Chapter 201 - Dwarven Smith and a New Quest
Marianne was waiting outside the inn.
"Mash!"
Dressed as a town girl, she ran up, waving towards us. She looked more like a puppy than Fam.
"Where were you off to?"
"To the east lake with Mo."
She tilted her chin with a finger and hummed thoughtfully.
"So, a reservoir, huh?...Could it be they've appeared?"
She didn't explain what she meant, but cast me a knowing glance. Ghosts were said to haunt it. If I said I'd seen ghosts, would I be treated as a weirdo in this world too? I hesitated over how to reply.
"Where did Mo go?"
"Back to the Starunion estate."
We returned to the city of Migul after noon. After returning the horses, she was stopped by the steward and sent to Marina. Only Marmie had business, and I could guess its contents. So I returned to the inn without saying anything.
"Ho-ho."
Marianne wagged her tail softly in response.
"...So, why were you waiting outside? Where are Fam and the others?"
"No one's here. The inn reservation was canceled."
"What?!"
Had they moved to a new place? I'd have to ask Claire since I didn't know the location. As I started walking toward the Mateo Trading Company, she grabbed my arm.
"Just the two of us. How about a date while we're at it?"
The city of Migul is governed by the four noble families and divided into north, south, east, and west districts. Each has functions like a city, including markets, churches, and lodging towns. It's a large city, so being decentralized is functional. The adventurers' guild is only in the area governed by the human family, the Airally, and we weren't currently taking quests, so it wasn't a problem. The magic school that Cecily and the others attend is in the elven district. There's a dungeon besides the Crystal Palace, apparently in the western end of the city, which is the area governed by the dwarven family, the Skynorth. Marina mentioned that Zeno Leafclout, Marmie's ex-fiancé, was exploring a dungeon, but I didn't know which dungeon it was. Each district has a slight character. This district, under the dog-eared race's control, uses wooden beams in its construction and has a rustic air. The eastern elven district has spires that evoke a Gothic style, and there were many more plantings of trees as street trees. Marianne and I bought grilled meat skewers at a street stall. The owner dipped the skewers into a pot of bubbling cheese fondue before handing them over. Knowing that it was hot enough to burn the roof of my mouth, I couldn't wait for it to cool. The rich aroma of cheese was irresistible. I took a big bite. The cheese had an intense savory flavor and melted smoothly on my tongue, but the meat on the skewer was a bit tough.
"What kind of meat is this?"
"Well, it's grilled meat, isn't it? It's delicious and chewy."
Having only eaten delicious things, Marianne's standards for meat probably differed only in whether it was raw or cooked. I thought Fam's food preferences were unique to the dog-eared race, but apparently not.
"Mu. You're comparing me to Fam?"
"D-did I say anything?"
"...There's no reason you would. It's a guess."
Marianne narrowed her eyes at me.
"I-I mean, she always had strong preferences when it came to food..."
I answered awkwardly. I imagined her eating this skewer next to me. What kind of expression would she make, what kind of comment would she give?
"It's more that Mash is particular about food, isn't it? When you're eating, you always pay attention to the ingredients, don't you? She's just imitating you."
"True, I'm interested in what people eat in this world,"
It was true that I compared everything to the food of my original world. But this world has had people being summoned every hundred years, so even I can get surprisingly delicious food, not to say it's the same. This cheese fondue is the same. In my imagination, it should be a food from the mountainous region south of the city of Flucht, which is in the south of the Empire. That has spread all the way to the eastern edge of the Empire. I ate the last piece of meat on the skewer. It was still tough. I wondered what kind of meat it was.
"By the way, you still haven't met Lady Katarzyna, have you?"
I told her about being told to go see her and she recommended going as soon as possible. After introducing myself to Katarzyna Skynorth, the head of the Skynorth family of dwarves, we followed her and were brought to their mansion. The area governed by the dwarves had more sturdily built stone structures. Far away, I could hear the sound of forging. There must be many craftsmen like Aiden. We stood before a fortress-like stone building. It felt like we were starting a war. The guard who was standing watch at the entrance ran inside. He must have gone to inform someone. If I didn't have an appointment, I might not be able to meet Katarzyna, but then I could just go home. We had canceled the inn and Fam and Mizuki moved here without telling me, so now we were living together in the Dog-eared race district. The dog-eared race revere fire.
"This way."
She led us into a room for ten people. The room had a large wooden table with settings already prepared, with bread and grapes placed on it. Marmie was sitting at the back, already seated. Mariana told us to sit at the table to wait, because we are in Migul, the city was devided to four race district, and Fam and Mizuki choose to stay in the dog-eared race district, but Katarzyna Skynorth want me to buy this place to keep me near her family. Because I can't own the land, this contract is between Katarzyna and the Mateo Company. Also the family Wanland also try to get me, they want to get me to their faction, because we are so close.