LATEST UPDATES

Published at 1st of October 2021 01:07:22 PM


Chapter 76

If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again




Chapter 76: The Departure and the Reunion

 

It was only a few hours after seeing Ageha when we were ready to leave Flowtier.

 

It is a closer destination, but a different country nonetheless, but we were able to make good time preparing quickly and efficiently. 3 of them were already adults, but Teo had to run to get permission from her parents.

 

With that, we departed Flowtier, and ran down the road for 2 hours. We soon saw the border checkpoint that separated Flowtier from Salaiz appear in the distance.

 

Henry: “Cyril, just a little further. Once we get to the border checkpoint, we’ll have to do some paperwork, and you’ll be able to rest there.”

 

Cyril: “Fuh, fuh……..fuh………..fuh……!” (sfx exhales)

 

Oh, this isn’t good. She’s so out of breath that she can’t even reply.

 

…...and she is using her [Sprint Boots], but she still kept us with us at a pretty high pace. I thought she might pass out, but she stuck through it.

 

Well, it’s true that we dropped our running pace for Cyril, and we would have gotten here in half the time if we didn’t, but that’s not worth mentioning. She was running at her top speed the entire way here.

 

Jend: “Now that I think about it, it’s the first time for me to cross into a different country.”

 

As we approach the border checkpoint, Jend mentions this while running.

 

Henry: “? What? Jend. I thought your family was wealthy so they would have been traveling a lot for vacations or something.”

 

Jend: “When my father and grandpa go to other countries, it would usually be business related. Everyone in my family’s typically busy year-round too, so we never took long vacations to any place too far.”

 

I see. So they were too busy making money. It’s the hallmark of the rich.

 

Ferris: “Before my father was thrown into prison, he did take me to a lot of different places. The Salaiz Republic, the Varsaldi Empire, and even Rishu.”

 

Teo: “I’ve only been to Rishu to visit family.”

 

Ferris and Teo also add their experiences traveling.

 

Henry: “I’ve only been to Fezard and Alvenia. Ligaleo was technically managed between 3 major countries, so it wasn’t considered as any country’s territory.”

 

Ageha: “Hey, hey. Henry. Don’t forget that we’ve been to the Demon Country several times.”

 

Wait, no, Ageha. Drawing out Demonic Creatures and secretly crossing the border to set traps for the Demon King’s Armies is nothing like a vacation. Don’t put those in the same category as everyone else.

 

…….but as we chatted, we arrived at the checkpoint.

 

“Hello, everyone. From the looks, you all are Adventurers, correct? We apologize for the inconvenience, but please go inside and submit your paperwork at the counter please.”

 

One of the guards at the Border Checkpoint entrance guided us while laughing merrily.

 

Henry: “Thank you so much. We appreciate all the hard work you put in.”

 

“Well, it looks like you have been working pretty hard yourselves.”

 

As we stopped running, with a (gasp…...gasp……), Cyril tries to catch her breath, and the guard at the gate strains a smile at her.

 

Henry: “Ohー, Cyril, are you okay?”

 

Cyril: “OーOf course. ThーThis is nothinーー(cough cough)”

 

Henry: “Hey, don’t force yourself to speak. Just concentrate on catching your breath.”

 

Teo: “Miss Cyril, here’s the water bottle.”

 

Teo takes out the water bottle from her Godly Equipment bag and hands it to Cyril.

 

With a (chug chug chug), Cyril rehydrates and lets out a big breath.

 

Ohー, I’m not sure if she’s able to run after we cross the checkpoint. That might be brutal for her.

 

Can’t be helped. I’ll carry her again. Yuu’s town of Wreathfield shouldn’t be too far from the border checkpoint.

 

Ageha: “Hey, c’mon. Let’s not dawdle here and get this paperwork done. It’ll be nightfall before we know it.”

 

Henry: “Right, right. Ageha, calm down. You’re always in too much of a hurry going everywhere.”

