episode_0062

Rantua is a prosperous country called one of the few paradises in the world. The rumors about such Rantua were famous enough to spread to distant countries beyond the cloud zone and the wilderness. I had only heard rumors like that.

“I never thought it would be this much.”

The coachmen and Donar saw it. The vast green plains seen when passing through the first fortress wall while driving the carriage. It was surprising to know that most of what made up the plains were grains like wheat used for food, though not all of it. Rantua was mass-producing food that other countries could not even dream of due to terrain and various problems. When I first saw Rantua’s fortress wall. There was a question of why it was built, as such a long fortress wall is difficult to build and manage.

In fact, much of the outer fortress wall, except for the entrance, was damaged as if it had not been managed for a long time. Looking down from such a high place, the irregular appearance is visible as it is, like a cross-section of a broken eggshell. However, things seen along with that were telling that the fortress wall was not just being neglected. Small and large villages, each with small walls built based on the outermost fortress wall, were distributed, and there was also a second fortress wall separating the outside and inside.

When Donar led the procession and arrived at the second fortress wall, he could see that it was well-maintained, unlike the first fortress wall. And he recalled the gatekeeper’s words he had heard before passing through. He said to be careful because he could not freely pass with the trade permit he was holding unless he had the permission of the lord governing each city. Rantua is called a paradise, but as it is ultimately a place where people live, he had expected there would be inevitable parts, but is it not completely different from other countries except that it is inside the same barrier as the allied countries?

Even the difference of whether you can pass the second fortress wall or not would be the difference between money and status. Perhaps the villages closest to the outermost wall are where the poor live, and those who are close to the second fortress wall even in the outer areas are farmers who need to be protected. Donar muttered with a bitter smile. It seems to be true that it is a prosperous country, but.

“It wasn’t just a paradise.”

“What is it?”

Then, he felt someone hugging his head from behind with a loving voice. He knew who she was without saying anything. He could feel the sensation of her soft breasts directly on the back of his head because he had taken off his helmet, and he called her as he felt his face getting hot.

“Sif.”

“What were you doing in a place like this?”

“What else would I be doing, enjoying the scenery, it’s quite a wonderful sight.”

Putting aside the complexity, he could not deny that the scenery here was beautiful. Sif also admired it as if she had noticed this sight only after hearing his words. The village built on the slope looks like one huge staircase with small, square buildings gathered together. And the sunset seen from such a huge staircase and the village receiving the sunset light was quite beautiful.

“Shall we make our home here?”

“I like it.”

As soon as he impulsively said that, Sif’s answer came back, and he burst into laughter. Then he remembered the wine that Git had given him when he passed through the cloud zone.

“By the way, where did that wine come from?”

Wine is expensive. Wine, which is made from precious fruits and well-aged, is hard for anyone but nobles to even take a sip of. If it were such a thing, it would have been listed on the trade list, but as far as Donar remembered, he had never seen wine or even alcohol. He had received it from Sif, but he thought he could not drink this precious thing carelessly, so he was just holding it.

“Wine? What wine are you talking about?”

“The one you gave me.”

Thinking that he was glad he didn’t drink it, he handed her the bottle that he had tied with a string and hung around his waist.

“This is the one you gave me, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“There was wine in it?”

“Wine?”

Even though it was something she told him to deliver, she looked like she didn’t know, so he had her open it and smell it.

“It does smell sweet. Is this wine?”

When he thought about it, wine was not something that could be easily encountered. He said, thinking that it was not strange that she didn’t know.

“Yes, it’s a very expensive one too.”

Donar had luckily tasted a lower grade before, so he knew that this wine was really good quality. The lower grade had a lighter scent than this, so it couldn’t be smelled properly, and it was really bitter. What she gave him was definitely a top-quality one that only nobles could drink. When he wondered where she got this, Sif hesitated and opened her mouth.

“Did that person give this to you?”

“Probably.”

According to Sif, before sending her to the merchant group, that person came to her and handed her a box, saying, “Never open this until you get married, and give it to your husband when you do.” Sif said that this bottle was what came out when she remembered that person’s words this time and opened it.

“Wait, then this means it’s a trousseau?”

“A trousseau?”

“It’s usually what the bride’s family sends when she gets married.”

There was no way they would use something like wine as a trousseau, but considering that person’s words, this wine was definitely a substitute for the trousseau. Did Sif realize that too? When they looked at each other’s faces, they could find faces that were red enough that even the sunset light could not hide. Sif fanned herself to cool her hot face, and Donar touched his forehead.

