Orion's lips twitched. "I didn't know you were such a bigshot. Should I expect fireworks when we enter the city?"
Selene giggled. "He might look impressive here, but in the places that truly matter, he's just another old fossil."
"Hmph." Eldric crossed his arms and looked out the window with a dignified snort, as if peasants like them couldn't possibly comprehend his greatness.
"Lucan," he called out, "take us to an inn. It's already evening. We'll rest here and continue tomorrow morning."
Orion's eyes lit up. "Then can we explore the city tonight, Grandpa?"
Eldric nodded. "Yes, but you'll go with Edgar."
"Sounds good," Orion replied without hesitation. "I don't have any anyway."
"Take Helena too," Selene added. "She knows the market better than Edgar. I'll give some Mana Crystals to Edgar, though probably only Copper, Silver, and Gold Coins are mostly used here. He will have to convert the Mana Crystals."
'What's the conversion rate of Mana Crystals?' he wondered.
Soon, Lucan stopped the cart before an inn.
"Alright," Eldric stood up, motioning to the others, "Time to get down."
Orion and the others followed after him as they all dismounted the carriage.
Once everyone got off, Selene clapped her hands lightly. "Alright. Edgar, Helena—you two will go with Orion, Rina, and Fiora. Make sure they don't cause trouble—or get into any."
Edgar respectfully bowed. "As you wish, but will you two be fine without any of us?"
"You'd rather listen to Eldric snore all evening? And we still have Lucan if something comes up." She waved her hand.
"…Fair enough," Edgar muttered and adjusted his coat. "Come on then, Young Master. Time to explore the city."
"Finally," Orion grinned, turning to the girls. "You two ready?"
Rina stretched with a smile. "I've been waiting for this."
Fiora nodded, a hint of excitement showing through her shy expression.
Selene handed a Spatial Ring to Edgar. "This has a few Mana Crystals and coins. You can either exchange some for local currency at a Merchant Guild branch or any official exchanger, or just trade with these. I doubt any shop will refuse Mana Crystals. Try not to get scammed though."
Edgar rolled his eyes. "They wouldn't dare."
Helena gently smiled, "I will make sure that we won't get scammed, Mistress."
With that, Eldric and Selene entered the inn, disappearing inside as the others turned and walked down the main street of Brightgate.
The city was bustling even in the evening. The streets were paved with polished stone, reflecting the golden glow of the setting sun.
Merchants shouted out deals from different colorful stalls, glowing lanterns lit up every storefront, and the air carried the mixed aroma of spices, roasted meat, and fresh fruit.
"Welcome to Brightgate, the city of trade and gold," Edgar said with mock pride, sweeping an arm theatrically. "We've got overpriced shit, suspicious street food capable of poisoning even Dragons, and more shouting than an auction house."
Orion chuckled. "So basically, a decent place to burn money."
"But why have I not seen any of the other races that I heard about?" Orion asked with a hint of excitement. Even he couldn't wait to see some of the races of his past fantasy—Fox girls, Cat girls, Elves, and many more.
Helena chuckled, "Looks like Young Master can't wait to see some of those races."
Orion nodded without any shame, "Of course, I'm quite interested since I have never seen anyone of a different race."
Helena raised an eyebrow but soon let out a soft chuckle, "Oh, I'm sure you have seen people of other races."
Orion looked at her in confusion.
"Anyways, other races and Humans have different paths to enter the city. You can find the other races on the other side of this market," she quickly told him.
Edgar nodded, "Some of them have even opened their own shops," he motioned to a goblin at a far distance, "See those greedy fucks? Even they opened their own shops."
'Hmm… can I get a Goblin Slayer title in this world?' Orion's first thought after looking at the ugly midgets was to kill them.
"Master, are you having racist thoughts?" Rina questioningly asked.
"Huh? No, why would I?" Orion quickly denied.
"Well," she put a finger on her chin and tilted her head, "Your gaze was quite more intense than normal."
Edgar and Helena looked at him. "Was it? Hmm, I can't tell." Edgar shook his head.
"But most don't like those greedy little green bastards. And they also live away from the other races. The only time they will come out of their caves is to trade or if they smell some profit. So other races just leave them alone."
The group chatted while looking at the group of goblins. There were around 4–5 goblins in a shop showing their wares to others. Quite a few people were interested in them since Goblins were famous for selling things for cheap.
However, the catch was that they never took guarantee if their product was genuine or not. So the majority of the time, they earn profit by selling fakes.
Orion shook his head and headed deeper into the market. They passed by a few outdoor performers—one balancing on glowing mana threads, another playing a flute that summoned floating water balls to dance with the music.
Crowds surrounded them, tossing coins into baskets with impressed whistles and claps.
"Wow," Fiora murmured, her eyes sparkling as she watched a water ball juggler toss floating spheres with decent skill.
"You want to try that too?" Orion teased.
She shook her head quickly, blushing. "N-no! I-I mean… maybe… later…"
Rina chuckled looking at how easily Orion started to tease Fiora
He smiled as they continued to move forward. And soon, they stopped by a magic equipment shop.
The shopkeeper, an old dwarf with an aged appearance and sharp eyes, looked at both Edgar and Helena. Feeling pressure from their mere presence, his attitude became respectful.
Orion glanced at a sleek pair of gloves in the display case, lined with mana-conductive runes, labeled Tier 2: Flame Channeling Gloves.
"How much?" he asked.
"Seventy Lesser Grade Mana Crystals, but I can lower it to sixty for this fine young master," the dwarf said, feeling that this group of people might buy some stuff.
Edgar leaned over and muttered, "This grade and quality of treasure isn't worthy of you, Young Master."
Orion calmly nodded. "We're just browsing for now. If I do find something interesting, then I will call you over."
The dwarf disappointedly shook his head and went back to sit behind the counter. He realized the goods in his small shop weren't enough to move the hearts of this group of people.
Orion and the others quickly took a look around the shop. Even Fiora and Rina didn't find anything of interest, so they quickly left.
From there, they stopped at a potion shop, a charm vendor, and even a strange stall selling tamed spirit insects—glowing little bugs that could supposedly guide the lost.
Rina bought a small enchanted mirror that changed its frame based on mood. Fiora found a cute spirit beast plushie enchanted with basic fire spells to provide warmth, and when hugged, it generated cozy heat.