41 – #10. Fortress of the North (2)

Since the city of Sacheri is located on the periphery of the continent, there was a sense that the flow of goods was sparse.

The market is also open once every 5 days, except for the really basic stuff, it was desirable to buy as much as possible during that period, but in the mansion where we settled in, I was mostly in charge of household chores, so I was busy every day when this market was open. I had no choice but to.

Even though Jack knows how to cook a little, it was really for survival, and so was the rest of Jack’s followers.

I couldn’t entrust this to Lenny, and to Mea’s surprise, she had never done anything called cooking before. Since she was born, she is a woman who has been nominated as the next head of the count family and a powerful member of the empire, so she may be natural.

So today, I came to the market to prepare meals for the members of the mansion for the next five days, but last time I handled everything by myself, but this time Mea followed me behind me.

“It was enough for me alone.”

“Because I was free.”

Blunt attitude.

She still couldn’t seem to forgive the day she was tied down by me. Of course, she was unforgivable, and just being by her side and helping her like this is very helpful.

One thing I wonder is why Neira or Cecilia, maybe even the empress, could not get out of the charm, but she got out of the charm by herself.

Are there individual differences in this?

“What is it? Are you dissatisfied that I will help you?”

“Thank you. In many ways.”

“…… I just need to know.”

She has always been a cold girl, but in this area, her old self has not disappeared at all.

Mea, because she had a weakness for compliments from before.

She tries not to show off, but the way she turns her head as if she’s a bit embarrassed is a reflection of her appearance in the imperial palace, where they maintained a good relationship.

Of course, she can’t go back to that time, and that’s too bad.

But since she was out of fascination, she can look forward to the future.

She wanted to be a good friend of hers from then on, if I could atone for her someday, after she confided in her that she was subjugated to a man like me.

“Anyway. So what should I buy?”

“It’s just the right stuff.”

It was obvious to anyone that she was about to change her words, but she struggled to hold back her laugh and turned her head away.

Background unfolding around.

The city of Sacheri was basically gray, and most of the buildings, as well as even the soil, were dyed gray, giving it a slightly gloomy feel.

Crops do not grow well in this kind of land.

Therefore, agricultural products from other lands were always distributed through the upstream, but the reason why this city is maintained is that it is also a fortress that protects the cliff of sorrow and repulses the demons.

“…… The atmosphere is heavy.”

“Well, that’s how all cities are like this.”

Ordinary people do not live in this city at the northern end of the continent, where it is difficult to grow crops as well as frequent battles with demons.

That’s why most of the mercenaries, adventurers, and merchants lived there and made a living using the by-products of the demons, and soldiers dispatched from the kingdom of Carta formed the majority of the city’s population.

Somehow, the atmosphere on People’s Day is unavoidable.

I knew that, but I still felt a bit regretful that the atmosphere around me was so gloomy.

“It’s not a bad neighborhood, though.”

Mea looked around and continued her words.

“It’s a place where people familiar with battles gather. No matter what type of battle it is, what is clear is that we haven’t let go of the strings to move into the future.”

“…… That hurts a bit.”

“Because I’m telling you to get stabbed.”

Right now, I myself wanted to give up on the future several times.

Since I hadn’t discovered the value of the future in the first place, her words always pierced deep inside my heart.

Like bitter poison, it breaks through me, but I also feel it as a whip that tells me to move forward.

“Aren’t there still too many armed people?”

I turned her words around with a bitter smile.

Although it was said to change the topic, it was also true that there were actually more armed people walking the streets than the last time compared to the last time I visited on the market day.

“Because there will be a battle to subdue the Demon Lord soon.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t know much about the Devil’s Land.”

“No big deal. It was just a place teeming with monsters, or a place occupied by demons. Either that, or the entrance on the border that connects to the territory of the demons. It’s usually the common name for those places.”

Then, can the cliff of sorrow be considered the entrance to the demon territory?

Actually, I don’t know if the entrance should be called the place that is stained gray and blocked by a fairly high cliff.

“Actually, the Cliff of Sorrow itself is tightly blocked by the Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom and the elite of the Kingdom of Carta, and here they are often just running a subjugation party to clean up the demonic beasts who are drunk and led by demons.”

Are all the people gathered here going to subjugate that?

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Demonic beasts’ appendages are magical materials or research, and some individuals produce magic stones in their bodies, so acquiring them and selling them would make a lot of money.

You can get financial gains and keep the safety around you.

Unlike the previous market day, the merchants gathered here seemed to have quite a few vendors selling potions, weapons, and simple combat rations, as well as armament-related items.

“This one seems pretty complicated too.”

