14-5
The Bizarre Book Tells Me to Marry the
Princess
Translator : PolterGlast
By obtaining my
ancestor's black Shovel, maintaining the underground tunnels became
easy. However, it seems I had reached an area with fragile bedrock, and it took
a whole day to remove cave-ins and repair cracks. It can't be helped. If it
collapses in an emergency, it won't be a laughing matter.
So, using the repair
ability of Scoop LV 1, I compressed the loose earth and sand, completely
plastering and solidifying the walls and footing. Because of this, my plan to
return in about two days has already slipped into the third day.
To add further, the
underground path branched off into upward paths to the surface at certain
intervals. Each time, I maintained the upward path and enjoyed the refreshing
surface air and the sights of the unseen world.
Every exit of the
underground tunnel was cleverly hidden, and according to Zirant, they
even used the Horned race's barriers to thoroughly ensure they wouldn't be
found from the outside.
「The
first Emperor you admire is an eccentric after all... In order to make that
underground path, he continued a mole-like underground life for dozens of days,
right? I'd go mad in two days...」
「Shut it, call it having
perseverance. Try badmouthing Ausar next time, I won't speak to you.」
「That
would be a problem... In that world of darkness, not being able to talk to you
is painful.」
「Umu,
it seems you've finally gained some self-awareness as an Apostle. Being able to
chat with Wagahai must be quite blissful, right? You may sob in joy.」
If only she wasn't
so intrusive with this... Anyway, Zirant's mood seemed to have improved,
so I once again took a sweeping view of the surface world.
It was on top of a
small hill, and from here I could gaze upon a plain stretching as far as the eye
could see. What reflected in my eyes were small towns and villages. Fields and
highways. Low hills enveloped in flowers and greenery. The rest was a broad
river fitting for a flatland, and a splendid stone bridge built by people
there.
Houses jostled together
like barnacles on the left and right of the bridge, flourishing as a town.
People gather and live in comfortable places where money accumulates. That's a
matter of course, but gazing at it from a distance stirred the imagination in
countless ways.
「Yeah,
meeting you was good luck. If we hadn't met, I would have already met a
miserable end. I am grateful to you.」
「Umu.
Umu umu, that doesn't sound bad. Go on, try flattering Wagahai more.」
「...Right.
Thanks to you, I met eccentrics who don't view this appearance as abnormal, but
acknowledge me as a human. I truly am grateful.」
If I remove the eye
lenses, I gain night vision, so I've left them off for the past few days.
「Well,
shall I return to work.」
「Umu.
But if you rush too much, it'll be hard for the other side to catch up. You can
take it a little easier. ...Besides, the Imperial Capital is soon.」
「I see.
Then let's sleep a little.」
「Nn,
then I'll keep watch. Rest.」
That makes the
master and servant backwards. If I said that, she'd get sulky, so I stayed
silent, lay down on the slope of the hill, and made a bed of soft young grass.
A blue sky spread out in my narrowed vision, and small clouds slowly drifted in
the wind.
It's been a long
time since I looked up at the sky. It felt as if the stress of cellar life was
rapidly healing.
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
「So you
left a mark. Phew... I finally caught up. Nn, oh...?」
「Sorry, Ashley just
fell asleep a moment ago.」
「I'm
sorry for raising a loud voice. I wonder if I woke him up.」
「About
half and half. ...Is something wrong, Fenrieda.」
「Please
call me Yumil. Nn... Well, actually, a little, a lot happened over
there, haa... It's turned into a very troubling situation... Wah?!」
When I opened my
eyelids, the young lady Yumil was peering into my face. She was quite
close, but the surprised her almost fell over backwards, so I pulled her arm to
steady her.
「You
were awake?!」
「I was
sleeping. Did some problem occur over there?」
「Yes, a
lot of things, all because of you, it's terrible!」
「Kakaka,
it's rare to see the young lady Yumil this fuming mad. Yo Ausar—wait, what was it again... Oops, anyway, the Shovel
is complete.」
The blacksmith
middle-aged man, half of whose body had turned into mineral, appeared there.
「No
problem. I never heard your name once either. More importantly, is it already
complete?」
「Yeah,
I heard you picked up a weird Shovel, but mine is definitely stronger,
so use this one! Throw away a blunt thing like that, and this—nn, nnngg??」
The middle-aged man
tilted his head at my ancestor's Shovel. He approached it, which was
lying down with me, and stared at it intently.
「This
is, no way, you're kidding, right?! Is this that bastard Ausar's Shovel?!
