The party met up at the Eastern gates. It was a merchant caravan along with some rich and noble ones. It was a mix with three big groups and a few smaller ones tagging along.

As usual, the couple added some makeup on themselves to make themselves look dull, with their complexion rougher. However, they were still considered somewhat good-looking. Not to mention, Althea’s grace and Garan’s gravitas came naturally, so people would still steal a look or two.

The mercenaries were assigned to walk parallel to the main caravan. Althea and Garan were assigned near the rear part of the line.

With big mixed caravans like this one, the front would usually be where the lead, the high-ranking merchants or nobles would be. They were naturally the most protected group.

Huge amounts of guards and mercenaries were in front of this group, clearing monsters as well as the pathway to go through. Even with beast carts, this had to be done if the people inside wanted relatively smooth travel.

Rockiness and swaying might be unavoidable, but they could at least avoid those branches? Don’t look at them looking thin. They were extremely amicable to her.

If they only depended on beast carts to barrel through, it was estimated peoples’ brains would shake so hard their brains would turn to mush after a few days.

This group was followed by the one comprising main merchants or traders, followed by the small merchants, and then the rest at the back.

Althea and Garan were walking parallel to the small merchants and also near the traders, so they could hear a lot of gossip as well.

’Small’ mercenaries like them were unattractive to thieves, and they would be treated like air, expected to block the monsters that appeared, but otherwise ignored.

"We have a lot more merchants this time, right?" They heard a few discussions nearby, and they listened in just because they were already in earshot anyway.

"Hmn, usually it’s just one big merchant and then the rest are medium sized or smaller. Now they had 3 directly," another said, a tone of awe tinged in his voice.

"Is something happening?"

"I don’t know, my connections aren’t rich enough to keep me updated."

Another group walking ahead, on the other hand, was talking about where to stay in the next town. Some had been to Twinwave and made recommendations.

"You should try Sunset Inn," he said. "Their rooms are the best. I heard the custom building some Lords had was used on this."

"I think Handa Inn is better," another quipped. "They offer extra...services. If you know what I mean."

"I’d say rent a duplex instead. This way the whole team can be together. It’ll be more convenient to coordinate."

"Anything is fine," the last guy said. "I won’t be staying there for more than a day anyway."

"Your destination is not Twinwave? Where are you heading, then?" one asked another. Surprisingly, they heard a familiar mention.

"We’re taking a mission to Flaret, but we’ll pass through Alterra first and stay there for a bit."

Hearing their territory being mentioned, the couple listened closely. The people speaking were mercenaries serving another group of merchants and nobles in the middle of the line.

"Hm, our boss up front had an uncle who became the Lord of Flaret town. She wants to join him in the new territory."

"Oh? That is very interesting!"

"We’ve heard a lot about Alterra though, so we’re staying there on the way. Anyway, that’s the closest Mercenary Hall to Flaret." Flaret was only a level 1 town and didn’t have its own Hall yet.

Someone from the merchant group perked up and joined in as well. "We’re heading to Alterra, too! What a coincidence.

"Our rival was lucky enough to buy some goods in Twinwave Town and crushed our group, which also handled the east part of the territory. We found out after much investigation that these were all sourced from Alterra, so we’re heading there!"

To be fair, many people had been investigating the source of goods for more than a year. It was only when the reunification was completed that the name really spread out, which eventually reached Mecca Town as well.

When it happened, various groups already planned to rush out. Some went on a trip within a day or two, while others had to prepare some capital.

They were going so far away, they naturally had to have a big budget to maximize their trip. Alterra had not yet leveled up their Post Office to the max level, so they could not send or receive gold yet, so they had to gather them beforehand, making sure they had enough money on-hand.

Somehow, the discussion of Alterran goods became the common topic people loved to talk about. Hours passed by with people chattering and the mercenaries killing monsters while gossiping when they got the chance to.

Althea and Garan looked awkward. It was kind of embarrassing.

When they realized that the topic would be exclusively to fawn over Alterra and their products, the couple decisively went farther away and focused on dealing with monsters, some of which did not even have the chance to get close to the party.

For a while, the people thought that they got lucky, encountering an area with relatively sparse monster mobs, unaware a couple was abusing them elsewhere.

Some of them got so lackadaisical that they just continued chatting. The mercenaries were a bit better since they had a mission to fulfill, the nobles and merchants were just focused on their gossip.

Someone even shared a few scandals, like a certain major businessman’s messy love life, and how it affected the business.

"We’re planning on establishing direct connections there. The products really sell well. Too well!"

Althea was reminded of one building type, the Trade Hub, which would be available upon upgrade. If she had that, the products would spread out even farther. There would be no need for some to travel weeks to head there anymore.

She felt a bit guilty for making people work so hard, but ended up buying only a few things due to the purchase limits.

Still, this was the life of a merchant.

But Althea thought, for her own conscience, that they simply ought to keep being worth the effort.