Chapter 28 - Travel Plans and a Merchant's Schemes
When I went down to the dining hall, Cecily and Aira were eating breakfast together, while Beers sat at a separate table. I greeted the other guests, but the subtle difference in their reactions made me feel out of place. It was likely the aftershock from the goddess summoning rather than the duel itself.
Maira went over to Aira's table, and I sat down across from Beers. Fam sat next to me, and Mizuki took the seat beside Beers.
"Why aren't you all eating together?"
"? Because I'm a slave, right?" Beers answered.
"No, Cecily and Aira are slaves, too."
I glanced at their table. Maira was chattering away at Cecily and Aira while they ate. Since she wasn't a guest here, she didn't get a meal, but apparently she'd already eaten at the church. It still didn't feel like she was my lover. I'll have to grope her boobs next time to confirm.
"Hey, you're going to Migul, right? Can you take me with you?"
He probably wants to join the party. But with me, Fam, Mizuki, Maira, Cecily, and Aira, we were already at six people. Cecily and Aira were only temporary until we reached Migul, but even so, this was a harem situation I never could have imagined when I first came to this world.
"My party's full. If we can get a caravan escort quest, I'll see if there's a separate mercenary job for you, though. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, I'd owe you one."
Our food was delivered. As I was about to eat, Beers stood up.
"Hey, you've still got food left. You sure?"
"No, I mean… is it really okay for me to eat with you?"
I nodded, and Beers sat back down to finish his meal. I looked at Fam, who was eating her bread with a simple, slightly blissful expression on her face.
I wondered if Wind Blade had a rule against eating with slaves. What were Cecily and Aira, who had just become slaves, thinking right now?
"Shouldn't we think of a party name soon?"
Mizuki asked unexpectedly. Right, we hadn't decided on one.
"Guess so. Alright, 'Wind Blade 2' it is."
"Of course not! Be serious, will you?"
"You sound like a class president."
"Hmph, well, I am. Mash, that's enough from you. Fam, you think of something."
"Well then, as we are a company of the newly chosen…"
"Okay, Mash, your turn again."
Mizuki cut Fam off. I'm starting to wonder if Fam came from Japan just like us. Or maybe she's a foreigner who's just a huge Japanophile. I couldn't think of any other explanation. Fam looked displeased. I gave her a poke in the side, and she let out a little yelp before glaring at me.
"…Mash?"
Now Mizuki was glaring at me, too.
"Ugh, it's not as easy as it sounds. Can't we just call it 'The Pussywillows' and be done with it?"
"I knew you'd say something like that."
"If you're going to complain so much, why don't you think of one, Mizuki?"
"Huh, me? Okay… how about 'Star' or 'Cosmos'?"
"Hey, did you think nobody would get the reference?"
"Oh, come on, what's wrong with it?" Mizuki pouted. It might have worked if all the members were girls, but unfortunately, I'm a man.
"At that rate, we might as well go with Fam's idea."
"In that case, how about the 'Racshell-sama Love-Love Squad'?"
Maira chimed in.
"""Absolutely not."""
Me, Fam, and Mizuki were in perfect sync. A rare moment of agreement.
"Hmph, you're all so mean."
I don't know what part of that she thought would pass, but now Maira was sulking. I was beginning to think that if we continued this conversation, we'd never decide on a name, and we'd just end up making things awkward for everyone.
"Perhaps it should be Master's decision after all?"
Fam tried to push all the responsibility onto me.
"Sorry, I can't do it. Mizuki, one more try, please."
"Alright. This is a bit personal, but I'd like to take it from the poem, 'When the east wind (kochi) blows, send your fragrance, oh plum blossoms. Even without your master, do not forget the spring.' I want to use 'kochi.'"
My first thought was, why Sugawara no Michizane? but I suppose it reflected Mizuki's current state of mind. The scent of Kyoto's plum blossoms wasn't likely to reach this world, though. We were much farther away than Dazaifu. It seemed Mizuki still hadn't given up on returning to our world.
"Got it. In that case, how about 'Levante'?" I suggested, going for a European feel since the word sounded nice. Everyone nodded, so it was decided.
As promised, we went to the slave trader and had Beers's status changed to that of a free man. I gave him two gold coins as we parted ways. That should be enough for him to live on for a while.
Cecily and Aira went to Reed's place to collect their personal belongings, while I, Fam, Mizuki, and Maira headed to the Mateo Trading Company.
At the merchant house, we were led to the same room as before, and Mateo soon appeared.
"Hey, I saw you at the arena."
Mateo brought up yesterday's events by way of greeting. We sat on sofas around a low table—Mateo across from me and Fam, with Mizuki and Maira on either side. A fragrant tea was served, and Mizuki was sipping it appreciatively.
"I trust you bet on us."
"Yeah, of course… So, what can I do for you today?"
His eyes darted away. He bet on Reed, didn't he? Sounds like he lost a fair bit of coin.
"We want to go to Migul. If you have a caravan heading that way, I'd like a referral. We want to be hired as escorts."
"When?" Mateo asked for confirmation.
"As soon as possible. If we can't find anything, we'll just take a series of passenger carriages."
Mateo tilted his head and stroked his beard.
"And what will you do there?"
"Work as adventurers. Maybe do some dungeon delving."
"I see. And will you be returning to this city?"
"No, probably not," I answered. What kind of interview was this?
"Hold on a minute."
