Chapter: 174
“But… even though I’ve left the village like this, is the priest going to be okay?”
“At this point?”
Isn’t that the kind of thing you usually think about before leaving the village?
“Ah, well… when we were about to set off, my head was just buzzing with so many thoughts. Thoughts about Mom, and thoughts about the outside world.”
“Hmm… Well, I suppose that’s understandable.”
A little girl who has only ever lived in a small rural village suddenly leaves it. No wonder her mind is all jumbled!
But, well, she’s worrying needlessly.
“That priest has decent skills, so don’t stress about it.”
“Is that so?”
I nodded a bit.
The priest had skills that were pretty impressive for a human, so there was no need to worry at all.
And… when we left the village, I set up a little barrier to keep anyone with bad intentions from entering, just in case.
So there probably won’t be any big issues.
“Then I’m relieved to hear that. I was a bit worried.”
What you should really be worried about is your sense of direction!
Well, that can be fixed later by making something like a compass that points you in the right direction.
Hmm… If I create something like that and then another human finds it and treasures it as some kind of valuable… No way that could happen, right?
Nah, it can’t be that every single thing I make turns into treasure.
Although, quite a few of the things I’ve made so far have ended up like that…
“So, we’re planning to head to Armen, huh?”
“Yeah. If I go to the Temple of Life there, I might find a clue about my mom.”
The Temple of Life, huh… I’ve kinda been neglecting my goddess duties, but I guess I should drop by at least once.
“The Temple of Life? That should make it easier for you to get your message across.”
“Yeah. The priest wrote me a letter of introduction since he’s affiliated with the Temple of Life, but it’ll definitely be better if you, the Dragon’s Priestess, talk to them directly.”
Not the Dragon’s Priestess, but the Goddess of Life… but whatever!
“Alright then, let’s rest up today and set out tomorrow.”
“Yeah.”
And so, Maybelle and I spent the night at the inn.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
The world 300 years later had changed in many ways.
Before, most buildings were made of wood or clay, but now, it looks like they’re building with bricks.
They’re using bricks for construction and even laying them out like paving stones on the streets. It gives an overall clean vibe.
Compared to the primitive times, this is a huge leap forward!
The general clothing style hasn’t changed much, but the fabrics themselves seem a lot cleaner now.
In the old days, people wore mostly leather, but now it seems like they’ve transitioned to using more cloth.
And overall, the economy seems to have improved from before.
Another interesting thing is… these little shrines popping up all over.
Not just one or two, but I’ve spied at least fifteen or so, each dedicated to different gods.
Hmm… I guess they’ve put a lot of effort into expanding their religions now that they’ve tightened things up with the deities.
Well, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone, I don’t mind what they do.
There are various gods, but the major ones seem to be the Sky God Baal and the Mother of Life… which, hey, that’s me!
Other than that, it looks like child deities are trending, and surprisingly, Sirius has a place too.
There’s a nice handful of other gods as well.
Hmm. Having plenty of “hills” of deities to explore is probably a good thing for humankind.
And so, Maybelle and I continued on our journey.
Along the way, we ran into monsters, humans, thieves, pilgrims, adventurers, and soldiers.
It was quite surprising to see so many humans, especially with monsters being so rare.
From what I gathered, people have figured out that the magic stones, hides, meat, and bones from monsters are decent resources. Because of that, the job of monster-hunting adventurers has really gained popularity.
Sure, there are risks involved, but they say if you’re lucky enough to get a big magic stone from a monster, that alone can make your life a whole lot easier.
Similar vibes for the soldiers, who have also been popping up in greater numbers. But, those poor souls seem to be underpaid overall.
They maintain a security force and a standing army vibe. The soldiers themselves are often in dangerous situations, deployed for wars, and with such low pay, they’re pretty disgruntled.
But hey, military revolts? Not my problem.
Anyway, Maybelle and I arrived in Armen.
“This place… is pretty big.”
“Yep, it’s quite something.”
About the same size as Sirius City before it dozed off. It’s a substantial city-state that’s developed quite a bit in the last 300 years.
As I was admiring the changes, a well-dressed guard came up to us.
“It seems it’s your first time visiting our city.”
“Yes, this is my first time in a city of this size.”
“Haha, most visitors say the same. Armen is larger than other city-states.”
The friendly guard began telling us about various spots in the city.
“That tavern serves great beer, but since you both look young, it’d be best to skip the booze. Still, the food there is tasty, so checking out the restaurant wouldn’t hurt!”
“Oh… that’s helpful info! I’ll keep that in mind.”
“For lodging, there’s a place over there with a horse-shaped sign. I’ve heard the accommodations are decent. I think they get their furniture from a dwarf.”
“Dwarves? I’ve only read about them in books! They actually exist in this city?”
“Well, I haven’t seen one myself, but the lodgings are in good shape, so you might consider staying there.”
Hmm, I wonder if he’s being entirely truthful or just trying to bring in guests…
“Anyway, I need to find the Temple of Life first. Do you know where it is?”
“Ah! You’re here to visit the Temple of Life! Are you perhaps pilgrims?”
“Not quite pilgrims.”
Maybelle chuckled softly at that. From her perspective, it must be hilarious to think a Dragon’s Priestess could be mistaken for a plain old pilgrim.
“The Temple of Life is right in the central square. It’s bigger than other temples, so you shouldn’t miss it.”
Hmm, a central square, huh. Seems like that’s becoming a trend.
“Thanks! We’ll be on our way now.”
“Yes! Armen is a cleaner city than others! Enjoy your time here!”
“Cleaner?”
“Yep! Armen has special facilities. The water supply and sewage system keep the city spick and span, making it much tidier than other cities.”
Hmm? Water supply and sewage systems? Now that’s intriguing.
“It seems other cities rely on slimes to gobble up waste, but that means they have to deal with the stench until the slimes get that job done. But Armen uses water and sewer systems to provide clean water and wash waste away. That’s how they keep everything clean.”
Wow… creating water and sewage systems in this era is pretty impressive.
I mean, sure, they had them back in ancient Rome, but thinking about it… huh. It’s still quite a fast development.
“Thanks to the clean water supply, Armen also has a booming bathing culture. If you don’t mind bathing with others, visiting a public bath would be a fun experience.”
Bathing, huh.
Now that I think about it, I don’t remember the last time I had a good bath.
Well, I could magically get clean in a snap, so it never really bothered me.
“Bath…!”
But unlike me, Maybelle’s eyes were sparkling with excitement.
“If it’s okay, would you like to go with me to try a bathhouse?”
“Hmm, a bathhouse…”
Honestly, even if I jumped into a boiling vat of lava, I wouldn’t feel a thing! So what’s the big deal about bathing anyway?
Well, it doesn’t matter too much.
“First things first, we need to head to the Temple of Life. Once we wrap things up, we can think about that.”
“Okay!”
And with that, we wrapped up our chat with the guard and headed towards the central square.
During the journey, I noticed Maybelle trying to divert onto different paths a few times. Hmm…
Shouldn’t it be simple to just follow where the crowds are? What’s with the detours?
I’m utterly puzzled!
“W-Well, we finally made it.”
“Yeah, if someone hadn’t wandered off a few times, we would’ve gotten here faster.”
And so, we successfully reached the Temple of Life in Armen.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
