Ch.14Oxville Exploration

In the first year A.S. (After Settlement), a fleet of immigrant ships appeared in the eastern waters of Grantis.

The first-generation immigrants who reached Grantis through what could only be called a miraculous coincidence built Mothertown and established their foundation for life, sparing no effort to find means to overcome two unfamiliar threats: black magic and monsters.

Finally, with the legacy of the Great Sage Deidric Asmad and cooperation from a small number of native tribes, the settlers obtained these means. Under the grand goal of western expansion, they moved westward and discovered land suitable for their first outpost.

The settlers installed a barrier to purify the black magic in a small plain surrounded by forests and hills with a river to the south. They built the monumental First Western City, obtaining food and leather from the Black Oxen that inhabited the area in herds, and abundant timber from the northern forests.

Completed in A.S. 52, the First Western City later established itself as the largest beef producer, enriching people’s tables through hunting and raising Black Oxen, and maintains that reputation even now in A.S. 101.

“That’s how the First Western City came to be named Ox’s Vill.”

“I see. So those black cattle herds are the local specialty that gave the First Western City its name.”

“That’s right. Not just leather and meat, but also crafts made from horns, cheese and butter from cow’s milk… It’s no exaggeration to say that Ox’s Vill revolutionized Grantis’s diet, which for 50 years consisted of just bread, potatoes, beans, and fish.”

On the afternoon of our fourth day in Grantis, Jessica and I, along with our companion Seti, emerged from the dense forest and stood on a hill where black cattle roamed, looking down at the city surrounded by log palisades in the distance.

Huh? About last night with Jessica? Nothing happened, really.

I had my doubts whether I’d get any sleep at all when I entered the tent first and lay down, but by the time Jessica came in after filling her canteen with ice, I was apparently completely knocked out. I nearly screamed when I opened my eyes in the morning to see Jessica’s face, but that’s not what’s important right now.

“Shall we enter this historic city of beef to gather the supplies and information Seti needs?”

“Yes. I’ve written down what I want to buy. Please get as much as you can with the money from selling the magic stone.”

Seti is a female beastkin who has long resided in Grantis, specifically a cat-folk whose tribe doesn’t get along well with the Pioneer Bureau. Since bringing Seti to Ox’s Vill would be too risky, Jessica and I will enter the city alone to purchase the travel supplies Seti wants and, if possible, investigate whether cat-folk can obtain Frontier Licenses, before rejoining Seti.

“How should we decide when and where to meet again?”

“Shopping is one thing, but I don’t know how long it will take to find out about Frontier Licenses for beastkin…”

“Then take my necklace. It has a whistle that cat-folk hunters use to signal each other.”

With those words, Seti removed the wooden ornament necklace from her neck and handed it to me. When I put the end of the twig-like ornament in my mouth and blew gently, it made an eagle-like “peeeeek” sound.

“I’ll camp hidden in the forest over there. Come to this hill and blow the whistle, and I’ll find you when I hear it.”

“Let’s plan to meet at noon tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll finish our investigation and shopping by then, but if we need more time, we can at least deliver your travel supplies first.”

“Sure. There’s no rush, so Will and Jessica should take your time relaxing in the city.”

After parting with Seti and entering Ox’s Vill, I could feel an atmosphere quite different from Mothertown. While Mothertown gave the impression of residential areas and shopping districts clustered here and there, Ox’s Vill’s structure was clearly divided: shops lined both sides of the main road that crossed east-west through the stockade, with residential areas spreading along alleys that branched away from the central road.

“Wow~ It feels like a much more developed city than Mothertown, even if it’s smaller!”

“Mothertown expanded its urban area gradually as the population grew, so it feels somewhat unplanned, but the western cities were thoroughly planned from site selection to design. Though there are detailed differences between each city, the basic design is similar.”

According to Jessica, the basic design of western cities typically features commercial areas and main facilities along the main street that crosses the city east to west, with government buildings like Pioneer Bureau branches or the mayor’s residence located along roads extending south or north from the center of the main street.

“What’s that tall tower over there?”

In the middle of the central intersection stood a white square tower rising like an obelisk. Its height, far exceeding the surrounding two-story buildings, caught my attention.

