Chapter 26: Frontiera.
"Your Adventurers card."
"I am a villager."
"Purpose of visit?"
"Leaving the Kingdom."
"Village name?"
"Sinclaire Village."
"Name?"
"Diana."
The Gatekeeper created the document in a flash.
"1 gold."
She took out a pouch of coins and placed it on the desk.
"100 silver."
He took the pouch from the desk and placed it neatly in one of the desks.
"Welcome to Frontiera. You have the permit to stay here for 2 days. If you want to extend your stay, then the toll will be 1 silver per day."
She took the document in her hand and entered through the gate.
The Border city of Frontiera. This city was the only legal route to get out of the kingdom.
She went straight towards the closest inn.
"Jam-Apple Inn."
It sounded a little juvenile, but she entered the inn anyway.
"Welcome, dear customer!"
A small girl greeted her as she entered.
Diana smiled and patted her head.
"What is your name?"
"My name is Lucy."
She took her hand off her head and asked,
"Can I meet the manager of this inn?"
Lucy nodded and went inside.
"Mommy, we have another customer!"
"Another one?"
A girl in her early twenties arrived shortly after.
"Hello. Welcome to the Jam-Apple inn. How may I help you today?"
She politely asked.
"I would like to reserve a room."
"How many days?"
"Two days."
The girl took out a book from underneath the desk. She tried to pick up a pen from the desk, but she fumbled and dropped it. She seemed pretty excited today.
She picked up the pen and asked,
"Your name?"
"Diana."
"Full name, please."
"I don't have a second name."
Diana looked at the register. Other than her, only two other people were staying at the inn.
"You might not believe this, but today is the first time in months that we have had more than two customers. So if I look a bit over-enthusiastic, pardon my behavior."
She handed her the receipt and said,
"One room, two days. 5 coppers per day, and food will cost extra."
"Only 5 coppers?"
The price was dirt cheap. You couldn't even rent a room in the slums at that price.
"You can pay more if you want, But that would be charity."
Diana was curious. How were they managing their finances if all they could earn were coppers?
"Here. 20 silver."
She handed the coins to her and said.
"I would like to buy 2 of the bottles of that Apple Jam."
"Okay. I will make some fresh ones and hand them over to you by tomorrow. Until then, enjoy your stay."
She handed her the keys.
"I never got your name."
"That's right! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Irene."
"Diana. Nice to meet you."
"Lucy! Escort our guest to her room."
The little girl came running downstairs.
She was about to slip, but Diana used some of her mana to help her regain her balance.
"Dear Guest, please follow me."
She was just as polite as her mother. Diana couldn't understand why this inn was so empty, despite being so close to the entrance.
She followed Lucy to her room. After she entered, Lucy reminded her to knock on her door if she needed anything. After that, the little girl left.
<<Barrier>>
She set up a barrier inside the room, locked the door, and sat down on the bed.
She took out a potion from her bag and took a sip. Her appearance remained the same, but her eyes changed from brown to green.
"I am almost there. Soon, I will be able to maintain this appearance with minimal mana usage."
She covered her eyes with some mana, and they turned brown again.
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Vincent and Anna walked towards one of the street vendors selling sweets. According to Anna's information, he was an informant.
"I would like to have the horse-shaped chocolates."
She looked at one of the horse-shaped chocolates and said.
"They are of the highest quality and fresh. How much do you want?"
"Let me get a taste first."
The vendor opened a basket, and it was filled with chocolates shaped like horses.
The Vendor handed one of them to her, and she handed him a note while she took the chocolate.
"Here, have some."
She handed the chocolate to Vincent.
The vendor read the note and looked back at her.
"Do you like it?"
Vincent smiled. This was very tasty.
"How much for 2 of them?"
"Five. Price is fixed."
She handed him 5 gold coins, and he handed her the chocolates, along with a note.
Without saying anything else, she turned around and left.
After reaching a safe distance from the Vendor, Anna opened the note and read the contents.
"The search for the princess is still on. But the people that have been looking for a possible 'Hero' have stopped. It is safe to leave the kingdom right now."
She looked at Vincent and smiled.
"Let's go back to the inn."
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"You both are back!"
They both walked into the Apple-Jam inn, and Lucy ran straight towards Vincent.
"How was it? Did you visit the toy shop?"
"I did. And I brought a souvenir for the inn."
He took out a small statue of the goddess Malen. She was resting on a dragon's head, and the sculpture was extremely well defined.
He placed the statue on the desk. He still didn't know why Anna had insisted on buying this, but he didn't think too much about it.
"This must have cost a fortune."
"Nope. It was very cheap. We got it for around 10 coppers."
"Thank you."
Anna looked towards the open register and asked,
"Has someone else checked in?"
"Yes. Her name is Diana."
<<Scan>>
Anna used her mana to scan the area. Her mana bounced back from one of the rooms due to a barrier.
Inside, Diana sensed a strong wave of mana colliding with her barrier.
Both of them were alerted.
While Vincent was busy chatting with Lucy, Anna was staring at the stairs.
The sound of footsteps emerged, and after a few seconds, their eyes met.
'Miss Anna?'
She immediately recognized her.
And then, she saw him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Honestdegenerate
Honestdegenerate I'll publish one chapter on Sunday.
Thank you for reading this chapter!
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