19-10
A Mirage Floating in the South Sea
Translator : PolterGlast
・Carral
I heard from the
captain that Port Ake, commonly
known as the farthest end of the Coastal Provinces, was originally a small
fishing village. Its location is on the western coast of the beastman country.
It seems it was born in an era when navigation became active, in a form where
human settlers gathered.
「Thanks
as always. But the Hez Company is
amazing lately... Where do you get all this treasure from?」
「That
is a trade secret. We're crossing some fairly dangerous bridges, so I don't
think it'd be worth it even if you thought of imitating us.」
I unloaded the
treasure Shinza had scraped together
to my usual trading partner. They will sell this off in the human kingdom to
the east from here, and make a decent profit.
「No,
no, this is a solid business with no way to lose on our end either. The
shipping industry is already a huge loss if a ship sinks, after all...
Imitating you is impossible for me.」
When we unload the
treasure Shinza scraped together,
the other party pays us
with spices, silk, tea, beastman medicine, a rare metal called platinum, and
diamonds that can only be obtained here. Even so, the ship's hold has a limit,
so we receive the remaining amount in gold coins. In this region, gold is
cheaper than in the Empire, so we are guaranteed to make a profit. However, as
this person says, that's assuming not a single ship sinks.
「Well
then, I'll come again!」
「Please
do. You can pick up some crumbs while the Empire is in turmoil, right? We'll
make as much as we can by then.」
「Well,
you'd think so, right.」
「Yeah,
if it becomes peaceful, selling this kind of stuff to people domestically is
more profitable. There'd be no reason to let go of the treasure. So it's
probably only for now.」
Is he trying to
trick me into confessing?
「If
you're going to pry like that, I'll change my trading partner, you know?」
「Whoa,
whoa, this is just small talk. I want no part in getting dragged into a war.」
I gave him a warning
not to probe before leaving the trading partner's firm.
Port Ake is hot today too. Fortunately or unfortunately, perhaps
because the entire area has sandy ground, there's little greenery, and maybe
that's why it's less humid and pleasantly dry.
「How
was the trade?」
「Ah,
Captain. You waited for me...」
「I
can't let a girl walk alone. Especially since you're his precious memento.」
「Thank
you for quitting the army and coming here. If the Captain wasn't here, I might
have given up halfway...」
I walked alongside
the man who had been my brother's right hand under the bone-dry sky of Port Ake. Yellow sand, palm trees, and
houses made of timber and fiber are crowded together in the bay area.
「The
situation in the Empire doesn't seem very good.」
「I
know. The Crown Prince drew his sword in the court, right... It's checkmate.」
When you're a
merchant, you also become familiar with politics. When it comes to the trading
business, reading the flow of the world and how to respond to it is important.
From a merchant's perspective... I feel bad for Zirant, but it'd be best if it ended with Georg-sama winning. For me personally as well, if it doesn't turn
out that way and Shinza becomes
Emperor, he would become out of reach...
「Hm...
The deck seems somewhat noisy.」
「You're
right... Jeez, if they're playing around during work
again, I'll have to tell them off strictly!」
When we returned to
the front of my proud galleon ship, it was in a commotion up there. Sailors from the
south are sloppy, so if you spoil them, they'll slack off endlessly...
「You
don't have to go out of your way to play the bad guy yourself, you know.
Sometimes you should let me yell at them—」
「There's
no need for that! Heeeey, you guys, you're not playing around again, are you!!」
I ran up the barge and boarded the brazen deck.
「Umu,
you finally arrived!!」
「I was
waiting for you.」
「H-Hello,
sorry for intruding, kyan...」
Eh............? In
an instant, my mind went completely blank. Because right there were the
black-horned Sigrun, the white wolf Yashu,
and—Shinza, who I wanted to see...
「Why
are you here!?」
Impossible... We set
off by ship first, so why have Shinza
and the others caught up...!? Or rather, the Empire is in a terrible situation,
so why are these people here!?
「What,
is that it? Give a more interesting reaction, how about asking 'How did you overtake
us!?' or something like that!?」
「That's
why I'm asking, why are you here! I know Shinza
and Sigrun are people lacking common
sense, but jeez, how did you really overtake us...」
These people are
crazy after all... Shinza was
originally a person who would cause miracles with a nonchalant face, but this
time it's just impossible...
