Chapter 163 – Chapter 5: Gordburg – 1
“Did you not sleep?”
Ruyev asked bluntly as the carriage departed again as soon as the morning sun rose.
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you too nervous?”
Ruyev broke off a loaf of bread for breakfast. First he gave Marie a large loaf and then handed me a similar size.
And he gave sincere advice, taking the smallest one.
“If boiling emotions have ignited the fire, you have to remain calm afterward and not mess up your work. Even if you push yourself like that, you can’t do anything right. It will only become an obstacle to our plans.”
I know.
I couldn’t sleep even a wink, so I was so tired that I couldn’t even lift a finger while holding the bread.
But I couldn’t sleep.
The image of Tia I saw last night kept coming back to me, even when I closed my eyes, and I got so angry that I couldn’t rest comfortably.
Ruev won’t understand why I stayed up all night.
I’m jealous.
I want to live confidently like you, and live by seeing only what I want to see.
I want to live without knowing.
But wherever I go, traces of Tia and Posao remain, and I have to see them.
Even if it’s just to chase those two people. I had to force myself to face the most unpleasant past.
[This ‘knowledge’ that everyone fears comes with a heavy responsibility.]
My father said so.
This… Is this a responsibility I must bear as I pursue the truth?
“Ritz oppa.”
He raised his sunken eyes.
Marie was holding out something of hers to me.
It’s a loaf of bread.
She said as she handed me a loaf of bread that she had only taken a bite of with her small mouth.
“I’m full… My brother eats it.”
“…”
I saw Ruyev out of the corner of my eye. The guy was looking somewhere else, as if he was deliberately trying to distract himself.
She didn’t want to refuse Marie’s favor, so she accepted the bread offered.
“Thank you.”
After eating all the bread and water and filling my hungry stomach, I felt sleepy.
It was a very shaking cart, but when I closed my eyes, it felt like a gently rocking cradle.
So I slowly lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, the sun was already setting.
Ruyev said that nothing had really happened so far. He could occasionally meet carts coming down from the opposite direction, which he said were merchants going down to sell fruit from the Gordburg region.
“The merchants said they were selling fruit cheaply, so I bought some!”
As if she had been waiting, Marie held out the wrapping cloth to me. It contained peaches, strawberries, and apples.
I picked up an apple.
“Gordburg’s Apology…”
It seemed to be a different variety from the apple called ‘Hongok’. It didn’t have such bright red skin, it was a commonly seen apple with a mixture of yellow and red.
I took a bite.
Crunchy.
The sweet scent of fruit juice fills your mouth.
It’s good. But at the same time, I felt a strange feeling.
“Are there many people going to Gordburg?”
I asked the merchant that.
We had never said anything, but when we first showed interest in him, he turned around in surprise.
“Then. There were a lot. The only places to go from Taildon are Deseo or Gordburg. However, since Deseo has to go to Metz Road for 15 days, travel expenses are high, and in the end, most people choose to go to Gordburg.”
“Those who ran away… “What are you going to Gordburg for?”
“I don’t ask passengers about their past. I’m not particularly curious. “I just help you along this path in exchange for a reward.”
The merchant looked at the road ahead again.
“But some of the fugitives told me a lot of dreamlike stories. I’m going to go to Gordburg and start a new life. “The land there is large and fertile, so there is a lot of grain, and there is a good harvest every year, so you can harvest an abundance of fruits and vegetables, so at least you won’t go hungry.”
“I know. Grains from Gordburg could be commonly found at the Tailden Market.”
“Okay. It’s a good place.”
He held the reins loosely and laughed.
“But if it really is paradise, wouldn’t I have quit this shit a long time ago and gone to Gordburg?”
“… “Is there any reason to think differently?”
“On the other hand, let me ask you something. If you have cultivated the land and obtained grain. “Who does it belong to?”
“Of course it’s mine.”
“Tsk tsk. I’ve lived in Taildon too long. Well, Tailden is a unique neighborhood.”
He spoke while looking at the golden reed field spread out in front of him.
“The landowner of Gordburg is its lord. No matter how much grain you grow on your own, as long as it grows on that land, it all belongs to the lord.”
Suddenly I remembered seeing it in a book. Most of the world works that way.
I heard that farmers rent the lord’s land to farm and give a portion of the harvest to the lord in the form of taxes.
