Ch.270Chapter 270 – The History of Firenzena

A few days after passing through the warp heading to the Kingdom of Firenchena.

I was quietly driving the carriage.

Beside me, Beatrice, who was sitting there to guide our way, raised one finger and began lecturing me.

She seemed to be in a very good mood, perhaps wanting to convey the excellence of her homeland now that she had returned, as she started her lecture about the Kingdom of Firenchena.

“So, the Kingdom of Firenchena used to be an empire.”

Beatrice continued her explanation with a smile.

“It happened long ago, when the Demon War broke out. While many kingdoms were responding to the demons’ invasions and falling to ruin, there was one small kingdom.”

Beatrice took a slight breath before continuing.

“This country had always been a source of magic stones, an extremely valuable resource. Naturally, it was attacked by demons, and the kingdom was gradually pushed to the brink of destruction.”

It was a time when even stronger nations couldn’t withstand the demons’ attacks and were falling.

Beatrice added that the small country hadn’t immediately fallen simply because the demons thought they could conquer it anytime and thus didn’t attack aggressively.

“Of course, the country became more devastated with each passing day. The demons’ attacks may have been relatively loose, but they were still too powerful for that country to handle.”

So the country was walking toward destruction day by day.

“Then one day, the princess left the palace with only a few attendants, saying she would find a way for the kingdom to survive. After wandering for months, she brought an adventurer party to that tiny country, calling them their hope, and declared she would spare no support for them.”

Beatrice paused briefly to check my reaction, and seeing that I was still listening, she smiled lightly.

Then she continued.

“Naturally, people criticized the princess. ‘In this crisis, how could you support adventurers who came from who knows where!’ they said. But the princess didn’t bend her will to any criticism. Even when the king himself stepped in and cut off her support, she sold her own dresses to continue supporting them.”

“That was quite a devotion.”

“That’s how much the princess believed in them.”

At first glance, it might have sounded like a foolish princess was enchanted by an adventurer party and walking a path to self-destruction.

“And fortunately, the princess’s faith was rewarded.”

Beatrice said with a grin.

“That adventurer party eventually took the head of the demon commander attacking the kingdom and began driving away the surrounding demons with their power alone. The small country was saved and was able to regain stability faster than neighboring countries at the time.”

Beatrice said that the stabilized country became a solid support for that adventurer party until the end of the war.

“At this point, can you guess who that adventurer party was, Togu?”

I nodded at Beatrice’s question.

From the beginning, if we’re talking about the most active adventurer party during the Demon War, the answer was already set.

“It must be the Hero’s party.”

“Correct.”

The seed of hope that the princess found was none other than the Hero’s party.

At that time, they had just formed their party, and with the princess’s aid, they were able to safely build their strength and become reliable supporters until the end of the war.

“When the Hero finally beheaded the Demon King, the princess ascended to the throne amid everyone’s praise. And the country’s name was changed to her name.”

“That country’s name…”

“Yes. It’s Firenchena.”

The princess who saved her country and played a major role in saving the world was greatly honored by having the country named after her.

“Afterward, Queen Firenchena absorbed surrounding wastelands and small countries, greatly expanding the nation, and lived a long life… Three generations later, the kingdom grew powerful enough to be called an empire.”

“It seems the queen and her descendants were all quite capable.”

No matter how excellent the queen was, she couldn’t have grown the country like that alone.

It must have been possible because all three generations after her were also highly capable.

Beatrice nodded and said:

“Correct. The kings of that time were all praised as wise rulers. …Well, after that, various things happened, and the territory split again. The Kingdom of Mikea was also created around this time when one of the imperial family members declared independence with their supporters. The divided empire fell back to kingdom status.”

So it seemed they had returned to being the Kingdom of Firenchena now.

Still, the territory was much larger than in the old days, she said.

“Well, that’s the history of the Kingdom of Firenchena. Pretty impressive history, right?”

“I can see it has a glorious past.”

I understood well that it was a country with a past powerful enough to once be called an empire.

“But I didn’t expect the streets of such a glorious country to be this depressed.”

“I know, right?”

Beatrice said with a deep sigh.

People without smiles and weak footsteps adorned the streets that had lost their vitality.

Even in what appeared to be the marketplace, few people were having any meaningful conversations beyond some haggling over food items with heavy faces.

“…Indeed. The atmosphere is not good.”

That was what Beatrice said as she looked around with concerned eyes.

“I wonder what happened?”

“To find out, we first need to gather information.”

Beatrice said, pointing ahead.

“And for that, let’s unpack our things first.”

“Sure.”

I nodded as I looked at the seemingly high-quality inn that Beatrice was pointing to.

+

After leaving Muu and the carriage in their care, some time passed.

It was during dinner at the restaurant.

“The prices are ridiculously high.”

I asked Ivre, who was slightly frowning with dissatisfaction.

“Very expensive?”

“Yes. The prices of all items, especially food, have risen significantly.”

Ivre spoke quietly, having apparently investigated the market rates as soon as we arrived at the inn.

Then she sighed and said:

“It’s not that we can’t afford it, but even the cost of staying at this inn greatly exceeds what I had budgeted.”

Looking at Ivre, Beatrice sighed and said:

“I’m sorry, but there weren’t any better options? This is the most cost-effective inn in this area that meets our requirements.”

“I suppose so.”

Ivre agreed with Beatrice’s words.

However, she let out a small sigh while looking at the dinner menu.

“It seems the overall prices have risen due to the spreading chaos.”

“And maritime trade has been almost completely blocked, it seems.”

According to the information we heard from Kara before coming here, the Emiris Order had released sea dragons to disrupt the Kingdom of Firenchena’s maritime trade.

