When I was playing FBO, I held this character in high esteem.
Among the many characters in FBO, if soone asked to na one I respected, he would be the first that ca to mind.
You might ask, "Why would you say that about a ga character?" But many players who interacted with him felt the sa.
Inviting such a person for recruitnt was out of the question.
Just as Liu Xuande visited Zhuge Liang three tis to invite him, so too must I make the journey. Having set out from the developed frontier village, ready to welco nad characters, a considerable amount of ti had passed.
The destination was a small town in the western part of the southern continent.
Its main industries were agriculture and livestock farming—the kind of town you could find anywhere on this continent.
"Hmm, there's still room for improvent with this carriage.""It was quite comfortable, but you think there's still room for improvent? If we modify it any further, it'll beco too conspicuous."For traveling to new lands, we continued using a primitive thod of transport.Though we've considered using golems to speed up travel, they're still too eye-catching to use at this point.
"If we make the appearance plainer, it won't be a problem.""You say that with such conviction, but few people would call this carriage 'ordinary.' The wheels are different from the usual ones. I've been asked about it by rchants when we camped."So, we traveled using a magically modified carriage with a plain appearance, pulled by ordinary horses.However, so functional aspects were impossible to hide completely.Even then, it attracted attention, as Nell pointed out with a deadpan look, but I ignored it.
Frankly, it would be far more efficient to make it self-propelled rather than relying on horses.I deserve praise for showing restraint and sticking with horse-drawn travel.
At the very least, to improve comfort, I adjusted the carriage's suspension and used weight-reducing magical tools to reduce the burden on the horses.
Unlike the roads in my territory, the roads on the continent were so bumpy they could be called bad roads.Traveling on such rough terrain would undoubtedly make you feel far worse than just motion sickness.To avoid an uncomfortable journey, I replaced the common wooden wheels wrapped in tal with rubber tires equipped with suspension, minimizing vibrations as much as possible.Still, the fact that so shaking persists shows just how bad the roads are.
For this trip, Lady Esralda and Nell accompanied .Or rather, I chose these two because I believed they would get along well with Gato, the "grandpa teacher."
"Master, we can see the town ahead.""Thank you, Genjirou."We were accompanied by five guards from the "Gardener Retainers."Genjirou was in the driver's seat, and the carriage was surrounded by mounted guards from the Gardener Retainers.
A carriage escorted by obviously formidable guards attracted even more attention than expected. I regretted not using a more magically modified carriage, but we finally reached our destination after the long journey.
"The town of Dure."Peering out the carriage window, I saw buildings surrounded by a small city wall.
The town had a population of about 3,000. It was off the main roads leading to urban areas, so only rchants coming to purchase agricultural products visited.
An ordinary town—the kind where, in a ga, you might expect so small event to occur in its peaceful streets.We weren't adventurers, and our escorted carriage drew attention, so we were stopped by the gate guards. However, showing the pass issued by the Edelgard Ducal House that I had arranged beforehand allowed us through imdiately.
Well, it wasn't wrong since Lady Esralda, the daughter, was with us.
The town mayor might have been notified, but I'm not a noble and had no reason to pay him a visit.
"Wow, as expected of a town focused on agriculture. Vegetables are cheap, and wheat is much cheaper compared to the capital. The quality is good too.""Transportation costs are a headache anywhere. If we could solve that, business would be much easier."Instead of heading straight to our destination, we first secured lodging and then headed to the market.As a rchant's daughter, Nell's eyes sparkled as she examined the goods, their quality, and prices, her face full of life.
"But if we arbitrarily change the logistics, people like adventurers who earn a living from escort work might lose their jobs.""Exactly. There are pros and cons to changing things."With Nell leading the way, followed by , then Lady Esralda in her noble attire, Genjirou, and two guards (the others stayed with the carriage), our group stood out imnsely.
We probably looked like a noble entourage centered around Lady Esralda.
Under various gazes, we searched for sothing likely circulating in the market.
"Oh, found it."It was a stall selling used books.The genres ranged from picture books and novels to diaries, and there were quite a few volus.
"Welco!""Mind if I take a look?""Of course! They're only used books, but please do."The shopkeeper forced a smile as he served a custor accompanied by nobles. After confirming it was okay to browse, I shifted my gaze to the books.
"I'm looking for books by soone nad Gato. I heard you could find them in this town."Unfortunately, the book I was looking for wasn't there.
'Retired Gato'
To trigger the flag for this quest, you first needed to purchase one of the "grandpa teacher's" books from a shopkeeper dealing in old books like this.
"Ah, Master Gato's books? I had one until just yesterday, but it sold.""That's a sha. Do you know any other shops that might carry them?"I didn't expect the flag to trigger directly, so I simply asked about places that might have the books.Addressing him respectfully as "Master Gato" and inquiring about his books made the shopkeeper look pleased.
"His books are well-written and sell quickly. They rarely appear because many people cherish them. Even rchants with proper bookstores seldom display them.""That's troubling."Yep, no doubt about it.Gato was in this town.
