Published: July 3, 2025
Today, I am posting two chapters.
At noon, I posted a short interlude titled "0291."
I recommend reading that first.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing right now..."
"Ryo-san... this is amazing, isn't it..."
"…"
Ryo was astonished, Amon was also surprised, and Nils and Eto were left speechless.
By the way, the three in 'room 11' seemed to have no idea why the four of them were astonished.
The sight unfolding before the eyes of the seven.
The reason for their speechlessness was...
"Why is that crepe shop here in this city...?"
The shopkeeper was an elderly woman, over seventy years old.
Customers took the finished products, and from what they could see, the crepes were exactly the same as the ones they had eaten in the Kingdom and the Empire.
Perhaps even the fillings were the same...
"Excuse me, I'll have one crepe, please."
"Sure, thank you! That'll be one silver coin."
Unable to resist, Ryo placed the order, and the old woman skillfully filled it with whipped cream and banana.
"Here you go."
As Ryo received the crepe from the old woman, his hand trembled slightly.
And then... he bit into it without thinking.
In that moment, his eyes widened.
He swallowed and opened his mouth.
"It’s delicious..."
He couldn't help but whisper.
For this flavor, even angels might defy God's teachings...
Yes...
"It might not be a shame to fall from grace."
Eto reacted slightly to Ryo's murmur.
As expected, it was the usual blend.
Ryo had whimsically named it the Platinum Diamond blend.
It was the same crepe shop they had encountered first in Whitnash, then in the City of Run, the royal capital, and even in the Empire's Gilsbach... and now it had expanded to this country of 'Schultz.'
What kind of management philosophy did the top have...?
Ryo had no idea.
But there was no need to think about difficult things.
"Without a doubt, it's that crepe."
Ryo declared strongly to Amon, Nils, and Eto.
The three nodded in agreement and set out to buy crepes...
The second country of the Corridor Nations, 'Schultz,' was, like the first country 'Aiteke Bo,' a city-state in terms of scale.
One city comprised all of its territory.
However, a significant difference was that, surrounding the walled city, there were extensive farmlands sprawling outside the walls, which was not the case with Aiteke Bo.
Aiteke Bo was a country in the middle of a forest, while 'Schultz' was situated in the middle of flatlands.
That said, large merchant caravans rarely visited, making it infrequent even for travelers to arrive, so there were no inns.
Only three establishments that could barely be called guesthouses existed.
Thus, the delegation had set up hundreds of tents in the town square to serve as temporary lodging.
This was particularly unpopular among the civil officials.
It was only natural.
Compared to camping out, it was like paradise, but when compared to a proper inn... well, it must have been terrible.
Of course, there were no particular complaints from the guards, adventurers, or soldiers.
Camping out was commonplace during adventures or operations.
They sometimes slept in caves, hollows of large trees, or even in trees.
Being able to sleep in a tent was like... well, that might be overstating it, but there were no significant complaints.
Ryo had a question.
(But if large merchant caravans don’t come, what kind of economy is sustaining a city or country of this scale...?)
"It seems there are quite a few nomadic people or horse tribes in the area, and there are apparently trade relations with them," Priest Eto answered Ryo's question while looking at the 'Travel Handbook.'
The 'Travel Handbook' was impressive!
"But there are also unsettling entries..."
"Unsettling?"
"Yes. Since the current king came to power, the relationship with those horse tribes has become very bad."
Eto frowned while showing Ryo a passage from the 'Travel Handbook.'
"Did they rob the treasures of the horse tribes...?"
Ryo read that passage aloud.
Not just unsettling, it sounded like a flag for something catastrophic to happen...
Ryo shook his head slightly, lamenting the impermanence of the world.