“It’s the first time I’ve actually set foot in this region, so I can’t be sure, but I do know that this city is the place where subjugation teams have been formed every month and the economic activities have been strengthened.”

Mea knows nothing about this.

Probably because he was originally in the position of overseeing imperial intelligence. In fact, this area was one of the frontiers, and the area itself belonged to the Carta Kingdom, so I didn’t know anything about it.

“They all seem to be skilled at one thing.”

“Because I fight with the Witchbeast every time. The probability of dying is quite high, but even if you come back alive, you can make a lot of money. That’s why this area is a place where some adventurers and mercenaries can’t stop visiting.”

For generations, humans and demons have been in a confrontational relationship.

Even if I say this, I don’t know much about it. In fact, the only demons I knew were Neira, who was a vampire, and her servants.

Come to think of it, did Lauren return safely?

He took Neira to the place he called her vampire home. Thinking of that incident, she still felt regret and shame, but it was clear that she had been hurt by her.

“A demon. I’m not sure.”

“…… You can do that In the first place, vampires were those who stood on the border between demons and beasts, and ordinary demons are different from the friendly people you think.”

Mea cut off her words as if to affirm her demons.

“In a way, it can be seen as a territorial war with demons who are trying to expand their territory in the territory called the Demon World, but they calmly play with the lives of others.”

I even felt a kind of disgust inside of him.

Until now, the demons I knew were people with whom I could communicate.

Nera was also a woman who caused a massive massacre in the northern part of the empire, and she couldn’t defend it, but in the end she cared for humanity itself.

“It’s ironic. Humanity developed civilization further with the by-products obtained from the demons, and the demons want to drive humanity out of the continent and expand their territory to this continent in the future.”

There are things that each other needs from each other.

The problem was that they were things that could never be given away, and that is why it is said that there has been a confrontation between the demons and humans from the distant past, when there is not even a record left in this world.

“Anyway, never mind that.”

“I know.”

To put it bluntly, it wasn’t that we didn’t have enough money, and that doesn’t mean we don’t have enough time right now either.

Even if I had left the Holy Kingdom, Cecilia was in the midst of preparing for the holy war, and on the contrary, the empress was also plotting a great war, risking the entire continent.

“Ah, come to think of it, it seems like I just keep receiving from you. This bothers me a bit.”

“What did you think I wanted from you?”

If you listen to it normally, it sounds like a free favor, but judging from the slightly sarcastic expression on your face, it sounded like a question as to what the hell you could do for me.

Mea’s strange thing is that she helps her while poking at the painful corners like this.

If you don’t like me, you don’t have to look after the convenience of everyday life like this.

If you don’t want someone to use your fascination ability, you can confine yourself somewhere, and in extreme terms, if you kill me, everything will be resolved.

But she didn’t choose such a simple option.

Live to regret for the rest of your life, and atone for that much. She urged me to move on, and it was similar to the last words she spoke to Neira before she left, albeit with varying degrees of sympathy.

“…… What, what Why do you look like that?”

“Just. Thank you.”

Cecilia affirmed me.

Neira wanted to give me something called the future.

That favor was obviously like a sweet fruit, but now it was nothing but poison to me. Because he was also an extension of the good feeling that was forcibly planted due to the ability of fascination.

That’s why I liked being with Mea.

She knows everything about me and reproaches me for it. Although I am sometimes hurt by sharp reactions, as a result, I am reminded of my existence.

“What is it? Have you ever had such a tendency?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Anyway, everyone is out of their minds.”

Mea shook her head and sped up her pace.

Although the market was busy preparing for the war, she made sure that all the stores selling food materials and daily necessities were open.

“Still, it’s kind of nice.”

“What?”

“It feels like we’re dating for the first time in a while.”

“…… If you keep saying unnecessary words, I’ll hit you once.”

Yes, you are done with that.

The only one who rebukes me. Because of you, I can never forget that I am a sinner, and I can be relatively free from the guilt I feel from people who try to affirm this country.

“My Mea noona. If you keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles between your eyebrows, right?”

She smiled and joked around, but Mea’s expression on her face was very strange.

It looks like it’s about to explode.

As an analogy, wouldn’t a ripe tomato be that red?

“Really disgusting.”

“Oh, sorry. Are you sorry?”

I looked around as I followed her back as she quickly left.

Overall, it is a tense city.

Some of that is because the place where I was an adventurer was in the relatively southern periphery, but at least the warriors that are common on the roadside are well-trained warriors that are hard to find in other cities.

People’s expressions and the atmosphere of the city itself.

They are so well put together that it feels like the whole city has become a well-forged sword.

On such a day, feeling the atmosphere, I chased after Mea, who was getting farther away.

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