That must have been the Wyverns from before. Though their number must have been nearly halved…… However, instead of an atmosphere of crisis, there were many people walking around the town with smiles on their faces.
“The situation sounds serious, but it doesn’t seem that way……”
When I looked at the surrounding shoppers while speaking, the vendor started to laugh.
“They are sensitive to sunlight, so they usually don’t fly around that much around this time of day. It’s rare for them to attack between daybreak and sundown. Groups of adventurers have come here in pursuit of Sand Wyvern leather……”
“Ho, for a shopkeeper you seem well informed about monsters.”
When I offered him a compliment, the vendor waved it off and handed over two pouches of beans while laughing.
“A monster researcher just happens to live in this town, that’s all. Thanks to his guidance the damage done to the town has been minimized. Ah, that’ll be three sok.”
“Such a talented person live here-, oh, I only have silver coins.”
I handed over a silver coin. The vendor handed me seven copper coins as change before resuming the conversation in a lower tone.
“Furthermore, the researcher is one of those rarely seen elves.”
Ariane stepped forward when she heard that.
“There’s an elf living in a human town!?”
Even she was surprised by her outburst as she had to hold down her hood and look down to prevent her eyes and mouth from being exposed.
“Y-Yes. The feudal lord prepared a special house for him and he’s been living here for ten years or so.”
The vendor had been surprised by the seemingly calm person’s sudden shout, but he managed to answer the question.
“Where would the elf researcher’s residence happen to be?”
Since that was what Ariane wanted to know the most I asked the vendor about it.
“Well, it’s right beside the lord’s mansion and is heavily guarded, so you can’t carelessly go there, you know?”
“What, I was just asking out of curiosity. Anyway, you wouldn’t happen to know the way to Lanbaltic, would you?”
The vendor looked doubtful when I asked about our original purpose, but after thinking it over for a bit he and called out to the older vendor.
“Old man, you said that you were a peddler in your youth right? You know anything?”
The old man with a stubby beard looked in our direction as he smoked a pipe.
“To get to Lanbaltic from here you need to head west from the Hibotto wastelands. The Leving mountains should come into view west of the wasteland.”
The man spoke in a leisurely manner while he puffed smoke into the air. If he was telling the truth, then we’ve taken the wrong path. The southwestern path at the fork in the road was probably the correct one.
We thanked the two vendors and left. I poured some of the roasted beans in my hand, causing Ponta to smoothly leap from my head and start stuffing her face.
“What do you want to do, Ariane-dono?”
When I looked back into Ariane’s eyes I saw that she hesitated for a moment. She looked up to reply…… but I already know what she would say.
“I would like to meet with this elf researcher.”
I nodded at the expected response.
It was said that the researcher was living under the protection of the lord, but elves were often the target of slavery in human society. So this situation seemed a little unbelievable.
Based on what the vendor said, it seems that the researcher was being held captive in this town.