Chapter 93 – Erz
The road was bordered by the Loom River on the right and a forest of huge trees, short bushes and dense vines on the left, but eventually the trees became sparse and the space opened up to reveal a hilly area. The meadows were green at dawn, and the white dots in the distance were probably shepherds leading their sheep and goats in the early morning. On the other side of the grassy hills were a series of high peaks that seemed to reach for the sky. Because it was clear, they were clearly visible, covered with a white snow that would not melt even in summer. These were the Majil Mountains.
“It’s like a wall.”
Wynn murmured, impressed by the magnificent scenery, but was surprised to hear that it would still take two more days to reach the base of the Majil Mountains. Despite being so far away, the Majil Mountains looked so mighty that they seemed to loom just ahead of them.
“You can see Erz already.” Locke, who was walking beside Wynn, pointed to him as he admired the mountains.
From the shadows of the hills where sheep were once herded, the tips of several tall, tower-like buildings were indeed beginning to come into view. As they approached Erz, they could also see large ships anchored there. Iron brought from the mining villages at the foot of the Majil Mountains was brought to this city by boat, where it was transformed into tools for various purposes – especially armor – and then transported back by ship. The abundance of water from the Loom River, needed for blacksmithing, and the vast forests surrounding the city as a source of fuel, had enabled the development of the city of Erz. As they continued along the road around the base of the hill, they finally saw the city walls and gates. Above the gates, the flag of the empire fluttered in the morning breeze, and in front of the fully opened gates, knights in the service of House Elstead lined up to welcome the group.
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Accompanied by Count Elstead, who welcomed them with open arms, the group made their way to the center of town. Since Wynn and the others were among the servants, they could not see the details of the headwaters, but it appeared that everyone except Alfred, the civil and other officials, and the high-ranking military men of the Imperial Guard and the Court Knights, would pitch their tents in one of the city’s several squares. That was what the city dignitaries announced when the representatives of the soldiers and servants were gathered.
“Good grief. We’re in a city, and we’ll still have to camp out instead of sleeping on soft beds in some inn.”
“There’s not much we can do to you. We’re a fairly large group, and of course knights have priority for lodging. But it’s a relief that we don’t have to worry about food and water.”
It was a long journey, and they had finally reached a large city, but some people grumbled when they learned that they would be camping in tents as they had done during the journey, but then were glad when they were informed that unless they were on duty, like the guards, they could eat and drink in the city.
“What a surprise.” Locke cocked his head to one side when he heard the announcement. “As much as the crown prince’s party is with us, the servants and soldiers are people from outside the city, and if such a large number rushed inside, the city would not receive us normally.”
Apart from the knights, the soldiers and servants in the service of the empire were not necessarily educated people. After all, they were strangers with weapons. Although Wynn thought the townspeople would be somewhat wary of them, surprisingly, they seemed to welcome them.
As soon as the town dignitaries left, directing them where to set up their tents, where the wells were, and where to get food and supplies, many townspeople came to the square and began to advertise themselves.
Taverns, restaurants and, as is the case in the iron city of Erz, merchants of armor and other sundries flocked to the square to take advantage of the business opportunity.
“As expected of a city ruled by the captain, right?”
“It’s different from the rumors I’ve heard in the Imperial Capital.” Cornelia said as she approached Wynn.
The rumors Cornelia had heard in the Imperial Capital about Count Elstead were terrible. The people were said to be suffering from the heavy taxes imposed on them in connection with the renovation of the Count’s mansion. It was said that the amount of the taxes far exceeded what was stipulated by the laws of the Empire. It was also said that families who could not pay the taxes were forced to work as laborers if they were men, and if they had young daughters, they were taken to the count in exchange for the taxes. Many of the daughters taken were said to be Count Elstead’s concubines. Count Elstead was Royce von Elstead, who had also become the head of Princess Cornelia’s personal knights.
“What~, does the Captain do such terrible things~?” A look of disgust appeared on Lino’s face as she hugged herself after hearing that he took young girls as concubines. “Come to think of it, the vice-captain also said that the captain has many wives~.”
“Yes, I heard that too. I wonder if those concubines are the women he took from the debtor families.”
“Because of that face and body~. …Captain, since he didn’t get himself girlfriends, did he surround himself with girls who couldn’t pay their debts?”
“Probably.”
Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t here, Locke and Lino could say what they wanted.
“Onii-chan!” Hearing Locke, Lino, Cornelia and Wedge’s story, Leticia approached.
“Letty, I thought you were going to the captain’s residence.”
“I snuck out.”
