CH 86

The Countryside

After crossing the border and entering the holy empire of Rabahask, my first destination was the next town of Nelral.

It was my destination, because I had something I wanted to do there. However, it wasn’t to do with the town itself. I wanted to gather information about my next destination, the capital of Moberal.

Though, I had no real purpose in the capital. My purpose was to go around it.

As it was the largest city in the area, there were a lot of farming villages around Moberal. If I traveled through these villages, I could go around the main road. My plan was to test Reverse Age while doing that.

Currently, I could not go back too far anyway, so this was not an opportunity I could afford to lose. But if it’s a rural area, even if rumors had circulated, I intended to push through any minor discrepancies.

After leaving the village where I ate rice…kurun, the town of Nelral was just across the river. Surprisingly close.

On top of the hill that appeared beyond the rice paddy fields stood a stone castle that gave off an indescribable feeling of strangeness, as if a mix of Eastern and Western influences.

The walls and castles built in the town were primarily for dealing with monsters. Of course, there may have been wars between humans as well, but the threat of monsters was more immediate and everyday.

As I approached and looked closely, the gate and walls of Nelral’s castle exuded a strange atmosphere with patterns and lines of stone statues of monsters.

Even when I went through the gate, the atmosphere was the same. There were stone monsters placed on the roofs of buildings and in front of stores. The most popular one was a demon with horns. It was probably an ogre. The second most popular was a winged demon. Maybe a gargoyle?

It was the same at the Adventurers Guild. I left Mulze at the stables, and walked under the roof, where the stone ogres gazed down, and entered the building.

After registering at the reception desk, I paid the information fee and asked in detail about the locations of the villages around the capital city.

As a result, I found a route from my inn that would allow me to go around while traveling through the villages.

After finishing my search, the next place I visited was a shoe store. It would be no good to have two feet again, if I had no shoes to wear.

“I need a pair that I can take now. Have you got anything?”

I asked. I did not want to wait for an order to complete. Besides, if I failed, it would be a great waste of money, which would cause further mental anguish.

“To be used now, eh? For that foot?”

He said, pointing at my prosthetic leg. It was not particularly unusual to wear shoes over a prosthetic leg.

“Yes. I can fit it myself.”

I had no intention of doing that, of course.

“Hmm. Wait one moment.”

So saying, he went to the back of the store and returned with a few pairs of shoes.

I chose and purchased a pair that was close to the right size.

“Thank you. You should probably buy a new pair of socks as well.”

“That’s none of your business.”

He talked a little more than necessary. In truth, there was a lot of pressure on my other foot, and so my socks became worn out faster. However, at least one pair of socks could be used for the same foot.

Aside from that, I just needed to restock on food, buy other supplies including socks, and then I had no more business in Nelral.

I stayed the night in an inn recommended by the guild, and left the following morning.

When I left through the gates and turned around, I thought that my eyes met one of the stone monsters on the ramparts.

As I stared…

“Hey, you’re in the way. Hurry up and move.”

Someone yelled at me from a carriage.

“Ah, sorry.”

I frantically climbed onto Mulze and moved out of the way.

Still, I decided to chat with the driver as I rode next to the carriage.

“By the way, do those statues have any meaning?”

“Ah, those. They are supposed to keep monsters away.”

So they were like gargoyles.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t see any dragons.”

“Apparently, a house that had a dragon statue on its roof got attacked by monsters once. But the other houses were safe. Well, I’m sure it doesn’t actually matter. You will be attacked no matter what monster you decorate your house with. But I suppose it helps ease one’s mind.”

“Well, easing one’s mind is important.”

“Haha, that is true.”

I waved my hand at the driver, and then we went our separate ways.

As I traveled along the highway towards the capital city Moberal, the journey went smoothly, with a continued view of rice paddies and fields.

The holy empire of Rabahask was larger than any country I had traveled through before. And as I was on the main road, there were few monsters and many villages, which meant that I didn’t need to camp outside.

There were plazas alongside the roads, where people would gather during the day from the fields, and cook their meals together. In the rivers, the children would swim and play. Even the forests I passed were small and I didn’t sense any monsters.

And so the road to the capital of Moberal was one of the most peaceful journeys I ever had.

However, that only lasted until I left the main road and started my route through the farming villages.

Paths between villages tended to wind endlessly through forests. Not only that, the roads were narrow and unreliable. The forests were dark, so it was difficult to see. But I could sense that there were monsters in the area.

And sometimes, I even encounter them.

On the road ahead, I saw three goblin silhouettes. It was almost nostalgic.

“Hey.”

I kicked Mulze’s sides, urging him on. And as I leaned forward, I let go of the reins and held Mine Breaker to the side.

“Hyah!”

The goblins screeched loudly as they saw me, and I slashed down while running past them.

As two-handed swords had long reach, I could hit enemies easily, even when on horseback. There were a few other goblins, but I left them and continued on my way.

If they were something fast, like wolves, I might stop and fight them. But I had no time to fight every goblin that I encountered.

Besides, the reason I was on these roads was not to visit any villages. I was trying to find a place where I could use Reverse Age without attracting any attention.

After midday, I finally found a small clearing in the forest, under the shadow of a great boulder.

I tied Mulze to a nearby tree, and then made sure that the area was safe. As I could not sense any monsters nearby, I sat down, leaned against the boulder, and removed my prosthetic leg.

I knew that it was highly unlikely that I would get my leg back. Still, Reverse Age was a skill from gods. So I would have to pray that it will work.

I had thought long and hard about how many years to go back. I had to go to 25 at the least, but I wanted to go even younger. But if I wanted to avoid anyone getting suspicious, 23 seemed like a safe age.

And so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Gulp.

I gulped and then opened my eyes again.

Now, let’s do it!

“Reverse Age. Reverse 4 years!”