CH 377

One moment I felt a slight sense of floating, the next moment, the scenery changed and I was greeted by a hot breeze and sunshine. In front of me, unlike the village of Gariada, I saw a town surrounded by stone walls.

“ I guess we’re not inside the town”

“Fuh …… You idiot, of course, we are not. There aren’t many tamer people in this country, so if a bear this big suddenly appeared in the middle of town, we’d cause panic.”

He added that it was because there were so many monsters that were not suitable for tamers, and Dibit-san sat down on the driver’s seat and puffed on a cigarette.

He looked like his usual self, but he was sweating so much that I could tell he was exhausted, which was different from the heat.

“It’s not like the first town we came to, it’s huge.”

“Kuoon!”

Makina, who was carrying Ash in her arms, leaned forward and said such impressions while looking at the approaching town. Then Ornob-san, his face hidden, said from the back of the carriage.

“…… It’s the closest town to the castle, so it’s very lively. And it’s also the town where I worked and where Yukuta-san lived.”

“I see …… I think Ornob-san should hide himself even better. Let’s go into the town for now.”

As the carriage drove slowly, Radia and Schneider, who were following, took note of their surroundings. I just looked behind me and asked them.

“Speaking of which, is the child Rock Turtle there?”

“What? Huh? Now that you mention it, I don’t see him. Did we leave him in the village?”

“Maybe. Well, it’s more likely that he’s gone back to the wild, but you were going to give him back, weren’t you?”

“Well, yes. I wanted to release him in a herd somewhere, but I wonder if it would be safe to leave him in the village.”

“It’s not that bad-tempered a monster, and it doesn’t eat people, so it should be fine. It’s just a kid. Oops, I’m going to hide too.”

As Dibit-san says this, we’ll talk about the Rock Turtle later, we’re approaching the guards at the entrance to the town. 

“Stop. Hmm? You’re not from this country, are you traveling?”

“Yes, I’m an adventurer from Reflexion. I’m here to train and see some rare monsters.”

“…… Tamer, huh? That’s one hell of a Deadly Bear and a Viking Wolf. The others on board are …….”

The moment the guard turns his attention to the carriage, raising the visor of his leather helmet, Makina, Ash and Fath-san appear.

“Yes, my master and I are here.”

“Kuoon♪”

“Oh, that’s a cute little bear.”

“There’s another one.”

I turned back to the back of the carriage, thinking that Basleigh-sensei, who was usually the one noisy in these situations, was quiet. Then Basleigh-sensei came out with a pale face, crawling.

“Uph, I’m …… drunk …… There are four of us ……”

“Oh, a-are you all right?”

“Q-Quickly, into the town …… It’s about to come out ……”

“Get your face away from me!? All right, all right, come on through. Don’t get too wild in town, okay? The guild’s adventurers are also responsible for guarding the town, so you won’t get away with just an injury. There’s still slavery in this country. The current king has forbidden the use of people from other countries, but there are still people like black marketers. You’re both beautiful, so be careful.”

“Thank you. Basleigh-sensei, go back to sleep.”

The kind guard even gave us some advice and we went inside with the monsters. I asked Radia to put on the mask to cover her mouth. After a little while, Basleigh-sensei squirmed her way onto the driver’s seat and smiled.

“Fufufu …… Thanks to me, we’re able to enter the town easily …… Uph …….”

“Oh, so that wasn’t an act? With the transfer?”

“I guess so …… It’s too much for my delicate min ……!?”

“Just sleep …… At any rate, I was planning to use to hide the both of them even if he checked the back of my carriage.”

Then, Basleigh-sensei’s eyes widened with a quiver, and then she raised her voice.

“What’s that!? You should have told me first! You should have told me first! Isn’t this a loss for me!”

“Who cares!? What do you mean, “loss”!? Sephiro!”

“!”

“Oh, no, Sephiro, don’t move me too muc–“

I asked Sephiro to put Basleigh-sensei on the roof. If something were to happen, the roof would be less likely to be damaged.

“Hmm, about time …… Lars, take a left there.”

“Okay.”

As we turned the carriage to the left, the landscape became more and more desolate. There were skinny people and crumbling houses in what looked like slums.

“It’s an amazing place. ……”

“Even in a town so close to the castle, there are places like this, huh.”

“Some of it’s just the proximity to the castle. Oh, stop here.”

Dibit-san jumped down from the back of the carriage and went into a house. After waiting for a while, he and a woman we didn’t know came out and showed us around.

“It’s quite a large group. Let’s move to the big building over here.”

The brown-skinned beauty, the kind of woman Helena would have been if she had grown up a bit more, said with a dumbfounded smile, and we entered the long, flat building, instructing Radia, Schneider, and the horses to wait in the immediate area, while we proceeded to the back.

“Fuh, If you’re coming, please tell me first. And the number of them is also chilling.”

“It’s hot but it feels cold …… That’s deep …… Ueeh ……”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Excuse me, do you have a place for her to lay down?”

“You can use that bed.”

As Makina was carrying Basleigh-sensei to the bed, Dibit-san opened his mouth.

“I came here to be sheltered. We’re probably going to have to leave soon, but …… I’m sorry, I’m going to have to get some sleep …….”

After putting out his cigarette, Dibit-san sat up in his chair and began to sleep immediately.

“After that big transfer, he must have run out of magic power. My name is Lars. I’m currently being taught magic by Dibit-san.”

“Ahhh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I am Quela, one of the members who participated in the coup d’état with Dibit-san. He fell asleep before he could give me any details, but what happened?”

“The thing is–.”

And I told her about what happened so far. 

Then Quela’s face grew stern, and she clapped her hands in unison and looked at us.

“I see, so the former king’s aide, Darva, is hiding out in the vicinity …… And that woman, Aiatsubus, is also trying to get to the castle?”

“Yes. We can leave Dalva and the others to the castle, but I’m worried about the kid if we don’t find this Aiatsubus person soon.”

“All right, I’ll have them check the area. I’ll call you if I find anything.”

“Please. We’re not known to anyone but Aiatsubus, so I think we can get out for a bit.”

“From what I’ve heard, that Aiatsubus person seems more dangerous than Darva. I’ve got her characteristics, so wait here while I look for her.”

I wanted to make sure she was in town, but I nodded, thinking she had a point. I was going to use Invisible, but I guess I should save my magic power …… Dasha-chan, I hope she’s okay ……

They’re in town and the battle is about to begin!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Now then, I wonder if it’s going to work well? The castle might be in trouble too.”

The key could be Retzel and the others ……