Chapter 172
“We, we can finally see the city . ”
“The spirits of our ancestors have forgiven us!”
More than ten days after they began their journey, the Abel search party finally succeeded in finding the city of Lomarn .
Miraculously, the Abel search party kept ten people in the city .
…… because they figured that since they’re already in halfway in the road, it would be faster to head for the city than to return .
“Pray for the spirits of our Marren ancestors!”
“Pray for the spirits of our Marren ancestors!”
At any rate, they were able to reach the city alive thanks to the blessings of their ancestors, and they offered their customary prayers .
Gizel, exhausted from the journey, watched them with somewhat cold eyes .
“What’s the matter, Gizel, won’t you pray to your ancestors?”
I was honestly irritated when Zelrut came to me with his fatherly style and convinced me to do so .
It was Gizel, not the spirit of his ancestors, who had used Ortem to perform cloud-avoidance magic on the road to end the heavy rains, and Gizel who had surrounded and beat up the forest’s biggest threat, the Greater Bear, with Ortem .
Gizel has been assisting Abel throughout her childhood, and she had a much better understanding of magic and sorcery than the adults in the area .
However, she doesn’t have the overwhelming magical power that Abel does .
She used all her skills, risked her life, and somehow managed to overcome .
“…… Pray for the spirits of our Marren ancestors . ”
However, Gizel was basically of an honest temperament .
She convinced herself that everyone was following her to find her brother, Abel, and she bottled up her frustration and irritation and offered a prayer .
“It’s later than I thought, but…… now I can finally see my brother ……”
The four children in the Abel search team are Abel’s sister, Gizel; Shibi, his prefect and friend; Firo, his childhood friend; and Lil, who was dragged in despite being unrelated .
With the exception of Lil, all of them are close friends with Abel and are highly motivated .
The adult group consisted of Zelrut, Abel’s father, who couldn’t get out of his position; Golzov, an incense-smoke leaf addict who couldn’t forget Abel’s incense-smoke leaf; Maharal, who came out to brag to his son and daughter about what he had seen in the outside world; Enoch, who had a fight with his wife and stormed out on the spur of the moment; Fiona, who followed feeling like it’s a trip but then honestly regretted; and Camilla, who had a longing for the city .
Not many of them came out purely to look for Abel .
“…… So who are you guys after all?”
A man with a stubby beard and a bad eye who was guiding the Abel search party along the way asks Gizel, somewhat dumbfounded .
His name is Yared, a streetwise adventurer who rescued the Abel search party, who were prepared to die after their map was eaten by a magic beast .
“Eh…… ahh…… Re-, really, thank you very much for taking us this far, Yared-san . W-we are…… um, from a village deep in the forest…… to look for my brother . ”
Gizel stepped back slightly and replied, holding her hands up .
“…… I was aware of the fact that my face is scary, but you don’t have to be so scared . This pops is hurt a little . ”
It wasn’t just Gizel, the other Abel search party members were also bracing themselves and being wary .
“Hey, isn’t it too much to ask Gizel-chan to deal with Yared and the like, Zelrut?”
“But, but…… I don’t know how to interrupt him or when to do so . What should I say to thim as my first word?”
“Why does he have such beige skin? Is it makeup by any chance?”
“The Chief said that the Norks are dark-skinned . ”
“I’ve heard that the Sea People are greenish . I suppose that’s how it works . ”
“How strange that is . ”
“Anyway, Zelrut-san, please step between them . Come on, quick . ”
Having lived in a small community for a long time, people who were not Marren or anything else were unknown to them .
In short, they were in a state of total ethnic shyness .
Abel was not as bad as the average Marren, in that respect, because of the interpersonal relationships, outings, and stresses in his previous life, which were there .
Yared still had business outside of the city, apparently, and he had to part ways with the Abel search party before they could enter the city .
Abel’s search party, who were desperate to cover up their awkwardness, were secretly happy about this .
However, Yared also too, he wanted to get away from these creepy guys as soon as he was done showing them around, so he only left the city with a requirement that he’d been putting off until later…… .
At any rate, Gizel was relieved to find Abel if she could only get into the city of Lomarn .
The adults also believed that if they could only reach the city of Lomarn, they would be able to rest their bodies slowly .
However, the reality was ruthless .
As they entered the city of Lomarn, all of the Abel search party were astonished .
A huge fountain on the streets with a series of large buildings, crowds of people coming and going .
“What is this great number of people ……”
Zelrut muttered in a snatched voice as his eyes widened .
There was no way that the Abel searchers, who were struggling mightily to deal with Yared alone, could withstand the crowds of people in the city .
As they walked, there was a huge commotion as Lil collapsed due to human sickness .
The ten of them huddled together in a hurry to the outskirts of the street to huddle together while receiving strange looks from those around them .
Passersby glanced at them .
They were in the state of a rare beast that had completely descended into the human village .
After calming down, the adults began to have a meeting to discuss their future plans .
“An inn . Anyway, we need to get a place to stay . We must rest our bodies there . ”
“How are we going to get a place to stay? Is there an inn in this town to begin with?”
“I don’t know…… I don’t know, but we’ll just have to find out . ”
“Isn’t there an inn here……?”
“How can you be so sure!”
They had little or no knowledge of life outside the village .
People passing by heard bits and pieces of stories and thought, “Are they for real?” .
“But look at that magnificent building . The market price of the inn must be high . ”
“Don’t worry, I hunted a magic beast for that . The inn will need meat, so it should come in handy . ”
“It would have been easier if the Chief’s Magic Ore Coin was available . ”
“Yeah, why don’t we spread the word about money when life gets settled?”
It was only because of his knowledge of the outside culture that the chief advocated a magic ore currency in the first place, but the average Marren tribe did not know about it .
They believed that bartering was still the norm outside the settlement .
“If it comes down to it, we have the incense-smoke leaf, so we should be fine . The incense-smoke leaf lasts a long time, they shouldn’t be refused . ”
“All that hard work must have been worth it . ”
“Oh, come on, save me some of that smoke for me . ”
In the territories around the city of Lomarn, there were major restrictions on the transport and use of addictive drugs, but there was no way for them to know that .
“Gizel-chan, …… I’m a little worried, but are we okay?”
Shibi could sense a bad feeling when he saw the adults .
Gizel just watched the meeting with a blank look on her face .