Shiu and Stan eventually reached Ciana City. They travelled slowly and it took them 7 days to get here.
It was close to the Royal Capital so he could see people walking on the main road.
The number of passing carriages also increased and the road got wider.
This was the biggest city he'd been to so far and it looked like the countryside of Germany or Switzerland. In short, it was well maintained and clean.
The inn was also the most impressive thus far. It was a four story building made from sturdy stones. The interior was made of wood and it was warm, so that was also good.
Shiu asked for a separate room like he usually did. Feles was a kitten, although he was also a rare beast, so he wanted to play a lot. He would move around even in the middle of the night and purr. If kind old man, Stan saw Feles then he would play with him even if Shiu blocked the sounds with space wall. It was like that inside of the carriage so Shiu wanted to at least let him take his time and rest.
When Feles was close to three months old, Shiu concluded that he was a long fur type. His long tricoloured fur was unruly. Or rather, it was curly so before Shiu knew it, it had turned into a mop. Feles's hands, feet and tail were brown so people often mistook it for dust or dirt.
People made that mistake often inside of the carriage. Old man, Stan was the one who mistook it the most. Of course, he was only joking.
However, there were people who seriously thought it was dust or dirt. Feles was popular like an idol even at the inn, and he would lie down on a table in the dining hall while acting cute.
"Leaving a mop in such a place. What are the owners of the inn teaching their employees?!"
Someone got angry. Shiu hastily explained, "This is a child of a cat type beast mount", and he also apologised for leaving Feles on top of the table.
"Ooh! What a cute kitten!"
Their previous attitude would be gone in an instant and they would forgive Shiu.
Shiu had heard that beast mounts were adored but children were even more adored.
He didn't bring Feles with him to the dining hall for dinner because of the previous blunder, but people spoke to him many times. "You didn't bring the kitten with you?" Information travelled fast probably because it was an inn used by merchants. Even people he didn't know asked him if he would show them the beast mount child.
Shiu thought it was rude to bring an animal with him to meals but it seemed that they would forgive him if it was the child of a rare beast. This was something he couldn't perceive, but a certain merchant had said, "Even beastman come to the dining room, don't they?" As he said, it might be true. But, it was really because rare beasts served God.
In the end, Shiu took Feles with him when the dining room switched into a bar. Even old man, Stan was having fun drinking alcohol while talking to the other merchants about business so Shiu thought it was fine. And like he'd thought, Feles remained in the corner of everyone's eyes.
Old man Stan could only conduct business at one place in Ciana City so it was decided that they would leave after two nights.
Shiu didn't have to act as his guard during this time so he walked around and looked at the shops.
Shiu didn't have much travel experience even in this life.
He had a large burn in his previous life and was often in the hospital because of his weak constitution so people pitied him. They would get curious and stare at him. Therefore, he avoided crowded places.
That was why he was happy that he could walk around like this. Even now, the wounds of his past still remained deep within him and he felt uneasy when he went into the city. Anyway, he was scared of people's gazes. Even though he no longer had a large burn nor a weak constitution.
However, most people were gentle and kind, and they were indifferent in a good way.
It was pleasant.
Because of the Goddess, he also seem to be adored by children and animals and it wasn't suspicious at all. Even if Shiu walked around with the adorable kitten Feles in his arms, no one would look at him badly.
Shiu thought that he was really lucky when he picked up the Stone Egg and got Feles as his partner.
Then while he was having fun walking around the city, he found a bakery with heaps of people going in and out.
Shiu, who had found the delicious bakery, Bread Boom, in Corell City, peeked inside the store. However, he had Feles with him so he asked if he could tie him at the storefront.
"Oh, yes sure. If you tie him over there then you can also see him from inside of the store, so it's safe."
The female clerk readily answered his question and even brought him a chair so that he could see Feles more easily. She put it near the pillar and adjusted it so that he could tie Feles more easily. She was very kind.
"He's so cute ~. I want to pet him but too bad I'm in the middle of work!"
She was even hygienic. Shops like this had a solid foundation and Shiu was filled with anticipation as he entered the bakery.
"There's a lot of things here."
There wasn't anything like honey stick bread here but there were hard breads for adventurers on the shelves. In addition to that, there was soft white bread, the ones that people on the streets liked to eat and there were also breads that were crunchy on the outside.
