Shin and the others waited for ten minutes while guarding the wagon. Then Gaien and Nack returned. The bandit leader’s figure was not seen. He was likely taken care of since there was no need to bring him back alive.
Everyone climbed back into the carriage and tried to recover from the delay caused by the bandits, so the speed started to increase a little. Nack was responsible for being the driver, so Gaien explained the information obtained to Shin and the others.
“In other words, they wanted the baggage Nack-san carried?”
“That’s right. It seems to be related to a church matter. But they weren’t informed of what the baggage was.”
“They didn’t know what to take?”
Tsubaki asked.
“Well. Consequently, after the guards were slaughtered, together with the coachman, they would steal the wagon.”
Shin, who listened to the story, instantly thought that Rashia might be related to this case. The priest appointment of Rashia was only valid when recognized officially by the church. Therefore, the mark of proof, necessary documents, and so on might have to be transported.
The client who requested it, without telling their goal to the bandits, was at the same time trying to avoid being detected. Though it was simply a guess, when he looked at the place, where no one had disclosed what Nack was transporting, it was no doubt that it was something important. There were plenty of those possibilities.
When Shin thought about it, for Nack to have a Grimm horse by chance, which traveled faster than a common merchant, and to also have guards, it seemed to be the right interpretation.
Afterwards, without encountering any more bandits or being attacked by monsters, the group arrived at Beirun.
The wagon pulled by the Grimm horse passed the gate.
A lot of wagons entered the gate in similar ways. It was congested, but it was reasonably crowded with people.
Beirun was a small country, and similar to the surrounding countries. Eltnia continent had a shape of two continents linked, and Beirun was located in the middle of the two. Because of its strategic location, they might be invaded by the big countries, so they cooperated by forming an alliance to prevent an invasion by another country. Since each of the countries had a chosen one, the total force of the alliance was said to exceed even a big country’s.
“Thank you for your efforts, if there’s a another opportunity, I will request you again.”
They passed through the gate and advanced for a while along the road, and the wagon stopped in front of a second-hand shop.
Unlike a usual merchant, Nack said his gratitude with words, and handed over the proof of request completion to Gaien. This was how to receive the reward, once it was submitted to the guild.
“Well then, I will go to Kilmont after this, what will everyone else do?”
Gaien started on a topic after this matter along the road. Kilmont was ruled by the dragon king, a Dragnil’s country.
The formal name was the dragon empire, Kilmont.
From Schnee’s story, it was Shin’s support character no. 4, High Dragnil Shibaid’s country.
“I also have business in Kilmont.”
“Tiera and I have business in Falnido.”
Gaien and Tsubaki seemed to have a different destinations from Shin and Tiera.
“Fumu, this is divided splendidly again.”
“I knew it’s like a combination.”
Meeting and parting were part of the adventurer ways. Gaien and Tsubaki seemed to go to Kilmont for another guard request this time. By the way, before they met Shin and Tiera, they already received the same request several times.
After receiving the reward, they each left the messages, “Let’s meet again” and “Call out to me if you see me”, and started their journey to Kilmont. Though it was very simple, because it was often the case for adventurers to meet again during different requests, they might have to be practical if that was the case.
“So, how do we advance after this? Use a wagon too?”
“If I’m not mistaken, using an ordinary horse will take one and a half months, and a wagon will take 2 months, which we should not do.”
“It’s too far now that I think about it again.”
After separating from Gaien and Tsubaki, Shin and Tiera talked about the means of transportation. There was the way of moving on foot, but they were not so poor that they couldn’t ride on a wagon together. Though Shin was the fastest if he ran, he couldn’t hold Tiera all the time. After thinking it through, Shin decided to purchase a wagon. Either way, Shin and Tiera could continue traveling even after Schnee joined them. There was no loss in owning one. That’s why Shin and Tiera visited the shop that sold wagons for trips, as introduced by the guild.
“How should I say, all of the performances seem similar, even the high performance ones.”
“No no, customer, there is a reason for this.”
Towards Shin, who had muttered while looking at the shop, the storekeeper, who was coming nearby, answered.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, a large quantity of wagons were bought by the country a while ago. The ones here were made with the leftover materials, because we had to prepare the number required, it pretty much became the same thing in the long run. Depending on the material, it will become a little better.”
“I see, materials huh?”
From Shin’s assessment, the quality wasn’t that good, but it couldn’t be helped. Shin recalled the wagon used by Nack. Though the appearance was not good because it stressed the importance of transporting cargo, as for the material, the good ones were certainly used. Something needs to be done about the shaking, so they didn’t have to suffer there. Of course, that didn’t mean that he was dissatisfied with everything else.
“This one…only need to restructure it just a bit.”
“Wait a minute, did I hear something bad just now?
Tiera put her hand on Shin’s shoulder who was muttering. And as she now knows from experience, she would expect that didn’t mean a good thing. Though she had a laughing face, her eyes weren’t laughing.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s shameless. I know you’re lying. Now spit it out. What are you going to do this time?”
“Why are you being so cautious? I just want to improve the wheel’s movement, and suppress the shaking a little.”
The shaking countermeasures could reduce the burden on the horse pulling the wagon. Naturally, he didn’t want the trick to be found out, so the outward appearance wouldn’t change much. One must get in the wagon to actually feel the change.
“Really? It won’t fly in the sky and travel without a horse?”
“Of course not!!”
Shin didn’t say, “It was not possible to do.” But because the wagon’s design was out of his specialty, it wouldn’t be easy.
However, because the springs and wheel bearings were within the blacksmith’s domain, it would be easy to start working on it.
“Well, it’s fine if you only go that far.”
“It’s better to keep a low profile. Aren’t I learning, even a little?”
“If it wasn’t you who said it, I’d believe it.”
“That’s kind of cruel.”
Not being able to object was painful.
“Then, the wagon can be remodeled further?”
“Only a little because it’s not my main job, but it’s better than nothing.”
“If it’s better than Nack-san’s, it’ll be welcomed.”
