Chapter 55: The Boy and a Certain Town
April 1st, 305 Yamato calendar
A horse was running through this seemingly endless vast plain of Moruro.
On its back, is a slightly young boy.
His name is Godrick.
A young woodcutter living in a nameless village located in a small forest at the westernmost edge of the Moruro Empire.
Unlike the plains ruled by the Moruro people, the forest where he lives is safe.
Born on the plains, raised on the plains, and died on the plains.
The people of Moruro, who are inhabitants of the plain, they dislike the densely packed trees and do not come into the forest. As long as they’re in the woods, they’re not in danger of being attacked.
In the dimly lit forest covered with trees, economic activities, and agriculture are not easy to do, but… It is much better than being attacked by barbarian tribes.
Now, one may wonder why a boy living in such a safe area would ride a horse through a plain where barbarians could appear at any moment…
“I could see it, it’s the town of Juno. It’s always big, however many times I look.”
The destination is a port town surrounded by defensive walls.
He’s on his way to do shopping.
Medicine, clothes, spices, axe. These essential supplies for living are not produced in the forest village. In order to obtain it, one must acknowledge the danger and cross the plains to go to the town.
Juno, the town he arrives at, is surrounded by massive walls at least 20 meters high. Originally it was created as a countermeasure against monsters, however, it was later expanded to halt the invasion of the Moruro people, resulting in its current enormous size.
These tall massive walls are so daunting that even the Moruro people, who are reputed for their bravery to turn their back and think, “Ah, this is troublesome.” when they see it.
Similar to how a country bumpkin who has just arrived in Tokyo might be awestruck by the city’s skyscrapers, Godrick is heading towards the gate while gazing at the walls.
As soon as he arrived at the wall, two cheerful guards greeted him with a smile.
“Oh, isn’t it the brat from the forest village? You’ve grown a lot.”
“The last time you came here, you’re as tiny as bean grains.”
Godrick dismounts from the horse.
The well-built guard is laughing heartily and teasing him. Godrick isn’t small in stature either, but… At the end of the day, he is at the age when the kids grows hair. He is still small when compared to adults.
“Shut up, when I came here last time, it was a month ago, right? Like hell my height would change that much in a month.”
Being teased puts Godrick in a bad mood… But the truth is that he doesn’t feel all that bad about it.
The population of this region declined drastically under the rule of the Moruro people.
The only remaining settlements in the area are Godrick’s forest village and the town of Juno. And their population is also decreasing little by little… By now, everyone is already an acquaintance.
Even these guards are like older brother figures to Godrick, much like his own relatives. They have a close relationship.
“Hahaha, kids sure grow up fast. So, you’re running errands for the village again, right? Are you here to buy some medicine or a new axe?”
“It’s medicine. The village chief got his back hurt.”
“Oh, that grouchy old man… Must be tough, having to travel across the plains like that.”
“Right? No matter how many lives you have, it won’t be enough.”
Crossing the plains.
The danger of that is equivalent to breaking through a minefield.
It’s a day’s distance by horse from Juno town to Godrick’s village. In the meantime, if the Moruro people find him, he will be torn to pieces and fed to the lizards.
“…Well, it can’t be helped. I’m at the bottom of the village.”
Godrick said, shrugging his shoulders.
The life of an individual in the lower ranks of this world is cheaper than the life of a Soviet soldier.
“Right. I’m also at the bottom. That’s why I have to stand in front of a dangerous gate. Well, go inside, because you can see something interesting.”
A guard opens the gates and invites Godrick in. The other one continues to be on lookout.
“What is so interesting, anyway? In a town surrounded by barbarians like this… What the heck is that?”
Guided by the guard, Godrick passed through the gate and entered the town.
As soon as he entered the town, he gasped in surprise. What he saw was… It was a completely different city from when he came here a month ago.
The town of Juno is like a labyrinth with its narrow streets reminiscent of the medieval times.
The difference to other towns is that this town is located next to the sea, and there are waterways all over the place.
And that town…
“Look, amazing, isn’t it? The roads have been widened, and the harbor has been improved as well”.
It had been significantly remodeled.
The wide main street runs in a straight line from the city gates to the harbor, and there was a crane in the harbor, a structure that Godrick, being a country bumpkin, had no idea what it was for.
Furthermore, in the middle of the widened main street, there is…
“Hey, wait, what is that? There is some kind of strange monster moving around.”
Trucks buzzing around, spewing exhaust fumes. There are a large number of railroad rails on the cargo bed.
It is a truck made in Yamato.
It’s managed by a large company from Yamato that has expanded its operation to the town of Juno.
“Oh, those are automobiles, it’s almost like a living creature. It seems like they are transporting materials from the harbor. Go to the plaza, see those mysterious piles of iron bars?”