Leticia, who no longer needed to change with Lino, was supposed to have been invited to Royce’s mansion with Alfred, but apparently, she refused to go with him and the others and slipped away. It was a shame for an honored guest to refuse the hospitality of the lord of the region she was visiting and sneak away, but it seemed Royce had forgiven her.
“However, I will properly attend the banquet at night. I should have a meeting with His Highness Alfred and Royce-san about the incident of the attack, so it seems that I really don’t have to attend the meal that will be held right now.”
“I see. Then you’ll stay with us.”
Kelvin took the assailants captive and headed for the Count Elstead’s knights’ quarters. The interrogation would probably continue there. After getting information from the captives, it looked like Alfred and Royce would take some sort of countermeasures.
“Yes. Oh, and a message from Royce-san.” Leticia said, and told Cornelia about an invitation from Royce to go to the mansion in the afternoon.
“I understand. Then let’s go take a look at Erz City. We’d only be a nuisance if we stayed here.”
In the square, a large number of soldiers and servants were already setting up their tents at a rapid pace. They wanted to finish their work here as soon as possible and go to the city. So as not to disturb them, Wynn and the others left the square. With Cornelia in the center, Wynn and Leticia walked ahead of her. Locke and Lino walked to the left and right. Wedge walked behind her.
“The townspeople have expressed a willingness to receive us, but they seem to have some level of security.” Locke said in a voice only they could hear.
Knights and soldiers in the service of Count Elstead were at every corner of the town. As they walked, they frequently crossed paths with the patrolling city guards. You never know what could provoke a fight between people from different places. At the moment, they were still working in the square, so they couldn’t hear any fights in the city, but they guessed they were thinking about the possibility of a lot of fighting once they finished the work of setting up the tents and went downtown.
“The people in this town don’t seem to have bad feelings towards the knights or the guard force.” Leticia said as she surveyed the situation.
“Bad feelings?”
“Yes. You know, there have been some malicious rumors about Count Elstead, right?”
“Yes, that’s what Locke and Lino were talking about earlier.”
“That is why, when you go to a town where the inhabitants are oppressed with heavy taxes, such bad feelings, like fear and anger, are usually directed at the knights and soldiers of the lord.”
“Oh, I see.” Wynn nodded at Leticia’s explanation.
If the lord wields oppressive power, with the knights and soldiers being on the side of the regime that collects taxes from the residents, they would be complicit with the cruel aristocrats who make the residents work harder. If there was maladministration, the look on the faces of the city’s residents must have been a mixture of fear and anger.
“I certainly don’t see any signs of it. If everyone were so alert, the whole town should be surrounded by a more somber atmosphere, but the people in this town just go about their daily lives…”
Cornelia nodded as if impressed.
“I’ve long wondered about that. That bell tower was a watchtower, wasn’t it? I can see a figure at the top.” Wynn pointed to the top of a nearby bell tower.
One of the features the Erz City had that other cities did not was the multiple bell towers that had been built. Perhaps to show the technological prowess and wealth of the city, all the bell tower appeared to be made of stone. These bell towers were the first buildings they could see from the shadows of the hills before entering the city. They must have been about ten stories tall, relative to the height of the other normal buildings. There was a figure standing there, looking out over the town.
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“Oh, those bell towers are for early fire detection.”
When noon came, Wynn and the others went to a suitable restaurant to take a break, and asked the restaurant owner about the bell tower. There were several bell towers in the city, and they were usually manned not by soldiers, but by officers. Since there were many blacksmith workshops in Erz that made use of fire, many of these bell towers were built for early fire detection. Compared to the imperial capital, the height of many buildings was limited to two or three stories at most, so as not to obstruct the view from the bell towers.
“Even if it’s the same empire, the way cities are built changes from place to place, doesn’t it?” said Wynn as he cut into his plate the meat from the huge fish on the platter in the center of the table.
The huge fish, just over a meter in length, apparently came from Lake Mingal, the source of the Loom River. It had been shipped by boat from the center of the Majil Mountains. After the guts were removed, the fish was seasoned with wine, butter, herbs and spices, put in a cake and baked in an oven. The flesh of the fish, which melted in the mouth, went very well with the wine.
“I thought the bell tower was amazing, but mostly I was surprised that the city was prettier than I thought.”
“Me too. Although I was under the impression that there would be a lot of stout men wandering around.”
“That’s right. That’s because this city is mainly a workshop for processing iron. You’d have to go to the mining villages at the foot of the Majil Mountains to see the place Lino and Wynn envisioned.”
