Sorry but I dont feel too well, I actually just wanted to rest since a while ago. My tooth aches, but its not pain like before, now its just when I bite something.
Chapter 45 will be out tomorrow, I really dont feel like doing anything at this moment, so I’ll just call it a day.
Also, enjoy the chapter, the story starts to move forward again n_n
Episode 44: Wild Beast
The shopping adventure, where various surprises and discoveries were made, ended. And today, since the morning, the bazaar stall of Urd restarted its business.
The special stock of Urd products that were carried in the two carts had a little of its luggage left. The stay of the group in the city of Orn will end in a few more days.
After that, the goods and commodities bought in the city will be loaded into the carts and the trade will have finished. And once they returned, the Inahon harvesting season would start.
“Yo, Yamato-danna! “
Lacq arrived this morning as well, with his usual and noisy greetings.
“Liscichan, you look cute today. Oh!? That hair ornament looks good on you.”
“Thank you. Yamato-sama picked it up for me yesterday. However, it doesn't matter if you compliment it or not, Lacq-san.”
“Again, huh? Don't say that.”
The village chief granddaughter Liscia was full of smiles as she received praise for the hair ornament.
She was a teenage girl after all, so it was obvious that she would be happy to receive praise for the hair accessory she wore, despite what she said.
Seeing that scene, Yamato couldn't help but to think, I’ll never be able to be as talkative as Lacq.
“Lacq-ojisan, yo! “
“Idler-ojisan, yo! “
“Oh, the shorties too, are you doing fine today? And also, I’m still an ‘onii-san’.”
As usual, this man had a mysterious aura that made him popular with the children. Even Yamato rudely thought, maybe it’s that their mental ages are the same after all.
“Well, anyway. I heard you were taking a day off of the store yesterday.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
After finishing his greeting to everyone, Lacq came to Yamato’s spot.
He complained about being left in the dark, and coming yesterday morning to the bazaar only to find them missing. That he had a very lonely day after not finding the Urd street shop.
“Yesterday was our day off. We went shopping and sightseeing.”
“Oh, so it was that. How did you like the city of Orn, danna? “
“Mmm, it wasn't bad.”
As a matter of fact, Yamato found the city to be a lively one.
The same as with all cities focused on trade, there were plentiful of good and the prices were cheap. Because this wasn't a society based on a nobility system, the difference between the social classes wasn't large, and the security was also decently good.
By their own hard work, craftsmen and merchants could increase their income.
For that very reason, everyone in the city spared no effort in their job, making it a lively city.
“This is also thanks to Isis-sama’s efforts.”
“So, that’s why you were asking, huh? “
“Eh… was I found out?”
The in a playful tone, Lacq answered, but it was obvious he too wanted Yamato to like the city of Orn.
He wanted to help, even if a little, her boss the regent girl Isis.
“Huh? Danna, that flower? “
“Ah, this? I received it from Isis yesterday. Orn’s ‘lucky flower’, or at least that what I heard.”
Looking at the decorative flower on his chest, Yamato explained.
It was the second of the ‘three compensations’ that he got from the girl.
It was a flower especially cultivated in the gardens of the Consul mansion, and it was said that attaching it to something would increase its luck.
In all honesty, Yamato was ashamed to be wearing a fresh flower.
However, whenever he tried to remove it, he remembered the serious expression on Isis’ face yesterday. Therefore, he decided to put up with it until it withered in a few days.
“Ah, I see. Among unmarried girls, there’s actually ‘another meaning’ when gifting that flower… Well, not matter how she looks, I guess Isis-sama is still a pure young girl…”
“Hmm? Did you say something?”
“No, it was nothing! “
Yamato asked Lacq about what he said since his words were muddled, but he just answered saying it was nothing important.
For what he could hear, there was apparently another meaning to this ‘flower of good fortune’.
However, he was not a person to believe in superstition or flower language. So, he paid it no mind.
◇
“Well, in any case…”
“Move! “
“Oops, sorry there.”
It was then.
A new customer approached the Urd street shop.
He moved Lacq, who was standing in front of the store, aside.
“Welcome! “
“Welcome! “
Liscia and the children welcomed the new guest with a loud voice. It had been a busy day in the Urd shop since they opened in the morning.
“Oh, a Mountain Clan blacksmith…”
After giving an uninterested glance at the items in the shop, the man headed towards the blacksmith corner, at the edge of the stall.
