Episode 8: Savior of the Downtrodden
Well, yesterday, being the beginning of the month, I did a bit of work, but from now on, I’ll be free until next month again.
It’s currently Rana’s Month, during the Spring Festival.
That’s around mid-March in Earth’s calendar.
It’s still chilly, but it’s warm enough that I might be able to take off a layer, and the temperature is at least at a point where it probably won’t snow anymore.
The weather is cloudy, but it doesn’t feel like it’s going to rain. However, the wind is still cold, so I probably can’t let go of my coat just yet.
With that in mind, I put on my usual outdoor clothes and head out.
My outfit consists of trousers and a belt made of stag leather, and boots suitable for riding.
And a white shirt.
I wear a vest over that, and then a coat.
The clothing in this world is actually much older, but I hate wearing tights or tight-fitting shorts, so I make my own clothes.
Besides that, if I’m going hunting, I switch to simple leather armor, and for war, I wear chainmail with gauntlets and greaves… that’s how I change my equipment.
I don’t plan on leaving town today, so I’m just walking around in my casual clothes.
Oh, by the way, I also make Tris’s clothes, my little one.
Alright, let’s go for a walk.
The name of this town is Midford.
It’s a border town in the “Garnia Kingdom,” a country that separated from the great power that rules the four northern nations, the “Great Exuria Holy Decalinim Empire.”
When I say “border town,” the real borderlands of this world are seriously no joke. For example, like in South Africa, carnivorous beasts appear near villages and attack.
This isn’t that kind of hardcore borderland; here… it’s more like a Midtown, or something, a just-right kind of countryside.
To be specific, it’s near a large city, located at a relay point to the borderlands and other countries, and it has a large river nearby, making it a rest stop for caravans and travelers… that’s the kind of town it is.
Being in the north, it snows enough to accumulate in winter, but it doesn’t accumulate as much as in the far north, and the nearby mountains block strong winds, so it rarely becomes a blizzard or heavy rain.
On top of that, the fertile soil washed away by the large river… the “Promelos River,” created a forest around the river. This forest is my usual hunting ground, and it’s also a place where Striders make a living.
Speaking of that, the forest along the river, the large pond created by manipulating the river’s flow, the mountain forest about a quarter of a day’s walk from here, and thinning out the monsters and bandits on the roads, there are many workplaces for Striders.
…However, it’s not as much as in the “Frontier Settlements” at the forefront of development, the “Royal Capital” with many managed Demon Lairs, or the “Border Marquisate” with many wars with foreign countries.
In any case, it’s definitely a comfortable and good town to live in.
That’s Midford, and my house is located on the outskirts of the second walled city.
Ah, there are two walls, you see.
The area that was hollowed out by ancient crustal movements is surrounded by walls, and that’s the first walled city. Well, it’s where the important people and the rich live.
The second walled city is an expanded town, located inside a slightly lower wall outside the first one… it’s a so-called residential area.
Many citizens live here.
However, nomadic people like Striders don’t have “Citizenship,” so they can’t live here permanently. I do, though.
Now… about that.
Let’s talk about why the area where I live is considered the “outskirts.”
You can tell just by looking at the roughness of the road.
The area beyond my house is the “Slum District.”
The people in the slums are humble and don’t come out in the open. They often have shady dealings.
At least, if I, a citizen, were to complain to the police, they could potentially be hanged. They wouldn’t do anything foolish.
Besides…
“Oh, Teacher.” “Hello!”
This area, even though it’s a slum, is a red-light district… especially an area with many prostitutes.
Prostitutes have a low social status and are like the poor, but they have a special position as healers of men.
It’s a bad place, but a necessary one…
In such a red-light district, there are few fools.
Imagine injuring a popular prostitute? Anyone who did that would be beaten to a pulp by her regulars. The laws are also lax, so if you lynched someone you didn’t like, dumped the body outside the city walls, and everyone around you covered for you, it would become a cold case.
That’s why this place has good security for a poor district…
“Hey, Florence. Is that a new girl?”
Ah, right.
This girl is probably Florence.
She’s about twenty years old, with black hair.
“Yes, her name is Agnetta. Please remember her.”
Agnetta, who Florence introduced, is about sixteen years old? Freckles are her charm point, I guess.
“Agnetta, this is the Apothecary Teacher. He treats our illnesses and sells us contraceptives and cosmetics. Be polite; a prostitute who is abandoned by the Teacher won’t last long.”
Hmm, ah.
Apothecary is almost the same as a doctor.
Taking care of prostitutes is quite common.
When they get injured in love triangles, during abortions, or when they want to know if they’re pregnant.
“Y-Yes! Nice to meet you, Apothecary Teacher!”
“Ah, nice to meet you too. …I often tell new prostitutes that I want them to come early if they feel unwell. Abortions become impossible if you miss the right time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, it’s too late once the child has grown in the womb. If you come early, you can reduce the pain. …Well, I’m not often in the shop.”
“That’s no good, is it?!”
“No, my disciple is always there. She’s a Mazoku slave… if you tell her, I’ll visit the next day. In case of emergency, I’m in town when I don’t have Strider work, so if you look for me…”
“Eh? You’re a Strider?”
“Hunting is my hobby.”
When I said that, Agnetta whispered to Florence.
“…Florence-senpai, is this person a noble? He looks like a changeling, is he an abandoned noble child or something?”
“Hey, don’t pry into other people’s pasts!”
However, Florence hits Agnetta on the head and gets angry.
Prostitutes, and those who come to brothels, probably don’t have good pasts. They must have learned that prying is strictly prohibited.
“No, it’s fine. It’s natural to be curious why an Apothecary is in a place like this. …But I don’t have any great secrets, so you don’t have to worry about any trouble.”
“O-Okay!”
“Well, get along with your senpai!”
I said that, waved my hand…
And proceeded into the depths of the Slums…