87 - the inside of a wall

"Oh, there's To-chan!"

When Thor returned to his house after consulting on various equipment, he was greeted by a freshly washed Moe with curly hair.

He was proudly riding a floating sled on the street in front of his house.

"I'm home, Moo!"

"Welcome home!"

The child rushes up to me with the sled in his hand. He dexterously jumps on the sled in the middle and slides down with the same momentum.

Just as he was about to hit his shin, he was stopped by Thor's outstretched hand.

Moe takes the opportunity to cling to the child's neck as he bends down.

The child rubs his soft cheek against Thor's sparse stubble and lets out a happy laugh.

I'm gonna get tingles!　It's a little tic-tac-toe."

"Did they give you a bath? Have you eaten?"

"You want some food?　Not yet!"

"Well, let's eat together."

It was already almost noon, and the smell of something delicious was wafting from inside the house.

Thor picked up Moo, who smelled like soap, and dexterously lifted him up by lightly stepping on the edge of the sled with his toes.

With the child in his right hand and the sled in his left, he approaches the door, which opens by itself from the inside.

Sora, dressed in an apron, emerged from the doorway.

She is holding a black cat on her right shoulder and a striped cat in her left hand.

"Ah, as I thought. Welcome home, Thor.

"How did you know I was home?"

"Hmm. When she wants to go outside, it's usually when Thor comes back. Come on, let's go out for a walk, Shima-chan.

Saying this, the girl puts down the striped cat and pushes it out the door.

Thor's eyes light up at the unexpected warmth, and he tosses away the sled and the mu and reaches for them.

The cat easily ducks his hand.

The black cat then jumps off Sola's shoulder and slips past Thor's feet as well.

The cats crossed the street, and when they reached the bottom of the outer wall, they turned around and mewed quietly.

"I'm going to go play," they said.

Thor nodded his head in disappointment at Moo's innocent interpretation.

"Don't get down, Tor. Moo is with you!

"Oh, I'm lucky too!"

With Sora and Moo attached to his arms, Thor reluctantly headed for the kitchen.

Lunch consisted of steaks made by marinating the thighs of rock lizards in chopped onions, tenderizing them, and slowly grilling them, along with egg soup made from the bones.　

The chewy meat and the rich broth were so delicious that the table was silent for a while.

In no time at all, the leg we had brought home disappeared into the stomachs of Thor and the others.　　

As we sip our after-meal herbal tea, Yuril, who has taken off his apron, asks us shyly, "What are you doing here?

"Do you have plans after lunch?　Mr. Thor."

"Yes, I think so. I was thinking of offering some lizard meat to Sissan and the others... or Roloff and the others. Is something wrong?

Thor had no desire to form a complicated faction, but he continued to keep in touch with the people he knew.

Recently, the four youngest members have finally graduated from the Midori-Kashi class and have made several attempts to enter the Ko-oni no Tsubasa.

The three Thunderbolt brothers are still looking for female magic-users, but since they have received no applications, they are still holed up in the river of bloodshed.

Another pair, Bettina and Godan, a lady and a butler, have dragged the twins Tapa and Tali to the party.

All four of them are already D-ranked, and they said they would be showing their faces in the wilderness soon.　

"Yes, it's about time, actually, and I was thinking of visiting the temple. I have a favor to ask you.

As he said this, Ulille turned his attention to a bouquet of blue flowers in a flower vase.

He had brought back from the wilderness the blue crown weed, but he needed to ask an apothecary to prepare a medicine to restore blood stasis.

And it seems that the apothecary of the man whom Yuril knows is conveniently located in the temple of the ice god Strugin's quest.

The silver-haired beauty looks up at me with a slight smirk on her face and continues to speak, lacing the tips of her fingers together.

"I was wondering if you could come with me ....... I'm not sure I can explain it well, you know, ......."

"Oh, that's what you mean. I understand. I'll be happy to join you."

It is impossible to ask a familiar acquaintance to make a potion for you when you look so young.

He would have to be given the rank of priest first, and then go to see her in his own age.

"Thor, may I come too?"

"Don't worry, Tor. I'll go with you!

"Yes. It's a good opportunity to get it all done.

After cleaning up and getting ready, Thor and his friends headed for the wall that crosses the city.

The inner gate is located at the end of the bridge over the moat, but unlike its name, it is actually a building that can be passed through.

Inside, there is a long and narrow counter manned by a bureau official and several guards.

Anyone adult can enter from the inner city to the outer city without any restrictions.

However, in the opposite case, and only for adventurers, troublesome procedures are required, such as being asked about their purpose and undergoing a physical examination.