“Hmph, a customer, huh?”
The stubborn old Gaton welcomed him with his usual unfriendly face. But the man paid no heed to that, and he browsed through the blades.
He intently observed the blades and spearheads specially made by Gaton that were arranged side by side.
A mercenary…? No, probably a Knight…
Yamato’s guess was that he was a knight from some country.
He withdrew to the back so as to not get in the way of the customer service.
After all, it was bad to stare at the customers as they made their decision. Therefore, to avoid causing discomfort to the other party, Yamato disappeared from his sight and decided to quietly observe him from afar.
A long sword user, huh…?
That knight was an eye-catching man anyway.
A fearless face and a large and trained body.
His appearance, shouldering such a large sword, emanated the aura of a veteran warrior.
Pretty skilled, this person…
He was the second man in this city that had left such an impression on Yamato.
His evaluation of all the others was ‘normal’.
The local mercenaries and knight guards weren't bad. Unfortunately, they were nothing special either.
The other person with ‘considerable skill’ was the young knight guard Lienhardt, the escort of the regent girl Isis.
His great skills had even earned him the title of ‘Ten Swords’, being one of the best swordsmen in this part of the continent.
If Lienhardt uses a ‘proper knight’s sword’… then this man’s feels more like a ‘bloody sword of a wild beast’….
The man browsing through and admiring Gaton’s products had the smell of blood.
The same scent of the ferocious carnivorous animals living in the forest surrounding the village of Urd.
“Hey, Mountain Clan Jii-san.”
“Hmph, what? “
After the man with the large sword finished browsing the items, he spoke to the shop’s owner Gaton. He seemed not to care about the obvious unfriendly tone that Gaton used.
“Jii-san, you have a nice forging arm. Become my exclusive weapon smith! “
Somehow, the conversation turned into him scouting Gaton.
『Come to my homeland and make weapons for me』 that kind of talk. It appeared he too was quite stubborn, simply ordering instead of asking.
He also offered an amount of money that made even Yamato surprised.
“Hmph. Sorry but, I don't make weapons to become tools for murder. It is my principle to only make tools to help live on.”
But the old Gaton immediately turned down the invitation.
He said that his spears, his bows and swords were meant to protect.
“Well, it can't be helped if that’s the case.”
Yamato was surprised to see the man accept the negative answer that easily.
He was even in high alert in case something bad happened.
“But… you there, I don't like those eyes of yours…”
It happened the moment the man opened his mouth.
A gleaming and dangerous ‘something’ shone.
The next moment, a sharp, throwing something was flying towards Yamato.
It was one of the Gaton-crafted knives that the man had in his hands a while ago.
HUH!?
Yamato avoided the knife in the nick of time.
If his reaction had been delayed for even a moment, the knife would definitely have pierced a vital point. It was an attack that seriously tried to kill him.
The man threw the knife without any preliminary action, and Yamato soundlessly avoided it.
To any onlookers, it appeared like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“Ohh… you avoided it. So, you’re not just a simple merchant.”
The man with the large sword was surprised that Yamato dodged the knife. Or rather, a ferocious smile was painted in his face.
Like a knight who found a worthy rival… or it would be more proper to say, like a predator who finally found a new prey.
“These are the eyes I was born with. Yours aren't that far behind either. And I am just a normal merchant.”
Yamato wasn't good at socializing, and he was aware he had scary eyes.
So even if other got angry over that, there was nothing he could do about it.
The man had a face that could be considered handsome, but for Yamato, he wasn't in a position to judge others’ eyes since that man too had eyes like a wild beast.
“Haha, interesting! I just came to Orn following some stupid order… but it seems I've met someone interesting! “
Satisfied, the man vigorously laughed.
“I’m Barrès, from the Hisan Empire. And you…?”
“Yamato, from the village of Urd.”
Because the other party introduced himself, Yamato did too out of courtesy.
After all, it was in his nature as a Japanese man.
“Yamato from Urd… I will remember it.”
Saying so, the wild beast wielding a large sword… the Knight of the Empire, Barrès left the bazaar.
“Empire’s Knight… Barrès, huh…?”
Yamato had a bad feeling as he stared at the back of the dangerous-smelling beast-like Barrès.
He felt that in the near future, he would cross blades against that big sword.
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