Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

The difference between this place and a harbor is that there's no smell of the sea, and to avoid being exposed to the scorching sun, few people have their skin exposed. The vast majority wear loose-fitting clothing that emphasizes breathability.

"Now I finally realize how incredibly dry it is here."

After speaking, Freya stepped down the boarding stairs and into the harbor.

Even though Freya was wearing a hoodie and coat, everyone who noticed her couldn't help but stop and take notice; she captivated everyone's attention, regardless of age or gender. Freya, however, seemed to know the place well, and strolled leisurely through the center of the harbor passage with Boffman and her personal attendants.

"I believe Ota and his men have already infiltrated this town..."

"Did you say something, Goddess Freya?"

Freya's mutterings were drowned out by the noise of the harbor, but Boffman still dared not neglect to express his concern, though Freya only replied, "You don't need to worry about it."

There was no sign of Aota and the others anywhere.

Even if the sun rises in the west, it's impossible for a single ship to shake off Otto and his crew, so they must be hiding "nearby," in a position where they can protect Freya's safety at any time.

The intention behind this was to show that they would obey your orders, and since things had come to this point, they did not want to spoil their beloved master's mood.

At this point, Otto would likely remain silent with a blank expression, while Hedin would close his eyes and sigh.

Allen would appear very displeased, but he would stay closer than anyone else and secretly keep watch.

Freya couldn't help but smile and decided to stop being polite and enjoy the journey freely.

"Boffman, what kind of place is this?"

"This place belongs to the territory of the 'Isra Domain' and is also known as the 'Merchant City'. The Isra Domain itself is a country with thriving commerce, and this 'Leod City' located on the border of the country is a thriving city centered around an oasis."

As the group walked through the private warehouse district of the Fazl Chamber of Commerce, Boffman, who was following closely behind Freya, began to introduce the city.

The massive Nile River runs through the center of the Caios Desert, dividing it into east and west sides.

The Commercial Kingdom (Isla Province) and the City of Riode are both located in the Western Caios Desert.

Throughout the history of the Caios Desert, the closer a country was to the Nile River, the more prosperous it became, while the farther away it was, the weaker it became. The commercial kingdom (Isra) occupied a middle position.

The city of Riode is located in the central part of the western desert, surrounded by several countries.

"Although the city is not large, its oasis location makes it easy to attract visitors. In addition, its location is almost in the center of the Western Caios Desert, so it is no exaggeration to say that it is a trading hub."

Is the reason why the "port" here is so well-developed also based on this?

"Yes, it can be said that it is an important stronghold for merchants to survive, as it is easy to observe the surrounding logistics and the trends of various countries.

According to Boffman, several other towns with similar characteristics exist elsewhere, but Riode stands out for its exceptional convenience. Not only is it safe and secure, but it also rarely suffers monster attacks, making it a veritable "city of abundance."

Freya could tell from the sight of the port dedicated to "Desert Ships" that the area was quite prosperous. After all, this invention from the magical superpower (Altna) had not yet spread throughout the desert world, yet its practicality had already been recognized here, with significant investments being made in this area. It was indeed, as Boffman had said, an important stronghold for merchants.

"Since this city provides access to any country in the western desert, I believe that you, Goddess Freya, will surely find what you are seeking here!"

Boffman concluded in a tone that seemed to be trying to curry favor.

Incidentally, Freya did not explain to him that what she "seeked" meant a companion (Odr).

Freya ignored the inexplicably smug tone of Boffman and continued walking forward.

After passing through the warehouse area adjacent to the port, the view suddenly opened up.

"Oh... no wonder this place is called the 'City of Merchants'."

Freya was greeted by a large market.

This is probably the busiest street in the area. Although the road is quite wide, it is crowded with many open-air shops.

You can see the humans wearing the same Tbeng headscarves as Boffman, and the demi-humans setting up stalls, busy accepting Fali currency and handing goods to customers.

Besides selling luxury goods such as carpets and pottery, they also sell clothing, swords, guns and other weapons and armor suitable for desert terrain, and even fuel and gunpowder. They have almost no morals to speak of.