Apparently, Tiera was also annoyed by the shaking of the wagon. The carriages that nobles rode in hardly shook, that was something that Tiera learned from an idle chat with an adventurer who came into the store. So, she thought that she should rather welcome him if he could make such a carriage.
Though the shaking was minimized in Nack’s wagon too, it was hard on Tiera who was not accustomed to it.
“Enough about remodeling, which carriage will do? Honestly, I don’t know which one is good.”
“First of all, I want space big enough to be able to sleep inside. Something like that.”
Shin thought about the number of people and the baggage they would have, and pointed at the biggest carriage in the shop.
“That’s right. Master will come too, so we also need to think about if it will hold a large amount of baggage.”
Tiera also agreed, about it not posing any problems with the number of people.
Also the horse must be powerful in order to be able to pull the wagon’s weight, in the worst case, he would have to get Yuzuha’s help to pull the wagon. That transformation ability was indeed useful.
“Thank you for your patronage! By the way, customer, have you obtained a horse for pulling the wagon?”
“No, I’ll go buy one after this.”
“Is this your first time buying a horse?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“If that’s the case, this is a piece of advice for the customer who just did an expensive purchase. The horse’s legs should be as strong as possible. Though it’s different when using several of them; to pull it with only one, the wagon is a little heavy.”
“Thank you, I will use it as a reference.”
Perhaps, a draft horse type would be good. Given the number of people that will ride on the wagon, Shin thought that type was better.
“On that subject, how about using a monster to pull it? Because there is person I know who does it in such a way.”
“Well, the horsepower is definitely in a whole different league. Though it would have to be tamed, haven’t you heard that it’s difficult?”
“Indeed. Thank you for the information.”
He thanked the storekeeper who gave them advice and left the shop. Their following destination; a shop that dealt with horses.
“Next is…hmm? This sound is”
When Shin took a step forward to go purchase a horse, a ‘Ding’ sound reach his ears. It was the ringtone when notified of a voice chat, which he had set before. Because the operation hadn’t changed since the game era, he accepted the call by thinking about it.
“(Hello, This is Shin. Loud and clear.)”
“(This is Schnee. The request here is over. Where are you now?)”
“(We are in Beirun. I intend to go to Falnido by carriage once a horse is obtained.)”
Because it was just the right time, he conveyed his present location and the wagon he just bought.
“(Is that so. Then, I will capture a monster. I think I will arrive in Beirun in about 1 day, would you wait for me there?)”
“(I understand. Now that you mention it, you are also a Tamer.)”
At the time when Shin was encouraged to obtain the job from Rokuten’s Tamer and Summoner, Cashmere, he was also accompanied by Schnee. She acquired it when he did. Though she hadn’t tamed anything up till now, it was useful in an unexpected place.
“(Yes, please look forward to it, because I will bring the strongest one possible.)”
An image of Schnee stating so in high spirits came into his mind.
“(And, may I ask you one thing?)”
Schnee asked.
“(What is it?)”
“(When storing the Tsuki no Hokora, did anything happen? Because Tsuki no Hokora disappeared, I’m worried they would do something.)”
“(Ah, somehow it was monitored, but because being followed is troublesome, I used a little magic skill.)”
“(I see, it’s an illusion, huh? That’s quite peaceful. I thought the surrounding land would be cleared, because it is you.)”
“(Hold on, what do you think I am!?)”
“(Haven’t you done it before?)”
Apparently, she seemed to be talking about the death game era.
“(No, that’s because I’m not the kind of guy who just goes all out in order to wipe such opponents, and to begin with, I wouldn’t do such a violent thing to the monitoring people of a country.)”
Certainly, he would not go easy on an opponent who had come to take his life, but he didn’t have the intention to needlessly kill an opponent who only observed. In the first place, it was Tsuki no Hokora and Schnee that were monitored, not Shin.
“(If Shin decides so, then it’s fine. The upper echelon might be serious about it this time, because I acted like I didn’t know about it.)”
“(Right. Of course, our appearance was not seen, since I used a concealment skill. To the guys who were watching, Tsuki no Hokora would have seemed to have suddenly disappeared. I’m sure it caused a great deal of confusion.)”
The multiplex use of concealment and illusion. It was a popular way of showing an illusion to others while hiding oneself. Because the user was Shin, the other person couldn’t help but to become a target of the spells. As for the ‘concealment’, the skill name was similar for both martial arts and magic skills. It was the magic skill ‘concealment’ that Shin used this time. The effect was lower than the martial arts skills, but it was effective for himself, and he could hide Tiera too. In fact, the spies couldn’t see them at all.
“(Get a taste of their own medicine. To be honest, while I get praised unanimously, I got mad at the way they monitored and solicited repeatedly behind my back. Even if it causes a bit of an uproar, it will be their own fault.)”
Schnee said that irritably. Of course, not all countries were like that. There were many countries that contacted her with a moderate attitude. However, there were also a lot of countries that gathered war potential over the hegemony after the chaos due to the crustal movement. It was known that Schnee was the subordinate of a High Human, and an endless amount of countries desperately tried to include her in their own area.
This was how things got this way, that Tsuki no Hokora continued to be monitored even after the turmoil had settled down. Even though there were few people or countries that monitored her knowing those days, it was not so very long ago for the high elf Schnee. Even now that she became calmer compared to those days, she still felt a strong discomfort from the monitoring and solicitation.
“(Somehow, it’s even worse than I heard.)”
“(There are even countries that claimed to have the property rights for Tsuki no Hokora without permission, too. I thought of erasing each of those countries at the time.)”
“(When you say it like that, it must be serious.)”
While telling him that she was disgusted, Shin understood why Schnee got angry. Their precious place and things, it was natural to be angry when others claimed it was their own without permission.
With Schnee’s temperament, her anger was probably greater than that.
“(Well, there’s no need to be worry about it anymore now. That was my property originally, it’s up to me to take it anywhere.)”
He couldn’t concede Tsuki no Hokora, even if it was important to the people.
For Shin, Tsuki no Hokora was a precious place where he spent a long time with friends. Even if the opponent might be the king, he didn’t have any intentions to submit even a fragment.
