Ch.364Chapter 364 – Gema Harbor (1)

There was no problem docking the ship at the harbor.

“No one’s coming out.”

Normally, when a ship enters port, someone managing the harbor would come out to check what kind of vessel had arrived.

But no one came.

It seemed like there was no harbor manager to begin with.

“…Was Gema Harbor always this quiet?”

“No, it wasn’t. It’s not an enormous harbor, but it’s still considered fairly sizeable.”

Eve answered Serra’s question.

“If there were a big festival in a nearby city, it might explain the reduced number of people. But there’s no such festival at this time of year, and if there were a major celebration in the area, they would likely hold it here at Gema Harbor, given its considerable size.”

“So it’s not a place where people would just disappear without reason.”

Beatrice added to Eve’s explanation.

Soon after, she looked around and quietly said:

“I can see a broken door over there. Could there have been a monster attack?”

“I wasn’t going to mention this, but if that were the case, there would be corpses somewhere. …Besides, looking closely at that broken door, something seems odd.”

“Odd, you say?”

Sia nodded at Chris’s question.

“There’s a hole where the doorknob should be. The wood is cracked all over, so it could be coincidence, but doesn’t it feel like whoever attacked it knew breaking that spot would open the door?”

After hearing Sia’s words, I took another look at the door Beatrice had spotted.

It looked as if someone had smashed the doorknob area with a blunt weapon and calmly opened the door.

Looking more carefully, something like a tablecloth was sprawled underneath.

‘I can’t tell more than this.’

Since we hadn’t disembarked yet as a precaution, there was a limit to what we could see from this position.

To learn more, we would need to go ashore and investigate.

“…Togu, what are we going to do?”

“First, we need to secure the ship’s safety.”

After looking around at our companions, I spoke to Diana.

“Since we don’t know what danger might be present, my companions and I will disembark and scout the area.”

“Will you be enough on your own?”

“Better than having too many people disembark and risking greater casualties.”

I said to Diana:

“We’ll decide whether to proceed as planned after we’ve investigated.”

“Very well.”

Diana nodded.

And just as I was about to tell our group to disembark:

“Wait, please take us with you.”

“Captain Kurs?”

The former Emiris Order’s holy knight, Kurs, and his subordinates stepped forward.

After exchanging glances among themselves, Kurs spoke quietly:

“Three of us would like to join the scouting party as escorts for the Goddess and the Saint. In these uniforms, we’re unmistakably holy knights of the Order, and if there are any residents, we might be able to facilitate communication more smoothly.”

I nodded at Kurs’s words.

Since this entire country worshipped the Emiris Order, someone who had belonged to that Order would likely gain trust more easily.

Of course, assuming the harbor people were hiding somewhere, it could be helpful.

But to prepare for contingencies, I had to ask one thing:

“It could be dangerous, you know?”

We didn’t know what we might encounter.

When I warned Kurs, he nodded firmly and said:

“That’s what we’re hoping for.”

His eyes were resolute.

They were eyes that would follow even if I tried to stop them.

I nodded and looked back at Diana.

“Then we’ll take our group, plus Kurs and three more.”

“Do as you wish.”

After saying that, Diana turned to one of the sailors and said:

“Lower the ladder. And tell everyone to maintain vigilant watch of the surroundings.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The sailor answered energetically and began running across the deck.

As I watched the sailors moving what looked like a sturdy ladder, I quietly gazed at Gema Harbor.

For some reason, I had a bad feeling.

+

The ladder was lowered in an instant, and we quickly climbed down from the ship.

While watching Diana giving instructions to the sailors above to prepare for contingencies, Kurs approached me and said:

“We’ll take the lead. Please follow behind us.”

After saying this, Kurs quietly added:

“If we fall into a trap, and you judge that you don’t have the capacity to save us, please abandon us and protect the Goddess and the Saint.”

“You shouldn’t say such things carelessly. Chris wouldn’t like it.”

Indeed, Chris was looking at the three knights with a worried expression.

Kurs noticed this too and, with what seemed like a moved expression, nodded and said:

“Understood. We’ll be careful.”

“Let’s move then.”

At Sia’s words, Kurs nodded.

Soon, the three holy knights positioned themselves in front of us and began advancing while keeping watch on the surroundings.

Finding this scene too awkward, Beatrice slightly tilted her head and spoke to me:

“…Hey Togu, I’m feeling really uncomfortable with those armored people in front of us. What should I do?”

“Bear with it.”

Though I answered Beatrice like that, I was also feeling quite uncomfortable. Since the Emiris Order’s holy knights were our enemies, we’d been attacking them without hesitation whenever we saw their armor, so it felt strange to see allies wearing it.

Still, I endured and looked around the area.

Particularly examining the condition of the buildings, I quietly said:

“…This definitely wasn’t the work of monsters.”

Looking at the broken doors and windows, some were completely shattered, but as Sia had pointed out earlier, there were many traces of targeted destruction at the parts that would open the doors.

It felt like they had been forcibly twisted open to enter the buildings.

“Kay.”

“…Let’s look around more.”

I quietly responded to Eve’s words.

For some reason, I had a feeling there would be no survivors in the harbor, but it was better to check thoroughly just in case.

At the very least, we needed to confirm who had done this.

“Who would do something like this?”

“This is the Holy Kingdom, what kind of brazen bastard would dare to…”

The holy knights walking ahead exchanged comments.