As he stuffed his mouth with pig intestines, Locke said:
“See those stone buildings with waterwheels along the village canals? Those are the workshops. The armor forged here in Erz was very useful in the battle against the demons. My family also sells armor made here in Erz. The merchants who buy these armors sell them on ships that float down the river to Clennad, the imperial capital further downstream, and then from the sea to foreign countries.”
“Heeh.” Wynn nodded, but the scale of the story was too large for him, so he gave a vague answer.
Iron was smelted from ore mined at the foot of the majestic Majil Mountains, which seemed to appear before his eyes earlier, and processed in Erz, then transported down the Loom River to the imperial capital and finally to foreign countries. Unsurprisingly, Wynn, who had rarely left the capital since he was born, with this being the longest trip he had ever taken, didn’t immediately understand.
“Like that knight sword on Wynn’s hip. I think it might have been made here in Erz.”
It could be inevitable that Wynn’s face would light up a little when Locke added that and pointed to the sword at his waist. It was natural for people to react badly when they heard something they didn’t understand, and to react well when they heard something they did. He nodded firmly at Locke’s words.
“It seems the bad rumors I had heard in the imperial capital about Count Elstead were false after all.” Cornelia, who was eating fried and salted shrimp, another specialty of the Loom River, looked around the restaurant.
The expressions on the faces of the locals were far from the exploited people she had heard about. Most of the customers appeared to be merchants doing business in town and artisans in their workshops. They would order bread, soup, a plate of meat or fish and liquor and, after a quick meal, hurry back to their work. The only people eating leisurely were Wynn and his friends at the table and a couple of merchants who seemed to be having a business meeting in the back. Both merchants and artisans were in a hurry, but their expressions were not somber; they were of passion and pride in their work. Not at all did it give a gloomy impression.
“But, you know, about the Captain’s House. I’m pretty sure that Count Elstead owes a lot of money to my family, the Marine Trading Company.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That’s what I heard directly from my father when I met the captain at the imperial palace.”
Locke’s family, the Marine Trading Company, was one of the largest trading companies in the Empire. It also had many branches in foreign countries. Locke’s father, the president of the company, was a business tycoon with a huge amount of capital. They had so much power that it was said that ordinary nobles could not even know him. If Locke said so, then surely Count Elstead owed a great debt.
“There don’t seem to have been any circumstances where the debt was late, so I think in reality taxes do indeed run high.” With that, Locke threw a piece of bread in his mouth.
“I never heard such terrible rumors about Erz when I worked at The Wandering Bird’s Nest. Such rumors only circulate among the nobility and upper class, don’t they?”
“Come to think of it, we’ve never heard it either, have we~?”
When Lino asked Wedge, Wedge, who was silently shoving fish meat into his mouth, stopped and shook his head.
“To the people of Simurgh, Erz is a distant and unknown city, isn’t it? At best, they’ve heard of it as a place where pots, pans and knives are made. They’re not interested in what kind of atmosphere the city of Erz really has and how its people live.”
Wynn thought that might be true. If you were a chef like Randall, you might be very picky about the quality of your knives, where they came from and how they were made, but to a random person that didn’t matter. If you were a mercenary or an adventurer, the quality of your armor might make the difference between life and death, but as a knight, Wynn basically used government-issued armor and had never been picky about its provenance. Eventually, he would like to save enough money to buy his own sword, but even then, he would probably buy it based on his own observations and feelings, regardless of where it came from. Unlike Wynn, however, Lino was not convinced by Locke’s explanation alone. She looked at Wedge for a moment and then swallowed the food in her mouth before opening it.
“Hmm, but you know what~? If the stories about heavy taxes being imposed on people living in Erz~, or girls being used as the captain’s concubines were true~, I’m sure we would have heard about it by now~.”
“I see. Is it because Lino’s family works as pharmacists?”
“That’s right~.”
Not only mineral resources such as iron ore could be mined in the Majil Mountains. It was also a famous place where adventurers went deep into the Mountains, which were overrun by demons and dangerous ghostly beasts, in search of herbs, nuts, roots and other ingredients for valuable medicines. But it was not only raw materials for medicines that these adventurers sought. Some were heading for the dwarven settlements in the middle of the Majil Mountains. They traveled the rugged mountain paths, overcoming the challenges of demons, ghosts and wild beasts, in search of dwarven weapons.
