Chapter 156: At the Meator River

When the heroes returned to Fariya around noon and took a brief rest in the guardhouse at the gate, an envoy from the Adventurers Guild came to visit.

It seems they hurried over upon hearing about their return because they needed to confirm what to do with the wyvern they had defeated and brought back to the guild.

“Could you keep the materials stored at the guild for now? I need to hurry to Elixirburg after this.”

“Understood. Since the condition is good and many materials have been harvested, there will be a storage fee, is that okay? It’s also possible to offset it with some of the materials we’re holding for you.”

“Oh, if we can offset it, that would be the easiest. Yes, please do that.”

“Roger. Also, regarding the meat, the portion that couldn’t fit in the guild’s refrigerator has all been processed into dried meat. It would be a waste to let it spoil…”

“Oh, sorry about that. I should have decided how to handle it before we left. Well, then, you should sell the fresh meat that fits in your refrigerator and the rest of the dried meat at half price.”

“Huh? Half price!?”

The guild staff couldn’t help but ask again at the unprecedented abundance of wyvern meat.

“Yes. Since it was a bit of trouble for you, and there’s no point in leaving it behind. Please sell it or distribute it after you take it.”

Even at half price, it would still amount to a considerable sum, considering it was originally an unexpected windfall of materials.

They put effort into harvesting and processing the meat into dried form, and they already had quite a fortune in other materials.

It would be good to let everyone know the deliciousness of that meat on this occasion.

“Oh, thank you very much! Then, I would like to publicly announce that it’s a donation from Matsumoto-san and sell it at a special price!”

“Understood. It would be nice if it reaches everyone.”

“Oh, and… Have all of you registered as adventurers?”

“I registered to exchange materials. Willem-san was originally registered for ruins exploration, and oh, my familiar is also registered.”

“Meow.”

“Huh? Even your familiar is registered!? And it’s a C-rank!?”

“Haha, since we often go hunting with other adventurers around Klaufendam, they registered us.”

“Is that so…”

“That’s the kindness of their guild over there. So, what’s with adventurer registration?”

“Oh, sorry. This time, by subduing the wyvern, not only did you rescue the pursued adventurers, but you also saved this town. This is an achievement that only higher-ranked adventurers can accomplish.”

The evaluation of adventurers generally increases based on the difficulty and quantity of the requests they complete.

Also, emergency requests are issued for town and neighboring crises, and their achievements are also evaluated based on that.

“The efforts of everyone who saved the town from the wyvern are highly appreciated. So, it was decided that those who are already registered as adventurers will be promoted to B-rank, and those who are not registered will be registered as C-rank.”

This time, it was indeed a crisis for the town, and it seems that resolving it alone earned high praise.

Since wyverns are creatures that are ideally subdued by parties of at least B-rank or recommended A-rank adventurers, it seems like a reasonable evaluation as a one-time event.

“Understood. Thank you for your evaluation.”

Isamu currently has no intention of becoming an adventurer, but since he doesn’t know how life will turn out, and refusing here would leave an unfavorable impression with the Adventurers Guild, he decided to accept the evaluation gratefully.

“Hehehe, I’m B-rank! Same with Orihime-sensei!!”

Since adventurer registration must be done by the individual themselves, on the way back from visiting the Adventurers Guild with the entire team, Tiramisu was in high spirits, walking happily with Orihime on her head.

“I never thought Tiramisu-san was a former adventurer…”

“I left the village wanting to become a knight, but I had to support myself until I passed the exam. Becoming an adventurer, where I could hone my skills, was just the right choice.”

Isamu thought there were no other adventurer registrations besides him, Willem, and Orihime, but it turns out Tiramisu was a former adventurer.

By the way, her rank before becoming a knight was C-rank, so she seemed quite skilled at that time.

“Hehehe, how interesting.”

“…what a shame.”

“We should consider taking a break and going out to hunt monsters…”

Tiramisu, the supreme priest of the Orihime Church, is a B-class adventurer just like Orihime and hums along to her tune.

On the other hand, Cardinal Mizeroi and Knight-Priest Felix, who became C-rank adventurers due to their new registrations, were in a gloomy mood.

(Within the knight order, it seems like registering as an adventurer might become a trend… It may bring peace, but it’s not good to take away the work of existing adventurers, so I’ll consult with Selfers-san when I return.)

The image of knights foregoing holidays to go hunting in the mountains easily came to Isamu’s mind, and he could only shake his head slowly with a wry smile.

The group, loaded with wyvern dried meat as souvenirs, left the town of Fariya after lunch.

They arrived at the river port by the time the sun began to set, stopping for short breaks along the way.

“Oh? Isn’t it a day earlier than planned?”

Captain Revecchio called out upon seeing the heroes magic carriage.

Originally, they were supposed to stay overnight in Fariya and arrive tomorrow afternoon.

There was a possibility that the event would be brought forward, so Revecchio and his friends had prepared for their arrival a day early, so there wasn’t any problem, but they were a little surprised at how late they arrived.

“Oh, sorry. We decided it would be better to hurry to Elixirburg…”

Isamu’s words lacked energy, perhaps because he was tired from riding in the magic carriage all the time.

“I see… Shall we leave now? If it’s Mr. Isamu’s request, it’s fine even at night, you know?”

“Well, I’m a bit tired from being on the move, so we’ll stay overnight today. Is it okay to ask you to leave tomorrow morning?”

“Sure, no problem at all. Rest up today and leave tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you. See you again tomorrow.”

After summarizing with Revecchio about the next day, Isamu and the others promptly went to sleep at the inn attached to the shipyard.

The next morning, rain had been falling steadily since the change of date.

“Mmm, there’s a bit of river fog… From here, the river widens and the depth increases, so this should be okay.”

