For the past year since I left Airi and Lisa, I’ve spent my days training in Kronos’ space-time. The downside was that I couldn’t level up, but since I didn’t need to eat or sleep, I focused on acquiring skills, improving my skill level, and increasing my status. Kronos had gone into a dormant state, and I had no one to talk to. He had told me that the life of this time and space and the main body would last for two and a half years at most. I’ve already acquired enough skills, and my skill level is up, so I’ll be out in the world in a year. I didn’t know how long it would take to defeat the Black Dragon until I entered the Labyrinth of Time’s Lament, and I was also convinced that my abilities would improve dramatically as I leveled up. I then entered the labyrinth of time’s lament and set my sights on the lowest level. Incidentally, it seems that the lowest level of the Labyrinth of Time’s Lament is the 100th floor. From here, I hunted more and more monsters to raise my level to gain more ground. I use 〈Water Magic〉 for drinking water and monster meat for food. Of all the meats, the Orc King’s meat was considerably tastier than any I had eaten on Earth. I hadn’t eaten that much expensive meat on Earth, though, so the comparison was to cheap meat. I was able to use【Warp】, a space-time magic that allows you to transfer to a place you’ve been to once, so when I went to sleep I went outside the dungeon and rested in a tent I made myself while using 〈Light Magic〉 to create a ward.
I looked around the room and took a piece of paper and a pen.
I tore a piece of paper into the size of a rectangle, wrote 「1000」 on it, and handed it to Princess Iris.
「What’s this?」
Couldn’t we put a coat of arms here, like the one on this fan? With magic.」
「…… What do you mean?」
「That means it was issued by royalty. And we’ll use this as our new currency.」
The point is, it’s paper money, I said.
「……？」
「Only royalty can grant the crest, and if it is applied consciously, it will remain with it long after the person passes.」
「Hmm」
「In other words, this will be a currency that no one will be able to counterfeit and that will not be worth the risk.」
「Oh, I see.」
「You’re disrespectful! You bastard!」
One of the knights lined up against the wall, the one who introduced Princess Iris to me, yelled at me when I entered the room.
「Items with the royal coat of arms are used as bestowal gifts. It’s how we’ve maintained our authority since the founding of our country! You can’t just throw it around the country as money ……! Bastard, you have recived an item from her Highness Helene, you should be aware of the weight of it!」
It’s about the fan.
I’m certainly glad that Princess Helene gave it to me, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her crest.
I looked at the man, Knight.
He is a hard-headed man who seems to be very serious.
He’s angry, but he doesn’t mean to offend, he’s just stubborn.
…… That’s even more of a hassle, though.
I thought of a way to convince him.
「That’s fine.」
Princess Iris spoke up first.
「Your Highness?」
「Kakeru, you’ve taught me a good lesson. Hmm, why didn’t I think of that before?」
「Are you sure, Your Highness? You can’t do that. It would be a disgrace to the royal family──」
「The country will be stable.」
Iris said decisively.
「It’s impossible to counterfeit, it’s not that you can’t see the benefit of that, right?」
「B,but…」
「The money will be stable. Surplus silver and copper can be used as resources. And besides.」
Iris laughed.
Not exactly what I was expecting, but an excited smile.
This is pretty, beautiful.
「It will make business easier. One piece of paper is worth a thousand copper coins. It would be especially useful for peddlers. Until now, we’ve been carrying heavy currency and using bills that are only guaranteed by the merchant houses. With this, bill can be used with confidence that it has the backing of the country and business can be done with peace of mind.」
「……」
The knight fell silent.
He’ s just sincere, not stupid.
He immediately realized how great the benefits of what Princess Iris had just told him were.
But this also breaks the rules.
In the real world, all countries are fighting against counterfeiting of paper money, and that’s why they are packing them with anti-counterfeiting technology.
The higher the technology and trust, the more stable the value of the banknote.
「Isn’t that magic reserved for royalty?」
Ahh, yeah only royalty from the direct lineage.」
「Then it’s impossible to fake.」
「First of all, it’s completely impossible.」
Princess Iris asserts. It’s definately breaking the rules.
Uncounterfeitable paper money is a cheat.
Compared to that, my idea …… of an idea that came out of living in my previous world seemed unimportant.
That’s what I thought.
「Thank you, Kakeru.」
Princess Iris said. Then …… she smiled and chuckled.
「──！」
It was the smile I had been expecting.
Not「Fu……」or 「Ha」.
Her smile is soft and gentle, almost stealing my soul and spirit.
「You’ve taught me well. I’ll make sure to thank you for this.」
Definitely.
Princess Iris smiled and said those words over and over again.
☆
My home.
I was in a daze in the living room.
I sat down on the couch and remembered Princess Iris’ smile.
I remember, I ruminate, and I swoon.
I felt in a really, really good mood.
As I was ruminating on it, I heard a sound: Kaka, Kaka, Kaka.
It was the sound of a door knocker on the front door.
「I’m sorry, is anyone here?」
Along with the sound of the door knocker, I could hear a boy’s voice.
He was shouting through the door, but it was pretty quiet. If my hearing was not good enough, I would have missed it.
I got up and headed for the door. When I opened the door, I saw a boy standing there, dressed in a modest outfit.
「Is that you, Yuuki Kakeru-sama?」
「Aahh」
「The Master has a message for you. He has found the maid, and he said to come by the store anytime.」
「Master? Maid…… ah, Salamus-san?」
「Yes!」
「I understand. Thank you.」
When I walked into the Salamus Trading Company, I was greeted by Salamus-san, whose lower belly still prominently displayed.
「Nice to see you, welcome.」
His appearance hasn’t changed, but I wonder, is he in a better mood than ever?
He smiles so much, it’s a bit of a fixed dumb grin.
「Did something good happen?」
No, no, no. I’ve heard rumors that you’ve already solved the case. Well, the lack of copper coins is something we’ve been struggling with as well.」
「Oh, that’s what you mean.」
「I had predicted that you had some kind of important mission since you had Her Highness’ fan, but I didn’t expect the rumors to start so soon. I’m sure that’s what Yuuki-sama is all about.」
Salamus flattered me as much as he could.
It felt good, but a little weird.
「More importantly, I heard you found the maid.」
「Yes, I managed to lay my eyes on one.」
「Eyes?」
「You said you wanted a slave maid who could do the job, but I didn’t know what more you wanted, so I picked up three.」
「Three people.」
「All of them are able to work, all of them are slaves. All you have to do is choose.」
「I see.」
You’re asking me to choose between the three of them.
It’s certainly not a bad idea. I feel like I’ve made my choice if I have a choice rather than being forced to choose one person.
「Then I’ll have them enter the room one by one.」
「OK」
Nodding, Salamus clapped his hands.
The door opened quickly and the first person walked in.
She was a beautiful woman in her late twenties. She was calm and soothing.
She was the head maid at her previous place, but they made her stop because she was replaced.
She’ s a nice person, seems to do her job well.
The second person was a little younger, a woman of about twenty. This one was a cute and friendly girl who seemed to enjoy talking to me.
She said she had never worked before, but she was a very good cook and could do all the housework because she had been taught properly.
This one’s not so bad.
And the third one.
As soon as she opened the door and walked in.
「This girl!」
I quickly stood up.
「Yuuki-sama?」
「I want this girl! I want her.」
The moment I saw her, I knew she was the only one for me.
She’ s cute and beautiful.