 

I throw my complaint back at Ageha as I enter the checkpoint. There were several reception windows lined up after I entered.

 

I go to the nearest one available.

 

Henry: “Hello. We have six people wanting to enter the Salaiz Republic.”

 

“Yes, here is the application to enter the country. Please enter your name and the reason for your visit, and also provide any documentation that will be proof of your identity here. These are the documents for your application.”

 

With practiced, efficient movement, the receptionist gives us the application papers.

 

I distribute a page to each one and read it myself.

 

………...hmmmm….it’s my first time doing the paperwork to enter a new country, but it’s not as much as I thought it would be.

 

Ferris has some debts, so she’ll need someone to vouch for her, and I highly doubt a Heroic Warrior who is in the same class as an Upper-Tier Priest of the Church would be rejected as an adequate insurer of debts.

 

Ageha’s Hero of Legend Class is more certain, but her citizenship is officially Rishu, so I’m the best bet here.

 

Every refugee of the Fezard Kingdom was technically received by the Alvenia Kingdom, so my official citizenship belongs to Alvenia.

 

As far as all of the refugees of the countries destroyed by the Demon Kingdom, at the time, there were several negotiations between the 3 major countries but…….well, anyways, I didn’t receive any mistreatment, so I have no issues with the results.

 

Henry: “Ferris, here, I can fill that part out.”

 

Ferris: “Oh, yeah. Thank you, Mr. Henry. I’m sorry for the trouble”

 

I signed my name as the insurer of her debts. So if Ferris was to escape and run away, the repayment of the debts would fall on me………...but there’s no way anything like that would happen.

 

We all finish signing and submit the paperwork to the receptionist.

 

So after this, as long as there are no issues with what we submitted, we will be admitted to enter the Salaiz Republic, or that’s how it’s supposed to go.

 

Henry: “Everyone, you all filled out the paperwork correctly, right? If there are any errors, that will take up more time.”

 

Cyril: “No problems here! I looked over it 3 times!”

 

And Cyril assured me with confidence and her chest puffed out.

 

Jend: “Well, it wasn’t that difficult of a document, so I think we’ll be okay.”

 

Ferris: “Jend and I checked each other’s answers and work too.”

 

And I looked over my answers at least twice. There shouldn’t be any problems.

 

Henry: “.........Ageha. I’m worried most about yours.”

 

Ageha: “I wouldn’t make mistakes with a document like that.”

 

Henry: “If you did mess up, we’re going to leave you behind. I’m sure you’ll catch up to us in a flash anyways.”

 

Ageha: “Hmph, that’s pretty cold of you, Henry.”

 

As we chatted away, the receptionist stood up and walked our way.

 

“UーUm, I’m so sorry. Ummm, are you perhaps, Mr. Henry? Is that correct?”

 

Henry: “? Yes, I’m Henry.”

 

“CーCould you come to the private meeting room in the back? There are a few more questions we would like to ask regarding your application to enter the Salaiz Republic.”

 

………...huh? Why?

 

<<<<>>>>

 

For 30 minutes, I was interrogated thoroughly, and I was finally free to go.

 

……...yeah, there wasn’t anything wrong with my application. It was my history and record that was a problem.

 

A Heroic Warrior with an abundant amount of experience taking down Corrupted Magic Territories, and also with experience taking down numerous Highest-Tier Demonic Creatures. And on top of that, my record reflects that I took down the Demon King’s Army’s General.

 

……...writing it all down like that, during that time I was just only focused on getting stronger and my revenge. But taking a step back, I realized that I have built up quite a reputation and history, and it wasn’t unpleasant to look back upon.

 

Regardless…

 

Every country desperately wants adept Adventurers. If the Adventurer was another country’s citizen, you would ask them if they would consider relocating, and if they were from your country, you made sure that it stayed that way.

 

In short, I was stopped at the border because there were concerns that I was either being bribed or even fooled by a woman to move my base of operations to the Salaiz Republic.