“(Perhaps if Tsuki no Hokora was obtained, they thought that Schnee would follow?)”
“(Right, such people exist, too. There were even a lot of people who proposed marriage though.)”
“(…Right)”
It was Shin who set her appearance, but the beauty of Schnee could be said to be on the level of a beautiful courtesan. It was easy to imagine that she would be popular before long. Since Schnee and Tsuki no Hokora were known as a set, there might be a lot of people who tried to obtain Tsuki no Hokora, just to get that pretty face unexpectedly.
“(Well, it’s only natural, huh?)”
“(Are you jealous?)”
“(That…)”
He would’ve been proud of it in the game era, but the feeling changed now that it was reality. Shin also felt considerable feelings from Schnee. Was it because he was the master? Or as a man? It was difficult for him to make a judgment, but if possible, he thought it would be nice if it was the latter.
“(Fufu, is that so? Would you be jealous for me?)”
“(Why are you in a good mood like this?)”
“(Please guess~)”
“(I feel like I’m being led around by the nose.)”
The problem before guessing the reason for a good mood and so on; For a light novel’s main character who was thickheaded, there were possibilities of saying “I seriously didn’t know”.
Though Shin was also dense, still, it usually didn’t go to that extent.
“(Then contact me when the inn is decided upon. Because I don’t know when I will arrive yet. I will go directly to the inn according to the time.)”
“(Understood. See you later.)”
The Mind Chat was cut off. Since the goal of obtaining a horse were more or less met, he didn’t have to purchase a horse anymore.
“Hey Tiera, once the wagon is obtained, why don’t we look for an inn for tonight? I think securing the beds is important too.”
“What’s with this abruptness? Don’t we have to go buy a horse?”
“Schnee just contacted me. We will wait because she’ll catch a monster to replace the horse.”
“As expected from master. It’s perfect timing.”
Even though the admiration felt different, because he felt like he lost when he thought about it, Shin didn’t say anything. That timing was too perfect in his opinion.
“For the time being, would you like to go sightseeing while looking for an inn?”
“Okay, but it’s boring if we only walk around.”
Because they had time on hand, the two people decided to walk slowly. When they looked around at the stalls, various glassworks attracted their attention.
By the way, although Shin was also attracting attention because of the young fox on top of his head, he didn’t mind it since he had already gotten used to it in Bayreuth.
“Is the specialty here glass?”
“It’s beautiful. But I don’t know what it represents.”
The glassworks seemed to be popular, except the shops that sold glass, the products were displayed in almost every shop entrance.
They went to several shops in succession before finally stopping by a female store-keeper who was talkative, so they were introduced to a famous inn in this town. Since it was a lot of effort, they decided to stay at the inn there tonight.
They walked for about 15 minutes after they were instructed about the route, and saw a quite elegant building.
Judging from its appearance, it seemed to be made from wood, the outer walls were painted in white and its presence was clearly different from the neighboring inns. The windows in all of the rooms were fitted with glass. If seen properly, those window-glasses were enchanted to be completely strengthened.
Because the entrance door was big and had glass attached on the left and right, they could have a look inside. Rather than a common inn from fantasy, it had the same appearance as one would see in a modern hotel. The name of the inn was ‘The Reflected Flowers Palace’.
“Amazing! I didn’t see any inns that used glass in this way in Bayreuth.”
“It’s seems to be one of the selling points of this inn. It was said that its glass windows were firmly strengthened.”
“Indeed. I think it would be okay even if I hit them with a hammer.”
“But it seems a bit expensive.”
While Shin looked at the details of the exterior with his architectural skill, Tiera worried about the price.
Since they couldn’t stand in front of the inn forever, Shin went ahead and entered. Still, there was no automatic door or something like that, so they had to open it by themselves.
Once he was inside, the employees, who were dressed in stylish uniforms, immediately greeted them. When he conveyed that they had a female store-keeper refer them, they received a slight discount to some extent.
Apparently the main building was separate, this seemed to be the annexes for the trial services. Trial service? The two people look puzzled.
“For one night, it 4 silver coins per person.”
Though the discount should have reduced the price, it was two silver coins more expensive than the Bear Point Pavilion of Bayreuth where he stayed before. It was as expected from a high-quality hotel.
Because there was the reward from Nack, they paid respectively for a night. He also thought about whether it would be okay for Yuzuha to accompany them, but it didn’t seem to have any problems if they had a contract. Naturally, Shin would have take responsibility if it caused a disturbance or something like that.
“Um oba-chan(aunty), did you see through us and know if we could pay the price?”
“You’re an adventurer. Aren’t you all considered to have money?”
“Well we do have some, but the request’s reward just diminished in one go.”
Because half of their reward vanished in an instant, Shin unconsciously thought of such things. As a matter of fact, though there was some additional income, as a reward from defeating the bandits, he still felt it was too expensive. Actually, he did have a certain amount of white gold coins, but his money sense was still fuzzy.
“Since this is similar to the famous inn in Beirun, there are stories saying that you should stay at least once. Also, the main building costs one gold coin per night, that’s still fair.”
“Who could stay there?”
“Perhaps, it’s people like Shin. Don’t you have money from the raw materials you sold to me last time? To be frank, the current Shin is quite rich, you know?”
“T-That’s right. I only thought about the request’s reward.”
Tiera pointed it out, and Shin finally remembered that he himself was quite rich. Judging from the total sum of money he had in hand, 4 silver coins was just a trivial expense.
Even though the inn was where the reward from the guard duty would disappear within 3 days, because the tempered glass was very expensive, 4 silver coins might be a cheap price when he thought about the details of the facilities.
For this sort of famous inn, he understood why it became the topic of the story. It was a special trip, s0 Shin decided not to worry about it and enjoy himself a little.
“As expected from a high-quality inn. This is already an ordinary hotel. The soundproofing is secure, too.”
That was the level of quality that Shin first felt when he entered the assigned guest room. It was a place that could be called a budget hotel if seen in his former(real) world. Though it would be excessive for comparison, the only other inn that Shin knew of in this world, Bear Point Pavilion, from the bed, desk and the chair provided, they were of a higher grade. Still, it was inferior to the furniture inside Tsuki no Hokora.
