MAEPG: Episode 27
Episode 27 Raffella City
“Thank you for your hard work. Here’s the balance.”
“Hahaha. Don’t mention it. We’ll be in this city for a while, so feel free to call us if you need anything else.”
I said goodbye to the mercenaries who had escorted us to Raffella City, paying them the balance.
We were able to reach the city without any major problems with the mercenaries I had hired this time.
“So this is Raffella City… It’s big.”
Diana looked around the city in admiration, holding Aaron’s hand tightly.
It was incomparable to Azantu City, and it was the largest city we had passed through so far.
“It’s probably because it’s close to the capital. Talaria, the capital of the Talia Kingdom, is only a few days away from here.”
Even though the Talia Kingdom was a small and weak country on the outskirts of the continent, the capital was on a different level in terms of scale.
The surrounding cities couldn’t help but be affected.
“I’m worried about how we’ll find my uncle here…”
Diana sighed and spoke worriedly.
Seeing her needlessly worrying, I shrugged lightly.
“What’s there to worry about when you know his name and what he does? It won’t take long.”
I had also gained some experience in the Auterica Dimension.
Gathering that much information was nothing.
It took three days of staying in the city.
That was the time it took to find an information broker and learn the location of Diana’s uncle.
“…You found him so quickly.”
“What, there’s nothing money can’t do. It didn’t take long because we weren’t in a hurry, but it could have been even faster.”
On the first day, we sold the wagon, found lodging, and rested with the kids. On the second day, we found an information broker and made a request.
And today, the third day, we received the information.
“I heard your uncle runs a grocery store in the southern commercial district. It seems like he’s doing fine.”
“I’m glad we didn’t come here for nothing.”
On the way to the grocery store.
Diana was taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.
“What’s wrong? You seem very nervous.”
“…It’s been a long time since I last saw him. Will he even remember me?”
Seeing her clearly worried, I chuckled and gently stroked her hair.
“You worry too much. A few years is nothing to adults. He’ll be surprised and happy to see how much you’ve grown.”
Diana stared at me as I stroked her hair.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and removed my hand from her head.
She smiled bashfully and touched her hair.
“You’re still the same mister. I was worried because you seemed to have changed a lot lately.”
“…Changed? Me?”
“Yes. Your way of speaking has changed too. You’re more serious and calm now? Well, it’s cool, but…”
Diana smiled, sticking out her tongue playfully.
…I hadn’t noticed it at all, but thinking about it calmly, it was true.
It was clear when it started to change.
‘Is it the influence of “Persona”? It changed so naturally that I didn’t notice.’
Arch-Lich Hans was given negative emotions like loneliness and pain, as well as the desire to be recognized, in other words, a bit of a show-off personality.
But it seemed that Vampire Heinz the Second was given a calm and collected personality.
‘Did it manifest naturally according to the individual’s characteristics… It’s not a bad thing.’
I could control it if I wanted to.
I just didn’t bother because it was more comfortable to leave it as it was.
We talked and walked for a while, and finally, we arrived at our destination.
An ordinary grocery store with no distinctive features.
“Welcome~! Are you looking for something?”
As we approached with the children, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner came out from inside and greeted us brightly.
“U-Uncle! Hello! It’s Diana. And this is my brother, Aaron…”
“…H-hello…”
Diana stepped forward, holding Aaron’s hand, and greeted him.
Aaron hesitated for a moment and then bowed his head.
It had been over five years since they last met, so to young Aaron, he was practically a stranger.
“Huh? Diana? Aaron? You’ve grown so much! But how did you get here…?”
I explained the situation to the surprised store owner, Bolt.
I didn’t mention anything about vampires, just that the siblings’ parents had died in Azantu and they had been living a difficult life until they met me.
And that I had brought the children, who had nowhere to go, all the way here.
“…Sob. I, I see. My brother and sister-in-law… You must have been through a lot. You’ve suffered. You’ve suffered…”
He teared up as he listened to the story, then hugged the siblings, who were standing awkwardly.
“N… no. We’re o-okay… Sob!”
“S-sister… don’t cry…”
Tears welled up in the children’s eyes, who had been momentarily stiff from the warm hug, and then they hugged him back and burst into tears.
‘I’m glad he seems like a good person.’
The information I had obtained about him through the information broker included his reputation.
I couldn’t entrust the children to a bad person.
If he had been, I would have lied to Diana, saying I couldn’t find him, and taken other measures…
‘Now I just need to grease the wheels a little.’
