Chapter 34: Trade City Heizen ⑫ · Berg Cafeteria ②

“Okay—thanks for waiting!”

Samaniya set the dishes on the Cerberus Turn table one after another.

“By the way, Rell of the ‘Lightning Fang’ is my brother. Enjoy your meal~”

With a mischievous smile, she went back to the kitchen.
The three of them couldn’t help but follow her with their eyes.

“That surprised me.”
“For real…?”
“The world is small, huh.”

I felt the same.

After waiting a little longer, our food arrived as well.

While eating, we listened to the Cerberus Turn group’s story.
They had arrived in Heizen yesterday.

They went to the guild and, on the way back, learned that the Full Moon Bazaar would be ending soon.
They said they had debated whether to give up on it.

They had enough funds to stay for around ten days even without earning anything,
but they still wanted to make money.

“We heard the Full Moon Bazaar often has rare weapons and armor.”

“You’re worried about your weapon?”

Navel’s Wolfen Sword was an out-of-place artifact—made of a special metal, with a dedicated relic.

“I’m not worried exactly, but I’d like a spare. The Wolfen Sword is a family heirloom we’ve trusted for generations… but you never know what could happen.”

“True.”

I break my knives all the time, so I get wanting backups.

“I want a slightly stronger spear. My current one only boosts the wind relic a little. Thinking about future promotions, it feels weak.”

I see…

“As for me, I like my staff, but my robe? Not so much. I want something stylish and good quality—OOPArt or Legendary, either is fine.”

“That’s kinda selfish.”

“What was that?”

“But I get it. You’d expect to find that at the Full Moon Bazaar.”

While eating a strangely seasoned ham sandwich, I voiced a question I’d had.

“Where exactly is the Full Moon Bazaar held?”

At first, I thought it was inside the city.
But the bazaar has over a thousand stalls.
If there were a square that big, it’d be a famous tourist spot.
I’d never heard of one—so where is it?

“The Full Moon Bazaar is held outside Heizen, on the Heizen Plains. Stalls line the plains from one end of Heizen to the other, and the ‘Mobile Palace’ appears.”

Korann answered while swirling seafood pasta on his fork.

“A… mobile palace?”

“The bazaar forms a half-circle across the plains, in three layers: the lower, middle, and upper areas. The upper is the VIP area. Lower and middle are freely accessible, but only certain people may enter the VIP area.”

“That’s the mobile palace?”

“Exactly.”

He didn’t even need to say who the “certain people” were.
Obviously the Three Great Houses, nobles, and the like.

So that’s how it works…

“You know a lot.”

“I’m from here. And when I was a kid… I’ll never forget the thief who sneaked into the VIP area and was executed on the spot.”

“Korann…”

“Executed instantly… is that even allowed?”

Normally, guards arrest criminals, throw them in jail, then trial, then send them to the Prison Continent depending on the verdict.

Korann gave a dry laugh.

“Wof. This is Heizen, not Hydrangea. The Three Great Houses are the law.”

“Yeah… that tracks.”

Bid suddenly looked sour, probably remembering what had happened earlier.
Honestly, I agreed.

They say “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” but I really don’t want to follow those rules.
If the Three Great Houses pick a fight, I won’t hesitate.

Of course, I don’t think I can do anything I want.
I’m not saying I could destroy the Three Great Houses or burn Heizen down.

But even if it came to that, I wouldn’t plan on losing.
I’d fight with everything I have and make sure to land at least one solid blow.

Still… instant executions? What kind of stuff do they sell in that VIP area?

“Hey—don’t you think that witch could enter the VIP area?”

Plansy stirred her creamy potato soup with a spoon, careful not to sip—it seemed she was sensitive to heat.

“Oh yeah, she probably could.”
“True… a witch might qualify.”
“What do you think, Wof-kun?”
“Hmm… I’ll ask her.”

If the witch is close with the Zensera family, she might be eligible.
If so, maybe we could find Mineha’s Spear in the VIP area.

We finished talking about the bazaar and moved on to Forest Wave topics—how much money you could make, then about the “Marked One.”

“Why is the bounty so high?”

“That big X-shaped scar in the illustration—you saw it, right? It was given by the ‘Sword of Swords.’”

“So they failed to finish it off…?”

“A monster that powerful exists?”

“That explains the bounty.”

A monster the Sword of Swords couldn’t kill…

“It’s that strong. But the real danger isn’t its strength—it’s its relic. Its relic erases relics.”

