Kays Translations

Chapter 150

Now, it was time to decide on our course of action.

First, tomorrow I’ll meet with Koyan from the Concon Trading Company to talk about the nations on the other continents.

That kind of information will be necessary when traveling abroad in the future, and since Melt is also curious about the cultures of beastman-dominated countries, it’ll be useful for her too.

Next, I’ll tell them that Same is returning first, then disappear from Isbel. Somewhere… yes, in the bus we hid underground, I’ll transform into my blacksmith character, “Shijima.”

After that, I’ll return to Izbel, apply for participation in the tournament at the blacksmiths’ guild, and rent a workshop.

From then on, it’ll be nothing but putting my full power into forging Melt’s twin daggers.

“That’s the plan I’m going with. Does that sound okay?”

“Mmgh… yeah! That’s fine!”

We were sitting in a somewhat upscale restaurant in Isbel.

Normally we ate at common diners or taverns, but for confidential discussions like this, it was better to use a restaurant with private rooms and a higher-class atmosphere.

The food, by the way, was excellent… a full course featuring wild duck… absolutely amazing.

“Ahh, so delicious… Duck meat is so good! I didn’t like it much when I was in the forest, but here, it tastes incredible!”

“I hear duck can be strong-tasting unless you drain the blood and fat properly. The chefs here must be very skilled.”

Saila’s knowledge was, as always, all-encompassing.
Honestly, it really was delicious…

“I see, so it’s not just the meat itself but also how it’s prepared. Cooking really does make a difference.”

“Exactly. Anyway, shall we pay up soon?”

“Yeah. Do you want to head back to the bus? Or stop somewhere else first?”

“Hmm… it’s still a little early, but let’s just head back.”

And so, after deciding on our course of action, we returned to our secret base—the underground bus.

The next day, urged on by Melt, I headed to the Izbel Adventurers’ Guild.
There, I reported something I had forgotten to mention on the first day: the tactic we’d encountered where “humans posing as bandits forcefully pressed their escort services.”

“—And that’s what happened. I killed one of them, and handed the others over to the Lindblum east branch office. Similar cases may occur again. The guild here should raise awareness and also question caravans that plan to leave the city without escorts.”

“I see, understood. So they meet up with unlicensed escorts outside the city… That’s another possible pattern. In that case, we may truly need a large-scale operation to wipe out these bandits…”

Come to think of it, if the road between Lindblum and Izbel was so frequently attacked by bandits, why had there never been a large-scale subjugation before?

Was there some special reason? I asked the receptionist—

“That much is unclear. No, subjugation forces have been formed many times in the past, but somehow the bandit leaders always managed to escape beforehand, as if they knew in advance. Perhaps… there may be spies hiding in either Isbel or Lindblum…”

“I see…”

So the bandits might have had some pretty solid backing.

After finishing my report, I went to look for Melt. She was staring intently at the quest board, similar to the one we’d seen in Lindblum.
Apparently, many adventurers from outside also came here, and a lot of them were browsing the requests just like her.

“Melt, see any interesting requests?”

“Hmm, mostly patrol missions inside the mines, and escort jobs for workers heading in to gather resources! Around here, collection requests seem to be for adventurers ranked topaz or higher, not beginners.”

“I see… meaning encounters with monsters are likely. Anything you want to take on?”

“Not really… Some adventurers invited me, but once they saw my ruby rank, they backed off.”

Makes sense. Ruby rank is near the top, so they’d hesitate to invite her for something like a collection request.
That means rubies are mostly expected to take dangerous subjugation requests—like the bandit hunt this time, or solo missions similar to the previous subjugation force.

“For now, why don’t we just focus on sightseeing and pass the time until evening?”

“Yeah, I still don’t know much about this city, so let’s do that.”

We explored various districts of the city. Near the entrance, there were plenty of shops and inns for outsiders. As we moved closer to the mountains, we came across rows of workers’ lodgings, smithing workshops, rental forges, and taverns for craftsmen.

“The energy around here is incredible! Even though it’s winter, it doesn’t feel cold at all!”

“Maybe that’s exactly why they hold the smithing tournament at this time of year.”

The clang of hammers striking metal rang out around us, and the workers on break raised their voices in cheerful laughter at taverns.
Seeing them so lively and spirited in the middle of the day made me feel excited too.
To the smiths, this tournament was not only a serious contest, but also something like a festival.

