19-11
Ruined City Merkwell
Translator : PolterGlast
That day, we stayed
at an inn and spent the night. Since Port Ake is the largest trading
port in the Coastal Provinces, it was overly well-equipped when it came to
inns. Thus, just past noon the next day, we were allowed to board the flagship
of the Hez Company, and began our return journey to the Empire. During
that journey, having them drop anchor at Salzland, the gateway to the
Coastal Provinces, to achieve the mission indicated by the bizarre book was
also one of my aims.
――――――――――――――
- Exploration -
【Reach
the gateway of the Coastal Provinces, Salzland】
·
Reward: EXP 10
――――――――――――――
「Eh,
eh, eh, what is going on here!?」
And one more thing.
I wanted to return as quickly as possible, so I made a certain proposal. When I
told her to connect all the ships with chains using the flagship (she wouldn't
tell me the ship's name for some reason) as the axis, it was immediately
rejected. However, I persisted and persuaded her, saying I would listen to
whatever she said if nothing happened. The result went exactly as planned. The
flagship, affected by the Movement Speed LV 2 correction, forcefully
towed the other ships, leading the sailors and Carral to raise their
voices at the bizarrely high-speed cruise.
「Impossible...」
「It's Zirant's
blessing. For some
reason, the vehicles I ride accelerate unconditionally.」
「Even
so, it's impossible... It's certainly fast, but it's a bit dangerous, and if I
get used to this speed, I won't be able to go back!」
「Then
you should just keep taking Shinza and sessha around with you!」
「That's
even more impossible, I tell you! Please, just don't break the bottom of the
ship, okay!?」
「P-Please
don't say scary things, kyan...」
「Wahaha,
I have no trust!」
「I
still haven't forgotten that you tried to use fire on the deck!!」
A sea voyage with Sigrun
is terrifying. Even Sigrun wouldn't do something so nonsensical, I
think, but she could mess up at any moment.
「How
about we take turns keeping an eye on her, kyan...?」
「That's
our only choice, huh...」
「Sigrun,
absolutely do not enter the ship's hold. Even I'm starting to get anxious...」
「Don't
be a fool, what's packed in this hold is the reward of the chivalrous thief Pretty
Bell! There's no way I'd sink it!」
「Eh,
what's that...?」
「It's
the name of the
chivalrous thief. I didn't like being called 'Terror', so I claimed this
name instead.」
That's a topic I
don't want to remember... Thanks to Sigrun acting on her own and
declaring "The chivalrous thief Pretty Bell has arrived!", I
had ended up becoming the true identity of Pretty Bell... Terror
is much better...
「Heh...?
But, Shinza is a man, right...? Why, Pretty Bell...」
「I hit
it off with Zira-chan over it! I liked it so I went with this!」
Talk about a
terrible story...
「Umu, I
don't think it's bad. It's been a while, Carral.」
Since Zirant
unnecessarily manifested with light, startling the sailors, and began talking
about the magical girl Pretty Bell, I fled into the cabin... Terror
is better... Terror is still much better...
Thus, the next day,
due to the high-speed cruise that surprised even Carral, we arrived at the anchorage of Salzland
in just a single day. In the past, there was apparently an elf country with
that name, but it vanished due to annexation, and this land inherited its name.
Regardless, when I checked the bizarre book wondering how it was now—
――――――――――――――
- Exploration -
【Reach
the gateway of the Coastal Provinces, Salzland】
(Completed)
·
Reward: EXP 10
――――――――――――――
――――――――――――――
- Exploration -
【Reach
the ruined city of Merkwell, west of Salzland】
·
Reward: EXP 1600, Acquisition of Relic(s)
――――――――――――――
――――――――――――――
- Table of
Contents -
·
【Name】 Ashley
·
【Lv】 49
·
【Exp】 10770 → 10970 (Abyss
Ant Battle) → 10980
·
【STR】 118 → 120
·
【VIT】 302 → 305
·
【DEX】 273 → 275
·
【AGI】 260 → 263
·
【Skill】
Shovel LV 5 Scoop LV 1
Imperial Bonds LV 2 Sense of Direction LV 1 Movement Speed LV 2 Digging x30
(Active)
『Merkwell,
huh... It makes sense, but... how strange.』
――――――――――――――
This was a hit, just
as expected. A new challenge had been added to the page. The reward experience
points were also exceptional, and this "Acquisition of Relic" thing
was quite suggestive.
