Chapter 198 – The Country of Claless
Now that I arrived, I decided to begin my search for Luke at once.
I would defeat any enemies in my path, and take Luke home with me.
There was no doubt about it, Luke will grovel before me with gratitude after all of my hard work.
‘You’re amazing. I will never be able to beat you. Not even if I tried for the rest of my life.’
I smiled as I imagined him admitting his defeat.
Now, what should I do first, in order to make that ending a reality?
I was sure that I was smart enough to think of something. And so I waited, and ten minutes passed.
(I can’t think of anything…!)
While I had arrived in this country, I had no information network. I was just a lone traveler.
There was nothing I had that would connect me to the enemy.
On top of that, these were people who had been able to stay active while concealing their existence from the Royal Magicians Order.
(What should I do…)
That was when I remembered the words that he once said to me.
‘You. You’re trying to solve it all at once, without taking your time.’
The way to deal with things when you don’t know something.
‘Split up the problem first. Organize the parts that you do understand. That way, no matter how difficult, you will get closer to the right answer.’
I closed my eyes and returned to my student days.
That day, where he and I were together.
I had experienced many things since then.
Those maddening days at the Magic Artificers Guild.
The many overwhelming events at the Royal Magicians Order.
(It’s fine. I can do this.)
I told myself.
I just had to believe.
(Don’t try to go all at once. Start slowly, from something simple.)
My way of dealing with things when there was so much work to do.
I went to a clock store and bought a cheap wrist watch, and then I headed to the largest library in the city.
I checked the three Claless newspapers, and gathered necessary information.
The biggest topic was still the Saintess Assassination Attempt Incident that happened last week.
Ernest had also talked about it, and it had shocked everyone here.
There were black and white images of the group of people who were responsible.
Indeed, one of them resembled Luke.
No, it looked exactly like him.
(They must want to implicate the Royal Magicians Order, and make the situation more complicated.)
My best friend was being used.
I clenched my fist angrily so that my nails dug into my flesh.
I exhaled, calming my heart again before continuing to read the article.
In this country, a Saintess was very important.
And so I read up on the history of Saintesses.
They had appeared over a thousand years ago. Before then, this country had been plagued by monsters from the western frontier.
Many people died, farmlands were ravaged, and people died of starvation.
But while Claless was in trouble, none of the surrounding countries offered to help them.
Not only that, but some of them took it as a good opportunity to attack and steal resources.
Ardenfeld was not one of them. Though, they were not much better, since they also ignored the pleas for help.
After this series of misfortunes, the people of Claless prayed for salvation.
Pain and suffering were bestowed by God as well.
If one lived through it and remained faithful, then you would be able to go to heaven and enjoy happiness that was impossible in life.
I had no idea if that was true.
No one knew what happened after you died.
However, it seemed that such beliefs supported them during that time, and gave them hope.
And so they continued to pray.
And then…a miracle happened.
There was a certain girl who lived in a village, deep in the mountains.
She had an unprecedented amount of magic energy, and could use healing magic that was able to treat any wound, no matter how severe.
The wastelands were soon covered in fresh new sprouts, and she created barriers to stop the approaching monsters and enemy soldiers.
She was soon praised as a Saintess, and became a symbol of the country.
And once she died, she was reborn as a new Saintess.
The current one was the 19th, and she was only twelve years old.
They had gathered together 97 candidates, and the real Saintess was found among them.
In Claless, there were over a thousand statues of the Saintess, and every day, people lived with gratitude towards her.
(It’s no wonder there was such an uproar over the assassination attempt.)
While reading the documents, I noticed how distorted the structure of the country was.
The loss of a Saintess would be similar to losing the sun.
The entire country would be thrown into chaos.
(It doesn’t seem right to have such a young girl shoulder that kind of responsibility. However, the real problem now is that there are people who are trying to kill her.)
I thought as I continued to gather information.
Before I knew it, it was past twelve o’clock.
I left the library and bought lunch at a nearby bakery.
Eleven buns. I found a bench on the street and ate them.
(It’s a little tougher than the bread from home, but it’s still delicious.)
After enjoying my first meal in the country, I continued my work.
First, I would go to the Adventurers Guild.
Perhaps someone there would know about Nina.
On top of that, she had given me the guild’s address for when I wanted to contact her.
At the guild, they had a service for sending packages and letters to Adventurers.
This was convenient, as many Adventurers did not have a fixed address.
And so I went to the Adventurers Guild and started the procedure at the front desk.
“Very well. You will have to register with us. Please sign this agreement.”
I read through it and signed my name.
“Ms. Noelle Springfield. And you have never worked as an Adventurer before?”
“Uh…”
It wasn’t that I had no experience. But if it was just to receive a package, it was better to not say anything.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I understand. Here is your F-Rank guild card. Please show it if you wish to accept any mail or packages.”
“Thank you. By the way, do you know Nina Lawrence?”
“Ms. Nina? Of course, I know her.”
“I want to speak to her. Do you know where I could find her?”
“Right now, she is incestivation the dungeon near the west barrier. I doubt she will return until next month.”
“Next month…”
I was very disappointed.
That was at least two weeks ahead.
As I had sent a letter to her house, she would not know that I was here until she returned.
It would be quite difficult for her to help me now.
(Well, I will still do what I can then.)
I wrote a new letter, and sent it to the checkpoint near the labyrinth where Nina had gone.
(As for the letter to Evangeline, it may never even reach her.)
The great forest was far away, and I had no idea how long it would take to get there.
When I checked the newspaper at the library, I saw that the elf queen was visiting the northern region of the empire right now.
I also had the whistle from the dragon, but I’m sure that he was also quite busy.
(As I have no friends in this country, I will have to fight on my own.)
Thinking like that, I became incredibly anxious.
It was like walking down a dark path all alone.
(It’s fine. I can do this.)
I repeated this to myself.
“I’m sorry. About the request from yesterday…”
I suddenly heard the voice of an elderly man.
“Mr. Darcy. I’m sorry, but there is no one who would accept it.”
Replied the receptionist.
I saw an old man with a bent back.
“No one? But it’s been a full month.”
“Well, no one wants to clean rivers these days. Some of the requests get left for years.”
She pointed to the request board.
Indeed, in the F-Rank sections, there were many old requests on top of each other.
“Is there anything you could do? That river is very important. I have cleaned it for fifty years. But my body has reached its limit.”
“I’m sorry. If no one wants to do it, then there is nothing…”
“Please!”
But she just shook her head.
The man’s shoulders slumped and he walked out of the guild.
He seemed to be in trouble, and I wished that I could help him. However, I had something that I needed to do. I had no time for doing such a quest as…
No, wait.
Perhaps this could help give me a clue regarding Luke’s whereabouts.
“Excuse me. Which one is the request from that old man?”
“It’s in the corner over there.”
I peeled it off and handed it to her.
“Please let me accept this request.”
Thanks for the chapter