I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 67

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[067] Coastal City Liberta
“So this is Liberta!!”
The coastal city we arrived at through the portal felt different from the moment we stepped foot here—the very air itself.
The salty sea breeze tickled my nostrils, mingling with the cries of gulls wheeling overhead.
Exotic architecture defined the skyline: distinctive arched windows and terracotta roofs adorned every structure.
Vibrant buildings painted in every hue lined the main streets radiating outward from the portal, their bustling crowds a testament to the city’s vitality, while mysterious steel cables stretched precariously between towering spires.
A tourist city that breathed with living energy.
Radi, visiting a coastal city for the first time, stood on tiptoes with wide, curious eyes, turning to take in every detail of the surroundings.
“The smell is… so unique! It’s filled with salty air, but there’s this distinctive spice mixed in…!”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here… the place has changed quite a bit.”
“Ugh… portals are always so noisy….”
Leaving the enthusiastic Malton and the uneasy Karen behind, I found myself gazing blankly at the surrounding scenery.
‘So this is how prosperous it truly is.’
The Liberta I had seen in the game was a wasteland—barely standing ruins left behind after Leviathan’s assault.
A land of death, teeming with high-level monsters and infested with disease and undead.
The adventurers dispatched to Liberta had been tasked primarily with purifying the corrupted city, supported by holy knights and priests.
Yet in the vibrant streets before my eyes, I could find no trace of that former devastation, no matter how hard I looked.
Since Belheim itself was such a grim world teetering on the brink of destruction, the very concept of such a peaceful tourist city felt profoundly alien to me.
Pulled from my reverie of the past, I snapped back to attention and glanced at my companions.
“…Everyone understands, right? Sightseeing is fine, but we mustn’t forget our true purpose for coming here.”
“Of course. …Though we should have a little free time, shouldn’t we?”
“Let’s head to a tavern to gather information from the locals. Besides, we need to eat anyway.”
Our official purpose for being here was to investigate the anomalies occurring in Liberta on Belmont’s request.
And to accomplish this, there was one crucial task we needed to undertake first.
‘Information gathering.’
We naturally made our way toward the tavern where crowds of people congregated.
As we pushed through the swinging doors into the restaurant-tavern, Radi caught sight of the menu and began chattering excitedly.
“Doran! The signature dish here is paella—they fry raw rice together with seafood! And there’s gambas al ajillo, shrimp and garlic cooked in oil…!”
“Right, we earned a generous reward from the last request, so order whatever you’d like. Get draft beer for everyone too. Malton, is there anything that catches your eye?”
“The fried squid here looks appealing. …Waiter, we’re ready to order!”
Soon, steaming dishes began arriving at our table.
True to the coastal city’s reputation for seafood cuisine, the food was indeed exquisite.
The fluffy grains of rice infused with the savory essence of spices proved to be a delightful treat.
‘In the past, we could barely manage with rice balls or dried ship’s biscuits to stave off hunger….’
Later, even those became scarce, and we resorted to eating spoiled fish to get by.
While everyone else eagerly cleared their plates, Karen alone seemed anxious, picking at her food with her fork.
“What’s wrong? Doesn’t it suit your taste?”
Sensing something amiss, I spoke up, and Karen opened her mouth, her gaze wary.
“…How exactly did you manage to convince Uncle?”
“Belmont? I didn’t really convince him of anything.”
All I’ve done is defeat a demon and share some knowledge from my past life.
“If the food doesn’t suit your palate, shall I order something else for you? I’m not sure I can satisfy the refined tastes of a particular noble lady, but….”
“Oh, no! This is fine…!”
｢Karen is fidgeting nervously, gauging your reaction!｣
｢[Chaos] increases your Intelligence by 2.｣
‘Why is she watching my reaction?’
Though I accepted Belmont’s request, in terms of social hierarchy, a mage from a prestigious family and a mere adventurer would place me far below her….
‘What did you do?’
‘Nothing this time, I swear.’
I looked at Radi with confusion, but she simply shook her head in denial.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
As I filled my stomach and scanned for a suitable table, I spotted some merchants nearby enthusiastically clinking glasses and approached them warmly.
“Wow, this place really overflows with vitality! The weather is wonderful, and everyone is so kind!”
“Oh, a traveler? Is this your first time in Liberta?”
“Yes, I only just arrived, and this city is truly… so beautiful I could weep! The sun is radiant, and the sound of crashing waves is like a hymn!”
“Ha ha, you’ve got good taste, friend! A toast!”
I clinked glasses with the merchants in the cheerful atmosphere.
Winning the favor of locals isn’t difficult.
Approach with an enthusiastic smile and lavish praise on the region’s culture, and that’s all there is to it.
“If you’re here, you absolutely must try our churros drizzled with cinnamon and honey for dessert! They’re a specialty of our city!”
“Oh, I’ll definitely try them! One of my companions happens to love sweets.”
After exchanging idle gossip with the merchants, I decided it was time to get to the point.
“But… has anything strange happened in this city recently?”
“Strange?”
“Well… for instance, rumors of a massive beast, or mermaids attacking the land….”
I probed as naturally as possible, but the moment the word “mermaids” left my lips, the merchants’ faces hardened.
They exchanged glances before crying out in alarm.
“W-we wouldn’t know! Mermaids? That’s impossible!”
“How could you say such things about our Liberta, such a safe and beautiful city! Don’t spread strange rumors as an outsider!”
As if they’d rehearsed it, the merchants spoke curtly, then hurriedly moved to a corner of the table and began whispering among themselves.
‘Why that reaction?’
Similar to when I’d inquired about the Night Stalker before.
Returning to my seat empty-handed, Malton muttered quietly while nursing his beer.
