Re:Crafting in Another World
Chapter 48: Meeting Maron

Chapter 48: Meeting Maron

Sir Maron sat alone at the corner of the most obscure tavern in the town which is not Josie’s tavern, his fingers lazily circling the rim of his mug. The place was lively, filled with the usual chatter of common folk enjoying their drinks and sharing rumors. His ears picked up a particular conversation at a nearby table.

"Ever since Lady Cassandra took over, life has been so much better," a man said, taking a sip of his ale.

"Aye! The roads are safer, the taxes ain’t crushing us anymore, and food is plentiful. If the old Baron stays sick, I say let him be!" another man laughed.

"Haha, exactly! If this is what it’s like with Lady Cassandra in charge, I hope the Baron never gets better."

Maron’s hand tightened around his mug, his jaw clenching. With a sudden movement, he slammed the mug down on the table with a loud THUD that echoed across the tavern. The chatter around him died down as all eyes turned toward the flushed-faced knight. His hiccups broke the silence before he growled,

"This barony is doomed... Doomed, I tell you! With that man here, we’re all finished!"

The people exchanged uneasy glances. Whispers spread like wildfire.

"Is this how a knight from the capital should behave?" one murmured.

"Drunk in public while on duty... We should report him to the Lady Baroness."

Maron let out a bitter chuckle, slumping back into his chair. His vision swayed from all the alcohol, and he muttered to himself,

"The devil isn’t with him... The devil is him. That’s why monsters bow to him..."

His mind reeled back to that day, to the humiliation he had suffered. Shennong, that damned man, had come to his own home, threatened him, left him with no choices. Even now, Maron felt the lingering fear, the icy grip of helplessness. He had done nothing against it. He could do nothing. And that burned inside him more than anything.

Just as he was about to succumb to his drunken stupor, he noticed someone approaching. A woman, hooded and draped in a cloak, quietly sat in front of him. Through his hazy vision, he peered up, trying to make out her face. The flickering candlelight revealed light pink skin underneath the hood.

His body tensed. A shiver ran down his spine as fear overtook him. His breathing turned ragged. Memories of that dreadful day resurfaced, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out in terror,

"D-Don’t hurt my family!"

The woman tilted her head slightly, her voice calm yet firm.

"Calm yourself, Sir Maron. I am not here to harm you. Shennong sent me with a message."

She reached into her cloak and placed a letter on the table. Maron’s hands trembled as he stared at it, making no move to take it.

The woman then extended her hand, turning it under the dim light, revealing smooth skin.

"The cut you gave me the other day... it has already healed," she said, her voice carrying a slight amusement. "A wise decision to fear us rather than oppose us."

Maron swallowed hard. His face contorted into a mix of anger and shame, but he said nothing. The woman stood up, her cloak shifting as she prepared to leave.

"Do not disappoint Shennong, Sir Maron."

With that, she walked away, vanishing into the night.

Maron sat there, unmoving, as the tavern’s murmurs grew louder. He felt their eyes on him—mocking, judging. He clenched his teeth, his fists trembling. With unsteady steps, he pushed himself up and staggered out of the tavern, ignoring the whispers behind him.

Once outside, he found a quiet alley and leaned against the wall. His breath came out ragged, his drunken haze mixing with his frustration. His fingers curled tightly around the letter before he finally tore it open.

His bleary eyes scanned the contents:

"Go to the capital. Bring people from the Merchant Guild to the barony under any pretense. Do this, and I will personally treat you to high-quality alcohol."

Maron’s face twisted in rage. His blood boiled as he crushed the letter in his hands and threw it to the ground. His voice came out as a bitter growl,

"What am I... his damn servant?!"

***

A large, weathered map was spread out on the wooden table in front of them, illuminated by the dim glow of undying torches. Shennong leaned over, his fingers tracing the various territories and borders drawn across the parchment. Yenissa, Rilith, Velara, and Romina stood around him, their gazes fixed on the map with curiosity.

"I got my hands on this thanks to Cassandra," Shennong said with a smirk, tapping a particular section of the map. "She had some juicy information about the geography of this land, and trust me, it’s quite the complicated mess."

Romina folded her arms. This was a rather familiar sight for her, as it was one of the official maps released by the Principality of Sturgon for the noble families. It was a valuable document, as no one could buy or resell it since doing so was illegal.

