The New Gate

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, so 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.