Mateo left the room. With nothing else to do, I whispered to Fam, who was sitting primly beside me.
"Are those your own underwear today?"
"Um…"
Fam hesitated to answer. I could tell Mizuki and Maira were pretending to sip their tea while listening in. It seemed any further conversation was impossible.
"They have polka dots," Fam whispered back. So, Mizuki's panties from yesterday. I'll have to get her to show me them in secret later.
Mateo returned, bringing a young woman of about eighteen with him. She was petite with short hair, and both her chest and hips were on the modest side. But on her back were a pair of small wings.
"This is Claire. She's my concubine's daughter. She's a Lesser Winged Person."
According to Maira, that meant humans and birds had once interbred. I couldn't imagine how they'd whisper sweet nothings to an oviparous animal. What a challenger. I must learn from their example. And what kind of bird was it, anyway? I'll have to ask Maira later.
Claire gave a small bow as Mateo introduced her. They both sat down on the sofa.
"Can you fly?"
"No, I can't fly. I can flap, though."
Claire stood up, turned her back to us, and fluttered her wings. The gesture was oddly cute.
"I'm thinking of putting her in charge of the Migul branch."
"Is that so?" I still wasn't seeing the whole picture.
"Our caravan can depart in five days. Claire will be accompanying it. There's a city on the way that's about to start a war, but with that power of yours, it shouldn't be a problem."
Was he planning to put a caravan together just for me? Something felt off.
"Mizuki-san, Maira-san, Fam-san, did you enjoy the tea?"
Claire asked.
"Uh, yes," Mizuki replied for the group.
"In that case, let me give you some. Please, come this way."
There was an air about her that left no room for refusal. It was clear Mateo wanted to speak with me alone. Mizuki, Maira, and I exchanged silent glances, and the two of them decided to go with Claire.
Mateo glanced at Fam, who had remained, with a slightly annoyed expression.
"It's fine, Mateo. Just pretend Fam isn't here. I'm having trouble following this conversation. I'm just looking for an escort job if one's available. But it feels like you're arranging a caravan just to fit my schedule."
"Heh heh, I want to get a piece of that goddess's luck, you see. I was skeptical, but Maira is with you. You might not know it, but in this city, the only one who can walk around with her is a high priest. It's not that her rank within the church is high, but she's not the type to just pop into a merchant's house like this."
Is that how it was? Was it okay for her to be at the inn this morning?
"That's an unwelcome favor. I'm leaving this city because I don't want to stand out. You won't get anything from me."
Mateo smirked.
"We're not planning to use you for blatant advertising. We won't spread rumors or anything. All we ask is for your continued patronage."
So even without any advertising, the rumors would spread on their own. The fact that we were connected to the Mateo Trading Company would be enough for his customers and rival merchants.
"Also, you can do whatever you want with Claire. I've already gotten her consent. If you have a child, we'll take care of it, so you don't need to worry about that either."
A lump formed in my throat. But she was Mateo's daughter. Mateo had been gone for twenty minutes at most. Had he really gotten her consent in that time? The fact that she wasn't human seemed to be the key point. In human society, a human successor must be human. Even if Claire really did bear my child, it could be excluded from the direct line of succession. He wanted a strong connection but wanted to eliminate any influence on his direct lineage. This method would be effective for someone he wanted to build that kind of connection with. In this case, me. It was a dark thought, but he might have several girls like Claire stocked away for this purpose.
I felt like I had just seen a dark part of this world. I felt sorry for her, but it also sounded like I could get some action out of it, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
"We'll decide on the size of the caravan shortly. We'll arrange for other escorts as well, but your participation is confirmed. Come to the company office on the morning of the fifth day from now. We'll cover your food and lodging along the way. How does a daily wage of fifteen silver coins per person sound? If there's any combat, we can discuss the costs on a case-by-case basis."
Mateo and I shook hands.
I relayed my conversation with Mateo to Mizuki and Maira, who were now holding bags of tea leaves.
"…What are you planning to do about Claire-san?" Mizuki asked.
"I intend to graciously accept his offer."
"…"
Mizuki fell silent.
"…Mash, are Fam and I not enough for you?"
To be honest, Fam and Mizuki were more than enough. But I also wanted to believe in my own potential.
"N-No kids, okay?"
"I know. Fam is first."
"Wha—? Wh-What are you talking about?"
"And you're next, Mizuki."
"…Oh, I see. Okay."
What did she mean by 'I see,' and what exactly did she understand?
"Mizuki, her older sister is also Master's lover, you know."
"What?" Mizuki looked at Maira in surprise.
"You too, Mizuki?"
Now Maira was surprised.
""Since when?"" Mizuki and Maira asked in unison.
"Maira, since last night. Mizuki, since this morning."
"Um, this is extremely difficult to ask, but Mizuki-san, did you, er…"
Mizuki's face turned red enough to answer Maira's question without words.
"I'll do my best too!"
Apparently, Maira was going to do her best. I also wanted to touch Maira's boobs as soon as possible.
"Master, what are your plans for the rest of today?"
"About that, it's still morning, so why don't the four of us go to the dungeon? I'd like to get to know how you all fight. I saw the duel yesterday, of course, but…"
Maira suggested. Right, yesterday's duel was just me saying I summoned a goddess. I could understand why she'd be worried about our actual abilities.
"I don't mind, but the story about us running away from the third floor is true. Don't be disappointed, and you're not allowed to quit."