“Ahem, so what are we going to do? We can just drink it or sell it.”

“W, wouldn’t it be better to keep it for now? We decided to divide it as much as each person can buy after selling all the items, but just in case.”

Donar decided to store the wine separately as Sif said. Considering that person’s heart, it would be better to drink it together, but they might need money in case of an emergency. At the sound of the merchant group people calling them, the silver rings on their hands and necks were shining in the sunset.

“Then shall we go wake up the sleepyheads?”

He returned to the carriage with Sif to wake up the children who were still asleep from the aftereffects of motion sickness.

“Haaam. My body feels stiff.”

Asher stretched and loosened his stiff body. He thought that he would arrive in Rantua right after passing through the fortress wall. But the carriage traveled for longer than he thought. Because of this, he couldn’t stand the motion sickness and fell asleep, and he was able to wake up only after hearing the coachmen’s voices announcing his arrival. Even so, he was still drowsy with sleep.

“Hey guys! We’re here!”

Just in time, Donar shouted as he flung open the carriage door. Thanks to that, sleepiness that surprised him ran away. Through the door he flung open, the voices of the coachmen announcing the arrival were heard louder, and the excited voices of the people flowed in. Then the girl who had been looking out the window approached him and held out her hand.

“Asher, let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

He reached out and took her hand. The warm and soft touch made his steps toward an unfamiliar place lighter. What greeted them as they came out of the carriage was the sight of large and small houses made of yellow bricks gathered together. Not only the houses. Every single thing from the streets to the stairs was made of bricks of similar tones, though the colors were slightly different. The sizes of the buildings were all different. There were buildings larger than the slaughterhouse, which was the largest building in the countryside, while there were buildings much smaller than a carriage, no matter how large.

It wasn’t difficult to know that the small houses, which Asher and Belka could enter without any problems, but adults would have difficulty even entering, were the houses of dwarves. It may be a house for dwarves, but the appearance of houses, all of which were smaller than what Asher knew, felt like a huge toy village, which was amazing. While examining the village like that, he realized the existence of dwarves. Were they afraid of strangers? The figures of people who appeared to be dwarves were peeking out from the small windows as small as the houses, repeatedly peeking out and looking at them.

Looking closely, gazes mixed with curiosity and fear were flying in from here and there. Then Asher’s eyes met a small child who was hiding and looking at them. The child was surprised as soon as their eyes met and hid himself. Asher wasn’t particularly tall either, but the child’s height and build were excessively small even to him. He was fascinated because he thought he could lift him with one hand if he did well, and his curiosity about this place called Rantua grew rapidly.

Perhaps the village was built on a sloping mountain, the appearance of the buildings stacked up like stairs was dyed in the sunset. Looking at the numerous buildings, he could tell how many people and dwarves lived here.

“There really seem to be a lot of people living here.”

It was a really different place from the countryside where Asher lived. The houses were made of bricks instead of wood, and unlike the places where trees blocked the view if he went a little further, all the places he could see were full of buildings where people lived. In the village where he lived, when the sunset shone, even a desolate atmosphere hovered because there were no people, but here, the yellow bricks reflected the sunset light, giving a rather bright feeling. From the mysterious dwarves to the bright buildings, Asher’s heart was already pounding with anticipation for this village.

“Belka, let’s go sightseeing together later!”

“Okay.”

The girl’s hair shone in the sunset, and her gold color, containing warmth that tickled his heart, looked at him. The world was being dyed in her colors.

What shone instead of the village where the sun had completely set and night had come was a large moon and pieces of stars sprinkled in the night sky. Asher thought that since this was a merchant group, they would sell things right away when they arrived in Rantua, but it seems that doing business is not that simple.

“We’re not staying here?”

Asher was disappointed to hear that the merchant group was not staying here. He really liked the appearance of this huge staircase-like village that he had seen when he first arrived. That’s why he had promised to explore the village with Belka. As he couldn’t hide his disappointment, Donar, who was eating dinner next to him, spoke to him.

“If you’re that disappointed, will you live with us?”

“What are you talking about?”

When Asher looked up at him, he smiled and said.

“No, we like this place too. We decided to live together with Sif when we sell all the things.”

“With Sif?”

Was he the only one who thought it was strange? He looked at him with a strange expression, and when he looked at Sif.

