As dusk gradually fell, Tribios gazed at the seemingly endless forest stretching before her and sighed. "Are we really going in the right direction?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but bend down and rub her fair ankles. Walking through this rugged terrain in high heels was far from easy.
Worse still, while Cipher and Castorice wore heels that were relatively thick, Tribios's stilettos had razor-thin heels, making each step even more treacherous.
"Almost there, almost there!" Olivia insisted. "This is the right way! We'll be there soon!"
Tribios shot her a weary look. "But this is the third time you've said that."
The main problem was that Tribios didn't know the destination's location. If she did, she would have opened a Century Gate and teleported there long ago!
The prerequisites for opening a Century Gate were either the destination's latitude and longitude coordinates or a clear visual description of the place. Tribios needed at least one of these.
"If you don't know either, you can still open the door, but you'll have no idea where it leads," Olivia said.
"Isn't that because you're wearing those shoes that are only good for looking pretty, Little Trib?" Olivia continued. "Why don't you just take them off and walk barefoot? Would that help?"
Jay suddenly interrupted, "What do you mean 'only good for looking pretty'? No, no, no—beauty is the most important thing! Unlike you, you female gorilla, these shoes are a symbol of a mature and beautiful woman!"
He then gave a slight bow to Tribios and said, "Miss Tribios, if you don't mind, I could carry you on my back..."
Pfft— Olivia burst out laughing before Jay could finish. "Carry her? You can't even walk without getting winded yourself!"
Turning to Tribios, Olivia added, "If you're really exhausted, Little Trib, you can have Tide carry you. Just sit on his hand."
Tribios shook her head, refusing the suggestion. She had merely voiced a casual complaint; she wasn't actually tired.
About half an hour later, Olivia finally proved correct. After passing between two massive trees, the forest abruptly opened onto a small plain, stretching before Tribios.
On this plain stood a crude settlement—more accurately, a large encampment rather than a city. There were no walls or castles; instead, a dense cluster of wooden structures huddled together, their walls touching in a chaotic jumble.
In the open fields surrounding the settlement, countless figures tilled the soil and planted crops. Tribios narrowed her eyes, spotting among them half-elves, Beastmen, and even Dwarves.
"This is..." Tribios murmured, momentarily stunned. As previously mentioned, in this timeline, the various races were locked in perpetual conflict, making such a peaceful coexistence theoretically impossible.
Seeing Tribios's surprised expression, Olivia chuckled and explained the situation.
"This nation is called the Grand Duchy of Augustus," she said. "It doesn't have any special meaning—it's just named after my grandfather, Augustus, the founder of the duchy."
Isn't it perfectly reasonable for the country Augustus founded to be named the Grand Duchy of Augustus?
In his early days, Augustus was an ordinary soldier in an ordinary nation. During an invasion war, his army was defeated, and he was captured by the enemy and imprisoned as a slave.
Augustus's original nation was swiftly reconquered and annexed. The victorious nation then launched new waves of aggressive campaigns, achieving relentless victories.
As the prisoner camps swelled with slaves, their composition gradually expanded beyond humans to include Beastmen, half-elves, Dwarves, and other races.
The victorious nation ordered these slaves to construct various buildings and forced them into grueling manual labor. Under such oppressive conditions, countless lives were lost daily, gradually uniting the victimized races in solidarity.
Finally, Olivia's grandfather, Augustus, was a formidable figure. He successfully persuaded the vast majority of slaves and orchestrated a grand prison break, leading nearly all of them to escape. They journeyed north, eventually reaching this uninhabited land where they established a settlement.
Once everyone had settled in, the settlement naturally needed a leader. Augustus, due to his charismatic personality, was unanimously elected as their leader, thus establishing the Grand Duchy of Augustus.
This occurred roughly seventy to eighty years ago. Just as Olivia is only the third generation, most of the people in this nation grew up hearing stories of the rebel Augustus and harbor an almost fanatical loyalty to their nation.
This holds true for humans. For longer-lived races like half-elves, Beastmen, and Dwarves, many were firsthand witnesses to these events.
That's why Olivia could say, "Just go ahead and do whatever you want. Even if you mess up, everyone will understand and forgive you."
After all, Olivia's family wasn't exactly proper royalty. Across three generations—grandfather, father, and herself—they had never lived in a Royal Palace, never employed servants, and even helped with farm work in their spare time. The particularly capable Olivia had even ventured into trade with the dangerous Northern Territory Barbarians and worked to cultivate barren lands.
After hearing the nation's history, Tribios fell into a thoughtful silence. As their group returned to the city, every commoner who saw Olivia beamed with joy, waving and greeting her warmly, "Princess Olivia, you're back!"
"Princess Olivia, did you find suitable new land?"
"Princess Olivia, I have a freshly picked apple—it's so sweet, would you like one?"
Though the visible weariness on their faces betrayed the long hours they had toiled that day, their smiles were genuine and heartfelt.
Seeing this, Olivia scratched her head and chuckled awkwardly. "Please, everyone, stop calling me 'Princess Olivia'! Just call me by my name!"
"I didn't find suitable land on this trip, but I did find an incredibly intelligent assistant! With her here, I'm confident things will slowly get better for everyone!"
Hearing this, many commoners turned their gazes to Tribios. After all, she was strikingly beautiful and completely unfamiliar. It was clear Olivia was referring to her.
