Chapter 309

After taking a commemorative photo at the location in Airimo where hot air constantly blew from a hole, they headed to the next town, Imatekon.

The landmark in Imatekon was a park filled with numerous lion statues.

For some reason, lion figurines of various sizes were placed everywhere in this town.

“A new kind of religion, perhaps?”

“Or maybe something like a shisa… but that doesn’t seem right. If that were the case, they’d be placed at individual homes, wouldn’t they?” (T/N” shisa: a traditional Okinawan guardian lion)

“They’re only placed on public roads and facilities, so perhaps the town’s mayor has some specific intention behind it.”

The surrounding houses still sparkled with the usual eccentric flair, but not a single one had a lion statue.

Puzzled by this, the group stared at the lion figurines when a middle-aged couple approached them.

“Are you curious about those?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. Is there some meaning behind them?”

“There’s no meaning at all. They say that long ago, the current mayor was saved by a swordsman when he was attacked by a monster. And during that incident, the swordsman used a Beast Spirit Technique called Lion’s Mantle, and the mayor became completely obsessed with it.”

“So that’s why there are so many? And the townspeople didn’t get upset about it?”

“Well, aside from that, he’s a really good mayor. Plus, he paid for it all out of his own pocket, not with taxes, so people think, ‘If he’s covering it himself, we can let this slide.’ …Though, I wish they’d at least remove that park.”

“Exactly.”

As if recalling something, the couple exchanged wry glances and nodded in agreement.

“What’s this about a park?”

“Go straight from here, turn right at the third corner, and keep going.”

“You should see it for yourselves. Then you’ll understand what we mean.”

With those words, the couple left.

“I’m curious, Father. I want to go see it!”

“I wanna see it too!”

“I’m curious as well… Alright, let’s go check it out.”

Driven by curiosity, Tatsuro and the others followed the directions given.

Since they arrived a bit late, the surroundings were starting to grow dim.

“So this is the park…”

The park was about the size of a tennis court, with benches, a slide, and a swing—all shaped like lions.

Not only that, but the area was densely packed with lion statues in various poses, so much so that it felt like you’d bump into one every three steps.

“I can maybe accept the sheer number of lion statues, but…”

“Making their eyes glow and their mouths move like that is a bit much.”

“It’s really eerie in this dim light… And those things make noises when you touch them.”

“Really? Let’s try!”

“Gao~”

“““““““…””””””””

The sound wasn’t the majestic roar they’d expected but clearly just a middle-aged man mimicking “Gao~.”

When they touched other statues, they heard “Gaugau~,” “Gaaa~,” “Guwa~,” and so on. Though the voice was the same, each statue had a slightly different cry, showing a surprising amount of effort.

“This is probably the mayor’s voice, isn’t it?”

“If he’s gone this far, I guess you just let him do what he wants. I kinda get why the townspeople aren’t too mad.”

“But it sure makes an impact. It’s the kind of thing that’d show up in your dreams.”

“Yeah. Alright, let’s take a commemorative photo here and move on.”

Perhaps because even the locals found it creepy, there was no one around. Thinking there couldn’t be a more memorable spot in this town, they took a commemorative photo and left.

“If it’s just for sightseeing, it might’ve been an interesting place.”

“But I wouldn’t want to live here.”

Everyone nodded quietly at Tatsuro’s words and set off for the next town.

The next town was Tichi. Its landmark was a small island in the middle of a grassy plain.

While the houses followed the usual Libelhight style, the ground was an unpaved grassy plain where mysterious animals roamed freely.

These animals had noses so long they touched the ground, four legs each a meter long, and a pig-like form. Their backs were covered with afro-like fur in various colors, and they leisurely grazed on the grass.

Upon closer inspection, the grass was ordinary green near them but gradually changed color in a gradient as it stretched further out.

“Those are Peko Musha.”

“Peko Musha? Sounds like a name that’d make you hungry.”

“Are they famous animals?”

“Yes. Those are—”

According to Leah’s explanation, these animals were akin to sheep in Tatsuro’s world. The townspeople sheared the fluffy fur from their backs to spin thread, which was used for clothing and other items.

The fur’s color varied depending on the grass they ate, and the town had spent years cultivating harmless colored grass. By grazing stress-free in this environment, they’d succeeded in producing Peko Musha with naturally vibrant, rare-colored fur.

The downside was that, since they were raised naturally, it was impossible to deliberately produce rare colors.

Forcing them into confined spaces or feeding them specific grass would ruin the fur’s quality, making it unsellable.

However, about one in three hundred Peko Musha had beautiful, high-quality fur that fetched exorbitant prices.

Their meat was also delicious, and older Peko Musha were slaughtered for food.

Some towns raised them for meat, but since this town focused on fur, the highest-quality Peko Musha meat was hard to come by here.

“Wow, you know a lot for a town in a neighboring country.”

“This town is famous even in Heldamdo. I read about it in a book and always wanted to visit.”

