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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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If there was one dramatic change that occurred in Ogwen over the past 3 years, it was undoubtedly the city walls.
The wooden fence had disappeared, and a stone wall appeared, gradually becoming more solid and tall until a gate was built.
Unless one was a fool, it was a moment where one could see how the Itisiel Kingdom viewed Ogwen.
Although there hadn’t been a single attack near Ogwen since the raid 6 years ago, they had no intention of carelessly neglecting its security. Ogwen was gradually acquiring the abilities of a fortress city.
“Halt. I will check your identity.”
“Wow, this is really too much. Do you have to stop me like this every time you see me, bro?”
“Hehehe. This is an uncooperative attitude. I’m stopping you just to see my little brother’s face, you know?”
I didn’t bother taking out my pass to show Alec, the gate guard who was smiling and stroking my horse. It was just a joke anyway.
But even as he stroked the horse, Alec, who had really stopped me, cleared his throat and spoke.
“Hmm. Hey, if this ordeal is annoying, you can introduce me to a girl.”
“This is absurd. You, who have lived in this village for 20 years, are asking Eldmia, a boy from the mountains, to introduce you to a girl?”
“Oh, you know. The one staying at Auntie Alisha’s…”
“There aren’t only one or two of them?”
The war continued, and unlike 3 years ago, the city started to have more orphans than runaway teenagers.
I don’t know what kind of policy they were implementing, but a considerable number of refugees had flowed into Ogwen, and even though I tried my best, it was not a level I could handle alone.
Even so, I gave opportunities to the kids who came and went, but only about twenty kids remained.
Now, Auntie Alisha’s inn was an inn in name only, playing a role closer to a daycare center for those children.
With the help of those around, the inn, which originally had a capacity of 7 people, was expanded to accommodate up to 25 people, and in collaboration with the Holy Cross Society, the only religious institution in the village that worshiped Ether, the God of Light, it was in full swing providing relief to the poor.
And our foul-mouthed Lady seemed much more passionate and happy, as if proving her character. I felt it every time, she was truly a saint. What else could a saint be if not this?
Anyway, the fact that this human was saying this to me meant that he was definitely infatuated with one of the six girls among those twenty kids.
“Ah, that brown-haired girl! The slightly chubby one!”
“Ah. Remiri?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’ll have to handle that well on your own. Why are you asking me? I’m going.”
“Ah, damn it, really. Hey! Hey!! Ah, seriously!”
The pigtailed girl Remiri was popular among the surrounding shops thanks to her outstanding wits and amiable impression.
She had worked so much at Tex’s clothing store, that she could be called the store’s poster girl, so she must have made Alec Miller’s heart, the eldest son of the Tex Miller family, pound as he came and went.
But why the fuck should I help someone else’s romance? I had no intention of spoon-feeding it to a guy who couldn’t even figure out why Remiri was working at Tex’s clothing store instead of taking a better job.
It was an annoying day even from the morning. Fuck.
“Brother! What brings you here today?”
“Why are you calling me your brother again? Please stop embarrassing me. If you’re 4 years older than me, have some dignity.”
A tall young man who would be the same height as me if he got off his horse spoke to me while carrying goods in front of Milena’s grocery store.
This guy, who introduced himself as Jin when we first met, had impressive tanned skin and reddish-brown hair, and had entered Ogwen about a year ago.
According to what I heard, he wasn’t from the kingdom but from a foreign country called Radan across the sea.
Putting aside the fact that I was amazed at how he ended up in Ogwen, a landlocked city, let alone a port city.
He had been diligently looking for work but was having a hard time at the time because his expression was a bit sour and haggard, causing merchants who felt intimidated to avoid him.
This nonsense happened because he caught the eye of Eldmia Egga, a man who doesn’t judge people by their appearance, and I enthusiastically helped him find work.
“What does age matter! You know more than me, more mature, and even provided me with a place to stay! You’re like a brother to me!”
“This is driving me crazy.”
The problem is that he stands out like a sore thumb. He already worked a lot because he was overflowing with energy, so his income was also different, and he ate well, but he also had a loud voice, so he stood out in many ways.
If it was just the villagers passing by, it might be fine, but now Ogwen boasted a floating population of half villagers and half outsiders. It meant there were a lot of people even though it was early in the morning.
