Chapter 100
Its Name is
Translator : PolterGlast
Beyond the sign
marking the Holy Elmore Empire, it was clearly a different country.
The first thing I
noticed was the effort put into the roads.
In the Grust Kingdom,
the roads were used as they were, having been built before the kingdom was even
established.
But the roads in the
Holy Elmore Empire were clearly repaired, and even if they weren't paved with
concrete, they were carefully laid with cut stones.
"This, the
kingdom is no match at all, right?"
"If they went to
war, the empire would probably overrun the kingdom in no time."
Nodding at Miku's
words, I stared at the stone road that stretched far into the distance.
The map was in its
current form only because there was damage from monsters and humans were
united, but if the fear of monsters disappeared, the kingdom would be easily
swallowed.
Was the kingdom
complacent because the empire had no territorial ambitions?
But even if the empire
didn't intend to go to war, why did they maintain the roads so well? ...It must
be because of the difference in national power.
They didn't seem to be
strictly monitoring border crossings, and soldiers didn't immediately fly over
even after crossing the border.
We decided to bypass
the nearest town and enter the town of Pyranelle, one town east of the
westernmost town.
I thought the
surveillance would be looser there than in the border towns.
It was amateurish
wisdom, but sometimes these kinds of things added up and paid off later.
When we entered, we
were subjected to a strict body check first.
But unlike the
kingdom, perhaps because various ideologies had developed, the body check for
Miku was conducted by a female soldier.
By the way, I was
holding the Skeleton Knight's sword, and Miku was holding the Skeleton Priest's
staff, and we were wearing leather armor that we had tailored along the way.
We didn't intend to
stand out, so we were wearing cheap clothes without using any great materials.
"What are you
here for in the empire?"
"To find work, of
course. I heard that adventurers won't go hungry if they come to the
empire."
The guard, who had a
serious face, nodded at my words.
The land area of the
empire was many times larger than that of the kingdom.
In other words, it
bordered the Demon Lord's territory in many more places, and the number and
scale of battles were on a different level from the kingdom.
"Indeed,
adventurers won't go hungry. If you can survive on the front lines, you can
earn enough money to retire quickly, and even if you can't, there's already a
shortage of manpower."
The guard's words
weren't an exaggeration.
The empire treated
adventurers far better than the kingdom.
We learned that as
soon as we entered Pyranelle--.
"We offer free
water buckets as a special service to adventurers who stay with us!"
"Hey, are you
adventurers? How about buying something? We'll give you a discount!"
Miku and I looked at
each other, surprised by the situation where we were constantly being called
out to.
Basically, adventurers
were ruffians who could cause public order to deteriorate.
Therefore, in the
Grust Kingdom, adventurers weren't very welcome.
They were necessary
for living, so it couldn't be helped... but they were often given complicated
looks.
But it seemed that it
wasn't the case in the Holy Elmore Empire.
"We seem to be
very welcome."
"Yeah... it's a
strange feeling."
First, we decided to
gather information.
Then, we were able to
understand the circumstances of the empire, which were completely different
from the kingdom.
Adventurers who could
move across borders were, in a way, combat forces and meat shields that could
be brought in from other countries.
There was a problem
with maintaining public order, but if they were sent to the front lines, it
didn't matter much (there seemed to be a subsidy system for adventurers, and
the fact that the whole town was kind to adventurers seemed to help maintain
public order).
The rewards for
adventurers going to the front lines in the empire were extreme.
If they could earn a
lot of money, many adventurers would jump into dangerous places.
Therefore, there were
quite a few shops in the empire that were started by adventurers who had
retired after making a fortune.
Looking around, there
were many tough-looking men and people with old wounds in the stalls.
There were crepe shops
run by tough-looking men, inns run by one-armed women, and so on... what was
interesting was that, unlike the kingdom, there were many people other than
pure humans.
Basically, the Grust
Kingdom was a nation created by a single human race.
But in the Holy Elmore
Empire, there were many demi-humans like elves and dwarves.
There were beastmen
with animal ears everywhere, and there were also races like the Lizardfolk, who
had faces like lizards (by the way, it seemed to be taboo to say that they
looked like lizardmen. Apparently, it was like being identified with monkeys in
humans).
Unlike the kingdom,
the empire had a culture of valuing people based on their abilities, regardless
of race.
Powerful adventurers
from other countries seemed to gather in the empire, which had good treatment.
"But conversely,
it also means that they can't win without doing this much..."
"I wonder how
strong the Demon Lord's army is..."
I was honestly happy
that we were treated better.
But on the other hand,
it also meant that the Demon Lord's army was an opponent that even a huge
country that could crush the kingdom with a snap, couldn't win without going
this far.
Thinking a little
darkly about the future, we decided to return to the inn.
While eating dinner,
thinking about whether we should go north and check the front lines, Miku-san,
who had been thinking seriously, raised her face.
"Masaru... if
possible, could we go to the kingdom once? I want to talk to Mitsukawa-kun, but
if possible, there's someone I want to contact in the kingdom. That person
is--"
What came out of her
mouth was someone I didn't know, but someone who I immediately understood was
an important person.
"Alicia von
Grust... the second princess of the Grust Kingdom."
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