“Kuu, can I talk already?”
“Yes, it’s all right here.”
Yuzuha seemed to endure it for a long time in the town. The walls of the inn were thick, so it was judged to be safe to talk as it spoke to Shin.
“There’s still time until dinner, shall I do some equipment maintenance?”
Shin put the luggage on the floor and took off his sword from his waist and began the inspection.
It was hardly necessary in the game, but he thought that he should try to keep doing it wherever it was practicable here. A small chip in the blade and rust due to blood remains and so on were factors that hastened the deterioration of the arms. Naturally, frequent inspections were required, especially for low-grade arms.
“Pretty!”
“It took a lot of hardships to reach this level.”
The aura that wrapped the blade was visible, and Yuzuha voiced its impression. Actually, the blade, which retained its mysterious shine, was indeed beautiful. He could understand if it was called a work of art and not arms. While looking at the radiance that could not be emitted by superficial gear, Shin remembered the days of his former training.
He confirmed the blade state, loosening the hilt and the guard of the katana in order. As he was about to return the katana into the scabbard, the door was knocked upon.
Tiera’s voice was heard from the room.
“Shin, do you have a moment?”
“Yeah, I’ll open the door now.”
Before Shin stood up, Yuzuha took a human form and opened the door. Of course, it wore the shrine maiden’s clothes.
“Ara, Yuzuha-chan. You are in that form now, huh?”
“Kuu, do you have business with Shin?”
“I want to ask about a little something.”
Yuzuha showed her in, and Tiera entered the room.
“And, what do you want to ask me?”
“Didn’t I receive 【Analyze】from Shin before? It’s about that.”
“Was there something wrong?”
“It may be trivial, but when I looked at Tsubaki’s stats, there was a thing that worried me a little.”
“Something that worried you?”
Suddenly, a certain conjecture flashed into Shin’s mind.
“By any chance, when you used【Analyze】, sometimes it became hard to see the race of Tsubaki…right?”
“Eh? Shin too?”
Tiera was surprised. Shin’s prediction appeared to be correct somehow or another. To say it accurately, rather than hard to see, there was some static or something such that moved around. Though it was only the race column, it was a phenomenon that had never existed in the game. It was the first time for Tiera to have seen one. For Shin, it was his second time.
“I am a bit interested too. But I don’t understand this well either.”
In case of Shin, he wondered whether it was a malfunction appearing or not, since the way he came into this world was also a malfunction. Anyway, he only knew that the static noise didn’t start until he encountered Tsubaki.
“I wonder if master knows something?”
“Right. Either way, she’ll join us tomorrow, and we’ll ask her then.”
Since Schnee could use the same 【Analyze】as Shin, she might know something. However, it was not an urgent business, so he decided to not use the Mind Chat.
“Kuu, a serious problem?”
“It’s probably not a serious matter. I have a guess, but there is no conclusive evidence.”
Shin shrugged his shoulders while smiling wryly toward Yuzuha.
“Which reminds me, when will master come?”
Tiera asked.
“I don’t know the exact time. She told me that if I tell her the inn, she will come there.”
“If that’s the case, you can already take a rest for today. I guess master won’t come at night.”
“Well, I guess so. Let’s have dinner soon.”
The current time was past 6.00 P.M. Though it was a little early to have a meal, it seemed to be unquestionable in the inn. Because Yuzuha wanted to eat together, but its human appearance couldn’t be shown so they brought their dinner inside the room to eat.
Though it could be said that the food was grand, the bread was still brown. Apparently, the white bread seemed to be quite high class for some reason or another. By the way, if this was the main building, white bread would appear commonly.
Afterwards, he asked for a hot bath and fell asleep after changing his clothes. About the hot spring, in Bear Point Pavilion it was charged per use, but was free here. There didn’t seem to be a bathhouse. Since the one in Bear Point Pavilion was basic bathing, he felt like there wasn’t much of a difference.
Vol. 3 Chapter 2 – Part 2
Dawn of the next day.
The half-asleep Yuzuha had crawled into Shin’s futon, but it was really peaceful and not making any fuss, because it was in young fox mode. Shin unconsciously rubbed Yuzuha’s head and moved it away, and then washed his face. Just like a hotel, the room had a washbasin. After feeling refreshed, Tiera visited them, and they ate a breakfast similar to yesterday’s.
“Just now, before breakfast, I heard that Schnee will arrive in Beirun by the end of the morning. I’ll remodel the wagon, what will Tiera do?”
Shin talked to Tiera while chewing his bread. Because he thought it was not a good idea to keep waiting without doing anything, he intended to remodel the wagon.
“I’ll look at how you remodel the wagon.”
“Yuzuha too!”
Tiera, who had demanded that Shin restrain himself, seemed to be interested in the remodeling process, too. It goes without saying for Yuzuha.
Apparently, they appeared to be excited about seeing an unknown technique.
After checking out from the inn, they headed straight to the shop from which the wagon was bought. The wagon was still in the shop as there was no horse to draw it yet.
“Welcome. Oh, it’s the customer from yesterday. Have you bought a horse?”
“It was decided that my acquaintance would supply it. So I intended to fiddle with the wagon a little.”
“Heh, is Customer-san a craftsman or something? I thought you were an adventurer.”
The surprised shopkeeper returned, and they moved to the place where the carriage was. First of all, he laid a magic skill that lifted the target temporarily to prevent the frame from falling down, and then installed the spring as a countermeasure for the shaking. Of course, it was not just attached, he tinkered around with the wheels’ axis, too. The appearance of lumps of wood and metal, wriggling and changing shape, might be quite weird, depending on the point of view. However, the speed of the operation in that state was fast. Since he went underneath the frame; he worked quickly, because he didn’t want the shopkeeper to see it. The shopkeeper didn’t notice that the wagon’s performance had already become incomparable to that of the surrounding wagons.
