Chapter 19 – Miracle of Myth (4)
I had to walk along the main street to get to the city hall after leaving the hotel. The street with that strange statue of a delivery knight.
Of course, I had visited this place several times before, but this bustling area, which could be called a symbol of the city, always gave me a peculiar feeling.
A city that actively researches and utilizes the relics and traces of the mythical era. Therefore, it’s a city where many faint remnants of that time still remain.
“What’s that carriage over there?”
“It’s one of the inventions of the magic engineers, which have been increasing lately. It’s based on the legends of the mythical era.”
I spotted an object I hadn’t seen before. It looked somewhat like a carriage, but unlike a regular one, it had no tools or structures to connect it to horses.
“I heard that iron carriages without horses moved back then?”
Patrick shrugged. The people of this era are, after all, descendants of those who survived the great end, so it’s impressive that stories from that time have been passed down, but they have undoubtedly been twisted and changed in many aspects.
The fact that cars became iron carriages was, in reality, quite a gentlemanly case. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
“That’s the city hall.”
Soon, Patrick pointed to a large white stone building. I already knew it, but I hadn’t thought I would come to this place directly.
Ethan and the city hall were as contrasting as fire and water.
“Wait, short red hair. Are you Patrick?”
“Yes, that’s me, but how…”
“Duro informed me in advance. Please, come in.”
As Patrick cleared his throat and approached the guard in front of the city hall, surprisingly, the guard recognized Patrick first. It must have been thanks to the guard captain we had seen before, who really shared our information in advance.
We passed the inspection by only showing our adventurer’s identification and entered the city hall.
“I—I’ve never been inside here as an adventurer before.”
Even Patrick was muttering as he looked around. The guard instructed us to wait here, saying he would call his superior.
“Still no news about the relics?”
“That’s right. We’re trying to find out about their origin, but it seems highly likely that they flowed in from outside and were sold here.”
At that moment, a group of people passed by us, excitedly chatting. They didn’t even glance our way, but I found them interesting.
Especially the red-haired girl with fox ears at the front, who was waving a staff that symbolized a mage, was shaking a bushy fox tail that poked out from under her skirt.
“Wait a moment.”
At that moment, she abruptly stopped right next to us.
“Where is that elf scent coming from? Oh, no. Is it not an elf? What is this smell?”
She sniffed the air, looking confused as she glanced around. I flinched and quickly looked away. Could she really detect my identity just from the smell?
“I don’t smell anything.”
“Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange even if there were elves around.”
“Oh, no! This is a scent I’ve never smelled before!”
Fortunately, the people around her didn’t seem to pay her words much attention, shaking their heads. She seemed uncertain about her senses as her tail drooped.
“Of course, I’ve had my share of failures…”
“There was a time when I mistook a beastfolk hybrid with perfume for an orc. It would be a similar case.”
Her companions pulled her away. I was relieved, and I found myself sniffing my own sleeves, wondering if I really had a strange smell emanating from me.
“She seems to be a fairly renowned mage… That girl just now appeared to be a spirit. If she can become a mage in a beastfolk body, she must have some kind of special status.”
“Spirit?”
“There are special beings among beastfolk. They refer to themselves as spirits.”
Patrick shared this new knowledge with me, looking at me. Those special beings among beastfolk certainly had a different aura compared to Rina.
“By the way, do we really have to hide our identities like this?”
“It’s just to avoid troublesome situations. I think you understand what I mean.”
Noticing my anxiousness, he asked for the reason. I didn’t have to hide it, so I responded directly. I just didn’t want to stir up trouble. In fact, that was the biggest reason. While the danger was indeed a factor, I knew there were several ways to protect myself.
“I suppose it’s none of my business.”
“Ah, welcome!”
At that moment, the guard captain I had seen before appeared together with Patrick’s smirk. The captain recognized us and waved his hand vigorously.
“So, it’s you all. The adventurers who dealt with the werewolf that escaped the encirclement.”
“Yes, Mayor. It was about to cause significant damage, but thanks to us, we managed to mitigate it.”
Mayor Wirrn, a short and stout man, looked down at us as we stood in front of him. I thought he would be indifferent, but he showed more interest than I expected. It seemed he didn’t just call us in for a simple reward.
“In fact, I reckon you already know about the reward, so I don’t think I need to elaborate. Instead, I would like to offer a request that would appeal to capable adventurers.”
As expected, he revealed his true intentions. We all flinched at a quest that the mayor himself wanted to delegate.
A party that used to deal with low-level monsters was suddenly given a monumental task.
“It seems things have gone awry since the last anomaly of prohibition. The recent appearance of the werewolf and a series of suspected demon-related disappearances occurring in a nearby village called Raon require your investigation. If it turns out to be something that adventurers can’t handle, I’ll have to dispatch troops again.”
He assigned us the task with the ease of someone used to managing people. Of course, we were not his subordinates, so we could refuse, but there was no real reason to do so.
“Is it just a simple investigation?”
“Right. I’m not sure, but the city guards have a lot on their plates… We plan to devise a new plan based on your findings.”
Patrick seemed to catch on as he pretended to think and subtly glanced at me. I kept my head down, not providing a response.
After all, if I were to oppose it, I would have expressed it in some way, so he nodded, catching on.
“An adventurer has no reason to refuse such a request.”
“Good. Don’t worry; the reward won’t be less than what the guild offers.”
With that, the dialogue with Wirrn ended satisfactorily.
We left city hall after acquiring a decent reward and a new mission.
“I didn’t expect to receive a task like this instead of simple hunting.”
“There’s something troubling me. It’s nothing significant, though.”
Only then did Patrick ask me why I accepted this task. I didn’t have any grand reason to hide or evade.
The curse that became the origin of those known as demons in this era. I just wanted to investigate it briefly, as it was related to the tower.
“Is it really not dangerous?”
“I got a confirmation that it’s just a simple investigation. If it gets dangerous, we can just flee.”
“True, that wolf…”
He stopped mid-sentence and swallowed hard. It seemed he was under the impression that I was exceptionally strong, just like Ethan. While I didn’t think that way, I did have some strengths.
It was certainly true that coming out of the tower had accelerated my growth, so no matter how dangerous it got, I was confident I could flee if necessary. So, I wasn’t overly concerned.
“It’s already late. Let’s go back, rest, and head out tomorrow.”
“What are you planning to do now?”
“What should we do, Rina? Shall we visit the theater?”
It was already late afternoon. As Patrick received his share of the money with a dazed expression, I pulled Rina’s arm and pointed to the theater visible in the distance.
Not long after I came to this city, the owner of that theater had presented a nonsensical myth to me.
A time from ten thousand years ago that the people of this era hardly know. I wanted to see how they researched and interpreted the era in which I lived.
“Did they really think this would be interesting?”
I smiled slightly at the plot.
No, it was certainly not written for entertainment. This was a serious play meant to convey history.
It was a culture enjoyed by those who felt they had learned something or had a significant interest in this area. It was a reality reconstructed by many people searching for traces of the distant past, not something created by a single person.
I tried to forget it as it seemed futile, but seeing myself continuously drawn to such things, I realized my mind might still be stuck in that era.
