Chapter 164: Cedaraille.

Chapter 164: Cedaraille.

Wait, are you kidding me, there is a dungeon in Griffonpeak, too? I asked Ellaine with an incredulous face.

Yes, a B rank one. The Knights of the Lionheart Order, our Kingdoms griffon knights, use it as a training ground for their veteran members. However, because the difficulty of the dungeon is rather high, it isnt very popular with the average adventurer, Ellaine explained, mildly blowing away the excitement I felt for the dungeon in Cedaraille. On the other hand, as Cedarailles is ranked as D but possesses floors with varying degrees of difficulties, its far more popular with beginners. Mother said the first few floors are easy enough for F Rank adventurers while the depths can be too hard for B rank adventurers. In certain parts, I believe.

Youve never been in a dungeon, Ellaine?

Ellaine gave a wry smile at my question. Youve seen how inexperienced I was during our first hunt together, La- Hestia. I apologize, its still hard to get used to it all the time.

No need to worry, Ellaine. Even if Griffonpeak has a dungeon, I believe we should stay here for a bit just to experience a dungeon as well as raising our levels up. Although I really do want to continue our trip to the capital of the kingdom, I do not think rushing forward is a wise decision, Saori comforted Ellaine before stating our partys current goals.

Tasianna nodded, adding why we couldnt stay here for too long, Of course, we cannot stay here as long as in Firwood. Lady Hestia still needs to visit the cathedral in the capital, Miss Saori needs information on her own Quest, and Lady Ellaine needs to formally ask for time off from the royal academy. We will leave once SpringSun arrives.

We had just arrived in Cedaraille a little while ago. As you would expect from a city, Cedaraille was big, far bigger than Firwood when it came to the wall surrounding the city as well as how crowded the streets were. Of course, it was nowhere close to how crowded New York was, but if I were to stretch my arm forward, I would definitely hit somebody, unlike in Firwood.

Technology-wise, it was around the same level of Firwood, where manatech was nowhere to be seen in the lower commoner district, rare in the merchant district, and abundant in the noble district. In other words, the basic layout of Firwood was similar to how the districts were divided here in Cedaraille. Evidence that Firwood took some notes from the duchys capital city before being built, according to Ellaine.

However, architecturally, there was a clear difference.

The smell here isnt that bad, Saori pointed out, which I agreed with. The middle district of Firwood reeked of rubbish and toilet stuff, and most of the inhabitants would have too if they werent cleaning themselves in the local bathhouses or at home.

Thats when Ellaine was forced to answer our questioning stares, Uhm, the local mages guild is responsible for the sewage system of Cedaraille.

Hold on, Peolynca already knows about sewers? I raised a brow at what Ellaine just said.

Do not be so surprised, Hestia. Even with where we come from, some cities managed to fund a sewer system to stop the horrible smells within their walls while others couldnt, all during the same era, Saori explained. Of course, she was speaking about Earth during the middle ages, keeping certain parts vague for the sake of any prying ears while we were still out in public.

Ellaine nodded, also understanding what Saori said. Yes, that is the case. A sewer was actually under construction in Firwood; however, due to a problem with the slimes, it was delayed for a long time for lack of funds. Earth mages had problems constructing the system, as the architects were unable to design a working blueprint with Firwoods geology. Then, water mages were needed to maintain the sewer water, but with Davison forcing the mages guild out of Firwood, the plans had to stop completely.

Ahhh, in other words, a series of shitty problems No pun intended.

Slimes? Saori questioned.

Yes, do you three remember the slimes in the bathrooms of my mansion? Those slimes would be used to clean up the sewage canals. Of course, in an environment where they have access to large quantities of food, the slimes needed to be regularly culled; otherwise they would grow far too large and numerous. Usually, this would be the water mages duties buuuuut nobody respectable enough would want to do that.

You are implying hunters Quests, correct, Lady Ellaine? Tasianna replied.

Yes, work for adventurers. Sometimes other monsters enter the sewers, so a sewer usually turns into an undesirable training ground for beginners, or so Ive heard from father and mother. Uh, I beg of you, please do not misunderstand and send me into the sewer, everybody. I beg of you, please, no, Ellaine pleaded, looking for all the world like a scared kitten, terrified of being sent to train in the sewers.

