Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 97
One-Eyed Master Craftsman (1)
Lvivbach, which I visited for the first time in a few months, was crowded.
Although it is a small city at the southern end of the Union of Cities, the density of the streets feels as good as that of the labyrinth city of Falcion.
It was similar on my previous visit, but there was a good reason back then.
At that time, there were rumors that a large Mandrake habitat had been discovered, so people from all over the continent came to visit.
“There are a lot of people.”
“That’s right. “When I was young, it was a small city where herbalists lived together.”
“It’s been a while since you’ve been around here?”
As I was chatting with Felber in front of the counter on the first floor of the inn, the inn owner intervened and handed me the key.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. “Not that long though.”
“Then the rumor must still be unfamiliar. Do you know the incident in which the Herb God rained sacred flames on Lvivah?”
Dallen shook his head. Birani of the sacred flame. What else is the herbal god?
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a god with that name even in the imperial pantheon.”
“This is not a story about those religious people. This is real. He is a real God. “God listened to the wishes of herbalists over hundreds of years of history and gave them grace.”
“Please don’t just talk nonsense and talk about it properly.”
The innkeeper secretly glanced at me and cleared his throat.
Dallen naturally took out a fairy tale from his pocket and flicked it.
The innkeeper, who took the coin in his palm with a clapping sound, cleared his throat again and continued speaking.
“It was about three months ago. It happened in Lvivbach Forest. “It was a day when the sky was covered with gray energy and lightning and thunder shook the world like the roar of a dragon.”
“…….”
“The herbalists say that the God of Herbs descended in a huge pillar of light. The deepest part of Lvivbach Forest. “In a rough place where no one can reach.”
Cook, cook.
Dallon slightly averted his eyes as he felt a stabbing sensation in his side.
When he turned around, he saw Felber looking at him with a meaningful expression. A look in his eyes as if to say, ‘Isn’t this your story?’
“As soon as God came down that night, fire began to rain throughout the forest. It was vaguely visible even from the walls of Lvivbach. There were rumors going around for a while. Rumor has it that demons and witches performed terrible rituals within it.”
The innkeeper shook his head.
It was as if a religious priest was repenting his old sins.
“But after about 15 days, it all turned out to be a rumor. The forest where the devil was said to have appeared was more vibrant than ever, and medicinal plants began to sprout and grow faster than ever before. “Only the story that the herb god descended on Lvivbach Forest turned out to be true.”
“…Right. “I heard your story well.”
“It looks like you don’t believe me. Please don’t go anywhere and make remarks that cast doubt on herbal gods. “It might be okay for merchants like me, but herbalists who have lived in the city for a long time will immediately take offense.”
Dallen waved his hand to indicate that he had a general understanding and left the counter. He climbed the stairs and rubbed his temples gently. My head was pounding for no reason.
The god of medicinal herbs. I regretted thinking that the reasoning skills of people around here were quite accurate a few months ago.
“Are you going to hear the sound of God now? “The war god who gave you the holy sword will be angry.”
“…Rotten.”
“The Mandrake, which had been sucking up all the intelligence deep inside the earth, was annihilated, so an enormous amount of nutrients would have piled up in a mountain near the surface. Assuming that the roots of the Mandrake plant have died, over the next two or three years, there will be ten times more medicinal plants than the average year.”
“After that?”
“For ten times that amount of time, herbalists will have to survive by digging up grass roots. “If I make a mistake, the name ‘City of Herbs’ may be erased from the map.”
But anyway, monsters will be rampant by then, so wouldn’t herbs be a problem? Felber added, slowly stroking his beard.
Dallen rubbed his temples again. He was a spellcaster whose way of thinking became strangely strange after learning of the approaching apocalypse.
***
The room the group stayed in was the largest and best room in the inn.
As Felberya was an elder wizard of the Magic Tower, he had a lot of wealth from the beginning, and Dallan now had quite a lot of money accumulated in his hands.
In particular, Dallon’s wealth was such that he could not be considered a mere mercenary.
A few months ago, there was an overflowing amount of gold coins in the chest, but now a small box of precious jewels has been added to it.
In fact, this amount of gold and silver was enough to buy a mansion on the street.
Because I’m caught up in a million different events, money is piling up with no time to spend it.
“Are you going to go to that doctor’s office right now?”
“That’s right.”
Dallen put down his backpack. When I opened the entrance, the baby dragon crawled out and started walking around the room.
Kyungyung. Bwak bwak!
A kitten jumping around on the bed and armchair with bright eyes. It felt good to breathe outside air for the first time in a long time.
Dallen cautioned the baby dragon in preparation for any unexpected situation.
“You shouldn’t be too loud. I don’t know if I can use it yet, but I can’t breathe or use spells. “If anyone comes in, hide or run away.”
[Pucca!]
The baby dragon nods his head confidently.
Perhaps because he was born in Jinryong, he seemed to be able to easily understand the language of people he had not taught.
“Hehehe, he’s growing bigger every day.”
“It’s not like that when people are young.”
“That’s true, but it feels faster than the dragon life I knew.”
is it? Dallen thought nothing of it and laid out the loot on the table.
Chrrrrrr.
