Kays Translations

Chapter 87: After the Manufacturing Commission, the Lusalsa River

"Long time no see, Dafydd-san."

"It's been a while, Uncle Dafydd."

"Oh, Isamu-dono and Anne-chan look well. Well, you stopped by on your way from the Kalenberg territory not long ago, so it hasn't even been a month."

In response to Isamu and Anne-Marie's greetings, the head of the family, Viscount Dafydd Jansen, answered with a smile.

As Dafydd mentioned, they had indeed stopped by on their way from Count Kalenberg's territory, sharing information about Isamu ability skills (as officially stated) and praising Orihime’s excellence.

During that time, Isamu had been allowed to address Dafydd by his first name.

By the way, Dafydd, who had a good relationship with Selfers, had been friends with Anne-Marie since her birth, so they referred to each other as "Uncle" and "Anne-chan."

"Mmm~"

"Well, Orihime seems lively too. Today, I've prepared some bird meat in advance. Feel free to eat as much as you want."

Having heard that Orihime liked bird meat during their last visit, Dafydd had hastily prepared it and personally fed it to her.

Whether she remembered that or not, Orihime had become quite attached to Dafydd. Even now, she was rubbing her forehead against the offered back of his hand.

"Welcome, Isamu-dono, Anne-chan."

Saying so, a woman with beautiful blonde long hair and a slender figure greeted Isamu and the others. She was Dafydd's wife, Nebula Jansen.

Lady Nebula was considered an unusual lady wife among the nobility of this world.

"Long time no see, Aunt Nebula."

"Nice to meet you, Nebula-sam."

Since they already knew each other, the greetings were casual.

"Hehe, Orihime-chan, welcome too. Today, I'll be the one giving you food."

Saying this, Nebula extended her finger towards Orihime.

"Nyaa~"

Sniffing the scent several times, Orihime licked Nebula's fingertip.

Nebula narrowed her eyes in response to Orihime’s actions.

During their last visit, Nebula had still been reserved, but seeing Dafydd happily feeding Orihime, she had apparently become envious. When Orihime came next, she was determined to do it herself, as Dafydd later quietly informed them.

"Now, today you stopped by on your way to Lord Innocenti's place, right? It's about work, isn't it?"

After exchanging greetings, Dafydd brought up the topic.

"Yes. Due to the recent monster attack incident, Orihime has been designated as a hero who saved the town in Viscount Klaufeldt’s territory. We are now starting the production of small divine objects to be enshrined in the town, hoping the residents can easily participate in the enshrinement. The production of the actual-sized divine object is also underway."

While explaining, Isamu glanced at Anne-Marie.

Anne-Marie, nodding slightly, took out one life-sized divine object and five mascot-sized ones from her bag and arranged them on the table.

"Wow, amazing!!"

"Whoa!!"

The Jansen couple exclaimed in unison upon seeing them.

"The life-sized divine object is intended for individual enshrinement, but for these small sizes, we are considering arranging several side by side for enshrinement... What do you think?"

Anne-Marie took over the explanation.

"At that time..."

She paused for a moment, then took out a prototype home shrine from her bag and arranged the mascot-sized divine objects on the table.

"In this way, by neatly arranging them, we plan to sell... distribute small household shrines."

"Is that so!"

"This is... indeed. I can't help but want to arrange them like this."

The couple, still surprised, fell silent for a while.

"Anne-chan, don't come up with such devilish ideas with such a cute face."

Finally, Dafydd spoke with a wry smile.

"Hehehe, as expected of Nico's daughter... Well, Isamu-san, you're in for a tough time."

Nebula, while smiling wryly, also agreed. The latter part of her words was only heard by Dafydd, and upon hearing it, he burst into laughter.

By the way, it was Isamu’s first time seeing the prototype of the home shrine, and it was not just an ordinary miniature shrine. More precisely, it had various options added to the base miniature shrine.

Table, round carpet, a rattan basket with a cloth, a round stool, a partition with a movable door, all meticulously chosen to match each posing while being decorated.

It was no longer just a miniature shrine; it resembled more of a dollhouse, reminiscent of the Sylvanian family.

"So, we would like to consult with you about the production of these household shrines and furnishings. In the Jansen territory, there are many workshops that have been engaged in woodworking for a long time, and we expect that they can produce high-quality items."

Taking over the conversation again, Isamu conveyed the details of the proposal to the Jansen couple.

"I see... Are you planning to continue making these indefinitely?"

Dafydd asked with his arms crossed.

"Yes. We plan to change the appearance of the divine object... figure every year and add furnishings accordingly."

Anne-Marie answered smoothly. Well, that makes sense, Isamu thought with a wry smile in his heart. Probably, it's not hard to imagine that there will be limited-time editions or regional editions in the not-too-distant future.

"Hyu~ You're doing well. If it were just a temporary thing, I might have declined, but if it's ongoing, that's a different story. We'll work out the details separately, right?"

Playfully joking, Dafydd questioned.

"Yes. Today, if we can hear that you are willing to commission the manufacturing if the conditions are right, it will be sufficient. My mother will visit you soon to discuss the conditions."

"Got it. I think I should accept, but what about you, Neby?"

Dafydd confirmed with his wife, showing his approval.

"I don't fundamentally disagree. I would like to ask one thing, though. Is it okay for us to make new designs for shrines and furnishings ourselves? Of course, we'll pay the margin after obtaining approval. Artisans would be happier if we could make something new rather than just making what is told."

