Ala Pena

A new morning gave me the temptation of wanting to get back out there and just start grinding. The MMO player side of me had a strong pull. However, the idea of being a murderhobo on monsters and defenseless animals like I was some serial killer didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t think leaving a wake of corpses everywhere I went would be respectful in this foreign world.

It did leave me wondering what the other heroes did. Would there just be a pile of monsters stacked up somewhere from them killing a bunch of things? That was a rather dark image to have. I refocused on the objective, the road ahead of me. I committed to my decision to leave the capital.

According to the Markets, the town of Ala Pena was a short distance from the capital. Judging from the map that they showed me, the kingdom didn’t seem very large. There were a lot of different nations, though the mountains I saw in the far distance kept the northern ones away. I hoped. They didn’t actually say how dangerous the mountains were to cross.

Neighboring politics weren’t something that they spoke of. And I didn’t feel like testing it. This country was plenty for me to explore. Ala Pena sounded like a good place to start. With fewer people it would be a little more of a relaxed pace, I might feel more comfortable there. It wasn’t really a problem all of the people. It just made it difficult to approach anyone.

And I could pick up some new materials for potions. I had been fortunate to make a few copper off some silver clover I found for Miss Heia. Maybe, the road had something a little more valuable for the next shop I stop at.

Though I couldn’t spend all my time gathering. I could waste too much time doing that. I couldn’t afford to fall behind the others if we did end up rejoining. Though would that even happen? I assumed everyone was just being polite and not expecting to see me again. Which would be fine. I’ve lived with that before.

My past wasn’t something to dwell on though. I focused back on the road, keeping an eye out for anything new. It wasn’t all rolling hills and meadows I assumed. There might be something interesting as I walk. No one mentioned a dungeon, so they may not have them. Though that was too much for me right now.

Starting out in the early morning, I made good time, I thought. The town wasn’t in sight, but the capital was long gone. This was the longest I had ever walked anywhere without stopping. I thought I wasn’t built for walking, being fused with my chair. But I didn’t feel tired by the end of the day.

There were a few new plants that I was able to gather along with another couple of monsters to fight. Between yesterday and today it finally gave me another level of advancement. It left me wanting to learn to harvest monster parts. There was no way to drag it all the way to town.

With rest at the end, I went over the possible potions I could make with the new materials. Only one of them fit with anything I already had, allowing me to make a Weak Potion of Slowing. It was an interesting option, but I hadn’t used any of mine yet. It would have to wait.

Ala Pena appeared on the horizon by late morning of the second day. If I hitched a ride on a cart I probably would have gotten here in a day, but I needed to save the money. But as I approached and it started to take more shape, Ala Pena looked very different from the capital. Which was curious, but maybe not having all the buildings smashed together meant they had a different design.

I wished that I was more cultured to know what other parts of Earth looked like, but it felt a little insulting for my first reaction to be that it looked a little Japanese. And it was just because the roofs had a vague design like older homes or castles in Japan. But that was similarly ended, they had steeper roofs than anything I had seen in Japan and built up floor on floor more like something from Europe. And I only say Europe because a lot of fantasy games use that for their inspiration. But I hadn’t seen any game that looked like this. They were a different culture and history, but it wasn’t like anything I was used to seeing.

A wooden wall ran around it in place of the stone of the capital. It had more design to it than just being a bunch of trunks jabbed into the ground. I could see a couple guards walking with a couple of towers even visible along the wall. There was even a little artistry worked in with arches and waves layered under the overhang.

As I approached the gate, the guards came out to stop me. Though much like in the capital, they had the whole shining glowing hair thing going on. So I looked very obvious like one of their summoned heroes.

They were both humans. Was there really this little racial variety in the kingdom? I had seen other types in the capital, but they were very rare. I sort of expected to get a different diversity going more rural. Maybe this was just a human nation with a few immigrants.

“Greetings, Sir Hero! Are you alone?” He looked around me. Was everyone traveling as a party the norm? I could understand why with the party make up.

“Yeah, I’m alone. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. What’s the purpose of your visit?”

I hadn’t considered that they would ask me about that. It wasn’t like I was doing something illegal. The attendants in the Hall didn’t warn me from doing it. “Exploring your country. I’m still new so I wanted to learn more about the people and land that I’ve been brought to help.” Hopefully that didn’t come off too ass kissy.

“You’re more than welcome in Ala Pena, sir! If you want to visit the Markets, you can find it beneath the clock tower.”

“You have a clock tower?” There wasn’t anything suggesting that level of technology in the capital. Why would a town have something like that?

He turned back towards the town and pointed to the tallest building that I could see. From my angle I couldn’t quite see a side well, but focusing they were right that there was a clock face on it. “It’s a little old, but still works! It’s the pride of Ala Pena.”

“I’ll check it out! I’m curious.” With that, they parted and let me into town. A far simpler check than I feared, but saved me some trouble finding the Markets.

Though as I learned, the Markets was just a single building here. It was a larger building and seemed to have a more compressed version of the services than the one in the capital offered. But it didn’t look like it had everything. I didn’t see a tavern and if there was a smith I didn’t see it. It was also far less busy.

Positioned in view upon entering was the counter with an attendant. She finished helping someone, giving me a clear view. Tall like everyone else, she nearly looked normal with a golden blonde blending into orange bronze hair tied back in a bun and few braids. The short professional styled hair carried elegance that elevated her simpler white blouse and green vest that pinned in the shirt and carried support. She seemed young, but still had this maturity that told me she was definitely older than me.

“Good day, Sir Hero! What can I help you with today?”

“I’m Minoru Fuwa and I’m still new around here.”

“Of course. I’m Hoyra Elatris, the attendant for the Markets of Ala Pena. If you wish to speak with the Head of the Markets, I can arrange a meeting.”

I waved the offer off politely. “No need to make that much trouble for me. I had a few things I wanted to sell. And curious to know what you offer here compared to the capital?”

Hoyra blinked, understanding my request. Even though she remained polite the whole time, it was those eyes again, like the King. White and pink with a piercing intensity almost like they had endlessly falling snow. Each was so unique. “Ah, yes sir. While we don’t have the same access to everything under the one roof we do have partnerships with local businesses that we can recommend. Here we handle mostly the requests, commissions, banking and large volume matters.”

“Understandable. Then can you recommend me a Potion Maker and an inn?”

“Of course! The Steaming Pot is just north from the Markets for potions. And you’ll want to visit the Twin Horns, you can get a fine meal there before you rest.”

“Perfect!” I turned around and started heading towards the door until I suddenly heard foot falls approaching. I didn’t get to even look before the voice called out.

“Wait! Hero!” Once I heard them, I realized it wasn’t the attendant, but someone a bit younger. Facing them, I saw a whole mass like arms stretching out of bright red-orange hair sparkling with mana. I had seen a lot of bright colors in the couple days I’d been here, but she managed to stand out even among them.

Though I started to step back when it looked like she wasn’t going to be able to stop in time. They came at me in a full charge like they meant to tackle me. And it appeared that she didn’t realize how much momentum that she had as a little panic came over her closing.

I braced myself as she rocked over in her attempts to stop. Helping her, I grabbed her shoulders letting us both spin a half step around. The weight balanced out and she was finally able to come to a rest. She looked up to me with huge pink-purple prismatic eyes. “I need to join your party!”