Helga looked at Jin as if he was talking about something else.
"What? You forgot?"
Jin was inwardly flustered. He had forgotten.
"No, no, it's not that, it's just that I was so familiar with this village..."
"Oh, that's what I meant."
Helga also recalled that Jin had recently been going around the village asking for repairs and had gotten to know the villagers well.
"As the daughter of the village chief, I'm glad that you like the village, but I think it's important for you to find yourself, or at least make yourself clear.
Helga speaks to Jin with a serious face, as if admonishing him, though she might be offended if she says so.
"I'd be most happy if you said you'd like to stay in this village.
"Helga, you're so cool!
KaChea praised Helga.
"Isn't she? The future wife of the village chief, right?"
"...... yes."
Jin wished he hadn't had that last big rush, but he didn't say anything about it.
"Well, I'll take the day to think it over."
Jin replied ......, but his mind was already made up.
He had to go to Lawhon and meet the lord before he could move forward.
"Hey, what do you know about the Regional Administrator ......?
At first, I was just gathering information.
"Well, I don't hear anything bad about him.
"Well, yes. ...... Well, I've heard that you are over 40 years old and that you have two children. A son and a daughter, 19 and 16.
"Thank you ......"
Smiling at the difference in information between Helga and KaChea, Jin looked around the workshop.
"It's safe to say there's nothing here yet. ......"
A stranger would not think it was a workshop. Jin thought with a wry smile, "It won't be much of a problem if I'm not here.
"I've got a few repair orders coming in, and I've been ......"
"...... Jin, does that mean you're ready to go?"
"It hasn't been a day yet,......."
Jin nodded.
"Yeah, I was hoping to get some information and ......"
"Of course."
"But ......"
Katya looked like she wanted to say something. She hesitated for a few moments and then opened her mouth.
"The regional administrator ...... is a cousin or a second cousin of the king, and the king is ...... a cousin of the king.
But he kept his mouth shut.
"Are you sure? What is it?"
"I don't ...... know!"
Katya turns around. Jin wondered why, but then he noticed one of Jed Alamordo's guards standing outside the store.
But as soon as Jin turned around, the man turned around and walked away.
Jin thought that the man did not have good eyesight.
* * * * * *
That night, Sergei, the mayor of the village, invited Jin to have dinner with him.
It was the first home-cooked meal in a while, since Jin had been cooking for himself recently.
After dinner, we talked about many things over a cup of wild plant tea, which is unique to this region.
And then.
"Jin-kun, what are you going to do about the invitation from the regional administrator?"
"Yes. Anyway, I'd like to get some information now, so I think I'll go there.
"I guess so. Well, you can do whatever you want. If you need anything or have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Sergei nodded, half regretfully, half understandably.
"Thank you. Well, I still don't know the geography very well, so I was wondering if you could help me with that."
"Well, it's only natural for a traveler. Wait a minute."
Sergei got up from his seat and went to the back to bring a piece of paper.
Jin noticed now that was widely used.
He had been accustomed to using wooden paper when writing on Horai Island or in the Shoro Kingdom, so he had overlooked the fact that wooden paper was widespread in this world.
"I know it's hard to read because it's handwritten."
Sergei spread out a simplified map on the table.
"This is the village of Taj. As you can see, we are at the end of the road. A little to the north is Lake Norigi, which is the source of the Norsina River."
"Haha ......"
Although hand-drawn, the map clearly showed the location of rivers, roads, villages and towns.
"Along the Nosina River, a road has been built. The next village to the south is Fan. It will take you about a day or less.
Jin guessed that it was about 30 kilometers.
"From Fang, it's another day to Novella and another day to Lawhong.
From Novella, there are three roads: the westernmost road takes you to the village of Kosis, and the eastern road to the village of Lihot. Lawhon is on the middle road.
The villages of Tazi, Fan, Novella, Kosis, Likhot, and Lawhon are in the middle of the road. And the villages of Lileaz and Sogyeong across the river. This is all under the jurisdiction of the local officials.
"I see. I understand now."
From the villages of Kosis and Lohfon, roads extended all the way to the capital city of Mahaliegh. The journey took about three days.
"So from here to the capital is six days by horse-drawn carriage."
Yes, that would be correct.
"Thank you very much."
Jin thanked him. Now he understood the geography of the country quite well.
If you want to know more about this country, you should go to Lawhon. ...... I'm sorry to say."
"True. I wanted you to stay in this village for a long time, Jin-kun, but you can't help it if you've been invited by the ...... regional administrator.
Not only Sergei but also Meena looked disappointed.
"Well, I guess you can't make use of your talents in this small village, can you?"
"No, I'm not going there all the time. ......
But Sergei denied it.
"What are you talking about? The regional administrator has invited me, that's what I mean."
"Oh, really?
"Well, your case is unique, and to be honest, I don't know what will happen.
Sergei seems to have some knowledge of the situation because of his position as village head.
Perhaps if he refused the invitation, the four men who were supposed to be his escort would take Jin into custody.
Jin wondered if that was what the guards had meant when they had been staring at him during the day.
"......"
Jin could not do anything if he came out to the country. So he decided to assume for the time being that he could not come back.
"I'm sorry, I've been indebted to you."
Jin tried to bow, but Helga stopped him.
"Don't do that. I didn't mean to help you. If ...... you feel that way, it would be nice if you came back once in a while."
Jin stopped bowing and instead nodded broadly.
"Yes,...... I would. I'm sure I will."
Jin sighed inwardly, wondering how long it would be before he could have a base of operations.
The sudden turn of events had thrown Jin's schedule out of whack.