Episode 29. I Was Right, Wasn’t I?
“Wow. The village is quite big.”
The first place Binaeril’s party arrived at while walking along the grasslands was a village named Fairhill.
“The area near Elfenbein is safe. Since there’s little worry of suffering damage from monsters, people naturally gather here, don’t they?”
It was just as Silvia said. Fairhill had been a small village at the eastern border of the Empire, but it had now grown into a village of considerable size as migrants increased.
It wasn’t just Fairhill; many villages near Elfenbein had grown in this way, founded upon safety.
“What should we do? Pass through? Or stay here for a day?”
When the party, which had departed in the morning, arrived at Fairhill, the sun was already hanging over the mountain ridge.
The three of them weren’t used to traveling on foot, so their pace was inevitably slow.
“If only we could ride horses.”
They had only walked half a day, yet difficulties were already surfacing.
The continent was vast. Too vast to cross on foot. Simply walking required far more stamina than they had expected.
Even if they somehow managed to acquire horses, only Silvia was skilled at riding.
Binaeril had only ever ridden a horse a few times as a child, clinging to his father.
“It would be nice if we could take a carriage or something.”
“There won’t be any coachman willing to blaze a trail from the border all the way to the capital.”
Unlike the relatively safe vicinity of the capital or the area around Elfenbein, the lands in between were a death ground swarming with monsters.
Unless they carried spare lives with them, it was obvious that no coachman would agree to help them.
“Lady Rike looks tired, so let’s rest here today.”
“That’s fine, but we need to think about our problem. Like this, we’re too slow.”
Rike struggled even when walking a little longer.
Silvia said it was because of the poison she had ingested when she was young.
“If we just pass Edenburg, we’ll be able to meet the royal capital’s escort troops. We’ll have to get there somehow under our own power until then.”
Edenburg was the name of a city situated slightly further to the left between Elfenbein and the capital.
Silvia added that Edenburg was precariously within the capital’s sphere of influence.
True to its name, Fairhill was a village atop a hill. Being of some size, there was a gate and guards standing at the village entrance.
“Halt! State your identities and purpose.”
A young guard who saw Binaeril’s group approaching came forward, gripping his spear shaft, and questioned them.
“We are travelers heading to the capital. We were hoping to stay in the village for a day……”
“Is that your sole purpose? You have no armed weapons on you?”
While Binaeril stepped forward to explain, a senior guard who had been standing back with his arms crossed suddenly smacked the junior on the back of the head.
Thwack!
“You fool!”
While the three were bewildered by the sudden scene of absurdity, the senior guard consecutively smacked the junior’s head two or three more times.
“You— you tactless— fool! Can’t you tell just by looking? These are people from the Magic Tower.”
“E-excuse me?”
“This is about the time newly appointed mages emerge. How dare a mere wretch like you raise a weapon at a mage?”
“Ah, we’re fine, really……”
As if his anger hadn’t subsided, he snatched the junior’s spear and flung it behind him.
“Get back!”
The junior retreated, completely dejected.
The senior, whose face was darkly tanned from the sun, approached Binaeril’s group, rubbing his palms together with an awkward smile.
“My apologies. The newbie doesn’t know any better. You’re from the Magic Tower, yes?”
“Y-yes.”
“Fairhill welcomes mages. You plan to stay in the village today? Come, come, follow me.”
His transformation from a veteran guard to a sociable guide in an instant was like that of a first-class actor.
The three entered the village, led by the guard with mixed feelings.
Binaeril nudged Silvia with his elbow so the guard couldn’t hear and whispered.
“Hey, is it obvious?”
“I’m not sure.”
The badges that served as proof of their appointment were inside each of their bags.
Their clothes were ordinary too, and aside from their various hair colors, he couldn’t grasp how the guard had figured out they were mages.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, yes. What are you curious about?”
“How did you know we were mages?”
Rike, without a wrinkle of suspicion, asked the guard with an innocent face.
The guard answered with an expression that asked why she would even ask such a thing.
“You can tell just by looking that you have an aura… no, that you are dignified. Young travelers don’t often come this far.”
—So he’s thinking, “Greenhorns dripping with refinement—if they’re not mages around here, what else would they be?”
Veritas interpreted his inner thoughts.
Certainly, Rike was a given, but neither Silvia nor Binaeril had common appearances.
Their skin was fair and their builds were slender; they didn’t show the signs of hardship that farmers or guards who worked the fields would have.
—Putting it nicely, greenhorns. Meaning you look like easy marks.
‘Which part of that was putting it nicely?’
The place the guard led them to was a two-story wooden building located in the center of the village.
“This is the village chief’s residence. Talk inside, and he will tell you where to stay.”
Having finished guiding them, he scurried away and disappeared.
“Village chief? At this scale, it’s a mansion.”
The interior was as grand as the exterior. The three muttered that quite a bit of money seemed to circulate in this village.
Even though it was broad daylight, the chief had lit the fireplace and opened the windows.
Seated in a rocking chair by the window receiving warmth from both sides, he was enjoying a truly luxurious rest.
“Ah, greetings. I am Bilwood, the village chief of Fairhill. You appear to be the newly appointed mages?”
As if visits like this were familiar, he draped his blanket over the armrest and stood up.
Apart from the grand house, he had a warm, simple impression like the chief of a small village with a heart of gold.
“Fairhill welcomes you.”
The chief showed them a kind smile and warmly received the three.
