Kays Translations

Chapter 134

As expected, the employees of the Pigeon Trading Company we were escorting were mainly beastmen workers who had been unable to cross the border before, along with their families.

It seemed that even before the war broke out, the employees who had remained in this country had sensed an ominous atmosphere. Apparently, they had been corresponding with the company president through letters.

Now that I think about it, Golda hadn’t moved its army as secretly as the Holy Kingdom had. They had stationed soldiers along the border and even set traps.

And during that letter exchange, war broke out, and it was over in a flash. It seems there are “underworld couriers”—so-called back-alley professionals—who can deliver letters either with trained birds or by secretly slipping past the border.

“Since Golda’s adventurers’ guild officially issued evacuation permits for residents… that must mean Lendia is already preparing to accept refugees.”

“Refugees… people who fled, right? Yeah, I guess there must be a lot of them.”

At the moment, Melt and I were riding on horseback alongside the lead carriage.

This was actually my first time riding, but whether it was Same’s experience or from one of my other characters, I managed without issue. Melt was sitting behind me, holding onto my waist, which was a little embarrassing.

Rent, of course, was inside the carriage with the other refugees. From the outside, she just looked like an ordinary child.

“Still, even if they set up refugee camps somewhere, I don’t think life will be all that harsh. At the very least… the climate is already beginning to change.”

“Oh, I see. Then everyone will at least have food to eat, right?”

I don’t know the country’s exact policy, but… Lendia’s land is already transforming into fertile soil thanks to the power of dungeon cores.

“Before long, Her Majesty the Queen may make some sort of announcement. There will definitely be nobles and commoners uneasy about the influx of refugees. But there’s the perfect trump card to silence their complaints.”

“Oh, you mean the core, right?”

“Shhh.”

I doubt there will be any more requests coming specifically for me as Same for a while.

But when the core is publicly announced, I’m sure it’ll be revealed in some way. At least some of the Thirteen Knights already know that I, as Same, brought back the Scorched Valley’s core.

“Well, we’ll just have to see when the time comes.”

“Yeah. For now, let’s focus on guarding everyone and getting them safely to Lindblum.”

And so began our escort mission, which doubled as our return trip to Lindblum.

Several days into the journey, I realized that the security within Golda’s former territory hadn’t deteriorated all that much.

The sudden fall of the royal capital had crushed the army’s morale, and with the surrender of the remaining forces, there were no bands of deserters turning into brigands either.

Besides, with Lendia’s army pouring into the region, becoming bandits would’ve been suicide.

By the time we reached the border, the only “battle” we’d faced was scaring off monsters that crept near camp during the night. Hardly any problems at all.

Soon enough, additional Lendia forces will be dispatched, and reconstruction will begin. Thinking about how quickly the scars of war will heal, I realized again that forcing the war to end swiftly—even if by drastic means—hadn’t been in vain.

“From here on is Lendia’s territory. It was already safe along the way, but now you can truly relax.”

As I announced this loudly enough for the caravan to hear while we passed through the half-ruined border gate, I was struck by the sight of the refugees’ faces lighting up with joy.

I was in charge of this escort. At present, no adventurer of higher rank than me remained in Golda.

A handful of young adventurers were accompanying us, but they’d probably resettle in Lendia too—just like I once did.

Looking over the refugees again, I noticed that aside from the adventurers, they were all beastmen.

In other words, people who had endured years of restrictions, unable to escape their country—though perhaps not as badly as Melt.

The employees of the Pigeon Company were probably treated a little better, but surely the families they’d left behind had lived with constant unease.

“Everyone looks so happy. I think this continent is really going to change.”

“Yeah. Though… I wonder if it’s only this continent that struggles with problems like this.”

“Hmm… you won’t know until you go see for yourself, right?”

“True. …Once we’ve tackled the dungeons here, maybe we should set our sights on the neighboring continent.”

After all, there must be natural dungeons elsewhere too.

Though I hadn’t looked deeply into it yet, this country had once exported fragments of artificial dungeon cores as resources. Which meant people already knew their uses, properties, and benefits.

If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for them to know about natural cores as well.

From what I’d heard, this continent, Dustafil, was actually on the smaller side compared to the rest of the world.

So, there may very well be plenty more dungeons out there.

“When we get back to Lindblum, let’s see if there are any jobs that’ll take us to Izbel.”

“Good idea. We can travel while working—two birds with one stone! Once we get there, I’ll show you around!”

