Labyrinth Story 234

Chapter 234 – 228 Ouling, the Village on the Bridge

As they got closer to the bridge, the group was surprised to see that the size of the bridge was larger than expected.

= With. Are your legs bigger than you thought? It should be 50m wide.=

=There are houses standing in a row on both sides of the bridge……. The house is also a brick house, not a shack. Will the legs be able to withstand the weight….=

Excluding the house built at the end of the railing on the left and right, Issilite expresses anxiety at the wide appearance of a four-lane road.

The house is about the size of a small house, but it is an architectural form that goes well with the bridge, as if it was built with all calculations, rather than forcibly attached.

Yurpa showed great interest in the bridge structure rather than safety and sparked curiosity.

= There are traces of magic used in the construction of the bridge. The construction method is also arched, so it can withstand the load well…… As for the material, if hardreck was specially hardened and applied, the stability would be sure, but the technology to prepare for erosion…….=

=Yuri unnie, what is Hardleg?=

=… Huh? It’s a variant of Slim that has the property of becoming very hard when sprayed with special chemicals.

By Slim, do you mean a cleaning sap monster that cleanly decomposes wastewater generated in daily life? Hwanin listened to Yurpa’s explanation and inspected the bridge village.

Because it is a hill, it is not difficult to take a look at the whole view of the village.

‘It’s a town like a shopping mall.’

As soon as I saw it, the first thing that came to my mind was the shopping mall street. A street that looks as if it could turn into an arcade if you put a vaulted ceiling on top of the road.

The clothes of the residents who roam sparsely are clean, and the streets are clean. The house is also tidy, although not as much as the farhists, whether they pay attention to maintenance.

= Ah~. If you used magic and monster materials, your legs would be strong.=

=Once you look at the structure, it is revealed everywhere in the traces built by someone who specialized in architecture. Does your house look a lot alike? I mean it was built by the same person…… Ah! I remembered now I heard that there is a hardreck origin near here, but Ouling is the hardreck origin. Somehow, I heard that there are not many hardlegs on the market, but most of them seem to be used for bridge repair.=

Hwanin, who turned his gaze from the bridge while listening to the conversation of his girlfriends, looked around the farmland spread out near the gateway.

If you add the farmland on this side of the river as well as the other side of the river, it seems that it will be able to produce food to feed about 200 households.

They raise quite a few livestock that look like food, and you can see vegetable gardens and orchards…….

‘Here’s the reason I’m not obsessed with trade.’

Food is self-sufficient, and merchants come and go occasionally, so there must be no reason to trade by boat.

Seeing this, even though Hwanin was a little bit strange, I felt strange. The soil quality seems good, but I wondered if it was necessary to build a village on an uncomfortable bridge.

If there is a means to protect the bridge, it should be easy to respond to the invasion of foreign enemies…….

‘Isn’t it that they don’t mind attacks from the same humans?’

But. Most of the villages and villages that Hwanin had visited so far had fortified their defenses by assuming an attack by wild beasts or monsters, but it seemed that humans and war were not in mind.

I don’t think beasts or monsters will wage an earth battle, so considering the defensive advantage, I don’t think a village like that is bad.

Hwanin, who was on the right road with his girlfriends, looked at the gate blocking the entrance of the bridge, then slightly tightened his forehead.

It was because of the white flowers that bloomed profusely near the gateway.

‘Is it a colony of Illil flowers?’

In front of the gateway, Ilil flowers are blooming everywhere except the road. A small forest was formed on one side of the road, but the Illil flowers invaded the forest where the sunlight was not good.

It is almost seen as a measure to monitor Honjae entering the village.

The female friends, who had been following behind a bit, also talked about it as if they were suspicious.

=There are too many Ilil flowers.=

=Isn’t that the level of a mixed follow-up?=

= Certainly…….=

Hwanin, who was examining the Ilil flowers, found a small cemetery between a small forest and a gateway.

The cemetery was also covered in Ill’il flowers, so it was late to find it. If it weren’t for the spirits gathered there, I wouldn’t have found it.

The problem is the number of souls.

“…….”

Hwanin’s eyes deepened.

At first glance, there are about 40 tombstones, both new and old. But the soul is over thirty.

