The Gate of the North. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Located on the banks of the White River, the largest river in the North, the rows of houses eventually form a slightly narrow street - a new city built on the northern wall of the Empire, and one of the new territories that have only gradually developed in the last decade or so.

The clear white river flows through the center of the city, dividing it into two parts so that it does not freeze even on such a cold winter day. Perhaps because of this trait, the natives of the Northlands regarded it as one of the sacred places of their faith when the empire was not yet in power, and many mages now claim to have a wealth of magic in the veins of the river.

The city now known as the "Gate of the North" is not really the true northern gate of the Empire, and for many years it has been a small town behind that gate. However, with the emphasis on northern exploration in recent decades, this small city has been expanding, and it may not be long before it becomes the fourth territory in the north from Perm territory.

On the east bank of the White River is the old town, which retains a large number of old style buildings, and the streets that were first built 400 years ago have preserved a large number of old shrines and houses. Not only the library and museum, but also the city hall remains.

In contrast to the east coast, which seems to have remained in the past, the west side is a new town that has been expanded over the past few decades by widening the streets. As if to maximize the appeal to adventurers, almost all the functional facilities needed for adventure are concentrated in the new town.

Not too far from the city, in the center of the side wall stands the huge gate that gives the place its name. It is located in the middle of the many fortresses scattered among the hills and mountains, and is a symbol of the northern frontier of the Empire.

Located in the middle of the new town is the North Gate Station, which is often the first stop for those who want to venture out to the Northland - and for those who are less lucky, it will also be the final stop of their lives.

Woo -

With a shrill whistle, the black train came to a steady stop next to the platform, and then many passengers stepped out of the last train that arrived at the station. Whether male or female, the eyes of these passengers sparkled, as if they were looking forward to the rest of their lives.

Most of the passengers who walked off the train were dressed as standard adventurers, and the weapons they wore reflected an oily sheen in the glow of the setting sun. Although countless people have been buried in the forest and snow fields in the north of the end, they cannot drive back the successors at all.

And in addition to these adventurers who want to go to the end of the north, the vast majority of the remaining passengers are also people who want to try their luck in a new city. They came to this new city for various reasons, and they were almost impatient to make a big splash right away.

In the midst of the hurried visitors, a young man in a long black trench coat and a pitch-black hat looked a little unnatural. The slightly wide long black trench coat draped over his body revealed a calm and serious feeling, and the large book tucked in his armpits was even more eye-catching.

The atmosphere that entangled him made him seem out of place here, as if a monk who had sworn ascetic had suddenly run into a wine shop. Although weirdos are not uncommon in this city, the people who walked by the young man couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

He was thin and tall, and his pale face looked a little sickly, obviously a man who had stayed in his study all year round and rarely came out to bask in the sun. But if one looked closer, he was not as thin as the nerds, and that his hands peeking out of his clothes were like eagle's claws, clutching a metal hand that seemed rather heavy just by looking.

Inserting an individual who seems to be a stale scholar into this dynamic scene, even Frick himself feels an indescribable sense of strangeness. After looking left and right at the road, he took three steps and two steps, and squeezed through the crowd to the square outside the station.

"Hoo ......"

A cold breath came out of his mouth, and Flick looked left and right at the unfamiliar street, and the feeling of being in a foreign place made him slightly uncomfortable. Although he had seen countless records of this new city in books, it was only today that he set foot here for the first time.

So what should be done now?

Flick, who was standing in the square in front of the station, was lost in thought, and although he had already arrived at the Gate of the North as planned, he was full of doubts about his next move. Acully had given him plenty of time, but he was now shaken by his inability to continue.

It had been more than ten years since my father came to the Gate of the North Gate, and in this unfamiliar city, how easy was it to find the traces of a person who had been missing for more than ten years? Even if he could get the help of Akuli, it would undoubtedly be a big task to find the information that had been lost for a long time.

After thinking about it for a long time, Frick finally shook his head and waved his hand to find a carriage parked in the square in front of the station, and decided to go to his destination first to settle down before thinking about it.

"Where did Mr. Scrivener come from, wouldn't he also want to try his luck in the land of the end of the north?" After a brief announcement that he was going to the library, the carriage began to move slowly, and the old coachman who drove the carriage also set up as usual, "In recent months, there have been more adventurers who want to go to the end of the north, so even the business of the coachmen with us is much better than before." ”

For some reason, going to the end of the north has suddenly become a trend in the adventurer industry, and just by looking at the expression on the old coachman's face, you can tell how much he has earned these days. People from far and wide are breathing new blood into the new city.

After all these years of development, the Gate of the North has shed the shadow of the small town behind the fortress of the past, and the streetscape that my father sketched has long since disappeared - all of which seems to be due to the adventurers who traveled between the North and the Empire.

"Ah, no, I'm not going to go on an adventure...... After all, I was just a scrivener, and I had neither a legal investigation license nor a trade guild registration. ”

Flick smiled awkwardly, unwilling to admit that what the old coachman said was not far off: "I came from the big library in Perm, and the number of visitors to this library has increased greatly recently, and our director said that in order to avoid a shortage of manpower, he has transferred me, a big idler, here. ”

Whether it's naturalism, maps, or local legends, most of the records about the Junbuku region are preserved in the library of the Junkita Gate. Therefore, for those adventurers who want to find traces of "treasures" in legends, visiting the library is also one of the must-prepare homework.

However, in fact, the library of the Gate of the End of the North has become a lot busier due to the recent explosive increase in adventurers, but the overall staff is barely sufficient. The so-called "temporary transfer" is, of course, only a superficial rhetoric, and the reason why Akuli registered it on the paperwork was to provide him with the convenience of moving here.

"Well, it turns out that Mr. Scrivener is from Perm. The old coachman nodded with a smile and made a gesture on his chest with his free left hand, "This is the location of the holy lake, and I often tell my wife at home that I hope to visit the lake before I die." ”

Frick's eyebrows twitched inadvertently when he heard the old coachman say "holy lake," and it was only then that he noticed that above the carriage was a ring made of evergreen sprouts—a decoration used to ward off evil spirits in the primitive religions that the people of the Northland said they believed.

Apparently, the old coachman was a devout member of the local religion, which is probably quite rare. After the Empire conquered the land, most of the people of the Northland embraced the more organized religions of the Northlands, but a small number of them retained their original beliefs.

Suddenly, Frick remembered something his father had mentioned in his notes, and it seemed that they were looking for some relics related to the Aborigines in the North. The notes depict a number of references to the original religion of the locality, including the record of weaving evergreen buds.

So he replied in a kind tone: "Is that so? Then you should probably go and see that every year on the summer solstice, there is a grand festival on the lakeshore - speaking of which, you must have been born in Zhongbei, and how many years have you been working here?"

Although it didn't matter to Frick, who didn't believe in gods, the festival held on the lakeside was quite important for the people of the Northlands who still retained their original beliefs. So he planned to use the topic of this "festival" as a starting point to find out something useful from the old coachman.

"So, Mr. Scribe, do you know about that festival? It's wonderful, and now these young people are about to forget the gods that our ancestors had always believed in. Sure enough, as soon as this topic was raised, the old coachman's eyes seemed to light up, and the conversation box opened at once.

Although he had a lot to say about his faith, it wasn't these things that Frick was really interested in. So while the old coachman was talking about some old things with great interest, he also tried to insert other topics into the conversation to guide the conversation.