Chapter 1186: Village of Horna

The half-insectkin had guided us to Horna, a peaceful village that seemed to defy everything we knew about Raydoss.

The non-combatants evacuated in an orderly fashion during monster attacks. Some even offered to share their limited supply of food with Fran and the others.

We also tried to offer food in return, but they insisted on paying for it. All the villagers were living earnest lives.

I hate to say it, but my image of Raydoss was completely changed. I imagined something much worse.

Like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where everyone was pessimistic and fought over tiny scraps of food. Or perhaps an oppressive regime like the late stages of socialism, where those with power held everyone else down. That’s the kind of place I was expecting.

After speaking with the village adults, we learned that they knew something was wrong with Raydoss’s leaders.

They complained about how the higher ups strutted around collecting high taxes, without providing any real assistance. The mayors and such could live in luxury while the common people barely got by.

While everyone had gratitude for the Red Knights, many villagers considered government officials to be the enemy.

In such a situation, there’s no way they could be indoctrinated to love Raydoss. Instead, they must be thinking, “There’s no way a country that lets scum like you run free can be great”.

In fact, many villagers didn’t care much about the war between Raydoss and Kranzel. Whether they won or lost, it didn’t matter much to them.

They had been living a harsh life before Neidhart intervened. Since Neidhart entered the country from Kranzel, none harbored any ill feelings for the Kingdom of Kranzel.

Despite walking through the entire village, we didn’t find anyone that wasn’t welcoming.

Actually, a certain group even went out of their way to welcome us.

「Hey, who are you?」

「I’ve never seen her before.」

「S-She’s pretty cute.」

The village’s children. They eagerly approached Fran, likely because child visitors were rare. As for that last kid though, try again when you’re a bit stronger.

「Why do you have a sword even though you’re a kid?」

「I’m already 13. So I’m not a kid.」

「You’re still a kid! Dad says you need to reach 15 to be an adult!」

「As an adventurer, I’m already an adult.」

Uh, you just casually revealed yourself as an adventurer! I thought we agreed to avoid that term since adventurers are hated in Raydoss!

I hear adventurers are considered around the same level as thieves in Raydoss. It’s probably worse than telling them we’re from Kranzel.

However, the children gave an unexpected reaction.

「Adventurer?」

「Those really scary warriors from the neighboring country!」

「No, that’s wrong! Only the Pig Duke says that. Everyone else says they’re like mercenaries.」

It seems the people’s perception of Kranzel and adventurers varies widely depending on the region. And a kid is really calling him the “Pig Duke”…

「Are adventurers strong?」

「Nn. Super strong.」

「Stronger than the Red Knights?」

「Ye――」

『Fran! Stop right there!』

（?）

I instinctively stopped Fran from answering. She only tilted her head in confusion, but I definitely deserve a pat on the back.

『Fran. You were about to say that adventurers are stronger than Red Knights, right?』

（Nn. Because adventurers are stronger.）

The adventurers have divine sword wielders like Maleficent and Izario. Also, Fran herself has defeated the Red Knights on multiple occasions. Perhaps it would be correct to say adventurers are stronger, but…

Saying that here seems very unwise. No matter how much the villagers might hate Raydoss as a whole, they were very grateful to the Red Knights for protecting them.

『At least say they’re about equal.』

「Nn. Equally strong.」

Even with this compromise, the children’s reactions were not quite what Fran expected.

「Eh! No way!」

「The Red Knights are way stronger!」

「You can’t be equal!」

「Mrgh.」

It looked to them as if a little girl was saying she’s just as strong as their heroes. I can see why they didn’t believe her.

This reaction frustrated Fran, but it’s not like she could challenge the children to a mock battle. It seems she came up with another way to prove her strength.

「Here, throw this.」

「Rocks? Throw it at what?」

「Me.」

Fran had picked up some rocks from the ground and handed them to the children. She went on to tell them to throw the rocks at her.

「Eh? I can’t do that!」

「You’ll get hurt!」

「I’ll be fine.」

Fran walked about five meters away from the children. I have no doubt that Fran can easily dodge a stone thrown by an ordinary kid, but the kids themselves were hesitant.

「That’s too close!」

「Move further away!」

「Hmm?」

Well, I guess ordinary civilians might think it’s impossible to dodge.

Fran reluctantly moved back to about ten meters this time. Finally, the children started throwing the rocks, albeit slowly. They were clearly holding back.

However, the speed of their throws gradually increased once they saw Fran dodging their rocks effortlessly.

Once the hesitation disappeared, the children began getting serious. They even started getting closer to Fran, as well as throwing with both hands. Whoa, three of them matched the timing of their throws.

It still didn’t even graze Fran though, so the children admitted defeat in the end.

「W-Whoa, adventurers are amazing!」

「So cool!」

「You’re awesome!」

「Hehe. Adventurers are the strongest.」

And so, Fran was accepted by the village children.