Chapter 102: Firwood.

At first glance, most newcomers would probably notice the huge walls surrounding the town. While I could hop over the one I made for Carine village in my dragon form, the walls of Firwood would probably require me to jump up to reach the top. As my dragon form was probably a bit smaller than a mammoth, I think any monsters smaller than me would probably have a hard time scaling it.

Covered in a blanket of snow, a sign of how deep we were into winter, the grey-brown walls stood majestically before us, showing little sign of deterioration. Were they newly made or were they regularly maintained? From this distance, it looked like the walls were made with [Terra Wall], and then further fortified with stones and fortifications. A fact Ellaine quickly confirmed for me when I muttered it. Another difference between this wall and mine.

While I couldn’t see any buildings from this angle, I was able to describe the land surrounding the town. On the road to Firwood, I was able to see multiple small farming villages managing patches of fertile land. While a lot of the land was now completely barren due to the snow, it seems the management of Firwood still left large forest areas intact, probably to serve as monster nests, as my [Detection Sensor] confirmed multiple signals coming from those areas.

When I asked Ellaine why so much land was kept unattended, she explained it had to do with the mana in the soil. While too much was dangerous, small amounts helped soil cultivation, enabling plants to grow stronger and faster, which led to larger produce harvests. Normally, monsters spawning around a town or village were only around G and F rank, similar to the situation in Carine village, so normal soldiers and stronger villagers could handle them easily.

This balance was actually beneficial for soldiers and adventurers in general, as this opened an opportunity for them to train up their newcomer’s levels and stats while keeping them close to the town. If a newbie were injured, veterans would be able to respond immediately.

“You know quite a lot on the subject, Lady Ellaine,” I complimented her for the explanation.

“This is common sense for any properly educated noble, Lady Hestia. Despite not managing a fief like Firwood, it is the duty of a noble to know. Knowledge is power, and as the elites of our kingdom, we must strive to better ourselves,” Ellaine explained passionately, but then raised her brow as she continued. “That said, it is surprising that you weren’t aware of this fact. Does Loatryx handle this matter differently? I cannot imagine it.”

Realizing I had no good excuse for this question, I just shrugged and responded bluntly, “I have nothing to say to that. I’ll have my ID issued soon, so you will probably understand by then.”

Ignoring her confused expression, I turned my head away. The moment they see [Otherworldly Reincarnator] and my racial skills, they’ll probably be able to piece together the puzzle. I very much doubt they would be stupid enough to not figure it out, and that’s why I only wanted a few people to know about it. I hope I’ll be able to count Ellaine and her family as allies by then, despite my grievances with her father. I’ve been a good girl.

As the carriage and our entourage drew closer to the town’s gate, we suddenly turned to the left, driving away from the gate. Apparently, that gate was for the general populace, commoners. The town was split up into two parts: the noble and the commoner sections. As a noble, Ellaine had the privilege to avoid riding through the “lower town” and could instead enter the noble district directly.

It was logical. The Kingdom of Artorias had a caste system, and nothing would enforce this even better than having different districts for different social groups. I mean, they even do this on Earth. Take for example my home in New York and how it was divided into five boroughs. My apartment was in Manhattan, the richest county, but the moment you went into the Bronx, you’ll notice a clear difference in apartment prices.

As I was looking outside the window, I suddenly noticed a commotion at the front of the commoner’s gate. A burly man with two ox-like horns protruding from the top of his head was standing before two guards.

When my [Enhanced Auditory Sense] merged into [Idol], my hearing became much more powerful. Even from this distance, if I focused on it, I could clearly hear everything.

“So, your name is Cernust? Is that correct, Sir?” a guard asked cautiously, looking a bit scared of the almost 190cm (6’3 inches) tall man.

“Yeah, of course, it says it there on the ID. What the hell you so suspicious of, huh? You’re a guard. As if you’ve never seen a bovline before,” the man responded aggressively, pointing at his sharp horns.

After my carriage moved a bit more to the side, I finally got a good glimpse of this Cernust guy. Not only was he tall enough to stand out among the crowd, but his whole appearance was conspicuous. Aside from his massive arms, he had a cow-like tail coming out of his brown trousers, minotaur-like hooves for feet, a small ox-like nose, and two floppy ears. This confirmed there was a beastman version of oxen and bovines in Peolynca.

Regarding the rest of his appearance, he had medium-long verdant green hair, armless black studded leather armor barely able to hold in his massive frame, and two polished wooden gauntlets covered in green scales with a mystifying gleam. He was also carrying a full backpack, but I wasn’t sure what it held.

