CHAPTER 29: WATERGATE CITY ABRAM WINTER ENDS

The rumor of the Red Crows destruction didnt become official, but it seemed to have steadily permeated to everyone.

The end of the year came, and the new year arrived without any celebration, but there was nothing in particular that changed here.

Besides, its not like I was idly wasting my days during this half year.

There was only one goal, to move outOr rather, simply make preparations to escape.

After adding Shiro the Thief and Sara the Magician as one of my retainers, I tried to avoid carelessly increasing my retainers.

Well, its not like there are many travelers in the season of winter, but the annihilatedor rather, the Red Crows that I annihilated, the fact that they were a fairly well known group of ruffians was also a cause.

Even among the fugitives that were introduced to me by Gustave, there are some that come asking about that.

They might accept it if I talk to them about it, but I avoided talking about the finer details.

The fact that information is a weapon is something that I myself realized all too well.

My hesitation to increase my retainers was also for that reason.

These types of people were sent away by threatening them with there is a high probability that you will die, do you still wish to continue?, but I also need to think of how else to chase them away.

Its not like the information from Gustave reaches me all that frequently.

That Jii-san isnt a guy that would die from being killed, but it was also probable for him to just die from some careless action somewhere.

If he did, there was the possibility that the current me would be completely cut off from information on the outside world.

Thats why, it was dangerous to rely only on his information.

In these times, travelling peddlers arent all that rare.

And then, there were also small merchants on the individual scale that would dare to take the risk and aim for profits.

A peddlers social status was assured through a license issued by the Merchants Guild, the Feudal Lords of various places, or even the Church.

tatus and travel.

Watergate City Abram was in a distance that would take a week from my dungeon, and was a large city in the vicinity of the area.

Even so, if one were to look over the entirety of the country I was raised in, even if it is called a large city, its size is average, and it seems that there are still other cities that are larger than this.

Moreover, since it is in dispute with the eastern major power with the hegemony on the line, honestly, it didnt feel real to me.

My hometown was in a remote region that was close to the national border with a foreign country, but since it is located on the western side of the country, we dont have much of a relation to the war.

Then again, this is a remote region for both countries.

It would be a different story if the mine development were to make a step forward on a large-scale, but in truth, there probably wasnt any profit to be made if they were to go to war.

I was born, and am a bumpkin that hasnt gone all that far out from my birthplace.

To go to a large city that was several dozen times bigger than that, even though I know about it in my knowledge, its overwhelming to see it in person.

Even though I made a gentle expression, after about one hour after entering Abram, my behavior was probably the very picture of a country bumpkin.

Eliott-sama, if you keep on looking around restlessly like that, you wont look like a merchant.

That was the third time I was chided by Astarte like that since we entered the city.

I was in a merchants outfit and Astarte had the appearance of a poet.

That decision alone seemed to be the correct one.

The image of a well-travelled female poet travelling together with a bumpkin peddler might be rare, but within this large city, it wasnt something that looked that strange.

Once we stayed at the inn with just the two of us, they guessed on their own that we had that kind of relationship, and I was grateful that they didnt look into it all that much.

It could be seen in their eyes that they would meet you with a barrage of questions like where you came from or what kind of relationship you had.

True to its name of Watergate City, Abram had a large river running through the center of the city. Appropriate for a city with a deep relationship with water, the one that gathered the most faith in Abram among the various Gods of the Church was the River Goddess. The River Goddess should be a divinity affiliated with the forces of light among the Gods of the Church that gives protection to mothers and young women.

The one worshiped at the Church is the divinity that is the chief God and that leads the Gods of Light. According to the books of foreign countries that I read recently, compared to their religion called monotheism where they accept the God of Light and deny the other Gods, it seems that this form of worship is called polytheism where they worship a group of Gods.

Nonetheless, I havent had any good memories of the Church since long ago.

There is no way I would receive grace from some God.

In Watergate City Abram, these abundant water resources are put to practical use, as there are a great number of waterways that run through the city, as well as water wheels that use them for power. And then, the gigantic water gate that controls it all at the source is probably the main feature of this town.

After arriving at the town, there was a thin waterway and so many water wheels that I didnt know what they were used for. It looks like there are many ways to use them other than for grinding.

Since it had expanded this much from all of his work, the person called Margrave Abram is probably a great man in his own right. Doing various things, after we did a light look around the town, we secured a place at an inn in an area that looked like it had good public order and took a rest.

When the two of us went down to the bar and got a meal, I listened in on the contents of the conversation at the neighboring table.

It looks like the Church is finally going to make a move.

Still, why is it herCertainly, she does possess the qualifications as a Temple Knight of the Church, but I thought that she doesnt have any military service records?

Well now, theres no telling if she really is his niece. She might unexpectedly be his biological child that a woman from somewhere had given birth to.

Oi oi, even if thats just a joke, if the garrison hears you, theyll take you away, you know? Well, if she possesses talent that succeeds that Count Abrams blood, then I personally welcome it.

The words the Church is making its move is a phrase that I cant just overlook.

They are words that Gustave often warned me about, and the forces of the Church include this country as well as the surrounding countries, so they are extraordinarily strong.

Eliott-samaThat really is worrying.

Yeah, Ill try asking someone about it.

While I am a bumpkin, I was originally in the service business.

and peddlers, and I bore in mind what a peddler might have an interest in talking about.

Excuse me, may I ask you a question? Ive just arrived in this city not too long ago, but are you having a somewhat dangerous conversation?

No, well, I overheard you talking about a topic like a war would be happening. As a novice peddler, that kind of topic worries me.

No no, she is just someone that I just coincidentally ended up coming here together with. I am unfamiliar with this area, and am having her help me out. Are you all people of this town?

By the way, Astarte is actually unable to initiate this sort of colloquial conversation, and this comes as a huge surprise to me. She just might have been a noble before she was turned into a Demon.

In exchange for treating them to a drink, I was able to hear some fairly good information from them.

About how Gustaves mercenary group was recruited to a skirmish that broke out at the border with the neighboring country and was currently absent.

About how his few remaining blood relatives just arent popular with the common people.

About how that girl was like the common people, how she would go into the city sometimes and do administrative work, and that she seemed to be popular with the common people.

About how that niece officially received an investiture from a chivalric order that was affiliated with the temple, and was a Temple Knight.

And then, what was most important was, about how my dungeon was designated as dangerous by the Church and seemed to be officially targeted for subjugation, andAbout how the Temple Knight that was Count Abrams niece was chosen to be the commander of those troops.