Episode 56: The Town of Solva
“The level of civilization isn’t much different from over there. But there are a lot of Beastmen?”
“It’s not so much ‘a lot,’ but rather, that’s normal in the west. The Royal Capital and the eastern and northern areas centered around it have fewer,” Barbatos explained.
“Is that so?”
“Were you not aware? Well, there was a King in the past who persecuted the Beastmen. This is a remnant of that.”
“Ah, I see.”
I nodded in understanding at Barbatos’s explanation.
Though it’s a foolish story. But it’s not an uncommon one. Beastmen can’t be compared to clans blessed by spirits, but they are still a superior race to ordinary Humans.
Utilizing Spatial Jump, I moved from mountain to mountain, peering down at a nearby village or town from the summit of the mountain closest to the plains. I couldn’t see everything clearly, but I could still observe.
Their clothing is mostly cloth-based, so I can manage with what I have. I can see some Adventurer-like people, but I can’t tell if they’re town soldiers or Adventurers. Well, they’re probably not Knights.
“Well, I guess I have no choice but to go. I’d hate it if I couldn’t communicate,” I muttered.
“Ho, ho, ho! You’ve become quite accustomed to communicating with those who don’t speak your language lately, haven’t you?”
“The Drone completely understands your language, right?”
They’re the ones accommodating me.
“Well then, let’s change and go,” I said.
“Yes, let us proceed,” Barbatos replied.
I quickly changed, equipped ordinary weapons, and descended the mountain on a Kamoshika.
The Kamoshika easily traversed any mountain path, making it very reliable.
Once we descended the mountain and entered the plains, our speed increased further. A path appeared, indicating human traffic, making the journey easier. I didn’t let it run, but kept the Kamoshika moving at a reasonable pace.
“A Kamoshika, huh? You’ve got a good Mount,” a man on a passing carriage called out. Lucky that he understood our language.
“Sorry, but they’re not for sale,” I replied.
“Indeed, they are precious to us,” Barbatos added.
“Whoa there!” The horse neighed, interrupting the conversation. “The horse is scared. I’ll move a little further away.”
“Ah, sorry about that. They’re not used to Kamoshika. They’ll get used to it eventually, I guess.”
“They’re cute, but they’re Monsters, after all.”
“A Mount, huh? I’m jealous.”
“The feed costs are high, you know?”
“Ah, I’ve heard that often enough.”
They’re called Mounts, but Kamoshika are proper Monsters. It’s a general term for relatively docile types of Monsters that have been tamed by humans and can be used as transportation.
Unlike creatures without Magic Stones, they possess strength beyond their appearance and are sturdy, making them highly valued.
“What kind of town is that over there?” Barbatos asked.
“The Town of Solva? Are you new here?” the man replied.
“Yes, we are traveling. We need to replenish our supplies.”
“Ah, there’s not much to see, really. But since it’s close to the mountains, there are a lot of Adventurers.”
“Oh, really?”
“Didn’t see anything that looked like prey, though.”
That’s because we came down from that mountain.
“Apparently, they’re aiming for the mountains and Forest further beyond. They say rare Monsters sometimes come down from the big mountain, and Adventurers gather hoping to strike it rich if they can defeat them. There are also many requests for daily hunting.”
“Oh, really?”
“I see,” I replied.
It’s in a location like my hometown, Sunrakka Village. Well, there are many rare Monsters there, but there are also many dangerous ones, so outsiders hardly ever come. They say they lose heart before they even arrive.
“They say you shouldn’t mess with the big mountain itself. Well, no one tries anyway since it takes weeks to reach it.”
“Is that so?”
“Hmm, it sounds profitable, though,” Barbatos mused.
“Well, no one wants to die. The mountains and Forest on this side are fine, but they say there are many Dungeons overflowing beyond that. You wouldn’t have enough lives to deal with that, right? And can you see that mountain over there? They say there’s a lion-like Monster about half its size and an Evil Dragon that destroyed a country. They say you’d be a hero if you defeated them, but no one who’s challenged them has ever returned.”
Ah, yes. An Earth Beast, huh? And the Evil Dragon… is that Toragrus-sama?
“Ah, I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere…” I said.
“Yes, it seems the treatment is the same everywhere,” Barbatos added.
Being big alone is a threat. And it was muscular and looked strong. It also had Poison, right? I only took it down from a distance, though.
I should probably start dismantling it soon.
“It’s an ordinary town,” Barbatos observed.
“Isn’t that good? Ordinary is fine,” I replied.
For now, since we didn’t know what to do, we followed the flow of people and arrived at what seemed to be the Adventurer’s Guild.
Since I’m just a child, there’s a chance they won’t take me seriously, so I left it to Barbatos to go inside. At worst, it would be good if we could just sell some stuff.
While taking care of the Kamoshika, I waited for a while, and Barbatos came out.
“How was it?” I asked.
