Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Let's Buy Daily Necessities - 2
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Riding the expensive carriage we'd received as a gift from the Anitul Earl, we headed first to the territory of the Hippo Baron, the closest domain to Lugeron Village.
"Driving good horses and a fine carriage makes this coachman gig pretty enjoyable."
"Your driving skills are impressive, Miss Nabira. Have you been doing this for a long time?"
"My late husband was a coachman, so I picked it up just by watching over his shoulder."
"You mean the Village Chief's son when you say husband?"
"No, Parell and I are remarried. I lost my first husband before we came to Lugeron Village."
"I... I see. Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"It's fine. It's an old story anyway,
and she really seemed okay with it. Nabira's speech grew more casual as she talked with me.
"You might not know, Sian, but there are a lot of disaster refugees in the west."
"That many calamities?"
"Yeah. Monster raids are commonplace, and plenty of folks flee villages because of the lords' tax rates."
According to Nabira, while it wasn't quite as bad as Lugeron Village, there were plenty of struggling places scattered across the west, just like ours.
"But settling down after fleeing is incredibly tough, so some people end up as slash-and-burn farmers."
"I see."
"And Lugeron Village is the final stop for those people."
"Why is that?"
"Taxes are practically nonexistent, and since there's no oversight, it's a place where you can dodge the nobles' eyes. Sure, Lugeron isn't free of discrimination against outsiders, but it's definitely better than most other spots."
"Have you traveled to a lot of other villages?"
"Yeah, my family were refugees since I was little."
"What about the rest of your family?"
"They're all dead. My father got eaten by a monster, my mother was raped and murdered by men from a village we visited, and my brother got hurt fighting to protect me—he died when the wound got infected."
"..."
Nabira said it all so flatly, but it made me uncomfortable just listening.
Shouldn't have asked.
"S-Sorry."
"Hehe, you've got a cute side that's nothing like your tough looks, Sian."
"Nabira, if you tease Sian, I won't forgive you."
"Hehe, sorry, Elsia. I couldn't help it—your husband's reactions are adorable."
Being around the same age, Nabira treated Elsia like a friend.
They must have grown close after the party.
"By the way, Elsia, which city are you headed to?"
"I'll decide once we reach the Hippo Baron's territory. Things have been chaotic since the Anitul Earl's clan was wiped out, so if possible, I'd like to head to Sahad Duke's lands."
"Don't you have to pay a toll to enter Sahad Duke's territory?"
"Better to pay up than get caught in the fallout and suffer."
"Hmm? You've changed. Back in the village, everyone said you were all about the money."
"Shut up."
It took about half a day to arrive at the Hippo Baron's territory.
At a normal walking pace, it's supposed to take about five days, right?
It didn't look that far on the map, but the roads were rougher than expected, so it took longer than anticipated.
If I sprinted straight there, I could probably make it faster.
Hope the road gets finished soon.
The Hippo Baron's territory we arrived at...
"Feels tense around here."
"Can't be helped. The Hippo Baron was nominally a vassal of the Anitul Earl, after all."
The Nymph Protection must have been incredibly powerful—the vassals of the wiped-out Anitul Earl had taken a huge hit too.
Serves them right for messing with a nymph...
"Wh-Who are you folks?"
An old man cautiously approached amid the wary villagers eyeing our ornate carriage.
Nabira answered for me.
"We're from Lugeron Village. We'll stay just for today and leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"Sorry, but with the times being what they are, we can't take in outsiders."
"They say no, Sian."
"Guess we have no choice then."
It was a shame the neighboring village was so insular, but it didn't really matter to us.
It wasn't my land anyway, and there was no need to push right now.
"Make way, everyone!"
"Hm?"
As we turned the carriage to leave the village...
I spotted a familiar middle-aged man running toward us.
He looked a bit gaunt, but his clothes marked him as nobility... Where do I know this guy from?
The man rushed right up to me and asked,
"M-Might you be a noble from Lugeron Village?"
