The Gods kind of set up his location because its a well run and peaceful land. The Jamil family has worked to keep poverty down and give the people jobs so its stable and peaceful, so the anime has been criticized because it doesn't have enough action... In the light novel the battle at the mines is way different and its way better than what's in the anime. Ryoma did way less battling in the mines and omitted minor characters that are constantly popping up in the story later.
Plus they omitted a character that ends up being important in Elia's arc/life also in one of the scenes with the merchant guild (sad part is, the character only has a 5 second scene in the LN, but the connection effects Elia immensely).
Next scenes have more action, but there isn't major enemies, just minor ones... it's almost got a slice of life rather than an action adventure.