By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 3

Chapter 5 Episode 3: Reunion 1

After three days of a largely peaceful journey, we finally reached Gaunago. But as soon as we got there, a new problem arose at the gate.

“Let me ask you again,” the guard said. “Your names are Ryoma and Fay, and you traveled here from Gimul for what reason?”

“I’m a manager of a business, and the Jamil family has granted me an audience.”

“I’m his bodyguard and servant.”

“I see. You say you didn’t take the road from Keleban, but crossed through the Forest of Gana and killed fifteen bandits you found while you were there. Is this correct?”

“Yes.”

“I think most people would take the road. Why choose to traverse the forest when that’s more difficult?”

“I used to live there and I was feeling nostalgic, so I wanted to visit my old home. I also work as an adventurer, so I’m comfortable with walking through forests, and I thought it would be faster than going around.”

“I see. But Fay, you don’t seem to be an adventurer.”

“I served time as a soldier in my home country. That’s when I learned to traverse forests and serve as a guard.”

“So, you’re a soldier from Gilmar.”

“An ex-soldier.”

“I see, I see...”

This had been going on ever since they took us into the guard station for questioning. It was the same set of questions over and over. They treated us kindly, but this was still an interrogation. I had been through my fair share of interrogations on Earth, so I knew they found us suspicious immediately.

But admittedly, I thought they would have let us go by now. If they just needed to confirm we killed those bandits to pay us our reward, we would have been done by now. I didn’t know why we seemed so suspicious just because one of us lived in the forest for three years and the other was an ex-soldier. Well, maybe Fay was suspicious, but me? The crystal was coming up blue, too. I just wanted to be done.

I heard someone walk up to the door from outside. “Yo, don’t mind me. So, this is where—Oh!” the man said as he entered. It was Hughes, one of the Jamil family’s guards who brought about my leaving the forest. “Yo, Ryoma! Long time no see!”

“It’s nice to see you again!”

“Good thing you remembered to call me. Let me handle this.”

Hughes mentioned that I could get in touch with him by mentioning him at the guard station before we parted ways, and he was apparently telling the truth. I wasn’t expecting him to show up in the middle of an interrogation, though.

“Hughes, what are you doing here?” the interrogator asked.

“Yo, Swanson! Working hard as always, eh?”

“If you know I’m in the middle of work, then go—Hey! Give that back!”

Hughes swiftly snatched the paper the man was writing on and gave it a read. “Oh, Swanson, this is what’s bugging you, right? This is all true, I guarantee it. Remember back in spring when I almost died?”

“When you were attending to the Jamil family?”

“Yeah, and he’s the one who saved my life.”

“That still doesn’t explain why he was living in a forest for three years.”

“It’s complicated. Not like he was working for bandits or anything. Reinhart could tell you the same thing. Just let them through; they really are visiting the Jamil family. They were invited as guests more than anything, though.”

“Very well, then. Don’t forget the reward money.”

That seemed kind of aggressive, but I was free to go. “Thank you, Hughes,” I said.

“We’ll talk later. Let’s get out of here before he changes his mind. Here, take the reward money.”

“Oh, right. Here’s your bag, Fay.”

“I’d like you to store it with your space magic. It would just be more to carry, and I have enough money on hand for the moment.”

“Got it, I’ll put it away.”

We followed Hughes out of the guard station. The sun had already set, and the stars were bright.

“What a disaster, eh?” Hughes asked with a grin, like he could finally let loose.

“No kidding. He was just doing his job, though.”

“Glad you get it. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s stubborn about anything he finds the least bit sketchy. Works to catch criminals that the crystal can’t sort out, though.”

Hughes spoke in support of the man, but I was more curious about how the crystal could fail. “Is there a way to trick the crystal?”

“Don’t know if I’d say that, but those things aren’t meant for finding criminals in the first place. Can’t uncover every crime that way.”

“What are they for, then?”