Brisden, on the other hand, was an autonomous territory. We all had our own jobs to do in this village, and we all worked together to share what we gained as needed.
If a dispute arose, the village chief would wisely mediate, so everyone could continue to live without complaints.
Therefore, the events outside had no choice but to sound unfamiliar to us.
“… “If the lord takes everything, what do I get?”
“You will be rewarded for working faithfully for your lord.”
“I guess it’s not bad if the price is enough.”
“But in other words, if you don’t have the ability to take care of that precious land, it also means that the lord thinks you are a useless person.”
Gordburg was a land of opportunity open to everyone, but if you did not like the lord, you had no choice but to be kicked out.
It is even said that there is a significant difference in wealth among the farmers there. If a person had excellent efficiency and skill and was favored by the lord, he or she could receive a lot of money. Conversely, if he or she was old or sick and could not work properly, he or she could not receive money.
“But do you think that those who have to leave the city in a hurry due to some accident will be able to live better by going to Gordburg?”
“…”
“I didn’t really want to say this, but since you asked first, I’ll answer.”
The merchant spoke in a heavy voice.
“It will never be hopeful.”
It was as if he was guessing what had happened to all the ‘fugitives’ he had been transporting.
There would have been no need to try to find out. You must have heard their stories while traveling between Teildon and Gordburg.
“Those fugitives who were said to have been transported in coffins… Do you know what happened?”
“The lady and the fat guy?”
The merchant shook his head.
“Well. “I don’t know.”
I couldn’t tell if he said that because he really didn’t know, or if he was just trying to protect the identity of the fugitives.
But just as he said, I thought it might not be all that hopeful.
“But since you are a doctor, you will be treated well wherever you go. And now – there you are.”
I raised my head.
Beyond the seemingly boring golden plain, I finally saw something ‘man-made’.
The first thing I saw was a very large land.
The land was heavily cultivated, as if a divine dragon had clawed it with its claws, and a scarecrow was erected with its clothes fluttering to prevent birds from picking up and eating the sown seeds.
A tall watchtower with a hanging bell. Wells. Houses and chimneys hanging somewhere at the foot of the mountain.
A new city encountered in the soft light of the setting sun.
The merchant said.
“Welcome to Gordburg.”
* * *
The gate was opened easily.
The soldiers didn’t seem to care who we were in the first place. Unlike Taildon, which has a port, it is said that Gordburg cannot be picky because so many merchants travel by land from all over the region.
We said goodbye to the merchant who brought us there. He did not say the usual ‘see you again’. I don’t think I’ll ever see it again.
I walked down the main street and looked around. There were more people here than at Taildon, so it was very noisy. Moreover, the road was extremely cramped because carriages came and went from time to time.
There are many people sitting idly on the streets, and many people drinking and having fun until late at night.
Luyev stroked his chin.
“Now… Do I need to find it?”
“Okay.”
“It might be a little difficult.”
I came here thinking it would be roughly similar to Taildon, but my breath caught when I saw the city, which was more bustling than I imagined.
Marie pulled Ruev’s sleeve.
“Brother, I… “I’m sleepy.”
My body was not in good shape after sitting on a cart and running all day. Moreover, for Marie, who has a weak body, it must have been too hard for her to endure so far.
We lost anyway, and there was nothing to be gained by rushing. Rather, it would be better to hide our existence as much as possible and gradually strangle Posao.
“Then let’s start by finding a place to relieve our fatigue.”
We found a quiet inn a little away from the center.
When I said I was looking for a room for three people, he said he would show me a large room that costs 25 silver per night. Fortunately, it wasn’t expensive. Since I still had some money left, I paid the down payment right away.
Even after putting my things away and sitting on the bed, I didn’t feel good.
Somewhere in this land the smell is different, and the air is different.
There is Tia and Posao.
They followed closely behind. I narrowed down so quickly that I thought it was an instant.
Now all that’s left is to find where the two are, rescue Tia, and then target and kill Posao.
Now all that’s left to do is… That was really it.
I clenched my fist.
All you have to do is find the flow of memories again.
It is still unknown where the two went after arriving in Gordburg. I thought it would be possible to track it down by asking the locals directly to find clues.
I looked down at the night view of the city.
How does Tia live here?
Will she live happily, as Posao promised?
After killing a pig, what should I say when I face it?
“…”
Wait, Tia.
I’ll come pick you up.