Where did you find it?!」
「In the
person himself's old haunt. It was left there almost as if it knew Ashley
would appear there.」
「There's
no way such a stupid thing—no, is it possible... I see, then this guy is
useless now. Assuming I scrap this Shovel, is there another weapon you
want?」
I thought we'd
argue, but surprisingly, the craftsman side backed down. If he can make another
one, it would be best to have Sigrun wield it after all.
「In
that case, forge me one
short sword. There's someone I want to give it to.」
「Alright,
what kind of person are
they?」
「A
twin-sword user with brute strength. She lacks common sense but is terrifyingly
strong. And she's hearty. Sigrun's ability is probably on par with Georg-aniue.」
「Georg
and Sigrun, huh... Alright, let me meet those guys. I want to hear the
request directly from the customer.」
「I
don't mind that, but... You're an heirloom of the Fimbul Duke House,
right. Is it okay for us to carry you around...?」
I shifted my gaze
from the middle-aged man to Yumil of the Duke House. Then, for some
reason, she seemed to flinch and tremble.
「About
that, I'm going with you too...」
She shyly averted
her gaze from me and said something that missed the point. That figure is
unnaturally modest considering her strong-willed first impression. Even her
long elf ears were faintly colored.
「Why?
Why does a Princess need to come too?」
「It's
all your fault... This happened because you appeared!」
That girl suddenly
got angry. It seems I caused her some trouble, but I have no idea of the cause.
「Calm
down, isn't it fine. Looking at him like this, he's quite a handsome man. Well,
his personality is a little bit that, though.」
「Kukuku,
this is turning into something interesting...」
The hardware
middle-aged man seems to know the circumstances. Zirant also seems to
have guessed something, but...
「Yumil,
explain it to me.」
「Haa...
I have a fiancé...」
「I see.
And?」
「I was
supposed to marry that person in the future... That said, I don't have romantic
feelings for him. But I don't particularly hate him either. I intended to
prepare myself to be tied to this person eventually...」
Perhaps the blood
had rushed to her head too much, Yumil glared sharply at me.
Resentfully, as if she wanted to say it was all my fault.
「It
must be tough being the daughter of a Duke House.」
「Uwa...
He's dense, this guy...」
「That's
the kind of man he is... It's troubling that this part of him doesn't grow at
all...」
What is this
conversation about in the end. Even Yumil was letting out a deep sigh.
「The
other party intended the same. We had continued a pure and proper relationship.
But, that is, ruined because of you!」
「My
fault? Then what should I do?」
「Having
talked this far, why don't you guess?! You aren't doing this on purpose, are
you?!」
「Calm
down. That's why I'm asking what I should do to satisfy you.」
Yumil
suddenly squatted down. She sighed again and didn't move, looking exhausted.
Watching her for a while, she stood back up.
「Let me
meet His Majesty the Emperor. I've been entrusted with an important letter from
the Fimbul Duke House.」
「Father?
That's quite a difficult order... Well, I'll try my best.」
「Haa...
I wonder why it turned out like this...」
「Kukuku...
This is the kind of human he is. Ashley, take this middle-aged man and
go down underground first. Wagahai will look after this girl for a bit.」
Although it was a
flow I didn't understand from beginning to end, that is very helpful. I
borrowed the hammer inhabited by the middle-aged man and went down to the
underground path a step ahead.
「You...
You really don't understand at all...」
「That's
why I'm asking, what is it? Why won't anyone explain it to me.」
「It's
because you're a child. I sympathize with that young lady. Even I have watched
over that child since she was a brat, you know...」
I don't get it. I,
being a child, abandoned thinking and started maintaining the collapsed section
a step ahead.
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
The underground
tunnel was also connected to the Imperial Capital. Following the spiral
slope, surprisingly, it was that underground ruin where Zirant had
slept.
Following that, I
headed straight to the palace in the Imperial Capital, the Red Dragon
Palace. Bringing the young lady Yumil alongside me, I delivered the
letter to a page, and soon after, Jii appeared before us.
「Ashley-sama
is not needed. We will make it only Yumil-sama this time.」
「Such a
cold attitude, Jii.」
「...I
am exasperated. I certainly raised you sincerely, but I did not tell you to
become this kind of man. Yumil-sama, Ashley-sama has caused you a
great deal of trouble...」
「What
did I do... What was written in that letter just now...?」
「There
will be trouble, this. Even though there is a person named Carral-sama, you really
are...」
Spitting out just
those complaints, Jii took the young lady Yumil
and left my presence.
Well whatever, I achieved the goal of acquiring a new Shovel. Once I introduce the middle-aged man to Georg-aniue and Sigrun, let's proceed with the orders for the Shadows of Bergelmir as a breather. First, let's see. Until a target for warehouse breaking is found, I guess I'll start by scraping the coast of Erin and crushing the rocky reefs after all.
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