BXBX NOVEL Chapter 17 – Barkan Territory (5)
Chapter 17 – Barkan Territory (5)
Chapter 17 – Barkan Territory (5)
The next day.
It was the second day in Civilization.
Ketal woke up with energy.
“Shall we give it a try today?”
A pleasant mercenary job.
Just thinking about it made his heart race.
But there was something to do before that.
This was Barkan Territory.
It was quite a large territory.
Ketal hadn’t had a proper look around the territory yet.
So, before heading to the guild hall, he planned to take a tour of the territory.
It was a kind of sightseeing.
Ketal left the inn and walked through the territory.
Just walking itself was the goal, so there was no destination in his steps.
The residents who saw him hurriedly hid their children and walked in the opposite direction, but he didn’t pay any mind.
Perhaps they suddenly got busy.
He thought as he walked, and then a food cart caught his eye.
Delicious skewers were being grilled there.
“Oh.”
His appetite and curiosity pulled him towards the food cart.
The owner of the food cart turned pale.
“How much?”
“T-Two gold coins…”
Two gold coins.
It was quite expensive.
The meat was heavily seasoned with spices.
“Just one, please.”
Ketal handed over one gold coin.
The owner of the food cart recoiled as if he thought it would disintegrate if touched.
Ketal smiled satisfactorily as he ate the meat.
“It’s delicious.”
The spices were unusual.
It was a taste he had never experienced before, strangely refreshing and slightly sweet.
Ketal looked around the territory as he ate the skewer.
He also bought a notebook.
Fantasy was very different from what he knew.
The elves were savage, and the dungeons were special.
He needed to organize that information.
He planned to organize the facts he learned in the notebook from now on.
Satisfied, Ketal left the shop and glanced up at the roof.
‘By the way, who’s that gentleman?’
Since yesterday, he had felt someone watching him.
He hadn’t paid much attention, thinking it was the lord’s surveillance, but it was annoying to feel the gaze from the roof continuously.
Well, he didn’t care much.
What mattered to him now was enjoying himself.
He walked leisurely.
He absorbed the scenery and sounds of the territory with his eyes and ears.
It was enjoyable in itself.
As Ketal walked, a building caught his eye.
‘…A library?’
The outer wall of the building clearly said “library”.
A place where books were piled up.
He became very interested. Ketal entered the library.
“Welcome…”
The woman who seemed to be a librarian glanced up from her book and looked at Ketal.
After a moment of silence, she let out a startled scream.
“Eek!”
“Hmm.”
There were quite a few people who were frightened by him.
Ketal tried to calm them down as usual in a calm tone.
“I’m a mercenary.”
Ketal showed his mercenary badge.
“May I read books? I have no intention to harm. Don’t worry, I won’t damage the books either.”
“Y-Yes…”
The librarian nodded hesitantly, her voice trembling.
Satisfied that his persuasion worked, Ketal walked towards the bookshelves with a content expression.
‘There are so many.’
Interesting titles caught Ketal’s eye.
He skimmed through each one.
It was the movement of someone who clearly read and understood the titles.
Cain, who was watching from outside the library, frowned.
Although he couldn’t see from his point of view, with the sensory perception of a swordsman, he could know everything Ketal was doing inside the library.
So Cain couldn’t help but doubt his own senses.
‘Can a barbarian read?’
Reading and understanding letters required a considerable education.
Unlike in ancient times, education was somewhat widespread now, and even a moderately wealthy commoner raised in a proper territory could learn letters.
But still, there were clear barriers.
It was a rare sight for a barbarian like Ketal to read letters.
However, Ketal smoothly took out a book, sat down on a chair, and opened the book.
His movements were so natural.
‘…Has he read books before?’
It wasn’t just a couple of times handling a book.
It seemed like he had done it hundreds, if not thousands of times, very familiar with it.
His demeanor made him look like someone with a wealth of knowledge and refinement.
But Ketal was a barbarian.
Moreover, he was from the White Snowfield.
According to the lord’s story, he had just arrived in the human world.
Is that gentleman special?
Or are all barbarians from the plains like that?
Swordmaster Cain’s head spun.
And whether he was dizzy or not, Ketal checked the books.
He touched the covers and flipped through the pages.
Sara, with an anxious expression, watched in case the barbarian might tear the books apart.
‘The quality is good.’
It was the same with the meat sold at the food cart earlier.
The quality of the meat itself wasn’t bad.
Perhaps it was just this territory, but the economy seemed better than he expected.
At least it wasn’t like the old England where people filled their stomachs with just potatoes and coffee.
After a quick check, Ketal focused on the contents of the book.
The book he brought was a history book of the continent, summarizing the history up to the present.
As Ketal skimmed through the contents, his eyes widened.
‘So, the Empire won after all.’
Milena went to sell weapons to the kingdom that was at war with the Empire.
The result of that war was ultimately the Empire’s victory.
As he quietly read through the contents, it became apparent that the Empire was extremely powerful at the moment.
