Volume 6, Chapter 52 – Airoll Sightseeing

Now that the town had returned to peace, there was only one thing left for us to do.

Sightseeing.

However, this town didn’t exactly have a history in terms of culture or religion.

This town had developed primarily as a base for those passing through the great forest where monsters nested.

Consequently, there were no grand Temples, nor were there many ancient historical buildings.

Yet, even a town like Airoll had one specialty.

It was “Hunter Cuisine,” dishes made using monster meat.

That said, the types of monster meat that were edible were limited; apparently, it was restricted to monsters with very small magic stones, such as Big Boars and Horn Rabbits.

I don’t know the reason why, but I heard that if you purify the meat and then age it, it becomes even more delicious.

Thus, I happily purified the vast quantities of Big Boar and Horn Rabbit meat that had been harvested during this Monster Stampede.

On the other hand, monsters like Goblins, Forest Wolves, and Orcs supposedly tasted horrific and were completely inedible.

It was even said that no one would eat them even if a famine occurred.

Still, if that’s common knowledge, then it means someone must have eaten them…

W-well, I mean, Goblins look like they’d taste terrible just by looking at them, and as for Giant Roaches… no, yeah. Exactly.

By the way, although the town of Airoll suffered immense damage during this Monster Stampede, thanks to the Knights and a handful of brave hunters who stayed behind, the death toll among civilians was limited to a few people killed by Wraiths, and there weren’t many injured.

Furthermore, the massive amount of leftover monster meat, furs, tusks, and other materials like magic stones would likely bring great prosperity to the town of Airoll.

And so, we ventured out into the now-peaceful town.

“Ah! Saint-sama! Please try our skewers! They’re Airoll’s specialty Big Boar skewers!”

“In that case, four portions please. Um, how much is it?”

“I can’t take money from Saint-sama who protected our town! Please, just enjoy them!”

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Hmm, I was just doing my job, though.

“Yay! Thank you very much!”

While I was thinking that, Lu-chan was nimbly receiving food and eating it one after another.

“What a healthy appetite! Little Elf girl. Make sure you let Saint-sama eat too!”

“Leave it to me!”

Before I knew it, my hands were full of skewers, sandwiches, and french fries.

W-well, look. Once you accept one, it’s hard to say you don’t want any more.

Unable to hold everything, I had no choice but to sit down on a bench in the plaza. Then, I took a bite of a skewer.

Ah, it’s delicious.

Juices spilled out from the still-warm meat, mixing with the salt in my mouth and spreading a rich umami throughout.

If I were to be greedy, it might be even better if the meat were a bit more tender and had the aroma of pepper.

Come to think of it, I don’t see pepper being used very often; I wonder if it’s a luxury item?

“Lu-chan, this is simple, but it’s delicious, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes. It is, but, um…”

For some reason, Lu-chan was looking around anxiously.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

As I said this and happened to glance around, I realized a crowd had gathered around us without me noticing.

“A-ah? Uh…?”

“Those are onlookers who gathered specifically for Fiene-sama. They probably won’t attack, but…”

Ah, I see. I wonder if I’ve gotten to the point where I’ll have to wear a disguise and sneak around in this country.

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Ugh, how tedious.

“What should we do about this?”

For the time being, they weren’t approaching from about ten meters away, but their numbers increased rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, they had formed a wall of people.

I see. Now I understand exactly how a panda at a zoo feels.

“It might not be a good idea to stay here much longer.”

“You’re right. Once we finish these skewers, let’s head back to the garrison—”

“Um, Sain-sama!”

Looking toward the voice, I saw a little girl running toward us with tiny steps, clutching a reindeer plushie with a bright red nose.

“Pwease bless my Mu-chan.”

Ah, this is it!

This is the exact same situation as with Klaubretz. Moreover, I feel like the plushie and the name were the same too.

Furthermore, the crowd was far denser than it was during the Klaubretz incident, and there were no guards.

I felt that if I performed an Enchant here, it wouldn’t just create a line—it could easily cause an accident.

However, this child was looking up at me with incredibly sparkling eyes.

I glanced at Chris-san, and it seemed that even she was hesitating.

The old Chris-san would probably have pushed for the Enchant without thinking about the consequences, but I really feel she’s changed quite a bit.

“A-am I… not allowed?”

The little girl’s eyes welled up with tears, and she looked as if she were about to burst into sobs at any moment.

Uuu, this is just unfair.

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“It’s alright. Well then, may you and Mu-chan stay friends forever.”

I cast a Purification Magic Enchant on Mu-chan’s bright red nose.

“Thank you, Sai-sama!”

The girl gave a beaming smile of gratitude and trotted back to her parents with unsteady steps.

Yeah, she’s cute.

Then, one of the people surrounding us stepped forward to speak to me. As if that had triggered everyone else, more people started walking, and those who saw them began jogging over.

“Ah…”

“You lot, stop!”

“Do not approach!”

Some people reacted and stopped. However, once a wave of people starts moving on a large scale, it isn’t easily stopped.

The people who had stopped were shoved from behind and knocked to the ground.

Then, shouts and screams intersected.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing! Ugh, guah!”

“It hurts! Stop it!”

“Don’t push!”

I steeled myself and cast a Barrier to protect us.

Immediately after, the wave of people surged toward us.

They were stopped by the Barrier I’d placed about fifty centimeters away from us.

However, the people behind them couldn’t stop and ended up pushing the people at the front.

And just like that, the plaza became a sea of screams and chaos.

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◇ ◇ ◇

“I am sorry for the trouble we caused.”

I apologized to Captain Lazare and the others.

Afterward, perhaps someone had reported it, as the guards arrived and forcibly sent the crowd home.

Rescued by the Knights who had come with Captain Lazare, we managed to return to the garrison.

Fortunately, perhaps because I had continued to cast Healing Magic over the entire plaza, there were no deaths.

However, I heard that a fair number of people were injured.

“No, the most important thing is that Saint-sama and everyone are safe. However, since this has happened, please refrain from going out on your own.”

“Yes.”

I nodded obediently to Captain Lazare’s words.

Besides, no matter how much a small child asked, we as adults should have considered the time and place before responding.

I had thought it might be dangerous from the start. If the crowd had started moving sooner, that little girl might have been caught up in it too.

“Captain Lazare, when is the withdrawal of the garrisoned troops scheduled? Looking at the current situation, hasn’t the stage where Fiene-sama’s power is needed ended?”

When Chris-san said that, Captain Lazare thought for a moment and then nodded.

“The number of monsters has visibly decreased, so that is correct. Some of the Knights who came as reinforcements will likely withdraw within a few days, so it would be best for you to return to the Royal Capital as their escort.”

“Indeed. Let us do that. Fiene-sama, is that acceptable?”

“Yes. I’m also concerned about the south, where they’re being attacked.”

Thus, it was decided that we would leave Airoll and return to the Royal Capital.

However, at that time, we never dreamed that we would hear such a report upon our return to the Royal Capital.