Outlaws from the Southeastward
Outlaws from the Southeastward
The Margrave of Kelbast said it would take about a day to go through the formal procedures and produce the identity guarantee, so I headed out into the city with a padded purse to buy travel supplies.
Not knowing a single thing and having to wander this big city on my own was a daunting prospect, so I slipped a few silver coins to the two guards at the gate and asked for directions. In an instant, they were all smiles and kindness, falling over each other to point out the district where merchants did business with adventurers.
"Kelbast'll be pricier than other cities, so steel your heart before you go!"
Leaving behind the grinning men waving goodbye like they were seeing off a friend of ten years after they'd tasted the power of the great silver coin, I headed into the city along well-paved and orderly streets.
It was far more bustling than I'd thought. Unlike the rough and lofty outer walls, the interior was so splendid you'd easily believe it was the royal capital itself. Being a district close to the inner fortress might have been part of it, but even so, it was hard to think of this as a city that fended off orc invasions practically every day.
The sight chafed at me a little, seeming to prove that it hadn't fallen even once in the long years since the Great Offensive.
If you've got this much ability, manage your shit better, fuck.
Truly, since an ancient gate wasn't something you could just manage because you wanted to, blaming them was unfair. But from the standpoint of the one taking damage, wouldn't anyone want to grab the nearest person and blame someone else? My winter vacation had abruptly turned into cold-weather training, so even if I didn't voice it aloud, I at least let myself grumble.
Still, thanks to the financial therapy the knights had prescribed, my mood had improved considerably. I moved along, snagging snacks I spotted along the way and checking for souvenirs, trying my best to keep a sightseeing mood. Since getting pissed off and irritated at a situation that already happened wouldn't solve anything, enjoying it as much as possible was the better deal.
After maybe thirty minutes of walking like that, the shops around me gradually began displaying and selling goods far removed from ordinary folk. The number of adventurers among the passersby increased too, so it seemed I hadn't taken a wrong turn, at least.
"Huh, the prices definitely are higher."
No matter how much support Itisel received from most nations on the continent, it was still strictly wartime, so prices weren't exactly cheap anywhere, but here they were worse. The orcs scattered like cockroaches right under your nose was a reason, sure, but seeing how expensive everything was overall, the biggest reason seemed to be that adventurers earned pretty good money here.
I hadn't felt the pinch much with snacks, but with travel gear, it hit hard. Without those generously giving knights, I'd have been in serious trouble. I could've scraped by somehow, but I'd definitely have lost a lot of time here and there just earning travel funds.
Thanking the idiots who'd appeared like fate and lent me working funds, I started shopping with peace of mind.
Since I had to handle movement, scouting, camping, meal prep, and perimeter security all alone, there was a lot to buy. If this had been my past life, it would've been a hopeless situation, spending the night guarding a campfire, barely falling asleep at dawn, then struggling awake around lunchtime only to move a bit more. But thankfully, here, many problems could be solved if you just had money.
Right off the bat, a campfire was solved in one go with a portable magic stone heater. On top of that, instead of the hassle of carrying firewood or gathering branches at the campsite, I could cover it with a light, small magic stone, so my load was lighter and I saved time.
With fire control, not only could I do light cooking, but it also served as a lantern, making it one of the few cheat keys just for adventurers.
"Customer, you've got a great eye, but do you have the coin? That's expensive."
"How much is it?"
"Two gold coins."
A single travel tool cost half a Kelbast knight! But I had no choice but to accept the price, so I shut up, paid it, and bought extra magic stones to boot. Still, it was a relief I didn't have to worry about currency exchange, thanks to those knights.
Maybe because I paid without a word, the shopkeeper brought out various decent items and offered discounts, but the only things I needed among them were a glowstone that shines brightly for a moment when infused with Mana and a small shovel no bigger than a field shovel, so I didn't get much of a discount.
"You're a curious customer. Got an eye, got the money, but the goods are all for a first-timer. Did you stumble into the wrong dungeon somewhere and lose all your gear?"
"My gear lost me. My stuff's all fine back in Itisel."
"Itisel? That's an awful long way to come after losing your gear."
