Kays Translations

Chapter 162: “Going on a Date with Mabel”

After that, Mabel and I went into town.

“It’s my first time taking a walk in a human town.”

Mabel’s eyes were sparkling.

This was the main street of Noza Town.

Around us, many street stalls were lined up.

They mostly sold food such as vegetables and meat.

Occasionally, there were also miscellaneous goods and accessories.

Compared with the Trading Post on the border, prices here seemed lower.

“…As expected, it’s quite different from the Demon Lord’s Domain.”

“…Yes. Raisenga territory seems to offer a greater variety, though.”

When I said that, Mabel tilted her head.

“That’s true, but… I feel like the human world’s market is very ‘uniform’ somehow.”

“Uniform?”

“Yes. Like everything feels coordinated… or like everyone is the same… Sorry, I can’t explain it very well.”

“No, I kind of get what you mean.”

The Trading Post on the border was visited by people of many races.

Humans, elves, minotaurs, lizardmen, dwarves.

That place was truly a melting pot of races.

“But in this town’s market, there are only humans. I guess that’s what you meant by ‘uniform,’ huh?”

“A-Amazing, Thor-sama! You understood exactly what I was trying to say!”

Mabel nodded over and over again, looking deeply moved.

“When I look at this market, I kind of understand why humans are afraid of demi-humans and demons. If someone of another race were here, they’d really stand out. Even I feel a bit uneasy being here hiding my true identity…”

“I know how you feel. I felt something similar in the Imperial Capital.”

“You too, Thor-sama?”

“Back in the capital, I was always surrounded by noblemen with strong combat abilities…”

To someone like me with no combat ability, the imperial nobles were like a different species altogether.

They probably saw me as an anomaly too.

My father and the imperial nobles couldn’t tolerate such an anomaly.

That’s probably why they chose to exile me.

“Anyway, that’s why I feel more at ease in the Demon Lord’s Domain. Just like you, Mabel.”

“Thor-sama and I are… the same…”

“But if you’re feeling anxious, we can go back to the inn.”

“No. I want to go.”

Mabel clenched her fist tightly.

“Since we came all this way, I want to walk through a human town with you, Thor-sama!”

“Got it. Then, to make sure we don’t get separated…”

Before I knew it, I had taken Mabel’s hand.

Mabel looked at me with her big eyes.

Then—she placed her hand over mine and gently squeezed back.

Her white, slender fingers were trembling slightly.

So we interlaced our fingers, hoping it would stop her trembling.

“W-Well then, let’s go.”

“Y-Yes, Thor-sama.”

We began walking toward the market.

Thanks to the “Natural Volume Hairpiece,” Mabel’s elf ears were hidden.

She was wearing a hood too—probably because she still felt uneasy.

To match her, I wore a hood as well. It was a common traveler’s look, so we shouldn’t stand out.

At our feet was the white cat, Soleil.

Soleil, who had been waiting at the entrance of the market, ran up my body and clung to my free arm.

While holding Mabel’s hand with my right hand, I cradled Soleil in my left.

Both my hands were full, but I didn’t have any combat ability anyway.

So having Soleil nearby was actually safer.

Red, blue, and yellow owls were also perched in a nearby tree—the winged pixies in disguise.

It looked like they were guarding us.

“Look, Thor-sama! That candy looks delicious!”

Mabel pointed to one of the stalls.

At the storefront, amber-colored baked sweets were lined up.

“That’s a specialty sweet from Noza Town.”

“Meow~”

Soleil the cat and I nodded together.

That was the treat served when we visited Princess Sophia.

I had eaten it before too.

“Mabel, have you never tried it?”

“N-No. I wonder what it tastes like?”

“It’s sweet and delicious. A bit tricky to eat though—”

“…The texture is crisp and crunchy. The dough is kneaded with honey, but I think it would be better if there were a bit more of it. The sweets from the Demon Lord’s—er, I mean, my homeland are more refined. Also, when you bite into it, the crumbs fall everywhere, which makes it hard to eat… meow~!”

Soleil whispered near our ears.

Not forgetting to add “meow~” so the lady at the stall wouldn’t get suspicious. Classic Soleil.

“Let’s buy some to take back as snacks for everyone.”

“Good idea.”

“Meow~” “Hoo hoo hoo!”

Mabel paid for the sweets and received them.

She tightened her grip on our joined hands. She seemed nervous.

It was her first time shopping in the human world, after all.

