By the Grace of the Gods

Today, five chapters are posted simultaneously.

This story is the fourth chapter.

~Side Ryoma~

Time flies, and it’s already been two weeks since we rescued the missing persons.

On the way to meet up with Mr. Serge, who was heading to greet the Duke’s household, I was traveling with Mr. Fay toward Gaunago Town... but we decided to make a little detour through a dimly lit forest.

“Sorry for making you go along with my selfish request.”

“No problem. Right now, I’m technically the shop owner’s guard. It’s fine to visit the shop owner’s old home if that’s what he wants. Besides, I’m good at walking through places like this, so it’s no trouble.”

Indeed, Mr. Fay kept up with me as I led the way. His steps were light, showing he was accustomed to walking through natural environments. As expected of a former assassin.

“Thanks for saying that. Did you receive that kind of training?”

“I did train, but my country doesn’t have as many proper roads as this one. Roads make it easier for people to pass but also make it easier for enemy troops to invade. Officially, I was a traveling merchant, so I visited small villages, but aside from the big towns, everywhere was like this.”

I see... come to think of it, I’ve never heard much about Mr. Fay’s country. I know it’s dangerous due to ongoing war, but that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Even after employing him for over half a year, I hadn’t asked.

I told the shop staff he was a “military veteran,” which might explain the secrecy due to his previous job...

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me whatever parts you don’t mind sharing?”

“I’ll answer anything. It’s troublesome to make it public, but since you know I’m a former assassin, it’s fine to talk with you.”

His matter-of-fact attitude made me a little uneasy.

“Aren’t there any secrets?”

“Those kinds of countries no longer exist. There’s no problem talking. Important info is either useless now or stolen by enemy forces. Actually, it might annoy the enemy more if info leaks to their enemies. Some of my comrades stayed in the country to do such activities.”

“Hmm...”

Well then, I shouldn’t hesitate... but since I know so little, where do I start?

“How much do you know about my country?”

“First, the country is the Jirmar Empire, a large country located slightly northeast of the Reefall Kingdom where we live now. Also, as I mentioned before, there’s been continuous civil war, so it’s dangerous. That’s about it.”

“Okay, I’ll add some more details.”

According to Mr. Fay,

The Jirmar Empire was founded long ago by a human with overwhelming combat ability.

It’s a major power that unified northern villages and local lords of our continent through force.

Because there are no historical records about the founder’s origin, name, or the date of establishment, much remains a mystery.

Due to this, the factions that split during the civil war each claim their own history, insisting their leaders descend from the first emperor... sounds like a country with plenty of troubles beyond war.

“When I was still in the country... the empire was divided into territories controlled by the Win family in the south, the Tuan household in the northwest, the Biguan family in the northeast, and the Shu family controlling the central region. There were minor disputes within these groups, but the major battles occurred among these four.”

“By the way, what about you and Ms. Lilin?”

“We served the Win family. They had many assassins like us, divided into several groups for different roles. One group stayed long-term in enemy territory to steal information; another hunted down enemy agents in major towns...

Our group delivered and gathered information between enemy and allied territories and handled bandits found in Win-controlled land. Because we moved a lot, everyone in our group had jobs like traveling merchants to avoid suspicion.”

I listened as we walked, intrigued by his story.