Ossan Saikyō Chapter 14 Part 04
The walls of the capital were quite formidable, standing nearly 10 meters high. A moat surrounded them, with a drawbridge in front of the main gate.
I had heard that although Mekalinan was a small country, it was strong, militarily, and seeing these walls, I could understand why.
As a B-Rank adventurer, I was allowed into the capital without any trouble. One thing that caught my attention was that the guards at the gate looked quite stern, or rather, they seemed almost haggard.
If the country was on the verge of war, perhaps that couldn't be helped, but even so, they seemed somewhat lacking in vitality.
Immediately after passing through the gate, I found myself on a broad, central avenue. It was perhaps 20 meters wide. The stone-paved road stretched far into the distance, ending at a second set of walls.
I could see the spires of a castle beyond them, so the area inside the second wall was probably where the nobles lived.
In any case, I headed for the Adventurer Guild first. I asked a nearby adventurer party where it was, and they told me it was one street west of the central avenue. The Adventurer Guild wasn't located on the central avenue after all.
I walked along the street for the time being. Although this was my first time in the city, I immediately noticed that something was wrong.
Despite being the capital's central avenue, there were an unusually large number of closed shops. There were also very few people on the streets, and most of them walked with their backs hunched or their shoulders slumped.
On top of that, everyone was noticeably thin, giving the impression that they weren't eating enough. Compared to the capital of Vermilion, it was hard to believe this was actually a capital city.
As soon as I turned down a side street, I saw the Adventurer Guild.
It was a fairly large building, but when I entered, I was puzzled by the strange atmosphere inside.
There were about a 100 people, but most of them were wearing identical black-based outfits. They looked like soldiers, but apparently all of them were Awakened.
Judging by their faces, however, they all looked like rough characters. Rather than adventurers, they seemed more like a gang of criminals.
There were also people dressed in the familiar style of adventurers, but they were huddled together at the edge of the lobby.
I passed by them and approached the receptionist at the counter. The young receptionist also looked quite haggard.
“Excuse me, my name is Soushi, and I'm a B-Rank adventurer.”
“Yes, Mr. Soushi. How can I help you?”
“Well, if possible, I'd like to contact the Adventurer Guild in Orz. Is that possible?”
“Contact them? If you're referring to the《Voice Link Magic Tool》, permission to use it isn't granted.”
The《Voice Link Magic Tool》was a tool with a function similar to a telephone. They were installed at places such as Guild branches, and apparently Mariane used one to contact the Grandmaster of Adventurer's Guild in the Empire.
“Ah, I see. By the way, how long would it take to walk from here to Orz?”
“For an adventurer, it would take about two days to reach the border. However, I've heard that crossing the border is currently difficult.”
“Even for adventurers?”
I asked because I had thought the Guild guaranteed adventurers freedom of movement.
But the receptionist lowered her eyes and shook her head.
“Unfortunately, I've heard that even adventurers can't cross freely. The Guild has been protesting as well, but there hasn't been much improvement...”
“Has the Grandmaster been informed?”
“Yes, the Guildmaster should have reported it.”
Hmm. If that's the case, there isn't much I can do as an individual adventurer.
Still, while being unable to contact Orz was unfortunate, being unable to cross the border was a serious problem.
Honestly, using an adventurer's abilities, crossing the border illegally probably wouldn't be impossible, but then I might be judged guilty through the mysterious functions of the Adventurer Card.
Come to think of it, there had also been suspicions that this Guild was under the Royal Family's influence. If so, it was questionable whether the Guildmaster was actually contacting the Grandmaster at all.
“Hmm... By the way, I can still accept requests and enter dungeons, right?”
“Yes, of course. However, please be aware that the purchase prices for mana stones and materials are considerably lower, so things won't be the same as at other Guilds.”
“Is there a reason why the purchase prices are so low?”
“Yes, apparently... I've been told it's because distribution has been disrupted...”
The receptionist furrowed her brows and looked troubled. I see. So there was a reason she found difficult to say aloud. It seemed the capital of Mekalinan had all sorts of problems, including its Guild.
“I understand. There's also some fairly important information I'd like to share. Have you heard anything about strange monsters appearing in Mekalinan? Monsters that look like human bodies have been stitched together, for example.”
“You mean the monsters known as Devil. I believe I've heard that one appeared in a northern city once.”
“Actually, there's a hole near the southern highway where I think one of them might appear. You see...”
I explained to the receptionist what had happened on my way to the city. She seemed doubtful, but that was understandable. Even in a fantasy world, it was a fairly far-fetched story.
“For now, I'll report what you've told me to the Guildmaster.”
“Yes, please do.”
Given the atmosphere of this Guild, I wasn't sure whether anything could be done even if the Guildmaster was informed.
Still, this was the capital, so there should be a fair number of high-ranking adventurers here. If I were still around, I would of course deal with it myself, but I didn't know whether I'd still be in the city by then.
In any case, that was all I could do. I looked through all the requests on the bulletin board, confirmed that there was nothing particularly worthwhile, and left the Guild.
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That day, I decided to stay at an inn near the Guild.
Just as the traveler had said on the way here, the food at the inn was terrible.
A single piece of hard bread and a thin soup with barely any ingredients was worse than even the cheap inn I had stayed at in Tolson when I first arrived in this world.
If this was the same throughout the capital... Actually, judging from the people I'd seen on the streets, it probably was.
Wanting more information, I bought drinks for an adventurer party I noticed in the dining hall and asked them a few questions.
“You want to know what kind of situation this country is in? I'd say it's the worst possible, to put it simply.”
The young leader was a talkative man. Of course, I'd chosen someone like that intentionally.
“I understand that there's a shortage of food, but what else is happening?”
“First of all, we can't move around freely anymore. We adventurers are still relatively well off, but merchants can't move freely. That's why goods aren't circulating. It also means materials can't be sold.”
“I see.”
“Though in reality, there's talk that only merchants backed by the nobles are allowed to operate, and they're unfairly lowering purchase prices... Ah, that's a secret.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“Then there's the slaves. Even ordinary citizens are turned into slaves over the slightest thing. Apparently, they're being worked to the bone by certain people, and things have gotten pretty bad.
…
That's why nobody walks around outside, or rather, nobody can. Adventurers are protected, so we're safe for now, but either way, it's better to avoid trouble.”
“That sounds troublesome. By the way, my party is in Orz, and I want to return there, but...”
“That's impossible for now. They're guarding the border heavily because there's apparently going to be fighting with the opposing nobles in the south. The King's also been saying that he's going to invade Orz sooner or later.”
“That puts me in a difficult position. But does that mean I'll be unable to go anywhere for the foreseeable future?”
“That's how it looks. Unless the Marquis in the south manages to do something, things will stay this way forever... Ah, keep that one secret too.”
“I didn't hear a thing.”
I see. Things really were quite troublesome.
I heard a few more things afterward, and apparently the current King was a fairly terrible or even tyrannical ruler. Nobles and merchants who catered to him monopolized the wealth, while ordinary people were forced to live in poverty.
Judging from the state of the city alone, I could certainly feel that there was truth to what I was hearing.
But if things really were as they said, then unless I took some kind of action after assessing the situation, I might end up staying in Mekalinan for years.
I wanted to avoid that at all costs, but when it came to what exactly I should do, I couldn't think of anything, which was troubling.
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E/N:
So basically a sh*thole of a Capital city and a sh*ttier administration… Yeah, even the food's gone down the drain! Alright, that's a wrap!
Dive dungeons, get treasures and skills, sneak past the border and get the hell outta this place!
Stay tuned!
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