 

Because I am not a born and raised Alvenia citizen, and became a citizen during the chaos at the beginning of the war, that added more doubts and suspicions to the mix.

 

…….And it wasn’t just me. Most Heroic Warrior Class Adventurers will in general get severely questioned at the borderーーthis was something one of the Border Guard Supervisors were kind enough to tell me when my interview was ending, and I was on my way out. If I wasn’t single, they would be more generous in their assumptions apparently.

 

Ageha: “(sigh~~~) Because of Henry, we got reaーlly delayed! Isn’t that right?”

 

Henry: “Oh come off it already. It wasn’t my fault.”

 

We were all running towards Wreathfield, and I had to keep countering Ageha’s teases and retorts the whole way. She’s not serious about anything she’s saying, but it’s still really annoying.

 

Cyril: “But isn’t Miss Ageha a Hero of Legend……?”

 

Ageha: “Ohー, I’m a citizen of Rishu, so they didn’t even bother. Well, if they tried to detain me, I would have ignored them and kept running.”

 

Henry: “That’s illegal, idiot.”

 

I am carrying Cyril on my back, and she asks Ageha, but Ageha simply laughs it off and talks about ignoring the law.

 

It’s true that she could easily sneak into this country with her skills but….

 

Henry: “If you commit a crime, Sir Ezeal will come after you to straighten you out.”

 

Ageha: “Crap, nevermind.”

 

Because Sir Ezeal is the head of all the Heroes of Legend, if a Hero of Legend commits some evil deed, he is the one responsible for carrying out the consequences.

 

By the very nature of the job and title, the title of Hero of Legend is not given to someone prone to evil acts, so he hasn’t had to really carry out that role yet…...but most people would think twice about breaking the law if Sir Ezeal was going to start hunting you down.

 

Henry: “Oh hey, I’m starting to see the town. It’s exactly where the Border Checkpoint Guards told us. That’s Wreathfield.”

 

Cyril: “Ohhhh~”

 

And Cyril turns to look where I was looking and raises a voice of excitement.

 

It’s deeper in the countryside than Flowtier…...but it’s not completely in the countryside either, and it’s like any other town you see outside the main cities.

 

This particular town is known for their pottery, and it is their main export. You will see pottery workshops here and there scattered all around. Their biggest customer is the Church, so the Salaiz’ National Religion, the Ningel Church, has a strong influence here.

 

……...this was all things I learned a loーng time ago when I was going out with Yuu. She spoke of her town while we sat around a park in Ligaleo. I’m surprised that I still remember this.

 

Those times feels so nostalgic.

 

Cyril: “Henry, you can put me down now.”

 

Henry: “Sure thing.”

 

By the time we saw Wreathfield’s main gate, we stopped running, and I let Cyril down.

 

……..good, it’s still just before sundown, so even though we ran at a pretty high pace, this place really is close to Flowtier.

 

Ferris: “Oh, the city walls are very different from Flowtier’s . It’s an older design and architecture.

 

Henry: “Oh really? You know this stuff really well.”

 

Ferris looks impressed, but I can’t tell the difference. I mean, yeah, I can tell that it looks different, but I couldn’t tell you if it was a newer or older architecture.

 

Ferris: “You learn about fortresses and castle wall structures as part of your knight training.”

 

Henry: “Huh…..”

 

……..but…….I was a squire too so I should have learned this…..maybe? This is bad, I can’t remember at all.

 

Wーwell, I don’t even use that kind of knowledge in my line of work, so it’s all good.

 

I forced myself to accept this conclusion, and we all headed to the main gates of Wreathfield.

 

Compared to crossing the countries’ borders, the paperwork entering the town was very simple, and we easily got permission to enter the town.

 

……….oh, before I forget.

 

Henry: “Um, excuse me. I’d like to ask you for some directions, if that’s okay.”

