By the Grace of the Gods

Two chapters posted today.

This is the first chapter.

“...Somehow, the atmosphere has changed...”

After transferring carriages from Fatma Territory, I arrived safely.

Returning to the town of Gimul after about a month, I felt more of a sense of discomfort than nostalgia.

There were actually more people coming and going than before, but somehow it felt somewhat desolate.

“Wait!”

“!!”

On the way to the store, I turned toward the sudden voice echoing through the town and saw three members of the security force.

Had there been a daylight robbery or something? They seemed to be chasing a man running ahead.

“Got you!”

“Damn it! Let me go!”

One of the guards was very fast and quickly caught up to the culprit.

However,

“! Watch out!”

“Whoa!?”

“Hah! Fool!”

“Don’t let him escape!”

“Hey!!”

Their way of restraining the culprit was sloppy, and the culprit pulled out a hidden knife and swung it around.

Because of that, one guard was injured in the face, and the culprit’s restraint loosened further.

The culprit tried to run again, but other guards who had caught up managed to subdue him.

“Are you okay?”

“U-uh...”

It wasn’t life-threatening, but the facial wound had a lot of bleeding.

Could I be allowed to use healing magic?

“Excuse me.”

“What!? Can’t you see we’re busy here!?”

“I can use healing magic. If it’s alright, may I tend to his wounds?”

“Heal... sorry! That would be a big help!”

With permission granted, I checked the wound and used an intermediate greater heal.

Since the wound wasn’t that deep compared to the bleeding, one cast was enough.

“How does it feel? Any discomfort?”

“Ah, I’m fine now. No pain.”

“That’s good.”

Seeing the guard healed, another nearby guard spoke to me.

“Boy, thank you for your cooperation. And again, I apologize for earlier.”

“My colleague was injured, so it was unavoidable.”

“No, injuries are a daily occurrence for us. We must always be prepared. Raising our voice at the townspeople we’re sworn to protect because of that is unacceptable. Especially to someone offering treatment — utterly unforgivable. Not to excuse myself, but I’ve just been in a foul mood all day.”

Apparently, this man is quite serious.

“I thought you had already accepted my apology... Ah, may I ask a few questions?”

I told him I’d been away from town for a while and inquired about the changes in atmosphere.

“If that’s the case, have you seen the new town being built to the south?”

“Yes. Though it’s only the outer walls so far, construction is already quite advanced.”

“Hmm. It’s good that the construction is progressing smoothly, but actually, the influx of laborers seeking work has flooded the town... See, over there and there.”

He pointed to narrow alleys filled with people sitting or lying by the roadside, scavenging scraps from restaurants and being chased off.

“This many just one street off the main road?”

“The population had been growing even last month, but not this much. It seems the number of laborers coming from other places far exceeded expectations. As a result, the number of fights and incidents has surged. We’ve had to increase our patrols urgently... but even mobilizing inexperienced recruits, they’re working nonstop from dawn till dusk.”

I really respect the security force as a citizen.

“I see... Thank you for your hard work. Please keep it up.”

“Thanks. You take care too, and be sure to get home before it gets dark.”

After parting with the guards, I headed back to the store.

■　■　■

Upon arrival, I tried to enter through the employee entrance, but—

“Who are you? This area is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”

A stranger stopped me.

To me, it felt more like “Who are you?”

For now, I explained that I was authorized and requested to meet Mr. Calm.

He seemed to recall something and peacefully let me in.

“Welcome back, shop manager!”

My position as manager was confirmed without issue.

Then he said,

“Sorry about earlier. I’d heard the manager was a kid, but I thought it was some joke, or at least a teenager near adulthood.”