The cemetery in Wayford where Elkata was the gravekeeper, there are over a hundred tombstones, and if you do all the charnel grounds, you can easily get over hundreds of them. ….

After examining the gender of the souls, Hwanin realized that out of the thirty-three souls, only two were male, and all the other thirty-one were female.

It is also young or middle-aged women who belong to the axis of beauty.

Feeling a premonition of the incident, Hwanin focused on the emotions of the souls.

“…….”

Among the 33 souls, most of them were killed, and they felt resentment, resentment, anger, and sadness. The wave of negative emotions brought out a memory that Hwanin had put aside in his head.

‘The Inho Tribe who murdered their lovers and buried them secretly in Carton Village.’

Hwanin closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of Marte, a man with brown fox hair who mobilized the village bullies to incite rape and even encouraged murder.

It was several years ago that the incident occurred in Carton Village. The hoodlums who were executed as accomplices knew nothing, and there was no information obtained from the village patrol.

I tried to provide a montage of him to Farhist’s Yeolsa Guild and asked him to track it, but I gave up halfway after receiving the answer that I couldn’t track it because there were too few clues. Why did I feel his scent here?

Hwanin’s eyes glistened once with the intent to kill.

He likely guessed it, but insists his intuition has something to do with it.

=Doryeong, Doryong.=

“…… Did you call?”

“There are a lot of Ilil flowers, but I can’t see anything? Is it mixed.=

“There is no confusion. Instead, there are many souls.”

=… How many?=

“80% of the number of tombstones”

At Hwanin’s answer, Yurpa and Isilite whispered in low voices.

=The leap year was last year, so why are there so many souls… ?=

= Didn’t you fail to call the spirit master? Poor villages sometimes skip the Seungryeongcheonje because they can’t attend the spirit priest.=

= Ugh. I don’t think it makes sense that a village with legs like that couldn’t serve a spirit priest because it was poor.

= That’s it too……. Maybe it’s because there are many villages and few soul priests?=

=That makes sense.=

As they were moving towards the gate while listening to the whispers of the two, the eyes of the people working in the fields began to focus on Hwanin and his party.

People wearing muddy clothes and engrossed in field work gathered in twos and threes and made a small noise.

= Where are the precious people…… ?=
=Aren’t they escorting the nobles?=
= Those precious people leave the wagon behind because they are sick and ride the que to ride? He is not a noble.=
=Then the old family?=

For some reason, neither the conversation nor the facial expressions reveal a very friendly attitude.

When Hwanin felt something bothering him, like a little bit of sand in his shoes, the female friends stopped talking and quietly followed Hwanin, as if they had heard people buzzing.

A moment later, upon reaching the gateway, three hesitant female guards stood in the way, obviously nervous.

= Stop…… Tenshow.=

Is it a senior guard?

Hesitating whether to talk to himself or to talk to the girlfriends behind him, Hwanin gets off the lamp first, and the girlfriends get off as well.

Cheekduck, Cheekduk.

A heavy metal sound came from inside the gray hooded cloak. This is not the sound of adding sheet metal or wearing chains. It’s the sound of armor with at least 70% of the sheet metal.

And that deep aura…… The senior guard, who swallowed saliva, spoke to Hwanin with a timid look.

= Uh… Come on. The riverside town of Owling. Where are you from?=

“This is the way from Farkhist. Participate in the great festivals and tournaments there, and on the way to Rasubitan.”

I thought it was a woman because the body shape was not like a man (beast), but a man’s voice came out unexpectedly and the guard was taken aback, but she didn’t show it too much and glanced at the Hwanin party and asked.

= Oh, yes. I… Are you going to cross the bridge then? Passing tax is 20 Dong per person and 10 Dong per vehicle.=

“No. I would like to stay for a few days. What is the toll tax in this case?”

= The entrance tax is 30 Dong per person and 20 Dong per ride. =

= No, what is so expensive? It’s five or six times the tolls of other towns.=

I didn’t even pay taxes, so why me…… Thinking so, the guard, who was about to take a dissatisfied look at the tall gray hooded cloak, wiped away his dissatisfied eyes once again confirming the density of the clear and thick aura.