Best of all.
「I’m a beastman. Are you sure you want to go to ……?」
How long had I been standing there? Yesterday, there was a city, Dallas, here …… The cityscape that I had spent five years with Dan and the others disappeared as if it were a …… phantom. If I had more power, could I have prevented this catastrophe? I don’t know if Alfred had anything to do with it, but would there have been a different future if I had questioned Dan then? If I had followed the three of them, even stealthily, …… would anything have changed? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t …… find the answer. It’s already a happiness I can’t get back. No amount of looking back is going to bring Dan, Sarah and Galwin back to life. …… It was as if the silent wilderness was telling me that the peaceful life that had been destroyed would never return. ……
It was then that I saw something moving in my field of vision. As I focused my attention on it, something was approaching me. Both Airi and Lisa seemed to notice, and Lisa had a look of surprise on her face. His body was translucent and not very tall. About 160 centimeters? He had soft silver hair that reached his shoulders, and a neutral, neat face. And when this person, whose presence seemed to be somewhat scarce, reached us, Lisa said in a faint voice.
「You don’t think …… that …… that’s a spirit? But his body is translucent?」
◆ ◆ ◆
My name is Kronos, the Spirit of Time! And this is my spirit body. My main body likes to travel the world as it pleases. I think it was about 150 years ago that my main body visited this place. There was a black dragon living here, and it attacked me out of the blue. The main body fought with all its might, but it was too much for …… me, and I was sealed up with some kind of special sealing technique. The main body seems to be regretting that it should have run away. Yeah, yeah, I should’ve just run away! But if I ran away, I wouldn’t exist now as a spirit body, though! As a mere spirit, I have little desire to exist! I don’t have much of a desire to exist, so it doesn’t really matter to me. Just before the main body was sealed off, it created a space-time space with a spirit body that is me. And then the main body, with a sliver of hope that I would somehow be resurrected, pushed me into that space-time. I can go in and out of space-time, but the black dragon can’t come in. Afterwards, the black dragon fused the magical elements of the land with the magical power that it continued to suck out of the sealed body to create the Labyrinth of Time’s Lament. My existence is linked to the main body, so the lower the power of the main body, the less my existence will be. And eventually, I will disappear. It is only a matter of time before the entire body would be sucked out, but I had little desire to exist, so I accepted my fate to disappear. At such a time, the black dragon used the power it had absorbed from the main body to cause a stampede. I stepped out of time and space to observe the stampede. The battle between humans and monsters was becoming fierce, but if it continued, the stampede was going to be subdued by the efforts of the humans. But that didn’t happen, did it? Well, you could say that was subdued in a way. Just as the battle was gradually calming down, the humans broke ranks, which led to a huge explosion. As a result, the area has been turned into a wilderness. This really took me by surprise! I also tried to stay put for the time I had left before my existence disappeared. …… The woman who had caused the huge explosion had a vestigial appearance, and a boy who was still inexperienced but possessed considerable power for his age appeared. I decided to take a chance on this boy. I don’t have much of a will to exist, but I do have a will to save the main body. If we can defeat the black dragon, the seal will be lifted and we can help the main body! Well, if that happens, I’ll be back to being the same as my body, and my spiritual self will disappear.
◆ ◆ ◆
「Hey, Louis. That’s …… probably a spirit.」 「Is that a spirit? Why would they be here?」
Lisa asked me about that, and I had no idea why. Lisa and Airi didn’t seem to know why either, and they were clearly confused. In the midst of all of this, the person who approaches in front of me speaks up.
「Well, well, well! My name is Kronos, the Spirit of Time. But I’m still a spirit body, though!」
We were baffled by the sudden cheerful greeting. I was wary at first, but as I listened to Kronos and the others, I understood that I didn’t need to be wary. I had acquired the 〈Crisis Detection〉 skill as soon as I woke up this morning, and the fact that it didn’t react at all was another reason why I decided not to be alarmed. Then the three of us introduced ourselves. Apparently, Kronos had something he wanted to discuss with me. When I asked him about it in detail, he told me that he was going to disappear soon and that he only had a little time left. He wanted me to defeat the black dragon that was sealing the main body, and in order to do so, he needed me to become stronger. And I hear there’s a perfect time and space for me to train in…… I want to be strong, and I’m intrigued ……, but first I want to know what happened here. We asked Kronos if he knew anything about what had happened in this place. Kronos then showed me the image that he had called up using some kind of ability. By looking at it, all three of us could understand what had happened here, what had happened just before the explosion, and what had caused it. …… I’m sure I cried so much yesterday. …… Me, Airi and Lisa can’t stop crying again. With tears streaming down my face, I was overcome with anger. I also vowed to become stronger and stronger, and to never give in to unreasonable violence and power, so that tragedies like this one would never be repeated. Lisa and the others must have had something on their mind, because now they stopped crying and put on a mysterious face. I once again urge Kronos to continue with the consultation.
「There are three of you now, but only one of you can go into space-time with me, and of course that’s Louis, who has to defeat the Black Dragon. And the other two, there’s no point in waiting here, so you’d better go to another city somewhere else!」 「Why?!」
Lisa complained unrepentantly.
「The main body created that space-time with all the power it had left. That’s why the capacity is only two people, including me. I don’t have much energy left either, so I’m going into a dormant state when I get back into space-time.」
Kronos replied to Lisa’s question. So, to put it simply, Kronos’ main body gambled its remaining power on help that might come at any moment. At any rate, now that I know that only one person other than Kronos is allowed in the space no matter what, I’ll ask him what’s on his mind.
「If so, what can you do in that space-time?」
In response to my question, Kronos spoke up with a look on his face that said, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
「You heard me right! While you’re there, you won’t have to eat or sleep! But there’s a downside. Since the flow of time is ten times faster than in this world, the speed of physical growth is also ten times faster. But the time it takes to learn a skill or raise a skill level is much faster. That’s how we’ll get the power to defeat the Black Dragon.」 「What’s inside that space-time?」 「Hmm, there’s nothing here. It’s just a wilderness, just like here. There aren’t any living things there either. So if you go in there, you’ll have to spend your days training endlessly. You can train for twenty-four hours straight, you know? You’d need a strong will for that, though.」
I think about what Kronos said. What’s the benefit of this story? It’s easy to focus on the flaws, but …… isn’t that a benefit to me? At any rate, I can only use 〈Status Enhancement〉as many times as my skill level in a day. I’ll be able to use it more and more, and if I don’t need to eat or sleep like Kronos said, I can just keep working out single-mindedly. 〈Creation〉 would be quite useful as well. As I continue to think, I hear Kronos’ voice again.
「The time and space created by my main body is amazing! Well, the truth is that given its flawed characteristics, I would have preferred a talented and long-lived elven or demon race, and that’s what my body was created with. But Louis, you’re still so little, and I see some potential in you, more than in that elf kid over there. I guess that’s my intuition as a spirit.」
As Kronos is talking to me, a grim-faced Lisa interrupts him.
「As Kronos was talking to me, a grim-faced Lisa interjected, “That doesn’t explain why me and Airi should go to another city after all! I’m sure you’ll agree.」
Kronos replied with a smile, even when Lisa raised her voice, clearly angry.
