We go down the mountain without anyone starting to feel bad, and reach the border city Belka three days after leaving Lacteus.
But what comes as a surprise, is how long it takes to enter Belka. It’s not a problem for Rurika and Chris, but foreigners are subjected to a strict checking procedure.
What about Sera? She was born in the Republic of Eldo, but was taken away during the war, so she can’t prove it, and she’s treated the same as the rest of us.
I think this is because of lingering trauma from being attacked.
It might have been even rougher if Rurika and Chris weren’t with us. Apparently they put in a good word for us with the guards.
“This will make it harder to go from town to town. And does this mean we can’t walk freely inside them either?”
“I don’t think so, but it’ll be harder to get in. Actually, I think it takes less time to get in here because not a lot of people come here, but we might have to wait for longer in other towns.”
“Ah, because not a lot of people come in from the Ruflet side?”
I ask, and Rurika and Chris nod.
It’s true, there was no line. But could it be that it was actually harsh because no one was here?
I ask that, but they say it’s the same everywhere.
“But we’re going to Firo next, right? Won’t it be more lax because they already checked us in Belka?”
“Sora, it doesn’t work that way. People don’t necessarily visit every town in order like that.”
Says Rurika, and it reminds me of when I left Elesya and crossed through the forest to get to the Holy Kingdom.
“The main issue will be how many people are traveling. It doesn’t take people long to get in and out if they’re based there.”
Is traffic going to become more intense as talks about defeating the demon king spread?
“Anyway, let’s try to not cause any trouble.”
Says Rurika, and everyone nods.
Why is she looking at me and Hikari like she’s worried?
In the end we stay the night in an inn, and although I’d like to keep going, we stay here for another day.
It’s mostly to gather information, which the group of Sera, Rurika, and Chris do.
“So Sora, what should we do?”
“…I was thinking about checking out the stalls, and stopping by the merchant guild.”
But first, should we stop by an item shop to check out the prices of potions?
And the merchant guild… Maybe I don’t really need to go there, but I might learn something useful.
First we go to the item shop, but the potions I see aren’t very good. At first I figure they’ve all been bought up by someone else, but apparently not a lot of people use them, and there isn’t much demand for high quality ones.
Then we stop by the merchant guild, which doesn’t seem very active. I’d even call it desolate.
I’m told that not a lot of people travel to the Dragon Kingdom, and not a lot of new merchants come here, so the guild is pretty small.
And then he grumbles that Saruju, the border city connecting to the Holy Kingdom, is more active.
Apparently this person was sent here from Saruju… Is that like a demotion?
I don’t actually say that, but he doesn’t do a very good job dealing with us. He keeps grumbling while explaining things.
Then we’re off to the stalls, but Hikari isn’t too pleased. We only buy two or three things to try them out.
“Did you learn anything?”
I ask when we meet up with the others, and apparently the Republic of Eldo isn’t really on board with the whole plan to defeat the demon king.
The primary reason is, of course, the wounds from the war.
It’s been seven years, but they’re angry with the empire, which isn’t even making good progress with releasing hostages.
“Won’t that cause them trouble later down the line?”
“I don’t know how they feel about that. The republic doesn’t have a lot of proper soldiers to begin with, so it’s more like they’re paying adventurers to go?”
Apparently they saw something like that affixed in the adventurer guild.
It pays a lot compared to other quests, but they’ve heard that less than half the expected number of people actually accepted.
The guild isn’t actively promoting it either, because if people stop taking down monsters around this area, that’s going to lead to damage to the town.
“Someone also said that if they don’t get a lot of people, they can blame it on the empire’s actions.”
“What do you think, Sera? Is the dark forest that dangerous?”
“Hn… It’s hard to say. When I fought there, I was treated like a disposable pawn. I think it might be different with a proper fighting force.”
Sera stops, and continues with a grave look on her face.
“But I didn’t go too deep. And I’ve heard that no one that goes into the deeper parts comes back.”
Would the deeper parts of the dark forest be like the lower areas of a dungeon?
“We need to be well prepared. I don’t think we’ll get lost thanks to the magic item we were given, but we still don’t know what monsters we’ll find.”
Everyone should carry enough food and disposable items for themselves, just in case.
I should get to work making magic bags for everyone.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
So next is firo then flamen. I wonder when the next arc will br
My bet is capital city of flamen. I hope they can talk to a noble or something so sera can get in easier so not to deal the to much. Don’t get why republic are helping empire if they are still keeping hostages seems they just go back on there words
Thanks for the treat.