Normally, when a monarch deeply values someone and directly appoints them as military advisor, most people would be deeply dissatisfied. Although Olivia wasn't yet the reigning monarch and Tribios wasn't yet the military advisor, the situation was similar.
However, these people showed no skepticism or doubt toward Tribios. Instead, they smiled warmly and exclaimed, "What a beautiful young woman!"
"Has Her Highness found another new helper? Wonderful news, wonderful news!"
"Miss, we'll be counting on you greatly in the future!"
Olivia chatted with the surrounding crowd as they made their way toward the city center. Along the way, everyone they encountered was incredibly warm and welcoming. Though the nation and the city were poor and backward, Tribios felt a vibrant sense of vitality here.
Soon, the group of four arrived at an open-air tavern. After a long day of hard labor, finally home, their first instinct was, of course, to eat!
Rows of worn-out tables and chairs were scattered across the open ground, where over a dozen servers bustled through the crowd, looking busy.
This was the only tavern in the entire city. In this era, entertainment was scarce, so a simple drink here after a day's work was one of the few pleasures many people had.
Tribios noticed that, because there weren't enough tables and chairs, many people were sitting directly on the ground, eating and drinking. Since they arrived so late, naturally, there were no seats left for them.
Olivia found a relatively flat stone, casually brushed off the dust, and sat down. Jay and Tide, used to this way of life, also settled comfortably on the ground. Only Tribios hesitated slightly.
Seeing her reaction, Jay couldn't help but tease, "What's this? Didn't you say you weren't a noble? Can't even handle sitting on the ground?"
Tribios shook her head. "No, I'm just a little surprised."
As she spoke, her gaze swept around until she found a relatively flat stone. She moved it over and sat down next to the group.
Soon, a harried waitress, her face glistening with sweat, approached them. "Princess, good evening. May I take your order?"
Jay smiled. "Though we didn't find suitable land for settlement today, having such a lovely lady like Tribios join us is a good enough reason to celebrate. Everyone, order whatever you like—it's on me!"
Despite his generous offer, the menu was sparse: plain black bread, unseasoned roasted meat, and cheap, low-quality beer.
Tribios ordered a token piece of bread and a small portion of roasted meat. As Jay paid, she clearly saw him subtly gesturing with his right hand behind his back and his lips moving almost imperceptibly, as if muttering something in a barely audible voice.
The next moment, several Silver Lions materialized in Jay's palm. Grinning cheerfully, he handed the coins to the waitress.
Seeing this, Tribios couldn't help but wear a puzzled expression. She turned to Jay and asked, "Those coins just now... were they...?"
Jay, as if not understanding her question, raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with my money?"
"You used magic just now, didn't you?" Tribios pressed.
"Hey! What magic?" Jay retorted. "Don't go making false accusations!"
Tribios hesitated. She couldn't pinpoint the exact magic he'd used, but the coins were almost certainly counterfeit. Should I expose him for using fake money to deceive people?
Just as she was wavering, Olivia shrugged her small hands and wore a helpless expression. "Little Trib, just ignore it. Because..."
Before Olivia could finish, a furious roar echoed through the tavern: "JAY!!!"
Immediately, a fiery-haired young girl stormed toward Jay. Without a word, she grabbed the cleaning rag in her hand and smacked him squarely on the back of the head with full force.
Tribios could even hear the whoosh of the rag cutting through the air—the strike was definitely delivered with considerable force.
Smack!
"Ouch! What was that for?!"
Jay immediately clutched the back of his head and scrambled to his feet. But the brown-haired girl showed no mercy, continuing to chase him and strike:
Smack! "Still trying to pay with fake magic, huh?"
Smack! "Do you think I'm stupid enough to fall for your shoddy illusions?"
Smack! "You're done for today, kid!"
Jay darted around the tavern, dodging the relentless blows. "No, I'm sorry! Ouch! Stop hitting me! I won't do it again!"
Meanwhile, Olivia leaned over to Tribios and whispered, "That's Jay's only magic trick: the First-Level Illusion School spell, Minor Illusion. The brown-haired girl is the Tavern Landlady—she's sharp as a tack and always sees through Jay's tricks."
The First-Level Illusion School spell, Minor Illusion, allows the caster to conjure a nonexistent illusory projection based on their intent. This projection can mimic anything—coins, blades, even a person's likeness—with the level of detail depending on the caster's skill.
The more skilled the spellcaster, the more realistic the projection.
Olivia continued, "Don't worry. After the landlady gives Jay a good thrashing, he'll pay up with real money."
Tide added in a muffled tone, "Yeah, the landlady's really tough."
After a while, Jay still hadn't returned, his fate unknown. But the food they'd ordered was served first. Tribios stared at the black bread and slightly charred roast meat before her, then took small bites.
The bread was incredibly hard and unpalatable, especially the black bread. She couldn't tell if she was eating bread or a piece of wood. Even the black bread from three centuries in the future wasn't this awful.
But I guess it makes sense. After all, this is three centuries in the past.
Tribios couldn't help but feel grateful that she'd been traveling through time for a while now and had already grown accustomed to this world's food. Though the black bread was terrible, it was... barely tolerable, she supposed.
And once again, she thanked her demigod body. Without it, she might have choked to death on this bread.