Volume 2 - CH 150

“Sigh-, I can finally see it.”

“The road we took once feels so short, but when we pass over the day like this, it feels so long.”

It had been ten days since we drove the carriage.

We finally made it to the point where we could see the walls of the Kingdom of Salettana, but we would not be able to reach it without being shaken by the carriage for another hour.

The reason the outside of the castle is so broad is probably to prevent surprise attacks by the enemy, but it is probably not my imagination that I feel it is too large.

I think it must be difficult for adventurers to go there to accomplish their requests if the place is this big.

However, they are not the only ones who have to worry about it, since we will be among them.

“Ouren-sama, is there any sign of an ambush?”

“There’s no sign of an attack. I thought the bandits from that time are returning. …… How about Uchikage?”

“I don’t see any sign of them either.”

The last time we took this road, we were attacked by bandits in the Yagul Mountain Range, so we are a little more vigilant.

Since the bandits had more than enough time to recover at that time, we are always on the lookout from the Yagul Mountains, but in the end there was no such attack until we saw the Kingdom of Salettana, so we are a little out of the loop.

However, we cannot afford to be careless just because they did not appear, so we take turns keeping watch at night, and when we move around, I use my searching skills and Uchikage’s detecting ability to always be on the lookout for them, which makes us feel like fools.

It would be better if they don’t come out, but I feel like yelling at them to come out since they are so well prepared.

It is the same feeling I have when I am fishing and the float sinks a little, but in the end, the bait is just pinched and the fish runs away.

But we have not yet reached the Kingdom of Salettana, so we must not let our guard down.

I don’t think they will appear anyway, but I still have to do what I have to do.

It would be troublesome if we were to make a preemptive move if we were too late in discovering them.

“……, but if it’s this vast, there’s no point in looking for them.”

“We can see where they’re coming from. The only thing to watch out for is passing carriages.”

” Ah, I see. In a place like this, that’s the way they attack.”

The bandits would hide in the carriages and, at the right moment, jump out and attack.

Certainly that would allow them to approach almost unnoticed, and they would not have to show themselves, since the coach only needs to signal them to do so.

I’m not sure about doing this close to the country, but there is still a lot of distance to cover, and such a strategy is probably feasible.

” But we should still be vigilant, right?”

“Yes.”

We were finally able to enter the Kingdom of Salettana, although it was a little anticlimactic, as there was no attack when we eventually reached the Kingdom of Salettana.

◆

It had been about two months since I had been to the Kingdom of Salettana, and little had changed except that there were fewer people there than when I had been here before.

The first time I came here, I could not do much sightseeing because of all the reasons for coming here, but this time I plan to use this place as a base to move around for a while, so I will be able to take my time to explore this country.

I left Starhorse at the same place as last time and went to get lodging on Uchikage’s recommendation.

This time, the lodging was in a different place from the previous one. We asked Uchikage why the inn was different from the previous one, and he told us it was because the Adventurers’ Guild was located close to our lodgings.

Normally, we would return to the inn after completing a request at the guild.

Walking back to the guild was also a hassle, so they preferred to stay close to the adventurers’ guild.

These places are often crowded with people, but this time there was an empty room, so we were able to find a place to stay right away.

Yurie and Rose were also staying at the same inn and had already checked in.

So, what will you do now, Ouren-sama?”

“…… can you go back into that basement and see what’s going on? I will go to Irza’s store.”

“Understood.”

My biggest concern right now is those slaves.

I’m also curious about the basement, so I’ll leave that to Uchikage, and I’d like to hear a little more about it from Irza.

I don’t know if Irza is aware of the slaves, but I explained to her about the basement, so maybe she knows something about them.

I wondered what to do about Reizen and Alena, but they didn’t seem to be in the mood to follow me.

They were looking around busily with sparkling eyes, curious about the streets of the Kingdom of Salettana.

I thought they were tired from the long journey, but …… they didn’t seem to be that way.

But with just the two of them, who knows what they might do. Especially Reizen.

However, I couldn’t let Alena go alone, so I was wondering what to do when the two S-rank adventurers who had checked in returned.

“Rose, can you take care of Reizen and Alena for me?”

“Eh? What do you mean by taking care of them?”

“Something like show them around the city. I’m a little worried if it’s just the two of them. ……”

“That makes sense. I understand. Then, Yurie, will you report the completion of the request and exchange the materials for cash?”

“Okay, I’ll borrow Rose’s magic bag.”

They assigned things to do in a short conversation, and Yurie quickly left the inn.

Rose knows that Yurie does not want to be with Reizen, so it was a good decision to separate them by making other plans on the spur of the moment.

“Okay, Rose, Uchikage, take care.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Leave it to me.”

Uchikage was gone in an instant, and Rose trots up to Reizen and Alena and offers to show them around the city.

They accepted Rose’s offer and were given a tour.

Alena quickly pulled Rose by the hand and took her outside.

“Alright, I should go too.”

After watching them leave, I stretched lightly to see where they were going, and muttered a few words to myself.

◆

After walking straight down the familiar road, I finally reached Irza’s magic tool store.

Although I sometimes mistakenly thought I was lost because I had only been down this road a few times, I still managed to find a familiar house or store and was convinced that I was on the right road.

However, even though I had arrived at the Irza Mage Shop, for some reason I could not believe that this was my destination.

The Irza Magic Tool Shop that I remembered was a place where few people came and went, and it had an atmosphere that would have made anyone who saw it say that the house might have been a witch’s home.

However, the Irza Magic Tool store in front of me now has no such atmosphere, and is full of activity, with a line of people waiting in front of the store.

People are repeatedly coming in and out of the store, and those who are leaving seem to have a bag or so in their hands, and the customers are smiling as if they have just made a good purchase.

“… What’s going on”

To find out the answer to this question, I decided to get in line at the back of the line.

I was probably a little bothered by the way people looked at me because I was dressed so differently in this country, but it only lasted for a little while and I didn’t mind it anymore because I was getting the same kind of looks on the way to the restaurant.

But …… I still don’t understand why it is so thriving.

What in the world has happened in the last two months?

“Hey, you got a minute?”

“What is it?”

“How did this place get so busy when it didn’t seem so busy just a few months ago?”

“Don’t you know? The atmosphere of the store changed drastically when the children started working here, didn’t it? Then, more and more people started coming in and out of the store. They say that the owner of this shop is that Irza-san, who is a specialist in the field of magic tools. You’d better buy it or you’ll miss out.”

Apparently more than half of it is my fault.

I had a bad feeling from the part about the kids starting to work here. ……

No, but …… why did it start blooming after those kids started working here?

From what this old lady said, I could tell that Irza was a famous person in some way, but if she was famous, the business would have been thriving even without the children.

“I guess I should just go inside and…… . Let’s hear from the person in question.”