I wonder where those scales came from? It’s curious.

“Uhm. Uh,” the guard stuttered, struggling to form the words of his question. “S-So, uh, what are you here for, Sir? Why have you come to Firwood?”

“Oh, come on! I’m getting this same question every single time I arrive in a city. Why can’t you humans be just a little bit less suspicious about beastmen, huh? My companion is tired, and we need to get an inn!” The bovliner named Cernust walked forwards, pointing at something on the card. “This here is the hunter’s guild emblem. I’m a merc and a hunter, plus an alchemist on the side. My companion and I are taking a break at Firwood during our travels, and I’m planning to do some work to get some Davi. You happy? Is that enough for you?”

“Uh, y-you’re an alchemist?!” the guard flinched, taking a step back as he looked at the bovline’s hairless human face, to his full backpack.

Cernust sighed, took a glass bottle filled with a green liquid from his backpack, and showed it to the guard. “Minor agility potion. Not often on sale. I made it. Proof enough?” The other people in the queue started raising their voices, murmuring at the bovline’s potion, which attracted Cernust’s attention. “Fucking hell! Can you please let us in, now?! You’re holding everybody up and I’m behind schedule. I need to get my companion to an inn already, so get your ass to the crystal and inspect our IDs already!”

Hearing him say that finally made me notice the smaller person standing beside him. The person was completely wrapped in a black robe, but, according to her frame, I guess it had to be a woman. She wasn’t saying much despite being called out by her companion, but looking at how she was panting quickly, she really must be tired.

While the guards weren’t sure how to handle the situation, almost as if they were freezing up in fear, an older man with the aura of a veteran soldier came over. “You two, what’s the hold-up?” he asked the two before being given an explanation of the situation. “Damnit, that’s why the line is being held up?! Get your asses to the crystal and check the IDs’ authenticity. That’s all you needed to do!”

After the guards fled the veteran guard’s commandeering voice, he then turned towards the bovline. “Sorry about that, kid. Those two are newcomers; they’ve barely had any experience with beastmen outside of wolves, cats, rabbits, foxes, and birds. Don’t cause too much trouble once you’re in, alright, adventurer?”

Instead of raising his voice like before, the bovline smirked and gave the older guard a thumbs up. “Yeah, no harm done, old man. I’ll be careful to not party too much, hahaha!”

The guard nodded and then turned towards the woman. “…No problems, I hope?” He asked with a grimace, before shrugging it off after the woman nodded firmly. “Good enough. I’ll handle everything. Go in already and get your IDs; welcome to Firwood. NEXT!”

Before the pair went through the gate, the bovline turned around and started sniffing the air. “Is something wrong, Cernust?” the woman finally asked.

The bovline scratched his head in confusion before shaking his head, “Uhm, I think it’s nothing? Dunno, I thought I smelled something sweet. Nostalgic even. Well, whatever, let’s go inside.”

Weird guy. Strangely, speaking of weird smells, I thought I smelled something weird from his direction. Meh, whatever.

Once we reached the noble district’s gates, the process went by more quickly than what I’d just seen, since the queue was empty. Everybody showed their IDs except for Saori, Tasianna, Lorena and me. Ellaine pulled out a sheet of parchment.

“Lord Marquis Sirius has given these four individuals the right to reject showing their IDs. As you have confirmed my identity as the daughter of Lord Count Helvas, I can vouch for the upstanding characters of all four,” Ellaine informed the guards, emitting an aura of respectability and authority.

Later, I learned the guards of this gate were usually knights belonging to houses of schwertnobles and knights. Schwertnobles comprised of barons and baronets, while knight houses only had a pseudo-aristocracy status. As the daughter of a count, Ellaine outranked all of them and, with an official document of the lord of Firwood on hand, none of the guards could say anything to Ellaine. She was pretty cool.

“Lady Hestia, if you weren’t aware, having your ID checked at a town or city always means having it checked by a [Crystal of the Divine System], which exposes all your information without fail,” Ellaine explained once we entered through the gates. “Usually, if you lose your ID, you have to pay the guards a sum for a temporary one. Much like when you issue your own ID, all your information will be exposed by the crystal, since even [Identity Blocker] cannot stop its function.”

I wonder what those crystals were made from if they were able to bypass an entire skill’s purpose of existence. Honestly, I’m really bothered by how my investment into [Identity Blocker] is becoming more disappointing the more I learn about the world. I would love to ask Ellaine here and now about those crystals, but I think I’ll reserve that for after I get my ID.