“I asked about inns where we can stay with our Mounts. The money we got from the appraisal is more than enough,” Barbatos replied.
“I see. What about food?”
I hope it’s good.
“The inn’s dining hall is also a tavern. So, we can eat there,” Barbatos said.
“Is that so? Ah, what about registration?”
“Well, the system hasn’t changed. We started from Rank 8 instead of Rank 10, though.”
“Oh? That’s amazing.”
“It’s thanks to the Monsters we brought. Having a Magic Bag may have also helped.”
“Armor Bear are expensive everywhere, huh?”
Armor Bear are C-Rank Monsters. Their fur is as hard as armor, making them very difficult to defeat. However, if you can defeat them without damaging their fur too much, the appraisal price is very high.
It has a stronger defense than iron, is much lighter, and is easy to process. It also doesn’t hinder joint movement, making it a popular item for both Adventurers and nobles.
By the way, the meat is also edible.
I told Barbatos to look at the Standing Requests and regular requests and then submit the Monsters that are actually requested.
It would have been impossible if I couldn’t read, but the writing was the same. Well, I thought there wouldn’t be much difference once we could communicate, and I was right.
We went to the inn that was introduced to us and went through the procedures. It took a little while because the money was in gold, silver, and copper coins instead of Wica, but they warmly watched over us since a child was paying.
We took a two-person room, went inside, and lowered the bar, opening the Hakoniwa.
“Phew. Houryuu, you can come out too,” I said.
“Yes, sir!” Houryuu appeared from the shadows. Among those from the Village, the dog and cat Beastmen call themselves Onmitsu, and many of them are good at Shadow Attribute magic. It’s a rare magic.
I didn’t intend to bring him, but he wouldn’t listen when I said he would be a hindrance to protect me. When I said that those who had never interacted with outsiders would be a hindrance, he said he wouldn’t contact people and went into the shadows, so I reluctantly brought him… I only brought Houryuu because it seemed like a lot of people would come.
“Barbatos, lend me your Guild Card. I don’t think anyone will come, but stay in the room just in case.”
“Yes, sir!”
I entered the Hakoniwa and headed to the container house.
“Rest here as you like,” I said.
“No, I will accompany you.”
“There are only Support Drones here. Well, feel free to watch if you want.”
The Support Drone brought drinks, which I gave to Barbatos. I took my share and gave some to Houryuu as well.
I took a machine out of the Spatial Storage. It wasn’t as big as the container house, but it was still quite large.
“T-That is!?” Barbatos exclaimed.
“A Magic Analyzer. Well, it’s too big to examine a card like this.”
Magic varies widely, with different languages and systems on each planet. This machine is useful in such cases.
The base is quite large because it can analyze even large statues used in rituals. I placed the Guild Card I received from Barbatos on it and activated it.
It didn’t seem to have very complex magic, and the process was completed quickly.
“Forgery prevention, personal identification, and recording of update locations, huh?”
Next, I put my Guild Card on the analyzer.
It looked the same, but the magic applied to it seemed to be the same as well.
“Is there cooperation between Guilds?”
The magic applied to my Guild Card was exactly the same.
Not just the same system, but completely the same. In other words, the Guild Cards were made with the same magical technology.
“I should ask Iserina-san about this next time.”
Since the verification was complete, I returned to the room. Houryuu was with me as well.
“How was it?” Barbatos asked.
“The system was the same. But there’s a record of where it was used, so it might be better not to use mine,” I replied.
I don’t know if they’ll check every time, but mine was made at the Royal Capital Adventurer’s Guild in Brostwill, so that record should be there.
“Then, can it not be used as identification?”
“The Guild is probably the only place with a device to check it, so I think you can use it elsewhere.”
The magic to read this kind of data is very complex. The difficulty is completely different from magic like setting fire or shooting ice, so not everyone can use it.
That’s why the Guild probably turned it into a Magic Item so that anyone can use it… but it’s probably only available at the Guild.
“Hmm, then there seems to be no problem.”
“After this, I’d like to take a look around town and gather some information.”
Houryuu’s shadow magic is extremely useful for gathering information, but… Houryuu, who has never left the village in the forest, lacks common knowledge, so she probably wouldn’t be able to organize the information.
“I’m surprised that so many people live here.”
“I wonder how she’d react if I took her to the Royal Capital.”
“Barbatos will accompany you then!”
“Nuu, both Your Majesty and the First Knight-sama are teasing me.”
“Stop calling me Your Majesty. It’ll be troublesome if someone overhears.”
“…”
She sank into the shadows without saying a word!
“So, what’s next?”
“Let’s get something to eat for now. I’ll set up a sound collector while we’re at it.”
Also known as a wiretap. It’s easier than eavesdropping all the time.
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I am applying for Kakuyomu Con 10.
I’ve heard rumors that following the work and leaving ☆ reviews might affect the ranking, so I’d like those. Please!