A single dwarven weapon could be worth a fortune. The weapons made by these dwarves, who were said to have better smithing skills than humans, were as good as the magical swords found in the ruins of the Kingdom of Rentheim, which ruled the entire continent of Alfana with its advanced magical technology, and the weapons made by the Kingdom of Thane, which boasted the highest technology in modern times. It was less difficult to obtain dwarven armor than the remains of the Kingdom of Rentheim, where powerful magical swords lay, and the armor of the Kingdom of Thane, which had become lost technology. The city of Erz was a stopping point for adventurers and mercenaries who came to the Majil Mountains for that purpose. The objects brought by these adventurers were brought to the Imperial City through the city of Erz. While following this process, it was strange that the bad rumors about Erz did not reach the Lino’s House, who had established themselves as apothecaries in the imperial capital. Lino pointed this out as she asked Wedge to supplement the explanation in parts.
“In high mountain areas~, such as Majil Mountains, there are medicinal herbs that are very effective as antipyretics and painkillers when taken in decoction, so our store also sends requests to adventurers to collect them~. So, if something happens in Erz, I would surely hear about it~.”
“By the way, I came to have seen a request on the adventurers guild board to collect medicinal herbs in the Majil Mountains. Paul-san tried to accept it, but Riggs-san stopped him. He said the well-paid jobs had a commensurate level of danger.”
“The reason why dwarven armor is so expensive is not only because of its quality, but also because it’s difficult to distribute, that’s what my father said. Well, leaving that aside, from what I’ve seen, this city doesn’t seem to have such a gloomy impression.”
“Yeah, but you know~.” Lino opened her mouth as if to say that she remembered something incidentally. “In Erz, there was a fever epidemic a few years ago~. At that time, there was also a year of crop failure due to the combination of bad weather, and many people died~.”
“Ah…” When Lino said that, Leticia raised her voice.
“What’s wrong, Letty?”
Leticia, who had raised her voice louder than she thought and had drawn attention, opened her mouth, looking a little embarrassed.
“I remembered that when I was still fighting the demons, one of the commanders of the imperial army that was part of the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance said that they were going back to deal with the disaster that had occurred in their territory.”
“So, the person who returned to their territory is the captain?”
“Maybe so.”
When Wynn asked back, Leticia nodded uncertainly.
“I think it was Royce-san, but even with only him leaving the front, the empire decided to move some of its forces to the rear, including several other high-ranking military officers. I recall that this caused a great deal of distrust towards the imperial forces among the forces of the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance.”
“In those days, many nobles must have been sent as commanders in the battle against the demons. It would not have been uncommon for one of the nobles who became a commander to be temporarily relieved of his military duties to deal with the events occurring in his territory during his mission. Leticia-sama, am I remembering correctly?”
“Yes. Shortly after that commander left and returned to the territory, the front line he was supporting broke down, and the remaining imperial forces suffered a lot of damage.”
“Just because of one person!?”
“The northern part of the continent was completely subdued, and the war against the demons that had begun to invade the eastern and central parts of the continent was spreading, so there was a noticeable lack of commanders on each front. There were still many knights and soldiers who could fight on the front lines, but the demons were intensely attacking and killing those who could command them.” Leticia said, and explained the situation of the various places at that time.
In the western part of the continent, the kingdom of Queenseria had been defeated, and war was approaching the northern part of the Lemmrousell Empire. The upper echelons of the Empire began to call back the troops that had been sent to the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance due to the circumstances of a single noble. Since the Empire, which was considered one of the major powers on the continent and had a strong military presence in the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance, began to withdraw its forces, many of the small countries in the east and center of the continent, which were already in a state of war, expressed their distrust of it, wondering if it was going to abandon the Alliance to protect itself. To avoid criticism from the Allies, the Empire decided to leave some of its forces behind instead of withdrawing the entire army, but just as it began to withdraw, a full-scale invasion of demons occurred. Being in retreat, the Imperial forces were unable to coordinate well with other countries and suffered a disastrous defeat. One of the imperial generals in command lost their life in that battle. The deceased imperial general was the one who was to remain in the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance and serve as its commander even after the imperial army retreated. Due to the death of the commander, the chain of command became confused, and the entire front of the Anti-Demon Continental Alliance, including the imperial army, was left in disarray, and the front was pushed back by the demons.
“That battle was one of the worst and most brutal in the history of battles between humans and demons, which have lasted almost forty years. It was a battle in which the entire army, including myself, suffered such a devastating defeat that we were forced to retreat temporarily. That’s why I remember it so well.
However, just as the two were about to quicken their steps… First Leticia, and then sometime later Wynn, stopped dead in their tracks. It was someone’s presence. The two prepared themselves for what they sensed in the bushes in front of the river.