Laughing it off, I now understood why she didnt complain as much about the smell as our time in Firwood. Ahh, so thats why you didnt mention anything about the noble district. I honestly thought you would want us to enter through the noble districts gate, Ellaine. Well, it does smell rather nice here.

Ellaines family had another mansion here as well. One in Helvas County, another in Firwood, a third in Cedaraille, and a final one in Griffonpeak. As nobles were expected to show up to balls during social seasons, they sometimes had to leave their fiefs or primary homes and travel to another city or town, requiring them to find accommodation. The most efficient way would be to build another home if you had to travel to certain locations a lot.

Well, aside from the smell, I also knew you wouldnt agree to it, Hestia. Hmmm, to be honest, I hope our inn will have proper beds instead of those thin mattresses over hard slabs of wood Ive heard commoners have to sleep on. Sleeping on forest floors is just not good for my back or fatigue, Ellaine complained, revealing how much shed struggled with our travels this past week.

Well, I guess we might have been a bit too harsh with your training. As part of her training, I had used [The Will to Fight and Survive] to make Ellaine have infinite Stamina so that she could strain her muscles to the limit. Building up stats and overall Stamina was important for her.

As we walked through the middle district of Cedaraille, the big city atmosphere became more and more pronounced. People on the street calling people out to buy some suspicious stuff, adventurers manning monster material stalls, and areas on the street that were taken over by street food vendors. These were all things that also happened in Firwood, but not the sheer number of people crowding around the stalls for the simple pleasure of shopping.

Saori showed some interest in grocery shopping at the local marketplace, but finding an inn before noon should be our priority. The last thing we needed was to settle for sleeping outside or in some sketchy, rundown inn. And, with how many merchants were walking around on the streets and the large line in front of the city gates, we needed to hurry before the goods ones were all booked up.

[Saori,] I called Saori out using [Telepathy].

She replied immediately, [Yeah, I know.]

Huh? Excuse me? Ellaine looked confused as she questioned what we were talking about.

Its a habit for me to use [Telepathy] on everybody in Aurora, however, since we havent gotten Ellaine to level up yet, she hasnt earned any SP since she unlocked the SP shop to buy [Telepathy] from her shop, meaning she needed to speak to communicate until then. Her sensory skills werent high enough, either.

Without answering Ellaines question, Saori turned around and quickly swiped Ellaines pouch from her belt. While Ellaine was flustered, Saori loosened the strap on it and revealed the contents, or, rather, the lack of contents, to the sneaky little pickpocket before he could attempt it himself.

Wrong targets, pickpocket, Saori scowled at a young fox-eared boy in dirty clothes. A bolt of black lightning wrapped itself around her arm as she tied Ellaines pouch closed. It is empty. Run along now, otherwise you might get into trouble.

The young foxians eyes widened, looking terrified as he quickly nodded and merged back into the crowd without anybodys knowledge. Ellaine shouted Impertinent! and questioned why Saori let him go, despite almost committing a crime against a noble; however, Saori held her back before she could chase after him.

I do not like pickpockets either, but chasing after him now would be a waste of time. He looked agile and he knows the alleyways of his home better, Saori reasoned with Ellaine, but she wouldnt have it.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.

With all due respect, Saori, letting a thief go without punishing him will only cause trouble for everybody else. He will not learn from this, and as a noble, it is also my duty to enforce the laws of my kingdom, Ellaine stubbornly refused. If there is one thing her inferiority complex hadnt dulled, it was her sense of duty as a noble.

As people were starting to notice us, I grabbed Ellaines shoulder and ordered her to stand down and to find an inn first before we do anything. She was reluctant, but as a noble, she couldnt refuse the words of the one she deemed her mistress now. It was uncomfortable to do and caused some awkwardness between us, but I had to intervene. This is why we had to help her adapt to our partys culture fast.

Also, there is the topic about the impending grimgarian war I have to talk with Ellaine about. I dont feel its time yet

After entering the merchant district, Saori picked out a decent-looking inn in the area. Not the best, since she wanted to save on money, but not the worst, either, as she thinks our party deserved some luxury after our trip here.

