Chapter 39 – The Countess of Hamburg
The Countess of Hamburg is a day’s horseback ride from the Hamburg Fortress.
Hamburg, a large city at the foot of the Vulkan Mountains, developed particularly in jewelery and mining because of the rich mineral resources of the county’s vicinity.
Iron ore and silver, various gemstones and rare earths.
These are all things that the dwarfs of Nidavellir who live in the upper town are crazy about.
If it hadn’t bordered Doom Land, the land of demons, Hamburg would have been able to develop much bigger than it is now.
Although Hamburg is regarded as an outdated region in the capital city, the reputation of the Hamburg count family, which has ruled the place since the days of the Empire, was as solid as a diamond.
This is also true because the title of ‘the shield that protects mankind’ has been handed down from the time of the founding of the Kingdom of Oz without fading even once.
Maybe this is where Rachel’s overconfidence, who was the party’s only tank and source of money, came from?
She must have been treated like a princess in a cold land ruled by her own family.
***
Next day.
Dorothea spoke to Eva and prepared the items I asked for.
It was a horse, three days worth of food to come and go, and an emergency magic stone.
This time, he had to go to a human city, so no one could accompany him.
It is literally a solo mission.
“Bye.”
“Please go.”
Dorothea and Camilla, who came out to see me off, exchanged words like that.
I thanked them both and mounted the tawny-maned courser with Eva holding the reins.
Unlike normal horses, it was characterized by quite long tail and leg hair, but I heard that it was a guy who caught a wild horse in the Vulcan Mountains area and bred it with a war horse.
It is strong against cold, so it is perfect for moving to snowy fields.
“What’s this guy’s name?”
When I asked while stroking his neck, Eva seemed to hear something unexpected, huh? And raised his voice.
“I don’t have anything specific. Why don’t you give yourself a nickname if you want?”
Although it was a short time, I thought hard about the name to give to the horse with whom I would go on an arduous journey.
The name Joongongara, which was given to Bicon the other day, was too crude.
This time, I wanted to give it a more plausible nickname.
“Hmm.”
While observing his features, I muttered a word that came to my mind as I came into view of its beautiful tan mane and copper-colored body.
“Gold Sun…”
No, is this a bit obvious?
I’ll have to change it to a more familiar word.
I said, stroking his long mane with a soft hand.
“Your name is Gold Run from now on.”
If this is it, it must be Eva’s relative.
***
I took the Gold Run and headed straight to the Countess of Hamburg.
In fact, as a member of the warrior’s party, it wasn’t completely the first time because it was a place I’d been through once before.
The only difference is that they traveled on foot, as there was no way to return the borrowed horse back then.
Searching for memories of the past, I run through the snowy field.
As Eva explained, Gold Run didn’t show signs of getting tired easily, even after running for quite a long time, probably because it was stronger against the cold than normal horses.
This is why it seems that when you buy a horse, you care about its pedigree.
“Whoa whoa whoa-“
Departing from the fortress and moving down for about two hours in the direction of the Hamburg county, I stopped my running horse to rest for a while.
“It’s about one o’clock now.”
After checking the time by sticking a stick into the ground, I dug a hole with magic and set fire to it.
Roaring!
At times like this, I thought that I was very fortunate to be a wizard.
If this had to be done by hand, it must have taken a year just to light the fire.
I poured my eyes into my favorite portable coffee pot, boiled water, and chewed dry food from a cloth bag.
The food Dorothea brought was mainly beef jerky and biscuits, but she sacrificed taste for preservation, so she had to focus on what she ate.
After a simple meal in a quiet atmosphere with no one to talk to for the first time in a while, I quenched my thirst with hot water and gave the rest to Gold Run.
Then, as if Goldrun was quite thirsty from running for a long time, he gulped down the water in the Coppel.
I licked it clean enough that I didn’t really need to wash the dishes, but I put it back in my backpack after wiping it clean with snow for the next time I’ll use it.
It’s time to start again.
‘I think I have to go another 5-6 hours.’
I wanted to refrain from sleeping outside in this cold weather.
Even if you overdo it a little, it would be much better to go inside the city and sleep.
“Today, you have to suffer a little.”
Saying that, I stroked Goldrun’s hair and climbed back onto the saddle.
***
It was around the time the sky was turning dark when I arrived at the entrance to the county of Hamburg.
I don’t know exactly how many hours had passed, but there was no doubt that I had been running on the snow for a very long time.
Even if he took a break in between, he had to run all day today, and he was quite tired from the gold run.
When I entered the city, I approached the gate of the city, thinking that I should take care of the best fodder.
The long procession was lined up to pay tolls to people who came from outside, but among the ordinary humans were short dwarves.
Perhaps he came all the way here to buy minerals, a specialty of Hamburg.
Unlike the land of the demons, there is no need to hide my face in the city of humans, so I waited for my turn with my bare face.
Eventually my turn came, and I took out something from my bosom to prove my identity.
“This, this!”
The guards confirm that I have reached out and widen their eyes.
“What is it?”
The co-worker next to him poked his face in curiously, and hey! And hold your breath
“Mage! Come on inside!”
What I presented to them was a medal to prove that I was a wizard belonging to the ‘Emerald Tower’.
Not to mention, the gold plate I presented was an item possessed only by wizards of 4th tier or higher, commonly known as ‘mages’.
This is proof that he is in the top 10% of wizards called the privileged class.
I put the medal that the soldier had politely returned into my bosom and entered the castle gate holding the gold run’s reins.
After crossing the narrow and long moat and crossing the arched gate, the panoramic view of the snow-covered city finally comes into view.
After a journey of about eight hours, I arrived at the Countess of Hamburg.
***
The first thing I did as soon as I entered the city was find a place to stay.
Fortunately, compared to what I had to do in the future, this belonged to the very easy side.
Unlike the land of demons, where everything goes back to the principle of power, human cities basically follow the gold standard.
In other words, if you have a lot of money, you can get the best service anywhere.
“The main store is 10 silver per night.”
I took out a coin purse that I hadn’t used in a while and paid 10 silver coins to the clerk at the front desk of the inn.
This is the best-rated inn in the area, and although the price per night is a bit high, it is the best place to stay if you have the money because of the excellent service quality that pays for it.
I handed over three more silver coins as a tip and asked for a good meal for the horse tied to the stable.
Then the waitress said yes and handed over a key.
“Room 204. Go up to the second floor and turn left.”
I put the ring of the key given to me by the waitress in my finger and turned it around to go upstairs.
Like the county of Hamburg, one of the largest cities in the East, the inn was crowded with people traveling from other parts of the country.
I was able to breathe a sigh of relief only after entering the guest room, which was wearing a hat attached to my robe so as not to get into a fuss.
“Whoa- I’m finally going to live.”
I immediately threw off my stuffy robe and threw myself onto the soft bed.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been riding a horse all day, I feel numb in my lower back.
When I think about how things were fine in the past, I feel that I have grown old.
He gets a little depressed, but soon he shakes his head and gets up.
“…Once we got into the city safely.”
There was no particular wanted order, and since I belonged to the Mage Tower, I could enter any city with a free pass.
But from now on, it’s a problem.
To meet the Margrave of Hamburg, he had to reveal his old identity.
The wizard of the warrior party, Kaldrash.
But that’s the worst option.
After entering Doom Land, the hero party’s activities have completely stopped, and if I suddenly appear in human territory, of course I will not be able to avoid suspicion.
As I was trying to choose the best move with so many constraints, there was only one way that came to my mind.
“Let’s sneak in.”
I plan to push it with the setting that I have not officially visited.
