It didnt take Raiden and the old man to start seeing the silhouette of the Valgoor in the distance. Seeing this as a good opportunity like any other, Raiden asked the old man, "Who were those guys?"
Hubert with contempt in his eyes said, "Those guys were from Hajime Village. It is located near the town. I think that you will learn more about the village when you officially take your post."
Hubert looked as if he didnt want to talk about the village, so he didnt push. He knew that with his post, he would eventually encounter those people again.
Valgoor was the same as he remembers. The grey stones embedded roads, people from various races roamed the streets, and the distinct smell of spices was in the air, everywhere he looked made him feel nostalgic.
It was the biggest town around here, and had road connectivity to every other town around the place, because of which most of the imports from the port ended up here. One of the major imports in their country was spices, which made the streets of this beautiful town smell cinnamon.
"How are you finding our small town sir?" Herbert asked, who had been silently driving the buggy till then.
"Nostalgic. I grew up here you know,"
"Really?" The old man glanced back with a smile on his face, "I didnt know that… Where did you grow up?"
"Well.. the local Orphanage,"
"Oh.. But nice of you to return to your roots," Herbert said while stirring around a cart with a broken axle, "When I heard that one top students of Magic School was coming here, I thought that some pompous noble had taken a job."
He chuckled, "Believe me, no noble would want to come here,"
Herbert shook his head, "I doubt about that… Till now we had 5 inspectors fired from the town."
Raiden didnt know that "Really? Why?"
"Madame Tamika, of course. Do you not know her?" Herbert turned around and asked, probably trying to see his honest reaction. But the truth was, he didnt know who Tamika was, "Am I supposed to know her?"
Herbert's eyes widened with surprise, and he turned to face the road, "You dont know her?"
"No. This is the first time.. Wait, are you talking about Sub-Inspector Tamika Gregory? She is supposed to be a subordinate under me."
"So you do know her."
"No no.." He swiftly said, "I only know her name from my joining orders. I have never met her before."
"Oh."
"So what is the matter with her?"
With some pride, Herbert answered, "She is beautiful,"
"Eh?"
"Yeah, she is." Herbert said, "It is good to hear that you have never met her. Blokes before you came to this town because they wanted to get close to her. Some left because they couldnt get used to the job, while the rest were fired by Commander Esmerelda because they were incompetent."
"Oh," Raiden spoke, "I took the post here because this was my hometown. And I wanted to get back to my roots."
"Roots are important." Herbert then proceeded to share the tidbits of the Inspectors before him. Which he appreciated.
This town was the same as he remembered, friendly and kind. But a part of his mind was also worried about the small golden window that he could see upper middle section of his vision. According to the golden window, downloading had completed 47%, and he still had no idea what would happen when the mark hit 100%.
The local inn of the town was a semi-decent-looking old wooden building. Which would work, he was not the kind of man who would complain about a free stay in the inn, all expenses paid. Herbert insisted that he would take care of the trunks. He wanted to help the old man, but he denied, "I need to earn wage too, sire. Please, go ahead and have breakfast below."
Raiden when entered the building, was greeted with a packed restaurant. Almost all the tables of the place were filled with people, and from what he could see everyone was eating the same thing. He went to the serving station, where he found out that they were serving their famous Lamb Stew for breakfast, so he took a bowl for himself and turned around.
There were no empty seats, but there was a woman and her daughter sitting at the other side of the room at the table meant for four. He went to them,
"Excuse me, Ma'am," he said politely, "Will it be alright if I sat down with you guys?"
The woman remained stunned for a few seconds, then passed him a warm smile, "Of course, please be my guest."
He took the seat beside the 9-10-year-old daughter of the woman. The Lamb was tender, the broth was thick and the combination of the spices did make the dish a little spicy, which was nothing that he couldnt handle. It was a scrumptious breakfast.
"I have never seen you here before," The small girl said. "Sophie!" Her mother scolded her.
Ignoring the woman, he answered, "That is because I came to the town this morning little girl,"
"Are you a merchant like my father?" she asked innocently.
"I am not a merchant." He said, "But I am the new Inspector of this town."
"Really?" The mother spoke with astonishment, "I am Elisabeth Turner by the way. This is Sophie, I am babysitting her for a friend of mine,"
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Turner, and it is a pleasure to meet you as well Sophie. My name is Raiden Hampshire,"
"Are you here to stay Mr. Hampshire?" Sophie asked, "Are you here for ore mongering?" He didnt get what Sophie was talking about.
"What do you mean by ore mongering sweety?" Elisabeth asked sweetly with a smile on her face.
"Ore Mongering, it is when a man runs after the skirts of one woman to another," Raiden saw the big smile on Elisabeth vanish, turning into a frown.
"SOPHIE!" Elisabeth squealed, "Who taught you those words?"
"Dad told me," Sophie said innocently, "He was drinking the bad-smelling grape juice in his study room the other day. Then he told me,"
A vein popped out of Elisabeth's forehead, "Did he now… It seems like your father, me and your mother need to have a talk."
Raiden didnt know what to say at that moment. He stayed glued to his position, he didnt know how to react. But then he remembered his stew, he figured that he should concentrate on stew for now, while it was still hot.