Shennong nodded. "Right. Let’s start with the nation we’re currently in—the Principality of Sturgon."

He cleared his throat before continuing, "Sturgon is a feudal principality ruled by Prince-Archon Garrick IV. It’s a land of strong cavalry, well-disciplined nobility, and rich mineral resources. Their knightly orders are famous across the continent, but... they’ve got their fair share of problems too."

Romina scoffed. "That’s putting it lightly."

Shennong glanced at her. "Since you’re from here, maybe you’d like to add something?"

Romina sighed. "Sturgon’s always been at war with someone. The nobles spend half their time bickering among themselves, and the religious conflicts never seem to end. We may have powerful knights, but that won’t matter if half of them are too busy fighting each other for their own beliefs rather than our actual enemies."

"Speaking of enemies," Shennong continued, pointing at the map, "Sturgon is currently at odds with the Leige Theocracy and the Inshan Shogunate which we have very little information because they are in the eastern continent. On the other hand, they have strong ties with the Harlow Empire and the Protectorate of Seamers."

Yenissa tilted her head. "The Harlow Empire and the Leige Theocracy? I’ve heard the names before, but I don’t know much about them."

Romina frowned. "I only know what the average Sturgon-born citizen does. The Leige Theocracy is an enemy of both Sturgon and Harlow, and it’s in a serious war with both of them. That war won’t be ending anytime soon. In fact..."

She looked down at the map grimly before continuing, "As we speak, battles are raging all over the continent. The conflict is only growing worse, and soon, it’ll spiral into something far beyond what anyone expects. Guessing from the amount of metals capital order from Lady Cassandra, I can guess the situation is dangerous."

Yenissa crossed her arms. "So it’s a full-blown war waiting to happen. Great. Just what we needed."

Shennong sighed. "That’s the reality of it."

Rilith tapped the table. "So, what’s our plan? Are we just gathering information, or are we going to get involved in this mess?"

Shennong hesitated before responding. "For now, we focus on understanding the situation. If the war spreads further, we’ll have to adapt accordingly. I don’t really care enough to get involved unless we get something out of it."

Romina exhaled sharply. "If you think we can just stay neutral in all this, you’re mistaken. Sooner or later, everyone will be forced to pick a side."

Silence filled the tent as the weight of her words settled over them.

"It’s just human problem. We won’t have anything to do with it," Yenissa muttered, as she turned around to leave looking like she didn’t really care about the whole war situation.

Romina sighed knowing her words had some truth to them.

Shennong then looked at another land called Shatari, about which he had little information—even Romina knew very little. In fact, she knew less about Shatari than she did about Liege and the Seamers.

However, for some reason, as soon as the name Shatari was mentioned, Yenissa had an explosive reaction, as if she knew something about the place. This confused Shennong, though he had a few hunches about why Yenissa reacted that way.

"Hmm~ Shatari’s motives and history remain vague to this day. It almost seems like they are a nation that always avoids conflict... and prefers to stay unnoticed," Shennong remarked about Shatari’s situation.

At this, Yenissa let out a sigh before finally deciding to share what she knew.

"We are what humans call demons. Even though we belong to the succubus race, humans would still label us as demons. But in reality, there are several different... races within what humans call demons," Yenissa said, pausing as she glanced at Romina and Shennong. Then, she decided to drop a bombshell on them. "The nation called Shatari is not a human nation. Instead, it is the only demon empire—at least, that’s what humans would call it if they knew of its existence."

Shennong knew that the demonic realm was not located in the mid-continent, so he was still confused about how such a land could exist and where exactly it was situated. Even Yenissa had no answer. Instead, she explained that demons entered the human realm through something called cracks, which appeared in different places at different times. Nobody knew what caused these cracks, and humans had been researching for centuries in an attempt to find a way to close them.

"Hmm~ that’s interesting," Shennong muttered.

Romina, however, wasn’t too fond of this revelation. Her human instincts told her that something dangerous was going on. But why should she even care when she had her own share of problems to deal with?

"I guess it is what it is," she said with a shrug.

Shennong smiled knowingly. The old Romina wouldn’t have reacted like that. He could tell she was being influenced by them.

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