Chapter 207 - Chapter 183 Negotiations Begin with Proper Etiquette
Friday
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"Morning."
"'Ornin'."
At the station. The usual time, the usual place, I met Mion. I thought I caught a glimpse of Tsubaki-san out of the corner of my eye. She’s probably watching over Mion, as always.
Well, no use worrying about it, so I ignored it. We passed through the ticket gate and went to the platform. We boarded the train that arrived almost immediately.
Yesterday, I didn’t have time to research [Spatial Magic] after that, so I logged out feeling a bit unsettled. I really wanted club time to start already, but before that, there was something important I needed to ask…
"Did you tell Tsubaki-san about us going clothes shopping on Sunday?"
"Mm."
Mion nodded, looking happy. Well, I guess I need to decide on the time and store and let them know.
"How about we meet at the station after lunch?"
"…Lunch."
"Oh, I’ll cook again?"
Mion nodded, looking happy again. We had promised, so it was fine, but she wanted fish, right? I’d prefer to cook with fresh fish, so it’s probably better to discuss it properly before Tsubaki-san just buys whatever…
*
Classes ended, and it was club time. As usual, I received the key from Yata-sensei and headed to the club room.
"Haaah, I’ve been so bothered all day…"
About the Spatial Magic?
"That, and also that I want fish for lunch on Sunday."
Yes. Is that a problem?
"Oh, no, it’s perfectly fine, but I’d rather not have seafood just randomly prepared…"
I mean, I want to decide what to make first, and then have fish that suits it. I don’t want them to prepare a mountain of it like last time. It’d be a waste, too.
I see. I’ll let Tsubaki-san know.
"About that, Tsubaki-san doesn’t cook, so I’m worried if she’ll be able to buy it properly."
That’s true…
Judging by Mion’s rather reluctant reaction, Tsubaki-san must be quite… something.
So, it’s safer and more reliable if I buy the fish before going to Mion’s house. If there’s a fish she absolutely wants to eat, but it’s hard to find in a supermarket, we’ll discuss it.
"Hello."
"Yo."
Hello.
Bell-buchou sat in her gaming chair, pulling an energy drink from the fridge. Come to think of it, yesterday’s live stream was in the ancient ruins southwest of the Kingdom, wasn’t it?
"How were the ancient ruins yesterday?"
"They were a bit troublesome. You don’t know ice magic, do you, Shou-kun?"
"No, I don’t."
For Applied Magic, would it be
Do you need ice magic?
"We were fighting slimes. Freezing and shattering them seemed like the fastest way."
"Ah, I see…"
According to Bell-buchou, these slimes were the viscous, not the bouncy, kind. They attack by spitting corrosive liquid, which can be blocked by magic barriers, so it’s not a threat, but defeating them is a hassle.
Are you still going to the tower in the ancient ruins?
"Yes, I plan to go on Sunday. Until then, just a little work in Amiera Territory."
"What about those NPC Dwarves?"
"For now, they seem to be redeveloping the abandoned areas. They say they’ll delve into the ancient ruins once that’s done."
They really don’t care about the Winged Folk, do they?
They completely ignore them, or rather, they seem confident they can handle anything the Winged Folk might say.
I wonder if this is connected to Argenta-san?
I’m curious how things will unfold, but all I can do is watch.
Leona-san’s fans were dwarves too, weren’t they? Are they working together?
"Yes. They’re not delving themselves, but they plan to help the dwarves and level up their skills."
I see. If they can do Material Processing and Blacksmithing, helping out and befriending them might bring some benefits.
"How’s the World Quest?"
"I’d say the progress isn’t good. Right now, everyone’s trying to figure out how to negotiate with the Dragonkin."
Saying that, she opened the official World Quest page. Oh, I can see the completion rate here now, too. …It’s 2%, so it doesn’t seem to have progressed much.
"And then there are the people researching the history of the Necropolis, and those trying to build a road to it."
"Eh?"
Building a road would indeed save travel time, but is it really okay to just arbitrarily build a road connecting to Imperial Territory?
"They’re going to build defensive walls first to prevent monsters from entering."
"Wouldn’t that be quite a lot of work…"
"Even so, if the current players turn out in force, it’s possible."
They plan to build a stone gate where the forest narrows, about an hour from the entrance. The Empire also didn’t object, as they get to secure previously untouched land. However, they wanted to avoid getting embroiled in conflict with the Dragonkin, so they said, "What happens beyond that is none of our concern."
All the nations want to avoid trouble with the Dragonkin, don’t they?
"Yes, that’s also something I’m concerned about. Once we gather a little more information, I plan to have Seth-chan ask the Viscount."
"I see…"
According to Argenta-san, the ancient ruins are managed by the Dragonkin, so does that mean the nations with ancient ruins have obtained permission from the Dragonkin, or something similar?
If so, it would be a problem if they angered the Dragonkin and had the ancient ruins currently entrusted to them taken away.
"What’s wrong?"
"Oh, no, I just think that even if Seth is trusted, I wonder if she’d be told. And if she is, whether it’s okay to spread that information."
"That’s true. If she’s told and sworn to secrecy, there’s nothing we can do…"
I’ve also been told to keep the ancient magic facility’s rampage a secret. Well, I probably wouldn’t talk about it even if I hadn’t been told not to…
"Hello there!"
"Hello."
"Yo."
Yata-sensei appeared and sat in his chair, then looked over the World Quest page Bell-buchou had open.
"The progress on this World Quest seems rather slow, doesn’t it?"
"The ‘negotiation’ objective is troublesome. Yata-sensei, do you have any good ideas?"
"Hmm. Why not just go and meet them directly?"
I’ve already met them directly, you know.
I glanced at Mion… and she smiled back.
"Some players are doing that…"
How?
"The northern mountain range is called the ‘White Dragon Mountain Range,’ and apparently, the Dragonkin—dragons—live beyond it. So, they’re trying to cross that mountain range."
"Won’t they get angry if they do that?"
It feels kind of like trespassing, somehow. I wonder if I should tell Argenta-san…