「The reason I said you should go to another city is because there’s no Dallas here anymore, and neither of you can live in a place like this, right? And the little girl seems to be pretty weak…」 「Louis! I think this is dangerous! Besides, I’ve been asked by Dan and Sarah to take care of you. Why don’t the three of us go to Midogal Kingdom together?」 「Dear Louis! Why don’t the three of us go to Midogal Kingdom and live together? Any more goodbyes would be …… too …… hard for me.」
Lisa cornered me, looking distraught. Airi is still very young, though …… I can’t speak for others, so it must be hard to have a series of goodbyes in such a short period of time. It is true that I also feel …… lonely and it would be painful to leave Airi and Lisa. Even if it was under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to see Dan, Sarah and Galwin anymore. But this is …… where I think I’m at a turning point in my life that I won’t regret in the future.
「I’m sorry, both of you. And thank you. Once I have the power to overcome anything, …… then I want to see you both again.」
The two of them, clearly depressed by my words, spoke up.
「So …… Louis …… you’re so determined …… then I’ll be waiting for you in the royal capital of Midogal Kingdom, okay?」 「Louis-sama, …… I’ll be waiting for you too, please take care …….」
And I made a decision to leave Airi, who I’ve been with since birth, and Lisa, one of the few people I know in this world.
◆ ◆ ◆
――Afterwards, a merchant who visits the area notices that the land where Dallas once stood has become a wilderness. The news from the merchants that Dallas was missing reached the Ustenean Royal Palace. Then, under the direction of the Ustenean royal family, a survey team departs. The survey team succeeded in contacting the people who had escaped from Dallas, and they told us that after the stampede, there was a huge explosion of unknown origin. The results of this investigation will soon be delivered to the royal palace of Ustenia.
Armosso orders the dumbfounded soldiers. The three who had come to their senses attacked me at once.
I grabbed the tip of the spearhead and snapped it off.
I hit them all as hard as I could. Just with a punch.
The soldiers are blown away and slam into the wall, knocked out.
「Hey… somebody! Is anyone out there?」
Armosso shouted out loud.
He shouted in a strained voice, at his wits end.
There was a thump, thump, thump of wild footsteps approached and then three more came.
「It’s an intruder──no, an assassin. Kill him this instant!」
「Yes!」
The soldiers followed his command and attacked me.
These guys were just following orders, so I took it easy on them and just punched them and knocked them out.
After that, reinforcements came twice more, but I defeated them all.
「Well, that’s it. Now, it’s just you.」
「E──Eat this!」
Armosso took out what looked like a wand and pointed it at me.
Instantly, flames burst forth and enveloped my body.
Hot.
It was hot, but not unbearably so.
The flames quickly dissipated. My clothes got burned quite a bit, but my body (and my hair) are fine.
「What the ──, the magic doesn’t work on you?
「Does this mean my heat tolerance is 777 times higher? Well, that doesn’t matter right now.」
I glared at Armosso.
I took a step forward and punched him in the side of the head.
He drilled through the air, bounced on the floor then went limp.
He seems to be breathing, but he seems to be out cold.
「Now, what should I do?」
I thought for a moment and looked around.
I saw one of the soldiers tying to stand up. The guy is sitting on the floor, trying to back away from me.
「Oi, bastard.」
「Hii! Don’t kill me!」
「…… If you do what I’m about to tell you, I’ll let you live.」
I couldn’t be bothered to clear up the misunderstanding, so I decided to just go along with the misconception.
In the room after the battle, I took a pen from among the scattered things and threw it to the soldier.
「Write down what I’ about to say.」
「Of what…… and where……」
「Wait a minute.」
Using the rope that had been used to restrain me (the handcuffs were crushed and no longer usable), I tied up Armosso.
Then I rip off his clothes and strip his upper body bare.
「Write it down here. I am the culprit behind the shortage of copper coins. I was selling off the copper by melting it down.」
「Eh? W, well that’s」
「Just write it down or I’ll kill you!」
After a bit of threatening, the soldier did as he was told, and wrote the words I told him to on the upper half of Armosso’s body.
After tying up Almosso, I carried him on my back and raided the enemy hideout.
There were five men with suspicious looks, and at first they were ranting about what was going on, but as soon as they realized that I was carrying an Armosso, they understood everything and attacked me with weapons.
I defeated all of them.
I took them down and tied them up together.
I dragged Almosso and five of his accomplices, to a square in the center of the city.
I’m going to crucify them there.
I tried to draw Princess Helene’s coat of arms with the pen I had brought as a finishing touch.
「AAah! It’s too complicated!」
It was difficult to draw a coat of arms that looked authentic. I couldn’t draw it in one attempt, so I scrubbed it out and wrote 「777」 instead.
In the meantime, onlookers gathered.
「I’m the one responsible for the copper coin shortage. ……? Copper?!」
「It can’t be, Armosso-sama?」
「No, he’d do it! Since Almosso, the fees for recasting have gone up tremendously. He’s one hell of a money-grubber.」
「But melting money is a felony punishable by death.」
「People like that don’t think about the future, all they care about is making money.」
The onlookers were arguing among themselves.
People are slowly gathering and the noise is getting louder.
When I consciously picked up what they were saying with my ears, I found that they were frustrated from the start, and the loudest voices were 「he’d do it」 and 「I knew he’d do it someday」.
「I know that guy! He used to exchange copper coins for silver coins.」
「I exchanged money with this guy. On my way to take it to get re-minted. I exchanged money my because it was cheap compared to the commission ……but」
I also heard those kind of comments.
The combination of these factors makes Almosso’s guilt a definitive one.
The next day, I was summoned to the city office.
What waited for me there was a woman wearing a very expensive armor that looked more expensive than a knight’s armor.
There were several knights besides the woman, and one of them said.
「In the presence of Her Highness Iris Teresa Mercouri, your head is raised…」
「That’s fine.」
Iris reached out a hand and stopped the knight.
There’s no point in wielding authority here. I’m more interested in hearing what he has to say.」
「Well……I got a question too. Are you Princess Helene’s ……?」
「I’m her younger sister, Iris.」
「As I thought!」
I thought to myself.
Their names are almost the same, and most importantly, they look very similar.
Princess Helene is ladylike, and this girl is dignified and noble.
They are complete opposites, but they look so much alike that you can tell they are sisters even at a glance, from their brows to their mouths.
「And you are?」
「Uh, I’m Yuuki, Yuuki Kakeru.」
「Kakeru, is it? I have a few questions. That’s the first thing.」
Princess Iris pointed at my waist. Hanging there is the fan that Princess Helene gave me.
「Oh, yeah. I got it from Princess Helene.」
I take it out and show it to Princess Iris.
Iris took it and looked at it closely.
「It’s definitely my older sister’s property, and she gave it to you.」
「Eh? How can you possibly know that?」
「The royal crest requires the use of special magic to maintain it after it leaves our hands. If it’s something you’ve stolen, it’ll be gone in half a day.」
「Oh, that’s how it works.」
「Sorry, I wanted to ask you about this first because there was a possibility that you were an imposter.」
「…… Well, actually, that’s not quite wrong.」
「What is?」
Princess Iris frowns. I explained everything to her.
How I saved Princess Helene, and how I received a fan.
The fact that I happened to be at the scene of a crime and wanted to do something about it, so I told them that I worked for Princess Helene.
I told her all about it.
「I see, that’s what you meant. This solves one more mystery. I’ve always wondered why my sister, who spends so much time on military matters, intervened in monetary matters.」
「I’m sorry.」
I sort of apologized.
「It’s a small matter before a major one. Besides, fufu」
Iris giggled.