“Iron bars?”
“Ah, it seems they are going to build something called a railway. I don’t know the details either.”
Not knowing the details. The guard shakes his head.
He showed the town from just outside the town gates, “Well, I can’t leave the gates because of work, so look around the rest of the town on your own. Also, don’t offend the Yamato people.” He told Godrick before returning to the gates.
Godrick is now alone in front of the town walls.
For now, he thinks he is going to buy medicine for the village chief’s back, and he casually walks into the road…
A loud honking sound, and a high-pitched brake noise.
“Whoa, what the heck!”
Then, his legs suddenly gave out. A truck suddenly stops with a hard brake in front of him.
“Hey, you fool! It’s dangerous if you jump out suddenly, this is a driveway!”
Godrick, who was stunned, was scolded by the driver.
“What the heck is ‘driveway’.”
Despite hurrying to return to the sidewalk, Godrick still completely doesn’t understand what’s happening.
It’s not surprising.
When last he was here, it was a proper fantasy town, but now the town had been drastically transformed into a town filled with cars.
……
…………
………………
“So, what’s going on? Auntie. Isn’t this town crazy?”
“Oh, you don’t know?”
That’s the reason he complains to the auntie at the drugstore. Come on, auntie, tell me what’s going on in this town.
In response to Godrick, the auntie looks exasperated and says, “The reinforcements are coming. From a country called Yamato.”
“Yamato? Reinforcement?”
“That’s right, apparently there is a great country across the sea, and it seems that country is coming to help this town of Juno. The renovation of this town is its preliminary preparation.”
“Hah! That’s impossible, right? Even Balka who is famous for their elite soldiers, can’t beat the Moruro people, you know? I do not know what kind of country Yamato is, they will be defeated too, right?”
Even that Balkan can’t win.
In contemporary Japan, this would be a phrase comparable to ‘even the U.S. military can’t win’. If even the strongest group can’t win, so there’s no chance of winning.
it carries such a connotation.
“You think so? But you know, it’s still just a rumor…”
It seems that Yamato is the country of God. Yes, the auntie continued.
“Huh, Country of God? There’s no way gods exist, right? If there were such a thing, the people of Moruro would not be on the rampage and do whatever they want.”
“But actually, this is almost certain. The Balkans are saying, ‘We’re fighting back against Moruro with the Goddess of War.'”
“That Balkans says that?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Besides, you too saw the iron monster running in the town, didn’t you? If they can handle a magical creature like that, they must be quite something, even if they’re not gods.”
“You mean, the automobile? I hate that creature.”
Godrick snorts with a huff. Seeing him like that, the auntie laughed.
“You almost got run over, didn’t you? Like suddenly carelessly walking into the driveway. You’re slow, I can tell without even looking.”
“…Tsk.”
Godrick, who couldn’t say anything because it hits the nail.
As if to deceive her, “…Give me some medicine for back pain, the old man from the village wants it” he said, starting a business negotiation.
“Then, it’s three Balka silver coins. if you want… I’ll even take a Yamato yen, if that’s okay with you?”
“Yamato yen?”
When Godric asked back, the auntie took out a piece of paper with a proud face.
“This bill. This piece of paper is now more valuable than a gold coin.”
“A piece of paper like that?”
“That’s right, this one is officially approved by the Yamato government. This is what people all over the world are desperately trying to collect right now. With this, we could smoothly conduct trade with any country, whether it’s Balka, Yamato, or any other place.”
“Heeh… I don’t have such a piece of paper.”
A piece of paper has value.
That’s not the case, is it? Godrick looks curiously at the bill.
“…Well, I don’t have any silver coins though. Look, here are the usual herbs I’ve picked from the forest for barter.”
Saying so, he handed over the medicinal herbs that he brought. Auntie agreed to the transaction with a feeling of ‘well, can’t be helped’.
“Fine, well, I’d like to say that, but this will be the last time”.
“Why? There’s no money in my village, remember?”
“It can’t be helped, now we are starting to get cheaper medicine from Yamato. I can’t afford to keep making medicine from herbs either. We buy cheap from Yamato and sell them.”
“What did you say?”
In Godric’s rural village, where there is no monetary economy, there are no Yamato yen or even silver coins in circulation. Everything is bartered.
What if, under such circumstances, a transaction with currency is demanded…
“…So, what should we do from now on?”
“How about making some money? Right now, there are jobs related to Yamato all over the town. The salary is good, and you can earn many times more than what a woodcutter working in the forest would earn.”
Upon hearing that, Godrick was troubled.
It does take resolve to drastically change the lifestyle he had until now, but… Seeing the changes in this town, he realizes that he must also change or he will be left behind.
Yamato, huh… As he muttered the name of the one who had changed everything, he left the drugstore behind.
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