11-7 Part 1
The Town of Stakes, Ratatosk
- The Fate of a Country Bumpkin -
Translator : PolterGlast
The eastern sky is burning faintly, almost like a painting.
On the third day since departing from the Imperial Capital, we had
arrived at the western provincial city of Ratatosk.
「Wow... It's quite a lively town...」
Kachua is
particularly restless right now. As soon as we passed through the outer walls
of Ratatosk, Kachua from Corin Village, overflowing with
curiosity, was looking around all over the city. Even though it's a crowded
main street, she looks away an awful lot, and because of that, she bumps into
people over and over again, apologizing scrupulously each time.
「Kachua, it makes me sound
like an overprotective guardian to say this, but. For now, look ahead when you walk.」
「Yeah... but it's a mysterious town,
so I couldn't help it. Ah, I'm sorry.」
This time it seems she bumped into a plump woman from
behind, and I had no choice but to catch the pushed-away former village girl
with my arms. Even so, Kachua is engrossed in sightseeing, and without
learning her lesson, she starts walking while looking away again.
I don't really want to say this, but I'll dare to say it
here. You're completely exposing yourself as a country bumpkin...
「Fufufu... It's a little unusual, isn't
it, this town. This place is called the Town of Stakes.」
Priest Yungwi called out to such a Kachua. It
seemed she was going to act as our tour guide.
「Stakes?」
「It refers to the labyrinths.」
「Ah, you did say that. That places
close to a labyrinth connect to the Abyss, right.」
That's why they paid a whopping 1000z from their honorable
poverty wallets to hire the escorts named Shinza and Kachua.
「That is a hypothesis. However, with
monsters from the Abyss appearing this frequently, it seems difficult to deny...」
「Deny or whatever, just looking at
the state of this city tells the story.」
The city of Ratatosk was surrounded by high city
walls. In the arable land outside of it, exaggerated fences stand in rows, and
each resident protects their own fields and homes.
「There's also something like that
moat you made, Shinza. The suburbs remind me just a little bit of Corin
Village.」
「Nostalgic, huh.
So, by stakes, do you mean that?」
That thing towering before our eyes caught my attention
whether I wanted it to or not. In the center of the city, a single white stake
was pierced into the ground, towering even higher than the city walls. If
something like that is pierced into the earth, there's no choice but to call
this place the Town of Stakes.
「Wah, wh-what's that?!」
「You made all that fuss and you
didn't notice...」
The stake is too massive to be a city monument. Looking like
a cross-shaped sword, the stake caught the pre-dusk sunlight and was floating
whitely and flickeringly in the sky.
「In this Ratatosk, a total of
13 giant stakes are pierced deep into the ground. Adventurers from the
surrounding areas each dream of making a fortune in one stroke and challenge
the great labyrinths spreading underground from the stakes. That is the
Labyrinth City of Stakes, Ratatosk.」
I've read about this city in a travel book. That there is a
mysterious land possessing labyrinths that spew out treasure and it is a land pierced by stakes. However, the real thing is beyond
exaggeration. The central stake was so massive that one could only describe it
as incomprehensible.
「Heeh, so that's what it is! Ah... but we're in the middle of a job, right... Aww, if it
weren't a time like this, I would have challenged it together with you, Shinza...」
「I understand that feeling; I'm also
interested in testing my skills. But obtaining treasure from a labyrinth,
that's exactly the kind of shady story I'm talking about.」
At the shop we just passed, colorful gems were lined up
under a signboard that said "Scrap Gems". Things with many impurities,
cracked ones, or cloudy ones were being sold at low prices.
「You think so? I mean, aren't you excited, Shinza?! I
(Ore)—no, I (Atashi), it was my dream to challenge a labyrinth! I heard
there are amazing treasures deep inside the labyrinth!」
「I get it, I get it, then we'll do it
on the way back.」
「Really?! Yaaay, it's a promise,
okay, Shinza!」
It's a bizarre land indeed, as they sell other things like
medicine, precious metals, and even bullion branded as being from the
labyrinth. Looking at the distributed goods unique to this city, influenced by Kachua, I also felt like taking on a dangerous
test of skill.
Since my life is cheap anyway, it wouldn't be bad to try
challenging it before I leave the Empire. If I die, then I die.
Gazing at the townscape once more casually, a scene exactly
like that travel book spreads out. Although it's a dangerous land where
monsters from the Abyss appear, the city of Ratatosk is constantly
bustling with adventurers and merchant traders, keeping the people robustly
alive.
People named the world connecting from the stakes a
"labyrinth," flocked to the unfathomable wealth, and created a safe
city here. To state my frank impression, it's an inexplicable and mysterious
land.
There probably isn't another strange town like this, even in
the vast Empire. To that extent, they lived their days constantly neighboring
the monsters of the Abyss and the wealth of the labyrinth.
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
Thinking back, we had been having days not blessed with
beds, sleeping outdoors or on benches. However, today is different. Apparently,
there is an accommodation facility for these pilgrims at the cathedral in Ratatosk.
According to Yung, meals are free, and it seems to be a comfortable dormitory
with beds prepared for everyone.
However, before reaching the cathedral, we ran into a
commotion again. No, rather, it might be better to call it a natural disaster
or a cataclysm. As we were walking along a street paved with white stones lined
with bazaars, we suddenly heard a man's scream.
「Ants are heeeere!!」
It was a cry equivalent to a scream. Those words mixed with
frenzy scattered like highly flammable oil onto the people of Ratatosk
here, and instantly the people began to flee in confusion. A shout that makes
no sense to us seems to carry a dangerous meaning in this land.
「Eh, what does he
mean by ants?!」
「Let us run, Shinza-san, that
is—that is probably an Abyss Gate!」
Centering around a single point, the citizens fled radially.
Turning my eyes there, a strange hole large enough for a person to pass through
had appeared.
It seems that is an Abyss Gate. As if the hole itself
connected to another space, beyond the hole, a world of bedrock spread out
instead of underground.
「We are falling back! Come on, hurry,
you two as well!」
「Eh... wh-what is that?!」
From that hole, ants certainly appeared. Giant ants
possessing a physique exceeding a person's and bodies like armor.
The first to move was Kachua. Just as the sound of
drawing a bow echoed next to me, she had already loosed an arrow at the
monster.
I was impressed by the quickness of her decision, but the
result was not favorable. The arrowhead, which was supposed to pierce through
the torso, only stuck shallowly into the hard exoskeleton. The ugly giant ant's
armor easily shrugged off an iron arrowhead.
「Crap, arrows aren't working on that
thing?!」
「To think you'd launch a preemptive
strike first thing instead of running away. What a quick-to-act rearguard you
are.」
Some might get angry at such a rearguard, saying they lack
cooperativeness. But I think favorably of it. Because a preemptive strike is
the very initiative for victory.
「Because my body moved on its
own—uwa, that thing's coming this way!!」
「Because you provoked it! But our
role is to escort the pilgrims, so let's clean up that kind of thing quickly!
Also, that was a good attempt just now; aim for a softer vital spot next time.」
「Y-Yeah!」
The ants that appeared from that other world were about as tall as my waist, but their body length was about 40% longer. Those are insects. Beings more troublesome than beasts, possessing bodies with hard exoskeletons, had appeared in the city streets.
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