“Yeah, how about living with us?”

Asher couldn’t understand why the story was turning out that way. They were telling him to live with them, but.

“I’m with Belka…”

“You have something to do with each other, right?”

“That’s, yes.”

This journey that he started with the girl was not simply to find a place to live. He had a dream of becoming an adventurer. But that wasn’t the only purpose.

“Then how about living with us at least until you guys leave this place? You guys are still young. If we leave you alone, you might be targeted by bad people.”

Asher couldn’t argue with Sif’s words. He thought he could live with Belka sufficiently, but apart from that, he didn’t have enough power to protect himself from people with bad intentions. Especially because Belka’s appearance was beautiful, Asher could tell that there would be many people who would have such thoughts.

“But that would be a nuisance to Donar and Sif.”

He couldn’t understand why they were making such a suggestion to them. As they said, they were still young and didn’t have many things they could do. Asher was remembering the stories that the adults had told about Marie and himself, who didn’t have parents in the village they had already left. They said that it was too much trouble and effort for one person to take care of them, so the whole village should take care of them appropriately. So Asher had lived as a good child unconditionally until Marie died because he didn’t want to be hated by the adults.

Because if he didn’t become a good child, the adult who was taking care of him that day often wouldn’t give him embers or food. It was the same even after Marie died and he met Belka. Except for a few things, he avoided things that adults would hate, even if the children insisted on doing them together. If he didn’t, it would be a nuisance to the adults, and he couldn’t get food on the days he caused a nuisance. Asher was afraid that Donar and Sif would hate him like them. In the end, Asher had no choice but to postpone his answer for a while.

“Belka.”

“Yeah.”

He felt relieved by her answer that always came back right away when he called her name, as always, and asked.

“What should we do?”

Because Belka always gave him helpful words. He had no doubt that she would do so this time too. But he also knew that she wouldn’t answer easily.

“What do you think is best, Asher?”

Belka often answered his questions with questions like this, mischievously.

“I don’t know.”

He knew that this was the only answer he could give back, and yet. Asher felt depressed at the thought that this was all he could say, and the girl hugged his head in her arms and patted him as if to comfort him, saying it was okay.

“It’s not impossible for us to stay here by ourselves.”

“Then.”

“But Asher, you know it too. It will be very difficult.”

He closed his mouth at the girl’s words. It was as Belka said. Asher already knew that this world was not as simple and beautiful as he had thought. But does that mean it’s okay to be a nuisance to Donar and Sif? He knew that they weren’t bad people, but that’s why he was more afraid of being hated.

“It’s good to think carefully. Asher, time is always limited and there are many things to do.”

It would be safer and save time to be with them if possible. But if you really don’t want to be a nuisance, how about helping them with their work and sharing the burden?

“…I want to think about it a little more.”

It was around the time when Asher’s worries were deepening. He could see something else being placed on the brazier that was burning in front of him. It was a sparsely woven grill made of thin but tough wires twisted together. Donar and Sif, who had been called away and had left their seats, were the ones who put it on the brazier. It looked somehow out of place since they were almost done eating dinner. It’s as if they’re trying to prepare something more, isn’t it? As he wondered, what Donar took out of the sack he was carrying was a strangely shaped stone.

“Are we grilling stones now?”

Were they that short on food? No, could they even eat stones in the first place? As his expression became more and more strange, Donar scratched his head.

“I don’t know much about it, but it’s said to be one of the local specialties of this village.”

He said that and put a few bumpy stones on the grill.

“Specialties, this stone?”

“It doesn’t seem to be a stone. They say you can eat what’s inside.”

“So that’s what you went to get?”

“Yeah, it seems like the story went well with the people of this village, and the elder shared it with us, saying we should eat together.”

Listening to his words and looking around, he could see that there were definitely more people and dwarves gathered than when they were only in the merchant group. It was as if a pleasant commotion that had started somewhere was spreading more and more, as if they were holding a festival.

“Oh, it’s a different feeling from the dwarf I saw for the first time.”

The dwarf who was examining the entry into Rantua had a strict and somehow sharp atmosphere, so he thought that all dwarves would be like that. Most of them had rough muscles, wore hard iron helmets, and were humming while holding pickaxes or shovels. Looking at it this way, the dwarf he had met for the first time looked special.

“Dwarves are not particularly different from people. Their jobs and personalities are also very diverse.”