=That’s because the price includes the fee for using the bridge. Almost 80% of the toll is spent on repairs and maintenance of the bridge.=

“Then two silver coins.”

= Yes, yes. It’s four people and four dogs…….=

=Wait a minute, do you want to pay for all of that?=

You have to pay everything to get in. As she was about to take her silver coin out of her pocket, her phantom looked back at her, wondering what Anne was talking about her.

= What is it, didn’t you register as an adventurer with the administrator? Oh hey wait a minute Hey, Mr. Guard. I’m a freedom fighter of the Order of the Earth God. I have a church ID here, but there is no discount for clergymen?=

= Yes, yes? Oh, of course there is. Please wait a moment.=

The guards who quickly entered the gate came out with the guards of Aura, a warrior who seemed to be about 3rd class after a while.

Perhaps because he was a professional, he was a guard who wore chain-plate armor and a sword properly, unlike the guards who only had leather armor, iron breastplates, and spears.

The female guard, a professional, looked at her group of Hwanin and made an expression like, ‘Isn’t that for real?’, Then carefully held out her crystal ball for identification with her two hands.

=Who is the priest of the Church of the Earth God?=

=It’s me.=

As Anne stood in front of her and took off her hood as she spoke, the guards who were gathered or looked down from above her gateway gasped in amazement at her beauty.

Then, taking her mark from her bosom, Anne placed it on her crystal ball, and her soft amber light began to flow from her ball.

The guard who saw it put away the crystal ball and nodded.

= Confirmed. You only need to pay 1 silver coin with a 50% discount on toll.=

Was there a toll discount? Hwanin quietly paid 1 silver coin and passed through her gateway to enter the village.

“Is there a toll tax discount if you register as an adventurer with the administrator?”

= Uh The area you register will be toll-free for several years. Other areas will be discounted by about 50%.=

“The administration did not give such guidance.”

=If you don’t register, your tax revenue will increase. If you don’t ask or register, they won’t guide you. Probably.=

Hwanin, recalling the map of Radsea he had received from Galot, remembered that there was a city on the way. The magistrate is only in the city, so you can stop by there in the middle to find out.

After organizing his thoughts, Hwanin looked around the village.

The village was more pleasant than he could see from afar.

I thought that the densely lined houses, like alleys, would give a sense of closure, but most of the houses were 1-2 stories tall, and the road, about 10m between the houses on both sides, was small in the middle, but the landscaping was also decorated, which greatly reduced the desolateness caused by the stone material. .

Maybe it’s because it’s near the gateway at the end of the bridge, and you can see various shops on the left and right, and a few people who look like villagers are passing by on a four-lane road. Little children are also laughing, chatting and playing.

= Are you okay? The house is not dirty, and the roads are carefully maintained, so there is no filth.

= So…… I thought it might shake a little, but it doesn’t seem to be any different from the ground.=

=People come and go quite a bit, but seeing that there is no shaking, it seems that a typhoon will not budge. Right?=

=Yes.=

While Isilite and Anne were whispering, Yurpa approached Hwanin and asked.

= Self. Are you going to rest at an ordinary inn today? Or are you going to visit Sado or the house of a local leader and ask for a room?=

When Yu Lepa asked if he would reveal that he was buying a soul, Hwanin thought for a moment and answered, looking at the shop-like house next door.

“Is there a temporary rental house in the village?”

= I don’t think there will be. In terms of the number of furniture, it is similar to a carton, but the area is only about half that of a carton. There were only two rental houses like that in Carton.=

“Well.”

= Master. Coincidentally, there’s a leather craft shop over there that sells beast hides. Shall I ask and come?=

“Please.”

= Huh? I’m going too. =

After she nodded, Isilite unloaded one of her subspace bags from Kurti’s backpack and went into the shop right next door with Anne.

Through the window, the store owner can be seen getting nervous facing the 6th and 4th grade workers who have suddenly entered.

The farmers outside the gate earlier were more vigilant than necessary, but was there something, or were they nervous because they were nobles and high-ranking professionals?

After a while, she nodded her head with her face relaxed after having a conversation, and then she faced the 12 pieces of beast hide and touched it here and there, the hostess checking her quality.