 

I spoke to one of the soldiers guarding the main gate.

 

“Hm? Oh, yeah, that’s fine. Where are you trying to go?”

 

Henry: “It’s an orphanage run by the Ningel Church, and it has a large apple tree in its yard……..does that sound familiar at all?”

 

I know it’s an orphanage in Wreathfield, but now that I think about it, I never got the orphanage’s name.

 

I add the bit about the apple tree that Yuu told me about, and hopefully, that would be enough.

 

“Ohhh, yeah. They call that orphanage the Apple Tree House. It’s on the eastside of the town and….”

 

I listen to the soldier explain the way there.

 

Behind me, Teo is taking notes on a notepad just in case.

 

I thank the soldier, and we all head to this Apple Tree House.

 

Cyril: “Wowー, a town in a different country really does feel different in many waysー”

 

Henry: “That’s true.”

 

On the way there, Cyril gives her impression thus far, and I agree.

 

Let’s see….yeah, it may be a matter of different tastes and preferences. This is just my impression, but the Salaiz Republic likes things to be more orderly and straight.

 

Jend: “We import their pottery wares from this town. They’re good quality, and the customers love the design, so it’s one of our popular products.”

 

Ferris: “Oh, really…”

 

Jend: “Ferris, when you come over, the tea cups you use are also from here.”

 

I overhear Jend and Ferris talk and….

 

Ageha: “Hey, hey, Teo. Aren’t plates and cups all the same?”

 

Teo: “Sister Ageha…...I can’t agree with you there. Don’t you know that the Sagiri Merchant Trade also handles Tableware?”

 

Ageha: “Really?”

 

And as we continue to talk amongst each other, we arrive at the location the soldier directed us to.

 

It’s a pretty large piece of land, and I see a fairly new and large house ahead.

 

Just like she told me, I saw a large Apple Tree in the yard, and there were many red fruits growing. Maybe it’s the season for it?

 

And….

 

There’s a girl taking down the hang dried sheets from a clothes line….

 

Ageha: “Heーy, Yuuー! We came to see youー!”

 

Ageha immediately springs and charges at the woman.

 

Yuu: “Huh? WHAT? Ageha? Why are you…...how did you…….I mean, you shouldn’t know where I live……..”

 

And while speaking with Ageha, she looks up to see us following from behind.

 

She has a beautiful, overly well-composed face, but it freezes when it catches a glimpse of me.

 

I didn’t know what to say to her, and I thought about how I should break the ice, but in the end, I just said the first thing that came to mind.

 

Henry: “Hey, isn’t that the Saint of Salvation?! I heard you collapsed, but I’m glad you’re doing okay, Saint of Salvation! Do you still remember me, Saint ofーー”

 

Yuu: “Fuhn!” (sfx exhale)

 

And as I greeted her, a fist came flying at me!

 

Henry: “Hey now!!”

 

<SMACK!!> I caught her fist in my hand. …….it actually hurt. She really put her weight into it. I felt the impact go right through me.

 

And considering that she chose to punch instead of slap is just like her too.

 

Yuu: “Hello, Henry. I don’t know if you forgot, but I hate it when people, and especially family, call me by that title. It’s pretty embarrassing.”

 

Henry: “Of course I remember.”

 

Yuu: “I see….”

 

She used her left hand before, but she’s right handed, and prepares a serious punch with it…

 

Henry: “Sorry, sorry, I surrender.”

 

Yuu: “(sigh).......why you…..”

 

I raise my hands above my head and run away, and Yuu lets out a sigh and lowers her fist.

 

We both let out a chuckle at the same time.

 

Henry: “......well….I guess it’s been a while, Yuu.”

 

Yuu: “Yes, it has been a while. Good seeing you, Henry.”

 

And with that…

 

I reunited with Eustacia.

 

<<<<>>>>

 

CREDITS

 

Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely

 

Written by Hisagushien

Translated by: ChonkyTranslator





Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!