And seeing the work scene up close, Yuzuha had glittering eyes, and Tiera’s eyes were in a focused state. Tiera was somehow able to understand the details of the operation, too. But seeing lumps of metal become flexible and changing shape in Shin’s hand caused them to be speechless. She wanted to say: “Haven’t you learned about not attracting attention already?”, but managed to endure, as the shopkeeper might hear her.
“Phew, I only need to attach the bearings next.”
“(Kuu! Shin, what was that a while ago? The iron was flexible!)”
Was it that interesting? Yuzuha began to talk through the Tamer version of Mind Chat. Did it love craftsmanship? The enthusiasm was seen before, during the time when Shin was tempering the longsword.
“(This is the production group skill which processes iron. Somehow, I found a use for it.)”
It was the production group skill, 【Molding】, to be exact. Originally, it was only possible to transform objects into fixed patterns, but once he knew how to use it, the shape could be changed into interesting ways. Because the technique of remodeling a wagon had not changed since the game era, he could finish it without any problem.
“Shin, where did your self-restraint go?”
“A-Ah? I hid myself in a way that I couldn’t be seen, and the external appearance didn’t change either. Why are you so mad?”
“Certainly I saw it in a flash, and I don’t even know what the difference is.”
“Right? Then――――”
“But! It’s obviously unnatural.”
“Um, why is that?”
Before he knew it, Shin was spinning his mind around to think if he was guilty of doing something wrong, as Tiera was in preaching mode. Unfortunately, the reason why Tiera was angry didn’t come to mind.
“It’s the time.”
“Time?”
“Yes, time. You know, no matter how easy the work was that modified the wagon, it shouldn’t take less than 1 hour! It’s too fast!!”
“Ah, I see.”
“Don’t ‘Ah’ me, you have to take it a little more serious…”
She said it with a strong tone, but in low voice. While Shin was using the impressive lost technology, Tiera warned him. Though Tiera said one hour, only about 15 minutes had actually passed since he started his work. Come to think of it, it was definitely too fast, so it might become a story of, “How on earth did you do that?”. Because he only cared about the appearance and the result, he seemed to have forgotten about the working speed. Shin didn’t realize it, since there was never a complaint about being too quick in the game.
“It couldn’t be helped, so I’ll go slow with the bearings.”
“Please, do so.”
He accepted Tiera’s demand and proceeded to work slowly this time. Since he only had to remodel the axial junction and the wheels to some extent, it didn’t take that much time even when he did it slowly. He could concentrate on the work, because only a small part of the body was still floating.
Afterwards, the bearings were attached to all four wheels, and the modifications were completed. The total time for the job took about one and a half hours, including the installation of the springs. The current time was half past 10 now.
He told the shopkeeper at the wagon dealer that they would bring a horse, and exited the shop. And then, they waited for contact from Schnee. Since they had time, they went for another walk in a different direction from yesterday. They spent about one hour of window-shopping at the street stalls, and then the call from Schnee came.
“It’s the call from Schnee. She seems to be in the forest ahead of the north gate.”
Because he conveyed that they had already checked out from the inn and were wandering around, it was decided that she would wait outside. And so, they headed toward the north gate immediately. While extending his perception area, they passed through the gate and walked further. The response from Schnee showed what she had already captured a suitable beast. But――
“…………”
Both of his feet that were supposed to be walking in high spirits became heavy.
“Kuu, what is it?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Sigh, how should I say this…, I think you will understand when we arrive there.”
Tiera raised her question after Yuzuha’s words, but Shin said that she would find out once they reached there. The reason was that even if he didn’t expressly speak of it, as Shin walked forward, he had an expression of bewilderment, because he understood what had caused Yuzuha to be cautious.
What was displayed on the map, moved into Shin’s field of vision. The monster that stood next to Schnee was why there was such a reaction from Shin.
When they got closer to the forest, the appearance gradually came into view.
“Shin, that one, is strong.”
“Hey Shin, really, what is that? My 【Analyze】 doesn’t show its name, let alone its level.”
Yuzuha and Tiera seemed to be uneasy.
“Well, that’s natural.”
Even if it was Schnee, it couldn’t be helped as the monster alone emitted huge pressure. Tiera stood behind Shin to hide herself, Yuzuha re-hardened its posture that had weakened.
“I’m here now. As I told you with Mind Chat, the monster I brought will pull the wagon. In the case of this fellow, it won’t have any problems pulling the wagon that Shin gets on.”
With a very nice smile, Schnee said so full of confidence. That smile with overflowing charm would make everyone a captive.
However, Shin’s heart was about to say “Seriously?! This will pull the wagon?”, as his line of sight went to what was behind Schnee.
“Just to check, but where did you get it?”
“Because I was near the sacred mountain, it’s from there.”
“…Clever. As expected from Schnee.”
“I’m honored to receive your praise.”
As expected from Schnee, she seemed to interpret the meaning of crazy in a good way, even with Shin’s state of mind.
“I forgot. Master sometimes gets reckless when it comes to Shin.”
“That information, if possible, I wish you would have said that earlier.”
Tiera looked up at the sky with a shocked expression, while Shin held his brow with one hand as if to say, “Oh great!…”. Watching the two people, Schnee looked puzzled.
“Well, nothing can be done since you already brought it here. For the time being, may I ask about this fellow?”
“Yes. Because it will pull the wagon that Shin is riding on, I thought it should be something like this, a divine beast class monster.”
“No no, that way of thinking is weird. It’s strange no matter how I think about it! What kind of wagon do you think it’ll pull!?”
Shin exclaimed, while pointing at the monster which was obedient behind Schnee.
That shout was reasonable too. Anyhow, its physique was much bigger than a carriage. In the case of it pulling, the wagon would need to be the size of a single house.
“Of course, I assumed that Shin would say that.”
“What?”
Schnee calmly replied to Shin’s retort. Apparently, she seemed to have a plan.
Shin looked at the monster Schnee brought again.
A four-legged walking type monster, its name was Gruefago.
It had a forward-leaning posture when it walked, and its height was about 3 mels from the ground. Even if it was pulling to the wagon he purchased, they might not able to see the front.
Ash-silver hair covered its whole body to the forearm, which was developed like a horse’s body. Moreover, it had thick and strong muscle masses on its tail, and it rivaled the power of the Lord Skull Face which Shin and Schnee fought before.