The people of Fairhill treated the party with extreme hospitality.
High-quality meat and bread, a heated bath, and snow-white bedding were laid out in each of their rooms.
“Isn’t this a bit strange?”
“Mmph?”
Silvia questioned while tearing into meat still on the bone.
“…Never mind. You just eat.”
She had quite the appetite. A typical physical-type. The sort who ate as much as she moved.
“What is it?”
“Aren’t they being too nice to us? We haven’t paid a thing, yet the food, the beds—and they’re too high-quality.”
“Hmm. Perhaps they’re repaying what they received from Elfenbein?”
“I wish that were true.”
Binaeril was the only one who doubted the goodwill.
More than anything, what Veritas had said during the day bothered him.
Veritas had a knack for speaking irritatingly, but he was someone who often threw out words with substance.
‘A bunch of greenhorns who look like easy marks.’
Most graduates of Elfenbein were children of noble houses. Naturally, many were ignorant of the ways of the world, and Binaeril’s group was no exception.
After his mother passed away, he had helped his father manage the mansion’s expenses.
It wasn’t a noble banquet where keeping up appearances mattered; he couldn’t help but think that for a mere village chief to personally entertain visiting mages like this was an extravagance where the incidental costs outweighed the main purpose.
“Don’t be so suspicious, Binaeril. Everyone seems like good people. It’s not like we enjoy such luxuries every day, right? Once we enter the Empire’s territory, we’ll have to hide our identities.”
“Yeah. What could these people even do to us?”
Anyway, Binaeril was a chronic skeptic.
Wondering if he was just borrowing trouble, he shoved the food into his mouth for now.
“Chief.”
From outside the kitchen where they were eating, the conversation between the guard from earlier and the chief could be heard.
“There’s another visitor.”
“Another mage?”
“Yes. But the thing is….”
The guard lowered his voice. As if conscious of Binaeril’s group.
‘Veritas, can you tell me what they’re saying?’
—Do I look like a spy? Let’s see. He’s saying, “Not a fledgling; seems like someone who’s been around.”
“Let’s meet him first.”
Binaeril set down his food and secretly followed the chief outside.
“Ah, greetings. I am Bilwood, the village chief of Fairhill.”
The late visitor was wearing a robe faded from long exposure to the wind.
Judging by the magical aura he emanated, he was undoubtedly a mage as well.
“Fairhill welcomes all mages. How about it, shall I offer you a meal and a room?”
Wearing his hood pulled low, he didn’t look particularly old or young.
He waved his hands at the chief’s offer and took out his canteen.
“No. I’ve run out of food, so I stopped by to get a loaf of bread.”
“Of course we can give you that. It’s late; are you leaving just like this?”
“I’ll camp nearby.”
“No, why not come inside?”
The young man responded to the chief’s smile with a smile of his own.
But to Binaeril’s eyes, it felt like the two were engaged in some kind of battle of wills.
“I am on the sensitive side, so I prefer being alone. It’s a bit burdensome as well.”
“Oh, burdensome? But I would give you the best room.”
The chief insisted several times, but the mage’s will was firm.
Having received a warm loaf of bread, he dropped several silver coins into the chief’s hand despite the chief’s refusal and left the village immediately.
The departing mage’s eyes met Binaeril’s. The mage’s eyes went wide; he shook his head and left.
The chief, who had been licking his lips, finally noticed Binaeril.
“Why, what are you doing here? The night wind is cold, so please come inside.”
Binaeril explained what he had seen to his companions.
“Isn’t this strange?”
“He seemed to be our senior. He wouldn’t refuse such hospitality unless—if this were truly pure goodwill, that is.”
“Maybe he’s just really sensitive.”
“Damn it, can you only think of everything so simply?”
“What? Can you only think of everything so negatively?”
Even Rike, who usually listened to Binaeril, sided with Silvia this time.
“Binaeril. Nothing has happened yet, right? Please don’t worry so much.”
“Rike, even you? I really don’t think this is right. Let’s at least stand watch tonight, taking turns.”
Silvia clicked her tongue at Binaeril’s disagreeable suggestion.
Then the chief appeared.
Wearing that same kind smile all over his face.
“Did the meal suit your palate?”
“Ah, yes.”
Binaeril answered half-heartedly.
Sensing the mood, Rike stepped forward and poured out praise.
“It was delicious. Thank you for treating us so well.”
“Not at all. We always live benefiting from Elfenbein. This much is only proper.”
The chief laughed heartily at Rike’s polite tone.
“Where are you three headed?”
“Ah, we are……”
Binaeril interrupted Rike, who was about to answer honestly.
“We are heading west. Far away. I cannot tell you the details.”
“Far away? Hmm, I see.”
The chief’s pupils rolled around.
To Binaeril, it looked like he was weighing the weight of the party’s purses.
He finally got to the main point.
“Then you will have to pay for the meal, bath fee, and room fee all calculated together.”
“As expected.”
“No, you didn’t say that earlier.”
“Then did you intend to have all of this for free? Great mages of Elfenbein?”
The chief feigned surprise.
Binaeril shot an “I told you so” look at Silvia.
See? I was right, wasn’t I? All that talk about being negative and whatever?
It was a look filled with that meaning.
“We should pay. How much do we owe?”
“Haha. It’s not much.”
The chief rubbed his palms together and beamed.
It was the most honest-looking expression among all his smiles.
“I will take ten silver Florins per person.”
It was an absurd price.