Arrival at Wizheim
The young master said nothing until we left the general store. I couldn't tell what he wanted from me. He followed along with a faintly sullen look, lips pressed tight shut. If he was going to be like that, I wished he'd just spit it out already — the silence was maddening. And so we ended up wandering the village in a rather uncomfortable atmosphere.
"No tourist attractions, no local specialties…"
The village had more inns and lodging houses than actual homes. A location so close to the headquarters of the Metis Order, and yet nothing to offer beyond cheap places for pilgrims and travelers to rest…
Plenty of people passed through thanks to the Order, but maybe that very fact had kept the village from growing in any other direction? Or had they simply poured everything into the hospitality trade?
"There's less to see than I expected."
"Y-yes?"
He gave a strange reaction. Why was he acting like that? Honestly, it was frustrating. Come to think of it, he'd been this way ever since the barony. Tagging along on the journey, too… he had a talent for making people feel put-upon.
"The village. There are plenty of inns and restaurants, but nothing else worth looking at."
"Ah — ah! R-right, of course."
What was with him? Did he have something on his mind? Was I somehow being a burden? But he was the one who'd suggested we walk around together. Had something urgent suddenly occurred to him?
"It does seem like a village that developed around lodging."
"Doesn't it?"
Even if they tried to promote something else, competing with Wizheim — the Order's holy seat — would have been nearly impossible. Adapting rather than fighting it seemed the wiser path.
"Not a bad decision, really."
"Is that so…"
"Yes. The villages around the Capital are much the same."
I'd heard that the settlements surrounding the Capital — where culture, goods, and people all converged — were mostly quiet farming villages. No matter what else they tried to offer, the Capital would simply swallow them whole, so it was a natural phenomenon, apparently.
From the perspective of modern knowledge, that didn't quite make sense. Weren't the areas around a capital usually more developed? I'd learned that people flocked to the outskirts because everyone wanted to live near the infrastructure hub of the capital, and that concentration of people naturally gave rise to satellite cities.
Maybe not enough people gathered here for satellite cities to form…
"Tomorrow there should be plenty more to see."
"I hope so."
Honestly, I couldn't help but look forward to it. It was a major city, after all. I'd originally planned to go to the Capital, and while the destination had changed, it was still a large city full of people — so it had to be different, right? The city of Valdeck had been packed with all sorts of sights. I simply hadn't had the time to enjoy them.
This time, I'd be staying in Wizheim for quite a while. I intended to take it all in.
Deciding there was nothing more to see, we headed back toward the inn — and along the way I spotted guards patrolling the village. Their gear wasn't uniform, so they didn't look like regular soldiers.
"Those aren't soldiers, are they?"
"They almost certainly are."
"Really?"
I'd taken them for a local watch, but his eyes saw something different.
"If you look carefully, there's a crest on their armor."
Standing still and studying them, I could indeed make out something like a crest stamped into a corner of the armor.
"It proves they belong to the territory."
A civilian watch organized by the villagers wouldn't be allowed to use one, he explained.
"But aren't things like uniform dress important for soldiers?"
"Haha. That varies from territory to territory."
If the lord provided good support and supplies were plentiful, the gear would be uniform and high quality. If not, the equipment would be shoddy.
"The odd assortment of gear is probably because it's priestly equipment."
The soldiers bought and wore their own gear with their wages, just to keep themselves alive — and that was how things ended up looking like this.
"I see… So the barony must support its soldiers quite well?"
The soldiers I'd seen on the way here had generally worn matching equipment. The Meyer Barony's soldiers, in particular, had gear that wouldn't look out of place even compared to other cities.
"Our territory sits near the border, after all."
Armed clashes were frequent enough that they had no choice but to equip their men properly. The kingdom even provided subsidies for that purpose, so of course the gear was good.
"That makes sense."
When we arrived at the inn and stepped inside, the place was bustling. The first floor doubled as a dining and common room, and it was packed with people. Our traveling companions were among them.
"Oh-ho, just getting in, are you?"
