Chapter 160
Chapter 160: The young man and Yarandorara Part 2
Sponsored Content
Translator: Tseirp
“Oo, you were the one who saved me!”
The merchant Robinson who was the target was waiting for me outside .
He took both my hands and showed a likable smile like one of those capable merchants .
“That was amazing for such a small child!”
Robinson-san praised me with smooth words .
Thinking back, I was never praised like that when I was in the village .
I thoroughly cleared all the monsters around the village so the village never suffered any damage .
I never concealed the fact that I defeated the monsters but I was rarely recognized for my efforts .
Well, it was a nice feeling to be praised .
If I ever became a squad captain, I decided that I would extend praises whenever possible .
“Robinson, that’s enough for now . ”
“Ah, sorry . Let me properly show you my gratitude afterward . ”
Yarandorarsan came between us .
I was happy that she was showing care for me but it was just a single round of battle so it wasn’t a big deal .
“Thank you Lugnason-kun . Take a rest tomorrow if possible . I will gladly explain to Sir Flores . ”
“It’s all right . More importantly, there might not just be one assassin so Robinson-san has to be careful . ”
“Yeah, from now on I will avoid streets that are too crowded for escorts to follow me until the matters are done . ”
Robinson-san commented, shook my hand once more, and walked across the street .
Two High-Elf warriors with single-edged swords on their hips followed behind him .
“Those swords are the High-Elf country Kiramine sword?”
“I called them . It would have been fine if he had called them from the start . ”
“So this is something related to the High-Elves . ”
“Yeah . So where are you planning to go next?”
“Let me see . I was on my way to buy Cosmos flowers . But I don’t think anybody would be selling Cosmos flowers in the middle of winter . ”
Yarandorara placed both her hands in front of her mouth and her eyes shined .
“I know a place that sells it . ”
“Really!?”
“Yeah, I’ll show you the way . ”
Sponsored Content
She was a kind elf .
Apart from Half-Elves who have the same personality as humans, I thought it would be difficult to associate with High-Elves and Dwarves but so there were these kinds of elves too .
Or perhaps helping Robinson-san changed the impression of the obstinate High-Elves of me .
“Robinson-san is a salt merchant . ”
Yarandorara said as we navigated around the main street, back alleys and buildings .
“Do you know the High-Elf Kingdom of Kiramine?”
“I don’t know the details but I am aware of the name . ”
“It is the largest city in the Avalon Continent . A crystal cathedral enshrining the Apostle Cutie . A magnificent jade capital . Glittering spires . Surrounded by three layers of indomitable stone walls . Home to one million beautiful High-Elves . ”
Yarandorara spoke about Kiramine as though she was singing .
But .
“But there isn’t actually one million . The Kiramine Kingdom doesn’t have such a long history . ”
“Really?”
“Kiramine is a country founded by High-Elves active as mercenaries and recognized by the Avalonia Kingdom . Our building technique is superior to humans so it became a magnificent town but the size of the territory is insignificant . We cannot be self-sufficient without imports from foreign countries . ”
“And so salt . ”
“High-Elves can’t live without salt . Robinson-san is a merchant who connects the salt trade route to Kiramine . ”
“And … some people don’t like it . ”
“You’re smart for your age . Yes, just like you suspect . ”
Quite a few people dislike the High-Elves who have different values from humans .
The Kingdom of Avalonia and the Kingdom of Kiramine have a friendship treaty and a cooperative relationship but it seems to be built on a dangerous balance that can be destroyed at any moment .
Currently, the Kingdom of Avalonia was trying to intervene in the Southern Archipelago Kingdoms which have been warring for many years to form a ceasefire agreement but powers who do not like that were encouraging hatred toward the High-Elves in the capital to crumble the relationship with Kiramine and weaken the intervention with the Southern Archipelago Kingdoms … or that was the conceivable power at play .
Well, these were second-hand knowledge of Flores-san and I had not yet lived in the capital for many days .
“Although the sale of salt is a private trade, the High-Elves place more importance on personal connections than on diplomatic treaties . Their double-dealing, which is often criticized by humans, mostly happens when the diplomat changes and there is distrust toward the new diplomat . Aren’t we a difficult race?”
“So Robinson-san’s existence is important for the relationship between Avalonia and Kiramine . ”
“Yes . High-Elves hate betrayal the most . If the Kiramine friend Robinson-san was killed, Kiramine will never forgive the murderer . But to the Kingdom of Avalonia, because it was murder between their citizens, they would not allow Kiramine to intervene . ”
“It would become a foreign affairs issue . ”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to become a dry conversation . I just wanted you to know this . ”
Yarandorarsan said and smiled at me .
“You saved one of ours so thank you, Gideon-kun . ”
The face of a High-Elf was more beautiful than anyone else by human standards .
But even after considering that, Yarandorara’s smile showing from under her hood on that day of snowfall was very beautiful .
Sponsored Content
A small forest spread out in front of us covered with white snow .
A squirrel was biting an acorn on a branch .
