When Dash and Shel arrived in front of the city's fortress gate, "TREK," two gate guards immediately crossed their spears, confusing Dash and Shel.
"Hey… who are you two?" asked one of the middle-aged guards of the Human race.
"Hey, don't you recognize me, Mr. Harold?" Shel asked.
"Hmm?" asked Harold, the guard who had spoken first.
Harold examined Shel's face, then looked her up and down, then back up again.
"Wait, are you Shelorg? Grukag's daughter?" Harold asked.
"Yes, that's right. Have you already forgotten, Mr. Harold?" Shel replied, putting her hands on her hips.
"Wow, you've gotten big! The last time you were here was when you were 10, right? No wonder I didn't recognize you," Harold said, immediately retracting his spear.
"Yes, it's been a long time since I was here," Shel replied.
Then Harold turned to look at Dash and was surprised. His fellow guard also looked wary, but then the fellow guard saw what Dash was dragging behind him. He then examined Dash once more.
"Huh… you… what are you, exactly?" asked the younger guard, who was a red-skinned Winged Demon.
"He's a Dragonkin, sir," Shel answered.
"Wow… a Dragonkin? Incredible… This is the first time I've ever seen a Dragonkin. Are you a remnant from the past civilization?" Harold asked, examining Dash.
"Yeah, something like that," Dash answered curtly, not wanting to linger at the gate.
"Do you have any identification?" the younger guard asked.
"Not yet," Dash answered.
"Hmm… to enter the city without identification from anywhere, there's a fee of three silver coins," the younger guard replied.
"I see. I don't have any money right now, but after I sell this giant boar behind me, I'll come back to pay. How about that?" Dash asked, pointing backward with his thumb.
"It's fine, Vonnes. I'll pay for them for now," Harold said, patting his colleague's shoulder.
"Alright, Mr. Harold, I understand," Vonnes replied, uncrossing his spear.
After that, Dash and Shel were allowed into the city. Once inside and walking toward the Hunter's Guild to sell the giant boar, Dash was again amazed. The city truly looked clean and tidy. The roads were made of neatly arranged bricks. The buildings were made of stone and lined up next to each other, about two to three stories high. Several merchant stalls were gathered on the west side, which seemed to be the market, and on the east side, where the inns, weapon shops, gear shops, protective clothing shops, potion shops, and other equipment stores were marked by wooden signs hanging above their doors.
It was a city concept similar to the Western medieval era from when Dash was on Earth. Besides that, what stunned Dash was seeing so many Humans, Elves, Demons, and monster races—consisting of Beastkin, Goblins, and Mermen—walking around and interacting with each other without any issues at all. He could see a female fruit vendor who was a cat-type Beastkin arguing over the price with an Elf woman who looked like a housewife.
"This is… amazing," Dash muttered, seeing a scene like this for the first time.
"Right? All races mingle here, and there's no conflict whatsoever," Shel said.
"Yeah, you're right," Dash replied. "Wait, that's not what I meant… but whatever. It's not like I can tell her I'm just amazed by the atmosphere of the city," Dash thought.
But the two of them also drew attention because they were so conspicuous. Many men of various races turned to look at the beautiful Shel, but even more residents stared at Dash, especially his body, with gaping mouths, stopping their activities as Dash and Shel dragged the giant boar behind them.
Of course, neither of them realized it because they were too busy talking to each other. Shel was pointing out and explaining everything in the city to Dash, while Dash was still mesmerized by the city atmosphere he was seeing live for the first time in his life.
After reaching the main square, they saw a large, circular fountain pool in the center that seemed to use magic. Dash finally realized he was drawing attention. He turned to look around and saw everyone in the square staring at him meaningfully and, of course, confused, as if their faces were asking, "What is that creature?"
Feeling annoyed, especially after being called a monster in the previous city, he immediately turned to look at Shel next to him.
"Come on, Shel, let's sell this giant boar quickly and get out of here," Dash said.
"Huh? Why get out of here? Why?" Shel asked, confused.
"Just look around," Dash replied.
Shel turned to look around and saw many people indeed staring at them. There was even a bear-type Beastkin man sitting on a park bench and eating; his fork stopped halfway to his mouth, and his mouth was agape. Then, Shel looked at Dash, who seemed uncomfortable in the crowd.
"Alright, let's go to the Guild ahead," Shel said, taking Dash's hand and pointing to the straight road ahead past the fountain.
They continued walking and entered a street that looked neat and slightly quieter than the previous ones. The buildings on this street were a little different, as they looked much larger and longer than the earlier ones. Dash could see the signs for the Merchant's Guild and the Craftsman's Guild located opposite each other, in wide buildings with a flag hanging down from the front. After passing those two buildings, they finally arrived at a large building with the Hunter's Guild sign above the door and below its flag.
Dash saw a large warehouse on the right and several people coming and going wearing clothes like butchers. Then, on the opposite side, he saw an arena shaped like a mini-Colosseum that looked very quiet.
"Oh, that's the butchering area and the arena for training or the hunter exams," Shel said, pointing to the warehouse and the arena.
"Hmm, I see. Aren't there soldiers here?" Dash asked, looking around.
"There's the Knight's Guild next to the arena, across from the Hunter's Guild, right behind you. They also use the arena for training and exams," Shel replied.
Dash immediately turned around, spinning. Sure enough, behind him was a building that was the Knight's Guild, just as large as the Hunter's Guild.
"Hmm… I see. Well, what now? Do we go inside?" Dash asked, turning back and looking toward the Hunter's Guild door.
"I'll go inside first and call the appraiser. We can't drag that giant boar inside, right?" Shel asked.
"Okay, I'll wait here," Dash replied.
"Wait a sec, okay?" Shel replied.
Shel immediately ran inside the Guild while Dash casually waited outside, leaning against the giant boar behind him and closing his eyes. But suddenly,
"What do you mean you can't help? You're knights, aren't you?" a girl shouted.
Curious, Dash peeked from behind the giant boar to see what was happening in front of the Knight's Guild door. Dash saw a beautiful girl, a white-furred wolf-type Beastkin, standing by the guild door and speaking with a knight in front of her.