The merchant's face was slightly flushed — he'd clearly been drinking.
"Ah, yes…"
His sudden approach caught me off guard. I'd just wanted to go to my room and rest… He wasn't about to drag me into a drinking session, was he? A few of the laborers and the coachman were drinking with him.
"Haha! Did you enjoy your date?"
What on earth was he talking about? A date…?
I momentarily doubted my own ears. A date — between me and the young master? A daaaaaate?!
I was so flustered I couldn't even protest. Me and the young master?
"It was nothing of the sort."
The young master denied it before I could.
"Is that so? I thought the two of you made quite the handsome pair."
When the merchant said that, the laborers and coachman beside him nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, yeah! You two are always stuck side by side — we figured that was the case."
…I shot the young master a sideways glare. He looked pointedly elsewhere. He'd denied it, but it hadn't felt like a proper denial.
"Absolutely not."
My mood soured instantly, and I said it with a straight face. I offered them a perfunctory goodbye and trudged off toward my room.
"Oh dear, seems we've made her angry."
I could hear them chattering behind me.
"You'll have to work harder, my boy."
The young master apparently had no intention of turning in yet — he joined the drinking party. I gave it a cursory glance and headed for the room assigned to me.
"You're back?"
My sister greeted me as I entered.
"Yeah. Sis, could you help me set up for some alchemy?"
I told her I was going to make ointment.
"Alchemy?"
"Yeah. Get things ready for me."
She knew the basics well enough, so I asked. I changed clothes and pulled out the herbs I'd bought, chopping them finely.
My sister took a magical brazier and a pot from her bag. I'd thought it was expensive, but the brazier… it actually seemed quite serviceable.
"Thanks."
I generated water with magic, put the water and chopped herbs into the pot, and stirred while channeling Holy Power into it. The reaction came immediately.
"It's been a while since I did any alchemy."
Each time a combination completed, rainbow light filled the room. I repeated the process again and again. Pouring Holy Power into the work without rest, I soon had seventeen jars of ointment.
I'd meant to make just enough, but the containers were small and I couldn't fill them all the way. At least I'd bought plenty of jars, so I could pack more.
"Let's see… twelve laborers and three adventurers, so that leaves two extras?"
I'd give one to my sister and tell her to use it in an emergency.
"One of these is for you, Sis."
I carefully packed the remaining sixteen into my bag.
Time had flown while I worked, and it was time for bed. The cheap inn didn't have the softest mattresses, but it was better than sleeping outdoors.
I slept soundly and woke early to start preparing. I dampened a towel and wiped myself down, changed clothes, packed my bag. My sister couldn't get up all at once and kept dozing, so I simply got everything ready myself.
Eventually everyone gathered in front of the carriage. Frankly, most of them looked rough. The only ones in decent shape were me, my sister, and the three adventurers. The laborers and the merchant were all suffering from hangovers after last night's drinking.
As for the young master… I'd seen him join the drinking party, and sure enough, he was clutching his head in hangover agony.
"Just one more day of travel and we're done. I appreciate everyone's efforts."
The merchant said it in a weak voice, and the caravan set out. Throughout the journey, people retched from their hangovers or clutched their heads, and our progress was delayed more than once.
"How much did you drink last night…"
Looking at the young master's condition, I wondered how he planned to serve as a bodyguard.
"Haha…"
Even a Knight Class warrior, it seemed, couldn't escape a hangover. My sister had suffered the same way whenever she drank…
"I only had a little. It's been so long that I couldn't control myself."
"There won't be any trouble, will there?"
"We're near the Order, so it's unlikely."
No matter how detached from worldly affairs the Order might be, it still had a sword to protect itself. Near the headquarters, no bandit would be bold enough to try anything.
"That's a relief, then."
Everyone was in such poor shape that if enemies did attack, our response would be delayed. At least the adventurers had declined last night's drinking — that was fortunate.
Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. But…
"We're resting more often than usual…"
The horses weren't tired, yet we stopped frequently. It was clearly because of the hangovers.
