Chapter 316: Journey
The next morning. When I finished getting ready and left my room, Mika-san and Yui-san were already prepared. Since we had been at the dinner party quite late last night, I had thought Mika-san would still be asleep, at least.
“Good morning. I’m surprised you’re up.”
“Morning! That’s because I didn’t sleep at all! I was reading Dragon Ball in the entertainment room!”
Mika-san said this with a mischievous look. However, her eyes were droopy, and she looked quite sleepy.
“Wait, you didn’t sleep? Is it really okay not to sleep?”
“I’m still young, so I’m fine! I heard Dragon Ball was in stock, so I couldn’t help but read it!”
“Mika, please don’t get cranky just because you’re sleepy. I warned you repeatedly, but you stayed up all night anyway.”
“I told you, I’ll be fine! I’ll maintain high tension until tonight!”
She said this while flexing both arms, but the moment she got in the carriage, she fell asleep. Since it was Ash’s carriage, it took about 10 minutes to reach the royal capital.
There’s no problem sleeping inside the carriage, but it’s too short for even a nap. I was worried she might refuse to wake up or get cranky, but when we arrived at the royal capital, she woke right up.
“Yawn. Sleeping even a little makes such a difference!”
“You can really sleep in that short time. Well then, shall we meet up with Ren and the others?”
We headed to a high-class inn. Ren-san and the others were having breakfast in the adjoining dining hall on the first floor.
“Ren, Shoji! I brought Sato!”
“Oh! Sato-san, you came!”
“Thank you for coming all this way. Can I take it that you have several days free?”
“Yes. I’m free until we plant the autumn crops, so I have several days.”
“That’s great! We’ll finish eating real quick, so wait for us!”
Ren-san and Shoji-san devoured the remaining breakfast with incredible speed. I told them there was no need to rush, but they didn’t listen to a word I said, stuffing it into their stomachs.
“Phew, ate it all, ate it all!”
“Hey hey, have you decided where we’re going?”
“Yeah. We talked about it a lot, and we’re thinking of going to the town of Gillet.”
“The town of Gillet? I think that’s fine.”
“I agree! It sounds super interesting!”
Hearing Ren-san’s proposal, Yui-san and Mika-san were enthusiastic. Since it was an unfamiliar place name, I couldn’t judge whether it was good or not, but if all four of them unanimously agreed it was good, it must be fine.
“Sato-san, is Gillet okay for you this time too?”
“Yes, no problem. I know few places within the kingdom anyway, so I’ll leave everything to the four of you.”
“Sato doesn’t know the town of Gillet!”
“Is it a famous place?”
“Super famous! There’s nothing in Gillet itself, but there’s an abandoned temple nearby!”
An abandoned temple? I had heard about it before, in Sheila-san’s explanation.
If I recall correctly, the Sarevo Abandoned Temple. Since Mika-san says it’s super famous, it must really be an amazing place.
“I’ve heard of the abandoned temple. It’s the Sarevo Abandoned Temple, right?”
“Yes, yes! What, you know about it!”
“I know the name, but I don’t know anything about what’s there.”
“It’s apparently the biggest temple in the kingdom! None of us have been there, so we don’t know the details!”
“To put it simply, it’s like a ruined Ise Grand Shrine. The architecture isn’t Japanese-style, so it’s just an analogy, though.”
I’ve been to the Ise Grand Shrine. It’s mysterious, of course, but above all, it’s enormous.
I felt its beauty and divinity because it’s maintained, but if it’s fallen into ruin, the eeriness might stand out more. Besides, in this world, it seems like divine power might really remain.
“It does sound interesting, but also scary.”
“There don’t seem to be any curses, but I’ve heard rumors that dangerous monsters lurk there.”
“I’d love to see the dangerous monsters living in an abandoned temple! Maybe they’re monsters that have accumulated holy energy?”
“No, since it’s abandoned, wouldn’t they have turned to evil energy? The Sarevo Abandoned Temple itself is famous, but there’s little information about inside, so we won’t know until we go.”
“Right! Well, even if something happens, we’ll protect you, so it’s fine! So let’s depart right away!”
With that, the discussion was settled, and we decided to leave within 20 minutes of arriving in the royal capital. Our destination was Gillet—the town near the Sarevo Abandoned Temple.
The abandoned temple was frightening, but right then, my curiosity and interest outweighed that fear. With our hearts swelling with anticipation, we boarded the carriage and set off for the town of Gillet.