To encourage her, I squeezed her hand back.

And each time, she responded. Squeeze, squeeze.

“…Both of our hands are full now.”

“…Yeah.”

“…When your hands are full, it’s kind of dangerous.”

“…There might be pickpockets, after all.”

We both looked at our joined hands.

“Hey now, for a town in the frontier, this place is actually really safe.”

Suddenly, the lady at the stall spoke up.

“It wasn’t always like this though. Ever since Sophia-sama arrived, it’s become a much safer town.”

“Really?”

“Just look. You’ll see ‘patrollers’ all around town, right?”

Now that she mentioned it, there really were soldiers standing at the street corners.

They were the “Omawarisan Unit” led by Captain Isaac.

“Members of the ‘Omawarisan Unit’ are stationed throughout town. Recently, there has even been a ‘Lady Omawarisan Unit.’ If anything happens, they’ll respond immediately.”

“Now that you mention it, I remember seeing a child being kidnapped once…”

That was back when I came with Agnis.

I happened to witness a child being abducted, so I stopped the culprit using the “Security Buzzer.”

Back then, I thought this was a town with pretty bad public safety.

“That’s right. After that incident, Sir Isaac Omawarisan established something called a ‘Hashutsujo’.”

“A ‘Hashutsujo’… like in the Heroes’ world?”

“We commoners don’t really know, but apparently so.”

A “Hashutsujo” is a place in the Heroes’ world where the “Omawarisan” reside.

So Isaac-san decided to establish one in Noza Town too, huh?

Upon closer inspection, there was a sign behind the Omawarisan Unit that read “12th Hashutsujo.”

According to the lady at the shop, there were similar signs all over town.

If you’re in trouble, just go to a place with that sign… that’s what she told us.

We thanked her and started walking.

We placed the baked sweets in the “Miniature Simple Storage” and then joined hands again—

“Omawarisaan!”

A voice rang out.

For a moment, I thought I had accidentally triggered the “Security Buzzer” while opening the Miniature Simple Storage—but that wasn’t it.

Looking across the street, I saw children waving at the Omawarisan unit.

The soldiers gave a wry smile and waved back at the kids.

That made them happy, and the children started gathering around the Hashutsujo sign.

I see. So the Omawarisan are popular in this town…

“This town is amazing.”

“Yes. It really is a safe place.”

“That too, but… in the human world, it’s rare to see soldiers who aren’t arrogant.”

“Is that so?”

“In the Empire, ‘strength’ is the highest priority. A lot of people look down on commoners who don’t have much combat power.”

Even the guards in the imperial capital were arrogant.

Even if there was a fight or robbery, you’d hesitate to call them.

It was like, ‘You dare bother us with something so trivial?!’

But in this town, the Omawarisan have blended naturally with the townspeople.

The children aren’t afraid of the soldiers either.

A town like this is rare in the human world.

“I guess this is proof of Princess Sophia’s leadership abilities.”

“Yes, she’s truly an outstanding person.”

Mabel suddenly seemed to realize something.

“But in this town, it may be difficult to use the ‘Security Buzzer.’ If we activate it, the Omawarisan Unit will come immediately.”

“…I think Princess Sophia and Isaac-san probably took that into account too.”

“Huh?”

“If someone shouts ‘Omawarisaan,’ the soldiers respond immediately. That means they can act as soon as a crime occurs. If the voice comes from a Security Buzzer, they’ll also know that someone from the Demon Lord’s Domain is present and can identify our location.”

“T-that’s true. That makes sense…”

“I think that’s part of why the soldiers are trained to respond to the call of ‘Omawarisaan’.”

“P-Princess Sophia is really amazing…”

“I wish she could become the leader of the Empire.”

Princess Sophia is well-liked. She has the abilities needed to lead people.

She understands weakness.

She can empathize with the weak, and she doesn’t cling to strength.

I believe that if Princess Sophia ruled the Empire, she would turn it into a kind nation.

Not one that blindly seeks strength or aims to expand its territory.

But one where everyone can live peacefully and safely.

“But for now, it’s enough that she’s the lord of Noza Town.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Thanks to that, I can walk through the town like this with you, Mabel.”

“…Yes.”

“Nyaa~n.”

“Sorry, you too, Soleil.”

“Nya, nya~n.”

It was a little before noon.

We were strolling slowly down the main street of the town.

Our hands remained joined the whole time.