As the magic carriage was being loaded, Revecchio, who was on the bridge with Isamu, muttered while looking at the river.

“Good thing we could set sail safely.”

“However, since there might still be fog in the morning, I’m sorry for the rush, but I’ll proceed a bit cautiously for safety. It would be troublesome if we collided with other ships. If the fog clears in the afternoon, we’ll increase the speed.”

“Yes, I understand. Accidents are scary indeed.”

As they conversed, the crew member’s voice was heard as the departure preparations seemed to be complete.

“Captain! Loading’s all done!”

“All right! Thanks for your hard work! Well then, shall we set sail? Cast off! We’re setting sail!”

As Revecchio’s voice resounded, a bell rang from the lookout on the bridge, and the mooring lines were released.

As the ship slowly moved away from the dock, it glided onto the morning mist-covered Lusarsa River.

As Revecchio anticipated, by afternoon, the fog that had covered the river had cleared, and the ship began its journey down the river at its usual speed.

However, the rain continued to drizzle. Despite it being the beginning of spring, getting wet in the rain on the river was quite chilly, so Isamu and his companions spent most of their time inside the magic car.

There were no other passengers aboard, and with the ship’s size increased, there was plenty of room in the cabin. However, since the magic car was equipped with seat heaters, it was more comfortable there.

Amidst this, Isamu was in the makeshift magic tool-making space set up in the bath magic car.

“I see. So, it spins with the wind like the magic car and propels forward by paddling in the water.”

“Indeed, if we install this, the ship’s speed would likely increase.”

“Yes. Using the wind to fill the sails would be the most straightforward method, but since we’re going downstream, it’s inefficient due to the headwind…”

What Isamu was carving from balsa wood was a mock-up of a waterwheel, the propulsion device of a so-called paddle steamer.

It’s the same thing you’d find on those swan boats you can ride in a large park’s pond.

Since they were going to be on the ship for a while and had some free time, Isamu began prototyping a magic tool to increase the ship’s speed.

At first, he thought about making a screw propeller, which is used by most of the Earth’s ships today, but he gave up because it seemed to require quite a bit of trial and error due to its seemingly simple yet complex curved structure.

In that regard, a paddle steamer would be easier to make since it had hardly any curved surfaces. Even on Earth, the first steamship ever made was a paddle steamer.

“If it’s this, the structure is almost the same, so we could make it quite quickly.”

“Yes. It’s just a matter of figuring out where to install it. Since the ship has a rudder at the back, it must be placed where it won’t interfere.”

And so, while the captain was unaware, the ship’s magic modification plan was being progressed, and they continued down the river.

After departing from the port near Fariya and spending a night upon reaching the confluence with the Meator River, the ship continued downstream.

The Meator River is wider than the Lusarsa River and flows slower, so the water moves downstream more slowly..

On the second day of descending the river under the persistent rain, they approached a place where both banks suddenly opened up.

As Isamu squinted at the somewhat familiar scenery, Revecchio spoke up.

“In the rainy season around here, the riverbanks you see now will be submerged. Using that, Oriza is cultivated around here. In autumn, the Oriza spikes sway in the wind, quite a beautiful sight.”

“Oriza!! I see, it’s not exactly like a checkerboard pattern, but it looks like a rice paddy! Ah, so Oriza is cultivated around here…”

Oriza is a grain similar to rice on Earth, and Isamu, who had seen it in Innotia before, immediately bought some.

While he had heard that it was cultivated around here, actually seeing the place was somewhat nostalgic.

Upon hearing Rebecchio’s explanation, Isamu, although it wasn’t yet the season for water, glanced at the landscape, somewhat reminiscent of rice paddies.

“Ufufu, it seems the youngest god’s beloved likes rice?”

Suddenly, a voice like a bell ringing rang in Isamu’s head.

“””!!”””

Not only Isamu, but everyone on the ship must have heard it. Everyone showed expressions of surprise all at once.

“I am delighted that you like rice, which can be said to be my symbol. As expected of the beloved of the youngest god. It’s sad because most people in this world don’t eat rice.”

“Nyaa nyaa nya”

In response to the continuing voice, Orihime meowed somewhat proudly.

“You who is a wanderer with a deep heart. Before you plant the seeds you bought, make sure to offer them to the church. Something good is bound to happen.”

And thus, everyone, including Isamu, listened in silence to the beautiful voice in their heads.

“Ufufu, I’m glad to finally meet you. I thought it was unfair that I’ve met that child twice already.”

“Meow, meow.”

“Well, you can go ahead and do what you want.”

“Meowfu.”

“Ufufu, well then, goodbye, the youngest god, and the person of her affection.”

With those parting words, the voice that echoed in their heads ceased.

For a while, the group remained dumbfounded, but it was the lookout man who first noticed, as always.

“Hey, hey, hey, there’s something incredibly huge approaching!!?”

Shouting that, they pointed to the starboard side.

There, a thick, long shadow had been running parallel to the ship without anyone noticing.

While the whale, presumably Lusarsa-sama, was quite large, this shadow might have been even longer in terms of length alone.

After running alongside for a while, the water split, revealing a pure white head.

It was a gigantic white serpent. With beautiful scales shining pure white and bright red eyes, it exuded an awe-inspiring aura.

Narrowing its bright red eyes as if dazzled, it leaped high into the sky.

Effortlessly soaring upward as if ascending to the heavens, it flew over the ship and landed on the port side.

Then it flew to the starboard side again. As before, neither waves nor spray attacked the ship.

Repeating this several times as if dancing, it suddenly shot straight up into the sky at an unprecedented speed.

And that was it; it never came back down.

As everyone stood there with their mouths open, they realized that the rain, which had been falling continuously, had stopped, and the sparkling sun had appeared.

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