Once inside Lendia’s borders, we could finally relax a little as we pushed through the last stretch of the journey.

I was a bit concerned about where the refugees would end up living, but since they were connected to the Pigeon Company, the president was probably already making arrangements.

…That man really leaves nothing to chance. Honestly, you can never let your guard down with him. Even evacuating his employees immediately after the war’s end must have some ulterior motive.

And so, our escort mission proceeded without incident, and our caravan safely arrived in Lindblum.

“Thank you for your hard work. This time, your payment will come not only from the Pigeon Trading Company, but also from the royal family of Lendia. Since we’ll be accepting refugees, similar commissions from the crown are expected to increase from here on.”

That was what I was told at the General Guild’s adventurers’ counter when I reported our return and the completion of the request with Melt.

So, they really do intend to take in refugees on a national scale.

“And also… I have a message for you, Same-sama. Lady Kokuri wishes to meet you privately to talk. If you have a convenient day, could you let us know?”

“Oh, in that case, tomorrow is fine. We’ll be taking it easy here for a while anyway.”

A message from Kokuri, huh. Most likely it’s something to do with the country, but… what exactly?

On the way home, I noticed Melt had a rather serious look on her face.

As we passed through the mid-layer and headed toward the south gate from the upper layer, she seemed to be keeping a close eye on our surroundings…

“What’s wrong, Melt?”

“Hmm… hey, you know how we passed through the mid-layer—the adventurers’ den—on the way up here?”

“Yeah, why? Did you want to stop somewhere?”

“No, not that. It just felt… lifeless. Like there was this weird atmosphere hanging around.”

“…Huh?”

Seriously? I didn’t notice anything at all.

But now that she mentioned it, I think there really were fewer adventurers around than usual.

It’s already February now, the New Year’s festival is over, but even so… the drop in numbers was too sharp for that to be the only reason.

“Hmm… I wonder if something happened.”

“The ‘Hamsutei Inn’ we owe so much to is down there too. If there’s trouble, I’d like to help if we can.”

“Right.”

“Since I’ll be meeting Kokuri tomorrow anyway, let’s ask her about it while we’re at it.”

“Good idea. Kokuri-chan probably knows something. She’s always so well informed.”

As always, Melt calls her “Kokuri-chan.” Well, if she doesn’t mind it, I guess it’s fine.

“Ahhh, home sweet home! I’m back! …Welcome back!”

“Melt… what are you even doing?”

As soon as we got back, Melt started acting silly.

She was basically playing both roles of a conversation by herself, but it was probably just proof of how much she’d missed this house.

“Come here, Rent-chan! I’ll show you around inside.”

“….”

Since I was in Same’s form, Rent obediently ran over to Melt.

Looks like she was teaching Rent the layout of the house—where the bathroom and bath were and all that.

On the way here, I’d noticed that Rent could handle basic bodily needs and actions on her own.

That means I could probably leave her summoned without issue. The real problem is how other people will react to her.

Honestly, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible to take her traveling, but since she has no self-defense ability, the risk of her being kidnapped or taken hostage is high.

That said, keeping her at home to “babysit the house” isn’t a perfect solution either.

At some point, I really should dismiss her. We’ve already tested enough.

…Though I’m sure Melt will object.

“Same! We don’t have enough pillows! Do you happen to have one?”

Huh, before I noticed, she’d already taken Rent upstairs to the bedroom.

It’s still a bit early for sleep, but I guess I should at least set up some bedding.

Opening the newly unlocked “Housing Menu,” I picked out a piece of furniture—a pillow—and pulled it out.

“Oh wow… in the game this was just a useless accessory, but now it’s an actual pillow.”

When I pressed it, my finger sank into the soft surface. A genuine memory-foam pillow.

Not my favorite, but it had its fans.

Personally, I’ve always been on Team Buckwheat Hull Pillow.
Not microbeads—yes, natural materials!

“Hey, I brought the pillow.”

Heading up to the bedroom, I found Rent face down on the bed, bouncing up and down.

…Wait. That flopping movement looks like a fish out of water—it’s creepy. Are you sure you don’t have a will? A personality?

She looks exactly like a child who just wants to play.

“Melt, what’s Rent doing?”

“Looks like she likes the bed. Cute, right?”

“…A little creepy, actually.”

Still face down, she turned her head toward me without expression, and kept bouncing.

