Cave King – 263

Chapter 263 – A Nostalgic Scene?

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One day after we left the lake where the black miasma had been sealed away.

We rose in the morning in the Mappa Go.

While the bed was made from chairs, I was able to sleep well. You could say that it was just as comfortable as sleeping in Sheorl.

As soon as we were all away, Number 15 and the others put a table together and prepared breakfast.

We ate the baked bread and drank the tea made from leaves of the world tree. As the Mappa Go did not shake, the tea did not spill.

We were able to eat elegantly and sleep well… It was a wonderful morning.

…The more I thought about it, we could have just stayed in the Mappa Go the whole time.

While we were sleeping, a doll had come in a Mado Armor, and then conveyed a report from Baris to Number 15.

Apparently, everything was fine and peaceful there.

On the other hand, Number 15 told Sheol about the lake and the miasma.

After we finishing eating breakfast, Fule looked out of the window and said,

“Hmm? Oh, there seems to be a lot more green now!!”

There were places in the forests and mountains without snow.
At long last, we were getting out of the snowlands.

We continued to advance as we watched the scenery.

Eventually, the Mappa Go slowed down.

Mappa turned his head towards me and immediately pointed out of the window.

“There is some smoke rising.”

Smoke was rising from different parts of the forest.
They were from stoves or furnaces.

In other words, everything south of this territory was habitable by humans.

Rienna squinted her eyes towards the forest.

“If this is Barleon, then the people making those fires must be human? Though, I suppose they could be goblins or other monsters like us.”
“Perhaps we should take a look. Mappa, can you get closer?”

Mappa nodded at my words, and then the Mappa Go moved towards the smoke.

While the Mappa Go could conceal itself, it could not conceal the wind from the wind magic.
If we got too close, the trees would sway and the snow would blow away.

And so Mappa controlled the Mappa Go slowly and carefully.

“…Oh, there seem to be houses.”

As Fule said, we could see houses in the forest.
Not just one, but similar wooden houses were scattered in the area.
It was more of a settlement than a small village.

And in the center…we could see human children were playing.
And nearby, I saw adults carrying wood.

“They are wearing coats and boots…which are in the Sanfaris style… Ah, and there are statues of forest spirits in front of the houses. You see those in Sanfaris temples.”
“In that case, this place is…”

I nodded.

“If not Sanfaris, it must be a neighboring country. The mountain ranges we’ve been passing must be the Heltia mountains. In other words…this is the Barleon continent.”
“Just as we wanted! Yes!”

Fule said, and she and Mappa slapped their hands together.

“While there are not that many people here, there should be larger villages and towns to the south. In such places, we should be able to see country flags or banners of lords. And then we can find out if this is Sanfaris or not.”
“So, we are going to head father to the south?”
“Aye. Mappa, let’s go.”

Mappa nodded, and the ship began to move towards the south again.

The scenery, which was once forests and mountains covered in snow, grew more and more green.

The trees became shorter, and then there were vast farmlands and fields.

The number of settlements also increased, and we could see roads. Eventually, a tall tower came into view.
Below the tower, there were high walls surrounding a town.

There must be at least five thousand people living there…and a lord.

I saw a banner raised above the walls.
I squinted my eyes to make out the design.

“A white field and a golden lion holding a sword in its mouth… Count Leodor’s banner. So must be the town where his mansion is located. Leodorf. Count Leodor’s territory is the northernmost part of Sanfaris. So it is confirmed, we are in the Sanfaris Kingdom.”

My home country, after so long… But then again, I had never stepped foot in the Leodor territories before. So it was more new than nostalgic.

Until my arrival in Sheorl, I had lived most of my life in the royal capital.

Fule opened her mouth.

“So it really is Sanfaris. How nostalgic. But I’ve never seen this town before… Could we visit it?”
“Lord Heal is a prince of Sanfaris. If we went there, wouldn’t it cause a scene?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“While my older brothers and sisters, as well as Oren, are famous, no one knows my face. The only one who might recognize me is the count himself. And his family, perhaps. No…they may have also forgotten about me…”
“Lord Heal! Cheer up!”

I shook my head at that.

“So-sorry. It just brought back a lot of memories. Now that I think about it…I used to play with the count’s children.”
“You had friends, Lord Heal? Oh, I don’t mean it like that!”

Rienna said frantically.

“Don’t worry, I know you didn’t mean it like that. Well…I wouldn’t call the friends, anyway.”
“I-I’m sorry!”

Rienna apologized.

Apparently, my facial expression had darkened.
I quickly smiled.

“It’s nothing. I just played with this one child when I was younger. I think the name was Rish. It was a long time ago, before I even knew what a crest was.”
“I see. But would this person remember playing with you?”
“I don’t know… Rish and the Holy Knight crest. That allows you to use powerful healing magic and sword arts. Someone like that would likely be working in the royal army.”

I shook my head.

“Anyway, that has nothing to do with me now. Regardless…since we are here, we might as well stop by. Perhaps we can learn about the recent situation in Sanfaris.”

That being said, I had no idea if we really could acquire such useful information.
In Sanfaris, there was constant fighting along the border and clashes between nobles. I doubted anything had changed.
If there was any information, it would likely just be about the fighting.

“…Even if we don’t acquire any information, perhaps we can eat some food, and find something to bring back for the others.”
“Oh, I agree! My father always liked the axes they use up north!”
“Perhaps Sheorl can adopt some of the food and clothing from this region.”

I nodded at Fule and Rienna.

“Aye. We are in no rush for this journey. We can stop by as tourists.”

And like that, we decided to head to the Sanfaris town of Leodorf.

We went over the thick forest and searched its magic energy.
After confirming that there were no humans or monsters nearby, we landed in the forest.

Once preparations were made, Fule turned to Mappa.

“Mappa. You can come with us, but you’ll have to put on some clothes.”

Mappa looked troubled by this and thought on it for some time.

Did he want to go so much that he would put on clothes… Apparently, being bare chested was his idea of formal clothing.

“…You should have prepared a small Mado Armor. Something you can go inside of so you appear to be a human.”

I said, and Mappa looked surprised, as if it was an idea he had not thought of before.
Regardless, it was too late. I thought he would give up, but instead, he picked up his hammer and started to hit some planks of mithril. There was a small furnace in the Mappa Go where he could heat metal.

Mappa also used some other materials, and in no time, he had created some Mado Armor that covered his entire body.
He then went inside of it, and lowered the visor of the helmet so he was completely covered. And then he gave us a thumbs up.

“So you are going… Well, we can just say you are our guard.”

I opened the door of the Mappa Go and then turned to Number 15.

“Alright, we’ll be going then. You stay here.”
“Yes. Please be careful.”

And like that, we headed towards Leodorf on foot.

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