The Emiris Order was the largest religious order on the continent.

To make all the people in a harbor of their territory disappear without a trace wasn’t just a provocation.

Unless they had significant backing or confidence in their fighting ability, it was essentially declaring they were ready to be hunted by fanatics spread throughout the country.

So normally, this kind of thing couldn’t happen.

But it did.

“Togu.”

“I know.”

Beatrice spoke quietly as if she had noticed something, and I nodded in agreement.

I had thought of one place that wouldn’t fear retaliation from the Order.

But since it was still at the level of suspicion without confirmation, I kept quiet.

“…Should we go deeper inside?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Kurs nodded at my words.

We had already looked around the immediate harbor area, and only the deeper parts of the city remained.

We could turn back at this point, but…

“They say to test the bridge before crossing it.”

I felt it was too early to judge that everything was fine when we hadn’t explored all areas.

Just as we nodded to each other and were about to enter an alleyway:

-Clunk, clunk.

The sound of something heavy rolling approached.

After quickly exchanging glances with everyone, we entered the nearest building.

Immediately, the holy knights, Sia, and Eve each took positions at doors or windows to keep watch, while Beatrice and I climbed the building’s wall and lay flat on the roof.

Then we looked in the direction from which the heavy sound had come.

‘…A large, iron cage?’

It looked like a cage used for transporting prisoners or large animals.

It had four large wheels attached, and judging by its size and bulk, it seemed quite heavy.

Something like a cloth covered it, so we couldn’t see inside.

‘That’s big enough to be audible to us.’

It was a large prison with considerable weight.

But the problem was that such a thing shouldn’t suddenly appear.

I wondered who was pulling it and what was pulling it as I examined it closely.

And seeing the large humanoid figure pulling the iron cage, I muttered involuntarily:

“…What is that?”

It wasn’t just a person.

Its upper body and legs were excessively large.

The head was much smaller than its body, giving the impression it was buried in the upper torso.

It was wearing or wrapped in something metallic in various places.

And beside it, accompanying these giants were:

Black-armored holy knights.

‘…Then what they’re transporting is…’

Just as I was about to realize what might be inside:

Suddenly, a commotion broke out inside the iron cage.

“…Hey, you at least…!”

“…Get out and help!”

Human voices could be heard.

And then, whether the people inside collectively started to resist or had fortunately been able to prepare:

The cage door opened, and people burst out from inside.

And instead of each fleeing separately, they all began to grab the surrounding black knights or giants.

The black knights started to strike them with weapons, and the giants began to grab people and throw them back into the cage.

Some people managed to scatter during that moment of commotion, and one of them could be seen running desperately.

Unfortunately, in our direction.

And predictably, a black knight could be seen chasing after that person.

The fleeing person, though their face wasn’t clearly visible, appeared to be female based on their build.

“Togu.”

“Those people will know what happened.”

Watching the situation unfolding from a distance, I spoke to Beatrice.

“Use magic to relay the situation to those below.”

“Got it. Togu, what about you?”

“I’ll deal with the one coming this way first.”

Beatrice nodded at my words.

Simultaneously, I started running across the rooftops.

I jumped from one roof to another, heading toward the direction of the black knight and the woman.

“Ouch!”

The sound of the running woman falling down reached my ears.

In response, the footsteps approaching from below slowed slightly.

“Don’t come, don’t come…!!”

The terrified woman’s voice began to be heard.

There was a sound of something heavy scraping the ground, as if she was desperately crawling backward.

“Someone, someone please save me, don’t come…!!”

A desperate voice filled with terror could be heard.

Perhaps in response, the black knight’s footsteps seemed to stop.

‘Now’s the time.’

I immediately jumped down from the building and swung my weapon at the black knight.

-Kwang!!

I saw the black knight block my swiftly swung halberd with his shield.

But my appearance was clearly unexpected, and the knight’s stance crumbled.

I quickly changed my halberd to a sword, stabbed the knight’s shoulder, then pulled out the sword while pushing the enemy back and slashing at his legs.

The holy relic easily cut through the enemy’s armor, and I saw him lose balance and fall.

Without hesitation, I followed up and drove my sword into his neck.

“One down for now.”

Whether I had dealt with him quicker than expected, or they were busy recapturing people, there was no sign of enemy reinforcements coming this way.

On the contrary, I could see Sia, Beatrice, and Kurs emerging from the building and approaching me.

I immediately spoke to Kurs:

“Captain Kurs, this person first…!”

“Yes!”

Kurs immediately knelt down and approached the woman.

However, the woman began clinging to me instead.

“Please! Please save the people of our village! The Emiris Order people!”

“Calm down…”

“Please, please!!”

The woman clung to me, almost embracing me.

Flustered, I tried to stand her upright, but her arms caused my helmet to lift, revealing my face.

‘Should I knock her unconscious?’

I quickly lowered my helmet again while seriously considering that thought as I looked at the woman.

And then, both the woman and I simultaneously wore blank expressions.

“You are…”

“Wh-what…?!”

A dumbfounded sound escaped from the woman’s lips.

It was as if she never expected to see this face here.

I felt the same way, as this was a face I never thought I’d see here, so I could recognize that expression.

And immediately, I called out the other person’s name:

“…Ms. Anna?”

“You’re the one who saved me in the mountains…!”

The first person I met after escaping the island.

The herbalist Anna was pointing at me with her finger.