“Shijima… that name sounds kind of like Shizuma, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does. Shijima means ‘silence.’ Pretty ironic for someone who spends all his time hammering metal, huh?”

“Fufu, that’s funny. So Shijima is going to forge my sword, huh… A handmade present feels really special. And you’re even trying to fulfill my selfish request… Thank you so much.”

“Of course. If my family says they need medicine, I’ll help without hesitation. You still can’t tell me what kind of medicine, though?”

“Yeah… it’s sort of an experiment, so I don’t want to say anything yet and then disappoint you later… sorry.”

Hmm… a medicine that might end up disappointing? Hard to imagine.
But if the time comes, I’m sure she’ll tell me.
I trust Melt.

We spent the day exploring until sunset, when the sky was painted in red. Then we headed for the “Concon Inn,” where the Concon Trading Company was staying.

“Concon Inn, that’s a funny name! It reminds me of the Tontine Inn I stayed at before!”

“By the way, some of the inns we checked out yesterday were called ‘Tontine Inn,’ ‘Konami Inn,’ and ‘Ice Tei.’ Seems like a lot of inns around here have quirky names.”

Maybe it was their way of leaving an impression on customers.
…At the very least, “Tontine Inn” is now burned into my memory.

At the reception desk, I asked if Koyan-san was back yet.
The staff immediately went to fetch him, and before long, Koyan appeared.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Same. Shall we go? Actually, earlier today I had some business talks in the workshop district, and over there I found a tavern with an excellent selection of drinks and snacks. Let’s talk there.”

“Sounds good. We just took a look around that area ourselves. Let’s go.”

The tavern we were guided to was one of the largest in the workshop district. Despite the cold season, even the terrace seating was open, and nearly every seat was filled—it was thriving with customers.

We were also seated outside, but even at night the workshop district wasn’t very cold. As long as you wore normal winter clothes, it didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Let’s wait for the first round of drinks before starting our talk. This place is known for serving a hot drink where milk and honey are fermented together. They call it Hot Spice Milk Mead.”

“Wow, a warm milk-based alcohol? I didn’t know such a thing existed!”

“Sounds delicious. Perfect for this season.”

Just from the description, it already seemed tasty.

It arrived soon after: served in thick ceramic mugs, filled generously with a milk-colored drink tinged faintly with gold. A sweet, gentle aroma wafted up, with hints of cinnamon and a sharp bite of pepper mixed in.

“Alright then, cheers.”

“Kanpai!”

“Cheers!”

Taking a sip, the fragrance and sweetness of milk and honey spread across my mouth, followed by the flavor of alcohol wrapped in spices. For a moment, there was a trace of peculiarity, but before it fully registered, the spices smoothed it away.

In short… it was very sweet, and very good.

“This is delicious!”

“Yes, easy to drink, but apparently quite strong. Let’s just stick to the food after this.”

“Good idea. Oh, they serve duck here too.”

“Oh? You’ve already tried it? It seems there’s a forest near this city where ducks overwinter, so it’s considered a local specialty.”

And so, together with the sweet drink, we enjoyed smoky-flavored duck. Once we were nicely warmed and a little tipsy, Koyan began to speak about his homeland, the Shijū Federation.

“The neighboring continent—my homeland—is called the Riseark Continent. Its area is probably the largest in the world, overwhelmingly bigger than the others. Some say it’s four times the size of this Dusterfill Continent.”

“That’s… unbelievably huge. Is there a single nation ruling such a vast continent?”

“No, Riseark is divided. The eastern half, which faces this continent, is governed by the Consordo Empire. I myself am from the western side, from a country called Sekiryo, which is part of the Shijū Federation.”

A federation… like America back on Earth, perhaps.
That one had “states,” while here they still called them “countries” even within the federation.

“Sekiryo is inhabited mainly by fox-folk and tanuki-beastmen. Foxes usually engage in trade with foreign lands, while tanuki often handle domestic commerce.”

“Tanuki! I’ve seen them in picture books. It said they were enemies of foxes—so that wasn’t true?”

“No, generally they get along quite well. Though they’ll never yield when it comes to the beauty of their tails. Every year they compete in contests to see whose tail has the best fur.”

