This was my first time seeing what a "great city" truly looked like in this world.

Towering city walls, the endless tide of people coming and going, and the constant inspections by the city's guards... If I were to sum it up with a metaphor, the Village of Egramote would be a teacup, Lazio would be a small plate, but Goinbair City—this city felt like a massive basin in comparison.

It was huge. So big that it defied my imagination.

“Goinbair’s massive, isn’t it~”

ViniVini, walking ahead of me, turned around with a smug expression. Seeing my gaping mouth and wide-open eyes, she broke into a gleeful grin, wearing the face of someone relishing her victory.

“When I first saw Goinbair, even I got stunned,” she declared, puffing her chest. “But honestly, not as embarrassingly as you! Look at yourself, Rogied—your jaw’s practically on the ground. What’s next, devouring an entire Crystalline Lord in one gulp?”

I rolled my eyes at her jabs, unfazed by her teasing.

Ever since my reincarnation into this world, I had spent a few tranquil months living in the Village of Egramote, followed by a brief stint in the small town of Lazio. Only now did I finally encounter what they called a "great city."

So yeah, to someone like me, used to a simple and rustic existence, standing before Goinbair's massive scale was bound to spark some awe.

But that didn’t mean I appreciated ViniVini’s insufferable attitude.

Ever since I branded her a fool during our travels, she seemed bent on defying me at every turn. She always found random opportunities to challenge me, just so she could claim a fleeting victory and bask in smug satisfaction. If she failed, though, she would sulk, puffing out her cheeks in frustration and refusing to talk to me.

Honestly, it was tiring.

“And what about you? What kind of face did you make when you saw Goinbair for the first time? I doubt you were much calmer than me.” I leveled my criticism back at her.

ViniVini, utterly unimpressed, scoffed and tapped her chest confidently.

“Well, believe it or not—”

“Get on with it.”

“I fainted dead away!”

“...Huh?”

“I totally blacked out from shock! Heh, bet you couldn’t pull that one off, could you?” she declared triumphantly, as if it were some badge of honor.

“...”

Yeah... definitely can’t do that.

Choosing to ignore her, I turned my gaze ahead.

The guards were conducting inspections efficiently, letting small groups through the gates one at a time. Soon, our turn came.

A soldier in shining armor, tall and imposing with a long spear in hand, stepped forward to block our path. “Are you two adventurers or merchants?”

“Adventurers. Here to sell some goods and have a look around Goinbair... Here’s the entry tax, keep the change~” ViniVini chirped cheerfully, handing over a silver coin without hesitation.

Having been to Goinbair’s Adventure Festival before, she seemed familiar with the process.

The guard took the silver coin and waved over a female soldier to conduct a search on ViniVini. When his eyes landed on me, however, he hesitated. After some deliberation, he also called over another female soldier.

“I’m a guy!” I blurted, visibly annoyed.

The guard froze, studying me for a few seconds with wide eyes. His face flushed bright red before he awkwardly proceeded with the search himself, his hands trembling like a bashful boy skimming his first romance novel.

“...”

Eventually, we made it through the gates and entered Goinbair.

The inside took my breath away all over again.

People. Streams of people everywhere, bustling through the streets like rivers converging into the ocean.

Adventurers in every sort of garb jostled through the crowds. Merchants hawked their goods on the crowded streets, either shouting from their open shops or attending personally to prospective customers at their overstocked stalls.

This... was Goinbair, the largest city here.

An inexplicable feeling stirred within me. This sight, this cacophony, these endless people—I was sure I’d never forget any of it.

“Hehehe, look at your dumbfounded face, Rogied~,” ViniVini teased again, grinning like a child with a secret.

Without hesitation, I cracked a knuckle on her forehead. She clutched her head, whining, “Owwww!”

I sighed and reached out to ruffle her hair.

“Alright, alright, enough playing around. Let’s get to the storage. Our goods should be waiting for us there.”

“Got it~!”

Completely forgetting her pain the moment I patted her head, ViniVini cheerfully bounced along beside me. Truly, her memory span seemed limited to about seven seconds—much like a clueless goldfish.