“Erases them?”

“Yes. It completely erases the relics of its target.”

“Not just the effect, the relic itself…?”
“A monster like that exists…?”
“That explains the bounty.”

…Didn’t we just have this conversation?

“There are actually many who survived fights with the Marked One. But most quit afterward—because their relics were erased.”

Generally, without a relic, you’re not considered an explorer—or a slayer.

“Even so, why put such a huge bounty on it?”

“Probably because it’s too dangerous and needs to be eliminated quickly.”

“That, and if you defeat it, you get its relic.”

“The relic that erases relics?”
“That’s what they say… though who knows.”

………

Few know this, but there are plates that can transfer relics.
It might actually be possible.

“It’s been noisy outside for a while.”
“I keep hearing screams…”

It had been unusually loud outside for a bit.
What’s happening?

“Korann, is this normal?”
“Fights happen. It’s rougher here than in Hydrangea.”
“Dangerous place, huh.”

Well… maybe we should ignore it.

When the noise died down, Nabel’s group had finished eating.
They said they’d walk around the east market a bit and told us their inn.

“Phew, I’m full.”
“Thanks for the food.”

Bid, somehow, finished that mountain of meat.

As we stood to pay, a woman came out of the kitchen.

Tall, dark skin, black hair with gold streaks, ram horns, and a tail—must be a sheepkin.
She looked at us.

“You. I overheard your talk—are you acquaintances of Hoss?”

“Yes. We’re traveling with Hoss right now.”
“We know him, yeah.”

Her expression darkened for a moment, then she smiled.

“Tell Hoss this: ‘It’s fine now. Just meeting was enough.’”

“…Understood.”
“Got it.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled faintly—softly, sadly.
To me, it looked like she had given up on something completely.

It was obvious something was going on.
But barging in carelessly wasn’t an option.

Bid looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t.
We left the Berg Inn.

Outside had been so noisy earlier, yet nothing was there.

Why… why?

Why does a daughter of the great Sword Goddess, a divine being, have to do such a miserable errand?

Ugh—fetching some lowly girl from a shabby cafeteria?
And with lackeys in tow?

Are you kidding me? I’ll kill you.
If Gwene hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve already killed them.

I’m tolerating this for the sake of the mission—but really, killing a few wouldn’t matter.

If that traitor Gieza hadn’t betrayed us—
If that mirror-faced man didn’t exist—
We wouldn’t need help from these crawling insects.

And who did it?
Who destroyed Vinu?

If someone can destroy that barrier one, they can destroy all of the daughters.

I just… want to take human form and live freely.
So why am I struggling like this?

Even after finally escaping that so-called research facility…

“Berg Inn. Here? What a filthy dump. A gathering spot for the bottom of the barrel. So who am I taking?”

“Uh… Ruma.”

“Then hurry up.”

“Y-yes ma’am.”

Ughhh, why do I have to do this—

“…Huh? What’s that? A black stain on the ground?”

“Black? …Was that there before?”
“No, there wasn’t anything earlier.”

“What now?”

Shut up, insects.
Should I slice you into pieces with the Authority Relic [Sharpness]?

“UWAAAAAAAAH!!”
“GYAAAAAAAH!!”
“GAHHHHHH!!”

W—what? Those hideous screams—
They’re… gone?

“What is happening? Well, who cares what happens to worms.”

There’s no black stain anymore.

What’s black… is the ground beneath me?

“Beneath… me?”

Was the ground always this dark?

The moment I realized—a jolt of terror ran through me and I leapt back.

Right after I moved, something emerged from the black stain.

What… what is that? A tentacle? Octopus tentacles!?

Huge, four octopus tentacles erupted from the ground.

“What—what is happening!?”

In an instant, the tentacles wrapped around my body—too fast!
I—my Lube sword—I can’t even draw it—hey, stop! Let go!

The filthy tentacles wrapped around the Lube sword.
When they squeezed—cracks formed along the blade.

Huh? Ah—
I’m going to die.

No way.
To die here, unable to transform…
Because of something I don’t even understand?

This makes no sense…

Same time. Zensera Family Main Estate — Terrace

I sipped tea brewed by Gieza, relaxing.

“…Ah. One just disappeared.”

Gieza twitched.

“What did?”
“One of the Sword Goddess’s daughters. One of the three. I felt it vanish.”

“That was fast.”

Seiran sounded impressed, yet exasperated.