We’re coming down the mountain from Lacteus to Marte, but I unconsciously gulp when I see the Dragon Kingdom of Ruflet from up here.
The trees I see down there were all verdant and lively the last time we were here, but I can tell even from afar that they’re withered.
I would’ve thought it happened naturally, and was just something that happens in this season, but people from Lacteus told me they’ve never seen this happen before.
They also said that something big supposedly happened because the dragon king is gone. Is this an effect of that?
As we slowly go down into Marte, I feel cold. And then I see that the lake surrounding Altair is frozen.
It easily cracks when Hikari throws a rock, so I guess there’s just ice on the surface.
We reach Marte proper another day, before sunset, but I feel like it doesn’t have the same activity it did before.
I already felt like they didn’t have a whole lot of outsiders, but there’s still a somewhat lonely feeling here.
Is it because I’ve been walking around places with a lot of people, like the capital of Elesya?
“Oh, you’re back?”
We go to the inn where we stayed last time, and the person behind the counter recognizes us and greets us.
First, we ask to be taken to a room, and rest.
Then we’re taken to the dining hall and eat, but there’s only one other group of people here.
“It’s not like a lot of outsiders came here in the first place, but…”
Says the owner, and she continues, saying that the environment outside the town… The trees have gradually been withering.
And at the same time, Altair is supplying less and less food.
“It hasn’t reached a point where we can’t get by, but it gets us a little worried about the future.”
She says that like it accidentally came out of her mouth, but it’s clear that she’s worried.
And we’re told that these strange occurrences have been happening since around the time we fought the goddess.
Basically, that means it’s been like this since the dragon king left this country.
“Can’t something be done about it?”
“If it was caused by the disappearance of the dragon king, I don’t think so.”
Rurika answers Chris’ question.
I guess if the dragon king… A god disappearing caused this, I can’t see what people are going to be able to do.
Or could it be that the dragon king foresaw this, and sent us here for that reason?
“Anyway, let’s go to the adventurer guild tomorrow, and see if we can contact Altair. We’re not going to be able to do anything unless we can cross to the island.”
And so, we go to sleep.
◇ ◇ ◇
When we wake up the next morning, we are contacted by someone sent by the feudal lord.
We’re told a ferry will come from Altair to Marte tomorrow, so we should make sure to be here when it does.
“So we’re spending the day here?”
We let the owner of the inn know we’re leaving tomorrow, and decide to go around Marte for the day.
That said, there’s not much to see besides the adventurer guild and alchemist guild… Maybe I’ll drop by the merchant guild.
When we get to the adventurer guild, we ask how things have been recently. In particular, if there was any change since the dragon king left.
“Well, I get the feeling that there are more monsters. And I’ve heard from both the guilds in Croix and Folk that they’ve spotted superior species.”
Those sightings were said to be in the main road from Marte to the mountain city Lactica, so they sent a joint team of knights and adventurers.
The word knights hangs in my head for a moment, but then I realize that they mean people sent from Altair. Maybe they’re from the royal guard.
Apparently these people sent from Altair are in Croix and Folk too. Maybe people like Yuini are among them.
Then we stop by the merchant guild where we get some simple lip service, and the alchemist guild, where I ask if there’s anything new.
They say they’ve been doing experiments to study the cause of what happened to the forest… So basically, investigating it. They’ve been hiring adventurers to escort them to take samples.
“It’d be dangerous if we came across monsters. But adventurers wouldn’t know what to pick, so it’s more efficient if we go there ourselves.”
Says one of the people of the guild.
I guess if they just put out quests, they’d have to explain things very well, or they’d pick the wrong things.
Then we go around the stalls, per Hikari’s wishes, and keep walking around as I increase the stock of my Item Box.
The next day, the ferry comes, and we head to Altair.
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Thanks for the treat.