Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax
「Border Town Fernandez」 Part 1
Let’s start with the outcome first.
The cooking didn’t turned out to bad…… no, considering I’d been in an unfamiliar environment, the food came out pretty good if, I do say so myself.
Ariane was a little teary-eyed when she first started eating, but as the deliciousness of the spicy Arrabiata sauce dawned on her, she began considering to bring the devil nails back to Canada.
The stimulation was a little too much for Chiome’s tongue at first, but it wasn’t long before her plate was empty.
It was good that the devil nails weren’t as spicy as I thought they could have been, compared to regular red chili peppers. The sauce did have bit more of a kick to it, though.
While I was cooking, Ariane saw me toss out the seeds and capsaicin glands, and there was a brief interrogation about why I was wasting something I spent so much money on.
Since the capsaicin, which is what was causing the intense burning taste, was concentrated around the core of the pepper, it would be rather dangerous to use that part for cooking.
To prove my point, I suggested to Ariane that she should put a small piece of the core into her mouth, waited for the expected result.
In the end, Ariane had tears in her eyes when she took her first bite of the Arrabiata. Fortunately, the taste of the devil nails come through and she was able to enjoy it.
If I had to point out an issue…… it would be how difficult it was to adjust the fire as I cooked.
When I added the homemade penne, I noticed that part of the sauce had been burnt.
The tomatoes had a pungent taste, but unfortunately the burnt part added a slight bitterness in the end.
Though, the penne turned out unexpectedly well.
Since the wheat dough used was originally used to make bread, the finished penne had a dusty texture to it.
When it came to kneading the dough, I was grateful for my enhanced strength.
After mentioning the problems with the fire, Ariane informed me of a magic tool stove that was capable of adjusting the heat.
Unfortunately, this item hadn’t spread far beyond elven villages despite how long ago it had been created.
The reason being that the magic stones used to power the stove were more expensive than firewood.
Still, the adjustable heat was an attractive feature and it was something worth looking into when we returned. I could always gather the magic stones from the cavern whenever I needed them, and it would be more efficient for me to use than firewood was.
While I planned the construction of my future kitchen, Ariane stepped up beside me and urged me forward.
I nodded and looked ahead of me.
We now stood in front of Plymouth’s transfer shrine just beyond the gate.
Two days have already passed since then and we were now about to travel to Fernandez.
After handing over our passes and the other half of the money, we were ushered into the line we were currently waiting in.
Currently, my helmet was under my arm and I would re-hydrate with the hot spring water in my canteen.
A group composed of a brown-skinned elf, a female dark elf, a spirit beast and a cat-eared ninja certainly gathered the attention of those around us.
Once our turn finally arrived, we were allowed to enter the shrine after a brief questioning.
The exterior appearance of the shrine, with its multitude of spires, made it out to be a complex structure. However, the interior was a simple box-shaped room with a semicircular domed ceiling. The walls of the shrine had been completely covered with a mosaic of various flora and fauna.
“Amazing…&helli
p;”
As comment leaked from my lips I looked the quality artwork, it was I was a tourist on a sightseeing trip.
There were four oriental pillars stationed in the corners of the large altar that sat in the center of the room. There were also sets of stairs on each side of the elevated altar.
The other people taking this trip were already standing on the altar with their baggage and followers, talking amongst themselves as they waited.
Considering the amount of money it took to use the transfer altar, you’d think that the wealthy were the main patrons.
However, given the number of people waiting on the altar, the traveling time of twenty days must have been enough of a motivation to pay the price.
As I climbed up the stairs, all conversation stopped and everyone’s eyes focused on me for a moment before someone called from below.
“It time! The transfer to Fernandez shall begin shortly! Please make your way to the center of the altar!”
A handheld bell, like those used in marketplace lotteries, rang out as a person who seemed to be in charge shouted out directions.
The entire hall became a bit noisy as the warning bell rang.
Not long after, the huge magic formation carved into alter the began to shine such an intense light that I unintentionally narrowed my eyes.
Similar to the formations used in the elven villages, I had a momentary feeling of weightlessness, and then we suddenly saw a different scenery.
The place we were now wasn’t all that different from the shrine we’d just been, but the decorations were rather plain in comparison.
The transfer went through without a problem.
“The convenience of transfer magic is impressive as ever……”
Chiome expressed her amazement as she confirmed our surroundings with her own eyes.
I couldn’t help but agree with her.
