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Chapter 100: The Gatekeeper of the Re-Declining Town

1. The Gatekeeper of the Re-Declining Town

After listlessly reciting the town’s catchphrase and letting a peddler through the gate, the guard Sidelock picked his nose.

How bored he was.

The job of a gatekeeper in a rural town was dull.

Yes, so very dull.

Dull once again.

It had become dull again.

A month had already passed since “that day.”

The number of visitors to Yoshanka gradually dwindled until it fully reverted to its former desolate state, as if the preceding prosperity had never occurred.

No, the Trade Association members who had anticipated that boom to continue had invested in storefront expansions and venturing into new businesses.

But with the lack of people, their invested funds couldn’t be recouped, leaving them distressed and distraught.

In that sense, the situation had arguably worsened compared to before.

Many Yoshanka business owners now found themselves on the verge of bankruptcy, gasping for air.

If the business owners disappeared, Yoshanka’s remaining population would dwindle even further.

This town had begun tumbling down the staircase toward ruin at an accelerated pace compared to before.

(Well, not my problem. As long as I can make it until I die…probably.)

Withdrawing the finger he had inserted into his nose, Sidelock examined it.

……This was likely the biggest bogey he had picked recently.

“That day” referred to when the cursed child girl had been expelled from Yoshanka.

It was also the day the branch chief Dakkante, Sidelock’s drinking buddy, returned from his business trip and the receptionist Pilitza’s numerous transgressions came to light.

Ah, and the arrogant silver-haired Kamasse had departed town that day too, hadn’t he?

After the cursed child’s expulsion, what transpired was—

First, the delivery of Cysh Grass to the Adventurer’s Guild had essentially ceased.

Apparently, this was revealed during Pilitza’s interrogation, but the recent talk of “Cysh Grass from Kaise Forest” had actually been harvested and submitted by that cursed child.

Now that he recalled, he had seen the cursed child showing something resembling that grass to Kamasse in front of this gate.

Pilitza had deceived the cursed child to exploit her for the Cysh Grass, pocketing the profits for herself while concealing the truth to hide her misconduct.

Consequently, the cursed child had been driven from town without any recompense whatsoever.

Then what happened next?

First, the merchants and alchemists who had come to Yoshanka seeking medicinal herbs vanished from town.

Following that, the adventurers began leaving too since exploring the demon realm proved too perilous with little Cysh Grass to be found regardless.

Previously, even without herb gathering, adventurers could sustain themselves by procuring Togūdo bird eggs.

However, the Togūdo that had inhabited the northern cliffs, their primary nesting grounds, had disappeared as well.

Yoshanka had swiftly transformed into a town utterly devoid of profitability for adventurers, leaving them no reason to remain.

Naturally, the adventurers departed elsewhere.

The hustle and bustle had evaporated from Yoshanka.

“Phewah~ It’s been so boring around here lately~! The leisurely pace is nice, but—”

Beside him, Yoza yawned out those carefree words.

“With barely any visitors, I’m starting to worry about the town. It must be that black-haired, black-eyed cursed child’s doing……! Unforgivable!”

Yoza and the Trade Association bigwigs who had actively pushed for the cursed child’s expulsion all shared this same stance:

That the town’s return to desolation was due to the cursed girl’s curse.

However, had they left her in town, an even greater calamity would have inevitably befallen Yoshanka.

So this outcome was unavoidable, they claimed.

They weren’t to blame.

(Just passing the buck, huh.)

Speaking of which, this guy Yoza—

He was apparently the one who prompted the Trade Association’s movements that day, unlawfully trying to drive the cursed child out despite lacking any legal grounds to do so.

Supposedly because the cursed child had been witnessed scaling the outer walls instead of using the main gate.

Surely that must have been due to some nefarious intent, leaving no choice but to expel her from town.

Or so he had riled up the others with such reasoning.

Oh come on, you’re a guard yourself, you know.

What were you thinking?

There’s no such law against it, is there?

True, when pressured by Harinna, I had said I would “look into it.”

But I never intended to take such reckless actions.

I had spotted the cursed child traversing by scaling the outer walls – an unforeseen ability.

The proper procedure would have been reporting it to the magistrate, seeking instructions on how to proceed, then acting accordingly.

Instead, you took it upon yourself to make your own judgment.

If deemed a disciplinary issue, I would undoubtedly face some form of reprimand for failure to supervise.

Don’t fool around like that.

Fortunately, perhaps because it involved a cursed child, I haven’t received any reprimand from above regarding this incident.

But still—

“……Come to think of it.”

“Hm? Something on your mind, Sidelock?”

“Ah, my apologies. Just muttering to myself……. Yoza, you mentioned witnessing the cursed child scaling the outer walls, didn’t you?”

“Ah, yes! That wretch was evading us gatekeepers like that, can you believe it!? Unforgivable!”

“……Just how does one even manage such a feat as climbing those walls……?”

“Hm? Well— It must have involved using some wicked cursed power, right!? Good thing we drove her out before she could unleash it on the townsfolk!”

“……I see.”

There it is again.

His preconceptions have become truth in his mind.

For a guard obligated to maintain impartiality, such a mentality is quite unbecoming.

Left unchecked, he’ll likely repeat similar transgressions.

Yet, as his superior, I really should reprimand Yoza for this.

But doing so would indirectly criticize the Trade Association he enabled, which could turn the business owners against me in this small town – a disastrous prospect.

So I’ll say nothing.

Yoza won’t change either way.

Well, I suppose it can’t be helped.

It’s not my personal issue, so why bother?

I’ll just prepare to deflect any responsibility that may arise.

(……Ah, but I’m so bored……)

Heaving a sigh as his meandering thoughts concluded, Sidelock gazed skyward.

The overcast skies stretched out as ever, offering no entertainment.

The chilly sea winds whipped relentlessly with no lucrative prospects in sight.

Would Yoshanka ever regain the liveliness it had possessed a month prior?

(Probably not, huh.)

That had been the final dream witnessed by the dying town of Yoshanka.

An enjoyable dream, but dreams inevitably fade.

(……If only.)

However, Sidelock couldn’t help but wonder – if they hadn’t driven out the cursed child and instead accepted her presence in town, how might things have unfolded?

Perhaps a new story could have begun unfolding in Yoshanka.

A vague inkling, but the thought crossed his mind nonetheless.

(……No, it’s too late for that now. Doesn’t matter anymore.)

They had expelled the cursed child.

Yoshanka had begun declining once more.

Pondering the cause and effect served no purpose for a gatekeeper like himself.

Resolving to dwell on the cursed child no further, Sidelock turned to face the unpleasant lashing sea winds, frowning as he surveyed the unpopulated wilderness road while picking his nose.

An unchanged mundane routine stretched out before him.