Kays Translations

Chapter 162

“Silent-sama, have you already decided on which tavern we’re heading to?”

“Yeah. We’re going to the place our leader visited before. Melt liked their smoked fish too, didn’t you?”

“Oh! That place! I was worried about how they were doing, so I’d love to check it out!”

On the way, Remiya clung tightly to my side, while Melt pressed close on the other.
It felt a little embarrassing, like having flowers on both arms, but I made sure not to let it show.

“Everyone, listen up! Today, I’ve decided we’ll rent out Melt’s favorite tavern, the one I’ve been curious about too! Their smoked fish and ale are said to be amazing! Any objections!?”

I turned to confirm with the members of the subjugation squad following behind us—

“No problem at all!”
“Wait, does this mean Captain’s treating us?!”

…Huh? When did that become the story?
Well, I do have money to spare, and after all the worry I’ve caused, I don’t really mind.

“Yeah, it’s on me! Order whatever you like! The tavern isn’t open yet, but I’ll ask if they can give us a private reservation, so look forward to it.”

I also intended to drop plenty of gold here, as compensation for the trouble we’d caused last time.

“By your leader… do you mean that elderly gentleman?”
“Oh, so you met our leader? How was he?”

“…Definitely not someone I’d ever want to oppose. But I can also see why you called him ‘high in virtue.’ I mean, to think he could annihilate Abyss Fang in a single night and prevent the slave trade before it even began… as expected of the man who stands above Lord Silent.”

“Yeah. From the looks of it, our leader plans to settle down in this country eventually. Sooner or later… he’ll probably pass the brigade on to someone else.”

If someone were to inherit it… would it be me, as Shizuma?
Or perhaps—if it’s about protecting family—then the ‘Second Strongest,’ Tistnardo.

Tistnardo, the Second Strongest, wasn’t evil in ideology. In fact, he was the one who had the most heroic, noble personality.

But in the story, he was forced into a tragic death.
Burdened by that fate, he fell into despair, raising a voice of resentment before exiting the stage.

That tragedy was what tied into the “true ending” of Elder Sea Online, the game I once played.

That’s why, aside from the very strongest, all of my other characters respected Tistnardo, and deeply cared for his body and soul.

“…Maybe I should discuss it with him once.”
“Hm? Discuss what?”
“Oh… about who should become the next leader of the brigade.”

“What!? Then—Silent-sama, are you considering putting yourself forward? But I thought I heard at the guild earlier that you submitted a notice of departure to travel far away. Does that mean you plan to lead a new band of mercenaries yourself?”

“No, that doesn’t suit me. Besides, I’ve gotten too involved with this country. It’d just be a hassle to try and relocate somewhere else at this point.”

“Th-then! That means you’ll be staying here, right!?”
“Yeah. For the time being, I’ll probably just wander around on my own, focusing on keeping order around Golda and subjugating monsters.”
“I see. Understood.”

That did seem like what Silent would do.

In the original scenario, Silent had belonged to a mercenary band.
But I don’t think he ever intended to lead one himself.

He contributed to people while keeping a certain distance, maintaining ties with nations and individuals…
But he seemed afraid that being too close would only bring harm to those around him.
He’d lost too much already. That was the kind of story he carried.

Before long, we arrived at the tavern. A sign reading “Preparing” still hung at the door, but I stepped inside anyway.

“Ah! I’m sorry, we’re still preparing to—”

The moment the owner turned toward me, I saw the blood drain from his face.

A ferocious expression, wild equipment, a giant greatsword strapped to my back…
It wouldn’t be wrong to say everything about me screamed intimidation.

“Sorry for the interruption. Would it be possible to rent the tavern out for today’s business? I’ve got more than twenty people with me.”

“R-rent out the whole place…? Um, may I ask what sort of group you are…?”

Tragic. Now they probably think the rest of my party are thugs too.
I should’ve brought Melt with me to soften things up!

“We’re adventurers from the guild. Also, I heard that not long ago one of my acquaintances caused a bit of a scene here. I’d like to make up for that by spending plenty of money today. You might remember him? A tall old man who visited here?”

“Oh! That incredibly strong elderly gentleman! I see now, that makes sense. Then yes, we can arrange a private reservation. Please, bring your companions inside.”

Negotiation successful. I went outside and called over the members of the Silent Subjugation Squad who had been waiting.

“Then Captain Silent! We’ll gladly accept your hospitality!”
“““Thanks for the meal!”””
“Hohoho, then I suppose I shall partake as well.”
“As for me, um…”
“Don’t worry. Today’s on me, Remiya.”
“Th-then me too?”
“Of course.”

After renting out the tavern and once the first round of drinks and food had been served to everyone, Nemuri raised his mug with a declaration.

Following his lead, everyone else lifted their cups, and thus began what was, on the surface, a drinking party to celebrate my survival.

“I wonder if the place is doing well now? Unlike before, everyone’s actually getting their share of fish.”

“Looks like it. They’re probably able to source enough from the processors now. I think the kinds of liquor they carry have increased too.”

“That’s right! Finally, the Cooks’ Guild released the recipe and started selling it publicly!”

As she said that, Melt happily shook her glass mug filled with a black carbonated drink, as if to show it off.
The ice clinked cheerfully as she took a deep, blissful gulp.

“Delicious! Though it tastes a little different from the one I know! Hm… a sweet aroma? There’s some strange fragrance mixed in.”

“Yeah, seems like this one’s got alcohol in it. Don’t overdo it.”

“Ohh! So there are drinks with this kind of aroma too, huh?”

It was probably some kind of rum, I thought.
Even though it should’ve been my first time, the knowledge from my other characters—and maybe even the game developers’ knowledge—identified it as rum.