“Wow, a tail contest! I want to enter! I’d definitely win!”

“Hahaha, indeed. Melt-san, your tail’s sheen and texture are unmatched.”

Yes… it’s true. My fox girl’s tail is a tail of enchantment.
Smooth, flowing like water, with silky strands.
Warm, soft to the touch, wrapping around you with happiness.

“In the Shijū Federation, there are five countries—Dōna, Sekiryo, Hachiu, Kōron, and Shiryū. Above them stands the Shijū Federal Principality, making six in total.”

“Wow! So many countries. Don’t they ever fight?”

“Well, some rivalries exist, and not every country gets along, but war never happens. Because Shijū will never allow it. That country is made up of only the ‘Superior beastmen who have reverted to their ancestors’ among us beastmen.. Their numbers are small, but their strength is overwhelming in every respect. With their protection and support, the federation enjoys peace and stability—there’s simply no room for war.”

“Reverted…?”

“Yes. In beastmen history, there are times when special individuals are born with extraordinary power, known as high beastmen. Many lineages have vanished through time, but some well-known examples are the Silver Fox, Phantom Wolf, Golden Wolf, Red Bear, White Lion, Black Dragon, Fire Rat, and Ham Mouse.”

…Wait, wasn’t there something odd slipped in at the end?
Ham Mouse… that’s just a hamster, right?

“Melt-san, you’ve likely inherited the blood of the Silver Fox very strongly. Honestly, the first time I saw you, I nearly fell to my knees in awe. The people of the Shijū Federal Principality all carry strong bloodlines of high beastmen.”

“Wow, that’s fascinating! I really want to visit someday!”

“Yeah… me too.”

There might be beastmen similar to Melt living there, and surely Melt would like it too.

“To get there from abroad, however, one must pass through the Empire and then cross the massive lake in the center of the continent, called Lake Ham. In fact, there are no ships that sail directly from the Dusterfill Continent to the Shijū Federation. Of course, Shijū’s merchants are an exception, which is why we can come directly to this continent like this.”

“I see… That’s probably some sort of agreement with the Empire, right?”

“Correct. Impressive… you figured it out from just that much explanation.”

“What, what? What does it mean?”

Most likely, in order to prevent war between the Federation and the Empire… they’ve restricted direct interaction to some extent so that neither country can secretly build up military strength or form alliances with neighboring continents.

It’s also quite possible that even the continent next to Riseark isn’t allowed to have direct dealings with the Empire. I explained these thoughts to Melt.

“So, basically, they’ve made a pact to keep each other in check, right?”

“That’s right. Well, that’s about all I can say on the matter. After all, I’m only a merchant, so I’m not very familiar with detailed national policies or diplomatic relations.”

“No, no, thank you. That was truly valuable and fascinating to hear.”

This really makes me look forward to traveling across the Riseark Continent someday.
Hopefully, at some point, I can also hear more information about the Empire from someone else.

“Oh, right. Koyan-san, tomorrow morning I’ll be leaving this city and heading back to Lindblum ahead of you. If you run into any trouble, please let Melt know.”

“Oh, I see. Well then… though it was brief, I truly appreciate all you’ve done for us, Same. Once we return to our country, I’ll be sure to report about you to our trade association’s headquarters. If you ever visit Sekiryo in the future, please do stop by our Concone Trading Company.”

“Of course. I’ll definitely do that.”

And so, an enjoyable and fascinating evening came to an end.
Delicious drinks, delicious snacks, interesting stories.
It truly had been a fulfilling night.

Afterward, I escorted Koyan back to his inn, then headed straight for our secret base—the underground bus—just outside the city.

“We got to hear some really interesting things, didn’t we! Maybe there are still others of my clan, the Silver Fox Tribe, out there!”

“Would you really want to be with your own kind?”

“Hmm… I’d like to meet them, maybe? But the ones I want to stay with are my family—Shizuma and everyone else.”

“…That makes me really happy to hear. Well then, tomorrow—or rather, today—I’ll be taking on the form of a blacksmith. The inside will still be me, so don’t worry. But since it’ll be the first time you see me like that, it might feel a little strange.”

“Ooh! You’re going to become a new person! I’m excited!”

“Alright then, here I go—time to transform.”

And with that, I opened up the menu and moved the character cursor over to “Shijima.”

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