Welcome to the Special-Grade Guild! ~ The Beloved Elf Poster Girl Soothes Everyone’s Hearts ~
Chapter 162

162. Departure Preparations

And so, to head to the mines, we began by checking the route. We all peered at the map of this continent that Licht had taken out from a drawer. Ugh, I still don’t understand. It’s completely different from maps of the Demon Continent! On the Demon Continent, most of the land is connected, but on the human continent, there are many different landmasses, separated by seas. They don’t look that far apart, but apparently even the closest ones take half a day to reach by ship.

“Okay, we’re here, in this forest… to the northeast of the largest country, Tortiga.”

So, Tortiga’s the name of this country. Judging from how it’s in the center of the map, it’s probably the main country on the human continent. To the south, only the sea is marked, so that must be where the Demon Continent is. I confirmed, and they said that was right.

“The royal castle is just outside this forest, so it’s not that far.”

“Isn’t it in the center of the country… even though it’s the royal castle…?”

“Ah, that’s right. In other countries, there’s only one king. I completely forgot about that.”

Ravi-san clapped her hands as she said this in response to Ronny’s question. Eh? There’s more than one king…?

“Tortiga is a very large country. It unified the continent a long time ago… I don’t really know the details, but, the country’s become too big since then.”

So basically, they’d unified the continent, but it was difficult to govern. They’d appointed people to manage each region, but many were greedy and ambitious, and coups were a common occurrence. So the country thought about it.

It seems they decided to divide this huge country into four. Kings, ruling the north, south, east, and west, governing their own areas, and then nobles, managing smaller areas. There’s also an emperor, who reigns over the four kings, with their base in the center of the country. So basically, the four kings and the emperor make decisions, and then govern their respective territories. Ohhh.

So the one we’d been teleported to was the eastern king’s castle. Eh, so there are three more castles with similar ideas? I was worried and asked this, but Ravi-san just shook her head.

“It’s also possible that this was decided independently by the eastern castle… But with the way this country’s structured, the fact that they used a teleportation magic circle to summon Licht and the others, it’ll eventually reach all the castles. They can’t hide things from each other. I’m not sure how it works, but it’s probably some sort of magic.”

Apparently, it’s unclear if the whole country is our enemy or not. Ugh, if they are, it’ll be even harder to escape…! This feels a lot more… Demon King-like than the Demon Continent! The Four Heavenly Kings, and the Demon King, like!

“I don’t think the country would allow such things. But you never know who’s connected to who. So, we can’t trust anyone. No matter how trustworthy they seem.”

Those words reminded me of what Leo-jii had told me countless times.

『 No matter how kind they seem, humans are a race whose true intentions are a mystery. 』

I realized once again that those words were true. I need to be careful!

“So, um. The mine is in the southernmost part of Tortiga, almost in the center… here. It’s on the coast. The entrance is… if I remember correctly…”

“On the west side.”

“Ah, thanks, Ronny.”

The west side… So if we go from here, we’ll have to go all the way around, once we get there.

“The shortest route is to go straight through the country. It’s the safest route. Normally.”

“Normally, huh. So for us, who might be being pursued… it might be the most dangerous.”

“I’m glad my son’s growing up to be so smart…”

“When did I become your son!?”

Licht protested, but I’m sure he’s like a son to Ravi-san. And Licht, you’re just embarrassed, right? Probably.

“Back to the topic, another route would be to go through the neighboring country. We enter the neighboring country, head south, and then go all the way to the mine entrance on the west side by ship.”

I see. That way we wouldn’t have to stay in this country. Aside from the ocean.

But judging from her face, it doesn’t seem like she recommends it. I wonder if there’s a problem.

“But this route also has its problems. Two, to be precise. First, when we cross the border, they’ll contact the country. And Meg-chan and Ronny… you don’t have any record of entering this region. They won’t let us pass so easily, and they’ll definitely be suspicious.”

Ugh, that’s right. Ronny’s registered in this country, so he’ll be fine, but I’m technically… an illegal immigrant! Whoa, a criminal at this age!?

“The second problem is… we might not be able to get on a ship, for the same reason. Other than that, there’s a route where we travel through smaller villages. It’ll take longer, and there’s still the danger of being pursued, but…”

“If it’s within the country, smaller towns and villages… there won’t be any records, right?”

“That’s right. And there are so many villages and towns that it’ll be difficult to track us. But larger cities do keep records, so…”

Ravi-san said this with a mischievous grin. Eh, what?

“Haa. You’re just going to teleport us there, aren’t you?”

“You catch on quick! That’s right, we’ll just teleport into the city, secretly! And do the same when we leave.”

Kya~! That’s definitely a crime! I’m going to be a criminal even though it can’t be helped…!

“So, we’re going with this route, right?”

Licht said this with a sigh. Ravi-san nodded.

“It’s a detour and it’ll take a bit longer, but it’s the safest option. The other routes are risky, and it’ll be tough traveling with three kids.”

Ravi-san apologized, her eyebrows furrowing.

“I wish I were stronger… But is that okay with you? You two.”

“O-Of course! We should be thanking you!?”

“Yeah, me too…”

She’s done so much for us, she’s thinking things through, she’s wracking her brain to help us, there’s no way we could complain!

“Fufu, thank you. It’s an adult’s duty to help children. Let me know if you need anything.”

Ravi-san, smiling and patting Ronny and me on the head, is truly a wonderful adult! Ugh, I’m about to cry!

“Alright, now that we’ve decided, let’s get ready. We’ll leave at night. I’ll pack, so you kids should get some rest.”

“I-I’ll help!”

Licht said this when Ravi-san said that. I wanted to help too, but Ravi-san shook her head.

“I’m used to pulling all-nighters, because of my job. But you guys aren’t, are you? It’ll be troublesome if you collapse during our journey because you didn’t rest.”

“So go to sleep, for my sake,” she said, then headed to the back of the cabin. Sh-She’s such a good person…!

“…It’s frustrating, but she’s right. I need to become stronger.”

Ronny and I both nodded repeatedly at Licht’s words. And to do that, we need to rest, just like she said! I immediately took out three sleeping bags from my storage bracelet. I got them as gifts, so I still have two more! I grinned sheepishly at the two boys, who had their eyes wide open, because I’d suddenly taken them out.

“I have a bed in my room… but should we all sleep here? Thanks, Meg.”

“Yesh! Here you go!”

And so, the three of us got in our sleeping bags, huddled together. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I was so anxious, but… maybe because I felt safe being sandwiched between those two, I drifted off to sleep before I knew it. What happened to all that tension?