I explained the situation to his wife, who had come out after hearing the commotion outside, and we went inside.
As soon as we entered the living space behind the store, I made eye contact with a little girl, about three or four years old, who was sitting on the floor, playing with a doll.
“…Sniff.”
The little girl looked at us with wide, curious eyes, sniffling.
Perhaps surprised by the sudden visitors, she clumsily got up from her seat and toddled over to her mother, burying her face in her skirt.
And then she tilted her head slightly and cautiously observed us.
Her small eyes sparkled, seemingly interested in the siblings who didn’t seem that much older than her.
“Oh my… These poor children, they must have been through so much…”
The wife skillfully picked up her daughter and patted her back, then looked at the siblings with pity and said she would wash their tear-stained faces, taking the children inside.
“It must have been difficult to bring the children all the way here. Thank you for taking care of them.”
Bolt bowed his head and expressed his gratitude when we were left alone.
“You’re welcome. I received a lot of help from the children, and I enjoyed traveling with them.”
But we didn’t have much time to talk.
He had to take care of his business.
“Shopkeeper, are you there~?”
“Yes, yes! Welcome~!”
As soon as he heard someone outside, Bolt rushed out to greet the customer.
I decided to visit them again later, as I was planning to stay in the city for a few more days and observe them, and parted ways with them.
“Thank you for your hard work. Here’s the balance.”
“Hahaha. Don’t mention it. We’ll be in this city for a while, so feel free to call us if you need anything else.”
I said goodbye to the mercenaries who had escorted us to Raffella City, paying them the balance.
We were able to reach the city without any major problems with the mercenaries I had hired this time.
“So this is Raffella City… It’s big.”
Diana looked around the city in admiration, holding Aaron’s hand tightly.
It was incomparable to Azantu City, and it was the largest city we had passed through so far.
“It’s probably because it’s close to the capital. Talaria, the capital of the Talia Kingdom, is only a few days away from here.”
Even though the Talia Kingdom was a small and weak country on the outskirts of the continent, the capital was on a different level in terms of scale.
The surrounding cities couldn’t help but be affected.
“I’m worried about how we’ll find my uncle here…”
Diana sighed and spoke worriedly.
Seeing her needlessly worrying, I shrugged lightly.
“What’s there to worry about when you know his name and what he does? It won’t take long.”
I had also gained some experience in the Auterica Dimension.
Gathering that much information was nothing.
It took three days of staying in the city.
That was the time it took to find an information broker and learn the location of Diana’s uncle.
“…You found him so quickly.”
“What, there’s nothing money can’t do. It didn’t take long because we weren’t in a hurry, but it could have been even faster.”
On the first day, we sold the wagon, found lodging, and rested with the kids. On the second day, we found an information broker and made a request.
And today, the third day, we received the information.
“I heard your uncle runs a grocery store in the southern commercial district. It seems like he’s doing fine.”
“I’m glad we didn’t come here for nothing.”
On the way to the grocery store.
Diana was taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves.
“What’s wrong? You seem very nervous.”
“…It’s been a long time since I last saw him. Will he even remember me?”
Seeing her clearly worried, I chuckled and gently stroked her hair.
“You worry too much. A few years is nothing to adults. He’ll be surprised and happy to see how much you’ve grown.”
Diana stared at me as I stroked her hair.
Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and removed my hand from her head.
She smiled bashfully and touched her hair.
“You’re still the same mister. I was worried because you seemed to have changed a lot lately.”
“…Changed? Me?”
“Yes. Your way of speaking has changed too. You’re more serious and calm now? Well, it’s cool, but…”
Diana smiled, sticking out her tongue playfully.
…I hadn’t noticed it at all, but thinking about it calmly, it was true.
It was clear when it started to change.
‘Is it the influence of “Persona”? It changed so naturally that I didn’t notice.’
Arch-Lich Hans was given negative emotions like loneliness and pain, as well as the desire to be recognized, in other words, a bit of a show-off personality.
But it seemed that Vampire Heinz the Second was given a calm and collected personality.
‘Did it manifest naturally according to the individual’s characteristics… It’s not a bad thing.’
I could control it if I wanted to.
I just didn’t bother because it was more comfortable to leave it as it was.
We talked and walked for a while, and finally, we arrived at our destination.
An ordinary grocery store with no distinctive features.
“Welcome~! Are you looking for something?”
As we approached with the children, a middle-aged man who seemed to be the owner came out from inside and greeted us brightly.