Food options included freshly baked bread, bean products, and dried meat. The dried fruit selection was extensive, with large dates gleaming like jewels. Various spices, sold wholesale in large quantities in burlap sacks or jars, were imported from elsewhere—brought in by traders like Boffman from beyond the desert world.

Along the way, veiled elves could be seen sprinkling spices resembling magical sand into the thick broth simmering dried meat after taking orders. Nearby, a dwarf scooped a ladle of ice water from a cooling jug and deliberately drank it with relish in front of the customers. There was also a young orc preparing skewers of fresh fish. Those fish were likely farmed in a large oasis within the city. It seemed this place truly lived up to its title of "City of Merchants," having invested heavily in developing local industries.

Pedestrians walked along the bronze-colored streets, Amazons riding camels directly through the crowd. The brick houses lining both sides of the street appeared to belong to the merchant guild. Numerous bars lined the street, where groups of drunken dwarves could be seen sitting at round tables by the roadside, drinking heartily. The noise of the street never ceased.

Despite the same bright sunshine, this place has a different kind of vitality than Orario.

This place is more chaotic, intense, and wild.

At least Freya thought so.

She walked gracefully down the street, looking around to admire the scenery and fully enjoying the exotic desert atmosphere.

"This oasis is truly magnificent."

Looking ahead, there is a large oasis in the center of this town.

At the other end of the market, you can see the azure lake.

The area is lush and green, with various plants found only in southern countries growing outwards from the oasis. Crossing the bridge leads to a small island in the middle of the lake, where several luxurious villas with designs distinctly different from those in the city are built.

The most eye-catching of them all is the giant mansion with a deliberately added circular roof.

At first glance, it looked like a castle.

Even if the world were to reverse, the main base (headquarters) of the core [familia] would not reach such a magnificent scale.

That's probably the private residence of a high-ranking nobleman.

"The people and things here are indeed very vibrant, and you can never get tired of looking at them."

"Your Excellency is wise! Your Excellency is truly wise!"

Having completely transformed into a guide, Boffman kept rubbing his hands together, looking quite pleased with himself.

A closer look reveals a considerable number of vendors selling magic stone products. Perhaps catering to local tastes, many magic stone lanterns with a unique desert style can be seen. It seems that Orario's magic stone products are also sold in the desert world.

"I bet the guild is quite pleased with this," Freya thought reflexively, before suddenly narrowing her eyes.

(However, the atmosphere here is chilling.)

The market itself was bustling with activity, yet it was inexplicably filled with a somber atmosphere.

Freya, who can see through the eyes of God, keenly sensed the eerie atmosphere in the city, while Boffman, completely unaware, spread his arms and pointed around.

"As you can see, all sorts of people and things gather in this city."

Boffman then continued:

"It wasn't just exotic goods—it also included slaves."

The scene seemed to become even noisier in sync with those words.

A different kind of noise resounded throughout the market.

"Ah, it really is true that everyone's here."

Freya turned her head following Boffman's gaze and saw a group of people appear on another bustling street.

This group of people, who have no commonality in terms of gender or race, have only one thing in common: they are all barely clothed.

Their faces were full of exhaustion, some with a pessimistic look, and some even showing despair. Many of them had red and black bruises on their bodies.

Everyone was handcuffed and unable to resist.

A rusty iron chain was attached to the collar around her neck.

Those linked by iron chains and lined up in rows were nothing less than "slaves".

"...Boffman, those slaves are...?"

"They must have been brought back by slave traders. After all, there's a slave market here."

"Judging by the number of people, it seems quite large. Does this mean that 'human hunting' frequently occurs here?"

Although Freya did not show any surprise or repulsion at the sight before her, she couldn't help but have some questions.

The reason was that there were simply too many slaves.

There were at least a hundred people in the crowd.

That's not the kind of quantity you can "bring in" all at once by selling yourself or randomly kidnapping people.

They were essentially "prisoners" captured after raids on multiple villages and towns.