In this situation, trade through the sea couldn’t possibly be functioning properly.

“In the end, it’s all because of the Emiris Order.”

Ivre muttered quietly.

Of course, she intended for only us to hear, but she was still carefully scanning her surroundings as she spoke.

Sia addressed her:

“Don’t worry. There’s no one watching or eavesdropping.”

Despite Sia’s reassurance, which was certainly reliable given her good intuition, Ivre smiled lightly and said:

“Still, we should be cautious. This is a place where the Emiris Order has tremendous influence.”

“We’ll be careful.”

“Sera, try not to separate from the group if possible.”

“Yes.”

Sera, who was wearing a hood, nodded in response to my words.

And beside her, Chris asked:

“…Do you think someone will attack us here too?”

“Have you ever seen that order care about appearances?”

After thinking for a moment at my question, Chris nodded and answered:

“No, I haven’t.”

If they were a sensible religious order that cared about such things, they wouldn’t have sent sea dragons just because someone disobeyed them.

As we continued our conversation, the food started to arrive one by one.

When the table was set with dishes mostly chosen by Chris, along with foods that Beatrice had strongly recommended as local specialties, Ivre quietly nodded and said:

“It smells good.”

Though she said that, her face didn’t look too pleased, as if it was exactly what she had expected.

Sia patted Ivre’s shoulder and said with a smile:

“I know you manage our money, but forget about it for now and enjoy the meal.”

“I suppose so.”

Soon everyone picked up their utensils.

And Beatrice said with an expectant voice:

“Well then, let’s eat.”

With Beatrice’s words, everyone began eating without waiting for anyone else.

And Beatrice, eating a pasta dish topped with melted cheese, happily said:

“This is the taste of home…”

“Is cheese famous here?”

Chris asked while eating a meat dish covered with melted cheese.

Beatrice smiled and explained:

“Cheese isn’t exactly a specialty here. People of Firenchena just love melted cheese dishes, so they keep it stocked in their storehouses.”

“Cheese?”

“Well, there are various reasons… but never mind that. Anyway, it’s delicious, right? Try it.”

At Beatrice’s urging, I put the food in my mouth.

With melted cheese in the dish, I thought it would be hard for it not to taste good.

“Delicious, right?”

“Yes.”

I nodded in response to Beatrice, who asked with anticipation.

It seemed that from her perspective, as it was her hometown’s food, she slightly hoped that others would enjoy it too.

According to Ivre, the price was high compared to the quality, but it still tasted good, so when I affirmed this, Beatrice seemed pleased.

The meal continued for a while, and soon Sia quietly began to ask:

“So, what are we going to do now?”

“We need to go to the port first, right?”

I said this because our destination was on the sea, so we needed to go to a port nearby first.

But Sia shook her head, indicating that wasn’t what she meant:

“No, I’m talking about the sea dragons. I want to know what we’re going to do about them.”

“Basically, the strategy for sea dragons is to lure them onto land before fighting them.”

Beatrice said, waving her fork around.

“Well, sea dragons avoid being forcibly brought onto land because their home turf is in the water. It’s disadvantageous for them.”

“Not deadly, just disadvantageous?”

“They’re not fish, so they don’t immediately die when dragged onto land.”

Beatrice added that there’s still risk because they struggle even harder to survive in that state.

“I’ve heard that people often fall into the water during that struggle. If the sea dragon escapes the encirclement and returns to the sea, those people end up dying.”

“I’d like to avoid that.”

It might not be over until it’s over, but I’d rather not die by getting caught in a sea dragon’s thrashing and falling into the sea.

“…So we need to prepare for the worst case of falling into water.”

“Right. I’d like to avoid underwater combat… rather, we should think about tools to quickly escape if we fall into the water.”

Beatrice finished speaking.

And at her mention of tools, I immediately looked at Sera.

For medicine, go to a pharmacist; for tools, go to an alchemist.

Sera can do both.

“Sera.”

“Fortunately, I’ve already been preparing the tools you mentioned.”

Sera said with a smile.

“It was also a tool my grandmother made long ago, so I know the formula. And I happen to have the materials.”

“Can you make many?”

“Yes. I’m thinking of reinforcing the strength too, just in case.”

Sera answered confidently.

Looking at her, I smiled and said:

“You’re working hard.”

“It’s for you, Kei. This much is nothing.”

Sera smiled brightly.

If she was this confident, I could leave the rest to her.

While conversing with Sera, the meal ended, and everyone started stacking their plates.

Ivre took the opportunity to quietly say:

“The sea dragon problem is one thing, but we also need to be careful going forward.”

Ivre spoke quietly.

“As you know, this is a place where the Emiris Order has strong influence… Our faces must have been circulated by now.”

“For that, the priest-like figures on the streets don’t seem to be paying much attention to us.”

“But there’s no harm in being cautious, right?”

Ivre smiled in response to Sia’s comment.

“Even if we’re vigilant, it feels like trouble finds us anyway.”

“Surely not this time?”

Chris said with a smile.

“If we’re a little careful this time, I think everything will be peaceful!”

“I hope so.”

I answered with a smile to Chris’s words.

Considering the turbulent state of affairs here, it was easy to guess that this wouldn’t be an entirely peaceful journey.

“Still, we have to do our best.”

It might not be easy to have a peaceful journey, but rather than giving up from the start, it’s better to do our best until the end.

At the very least, I hope no one gets hurt.

‘No, I won’t let anyone get hurt.’

I changed my thinking and renewed my determination.

‘I will protect them without fail.’

I quietly made my resolve while watching my companions discussing our future plans—to ensure that these comrades who had overcome many difficulties with me wouldn’t be harmed by anyone.