The destination was Aileen Village in the Empel Kingdom.
A nation in the northeastern part of the continent belonging to the Church Territory, it was quite a distance from where the Guild House was located.
Therefore, the most suitable ans of transportation to get there was the Order's Guardian Train, which we had ridden once before.
Unless it was a considerably high-level mobile Artifact, the Guardian Train, the essence of modern Magic Engineering, was faster in terms of speed.
And in terms of facility convenience and the need for long-distance travel, it was overwhelmingly advantageous.
In particular, most mobile Artifacts were out of the question as they required fuel in so form for their operation, and it was difficult to charter one for ourselves.
We weren't given enough ti to wait for such things.
However.
“Alright! Those boarding the Anelburg-ho, please co this way.”
“…Is this really okay, Hero?”
“What is?”
“From what I understand… crossing a border without the Order's permission is strictly illegal…”
Instead of using the Guardian Train, we had obtained black market tickets for a privately operated Magic Engineering airship through a private broker.
From the Hero's perspective, choosing to ride an illegal airship by buying black market tickets, over the Guardian Train which was legal and offered the best convenience for free, was an act that deserved to be called foolish.
But from my perspective, it was an unavoidable decision.
‘…Just in case.’
Even if other departnts didn't know, the Order's secretly operated 'that executive branch' would surely know about the existence of 'Valencia la Bael Tigris,' the princess of the Beastkin Nation, in Aileen Village.
I didn't bother explaining this to the others, but for , who had to consider the events to co, it was quite an important matter.
“It can’t be helped. We already bought the tickets, we can’t back out now.”
“……”
Aileen Village in the Empel Kingdom was the outermost territory of a trivial nation without a single guardian Constellation.
The War against Demons hadn't occurred there, and for the Hero to head to a rural backwater I'd never even heard of was an act that could draw attention in itself.
If 'that executive branch' were to find out we were heading to Aileen Village, they might guess our purpose to so extent and tail us.
…Well.
In fact, if it was that group's surveillance, they might have been on us ever since I left the Darkest Dungeon with Tom Hardist, but if that were the case, it was all the more reason to use a private ans of transport like this rather than the Guardian Train, which was under the Order's thumb.
From the perspective of the Order, which valued justification and procedure, the re fact that communication with the higher-ups was not smooth would create a certain deterrent effect.
Whatever happened, the low-level agents conducting the surveillance would likely not intervene on their own accord.
To put it simply, it was a delaying tactic that, while unable to block the surveillance itself, could secure a bit of a ti gap.
Thus, I had no choice but to opt for black market tickets for a private airship, even if it was illegally operated, instead of the Guardian Train.
“Isn't that right? Mr. Financier?”
I turned my head to Jerry as if seeking his agreent, and he answered in a low voice.
“…There were no airships heading to that region in the first place, and we paid a fourfold premium to get one in a hurry at our desired ti.”
“……”
“Backing out now is impossible.”
Shrug—
“You heard him. Eli.”
“…It’s Eliya. Please don't just cut off people's nas.”
“……”
“And I know, too. I just said it because it was bothering .”
Even as she said that, Eliya let out a faint sigh, still looking displeased.
Jerry added with his characteristic deadpan expression.
“I chartered it first because the matter is urgent, but I will bill the ticket cost to the public funds later.”
“Sure. But even if you bill it, you'll be the one processing the expense.”
“……”
“If you don't like it, you can be Seo U-jin.”
The man's brow twitched.
It seed he really didn't like that idea.
“Hmph.”
Tom, who had been watching silently with his arms crossed, snorted.
“A man, being so petty and grumbling about money.”
“……”
“You have more than enough travel money to stick on your funeral bier on the way to the afterlife, so just pay up generously. If you're that dissatisfied, I'll deduct it from the price of your life.”
Then he boarded the airship first, muttering.
“…Though you'll probably die before you can pay it all back anyway.”
* * *
As expected, the private airship, the 'Anelburg-ho,' had less comfortable facilities than the Guardian Train.
Unlike the Guardian Train, which had different cars depending on the ticket price, this airship was divided into only two sections: the engine room where the airship was controlled, and the passenger cabin.
Even then, there were no assigned seats; it was just a spacious wooden floor with mats spread around here and there.
Except for a makeshift toilet, it seed to be lacking any facilities for convenience.
Plop—
As I went to a less crowded corner and sat down, Eliya, as if she had been waiting, began to recite basic information.
