This was after we had confronted Bazin and the rest of the "Unguarded Volunteers" to the town guards.
　I observed again the modest appearance of the woman who called herself Krim.

'A monk. I thought it was a supportive rearguard position eventually.
'Han. Han, you kicked that bastard in the nuts. Don't you see what a dull, depressing job a priest is?
That's not what I said.

　I cocked my head from side to side at the old woman who sniffed sullenly.

'The monks of the church insist that their congregation be frugal and give to the cause, while they themselves wear lavish vestments of silk and embroidery.

　This was the first time I'd seen a monk without vestments, not even at home, so I didn't recognize him.

I haven't been to church for twenty years. I haven't been to church for twenty years and my vestments have long since been replaced by money for drinks.
Really? Excuse me, sir, but are you a maverick monk?
No, he's not. He's not. It's the current members of the church that are breaking the law. Or, they are equally worthless and equally loved before the will of the great God and the Spirit.
You're a man of extremes.
I know what I'm talking about.
Haha, I see!

　It's a way of thinking for us wizards, or rather, it's an interesting thing to hear.

The church leaders are all saying that if you pray every day, you can hear the voice of God and Tigon. When I was young, I used to pray hard every day. Thanks to this, I could not even hold a candle to the church leaders when it came to my magical healing skills.

　Later he told me what magic Krim had mastered, and from there I checked the old woman's Level, and it turned out she was a Level 18 Monk.

But even at 40 years of age and having never missed a day of prayer, I never once heard the voice of a god or a tigon. At first I was in despair. I was sure that I had done something wrong without realizing it, and that God and Tigon had abandoned me. That's why I decided to jump out of the church and quit being a monk.
You've been very fastidious.
'I don't know.　You were just tired and needed an excuse to skip work, weren't you?　In fact, I haven't been able to pray three times as much as I used to, since I left the church. I thought I would soon stop using my healing magic and become an ordinary person. However, God and Tigon have not yet taken away my healing magic. Strange things happen.
'Yeah, it's strange. Unless the church bigwigs are spouting lies like 'I hear the voice of God' and all that.
Hey, kid!

　Krim and I looked at each other as if we were playing a trick on each other and giggled at once.

'I like it, bloke!　And we can't forget to thank you for helping us out in a dangerous situation. Let me buy you a meal. I don't feel good when I owe people money.
Well, feel free to do so.

　　　　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.

　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find a way to make it through the day.
　From the way she looks, Krim probably usually seems to lead a modest life. She has not stopped being a "monk" in the essential sense of the word, although she has said hatefully that she has abandoned the church and has stopped praying.

　But she was a good-natured old woman who wasn't stingy about thanking people. Without me saying a word, she ordered one dish after another and the table was filled with plates.

"Come on, eat your food. "Come on, eat your food, and have more drinks as much as you want.
No, no, just a little bit of booze.
How can you be so pathetic for a young man?

　Krim laughed and pumped his wooden mug vigorously as if to set an example.
　I was careful not to get caught up in the old woman's pace, but gratefully accepted the offer itself.
　I guess it's a popular Alabama dish, but the chickpeas, ground to a paste and stretched in olive oil, are simply delicious. It's a great dish to put on bread, but despite the rich flavor, it's not too bad because it's a bean and you can eat it endlessly.

　It's just that I really can't eat it all the time.

'Is Lord Krim acquainted with Lord Ramsey?'
Yeah, yeah. Yes, that's right, I hadn't seen that guy since I found him on my travels a long time ago, when he was badly injured and I saved his life. I'm a bit of a vagabond. I still visit Ramsey whenever I'm passing by this place.
And we struck out with each other.
That old man is an old man who goes on a trip once or twice a year.
I guess so.

That's what it said in the section on Ramsey in the "List of Important Persons" in the "Strategy Book".
　And I just happened to come at that "once or twice a year" time.
　Oh my.....

　The descriptions in the Kamito's strategy book are incomparably accurate, but there is a limit to the amount of detail that can be provided.
　If it's essential to defeating the Demon King, it's described in minute detail, but the less important it is, the less text it is.

　The reason I looked to Ramsey as a guide for the excavation of ancient ruins is because of my own plan for the journey to defeat the demon king. It's my original plan of attack and strategy.
　If you can't get Ramsey on your side, you'll never be able to defeat the Demon King, and that's why Ramsey isn't treated as such an important figure in the Strategy Book.
I'm sure you've heard that he goes on a journey once or twice a year," but he didn't bother to tell us where he was going.

　It would have been more helpful to me if this had been a move.
　This "strategy book" was written by God, and the information is updated every morning at sunrise.
　That's right, the information in the book changes on its own to the latest one.
　That's why, if I had moved, the description in Ramsey's book that says "live in the town of Kalba" will be changed to "live in the town of 0×■" tomorrow morning and I would have tracked down the destination.

　I asked Krim for help.

'Do you have any idea where Lord Ramsey is going?'
Yeah, there's a few things. But you're not going after them, are you?　They'll be back in less than a month anyway, so wouldn't it be better to wait?
I don't even want to waste that time.
I said I had a few.　What if we've crossed paths?
I have this spell called the Towngate. I return to Kalba once a day to check on Lord Ramsey's return before breakfast.
A great wizard who claims to have defeated the Witch King.
Don't be sarcastic.
No, I'm impressed. I am impressed.

　Then the old woman thrusts out her plate, asking for more food and more food. The old woman thrusts her plate out, telling me to eat more and eat more.
　I had no choice but to reach for it, but I kept talking seriously.

I'm not sure why, but it seems that the "Unguarded Volunteers" are looking for Ramsey-dono. I'm curious about that.
Hmmm ... that's for sure.
They're infesting the country now, aren't they?　Lord Ramsey may be teased where he went. I won't let that happen.
I don't think that old man is going to get his balls kicked by a bunch of hooligans, but I understand the boy's concern. I understand the boy's concern.

　Krim called out to the serving girl and cancelled the drink he was about to refill.

'All right. It's a bacchanal to see if I'm right, but let's go find Ramsey where I think of him first.
Do you think Lord Krim will go with you?
Of course I'm going. I wanted to see Ramsey as much as you did.
Mmmm ... so that's it.
I'm fine!　I promise I won't pull the plug on the bloke. You believe in age.
All right. Well, if you insist, I'll go with you.
Well, we'd better hurry up and finish it!　We're not leaving until we've eaten all of this.
All of this?
You can't leave any of this behind!
"Nuh-uh...

　Thus I had a strange companion, and I was to search for Ramsey.