She had a stern look on her face ever since we met, but she smiled for the first time.
Her smile is so beautiful and innocent, I can’t help but admire it.
「It’s true that you used it without permission, but not for personal gain. The result indirectly proves my older sister’s ability to evaluate people.」
「Oh, yeah.」
「But, haaaah……」
「What’s the matter?」
「No, something similar has been happening here lately. There was no end to the number of people who tried to make money by melting down coins and selling them as raw materials. I’ve been trying to put them in jail as soon as I find them, but it’s not going to stop.」
「Are you sure there’s nothing else you can do?」
「Of course I have. Lowering the ratio of copper, for example. However, doing so would raise suspicions of a decline in national power, which would affect the country’s prestige.」
「I see. It’s difficult.,huh.」
It looks like a very difficult problem.
A problem that seems to be out of the control of 777 times the power.
(If I find it again, I’ll crush it.)
I put the fan back in my pocket.
Instantly, a light went off in my head.
I had ── an epiphany.
「Princess Iris.」
「What is it?」
「Maybe …… there’s a way to make it work.」
「Well, let’s hear it.」
Princess Iris looked at me as if to say that she didn’t expect much and that there was no such solution.
If all went well, her face might even turn to one of joy.
In the north of Dallas, a deadly battle is raging between demons that have yet to lose their momentum and adventurers, city guards, and the private army of the Earl of Windsor are beginning to show signs of fatigue. Thanks to their hard work, the number of monsters coming into Dallas has decreased to the point where it is no more than just a shadow of its former self. There must be about a thousand of them left. It was fortuitous that the number of particularly strong individuals among them was decreasing. There were many people in the defensive forces who had lost their lives in this battle. However, they proceed to leap beyond the corpses. I wielded my weapon mindlessly, trying my best to reduce the number of monsters approaching the city, even if only by one step. They told themselves that they would protect their city and their loved ones at the cost of their lives. In such a battlefield, a woman collapsed as if she had lost consciousness. Near her, the ogre general broke into a grin. The ogre general walks slowly, stomping on the earth. It was as if to say that this prey was already his. The ogre has a strong lust, so he is trying to take the beautiful woman for himself. But there was one more person in the area. He was all in black, and judging from his appearance and the attack on Dan earlier, it seemed that he was most adept at surprise attacks. He opened his mouth to the ogre general who was closing in on the woman.
「Oi, Oi, that person unfortunately has a prior engagement. You filthy, demonic-looking bastard! This Kira-sama will kill you! Just like that guy back there, OK?」 「Oogaaaaah!」
The ogre general may not be able to understand Kira’s words, but he sensed that he was being mocked and let out a yell.
「I’m going to let you die easy, thank you?」
When he said this, Kira had already sunk his dagger into the ogre general’s neck. The ogre general drops his axe in response to the attack. However, he didn’t die yet, and used his arms, which were full of physical strength, to capture Kira.
「Fuck you! Get the fuck off me! Fuck you! Get the fuck out of here!」
The ogre general’s power seemed to be slowly weakening, but he was still mustering his last strength, and the sound of Kira’s spine creaking could be heard. ――and at that moment, it happened.
「Come flame, manifest! Scorching heat, become a spear, pierce it to completion!【Burning Javelin】!」
Kira and the ogre general were suddenly pierced by a spear of flame that flew at them, and they were blown several meters away together while screaming in unison. A woman who had collapsed just now stood up shakily. ――Her name is Sarah. Her eyes were vacant, and I couldn’t sense any awareness of myself from her now. She took one look at the blown up Kira and the ogre general, and began to gather magic power into her own body. As she did so, she muttered something while gathering her magic power.
「I’ll–I’ll–I’ll kill–I’ll kill–I’ll kill everyone! Die, all of you! Die! Die!!」
A huge amount of magical power converged on Sarah. She must be gathering magic power from the monsters and adventurers around her. Obviously, all the creatures on the battlefield were slowing down. Kira, who had already fallen on top of the corpse of the ogre general and had his hand on his abdomen that had been pierced by the flaming spear, looked at Sara and muttered.
「That person’s eyes are not …… conscious? I’m not sure what to make of it, but I’m not sure what to make of it. In a battlefield like this, targeting an unspecified number of people? I’m not sure what to do.……」
Perhaps he understood from the magic power being sucked out of him, the ogre general right beside him, and the state of the battlefield that Sarah was using〈Magic Absorption〉beyond her limits. All over the battlefield, some of those who were on their knees as their magic was absorbed seemed not to understand what was happening. However, anyone with good intuition will understand how bad the situation is now, just like Kira. And there ―― a weak voice that you can’t hear unless you’re very close to it.
「Dan, I love you …… I’m sorry …… Louis …… I love you …… ……You……are……Ki――」
Sarah’s eyes, which had been vacant, lit up as she came to her senses. But as she was saying those words――
The sound of explosions echoed across the battlefield, and I wondered how far it could reach.
An enormous amount of magic power burst forth from inside Sarah’s body, engulfing the battlefield and everything in Dallas. And after this day – the city named Dallas disappeared from the world of Terra.
◆ ◆ ◆
「How’s the ride? Getting used to it? Louis.」
I answered Lisa’s question that came from in front of me.
「I think I’m getting used to it. My butt still hurts a little, though.」
We escaped Dallas in a carriage. This carriage seemed to belong to Dan and his party, and they used it when they went away on a request. I heard that it takes about a month to reach Midgard’s royal capital by carriage. Lisa was in charge of driving in the driver’s seat, while Airi and I sat in the back of the covered wagon. Airi seemed anxious and hugged me from behind.
About two hours after we left, we were still driving.
「Eh!?」
Lisa suddenly shouted loudly.
「What’s going on?」
I asked Lisa if something had happened, but she didn’t answer. When I moved to the coachman’s platform, Lisa’s face was tinged with astonishment. It’s like I’m not here at all. Just as I was about to ask Lisa again, an explosion rang out. I turned around to see what was going on, and saw a mushroom-shaped cloud of white smoke rising from the ground. Everyone remained silent for a while, but then Lisa opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
「Louis, Airi ……, calm down and listen, okay? Sarah, Dan, and Galwin are dead. ……」
I was just staring at the white smoke above me. I couldn’t swallow Lisa’s words. Airi didn’t seem to fully understand either, but her body was shaking and her teeth were chattering. Lisa, what are you talking about? All three of them said that they would definitely follow after us, right?
「Lisa, can you please not joke about that?」 「Louis! I wouldn’t joke about this …… How I wish I was joking. ……」
From the words, that mushroom-shaped white smoke and Lisa’s expression, I finally understood …… that it was not a joke. But I don’t know why Lisa can say that with certainty.
「Each member of our party has a magic tool, and when the party member registered in that tool dies, the other party’s signal goes out. All four of us registered each other so we’d know if someone has died. And then three people’s registrations disappeared. …… Everyone. Why ……?」
Lisa, who always keeps a dignified expression on her face, is crying. The last part was a fading murmur. Airi was also crying aloud. Before I knew it, my cheeks were wet too. After that, we stopped the carriage and all sobbed together for a long time. It was already evening and it was time to eat, but we all didn’t feel like it and went to bed without eating anything.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next morning, when I woke up, they were already awake. Lisa pulls out some food from her magic pouch and hands it to Airi. We all drank the soup that Airi made for us and ate the black bread. After lunch, the three of us discussed the situation and decided to go check on Dallas, even though we were afraid to find out the truth.
