyway, here's the contract, stamped for completion. I hope we work again sometime soon." The old man said with a smile, handing Seraph the contract and going his own way.
The girls gathered together for a team huddle.
"That was... disappointing. I kinda wanted some monsters to fight..." Cassidy complained.
"Well, girls, let this be a lesson. Sometimes you'll have a contract, and you do nothing. This happens every now and then. Either way, we still complete the contract and get paid for it." Sable explained.
"But, isn't that a bit... rude? Taking money from someone while not doing anything?" Veronica asked.
"At first, that's what we thought as well. But, we kept doing more and more contracts, and found out that this will happen more often than not." Seraph said. "Well, you girls might as well look around and have some fun here."
"Why? Shouldn't we be going back to the Academy?"
"Yes, however it's best to find a contract that takes us back to the capital, as the client is obligated to pay for our entrance fee, which is accounted for when our contract is paid through. For example, we could have got a total of fifty eight silver coins for this contract, but pur client had to pay our entrance fee, which was about two silver coins, so we're getting fifty six coins to split among ourselves." Sirtia had explained, placing a hand in her hip.
"So... we get to have fun for a bit, get a new contract, go home, and do it all over again?" Cassidy asked.
"That about sums it up, yeah." Kazue responded.
Cassidy slowly nodded before grabbing Veronica's hand and running off with her.
"Be sure to meet up with us back here!" Seraph yelled put to the two.
A new city with new things to explore. It might not be too bad to have a little fun exploring before going back.