It took us ten days to reach Aifan following Neme’s kidnapping, but even once we’d entered the country, we were still a long ways from our destination. According to the merchants in our carriage, Cardinal Fuge was a well-known figure in these parts. He was most likely in Visril, the capital of both the country and Cecinaism, which was another five days’ ride from the border. When we were finally closing in on the city, I looked out the carriage window to see a mountain with its summit hollowed out like a crater.
“That’s Visril?” I wondered out loud.
Our driver then asked, “Hmm? Is this your first time here?”
“It is indeed. If you don’t mind, could you tell us a bit about the city?” Roslia inquired with her natural sociability.
“Well, who could say no to such a charming young lady?” he replied warmly. “Several hundred years ago in the warring era, not even Aifan was spared. The nation was under constant fire. All its major cities were devastated by war, and while Visril was protected thanks to its mountaintop location, the threat crept closer with each passing day.”
The driver immediately dove into the city’s history. Roslia was asking more about its current situation, but neither of us could bring ourselves to interrupt his impassioned lecture. We decided to hear him out.
“That was when a hero appeared—Forge Maltaios the dwarf. The children of our land still know his name to this day. He feared an attack on Visril and made a grand plan to defend it all by himself. His idea, you ask? Turn Visril into a mountain fortress.”
“A mountain fortress?”
“That’s right. It would’ve been one thing for the powers that be to propose it, but Forge was just a young commoner at the time. Given the terrain, everyone laughed at him and said it was impossible. Yet nevertheless, Forge set about his plan.”
“Did he actually do it?” Roslia asked as she gazed out the window.
The driver answered proudly, “He sure did, in defiance of everyone’s expectations. Of course, it was rough going at first. There’s no way a lone boy can transform an entire city into a fortress. But along the way, he turned fifteen and got his skill—the legendary Bearer of the Holy Hammer.”
“Bearer of the Holy Hammer...” I muttered.
I hadn’t expected to hear about another entry in the sacred skill series that Diego had mentioned here. It was the third I knew about after Guide of the Holy Sword and Marksman of the Holy Gun. I’d only been half listening to the driver’s story, but it was possible that the legend of Forge might give us some hint about how to unlock Roslia’s true power with her own skill. I decided to pay full attention to the rest of the lecture.
“Forge used his holy hammer to rebuild the city. Sturdy bedrock was built up into sturdier ramparts. He left the vegetation untouched—but added turrets, of course. The tricky terrain of the city was refashioned into a complex labyrinth for invaders. As a result, Visril became an impregnable fortress, and all the residents sang Forge’s praises. That’s the story of the city.”
“You can do that much with a single skill, huh?”
“That’s right. That’s how this became the holy land of Cecinaism. Visril was protected from the flames of war because of a single miracle that God bestowed upon a boy. Roughly a hundred years later, the capital moved to Visril, where it remains to this day.”
“In other words, this place looks like a normal mountain from afar, but it can fire cannons whenever it wants?” Roslia asked, pensively tapping her cheek with her index finger.
The man driving the carriage laughed. “Perhaps I’ve misled you. Visril was a fortress centuries ago. The magic left by the holy hammer has long dried up, so the city’s just a shell of what it once was. Still, it’s a fine place. These are peaceful times, so it’s not a problem.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“There are many relics of its days as a fortress, though. You can enjoy them as sightseeing spots nowadays. There are lots of tourists who get enamored with the unconventional cityscape. If I didn’t have work, I would’ve loved to give you and your friends a tour, miss.”
“We’d also love to take a look around if we didn’t have business to attend to ourselves. Maybe next time,” Roslia said with a friendly smile.
Indeed, we had an important mission—to retrieve Neme. While the man’s story about Visril was extremely interesting, we didn’t have any time to waste right now. I gazed up at the looming mountain, thinking about how we probably wouldn’t have the leisure to sightsee after the chaos we were about to cause.