kscans

Chapter 65 - The Republic

In the morning, we finished a breakfast of freshly baked bread and coffee and left the mansion.

The three of us were heading out together, but not for leisure.

Altorine was continuing with the town's reconstruction, while Tina and I had decided to set off for the Republic.

As for the entry ban, Altorine said she would have it lifted today. When we arrived at the gate, Altorine explained the situation to the soldiers, and they let us through.

Once outside the gate, Altorine spoke.

"Shinsuke, Tina. Thank you very much. I want to thank you again for stopping the mob's rampage."

She said, bowing her head.

I replied.

"Don't worry about it. We just did what we thought was right. It's embarrassing to be thanked so much."

I said, scratching my cheek.

Tina added.

"It's as Shinsuke says. It wasn't a request, and it makes us feel awkward."

Tina scratched her cheek in the same way.

Seeing the two of us, Altorine said.

"No, this is a matter of principle. ...Will you be coming back to this country again?"

Her face held a hopeful expression, and I replied.

"...I don't know. After we've seen the Republic, we're thinking of going to the Empire. ...If I recall, it's a straight road from the Republic to the Empire, isn't it?"

To this question, Altorine replied.

"...That's correct. If you're going to the Empire, you won't pass through this country. ...That's a little disappointing."

Her last words were too quiet for me to hear. I was about to ask her to repeat them when Tina interrupted.

"Let's go, Shinsuke."

She said, forcefully pulling my arm. I was dragged along, finding it a bit difficult to walk. Watching this scene, Altorine thought.

(...Tina. Does she already have a faint inkling? ...It truly is a shame.)

With that thought, she returned to the town.

Sometime later, the princess's party arrived at the gate.

Glad asked.

"...Excuse me. Is it alright for us to leave the city now?"

To this question, a soldier replied.

"Yes, it is. The city's security has improved, and the Holy Knight has instructed us not to halt the flow of traffic any longer. ...However, we will need to check your luggage as a precaution."

The soldier said and inspected their belongings. After the inspection, the princess's party passed through without incident.

Princess Olivia said.

"...Alright! Let's resume our mission! We're tailing those two!!"

Olivia said, raising a hand and pumping herself up. Glad replied.

"U-Understood."

At his somewhat unenthusiastic reply, Sakura said.

"Glad-san, please pull yourself together. This is what Lady Olivia has decided."

She admonished him. Glad steeled himself and renewed his resolve to continue protecting the two.

We retrieved our luggage and set off for the Republic in our iron cart.

Of course, I was the one driving.

It would take about three days to reach the Republic from the Church.

The journey was smooth. We were attacked by boars, goblins, and anacondas, but we defeated them all. Tina fought them alone, dispatching them with a combination of water and wind attacks. Watching her fight, I asked.

"...Come to think of it, Tina, you can use wind magic too?"

To this question, Tina replied.

"...I learned wind magic before we set out on our training journey. ...I thought I needed to improve, so I looked through all the grimoires, but I was only able to learn wind. ...After that, I studied from the manga Shinsuke had and trained."

She said, puffing out her chest.

A world where you can get stronger just by reading books. ...If the people I've met so far have gotten stronger by reading... I can't let my guard down. I have to work hard too, I thought, as we arrived at a large river.

There was a bridge spanning it, but for some reason, a crowd had gathered. Wondering what was going on, I got off the cart and approached. I asked a merchant who was there.

"Hm? ...Oh, there's a man with a spear standing on the bridge, and he won't let anyone pass. ...Apparently, he's saying, 'If you want to cross, you have to either beat me or pay me.'"

The merchant said with a sigh.

...I see, a tollbooth bully. What a nuisance. I wanted to retort, 'Did you build this bridge?' but this wasn't a world where such words would get through.

Thinking that, I approached the bridge.

On the bridge, a lightly armored man with a spear said.

"Hey, hey. How long are you all going to stand there? I already told you, if you want to cross, you have to either beat me or pay me. ...Hurry up and decide."

What a rude way of speaking.

Truly a nuisance.

Did you build this bridge? I wanted to retort, but this wasn't a world where such words would get through.

Thinking that, I said.

"...Hey, if I beat you, you'll let us cross, right?"

I said, stepping onto the bridge. The man replied.

"That's right. If you can beat me, that is."

The man said, readying his spear.

His stance wasn't bad. It looked like he had been trained somewhere.

I drew my mithril sword and took my stance.

It's been a while since I've done that, I thought, as I took the dragonfly stance.

"Suuuu... CHESUTOOOOOOO!!!!"

