Episode 350: Interlude (A Certain Northern City 1)
Clang, clang, clang, the departure bell echoed.
Urged on by the driver’s reins, the two-horse carriage slowly began to move.
The passenger car being pulled behind was a recent innovation called a horse-drawn railway.
Because it ran on two iron rails, it was a revolutionary device that allowed even just two horses to transport a large number of people and goods.
And today, as always, the passenger car was packed to the brim with people.
“Lumber, how’s it been lately?”
Among them, men squeezed into narrow two-person seats were conversing.
Both were muscular and looked every bit the part of adventurers.
“Thanks to ＜Paraiso＞, things are great. Since the other day, I’ve been able to rent that ＜Backpacker＞. I’ve been making so much money I can’t stop laughing, you know?”
“Seriously? You beat me to it! Damn, we were almost there too…”
They were talking about ＜Paraiso＞, who currently reigned as the ruler of North End City.
The ＜Backpacker＞ was a large vehicle for transporting goods that ＜Paraiso＞ was lending out.
By using this ＜Backpacker＞, the range of activities for these adventurers had dramatically improved, leading to the discovery of new monsters and resources one after another.
In other words, North End City was currently experiencing an unprecedented economic boom.
“Well, you still have to be careful with it, it’s tricky to handle. It’s huge, so it can’t go through narrow places, and it’s pretty heavy, so you have to watch out for the footing. I can’t imagine what would happen if I broke it.”
“Full compensation, right? I heard some people fell into debt slavery because of that.”
“Yeah. If you show promise, they say they’ll lend it to you again, even with the debt remaining. But those who couldn’t handle it and ran away got caught and are being made to work outside the city.”
“Huh? Well… I guess it’s better than being killed?”
“Well, it’s much better than dealing with the merchants.”
And of course, with lending comes such situations.
Although it was just a rumor, ＜Paraiso＞’s response seemed to be quite lenient. They only directly harmed a few extremely rebellious individuals.
Despite possessing overwhelming power, ＜Paraiso＞’s reputation for only using that power when absolutely necessary was soaring among the residents of North End City, who valued strength.
By the way, the merchants were a union of merchants who had been rooted in North End City for a long time, synonymous with evil who used money to commit lawlessness. Of course, they had become much quieter since ＜Paraiso＞ arrived.
And the Adventurer’s Guild, which had received full backing from ＜Paraiso＞, was undergoing a major reform.
“Hey. Where’d you come from? I was chosen from the slums of the Royal Capital.”
“Huh? I’m from a tiny place way down south called Iron Town.”
In other seats, a poorly dressed man and a relatively well-built man had started a conversation.
“Iron Town? Never heard of it. Well, judging by your clothes, you must have had a much better life than us, right?”
“No, it’s only been recently. ＜Paraiso＞ came there too, you know. Our town was saved by ＜Paraiso＞. I heard they were recruiting people to come here, so I came, and I’ve finally made it this far.”
And currently, ＜Paraiso＞ seemed to be promoting immigration to North End City from all over the Afrasia United Kingdom, and even from neighboring countries.
This was apparently for the purpose of assigning personnel to a new system started by the Adventurer’s Guild.
“I got a job description, but… is it even possible to encounter monsters and come back alive?”
“Yeah, I’m worried about that too… ＜Paraiso＞ said it would be okay, though.”
“Well, the guild guys said that if you don’t do anything reckless, you can earn a decent living. Anything’s better than the slums, so I don’t care anymore. They even give you food just for coming here. You too, right?”
Such men were gathering one after another from North End City to the front-line base further beyond.
As far as they could tell, the Adventurer’s Guild seemed to have started posting new requests.
Namely, requests to hunt designated monsters with a group of people.
Or requests to go to designated locations in groups and bring back designated resources.
There was no adventurous element, which was the origin of adventurers, but there was no doubt that they could continue working stably, or so they were told at the Adventurer’s Guild.
Of course, the reward was split among the number of people, so it wasn’t that high.
Even so, the fact that work was provided stably and they could receive rewards according to their results meant that drifters from all over were flocking to North End City.
◇◇◇◇
“Number 45! Number 45, this way! Gather here!”
“Number 13! Gardie from number 13! Where are you, you’re the only one left!”
A permanent front-line base was set up in front of the Demon Forest.
Simple accommodations, large warehouses, and wide, flat open spaces were maintained, bustling with many people.
And in one section of the many plazas, workers scheduled to depart today were in a frenzy, being divided into their respective groups.
It seemed that the men who had been newly sent to this place in the past few days were gathered, and confusion was occurring due to their unfamiliarity.
For the men in this place, everything was new.
But for those in charge of this place, it was the usual scene.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, the sound of a bell rang out, and the surrounding noise subsided as if a wave had receded.
Their gazes were fixed on a figure standing on top of some kind of object.
“It seems like it will take time, so follow these instructions. This will happen every time from now on, so make sure to remember it.”
A lovely voice, like the ringing of a bell, slipped from the person’s mouth.
However, contrary to expectations, the voice was very loud and reached every corner.
They were amplifying the voice in some way.
And it wasn’t just a loud voice.
The giant object the girl was standing on, which looked like an ornament, suddenly began to move.
Its legs opened like a spider, lifting its huge body.
The girl was standing on the head of such a giant Golem.
“Each of you should hang the distributed tags around your necks. If anyone loses theirs, come here later. We will reissue them. There are numbers on the tags, so gather at the place with the same sign. Understood?”
The men were frozen by the words flowing from the girl’s mouth. Her clear and articulate speech was unimaginable from her lovely appearance. Above all, many of the men were mesmerized by her extremely beautiful appearance.
“What are you doing, move!”
The spider-type Golem stomped its feet, and the men began to move in a hurry.
The violence of the very easy-to-understand, giant body had poured cold water on their excitement.
However, it was the usual thing.
“Alright, number 22! Everyone’s here. It’s noisy here, so let’s move a little further away. Follow me!”
The man, who was the leader of group 22, showed off his thick, toned biceps and began to walk, leading five men.
“This should be good enough for now! Alright, first, let’s introduce ourselves! I’m the leader of this group 22, Relgei! Follow my instructions! If you do, I’ll make sure you get paid properly!”
The man laughed heartily and thrust the number 22 sign he was holding into the ground.
The sound of the air vibrating as it hit, and the legs of the sign burying into the hard-looking ground. That alone showed that this man had considerable strength.
The impact of appearance was the greatest indicator, especially for men without much education.
“I’m sure you’re curious about many things, but first, get used to it today! Don’t worry, you’ll get paid properly this evening! I’ll take care of the food and lodging! And the women!”
“Seriously…”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah, everyone says that at first! It’s the usual thing for me! …Alright, that seems good. Starting tomorrow, it’s here. Gather here. I’ll leave the sign stuck here as it is! First, we’re going into the forest, follow me! …At least answer me!”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, let’s do it!”
“Yes, sir!”
“…Yeah.”
“Ah.”
The leader chuckled at the five different responses.
Well, just getting a response was almost a passing grade. If they were really hopeless, they would start trying to move on their own at this point.
This batch of personnel was relatively good.
Adventurer’s Guild.
Men boasting of their strength gather here every day.
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