…Like something straight out of a horror film.

“Here, the pillow.”

“Thanks! Let’s give this to Rent-chan—oh my gosh, it’s so squishy! Like an animal’s belly!”

“If Rent doesn’t like it, you can have it instead.”

“Then I’ll swap mine out. I want to try this!”

“Haha… well, I’ve got another one, so you can have this too.”

“Yay!”

After that, we had dinner, took a bath, and finally got to relax in our own house, letting the fatigue of travel melt away.

…Although, Melt’s room stayed noisy for a while. No doubt she was way too excited about testing the pillow’s feel.

The next morning.

While we were finishing breakfast, Rent suddenly started cleaning up the dishes on her own initiative.

Now I’m really wondering—does she really have no will of her own, or is a faint trace of Rent’s own will starting to show through?

I really do need to dismiss her at least once and confirm it for myself.

“Rent-chan is so cute, isn’t she? I wonder what kind of girl she really is.”

“She’s actually a pretty energetic, slightly cheeky, but honest kid.”

“Eh, you can tell?”

“Truth is, sometimes when she’s asleep, I can talk with everyone resting inside my soul.”

“Whaaaat, no fair! That’s so cool!”

Haha, I can understand why she’d be jealous.

But if Melt ever stepped into my inner world… she’d probably go on full alert the moment she saw Still!

While I was thinking that, someone knocked on the door.

『Is Same home? It’s Kokuri. I heard today was convenient for you.』

“Oh, right. Melt, could you take Rent into the other room for now?”

“Okay, got it.”

So, she’s coming here instead of me going to her, huh.
…That must mean my importance within this country has really gone up.

“Yes, yes, I’m coming.”

When I opened the door, Kokuri was standing there in her usual white coat, looking a little tired.

I noticed faint shadows under her eyes—it gave her refined beauty a slightly yandere-ish look.

“Kokuri-san, please, come inside and rest. You look a bit worn out.”

“Mm, then I’ll take you up on that.”

Once she was seated, I used the hot water I had boiling in the kitchen to prepare coffee.

This city mostly has tea shops, but I’d already confirmed back in Seira, while buying up spices, that coffee does exist here.

Naturally, I stocked up in bulk.

“That smell… coffee, right? Rare. I thought only researchers ever bought it.”

“You drink it to stay up all night, or to refresh your mood, right?”

“Heh, the way you said that tells me you used to drink it the same way, didn’t you?”

Kokuri gave a small, pleased smile.

I packed the grounds into a copper coffee filter and slowly poured the hot water.

Truth is, I’ve always been particular about coffee, even back in Japan.

There’s a theory, after all—online game addicts tend to get obsessive about coffee. I’d say it’s true.

“Here you go, Kokuri-san.”

“Thank you, Same. Mmm… what a wonderful aroma. You’re good at this.”

The coffee helped chase away her drowsiness, and also warmed her up after her early-morning walk through the cold.

Once we both had a moment to breathe, Kokuri began to speak.

“So, you went to Golda, didn’t you? Thank you for escorting the refugees. We’ve already begun forming caravans of knights and adventurers to send there. With you creating a precedent for providing escort, others who’ll make the journey can feel more secure.”

“Oh, no need to thank me. We just wanted a ride ourselves, that’s all.”

“Heh, fair enough. I won’t pry into exactly what you did there. But actually… I didn’t come today for that. I’m sorry, but there’s something I want to personally consult you about—regarding this country’s future events.”

“Personally…?”

Kokuri sounded a little hesitant as she broached the subject.

“The truth is, you and your brigade have already helped us so much. Honestly, as a nation, we don’t want to burden you any further. But…”

“It’s fine. I’ll gladly listen to anything. And it doesn’t have to be private, either.”

“…You really are a kind and good man, Same.”

“You flatter me.”

Alright, time to brace myself. The topics Kokuri brings up are almost always serious ones.

“The fact is… we’re about ready to announce the dungeon cores to the public. And for that, the queen wants to speak in detail with your superior—the representative of your brigade. Even if we try not to put you in the spotlight, and avoid drawing too much attention, we can’t exactly make such an announcement without at least acknowledging those responsible. It wouldn’t look right.”

“Ah… so that’s what this is about.”

So the time has finally come.

Yeah, if they’re going public about the dungeon cores, they’ll have to reveal at least the people involved. Otherwise, everyone would be suspicious…

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