“Then your wish came true.”

“Yes. By the way, I heard there’s a lake near the town’s center with a small island just big enough for one person.”

“A lake in the middle of the town? That sounds rare. Shall we take our photo there?”

With that, they headed deeper into the town. Along the way, they found a shop serving Peko Musha meat and decided to have lunch there.

“Hmm. It’s pretty close to pork.”

“Yeah, it’d probably be great as ginger pork.”

“Ginger pork. I’d love to try that when we get there.”

“Sure, eat up. It’s not an expensive or complicated dish.”

Tatsuro, Ai, and Leah enjoyed a gratin-like dish made with Peko Musha meat, then checked out clothing made from the town’s specialty, Peko Musha fur.

“This sweater would look good on you, Tatsuro. Why don’t you buy it?”

“Huh? You think?”

“It’s getting colder as we approach Casapisti, so buying something here might help you blend in.”

“Good point. Athena’s still wearing black shorts and short sleeves, so she’d stand out in a cold place.”

“Really? I find this outfit easier to move in.”

So, they bought cold-weather clothing for everyone. Though they didn’t need to wear clothes, Cardina and Jeanne looked envious.

Leah offered to knit them hats and sweaters, which delighted the two.

After enjoying some shopping and sightseeing, they reached their destination.

It was a lake in a hollow, about the size of a baseball dome, with a few Peko Musha drinking water.

While soothed by the pastoral scenery, they focused on the center of the lake and saw, as Leah had mentioned, a tiny island floating there.

“The water’s clean enough to drink, and there are fish too.”

“Where? Where?”

“Over there.”

“Oh, you’re right! Are they edible?”

“Hmm. They’re not poisonous, but I’m not sure how good they taste.”

Leah gave a wry smile as the two, despite having just eaten, were already talking about food. Then, a Peko Musha with blue fur approached Nana without caution and pressed its long nose against her.

“It’s quite friendly.”

“Since harming Peko Musha in this town is punishable unless it’s an accident, they’ve learned humans are kind and don’t bully them.”

“Aw, it’s so tame and kinda cute~”

“Why don’t we take a commemorative photo with it, with the island in the background?”

“Great idea! Come here, Peko-chan~”

Perhaps out of curiosity, the Peko Musha trotted over when Ai beckoned, sniffed her with its long nose, and, deeming her safe, let her pet it.

Meanwhile, Tatsuro set the smartphone timer, and they took a photo with the Peko Musha in the center, Tatsuro and Ai on either side, and Cardina and the others around them.

“Thanks!”

“Bueeee~”

Letting out a cry somewhere between a pig and a sheep, the blue-furred Peko Musha left once Ai stopped petting it.

Watching it go, they took a few more scenic photos before leaving the town.

The final town they visited in Libelhight was Yaturlutta. Rather than something in the town itself, the most striking feature was the massive bridge just outside, so they chose it as their landmark.

Yaturlutta was a small town surrounded by deep, bottomless cracks in the ground.

These cracks were so deep that falling in would be fatal, and accidents like slipping or dropping things were common.

To address this, Yaturlutta built a massive bridge from a crack-free area to the town’s entrance.

“That’s a huge bridge.”

“You could play soccer on it.”

Before Tatsuro and the others stood a giant bridge, 200 meters long and 100 meters wide, exuding an overwhelming presence.

Looking beyond the town’s walls, they saw three enormous cylindrical towers stretching 1,200 meters into the sky.

“What an impact. I feel like taking a photo here would be more memorable than inside the town.”

“With the three giant towers in the background, on this massive bridge? Yeah, it’s hard to imagine anything inside topping this.”

The view from the tower tops seemed like it would be spectacular, but since they’d already seen plenty of high-altitude views from Jeanne’s back, it didn’t feel novel. So, they decided to take a commemorative photo here.

They got a few curious glances from passersby but ignored them and quickly saved the photos on the smartphone.

Since they were there, they decided to explore the town as well.

Upon entering, all they could see were the giant towers, with nothing else on the ground level.

They entered the nearest tower, where the first floor housed the Adventurer’s Guild. Having no business there, they left and climbed a spiral staircase wrapping around the tower.

They learned that floors two through twelve housed shops of the merchant guild, and the upper floors weren’t residential either.

On the third floor, bridges connected the three towers at regular intervals, allowing townspeople to move between them without descending.

“With the town’s small area, they must’ve expanded their living space upward, resulting in this.”

“Is the earthquake resistance of these towers okay?”

“Yes, they seem to be built quite sturdily.”

“If they cut corners on construction here, it’d be a disaster.”

“It’s not something you could take responsibility for alone. Though, the houses up there are still as quirky as ever.”

Discussing this, they climbed toward the top. One of the three towers had an open rooftop like an observation deck, so they headed there.

It was just as the sun began to set, offering a rather impressive view.

They took a few more photos there before leaving the town.