Chapter 152

The city, Valentine.

A city they had not originally planned to visit.

Valentine had once belonged to the vast ducal territory that stretched from the northeast down toward the south.

However, among the countless villages and cities within the ducal territory, Valentine was well-known.

Whether travelers, merchants, or even some son who had run away from home out of curiosity,

Once they set foot in the ducal territory, the first place they wanted to visit was apparently Valentine.

There was only one reason why people so desperately wanted to visit Valentine.

"Valentine's specialty is distilled liquor due to its cool climate. Valentine's alcohol is of superior and unique quality, enough to be supplied to the royal family. And another characteristic is."

"There's another characteristic?"

"It has many beautiful people."

"Beautiful people? The beautiful people I'm thinking of?"

What was this about?

He had often heard that Seongju had oriental melons and Daegu had apples.

But was the equation "Valentine equals beautiful people" possible?

Beautiful people weren't weeds growing haphazardly in fields.

When he looked skeptical, Amelia smiled slightly and supported Leandros.

"I-it may be hard to b-believe, but it's t-true. People from Valentine are r-remarkably attractive. That's why n-noble houses also t-tended to prefer s-servants from Valentine."

"How beautiful must they be to have a reputation for beauty?"

"B-because of that, th-there are even rumors that the c-city has an artifact that p-produces beautiful people."

"That much?"

Verde suddenly cackled as if remembering something.

"Come to think of it, I recall something. When a mercenary band applicant says they're from Valentine, they first ask about marital status and whether they have a lover. If they're unmarried and don't have a lover yet, there's a high probability that the mercenary band itself could be disbanded due to love affairs."

"What? Just because of that?"

How beautiful could they possibly be?

Having had his standards raised significantly by Leandros and Russel from the previous iteration, he couldn't quite grasp it.

Anyway, that wasn't important now.

"More important than the city's characteristics is what's happening inside Valentine right now. From what we heard, heretics have occupied the city."

"B-but when Sir Leandros s-surveyed the village, wasn't th-there nothing unusual?"

"The lady's words are correct. But there's a considerable time difference between then and now. First, we need to understand what happened in the meantime."

"I agree with Leandros. The problem is that the city is blockaded. Even if we want to know the situation, there's no one to ask."

"It would have been good if we could use the Information Guild."

Leandros muttered.

Come to think of it, they hadn't visited the Information Guild in this iteration yet.

"Can the guild only be used in large cities?"

"Not necessarily. I've heard that depending on the case, they exist even in village units."

"It would be good if there's a village with a guild nearby."

"Since Valentine is such a large city, the probability of duplicate branches nearby is low, but I'll do my best."

He was truly reliable.

They spent that night in the barn of the farm where they had stayed, and during that time, Leandros moved alone on horseback.

Leandros returned with some news only late the next evening.

"I've asked around among merchant groups and travelers who passed through Valentine just before the blockade. The merchant group testified that from a few days before the blockade, shops within the city seemed to be unusually aggressive in purchasing goods. The travelers said they didn't receive any special impression from Valentine. However, they said that the temple they visited for prayer was tightly closed."

"Can a temple be closed?"

The Central Temple and deities.

What had Yurik said? He tried hard to remember, but all he could feel was unpleasantness.

It seemed that all that bastard had mentioned was something about his father.

But what was clear was that in this country, there was only one deity that the Central Temple served and the country accepted.

A deity who oversees and rules all things.

Therefore, unless it was inside the royal palace, a temple located in a place open to the general public was supposed to always be open as a principle.

"About the heretics too, there's no definitive information about what's happening inside. Still, thanks for your hard work."

"I'm sorry. I heard that the blockade of Valentine itself was quite sudden. That's why it seems there are few people who escaped the city in time."

"The reason for the lack of information might be because people are all trapped inside the city."

"Shall we head to Valentine?"

"We have to. But how do we get in?"

They also had business in Valentine, so they absolutely had to go there.

But how could they enter a blockaded city?

Sneaking into a city was a completely different dimension from sneaking into a village.

For a village, one could simply leap over a slightly high fence, avoiding the eyes of the guards.

But Valentine was a city.

There would be walls to protect the city from external intrusions.

And there would be more than just one or two eyes on guard or surveillance.

Moreover, what concerned him the most was his current condition.

Sneaking discreetly into a city when his injuries hadn't even healed?

What if his injuries worsened?

Damn it. Who knew a human body could be this inconvenient?

Leandros, Amelia, and Verde all seemed to think his body was the biggest obstacle.

"If there's a mercenary band here too, it shouldn't be too strict..."

"But if the city itself has soldiers..."

"Rather than that, perhaps a disguise..."

They put forth various ideas, but no pointed solution emerged.

Meanwhile, the snowman that had been dozing inside his cloak hood yawned and said.

