Chapter 373: Gringott Again

After leaving Alistair's Mansion, we were on our way to Gringott. We want to know if the Black Cats were able to evacuate safely, and we also want to get information about the war.

"I see it"

"Woof!"

We left in the morning and by mid-afternoon we had Gringott in sight.

"The rampart is a little bit broken"

『Yeah, it seems like there's been some pretty intense fighting.』

Even though Kiara, Mea and the others had eradicated the swarm of demonic beasts to some extent, but of course there would still be some of them that ran away before Kiara and the others managed to strike them down. They must have been the ones who attacked Gringott.

It can be seen from the damage on the rampart and surroundings that there was a fairly fierce battle. There are burnt marks on the rampart, and part of the surrounding forest is burned down. Not only that, but a lot of trees were knocked down, making lots of hollow parts in the ground.

But the gates, though damaged, remain undestroyed, and soldiers can be seen patrolling on the ramparts. It seems that they have prevented them from getting into the city.

For the time being, we decided to get off just before the castle gate. In the past, there would have been a long line of people waiting to be screened to enter the town, but now the gates of the castle were tightly closed and there were no people in sight.

As we got off Urushi's back and approached the gates on our own, we were approached by a soldier on the ramparts asking who we are and what do we want by coming here.

"Who- Who are you!"

We can also see that there are multiple bows pointed at us at the same time.

『Fran, I don't feel any killing intent .......maybe』

"Mhm"

Omnipresence Perception is doing too much work and I will only get information overload, but I don't think the soldiers on the ramparts are going to kill me. However, there is considerable caution and fear coming from them.

"Fran. Adventurer"

"Like you-"

"Hey! Wait!"

A soldier who was about to raise his voice further was stopped by a colleague next to him, who looked flustered.

"What are you doing!"

"That person is fine!"

Apparently, there was a soldier who remembered Fran. This is going to save me a lot of extra time.

Eventually, the soldier was able to identify Fran and get us into the city. It's pretty crowded in there. But there is no liveliness at all. This is because many of them are refugees who have fled from the surrounding villages.

In the middle of central avenue on both sides of the area families were huddling together. Perhaps they had escaped in a hurry with only their clothes on. Most of them were just tired and sat down without a smile.

However, as I walked down the street toward the lord's mansion, there was a corner that was different from the other area where other refugees came together. Here, tents are regularly set up and even a simple kitchen is built. And everyone was chatting there comfortably.

『They just saved us the trouble of asking for the direction to the lord's house.』

"Hmm!"

It's an area where the refugees from Schwarzkadze gathered. I kind of know it when we escape from the pack of demonic beasts, and I heard that the black cat people are really used to escaping. They are obviously well prepared beforehand and seem to be more adaptable than other beastmen in places like this.

They are indeed a wanderer who has been on the run. Apparently, even though they had a safe haven in Schwarzkadze, they hadn't lost their escape skills.

Fran spots a familiar man and runs over to him.

"Chief!"

"Oh! Princess! You are fine!"

"Everyone! The princess is back!"

"Princess! Welcome back!"

Everyone greets her with an awesome smile. Fran seems a little confused, but I think the thought of joy is even greater than that.

"I'm back"

She nod to everyone shyly. Damn, it's so cute. The black cats seemed to have the same impression as me, and everyone were either laughing or giving a wide smile.

Fran is a hero and idol to the Black Cat tribe. In no time at all, we were surrounded by a crowd of black cat people.

"Gentlemen, we mustn't barge on the princess like this. Don't come too close!"

"E~~ii, It's not fair that only the village chief talks to the princess!"

"That's right! That's right!"

"E~~ii! So noisy! Shut up! Anyway, scatter for now! First of all, let's have the Princess rest!"

"Yes"

"Tsk"

The village chief disbanded the Black Cats. Then he leads us straight to a place like a plaza set up in the middle of the Black Cat Tribe's tent village.

"Now, now, please sit here, but I'm sorry we only have this one chair."

"Mhm. Thank you."

"Hey, bring us some tea!"

In the square, Fran sat on a chair and the village chief sitting on the ground in front of her. And the people from the village remain and surround her. Well, the area around it is filled with the black cat people.

"And what happened outside? What happened to the village?"

Well, It's obvious that, that's what you want to know. Naturally, we were on our way to Gringott to check on Schwarzkadze's condition.

"The village is safe. Few houses are broken. And now that all the demon beasts have been killed, we can go back to them whenever we want."

"Is it really true?"

"Hmm"

"Is that so!"

"We did it!"

"As expected of the princess!"

"Princess Banzai!"

The moment Fran told them that the village was safe, the Black Cat tribe, including the village chief, seemed to explode with joyful emotions.There was an earth-shaking roar, followed by cheerings sound. I suppose that was their number one concern.

"Thank you very much! Di- did the princess exterminate the demon beast?"

"Not just me. Mea and Kiara are with us."

"When you say Kiara, is that Kiara?"

"Do you know?"

"Of course! For our Black Cats, it's another hero lined up with the princess!"

I see, so you know her.

"Everyone is happy, and surely Kiara is happy too."

"And, so where is Lady Kiara?"

"Hmm... Kiara—-"

Fran is at a loss for words. It seems that just by seeing her, everyone, including the village chief, realized that Kiara was dead. He keeps his mouth shut with a painful expression However, Fran told the story of Kiara as it was. Everyone is quietly listening to her words.

The village chief was taken care of by Kiara when he was young, or something like that, and he started screaming and crying halfway through. Other sobbing voices rise from among the black cat people.

But Fran concludes the story while smiling.

"Kiara won't be happy to see people crying. I'm sure that she will be happier if everyone laughed and remember her as a hero."

"Pri, princess...! Tha- That's right!"

"Ou, it's as the princess says!"

You can't seem to laugh all of a sudden, but at least no one's crying with a dark expression anymore. It's a reminder of the tremendous power of Fran's influence. Fran wiped her own tears and smiled.

However, many black cats are still crying all at once. The way it looked was nothing short of bizarre. Moreover all the other species in the vicinity are looking at us like they are looking at something creepy.

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