「We ran
through the underground.」
「Umu,
and we rode on this!」
「Umm,
you see, Shinza-sama pulled a cart
through the underground cavity dug by His Majesty the First Emperor, and
brought us here, wan...」
「Ohh,
is that so, ahaha. No, it lacks common sense, it's impossible, running through
the bottom of the ground and overtaking us while we were sailing, put
yourselves in my shoes as someone who takes pride in her ship, jeez!!」
Shinza is always so
messed up... But I never thought I'd see his figure in a place like
this, and it seemed like he chased after my back, so I was really happy...
・The
Insane Man Who Ran Through the Bottom of the Earth and Overtook a Ship
「Sorry.
I tried doing it on the off chance it would work to surprise you, but it seems
it went unexpectedly well.」
In the Port Ake I admired, I reunited with Carral Hez. Then, perhaps that acted as a trigger, or perhaps this was the
development I had wished for, the bizarre book emitted light and turned me into
a firefly.
「Don't
suddenly start glowing on the deck of someone's ship without any warning!!」
「I
apologize again. I must have been happy to see you.」
「No,
no, no, no, is there any human who glows from being moved!」
「Shinza-san, why are you glowing!?」
The sailors are also
staring at me with wide eyes. Perhaps countering the tropical sunlight, it was
a particularly strong radiance.
【Book
of the Evil Dragon】
- Exploration -
【Reach
the farthest end of the Coastal Provinces, Port Ake】
(Completed)
·
Reward: None
·
『As expected, the reward is 0, though...』
- Exploration -
【Aim
for the phantom country at the further southern end】
·
Reward: None
·
『A blank after a blank, huh. Stop it, you
have neither the reason nor the free time to go.』
When I turned my
back to everyone and dropped my eyes to the bizarre book, a disappointing yet
exciting result awaited. I don't really mind if it's a blank after a blank.
Once the turmoil in the Empire is over, it might be an amusement to invite Carral and go there.
「Anyway,
I'm glad we could meet.」
「Why
are you acting all cool as if nothing happened, kyan!?」
「More
importantly, have you eaten? I want to eat dinner together, introduce me to a
recommended shop.」
「Right,
right, that's it, that's it! Because of that, sessha and the others only
ate one bunch of bananas for breakfast!」
「Don't
go increasing the things I have to retort to one by one! Dinner!? Okay, I get
it, let's go eat right now, jeez!」
I don't really get
it, but she's enraged. On top of this heat, it was a sudden occurrence, so it
can't be helped. We borrowed Carral
and headed out into the town of Port Ake.
「The
fish is gross. The people here eat it like it's nothing, but as expected, it's
not delicious.」
「Then
what is delicious!?」
「Tropical
fruits and stuff... lychees are delicious!」
「Meat
is good, kyan...」
「That's
right, when you're hungry, it's the meat of a dead beast! I want to eat the
meat of a dead beast!」
「Then,
is a grilled meat restaurant fine...?」
「Please
do.」
「They
have grilled bananas and stuff, though.」
「I
don't need that.」
We entered a
so-called grilled meat restaurant and cooked and ate the greasy, raw meat
overflowing with juices ourselves. The local cuisine here naturally uses
fruits, creating a strange flavor for unaccustomed tongues. From the
perspective of an Empire-born like me, it's natural that the food in the
Imperial Capital, tuned to the tongues of Imperial citizens, feels more
delicious... It seems the food is better in colder regions. However, I did want
to take the sweets that used sugarcane abundantly back to Aneue as a souvenir. The air is lukewarm even after the sun goes
down. Walking through the town, we devoured various sweet food stall items and
searched for souvenirs for our friends in our home country. For Aneue and Aniue—should I just buy sugarcane? It brings a smile to my face
imagining Aneue hiding in her room,
gnawing on sugarcane. No, the punchline would probably be the alchemist Dulin refining it in that mysterious
cauldron...
「A
souvenir for Her Highness the Imperial Princess! Then how about this monkey's
arm!?」
「Hiee,
don't bring such a creepy thing over here!」
「It's
guaranteed she won't speak to you for the rest of your life, wan!」
Sugarcane is fine... Because I can picture the sight of Aneue relying on Dulin, Aneue making sweets with the refined sugar, and Dulin rejoicing at being praised...
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