In addition, if it began a surprise attack during the game era, it would be a fiendish monster even for advanced level players. Its head resembled that of a wolf, but there were scales that dully shined visible here and there, making it possible to tell that it was a different animal.
Above all, it was eye-catching as Gruefagos’ have a horn protruding from their foreheads. Though its horn was crooked to some extent, an amount of light and shade was emitted from the emerald horn, just like a crystal.
There was one fact to understand from there. This meant that this Gruefago was a unique monster.
Even though it was unclear, it should be a monster that attacked without hesitation when it found a player, and yet it behaved itself without showing such signs at all.
When he checked with 【Analyze】, it appeared as Gruefago Jade, Lv. 751. Originally, the upper limit level of a Gruefago should be 650, but it was a common occurrence for a unique monster to exceed the limit. It would certainly be a recipe for disaster if it descended on a human dwelling.
“Go on, do it.”
When Schnee said that, green phosphorescence enveloped the body of the Gruefago. Crackling sounds were occasionally heard, a small sense of incongruity was added to that magical scene.
The phosphorescence dimmed in less than a minute, and a single monster made an appearance.
Though 【Analyze】 confirmed it as the Gruefago, the appearance was different from before. The forelegs were about the same length as the rear legs and the tail also shrunk. Though it was somewhat irregular, it could be said that it was a slightly big wolf. The featured horn shrunk as well, so that only a small part of it could be seen from the forehead.
“It became small?”
“Yes. Since there’s this ability, there’s no problem if it pulls the wagon.”
“That’s certainly true.”
Surely, the wagon could be pulled without any problems. But, there was a thing Shin was interested in before that.
“Did it have such an ability?”
Gruefago were originally monsters that put emphasis on flinging themselves onto the enemy. Like Yuzuha, it should not specialize in transformations.
“Because it has a habit of ambushing and a preference for surprise attacks, it became a unique monster, and I think it obtained a more useful ability. In fact, it can use illusion and lightning attribute skills.”
Though he didn’t feel at ease because of that, a monster that couldn’t adapt didn’t make sense. Because it was born from demon essence, he was convinced that it would transform into a skeletal monster.
“I guess this appearance is probably fine for the time being. The wagon has already been modified, let’s return and depart from there.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
Since it was a waste of time even if he talked here, he decided to return and leave at once.
“Haa, it is strangely tiring.”
In contrast to the happy Schnee, Tiera appeared to be slightly tired. It was natural too, no matter how light the exchange of Shin and Schnee appeared to have been, that was certainly a monster that was called a divine beast standing before her eyes. Even if it seemed docile, the intimidating air dispersed around it was not normal. Now that it became small, the feeling of intimidation was on the same level as that of a common monster. It wouldn’t be strange if a commoner fainted because of the strong pressure from its original figure though. For Shin and Schnee to talk like it was nothing, the two people were strange.
If Tiera hadn’t received training from Schnee, she would have joined the fainting group.
“Kuu, Kukuu?”
“Guru, guruaa!”
Looking at both of them barking to talk, all one could do was to have a strained smile.
“I agree with Tiera. I didn’t expect that you would bring something of this level, either.”
For Shin, if anything, his surprise was stronger than fatigue. Because when he said horse, he expected something like the higher kind of Grimm Horse, a Wonder Horse, or even higher than that, a Tri-Horse. For a monster that was said to be the standard for every merchant player, the level didn’t exceed 200, because it was easy to handle. It was unexpectedly popular because of its horsepower.
However, a divine beast was obviously overqualified if he looked at the outcome.
“Was it something strange?”
“Master, usually one doesn’t bring a divine beast simply to pull a wagon.”
“I will only settle for this.”
““Eh…””
What was her intention to bring it along? It couldn’t be helped for Shin’s and Tiera’s voices to be in harmony.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit excessive?”
“No way, you don’t like it…?”
Schnee’s face became gloomy.
“Wait, wait, why are you depressed?”
“Well, Shin has a contract with an Element Tail, so if it’s not a stronger monster maybe you wouldn’t be pleased with it?”
“Kuu? Guu-chan, don’t want?”
“Guruu!?”
Though what Shin meant was: ‘You don’t have to strain yourself’; Schnee seemed to have interpreted it as ‘You are not satisfied with this level?’. She was overly enthusiastic, too.
And, hearing the two people’s conversation, toward Yuzuha’s remark, the Gruefago expressed its surprise. Judging from its facial expression, it probably said, “Really?!”. As expected from a divine beast, it didn’t need to say out loud what it was thinking.
“No, a Gruefago is strong enough. Besides, it is a unique monster and I see almost no other flaws.”
“I am relieved when you say that. I thought it would be useful if the monster was as smart as a person.”
“So that means, it understood the things we talked about just now?”
“Yes. Though it can’t talk with words, most of our words are understood.”
“Guruu!”
“Leave it to me, it said.”
Yuzuha promptly followed up. It seemed that fellow monsters understanding each other was possible. After all, a divine beast class had high intelligence.
“This is my master. Be sure not to be rude.”
Schnee said while presenting Shin.
“Guru!!”
“Nice to meet you.”
Shin said as he patted the head of the Gruefago. Without a sign that it disliked it in particular, the Gruefajio closed its eyes partly, indicating that it felt good.
“By the way, what is this fellow’s name?”
“It’s Kagerou.”
“Is it because it can use illusions?” (T/N: The ‘影’ kanji, from ‘幻影’[genei] which means illusion, is pronounced as ‘kage’.)
“Yes. Is it too simple?”
“Well, that might be good. I think it’s a cool name.”
It was certainly simple, but Shin thought it was not bad. It was a name that is occasionally seen in games and manga.
“Guruu”
“I like it.”
This beast seemed to like it, too. Yuzuha, who moved to Kagerou’s back from Shin head, interpreted it properly. Since it might be hard to understand with only barking and gestures, it was very helpful.
“Then, Kagerou. I will give your first mission!”
“Guruu!!”
“That is, pull the wagon!”
