Arrival In The Southern Continent!

One week has passed since we departed the commercial city Ardion.

If you count from the day we left the Goblin Forest where our hideout was――it’s been three weeks.

We finally reached a cluster of settlements of the Ragiu Tribe, people characterized by brown skin and purple hair.

By land it should have taken over a month, but thanks to the Gryphon’s speed—able to fly straight without being constrained by terrain, faster than Dark Horse—we arrived much sooner than expected.

That said, we still haven’t reached our final destination, Ringland Village.

The Ragiu Tribe has several settlements in the southern continent, but Rin did not know the exact location of Ringland Village among them.

She was enslaved when she was seven, so it’s no wonder she doesn’t remember.

Therefore, we decided to gather information in the most populated place among the Ragiu Tribe settlements.

As we did in Ardion, we hid our faces with oversized robe hoods before descending to the ground.

“It’s more prosperous than I thought.”

“Wow… so many people with the same skin tone as me…”

‘This is Rondario――a city of the Ragiu Tribe with a branch of the Adventurer’s Guild.’

Rondario, the frontier city at the center of the settlements, was more urban than I expected.

I had assumed it was only an agricultural village, but various shops lined the streets and there were even people who looked like tourists.

“My hometown was just countryside with fields, though.”

“My hometown’s the same.”

Perhaps because the southern continent’s climate is warm, the local Ragiu Tribe people were quite lightly dressed.

Maybe it’s cultural—many of them had tattoos on their exposed brown skin.

Exotic tropical fruits I had never seen hung at the stalls, and the florists displayed gaudily deep-colored flowers.

“Feels like we’ve come to another world.”

The northern continent where the Shikai Tribe live is poor land with a cold climate, so it had no notable specialties…

Seeing the Ragiu Tribe thriving even in a frontier town made me feel a little envious.

“Let’s gather information about Ringland Village right away. I don’t want to get close to the state-run Adventurer’s Guild, but with this many people someone from the Ragiu Tribe should turn up.”

――Grrruuurrr.

I heard the sound of a stomach growling from beside me.

Rin clutched her stomach and looked down, embarrassed.

“Before that, let’s eat first.”

“Y-yes… I’m sorry.”

Just riding on the Gryphon’s back saps your stamina.

To rest, we entered a random eatery.

＊＊＊

“Here you go, sorry for the wait.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you!”

We entered a noticed set-meal shop and ordered food.

What was laid out on the table were local Ragiu Tribe dishes I hadn’t seen in the royal capital.

The southern continent is prosperous in fishing, and the dish seemed to be a stew of fresh seafood and tropical vegetables simmered with rice.

The central continent eats mainly wheat and the north eats tubers, so everything here was unfamiliar to me.

I couldn’t imagine how it would taste.

“Wow, this is nostalgic!”

On the other hand, Rin seemed to have eaten it often as a child and was savoring the taste of home after a long time.

By the way, since the oversized robe made eating difficult, Rin had taken off her Mage’s robe.

Rin is Ragiu Tribe, so she didn’t stand out here, and unlike me, there were no wanted posters with her face.

It should be fine for her to show her face.

“Oh, this is good.”

The seafood broth had soaked into the rice—delicious.

‘Sid――I also want to eat.’

“(Hold on a bit.)”

Ekarraat grumbled from within the shadow, but with a bounty on her head we didn’t want to attract any more attention.

In public we had Ekarraat stay quiet inside the shadow.

I told her a flattering lie—that the allure from Ekarraat’s beauty and body might overflow even through a robe—and she accepted it.

So easy.

I took dishes out of Vanargand for Ekarraat and asked the owner to make the same meal as takeout.

We’ll get a random inn and have her eat in the room.

“Alright, the takeout is ready.”

“Thanks――by the way, may I ask one thing: do you know where Ringland Village is?”

“…!?”

When I asked the middle-aged woman who seemed to be the owner, she opened her purple eyes wide in surprise—same as Rin’s.

“Traveler, why Ringland Village…!?”

‘This reaction… it seems she knows.’

“I-it’s my hometown!”

Rin answered in my stead.

“Eh…? C-could you be—little Rinrin!?!?”

“Wha!? H-how do you know my name…!?”

The owner, looking at Rin’s face and sensing some resemblance, grabbed her shoulders.

As if cherishing a reunion after a long time, tears welled at the corners of her eyes.

Could she possibly be an acquaintance…?

Rin, however, didn’t seem to remember the owner.

In any case, it looked like we’d already be able to get information about Ringland Village.

“Tell me. Why do you know Rin?”

The middle-aged owner began to speak.

About Rin’s hometown――Ringland Village.