episode_0085

West of the continent.

Long after the vast fields that stretch from the center of the continent end, there is a city.

Although the location could be said to be remote, and the surrounding terrain could not be called flat, the size of the city standing there was considerable.

Enough to literally overwhelm most cities.

There was a reason why a city built in such a remote area prospered greatly.

This was because of the forest located not far from the city.

The forest, one of the remote areas on the continent, had not been there ever since the beginning.

Long ago, there existed an empire instead of a forest.

It is said that the empire at the time boasted enormous power, so much so that it was given the name of an empire despite being located in such a remote area far from the center of the continent.

With great national power, wealth, and a flourishing culture, the empire enjoyed a truly golden age.

However, such an empire collapsed overnight.

It is not known what the exact cause is.

Numerous scholars have investigated the cause, and even more have debated the reasons for the empire’s collapse, but only many hypotheses have emerged, and no one has been able to uncover the exact reason.

The empire that boasted a power that shook the continent collapsed for reasons unknown to anyone, and over time, dense trees grew in its place, eventually becoming a forest.

And the forest created in this way receives tremendous attention.

Of course, it was not because of the historical and academic value of being a land where an empire existed and where there are still many related relics.

It is true that that alone is of great value, but that only applies to scholars, and the main reason why forests received attention was a more practical reason.

The reason was the unique environment of the forest.

The forest that arose on top of the remains of the empire formed its own unique environment.

Rare and unique creatures that cannot be found anywhere else on the continent began to inhabit, and even the terrain, which felt similar to the academy’s dungeon, was rarely found.

Since it was discovered that all the creatures that only live here have great academic and financial value, forests have received serious attention.

Even the physical distance of being a remote area far from the center of the continent could not suppress the human desire for gold, and naturally many people flocked to the forest.

Scholars flocked to the entire forest to study the ruins and relics of the empire that were literally stumbling upon their feet.

Mercenaries and adventurers flocked to protect them or to receive their requests.

As people gathered like that, a colony naturally emerged, and the colony became a village, and the village became a city.

Thus, the name of the city built in a special place with a special background was Darbil.

It was one of the most unique cities on the continent.

***

Many different types of people gather in Darbil.

Among them, there are scholars who have gathered to study the traces and ruins of the empire, or the unique ecosystem of the forest and its topography, and there are also those who aim to make a fortune by finding something rare in the forest, hoping to get a large share of the people who have gathered. There are also merchants who rushed in with all their luggage.

However, among the numerous populations of Darville, the most numerous are probably mercenaries and adventurers.

Numerous mercenaries and adventurers gathered in Darville to act as escorts for scholars, as escorts for merchants, to receive requests, or to explore the forest to make a fortune.

And the atmosphere of any place has no choice but to follow the mainstream.

Darbil naturally came under the influence of mercenaries and adventurers.

The fact that Darbil was a naturally created city that did not belong to any country also played a significant role.

In the case of Darbil, the citizens residing within the city took charge of security and public security, which were originally supposed to be the responsibility of the state. Mercenaries and adventurers, who make up a significant portion of the entire population of Darbil and the citizens residing in Darbil, were there. It was natural to step into it.

For those reasons, Darbil came to be greatly influenced by mercenaries and adventurers.

It was said that the air of Darbil was mixed with freedom, but like all things in the world, it did not necessarily produce positive results.

Mercenaries and adventurers were the freest beings on the continent, but they were also the most rough and opportunistic.

In Darbil, which was completely influenced by them, self-indulgence under the guise of freedom naturally became rampant.

This did not mean that Darbil’s security was ruined, but various crimes occurred quite frequently in sparsely populated and obscure places.

As time passed, such awareness spread, and people coming to Darbil came with the necessary precautions and preparations, so the number of people who suffered from such things gradually decreased, but it was not non-existent.

Those who did not listen to advice, those who let their guard down, and those who had useless curiosity became prey to Darbil’s outlaws.

A typical example was here.

A woman with soft light brown hair tied back, reminiscent of a field of reeds gently swaying under an autumn sunset, was swallowing dry saliva with her sparkling green eyes wide open.

Judging from her appearance and her attire, she was not someone who should be in a place like this.

