I Am Raising a Daughter in This Life

Desert Trip (3)

Actually, I wanted to go sightseeing with Rize.

We had plans to have a delicious dinner together and go around with snacks.

Mahalus was a city I hadn’t visited often in my previous life, so it was an unfamiliar city to me as well.

In the first place, since it was located at the southern tip of the country for a long time, and had to cross a boring desert and there were no special items to take care of around it, it was inevitable that there would be fewer visits.

It’s been so long that I can’t even remember where it was.

So, I planned to enjoy the fun of finding new things with Rize, but… … The words that the Golden Bird Guild informant contacted here caught me.

“A few days ago, three strangers headed east of Mahalus.”

If it was east, it was the direction of the ruins I was going to.

It was a ruin with things to take first among the things that could be brought to this area, and it was a place that remained undiscovered.

Moreover, there are no other villages to the east… … People who knew the area could say it was a place with no reason to go.

But I was just wondering if anyone had been there recently… … .

“gentile? Who were they?”

“There were three in total. I couldn’t see their faces because they were wrapped up, but judging by their bodies, they were two men and one woman.”

“Aren’t you wearing armor?”

“Yes, the two men were wearing armor. It was a full body armor that could not be found in this area, so it was definitely regarded as a foreigner.”

It’s not even an exhibition, but walking around wearing full body armor in this heat… … .

It was clear that they were not ordinary mercenaries or travelers. In addition, he must have gathered some information, but he must have had a clear destination, seeing as he went to the east, which was thought to have nothing.

Could it be that someone had discovered the ruins first?

Again, it was different from before.

I thought for a moment, covering my chin and mouth with my hand, and the informant waited for me.

Of the changes that Rize and I made, the most unexpected would be the Dark Truth Church, but they never came here.

Other than that, I’ve destroyed minor powers, but… … None of them could afford to come here.

“… … I guess I’ll have to investigate after all.”

“I have organized the places they moved in Mahalus. For an additional fee, we may be able to find out for you.”

“No, let me do that myself. Thank you for your effort Oh, but you’ve been doing more research than you thought?”

What I asked them to do was to keep an eye out for anyone heading east.

After that, it was up to me to judge, but the investigator did not stop there and conducted such a thorough investigation, so I had no choice but to wonder.

The investigator shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“Anyway, it is very rare for a stranger who is not a resident to come here, so people have no choice but to focus on it.”

“It’s a story that information comes in even if you don’t try to find out in detail. Also, are you saying that there will be more people watching?”

“Yes, there are forces that have been watching them. It was all the more so because among the words spoken by strangers as they wandered from place to place, there were words that caught people’s interest.”

“What do you mean?”

I asked with a thought that I couldn’t believe it, but the informant put words in my mouth that were not different from my expectations.

“They said they talked a lot about the ruins. I even asked a few people directly about the ruins around here.”

Then I realized that I couldn’t play with Rize today.

As I searched for and inquired about the places they stopped by, I began to think of one thing more and more.

Three strangers… … Somehow it seemed to be people I knew.

I didn’t hear much about their appearance, but when I heard about the atmosphere around them and the way they spoke, it became almost certain.

I wondered why they came all the way here, but I had no choice but to meet them in person.

Although, of course, I am not sure that their destination and mine are the same.

The next day after that, we got into a wagon led by a desert drake and headed east of Mahalus.

Since they said they went without burning anything, they would surely be able to catch up, but the destination, the ruins, was not far enough to arrive at night.

If their destination is also there, they will surely encounter them at the ruins.

“Dad, are those people I know?”

“The people Dad thinks of are the people Rize knows. But no matter how much I think about it, there is no reason to come here, so maybe not.”

“Ummm, wouldn’t that be incredibly important? Don’t they have something to look for, just like Dad found the ruins there?”

“There is a possibility, but… … well… … .”

Normally, he would have responded to Rize’s words, even though they were reliable words.

Knowing what was inside the ruins, I couldn’t help but be skeptical.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a reasonable guess, so I thought I’d have no choice but to meet and talk.

In this way, I was able to arrive at my destination in the late evening at the end of running the carriage while roughly solving lunch on the carriage.

It was almost buried in sand due to frequent sandstorms, but it was a ruin where traces of architecture were faintly visible everywhere.

And there was an unexpected passenger there.

One of the three passengers who was wary of seeing us suddenly appeared checked my face and tilted his head.

“what? Irvine?”

Looking at Astel, who was covered in armor as usual, I let out a laugh.

* * *

Desert nights are cold.

A total of 7 people sat around a bonfire.

The three new people who had joined had been unknown to me, Rize, and even Irina.

However, since it was the first time I had met Douglas, I naturally introduced myself first.

“My name is Douglas, an S-class mercenary.”

“May the road ahead be full of light. My name is Grace, a humble servant who serves Lu Nera. This brother is called Hudson. As for the doctor, I am in charge.”