“U-Uncle! Hello! It’s Diana. And this is my brother, Aaron…”
“…H-hello…”
Diana stepped forward, holding Aaron’s hand, and greeted him.
Aaron hesitated for a moment and then bowed his head.
It had been over five years since they last met, so to young Aaron, he was practically a stranger.
“Huh? Diana? Aaron? You’ve grown so much! But how did you get here…?”
I explained the situation to the surprised store owner, Bolt.
I didn’t mention anything about vampires, just that the siblings’ parents had died in Azantu and they had been living a difficult life until they met me.
And that I had brought the children, who had nowhere to go, all the way here.
“…Sob. I, I see. My brother and sister-in-law… You must have been through a lot. You’ve suffered. You’ve suffered…”
He teared up as he listened to the story, then hugged the siblings, who were standing awkwardly.
“N… no. We’re o-okay… Sob!”
“S-sister… don’t cry…”
Tears welled up in the children’s eyes, who had been momentarily stiff from the warm hug, and then they hugged him back and burst into tears.
‘I’m glad he seems like a good person.’
The information I had obtained about him through the information broker included his reputation.
I couldn’t entrust the children to a bad person.
If he had been, I would have lied to Diana, saying I couldn’t find him, and taken other measures…
‘Now I just need to grease the wheels a little.’
I explained the situation to his wife, who had come out after hearing the commotion outside, and we went inside.
As soon as we entered the living space behind the store, I made eye contact with a little girl, about three or four years old, who was sitting on the floor, playing with a doll.
“…Sniff.”
The little girl looked at us with wide, curious eyes, sniffling.
Perhaps surprised by the sudden visitors, she clumsily got up from her seat and toddled over to her mother, burying her face in her skirt.
And then she tilted her head slightly and cautiously observed us.
Her small eyes sparkled, seemingly interested in the siblings who didn’t seem that much older than her.
“Oh my… These poor children, they must have been through so much…”
The wife skillfully picked up her daughter and patted her back, then looked at the siblings with pity and said she would wash their tear-stained faces, taking the children inside.
“It must have been difficult to bring the children all the way here. Thank you for taking care of them.”
Bolt bowed his head and expressed his gratitude when we were left alone.
“You’re welcome. I received a lot of help from the children, and I enjoyed traveling with them.”
But we didn’t have much time to talk.
He had to take care of his business.
“Shopkeeper, are you there~?”
“Yes, yes! Welcome~!”
As soon as he heard someone outside, Bolt rushed out to greet the customer.
I decided to visit them again later, as I was planning to stay in the city for a few more days and observe them, and parted ways with them.
__________________
“I, I can’t accept this much money. The children have already received so much help…”
The next day, I talked to Bolt separately.
To provide financial support for raising the children.
“No, it’s fine. As I said before, I received a lot of help from those children. This much isn’t a burden to me. I hope this can help you take care of them.”
It was a lot of money for ordinary people, but it was a drop in the bucket for me, who had swallowed up all the wealth of those who monopolized the city’s wealth.
‘And I gained it thanks to Diana’s help, so this much is nothing. I feel sorry that I can’t give them more, but wealth that you can’t protect is only dangerous.’
He hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly accepted the money pouch.
He refused at first, but it must have been a burden to have two more mouths to feed.
“I’ve grown quite attached to the children. I’ll visit them whenever I have time.”
And I subtly hinted that I would support them every time I visited.
Instead, I asked him to actively support the children’s education if they wanted to learn something.
“Of course! I’ll cherish them like my own children, without any discrimination.”
I didn’t know if there would really be no discrimination, but the support money was meant to prevent that in the first place.
Since I said I would continue to support them, he wouldn’t mistreat them, at least out of consideration.
A week passed since we arrived in Raffella City.
I was saying goodbye to the siblings.
“Ah… mister. Th-thank you so much. Sob! I, I really…”
“Waaaah~ Mister!”
Diana tried to hold back her tears, while Aaron burst into tears and hugged me.
I also felt a lump in my throat, as I had grown attached to them after spending nearly two months together.
“Well, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again. I’ll visit often. Listen to Mr. Bolt, and stay healthy, okay?”
Diana, who had started learning the store’s business, and Aaron, who was now taking care of his four-year-old cousin.
I hugged the two children and patted their backs.
“Often, how often?”
“Huh?”
“You said you’ll visit often. How often will you come?”
Uh, I hadn’t thought about that.
I organized my thoughts for a moment at Diana’s straightforward question.