It seemed like he had put some effort into wearing ordinary-looking clothes, but even if you had a keen eye for detail, you would immediately be able to tell that the clothes only looked ordinary and were not of the quality of something worth a penny or two.

‘ah… I should have listened to Dorothy… … .’

Looking at the dirty faces of people with their eyes shining at her, the woman regretted her foolish choice.

Apparently, her escort had even warned her directly.

Darbil seems safe on the outside, but don’t go off the main street or into the alleys.

If you do that, you’ll be in big trouble.

Never leave his side.

However, she believes in her loyalty… I don’t know if he did it, but he ignored the words of the escort driver with whom he had a long relationship, and even deliberately tried to avoid him, so he ran into the back alleys of Darville.

There was definitely a reason why she did that.

‘Because it’s interesting… !’

She was a curious child from a young age.

He was interested in all kinds of things, and once he was curious, he had to check it out to satisfy his curiosity.

For her, who had grown up seeing only beautiful and upright things since she was a child, the rough back alleys of the city, which she had never encountered before, were places she couldn’t help but feel interested in.

That’s why she deliberately sent her escort, Dorothy, on an errand and then ran away to escape their gaze.

Then he ran straight into the back alley.

The moment she reached the ‘back’ of Darville after passing through a few alleys on the main street, she stopped exclaiming.

Gloomy atmosphere, old buildings, dirty streets, and even bad-looking gangsters that you only hear about in stories!

It was exactly the scene of the back alley she had imagined.

The woman began to wander through the back alleys, her eyes sparkling as usual.

Once her interest was sparked, nothing could stop her steps.

… No, actually, it got stuck right away.

By men with a harsh look.

Not long after she started wandering around the back alleys with bright eyes, she found herself surrounded by men.

Then, one of them, a bald man, took a step forward and spoke.

“Miss, where are you so busy?”

“Wow… … !”

“… Huh?”

Even though she knew right away that this was clearly not a good situation, she couldn’t stop herself and let out an exclamation.

I couldn’t help it.

‘A gangster who looks like he was drawn in a painting… !’

The bald man’s impression and way of speaking were all that of the gangster she had only dreamed of.

“… Oh, sorry.”

However, she soon caught on to the atmosphere and began to pay attention.

The bald man, who was looking at her with puzzled eyes, soon calmed his expression and opened his mouth again.

“… Hmm. Yes, at first glance she looks like a lady from a noble family, but what brings her here?”

The bald man smiled.

“It looks like you came here without knowing how dangerous it was… That won’t work. good. Let’s make up our minds and protect her.”

The word “protection” comes out of their mouths, as if they are benevolent.

Although the words were said to be protective, even the woman knew that the intentions were completely different.

It was a fact that could be known without going far, just by looking at all the insidious emotions in those eyes.

‘What should I do… ?’

Arriving at this situation, the woman was worried.

She was the one who jumped into the back alley without thinking… right.

She had never practiced martial arts since she was born, and although she did learn magic, most of the magic she learned had nothing to do with combat.

It wasn’t that I didn’t intentionally learn that type of magic. He was just catastrophically untalented.

I’ve learned a few tricks, but I’m not at a level where I can use them in this situation.

The opponents may seem like ordinary scoundrels, but this is Darville, a city of mercenaries and adventurers.

These people are also mercenaries or adventurers.

They are much better than the mediocre gangsters that are scattered around the city.

The attack magic she had barely mastered was not at the level to deal with these people.

“Hey… You can’t just send it to me, right?”

I asked just in case.

“Uh huh. Anyone who sees it will think that we are trying to do harm. You say you will protect me?”

Of course, the seeds didn’t work either.

In the end, she found herself in a difficult situation.

What should I do?

What should I do to get out of this situation?

While she was worrying so much.

“Now, now, just trust us and follow us.”

The bald man arbitrarily grabbed her wrist.

“Please let go of this… !”

The woman shouted, but the man did not even seem to listen.

At that point, the woman felt afraid.

Really, the fear that you might be wrong.

It was then.

“Can you help me?”

A calm voice was heard.

Naturally, her eyes turned to where the voice came from.

Standing there was a young man.

With typical brown hair and brown eyes.