Chapter 98

I'm sorry for the repeated update scams!

I got carried away with setting up the locations and geography of each town, which caused the delay!

It ended up being shorter than I thought, but this is the last-minute update for the year!

The world of <Brave & Blade> is divided into multiple "regions."

Each "region" usually has a large central city like Freelea or Niebar, with one or two towns or villages and several dungeons located at a distance from the city.

The problem is that the distance between each "region" is quite far, making travel from city to city time-consuming.

While there is a two-year time limit in Brave & Blade, it takes at least a week to travel to another region.

There is a feature that can dramatically shorten this travel time: the warp function of the Special Safehouse in the fourth DLC. Unfortunately, this is not yet available.

The 10 billion wen needed to buy that house is simply too much to prepare at this stage, and even if you buy it, it doesn't mean you can go anywhere immediately.

There is only one warp location available from the start.

For the others, you need to activate the warp function and then reach them once on your own.

(Still, this time, it can't be ignored.)

If the "someone" who cleared the Niebar ruins has set off, their first destination would be either Freelea or the capital.

Of the two, the capital is more likely.

The capital is, of course, the representative city of the region, located in the center of the continent.

In that sense, the capital, <Bright City>, is truly the center of this world.

Naturally, it has many useful facilities and dungeons, and I have always wanted to visit it someday.

I should consider this a good opportunity.

If the swordsman who cleared the ruins left Niebar five days ago, there isn't much time left.

I want to set out as soon as possible, but I can't just leave immediately.

It takes about ten days by carriage to travel between Freelea and Bright City.

I also have jobs with the guild and need to cancel reservations at the inn, among other things.

That day, I ended up running around the city in preparation for the journey.

***

By midday,

The fact that the expedition to the ant nest had stopped related business turned out to be a blessing.

I managed to adjust the guild's affairs and arrived at the training ground, where Rad and the others were waiting, clearly different from their usual selves.

Rad was almost crushed by a large backpack, Nuek was holding many books and his glasses were gleaming, and Mana was nodding while checking a book covered in sticky notes titled "Travel Tips."

The only one who seemed normal was Prana, who was, as always, in light armor.

"...So, what's all this?"

When I asked, Rad, breathing heavily, replied.

"It's food! We suffered a lot on the way back from the ant nest because we were unprepared! I made sure to prepare properly this time!"

"Ah, I see..."

During the queen's defeat, Rad and the others had rushed without preparing for a long journey and had trouble on the return carriage.

I had bought unnecessary consumables in my inventory out of habit from the game, so it wasn't a problem for me, but they were learning from that experience.

The inventory is very convenient, but it has the drawback that "only items that exist in the game can be stored."

If you prepare non-item food, it would result in that much luggage.

Next, I glanced sideways, and Nuek said a bit sheepishly.

"Well, I had a lot of free time on the carriage last time, so I thought it would be good to have books to read on the way."

I thought that was an abnormal amount, but maybe it would be about right for a ten-day carriage ride.

On the other side, Mana was holding "Travel Tips" as if hugging it and looking at me.

"Me too! It's my first real trip, so I don't want to be a burden..."

I admire her spirit and think she's brave.

But...

"Ah, sorry."

I felt a bit guilty and scratched my head.

"---We plan to walk to the capital, not use a carriage."

"...Huh?"

***

"Alright. This is it."

After clearing some of the luggage, we set out from the guild, heading for <Bright City>.

Our first destination, of course, was not the gate of Freelea, but...

"Huh? This is..."

The abandoned house we had the guild purchase just before the ant attack.

"Hey, old man! Weren't we supposed to go to the capital? If you have other business..."

I stopped Rad, who was confused and saying such things, with a hand.

"Listen. Why do you think I secured this house?"

"Huh?"

In front of the bewildered Rad, I entered the abandoned house and pushed open a large lid on the floor.

As the lid moved, a hole leading underground appeared.

There's no need to explain what it is to the members here.

"Y-You don't mean..."

I nodded at the tense Rad.

"Exactly. The starting point of our journey is here. We'll use this ant nest to get to the capital!"

Happy New Year!

The next update will be tomorrow, January 1st!