"I don't have any friends in the Northern Kingdom. I can barely remember the last time I left the Vista Area."
The elderly professor with graying whiskers shook his head.
"When we met near the abandoned mine last time, didn't I mention that I was researching the unique customs and lifestyles formed after outsiders came to Creekwood Town? The original owners of this abandoned manor, the Kindel Family, were the most famous outsiders family in the area during the Creekwood Town Era. What a pity. Even that surname has vanished now."
"I heard the Kindel Family still has descendants here?"
"Yes, a daughter. She married a colonel from the military camp outside the city. He had originally been the descendant of a down-and-out noble family, and only achieved his current status with the support of the Kindel Family's wealth. After the Kindel Family disappeared, their descendants kept an extremely low profile, so I have no idea which colonel's wife she is."
Shade therefore asked another question.
"Then are there any strange local rumors about the Kindel Family?"
Professor Yuke Wood smiled and stroked his beard. Just as when Shade had asked him about rumors of the World Tree, the Kant Family, and the abandoned mine, he was happy to answer.
"Of course. Everyone knows that this outsiders family was wealthy, but no one can say exactly how many properties they owned. Creekwood Town's first railway was funded by the Kindels.
"Rumor has it that many years ago—at least two centuries ago—when the Kindel Family had first arrived here, they even tried to clear an orchard in the woods, hoping to change Creekwood Town's dependence on logging as its main source of income. The orchard flourished for more than a decade before declining. A rainstorm caused a natural disaster in the