Tanzan Town

As Heti finished speaking, almost everyone present instinctively swallowed.

Only Betty was an exception—the little girl hadn't understood a word.

Rebecca couldn't help but think of the monsters that had destroyed her family's territory. Those monsters were products of the Magic Tide. Before this, she had always believed those monsters had wandered from the Gondor Wasteland, crossed the Great Wall, and invaded Ansu—after all, Cecil Territory was located on the southern border of Ansu, close to the Gondor Wasteland. If a Sentinel Towers had indeed malfunctioned, creating a breach in the Great Wall, it was conceivable that some monsters would escape.

But now, Rebecca couldn't help but consider a worse possibility—what if those monsters hadn't come from the Gondor Wasteland, but had naturally emerged within Cecil Territory?

What if those monsters... meant a new Magic Tide?

"Aren't we... getting a little too worked up?" Amber was the first to break the silence. The half-elf girl forced a smile, pointing at the notebook in Heti's hand. "It's just a diary left by a Wild Mage, and the contents are still unclear. Should we immediately jump to conclusions about a Magic Tide?"

Gawain didn't refute her. Instead, he nodded. "Hmm, it's possible I'm just overly anxious."

After all, he was just analyzing based on the inherited memories in his mind. While it felt good to recite seven hundred years of major historical events in the first person, after doing so, he himself felt it was a bit sensational.

"Exactly," Amber said, visibly relieved when Gawain nodded. "You've been dead for seven hundred years, and your mind is still stuck in the past—I know you experienced the Magic Tide back then, it's probably a psychological scar from that time... Ouch!!"

Rebecca hit the half-elf on the head with her staff, glaring. "Don't be disrespectful to our ancestor!"

Gawain looked at Rebecca's staff with a strange expression, thinking how this little girl hadn't felt it was disrespectful when she was using the "Staff of Repose" to beat up her ancestor not long ago...

"Regardless of how credible these matters are, once we reach Saint Suniel, we must report them to His Majesty the King," Heti said, returning the notebook to Gawain. "As for how much the King will believe... that's not something we can influence."

Gawain silently put away the notebook, suppressing his myriad thoughts.

Then he looked up, gazing at the giant "sun" in the sky.

Above the forest clearing, there were no tree canopies to obstruct the view, and the sky was open. A giant sun was now rising to its highest point of the day. That massive, oppressive corona of light was bringing light and heat to this world, as well as magical power.

Perhaps it was this last element that brought about natural laws so different from those on Earth.

Gawain's gaze roamed over the surface of the giant sun. Those faint, indistinct patterns should be storms on the surface of the gas giant. He tried to find those ominous dark red patterns but found nothing in the end. Those patterns were probably just fleeting phenomena, and they had all disappeared by now.

However, the sense of urgency in Gawain's heart did not disappear. He merely suppressed it for the time being and quietly planned his future path.

First, he would establish himself in this world. Although it was just a dilapidated old family... having a starting point was better than transmigrating into a desolate wilderness.

After passing through the dense forest, the journey became much smoother. Perhaps the "law of conservation of karma" truly existed, as the group never encountered any more monsters or strange "natural phenomena." They successfully reached the official road and even encountered a small merchant caravan along the way. After paying a considerable price, Gawain and his group finally escaped the predicament of traveling on foot over mountains and rivers, managing to sit in the merchant caravan's carriages to head to Tanzan Town.

The merchant caravan owner was a stout man from the north, who came from the kingdom's prosperous regions to this southern border to trade local specialties and herbs. It was said that he had originally intended to make a final transaction in Cecil Territory, but he had heard about the terrible disaster that had occurred there and had to turn back midway. Initially, the stout merchant was somewhat wary and resistant towards Gawain and his group, who carried an aura of battle, but Heti eventually persuaded the cautious merchant with two gold coins, even getting him to give up his own carriage.

Gold was indeed the most eloquent business negotiator (confirmed).

On the seventh day after leaving Cecil Territory, the gates of Tanzan Town finally appeared before them.

This was Gawain's first time experiencing a human town in this world up close. Of course, when he left Cecil Territory, he had climbed a mountain to get a glimpse of his nominal estate. However, at that time, the entire Cecil region had been turned into ruins by the rampaging elemental power and then sprayed into an abstract painting by a blue dragon that appeared from nowhere. It was truly impossible to discern any local customs or traditions. As for the Tanzan Town before them... it didn't give him a very good impression, to be honest.

