The Strongest Family Has Arrived! - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

—–CROW—–

Here it was!

König, a port city on the eastern coast of central mainland, bustling with the energy of the crowds.

It was the mainland that we had finally set foot on after a long week at sea.

“Ah, this is it.”

Ryan stretched out his arms and took a deep breath.

“I am now free!”

As if welcoming his release, the large and small ships at the pier sounded their horns, and the fresh smell of fish drifted on the sea breeze from the nearby fish market.

Livan scoffed at Ryan.

“Weren’t you free a week ago?”

“I’ve finally set foot on mainland. My freedom starts now.”

“Let’s get an inn.”

“Sigh!”

Ryan frowned.

“Why when I have land!”

“You crazy man!!!”

Livan fumed.

“How many times do I have to tell you that we’ll die if we go there!”

“Ah, no, we won’t. It’s fine.”

“I was prepared to die, but that didn’t mean I’d end my life as monster food!”

“Don’t worry about it. I won’t let you die in a monster’s belly. This hyung will take care of everything. Let’s go!”

“What do you mean let’s go!”

Livan shoved the map in front of him.

His finger was pointing at the land that Ryan now owned,

Belzer.

“It’ll take at least six hours to walk there! It’s been decades since anyone has gone there, so the roads are probably gone! And!”

“…”

“Let’s say we had to go there. There’s nothing there, so we’d need to buy all the necessities in the city before we go? You’re going to walk half a day carrying all that luggage?”

“Why walk? There are carriages everywhere.”

Ryan gestured around him. As he said, there were many hired carriages waiting for travelers at the pier.

The drivers were each shouting their destinations: “To Roburg!”, “To Bonnitz!”

“Heh heh…”

Livan, who was laughing with his eyes covered as if he couldn’t believe it, said,

“Let’s eat first. We need to show this sheltered young master how things work.”

***

A nearby restaurant.

As it was a restaurant right next to the port, it was bustling with travelers. A man who had just finished his meal picked his teeth and shouted,

“Going to Bonnitz!”

“Customer! We’ll take you for 4 gold!”

“If you’re going to Bonnitz, I’ll take you and your two companions for 3 gold!”

There were many carriage drivers inside the restaurant. They were all sitting there, waiting for customers who were finishing their meals so they could take them right away.

“Watch carefully.”

Livan, after looking around the bustling restaurant for a moment, stood up.

And he shouted loudly,

“Anyone going to Belzer!”

At his voice…

Everyone went silent.

The inside of the restaurant, which was so noisy that you could barely hear the person next to you, became as quiet as if someone had poured cold water over it. Everyone was staring at us as if we were crazy.

‘Hmm, as expected, this is the kind of reaction I’d get.’

I had expected it.

Ryan, unfazed by the chilly reaction, raised his hand and shouted,

“But what if it’s 10 gold?”

Belzer was close enough that you could get there with your luggage for 1 gold. So 10 gold was a very profitable business, but…

“What? No one?”

Surprisingly, no one showed any interest….

“50 gold?”

Silence.

“100 gold…?”

There was no sign that they were interested.

‘They must see it as a life-risking job.’

If that was the case, then even 100 gold was not enough…

As Ryan, shocked, sat back down at the table, Livan scoffed.

“Young master, do you get it now? Let’s eat and then go find an inn.”

“Are you from a foreign country? You must be travelers.”

Then, the restaurant owner, as he served the three bowls of stew we had ordered, said,

“Belzer is a dangerous place, and there’s nothing there. If you want to go sightseeing, Bonnitz or Roburg are good.”

“No. We’re all from the Empire.”

I quickly said.

“We also know about the cursed lands.”

The ‘cursed lands’ were located at the edges of the east, west, south, and north of the mainland. From there, monsters, called *masu*, would periodically appear.

No one knew why the cursed lands were created. They just guessed that there was an unknown dimension, and they considered the cursed lands to be connected to that dimension.

“We also know that Belzer is dangerous because of the eastern monster front.”

And ‘Belzer’ was an estate that was located right next to the cursed land of the east.

In other words, it was the first place to be attacked when monsters appeared, and it was also the last line of defense during subjugations.

“But as far as I know, the eastern front subjugation ended a few days ago. So shouldn’t there be at least half a year before the next monster appearance?”

The good thing was that the monsters appeared about every half a year. Once a subjugation was completed, there was peace for half a year.

“Then why is everyone so reluctant to go to Belzer when we shouldn’t have to worry about monster attacks for a while?”

“…”

The owner, looking as if he was thinking that there were crazy people who knew everything and still wanted to go there, still spoke kindly.

“For ordinary people, meeting a monster means death. Of course, it’s true that it hasn’t been long since the subjugation ended, but who knows what could happen. There probably isn’t a driver who would risk their life for a few coins.”

He sighed and added,

“I don’t know why you’re trying to go there, but don’t risk your life for pointless curiosity… Anyway, there aren’t any roads left that people can use, and it’s hard to walk there, and even if you only want to go to the outskirts of Konig, which is close to Belzer, there aren’t any carriages that will go there…”

He finished by saying “Enjoy your meal,” and left.

We were silent.

‘I was definitely thinking based on ability user standards.’

Just looking at Livan, he had clearly stated that he had no intention of going to Belzer while we were on the ship.

But Ryan had no worries. What could scare an ability user with an instant-death power?

And I didn’t either.

‘I already made sure I have a way to protect myself…’

But what about normal people?

If they encountered a monster, they would definitely die. I understood their reluctance to go anywhere near it.

‘But I have to go.’

Belzer. It wasn’t for nothing that I put my mind to working out a way to get that estate.

‘That’s where the money is.’

Belzer, aside from the fact that it was next to a cursed land, was a goldmine in many ways, and it was also the best base for Ryan to train his ability from now on.

‘I have no choice.’

I put my hand inside my skirt.

“….?”

Ryan, who was next to me, looked at me strangely, but I ignored it.

I felt around my thigh and found a brooch. It was the cheapest among the emergency funds that I had sewn into my petticoat.

*Thud.*

I tore it off and placed it on the table, and Ryan was shocked.

“Why do you keep pulling things out from under your skirt like that?!”

If my alliance with Ryan failed, I had planned to move alone. Of course, I had other pockets.

“Since it’s our first time going there, we need a guide at least once. And we have a lot of luggage. Even if I have to pay a little more, we have to find a driver to take us to Belzer the first time.”

I clutched the brooch. Livan, whose mouth was hanging open, quickly stopped my hand.

“Where did you get th–?! No, more importantly, you can’t just do this in a place like this… you shouldn’t do that!!”

I knew. Even if I had grown up like a clueless princess, I knew that if you showed off your money outside, you could get stabbed.

‘But I’m not scared if I’m with this man!’

I had a protector who seemed like no one would dare mess with him!

I stuck close to Ryan, held up the brooch with the red ruby, and shouted,

“Anyone going to Belzer? This brooch is worth about 400 gold at current market prices!”

Some people seemed surprised, but…

“…”

Again, surprisingly, no one reacted…

Wow. Even that wasn’t enough? Should I lift my skirt up again?

‘No!’