As the carriage continued through the opulent streets of the noble district, my eyes were naturally drawn to all the mansions and their large gardens. Much like at Ellaine’s mansion, everything inside the gates was completely protected from the wintery white blanket by a barrier of warmth.

Of course, that didn’t mean every single house was the same. The ones closest to the gate were smaller mansions similar to large houses, while the deeper we went into the city, the larger the estates got. I couldn’t see any other buildings. It was like everything in the noble district was just the houses of nobles.

Kinda boring, to be honest.

Eventually, we reached House Helvas’s mansion in Firwood. Compared to their estate at Helvas county, this mansion was noticeably larger, probably to show off to the neighbors. Rich people love showing their wealth off, and, from what I’ve heard from Ellaine, it was expected of nobles of a higher rank to not only strive to improve, but to also innovate.

To develop a country, not only must technology be advanced, but its culture too. A greifnoble was expected to always find new trends and to introduce them to society, while schwertnobles could rarely innovate, due to their lacking wealth, and so had to follow the greifnobles’ lead. Ellaine’s magnoble family were not only wealthy but also agriculturally focused, so most of their innovations were food related, but seldom anything else.

The reason why Count Helvas wanted Tasianna so much was ‘cause he believed Tasianna knew how to make yeast and other elven products. The Kingdom of Artorias had lost correspondence with the Elven kingdom and, with it, the ability to trade with them. He wanted to know how to produce yeast so much, he risked angering me. Honestly, his reasoning still hasn’t made my opinion on him better.

How ironic that I was the one with the yeast and pound cake recipes. Should I try recreating more pastries just to spite him? I get to eat good food while he has to look on the side, jealous.

…Maybe I am a bit too bratty here? Nah.

“We welcome the young mistress to Firwood! May the Gods bless you on this fine RestDay” a woman in a maid outfit announced with a retinue of servants the moment we exited the carriages, kneeling down and bowing before Ellaine, their mistress.

“Manuela, I have arrived. I hope everybody has had a good morning,” Ellaine started out, standing before everybody and speaking to them with elegance and grace. “I understand that today should have been a day of rest for everybody, but I would be grateful from the bottom of my heart if you would accommodate me and my guests for the days to come.”

They all stood up, placed their right hand on their chest, and bowed once again as they simultaneously said, “By your will!”

Ellaine then called me to step forward. “This here is Lady Hestia. She is an invaluable guest to not only me but also my father, Lord Count Helvas. While she is here, treat her with the respect you would give a greifnoble.” The servants shivered for a moment, widening their eyes when the word griefnoble left Ellaine’s mouth. “Manuela, work with Barathan to ensure that Lady Hestia’s stay here is comfortable. Also, provide her retainers a room close to hers and a space in the kitchen for them to prepare her meals. I have given my orders.”

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Like a stout commander, Ellaine commanded her servants like chess pieces, standing nobly as everybody rushed around to fulfill their duties. Manuela, the head maid who welcomed us, immediately paired up with Barathan to order around the butlers and maids, although I had a feeling there was some spark between them when they saw each other.

While the servants were unpacking the luggage from the wagons and the soldiers along with the knights joined the mansion’s garrison, I took this time to speak to Lorena and Ruld as this would be where we separate.

“Lady Hestia, I thank you so very much for everything you’ve done for me. Rescuing me, helping my parents and the other villagers, and then bringing me here. I-I cannot repay you, I know that, but please allow me to pray to the Goddess for your health and success,” Lorena told me as she bowed, tears filling her eyes. “I know you don’t like us saying this, but I honestly believe you have been the best priestess we have ever had. This is the noble district so I can’t say much, but…I really hope you can visit us.”

“Lady Hestia,” Ruld continued to say his piece. “I haven’t known you for as long as Lorena, but I will be eternally grateful for what you have done for Lorena and the rest of my village. Thank you so much, may the Goddess bless your soul. If you are still willing to have me as your cobbler, then please come to my workplace in the, uhm, lower town. If you’re planning to become an adventurer, then you’ll need equipment and I know a few good blacksmiths.”

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll also try to attend your wedding if I can, so you guys better explain to me how the whole thing works,” I told them but then suddenly realized something. “Ruld, you should know where the hunter’s guild is, right?” He nodded, so I continued, “Good, I need to walk after staying in that carriage for two days, so lead the way.”

As I wasn’t quiet about it, it seems I caused a bit of a commotion among a few servants, but they were quickly chided by the more experienced ones. I could hear the sheer terror and anger in their voices as they explained to those gossiping servants to not talk behind my back. Considering how scared they were, I should probably hold back once I come back to not give them a heart attack.