“Guruaa!!”
To Shin, who exaggeratedly informed the beast, Kagerou answered full of motivation. Though Shin worried that it might complain, it didn’t seem to mind pulling the wagon.
With Schnee and Kagerou added to Shin’s party, they returned to Beirun from the forest, and came back to the shop where they left the wagon. At the time when they passed through the gate, Kagerou was registered as a monster partner of Schnee, similar to what Shin did in Bayreuth. For Kagerou, because its build was quite large unlike Yuzuha and its appearance seemed to be a little ferocious as well, it was necessary to hang a plate that indicated “Tame” on the monster’s neck.
Schnee was strongly warned that if Kagerou barked, acted violently and so on, there would be penalties for that, but that was inevitable. Unlike the monsters of the horse group, it was considered very likely that it would act violently.
Did bringing Kagerou along have some effect? Although Schnee and Tiera were beautiful women, no suspicious men tried to pick a quarrel with them. People like punks generally had a low sense of danger and lacked the ability to read the mood. But when they saw Kagerou, there were no daredevils who tried to pick quarrels with the group.
With Yuzuha riding on Shin’s head, they might have thought that Shin was Kagerou’s tamer, too. It was natural for a strong man to be with 2 beautiful elf women; it was from the air he gave off, everyone who looked at Shin’s party thought.
“Customer… this is also another great one you brought.”
The storekeeper was surprised when looking at Kagerou that appeared alongside Shin.
“There’s a little connection with someone I trust.”
“You don’t say, is it that beautiful woman whom I didn’t see yesterday?”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“I envy you brother, with how your young ladies look.”
What did the storekeeper imagine when looking at Tiera and Schnee; Shin’s shoulders were clapped down on hard. Though the storekeeper was acting a little overly familiar, there was almost no feeling of discomfort, which was expected from a merchant.
“It’s not such a relationship…”
Before he knew it, the way he was called changed from “customer” to “brother”. Incidentally, even with such a poor excuse, the smirking storekeeper didn’t seem to be listening.
Currently, Schnee had changed her appearance with a skill. With blond hair, red eyes, and a ponytail hairstyle, her impression appeared to be more energetic than usual.
Therefore, the collection of gazes she received from passerbies, was even more than Tiera and Kagerou got combined.
Shin received the wagon while sighing, and then mounted the necessary pulling device on Kagerou. It took some time for the fitting, because it was originally meant to be mounted on a horse, but he adjusted it using a skill in secret and kept up the appearance.
“Is it tight?”
“Guru”
Kagerou nodded, telling Shin that it didn’t have any problems. It felt no constraints, even when Shin took it for a light run. Though the wagon’s weight should be more than normal, it didn’t seem to be a burden judging from Kagerou.
“Then, shall we depart?”
“Kuu!”
“Guruu!”
While hearing enthusiastic voices from the monsters, the carriage began to move slowly. Was it the result of his remodeling? The shaking had been considerably lessened.
“Amazing, it doesn’t shake at all.”
Tiera widened her eyes in amazement.
“Fuh, this is the result of my remodeling. Aren’t you glad I did it?”
“Now that I know this to be this comfortable, I won’t be able to ride a normal carriage anymore.”
There were personalized cushions laid out for each of them, so the vibration wouldn’t make their buttocks sore. From a person who knew the shaking of an ordinary wagon, the difference in comfort was like heaven and earth. What Tiera said was also understandable.
“I see, it’s been modified, huh?”
Schnee also felt admiration as she looked around the wagon.
“Yes, originally I thought of excluding the extra bearing, but I knew I could improve it more if I tried. I thought why not do it on this opportunity, as it really is harsh to be inside a shaking wagon for a long period of time.”
“It is indeed. Isn’t the performance better than the carriage of the royal family?”
“I’m not that rash to go all out there though…”
“In present times, there are no wagons’ that don’t shake like this one.”
Schnee smiled as if she was troubled. Judging from the talk, she was likely to have ridden on the royal family’s wagon.
“Long distance travel in this world is really hard.”
“There are problems of public peace too, one wrong step could cost you your life.”
Monsters and bandits were dangerous too, but even wild animals were plenty of a threat for any ordinary person. For this reason, there existed the work called, bodyguard. For a person who couldn’t hire a guard, a trip was really risking their life.
“I think I’ll hardly feel danger with these members.”
The words that Tiera muttered alone were the truth, too.
To begin with, with a divine beast class monster, Kagerou, pulling the wagon, monsters wouldn’t approach directly. Even if a bandit who couldn’t measure its power showed up, they would either settle in Kagerou’s stomach, or become minced meat by Shin.
There was no problem even if there was somewhat of a travel mood.
“When Shin and I are present, we can generally even do something about a national disaster class problem.”
“Master is too almighty.”
The speech that came off as arrogance was incorrigible, simply because it was reality. Even with only Schnee, she was already a national class in regards of war potential.
“Kuu! Yuzuha also here, so it will be all right!”
“Guruu!”
The two of them agreed with Schnee’s words. That scene was exactly like a pet seeking approval from its master.
“As long as it’s trustworthy.”
The words Shin muttered while smiling wryly were not heard as they dissolved in the hustle and bustle.
“But well, to modify it to not attract attention, it stands out in a different way.”
“Mou, this couldn’t be helped.”
In addition to the combination of Schnee and Tiera that would attract public eyes, there was Kagerou, too. There was no way that this group wouldn’t stand out.
After all, they were continuously exposed to public eyes from the surroundings until they left the gate.
Shin’s party departed from Beirun. Kagerou’s movement speed was not comparable with a normal wagon; when it ran for a while, all presences of people disappeared.
“It’s alright if it’s here. Schnee, can you come over here for a moment? I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, what is it?”
He searched for any surrounding presences, and called out to Schnee after confirming that there was no one around. He had something to discuss with her that couldn’t be heard in the neighborhood, though he only now remembered it.
“I completely forgot about it. What was Kagerou’s position on the sacred mountain?”
So, he had forgotten to ask this because he was surprised at the appearance of the divine beast, since Kagerou had been found by chance and was brought along, he felt uneasy with its presence.
