Kays Translations

Chapter 402: Gathering Information Along the Way

We would travel east through the royal capital. The route was better maintained and made it easier to replenish our supplies along the way.

Naturally, we had loaded a considerable number of magic potions into the wagon. Since I had been summoned, House Mulan presumably had facilities where we could produce more, but the stock was a sensible precaution.

Giles and Christopher accompanied us as escorts. It appeared to be their first long journey, and both were somewhat excited.

“Look! I can see smoke rising. That must be the famous hot spring town.”

“So that’s the place… the one Lord Julius saved…”

Christopher and Giles gazed at the town with deep emotion. When had such stories begun to spread? I had never intended to conceal what happened, but I had not asked for it to become common knowledge either.

With that thought in mind, we arrived at the royal capital. After spending a night at the townhouse, we would be stepping into unfamiliar lands for the first time.

“Fabienne, are you feeling alright?”

“Um, well… my butt hurts.”

“That’s serious. Let’s get you an extra cushion.”

I thought about joking that it would be a problem if her rear split into two, but I decided against it—I’d probably get a look of disdain.

So far, the journey had gone smoothly. The real challenge would begin after the royal capital, when we entered the damaged region.

After adding the cushion and completing our resupply, we finally set foot in the eastern lands. The first day passed without incident, but from the second day onward, the road conditions deteriorated rapidly. The once-paved road turned into a bumpy path. Still, having a road at all is better than nothing.

“This is quite the bumpy ride…”

“Yes. You should take some motion sickness medicine at the next stop.”

“I will.”

Fabienne’s face had gone pale. Were the worsening roads another consequence of the monster outbreak? When I asked Lionel, he said it was highly likely.

Taking his advice, I observed our surroundings more carefully. Here and there, I noticed broken branches and claw marks on tree bark.

Beast-type monsters appeared to have overrun the area. Hunting them through the forest must have been difficult. Father’s letter had not mentioned this, but the region might have suffered considerably more damage than we realised.

The wagon slowed. Surviving monsters might still be lurking nearby, and Lionel judged that we should proceed cautiously.

Fatigue was beginning to show on Fabienne’s face. It would be best to take a proper rest soon.

“Lionel, let’s rest for a full day at the next stop.”

“Understood. As you command, Julius-sama.”

When Lionel relayed the message, everyone seemed pleased. It wasn’t just us—our knights had also accumulated quite a bit of exhaustion.

We arrived at a small town—not quite a village. The presence of an inn, a tavern, a general store, and even a branch of the Adventurers’ Guild confirmed that. Though small, it was still a town.

Somehow, we managed to secure enough rooms for everyone. The large room was entirely occupied by our knights, essentially making it their domain.

“Take it easy and rest. I’ll go look around town for a bit.”

“You are certainly accustomed to travelling, Julius-sama. Please take care.”

Just in case, I left Mira with Fabienne and told her to contact me immediately through the ring if anything happened. That should have been enough.

…No, I’m still worried. I’ll secretly cast a spell without them noticing.

“Kyuu?”

“Do not worry. Mira, please look after Fabienne.”

“Kyuu!”

Mira raised a forepaw in response. They seemed to have noticed my magic and understood that it was harmless. It looked as though they would obediently do as I asked.

I took Giles and Christopher outside. As expected of properly trained knights, they still seemed to be holding up well.

“Julius-sama, what do you intend to do?”

“I thought I’d gather some information about the situation around here.”

Once we reached Marquis Mulan’s estate, we would probably learn much more, but I also wanted to hear what the local people had experienced and investigate the availability of ingredients in the area.

Although I was able to get some information from shopkeepers, I couldn’t obtain anything from the Adventurers’ Guild. Well, I suppose that’s to be expected since I’m just a child.

“They said monsters came to this town too.”

“Yeah. Since there was an Adventurers’ Guild in town, they somehow managed to handle it, but it seems some people in the surrounding villages lost their lives.”

“They said the monsters came from the northeast.”

The map showed that the forest continued to the northeast. Could part of it have become a magical zone? If there was no clear boundary, gathering ingredients might prove difficult. I should ask Lionel to consult the Adventurers’ Guild.

After returning to the inn and showing my face to Fabienne and Mira, I immediately set out to find Lionel. Apparently, he had also gone into town to gather information. When he returned, we exchanged what we had learned.

“That’s how it is. What about you, Lionel?”

“It’s pretty much the same information. It seems that monsters have moved across a wide area, causing damage in multiple places. As a result, there’s a shortage of magic potions.”

“So, it’s the same here too. Now that you mention it, I think I noticed the shops didn’t have any magic potions in stock.”

The shortage of magic potions was not limited to the Mulan Marquisate; the entire eastern region appeared to need them. When I consulted Lionel about ingredients in the nearby forest, he immediately agreed to gather information from the Adventurers’ Guild.

Hopefully, we could find medicinal herbs in the nearby forest.

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