“Since the magic stones needed to power the transfer increases with the number of people, this method’s drawback is its inflexibility. The network in the forest is only capable of five people at most…… If you think about it, the magic Arc uses is a bit weird.”
Ariane’s half closed eyed honed in on the canteen of water I had retrieved from the hot spring near the Dragon King’s tree this morning.
It had been a test to see if my long-distance transfer magic, 【Transfer Gate】, was capable of traveling between continents.
It was a day away by ship, but that was only possible with the advanced ships the elves possessed. The distance between the two continents should be seven hundred kilometers at least.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to call an ability to cover that much distance instantaneously strange.
Common sense dictated that continent-spanning teleportation would require a considerable amount of mana to fuel it.
The same amount of mana was used to transfer in the game no matter where I went. If mana consumption was proportional to distance traveled, then the magic I used wouldn’t be all that different from the shrine network.
“Well, it’s good that travel between the continents is easier…”
I followed everyone else down the stairs while doing my best to avoid eye contact with Ariane and laugh her statement off.
As we left the shrine, we took a look around Fernandez’s town square which had some similarities to Plymouth’s.
However, there were visible differences in scenery between two towns.
Unlike Plymouth, the town lacked the bustling commercial harbor, an impressively high wall surrounded the town. The wall, in tandem with the rough building structure that dominated the town, gave the place the feeling of a fortified city.
Since it was described as a border town, maybe the town acted as a defensive line of sorts.
The beastmen with good physiques, those dressed as soldiers or those trying to be inconspicuous, really stood out.
“For now, let’s look around for members of the tiger tribe.”
After I put my helmet back on, I looked back to Ariane and Chiome as they nodded at my suggestion.
Ponta’s hind legs dangled aimlessly as Chiome held her to her chest and her nose twitched as she took in the scent of this new town.
The lack of Plymouth’s harbor district meant that she couldn’t smell the tide this far inland.
I began to scan the face of the people passing by to find a hint about the people I was looking for.
When I called out to a nearby stall owner, I was met with a suspicious stare.
“Excuse me, would you know where to find the tiger tribe?”
The man started to smile when I took a gold coin from my waist pouch and held it in front of him.
“Oh, the tiger tribe? I haven’t seen any around the last couple of days.”
“…… I see.”
Judging that I wouldn’t find much here I started to pull back the gold coin when wrinkles appeared on the man’s forehead and he rushed to speak again.
“W-Wait, fine sir! If I’m not mistaken, there’s a stable near the southern wall that has extensive dealings with the tiger tribe!”
“Hmm?”
I was looking for the tiger tribe, not the mounts that they used.
I closed my fist on the gold coin in my hand and looked the man in the eye as I asked him to elaborate.
The man’s eyes traveled to Ariane besides men and gained some sort of understanding as he started speaking again.
“I couldn’t tell because of the weighty armor you wear, but you’re an elf, aren’t you, sir? It’s no surprised that you’re unaware of the circumstances. Dragon riding is a huge part of the tiger tribe’s culture. They acquire their lifetime mounts once they reach adulthood, so this is no trifling matter. It’s an inexpiable disgrace for tribesmen to lose their mount.”
I was able to pick up the gist of what the man was trying to say.
“So, if I want to find the tiger tribe members I should look there first?”
“Yes. The owner of the stable occasionally does business with the tribe, if anyone knows about them it would be him. It’s the truth, I swear!”
I looked down at the man enthusiastically nodding his head, and flipped the gold coin in his direction.
Looking away from the pleased man, I turn towards Ariane, who looked rather doubtful.
“Aren’t you paying a bit too much for that information?”
“The value of information varies from person to person…… It was a reasonable expense for me.”
I shrugged my shoulders as I answered her question.
The bit of information the man gave us told us that the tiger tribe hadn’t been seen recently. I didn’t know the reason for their lack of appearances but learning about the stable frequented by the tiger tribe was worth the price.
The worst case was that I wouldn’t be able to find the tiger tribe in this town, so I would just have to go to the Kuwana plain to find them myself.
“Well, let’s go look around the southern wall for the stable.”
I hoisted my baggage over my shoulder and triumphantly began to walk away before Chiome called out to me.
“Arc-dono, isn’t south in that direction?” “Kyun!”
I turned around immediately and started off in the direction she pointed out.
Whenever I visited a new city I would often get turned around.
I avoided Ariane’s cold stare and quickly headed towards the wall that rose in the distance.