“You know this unfamiliar drink?”

Across the table, Remiya tilted her mug, glancing between it and my face with curiosity.

“Yeah. One of the cooks in our brigade used to be under the care of this city’s Cooks’ Guild for a while. Some of the recipes she left behind are being used in drinks like this.”

“Oh… so your brigade has a cook as well?”

“Yep! Her name’s Seira, she’s a gorgeous lady with really big boobs!”

“…Melt, don’t say things like that in front of others.”

“…I see. Large, you say.”

Ah. Remiya’s tone just dropped a little.
…Well.
What exactly that “I see” means, I’ll refrain from saying out loud.

“Mm, it’s a curious taste. Sweet too. I only knew of fruit wines as sweet alcohol, but this is quite nice. If the weather gets hotter, I imagine it’ll become very popular.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

Taking a sip, Remiya’s expression softened slightly as she gave her verdict.

It was certainly tasty… but the knowledge within me insisted, ‘This could be taken a step higher.’
And I wanted to drink that version…!

“Hey, owner, could you come here a moment?”

Instead of a server, I called the tavern owner himself.

“Yes, what can I do for you?”

“This drink—it uses that newly released syrup recipe, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. We only started serving it two weeks ago, but it’s been selling like crazy every day since.”

“I thought so. Well, consider this a bit of an apology for the trouble we caused last time—let me show you a way to make it even better. Use lime and mint. Crush the lime and tear the mint leaves into a glass full of ice, add the cola syrup and the liquor, then top it with soda and give it a light stir.”

I’d never actually had it myself, but apparently Earth had a drink like that.
Something called a cola mojito, or maybe an arranged version of Cuba Libre.
Either way—I wanted to try it! Ah, the joys of an adult body.

“Ohh! We have both on hand. Shall I make your second round like that?”

“Please do. And the same for these two as well. If you like it, feel free to add it to your menu.”

The owner, clearly excited, returned to the counter.
I turned back to my food and bit into the smoked fish.

…Delicious! The strong saltiness and heavy smoked aroma filled my mouth, not yielding even to the sweetness of the cola.

Then, washing it down with fizz and sweetness again—it was like a tug-of-war of flavors in my mouth. But oddly enough, it wasn’t unpleasant. Instead, it was addictive, making me want to repeat it again and again.

“Phew… Hm? What’s with those looks, you two?”

“Silent, you sure know a lot about tasty things, huh?”

“I must admit, I didn’t expect that. Are you knowledgeable about alcohol?”

“…No. I just heard it from Seira.”

…Damn. Maybe that didn’t fit Silent’s character very well.

“Wait… you mean that Seira? The… well-endowed cook?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“…Are you two close?”

“Basically, everyone in the brigade gets along well.”

“Yeah, that’s right! I want to see Sheele again too! Going back to what we were talking about earlier—if the brigade were to be entrusted to someone new, I think Sheele would be the best choice.”

The atmosphere at our table had started to grow a little tense, but Melt’s words blew it away.

As for Remiya… could it be that she really has taken quite a liking to Silent?
It definitely feels like her mood sours whenever there’s even a hint of another woman around him.

“No, it’d probably be better if Sheele stayed in this town… or better yet, by your side, Melt. She gets lonely easily.”

“Really? Well, that’s fine by me. I love Sheele too, so I’d be happy to have her with me!”

I had a feeling my guess was correct—she really is the type who gets lonely.

…If I were ever able to prioritize someone for summoning, giving them full awareness, I should make sure Sheele could be with us. That would probably make her happiest.

This is something I’ll need to discuss with everyone beforehand.

After a while, as everyone sipped on the newly served cola mojitos, enjoying smoked fish and cheese, the mood grew warm and cheerful.

Then, outside the tavern, a group with disappointed expressions appeared—probably unable to see the “Reserved” sign from far away. Realizing they were acquaintances, I instinctively called out to them.

“Hey! We still have plenty of seats! Come on in and join us!”

I called out to the group visible through the swinging tavern doors. Their leader noticed me and responded.

“Hm… you are… ah, so you survived. Then I’ll take you up on that offer.”

The new arrivals entered the tavern—it was none other than the explorers’ clan Killcrawler.

Apparently, they were quite a large party as well. Among them were several familiar faces, including Busker, who had been in the same subjugation squad as me.

There was also the clan leader, Araza-Mir, one of the Thirteen Knights, along with members of the First Assault Team, Rivana and Gark.

“Owner, we’ve got some extra guests. Is that alright?”

“Of course! Ha, it’s a full house tonight! We’ve got plenty of drinks and food, so please order as much as you’d like.”

The shopkeeper laughed with delight—probably what people call a “happy problem”—while the hall staff smiled nervously.

Meanwhile, the members of my old squad looked uneasy at the sight of the Killcrawler members.
Well, of course—they were one of the Four Major Powers of Lindblum, after all.

“Sir Silent. If you don’t mind, how about we share a table? There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you. I hear you’re with that so-called ‘brigade,’ correct?”

“I don’t mind. Melt, I’ll go drink with Araza-mir for a while. Remiya, that okay with you?”

“Understood. I’ll keep an eye on Melt.”

“…I’ll join this table instead.”

At some point, an extra seat had appeared at my table.

And the one who had casually sat herself down there was Rivana, the First Assault Team leader and a former candidate scouted for the Thirteen Knights.

“Melt, what’s that?”

“This? It’s a really tasty drink! I’ll order one for you too, Rivana-chan!”

“Thanks.”

…Looks like they’d hit it off already. That’s a relief—I can leave this table in good hands.

I headed over to the table where Araza, who had something to discuss, and Gark, who also seemed to have business, were waiting.

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