The New Gate

Book 15: Chapter 1 (6)

“We’re finally here, but it doesn’t look like we’re quite welcome…everyone’s glaring.”

“That’s strange. The last time I came, there wasn’t such exaggerated security.”

According to Schnee, the clearly defined line between forest and fields was the outer edges of Lanapace.

Similar to the “Gardens” Pixies created, a magical barrier prevented monsters from entering. Though it looked unprotected, lacking any castle walls or the like, the entrances into the village were actually limited.

To be overconfident in such barriers, however, would be foolish. In the outer edges, where monsters could appear, soldiers with relatively high fighting prowess were always stationed.

Many of such troops were currently stationed near the entrance to the village, as gate guards. From another perspective, the normally invisible entrance was thus made visible.

“Elf, human. This is the entrance to our domain. If you have come upon this place by chance, retrace your steps and be on your way.”

One of the elves, with equipment superior to the others, shouted in Shin and Schnee’s direction.

Elves were a very long lived species and always looked young. The male elf who spoke to Shin and Schnee looked around 40-50 years old, in human terms.

He had probably lived a fairly long life. His gaze was sharp, as if he could see right through Shin and Schnee. Even if the atmosphere was tense, he did not give off the impression that he would attack them.

—–Anaheit Luderia Magic Archer Level 233

【Analyze】 revealed the elf’s identity. His level was the highest among the elves. His job was magic archer, the archer version of the magic swordsman, so to speak. The job’s skills allowed the user to exterminate multiple targets at the same time: it was one of the most popular jobs in the game era.

“We have come to Lanapacea for a reason. We have no hostile intentions.”

“You wish to enter, I see. Do you have any proof of identity?”

Shin took out his adventurer’s card, which he was told would work as proof of identity. He was also told that not all countries accepted it. In that case, he would ask Tiera to come meet them.

“Oh, an adventurer….what? Rank…A?”

The elf who checked the adventurer card frowned. Shin was used to seeing people surprised by it, but the elves also showed a sense of wariness similar to hostility. They probably checked Schnee’s card too, but didn’t show any reaction to it, maybe because her rank was C.

“Is there something wrong with my rank?”

“…my apologies. A human with your appearance must still be very young. I was of the impression that adventurers that reached rank A were all of advanced age.”

The male elf’s expression softened. His first warning had been intimidating, but he did not keep the same tone in conversation.

Shin thought of any adventurers that reached rank A despite being young, and could only come up with Wilhelm. He was a Chosen One, however. The others he could think of were all former players or support members, all clearly different from normal people.

Shin reflected that normally adventurers who reached rank A had to be of a certain age, like Bayreuth’s guildmaster Barlux – though he was a Chosen One too.

“What business would a high rank adventurer have in our country? There is no adventurers guild here, so even if you gather materials you would need to bring them to a neighboring country for them to be appraised, which is quite a hassle, I’m sure you understand.”

“Our reason is another. There isn’t a guild here though? I thought they were present in all countries.”

The Adventurers’ Guild, an organization that transcended borders, was present in most countries and cities. As far as Shin had seen, all countries and cities of a certain size had a branch of the guild. It wasn’t present in small fishing villages though, naturally.

Despite the absence of the adventurers’ guild however, Anaheit seemed to be aware of the significance of being an A rank adventurer.

“Our village does not have frequent contact with the outside world after all. As a country, it is quite small as well. Because of that, we protect the populace from monsters with our own fighting forces. To be perfectly frank, very few people come from outside.”

It wasn’t a famous tourist location, nor was it a spot well known for rare materials or unique monsters. The presence of the World Tree was kept a secret too.

Shin knew about it because he had heard from Tiera and Schnee. He probably wouldn’t have ever visited Lanapacea if it wasn’t for them.

“Our reason for coming here is to meet an elf named Tiera. We have been informed that she is staying in the elf village called Lanapacea.”

It didn’t look like they would be let in without stating their purpose outright, so Shin mentioned Tiera’s name.

“Lady Tiera?”

“Lady?”

The elf’s response was slightly unexpected.

For Anaheit, Tiera was apparently someone that had to be addressed with “Lady”. The male elf looked intently at Shin. Some of the elves behind him armed their bows with arrows.

“The atmosphere’s turning sour.”

Shin looked at the elves as he spoke to Anaheit. He very much doubted that Anaheit hadn’t noticed the movements of the elves behind him.

“The village is in a bit of a tense situation at the moment. If someone as powerful as you enters, we fear that the situation might take a turn for the worse, you see.”

Anaheit spoke clearly. While not as much as the other elves, he didn’t seem to be very welcoming towards Shin either.

Shin and Schnee had not yet been targeted, so they were still quiet, but if the bows turned towards them, they would respond appropriately. Judging by the situation, Tiera’s circumstances were much worse than what she wrote in the message.

“We have no intention of causing any trouble, so could you let us in?”

“My apologies, but we need some time. As I said before, your presence could instigate trouble. If you were a normal human, we wouldn’t react like this though.”

Shin asked to be let in, but Anaheit maintained his stance of refusal. Neither was going to budge, and it wasn’t “yet” time to force his way in, so Shin decided to retreat for the moment.

“I guess it can’t be helped. I am sure that even if we persisted we would just give you more work to do, so we’ll be back at another time.”

“Apologies for the trouble. As you have an elf with you I am sure you already know, but do not think of sneaking in. If you do, we will be forced to work even harder at our jobs.”

“Haha, who would do something so reckless?”

Both men smiled, but the topic of conversation wasn’t amusing at all. Shin, incidentally, did not say that sneaking inside would be impossible.