"I took an old, dusty gate and came here in one go."
He asked a pretty sharp question but his attitude was purely one of interest, so I told the truth. The shopkeeper burst into hearty laughter, took it as a joke, complimented my wit, and knocked the price down by three silver coins. As I left the shop, he called out after me that living was also about failing, tossing a well-wish, so it seemed he figured I'd lost my gear in a dungeon and cracked a joke because of wounded pride.
Quite amazingly, that misunderstanding wasn't limited to the first shopkeeper. When I bought a bag, when I bought rations, when I bought a cold-weather coat, people all made the same mistake and sympathized with me. Suddenly the recipient of cheerful pity, I ended up buying the items I wanted just a tiny bit cheaper each time.
Truly admirable misunderstandings and nosiness. As long as I profited, I didn't care either way.
Basking in the heartwarming affection of Kelbast like that, I finally stepped into a blacksmith's shop to get my armor repaired. The blacksmith looked back and forth between me, laden with various bundles, and my equipment, then frowned and asked.
"You heading out to the Great Grassland?"
"No. I'm going inland."
"Then you'd be better off just resting in the city for a while."
Maybe the people of Kelbast were just generous, but even while examining my leather cuirass, the blacksmith kept diligently offering advice.
"You probably don't know the situation behind the lines since you've been dealing with orcs, but things are bad between the kingdoms right now. Territories that clash with each other often go to war, so it's a situation where sparks could easily fly. Even in winter, bandits are springing up and private soldiers run wild like they fear nothing. Once you reach a city safely, no problem, but if you run into anything along the way, I can't guarantee pleasantries will be exchanged."
Huh? This wasn't just nosiness, this was actually important information.
"Not meaning to doubt you, but for all that, the atmosphere in Kelbast seemed awfully good?"
"Of course it is. Kelbast takes no damage at all, whether the kingdoms fight a hundred times or a thousand. The seams are a bit damaged, so it'd be good to fix them. You want it repaired?"
"Ah, yes. Please."
Just as Itisel received support as a bulwark against Demonfolk, I could easily guess Kelbast was supported for its role as a bulwark against orcs. But even so, the fact that he could boast confidently about taking no damage was a bit curious, so I asked why. The blacksmith gave me a look like I was asking something strange, but continued.
"Seems you're not from the kingdoms. Because of a past Great Orc Offensive, the people of these western kingdoms are pathologically wary of orcs. That's the reason no kingdom dares pick a fight, even though the city's prosperous enough to rival the Empire."
So it belonged to a kingdom but felt like a sort of neutral city. The fact that they happily beat each other bloody while keeping the orc threat blocked was laughable, but I let it pass.
"Still, isn't it lawless outside the territories? Is that truly respected?"
"For bandit scum, it doesn't work. But anyone with half a brain will just let you pass if you're carrying a single document stamped with the Lord's seal. That's also how big the shock of the Great Offensive was."
I'd briefly wondered if the Margrave of Kelbast had deliberately not told me to screw me over, but it seemed he'd dismissed it as nothing major, confident in the common sense here. They called him a margrave, but he was practically a king in his own right.
There was no need to explain in tedious detail to someone I'd never see again after today why I had to go inland, so I left the smithy after tipping him as a final gesture. The repaired armor was quite satisfactory—seemed his skill was as decent as his information.
"Seems the road back won't be smooth either."
It wasn't as if new incidents and accidents erupted on every path I took... but I kept getting tangled up with ones that had already blown up, so I couldn't feel at ease at all.
In the end, on my way back to the fortress, I stopped by a magic tool shop and bought an additional security device. It was a contraption that, when activated, detected living beings approaching within a certain range and vibrated as an alarm. I'd wiped it from my mind after cursing it as a truly fucktarded invention, since it alarmed even when a single small bird flew in yet steadily demanded magic stones to stay powered.
Originally, I'd planned to just make a simple booby trap using thick string and a small bell. But if plundering was so rampant that even a city blacksmith warned about it, I had to consider the possibility of dealing with cunning bastards who'd anticipate and approach traps of that level.
As expected, traveling alone in a world full of hostile creatures was no easy task.