episode_0057

After finishing all of Jonas’s tea and exchanging various stories, we departed.

It wasn’t difficult to find a carriage from our village to Brigal.

Given that laborers from the Kapumo Kingdom had worked in Brigal throughout the kingdom, the infrastructure for transportation was well established.

Due to the appearance of monsters two years ago, many laborers were laid off on a large scale, causing disruptions in travel. However, thanks to those who found other work or managed to stay longer due to various circumstances, the routes were not completely cut off.

Thanks to this, we were able to board another carriage crossing the land.

The coachman said it would take about a week.

“Such incredible speed,” Spectre remarked.

“Indeed,” I replied.

It had been approximately a week since we left the Labyrinth City.

Adding another week ahead meant two weeks in total.

Arriving from the Labyrinth City to Brigal in just two weeks was quite an absurdly fast pace, even considering crossing the continent.

When leaving the Labyrinth City, I had planned my tactics and strategies well, allowing us to board carriages crossing the land each time.

Before departing, I thought it would take at least a month to get there, but it was only half of that.

“…,” I mused over this rapid speed, while Kona, sitting in the corner, had a somber expression.

“Why the long face? We’re only a week away from Brigal. You’ll be able to meet Oneroi,” I said to Kona.

“Yes…”

Her response lacked enthusiasm.

“…Oneroi is a pure-blooded Elf, so he wouldn’t have aged at all.”

“…Is that so?”

Understanding what Kona might be contemplating as a long-lived species herself, I continued.

Her first love, a human boy, had married someone else. Even their childhood friends had married each other and had several children. Moreover, their faces had completely transformed into those of adults.

Kona was still young for her kind. While she might be considered an adult by human standards, her cognition and emotions were still within the realm of a child. This was a natural growth rate for her species.

Hence, the changes in her friends and surroundings must have felt abnormal, making it difficult for her to believe in something.

While I couldn’t be certain of her exact thoughts or details, Misty had shared many psychological issues that long-lived species faced in human society.

“And I might feel the same way.”

“You too…?”

“Yes. If you can’t believe it, come back in a hundred years and see for yourself.”

“A hundred years…”

“And you’ll become a grandmother before me.”

Kona was a Dark Elf of mixed blood, not a pure-blooded one. While the lifespan of mixed-blood Elves varied greatly, no case had exceeded 500 years yet.

As for me, despite being physically fit, there wasn’t a single wrinkle on my face when comparing myself 500 years ago to now.

Wrinkles? Not a single strand of facial hair has grown either.

Though the exact factors contributing to Evony’s longevity remained unknown, it was likely that the physiological process of aging had been suppressed by the Goddess herself.

“Indeed… It’s hard to imagine.”

Spectre responded.

“Lord Raswood still looks like he’s in his twenties…”

“Well, I’m sure I came to this world before turning thirty…”

I couldn’t recall exactly how old I was when I arrived here anymore. It had been 500 years already. I even forgot my own birthday.

“…How was your original home? It must have been different from where we live.”

“Hmm… It was quite remarkable in many ways.”

The carriage continued its journey silently, crafted from steel, soaring through the sky.

One could converse almost in real-time with someone on the opposite side of the Earth.

And one could cover the distance from the Labyrinth City to Brigal in just a day.

All of this… happened without magic or mana.

It truly was an unbelievable world.

“This world was so different from ours. There are no Elves or Goblins here. Only humans engage in civilized life.”

“That must have been quite a terrifying world.”

“Oh? Why do you think so?”

“Living as a mercenary, I’ve seen and fought various races, but humans were still the most vicious. Lord Rashwood knows better than I do.”

Indeed, Specter understands.

And I understand too.

No, I understand better.

Our Evony knows better than anyone.

The race of heroes who led the demon war for a hundred years to victory, extinct due to the desires of a single human.

There are still a few left, but as a race, we are already extinct.

“Yeah… that’s true.”

And once again, another Evony is about to fall into the hands of some human.

Humans are like that.

When they hold onto power beyond their capacity for too long, they easily become arrogant, and all thoughts and beliefs tend to deteriorate into maintaining power longer.

To ordinary people, even nonsensical actions are committed casually.

If Slone of Brigal is causing trouble for Steria…

“I’m human too, after all.”

***

The journey from the Kapumo Kingdom to Brigal was uneventful.

Stopping in villages along the way to rest the horses and have meals.

We kept a good distance from Horanse and the Spearhead Warriors, so we shouldn’t be caught up with them.

Of course, to hurry things along, I slipped some money to the coachman.

Thanks to that, we could shorten the journey by two days.

In total, it took about 11 days to reach the Labyrinth City.

“Here is Brigal…”

The Brigal border checkpoint was the strictest we had seen so far.

Not exactly a state of alert, but there were quite a lot of soldiers and guards, unusually.

“What’s going on here? Why are there so many people?”