I wished we'd arrive sooner… but I held my frustration in check.
And before the sun set, we arrived at our destination — at the foot of Wizheim.
Wizheim… the headquarters of the Metis Order was an enormous city. But something even more overwhelming stood behind it.
"A… rocky mountain…?"
Yes. Behind the city rose a massive rocky mountain that wrapped around fully half of it.
Countless buildings stood at the mountain's base, and the higher up the slopes they climbed, the larger and more splendid they became.
"Th-that's incredible."
Even the buildings in the lower town were of considerable quality. The wooden houses so common in the frontier were almost nowhere to be seen.
Even if the Order claimed little interest in worldly affairs, I could keenly feel that its influence was anything but weak.
"The line is quite long."
In front of the walls, people who looked like priests were conducting inspections, and the queue was substantial.
I stared blankly at the city's exterior and noticed something unusual.
Wizheim felt less like a holy site and more like a fortress. The natural rocky mountain served as a wall at the rear, and where the mountain didn't reach, man-made ramparts sealed the city off — projecting an unmistakable message that no one would enter casually. I could begin to understand why, though it stood within the kingdom, it did not belong to the kingdom.
Even among noble territories, few places had walls built this high. Fortress towns or border strongholds, perhaps — but that was about it.
Wizheim was different. They had turned the entire city into a fortress. And it was vast enough to shelter countless people within.
I found myself mildly curious as to why they'd built it this way.
"It really does feel completely separate from the kingdom."
More precisely, it felt as though they considered even the kingdom a potential enemy.
"Doesn't it?"
The young master answered with a pale face, still suffering from his hangover.
"Why do you suppose they made the city into a fortress like this?"
And why settle at the foot of a rocky mountain in the first place? For a city's development, open flatland would have been better. Was there some special reason?
"Well… I don't know much about the Order's history myself."
"That, I happen to know a bit about."
While we waited for inspection, the merchant — apparently bored — spoke up.
"You do?"
"Yes. I've brought caravans here several times, so I've picked things up."
Several hundred years ago, he said, the Order had been based somewhere else entirely. Then a conflict between religions erupted, and the majority of the other orders turned against the Metis Order, which at the time had been the most powerful.
In the end, the Metis Order suffered enormous losses in the war between the faiths and was forced to relocate its headquarters — to what is now Wizheim.
"In that war, the Metis Order lost the thing it treasured most."
The thing it treasured most… for the Order, that would have to be knowledge, right?
"And what was that?"
"Their records."
The diverse knowledge, records, and books accumulated since the Order's founding had been destroyed, he said.
"Ah…"
"And so the Order resolved that such a thing must never happen again."
That resolve shaped the choice of their new center — a place where their records could be protected.
Deep within the rocky mountain, in the Order's holy sanctuary, the vast knowledge and records they had gathered over the ages were stored. It had become a treasure vault that every scholar longed to enter at least once.
"I see…"
There were other reasons the kingdom couldn't touch them, it seemed.
If anyone moved against the Order, the backlash would be enormous. So rather than fight, they maintained a cooperative relationship…
As the sun sank low and darkness began to settle, our turn finally came.
A priest? A holy knight? I wasn't sure what to call him, but he inspected the cargo on the carriage.
"Papers?"
"Yes, here is the merchant's permit."
He examined the certificate bearing a noble's seal and waved us through.
"Pass!"
At last! We had arrived at our destination!
The whole party went together to the Adventurers' Guild and settled accounts according to the contract.
The merchant thanked everyone for their hard work and informed us that, considering the spoils taken from the bandits, he'd included additional compensation.
"Oh… twenty-five gold."
Opening the pouch the merchant had given me, I found a considerable sum.
"Haha. Quite the tip."
"It is, isn't it."
Even accounting for the bandits we'd run into midway, wasn't this too much money? The merchant had had the laborers strip the bandit corpses of valuables, but still…
"He'll probably sell what they collected."
"I wonder if that covers it…"
Well, more money for me was always welcome, but…
"No need to worry about a merchant."
That was true enough.