Chapter 159

I land on the bridge. There were many people here, and it was very lively. That alone made it seem quite different from Nicora.

Wooden boxes flooded the place, and numerous laborers carried them. However, this was not slave labor, like at the mines, they all looked cheerful and determined as they worked. Their clothes were not in tatters and they were clean. It was clearly an adequate environment for the workers.

I continued to walk while taking in my surroundings, when a cart passed in front of me. It was stacked with bags full of something.

“Hey, do you know what is inside of those bags?”

I tried calling to the old man who was pulling it.

“Hm? Ah, they are full of spices.”

“Oh, spices! That’s a lot!”

I could enhance my repertoire if I bought these. Though, I didn’t really know how to use them.

“Well, this is the trading town of Usk. You should take a look. There is a great variety of things!”

The man said as he pointed in the opposite direction as the river. Then he pushed his cart and continued on his way. I thanked him and he waved his hand without turning back.

I see… I had heard that it was a trading town, but it seemed like it was doing very well. I was looking forward to seeing more.

“…Oh, wait. We have to get an inn first.”

A town near a river should have a lot of inns. People who traded needed places to stay. And so I decided to go and look for an inn.

…But then…

“Hey, you.”

“Huh?”

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see a guard standing there.

“I was watching you. You came over the river, didn’t you?”

“Ah, yes.”

“You do know that there is a proper procedure to entering the town?”

I had forgotten, as there was no gate. You probably needed to get permission after getting off of the boat.

The guard point behind him with his thumb. There were people showing their means of identification.

“Uh, yes, of course.”

“Well, at least you know how to listen. Come with me to the guard house then.”

“Understood.”

“You can tell us everything when we get there.”

“…”

I shrugged as if I had no idea what he could mean by that. But I had heard that the Usk guards were enemies of Nicora, so it must be related to that. And this was no place to discuss such things.

And perhaps he felt the same, because he began to walk without saying anything. I tightened my grip on Daniela and followed after him until a white building came into view. It was nice and very different from the warehouses in the area. On close inspection, it was made of white bricks.

“Huh…”

It was quite nice indeed…

“And here we are.”

“Oh? So this is the guard house?”

“Eh? What did you think it was?”

“Well, I was wondering what rich person might live here…”

Yes, it looked like a mansion you might find in a city. Not that I’d know anything about them. The guard looked puzzled for a moment and then burst into great laughter.

“Ahahaha! You must have seen some horrible houses! But in this town, this is just about average!”

“Hey, could you not laugh so loudly…!”

Daniela will wake up! I pointed at her and he quickly closed his mouth. But it was too late, and Daniela was awake.

“Mmm…shut up…”

She was sleep deprived and sounded very irritated as her eyes opened.

“Uh…? Who the…”

“Ah, I am Yacon, captain of the port division of guards for the trade town of Usk!

The man said with a proper salute.

“Yacon…well…it is good to meet you…I do like bacon…”

“Ha! Thank you! I too am fond of bacon!”

What the hell were they talking about…

“Another time…bacon…ggg…”

“Ha!”

And so Daniela returned to her world of dreams. She looked truly happy when she slept. Perhaps she was dreaming about being wrapped up in bacon.

“…Phew. I don’t know about you, but I felt overwhelming power that I couldn’t resist…”

“Sorry about that…”

Bacon was wiping sweat from his forehead now.

“No, it is my fault for speaking so loud… I was not thinking straight. So, what is your name?”

“I am Asagi. And this is Daniela.”

“It’s nice to meet you. And there’s no need to act so formal with me.”

“I see…thanks, Bacon.”

“It’s Yacon.”

A vein popped on Ba-…Yacon’s forehead as he corrected me. That helped me remember his name.

□ □ □ □

“Now, I’ll have to check your status cards before you can go in.”

“Yes, thanks.”

I took out the two status cards and handed them to Bacon. Bacon took them and quickly scanned the information before returning them.

“…Ah. Both of you have aliases…”

“I didn’t tell you about that?’

“You didn’t. You must pardon my insolence a moment ago.”

Bacon said apologetically.

“Haha. Please stop that, Bacon.”

“I told you, it’s Yacon!”

