Chapter 347 : The Long-Awaited Tour Around The Capital
After finishing our breakfast and receiving our rewards, Celine, Ester, Nicola, and I left the dining room.
Tryon said that we could go home in a few days, meaning we’ll leave this city soon. While walking down the hallway, we discussed what we would do next.
「Say, guys, do you want to stroll around the city? We went to the Adventurer Guild the other day, but we haven’t visited the other famous places in this city, right?」(Celine)
「That’s a nice idea.」(Mark)
「Yes! I want to see this city more!」(Ester)
「Me too!」(Nicola)
「Alright, it’s decided then. Shall we wait for Maya and Liane-sama? They’re still discussing something in the dining room.」(Celine)
「No, no! No need to wait for Lia-chan!」(Nicola)
Nicola quickly replied to Celine in a somewhat panicked manner.
She doesn’t really want Liane to tag along.
「Hm? I thought you two were close.」(Celine)
「We… We are, but… She’s too clingy!」(Nicola)
「Umm… Nicola-chan? Don’t you realize that you’re as clingy as her?」(Celine)
「What are you talking about? I’m not clingy.」(Nicola)
Yes, you ARE!
「Uhh… A, anyway, let’s get going then.」(Celine)
Celine gave up right away knowing that it would be pointless debating with Nicola.
We nodded at her and followed her to the exit.
I feel like it’s been a while since the last time we went with only the four of us. Maya and Liane were always with us while we were in this city.
「I’m quite familiar with this city since I stayed here a few years ago, so I can show you around. First, let’s go to the cathedral. The cathedral in this city is the biggest in the entire region.」(Celine)
Not only does it have the biggest adventurer guild, but it also has the biggest cathedral. That’s the capital city for you.
When we passed through the front door, a servant spotted us and asked us if we wanted him to prepare a carriage, but we preferred to walk and enjoy the city leisurely, so we refused.
We left the castle and walked down the main street heading to the northern side of the city. As a matter of course, Nicola was clinging to Celine’s waist while walking. Her face looked bright as if she was enjoying the taste of freedom without Liane around.
After about ten minutes of walking, we could finally see the cathedral.
「That’s the cathedral?」(Mark)
「Yup. Amazing, isn’t it?」(Celine)
「It is!」(Mark)
「Whoaa…! It’s huge! And there are a lot of people!」(Ester)
The church in Fatia is quite big for a church in a small town, but this cathedral is on a whole different level. It’s much bigger and grander than that church. It’s about five times the size of it.
As Ester said, there were so many people going in and out of the cathedral. Most of them were believers, but there were also tourists like us.
The cost of the development of the churches and cathedrals in this country mostly comes from public donations. There are many people in this city, but I don’t think their donations alone are enough to build a cathedral as grand as this. Tryon must have played a big part in building this cathedral.
「Look at that statue of goddess! It’s so tall, even taller than the trees in my village! It looks like a giant!」(Ester)
Ester was so excited. She looked up at the statue of the goddess in the front yard of the cathedral with sparkling eyes.
That statue seemed to be the main attraction here.
「Wanna take a look inside?」(Celine)
「Un! Let’s go!」(Ester)
We walked down the paved pathway in the front yard full of different kinds of flowers and passed through the huge double door to the cathedral.
「Wooww!」(Ester)
The inside of the cathedral was magnificent.
There were hundreds of long wooden benches with detailed engraving lining up in the hall, more than twenty sparkling chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, and beautiful stained glass paintings on the walls.
There was also a smaller version of the goddess statue behind the altar.
I didn’t really believe in gods when I was still alive in Japan, but I know one god, and that’s the old man god I met in heaven. The one who sent me and Nicola into this world.
I still don’t know who the goddess that statue is, but she might not actually exist from the beginning.
Nicola might know something about it since she has the knowledge about this world, but I don’t think I want to ask.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious at all, but I feel like I shouldn’t know the answer. If Nicola were to say, “That goddess doesn’t exist”, I would probably start to feel suspicious about the church.
I attended Sunday School in the church in my town, and the nuns there were all kind to me. I don’t want my perspective on them to change because of the answer. I think remaining ignorant about it is better than feeling that way.
「Since we’re here, why don’t we pray for a bit?」(Celine)
「Alright.」(Mark)
We sat on a long bench and folded our hands.
It might be wrong to pray to another god in this church, but I only know that old man god, so I prayed to him.
I wanted to express my gratitude to him for giving me a chance to live in this world.
We left after praying and looking around the inside of the cathedral for a while.
「Alright. Where do you want to go next?」(Celine)
「A place with a lot of food vendors!」(Nicola)
There you go. I had a feeling she would say that.
「It’s almost lunch time, so… Let’s go to the market then.」(Celine)
If you are looking for food vendors, it’s got to be the market in the center of this city.
Without further ado, we left the cathedral and headed to the market.
I’ve been here before with Maya when I went to buy the ingredients to make potato salad. As always, it’s bustling with people.
『Onii-chan, you still remember your promise, right~?』(Nicola)
『Yeah, yeah. You can buy as much food as you want.』(Mark)
『Yaay~ I love you~!』(Nicola)
I promised Nicola to buy her food for helping me find Darkan the other day.
As soon as we got to the market, Nicola started going from one stall to another, buying as much food as she could hold.
Not just food, there were so many other things sold in this market. There were also souvenir shops too.
When I looked at one, I remembered I had to buy something for the people who were waiting for our return at home.
I bought some dresses for Mom and some rare food ingredients for Dad.
Delica, Pamella, and Nei are young girls, so I bought some accessories for them. I’m not sure about Delica and Nei, but I think Pamella will like it.
I don’t know what Gill oji-san and Granpa like, but since they are both elderly men, I bought some local liquor for them.
Other than that, I also bought the necessary supplies for our journey home.
I spent so much money to buy so many things, but I felt like my wallet was not getting any slimmer thanks to the reward I got from Tryon.
After spending our afternoon in the city, we returned to the castle before dinner.
Liane was upset when she found out that we were having fun in the city without her, and because of that, she clung to Nicola even more than usual. She didn’t let go of Nicola’s arm even for a second during dinner.
ーーーーー
A few days passed, and we got news from Tryon that the knights had finally captured the members of the Phantom Mist Bandit Group including their higher-ups thanks to the lead they got from Darkan.
They also found out that some nobles were also involved in their crimes. It seemed that they made tons of money from slave trade, and they used it to gain power in this country.
I have zero interest in politics, so I wasn’t too interested in it. Tryon will surely do something about it.
Now that the troublesome evil organization is no longer around, we can finally leave this city anytime we want.
Living in a castle is not bad. The food is good, and the bed is great. But, we have a place that we call home.
Currently, Celine, Ester, Nicola, and I are gathering in Celine’s room. We are discussing when we will leave this city.
However, I noticed something weird about Ester.
While sitting on Celine’s bed, she put her clenched fists on her lap and looked down for some reason. She seemed to have something she wanted to say.
Celine noticed that and asked her.
「Ester, what’s wrong?」(Celine)
「Umm…」(Ester)
She slowly moved her face and looked at us with an upward gaze.
「Do you have something to say?」(Celine)
「U, un… I’ve been thinking about it for a few days, and… I’ve decided… Guys, I’m sorry… I’m not going with you to Fatia…」(Ester)
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