Chapter 2: Arrival at the World’s Greatest City

North Gate of the Imperial Capital.

Pedestrians rush here and there, weaving through the bustling streets. The ruts carved by cartwheels left their marks of time, and the cobblestone roads stretched far into the distance.

In front of the city gate, traffic flowed ceaselessly, and the crowd was densely packed. Those who wished to enter the city had already formed a long queue. Whether it was ordinary people visiting relatives and friends, or merchants pulling carts to sell their goods, all of them were now waiting under the scorching sun for the city guards to let them through.

"This here, is the Imperial Capital."

In a small-to-medium-sized merchant caravan, inside a modest horse-drawn carriage, an elderly man with a kind face opened the window to reveal the outside view. He introduced, "The most magnificent and prosperous city on this continent, the heart and jewel of the Empire. This is your destination."

"Oh, oh! We've finally arrived at the Imperial Capital?"

The girl sitting opposite the old man sat upright, her expression unchanged, like a finely crafted doll.

Although her mouth didn't move at all, a high-pitched, strange voice emerged.

If one heard such a sound without being prepared, most people would surely be startled.

"Sigh, it's so easy to get lost in the forest."

Though the girl remained still like a puppet, her left hand—wearing a bunny hand puppet—moved vividly like a living person, fully animated as it expressed itself: "Thank you, kind old sir, for guiding Yoshinon and Yoshino. Otherwise, we would definitely still be wandering aimlessly in the forest."

"It's no trouble at all."

Faced with such a dire situation, the old man did not feel the slightest bit disturbed.

Perhaps it was because he had already gotten used to it.

He had met this strange girl three days ago.

That night was pitch black. While he and his caravan were resting at the foot of a mountain, Yoshinon suddenly appeared from behind a large tree and greeted them with her witch-like shrill voice—nearly scaring the old man into a heart attack.

A desolate mountain, a creepy puppet, a voice that made your scalp tingle—at the time, he thought he had encountered some terrible monster.

But after a tense standoff, they realized that behind the tree was a girl. Only when they saw that the bunny puppet was being controlled by a girl did their fear begin to subside.

After some conversation, they learned that the girl had been separated from her companions on her way to the Imperial Capital. Fearing for her safety alone in the wild, the old man invited her to temporarily join their caravan.

During their three days together, they gradually discovered how unusual this girl named Yoshino was.

Had she been a bald middle-aged man, the old man would've likely kicked her out of the caravan long ago.

But she was so adorably cute that even if her behavior was a bit hard to understand, it was still entirely within everyone's range of tolerance.

Thus, with the caravan's care, the lost Yoshino finally arrived at the Imperial Capital.

"Whoa! What's that thing!?"

"A Danger Beast? Why is there a Danger Beast over the Imperial Capital!?"

"You country bumpkins, don't make such a fuss. That's a tamed flying mount!"

Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the crowd.

The old man and Yoshinon both poked their heads out to look up at the sky.

There, they saw a massive flying Danger Beast sweeping straight over their heads, heading toward the center of the Imperial Capital.

"Someone with a flying Danger Beast as a mount, and who's allowed to fly above the Imperial Capital, must be an extraordinary figure."

As if guessing something, the old man slowly said, "The northern courier brought news some time ago. If we do the math, it should be around the time for the general's triumphant return."

"The general?" Yoshinon asked curiously. "Which general exactly?"

"Naturally, it's the Empire's Grand General in charge of foreign campaigns—General Esdeath."

The old man stroked his long beard as he spoke. "Although she's the youngest Grand General in history and the only female general, Lady Esdeath strength and achievements fully match her status and fame. Only someone like her is qualified to ride a flying mount over the Imperial Capital."

"Is she really that powerful?"

"You don't know?"

"I come from a remote mountain village. Haven't seen much of the world~"

Yoshinon laughed heartily, but there wasn't a hint of embarrassment or inferiority in her tone.

The old man simply smiled kindly and didn't find anything inappropriate about her response.

Over the past few days of chatting with the talkative Yoshinon, he had learned a little about her background.

A child from a poor northern mountain village—it would actually be odd if she did know about Esdeath.

"Of course, Lady Esdeath is extremely powerful. Not only is she a Grand General of the Empire, but also a mighty Teigu user," the old man explained. "In the years she has served the Empire, she's not only suppressed numerous rebellions, but also driven the western tribes back to their homeland. Just a few days ago, she crushed the northern barbarians in one fell swoop, solidifying peace in the north."

"Hmph-hmph... I see."

Yoshinon short hand propped under her round chin, as if she were seriously evaluating how impressive these feats were.

But in truth, she was pondering something else entirely.

As a transmigrator, she naturally knew who Esdeath was.

Someone who treated human lives like dirt, ruthless and cruel, a major villain who aided the tyrants.

In this world, Esdeath was definitely at the top of the "people I don't want to meet" list.

The reason she asked just now was only to indirectly gauge the current point in the timeline.

She had already been in this world for a week.

Because she got lost in the forest, she spent the first four days flying around like a headless chicken.

Only by chance did she encounter this merchant caravan and finally escape the hardships of surviving in the wild.

Now that she had arrived at the Imperial Capital, her first priority was to determine the timeline.

After getting valuable intel from the old man, she kept a calm facade, but inwardly she was speechless.

Esdeath defeating the northern barbarians—that was already part of the mid-story arc in the original plot.

Forget about Ieyasu and Sayo—even Tatsumi should've already joined the Revolutionary Army's assassination squad, Night Raid, by this point.

Although she had used an Identity Forgery Ticket, meaning she had never met Ieyasu or Sayo, she still felt a certain emotional connection.

Originally, she had hoped she could get to the Imperial Capital early, rescue Ieyasu and Sayo—who in the original story were deceived, imprisoned, and tortured to death by the nobility—and wait there for Tatsumi.

She never imagined that the plot had already progressed this far, and among the four who left their village to explore the world, she was actually the last to arrive.

But what's done is done. There's no way to fix it now.

"Well then, kind sir, Yoshinon destination has been reached. Let's part ways here."

Yoshino opened the carriage door, while Yoshinon waved her tiny arms to bid farewell.

"I'm going to find my companions now. Until we meet again~"