Why Ignorant Harems Are Dangerous

42 – #10. Fortress of the North (3)

Today, I took Lenny out to the nearby town.

Somehow, the atmosphere was so good that it was hard to go all the way to the city, but the mansion we are currently staying in was at the end of a relatively quiet residential district, so there were hardly any other people in the vicinity.

“How is it? Doesn’t the cool breeze feel pretty good?”

A cool breeze blows.

End of spring. Feeling the cool breeze, I slowly pushed Lenny’s wheelchair. A situation where Mea slowly follows us.

“Yes. What’s more, it’s unique that it’s transmitted through the wind. In many ways, this city is amazing.”

The girl nodded and spoke her words.

“Is it strange? Which part?”

“It smells a bit fishy.”

Fishy smell?

Well, well. I knew that the city had a distinctive smell, but I didn’t care what it smelled like.

After all, depending on the lifestyle of the country or city itself, the smell of the area will be different. For example, we were at the southern end of the Baja Empire, whereas this was the Kingdom of Carta.

I don’t feel like I’ve moved a long distance because I was kidnapped due to the transfer of the Holy Law, but considering that there is actually a Holy Kingdom to the west of the empire, and the Carta Kingdom is located at a point further west from there to the northern end, it’s a considerable distance.

“That must smell like iron.”

Mea came closer and grabbed Lenny’s left hand.

“The smell of iron?”

“Because it is a city that always coexists with struggle. In the forge, iron is always hammered day and night, and most citizens have always been close to iron.”

“…… Is it like that?”

Iron City.

The Iron Fortress.

Sachery had various nicknames, but it was clear that all of them were related to iron.

The smell of iron.

I wasn’t particularly conscious of it, but I did know that it had a unique bitter, slightly fishy smell. Apparently, as much as Lenny’s senses are sensitive, he must have sensed the scent wafting through the city.

“I guess I should plant some more flowers in the mansion.”

“Yes?”

I said it in a funny voice, but Lenny shook his head in surprise.

“Oh no! Not even like that…… !!”

“Just kidding. Besides, to move the family life like that, it would be difficult if my Mea-noona didn’t agree.”

“…… So, please say that older sister.”

She turned her head away from her apparent anger and pushed Lenny’s wheelchair.

The flowers were a joke, but aside from that, it was true that the city felt a bit foreign compared to other places.

First of all, the soil itself in this area turned gray.

It is said that this kind of climate can be seen in areas such as those near volcanoes, but it is a little more heterogeneous than that. The world is so gray that you feel as if you have come to another world.

…… Oh, this is another world right.

“By the way, why is this soil gray?”

“The land near the territory of the demons is often stained like this. Nothing has been revealed in detail, but it is said that mana can be detected even in the soil, and one of the profits of this city is to dig up a large amount of pure soil and sell it to the mainland.”

It is a land imbued with magic.

Honestly, I don’t know. If you look at other fantasy stories, it is said that crops grow well in the land if magic dwells in it, but judging from the situation in this city, that setting must have nothing to do with this place.

“It’s amazing.”

“There are still many unknowns about the demons. Magic soil itself is soil with a large amount of magical energy, so it is used in various places, but no one knows how the soil is stained.”

The closest city to the land of demons.

Therefore, this city had many strange parts, and if Lenny could see, we would have been able to hang out together by wondering and explaining about those things, but that was a bit unfortunate.

“Then I must have heard what you were curious about. Shall we go a little faster?”

“Yes?”

“Come on, feel the wind!”

“Nye eh eh!?”

The playfulness turned around and I pushed the girl’s wheelchair forward a little faster and ran.

After going through this and that, I realized that I needed to be more open and understanding with this girl. In the meantime, there was a sense of treating it like an artifact that would break if touched, but I can’t treat it like that forever.

I’ll be honest.

I wanted to get closer to this girl.

“Ah, mister!!”

“How is it? Is it fast?”

“Papa, it’s fast! It seems too, too fast!”

I immediately stopped at Lenny’s shrill scream and straightened her slightly disheveled white hair. I was quite taken aback, so I held onto my arm, which was placed on her head, but if I hadn’t covered my eyes, I would have been in tears.

“Sometimes it’s okay to take on challenges like this!!”

My head is ringing.

“What are you doing to the kid?”

“No, sometimes.”

“That makes no sense.”

Mea, who followed me right next to me, was dumbfounded and took the handle of her wheelchair.

I just thought it might be fun.

Still, Lenny said she was okay right after, and she defended me, saying that it was a good experience, but it seemed that the words of a girl who knows Mea were nothing but to protect her family.

Moving slowly like that, the three of us walked around like a walk.

Among the residential districts, the place where our mansion is located was located on a rather high ground, as it was a residential district with fairly expensive mansions.

“It’s really gray.”