"Noble?"
"Yes—the one the Holy Kingdom folks called the Hero?"
"Ah, yeah. That's me."
"Ooh! I knew it was you, Hero! I'm the Hippo Baron."
"Ah, you're him."
Now I remembered.
The scrawny man who'd been getting beaten next to the Anitul Earl when he visited Lugeron Village.
Back then, I was too busy with the Earl's gifts to check if he'd lived.
Not that I cared.
"If it's not too rude, Hero, may I invite you to my home?"
I glanced at Elsia at his question, read her subtle signal, and replied.
"I'd be grateful if you would."
"Thank you!"
Luckily, we wouldn't have to camp out tonight.
...
The Hippo Baron was the official lord of Lugeron Village, but everyone knew he left it alone.
Why? No one wanted to visit and risk becoming monster chow. That was how infamous the Dark Forest was—and the Hippo Baron had nearly died there himself.
"If you hadn't saved us back then, Hero, I wouldn't be here today."
"Ah, I see."
I didn't remember it, but to the Hippo Baron, I was apparently his lifesaver.
I really don't remember.
Having accidentally become a noble's benefactor, I cautiously asked the Hippo Baron,
"How do you feel about me taking over Lugeron Village like that?"
"It's fine. Lugeron was a territory I could never manage anyway."
"Hmm..."
The Hippo Baron was a better man than I'd expected.
No noble pomp, no arrogance or greed.
He's probably just being careful around a Hero.
His modest lifestyle made me think this might be his true self.
"Thanks to you, Hero, and the Karajil Road, my territory can finally breathe easy."
"Things tough these days?"
"Haha... Pathetically, yes."
The Hippo Baron gave a humble smile as he explained the current situation in the west.
"Because of the crimes the Anitul Earl committed, not just him but all the nobles who supported him are under investigation by the Black Heaven Knights."
"Black Heaven Knights?"
"One of the three knight orders owned by the Imperial Family. It's shrouded in secrecy—even I don't know much—but their authority is immense. Nobles don't dare speak freely in front of them."
"I see."
I'd heard about the Black Heaven Knights from Helen.
The knight order led secretly by the first emperor, where emperors went after retiring.
Like the elders' council in a demonic cult novel.
They were probably the real power behind the empire. With them cracking down hard, no wonder the west was in chaos.
"Are you okay, Hippo Baron? Passing through an order like that can't be pleasant."
"Fortunately, the Second Apostle vouched for me, so I got through unscathed."
"Glad to hear it."
Helen really was thorough about this stuff. She hated innocent victims.
"But that ended up putting me in the bad books of the Anitul Earl's vassals."
"Why's that?"
"Because I led them to Lugeron Village. Now they're painting me as a traitor. Can't be helped—I'm no good at those political games."
"Still feels unfair. You didn't do anything wrong."
"It's okay. Our house only became nobles by sheer luck anyway, so we've always gotten side-eye from the others."
"Even as nobles, life hasn't been easy."
"Haha, sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if I'd just stayed a regular farmer."
As we ate and the wine flowed, the Hippo Baron started rambling drunkenly.
He spilled all the details on the west's situation.
...
"The situation's worse than I thought."
After the meal, once we were in the room the Hippo Baron had provided...
Elsia shared her thoughts.
"I never dreamed the Anitul Earl's vassals were involved in the slave trade too."
"They colluded with Hardron, an enemy of the empire—no surprise if they're executed."
"We should head to Lugadrian in Sahad Duke's territory as planned."
"The place with the Catkit Merchant Company?"
"It's just a merchant company in name, but even rotten fish is still fish worth trading with. Better than nothing."
"Don't like the Catkit Merchant Company much, huh?"
"Yeah, those dumb cats are so slow at math it gives me a headache every time."
"I... see."
Come to think of it, Pina—who'd run off with my money before—often looked like her brain short-circuited during calculations too.