Chapter 275
Morning light spilled across the Ranfut Great Forest.
By the time Haruto finished packing his few belongings, Frieren, Fern, and Stark were already waiting outside the inn.
"Be careful from here on."
Frieren looked at him as she gave the quiet reminder.
Haruto nodded and waved to the three of them.
"This is where we part ways for now. See you again."
After saying goodbye to Frieren’s party, Haruto traveled with Wirbel, Ehre, and Scharf to Neutraal Port.
The salty sea breeze hit him the moment they arrived.
The enormous harbor was packed with merchant vessels of every kind, their masts rising like a forest above the docks. Merchants, sailors, and laborers streamed back and forth through the crowds.
Shouts from dockworkers, merchants haggling over prices, and waves slapping against the piers all blended together into the distinctive bustle of a major seaport.
Haruto spent three gold coins on a ticket bound for the Imperial Capital’s harbor.
There was no direct route from Neutraal Port to anywhere near the Northern Plateau, so anyone traveling that way had to transfer at the Imperial Capital first.
Haruto had originally considered simply bringing out Charizard and flying north.
There was only one problem.
Without a proper map, he had absolutely no idea which direction he needed to fly.
Frieren and Wirbel both possessed maps of the route to the Northern Plateau, but theirs were magically recorded and could not simply be copied.
Left with no better option, Haruto had to settle for the slower method.
Once aboard, the merchant ship followed the currents toward the Imperial Capital.
The brilliant blue sea stretched endlessly in every direction. Occasionally, schools of flying fish burst from the surface, while seabirds skimmed across the distant waves.
Haruto spent most of the voyage on deck.
While enjoying the sea breeze, he kept his En spread beneath the water, searching for monsters lurking below the surface.
Whenever some foolish sea monster decided to attack the ship, Haruto gained another batch of fresh ingredients.
Wirbel, meanwhile, did not waste the opportunity.
Every so often, he would strike up another conversation with Haruto, subtly changing tactics each time as he tried to recruit him.
Haruto had already explained quite plainly that his only reason for heading to the Northern Plateau was to search for ingredients that caught his interest.
Wirbel clearly did not believe him.
Eventually, Haruto either let the words go in one ear and out the other or brushed him off with the same answer every time.
"We can talk about it after I come back from the Northern Plateau."
Three days passed quickly.
When the enormous silhouette of the Imperial Capital’s harbor finally appeared on the horizon, the sailors aboard the ship broke into cheers.
The port truly lived up to its status as the heart of the Empire.
Its scale dwarfed Neutraal Port.
Dozens of massive piers extended into the water, enough to accommodate more than a hundred large merchant ships at once.
Fully armed Imperial soldiers patrolled the docks, accompanied by uniformed mages who remained constantly alert for possible monster attacks.
The crowds contained not only merchants but nobles from various nations as well.
It was easily the most prosperous city Haruto had encountered in this world.
The moment they disembarked, Haruto and Wirbel purchased tickets for the next ship heading toward the northern frontier port.
That harbor was the closest navigable port to the outposts guarding the Northern Plateau and the final major shipping destination before the Empire’s northernmost territories.
Early the next morning, their next ship left the Imperial Capital and headed north.
The color of the sea gradually changed from clear blue to a deep, almost ink-like navy.
The populated coastline disappeared as well, replaced by barren rocky shores.
Every so often, Haruto could see frontier watchtowers standing atop distant cliffs, their banners snapping violently in the cold northern wind.
Two days later, the ship finally reached the northern border harbor.
From there, they traveled inland for less than half a day before an enormous stone fortress came into view.
This was the Empire’s final defensive line along the northern frontier.
It was also the only authorized entrance to the Northern Plateau for hundreds of kilometers in either direction.
Massive stone walls more than ten meters tall stretched across the landscape.
Watchtowers and heavy ballistae lined the battlements, while fully armed guards seemed to stand at every few paces.
Now that Haruto had reached the outpost, he originally planned to simply fly beyond it.
Wirbel, however, volunteered to help.
As a First-Class Mage, he could easily sponsor Haruto’s passage through the checkpoint and get him legally admitted into the Northern Plateau.