He lived in retirent, occasionally teaching the town's children how to read, write, and calculate.He also used his knowledge to help others, making him popular among the residents.
That's why the rchant proudly praised Gato's books with a smile.
"Hey, you. Are you an attendant or sothing for that noble lady behind you?"Glancing briefly behind at Lady Esralda, impeccably dressed and surrounded by guards, he lowered his voice to speak to .
"Well, I'm related.""I see..."I recognized the question from the ga and answered honestly. Watching the shopkeeper hesitate over how to respond, I...
"My lady has no connection with this town's mayor."I quietly inford him.
"Is that so? Then it's fine."For a mont, the rchant seed relieved.
I knew this flow too.
In FBO, there was an ironic setting where nobles were prone to envying commoners' popularity.
The mayor of this town was the head of a baronial family.And that baronial head harbored jealousy toward Gato, who was popular in the town.
As a noble, he was respected, and everyone treated him with deference.That alone wasn't a problem, but one day, after seeing Gato greeted with smiles and loved by the townspeople, he developed a competitive-like resentnt in his heart.
From there, the mayor's harassnt began—that was the gist of the quest.
"Did sothing happen?""No, sorry. It's nothing you need to worry about. Forget about it."The situation was essentially the mayor's baseless grudge against Gato, but the townspeople, likely fearing being driven out, couldn't act too strongly.
All they could do was help Gato without the mayor finding out.
"I see. Thank you."Perhaps because I was associated with a noble, he grew wary, and it seed I wouldn't get any more information.
Knowing the quest's outline, I realized the world was following a similar path and left the stall.
"This might be... a little bad."After leaving the stall and reaching a sparsely populated area, I stopped for a mont.
"Harassnt from a noble... oh, that stings."Catching on to the situation, Lady Esralda, who had remained silent until now, moved closer to join the conversation.She seed to have inferred what was happening from the used bookseller's deanor and the way he looked at her.
"...It's a common story for us, though you're different, Lady Esralda.""Again, that stings."The situation was just barely manageable.After hearing the stallkeeper's story, Nell's ears drooped with a sad expression, while Lady Esralda massaged her temples and sighed at the mayor's actions.
It was more manageable than if he weren't here, but there was no ti for leisure.Even though this should be earlier than in the original story, why is he already in such a predicant? I also sighed.
This world had started to deviate from the original due to my actions, but if even Gato, who was supposed to be retired, was in this state, I wondered what was happening with other nad characters.
In the original, the main route was to et him through his book, but this quest had a ti limit.
If the ti limit passed, the mayor's harassnt would escalate, and Gato, not wanting to cause trouble for the townspeople, would sell all his possessions and leave town with the money.
After that, he would never appear again.
From my conversation with the stallkeeper, it felt like there wasn't much ti left, even unrelated to the quest.
"Can we just go and et him directly?""We should bring a gift. Maybe so sweets?""That sounds reasonable."So, I decided it was better to ignore the flags and go directly to his location.
"I can go talk to the mayor.""That should be a last resort. If this were Edelgard Ducal territory, I'd ask you to do that, but this place belongs to a western duke's faction. If we provoke them carelessly, they might use their connection with as a bargaining chip. If things beco truly hopeless, we'll do that, but for now, we still have options. Let's minimize contact with the mayor.""Understood."Even if we entered a high-class shop, with Lady Esralda present, we'd be properly served.There, we purchased sweets and tea leaves, then headed to the residential area based on my mory.
There was no trash on the streets, and no vagrants were seen.We weren't harassed by ruffians, and no trouble arose.
It was clear the mayor was doing his job properly, but I couldn't help thinking, "If that's the case, why envy Gato?" as we walked.
Finally, we reached a slightly larger house with a garden in the residential area.
"Take this! Hah!!""Ho ho ho, yes, yes, well done!"In the garden, an elderly man was fending off attacks from three children while holding a wooden sword.
"Hah!!!""There you go~""Ah!"The scene was cheerful, an everyday sight that seed unaffected by any harassnt.
"Your advance was good, but you rushed. You should have waited a bit longer before attacking.""Yes, sir!""Mhm, mhm, your form practice is solid, and your sword strokes are clean. Keep practicing."He praised what deserved praise and pointed out what needed correction.Whether they were his students or not, the children, who felt they were growing under his guidance, smiled and responded.
"Oh? Is there sothing you need from ?"Noticing our group standing still at the garden entrance, he imdiately walked over.
He was elderly but well-built, with a straight posture.His white beard was neatly trimd, and though his hair had thinned, leaving only so on the sides, it was also well-grood.
Though not so tall that I had to look up, he was above the average male height. His gaze first went to Lady Esralda, but when I stepped forward, it shifted to .
"Are you Lord Gato?""Indeed, I am but a humble old man nad Gato."Gato himself showed no wariness, but the children were cautious upon seeing Lady Esralda's noble attire. To ease their unease, I smiled.
"My na is Liberta. May I have a mont of your ti?"Thus, I greeted him.
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