“First of all… as you all may know, we are heading to a place called Aileen Village in the Empel Kingdom, which is quite far away. The travel ti by Guardian Train was about 33 hours…”
“……”
“Considering this airship uses an old-fashioned engine invented in the early days of Magic Engineering, and that it makes stops in between instead of going there directly, you can think of it as taking roughly twice as long.”
About three days.
Hearing that, Jerry’s brow furrowed quite deeply.
It was due to his hygiene habits, which bordered on mysophobia, kicking in.
“…This is the worst. To think we have to spend three days in a place like this.”
“It can't be helped. There are no special cabins, and the Hero insisted on traveling by airship.”
Of course, nothing would change.
It wasn't that there weren't airships with better facilities, but if we had been in a situation to consider such things, we wouldn't have boarded this airship in the first place.
We weren't going to a large city, but to a rural village in the weak nation of the Empel Kingdom, and this was the only airship that passed through there, even as a layover.
And we had to pay a fourfold premium just to persuade the broker to go there when it wasn't even on the route.
“…So many complaints. Jerry Junior.”
“……”
“In my day, this would have been a palace. Be grateful you're not sleeping between foul-slling corpses.”
…Seeing them bicker again without missing a beat, it seed this kind of conversation would continue throughout the journey.
It was a relief that they weren't throwing actual punches, but watching the sharp clash of emotions right next to was its own kind of ordeal.
“Anyway… I tried to look up so information, but there was nothing that could be called a special feature.”
“……”
“Honestly, there was no data at all in the Order's database that I could access with my authority… For small villages like this, it's more efficient to find information through individual routes like local publications within the country, but we didn't have ti for that…”
Perhaps she was quite ashad of her lack of preparation in her area of expertise, information.
Eliya's voice gradually trailed off…….
It was then.
Tap—
“The barley beer in Aileen Village is to die for.”
A mustachioed man who had been loitering behind us since a while ago cut into the conversation.
“Once we arrive, we can find out more… huh?”
Eliya’s words stopped at the sudden interruption, and as all eyes turned to him, the man revealed his identity.
“The na's Tan.”
“……”
“That Aileen Village you're talking about is my hotown.”
It was a brief but concise self-introduction that summarized his identity and his reason for joining the conversation.
“I'm on my way back ho after a long ti, and I heard a familiar village na, so I thought I'd butt in without thinking. Hah hah!”
Patting Jerry's back with a hearty laugh, he squeezed in and sat down, then looked at Eliya and spoke.
“Looks like you want to know about the village. If you have any questions, ask .”
“…Ah.”
“It's been a while since I've been back, but what big changes could there be in such a rural village? It'll be just as I rember it.”
He shrugged and let out another hearty "Hahaha!" laugh.
It was a sudden developnt, but perhaps thinking it was a pretty good opportunity to make up for her shortcomings, Eliya asked him with an expression that said, ‘This is it.’
“Then… could you give us a general explanation? Rather than local specialties like barley beer… sothing like a special culture unique to the village, or unusual things like incidents…”
‘Hmm.’
Letting out a low breath, he cupped his chin and thought for a mont before answering.
“Well, most of it will be just as you know. Our country itself is a grain-growing nation with nothing particularly special about it. And Aileen is the countryside of the countryside even among that.”
“……”
“The barley beer is truly amazing, but that's sothing only us locals who drink it on tap know. It's not a specialty that people from other regions would hear about and co looking for… Heh heh. As for anything particularly special…”
Just as Eliya's expression was about to darken, thinking he was about to say there was nothing special after all.
“…I suppose there's only 'that one thing'.”
The man said, adding impact to his words.
“……!”
At the ntion of sothing worth hearing, everyone pricked up their ears.
He nodded, seemingly satisfied by their reaction, and then suddenly looked over each of our faces one by one and muttered in a low voice.
“Co to think of it, you sll a bit like blood, so you don't seem like ordinary folks…”
“……!”
He trailed off his words with a aningful tone.
Tom, reacting to the word ‘blood,’ subtly extended his claws.
Jerry, too, furrowed his brow over his indifferent face and re-examined the man's appearance.
It seed he sensed sothing ominous.
Naly.
The ominous feeling that this man might have approached them with so intention.
Perhaps a certain force trying to prevent them from approaching Valencia had intervened.
‘…….’
But I could tell.
There was no trace of mana coming from the man.
This person was just an ordinary person.
The reason he said we slled of blood was that he had t many people like us since he was young.
“…There's only one reason for folks like you to seek out our village, so you all must be here for that too.”
The words that followed from his mouth were.
“…Hunters.”
“……”
“Beast hunters, the kind that hunt Man-eating Beasts.”
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