After I informed Ellaine about it, she nodded and explained that it was a good idea for me to get my ID issued as soon as possible. She ordered Barathan to accompany me, since he had the documents to ensure everything at the guild would work without issue. I was a bit against it, but, if he was needed for everything to work, then it was better to just bite the bullet.

“I will have your rooms ready upon your return, so please enjoy your trip, Lady Hestia. However, I would like to warn you of the…smell.”

With those parting words, we went back into Ellaine’s carriage and departed to the gate connecting the lower city with the noble district. To the side of the gate, I noticed a large, church-like building protruding over the wall, which Barathan told me was the temple. “As white-robed priests must also attend to nobles, having the temple close to the noble district is imperative for the safety of all the priests,” he told me.

After we got clearance using the same document Ellaine showed the other guards, we left the carriage and began moving on foot. Barathan was clearly against it, but he held his opinion to himself after Saori informed him our party wanted to have a leisure walk.

The first district of the commoner’s part of the town was the upper district, reserved for wealthy merchants and businessmen who dealt with both schwertnobles and other wealthy commoners. Here, the technological development of the city could be seen as streetlamps fueled with mana were lighting up the city and mostly clean windows let light into the buildings.

If the noble district was a place reserved for the only the super-rich and influential, then the upper district was similar to a more medieval version of a town’s giant plaza. Yes, there were no cars and the overall fashion of the people here was nothing modern like I knew it, but it honestly was pretty…normal. However, the smell wasn’t too pleasant, although it was not as bad as the village.

As we moved away from the upper district and into the middle one, I finally realized what Ellaine meant by her warning. The smell was HORRENDOUS. OMG, was there no plumbing system here or what?! How is it that the upper district smelled decent but the moment I entered this place I get reminded of Carine village? I can understand a village, but a town?!

Also, the quality of the surrounding also dropped significantly, looking dirtier and less advanced compared to the upper district. I also began receiving eyes from everybody around us, gossiping as they commented on my clothes and my appearance. I could see beastmen like wolfkins and katzunes, cat-like beastmen, walking the streets, so these people must be more used to beastmen than Carine village, but it seems dragonewts were still pretty rare here.

Anyway, as I walked through the streets with my companions and temporary “party members,” we finally reached a building with a big sign displaying “Hunter’s Guild” on it with an emblem of a sword and bow entwining with each other.

As Ruld wanted to bring Lorena to his home, a safety precaution due to Lorena’s health, they left us before we entered the guild. With Saori, Tasianna, and Barathan with me now, we entered the guild and were assaulted by…In fantasy novels, adventurer guilds are always filled with armored men with swords and elves wielding bows or magic. Those classic novels, you know. Well, instead of cheering men and women drinking along to tavern music, I was instead greeted by extreme stares.

Although it wasn’t filled to the brim with people, the few hunters inside dropped what they were doing, whether it was maintaining their weapons or eating, and were now all staring at me with inquisitive eyes, assessing us. They eventually lost interest and returned to whatever they did as liveliness returned to the guild. Still, no music. That’s sad.

Barathan pointed at a counter manned by three women and led us to the far left. I was expecting some tall, muscular dude to appear and question what we were doing here, but nothing tropey like that happened. Ahh, no confrontations, the best outcome. Sometimes a calm day is what I needed instead of constant action and excitement.

“Welcome,” said a cat-eared woman. She wore a pleasant smile fitting for a person in the service industry, and looked to be in her early twenties. “My name is Melia. The hunter’s guild is ready to accept any Quests, how may I help the young mistress?”

The young woman had marine blue colored hair tied up neatly into a ponytail, giving her a mature look similar to Saori’s. Aside from having cat ears where her human ears should’ve been, she also had a fluffy tail that reminded me of ragdoll cats, furry clawed hands she was covering up with fingerless gloves, and two long fangs that showed whenever she spoke. The black outfit she wore was identical to the other receptionists, giving all three women the aura of a secretary.

Seeing as Saori and Tasianna were following behind me while Barathan stood to the side, the receptionist probably understood the “hierarchy” between us. I mean, I could understand Barathan and Tasianna choosing to act like that as they are true servants, but you aren’t one of them, Saori! I hope you aren’t doing this simply for the laughs, otherwise I’ll get your ears again!

“Hello, I wish to issue hunter IDs for my two companions behind me and myself,” I responded, causing the receptionist to show a hint of surprise before hiding it back behind her smile. “Barathan, please give her the document.”