While saying this, Nebula gazed at Anne-Marie.

"Yes. That's not a problem. Since the distribution will only be handled in the church, we'll need to discuss the distribution method."

Anne-Marie's response was clear.

"Understood. Then I have no objections either."

Having heard the responses, Nebula nodded and replied.

This way, the manufacturing commission for household shrines was safely reaching a basic agreement.

At the dinner that evening, as promised, Nebula fed Orihime personally. However, after that, she muttered softly.

"Would you like me to make a doll of mine according to Orihime-chan's size...?" 

This brought forth a new possibility once again.

Certainly, distributing it to people in the church is not an option, so it will be developed under a different alias and route. While watching the women get excited about the doll talk, Isamu, for the umpteenth time that day, let out a wry smile in his heart.

The group, after concluding the negotiations for the household shrine, set out the next morning towards the departure point for the river descent.

The capital of Viscount Jansen, Yanseil, is situated on a slightly elevated location, so they descended slowly towards the riverside, which served as the dock.

As most of the route passed through the forest, they secretly hoped they wouldn't encounter Metal Leeches again. Unfortunately, there were no pleasant surprises, and they reached the dock.

This time, thanks to the Viscount's recommendation, a chartered ship had been arranged for them by the shipping company funded by the Viscount's family. The Viscount himself, accompanied by a few knights, was also traveling with them.

"Wow, such a large river flows here...! Certainly, we can navigate it by boat."

They had seen it from the road while descending, but when they faced it directly, it was a river of a scale deserving to be called a great river.

Both the Klaufeldt and Jansen territories had a mountainous atmosphere, so Isamu had thought the river's scale would be smaller. However, this was a continent-spanning country. The river seemed to have a width of several hundred meters.

The dock for such a large river extended with various boats moored to multiple docks, and facilities like boat houses, accommodations, and restaurants lined the riverside.

It looked more like a small port town than just a dock.

"Spectacular. I thought it would be a more modest place..."

"Well, yeah. The Rusarsa River is one of the top rivers on the continent. It's named after the Water Goddess Rusarsa for nothing."

Dafydd addressed the surprised Isamu with a smile.

If they had time, they would have liked to spend a whole day exploring, but unfortunately, they had chartered a ship, so it wasn't possible. Guided by Dafydd, Isamu headed towards the arranged ship with his hair pulled back.

"Amazing... What a splendid ship!"

How many times had he been surprised today?

Before Isamu’s eyes was a large catamaran ship with a sturdy mast. Since it wasn't meant for the open sea but for navigating shallow rivers, it had a shallow draft, providing stability. Catamaran ships were convenient for their ability to have a spacious deck and cabin. The width was just under 10 meters, and the length was around 25 meters. It wasn't going into the open sea, but it seemed large enough for long-distance voyages.

This time, they needed this size to accommodate three car-sized carriages and horses.

"Isamu, Anne, over here!"

As they were marveling at the ship, Dafydd, who had gone ahead, called out. Hastening to catch up, they found an elderly man standing next to Dafydd.

The sun-tanned body didn't give away the man's age, and he had a firm physique.

"This is Captain Revecchio, the captain of this ship. He may be getting on in years, but his skills are top-notch."

"You're adding unnecessary details! Geez, you're still just a kid..."

Dafydd's teasing received an almost punch-worthy response from Captain Revecchio.

"Ah, sorry about that. My name is Revecchio, I’m in charge of this ship. It's a grateful story to have the viscount's daughter on board and a wanderer."

Saying so, Revecchio smiled and then bowed slightly.

"Pleased to meet you, Captain Revecchio. I'm Isamu Matsumoto, president of Orihime Trading Company. Call me Isamu."

"I'm the eldest daughter of the Klauffeldt Viscount household, Annemarie Klaufeldt. Please call me Annemarie."

Isamu and Annemarie also continued with greetings and shook hands.

"Isamu-sama and Annemarie-sama, huh. It's for a little while, but enjoy the boat trip. Well, you'll be sleeping at a riverside inn or inn halfway through the night, though."

Kakakaka, while laughing, Revecchio explained.

Moving along the Rusarsa River, which is not an empty sea, and with many ships coming and going, it's common to make stops at riverside ports designed at intervals before it gets dark, spending the night there.

Since they were going down the river and could achieve sufficient speed, there was no need to run in the dangerous night. They would arrive at an acceptable pace.

"Huh, that's what you mean. Then it would be nice to be able to drink alcohol every night.”

Kakakaka! Is that so! Isamu-sama, you're up for it too?"

"Ahaha, I'm not that strong, but I do like to drink."

"That's good. Depending on the place, there might be some rare drinks. Well, enjoy yourselves."

In high spirits, Revecchio continued talking, and just then, a voice came from the ship.

"Captain~~! Loading is done~~!"

"Alright! Good work! So, we're setting sail right away, so get on board, you two!"

"Understood. Dafydd-san, thank you for everything! We'll drop by when we return!"

"Yeah, take care on your way there and back!"

Parting words with Dafydd, Isamu boarded the ship and went to the second-floor deck with a good view, standing towards the bow.

"Untie the mooring lines! We're setting sail!"

The voice of Revecchio echoed from the bridge, a slightly elevated area. Bells rang, and the mooring lines were untied.

As the ship slowly moved away from the dock, riding the current, it progressed towards the center of the river.

And so, Isamu and the others set out towards the Rusarsa River, where the Water Goddess supposedly resided.

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