Chapter 176 – Stopped Footsteps.

“By the way, did you say you came from Lantua? That’s strange. The Catsy must be a race that only lives in Parz.”

Jeremiah asked, but Helena couldn’t answer. She didn’t know where to start or how to explain it. When I tried to speak, the events of the past came to mind like a nightmare, so I couldn’t bear to open my mouth. It was Krikaliev who brought them here who spoke then.

“Didn’t the crown prince return this time?”
“It was. But what does that matter now… No way.”

She looked at them, as if Jeremiah belatedly noticed his words, which she threw in as if she didn’t care.

“Was the crown prince in Lantua?”
“Looking at the timing, it’s perfect. The Cat Sis went out and searched for the crown prince, but they couldn’t find it for a long time.”
“I couldn’t find it because it was beyond the cloud region.”

Jeremiah stroked her chin and she frowned at her strangely.

“Then you’re saying that you brought the royal family. You got the black throat. Did you do anything to incur a grudge?”

Even Helena didn’t know that. She was only seeing Usher’s condition as a doctor to treat him.

“Ask me about that later. This person also passed out and just woke up. And…”

Krikaliev cut her off and glanced at Belka, and Jeremiah shut her mouth. They were silent as if they were connected to something, but they continued talking as if it was like that.

“Was it like that?”
“Well, it’s like that. And you were kidnapped when you were quite young. You didn’t even know how to control it.”
“It can’t be helped. Come back later.”

It was a conversation that ended before Helena had time to say anything, but she decided to appreciate that fact for now.

“Then Usher…”

Belka looked at Usher worriedly, but Jeremiah shook her head.

“Leave the patient alone. He’s been sick for a long time, and his body is very damaged. He needs to be watched for at least a day.”

Belka couldn’t seem to get her feet off her feet, but she eventually got back on her feet. Helena also follows her girl outside and her blinding light stings her eyes. It seems like a lot of things happened today, but the sky was still shining with the sun shining brightly, and the white desert shimmered with sunlight. It’s hard to believe that she just cured Usher.

“Helena.”

As she stares blankly at the scene, she calls out to Belka, pulling her by the collar.

“Let’s find a place to rest.”
“…That’s how it should be.”

Helena agreed with her girl. She was still sore from being strangled by Jude, and her body was weak, so she wanted to lay her tired body down right away.

“If you’re looking for a place to rest, I know of a good place. Shall I take you there?”

Krikaliev, who followed them late, apparently overheard their conversation. Even if you suspect that there may be an impure intention.

“Before that, just give me some compensation for bringing me here. Doing good things and getting money is like that.

Steam leaked in the way he timidly asked for the money he had brought with them.

“Yeah, it’s a matter of course.”
“Because there was change from before. It is 2 gold coins and 4 silver coins.”

Belka took the money from her wagon and held it out, and he accepted it.

“Huh? You guys haven’t exchanged money yet? It was the same when I bought Devayaka, but gold and silver coins are different.”
“Because I was so out of my mind.”

At his words, Helena realized that they had forgotten to exchange money. She was distraught, but she was still held by Jude. There was no need to exchange iron coins because they only needed to be weighed, but it was still inconvenient to carry around, so gold and silver coins needed to be exchanged to reduce the weight.

“Because there is an exchange office on the way. Ask me to exchange money there.”
“The wagon…”
“Leave it alone. It’s a periphery anyway, and who’s going to mess with the wagon guarded by Hildisbini?”

So, they decided to accompany Krikaliev with only simple luggage and money. But before that, Helena noticed belatedly that Belka was covering herself with a familiar robe.

“The Grove.”
“Yes, it belongs to him.”
“First of all, I’ll change your clothes into proper ones.”

After briefly changing Belka’s clothes in the carriage, she immediately burned her robe as soon as she came out.

“Wow. It seems that the grudge is quite deep.”
“Stop talking nonsense and guide me.”
“Yeah. Follow me soon.”

Was it really a periphery among peripheries? There was a mangrove forest like the one the girls had seen when they came to Parz. Not even a separate wall was visible, so Helena looked around the dugout anxiously.

“Does it really matter if I leave it in a place like this?”
“Don’t worry too much. It’s safer than you think as long as it’s not in a place where water hits.”

Looking around at his words, the dugout where Jeremiah was was definitely separated from the mangrove trees rooted in the water. But that alone couldn’t shake the anxiety. Although Hildisviny will not allow the monster to approach now. Krikaliev, who seemed to have noticed Helena’s thoughts, continued her words.

“The mangrove trees that grow near Parz produce ingredients that monsters don’t like, so it’s not much of a problem.”

That must have been the reason why Parzu’s walls were absurdly weak. But when she first came here, she remembered what the guards said about monsters.

“But isn’t it possible to prevent all monsters?”

Otherwise, there would have been no need to issue a subjugation order to deal with the monsters before the festival.

“You’ve seen a bunch of pacitillas. They’re a bit of an exception.”

Since it’s an aquatic monster, there are some that are not affected by the ingredients emitted by mangrove trees in the air, but it seems that they have resistance. Thanks to this, they were almost the only monsters that inhabited the area around Parz, but instead, the number was so huge that if they hid in the canal, it would cause a stir. Farzra has so much water that it is called the city of water.