We arrived by horse-drawn wagon, and there was nothing in the area where Dallas was supposed to have been …… The only thing visible was a crack in the …… ground, and the wilderness around it. ――I, Airi, and Lisa stood dumbfounded at the change.
「It’s getting dangerous to collect copper coins in this city.」
「Yeah, it’s getting pretty scarce, and any more than that and we’ll be found out and in danger.」
「Let’s take out what we have. Make the arrangements.」
「Got it.」
It’s a man’s voice, and it sounds like two people having a conversation.
「Customer-san?」
「Whoa!」
I saw a fluttering, waving hand in front of me. That came out of nowhere, and surprised me.
「What’s the matter, sir, why are you staring at the door?」
「Aaah, nothing.」
I muddled up my words.
The voice I heard came from behind the door, outside the store.
「I’m sorry, I just remembered something pressing.」
「What? But the food is still──」
「I’ll be back.」
I said, and ran out of the store.
Then, listened closely.
I pick up the voice from earlier in the hustle and bustle.
It’s like when you’re listening to music, and you’re trying to pick up the sound of a drum, for example, from all the other sounds.
「It’s nice to make money, but it’s a pain in the ass to transport.」
I caught the voice I heard earlier.
I chased after it.
The two people from earlier are together again, chatting.
So I went after the voices. I chased after him, relying on his voice.
We turned down a few alleys and entered an unpopulated area.
His voice suddenly became quiet.
「How did you get in?」
I looked around.
Behind the alley, there are various buildings.
I stood in front of a building with a door that looked like it would let me in, and listened carefully each time.
Then, at the fifth door, I heard the voices of the men from earlier again.
Well, that’s all of them, all right, we’ll get them out tonight. We’ll meet up with the guys in the other city and send them to the smelting furnace.」
「Hey, how much money can I make off this?」
「At the current price of copper, if I melt …… and sell it, it’ll roughly double.」
「Wow, it’s higher than before. Which means this is going to be twice as much.」
「That’s what I mean.」
「Wow」
Words of ruffians pretending to be chivalrous. It was as bad as I suspected, when I first heard about it.
「Sell off the copper coins to …… melt down the metal and sell the raw metal?」
Melting down the money that the government is making without permission is a serious crime that is prohibited in any country.
I was going to step in at this point, but I’ve been listening to them, and they have business partners, and they have collaborators.
Stepping in here would surely result in the lizard’s tail being cut off.
「……」
I remembered where I was and left the place.
「So this is the government office?」
I asked the people in town and came to the city hall.
I asked about something like a police force, a place to crack down on criminals, and they told me about this place.
「Stop! Who are you?」
Just as I had done when I first came to this city, an armed gatekeeper stopped me.
Well, it’s a natural reaction, but I’ m ready for it too.
I took out the fan that Princess Helene had given me and showed it to the gatekeeper.
「The princess sent me. I want to see the person in charge here.」
「Princess ……? Mmm, that’s a royal coat of arms …… and it’s real.」
The gatekeeper confirmed the authenticity of the fan with magic (or something like that?).
Instantly, his demeanor changed to that of a different person.
「Please wait a moment, I’ll let you know shortly.」
「OK」
The gatekeeper rushed inside.
I waited there for a while.
About ten minutes later, the gatekeeper came out.
「I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Almosso-sama is waiting for you inside. Please come in.」
The gatekeeper let me through and I went inside.
I followed his lead and came to a place that looked like an office.
There was a middle-aged, well-dressed man in the room.
When the man saw me, he stood up and introduced himself with a serious face.
「My name is Kefka Almosso.」
「I’m Yuki Kakeru 」
「I’m unfamiliar with your name. How should I address you?」
「Yuuki or Kakeru, I don’t care which.」
「Then, Kakeru-sama. I understand you are on an errand for Her Highness.」
「Ahhh, here is the proof.」
Deception, for the second time. I felt a little guilty because it was a lie, but I held back and showed him my fan.
「This is …… indeed the property of Her Highness Helene Teresia Mercouri. I apologize for the inconvenience. I don’t mean to doubt you, but the gatekeeper told me you were 『a man in unfamiliar clothing』, so I wanted to be sure.
「That’s all good.」
I’m prepared to be suspected to some extent. That’s why I brought up Princess Helene’s stuff.
「We have more important things to talk about.」
「What will we be talking about?」
「There are people collecting copper coins in this city, melting them down and selling them.」
「…… That’s not something you can joke about.」
Armosso’s complexion changed dramatically.
It was a natural reaction, considering the magnitude of the situation.
「I’m not kidding.」
I told him what I had heard and seen.
I told him about the lack of change in the diner and what the men were talking about.
I told Armosso exactly what I had done.
「We have received reports of a decline in copper coins. As a city where peddlers come and go, I just assumed it was taken out in the course of business. ……」
「That’s what’s happening. We’ve got to do something about this, don’t we?」
「That’s right. By the way, does Her Highness know about this?」
「…… No, I don’t know.」
I said to myself. Princess Helene …… because I don’t know how royalty reacts in these situations.
「I was just inquiring about the copper coins at the princess’s request.」
and lie in a bland, undetectable manner.
「Oh, really? No, let’s do something about it first. Damaging money is a felony anyway, so let’s capture them and then ask for a decision.」
「Yeah.」
「I’ll call the soldiers.」
Armosso clapped his hands.
Immediately there was a thud and the sound of footsteps, and three armed soldiers entered.
Three, not many, but it’s better than none.
There are several people who need to be dealt with, and I can’t physically …… literally get around them on my own.
That’s what I was thinking.
「Seize that man.」
「Ha!」
Huh?」
As I was startled by the suddenness of the situation, one of the soldiers held me down and handcuffed me from behind.
「You. ……」
「I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is.」
「You were in on it too!」
「That’s right.」
「Why would you do that?」
I ask Armosso as he holds me down.
「Because it’s lucrative. Originally, the government officials who governed cities like ours were given a certain amount of casting and forging rights. Damaged coins will be collected, exchanged, and re-minted into proper coins. This commission is quite delectably lucrative because it can be determined freely──」
Armosso chuckled.
It was a horrible smile.
「──It’s much better to sell it as copper. I was trying to make a fortune by teaming up with someone behind the scenes, but I never expected to be spotted by Her Highness.」
「……」
「But it seems that the wind is still blowing in my direction. If you ask me, Her Highness does not know about this matter yet. In other words, if we get rid of you here and re-mint the recovered copper coins into new ones, we can still fool them.」
「……」
「I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave …… here. If you resent me, you should resent your own recklessness.」
「No hard feelings.」
I said.
The voice was cold, a little surprising even to me.
Armosso is surprised. He gave me a look that said, “What are you talking about?”
「What do you mean by that?」
「That’s what I mean.」
I rose to my feet.
I was held down from behind, but I stood up normally.
「Hmm!?」
With a lot of force, I tore off the handcuffs.
It was made of steel, but I tore it off without difficulty.
Armosso rolls his eyes. He looks at me incredulously.