The receptionist took the document from Barathan and began reading it, covering her mouth multiple times as she gasped at what she read. She then told the human receptionist next to her to get a [Crystal of the Divine System], to prepare the issuing process, and to wait for her to return before handing us our IDs. Afterward, she ran up the stairs behind the counter.

What the hell was written on that thing?!

“Uhm, please place your hand on it. All the information on your status boards will be recorded and we will then turn it into your hunter IDs,” the younger receptionist informed us, looking bewildered as her colleague ran away.

So this is a crystal, huh?

The orb placed before us was similar to the one you could find in a fortune-teller’s tent, attached to a printer-like machine through a cable. I placed my hand on it and my mana was instantly stolen away from me as the orb shined a glaring white, meanwhile, a blue screen projected before the young receptionist.

“You may take your hand off, young mistress,” the receptionist told me, inspecting the blue screen probably projecting all my information. “Let’s see, is everything-LEVEL 80! Mhmph!” She screamed something before shutting her mouth up with both of her hands. Her warm pink face quickly turned paler as she looked at me with utter shock.

Her attempt might have stopped her from saying anymore, but I already heard her scream my level…and it seems like I wasn’t the only one.

“Wait, what did she say? Level 80?!”

“Oi, what the fuck, that can’t be true now, right? Some random B ranker?!”

“Bro, my ears are better than a human’s, I bloody heard her say that whit-priestess’ level.”

The surrounding adventurers — whether they were humans or beastmen, or man and woman — all of them were causing a massive commotion as they overheard the young receptionist say my level. The third receptionist then came over to check on what was wrong with the young receptionist, as the latter couldn’t get her eyes off me.

I looked over at Barathan and noticed his smile slightly waning. Was he also surprised?

“By the Goddess …” the third receptionist muttered as she checked the blue screen, but, unlike her younger colleague, she quickly regained her composure and pushed her back to her counter. “I-I apologize dearly for what happened, y-your Grace. I will continue in my colleague’s stead.”

She then picked up a silver card, placed it inside the printer, waited for a few seconds, and took a card filled with small details from the printer. “Your ID is ready, your Grace. However, your original receptionist told us this was only the preparation, so I cannot hand it over to you yet. Please, understand. If you wish, we can continue with your companions.”

The poor lady couldn’t get a break as her face turned paler and paler when she inspected both Saori’s and Tasianna’s status boards. Although the intensity of the shock wasn’t as high as the younger clerk’s, I heard her quietly mumble my two friend’s skill levels. Her eyes were wavering on the brink of wonder but also total disbelief, although I could barely hazard a guess at why. We three just had numerous skills and titles that we just wanted to hide so dearly. Oh, among these skills, which one was shocking her the most?

…I hope my sarcasm came out properly, ‘cause this is making me feel bad. I think I just shaved years off these three receptionists’ lives. Considering I’ll be working with them now, I hope they won’t take this too badly.

Once all the cards were done and our status boards were recorded onto them, we waited for a while until Melia, the first clerk, came back. “Thank you, you two. I apologize for making you wait, Lady Hestia.”

“You know my name?” I asked, wondering how she knew it, as I hadn’t introduced myself yet, nor has she seen my status board.

“Yes, the document informed me of it and the guild leader confirmed it,” Melia told me with a smile, having completely abandoned the terror she had before. “Back to your IDs, the special ones we have to prepare for you and your retainers will be done in three days. We will use the ones we’ve made today as the reference material. I apologize for the delay, but I must humbly ask you to have patience. We will have everything done by then, my Lady.”

“That won’t be a problem. Thank you very much for informing us,” I told her with a nod, before shyly continuing. “Uhm, about before. I do apologize for giving you all a shock. It wasn’t my intention, sorry.”

Melia raised her brow for a moment, waggling her ears in astonishment, but then gave me a big sister-like smile. “You have done nothing wrong, my Lady. As members of the hunters guild, surprises should be expected at every turn. Although we must wait for three days, I will happily anticipate the time when we may work together.”

While I was feeling good that I fixed my first impression, Saori suddenly asked Melia if we could hand in our monster pelts and materials. Although this service was reserved for hunters only, as we couldn’t officially become ones today due to circumstances, Melia took the liberty to direct us to the third receptionist who was responsible for it.

There were quite a few monster materials inside my storage and I don’t know when the last time I checked on them was, so I think we will be sorting through it all for a while. However, once we’re done, I think it’s about time that I finally meet with my mysterious benefactor.

To the temple I go. See you soon, Goddess Aurena.

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