The next day, Dan Feng and Roxy Migurdia boarded a carriage heading to the Basheran Duchy.
In the morning, the principal had specially come to find Dan Feng, explaining exactly where to go to retrieve it and whom to find to get it.
As for why the principal was so concerned about these magic tools, it was probably because they really were very important.
Dan Feng listened and then indicated that he understood. After all, the reward was any one of those magic tools at random—the more the principal emphasized them, the more it showed how valuable those magic tools were, right?
Since it wasn't a particularly difficult request, and they probably wouldn't encounter any danger along the way, Roxy Migurdia closed her eyes and fell asleep in the carriage.
Meanwhile, Dan Feng took out a book he had borrowed from the library from his luggage and started reading.
His progress bar was now steadily increasing, having reached forty-six percent. He had noticed that the further along it got, the slower it rose.
He guessed that some special action would be needed to quickly raise the progress, like the time he nearly died fighting the Red Dragon.
Time passed quickly during the journey. When Dan Feng got tired from reading, he closed his eyes to sleep, while Roxy Migurdia, having slept enough, sat there nonchalantly, as if thinking about something.
In the evening, the carriage driver stopped the carriage in a safe spot, then scattered demon-repelling powder around the area before starting to eat his dry rations.
They had been spending their nights like this for the past few days.
Dan Feng and Roxy Migurdia's dinner was the jerky they had bought earlier. At night, aside from going hunting, this jerky was the only thing they could eat.
After finishing the jerky, the two lit an oil lamp, and the dim yellow light illuminated the entire interior of the carriage.
They had slept during the daytime journey, so they weren't particularly sleepy now.
Thus, the two began to chat.
"Dan Feng, I heard the principal is about to resign from his position soon, and afterward, the vice principal might take over," Roxy Migurdia casually brought up a topic, trying to break the silent atmosphere inside the carriage.
After all, the mood was really too strange—it didn't feel like how a couple should be at all.
Dan Feng didn't seem particularly interested in the topic, but he still politely nodded and replied, "Indeed, the principal is getting old; it's about time for him to retire." After saying that, he fell silent again, his gaze falling on the book in his hand, which had no markings on the cover.
Seeing this, Roxy Migurdia felt a bit helpless but still continued to find a topic: "Dan Feng, what are you reading?" Her gaze followed his line of sight to the book, asking curiously.
Only then did Dan Feng snap back to reality, lift his head, and answer calmly: "Just an ordinary storybook. I borrowed it casually from the library."
He paused, then explained: "This book is about conflicts between kingdom nobles. I found it quite interesting, so I borrowed it to read." As he spoke, he handed the book in his hand to Roxy Migurdia.
Roxy Migurdia took the book, flipped through the cover, and indeed found nothing on it.
She couldn't help but ask in confusion: "Eh? Can a book like this really circulate? Isn't the author afraid of being held accountable by some kingdom?" After saying that, she quickly flipped to the first page, wanting to see the author's name.
"An unfamiliar name—not someone famous." Roxy Migurdia shook her head and returned the book to Dan Feng.
"Even if he's still around, he's probably dead by now. A book like this circulating in the world will always have some impact on a kingdom's reputation." Dan Feng said with a calm expression, as if he had long grown accustomed to the things described in the book.
After all, in his previous life, he had read many works with similar themes, and the endings were usually tragic.
Then, he began to explain the contents of the book to Roxy Migurdia in detail.
Legend has it that a very, very long time ago, in a certain country, there was a princess—beautiful and enchanting—who fell in love with the son of a low-status minor noble.
However, the class gap between them was like an impassable chasm.
Even so, the power of love made them disregard everything. During a banquet, that minor noble's son actually secretly took the princess and fled the banquet venue.
As the story developed, people spread rumors that this country valued free love and would not interfere with such romantic freedom.
This was also the situation that minor noble's son hoped to see—using public opinion to force the king to compromise on their romance.
But unexpectedly, the king ultimately issued a wanted order for the lovers.
In the end, the noble's son died miserably before the king, his entire family was slaughtered, and that pitiful princess was reduced to a tool for political marriage, losing her freedom and happiness.
Dan Feng stopped here because he hadn't read the rest of the story yet.
However, Roxy Migurdia was completely captivated by the story. She listened intently, and when she heard about the death of the minor noble's son, she couldn't help feeling a wave of sadness for the princess.
"Being a princess or a noble really isn't a good thing," Roxy Migurdia sighed.
"I haven't read the rest yet, but this volume seems incomplete too—the remaining parts are probably still in the library." Dan Feng closed the book and said to Roxy Migurdia.
"I see." Roxy Migurdia nodded obediently.
Not long after, the two chatted a bit more, then lay down on the seats and fell asleep.
...
A few days later, the carriage arrived safely in the Basheran Duchy, and Dan Feng and Roxy Migurdia got off here. They then had to travel on foot to the second city, Rosenberg, which was a bit closer to the sea.
Though it was described as closer to the sea, there was still some distance to the actual coastline.
Upon first setting foot in the Basheran Duchy, Dan Feng immediately sensed a distinctly different, desolate atmosphere compared to other places.
Even though it was already spring in the Northern Continent, the thin layer of unmelted snow underfoot reminded him that the climate here was still cold.
"It's really unexpected—there's still unmelted snow here." Dan Feng gazed around and couldn't help sighing.
His eyes swept over the streets, noticing that the architectural style here was unique and truly different from other countries.
After all, other countries didn't expose bricks, while the buildings in the Basheran Duchy all had their bricks openly visible to the public.
Dan Feng turned to look at Roxy Migurdia beside him and asked with concern: "Are you cold? Do you want to add another layer?"
Roxy Migurdia smiled and shook her head, replying: "I'm fine—not particularly cold."
Dan Feng nodded, then suggested: "Then let's go eat something first, fill our stomachs, and head to Rosenberg afterward." With that, he stepped forward, leading Roxy Migurdia deeper inside.
The Basheran Duchy was mainly renowned for magic-related research, so there weren't many street vendors.
In contrast, there were more hurried adventurers.
Roxy Migurdia held her staff, curiously observing the people around her.
She said softly: "It seems the adventurer population in the three great magic nations is indeed large—even a duchy has so many adventurers."
"Probably because the requests on the Northern Continent are much better than those on the Southern Continent. After all, even the Asura Kingdom doesn't get many requests," Dan Feng said calmly.