“There are people who self-deprecatingly call it gray, but the volume of supplies related to demons coming out of here cannot be ignored.”

Mea looked around, adopting an almost observing posture.

“Actually, supplies from the Cliff of Sorrow also spread through this place, so it is not an exaggeration to say that quite a few by-products of the demons consumed in the Carta Kingdom come from here.”

Even though it’s on the periphery, you’re saying it’s a pretty important area.

In a sense, it was a perfect base for us.

Because it was the main fortress of the Kingdom of Carta, it was not easily seen by other countries, and in addition, because it was an area close to the border of the demons, it meant that ordinary people did not come and go.

“Then what about that? Why are there so many people gathered?”

“Ah, it looks like it’s starting soon.”

All kinds of people were gathered in the big square far away.

A group of soldiers armed with uniforms of the regular army, and a group of adventurers or mercenaries gathered separately around them.

Wouldn’t it be more than five hundred?

With that many numbers, it was clearly visible even from a fairly distant place.

“Hunting demons?”

“As demons, dealing with a group of demons with that number is suicide. …… No, it might be different because there is a sword master. Still, there was no talk of demons appearing around here.”

“Ah, they said it was a monster hunt.”

As I nodded and tried to look back, something caught me.

“By the way, sword master?”

“Literally the master of the sword. In front of you, he may not be able to see you because he is short, but can you see the man standing at the forefront of the soldiers?”

“…… Hmmm, it looks like people are gathering.”

Speaking of swordsmanship, it sounds quite strong.

Indeed, Mea continued her speech pointing her finger in that direction.

“The hero of the kingdom of Carta and the Margrave of the North. He is the man who governs the entire area, including this Sacheri, and protects the northern part of the Carta kingdom from the cliffs of sorrow.”

“…… So, are there really a lot of heroes?”

I don’t know if it’s because I don’t know, but why don’t there seem to be too many heroes around?

Right now, even the emperor of the Baja Empire is a person who is called a hero among heroes and has risen to the top of the empire, and Meana Cecilia were also those who, of course, earned the title of hero.

Besides, even though Neira couldn’t be called a hero because she was a demon, her power was such that even the emperor was in trouble at times, so it’s safe to say that she has reached that level.

At this point, isn’t it wrong to doubt the distribution of heroes?

“That is nonsense. Since this is a special area, it is an area where the margrave always resides, and even if only three heroes are originally produced in each country, that generation is called a good harvest.”

Right?

Anyway, doesn’t it make sense that so many strong people appear?

“I’m glad. I almost lost all my confidence.”

“I told you not to be confident in your subject. Then he dies soon.”

“What is it, what is it? My Mea noona, who worries about me…… Sorry. I won’t mess around, so please don’t hit me.”

Leaving behind her stern attitude, she looked at the ceremony from afar.

I heard that from now on, they will leave this city and return after hunting the demons roaming the area.

It was hard to see because of the distance, but since they are always hunting the beast, it must be a gathering of strong people whose skills are not inferior no matter where on the continent.

Beast hunting.

Eliminating those who harm humanity, no matter what the intention, is definitely for humanity.

“Why?”

“No, just.”

I am a sinner.

I have to work for atonement, but what can I really do?

In the Holy Land, I did almost nothing.

It didn’t seem to help, and in fact, Mea took care of most of the work, and I managed to get into this corpse.

Weak.

Boring, weak.

What can I do?

Standing on a battlefield like that, I couldn’t even lift a sword, and I had nothing.

I thought I had improved my skills compared to ordinary people, but even that was nothing compared to the warriors gathered in such a place.

“What can I do?”

“…… Why is that all of a sudden?”

“I want to atone, but I can’t think of a way.”

You can’t fight for someone.

Of course, I didn’t mean that I wanted to participate in the subjugation of that monster. It just came to my mind as I was looking at those who had made their resolutions in unison ahead of the battlefield.

Going through my work in the holy kingdom, I decided to move forward, go further and walk the path of atonement along with punishment for my sins, but my body was too weak and frail to do so.

“Did you think about that slowly from now on?”

“Mea, do you have anything you want from me?”

“No. I don’t want you to do anything for me, and I don’t want you to atone for your sins and then die and fall.”

Poignant.

Mea turned her head so she couldn’t see the expression.

She didn’t even make eye contact with me, but every time she said that, I thought that the fascination with her had really been released.

“…… Mister?”

“Huh? Oh, no big deal. It’s just a simple story, so it’s okay if you don’t care about our Lenny.”

Invisible to her girl, she grinned and placed her hand on her little head.

In the distance, several people raised their voices and began to shout, accompanied by the sound of blowing horns.

My spine felt a little chilly at the grand shout that resonated throughout this large city, but after that, I watched the process of slowly advancing through the north gate of the city.