「Carral-ojousama, a bad
report has come in from the sailors who went ashore ahead of us...」
「Eh,
then I don't want to hear it...」
「Don't
say that and please listen. It seems there was another disturbance in the court
of the Imperial Capital.」
「What
did you say!?」
However, just as a
delicious reward was dangled right under my nose, an urgent report arrived.
「Prince
Julius and Prince Yord staged an uprising in the court and aimed
for the Crown Prince's head, but they failed and were eliminated instead.
Prince Julius and Prince Yord are currently missing—that's what
we heard.」
「A coup
d'état! Wahahaha, shedding their haughty blood in the court of all places, what
idiots!」
In that case, we
must hurry and return to Erin. But what the bizarre book points to is
the farthest west from here. It indicates for us to go to the ruined city, Merkwell,
located across the sea. However, if our return is delayed, our response to this
suddenly changed situation will also be delayed. Aneue and Puis will probably complain too. I hesitated over this
captivating detour.
Zirant, what do you think? In the first place, what does
"ruined" mean?
『Umu,
I'm glad you asked. I shall specially explain it to you.』
You just love
explaining things, don't you... And so?
『Merkwell
is located in the farthest ends of the world. It's on the extreme frontier,
south-southwest even from the hidden village of the Horned species. There,
beautiful minerals called magic stones can be obtained. Because of that,
settlement took place there long ago.』
Magic stones, that's
a gemstone with quite a dangerous-sounding name...
『They
had utility value for some people. But, you see, the wasteland of the farthest
ends crept closer to the city year by year, and when it was finally swallowed
up, it was unavoidably abandoned. One would normally think—that even if you go,
all you'll get are magic stones.』
If the grotesque
monsters we fought in that farthest wasteland appeared around the city, it
wouldn't be an environment for mining or living. However, my interest was
piqued. I want to go. But, this situation...
『Go.
You just need to pack the necessary personnel into a schooner and have the
others head to the next anchorage. There will be a delay in the schedule, but
with Carral's
and your abilities, you should easily be able to catch up.』
That is true,
but... Zirant, is this a detour
worth risking the fate of the Empire over?
『Strictly
speaking, Merkwell has not fallen to ruin. If you go, a new encounter
will surely await. If you want military strength, you should go.』
I see. Understood,
let's go. If Yord and Julius are truly dead, it's safe to say the
situation has improved. If the major successors to the throne decrease, the
number of conflicts will decrease accordingly. But if Yord and Julius
are alive, that is the beginning of a massive civil war. We will need even more
power.
「Shinza,
you've been silent for a while now, are you okay...?」
「No, I
was just thinking a bit. More importantly, I have a proposal.」
「Yeah,
we have to hurry back...」
「Take
me to the ruined city of Merkwell.」
「Ruined!?
What's with that hot-blooded ring to it!? Good, I like it, sessha is
going too!」
「Wait a
minute, the Empire is in a terrible situation, so why... wh-where is that!?」
「Apparently,
it's the farthest west from here.」
It's probably better
to keep the troublemaker Sigrun under my supervision here rather than on
the other ship...
「Umm...
I will return to Kaha, kyan. I need to gather information here
and report back to the King... For what it's worth, I'm a diplomat too, kyan...」
「That's
a great help. If we are to move the army to Fimbul, it seems better to
hurry.」
It's this kind of situation, but Zirant says it's worth going. In that case, I have no choice but to go. Making Sigrun and Carral my main force, along with a very small number of sailors, I decided to hastily aim for the farthest west in a schooner. Bringing back magic stones as a souvenir for Aneue doesn't sound bad, either.
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