Bacon slammed his fist onto the desk.

“But more importantly, we’re looking for an inn. Can you introduce us to one? I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Bacon’s temples were twitching as he pulled out a sheet of paper. So he was going to write it down.

“…Damn it. So? I know that something happened in Nicora. Give me the details.”

“Alright. Well, first we…”

We stayed the night in the shed and found the magic ore. And then I gave him a detailed account of the intense action that followed. When I was finished talking, it was past midday.

“…I see. Hmm.”

“It was horrible. Who would have ever thought she’d bring out a dragon?”

“I would not have expected you to be able to kill it…”

Bacon said with a tired expression. But I didn’t see how I had any choice in the matter. It would have destroyed the town had I run away. And then it would have surely turned towards Usk. I didn’t exactly expect people to shower me with praise, but I didn’t know if I deserved exasperation either.

“Well, sometimes people are unable to process things in time when they’re in danger.”

“I suppose so…”

So we are clearly not in the wrong! We should just leave it at that and put an end to this whole thing.

“…And do you have Eve’s body? Even her head would do.”

“No… I didn’t see it. Daniela killed her, so you’d have to ask her…”

I slowly turned to look at Daniela. She was using four chairs as a bed.

“I would like to wake her up, but I don’t want to…”

“Sorry…she’s always like that…”

And so it was decided that we would come back the next day to make a report. But I really hadn’t seen Eve’s body myself… It was possible that it was lying around somewhere in Nicora. Unless the bandits went off with it.

I didn’t know what that would mean for us. But I hoped it would not be significant.

□ □ □ □

Bacon’s interrogation was finished and he sent us off with a map and a letter of recommendation. This inn was called The Babbling Brook. A simple name, but my expectations were high as it was endorsed by Bacon himself.

I had to pull Daniela up after she nearly slid off of my back while I went down the streets as the map indicated. It was almost as lively as Replant. Very nice. Voices rang from the various shops and the sounds of steel being beaten echoed around us. There were many people passing by as well, from old merchant men to female Adventurers. There were old gentlemen and children from the slums. People of every type you could imagine.

“This is crazy…”

It wasn’t often that you could see so many people… This place seemed like it would be very loud regardless of it being night or day.

We reached the inn after crossing the main street and walking down several back streets. It was much quieter here and I saw that there were several inns in the area. Yes, it made sense to have them here where it was quiet. I was impressed at the amount of thought put into it.

“The Babbling Brook…eh? …Hmm?”

I stood in front of the inn. And then I realized that I could actually hear the babbling of a brook. But this was on the opposite side of that great river… I looked around and found a small pathway. I followed it out of curiosity and reached the back of the inn. There was a small river.

“So here is the source of the babbling.”

It was a small, yet clear and beautiful river. I squatted down to touch it and it was refreshingly cool.

“Hehe. You can drink it as well.”

“Huh?”

Someone was suddenly behind me. I turned around to see a beautiful woman standing there.

“I received a message from Yacon saying that a dark-haired man would come with a woman on his back. You are Mister Asagi, are you not?”

“Yacon…? Oh, yes. Yes, I am Asagi. Here.”

I took out the letter of recommendation and handed it to the woman. She opened it with a smile and chuckled after reading it.

“Ah, please forgive me. Mister Yacon’s letter turned into a love letter part way through. It is very amusing.”

“Yacon…Yacon…ah, you mean Bacon!”

“Bacon?”

“Uh, nevermind.”

Damn it, this was all Daniela’s fault. Shit… That being said, damn that Bacon guy. He said he was going to introduce us, but he just took the opportunity to romance some woman… Unforgivable!

“So, what’s your reply? I can quickly go back and tell him that it was a ‘no’ from you.”

“Hehe. It is alright. I believe it is best to ignore such things.”

Well, she was shockingly sadistic. What a terrifying woman. Poor Bacon.

“Ah, allow me to introduce myself. I am the owner of the Babbling Brook. My name is Karamus. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine. I am Asagi Kamiyashiro. And this is Daniela Villesilf. We will be glad to receive your hospitality.”

Karamus smiled after this.

“Well then, allow me to welcome you to the Babbling Brooke. I hope you enjoy your stay.”