Basically, for divine beasts, most of them had their own territory, and rarely came out from there. In addition, each of them were followed by their underlings. It was different in the game, but in reality, he couldn’t just bring it along like that.
“Let’s see. If I am to say it nicely, it would be symbiosis, but if I must say it in a negative way, it would be freeloader.”
“Hah?”
Due to the anticipation ahead of the unusual answer, Shin couldn’t be helped to have a stupid expression on his face.
A freeloader.
It was not a word he imagined would describe a divine beast.
That symbiosis she mentioned earlier, there might be a another divine beast in this case.
“Is it that? Kagerou was allowed to live in another divine beast’s territory?”
“Yes. There is a monster called Mist Garuda that leads on the sacred mountain, near the summit. Because of that, there are not many ways for Kagerou to be helpful. And Kagerou didn’t appear to have either followers or its own territory.”
The story seemed to have taken a quite special turn. Normally, in the territory of a divine beast, other divine beasts didn’t emerge. Since it was not a game any more, it was possible, but if that was the case, Shin felt a strong sense that something was very wrong.
“I understand this much as we came to a mutual understanding over the Mind Chat. I don’t understand Kagerou as clearly as Yuzuha, but we can compare the information I know.”
“I see. Yuzuha, can you ask?”
“Kuu, leave it to me.”
Yuzuha, who was able to communicate clearly, asked about its circumstances. The conversation that sounded like “Guruguru”, “Kuukuu” continued for a few minutes.
Was she interested in that conversation? Tiera also sat near the coachman’s seat. Before long, Yuzuha returned to Shin.
“I got it.”
“Yosh, let’s hear it right away.”
“Let me see. Was it the Mist Garuda, now? Though it rules the sacred mountain, originally half of it belonged to Kagerou’s mother. However, its mother was killed by adventurers, and only Kagerou survived.”
“Adventurers, huh?”
Shin had done similar things in the game era, so he felt ashamed.
Of course, he didn’t intend to hunt divine beasts thoughtlessly in this world.
“It desperately ran for its life, and then, it was helped by an elf girl. After that, it tried its best and became strong, though when it returned to the sacred mountain, it could only help in battles, because its mother’s territory was already lost.”
“Elf, huh? Indeed, when I met it, there was a little hostility against me.”
Did she recall the time she met Kagerou for the first time? Schnee nodded as she understood.
“Did it surrender without fighting?”
“Though we did have a contest, if anything, it was a slight degree of testing each other’s ability.”
Apparently, without showing their whole power, they seemed to understand each other’s strength.
“Schnee is very strong and had a nostalgic scent attached to her, that’s the reason it accompanied her.”
“Nostalgic scent?”
“It said that it was the same scent as Tiera.”
“Eh?”
An unexpected answer returned. Shin, who heard it, had an idea pop up by chance.
“The elf girl who helped… was probably Tiera?”
“Kuu, looks like it.”
It was totally like a development from a manga, but such a thing was really unexpected in reality. If Shin hadn’t arrived, it seemed like their destinies wouldn’t intertwine.
“Errr, I wonder when such a thing happened…”
Tiera said as she closed her eyes to search for the memory where she helped Kagerou. She didn’t seem to be able to remember it right away.
“Guru”
“It said it was more than 100 years ago.”
“That was when I was still a child… Now that I think about it, I did save an injured puppy.”
The information of Tiera’s age could be guessed, but because circumstances were circumstances, Shin didn’t dig deeper.
Though it was difficult to associate the puppy from back then with Kagerou’s current real figure, it probably didn’t have a brutal appearance when it was a baby. She could understand because it reduced its size to pull the wagon furthermore.
“If I’m not mistaken, there was a severe injury. It was hopeless for me alone, so I asked for mother’s help.”
“Guru”
“Benefactor, it said.”
“And you chose to be tamed? Even if you might not end up meeting Tiera?”
Shin pointed out that doing so was hasty; even if it followed the scent, it might not have met Tiera again.
According to Yuzuha, it seemed to understand that it couldn’t win, even if it fought against Schnee. That being the case, it decided to believe in its own intuition.
By the way, the reason it let Shin pet it quietly too, was because it felt a portion of the strength that he hid. Even if he limited it using a skill so that his true ability wouldn’t come to light, it seemed that he wasn’t able to completely cover it when it came to a monster of Kagerou’s class. It felt an overpowering sense of intimidation that couldn’t be compared, even with Schnee, or so Yuzuha informed them of what Kagerou said.
“So that’s why it was so docile.”
Indeed, it wouldn’t let an unfamiliar human touch it just like that. Although it seemed to be no problem for the members here now.
“Then, shall I transfer the master’s qualifications to Tiera?”
“Will that be alright? For her level and such.”
“If the person in question is accepting, there won’t be any problem. It has been verified.”
Though Shin raised his doubts, it seemed to be alright.
“Um, master. I don’t have the Tamer job, so continuing with this conversation is pointless.”
Of course, a special skill was necessary to form a contract. And only a tamer was able to do it.
“In this case, I was thinking of an irregular contract, rather than the said transfer. The contract is canceled temporarily and then made again, right?”
Shin asked.
“Yes. Because a monster that was freed from the contract would return to the wild, it can make a contract with another tamer.”
Though it was obvious, this world was a reality. If it was a game, there was no such thing. It was similar in the sense that a monster would return to the wild after the contract cancellation, but something like a re-contract was impossible. After the message of it having returned to the wild, 2 characters disappeared.
As Shin had mentioned, it wouldn’t disappear in the way they did in the game.
“No, like I said, I don’t have the job.”
Tiera didn’t get the point.
“It’s fine. With this method, Tiera doesn’t necessarily need the job.”
“Errr, what do you mean?”
Tiera was at a loss for Schnee’s words. The reason for her perplexity was because she didn’t know the acquisition conditions for the job.
In THE NEW GATE, there were 3 main methods to get the Tamer’s job.
1. Accept the contract application from the monster’s side, generated at a very low probability. (E/N: Monster proposes contract, player accepts)
2. Inherit the s