The large dining table that seats 8 quickly filled up.
Seven intact long guns and two pistols. Two grenades. Bullets and gunpowder wrapped in oiled paper cartridges. Even extra bullet pouches and gunpowder bottles.
To those with modern memories, these gunpowder weapons were more than a hundred years old, but on the continent, they were all cutting-edge weapons.
Personal firearms are weapons officially adopted and used by only two countries on the entire continent: the Empire and the Tsarist State.
Considering that most countries were just secretly introducing artillery, it was no exaggeration to say that the technology of the two great powers was truly ahead of its time.
Dallen took only a pistol and a grenade and stuffed the rest into subspace.
Of course, the demon Arbor screamed that his space was getting smaller.
[Ugh, I’m dying. Everyone, there is a poor devil here in his subspace who gets crushed by a pile of luggage and dies…]
‘Don’t be harsh, you bastard. ‘I know it’s wider than before.’
Dallen stabbed the demon in subspace with his last remaining rifle.
After absorbing Cheongrin’s curse, his subspace had more than doubled.
This proves that the immortal demon not only absorbs the curse, but also digests it and uses it as its own strength.
Thinking that one day he would have to go to a terrible maze where people were cursed to death just by walking through it, Dallon threw the rifle into subspace.
The devil said as he carefully took it and put it away.
[Ha, but master, you must take into account that my body has grown accordingly.]
‘I just live with my body crumpled.’
[…sniff.]
***
The packing was finished quickly. The group immediately left to find the doctor.
I went down to the first floor and gave the innkeeper a few more coins, and he rubbed his hands together and told me the doctor’s location.
‘It’s unlikely, but it’s better not to think about doing anything wrong there. All the mercenaries from Lvivach will come and stab you.’
After roughly accepting the innkeeper’s instructions, the party headed to the mercenary guild branch.
The council member’s location was inside the alley behind the guild branch.
In fact, it was not a good idea to open a clinic in an alley like this.
It’s already a small city, so opening a store in a narrow alley instead of a main street is like giving up on a commercial district.
However, the doctor’s office, located next to a small herbalist and a one-room junk shop selling vegetable and miscellaneous items, was literally crowded with people.
The line stretching from the alley in front of the clinic stretched all the way to the main street and was so long.
Most of the people lined up like that were rough-looking mercenaries.
Mercenaries who came here with big and small wounds here and there and only provided basic first aid with bandages and splints.
“Now, stand in line! Line!” Let’s keep order and wait!”
“Please show us your minor wounds! “We will take emergency patients to the front first!”
The long line was being managed by a young man who looked like he had come out of a doctor’s office.
People who seemed in urgent need of treatment were moved forward, and minor wounds were treated with herbs on the spot.
“…There was a reason why business was doing well.”
Felber, who was quietly watching the scene, said.
“But isn’t it a bit strange? “I don’t know much about my herbs, but it doesn’t look like I’m going to get that amount of money, no matter how much I do.”
“Good to see. Even if I can’t do it, I should get at least a silver coin.”
Dallen nodded.
It is a world where there are incredible items such as regenerative potions, but professional medical treatment here is incomparably more expensive than on modern Earth.
There is a reason why mercenaries carry bandages, herbs, etc.
However, the young men in front of me were giving quite high-level treatment with just a few copper coins.
That may be why so many customers are waiting in line even though it has only been a month since the clinic opened.
“Hehe, this must have been a perfect plan for them. “If you had come into the city without knowing anything and were injured, you wouldn’t have turned away such a good councilor, would you?”
“I guess so.”
These guys were more meticulous than I thought.
From the beginning, they thought that it would be difficult to assassinate them unilaterally, so they set a trap that would force them to let down their guard over a long period of time.
In addition, if the operation went wrong, the city’s mercenaries who gained favor during the process would act as shields and protect them.
“Tsk.”
Dallen clicked his tongue. It was an annoying situation.
Normally, he would have stormed into the clinic right here, kicked everyone involved, and then left.
However, if you do something like that with so many mercenaries lined up at the doctor’s office, it’s obvious that it will be a credit to all of them.
No matter how much Dallen was a gold-plated mercenary, it was a society of mercenaries where gold, silver, and bronze were all that mattered when it came to protecting one’s own food.
“This is getting into trouble…”
Felber also muttered, clicking his tongue. Dallen suddenly looked away.
Without realizing it, my gaze, which had been following a familiar figure, was focused on the two people coming out of the clinic door.
One is a short dwarf. The other is a merchant with a handsome beard.
“Upper stock?”
While he was momentarily taken aback by the familiar face, a merchant who came out of the building and naturally looked around the street also spotted him.
“uh?”
A panicked voice. An expression of disbelief.
However, the embarrassment on his face immediately turned into joy, and the merchant raised his arms and shouted.
“Oh my God, Sisela! How long has this been! Dael…ugh!”
“quietly.”
And Dallen, who was startled by that action, immediately covered the merchant’s mouth and ran out of the alley.
“Uuuuuuu!”
“Unless you want to see me fight all of Lvivach’s mercenaries here, just follow me quietly.”
Merchant Volkmar Galios silently closed his mouth as Dallan whispered the words in his ear.