## Chapter 177 – 177. Toward the Border
#177. Toward the Border
“You’re asking about the way to the Nivia Kingdom…?”
“Yes.”
The contract between us was simple.
I would assassinate Baron Hessler, and Lina Hessler would grant me one request.
Now that she had accepted my request, the contract was as good as fulfilled.
However, that didn’t mean our personal connection was severed.
The atmosphere had been a bit tense just now, but I hadn’t made an excessive demand.
It was just a tricky request involving surveillance and control over the trading company and preventing the handling of elf slaves.
Rather, I was in a position to demand more.
“Was it a difficult request?”
“It’s not that… but as you can see, the situation isn’t favorable right now. Would it be alright if I handed you over to the head butler?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
The vassals and guests filling the first floor of the mansion had all come to see her.
I wasn’t so clueless as to hold her up for too long in that situation.
Not long after Lina Hessler left to resume her duties, an elderly butler entered.
“I am Edmund, the head butler of the Hessler barony.”
I followed the head butler to another room. It was the baron’s personal archive, where a rather large map hung on the wall.
I stared at the map on the wall as if possessed.
Crude as it was, I could see what this world looked like.
‘Only one continent.’
Unlike Earth, which was made up of seven continents, this place had only one.
Of course, it was possible that they didn’t know about other continents because they hadn’t explored beyond the sea.
There seemed to be around twenty countries, and the one with the largest territory was naturally the Northern Empire.
It occupied almost a quarter of the continent all by itself.
“I heard you were curious about the route to the Nivia Kingdom.”
“Yes, and I was wondering if it would be alright to ask you a few other things as well?”
“Of course.”
The head butler pointed to the map with a stick.
I was currently in Wayble, in the Veilhaven Republic.
“Until just a few months ago, heading to the Nivia Kingdom wouldn’t have been too difficult.”
“Until a few months ago…? Did something happen?”
The head butler pointed to the Duchy of Orsia, located to the east of the Nivia Kingdom.
“Three months ago, a civil war broke out within the Duchy of Orsia.”
“A civil war?”
“Would you mind if I gave you a brief explanation?”
I nodded.
“The Duchy of Orsia was founded hundreds of years ago when the Orsia ducal family of the now-extinct Alvarez Kingdom became independent.”
If the Northern Empire was the dominant power in the north of the continent, then the Duchy of Orsia was the dominant power in the south.
It was a country that boasted excellent military strength based on a large granary area.
“The Orsia ducal family’s excellent bloodline has been passed down through generations, and the current duke is a superhuman who has reached the realm of Aura Master. It is said that victory reports never cease when he goes to the battlefield. He is also receiving the support of the people through his wise rule.”
“…Is it even possible for a civil war to break out in such a country, logically speaking?”
The duke possessed superhuman strength and was supported by the people.
A civil war couldn’t possibly break out unless the other party was completely insane.
“If the duke had been healthy, as you say, Henrik-nim, the civil war would not have broken out. However, a year ago, the duke collapsed due to an unknown illness, and cracks began to appear within the duchy.”
Not missing the opportunity, the nobles who had been suppressed by the duke joined forces and started a civil war.
In the process, the territory of Count Marville, the duke’s closest aide, was captured, and the duke’s only daughter, the duchess, who had been staying in the territory for convalescence, went missing.
“Due to the unprecedented civil war, the Nivia Kingdom has also strengthened its border security, so you will not be able to cross the border without a pass.”
“Is there no way to obtain a pass?”
“Trading companies and nobles who have been actively trading already possess passes. If you travel with them, you should be able to cross the border without any problems.”
Of course, it wasn’t impossible to get a new pass issued.
But that was a time-consuming method.
It was said that bribing could shorten the time, but you would still have to wait two or three months.
Needless to say, I didn’t have the luxury to waste that much time.
“Our territory’s trading company doesn’t have much trade with the Nivia Kingdom, so there’s not much we can do to help. I’m sorry to say, but would you like me to write you a letter of recommendation so you can seek help from the Partal territory?”
“Thank you.”
After that, I was able to hear many things from the head butler.
He gave me a brief explanation not only of the shortest route to the eastern border, but also of the political situation of the entire continent.
Of course, I often had to listen to old stories related to each country.
While I was spending time in an unexpected history and politics lesson, one fact that had been a constant question suddenly came to mind.
“The reason why the Goddess Church collapsed… you mean?”
The head butler blinked as if puzzled.
“Yes, my teacher said that it was not difficult to find a temple of the Goddess Church in any city during his lifetime. But when I finished my training and traveled the world, I could hardly find any temples of the Goddess Church.”
“Ah… may I ask which areas you mainly traveled through?”
“Up north. I don’t know the names of the countries or territories very well.”
I vaguely glossed over it.