“Hmm… I’ll come at least once a year.”
“…Once a year. It can’t be helped. Um… if you can’t come, it’s okay. Just visit whenever you have time.”
Diana tried to smile, her eyes filled with tears, perhaps not wanting to burden me.
It wouldn’t be difficult with the transfer formation, but I patted her head, touched by her thoughtfulness.
After saying goodbye, I reluctantly turned away, waving to the siblings repeatedly.
The children continued to wave, seeing me off until I was completely out of sight.
‘It’s touching. I really hope they do well. I have to keep an eye on them.’
I was very attached to them.
They were also my first connection in Auterica.
‘Then shall I go to the capital?’
I didn’t have much money left after giving Bolt the support money and Diana a hefty sum for emergencies…
But Heinz didn’t need money to travel alone.
I left the city and walked aimlessly until sunset.
As time passed, darkness fell over the surroundings.
Flap!
A flock of bats flew across the night sky.
“I, I can’t accept this much money. The children have already received so much help…”
The next day, I talked to Bolt separately.
To provide financial support for raising the children.
“No, it’s fine. As I said before, I received a lot of help from those children. This much isn’t a burden to me. I hope this can help you take care of them.”
It was a lot of money for ordinary people, but it was a drop in the bucket for me, who had swallowed up all the wealth of those who monopolized the city’s wealth.
‘And I gained it thanks to Diana’s help, so this much is nothing. I feel sorry that I can’t give them more, but wealth that you can’t protect is only dangerous.’
He hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly accepted the money pouch.
He refused at first, but it must have been a burden to have two more mouths to feed.
“I’ve grown quite attached to the children. I’ll visit them whenever I have time.”
And I subtly hinted that I would support them every time I visited.
Instead, I asked him to actively support the children’s education if they wanted to learn something.
“Of course! I’ll cherish them like my own children, without any discrimination.”
I didn’t know if there would really be no discrimination, but the support money was meant to prevent that in the first place.
Since I said I would continue to support them, he wouldn’t mistreat them, at least out of consideration.
A week passed since we arrived in Raffella City.
I was saying goodbye to the siblings.
“Ah… mister. Th-thank you so much. Sob! I, I really…”
“Waaaah~ Mister!”
Diana tried to hold back her tears, while Aaron burst into tears and hugged me.
I also felt a lump in my throat, as I had grown attached to them after spending nearly two months together.
“Well, it’s not like we’ll never see each other again. I’ll visit often. Listen to Mr. Bolt, and stay healthy, okay?”
Diana, who had started learning the store’s business, and Aaron, who was now taking care of his four-year-old cousin.
I hugged the two children and patted their backs.
“Often, how often?”
“Huh?”
“You said you’ll visit often. How often will you come?”
Uh, I hadn’t thought about that.
I organized my thoughts for a moment at Diana’s straightforward question.
“Hmm… I’ll come at least once a year.”
“…Once a year. It can’t be helped. Um… if you can’t come, it’s okay. Just visit whenever you have time.”
Diana tried to smile, her eyes filled with tears, perhaps not wanting to burden me.
It wouldn’t be difficult with the transfer formation, but I patted her head, touched by her thoughtfulness.
After saying goodbye, I reluctantly turned away, waving to the siblings repeatedly.
The children continued to wave, seeing me off until I was completely out of sight.
‘It’s touching. I really hope they do well. I have to keep an eye on them.’
I was very attached to them.
They were also my first connection in Auterica.
‘Then shall I go to the capital?’
I didn’t have much money left after giving Bolt the support money and Diana a hefty sum for emergencies…
But Heinz didn’t need money to travel alone.
I left the city and walked aimlessly until sunset.
As time passed, darkness fell over the surroundings.
Flap!
A flock of bats flew across the night sky.
__________________
At dawn, after traveling all night, I arrived in Talaria, which would have taken several days to reach even on horseback.
“This is the capital of the Talia Kingdom… Can I even enter?”
I had managed to hide my identity so far, but it would probably be difficult to pass through the capital.
‘Should I summon Heinrich here?’
The reason I came all the way to the capital was for Heinrich.
I was deeply impressed by the holy knights I had encountered as Hans recently.
Their military power wielding holy swords, their honor respected by everyone in the light.
I also investigated the Church while gathering information in the city.
After considering various factors, I concluded that it was possible and came all the way here to enroll Heinrich in the Church.
The Main God Church had a temple in Talaria, the capital.