Woooo, this is soooooooft. My poor legs. Immediately after checking in, Ellaine tested the beds in our room before crashing on one like an exhausted athlete. She embraced her pillow and tried to reposition her posture until she reached the right spot. Even this lowly bed is far better than the ground. I could just fall asleep now Oh! Lady Hestia! My apologies.

The moment her senses returned, Ellaine opened her eyes wide like an owl and jumped off her bed, snapping her legs straight as she tried to find an excuse for her behavior. Her bright red face combined with her flailing arms was adorable, causing me to chuckle a bit. Despite how often wed been alone in a room together, she still hasnt become comfortable enough to just let herself chill.

Ellaine, let me just say this again, but I dont care about our Mistress and Retainer roles, alright? If you want to be serious about it, then by all means; however, you are my friend and party member first. That is Aurora, I attempted to calm her down, worrying her tomato-colored face would overheat her head.

Y-Yes, I know. I do apologize that we had to repeat this discussion again, but to repay you for accepting my selfish wish to come with you, I should be more competent, no? Ellaine argued, feeling a bit impatient to prove herself despite the fact we have only been together for a week.

And we are about to do some training to help you get to that phase. One thing I learned from my dance trainer during my idol trainee phase was to always solidify your foundation. However, how will you be able to train effectively if you never relax, Ellaine? Youll stress yourself out, I then tested my bed and jumped on it, relaxing immediately. So, take some time to rest. A nap even. Until Saori and Tasianna come back from grocery shopping, no food to eat.

We arrived just a bit before lunchtime, so Saori and Tasianna wanted to fill everybodys belly before we stormed the dungeon of Cedaraille. After all, the trip from Firwood to Cedaraille was quite far we even had to travel over a bridge built over the same river the barracudas travelled down during winter.

After Ellaine laid back on her bed, she quickly fell asleep, the exhaustion of a week of straight traveling weighing her eyelids shut. Our trip probably would have taken longer for an ordinary group traveling on foot, since it supposedly would take the same amount of time as we took to travel from Firwood to Cedaraille by carriage. We could have ridden Saoris garms if it wasnt to help Ellaine train.

It honestly felt as if she was trying to prove herself to somebody. Was it me or to herself? Well, whomever it was, I hope shell be able to feel more comfortable with us after the dungeon training.

A while later, Saori and Tasianna returned with some freshly-made meals they made in the inns kitchen, which they were able to borrow with the innkeepers permission. After we devoured everything, I took out the wooden bathtub I made in our travels for Ellaine, who felt uncomfortable bathing in the wilderness. Tasianna filled it up with water and I heated it up, which we used in a rotation to clean ourselves up. At least Ellaine wasnt afraid of being naked in front of other girls.

Belly filled and refreshed, we departed from our inn after informing the innkeeper we would go to the dungeon. He didnt say anything about it, but his worried face betrayed his real feelings about it.

Dont worry. The Goddess is on our side. I snapped my finger before having my parallel minds show off ten spell circles at once. With level ten of [Parallel Thoughts], I finally maxed that skill, although now I have ten other minds speaking inside my head.

Our first destination was the hunters guild. We hadnt been very active in Firwood concerning Quests, due in no small part to running our restaurant and taking care of Davison, so we had to begin climbing the ranks. A higher rank meant better Quests and recognition, after all.

After asking adventurers on the street, we eventually made it to the guild. As we were about to enter, a giant suddenly came out of the guild.

Hmph! he huffed the moment he saw us, looking irritated as we were blocking his way out. Move.

If you guys enjoyed this chapter then, please follow the story. If you guys want the story to grow, then giving it a rating or a favorite will do wonders: Rawr

Thank you for reading this chapter.

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Friday, May 21, 2021 8:26:46 PM Germany [Member of Zard Skwad]

Bio: Hey there, AbyssRaven here. I'm just an avid Light Novel and Fantasy story reader who randomly thought of a story and began writing about it.

I eventually found out that I've been spending a bit too much time with building, planning, and researching for the story, that I've decided to just share it with others.

Writing is mostly a hobby for me, but I would still love any kind of criticism to improve on it.

I'm also german, so please excuse anything that sounds a bit weird...I wouldn't mind you pointing it out though.

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