I donned the skull mask after parting with Myne, then headed northward, towards the fortress city Babylon.
The sun was starting to go down. I wanted to at least reach the city before sunset.
I don't know if it's a wish come true, but I returned to the border between the Kingdom and Gallia without encountering any monster stampedes along the way.
Over that point is the kingdom…the soil wasn't desolated. Flowers and other plants could be seen growing on the ground, swaying on the wind.
And it's still Gallia where I stood. The air reeked of blood and the ground was dry and cracked. One could even say that this was the country of death.
As I stepped away from Gallia, the fresh air of Kingdom entered my lungs. As I thought, this feeling is a little bit unsettling.
When I had stepped into Gallia back then, it was like I was passing through the border to another world. The difference was uncanny.
Perhaps like that machine angel which I fought against with Myne, this was probably also due to the influence of ancient Gallian technology.
Well, even after 4000 years since its destruction, the exact location of the Gallian kingdom was never found, I don't understand why.
But anyways, here is the fortress city Babylon. My stomach is empty, so let's hurry.
Oh~, look at that, a city surrounded by tall walls. It is said that this wall serves as some sort of a embankment to prevent the monsters in Gallia from flooding in. Therefore, they spent so much on it that it now almost reaches the sky. It's really colossal in height.
The wall surrounded the circumference of the city in a circular shape.
I approached and gently touched it. It's made of some kind of metal….or alloy, to be exact. Certainly not iron.
It's a tough alloy that won't bend or crack easily upon being attacked by monster.
[Hey, Greed. This looks pretty hard. I don't think even you can cut through it, eh?]
『Ha!? Even though it's made of adamantite, it'll still be no match for me. Why do you want to cut it anyways?』
[No, let's stop now.]
Hee~. So according to Greed, this outer wall is made of an alloy called adamantite.
For thousands of years, these walls have prevented the monsters in Gallia from breaking in, so the durability is on a whole other level than other metal or alloys.
Also, the method to refine it has been lost; it is said to be made from various things found in Gallia.
「Do you know about anything regarding this city by any chance?」
『Fuhn, this fortress city is a memorable place for me. But it was from a long time ago.』
[Hee~, it's alright. You can tell me if you want, or is it a no?]
『You already know the answer, don't you? Besides, it's not that interesting to hear about.』
Perhaps Greed was involved during the early days of this city when it began its construction.
However, Greed was a weapon. Unless he had another wielder at that time, how could he be involved with the construction of this city?
I guess it's okay with that line of thought. Another wielder of Greed…..it's almost impossible for me to think that someone could handle Greed without having a mortal sin skill like mine. After all, Greed likes to take away most, if not all, of my stats when I need him to do something.
Greed cannot be handled by an ordinary person. Even the stats of a holy knight would soon get dried up.
Maybe, there was someone who had a similar skill like I do in the past.
[Hey, Greed. I wonder, did you have a previous user?]
『What's the matter? So sudden』
[About that, can you tell me?]
Greed never really lied to me. Just a little in a very rare times,
『...it was』
[That person, what happened?]
『Dead. Leaving me all alone. Well, that's in the past, nothing I can do about it』
Of course. Otherwise, Greed wouldn't be in my possession now.
『I thought that I'd ever meet another one, but I actually did』
[One who has Gluttony skill?]
『That's how it is. Now, don't just loaf around, get in quickly.』
Did you just remember the old days and got shy because of it? But that's it, Greed didn't tell me anything else.
Now then, where was the entrance of this fortress city?
Normally speaking, it should be at the north part which is the opposite of Gallia. Otherwise, when a large scale stampede appeared, there will be a chance that the gate will collapse and allow the monsters to get in.
I walked along the wall, until finally, the gate I'd been searching for became visible. As expected, it's in the north part of the city.
Awesome….it's made to fit large amount of advancing soldiers.
The front gate was open right now. Many people were going in and out. Warriors and merchants, a lot of carriages carrying ladies in fancy clothes also. I saw a carriage that belonged to the military. I noticed the emblem of King's army on it.
Were they carrying people and food from the countryside? There seemed to be a lot of people trying to make money here. Most of the people in that carriage had faces full of expectation on them.
Because I'll be living here too, I for one can understand how they feel. The more money you have, the better. Then there would be nothing to worry about.
So then, let's go through the gate now….when I thought to do that, I heard the noise of hooves from a large amount of horses from behind me.
About 100 or so of them.
I turned around and….aaahhhh
It's the army from the kingdom. That white rose coat of arms is exactly like the Heart family crest.
Just like me, people who noticed quickly moved aside to make way. It's the knight who would be the new lord of the fortress city after all.
I stared under the cover of my skull mask, looking for her. Where….where was she!?
The soldiers had started to pass through the gate. I still couldn't find Roxy among them. Holding off my wish to see her early, I grasped the black sword on my waist tightly.
Greed told me off through the "mind reading".
『You're impatient. Calm down!』
[Shut up]
I know that. Even if I want to, I just can't calm myself down.
Then Greed told me.
『This sign...found her. She's a little towards the back』
[At the back…..oh!?]
I guess I acted like a stupid person just now.
As Greed said, I looked to the back of the marching soldiers, and I saw her riding on a white horse.
Wrapped in white armor that made her blonde hair shine even more, Roxy waved at those who welcomed the arrival.
She always has that dazzling face. Even more so now than when I last saw her back in the kingdom.
The air around her is different somewhat.
Perhaps, something happened before she arrived at the fortress city Babylon. That is, Roxy felt even more like a holy knight.
To the extent that it feels like she had grown distant…. I think.
Greed told me while I was still in daze.
『Fate, are you not gonna wave your hand?』
[Don't say such an unreasonable thing]
Roxy rode past me on her white horse. At that time, her blue eyes momentarily glanced at me.
However, the white horse kept walking forward.
I was worried that I'd been noticed for a moment there, but it wasn't the case. This skull mask had a function of inhibiting recognition. As long as I wore it, Roxy won't recognize me as Fate Graphite.
If I could, I would've already…..
Roxy finally went through the gate. This is the distance between me and her. We can no longer do things together like we used to. We've gone our separate ways.
A row of soldiers still continued in behind her. From their face, and their body language, I can tell that all of them were trained soldiers. I don't have any complaints.
With the presence of the head of the Heart family that is renowned all across the kingdom, it seems the soldiers' morale had been raised by a notch.
It took a while until all the soldiers finally entered the city. Thanks to that I was left standing here, and by the time I noticed, the sky had already become a starry night.
Well it's alright. I got to see Roxy's energetic face.
Now then, this will be the city where I live from on. First of all I need to find a lodging. How about an inn…..one with delicious meals, and hopefully not very costly.
=====