The Current State Of This Country

Perhaps as a remnant from when this place operated as an inn, there were many chairs available, and after being invited to sit, Rebecca and I finally took a seat and caught our breath.

“My name is Ivan. This is my wife Rosalie and our children. To be honest, life has been very harsh, so we’re truly grateful for the food.”

“I’m Rosalie. Thank you again.”

“Big brother, big sister, thank you!”

“No, we should be the ones thanking you. Um, please don’t worry about us and go ahead and eat.”

Seeing the children trying to eat the vegetables as they were, Rebecca said that gently.

“Are you sure that’s alright?”

“Of course. Ah, though we’d appreciate it if we could have a little to eat as well.”

“That goes without saying. Then shall we have Ivan cook us a delicious meal for the first time in a while?”

When Rosalie said that, Ivan stood up looking rather pleased.

“Leave it to me.”

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Was Ivan the one in charge of cooking?”

“Yes. He’s not very good with customers, so I was the one who handled the guests.”

“I see.”

It was an unexpected stroke of luck to be able to eat food cooked by someone who had worked at an inn. I wondered if they had cooking methods different from those in the Albanell Kingdom.

“Ah, by the way, do you have enough magic stones?”

Thinking they might also be lacking magic stones used to power magic tools, I asked that question, and Ivan suddenly turned toward us at an incredible speed.

“You even have magic stones!”

“Ah, we do, but…”

“I’d be grateful if you could give me one. Our magic tools have been becoming unusable one after another…!”

“Of course. Um… we have five, so please take them all. When we defeat monsters again, we’ll bring back more magic stones.”

Since magic stones didn’t take up much space, it was good that I had kept several in my bag. If I left everything in the Divine Domain, I wouldn’t be able to take them out quickly in an emergency, so maybe it would be better to always keep a few in my bag.

“Thank you so much. Now I can cook a delicious meal!”

Ivan’s face brightened happily as he gathered the magic stones and ingredients in his arms before disappearing through a door that likely led to the kitchen.

The children followed Ivan, while Rosalie watched his back with a gentle smile.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him look that happy.”

“I’m glad we could make him happy. …Um, may I ask about this country?”

“Of course. If it’s something I can talk about, I will.”

Seeing Rosalie nod immediately, I opened my mouth while wondering what I should ask first.

“How do people handle work? Are there any businesses still operating?”

“Well… I don’t think so anymore. Money has lost its meaning, and everyone is just struggling to survive until tomorrow.”

“Where do people obtain ingredients?”

Rebecca spoke those words hesitantly, and Rosalie’s expression darkened as she gazed into the distance.

“Houses with gardens grow vegetables there. Otherwise, the only choice is to hunt monsters. So everyone goes outside the city carrying things that can barely even be called weapons… but many people never came back.”

“I see…”

“Yes, I was always worried that the same might happen to him, but thanks to you two, it seems we’ll be alright for a while. Thank you, truly.”

Starving to death or being killed by monsters—those were the worst possible choices. This country really was in terrible shape. What were the people in charge thinking to create a situation like this?

“Are there people who try to escape from this city?”

“Those who had connections outside the city left long ago. The ones still here are people who have nowhere else to go.”

“Conversely, do people come to this city? Like we did?”

At Rebecca’s question, Rosalie showed a slight gesture as if she were thinking. If she had to think about it, that meant it wasn’t that no one ever came.

“Sometimes. But most of them are violent people confident in their strength. Occasionally merchants or adventurers who know nothing arrive, but they leave quickly. However, a few kind-hearted adventurers stayed in this city and hunted monsters for our sake.”

“So there are people like that too.”

“Yes. But even those people eventually leave so they won’t attract attention…”

That made sense… unless someone was extremely strong, they wouldn’t want to stay in a city like this where power was justice. If the knights set their sights on you, it would be over.

At that point, the reality of the Empire being far worse than we imagined left us unable to think of any more questions, and Rosalie smiled wryly at our reaction.

“You two are very kind. Thank you for feeling such pain for us.”

“…No, it’s only natural. A country like this is wrong.”

“I think so too.”

“Hehe, I’m glad we met you.”

As Rosalie said that with a smile, her expression looked as though she had already accepted that she might not live much longer. Seeing that expression, Rebecca and I clenched our fists tightly.

At this rate, we might not have the luxury of slowly gathering information. We needed to do something about this country as soon as possible.