Chapter 317: The Town of Gillet

Inside the carriage heading to Gillet, Mika-san was sound asleep. Despite the rest of us being awake and having quite an animated conversation, she hadn’t opened her eyes once since getting in the carriage.

I have some resistance to sleeping in front of others, so I couldn’t help but think how amazing Mika-san was as she slept so soundly. After being shaken by the carriage for about 10 hours, it seemed we could finally see the town of Gillet.

“So that’s Gillet. It’s our first time here too.”

“It’s a more ordinary town than I expected.”

“Well, Gillet is just a town near the Sarevo Abandoned Temple, like I said earlier! As I mentioned, I don’t think there’s anything particularly interesting!”

It was already evening. We decided not to head to the abandoned temple today, but to spend one night in Gillet.

As Shoji-san had said, there was nothing particularly interesting. We simply found an inn and stayed the night. The next morning arrived without incident.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well, Mika-san?”

“Morning! Huh? Why? I slept super well!”

Since she had slept over 9 hours in the carriage, I had wondered if she might not be able to sleep at the inn, but it seemed she had slept soundly. I couldn’t help but think that being able to sleep so freely was a talent.

“You were sleeping soundly in the carriage, so I thought you might not be able to sleep at the inn.”

“Hmm? I think I could sleep normally! If someone told me to sleep, I could still sleep more!”

“Mika is quite strange. I think she’s probably the type who doesn’t even get jet lag.”

“Rather than strange, that’s amazing. If I’m not careful, I can’t fall asleep.”

“I don’t really get it, but I’m definitely not strange! More importantly, let’s talk about the abandoned temple!”

Mika-san changed the topic with a pout, having been called strange. I had asked out of curiosity, but she was right—the abandoned temple was more important than sleeping habits right now.

“Are we going straight to the abandoned temple without any prior information? Or are we going to gather some information in Gillet first?”

“Shoji and I asked around yesterday. Apparently, entry isn’t recommended in the first place, and anything that happens inside is entirely at your own risk. Since it’s that kind of place, there aren’t many people, but we were warned to watch out for bandits and brigands.”

“So it’s not just a suspicious place, but there are those kinds of dangers too.”

“At your own risk means if something happens, no one will come to help! It feels like a lawless zone, so exciting!”

Mika-san’s eyes began to sparkle hearing Ren-san’s story. Honestly, I couldn’t understand being happy upon hearing there were bandits and brigands.

“Well, if our opponents are human, we can handle them somehow! It would be suspicious if gods or something appeared though!”

“If something unknown appears, let’s prioritize running away.”

Everyone nodded at Yui-san’s words, and we boarded the carriage. After about an hour of driving from Gillet under Ren-san’s guidance, the entrance to the Sarevo Abandoned Temple came into view.

In the open area, enormous stone gates stood uniformly in a row.

“Wow! I feel like I’ve seen something similar at an amazing shrine!”

“Indeed, it’s like Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. Though I feel the scale is on a slightly different dimension.”

The sight of torii gates lined up is beautiful, but the stone gates of the Sarevo Abandoned Temple are simply overwhelming. And with good reason—each gate is about 30 meters tall, and they stretch on in a row.

“It’s a magnificent sight. It must have been beautiful before it fell into ruin.”

“I think so too. But more than that… I can’t see the temple itself.”

Only the lined-up gates are visible; the main temple building cannot be seen. We would probably see it if we continued forward, but I was constantly surprised by the scale beyond imagination.

“I’m glad we can still proceed by carriage. It would be scary not being able to see ahead if we were on foot.”

“From what we heard yesterday, I don’t think it’s that far! Anyway, let’s keep going!”

We got back in the carriage we had stopped at the entrance, and proceeded as if passing under the enormous gates. While taking in the magnificent sight… something that appeared to be the temple came into view beyond the gates.

“Is that the Sarevo Abandoned Temple? I don’t think they needed to make so many gates!”

“Wasn’t it necessary in terms of being overwhelming? Just the entrance alone is this astonishing, so I’m looking forward to seeing what the temple is like.”

After the temple building became visible, we proceeded for about another 10 minutes. Finally, the temple clearly revealed itself.

Given the stone gates, I had imagined something like the Parthenon, but in reality, it was built like a cathedral. Even in its ruined state, it was clear that it had been constructed with attention to detail, not just in size.

“This is amazing. I really can’t understand how it was built.”

“The decorations go all the way to the top! I can’t understand why such an amazing building was abandoned!”

“Apparently, Gillet wasn’t originally the closest town! There was a town near the Sarevo Temple, but it was destroyed by an army of monsters, and with no one left to maintain it, it fell into ruin!”

So there was a proper history behind its abandonment. With something this large, just maintaining it must cost a considerable amount, and managing it would be difficult too.

If it had been turned into a tourist attraction, it might have been maintained, but if the town was destroyed by monsters, it was inevitable that it would be left to decay.

Feeling somewhat saddened, I approached the Sarevo Abandoned Temple.