episode_0111

At the end of a difficult journey, we finally arrived at the main stream of the Line Lecture, but that didn’t mean we could immediately get our hands on the Hidden Piece.

“Oh, really…?”

“Yeah. We’ve reached the Line River, but this is still Herbor’s territory. We need to go further down.”

To reach the hidden dungeon, “Ruins Below the River,” we still had to descend further into the territory of the Line Kingdom.

It would take roughly two more days by land, I suppose. That’s just my rough estimate.

Of course, we couldn’t cross the border by land.

It’s not like it’s another country; it’s the Line Kingdom, which even Brünhilde wouldn’t dare to mess with.

I’d be caught right away as soon as I set foot there. The elite forces of the border defense would all come rushing in to arrest or kill me.

So, Freide and I had no choice but to take a different route instead of going by land.

To be specific…

“…Cross the river by boat?”

“Yes… Yes, that’s right. The young lady here… she wants to take a boat trip along the Line River. So, we’ll pay as much as you ask.”

It means we’ll be traveling by water.

◆◆

At the southern edge of Herbor’s territory, there was a small town established along the banks of the Line River. Its name was probably Krepelt?

It was relatively small in scale, enough to have bookshelves instead of city walls, but not so rural as to call it a village… It felt like that kind of small town.

Anyway, after spending the night by the riverside, we walked into the city through the bookshelf the next morning.

It wasn’t difficult. As long as you weren’t planning to hide here permanently, you could come and go freely without any trouble.

Think about it, would a small town without even city walls be thorough in its inspections? No way.

There were guards at the entrance, but when we handed over a silver coin, they didn’t ask anything and just opened the door for us. It was exactly as described in the original work.

Earning extra income on top of their basic salary, they could slack off as much as they wanted while working. There truly is no job like it.

Seeing that I had obtained such a sweet deal, I couldn’t help but think that maybe in my past life, I had saved the country. I must have been a traitor to my homeland.

Anyway, we snuck into the city like that.

Of course, if the guards had seen my face, they wouldn’t have let us through; they would have caused a huge fuss. My wanted poster was probably plastered on the back of every book by now.

“…if they had seen me, that is.”

But that didn’t happen.

Why? Well…

– Rustle.

“Ah, this outfit is really uncomfortable.”

The reason for my discomfort was that from head to toe, I was dressed completely differently than usual.

Instead of tattered armor and a robe, I was wearing a splendid dress like a noble lady, with my long hair pinned up and my face completely hidden by a hat and veil.

To anyone’s eyes, I looked like a noble lady who had come to enjoy the riverside without a care in the world. It might seem a bit unusual that I didn’t have a single escort, considering the circumstances.

“But still… it suits you well, Lady Grimald.”

Freida, who was holding my hand, smiled gently and replied quietly. She was also wearing a modest dress that evoked a servant’s attire rather than boots and a cloak.

“Well, it should suit me, I guess.”

I sighed softly as I glanced down at my waist. For the sake of this one disguise, I had asked Freida to prepare a noble-style dress in advance. It looked pretty, but wearing it was truly uncomfortably dirty.

Perhaps because I had no fat on my body, the corset wasn’t much of a problem… but the design was somewhat unsatisfactory, to say the least.

Freida had just picked something suitable, but the design itself seemed quite bold, as if it were not a dress from this world.

An off-shoulder dress that bared my collarbone, shoulders, upper chest, and shoulder blades.

It felt like all the passersby in the city were glancing at my chest and back, and every time the cold wind brushed between my chest, I couldn’t help but feel startled.

Every time the wind blew, my chest area fluttered, and I worried that it might spill out of the dress… it was truly uncomfortable.

And then there’s the skirt.

This darn skirt is so billowy and cumbersome. It feels like I’m walking around with curtains wrapped around my waist.

Even worse, with the bottom so wide open, it feels like someone’s running their hand up my thigh every time the wind blows, just like the top.

Do noble ladies really walk around in these clothes?

Did I offend someone to deserve this uncomfortable dress? How do people tolerate and live in such meticulously crafted and uncomfortable attire?

Honestly, I’ve never even met noblewomen, but they seemed so admirable.

◆◆

“Sig, how long do I have to wait for you? It’s getting boring.”

“Oh, uh, yes! I’m sorry, Miss Grimeeld! I’ll try to find a shortcut as soon as possible!”

“Fine, hurry up. I snuck out for a walk without my father knowing, and now we’re wasting time here.”

Freide and I were pretending to be a noble lady and her maid, wandering around the town.

It was roughly that kind of concept.

After successfully passing through the scolding, there might not have been a need to go this far with the act… but you never know. If you’re going to do something, you should do it thoroughly.

At a time like this, a young woman with her face veiled, strolling the streets with just one maid, was certainly suspicious, but if she’s a noble lady sneaking out without her father’s knowledge, then the story changes. The brief escapades of naive young ladies are quite common around here.

Usually, they end up being caught before long and return to their families, or worse, they get attacked by bandits or cornered by thugs in dark alleys. In the worst case, they might have to bid farewell to a human life altogether.

Well, it’s only natural.