“If rumors spread that the city’s security is unstable, tourists would stop coming. I suspect they’ve agreed to keep quiet about the mermaids.”
“Their attitude just now was definitely unnatural. The fact that rumors have spread enough to create an unspoken rule among merchants….”
“It suggests the mermaid rumors are likely true.”
I nodded silently.
Outwardly peaceful and safe, but rotting from within.
A quietly sprouting harbinger of catastrophe.
‘How much time until Leviathan’s attack… A month? Perhaps far sooner….’
To grasp the full picture, I need more information.
No matter how well-versed I am in Belheim’s history, the Liberta within the game had nearly all its inhabitants wiped out, leaving me with only the fragmentary knowledge that it “fell due to Leviathan’s appearance.”
But my plan to naturally approach the merchant and extract information had already fallen apart.
‘Should I try buying them off with money? Or follow them into some dark alley and intimidate them?’
Just as I was pondering this, Karen, who had been eating quietly, spoke up.
“Hmm… I hear mermaids and monsters have been appearing periodically around Neptune’s Temple?”
“Really? How did you know that?”
“My hearing is rather sensitive.”
Karen pointed curtly to the inside of her pointed hat.
‘What? Could she be a beastkin like Radi?’
I was momentarily puzzled but set it aside for now and asked.
“Can you keep relaying what they’re saying?”
“There’s not much beyond what I just mentioned… Apparently, recently mermaids and fish-men have been rising to the water’s surface, attacking the temple people, and disappearing.”
“Then it would be faster to go there and investigate. Neptune’s Temple, you say….”
Neptune is a deity equivalent to Poseidon, governing the sea and earthquakes.
An incredibly powerful god, but from what I recall, he rarely reveals himself before humans.
After finishing our meal, we paid and left the tavern.
“Let’s see… The temple is said to be more than ten blocks away from here….”
Even by rough estimate, it would take over thirty minutes to walk there.
I was considering whether to call a carriage when suddenly a shadow fell over my head.
Looking up, I saw a large box sliding smoothly along a cable connected between buildings.
‘A gondola…!’
The true identity of the cable I’d seen when arriving at the city.
Excited, I followed the cable to the top of a spire, where burly beastkin were sweating profusely as they turned a pulley.
After paying the boarding fee and climbing into the gondola, the entire panorama of Liberta spread out before me.
“Look over there! You can see the sea!”
“It’s so much more beautiful from this view.”
“Radi, get up and look around. You wanted to see the sea, didn’t you?”
But Radi was crouched in the corner of the gondola, gripping the railing and trembling violently.
｢Radi is experiencing extreme fear from acrophobia!｣
｢Due to the [Chaos] skill, distant vision temporarily increases by 3!｣
‘Oh… this is quite useful.’
As my stats increased, I felt my vision brighten slightly.
Scanning the city’s panorama with my sharpened sight, a peculiar sight caught my eye between the intricately divided districts.
“Is that… a barricade?”
The corner of a poorly visible alley was blocked off with wooden planks and miscellaneous debris.
Beyond that, security forces clad in silver armor patrolled throughout the city, and I could also see damaged buildings being repaired behind protective barriers.
Evidence that Liberta’s public order was not as intact as it appeared on the surface.
“We’ve arrived! Watch your step—don’t let your feet slip through the gaps in the platform!”
After supporting the trembling Radi as we disembarked from the gondola and walked a bit further, a magnificent temple appeared before us.
A colossal structure built in the Ionic style, so vast that it was difficult to take in at a single glance.
In the plaza before the building, ornate carriages and nobles moved about, and beyond them stretched a pristine white sandy beach and azure waters that extended to the horizon.
Could this truly be the place where mermaids launched their attacks?
Radi, having regained some composure, murmured softly.
“A stench….”
“A stench?”
“A pungent, briny odor. Like seafood… mixed with the smell of blood.”
Radi began moving as if entranced.
Her destination was the center of the plaza. It appeared ordinary at first glance, but faint bloodstains lingered between the tiles.
Malton picked up a glimmering fragment from the ground.
“A scale fragment from a mermaid. It seems there was definitely a skirmish here.”
“So they fought here, then washed away the evidence with water to cover it up?”
The primary revenue of the coastal city Liberta came from the wallets of tourists.
If rumors of unstable security spread, the city’s income would plummet—a natural consequence.
Karen swept back her crimson hair and spoke thoughtfully.
“But why would mermaids come ashore and attack people? I heard the mermaids in these waters were supposed to be docile.”
“I’m not entirely certain of the reason myself….”
Since mermaids possessed superior intelligence and were classified as demi-humans, conflicts with humans were uncommon.
As I pondered this mystery and surveyed my surroundings, people suddenly began descending from the line of carriages parked in the plaza, rushing noisily toward the temple.
Separated from my companions, I was helplessly swept up in the crowd and shouted.
“Damn it…! Let’s meet inside!”
The interior of the temple, into which I had been thrust, was far more majestic than it appeared from outside.
Marble columns, rivaling the height of multi-story buildings, stood in rows, and dignified statues of deities adorned with golden ornaments were carved throughout.
As I surveyed the interior, gleaming brilliantly against the pristine white tiles, I suddenly discovered an object placed at the center of the temple.
A sacred relic enshrined upon the Central Altar.
｢You have witnessed a fragment of the ‘Trident That Cleaves the Ocean’ (the shaft)!!｣
｢It is a divine weapon of immense power! Should it fall into the hands of one deemed worthy, it could unleash extraordinary might!｣
｢Due to this remarkable discovery, the Insight of all party members permanently increases by 1!｣
‘A sacred relic…?’
The moment I saw it, a passage from my memories struck my mind like lightning.
“I found it…!”
“What is it, Doran?”
The method by which my past self had defeated Leviathan.
“I’ve figured it out.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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