I ――Sarah ―― saw an unbelievable sight in front of me …… You’ve been holding off the stampede this long, haven’t you? When this stampede is over, aren’t you going to say to me, 『Sarah, you did a great job?』 Why is Dan’s head flying through the air? Right? Right?! The moment I realized that it was my husband’s head that was flying in the air ―― I felt as if the world stopped time. I’m sure it was the same for Galwin. He stopped moving. At the same time that Dan’s head fell to the ground after being flung through the air by someone’s attack, I saw the sight of the axe that the Ogre General had swung down and was right in front of Galwin. Earlier, the head of my beloved flew through the air, and now my friend’s face is sliced in half and flying through the air. ……
「Nooooooooooooooo!!!」
I didn’t know what was going on anymore, and found myself screaming with all my might.
I don’t understand why this is happening to me!
Hey, can someone tell me what’s going on? What happened just now? What the hell is going on? Wasn’t that the part where Dan decapitated the Ogre General? So why is Dan’s head lying on the ground, separated from his torso? Hey, please, Dan, wake up now, okay? Why is Galwin lying on the ground too? Why don’t you wake up, Galwin? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Is it a dream that they are lying on the ground? Or is it reality? I don’t want this reality, I don’t need it. …… I’m …… what the hell am I supposed to do? Tell me, Dan …… Louis …… And then my consciousness was cut off――
Normally, I would have thought a real estate agent would show me around in a situation like this, but instead, the owner of Salamus Trading Company said,
「I’ll take care of all the details.」
and did not come with me.
What’s in it for me? I asked, and he rambled on in a subtle, rapid voice about making contracts, registering with the government, arranging for missing furniture, and so on.
Can’t we do that later? And now…
「Our motto is to make your life as comfortable as possible as soon as possible.」
I said something to that effect.
Well, he escaped earlier on. He must be really scared of this mansion, I thought.
I used the key I had been given to open the door of the mansion through the fence that separated the property and went inside.
Taking the lamp, I checked the rooms one by one.
It was a large mansion with more than twenty different rooms, including a living room, a parlor, and a bedroom.
It doesn’t look lived in, but it’s fully furnished.
「I knew you’d run.」
A funny feeling came over me. There was no way that the businessman could not have grasped the fact that we had all of this, at least in a situation where we hardly needed to arrange for furniture.
Giggling, I walked up the carpeted stairs to the second floor. There was a balcony, so I went outside.
It was just on the outskirts of the city, and from there we could see the whole city at night.
The sparse lights and flickering lights in the center of the city are beautiful, and at the same time, they make you realize how high the rank of the place you are standing in is.
The original property was expensive, so this kind of view must have been taken into account.
It felt good.
This night, after a good night’s sleep, I rested in the most magnificent bedroom.
Maybe it was because the bed was too big, but it didn’t bother me that much.
The next day, after hunting a mountain ox to meet my quota, I wandered around the city.
I can make more money, but now that I’ve got the mansion, I want to fill it full of things.
I want to replace some furniture here and there, and I also want to have things that I actually use on a daily basis.
For example, I had a hard time sleeping, so I wanted to change my pillow and futon mattress.
There are many things like that, but there is one thing that is more important than all of that.
「I’d like to hire a maid.」
That’s what I said to the worried-looking shopkeeper when I came to Salamus Trading Company.
「Maid, sir?」
「Yeah, maid. It’s impossible for one person to maintain a mansion like that.」
「I see, that’s what you meant.」
「The …… haunted house thing, isn’t it really scary?」
「No, I don’t think so.」
Salamus panicked a little, then coughed and apologised.
「We’ll take care of it for you. If you think about it, it wouldn’t look good for someone who lives in a mansion like that to not have even one maid.」
「Do you deal in that too?」
「Absolutely, sir.」
Salamus said with a bit of pride.
It was a little strange to see the difference from earlier, so I decided to tease him.
「What kind of maid would come to a haunted house?」
「You needn’t worry about that.」
Salamus said with a straight face. It wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. I was like, 「Oh?」as I thought to myself.
「There are people who will come to work in any house, …… even the house of a murderer, as long as they are paid.」
「Hmm, I see. So I guess we’re good.」
「Yes, sir. So, what kind of maid would you like?」
「How’s it going with ……?」
I thought about that.
I came to the Salamus Trading Company with the sole intention of getting a maid when I got my house. I came to the Salamus Trading Company with only one thought in mind, “If I get a house, I’ll get a maid!
When it comes to maids, there are maids who can do it and maids who can’t.
……
The steel-faced maid who wears a long skirt and gets the job done.
Or a clumsy little maid in a miniskirt who is constantly making mistakes and is very emotional.
I wonder which one is better.
「…… a maid who can do her job properly, I guess.」
「I see. The right person for the job is someone who can also be the head maid in the future.」
「Head maid, yeah, something like that.」
I imagined it and got a little excited.
A head maid who supervises the maids.
I’m the one who will be using the head maid.
It’s really exciting.
「So let’s look in that direction. Finally.」
「Yeah.」
「A slave maid and a maid with common origins. Which would you prefer?」
「Slave.」
I responded immediately.
That’s the obvious, non-negotiable part.
「I didn’t think slaves were common ……, but that’s how it is.」
As I wandered around the city in the daytime, I ruminated on Salamus’ last question.
I left the store after that. As expected, they couldn’t prepare a person right away, so they asked me to come back tomorrow so they could look for one.
Now we’ve managed to talk about the maid.
As I thought about what to do next, I felt a pit in my stomach.
I walked into a nearby store at random.
It was like a diner on a street corner, and it was a busy place.
「Welcome to the Pross Restaurant.」
I was greeted by a young woman dressed in a kerchief and apron.
I guess she is the waitress of this restaurant, or rather the poster girl.
「What can I get for you?」
「Uh, let’s see.」
I looked inside the store.
There was a menu, but I couldn’t even read it.
「I’m not sure, do you have any recommendations?」
「Sir, are you a traveller?」
「It’s kind of like that, huh? I just got here and I’m thinking about living here for a while.」
「That’s how it is. How about grilled mountain ox rice? It’s one of our most popular dishes, made with the city’s famous mountain ox and rice, grilled to perfection.」
「That’s it then.」
I answered immediately.
By the way, I realized that I had earned a lot of money from hunting mountain oxen, but I had never eaten a single one of them.
「Yes, grilled mountain ox.」
「Oh, a large one.」
「Yes, a large one.」
The woman returned to the back of the store, leaving with a bright smile on her face.
A little while later, she returned with a plate full of grilled rice.
「Thank you for waiting.」
「Oh, that looks so delicious. Oh, by the way, how much is it?」
「Ten coppers.」
「Huh, for this?」
I don’t have any copper coins, so I take out a silver coin and put it on the table.
Then the woman looked troubled.
「Silver coins, hmm.」
「Was that not enough?」
「No, no, no. It’s the other way around. It’s enough, but I’m not sure if I have enough change.」
「You don’t have enough change? Yeah.」
I guess it means she’s short on change. Sometimes that happens when you go to a convenience store or something like that.
「Well, then, with the remainder of this, bring me some other recommendations.」
「Are you sure?」
「Something delicious.」
Then the woman smiled brightly again, took the silver coin, and went back to the back of the store.
I ate the grilled rice.
「Oh! Yummy!」
It was only by recommendation that it tasted so good.
It tasted nostalgic, like a diner, or a home made meal.
However, the mountain ox meat used was very soft and juicy, and as soon as I bit into it, the juices rushed out and filled my mouth with delicious flavor.
I gobbled it down. It was so good that I finished off a large bowl of yaki-meshi in no time at all.
It’s more than usual, but not quite enough.
After taking a break, I wondered what the next recommendation would be.