Even for me, a knight who wears armor, walking alone was risky enough to encounter robbers or rapists, right?

Expensive but useless dresses, and nobles who can’t even catch a single dog with their weapons, how could they possibly handle such threats?

There was no need to go as far as encountering a gang of thieves; just meeting one troublemaker would have been enough to mark them as unfit humans.

Well, I, on the other hand, ended the lives of the attackers.

Anyway, Freide and I walked along Crepelt’s street pretending to be a lady and her maid like that.

Until we came across an old man sucking on a pipe while floating a small fishing boat on the main stream of the river passing through the city.

“Sig, my leg hurts a bit. Let’s just buy that boat over there and ride it.”

As soon as the old man caught my eye, I feigned annoyance in a whining tone. There was no need to wander further.

I had only told Freide that I intended to get a boat in this village, but in reality, I had no interest in any boatman other than the old man.

The old man himself wasn’t anything special or anything like that.

“Retired fisherman Mints.”

In a game, perhaps such a name wouldn’t have come to mind.

He looked like someone with a desperate past and a serious story hidden, like a fugitive hiding place, but that was just superficial.

The old man was simply a pitiful retired fisherman who was debating whether to sell his boat because his granddaughter had fallen ill and he couldn’t afford her medical expenses.

In the novel, the possessed character soliloquized, saying that when they played the original game, they swung the sword at him because he looked like something, and he died with a ‘ugh,’ which was very confusing.

Because he was such an old man, he could be considered a perfect fit for us now.

If you’re in dire need of money, he’d gladly hand over the boat if you just gave him the money.

In fact, there was no one else to hand over the boat except the old man.

It’s not like two unheard-of women are going to become passengers, and it’s not like they’re going to rent a boat outright. Where in the world would you find a boatman who would readily agree to that?

And it’s not even borrowing; when you think about it, it’s a situation where you have to ask for the boat outright.

If we were just going to ride a boat for a day, that would be one thing. But isn’t this a situation where we have to ride the river all the way to the territory of the Line Kingdom?

Borrowing a boat under the assumption of returning it in such a situation is no different from renting a car and then disappearing with the vehicle. To put it plainly, it’s theft.

That’s why I advised not to borrow a boat from Freide, but rather negotiate to purchase one. It might cost some money, but it’s better than stealing.

Because of a matter of conscience?

Well, that’s one issue, but… more than anything, if we steal something like a boat and make a run for it, the authorities will be notified right away.

If the authorities start investigating the details, our flimsy disguise will be exposed in no time.

The rumor that Brunhilde stole a boat and is fleeing down the Rhine will spread not only to Herborner, but also to the Kingdom of the Rhine in no time.

So, it was best to persuade the old man in Mainz and obtain the boat at a fair price.

And that’s what we did.

“Selling the boat is fine, but… Miss, you seem to be a noble lady’s maid. Do you really intend to travel around on a boat with her?”

“Well… yes, but… Is there a problem…?”

The old man in Mainz agreed to sell the boat, but when we revealed our plan to take it out on the river together, he exhaled deeply, emitting smoke like a chimney.

“A problem? That’s what you call it. You’ve made a very determined decision to become fish food. Do you even know how to steer a boat?”

Setting out on the river in a rowboat with a noble lady and her maid. His expression seemed to say, “Do you want to drown?”.

I was being cautious in my speech because I was dressed in clothes that clearly marked me as a noble, but if not for that, he looked like he would have spat out a string of curses.

“Do you know? I’ve steered a few times before.”

Of course, Freide seemed unaware of such reactions. With a casual face, she nodded, indicating she knew how to steer.

Oh, Freide actually did know how to steer a rowboat to some extent.

Even though I had planned to go down the river on a boat, I was a little uneasy about not having steered a boat before, but she told me to leave it to her, just like she used to during our days in the adventurers’ party.

Probably a story from our days as adventurers.

It’s not a day for a fake hero party to be stuck in an underground dungeon. It seemed there were a couple of times when we had to steer the boat and cross the river during the journey.

“Hmm, well, I guess… it seems she went through quite a bit unexpectedly.”

The old man Mints nodded without further inquiry.

It was a bit unexpected. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d believe it.

Logically, who would believe that a girl who doesn’t even look twenty knows how to steer a boat? Anyone would think it’s just empty boasting.

Perhaps his granddaughter’s condition was that serious.

He did give me a warning out of conscience, but if he pushed it further, the medical expenses would fly away right before his eyes, so he probably decided to let it go.

His granddaughter’s life must be thousands of times more precious than the life of an unknown noblewoman.

Of course, if a real noble lady bought Mints’ boat and drowned while riding it, Mints would have been beheaded just for selling the boat.

This old man had never met a nobleman in his life, so he probably hadn’t even thought that far.

Anyway, we finally managed to rent a boat. We had to spend a considerable amount of our accumulated wealth.

When it came to renting a boat, it required more money than expected to buy it outright. Since he was pretending to be a noble, he didn’t even attempt to haggle.

Maybe that’s why we had to pay a whole gold coin just to buy a small fishing boat that could carry three people.

…I wonder.

That old man, he wouldn’t be trying to swindle us, would he…?