“Want to guess? As a hint, it’s an important facility that exists in every western city.”

“…Ah, is it the barrier?”

“Correct! The magic barrier that protects people from black magic is maintained by that building called the Great Barrier or Barrier Tower. It’s made of special metal refined by dwarves, so it won’t get even a scratch from ordinary impacts, but any action attempting to damage that facility is treated as a serious crime regardless of intent, negligence, success, or failure, and could lead to the death penalty in the worst case, so be extremely careful.”

“Wow… I guess that makes sense when you think about it.”

Grantis is covered with a harmful substance called “black magic” except for the eastern edge where Mothertown is located. Since long-term human survival is impossible within it, the basic form of the New Continent’s western pioneering project is to secure safe zones by installing barriers that purify the black magic within a certain range and then build cities.

It’s understandable that attempting to destroy a building that maintains such a barrier would be punished extremely severely, as it would be an act of terrorism pushing hundreds of city residents into a deadly swamp of black magic.

“Let’s see… should we find lodging first?”

“We should visit the Pioneer Bureau branch first. Government offices close earlier than shops.”

After passing through the central square along the main street, we started walking down the northern avenue where government offices were lined up.

Within less than 5 minutes of walking down the northern avenue lined with buildings like the sheriff’s office and disaster prevention center, we reached the New Continent Pioneer Bureau’s Ox’s Vill branch, but the main entrance was firmly closed, and not a single light shone through the curtained windows.

“It’s already closed?”

“Ah, sorry… I forgot today is the Day of Darkness.”

A year in Grantis consists of 12 months, a month has 5 weeks, a week has 6 days, and a day has 24 hours. The “Day of Darkness” is the last of the six days that make up a week—Light, Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Darkness—equivalent to a weekend, when most government offices except those essential for city maintenance, like the sheriff’s office, are closed.

“Bad timing… most shops on the main street were open though.”

“Regular shops don’t typically close on specific days. They usually operate all week and take days off according to the owner’s circumstances.”

“Then let’s come back tomorrow morning for Seti’s matter and find lodging first.”

“Good idea. We should look for suitable accommodations for adventurers in the western district.”

Though not legally mandated, there’s a tendency for shops east of the central square to cater to permanent residents and those in non-adventuring professions, while shops to the west cater to adventurers, mages, and others passing through. The direction “west” itself seems to have become a symbol of pioneering and adventure.

“Oh, that inn looks fancy.”

“Stay away from saloons with flowers drawn on either side of the name!!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Those places are… where you drink on the first floor and then pay for women to go upstairs.”

“Oh.”

A brothel combined with a bar and inn, I suppose. Such establishments would certainly exist in a western frontier era, but traveling with Jessica makes it impossible to frequent such places, so I turn away without hesitation.

“How about this one? It looks quite clean from the outside.”

“The Iron Horn Inn… let’s check it out.”

The second lodging we found was a fairly large and clean-looking building, and while Jessica inquired about accommodation at the counter, I looked around the first floor and noticed it had a completely different atmosphere from the Golden Sunrise Inn in Mothertown.

If the first floor of Golden Sunrise felt like a “family restaurant,” this place was definitely a “saloon.” With swing doors, a long bar table on one side, and a bartender at the counter stacked with beer barrels sliding a glass toward a customer sitting at the far end—it was the very essence of western frontier romance.

“I got two rooms. The rate is 1.5 gold per room per day, but all rooms have double-sized beds and attached bathrooms.”

“Oh, that’s nice. I’m starting to feel bad for Seti… Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Aside from the Frontier License issue, what about finding out if beastkin can enter western cities first? If Seti can enter Ox’s Vill, the three of us could shop together or visit the bureau together.”

“…That’s a good point. And if she stays in my room, there wouldn’t be any additional lodging fee.”

“Let’s drop off our luggage in the rooms and then ask around. Someone drinking at the bar might know something.”

“I’ll wait in the room then. When a woman approaches men at a bar to ask questions, things tend to get unnecessarily complicated.”

That’s true—there’s risk in a beautiful woman approaching drinking men to gather information. They might insist she drink with them before answering, or lie to get her attention.

I’ll collect information on my own since I’m a man.