That’s what I was thinking.
「It’s not safe to collect any more copper coins in this city.」
Suspicious words were caught by my enhanced hearing.
I was distracted by that, along with the earlier discussion about change.
When they arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, Dan, Sarah, Galwin, and Lisa waded through the crowd and read the urgent requests posted on the temporary bulletin board.
【Emergency Request】 ・Adventurers of Adventurer Rank C or higher should respond to the stampede as an emergency request. ・Adventurers of rank D and below are free to participate at their own risk. ・Adventurers who wish to avoid urgent requests must pay 10 platinum coins. ・The scale of the stampede from the Labyrinth of Lament at this time would be about 500 demons. ・Adventurers who have received this urgent request are requested to go out of the north gate of Dallas and take down the enemy from the northeast direction. ※The Lord’s private army and guards are in charge of the northwest sector. ・The rewards are determined by the number of monsters each person has defeated, as shown on the guild card.
When she finished reading the content, Lisa said a few words to the other three, then offered the guild receptionist to avoid an urgent request, handed her 10 platinum coins, and hurried out of the guild. The three of them who remained looked at each other and ran towards the north gate in high spirits. The three of them didn’t notice that whoever was watching them was in contact with someone else.
◇ ◇ ◇
Louis and Airi were waiting for Lisa’s return in the garden of their house. Louis had a bad feeling, but he knew he couldn’t do anything about it, so he forced himself to turn his attention to Airi to change that thought. She was also restless and anxious, and she was soaking it up. Hoping to alleviate Airi’s anxiety, Louis held her hand and encouraged her. It was painful when Airi forced herself to smile at him. As he was doing this, he saw Lisa running towards him. Louis and Airi joined her, and they hurried to the south gate. And so, without any problems, the three of them were able to escape Dallas.
◇ ◇ ◇
Dan, Sarah, and Galwin left through the north gate and headed northeast, arriving at the place where the adventurers were gathering. In their vicinity, a considerable number of adventurers were carrying weapons with tense faces. There were probably 500 adventurers who had gathered for the emergency request. A group of monsters were camped out in front of their gaze. The most common type of monster pack seems to be the goblin species. Goblin leaders, goblin mages, goblin generals, goblin knights, goblin lords, and other higher species were about to pounce. There are also other monsters of various orcs and ogres. The three of them turned their gaze toward the direction of the Lord’s private army to the west. The lord’s private army has gathered to protect the city of Dallas as well as adventurers who have received emergency requests. The number of those people would be as many as two thousand.
「Looks like we got quite a turnout, huh?」
Dan spoke with a tone of voice that showed a little joy.
「I guess. I think we can suppress this without any problem. However, we are likely to take quite a bit of damage taking them out……」
Galwin agrees with Dan.
「Now we just have to figure out when to get out of here. ……」
Sarah seems to be thinking about getting out safely anyway.
「It’s a shame to waste the materials from the monsters we defeated, but we have more important things to do right now than that!」 「All right! Don’t you dare die!」
Dan called out to Sarah and Galwin, probably to get them fired up. Galwin and Sarah responded.
「Of course I will not die!」 「Yeah, I’m not going to be killed by a monster like thatー!」
Dan then beckoned to them and began to whisper and discuss the escape plan.
◇ ◇ ◇
At the Lord’s private army camp, someone was carefully watching the eastern side where the adventurers were. Alfred von Windsor is now a young man of 20. He’s always had a thing for older women, and when he happened to see Sarah on the street about a month ago, he told everyone close to him that he was determined to get her. 『I’m going to get my hands on that woman no matter what!』 A man approached Alfred and opened his mouth with a disgusting smile on his face.
「Alfred-sama, I’ve just received word from my messenger. They are about to arrive – or have already arrived, he said. It was a good thing we had the Adventurers’ Guild watching over them for us.」 「Well, thank you for the report. It was a precautionary order, but it seemed to have helped. And now we know when they’re coming to us.」 「However, our information suggests that one of their party members, an elf, has left the Adventurer’s Guild and is headed elsewhere. How may I serve you?」
When the man asked him about it, Alfred looked thoughtful and said bluntly.
「Hmph. I have no interest in the elf. The only one I’m interested in is …… Sarah. More importantly, what’s going on at the front?」 「Ha, no problems. We have already infiltrated the adventurers’ side with a very skilled assassin known as Kira. If it’s her, she will definitely get the job done.」 「Hmm, that’s good. I can’t wait to kill Dan and take Sarah away from him. I had two days left until the deadline that I gave to I the man. …… Unfortunately, I’m not one to miss an opportunity this good.」
Alfred said with a vulgar smile on his face.
◇ ◇ ◇
And so the battle begins, with all sorts of speculation and confusion.
「Okay, Galwin, Sarah, let’s go!」 「Yeah!」 「Yes!」
From the east, not only Dan and his team, but also 500 adventurers, and from the west, the Lord’s private army went to face the monsters. Garwin uses his shield to block the arrows flying from the goblin archer. With Garuwyn in the lead and Dan diagonally behind him, Sarah positioned herself in the rear guard further away and fired a series of magic shots.
「Hey! That attack won’t work!」 「I’m not done yet!」 「Great fire, pierce the enemy!【Fire Arrow】！」
Garwin swung his one-handed sword, slashing at more and more goblins as they came towards him. Dan uses his one-handed axe to slash through the monsters that Galwin’s attacks miss, while Sarah uses her magic to preferentially kill monsters that attack from a distance, such as goblin archers and goblin mages.
「I’ll use wide area magic! Dan! Galwin! Follow me!」 「Yeah!」 「I’m not letting any of them through!」
After calling out to them, Sarah began to focus her consciousness while manipulating her magic. After a while, when enough magic power was gathered, she activated a wide area magic.
「Come, conflagration, now manifest! Let us burn in the fires of hell!【Hellburning】！」
Sarah’s magic caused about a hundred goblins to burst into flames and scream.
「「「「GUGYAAAA」」」」
The battle lasted for about two hours, and the number of monsters had dwindled considerably, but the adventurers had also suffered some damage. However, Galwyn, Dan, and Sarah had used potions as soon as anything happened, so they inccured no noticeable damage yet.
「Fuu, we have to slow the pace down a little. We’ll have to start thinking about when to leave.」
Dan suggested to them, and Galwin, looking tired, teased Dan.
「Dan is already exhausted, he has gone sloppy, haahahah」
From his tone, we could tell that he was joking and trying not to let us know how tired he was. In response to Galwin, Dan said, 「Yeah, that’s right. Should I leave all the rest to Galwin?」 he retorted.
「That’s enough joking around for both of you! I wanted to take a break, but I guess I can’t say that. Here comes the Ogre General!」
The Ogre General is an A-rank monster that a party of A-rank adventurers can defeat without much difficulty. But two hours had already passed since the battle began, and all the adventurers, including Galwin, Dan, and Sarah, were exhausted. Also, Sarah hadn’t been in a battle in a long time. For those reasons, the three of them clearly had a hard time. However, as expected of A-rank adventurers, they gradually began to overwhelm the Ogre General. Galwin defended against the Ogre General’s attack with his shield, and while the opponent wobbled in reaction, Dan swung his one-handed sword down at the Ogre General’s neck. All three of us thought that the Ogre General’s head would fly through the air ―― and at that moment, it did.
When I entered my room at the inn, I decided to check my money.