Chapter 93 – Erz
The road was bordered by the Loom River on the right and a forest of huge trees, short bushes and dense vines on the left, but eventually the trees became sparse and the space opened up to reveal a hilly area. The meadows were green at dawn, and the white dots in the distance were probably shepherds leading their sheep and goats in the early morning. On the other side of the grassy hills were a series of high peaks that seemed to reach for the sky. Because it was clear, they were clearly visible, covered with a white snow that would not melt even in summer. These were the Majil Mountains.
“It’s like a wall.”
Wynn murmured, impressed by the magnificent scenery, but was surprised to hear that it would still take two more days to reach the base of the Majil Mountains. Despite being so far away, the Majil Mountains looked so mighty that they seemed to loom just ahead of them.
“You can see Erz already.” Locke, who was walking beside Wynn, pointed to him as he admired the mountains.
From the shadows of the hills where sheep were once herded, the tips of several tall, tower-like buildings were indeed beginning to come into view. As they approached Erz, they could also see large ships anchored there. Iron brought from the mining villages at the foot of the Majil Mountains was brought to this city by boat, where it was transformed into tools for various purposes – especially armor – and then transported back by ship. The abundance of water from the Loom River, needed for blacksmithing, and the vast forests surrounding the city as a source of fuel, had enabled the development of the city of Erz. As they continued along the road around the base of the hill, they finally saw the city walls and gates. Above the gates, the flag of the empire fluttered in the morning breeze, and in front of the fully opened gates, knights in the service of House Elstead lined up to welcome the group.
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Accompanied by Count Elstead, who welcomed them with open arms, the group made their way to the center of town. Since Wynn and the others were among the servants, they could not see the details of the headwaters, but it appeared that everyone except Alfred, the civil and other officials, and the high-ranking military men of the Imperial Guard and the Court Knights, would pitch their tents in one of the city’s several squares. That was what the city dignitaries announced when the representatives of the soldiers and servants were gathered.
“Good grief. We’re in a city, and we’ll still have to camp out instead of sleeping on soft beds in some inn.”
“There’s not much we can do to you. We’re a fairly large group, and of course knights have priority for lodging. But it’s a relief that we don’t have to worry about food and water.”
It was a long journey, and they had finally reached a large city, but some people grumbled when they learned that they would be camping in tents as they had done during the journey, but then were glad when they were informed that unless they were on duty, like the guards, they could eat and drink in the city.
“What a surprise.” Locke cocked his head to one side when he heard the announcement. “As much as the crown prince’s party is with us, the servants and soldiers are people from outside the city, and if such a large number rushed inside, the city would not receive us normally.”
Apart from the knights, the soldiers and servants in the service of the empire were not necessarily educated people. After all, they were strangers with weapons. Although Wynn thought the townspeople would be somewhat wary of them, surprisingly, they seemed to welcome them.
As soon as the town dignitaries left, directing them where to set up their tents, where the wells were, and where to get food and supplies, many townspeople came to the square and began to advertise themselves.
Taverns, restaurants and, as is the case in the iron city of Erz, merchants of armor and other sundries flocked to the square to take advantage of the business opportunity.
“As expected of a city ruled by the captain, right?”
“It’s different from the rumors I’ve heard in the Imperial Capital.” Cornelia said as she approached Wynn.
The rumors Cornelia had heard in the Imperial Capital about Count Elstead were terrible. The people were said to be suffering from the heavy taxes imposed on them in connection with the renovation of the Count’s mansion. It was said that the amount of the taxes far exceeded what was stipulated by the laws of the Empire. It was also said that families who could not pay the taxes were forced to work as laborers if they were men, and if they had young daughters, they were taken to the count in exchange for the taxes. Many of the daughters taken were said to be Count Elstead’s concubines. Count Elstead was Royce von Elstead, who had also become the head of Princess Cornelia’s personal knights.
“What~, does the Captain do such terrible things~?” A look of disgust appeared on Lino’s face as she hugged herself after hearing that he took young girls as concubines. “Come to think of it, the vice-captain also said that the captain has many wives~.”
“Yes, I heard that too. I wonder if those concubines are the women he took from the debtor families.”
“Because of that face and body~. …Captain, since he didn’t get himself girlfriends, did he surround himself with girls who couldn’t pay their debts?”
“Probably.”
Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t here, Locke and Lino could say what they wanted.
“Onii-chan!” Hearing Locke, Lino, Cornelia and Wedge’s story, Leticia approached.
“Letty, I thought you were going to the captain’s residence.”
“I snuck out.”
