Chapter 233: Last Day At Barleyhen

The following days blurred as Rion repeated the same activities.

In the morning, he had his breakfast, and then he left the count’s manor not to find any information but to see how people lived, to see what made Barleyhen so special that even though it was right beside the base of the red and black mountains, over a hundred families remained there.

At first, he had thought maybe there was some kind of monetary benefit for those families, and he was proven wrong — they all had to earn every single coin by themselves.

But then why did these families decide to stay at such a dangerous place?

After not getting any answer, he decided to ask an old civilian, and that’s how their conversation went.

—

Rion sat in a chair, massaging the legs of an elderly man who seemed to be about eighty years old.

The old man was lying on a bed and was looking at Rion with a faint smile.

“What is it that you try to find every day?” The old man asked in a low voice.

“I am trying to understand why you and your family live here instead of some other town? Barleyhen is dangerous. In just the past two months, we’ve dealt with ten groups of ether beasts.”

The old man let out a raspy chuckle and said, “Those places might be safer, but even then they aren’t as stable as Barleyhen…”

Rion furrowed his brows and questioned, “What do you mean by that?”

A child-like glint flickered in the old man’s eyes as he reminisced about his youth and said,

“I wasn’t born in Barleyhen, I am from the Sinclairos city. The city was much grander. The houses, the shops and stalls… everything was grand… until the count decided that only one city isn’t enough…”

Rion’s lips dropped into a frown, and the old man continued,

“You see, according to the royal laws, a count can directly rule over a territory as big as a city… but if the count captures another city via territory war, then the captured city would be granted to the count, and one of his associates would be appointed to rule it.”

Confused, Rion asked, “Doesn’t that mean a count can garner enough territory to become as militarily strong as the crown?”

The old man chuckled and shook his head.

“They can’t because once they capture a city, the crown reviews the appointed governor. If deemed unworthy, the throne appoints a new count or a royal official as the governor, and the previous count forfeits all claim to that territory.”

Rion raised an eyebrow. “But why would the count try to capture another city if the final decision is up to the crown?”

The old man nodded. “There are many reasons. Fame, power showcase, revenge, and so on… but in the case of benefits, the two cities sign a treaty according to which the captured city has to provide every kind of support to the count in case his main city is attacked…”

“So the counts do that to show that they shouldn’t be taken lightly, and they also gain a forced ally…” Rion mumbled in understanding.

“Yes, now back to our main topic. Because Barleyhen is so dangerous, none of the counts want it, so it never has to deal with the territory wars, and thus, it’s much more stable than most cities and towns.”

“That makes sense…” Rion mumbled while staring at the wall, and the old man began to chuckle.

—

In the evening, he stayed at the taverns and listened to the chatter, but sadly, because the academy trials and the light festival were near, everyone mostly talked about them.

He only left the tavern at night, and then he returned to the count’s manor.

After returning, he helped Yuura and Dora with Soline.

Chatted with Salis, who had been appointed as Calvus’s personal guard.

Talked to Zaelyane about everything that he plans to do during this trip, and after having dinner, he went to bed and entered the embrace of sleep.

His regime for evening and night remained the same, and for morning, he sometimes went to the farmers, sometimes to the butcher, and to other places where he could learn more about how they thought and lived.

Now and then, he sparred with the knights and helped Selena with her aura technique.

On rare occasions, he helped Calvus with his internal law enforcement work and went around the town with Yuura, Dora, and Zaelyane.

Yuura and Zaelyane didn’t actually care about seeing the town… Yuura just wanted to stay with his lord, and Zaelyane just wanted to go back.

Dora was the only one who wanted to see the town, but even her health was getting worse with the passing days.

After one month of their stay, she had to stay in bed for at least four hours, excluding sleeping hours.

After two months, she had to stay in bed for at least seven hours, and as they were nearing three months — the end of their stay — Dora rarely left her bed.

Rion tried his best not to look worried around her, but there was only a little he could do to hide his anxiety.

For the last few days, he stayed with her. He fed her, slept beside her, cracked jokes, and did everything so she wouldn’t feel bad or alone.

Just like that, the three months of their stay came to an end, and on the last morning of their stay, Alger summoned Rion to his office one final time.

Beside Rion were Salis and Calvus, both of whom had a surprised expression on their face.

“Father… what did you just say?” Calvus mumbled, eyes wide in disbelief.

Alger smiled at him and said, “I am allowing you to go to the capital and take part in the trials.”

“Are you sure…?”

“I am.” Alger shifted his gaze to Rion and stated, “Adventurer Rion, I hope that you and your party accompany my son and his knight.”

Rion blinked a few times before he asked, “Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?” Alger asked with an amused smile.

Rion glanced at Salis and Calvus for a moment and said, “My friends and I are not registered at any of the adventurers’ guilds, so we would be stopped at the gates unless…”

“Unless you are accompanying a noble,” Alger finished his words for him.

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