"How much does this cake cost?" I asked.
"Because the current situation isn't very good, the price has gone up a little, to six bronze coins for these eight cakes," the man said.
For cakes that were relatively small like these, that was quite an expensive price. But since he himself said that the situation was bad, maybe it was still reasonable.
Besides, these cakes also had chocolate cream filling inside, so they wouldn't disappoint the buyer.
"Alright, I'll buy them," Luke said as he handed several bronze coins to the man.
All of our money was being held by him. I deliberately did this because I was afraid that I might be careless later and end up losing the money we had.
"Thank you," the man said as he took a plastic bag and put the cakes into it using metal tongs.
I thought he would take them directly with his hands, but it turned out to be cleaner than I expected.
"Sir, is it true that a lot of monsters have been appearing lately?" I asked.
"So you've heard about it, huh? In the forest within the city, residents often see many monsters roaming around, such as goblins or orcs," he replied.
"There are even those who say that there's a giant monster waiting in the deepest part of the forest," he continued.
Wait a second, a few hours ago I did see a forest that stretched quite widely on one side of the city's walls.
And this man was calling it a forest within the city? I don't know, maybe there are several trees inside the city, so that's why he calls it that.
"Besides that, there are also many monsters outside the city. Just a few days ago, a group of monsters tried to enter through this city's gate," he said again.
"I don't know whether the neighboring city is experiencing the same thing, but I'm quite sure that there will be many more monsters attacking both of these cities."
I think the monsters this time could be more dangerous, because of the forest inside the city and direct attacks from outside.
That means the residents could be more threatened, because they can't predict when monsters will attack from within.
"Does the leader of this city already know about that?" Luke asked.
"Yes, Marcen-sama has already heard about this problem. And he promised to help resolve it if the situation becomes more chaotic," he answered.
"He has also warned all of us to be careful, especially those who live or work near the forest area, as they might be attacked suddenly," he continued.
——
Luke and I chose to enter the small shop and talk more clearly with the man.
Earlier, Luke had also shown his adventurer license card, which made the man want to chat with us a little longer.
I forgot to mention this, but Luke is a rank B adventurer, one rank higher than Hime's.
We asked several things, such as who the leaders of both cities were, and how they treated their citizens.
We also slightly brought up the new hero party whose rumors had indeed spread widely across the entire continent.
—
Marcen Ced Vannis, the leader of this city, is the second son of the previous leader.
And his older brother, Denniver Ced Denvis, is the leader of the neighboring city.
Their father is still alive to this day, but he chose to live peacefully in a residence that is not located in either of the two cities. Many say that he lives in Aldger, but there is no certainty.
Marcen often leaves his large residence to visit the citizens and chat with them very kindly.
It is also not uncommon for him to give supplies such as rice for free to families with poor economic conditions.
He is known as a kind and warmly smiling leader, which is why the people of Vannis greatly like him.
Meanwhile, Denniver rarely meets his citizens directly, and many say that he is frightening and makes people feel intimidated.
But even so, he has a kind nature not much different from his younger brother's, and secretly, he often shares with his citizens.
—
Even so, the residents of both cities cannot protest, and they choose to continue living peacefully under different leaderships, as long as they can still live their lives.
The citizens do not harbor resentment or hatred toward each other between the two cities.
The only ones who hate each other are Marcen and Denniver. Even their own father no longer wants to deal with them.
Many say that the root of this problem is their father, but that is also not entirely certain.
There are many rumors saying that they are actually arguing over something that determines their future, but I don't know what it is.
The biggest possibility is inheritance and wealth, where they might feel that their father's inheritance was unfair, and as a result, they became hostile toward each other.
—
Well, that's more or less the kind of answer you get from this man.
I think that provided enough new information that might be useful later on, and now I also know the names of both city leaders.
"You're asking about things like that—what business do you actually have in this city?" the man asked.
It was only natural for him to ask that, since he already knew from the beginning that we weren't natives of this city.
"He and I are a party from another city, and we came here because we heard that the Abbys forces are planning to attack both of these cities," Luke said.
Good. That was exactly the answer I needed right now.
"Well then, both of you, keep up your spirits. And just so you know, I feel that there's something different about you compared to most other adventurers," the man said.
"Oh right, sir, there's one more thing I forgot to ask. Has the rumor about the new hero party that will exterminate Abbys from Necvalion reached this city?" I asked.
This was one of the questions I wanted to ask him—how could I forget something like that?
"Ah, that news, huh. The rumor spread very quickly because it involves heroes and Abbys. I personally believe it, especially since there was already a hero summoned before this new hero party was even formed," he replied.
"Well, if that party has business like yours, I think both cities will be safe. And maybe that party could even ease the tension between the leaders of these two cities," he continued.
Luke and I shook hands with him, as a sign that we had to return to the fountain area soon.
It was already a little past three twenty in the afternoon, and there were still several dozen minutes left, but you decided to only move around near the fountain.
To be honest, I don't know what the man sensed from us, but I was quite happy to hear his hopes for our hero party.
I won't make any promises… but I will try to fulfill the wishes and expectations of the people who believe in and support this new hero party.