Wirbel had his own reasoning.
Once Haruto entered the plateau, he would inevitably encounter demons sooner or later.
Every demon Haruto killed meant one less enemy threatening the frontier.
Of course, Wirbel was only willing to help because he knew Haruto was extremely strong and unlikely to die immediately after entering.
Otherwise, he never would have taken that responsibility.
Once Haruto passed through the fortress gates, he officially stepped onto the Northern Plateau.
The enormous doors slowly closed behind him, cutting off the voices from within the outpost.
A cold wind swept across his face, carrying the wild scent of vegetation and the faintly vicious presence of monsters.
Almost the instant he crossed the boundary, Haruto sensed more than a dozen sets of eyes watching him from the surrounding forest.
Some hid behind rocks.
Others lurked among the branches or deeper within the trees.
Haruto’s expression did not change.
He calmly brought out his metal staff and rested it across one shoulder.
At the same time, a heavy pressure gradually spread outward from him.
Several of the hostile gazes immediately shrank back.
A few of the more timid creatures disappeared altogether.
Haruto had come to the Northern Plateau to collect ingredients.
That did not mean he was interested in eating everything that moved.
Weak monsters were hardly worth the effort.
Ignoring the creatures hiding nearby, Haruto continued deeper into the plateau at an unhurried pace.
Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, scattering mottled shadows across the ground.
The forest was so quiet that he could hear little more than his own footsteps and the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Yet beneath that silence lurked countless threats.
Haruto had not traveled far when the ground suddenly began trembling.
Heavy footsteps approached.
Three enormous figures burst through the forest ahead and blocked his path.
Each monster stood seven or eight meters tall.
They resembled prehistoric dinosaurs, covered from head to tail in grass-green hide, with three sharp horns protruding from their skulls.
Their thick hind legs sank slightly into the earth with every step.
Dagger-like fangs filled their enormous mouths, and strings of saliva dripped from their jaws.
Their crimson eyes locked onto Haruto with undisguised killing intent.
Haruto’s eyes lit up.
He studied the three monsters from head to toe, his gaze lingering on their muscular hind legs and powerful tails as he immediately began evaluating them as ingredients.
’The shank should be great braised. There’s probably plenty of collagen in the tail, so that would make a good soup. The loin should be tender enough for pan-searing or grilling...’
The three monsters seemed infuriated by the way he was looking at them like cuts of meat.
The one in front charged first.
Its powerful hind legs slammed into the ground, carving a deep trench behind it as it lunged forward with its mouth wide open.
The other two moved almost simultaneously.
One swung its enormous tail sideways, the heavy limb tearing through the air toward Haruto’s waist.
The third lowered its head and aimed its horns directly at him before charging.
To Haruto, however, all three attacks seemed painfully slow.
He did not even move his feet.
A slight turn of his body was enough to avoid the monster charging from the front.
Then he casually lifted his staff and struck it squarely beneath the jaw.
BANG!
The seven-meter-tall monster, weighing several tons, was launched completely off the ground.
It flew more than ten meters backward before crashing heavily into a massive tree and losing consciousness on the spot.
Haruto immediately reversed his grip.
Two silver chains materialized from thin air and shot forward like serpents.
They wrapped around the remaining monsters.
The moment the chains touched their bodies, they tightened violently, binding the enormous creatures in place so completely that neither could move even a fraction.
The entire fight lasted less than three seconds.
Haruto clicked his tongue in disappointment.
As expected, there was nothing remotely impressive living this close to the frontier outpost.
Any truly dangerous monster had either already been eliminated by the guards and mages stationed there or retreated deeper into the plateau.
These three looked intimidating, but in reality they were only somewhat stronger than ordinary wild animals.
They were not even worth using as practice targets.
Haruto spent some time fully sealing all three monsters before storing them inside the Gourmet Restaurant.
He made a mental note to butcher them later and see what this dinosaur-like monster meat actually tasted like.
With the interruption dealt with, Haruto continued north.
And the deeper he traveled into the Northern Plateau, the stronger the monster presences around him became.
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