Ch. 24
Chapter 24: Returning
It was not until dawn
that Jiang Lin woke up in another inn, having already changed into a different set of clothes.
What had happened the night before had clearly not caused any greater panic.
Perhaps that was also due to deliberate arrangements by that knight, making sure no one leaked the news.
So at this hour, the streets of Gerson City still looked perfectly normal.
Even if someone had heard the commotion last night, they would not have guessed what it was.
The prosperity of Gerson City was also something Wheatfield Town could not compare to.
Pedestrians came and went through the streets, and quite a few merchant caravans could be seen as well, hauling goods bought from other territories into the Gerson territory for sale.
These caravans generally hired Mercenary Bands to escort them, since not every territory bordered directly on another.
There were always wild and desolate regions in between, and the dangers found there were not something ordinary merchants could handle.
That led to one of the organizations that existed in nearly every territory across the Central Nations.
The Mercenary Guild.
From what Jiang Lin understood, the Mercenary Guild was not only a place where one could register as a mercenary, but also a place to accept jobs posted by others, such as merchants hiring escorts for cargo.
That was how people earned money, or other rewards.
The Mercenary Guild was spread throughout almost all of the Central Nations, and could be found in nearly every noble’s territory.
It was not the only one. There were also organizations established officially by the Lors Empire, such as the Craftsmen’s Guild and the Professional Certification Association.
Compared with the Mercenary Guild, which was spread across the continent, those latter two organizations were far less numerous.
Most of them existed only in larger cities.
There were also mage organizations such as the High Tower Academy.
【High Tower】 did not belong to any nation, but it maintained deep cooperation with the Lors Empire.
After graduating from the High Tower, ordinary mages—aside from the talented few recommended by their mentors—would generally choose to seek work somewhere within the Central Nations.
Of course, the status of a mage was respected anywhere.
Even in this border city, Gerson City, there had once been three mages.
Only, Jiang Lin had killed one of them earlier.
In general, high-ranking mages would not come to a remote border city like this.
As Jiang Lin walked through the streets, he took out the list and bought the things Martie needed.
His Divine Sense still remained focused on the inn where the battle had taken place last night.
At that moment, only Knight Leon remained inside the inn, and he had brought only his two personal retainers with him.
Standing beside him was a man who was not very tall, yet whose body looked strong and sturdy.
In particular, that man’s arms were much thicker than even Knight Leon’s.
That was the result of years of training. This man was clearly a craftsman.
The purpose of this visit was simple: they wanted to determine what kind of sword Jiang Lin had used to pin the demon girl to the wall the night before.
Jiang Lin felt nothing in particular about that. If someone could truly reproduce the Cangwu Sword just from that sword mark, then he would only be impressed.
But if they wanted to trace it back to him, then this knight was likely wasting his effort.
Jiang Lin knew that Knight Leon only wanted to use him to learn more about the demon girl.
But Jiang Lin himself knew less than Leon did.
Keeping his Divine Sense trained on them, Jiang Lin calmly stepped into a shop.
Freshly baked bread gave off the fragrance of fermented wheat and roasting heat, something those dark loaves could not compare with at all.
Jiang Lin picked out a few loaves. This kind of bread was naturally more expensive than black bread.
Still, Gerson City possessed a great deal of fertile farmland, and since taxation was not especially heavy, the price could not rise too high.
Walking back out with the bread still warm in his hands, Jiang Lin tore off a piece and ate it in small bites. Although he had once been able to cultivate without needing to eat much, after spending a year in this world, he had grown used to it.
Delicious food could always bring a brief moment of pleasure. Why not enjoy it?
Feeling the aroma of the bread burst across his mouth, Jiang Lin’s lips curved into a faint smile as he slowly made his way toward the next shop.
On the second-floor corridor of the inn, Knight Leon watched the craftsman, who sometimes frowned in thought and sometimes took out measuring tools.
At last, Leon asked, “Well, Master Dick?”
His two retainers beside him were also staring without blinking.
The forging craftsman named Dick thought for a while before speaking.
“This is a weapon I’ve never encountered before. Unlike most swords, this one is much narrower. If the material is not strong enough, a blade this slim would not be suitable for combat.
But the hole in front of me tells me that the material used for this sword was probably something similar to Dawnstar Iron. Only then would the blade have such strength while also retaining a certain flexibility, and such extraordinary sharpness.
That kind of material is not something a border region like ours could possibly possess.”
After pondering for a while longer, Dick reached out and ran his fingers across the sword mark again, then guessed,
“An ordinary knight also would not use a sword like this. It is very likely a warrior, and a high-tier berserker at that.
After all, every warrior’s weapon is custom-made for its owner.
A warrior like that should not appear in a place like ours. Perhaps he was merely passing through.”
For this craftsman to deduce so much merely from the sword mark Jiang Lin had left behind showed that he truly did have some real skill. Only, everything he guessed afterward was completely wrong.
“Where would materials like that generally be found?” Knight Leon asked with a frown.
“In the western part of the kingdom. The Sunset Mines produce a small amount of material like that,” Craftsman Dick said, then smiled.
“Though that is only a guess. Dawnstar Iron is produced in such small quantities that it is usually only mixed in a little when forging weapons. To make an entire sword out of it would be somewhat extravagant.
At the very least, only the royal family would have that kind of wealth. Of course, those unscrupulous merchants are an exception.”
“The Sunset Mines belong to Sunset Territory, under the Grand Duke of the Western Marches. It should not be from there…”
There was no way a warrior from the Grand Duke’s territory in the west would come here.
Knight Leon rubbed his brow and thought for a while before asking, “If possible, could you forge an imitation sword based on this mark?”
“Of course. I will do my best, Sir Leon,” Dick replied with a bow and a chuckle.
“Two apple pies, two bottles of fresh milk, and some Gerson cheese.”
Inside another shop, Jiang Lin spoke.
He had already finished buying everything on Martie’s list.
When he walked out of the shop, Knight Leon had also just stepped out of the inn.
Withdrawing his Divine Sense, Jiang Lin wore a faint smile and slowly headed toward the city gate.
At the end of the street, Knight Leon’s figure emerged from the inn.
Jiang Lin’s expression remained perfectly calm as he brushed past the knight.
Leon, who had been speaking in a low voice with Craftsman Dick, noticed him as well and could not help giving him a second glance, though he said nothing. His mind was wholly focused on finding the whereabouts of the swordsman.
“Sir Leon, I should be able to finish it in about three days. When the time comes, your retainers can come collect it,” Craftsman Dick said at the side, only to notice that Knight Leon seemed to have frozen in place.
“Sir Leon?”
After calling out to him several times, Leon finally came back to himself, his expression as strange as if he had just woken from a dream.
“Did any of you hear a voice just now? A man’s voice?”
Leon looked at Dick and his two retainers with confusion.
“No one spoke. Perhaps you misheard,” Dick said, shaking his head.
The two retainers also shook their heads, looking completely baffled.
Leon’s expression turned even stranger.
He had clearly heard a man’s voice just now.
Then, all at once, Leon reacted. He turned his head and looked toward the city gate.
He remembered the black-haired, black-eyed man who had just brushed past him.
But when he looked toward the gate, he could no longer see that man anywhere.
Leon suppressed the shock in his heart and recalled what the man had said.
“You’ve got it wrong. I don’t know that demon. That’s all, Sir Knight Leon.”
The more Knight Leon thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
The other party knew his name, and also knew that he was investigating him.
And he had used such an unbelievable method to speak to him without anyone noticing.
Leon had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of magic.
How had that man done it…?