“The church makes them to see if someone’s broken any of their commandments. Murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, burglary, bodily harm, these are all things that defy the teachings of the gods, so the crystals pick up on those. There are things that are acceptable to the gods but not to the law, though. Like smuggling, for example. Possessing illegal contraband or transporting goods without permission is obviously illegal, but because of rules that humans made later surrounding stuff we forbid or find dangerous. So the crystals don’t react to those crimes.”

I didn’t know about that flaw, but being able to confirm some serious crimes was still pretty useful. That seemed like it could act as a deterrent for those crimes too. Anyway, I was just following Hughes and didn’t know where we were actually going. When I asked him, he came to an abrupt stop.

“Oh, sorry, I just wanted to get out of there fast. So where are we going?” he said. He was always kind of sloppy. But he was still a good person, of course. He didn’t seem to have any destination.

“Do you know of that weirdly named inn, “I Like Horses”? I’m supposed to meet with someone from the Morgan Trading Company there, then go to visit the Jamil family within the next few days.”

“I know that place! It’s run by this guy who loves horse racing. Guy likes horses so much that he just named his business that. You don’t want to bring up horses around him, believe me. He’ll talk your ear off.”

It sounded like Hughes knew this person. He seemed amused. He knew the way there too, leading me down a narrow back alley. As we passed through, a bunch of people chatted him up.

“Oh, if it isn’t Hughes?”

“What brings you here so late?!”

“Hey! I’m on the job!”

“Why walk around here for your job?”

“Sounds like you’re slacking off to me. Have a drink!”

“Oh Hughes, how about you drink at my place tonight?”

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Uh, I appreciate the offer, but I need to take these two somewhere. I’ll come back later.”

“Who’s the kid? Don’t tell me you have a secret kid!”

“What?! Who’s the mom?!”

“He ain’t my kid!”

“Hahahaha, I believe it! He doesn’t look a thing like you!”

“Looks too smart to be your kid!”

“And he looks kind of nice, too!”

“No way he could be Hughes’s kid!”

“What a bunch of drunks!”

“Oh, hello there, Hughes. Come by my store sometime. I’ll give you some tea.”

“What, the old lady from the general store is here? I’ll do that, just include some tea cakes.”

“I’ll be waiting. You’ll have to pay for the tea cakes, though.”

“Everyone seems to know Hughes,” I said. “And not just because he lives around here, if I had to guess.”

“He’s a good man,” said Fay. “You can tell these people trust him.”

We walked past the noisy yet peaceful street corner and came across a big stable attached to a much smaller inn.

“This is I Like Horses,” Hughes said. “The guy I mentioned probably isn’t here right now. Hey, Missus, you here?!”

Hughes casually walked inside. I followed, and the front counter was right by the entrance. An equally casual response came from the other side of it. “Yes, hello, Hughes! What is it?”

“I brought you a guest.”

“Good evening, I’m Ryoma Takebayashi from Bamboo Forest. I made a reservation through someone from the Morgan Trading Company.”

“And I’m his bodyguard, Fay.”

“Oh, I heard about you from Serge. There are two rooms reserved for you, but first, write your names in the inn registry. What are your plans for dinner? It’s already dinner time, and Serge is in the cafeteria right now. Also tomorrow there’s...”

She seemed to be an impatient person, asking a rapid series of questions that I answered as I wrote in the registry. I decided to have dinner there. I needed to greet Serge.

“Ryoma, I’m heading back to the estate,” Hughes said.

“Oh, already?”

“Yeah, I’d like to eat with you and talk about things, but I’ve got work left to do.”

“That’s too bad, but I get it. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule for me.”

“Well, you’ll be coming to the estate soon, so we can talk then. There’s a ton I’d like to say. See you later!”

“Take care! Well, he’s gone.”

Hughes ran like the wind. I had to wonder what he wanted to tell me.

“He’s always been like that,” the woman said.

I laughed awkwardly. “Oh, done filling this out.”

“Me too,” said Fay.