I put the cloth bag on the table and took out all the money inside with a bang.
All of them were identical, silver coins engraved with the profile of a great and noble king.
I counted 99 of them.
The inn keeper took one when we entered the inn, so that would be exactly one hundred pieces for that one mountain ox.
「That’s all very clear, but how much is one of these worth?」
I picked up a silver coin and stared at it, then looked around the room.
It’s just a normal inn where you can sleep in.
If this were modern Japan, it would be between 5,000 yen and 10,000 yen a night.
In other words, one silver coin is worth that much, and one mountain ox is worth about 500,000 to 1 , 000,000 yen.
「Assuming this calculation is correct, …… this is very good. No, even if I don’t do anything else, I could stay at the inn for a hundred days purely for the price of one ox, so that’ s still just plain delicious.
I remembered the time I hunted mountain ox.
If I can make so much money with that level of effort, I should probably do more of that.
I’ll go hunting again tomorrow.
I thought about that, and fell fast asleep.
The next day, I left the city in the same way and came to a meadow inhabited by mountain oxen.
The first animal I encountered had a group of people ahead of me. A group of mercenaries or some similar group, all with the same armor and weapons, were beating a mountain ox to a pulp.
I observed that a little …… well, I was thinking of leaving if the other side was not as bad as yesterday.
However, that didn’t happen.
It took about an hour and a couple of minor injuries, but the group was able to hunt the mountain ox.
As they carried the mountain ox, I watch their backs as they head back to the city.
If it’s a million a head, it’s 100,000 a person.
This was still a very nice part of the meal, but considering the risk of getting injured (it was only a minor injury, but it was at a level where I should have rested for a week or so)…
「It’s usually about making a reasonable living.」
I wandered through the meadow. I wandered around, praying that I would encounter a mountain ox.
After about thirty minutes, we finally met.
As soon as the mountain ox sees me, its eyes go bloodshot and it snorts
It rushes at me, as expected.
「Fuu!」
I didn’t dodge, but punched the mountain ox as it leaped toward me.
A counter punch, just right between the eyes, blew the mountain ox away.
It rolled on the ground, jerking, twitching.
After a few twitches, it stopped moving.
「Let’s get going.」
I carried a mountain ox and returned to the city to exchange it for cash.
Then I came back to the meadow and wandered around again.
Encounter a mountain ox, defeat it, return, and the money is redeemed.
I went back, wandered around, and looked for mountain oxen.
Beat it and cash in, beat it and cash in.
I tried to keep repeating that, but …… I only hunted five animals that day.
To be honest, it takes much more time to find and carry them around than it does to defeat them.
That’s the last thing I said to the person at the store where I was going to exchange the money.
「Most of them only hunt one a day, so I’ve never heard them complain.」
He said to me half-amused.
I was subtly satisfied.
You wouldn’t think about how long it would take you to encounter and carry them if there was a chance that you might get hurt or run away because you couldn’t defeat them in the first place.
Well, that’s none of my business, either.
At any rate, I earned 550 pieces of silver for the day.
The guy at the store paid me an extra 10% as promised, so here we are.
This and yesterday’s earnings add up to 649 pieces.
At the most convenient interpretation, that’s the equivalent of six million four hundred and ninety thousand yen.
「There you are.」
In the evening, I came to the store with a note in my hand.
I told the guy at the mountain ox store that I wanted to buy a house, and he introduced me to this store.
I opened the door and went inside.
In the surprisingly clean store, there was a middle-aged man with a big belly.
When the man saw me, he stood up and greeted me with a business smile.
「Welcome to the Salamus Trading Company. Is there anything I can help you with?」
「I want to buy a house.」
I cut straight to the chase.
「I can take care of that. Is it for residential use? Or is it to be used for business?」
「To live…」
At that moment, my housing situation in modern Japan flashed through my mind.
I put my dream on the request and said.
「I want it to be big, with a garden.」
「I see, sir. So, what’s your budget?」
「About this amount」
I placed a bag full of silver coins on the table.
「Six hundred and fifty pieces of silver.」
I’m missing a piece, though.
「I see.」
The man’s face clouded over.
I wonder if it was still too little. No, it’s probably not enough.
I thought it was worth six and a half million yen, but according to last night’s calculations, it could be worth half that.
That would be about three million yen.
If I were a salesman, I’d be like,「What the hell is he talking about?」
When I thought about it, the man’s expression was just a little cloudy, so he might be a fine businessman.
「Is that impossible?」
「It depends on the size of the house, but a typical house costs about two thousand silver coins.」
「Two thousand pieces …… twenty million ……, that’s what I thought.」
「If you want a bigger place with a garden, it’ll cost almost twice as much as that…… in this town.」
「Four Thousand ……」
40 mountain oxen,huh…… It’s not a problem, but it takes time, and more importantly, it’s a little depressing to see the number of oxen increase all at once.
If I hunt five cows a day, that’s over a week. No. If the encounter rate is bad, it could take more than a month.
That’s tedious, too time-consuming.
Just when I thought I had no choice but to relax the conditions a bit.
「Pardon me, sir, but are you confident in your skill?」
「Skill? You mean strength? Well……. to some degree. Why are you asking this?」
「This bag… Excuse me.」
The man spun the bag around and half-turned it over on the table.
There’s a familiar logo there.
「The coat of arms of the Andreu Trading Company, which deals in mountain oxen. I guessed that the customer was hunting mountain oxen if he used this.」
「I see.」
I saw the mark. It’s the same logo that was on the sign for that store – Andreu Trading Company, I think it’s called.
The man’s guess made sense to me, and I knew that I would probably be looking at this bag and the person holding it with that kind of eye from now on.
「If that’s the case, though I can’t recommend it……, but I do have an idea.」
「What do you mean?」
「It’s a mansion in the southeast part of town. …… If you’re a resident of this town, this alone should ring a bell. There is a mansion there that no one lives in. It’s also known as the haunted house.」
The man said with a bitter look on his face.
「Haunted House.」
「Yes, it used to be the home of a wealthy merchant, but now there are rumours that he has passed, and no one wants to live there. In fact, a couple of people actually moved in, but they were all …….」
「I see.」
「The house itself is very well furnished, and the space is perfect. If it weren’t for that, …… the property would normally cost over five thousand silver coins.」
「With such a shady history, no one wants to live there.」
「It’s more like uninhabitable.」
「Haunted house, huh? ……」
I thought to myself.
I’m not afraid of psychic phenomena. I’m the type of person who doesn’t feel anything when I watch horror movies.
To be honest, I don’t mind living in an trouble-prone house if I can live there cheaply.
What worries me is if it really 「comes out」.
This is not modern Japan. And it’s the way a man talks.
Maybe it’ll really come out.
If the ghosts appear, will they be able to be defeated ……?
I was troubled, but I asked him just the same.
「What’s the price, by the way?」
「Too much money has been spent, and we would be willing to part with it for a hundred …… silver pieces.」
「I’ll buy it!」
I answered immediately.
ne hundred pieces of more than 5,000.
98% off!
It’s so cheap, there’s no reason not to buy it at all.
「Are you sure you want to do this?」
「Aaa. If I see a ghost, I’ll kick its ass.」
I got excited and said something like that.
「Yes, sir.」
The man was momentarily confused, but his expression quickly turned into the face of a merchant.
That’s how I got my house, my mansion.
If I see a ghost, I’m going to kick its ass, that’s how I feel.