After getting directions from passing adventurers and shop owners—and at the cost of buying ViniVini an anko bun—we eventually arrived at the warehouse district in the quieter eastern part of the city.

Here, the streets were lined with massive storage buildings, many bustling with activity. Merchants and adventurers haggled over all sorts of monster carcasses and exoskeletons. Once deals were struck, merchants would cart their purchases off in wagons, eager to get the goods into their shops.

We found our way to Warehouse #8, where three or four merchants were scrutinizing the Crystalline Lord’s exoskeleton we had brought back.

“Hello there,” I greeted as I approached. The merchants turned to sizing me up, their sharp eyes darting between me—clearly an adventurer based on my attire—and ViniVini beside me.

“You’re the owner of these Crystalline Lord materials?” one of them asked after a moment’s observation.

“Yes, I am. Is there something I can help you with?” I replied politely, earning looks of approval from the assembled merchants.

“Well, here’s the thing: I run several weapon shops, and I recently received an order for a significant batch of armor. Naturally...”

A large batch of armor—no wonder they had their eyes on the Crystalline Lord exoskeleton.

The exoskeleton was immensely durable; even ViniVini, at Level 25, hadn’t been able to pierce through it with a full-force strike. It was, undoubtedly, a top-tier material for crafting protective gear.

“Price isn’t an issue. I’m willing to pay you handsomely,” the merchant added smoothly, clearly sensing my hesitation.

I smiled politely and replied, “Why don’t you name your price first, and I’ll take it under consideration?”

Honestly, I had no idea what a Crystalline Lord’s carcass was worth. I thought about turning to ViniVini for advice, only to see her scratching her head with a sheepish grin that screamed ‘Don’t ask me, I just do the hunting.’ Guess I was on my own.

“Five gold coins,” the merchant offered without hesitation. “And I’d like to take the bones and meat as well. Altogether, how about seven gold coins?”

The moment ViniVini heard “seven gold coins,” her eyes lit up like a hungry cat spotting a fish. She tugged on my sleeve, clearly urging me to accept on the spot. I shot her a sideways glance, then turned back to the merchant.

“Ten. No less.” I held up my hands, fingers splayed.

“Ten’s too much!” The merchant frowned.

“It’s not,” I countered, flashing a confident smile. “You seem to be in a hurry. I took a look at the other warehouses on my way here and noticed none of them have enough stock to meet your ‘large batch’ needs. But feel free to send someone to double-check, if you’re not sure...”

“This...” The merchant hesitated, clearly torn. He turned to huddle with his associates for a quick discussion.

Barely two minutes later, he sighed and turned back. “Fine. Ten it is. You’re quite the shrewd one, aren’t you?”

“Nothing personal. Nobody can afford to argue with money, right?”

“Haha, true enough!” the merchants laughed as they handed over ten gold coins. Soon after, they had the Crystalline Lord materials carted away, clearly satisfied with their deal.

As they left, I noticed ViniVini’s eyes laser-focused on the shiny gold coins in my hand. Her small hands crept closer, trying to stealthily snatch the stash. I caught her wrist mid-reach.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Hehehe... I wanted to... uh... steal—Ah, no, wait! No, no, no! The weather’s lovely today, isn’t it?!” she stammered, hurriedly backpedaling after realizing she’d blurted out the truth.

For the second time that day, I gave her a good flick to the forehead. Then, softening just a bit, I pulled out a silver coin and tossed it into her hands.

I rested my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

“Take this silver coin and treat yourself to something nice today. You worked hard hunting that Crystalline Lord, and I want you to have some fun. But…” My voice took a gentler tone. “You can’t just spend recklessly. Don’t forget your dream, ViniVini. Remember, you want to go to school, right? I’ll keep the rest safe for you. When the time comes, I promise I won’t hesitate to hand it all back. Deal?”

After a pause, ViniVini’s eyes misted over. She lunged forward, pulling me into a tight hug as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Rogied... you’re so good to me… Meeting you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me... Wahhh!”

Just another typical day with the chaos that was ViniVini.