"Thank you for answering my questions."
The woman expresses her gratitude.
"I must also apologize for ending up asking multiple questions in turn. However, I felt no falsehood in your account of defeating those four. I can tell you're answering my questions honestly."
Does she have some kind of lie detector?
She seems extremely confident in her ability to judge truth.
"Therefore—"
The woman looks at me with a sincere expression.
If her body below the neck could move, she would probably place a hand over her heart.
It's almost like taking an oath.
"I will also answer your questions as honestly as possible. I sense no malice from you, and if you truly drove away those four—then you could even be called my lifesaver."
Lifesaver.
It feels like an overestimation.
No—perhaps I should make use of this sense of obligation.
"Specifically, what would you like to know? You said you're not from around here."
Despite being unable to move her body, her manner of speech is composed.
Proof that her wariness has lessened, perhaps.
"I'm something like a drifter from quite far away. Before I knew it, I found myself in this forest."
"Do you have some business in this forest?"
"More like I was dumped here."
"—I see. I apologize for asking."
Dumped.
A word that evokes several dark imaginings.
For example, abandoned by traveling companions.
Driven out from the land where I lived.
Abandoned by slave traders (assuming slave traders exist in this world).
And so on.
In the first place, the statement "dumped" isn't a lie.
I was abandoned by my parents, and discarded by that shitty goddess too.
Hinting at a dark past can sometimes make the other person ease their probing.
It can be an effective way to deflect questions.
There's another advantage to this.
Depending on the reaction, I might be able to gauge the other person's character.
I stare into the woman's eyes.
She floats a question mark on her expression.
"Something wrong?"
"You don't seem like a bad person—at least for now."
"…Have I earned even a little trust?"
"Yeah, just a little. But I have my own circumstances, same as you. For now, I judge it best for both of us to avoid digging too deep—"
I can sense she has circumstances she wants to keep hidden too.
But right now, what I need is information.
Once I get what I need, separating here would be best.
"Yes, I agree."
A shadow crosses the woman's face.
"For me as well, that would be preferable."
There's also the issue of the gauge remaining.
I can't spend too much time on idle chat.
"Understood. Then I'll get straight to the questions. Is there a village or town nearby?"
"The nearest is a small city called Mills. I myself—"
She cuts herself off mid-sentence.
"I myself."
There seems to be a reason she doesn't want to reveal her destination.
Perhaps trying to cut off any chance of giving information to pursuers.
Still, with that one phrase, she's essentially told me.
Well, I only need to know the city's location.
I won't pry deeper.
She also tells me the distance and direction.
It doesn't seem too far from here.
Looks like I'll be able to sleep in a proper bed soon.
"What country is this?"
Moving on to the next question.
"You don't even know which country you're in?"
"I have complicated circumstances. I lived cut off from outside information. Please understand."
More deflection words.
"…Understood. This is the forest zone called the 'Forest of Dark Colors,' located in the southern part of the Kingdom of Ulza."
I'm surprised.
So this isn't Alion Kingdom.
I had assumed the discarded ruin was in Alion.
This is valuable information.
"Where is Alion?"
"Alion? It's to the northeast of the Kingdom of Ulza. And to the southeast of Ulza—"
She hesitates.
"The Bakoss Empire lies there."
She seems to have some thoughts about the Bakoss Empire.
But as I've said repeatedly, I won't pry deeper.
Still…
So this isn't Alion.
Meaning that shitty goddess isn't nearby.
For now, I can consider this good news.
My current plan is to move away from Alion.
The forbidden curse comes first, after all.
Hm.
If it's a different country, there's no need to hurry and leave…
"Got it. Next might be a weird question."
The woman, who had been deep in thought, startles.
"—Ah, yes. Please."
"For example… roughly how much money would it cost around here to buy one loaf of the kind of bread ordinary people eat every day?"
"You don't even know the market price?"
"I've lived in a place completely disconnected from the prices here."
"I see. In most cities, one ordinary loaf of bread can usually be bought for one copper coin."
Bread exists, then.
"How many copper coins equal one silver coin around here?"
"About thirty copper coins, I believe."
Let's assume one bread is around 100 yen in Japanese terms.
By previous-world standards, one silver coin would be about 3,000 yen?
It's a very rough estimate.
Of course, prices here aren't the same as Japan.
I can't apply Japanese yen sense to everything.
Still, having a "standard" like the price of bread is progress.
I can check other prices once I reach the city called Mills.
I quickly draw out the other information I want.
The yellow gauge is running low.
There's one last important thing I need to ask.
I take the forbidden curse spellbook from the leather pouch.
I open it in front of the woman's face.
"Do you know anything about these characters?"
Her gaze runs across the text.
Her glass-like eyes move busily.
Has she realized I can release more than just her mouth?
I don't know if she's aware.
Hm?
I notice something.
There are faint dark circles under her eyes.
They're only visible from this close.
Perhaps lack of sleep from days of fleeing?
"This is—"
Fine wrinkles crease between her brows.
"I believe these are ancient characters. Quite a special variant."
"Can you read them?"
"No, I'm sorry."
"I see. Understood."
I start rolling the spellbook back up to put it away.
Guess it's not going to be that easy.
I had a faint hope it might give me a clue.
Well, I'll just have to investigate steadily.
"However—"
"Hm?"
"If it's someone well-versed in these characters, they might know something."