She agonized over her story with Isilite, and then the shopkeeper took all 12 of her hides, and she placed several shiny silver coins on Isilite’s hand. Put it up

Afterwards, she said a few more words, and then she gave up a pair of Qual’s horns, and all the organic matter such as the bones and claws of beasts and demons, and she received two more silver coins.

Creak-

=…… Hey go~!=

The wooden door screamed and the shopkeeper’s greeting was heard.

= Master. There is an inn on an island in the middle of the village, and there is an outbuilding that is rented out for the company or group guests.=

=The inn is clean, so it would be okay to stay. How about going to the inn first? Or you can go into a suitable house and ask if they can rent it out for a few days.=

“There will be no need to rent a house. We go to the inn.”

In the middle of the bridge, there was a square-shaped watchtower that could be seen from afar, and people were passing through the passage below it to the inside of the island or to the opposite street (bridge).

Hwanin and his party entered the island through the watchtower and came out to a shopping street square that was not inferior to the city.

=…….=
=…….=

The people gathered in the plaza, the people walking on the street, and the shopkeepers in front of the greengrocer’s shop looked this way.

Thinking that the concentration effect was greater than expected, I asked a nearby wolf-eared woman where the inn was, and she informed me that it was in the northeast of the island.

After wandering for a while, the inn I found was a building that somehow removed the old feeling of an old pub in Europe.

= Hello! It’s an owl inn~!=

As soon as you enter, the lady who was serving in the hall greets you with a bright voice.

Receiving the greeting, Hwanin looked around the inn hall and saw the peaceful attitude of the guests.

People who are not professional, but are dressed in comfortable clothes wearing weapons. A stocky woman who appears to be the innkeeper standing at the counter. A kitchen that can be seen through one open wall and the people who come and go busily there.

No strange gazes gathered here.

As I walked to the counter, the innkeeper with a good figure greeted Hwanin with a big smile.

= Hello? They seem to be famous adventurers that would be a shame to have them at our inn. I don’t know if you’ll like them.=

“Compared to making a campfire and sleeping on the street, a shack is a great haven.”

= Ho ho ho. That’s right. Ah! If you have any ideas, visit the old family’s mansion in our village in the north of the island. You will receive it as a valued guest.=

High family? Could it be that it was a territory ruled by the Go clan rather than the apostles sent by Farhist?

“I’m going to take a short break, so I decline. On the way, I heard that there is a separate building. I want to borrow it.”

= Ah…… What should I do? The people of the upper ranks who came first occupied the one and only annex, so there is nothing left.

“I can’t help it. Then, please give me the best room for 4 people. There are four Kue in the group, so please take care of them.”

=The best room is a 4-person room on the 3rd floor. Other than that, there are 2 double rooms left.=

“Two double rooms.”

=Two-person rooms are 10 fairy tales a day. There are paid and free ride management, but the paid one is one fairy tale per day per horse, but we provide a proper stable. I also clean every day.=

“I’ll pay for three days first.”

= Thank you. Here’s your room key. Ira! Guide the four mounts in front of the inn to the backyard stable!=

Hwanin, who paid 72 dong, received two keys, and went upstairs first, was able to see a room that was of a satisfactory level.

A room about 7 pyeong. The bed sheets and blankets were properly washed and smelled good, and the tables, chairs, closets, and storage cabinets were also cleaned and there were no broken places, so the feeling of cleanliness was strong.

When I approached the window and opened the wooden window, a strong, humid wind blew and took off the hood.

“…….”

With his bangs trimmed, Hwanin had his eyes wide open to the horizon and the wide, blue river that ate part of the horizon.

The scenery is fine too. The sound of the waves between the blowing wind is not bad. But for some reason, it feels like an invisible shadow has been cast over the town.

‘There’s no way a village with 30 murdered souls will be all right.’

Cue~ Cuckoo!
Kurleung.
Coo?

Hearing the cries of Que, he looked down and saw Bisang and Que gathered in front of a wooden stable, and female friends unloading their backpacks from their backs.

When I pushed my upper body out of the window sill and looked to the north, I could see part of the three-story mansion on the hill where the high family of Ouling lived.

“…….”

Hwanin’s eyes sank deeply.