Read Novel Full Vol 24 Chapter 3
Vol 24 Chapter 3
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Chapter 3 – Everything’s Okay… Right?
The diligent soldiers at the Port of Gothenburg conducted an inspection. I introduced them to the Saporabi that I had hidden in order to cover up some basic mistakes. I couldn’t help but feel like I had sown the seeds of future trouble. Thankfully, the inspection ended safely. The next morning, as I approached the port, I was surprised by how dilapidated it was. I felt uneasy about what lay ahead.
The port’s severe devastation made me hesitate to land. However, after all the trouble with the inspection, not landing would have felt futile, so I gave in. I docked the Japanese-style boat and disembarked.
Wow… People who had lost their homes and possessions were scattered all over the port.
Clearly, things were getting tough, and our boat was likely to be targeted, but… Since the Saporabis had been discovered, maybe the fact that we were on a small, magical ship would help us avoid being refused boarding.
Since our original area of operation was on another continent, I felt like we could afford to relax a bit, but… That didn’t mean I should reveal my abilities so easily, though.
I decided to leave a few people behind to guard the boat.
“Um, everyone, as you can see, things are looking pretty rough, so please keep a close eye on your surroundings.”
The girls nodded at my words. Rimu and Pento buzzed above my head and around my neck, so I guess that was their way of showing they understood.
Felicia, feeling tense, casts a barrier around me and Donatella-san. Come to think of it, Felicia can use barriers, right?
There haven’t been many opportunities to use them lately, so I had forgotten. Honestly, with Girasole, Ines, and Felicia surrounding me, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to harm me.
They’re all above A rank, and, unlike Donatella-san and me, they’ve learned combat skills and continue to hone them.
If they stopped being my bodyguards and focused on being adventurers, they’d probably reach S rank in no time.
Even though I know that, I’m still scared. I’m starting to feel sorry for myself for being such a coward. For now, I’ll just do my best as an interpreter on this continent.
“Also, I’d like to leave some guards on the Japanese-style boat. Alessia, how many people do you think we should leave, given the atmosphere?”
“Well, they’ll definitely attack us, so one person would be fine, but two would be safer. Dorothea and Ilma, please guard the boat.”
Huh? Ilma-san is good with words. I guess she might be needed for conversation here, too.
On top of that, she assigned Marina-san, who is good at keeping an eye on her surroundings, and Carla-san, who is good at guarding, to my side just in case. Alessia-san is not good at gambling, but she’s a great leader when it comes to situations like this.
I asked the two of them to take care of the ship and headed for the port administration building. I already knew where it was because I had asked a soldier.
“You’re here. I’ve prepared the documents.”
When we entered the building, the same soldier who had greeted us the day before came over to us. He had already prepared the documents, which was a great help.
It’s good that he’s serious and does his job properly. His seriousness caused us some trouble during the inspection. I think if he had been less serious, we could have gotten away with a bribe. So, I guess there are pros and cons to being serious. That’s just my perspective, though.
“Thank you very much. Still, it seems more chaotic than I had heard.”
I gathered as much information as I could while the soldier was conducting his inspection. I knew the situation was dire, but it was worse than I had imagined.
I realized there’s a significant difference between hearing about something and seeing it firsthand. Is it appropriate to use the saying, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words,’ in a situation like this?
“The country has been destroyed,”
The soldier replied, staring into the distance. Indeed, this country had been destroyed.
This is a good opportunity. A serious soldier like him is unlikely to embellish the story, so I’ll gather some information.
Even though he’s on duty, it seems like we’re the only authorized users of the port. I think he’ll be willing to talk to me. Providing information to port users could be considered part of his duties as a port administrator.
The soldier must have been harboring some pent-up frustration because he told me all sorts of things—enough to make me worry about him. Still, perhaps due to his serious nature, he didn’t use abusive language or share dangerous information.
In summary, after the king died, the second prince, supported by the prime minister, raised an army to seize the throne.
Even before the uprising, there were signs of conflict. Since I arrived during the period of the pepper trade, I knew everyone understood that a conflict was inevitable.
The queen, who came from another country, naturally supported her son, the first prince, as the rightful heir to the throne, even bringing in reinforcements from her home country.
This sparked the conflict, which grew increasingly chaotic. Other nations took advantage of the turmoil, further escalating the chaos and ultimately plunging the entire continent into it.
It was like a domino effect—the chaos steadily grew, almost comically.
Amidst all this, the country that sparked the conflict apparently collapsed in the early stages of the turmoil.
One might think that reconstruction would have begun by now, but the country was divided among the conquering nations, which then began fighting among themselves, further weakening the region. Eventually, the surrounding nations were absorbed into a larger power, and the former country finally gained a clear sense of belonging.
