Taking a carriage to the Magic Tower, then a gate to the Empire - we managed to arrive without incident, though I was a bit thrown off by Han Se-ah unconsciously scratching my arm and leaning her weight against me like a cushion.


    "Come to think of it, where in the Empire are we?"


    "We came to the Imperial capital first. Since we don''t have exact information, I figured we''d go where the guild presence is strongest."


    "Makes sense, since unlike the Kingdom where enemies gather at the tower, the Empire faces threats from three directions."


    Specifically, we were in the Imperial capital.


    As Irene said, monster waves pressed along the Empire''s borders, so we didn''t know where that Heavenly King''s final mess had landed. Han Se-ah''s quest window remained quiet too - either the event hadn''t triggered yet, or we needed to gather info and head there ourselves.


    The Kingdom had plains to the east, wastelands to the west, jungle to the south, and snow to the north.


    The Empire had plains to the east, desert to the west, and snow to both south and north.


    If they''d placed the Empire to the Kingdom''s left or right, it would follow basic logic - cold north, hot south. But for some reason, Heroes Chronicle had stacked the Empire above the Kingdom. This meant the massive Empire had huge mountains in its center with vast plains above and below.


    ...Was it modeled after the Alps region of Europe?


    Of course, the Empire hadn''t explored to the continent''s edges yet, so who knew what lay beyond. There could be more snow past the eastern plains, or an ocean beyond the western desert. If BB Games got into Japanese stuff, an Oriental kingdom might suddenly appear in the eastern sea.


    "So what''s the plan in the Imperial capital?"


    "With our hero party reputation, I thought we''d check with the Mercenary''s Guild for any unusual requests. If those tower escapees are working with the monster waves, they''re bound to stand out."


    "Oh, why''s that?"


    "Well, creatures suddenly appearing in habitats they don''t belong in tend to catch attention."


    After arriving in the Imperial capital via gate, I explained to the bright eyes turned my way asking for clarification during our conversation.


    The forces the Heavenly King sent outside the tower were clearly different from normal monsters. Setting aside the dark mage''s undead troops, even common races like goblin infantry or orc javelineers stood out as alien.


    Goblins were typically naked dwarves wielding rusty scavenged spears, while orcs were essentially primitive men mixed with bears and gorillas, using clubs and crude bows.


    Without exceptionally smart leaders, the wandering monsters normal people encountered were primitive cave-dwellers barely able to make stone axes. If you saw infantry units in full plate armor with steel shields and alchemy grenades mixed among stone axe primitives, you''d have to be unqualified as an adventurer or mercenary not to notice something was wrong.


    "Plus, people who deal with monster waves are usually locals who know their ecosystem inside out. Grace, wouldn''t you notice if swamp creatures suddenly showed up in your village?"


    "True... mountain creatures are pretty predictable. That''s why we can spot wandering monster traces right away."


    Like if log-carrying yeti waves suddenly had centaur riders, or wyverns leading flocks of man-eating giant birds. When obviously suspicious things happened, people would report to the guild if only for the money.


    With buildings spaced so far apart and built so tall, Grace quickly spotted the sign. Following her slender finger pointing up, Han Se-ah silently sent her camera flying.


    The huge sign on the four-story building read ''MERCENARY'' with a symbol showing a dagger piercing both a coin purse and contract for illiterate commoners. Below were crowds of armored people heading toward the massive building.


    "Heading down to the Kingdom this time..."


    "By the way, how''s that rookie doing from last time?"


    "Don''t even mention it, at the inn during the last party..."


    Given this was the Imperial capital far from monster threats, everyone gathering there was naturally mercenaries.


    Pushing through the crowds into the packed first floor, we found a receptionist smiling brightly at us.


    "Welcome! Are you here to request a mission?"


    "Actually, we''d like to buy some information."


    "Oh, information? That''s not really our specialty..."


    They''d apparently hired a pretty girl as the guild''s face - a redhead with prominent freckles across her nose smiled sunnily at us.


    She probably thought we were important clients given our clean, neat appearance that didn''t match typical mercenaries or adventurers, plus everyone''s good looks. Fair enough - we hadn''t been rolling around the tower but had just teleported here after getting cleaned up, polished and massaged at the Wesley mansion, so the misunderstanding made sense.


    "With that headscarf and apron, she looks less like a Mercenary''s Guild receptionist and more like an innkeeper''s daughter, or like those girls at German beer festivals. Though I''m saying that mainly because of the size of certain areas..."


    -Look at Han-lady jumping straight to chest comments lololololololol


    -Never realized I liked the Empire so much lol Are all the receptionists this pretty?


    -Is this that shameless manga character type - humble village girl (Miss Korea with G-cup knockers)


    -Wow, amazing breasts, who is this lady? I had to click when I saw the thumbnail!


    -Why act surprised lol She''s obviously a pro selling cleavage views for tips lololololol


    But wasn''t the camera being a bit too blatant?


    I was trying my best not to stare, but if you do that what does that make me?


    Enjoy the chappy!