As I was looking at the capital from a hill—
At that moment.
“Hmm… What are you doing here?”
I got goosebumps at the sudden female voice.
‘I didn’t sense any presence…!’
I turned around in surprise, creating distance, but she was just staring at her fingertips.
At her fingertips, where a drop of blood was forming.
Drip—
At that moment, I felt a stinging pain in my neck.
I hurriedly controlled my blood to stop the bleeding and raised my guard.
‘Damn it… Things were going so well.’
She stared at the blood on her fingertips for a moment, then slowly brought it to her mouth and licked it.
“As expected… You’re definitely a child who inherited the blood of our clan.”
A beautiful woman in her early twenties, with her gorgeous blonde hair tied up, revealing her white nape, and holding a fancy red dress and a parasol.
Her identity was probably a True Blood vampire of the Brokoslack Clan.
“I smelled blood and thought it might be the case. You committed cannibalism? And on a member of the same clan?”
I felt my body stiffen as I met her blood-red eyes.
My mouth tried to open against my will.
“Anyway, you violated the clan’s law, so you and your direct descendant will be punished together. …If he’s still alive.”
‘…I see. So this is a Devil Eye.’
Her blood-red eyes, glowing with blood magic power, were forcing me to act.
It would be impossible to resist at my level.
“Resistance is futile at your level. Just open your mouth.”
Of course, that didn’t apply to me.
‘Sigh… I feel like I’m repeating the same pattern every time. How many times has it been? I need to get stronger quickly.’
Every time I thought I had become strong enough, stronger opponents kept appearing.
That would continue to happen unless I reached the top of this world.
There was nothing I could do about it for now.
“…You’re holding out for quite a while. But even so…”
I ignored the vampire babbling in front of me and used my all-purpose escape method, Dismiss.
I didn’t really care since I had already achieved my goal, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.
‘Tsk, just you wait.’
That time probably wouldn’t be too far away.
At dawn, after traveling all night, I arrived in Talaria, which would have taken several days to reach even on horseback.
“This is the capital of the Talia Kingdom… Can I even enter?”
I had managed to hide my identity so far, but it would probably be difficult to pass through the capital.
‘Should I summon Heinrich here?’
The reason I came all the way to the capital was for Heinrich.
I was deeply impressed by the holy knights I had encountered as Hans recently.
Their military power wielding holy swords, their honor respected by everyone in the light.
I also investigated the Church while gathering information in the city.
After considering various factors, I concluded that it was possible and came all the way here to enroll Heinrich in the Church.
The Main God Church had a temple in Talaria, the capital.
As I was looking at the capital from a hill—
At that moment.
“Hmm… What are you doing here?”
I got goosebumps at the sudden female voice.
‘I didn’t sense any presence…!’
I turned around in surprise, creating distance, but she was just staring at her fingertips.
At her fingertips, where a drop of blood was forming.
Drip—
At that moment, I felt a stinging pain in my neck.
I hurriedly controlled my blood to stop the bleeding and raised my guard.
‘Damn it… Things were going so well.’
She stared at the blood on her fingertips for a moment, then slowly brought it to her mouth and licked it.
“As expected… You’re definitely a child who inherited the blood of our clan.”
A beautiful woman in her early twenties, with her gorgeous blonde hair tied up, revealing her white nape, and holding a fancy red dress and a parasol.
Her identity was probably a True Blood vampire of the Brokoslack Clan.
“I smelled blood and thought it might be the case. You committed cannibalism? And on a member of the same clan?”
I felt my body stiffen as I met her blood-red eyes.
My mouth tried to open against my will.
“Anyway, you violated the clan’s law, so you and your direct descendant will be punished together. …If he’s still alive.”
‘…I see. So this is a Devil Eye.’
Her blood-red eyes, glowing with blood magic power, were forcing me to act.
It would be impossible to resist at my level.
“Resistance is futile at your level. Just open your mouth.”
Of course, that didn’t apply to me.
‘Sigh… I feel like I’m repeating the same pattern every time. How many times has it been? I need to get stronger quickly.’
Every time I thought I had become strong enough, stronger opponents kept appearing.
That would continue to happen unless I reached the top of this world.
There was nothing I could do about it for now.
“…You’re holding out for quite a while. But even so…”
I ignored the vampire babbling in front of me and used my all-purpose escape method, Dismiss.
I didn’t really care since I had already achieved my goal, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.
‘Tsk, just you wait.’
That time probably wouldn’t be too far away.
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