What a tragic state of affairs.
Moreover, the victorious nation that became a great power is exhausted from the continent-wide conflict and is preoccupied with rebuilding its capital, so its governance is rather lax.
The conflict ceased because all the nations are exhausted and have no strength left to fight, making the situation shockingly dire.
No wonder the God of Commerce-sama is worried about the trade network. How hard did they fight?
In my opinion, countries don’t disappear easily, and it’s hard to fight to the point of exhaustion.
In short, the port of Gothenburg is in ruins because there is a lack of funds to rebuild it.
The soldiers were originally from the Kingdom of Catania. After their country fell, they were absorbed by the country that conquered the area around Gothenburg. Then that country fell as well, and the current great power forced them to manage the port.
This vast port is currently managed by just two soldiers: the commander and his subordinate. He couldn’t say anything when I suggested adding more personnel during the inspection because there were no additional personnel available.
All of the threats about the port’s soldiers attacking anyone who harmed this soldier the other day were bluffs. In a way, that’s quite a bold decision.
Since a port town is a source of profit, the fact that this one has been left to rot shows just how dire the situation on this continent is.
I want to go home, but I can’t.
…I guess I’ll just do what I can. I owe the God of Commerce-sama a debt of gratitude, and I’ll do my best to repay it. As much as I can, anyway.
I thank the soldier who provided me with all the information, then I leave the administration building.
“Ah, I knew it. Ines, I’m sorry, but could you please call the soldiers?”
“Got it. I don’t think there’s much we can do, even if we bring them.”
Ines said bluntly as she ran toward the administration building.
Around the Japanese-style boat, people were lying on the ground. Some looked like thugs, while others looked weak and cornered.
I had asked someone to stay behind and watch the boat because I thought it might be targeted. However, it seems that the boat was targeted even with someone watching it.
They probably thought they could win with two beautiful women. However, I think they would have had a better chance of success if they had attacked a nearby gang’s hideout instead of attacking Dorothea-san and Ilma-san.
“Sigh… I’m sorry for what happened to you, but all we can do is take your statements and detain them for a few days.”
The soldier that Ines called over apologetically informed us of the punishment the thugs would receive.
It turned out just as Ines said.
There are only two soldiers in the management building. That’s all the manpower they can spare for the building. Other facilities are already stretched to their limits.
They don’t have the resources to properly deal with the thugs and vagrants.
In this situation, deterrence loses its meaning, creating a vicious cycle where the risk of crime increases. The area is almost like a lawless zone, and the country has lost its identity. However, after being destroyed twice, the current government is too weak to do anything about it. It’s the end of the world. I want to go home.
“That’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you were informed.”
Even in such a situation, it makes sense to report it properly. If we ignore it just because it’s useless, they’ll take us for granted. If we’re unlucky, we might even be framed for a crime we didn’t commit.
We have to eliminate any weaknesses we can. I’m serious about self-preservation.
The attackers were carried away while still unconscious. There were only two of them, so we helped carry them.
It was a terrible situation. Even though they knew they couldn’t beat us, they attacked us relentlessly. Maybe they knew they had no way out and just wanted it to end quickly.”
After carrying the attackers away, we asked Dorothea-san and Ilma-san about the attack. They told us something hard to put into words.
It really feels like the end of the world.
I feel like we need to set up food distribution, but I’m here to do business, not charity work. Besides, it feels like pouring water on a burning stone, whether it’s business or charity work. We’ll run out of supplies before we can even start.
Ugh, my head hurts. However, abandoning this situation would be too cowardly for me.
If we think outside the box, maybe we could offer them work. What kind of work could we provide, though? I can’t think of anything.
“I want to provide jobs for the people of this town. Is there anything we can do?”
When in doubt, ask someone. Fortunately, Donatella-san is here.
“Hmmm… Maybe you could ask them to help you butcher the sea monsters we defeated on our way here. There are quite a few of them, and you could pay them with the edible parts and other materials, which would help distribute monster materials.”
Oh, come to think of it, I have a ton of sea monster parts. It’s a hassle to butcher or sell them to the adventurers’ guild, but it would be a shame to throw them away, so I’ve been keeping them.
As a result, I have an absurd number of rubber boats, and I bought even more during this voyage. They’re packed with supplies, so I had to buy more, but it all worked out in the end.
I’ve hoarded an absurd amount of sea monster materials. I should take this opportunity to clean them all out. That means I’ll need to talk to the merchant and adventurer guilds.
Let’s get started with the merchant and adventurer guilds… I hope everything’s okay there.
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