The kingdom to which Barkan Territory belonged was currently under imperial rule, a kind of vassal state.
The Empire was devouring half of the human world and advancing more aggressively.
As if trying to swallow the entire world.
‘World conquest, huh.’
It was something countless conquerors had desired since ancient times.
It didn’t seem too different in this fantasy world.
Ultimately, it wasn’t his concern as a human issue.
What truly interested him was something else.
Books that documented things beyond human expectations.
Ketal eagerly opened one of them.
He read every word meticulously, as if not wanting to miss a single one, and the content of the book fulfilled his expectations.
Mithril.
Adamantadium.
Remnants of meteorites.
The world’s greatest cave overflowing with all kinds of rare ores.
Dwarven caves.
Mantamia.
The mythical town where all the world’s mysteries exist.
Fairy villages.
Pysaraphia.
The floating island soaring through the high skies and exploring the world.
The aerial city of the Celestials.
Lagemeria.
In addition, there were numerous cities and capitals of various races listed.
Ketal couldn’t help but laugh.
He had read books written in a similar manner before.
But they were all nothing more than imaginary constructs.
But not here.
The fantasies written in this book actually existed here.
That fact delighted him to the point of losing his mind.
Continuing to read through the text, Ketal’s eyes caught another piece of information.
The Sanctuary of All Elves.
A mysterious sanctuary where no one, including other races, can approach or even draw.
The Elven Sanctuary.
Elfo Sagrado.
No one knows its location.
Powerful figures tried all means to find out but eventually gave up.
But Ketal had obtained the qualification to visit the Elven Sanctuary.
‘I should visit someday.’
Ignoring favors wasn’t good etiquette.
But there were too many things to enjoy in this world right now.
And Ketal had the habit of saving delicious things for later.
Suppressing the urge to rush out immediately, he continued to read the book.
As he joyfully scanned through each letter, Ketal realized something.
“What’s this?”
Ketal tilted his head curiously.
“Are there more places like the White Snow Plains?”
The book described something called the “Forbidden Lands.”
Places that didn’t allow human access, filled with strange and distorted things.
The silent forest where everything quiets down.
The abyss where everything in the world disappears.
The underwater sea where the fairies live and breathe.
Places where nothing exists.
Deep holes.
And the White Snow Plains.
There were also numerous other Forbidden Lands listed.
Places unknown to humans.
That too was a staple of fantasy, but Ketal looked grim.
“Places like the White Snow Plains.”
He had suffered greatly in the White Snow Plains alone.
If it weren’t for his desire for fantasy, he would have died a long time ago.
He didn’t plan to visit other Forbidden Lands, even if they were at the same level as the White Snow Plains.
But with that thought, another one naturally came to mind.
‘How big is this world?’
Just the White Snow Plains alone were enormous.
It had taken a very long time for him to confirm everything about the White Snow Plains.
And there were not just one but many such places.
Moreover, they were divided into the human world and the territories of other races.
‘It’s bigger than Earth.’
That much was certain.
But he couldn’t know how big exactly.
This world had not yet measured the circumference of the world.
“Anyway, that’s enough for now.”
Since the library itself wasn’t large, there wasn’t more information than that.
Satisfied enough, Ketal stood up from his seat.
“I’ve checked enough. Thank you.”
“Yes, yes!”
The librarian stood up to bid farewell.
She felt relieved only when she realized that Ketal was leaving.
But her relief turned into worry at his following words.
“I’ll come often if I can. Count on it.”
“Yes…”
* * *
And Ketal arrived at the guild hall.
The guild hall was quiet as it was yesterday.
Ketal leisurely walked towards Rosa.
She greeted Ketal with a tense face.
“Oh, you came.”
“Yeah. What’s the request for today?”
“Here it is.”
Rosa handed him the request form.
Ketal accepted it with a smile.
Rosa relaxed a bit.
After quietly conversing for a while, she realized that despite his appearance as a barbarian, he was actually quite sensible.
There was instinctual fear, but there was no need to be overly frightened.
After briefly looking at the request form, Ketal raised his finger.
“Let’s go with this one today.”
“It’s for herb supply. Understood. The samples are here.”
Ketal checked the samples and went outside.
Just like yesterday, he gathered herbs and returned.
He completed the request and received a new one.
They were all trivial tasks that anyone could do.
Watching him like that, Cain was bursting with frustration.
‘Why does he do such things?’
Ketal was strong.
Even just a glimpse of his strength would gain him instant recognition.
There was no reason for him to do such trivial tasks.
That’s why Cain couldn’t stand the frustration.
It felt like seeing precious gems being casually handled in children’s play.
But Ketal himself seemed to enjoy such tasks immensely.
‘…He’s really peculiar.’
He was strange in many ways.
Cain couldn’t grasp anything about this person.
After some thought, Cain made a decision.
‘I should meet him.’
He was a peculiar being in many ways.
Just observing him wouldn’t yield much useful information.
Swordmaster Cain decided to meet Barbarian Ketal face to face.