“Apart from those guys, don’t you remember seeing monsters separately?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen all kinds of monsters since I came here, including Armored Cricket, which I had met endlessly until I came to Parz. Not even the monsters that crawl on the ground.

“I can’t even see the monsters flying in the sky.”

It reminded me that I had never even seen a monster flying through the sky into the city before. Most of the monsters that invaded from Lantua were able to fly, so I felt unfamiliar.

“It’s like the mangrove trees are replacing the barriers. It’s a bit disappointing that the animals are more vicious instead.”
“You mean the animals…?”

For a moment, Helena questioned his words.

“I’ll find out about that later and let’s go to the exchange office right now.”

As I entered the village following him, I could feel eyes following me from all over the place. Belka was already wearing a mask. There were many times when I was stared at because of their looks, but this time, it feels more like curiosity.

“Looks like you have a lot of eyes.”

He said he couldn’t help it. Parz is said to be a city that was originally created long ago when Cat Si started to live together by digging the ground and cutting down walls in a suitable place to avoid the sandstorm and monsters of the desert. In particular, this area naturally developed into a city because it has abundant water, albeit salt water, mangrove forests that prevent monsters, and an advantageous location for trade with various countries.

“This is a city that was built a bit late compared to the inside. Do you think you know the reason?”

She remembered what Krikaliev had said when he came here.

“…Are you an outcast?”
“Yes. It is said that most of the people here are descendants of exiles.”

There were many people who coveted this place, where the Cattsis originally settled. Mostly humans did. The Cattsy have kept their nest by expelling them using their own disease. In addition, many were exiled for political reasons. Still, the medicinal herb was growing in Parz, so death was avoided, but it seemed that another city was created by losing the right to return inside and leaving or settling down here.

“Besides that, other races and people who lost their way gathered together to create another city like this.”

Is that why? It felt somewhat different from the inside of Parz they had been living so far. All the buildings were the same white, but if the buildings inside were smooth-looking buildings without any common gaps, the buildings here had clear gaps and patterns of bricks as if they were made of bricks. In general, there were many places where windows were covered or shaded with tents instead of glass in low-rise buildings. At least, the color of the building and the grape vines covering it told us that this place was the same Parz.

“That’s why sometimes when you hang out with a guy like me, you’re just looking around to see what kind of new recruits are here.”
“That’s a pretty unpleasant reason.”
“I can’t help it. It’s like the deep-rooted qualifications of the people here.”

Then, they arrived at a place where a man had set up a simple tent in front of a large building and had a simple table and chair under it. It’s hard to see in Lantua’s inner manor, but most exchange offices had this feeling.

“I’m here to exchange money.”

Krikaliev said that to the man at the money changer’s office and stepped aside as if to yield to them. Then he approached, looked over at them, nodded, and took out two pockets from under the table.

“The currency exchange includes a small fee. Is that okay?”
“Yes, it doesn’t matter, please exchange according to the amount.”

As Helena poured out the gold and silver coins separately on the table, he studied them closely for a moment, then twitched his brow. It’s such a fleeting moment that I can’t even notice it. After examining even the silver coins, he weighs them once in a while and silently counts the gold and silver coins piled up. It wasn’t long before he built a tower in units of 10, and then took out what seemed to be gold coins here, piled up similar numbers, and tried to take out silver coins.

“Eolssigu. Where are you messing around?”

That is, if Krikaliev hadn’t grabbed his wrist with a crude hand wrapped in an old cloth. The silver coin fell from his hand and rolled across the table as he gripped it so roughly that the wind blew it.

“Kkeuuugh! What are you talking about?”
“Why are you taking out the silver coin now?”

Helena couldn’t understand what he was saying, so she once again counted the number of coins her staff had pulled out and theirs. Although the numbers were slightly smaller in gold coins here. Usually, when exchanging gold or silver coins between countries, it was a matter of risking any loss. The profit made like that would go to the person who exchanged money, but it was an unavoidable structure.

“The numbers are similar, but isn’t it correct to think that this amount was deducted from the commission?”
“According to the customer, something like this is wrong.”

Then he said yes, but Krikaliev still held his wrist and did not let go.

“If it were normal, it would be. If it were normal. If this wasn’t Lantua’s currency.”
“What’s the big deal…!”
“Great water. It’s the currency beyond the clouds.”

At those words, Helena barely realized. It was just something to think about. Normally, it would be the same rule as above, but if it was a currency in a country where it was difficult to exchange across the cloud zone, its value would be different.

“I know one of the guys who works at the exchange office, and I’ve exchanged silver coins like this.”

If it was such a currency, there were plenty of people who would buy it, even if it cost a high price.

“He paid two silver coins for one gold coin even though he was a guy who calculated his profits thoroughly.”

It occurred to me that earlier when he gave him money he included change. Was that what it meant?

“He asked if he had gold coins, and he said he could beat the same gold coins several times. So there’s no reason to pay less gold coins and take out silver coins.”
“Kuk!”
“Check the calculation again. If you don’t like it, just ask that friend to exchange money?”