We end up not staying in Rent, and instead head straight to Tenso.
And we get there in the afternoon, three days after leaving Messer.
We look up at an imposing gate, and enter the village after showing our identification.
The wagons stay near the entrance, in a parking area for them. The drivers say they are going to tend to the horses, and rest in a building in that parking area.
But… This is the Tenso village, right?
I’m surprised by what I see the moment I come in. I guess quite a bit of time has passed since the last time I was here, so it makes sense for it to have changed.
I remember the village chief, Mahat, saying at the time that people were going to be sent here to help rebuild the village. But still, the village that was just dotted with houses, now has a proper town planning going on. Especially the road right after the gate. It’s just as good or better than any town I’ve been to.
There are buildings on both sides, with inns, restaurants, general stores, and even weapons and equipment stores.
I can’t really tell from the outside, but it feels like they don’t have a bad selection either. I don’t know the quality of their items, but they have a nice variety on display.
“It changed so much.”
“There are stalls too.”
“Yes.”
I’m not the only one who’s surprised. Hikari, Sera, and Mia are too.
And then, someone talks to us.
“Oh? Is that Mia?”
It’s Ney, a girl we met when we escaped and took refuge here.
“It really is you. How are you? And Hikari and Sera are here too… Isn’t Sora with you?”
She looks at them in turn, and then at the rest of us.
Everyone is confused by that last part, but then I remember that people here don’t know my real face.
“Yes, it’s been a while. Does this help?”
I say as I take the mask out of the Item Box.
“Eh? Sora?”
She’s really surprised.
“Come to think of it, I figured you were injured at some point, because you were always wearing a mask. Hm…”
Ney keeps looking at me, and then she signals for Mia to come closer and says something to her.
“So what are we going to do, Sora? Spend the night here?”
Apparently Argo and his party know people here in Tenso, so they want to spend the night here.
I don’t have a problem with that, the problem is whether or not we can find rooms. There are more people here than I expected.
But Ney hears us, and tells us we should be able to rent rooms, and takes us to an inn away from the main road.
It’s actually the same inn where everyone was holed up during the orc attack.
The outer wall I put up back then to defend it has been taken down, and everything else has been well repaired.
But the mood around here feels more tranquil compared to the entrance.
“People actually talked about leaving that wall, but it would be a nuisance with how the village is now.”
She sounds apologetic about it, but there are a few houses that were built around the inn, where the wall was. And apparently they belong to the villagers that already lived here.
There’s also a place near here to raise livestock.
Farming is done outside the walls, because expanding the outer walls would also make it harder to keep watch.
But she also says that they are considering it, because the population might still increase.
This inn is away from the center of the village, so there aren’t a lot of people here. In fact, it feels less like an inn and more like a tavern for the villagers.
The owner actually recognizes Hikari and Sera, and welcomes them. But she doesn’t know who I am at first either.
Then we all go to our rooms, and go out to walk around the village and tell the wagon drivers where we are.
When we come back to the inn, we see Mahat the village chief, along with other men spearheaded by Elk. They have food ready too, so we all eat.
I talk to Mahat and Elk, while Mia, Sera, and Hikari are taken to another seat. And Chris and Rurika are there too.
Mahat thanks me, and tells me that a lot of people have been trying to move here from Elesya, the empire, and the Holy Kingdom lately. People from the church have been sounding them out to see if they can move here. It’s nice that the population is increasing, but they say it comes with worries too.
I listen to Elk complaining. He says he really thinks he’s more suited for farm work, but the former slave men that gathered around him are stopping him. Sounds like he’s well respected.
Argo’s party and the otherworlders are sitting together and talking with other people. Naoto and Argo in particular are drinking with former slaves.
I’m stuck with the other minors like Shun, enjoying the food, when I hear cheers coming from Mia’s group.
I listen in, and apparently they’re cheering over Sera reuniting with Rurika and Chris. And I guess they’re throwing Rurika and Chris a lot of questions too, since they’re meeting for the first time.
After a while, one, then another man goes out on patrol, and the feast is over.
We spend the night here after a nice reception in Tenso, and I sleep on a fluffy bed for the first time in a while.
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