The reason we weren’t talking much was because we felt a bit shy.

But simply being able to walk together like this felt like enough.

After that, we continued looking around the market.

We stopped at stalls to check out food for lunch.

We looked at accessories, and I nearly activated “Appraisal Grasp” on some of the materials by accident.

We bought three ribbons (for Mabel, Rukie, and Agnis).

We bought some slightly withered fruit, sat under a tree, and munched on it.

As we spent time like that—

“Hoo-hoo. It’s I, Lune.”

The black owl Lune came flying toward us.

“I’ve come to deliver letters.”

“Thanks, Lune. Want some fruit?”

“I would be delighted. Ah, Soleil, your mouth is covered in juice, you know?”

“Nyaan. Nya-nyaan.”

“Pretending to be a cat won’t work. There’s a water source over there—I’ll wash you up.”

“Nyaa~n—!”

As I listened to their voices growing distant, I picked up the letters.

There were three of them.

One of them was from Rukie.

Rukie’s official order read: “Approve the exchange of the Mysterious Box for the Otherworldly Documents.”

It was an official document confirming the Demon Lord’s approval of the exchange.

The remaining two letters were from Kelve-san.

They were about the idea of sending fake letters to prevent the Empire from performing a hero summoning.

I thought I had asked Rukie to handle it, but I guess Kelve-san ended up taking charge?

Kelve-san’s conclusion was simple.

—We should use a forged letter to warn them about the danger of the “Hard Creatures.”

In other words, the letter should simply state that “the Heroes’ world contains magical beasts we can’t defeat.”

…Yeah, that really is the only option.

The Empire already understood the threat posed by spider-type magical beasts such as Magical Beast Gargarossa and scorpion-type beasts such as Magical Beast Nozerius. Emphasizing that danger was the best approach.

As expected of Kelve-san. A precise point.

But… why is the handwriting all messed up? It looks like he wrote this while being jolted around in a carriage—the letters are completely distorted. And the sentence cuts off halfway.

So, what does the other letter say… huh?

“…What’s this? This is a really weird letter.”

“What does it say?”

“Mabel, you read it too.”

“Ah, yes. Um… it says things like ‘Feels like I’m about to explode,’ ‘My head is a mess,’ and ‘What even is common sense…?’”

“What could that mean…?”

“I don’t know. But since it’s from Chancellor Kelve, I’m sure it has some deep meaning.”

“Could it be… he wants us to combine the two letters?”

Chancellor Kelve had also given us an excellent idea during the Cleaning Robot competition.

Back then, he gave us a sketch that was the epitome of simplicity—just a round shape.

That hint had led to the creation of the Spherical-Type Cleaning Robot.

If the two letters had a similar meaning this time—

“When we get back, I’ll try making a ‘fake letter’ based on Kelve-san’s idea. Will you help me check it, Mabel?”

“Yes, I’ll help.”

“Thanks. Then, let’s go home.”

We held hands and headed for the inn.

It felt as though Mabel and I had spent the entire day like this.

The incident isn’t over yet, and we still have to negotiate with Princess Sophia and Prince Ricardo—but for now, this is enough.

Just being able to walk around town like this with her is more than enough.

“Since we bought so many things, let’s make lunch when we get back.”

Mabel smiled while still holding my hand.

“Also, um… please teach me more about how to walk in a human town. Ah, but you have work, right, Thor-sama? So, after you’re done with that, could you teach me?”

“Of course. I’d be happy to.”

“I want you to take a nap too, Thor-sama. I’m sure you stayed up last night making the ‘Vibrating Wood Hammer’ and the ‘Low-Frequency Belt,’ didn’t you? Please rest. Agnis-sama will return this evening, so we can make dinner together… and then, and then…”

“You don’t have to rush, Mabel.”

Before I knew it, Mabel’s cheeks had turned bright red.

“We’re going to be together all the time. So there’s no need to hurry.”

“Y-Yes!”

Mabel nodded.

Then, as if she had suddenly realized the meaning of my words, Mabel pressed her hands to her cheeks.

“Eh, Thor-sama… does that mean…”

“W-Well, all right, then! Let’s head back. Soleil, Lune, and all you other winged pixies—let’s go home!”

“Meow!”

“Hoo-hoo~!”

And just like that, Mabel and I finished our walk around the town safely—

I sipped the tea Mabel had made for me while finishing up the “fake letter”—

And we spent a peaceful afternoon together.

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