Leticia, who no longer needed to change with Lino, was supposed to have been invited to Royce’s mansion with Alfred, but apparently, she refused to go with him and the others and slipped away. It was a shame for an honored guest to refuse the hospitality of the lord of the region she was visiting and sneak away, but it seemed Royce had forgiven her.
“However, I will properly attend the banquet at night. I should have a meeting with His Highness Alfred and Royce-san about the incident of the attack, so it seems that I really don’t have to attend the meal that will be held right now.”
“I see. Then you’ll stay with us.”
Kelvin took the assailants captive and headed for the Count Elstead’s knights’ quarters. The interrogation would probably continue there. After getting information from the captives, it looked like Alfred and Royce would take some sort of countermeasures.
“Yes. Oh, and a message from Royce-san.” Leticia said, and told Cornelia about an invitation from Royce to go to the mansion in the afternoon.
“I understand. Then let’s go take a look at Erz City. We’d only be a nuisance if we stayed here.”
In the square, a large number of soldiers and servants were already setting up their tents at a rapid pace. They wanted to finish their work here as soon as possible and go to the city. So as not to disturb them, Wynn and the others left the square. With Cornelia in the center, Wynn and Leticia walked ahead of her. Locke and Lino walked to the left and right. Wedge walked behind her.
“The townspeople have expressed a willingness to receive us, but they seem to have some level of security.” Locke said in a voice only they could hear.
Knights and soldiers in the service of Count Elstead were at every corner of the town. As they walked, they frequently crossed paths with the patrolling city guards. You never know what could provoke a fight between people from different places. At the moment, they were still working in the square, so they couldn’t hear any fights in the city, but they guessed they were thinking about the possibility of a lot of fighting once they finished the work of setting up the tents and went downtown.
“The people in this town don’t seem to have bad feelings towards the knights or the guard force.” Leticia said as she surveyed the situation.
“Bad feelings?”
“Yes. You know, there have been some malicious rumors about Count Elstead, right?”
“Yes, that’s what Locke and Lino were talking about earlier.”
“That is why, when you go to a town where the inhabitants are oppressed with heavy taxes, such bad feelings, like fear and anger, are usually directed at the knights and soldiers of the lord.”
“Oh, I see.” Wynn nodded at Leticia’s explanation.
If the lord wields oppressive power, with the knights and soldiers being on the side of the regime that collects taxes from the residents, they would be complicit with the cruel aristocrats who make the residents work harder. If there was maladministration, the look on the faces of the city’s residents must have been a mixture of fear and anger.
“I certainly don’t see any signs of it. If everyone were so alert, the whole town should be surrounded by a more somber atmosphere, but the people in this town just go about their daily lives…”
Cornelia nodded as if impressed.
“I’ve long wondered about that. That bell tower was a watchtower, wasn’t it? I can see a figure at the top.” Wynn pointed to the top of a nearby bell tower.
One of the features the Erz City had that other cities did not was the multiple bell towers that had been built. Perhaps to show the technological prowess and wealth of the city, all the bell tower appeared to be made of stone. These bell towers were the first buildings they could see from the shadows of the hills before entering the city. They must have been about ten stories tall, relative to the height of the other normal buildings. There was a figure standing there, looking out over the town.
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“Oh, those bell towers are for early fire detection.”
When noon came, Wynn and the others went to a suitable restaurant to take a break, and asked the restaurant owner about the bell tower. There were several bell towers in the city, and they were usually manned not by soldiers, but by officers. Since there were many blacksmith workshops in Erz that made use of fire, many of these bell towers were built for early fire detection. Compared to the imperial capital, the height of many buildings was limited to two or three stories at most, so as not to obstruct the view from the bell towers.
“Even if it’s the same empire, the way cities are built changes from place to place, doesn’t it?” said Wynn as he cut into his plate the meat from the huge fish on the platter in the center of the table.
The huge fish, just over a meter in length, apparently came from Lake Mingal, the source of the Loom River. It had been shipped by boat from the center of the Majil Mountains. After the guts were removed, the fish was seasoned with wine, butter, herbs and spices, put in a cake and baked in an oven. The flesh of the fish, which melted in the mouth, went very well with the wine.
“I thought the bell tower was amazing, but mostly I was surprised that the city was prettier than I thought.”
“Me too. Although I was under the impression that there would be a lot of stout men wandering around.”
“That’s right. That’s because this city is mainly a workshop for processing iron. You’d have to go to the mining villages at the foot of the Majil Mountains to see the place Lino and Wynn envisioned.”