While martial and magical skills can only be used against monsters, adventurers, with their well-trained bodies and various characteristics, are very different from ordinary people.

Therefore, the bureau manages them well to prevent even the slightest trouble from occurring.

Restrictions on bringing in weapons are one of the reasons for this, but in reality, it is just to avoid intimidating them.

We were prepared to have to wait for a while, but thanks to the black and white adventurer's tags, we were able to easily pass through the gate with only a few indifferent questions.

The girl who stepped into the inner city looked back at Thor with a cute twist of her head.

"I feel a little uncomfortable, don't you?

"Really?　It's always like this in the house, right?"

"If you say so, yes, but ......"

"What's wrong?"

"It's refreshing to see you dressed like that outside. Yes, you're really cool, Thor.

Today, Sola was wearing a light sky blue one-piece dress and a hair clip of the same color, which showed the girlishness of her age.

The girl, oblivious to the intense stares around her, nodded her head as she gazed at Thor, who was dressed in a neat short-sleeved linen jacket.

Thor in his everyday clothes looks just like an old man, but Sora seems to see a completely different view.

"Tor-chan, you also want to go to Moo's house?　Do you get carried away?"

"Yeah, it looks good on you."

Today's Purple-Eyed Child was dressed in an unfamiliar outfit.

He was wearing a small straw hat, a white shirt with thin shoulder straps on top, and a red plaid skirt and thigh-high socks on the bottom.

When complimented on her unusual skirt, Moe proudly spun around holding the hem of the skirt.

"It's nice to see a skirt fluttering once in a while, isn't it!　Tor-chan."

"Don't ask me to agree with you there."

"Oh my, how about me?　Mr. Toll."

Smiling, Euryl wears a tight-fitting gray jacket without shoulder sleeves and a tight black above-the-knee skirt.

Her coloring was subdued, but her body lines and bare skin showed through, making her an eye-catching outfit.

"It's a uniform from my teaching days. I got nostalgic ....... Isn't it strange?"

"Yes, it looks great on you."

If you ask me, only the neck is tightly covered by a long collar.

Although Thor did not seem to be dressed for a teacher, I gave him a safe reply.

Passing through the inner gate and going straight ahead, we came to a large plaza.

There is a prominent fountain in the center, and large buildings surround the square.

Thor quickly took the child in his arms as he was about to run out into the sparkling spray.

"We'll play with the fountain another time.

"Mwah!"

"Wow, Thor. There's a statue!

Sola shouted with excitement when she saw a statue of a man placed in front of a building that stood out in the plaza.

The man is holding a long hatchet in the air, ready to take on anything.

"Ah, the statue of the director. You came to my house once before."

"What, that old man?"

"Yes, yes. He's probably working in there right now."

The building near the statue was the town hall, which was in charge of the administration of the entire border town.

Sola's eyes move happily as she crosses the square.　

"I see. Then, what is that big stone building?

"That's a service temple. That's the one for the Earth God."

"There are so many temples!"

"You don't seem to know much about it, Ms. Sola. If you don't mind, I'd like to teach you a few things.

"By all means, please!"

It is an exchange that I have seen before.

The fact that temples to the six great deities have been built in many cities is a sign of the depth of faith, but each of them also plays a major role in the lives of the people.

The Temple of Liberation of Rafalit, the god of fire, operates a public brothel and gambling house for the purpose of liberating people's desires.

The court temple of Gigilo, the god of thunder, is a place where he is given the right to judge and hold divine trials.

The temple of the water god Arulia is a place to receive many injured and sick people as a healing facility for medical treatment.

The trading temple of Rohe, god of winds, is a place to arrange for brokers and personnel for business, as well as to take care of mail and transportation.

The service temple of Gaidaros, the god of the earth, is responsible for construction, repair and other civil engineering work, as well as fire fighting and fire prevention.

The temple of the ice god Strugin, whom Euril worshipped, was also a school and research and development facility where wisdom could be learned.

"I see. That's amazing!"

Sola, who had voiced her admiration, was at a loss for words as she faced her destination.

Perhaps because of the long explanation, Thor and the others had reached the bottom of the southern wall of the inner city before they knew it.

In the area, which seems to be poorly lit and the land rent is low, there stands a structure slightly larger than the surrounding houses.

The austere sounding "temple of exploration" had the girl imagining it to be something quite splendid.

In reality, however, it was a dilapidated two-story wooden structure.

Moe, who was walking hand in hand with Thor, looked up at the old building and shouted happily.

"Well, it looks kind of shabby, To-chan!

"Please, don't ask me to agree to something I can't answer."