Surprised by falling snow, a weasel fled to somewhere .
“I thought the Imperial Capital was just stone, brick, and soil but so there were places like this as well . ”
Yarandorara guided me to a place about 20 minutes’ walk away .
Although it was away from the center of the city, I didn’t expect such a tranquil location inside the Imperial Capital .
After a short walk through the trees, leaving footprints in the lightly piled snow, a brick house with a chimney appeared .
Next to the home was a huge Zelkova tree and it’s barren branches were painted white by the snow .
Yarandorarsan approached the beautiful wooden door and opened it without knocking .
Then, she turned to me and laughed .
“Welcome . ”
It seemed like the shop belonged to Yarandorarsan .
I entered like I was prompted to and noticed the scent of flowers .
“Amazing . ”
I muttered unintentionally .
There were small rooms lined up separated by transparent partitions .
There were flowers in the small rooms, summer flowers, autumn flowers, spring flowers, winter flowers, even foreign flowers that I have never seen before …
The familiar flowers and unusual flowers were all blooming together .
“Thank you . ”
Yarandorara said joyfully .
“I have Cosmos so don’t worry . Now, take a seat . I’ll prepare tea . ”
“Yo-you don’t have to . ”
“It’s fine, don’t worry . ”
Yarandorara went straight to the back of the store .
I sat on the chair next to a round table .
The chair was made of rosewood and there was an armrest .
The chair was a little large for a child like me but the chair sank slightly when I sat and seemed to fit snugly .
It was a world of difference compared to the stool I used as an apprentice in the Knight Order .
“Sigh . ”
I exhaled and relaxed a little .
I wasn’t an expert in chairs but that was probably a good chair .
Sponsored Content
After a while, Yarandorara came over with a cup with white steam and fluffy golden-colored baked goods .
It looked so delicious that I was slightly worried that it would be chargeable .
In my small pouch, excluding the flower price Flores-san gave me, I only had a few quarter Peryl silver coins .
“It’s an herbal tea with honey . The baked confectionery is called Ellen and is something commonly eaten by High-Elves . It has candied berries inside and will be especially delicious when you’re tired . ”
Yarandorarsan explained gently as she placed tableware on the table .
Then, she looked at me and said with a smile .
“I have a bath ready as well so you may enter after you are done eating . ”
“A bath?”
I couldn’t help but return with a question .
Of course, I understood the meaning of her words . But I didn’t expect her to recommend me to use the bath in that situation .
“My home bath is made of Cypress wood and has a pleasant scent . I believe you would be able to relax nicely . ”
Time-wise, I only had to return by tomorrow morning with the Cosmos flower so I could enter the bath there .
But why was the High-Elf Yarandorara doing so much for a stranger?
I couldn’t fathom her intentions .
I inadvertently thought of the story of children invited to a kindly witch’s home and devoured .
Seeing that I was confused, Yarandorara bent down a little and matched my gaze .
“Could you pass me your sword?”
“Eh?”
I unconsciously placed my hand on the sword handle at my waist .
“You won’t be able to draw it . ”
Hearing Yarandorarsan’s words, I grabbed the handle and pulled lightly .
“Eh?”
Just like Yarandorarsan said, I couldn’t draw the sword for some reason .
“Let me take a look . ”
I unbuckled my sword and passed it along with the sheath to Yarandorarsan .
Yarandorara placed her hands on the sheath and sword handle and used force .
The blade and sheath made scrapping noises and the sword was pulled out sharply .
“Ah . ”
The steel blade was stained bright red with blood .
I sheathed the sword without wiping the blood off so I couldn’t draw it .
That was the first thing an apprentice to sword training would learn .
Now that I thought about it, when did I sheath the sword?
What did I do after I defeated that mercenary?
“I’ll wash the sword . ”
“Ye-yes . ”
I reached for the cup .
The cup made clinking noises .
“My hand . ”
My hand holding the cup was trembling and it was making sound as it hit the saucer .
“Was that the first time you cut a human?”
Yarandorarsan put the sword down and grasped my trembling hand tenderly with her white fingers .
“ … Yes . ”
“People with strong Divine Protections will not feel that pain but your Divine Protection is kind . ”
Yarandorarsan said and slowly rubbed my arm .
I see, I finally understood why Yarandorarsan went to such lengths .
I didn’t notice myself but … I was hurt .
And after I realized, my paralyzed brain finally started moving .
“Drink slowly . This herbal tea will alleviate your painful feelings . ”
Yarandorarsan slowly brought the cup to my mouth .
The herbal tea in the cup tasted extremely gentle .
As an aside .
Thanks to that achievement, I was promoted to an esquire at an unusual speed .
Neville heard about it and challenged me to a duel with his trained body so I beat him up .
I thought he would be angry but surprisingly Neville honestly apologized and had a change of mind as he started doing his job as a page diligently .
Because of that, the talk to expel Neville was taken back and after I became a knight, he was a reliable subordinate that I worked with a lot .
I’m sure even now he was fighting as a fine knight .