Donar’s voice was also excited, as if he was already in the mood.

“More than that, they were almost invisible until just now.”

At first, the people of the merchant group thought that the residents here were wary of the unfamiliar people. Honestly, the carriages they were riding and Hildi’s Bini were so big that they looked threatening even to people, and they even had people wearing armor. How would it look to dwarves? But now it seemed like that wasn’t the case, so he was wondering.

“I heard that. They just got back from work.”

When Donar talked to the old man, it seems that this whole village is making mining their livelihood. Moreover, it seems that most of the people left in the village were women because they worked until late. So it seems that the returning workers were only now encountering them and could talk to them. At first they were wary, but when they found out that they were a merchant group selling things and looking for a place to settle down, they proposed to have a party, saying that they were guests who had come after a long time. And they shared these stone-like things and alcohol.

“Wow, beer! It’s been so long!”

He excitedly opened the iron bottle. Sif scolded him, saying that he could eat like this every day.

“You can’t have more than three bottles.”

“Keck, at least give me four bottles.”

“No.”

“Kkeueung.”

At her words, Donar noticeably regretted it and drank the beer. At that time, a loud laugh was heard.

“Hahahaha! A tall and handsome knight is being held tight by a young lady!”

Asher covered his ears and turned around at the deafening voice, and the appearance of a dwarf with an impressive shaggy brown beard and rough body came into view. He was covered in soot all over his clothes and face, and he was holding a small knife in one hand and a steel cup with alcohol in the other hand with a glove on.

“Who are you?”

Asher was surprised and stepped back at the sight of him holding a small knife, and he drank the alcohol in gulps and approached the brazier.

“I’m called Pyaryar! I came to tell you how to eat it because it’s a food that’s unfamiliar to outsiders!”

He then tapped the stone placed on the grill with the side of the small knife. Looking closely, the knife he was holding looked so dull that it didn’t seem like it could cut anything properly. He was wondering what he was carrying that kind of knife for, when. Something burst with a loud sound. He was looking for where the sound came from when he found out that the sound came from the stone he had placed on the grill. When they showed surprised expressions, he smiled and took out a stone with a glove on it.

“Here, it’s like this!”

Then he put a dull knife into the slightly opened gap and turned it, and a part of the stone fell off, revealing the inside. The inside of the black stone was surprisingly white, and something oval was boiling in the center. And he used the remaining stone as a bowl and swallowed what was inside with a slurp.

“You just have to take it out and eat it!”

“Oh.”

At that sight, Donar immediately picked up a stone and pulled out a sharp dagger from his waist as if to follow suit.

“That’s not cooked…!”

The dwarf named Pyaryar tried to say something when he saw the stone he was holding, but before he could even finish, he easily cut the gap in the stone with a dagger.

“Hmm? What did you say?”

Donar looked at Pyaryar as if he didn’t know what was wrong, and he had a dumbfounded expression.

“…I was going to say it’s not cooked.”

“Ah, it wasn’t cooked?”

“Donar, I told you to listen to what people say until the end, right?”

Donar, who heard his words, looked awkwardly at the stone he had already cut, and Sif sighed and said. Then Pyaryar waved his hand as if it was okay. And then he lifted up the stone that had burst again with a sound.

“It’s okay to eat it raw, so there’s no problem. I was just going to say that it’s not easy to cut if it’s not cooked because it doesn’t open like this, but your swordsmanship is not ordinary.”

He told him to try eating it since he had already cut it. Then Donar, who had already taken out the contents of the stone and swallowed it with a slurp like Pyaryar had done, exclaimed and drank the beer in gulps.

“Kyaa! This is awesome!”

“The knight knows something!”

Asher was curious what it tasted like to see him really enjoying it. Pyaryar, who noticed that, kindly cut out the stone he was holding and handed it to him.

“Thank you.”

No matter how he looked at it, Asher was amazed that there was something like this inside something that looked like a stone. As he was looking at it, which looked like a stone but also looked like a living creature, he suddenly felt goosebumps. When he thought about it, he had seen something similar to this before. It was the strange fish he had seen in the cave he had entered to take the wolf’s test in the forest. Just that made Asher’s hands tremble, but the problem was the images that came to his mind next. The Abyss he had seen in the damp and unpleasant cave and the countless white hands trying to pull him down there.

At the same time, Asher couldn’t bring himself to put it in his mouth because of the feeling of countless insects crawling on his body.