One of the things I had learned while living in the mansion was that the wizards of this world were indifferent to the things around them.
It was common for them to confuse the titles of nobles, and it seemed that there were many who didn’t even know basic etiquette.
“Perhaps the part that Henrik-nim is talking about is largely due to the influence of the Northern Empire.”
“The Northern Empire, you say?”
“Yes.”
The head butler pointed to the map once again.
“The Eustaff Empire, the official name of the Northern Empire. Their ideology, which dominates the north of the continent alone, is a terrible human supremacism. Skeptical of religion, they have been rejecting and suppressing the Goddess Church, which worships elves, for generations. Of course, other religions were not much different, but the Goddess Church was particularly severe.”
The Eustaff Empire wielded immense influence throughout the north.
Naturally, neighboring countries had no choice but to be mindful of the empire, and the Goddess Church naturally retreated to the south of the continent.
In addition, the influence of Pelledeia in the international community had decreased since Resilia’s rise to power, which was also a major factor.
The Goddess Church has now become a semi-collapsed religion, and it is said that it is continuing its existence in Pelledeia, where the influence of the Northern Empire does not reach, and in some small kingdoms in the south.
After the head butler’s explanation, I was able to receive a letter of recommendation with the head of the family’s seal.
I headed straight to the annex.
‘…That’s a shame.’
I thought I would be able to talk to the World Tree if I came into contact with the Goddess Church.
·
·
·
That afternoon, I decided to leave the mansion.
There was no point in staying any longer, as it would only be a waste of time.
Fortunately, thanks to Lina Hessler’s kindness, I was able to travel to the next city in the barony’s carriage.
“Are you really leaving?”
I politely greeted her, who had come all the way to the back of the mansion to see me off, even though she must have been busy.
I didn’t know what would happen to this city, which treated elves as slaves, in the future, but there was no harm in maintaining a friendly relationship for now.
“I’m sorry. My schedule is tight, so I don’t think I can afford to relax.”
She looked at me with a somewhat regretful expression.
Of course, it wasn’t a girlish emotion like romantic feelings. It was closer to a desire for talent, wanting to keep a 4th Circle wizard by her side.
“I’ll visit you again someday if we have the chance.”
“…I believe you’ll keep your promise.”
“Of course.”
I got into the carriage and took Iris’s hand. Sylvia had already taken a seat in one corner of the carriage.
Perhaps because it was a carriage used by nobles, the ride was more comfortable than I thought.
“May the blessing of the goddess be with you.”
I didn’t know what it meant, but the carriage began to move, ending with the words that the wizards of this world always said.
It was only a matter of moments before the carriage left the city.
While passing through the city gates, I suddenly thought of Balan, the captain of the guard.
He was the only man I had built a good relationship with in this world, but I wondered if I would ever meet him again.
***
Three days had already passed since we left Wayble.
We are now in Sekal, a small mountain village located at the southernmost tip of the Yuclead barony, to which Wayble belongs.
According to the original plan, we should be heading to the Marquisate of Gaile, which is the midpoint, but there was a reason why we had to stay here for a while.
“Is that it?”
During the underground auction house incident last time, Iris had forcibly borrowed the power of the spirits.
At that time, the spirit had paid the price instead, but as the repayment deadline approached, Iris’s physical condition only worsened.
She was suffering from high fever and chills as if she had a cold, and the magic power in her mana circle was running out.
We were currently holding out with the remaining holy water and potions, but I was starting to think that it might be dangerous soon.
That was why I had been searching all the mountains near the village for the past two days.
Iris said that spirits liked magic stones the most. Especially upper-level spirits, who only insisted on magic stones as payment.
Anyway, I was able to ask the head butler and find out the location of a monster that could spit out high-quality magic stones.
That place was here, Sekal Village.
Of course, there were other villages, but it was said that four villages had already disappeared due to attacks by unknown monsters.
The Count of Yuclead had sent a knight order, but they had not been able to find the monster, let alone defeat it.
Currently, it is presumed to be a monster that flowed in from the Great Forest.
“…Found it.”
I had been searching for the past two days, pushing my magic detection to the limit, in order to catch the guy who had eaten over a hundred humans but was too scared to face the knight order and kept running away through the mountains.
As a result, I was finally able to find a cave where he was presumed to be hiding.
“Okay, go in and catch it.”
“…”
Sylvia, who was following me from behind, cursed with her eyes.
“You know it’s a violation of our contract to keep talking with your eyes without saying anything, right?”
“…There’s no such clause.”
“There was a clause that you had to call me ‘dear’.”
“…”
I approached Sylvia, who had become disheveled after climbing the mountains together for the past two days, and put my arm around her shoulder.
She looked visibly displeased, but she didn’t push my arm away like before.
It was worth taming her every time we were alone.