Since I had a similar physique, it might not look strange to others, but… it was simply embarrassing.
In the end, I decided that explanation was faster than persuasion.
“I’m going to the guild to check if the kids are working properly.”
“Huh? You mean the adventurers’ guild? Why there?”
“What do you mean why? How many times have I told you? In just 2 years, I will become an adventurer and head out into the world.”
“What?! Wasn’t that a joke?!”
“Why did you take that as a joke?”
When I asked back, even more dumbfounded, Jin, who was looking at me with a dumbfounded expression, spoke as if it was obvious.
“I mean, why would you, who lacks nothing, choose such an ephemeral life? Aren’t you going to be a knight?”
An ephemeral life. It wasn’t exactly wrong. It wasn’t a profession with only adventure and romance.
I didn’t know what Jin’s past was like, but this guy immediately recognized that I had trained quite a bit and surprised me by asking if I was a trainee knight the first time he saw me. He probably believed that I was training to become a knight.
Still, he was perceptive enough to speak in a quiet voice, unlike earlier.
“I told you, I have to behead the Demon King’s army commander who destroyed our village.”
“Then shouldn’t you aim to become a knight?”
“In what era would I become a knight, and in what era and on what battlefield would I meet that bastard?”
The war with the Demon King’s army had reached its sixth year, but the achievements were still sluggish.
Of course, if there had been an event worthy of being widely known to boost morale, they would have circulated a proclamation, but there was no news of beheading the attacker of the monumental village on the frontier of Ogwen.
The last good news was that they had found the hero.
It meant that the unknown enemy was still alive.
“Having a different way of thinking from the start is just like you, brother. If it’s a commander, he would naturally be leading an army, so it’s a thought that not just anyone can have. How did you come up with that?”
“Isn’t the idea of infiltrating the army he leads and catching him much wiser than the idea of joining the army to catch him?”
“That’s why I said it’s just like you to feel that way.”
I don’t know what he’s basing it on, but this guy doesn’t listen to these words I spit out with half an ear. He thinks I will really attempt it and succeed.
He’s an uncomfortable guy because of such reactions.
“Anyway, I’m going. Work hard.”
“Yes! If you’re still here by lunchtime, let’s have a meal together!”
“Sure. See you.”
I waved my hand casually and got back on my horse, heading to Yance’s blacksmith shop. Yance’s shiny head was easy to spot, as he leisurely smoking a pipe while his apprentices stoked the forge’s fire.
“I, who have received Asirye’s permission, have arrived!”
“Already? Isn’t Asirye being too lenient in raising you?”
It was the most meaningful of today’s visits. After several spars with Asirye, she finally allowed me to carry a real sword.
‘It’s not like you’ll use the sword recklessly anyway… and you’re not a kid who can’t kill people without it.’
Although it was closer to a verification of character rather than a certification of skill.
“My diligence has simply shone through.”
I handed over the longsword I was carrying on my back, sheath and all.
“There’s no need to carry it on my back anymore! Give me! A belt!”
“Huh. I thought you were just trying to look cool, but you were thinking properly?”
“What? Uncle, have you been looking at me like that for several years?”
“Hehehe. Honestly, yes. But as expected, it’s reassuring that you’re a guy with his head on straight. It’ll take about an hour, so go play and come back.”
Yance tapped his pipe and went straight into the blacksmith shop. While trying to calm my pounding heart, I leisurely arrived at Alisha’s inn, and an incredibly busy scene unfolded before my eyes from the early morning.
From priests wearing the uniforms of the Holy Cross Society to all sorts of vagrant kids, to kids who had completely shed their vagrant appearance, it was so chaotic that I wondered if it was really early morning.
I had heard that they regularly received supplies from the Holy Cross Society, but it was the first time I had actually seen it, so I was quite flustered, but that wasn’t all.
“Those assigned to sewer cleaning, gather over here. Get the bread distributed by the priests!”
“Lunch boxes are ready for the boys drafted as manpower for city wall repair!”
“Delivery boys, come into the inn. There’s still time left, so rest inside!”
Recently, I had no reason to come early in the morning, and I just came whenever I felt like it, but before I knew it, Alisha’s inn had become an employment agency for vagrants.
Was there a capable person hidden among the kids that I didn’t know about?
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Maybe a capable girl?