Seeing the place he had arrived at, Allen had a clear look of surprise on his face.

　He hadn't been told beforehand what kind of place they were coming to.
　You're going to have to wait until you arrive to find out, and although I thought that would be some kind of a surprise to me ...... this is completely unexpected.

It's not a village, it's ...... a town, isn't it?

　Yes, all that was supposed to be in the frontier was a village.
　This is not to demean, but to the reason why the frontier land is called the frontier.
　Simply put, it's an abandoned place.

　Of course there are people who seek such places, and Allen is one of them in a sense.
　And as long as people cannot live alone, it is natural for those people to gather together to create a settlement.

　But most do not come here, even if they are on the outskirts of society or do not fit in.
　As a matter of fact, it is still easier to live within the society.

　Hence, only a very few people come here, and there cannot be many of them.
　On top of that, for various reasons, they are all people who have never been aligned with society.
　There is no more than a village in terms of the number of people and the nature of each of them.

　--It's not a village, or at least that's what Allen had heard, but this place we arrived at was not a village at any rate.
　Even compared to the village I entered ten days ago, it's not as busy as it was.

　It's probably due to the fact that there was some trouble there, but even without that, it's still too different.

I'm sure you're right, ...... there's an adventurer's guild here, so you could practically call it a town.
"What, there's an adventurers' guild?　Then it really isn't a town anymore: ......

　An adventurer is basically a handyman.
　If you have people, you're basically good at your job, but whether you can make a good living is another thing.

　It's a matter of supply and demand.
　There must be an excess of demand or else there is no point in having a group of adventurers.

　And above all, a place is a place.
　Even if there is a demand, there is no guarantee that the supplier will be there.

　There are plenty of other places to work.
　There's no reason to come to the middle of nowhere.

　But the existence of the Adventurers' Guild shows that you recognize some value here.
　The Adventurers' Guild is not a non-profit charitable organization.
　There was a demand for adventurers here, and suppliers came, and the Adventurers' Guild decided it was meant to be an intermediary between the two.

Hmmm ......?　No, wait, ......?　I have heard of something like that somewhere before: ......?
"You can think about it, but first, why don't you do what you came here to do?
The purpose of ......?　Oh, come to think of it, that's what you came here for originally.
Hey, hey, let's not forget. What's important to you?
It's true, though.

　Allen and his team were not heading deep into the frontier for no purpose.
　It was to obtain Allen's new sword in the first place.

　The quickest way was to head to the city of the duke's domain, but I didn't feel like turning back after setting foot in the frontier, and that's what Beatrice and the others had suggested.
　Then there is a good place.

　And so we arrived here.
　The journey up to this point was fun, and the unexpected sights were so great that I had forgotten all about it.

Hmmm ...... I wondered how you'd get the sword, but this looks pretty promising.
"Yes, you can count on it, right?　Perhaps even in your eyes, Allen.
"Hmmm ......?

　I wondered if he knew someone or something, although he sounded familiar.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.
　It's really a good thing that you're able to have a good time with your friends and family.

　It's a good idea to check out what's actually going on before you ask, although the question of why your acquaintance is in such a place in the first place is a good one.

"Well, I'll look forward to it. I'll look forward to it.
"Yes, I'm in charge.

　Led by a vaguely happy Rees, Allen and the others began to walk through the city.

　By the way, since we can't go with a carriage, we left the carriage at the same time we came here.
　You're going to be able to find out what you're looking for.

　It's just too expensive.
　Even if you stole it, you would be found out at once if you tried to exchange it for cash and there is no place in the vicinity where you can exchange it for cash even if you want to do so elsewhere.

　However, materials, not just dragons, have meaning only after they are processed.
　If you keep them as they are, they are a waste of treasure, and moreover, expensive materials are not only rare but also difficult to handle.
　The material of the dragon is in many ways the best of all of them, so as expected, no one here would be able to process it.

　Although the town looks ordinary, a frontier is still a frontier.
　If he had that much skill, he could have been a henchman for the royal family, and indeed he wouldn't be in a place like this.

　Even if such a person existed, if you asked them to process it, they would be found out at once.
　It's a good thing that there's no one to steal, because there's nothing to be done even if you steal.