As he stuffed his mouth with pig intestines, Locke said:
“See those stone buildings with waterwheels along the village canals? Those are the workshops. The armor forged here in Erz was very useful in the battle against the demons. My family also sells armor made here in Erz. The merchants who buy these armors sell them on ships that float down the river to Clennad, the imperial capital further downstream, and then from the sea to foreign countries.”
“Heeh.” Wynn nodded, but the scale of the story was too large for him, so he gave a vague answer.
Iron was smelted from ore mined at the foot of the majestic Majil Mountains, which seemed to appear before his eyes earlier, and processed in Erz, then transported down the Loom River to the imperial capital and finally to foreign countries. Unsurprisingly, Wynn, who had rarely left the capital since he was born, with this being the longest trip he had ever taken, didn’t immediately understand.
“Like that knight sword on Wynn’s hip. I think it might have been made here in Erz.”
It could be inevitable that Wynn’s face would light up a little when Locke added that and pointed to the sword at his waist. It was natural for people to react badly when they heard something they didn’t understand, and to react well when they heard something they did. He nodded firmly at Locke’s words.
“It seems the bad rumors I had heard in the imperial capital about Count Elstead were false after all.” Cornelia, who was eating fried and salted shrimp, another specialty of the Loom River, looked around the restaurant.
The expressions on the faces of the locals were far from the exploited people she had heard about. Most of the customers appeared to be merchants doing business in town and artisans in their workshops. They would order bread, soup, a plate of meat or fish and liquor and, after a quick meal, hurry back to their work. The only people eating leisurely were Wynn and his friends at the table and a couple of merchants who seemed to be having a business meeting in the back. Both merchants and artisans were in a hurry, but their expressions were not somber; they were of passion and pride in their work. Not at all did it give a gloomy impression.
“But, you know, about the Captain’s House. I’m pretty sure that Count Elstead owes a lot of money to my family, the Marine Trading Company.”
“Really?”
“Yes. That’s what I heard directly from my father when I met the captain at the imperial palace.”
Locke’s family, the Marine Trading Company, was one of the largest trading companies in the Empire. It also had many branches in foreign countries. Locke’s father, the president of the company, was a business tycoon with a huge amount of capital. They had so much power that it was said that ordinary nobles could not even know him. If Locke said so, then surely Count Elstead owed a great debt.
“There don’t seem to have been any circumstances where the debt was late, so I think in reality taxes do indeed run high.” With that, Locke threw a piece of bread in his mouth.
“I never heard such terrible rumors about Erz when I worked at The Wandering Bird’s Nest. Such rumors only circulate among the nobility and upper class, don’t they?”
“Come to think of it, we’ve never heard it either, have we~?”
When Lino asked Wedge, Wedge, who was silently shoving fish meat into his mouth, stopped and shook his head.
“To the people of Simurgh, Erz is a distant and unknown city, isn’t it? At best, they’ve heard of it as a place where pots, pans and knives are made. They’re not interested in what kind of atmosphere the city of Erz really has and how its people live.”
Wynn thought that might be true. If you were a chef like Randall, you might be very picky about the quality of your knives, where they came from and how they were made, but to a random person that didn’t matter. If you were a mercenary or an adventurer, the quality of your armor might make the difference between life and death, but as a knight, Wynn basically used government-issued armor and had never been picky about its provenance. Eventually, he would like to save enough money to buy his own sword, but even then, he would probably buy it based on his own observations and feelings, regardless of where it came from. Unlike Wynn, however, Lino was not convinced by Locke’s explanation alone. She looked at Wedge for a moment and then swallowed the food in her mouth before opening it.
“Hmm, but you know what~? If the stories about heavy taxes being imposed on people living in Erz~, or girls being used as the captain’s concubines were true~, I’m sure we would have heard about it by now~.”
“I see. Is it because Lino’s family works as pharmacists?”
“That’s right~.”
Not only mineral resources such as iron ore could be mined in the Majil Mountains. It was also a famous place where adventurers went deep into the Mountains, which were overrun by demons and dangerous ghostly beasts, in search of herbs, nuts, roots and other ingredients for valuable medicines. But it was not only raw materials for medicines that these adventurers sought. Some were heading for the dwarven settlements in the middle of the Majil Mountains. They traveled the rugged mountain paths, overcoming the challenges of demons, ghosts and wild beasts, in search of dwarven weapons.