"There's a lot of stuffed bread here, isn't there?"
Bread rolls stuffed with bacon and vegetables seem to be the standard. There were also other kinds of bread stuffed with cheese or lots of onions.
The previous clerk let him sample a small piece of the sandwich when he saw him staring at it.
"It's delicious. The sauce is very nice."
"Thank you very much! This is the owner's secret sauce."
He recalled the taste of soy sauce. The salty and sweet taste was close to teriyaki and it was a favourite of Shiu's. He was so happy that he put a lot of them onto his tray.
The recipe was a secret so of course the owner wouldn't tell him it, so he decided to analysis it for himself. Old man Stan's souvenir was also there of course.
These kinds of goods made him happy. Shiu packed his tray full of bread and then he noticed something outside. Sometimes he would peek at Feles but suddenly he noticed a parent and their child.
They were heading towards Feles, who was tied to the pillar.
He saw their appearance when he left the shop. The man had light brown skin and a large build, he looked like a strong veteran. In his hand was a cute western looking baby with pure white skin and blonde hair. They looked like they were from different races but the baby looked perfectly content in the man's arms.
The little baby continued to cling onto the large man and stared at Feles, who was on top of the chair. That was really cute. The baby was desperately gripping the man's shirt with one hand while trying his hardest to stretch out his other hand.
"Hello."
Shiu grinned and greeted. The baby was surprised and drew his hand back. He noticed that the man approached him with comfort and he watched him silently, which was contradictory to his scary appearance.
"Hello. This child is called Feles."
He greeted once again and looked at the chair. The baby turned to look at Feles after he stared at Shiu timidly and frightened. He then smiled happily. Shiu put the bag onto the chair and held Feles in his arms.
Then he approached the baby with so that he could look at Feles closer. The man didn't seem to mind and let Shiu do as he liked.
"It's been 3 months since Feles was born."
"Mya ~."
Feles also gave his greetings. The baby immediately babbled happily.
"Kyuu!"
Shiu was happy and confirmed that Feles was calm.
"Do you want to touch it? It's fine if you pet it gently."
He said and looked at the father, who nodded silently at Shiu and then whispered to the baby.
"Please let him touch Feles."
Was the baby fine? His look said to the man, but the baby probably couldn't resist. The baby quietly stretched out his arm and touched Feles's ears. Feles's ears twitched and the baby once again retracted his arm, and stretched it again because he was curious.
He repeated this action many times and noticed that it was fine to touch so he began petting Feles's head.
He continued to pet Feles while occasionally babbling:
"Myuu, umyuu ~."
The baby continued petting Feles for a few minutes and then reluctantly withdrew his arm. He looked at the man and then quietly looked at Shiu.
"Fank you……"
"You're welcome."
"…… Ferusha 1)Baby talk for Feles, see you again."
Bye bye, he said in a small voice as he waved his hands and the man and baby left. Shiu concluded that the man expressed his gratitude with his expressions.
He was a very cute baby and that was the first time Shiu had seen a High Elf. He couldn't recognise them by their appearance. Their ears, which were different from humans, were covered by their long hair. Actually, he only figured their race because his appraisal skill had risen recently.
Old man Stan had recommended that he raise his appraisal skill so he had been proactively casting it on people. Thanks to that, he knew that the baby was a High Elf. The man was a Dragon-kin and his level was also high.
Shiu, however, didn't have confidence in his skill's accuracy and it was thoughtless to stare at people and he only appraised them roughly. Even so, he knew ranks that he'd never seen before on the streets and he knew that the man was a dragon warrior.
Unlike humans, however, both of them had long life expectancies and it was interesting because they looked different from their age. Shiu usually only saw people on the streets so this made Shiu realise once again that this was a so-called fantasy world and was different from earth.
There are many races in this world.
Steigbahn Kingdom, where Shiu currently was, was a moderate agricultural kingdom that was neither bad nor good, so it was said to be a liveable kingdom. Hence, many different races lived here.
In addition, there were many cities besides the Royal Capital. Shiu hardly saw anyone from a different race in the countryside probably because it was conservative there or because there were no jobs there.
There were many different kinds of people in the Royal Capital. Shiu was looking forward to meeting them.