"You've misunderstood, that's absolutely not true! No one would dare disrupt the order of the surrounding area! However..."

At the same time, Freya somewhat anticipated the answer that Boffman was about to give.

The city has an eerie atmosphere and a large number of slaves.

The above two things mean that—

"Actually, a 'war' is breaking out here in the Western Caios Desert..."

That's what I mean.

"War."

"Yes, the Kingdom of Sharzad, located to the north of the Commercial Kingdom (Isla Domain), is being attacked by the Kingdom of Valsha to the east."

Freya was not clear about the national situation in the desert world, but she still had basic knowledge.

All the nations that established themselves in the Caios Desert adopted a monarchical system. There were no nation-states (families) that reflected the will of the gods; most of the relevant divine factions were listed under the "military" structure.

Although small-scale conflicts may break out between countries, it is unlikely that a full-scale war will break out between countries to compete for hegemony in the desert world.

"It is said that in recent years, 'Varsha' has recruited powerful mercenary clans into its military, and then unilaterally declared war on the neighboring country of 'Sharlzad'..."

"So 'Shahrzad' was defeated?"

"Yes, they were utterly routed by 'Varsha,' the capital fell instantly, and the country was devastated..."

"Hmm... It means that some countries were destroyed, which created an environment where slavery was more likely to occur."

"My lord is wise."

Soldiers immersed in blood and violence are easily turned into beasts.

It is likely that the "Valsha" army, in its attack on "Shahrzad," spared no village along the way. Innocent residents suffered calamity, and those who managed to escape were eventually captured by human traffickers.

"The atmosphere here is inexplicably tense, and that's probably why."

The market has a lot of weapons and gunpowder products, probably for this reason.

Merchants who smelled the gunpowder immediately imported all kinds of supplies needed during the war.

In contrast, the local residents felt uneasy about the atmosphere of war.

"Rest assured, my lord! The capital of 'Sharlzad' has indeed fallen, but its armies have decided to support the surviving prince and continue the fight in various regions! 'Varsha' is also overwhelmed with other matters, so I believe the war will not spread here!"

This means the aggression is still ongoing.

Even if the capital falls, if the loyal subjects and soldiers within the country continue to resist to the death, the war will be prolonged. Boffman secretly observed Freya's expression, while insisting that no third country would be drawn into the war, emphasizing that the city was perfectly safe.

"I...I have heard that the Valsha army is still invading various towns and villages within Sharzad. Refugees who escape are being enslaved...such things are common in the desert world."

"..."

A large group of people, regardless of age or gender, were forced to walk in the center of the market.

The people who retreated to the side of the road were whispering among themselves.

Words of contempt and pity were mixed in. Freya wasn't particularly interested in them.

But she could see the brilliance of the "souls" within the children through her own silver eyes, and the scene before her was "utterly boring" to her.

After being enslaved, the souls of those people turned into a filthy gray.

To Freya, who was chasing after dazzling brilliance, this scene was enough to make her "unhappy".

After all, no one would happily hum a song upon seeing a mountain of filth and garbage. Although Freya was merely observing from the sidelines, the sheer scale of the war—the number of slaves—was bound to continue to rise.

If this continues, it will dampen Freya's enthusiasm for continuing to search for a partner (Odr).

"Freya, your hood...!"

As Freya snapped out of her thoughts, a gust of wind blew in her face.

When Boffman discovered that Freya's hood had been pulled open, he panicked.

If the "Goddess of Beauty's" appearance were to be revealed on the spot, it could easily lead to chaos in the market. The reason is that even Boffman was captivated by Freya's profile, losing all composure as he stared at her.

It was expected that the commotion would spread outwards like ripples, but in reality, it was as calm as a still lake. Passersby who noticed Freya stopped what they were doing, revealing expressions as if they were immersed in a beautiful dream.

The slaves reacted in the same way.

They all stopped in their tracks, stunned and speechless. They were as if witnessing something breathtakingly beautiful that could never exist, oblivious to their own despair. Even the slave traders' men, who were constantly pulling on the chains and wielding their whips, were captivated by the goddess's beauty.