CH 65

“Stumbles Upon Template, But Manages to Escape.”

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

“Stumbles Upon Template, But Manages to Escape.”

“I didn’t know a template would stand in the way here……”

Five days had passed since I left the city of Rendark. During that time, no particular events occurred, and the trip was going smoothly.

Since I was not in a hurry, I was enjoying a relaxing trip while training myself.

Currently, I am on a road about 200 kilometers east of Raganfield territory. This distance from the city to the city is enough to give you an idea of how large the Kingdom of Shells is.

The journey had been such a smooth one, but that was only until a few minutes ago. As I was proceeding along the road, I found a horse-drawn carriage parked at a place a little further ahead.

If it was just a stop for a rest, there would be no problem, but if the carriage was surrounded by armed and ruffian men, it would be a different story.

Moreover, the carriage is another problem. It is luxuriously built, clearly showing that it is filled with people of high rank, and it is obvious that at least the people in the carriage are not commoners. In addition, there are several knights guarding the carriage, which clearly indicates that the people in the carriage are not ordinary people.

Looking at the situation alone, I understand that they are being attacked by bandits, but I look at the scene in front of me and wonder what I should do next. There are only two options, but depending on which one I choose, a troublesome development may await me.

To give an example, let’s say that the person in the carriage is a nobleman or its equivalent. And if one manages to deal with the bandit-like people there, he will be thanked in all probability. If this happens, the acquaintance with such a person of high status could lead to various troublesome situations.

Of course, having a person of high status on your side may help you deal with another person of high status when he or she becomes your enemy, but most of the time, trouble awaits you.

On the other hand, I am caught in a selfish dilemma of not feeling good about leaving him/her to die. It’s a very troubling situation.

“Then there’s only one option I can take. [Aquamist]”

I saw armed men poised to attack, and I immediately sprang into action. The whole area around the carriage is suddenly enveloped in a thick mist. Of course, this is due to the effect of my magic.

However, the sudden appearance of the mist seemed to have unnerved all of the attackers. The knights who were escorting the people in the carriage did not understand what had happened, but being well-trained and fierce, they quickly regained their composure and one by one beheaded the attackers.

My plan was to use the Aquamist to take away their vision and use that as a window of opportunity to deal with them, but it seems that the escorting knights were better than I had imagined.

I saw that the crisis was over, and I tried to go around the knights to avoid their notice, but something unexpected happened here.

“Please wait.”

“!?”

Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head like a bell rolling around in my head. Although I was surprised by the sudden event, I asked the mysterious voice with the intention of answering the question once I had some idea of what to expect.

“You’re the one in the carriage. What do you want from me?”

“Would you please come this way so I can thank you for your help?”

“I refuse. I admit that I helped you indirectly. But I only helped you for my own reasons. No need to thank me. If you feel you are indebted to me, the best way to thank me is to let me go in silence.”

“That can’t do. It’s in our family’s motto—-”

“Anyway, I’m in a hurry. Farewell.”

“Ah, w-wait!”

Not hearing her restraining me, I begin to move at high speed a little off the city streets. The sight of leaving the surrounding scenery behind is always exhilarating and very pleasant.

I was able to escape this time because of the distance between me and the other person, but if this was face-to-face, I might not be able to escape next time…….

With these thoughts in mind, I proceeded toward the labyrinth city. Passing through Raganfeild territory, I continued eastward through the neighboring territory of MacGregor.

The MacGregor area, by the way, has nothing of note, but merely serves as a conduit between Raganfeild and Gargand, where the labyrinthine city is located.

Nevertheless, as it is a territory that must be passed through in order to travel between the two territories, its liveliness was not bad at all, and it was reasonably crowded.

“That’s Orargrand. That’s so much bigger than any city I’ve ever seen. ……”

As I said this, I was looking at a large city a few hundred meters away. The scale of the city is quite large, so huge that several Rendark cities could fit in it.

After another week had passed since I rescued the carriage from the bandits, I finally arrived at the labyrinthine city of [Orargrand].

Even though I’m not being serious, the fact that it took more than ten days even on my feet should give you an idea of how far it is to get here.

From where I am now, I can only see the outer walls surrounding the city and cannot see the full extent of it, but I can understand that it is quite a large city from the size I can see from this distance.

On the street, there were travelers and adventurers heading for the Labyrinth City, as well as peddlers pulling wagons. Deciding that I should not act too conspicuously, I walked toward the city at a pace that would not attract attention.

It was after another hour and a half of time had passed that I reached the entrance to the city after having sighted the city of Orargrand.

The line of people waiting in line at the gate was quite long, and it was easy to imagine that it would take quite some time. I was fed up with this, but I had no choice but to wait, so I just kept waiting until it was my turn.

“Next.”

Another hour passed, and finally, it was my turn. As a result, I was able to enter the city immediately without any particular problems. It was a little amusing that the soldier on duty at the gate was surprised to learn that my rank was C when I presented my guild card.

“Now, let’s see what the city looks like.”

After muttering that, I quickly observed the city with my head twisting and turning. It was a gesture of a countryman, but I like to think that the anticipation and temptation of coming to a new town are unavoidable.

The streets of Orargrand are not so different from those of Rendark, but the number of pedestrians is incomparably greater, and correspondingly, the main street is wide enough for two large wagons to pass each other.

The main streets are paved and lined with cobblestones in a regular pattern, and the horse-drawn carriages that pass by pass by smoothly. As the city is called a labyrinth city, many of the people who come and go are mainly armed adventurers, reminding me once again of the fact that this city is made up of dungeons.

“I should go to the Adventurers Guild first, but I don’t like the idea of meeting any more templates. Well, I have no choice but to go…….”

For the time being, I headed for the Adventurer’s Guild, which is at the end of the main street, not against the direction of the flow of people, to check the details at the Adventurer’s Guild.