"Everyone, worrying. Low-intelligence humans. The great body suggests a method."

"?"

"My worshipper, I freeze. Then other three humans. Carry frozen worshipper to city. In city, humans block? You claim. This corpse. Have human family inside. Then pass through."

What was he saying?

He tried to understand the snowman's words and interpreted them slowly.

"So... you're suggesting I pretend to be a corpse by freezing me. And the three people carry me and ask to be let in, saying this corpse has relatives inside?"

"Correct. Worshipper, I am the great Aphoom-Zhah. Study humans. Know well. Humans, love family. Then all enter."

After looking at the pompous snowman, he picked it up and handed it to Amelia.

Amelia silently put the snowman in the luggage bag, tightly tied the bag's opening, and threw it carelessly into a corner.

Returning to her seat as if nothing had happened, Amelia suggested.

"The s-security of a blockaded city w-will likely be strict. But w-we could create a d-distraction for a while."

"How?"

"Two p-people can draw attention at the c-city entrance and attract even o-other guards. Meanwhile, the o-other two people can enter from a d-different direction."

Leandros asked.

"For that, wouldn't we need to cause quite a commotion? I'd like to ask if that's alright."

"I h-have something in mind. P-probably Sir would act with His Grace, and I w-would go with Mr. Verde."

"Wait, even if we succeed in drawing attention, can this knight and His Grace enter the fortress? What if the city defense wall is higher than expected?"

In response to Verde's objection, Amelia looked at Leandros.

Leandros nodded once.

"It's fine. I roughly remember details like the height of the wall from when I visited the city for reconnaissance. If you can just draw attention, I think we can manage."

"...Really? Your Grace, will you be alright?"

"Well, if Leandros says so."

"...Really?"

Verde seemed quite doubtful, but he decided to put aside his opinion for now and kept his mouth shut.

We planned how to infiltrate Valentine until late at night, and barely managed to rest.

* * *

"Your Grace, is your physical condition alright?"

"If I don't move too much, I'm fine. Though I do feel a bit dizzy and tired."

"P-perhaps it's because you've b-been outside continuously. Mr. Verde. Is it a-alright for him to take more m-medicine now?"

"I think we should remove some of the soporific herbs then. Make the pain-relieving effect stronger instead."

By dusk, they had roughly finished their preparations.

They decided to leave the horses and patient cart at the farm and walk.

This was thanks to Amelia and Leandros's opinion that with four people, they would certainly be suspected if they brought along things like horses and carts.

So how would he move?

"Your Grace."

Leandros extended both arms.

As he stood awkwardly in front of him, Leandros lightly lifted his body and carried him.

He hadn't thought much of it before, but perhaps it was because his body was in pain now.

Leandros's arms felt hard and hurt him.

How much muscle did he have?

Amelia wrapped him tightly with a cloak and went to get herbs from Verde.

Leandros asked.

"Are you not uncomfortable?"

"I'm not uncomfortable, but I'm starting to wonder why I have to be carried in this position all the way to Valentine."

"You could be carried on my back, of course. But please recall how many of your ribs are cracked, Your Grace. Can you hang on my back?"

The Hero of Gallo and protagonist of this story was truly capable of everything.

Even delivering a factual blow so well.

Leandros spoke again.

"If it's comfortable for you, you can put your arms around my neck. It's more stable that way."

"I'd like to, but."

Because Amelia had wrapped him so tightly, he couldn't stretch his arms fully.

It seemed good to hold onto something, if only for stability.

After staring at Leandros blankly, he grabbed Leandros's collar tightly, as far as his hand could reach.

Whew. This was better.

"Your Grace."

"Yes?"

"In the common parlance, where Your Grace is holding is called the 'scruff of the neck.'"

"I know. Is it uncomfortable for you to breathe?"

"...No."

His expression seemed to have become a bit tired, but let's just ignore it.

It wouldn't be the first time he had grabbed someone by the scruff of the neck.

They heard Amelia calling them after she finished her final check.

Leandros moved with slow, large strides, probably out of consideration for him.

Valentine was within a few hours' reach if they rode their horses slowly.

But even with diligent walking, they could barely see the defense wall surrounding the city when the moon had risen overhead.

"Shall we split up around here?"

Amelia said worriedly.

"H-hopefully, though it's unlikely, I h-hope we can meet as p-planned by morning."

"Thank you, Miss Amelia. See you later. Take care, Verde."

As he watched the two heading toward the city gate, Leandros asked him.

"I thought Lady Arnold might be able to cross the wall with Verde."

"Well... I think she believes someone needs to play the role of drawing attention. But it is a bit unexpected."

"You mean what Lady Arnold said?"

"Yes."

Amelia had definitely mentioned it when they were planning in the farm's barn.

A method to concentrate attention without raising the guards' suspicions too much.

"How exactly... does she plan to keep the guards occupied with a role play?"