After leaving Kirk Village, we continued our journey toward the town of Raft.
Given how things had been going, I had a vague worry that we might somehow end up returning to Kirk Village in just two days, but fortunately, nothing like that happened, and the journey has been smooth.
That said, there were still some problems.
After leaving Kirk Village, we passed through Yom Village, Rona Village, and Suripofalua Village, but my masked appearance kept drawing attention.
「As expected, when you visit a village wearing a mask, people are wary at first」
「It would be strange if they were not wary of someone wearing a mask」
「That is true…」
That is perfectly reasonable, but coming from Jisrare-san, the very person who made me wear the mask, it feels a bit odd.
「More importantly, I feel a bit bad for you, Jisrare-san. I caused you quite a bit of trouble」
「Hmm, it is fine」
Even just walking around the village makes people wary, and if I try to enter a shop, there is no way I do not look like a robber. So, each time, Jisrare-san had to step in and explain things for me.
However, Jisrare-san herself is also an elf, which is rare in this area…
On top of that, she has somewhat sharp eyes… She is beautiful, but a beautiful woman with a slightly intimidating gaze…
Because of that, even Jisrare-san, who always backed me up, had her own share of trouble each time.
「Now that we are away, I really feel how much we relied on Kirk-ojisan」
「I agree. It would be nice if there was someone like him every time」
「Yes. If that were the case, we could have gone around the villages much more smoothly」
If only there had been a Yom-ojisan or a Rona-ojisan――
…Though personally, I would have preferred an Yom-oneesan or Rona-oneesan.
「Even so, we still managed to get through the villages safely」
「Yes. Thank you very much, Jisrare-san」
「Alec also managed to….make the pennants safely, which is good」
「Yes. That is what matters most」
Just like how we made a 『Kirk Village Pennant』 in Kirk Village, we made pennants in each village as well.
We searched for cloth shops in each village and had them make a 『Yom Village Pennant』, 『Rona Village Pennant』, and 『Suripofalua Village Pennant』.
The Yom Village pennant, like the Kirk Village one, is blue. The Rona Village pennant is light blue. The Suripofalua Village pennant is yellow.
I am already a little excited to see how many more pennants I can collect before returning to Meiyu Village.
「Well then, let us get going soon」
「Yes. Let us do that」
After finishing breakfast, we spent some time relaxing, but it is time to depart.
We packed up the tent together and prepared to leave.
「Alec, this」
「Ah, it is dry now?」
「Seems fine. Here」
「Thank you」
After thanking Jisrare-san, I took the mask from her.
Actually, I washed it and hung it out to dry before going to sleep yesterday.
If left outside, it would have frozen, so I hung it inside the tent, and it seems to have dried properly.
During winter, laundry really is a hassle.
Not only drying, but even washing is difficult. Without Jisrare water, rather, Jisrare hot water with adjusted temperature, my hands would have gone numb.
By the way, if the water is too hot, the linen mask would get damaged, so it is washed in lukewarm water.
She prepared lukewarm Jisrare hot water, lukewarm Jisrare water, and I used that to wash it.
…Though honestly, if Hezrat-kun the giant rat did the washing, it would be much easier.
The clothes Hezrat-kun wears become clean when he is resummoned. If I used this 『Hezrat-kun style laundry method』, my mask would probably be cleaned instantly.
Still, making him wear an unwashed mask first is a bit…
Even though Hezrat-kun would probably do it without complaint, it still feels wrong…
◇
As our journey continued, two weeks after leaving Kirk Village, we arrived at the town of Raft.
To be precise, it took two weeks and three days.
If we had not stopped to make pennants in each village, we might have made it in exactly two weeks.
「Is that the town of Raft? 」
「Yes. You cannot see it well because of the enclosure, but that is the town of Raft」
The town of Raft ahead of us is surrounded by a wooden fence, just like Kirk Village.
…No, not quite the same.
In Kirk Village, the fence was only about thirty centimeters tall, but the wooden fence around Raft is much higher. It must be close to two meters. At that point, it is not really a fence anymore. It is more like a wooden wall.
…To begin with, what was that fence in Kirk Village for?
Thirty centimeters is clearly too low. Even normal wild animals could jump over it. What was the point of that fence…?
「So, where are we supposed to enter from? With that height, we cannot just climb over it like we did in Kirk Village, right?」
「There is an entrance on the south side. There is an inspection there」
「I see, an inspection at the south gate….An inspection?」
Wait, there is an inspection?
「Um, are they actually checking people?」
「There are always gatekeepers there, checking suspicious individuals」
「Suspicious individuals…」
…That means I will be checked too.
Since we are close to the town of Raft, I am currently wearing my mask.
A masked man riding a giant rat is going to get checked no matter what. In fact, if there were a gatekeeper who did not check me, that person would be completely unfit for the job.
「Um, what should we do…」
「Kii」
「Eh? Ah, I see」
Hezrat-kun suggested that it might be better if I dismissed him for now.
That makes sense. If I dismiss him, I go from a 『suspicious masked giant rat rider』 to just a 『suspicious masked man』.
…Though that is still plenty suspicious.
「Still, dismissing you every time right before reaching a destination feels a bit bad…」
「Kii」
「Should we just try going like this? Maybe I look so suspicious that they will just ignore me?」
「Kii」
「I see…」
He responded in a fairly serious tone, telling me 『You should not do that』.
「Alright then, I will dismiss you after all」
「Kii」
I got off Hezrat-kun and, as usual, gave him a quick hug.
「Thanks again for today, Hezrat-kun. I will summon you when we leave the town, so take care of me again then」
「Kii」
「Alright, 『Dismiss: Giant Rat』」
「Kii…」
And with that, I dismissed Hezrat-kun.
…Even though I said that, I am not even sure if I will be allowed into the town in the first place.
But standing around here worrying will not change anything. For now, let us just go.
――Alright, here we go. To the town of Raft.
next chapter: Checkpoints and Guild Cards
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