“Thanks; here are your keys. Go up the stairs and to the end of the hall on the right to find your rooms. You can get food at the cafeteria over there.” She pointed to the stairs and the hallway to the cafeteria, but I was distracted by all the decorations. There were horseshoes and mounted horse heads on display. “Wondering what that’s about, aren’t you?”

“I think they look lovely.”

“You don’t need to try and flatter me! It’s my husband who buys all this junk! The second floor has all sorts of ornaments and paintings too. I just don’t know what he sees in it all.” Apparently her husband was a hardcore horse fanatic.

“Boss, if you’re going to greet your acquaintance, I think you should change clothes first.”

“Good idea. I’ll be back for dinner right after I get changed.”

“Got it, I’ll have something ready for you,” the woman said.

■ ■ ■

I went to the cafeteria after I got changed.

“It looks busy,” I remarked to Fay.

“Judging by their attire, they’re all merchants.”

“The stable must be full too. Oh, there he is.”

Among the merchants from a variety of regions, I saw Serge at a table by the wall. He was eating with somebody, probably a man. He had black hair and looked kind of familiar. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be Pioro.

“Serge, Pioro,” I said.

“Oh!” Serge exclaimed.

“If it isn’t Ryoma! It’s been so long!” cried Pioro. It was him after all.

“It’s nice to see you again. I know we’ve written to each other occasionally, but I think this is our first meeting in person in half a year.”

“We just kept missing each other. Thanks for that deal with Weizen, by the way. Now we have another supplier for wheat and new products.”

“Save your thanks for the villagers.”

I kept my voice low, as if I were up to something, but only because it would be odd to overhear some random kid speaking to the heads of two major companies. But they both answered me with familiarity, drawing the curiosity of the guests around us.

“Who the heck’s that kid?”

“No idea. Maybe some noble?”

“No way would a noble kid come here.”

“Could be the heir to some big business, then.”

I heard these comments amid the chitchat of the other merchants. I felt their eyes on me too. It felt like when I first went to the adventurer’s guild. Except these were merchants instead of adventurers, and this was an inn instead of a guild, but other than that, pretty similar.

“Now come take a seat, you two,” Serge said.

We sat down and ordered dinner. Fay introduced himself to Serge and Pioro, and we had a lively conversation, picking subjects that wouldn’t have to be kept a secret from anyone who might be listening. Eventually we discussed our journey here.

“You were stopped at the gate? That must have been a nuisance,” Serge said.

“They were just doing their job; I can’t complain. They had heavier security than other cities I’ve been to; I’m guessing because the duke’s estate is here.”

“Many other nobles live here as well. They’re stricter about security than most. They used the crystal on you, I presume.”

“Yes. With other cities, I just had to show my guild card to get through.”

Gaunago always did the crystal test upon entry. The fact that I defeated those bandits was proven when we touched it, at which point they took us to another room.

“Those crystals are scarce magic items, so most towns will only use them on people without identification, or to confirm that bandits were slain,” Serge explained. “Items break after continued use, and replacing those is supposed to be difficult.”

“Are they expensive? Considering how many towns use them, I’d think there are plenty out there.”

“The price is one thing, but getting permission from the church takes time. Those magic items are said to be created under the command of the gods by artisans who receive divine revelations. More can be made, but they can’t easily be produced for sale. One can only be attained for just reasons, such as town security; nobles must also grant permission, and donations have to be made to the church in addition to the price of the magic item itself. If not for that, I would have liked to own one myself,” Serge said with a disappointed sigh. I could see why; I wanted one too.

“By the way, Ryoma, you say the two of you beat those bandits by yourselves?” Pioro asked. “There were a decent number of them, weren’t there?”

“Fay helped a lot. He beat eight of them on his own,” I said. The guests at the tables next to us heard that and quieted down.

“You beat seven of them. I only took out one more than that because I got the first strike,” Fay pointed out. I heard some uncomfortable murmuring behind me. Did they want to get on this topic to keep the people around us in check, or what? It was a fun conversation, but not the best subject to discuss over dinner.