I shouted as I ran.

My face was like a raging torrent.

The man was surprised and bewildered by my shout and my expression. I didn't miss the opening.

The moment I got close, I swung at the spear he was holding. The spear was cut in two, and to the astonished man, I switched my sword to my left hand and punched him in the stomach with my right. The man clutched his stomach and writhed in agony.

I said.

"...My win. No complaints, right?"

I said with killing intent. At first, the man looked like he was about to say something, but faced with my killing intent, he fell silent. I said.

"Well then, we'll be crossing. ...Oh, and everyone else can cross too."

I called out to the people who were stranded.

The people's faces lit up with relief, and they began to cross the bridge one after another. As they passed, they kept thanking me. I returned to the iron cart and resumed driving.

On the bridge, the man muttered.

"...Damn it, I was supposed to save up money here and join the 'Men Loved by God' group."

I heard him mutter. I said.

"Oh, that group was all arrested, and it's been disbanded."

I said as I left. The man was dumbfounded.

After Shinsuke's party had crossed the bridge, the princess's party arrived.

"...Alright, let's go too."

Olivia led the way.

Glad muttered.

"But he wasn't here when we passed through. Did he just show up recently?"

To this, Sakura replied.

"That's highly likely. ...I don't know what he was thinking, but..."

Sakura sighed with a look of exasperation.

As the three of them were crossing, the man who was sitting down asked.

"Excuse me, may I ask something? ...Is it true that the 'Men Loved by God' group was arrested?"

To this question, Glad replied.

"Yes, that's right. ...I heard the leader was captured, and the other members were too."

He stated flatly. The man said.

"N-No way."

He hung his head in disappointment. The three of them left the man and crossed the bridge.

After crossing, Olivia said.

"...It seems that man was trying to earn money here to join that group. ...How foolish."

She said with a look of disgust. The other two agreed.

Tina and I were about to arrive at the capital of the Republic.

I said.

"We should be at the capital soon. We couldn't carry the monster pelts or magic stones from the Church, so should we just enter the city as we are?"

To this, Tina replied.

"That's right. ...However, it's unnatural for it to be moving without a horse. Even if you're moving it with a skill, it will definitely stand out. ...I'm sorry, but Shinsuke, could you pull it?"

She asked me a favor.

It's true, if we entered the city like this, we'd be the center of attention. Since I have the role of a scout, it can't be helped.

But for me, a hunter, to be a scout... life is truly full of surprises.

I got off the cart and pulled it. Since it was heavy, I changed the material of the iron cart to Weightless Stone. This made it almost weightless. The luggage and Tina on top were as light as feathers, and we moved smoothly.

At the city entrance, there was a gatekeeper, as expected.

"Halt. ...What is your business here?"

He asked in a formal tone.

I replied.

"To exchange goods. We've brought monster pelts and magic stones."

I said, showing him the contents of the cart.

The gatekeeper glanced at the cart and said.

"...You there, the beautiful lady. What is in that box?"

He questioned Tina.

Tina replied.

"Tools and food. These are not for sale, they are our personal belongings."

She said, showing him the contents.

Inside were ropes, potions, green armor, seasonings, and monster meat. Incidentally, the canned goods and machinery were hidden at the bottom of the box. It would be difficult to explain them.

The gatekeeper said.

"...Hmm, ...alright, you may pass."

He let us through easily.

'Aren't they a little too complacent?' I wanted to retort, but I kept it to myself. As I pulled the cart, I said.

"...Well then, first, let's go to the guild and sell the pelts and magic stones."

To this, Tina said.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, Shinsuke, appraisal at the guild is only in the Kingdom. In other countries, we use the disassembly shop next to the guild."

She told me.

...I almost made an unnecessary fool of myself.

I really thought that having a partner was necessary. We went to the disassembly shop and sold the pelts and magic stones.

Twenty silver coins and thirty copper coins. Not bad.

We went to a deserted alley, changed the iron cart into an iron box, covered the box containing the canned goods, changed the properties of the ground, and stuck it together. Now we don't have to worry about it being stolen.

We would take the bag with potions and ropes to the inn. Tina packed the green armor in a box. ...So she's going to do it. Thinking that, I carried the box on my back. It was noon, so we got a room at an inn first and put the box and bag in the room. Then, Tina and I decided to look around the Republic.

At the port of the Republic.

A ship arrived.

Several adventurers disembarked, all of them with strong bodies and sharp eyes. And descending, as if protected by those adventurers, was a man. Prince Alphonse appeared, dressed in inconspicuous plain clothes.