Volume 6, Chapter 26 – The Forest City of Airoll

Ten days after departing the Royal Capital, we arrived at Forest City Airoll, escorted by a transport unit from the Second Knight Order.

Airoll is located in the center of a deep forest known as the Great Forest Region in western Coledia, a region that spans the northern and western reaches of the White Moon Kingdom.

Apparently, the town began as a post town connecting the west coast and the central plains, built along the Airoll River—a tributary of the great river that flows through the Royal Capital to the port town of Semnos.

To the north, the peaks of the Zokonran Mountains tower high, and in this season of deepening autumn, their summits are covered in pure white snow.

Despite the beautiful scenery, the town viewed from the carriage window felt strangely devoid of vitality.

It wasn’t as extreme as Calvara, which had been completely locked down due to corruption, but the expressions of the people on the streets were uniformly grim, and a certain tension hung in the air.

It was also striking—or rather, unusual—to see so many people carrying weapons.

As I observed them, Chris-san provided an explanation.

“Fiene-sama, those people are Hunters. Please, be careful not to get too close to them.”

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I see. So they were Hunters who had come here to make a living.

“Yes. I understand. Hunters are a rough bunch, aren’t they?”

“Precisely. There is no telling what kind of despicable things they might do.”

Between Illumi City and Klaubretz, I didn’t exactly have a glowing impression of Hunters myself.

There was no need for me to get involved with them on my own.

While we were talking, we arrived at the lord’s manor.

“Saint-sama, Holy Knight-sama, welcome. I am Clovis Manteni. I have been granted the rank of Viscount by His Majesty and have been entrusted with the governance of Airoll.”

“I am Fiene Argentata. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

After exchanging brief greetings at the entrance, we were shown to the reception room.

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“Now then, Viscount. The town is overflowing with Hunters and the atmosphere seems quite tense. What is the current situation?”

It was Chris-san who questioned Clovis-san.

“Yes. The number of monsters has already been increasing significantly, and we were expecting a Monster Stampede to occur by December if things continued at this rate. However, since the day before yesterday, things have suddenly taken a turn for the worse.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Suddenly, the number of monsters has been increasing at a rate that is impossible based on all previous experience.”

“Is such a thing possible? No, wait—do you know the cause?”

“No, we have absolutely no idea. However, the number of monsters is increasing most rapidly in the southern forest, so the Knight Order and the Hunter Guild are currently working together to hunt them down.”

“The Hunter Guild, huh. This sounds like it’s going to be a pain.”

Saying this, Chris-san let out a deep sigh.

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“Chris-san, if they’re taking care of the monsters, wouldn’t the people from the Hunter Guild be reliable? I know a lot of them have… personality issues, but still.”

“I am aware of your kindness, Fiene-sama. However, Hunters will quite happily use members of the Knight Order as shields to make their escape. Furthermore, if it becomes clear that the anomaly in the southern forest is a sign that a Monster Stampede is imminent, the Hunters will scramble to flee Airoll before anyone else.”

“Eh? But don’t Hunters have an obligation to cooperate in the defense of the town during an emergency?”

“Yes, they do. However, in practice, there are many loopholes. For example, we cannot stop a Hunter who is traveling because they have accepted an escort request to a neighboring town. They simply exploit that by having someone in their own circle put up an escort request.”

“I-I see. Ah, but why not make it so that requests issued by Hunters themselves are forbidden?”

Chris-san shook her head.

“It is already like that. However, Hunters often hire civilians known as Porters to carry their luggage, and many of them have regular dealings with traveling merchants. Moreover, there are many who wish to evacuate to relatives in other towns to escape the Monster Stampede. We cannot restrict requests from such people. To do that, we would have to prohibit all entry and exit from the city, as was done in Calvara. But that would also halt all imports and exports of supplies, making such a measure difficult to implement. We can only do that immediately before a Monster Stampede.”

“I-I see.”

Well, I suppose the things I can think of on the fly have already been tried.

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“Well then, Clovis-san. We have come here to help with the response to the Monster Stampede. What should we do first?”

I decided to move on and turned the conversation back to Clovis-san.

“Y-yes. I would like to ask for the treatment and visitation of the wounded in the Knight Order.”

Huh? That’s all? If that’s the case, was there even any need for us to come?

“I don’t mind doing that much. Should I speak with the members of the Knight Order after that?”

“Yes. Please do.”

“Understood. Please lead the way.”

And so, we left Clovis-san’s manor and headed for the Knight Order’s medical station.