Even the coachman seemed a bit puzzled as he asked the guard outside.

“Oh, it’s just the Jimmyson delegation. Nothing to worry about. They’re just passing through.”

“Delegation? Ah, an important figure is coming.”

“Yes. So finish up quickly and head back. If you happen to annoy them, you’ll be the only one in trouble.”

“Understood… If you heard him, please come down quickly.”

At the coachman’s words, we all got off the carriage and went to the checkpoint.

“Where are you coming from?”

The checkpoint guard asked.

His armor gleamed as if specially oiled.

Moreover, he wore a decent cloak.

Probably for the ceremony.

It must be because of Krisha and the Spearhead Warriors.

Either news of Krisha leaving Brigal hasn’t reached here yet, or they’re trying to conceal it from the public by acting as usual.

Even if not, Krisha came to fulfill a protection mission personally designated by the king for the royal wedding of this country.

Formality is necessary, especially concerning the royal family and anyone associated with the king.

“Loredia. A mercenary from Loredia.”

Instead of me, Specter stepped forward and showed his credentials.

Information about me has probably already reached the Brigal military and royal officials, so we decided to use him as a front.

Kona originally hails from Brigal and has a rather noticeable appearance, so we bought a hooded cloak in a village we visited and had him wear it.

“Ah, is it because of that too? Lady Loredia’s husband, Sir Slone, is marrying Her Highness.”

“That’s right. It’s on the way through the Kapumo Kingdom, and since Brigal is quite close, I really wanted to see it.”

“I see. But what about the two behind you?”

“Do they have identification?”

“Well… The child is too young to have one yet, and my colleague lost his on the way here.”

“What? In that case, I can’t let them in.”

“Please…”

Specter discreetly offered a few gold coins.

“Oh…! Haha, this isn’t right…”

The guard’s eyes widened at the unexpected sight of receiving gold coins.

And then, he sighed and accepted it, stepping aside.

“…”

He spent more money than he had thought.

If it weren’t for the money he received from the soldiers of Brigal, he would have been quite tired.

We crossed the border and found a new inn in a nearby village.

Originally, Kapumo Kingdom and Brigal were places with frequent exchanges, so there were many long-distance carriages.

However…

“Go to the capital from here? Sorry, but you can’t go like that.”

The innkeeper living in the Brigal border village said.

“No other innkeepers except you?”

“It’s not about that. No one in this village can do it.”

“Why? Is the road blocked?”

“Well, there is a road, but only carriages approved by the royal family can travel on it. It’s about money. Wealthy merchants or nobles, you know.”

“So how do people without approval get to the capital?”

“They have to take a detour.”

“Um… So, roughly how long does it take to get to the capital from here?”

“Well… Even if you take the fastest route, it will probably take 5 days.”

“What? 5 days?”

“It can’t be helped. Since we can’t use the direct roads.”

“Um… So, what’s the situation with the roads?”

“First of all, the road towards the mine is the fastest. People from Kapumo often come there.”

…!

The mine…

“I heard that monsters come out there…”

“Oh? Are you guys perhaps… adventurers or mercenaries here to subdue the monsters near the mines again?”

“Something like that… We were planning to visit the capital first, but could you tell us more about the mine? I heard there are three mines.”

As the innkeeper explained, there are indeed three mithril mines as Jonis described: the Tokart Mine visited by the Bold Wind adventurer team, the Virello Mine where Jonis worked, and the Jokonir Mine.

Although these three are relatively close, they are managed separately, preventing Kapumo workers from freely moving between them.

To manage the Kapumo mine workers effectively, the paths between the mines are well maintained and cleaned.

“How long does it take to visit all the mines?”

“Well, it shouldn’t take more than half a day. They are all close to each other.”

“Alright. Can we wait here while we investigate the mines?”

“Um…”

“We’ll compensate you.”

“If you waste half a day, um… I should receive at least one gold coin.”

“Fine… understood.”

Time is money.

Even for someone like me.

“I’ll give you the rest when we arrive at the mining village.”

The innkeeper nodded, and we got back into the carriage.

I’ve lost count of how many carriages we’ve taken already.

If this were Earth, this entire journey wouldn’t have taken more than three days.

We rode the carriage around lunchtime and arrived at an inn in the mining area by evening.

It was eerily quiet, perhaps because there were no Kapumo workers around.

“We should have gone to one more village originally, but we’ll wait here.”

I tossed a gold coin to the innkeeper who said that and he chuckled as he entered the inn.

“But, Rashwood. What about Kona? Should I take her to the inn while we investigate?”

Spect asked.

“…No, let’s all go.”

The sentence on Kona’s chest.

He needed to understand its connection to the mine.

Of course, Stellia’s matter was urgent too.

But… Sometimes, after living for a long time, you feel it.

A kind of fate-like thread between two different events.

And now is precisely that moment.