　You'll be able to find it right away, even if it were to be stolen.
　You're going to be able to find out what's going on with the rest of us.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with us.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot more information on this topic. It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what's going on in the world, because it's the only thing I've actually seen in the last village.
No. ...... If anything, this place is just special. I'm sure you're right, since everything else is just like that village. Well, I don't know much about anything else but .......
"Hmmm?　I wondered if my former family was doing something strange: ...... Maybe the royal family is involved here?
"...... is a secret?　Well, to be exact, I'm not so much involved as I am tacitly aware of it: ......



　With those words, Allen took another good, hard look at his surroundings and nodded in agreement.
　I thought it was strangely well-constructed, but it's probably the help of people other than those who live here.
　It wouldn't be surprising if they were secretly sending people from around the royal capital.

　And with that, I remembered what had stuck with me earlier.

I heard a rumor about a dangerous but delicious place in the Adventurer's Guild. As I recall, they make you do things that you can't tell others about in a place that is rarely visited?

　Although the words are only suspicious, I can think of one thing if that's what this place represents.

　The frontier is almost synonymous with being unexplored.
　It's just abandoned because you can't afford it, not because you think it's worthless.
　If someone would cultivate it, I am sure they would be willing to help you.

　And yet it's done in secret because ...... well, there's a lot of ties to it.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for when you're in the market for a new product or service. ......
A rumor can spread from one person to the next, right?　And, well, I had time. I've been collecting things to pass the time, and it's one of those things.
...... Well, you know, Mr. Allen. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Allen knows what kind of secrets you're keeping.
That's an exaggeration, though.

　While talking about it, Allen looked back at the structure he had just passed for a moment.
　It was a very timely place.

I see that there really is an adventurers' guild. And there were some unusual people here. Well, it's not so surprising, now that I think about it.
Oh, you mean "they". Well, I have my own thoughts on this, but as it stands, the only way for them to live in this country is to come to a place like this.
Well, ...... some elves and dwarves live in the royal city, but it's still difficult for them to live there, and some of them leave.
"Well, it's a tough question,

　Various human species inhabit this world, including human species, forest spirit species--Elves, mineral spirit species--Dwarves, subspecies--Beastmen, etc. However, the kingdom of Ad Astera is a country of human species.
　There are no non-human species among the nobles, not to mention the king, and even among the nobles, the number of other species in the country as a whole is only about 10% or even a minute of the total.

　It's not particularly discriminatory, the elves are skilled in magic and the dwarves are good at blacksmithing in general.
　But discrimination is more of an unconscious act than a conscious one.
　To begin with, being different from your surroundings is enough to make you feel uncomfortable.

　Nevertheless, if the country tries to do something about it, it will be a favor to them.
　Now there will be a voice against it, and ...... is nothing we can do about it for now.

　And it is natural for those people to come to these places, and it is also natural for them to become adventurers and so on, in a sense.

There are people who would not become adventurers, though?
"Hmmm, well, sure, there are things like elven magic and dwarven blacksmithing, if you can make use of what each individual is good at: ......

　The frontier is not free from discrimination and prejudice, but rather there must be a way of looking at things because of the frontier.
　It must take a lot of skill to make a living here with what they are good at.

　If your guess is not misplaced, the appearance of the men in the Adventurer's Guild tells you that it is not.

...... phew!
"......?　What's wrong?
No, I thought you'd be surprised, Allen.

　I didn't know what it was about, but I couldn't ask.
　You arrived at your destination before that.

Here we are. This is where I was going to bring you, Allen.

　The moment he was told and saw the house, Allen's eyes narrowed because he saw the sword propped up there.

　Perhaps because of his authority, Allen has a certain amount of confidence in his connoisseurship of swords.
　It was placed haphazardly in the doorway, but it was quite a work of art.
　At least it's much better than the one Allen destroyed.

　And what kind of house is that placed there?
　Either the armorer or the blacksmith.
　A continuous high-pitched sound told me which it was.

I see. ...... This looks really promising.
"Yes, stay tuned, won't you?

　While exchanging such an exchange, Allen and his friends stepped into the house.