A single dwarven weapon could be worth a fortune. The weapons made by these dwarves, who were said to have better smithing skills than humans, were as good as the magical swords found in the ruins of the Kingdom of Rentheim, which ruled the entire continent of Alfana with its advanced magical technology, and the weapons made by the Kingdom of Thane, which boasted the highest technology in modern times. It was less difficult to obtain dwarven armor than the remains of the Kingdom of Rentheim, where powerful magical swords lay, and the armor of the Kingdom of Thane, which had become lost technology. The city of Erz was a stopping point for adventurers and mercenaries who came to the Majil Mountains for that purpose. The objects brought by these adventurers were brought to the Imperial City through the city of Erz. While following this process, it was strange that the bad rumors about Erz did not reach the Lino’s House, who had established themselves as apothecaries in the imperial capital. Lino pointed this out as she asked Wedge to supplement the explanation in parts.
“In high mountain areas~, such as Majil Mountains, there are medicinal herbs that are very effective as antipyretics and painkillers when taken in decoction, so our store also sends requests to adventurers to collect them~. So, if something happens in Erz, I would surely hear about it~.”
“By the way, I came to have seen a request on the adventurers guild board to collect medicinal herbs in the Majil Mountains. Paul-san tried to accept it, but Riggs-san stopped him. He said the well-paid jobs had a commensurate level of danger.”
“The reason why dwarven armor is so expensive is not only because of its quality, but also because it’s difficult to distribute, that’s what my father said. Well, leaving that aside, from what I’ve seen, this city doesn’t seem to have such a gloomy impression.”
“Yeah, but you know~.” Lino opened her mouth as if to say that she remembered something incidentally. “In Erz, there was a fever epidemic a few years ago~. At that time, there was also a year of crop failure due to the combination of bad weather, and many people died~.”
“Ah…” When Lino said that, Leticia raised her voice.
“What’s wrong, Letty?”
Leticia, who had raised her voice louder than she thought and had drawn attention, opened her mouth, looking a little embarrassed.
“I remembered that when I was still fighting the demons, one of the commanders of the imperial army that was part of the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance said that they were going back to deal with the disaster that had occurred in their territory.”
“So, the person who returned to their territory is the captain?”
“Maybe so.”
When Wynn asked back, Leticia nodded uncertainly.
“I think it was Royce-san, but even with only him leaving the front, the empire decided to move some of its forces to the rear, including several other high-ranking military officers. I recall that this caused a great deal of distrust towards the imperial forces among the forces of the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance.”
“In those days, many nobles must have been sent as commanders in the battle against the demons. It would not have been uncommon for one of the nobles who became a commander to be temporarily relieved of his military duties to deal with the events occurring in his territory during his mission. Leticia-sama, am I remembering correctly?”
“Yes. Shortly after that commander left and returned to the territory, the front line he was supporting broke down, and the remaining imperial forces suffered a lot of damage.”
“Just because of one person!?”
“The northern part of the continent was completely subdued, and the war against the demons that had begun to invade the eastern and central parts of the continent was spreading, so there was a noticeable lack of commanders on each front. There were still many knights and soldiers who could fight on the front lines, but the demons were intensely attacking and killing those who could command them.” Leticia said, and explained the situation of the various places at that time.
In the western part of the continent, the kingdom of Queenseria had been defeated, and war was approaching the northern part of the Lemmrousell Empire. The upper echelons of the Empire began to call back the troops that had been sent to the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance due to the circumstances of a single noble. Since the Empire, which was considered one of the major powers on the continent and had a strong military presence in the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance, began to withdraw its forces, many of the small countries in the east and center of the continent, which were already in a state of war, expressed their distrust of it, wondering if it was going to abandon the Alliance to protect itself. To avoid criticism from the Allies, the Empire decided to leave some of its forces behind instead of withdrawing the entire army, but just as it began to withdraw, a full-scale invasion of demons occurred. Being in retreat, the Imperial forces were unable to coordinate well with other countries and suffered a disastrous defeat. One of the imperial generals in command lost their life in that battle. The deceased imperial general was the one who was to remain in the Continental Anti-Demon Alliance and serve as its commander even after the imperial army retreated. Due to the death of the commander, the chain of command became confused, and the entire front of the Anti-Demon Continental Alliance, including the imperial army, was left in disarray, and the front was pushed back by the demons.
“That battle was one of the worst and most brutal in the history of battles between humans and demons, which have lasted almost forty years. It was a battle in which the entire army, including myself, suffered such a devastating defeat that we were forced to retreat temporarily. That’s why I remember it so well.
However, just as the two were about to quicken their steps… First Leticia, and then sometime later Wynn, stopped dead in their tracks. It was someone’s presence. The two prepared themselves for what they sensed in the bushes in front of the river.