It could even be said to be disappointing.

Tanzan Town was very large—that was Rebecca's description. Perhaps due to its location on the plains, fertile land, and proximity to the river, it was one of the most populous towns in the southern region, with nearly ten thousand people living on this triangular flat land. The White Water River flowed from the west, dividing into two before Tanzan Town, rushing past the northern and southern sides of the town. It irrigated a large area of farmland near the town and was also its lifeline for transportation. To the east of the town was a mine, which was the most important source of income for the entire town.

Yet, for a place with fertile land, a mine, and a river that could serve as a shipping route, a place that seemed like a geomantic treasure, what Gawain saw most after entering the town were sallow-faced commoners, countless low and dilapidated wooden houses, and streets filled with various unpleasant odors and filth.

Because civilization in this world was far from reaching a point where humans could dominate nature, and monsters and beasts were all confined to zoos, coupled with frequent conflicts in the border areas, the entire town was protected by a low city wall. The dilapidated commoner districts were piled up within the city walls, densely packed like moss and sores, crowding together. Those dilapidated houses were aesthetically unpleasing and at best served to shelter from wind and rain. From the city gate to the town center, there was a wide avenue, but the scenery on that avenue was not much better.

Gawain sat in the merchant caravan's carriage, looking at the scene on the street. He saw commoners in short shirts walking along the sides of the street. Only a small number of them wore shoes; most had rags tied around their feet, and there were even more destitute people who couldn't even afford rags mixed in. Walking in the center of the street were clearly people dressed much cleaner, with shoes on their feet.

There was no interaction between them, not even conflict. They just walked their own paths quietly, as if separated by a world.

Despite living in the same town and walking on the same road, they seemed like people from two different worlds, clearly divided.

Gawain searched through Cecil's memories, but found little to reference in this regard. Gawain Cecil came from the glorious Gondor Empire and grew up in a wealthy region. In that era and place, there were no such sights. Later, when the Gondor Magic Tide broke out, Cecil led his people to fight their way north. Along the way, everyone shared hardships, and there was no distinction between high and low status. Then Ansu was established, and the pioneers built a kingdom on a barren land, starting everything from scratch. Even the founding dukes and the king himself had experienced putting down their swords to work the fields. How could he see this scene?

And then... and then Gawain Cecil died on the southern border. This hero, who died young at the age of thirty-five, did not live to witness the day his created kingdom experienced wealth disparity.

So, he could only seek advice from "his descendant," asking about the rules on the road.

"Those walking along the sides of the road are serfs, as well as laborers from the mine," Heti explained. "There are also poor free citizens from the outer regions. They are not allowed to walk on the main avenue—because they couldn't afford to donate money during the construction. Those walking in the middle of the road are respectable 'citizens,' as well as merchants or mercenaries from outside. These people pay various taxes, so they are allowed to walk in the middle of the road."

Gawain remembered the fat merchant giving a few coins to the gate guards when the caravan entered the town—those must have been the city entry taxes.

Then he remembered the soldier who had already been buried in the forest—the son of a serf.

The fact that he could pick up a sword and die for the lord was a result of Rebecca's mercy. But even though he died for the lord, he was not allowed to be buried as a warrior: because he had not redeemed himself, he had not even redeemed his sword.

"Ancestor, is something wrong?" Heti asked, noticing the fluctuating expression on Gawain's face.

Gawain withdrew his gaze from the carriage and shook his head slightly. "No, nothing's wrong."

He was merely instinctively resistant to these matters as a transmigrator, but now was not the time for him to criticize or "correct" them.

Because he did not yet understand this world well enough.

After a brief moment of thought, he looked at Heti. "What are your plans now?"

Heti clearly had a plan. "First, we'll find the local lord. Viscount Andrew is a relatively easy person to talk to. Through him, we should be able to contact Knight Philip more easily. If everything goes smoothly with Knight Philip, we'll be able to find the people who broke through that day. Then, depending on the situation, we'll either settle the vassals here first or head directly to the royal capital. What happened in Cecil Territory cannot be conveyed by just one or two messengers; Rebecca must personally meet the King to explain the situation."

Gawain felt there was no problem (mainly because as an "ancestor" who had transmigrated and had a seven-hundred-year generational gap with modern people, he couldn't think of any suggestions). "Then let's do that for now."

(Second update! Vote if you have tickets~~)