“May the blessings of the rich land be with you. nice to meet you My name is Astel, who serves the goddess of the earth, De Gena.”

“They said their energy was unusual, so they must all be priests and paladins. Nice to meet you.”

No matter how much Douglas, he was treating religious people with some manners. Even though he is much younger than himself.

After the introduction, Astell, who had taken off the armor he had been wearing until now, immediately hugged Rize, who was sitting next to him, and whined.

“Rizee, I missed you… … .”

“me too. How have you been, Astel?”

“No, I haven’t been. Would you like to hear how high priest Miriam is bothering me? I really need to become independent soon. I can’t live like this any longer.”

Even though there was a Lu Nera priest next to him, Astel poured out his dissatisfaction with Miriam.

Even Grace didn’t say anything.

Irina, who was watching Astel, who clung to Rize and confessed her pity, became more and more displeased.

“Astel, I need to answer my question first.”

“Wait, what is it? Are you trying to bully me too? Are you going to do it this time without seeing my hardships?”

“No, not like that. What the hell did you come here for? Together with those two.”

No matter how much Astel was entrusted to the Lu Nera religion, this composition was completely incomprehensible.

In particular, they came together because they had something to do with the ruins here.

At my question, Astell sniffed once more and then with a nonchalant expression poured out surprising words.

“I received an oracle from Dijenna. He has his holy relic here, so go visit it. I said that I would go alone, but High Priest Miriam seemed to be worried, so he attached these two people.”

“I can’t let the sacred things of Digenaism fall into the hands of other nefarious men.”

He said that, but in the end, it would be uneasy to leave it to Astel alone.

By the way, it’s Dijenna’s sacred object.

Was there anything like that here?

I quietly tried to remember, but it was also not in my memory.

I wondered if Astel might have misremembered the place of the oracle, but I brought up another question without trying to say it.

“Then why are you here without going inside?”

Anyway, I should have arrived here two days ago.

When he said that it was strange that he hadn’t entered the ruins yet, Grace answered with a slightly embarrassed look.

“I have confirmed that there are ruins here, but I have not been able to find the entrance yet. All the buildings were covered with sand, making it difficult to guess the original shape.”

At those words, everyone in the party looked around.

As the saying goes, only traces of the buildings remain. All the rest was buried in sand, making it difficult to see how the buildings were laid out.

It’s a place where people don’t go looking for it, and even the ruins are in this condition, so it was inevitable that it would not be found until now.

And Astell suddenly turned his head toward me and raised his voice.

“Help me, Irvin!”

“I was just passing through?”

“Irvin also aimed for the ruins here! I know Irvin is good at finding things like this, so don’t pretend you didn’t see it and let’s go together!”

“It’s a bird that I didn’t see, so I noticed.”

Also, shamelessness.

Perhaps on purpose, the fact that he said such a thing while hugging Rize seemed like a protest.

Grace and Hudson, who had been together in the search for the relic the other day, were also looking at me with expectant eyes, perhaps remembering that I had searched for the back door of the ruins at that time.

It was natural that it would help if I took them, so I could ask to join first, but I was waiting for a picture like this on purpose.

Pretending to be worried, I nodded slightly and opened my mouth.

“good. Instead, there are conditions.”

“What? If you’re telling me not to cling to Rize, I’ll refuse.”

“I’ll discuss that with Irina. Among the spoils found in the ruins, except for the holy relics, I will keep all of them.”

“uh… … I don’t care, but… … .”

Astel readily agreed, but turned her gaze to the side and noticed.

I also followed that gaze towards Grace and opened my mouth again.

“Will Priest Grace be all right?”

“I am well aware of Irvin’s guidance skills. Besides, we’re here to find the relic, so the other things don’t matter. I swear to Lunara-sama that I will spare no assistance while we are together.”

“Then I understand. Since we will be exploring ruins together in the future, I will make dinner tonight.”

Saying that, I took out the ingredients I had bought from Mahalus in advance and prepared a meal.

The reason for doing this was not a big deal.

Since I was going to go with them, shouldn’t I thoroughly manage them?

If they were together, Rize would be safer, so it could be seen as a good thing.

I prepared dinner with such a trick, and the finished dish was naturally well received by everyone.

After finishing the meal, I looked around for a moment while clearing up the order of the night watch through one ear.

The ruins buried in the sand exuded only silence.

It was still questionable whether there was a holy relic in it, but there was one thing I knew for sure.

There were numerous monsters inside.

And that’s only one type… … It was ‘snake’.

It was as if I could already hear their unique breathing, and I got goosebumps on both arms.

It would probably take a full day to find the entrance to the ruins and go inside, so in reality I would go in the next morning.

That means you have plenty of time to prepare.

I made a plan by recalling the memories of the ruins step by step, keeping in mind the problem factors to be careful of other than the snake.