Like Finnely had advised them, Ashton and Seven headed to claim their rewards for subduing the gorillan and clearing the main quest. On top of that as an added bonus, Seven would also be given additional rewards after the gorillan corpse was sold.
However, Seven was a man of honour and discipline. He wasn't going to claim a reward for something he had no part in achieving. Therefore, he immediately handed over the money he got to Ashton without a tinge of hesitation.
Ashton was a bit surprised by Seven's 'weird' behaviour but he wasn't someone who would say no to money, especially now that he could use mana. The money he had could be spent to get better skill pages or gear so that the next time he goes into a dungeon, he wouldn't have to get hit in order to restore his health.
But before going on a shopping spree, Ashton wanted to visit a certain someone.
"Seven, do you have any idea where Virgil could have been taken? I mean there are multiple hospitals in the capital if I remember correctly."
"There are, but considering they were only copper and iron ranked adventurers, they would probably have to use the hospital with cheaper services." Seven replied while bobbing his head back and forth, "Why do you ask? Are you planning on visiting him?"
"Yeah. It would be rude to not do so and I also have some business with him." Ashton replied with a stoic expression, "You can just show me the way and leave. I'm sure you must have gotten a bit tired."
"Follow me." Seven shook his head and started walking, completely ignoring what Ashton had said.
Ashton was not completely right in his assumptions. While Seven indeed wanted to end his day there, he wasn't that tired that he would need to get rest, he did want to visit someone special. After all, he could have lost her forever in Ashton had not made a miraculous recovery.
That being said, he was still Ashton's bodyguard and had to accompany him everywhere he went. Also, in case something happened to Ashton, he wouldn't have been save either. In other words, Ashton's and his lives were linked the moment he accepted to become his bodyguard. Either they both lived or he dies, that's all there was to it.
As they walked to the hospital where Virgil was probably admitted, Ashton wanted to know more about the capital city and Seven was more than happy to answer any question he had.
Back when Ashton arrived in the city with the mistress, he thought the mistress chose the portal as it was the fastest way to arrive there. However, Seven clarified that while the portals were indeed the safest and fastest way to travel, the portals in Deja had a special purpose.
because the portals were the only way in or out of the city As Deja was not part of the mainland Lycania, but an island southwest to the mainland. The capital was formed on the island due to the strategic importance of the place.
Since the secured and authorised portal were the only way in and out of the city, it was almost impossible to launch a surprise attack on the city. As the portals were under surveillance every second on the day, no one could have used them to invade the city.
If someone tried to, they would simply shut the portals off and the king and his family would escape through one of the innumerable hidden paths.
No one knew the location of all of these paths as only the members of the royal guard even knew about these paths and all of them only knew about a separate path that the other knights did not. In simpler words, each knight only knew about one path that no one else did, not even the king.
This was another added security measure to ensure that in an unfortunate event that a knight was captured by the enemy and was forced to reveal the location of a hidden path, they would only be able to tell them about a path that the king would most definitely not take.
As the secret of that path would only be known to that knight and not the others, who would use a different path to ensure that the king safely makes it out of the capital and into the mainland.
Even though Ashton did not want to admit it, their plan was certainly flawless or at least had no noticeable flaws that popped up in his mind at the moment.
'Looks like not all werewolves are fools drunk on power. I gotta admit, if I ever make a city or something, I'll incorporate this as well. But maybe with a bit more caution considering a royal guard is freely giving me all this information.'
Seven continued talking about the city and its significance. But the thing that stuck most with Ashton was that there was a temple in Deja. Something that Ashton had not seen or heard about in any of the other cities he had mentioned.
Apparently, the temple was the place where all of the healers had to take mandatory training. Sadly, only the healers were allowed to enter these premises and no one else as everyone else was 'sinful', whatever the heck that meant.
Ashton wasn't sure how many sins someone like him could have committed but he was sure being a mutt was one of them. Either way, other than the temple and the palace, there was also a marketplace where people could buy anything they needed, weapons, gear, potions... everything.
But Seven Advised Ashton that if he ever needed to buy something, he could consult him or the king first as the royal family and the royal guards had their personal blacksmiths, potioneers as well miscellaneous workers. Ashton made a mental note of everything Seven had to say about Deja and finally, they arrived at the hospital.
'Time to recruit someone else on the team.'