kscans

Chapter 28 - Travel Plans and a Merchant's Motives

When we went down to the dining hall, Cecily and Aira were eating breakfast together at one table, while Beers was at another. I greeted the other guests, but their subtly different reactions made me feel a bit awkward. It was probably the aftershock from the Goddess Summon rather than the duel itself. Myra went over to Aira’s table, and I sat down across from Beers. Famu sat next to me, and Mizuki sat next to Beers.

"Why aren’t you eating together?"

"Huh? Because I’m a slave, obviously,"

Beers answered.

"No, Cecily and Aira are slaves, too."

I looked over at their table. Myra was talking animatedly to Cecily and Aira while they ate. She wasn’t a guest here, so she didn’t get breakfast, but she’d apparently already eaten at the church. It still didn’t feel real that she was my girlfriend. I’ll have to grope her boobs later to confirm.

"Hey, you’re heading to Miglutt, right? Take me with you, will ya?"

Did he want to join the party? But with me, Famu, Mizuki, Myra, Cecily, and Aira, we were already a full six. Cecily and Aira were only with us until Miglutt, 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 quest to guard a caravan, I’ll check if there’s a separate mercenary job for you, but is that okay?"

"Yeah, I’d owe you one."

Our food was delivered. Just as I was about to eat, Beers stood up.

"Hey, you’ve still got food left. You sure?"

"Well, is it okay for me to eat with you?"

I nodded, and Beers sat back down and started eating the rest of his meal. I glanced at Famu, but she was just eating her bread normally, looking a little happy. I guess Wind Blade had a rule about not eating with slaves. I wondered what Cecily and Aira, who were now slaves themselves, thought about it.

"Shouldn’t we think of a party name soon?"

Mizuki said suddenly. Now that she mentioned it, we hadn’t decided on one.

"Right. How about ‘Wind Blade 2’?"

"Absolutely not! Be serious."

"You sound like the class president."

"Hmph, I was one, so what. Mash, you’re not allowed to suggest any more. Famu, you think of one."

"In that case, how about ‘The Group of the Newly Chosen Ones’?"

"Okay, Mash, you think of another one."

Mizuki cut Famu off. Was Famu from Japan, just like us? Or maybe a foreigner who just really likes Japan. I couldn’t think of any other explanation. Famu looked displeased. I poked her in the side, and she let out a little squeal of "Eek!"

before glaring at me.

"…Mash?"

Mizuki was glaring at me, too.

"Ugh, it’s not as easy as you make it sound. Let’s just go with ‘The V@ginas’."

"I knew you’d say that."

"If you’re going to complain so much, you think of one, Mizuki."

"Huh? Me? Okay, then… how about ‘Star’ or ‘Cosmos’?"

"Hey, did you think nobody would get the reference?"

"Hey, what’s wrong with it?"

Mizuki pouted. If all the members were girls, it would be fine, but unfortunately, I’m a guy.

"At that rate, Famu’s suggestion would be fine, too."

"In that case, how about the ‘We Love Laciel-sama Squad’?"

Myra chimed in.

"""Absolutely not."""

The three of us—me, Famu, and Mizuki—were in perfect sync. A rare moment of agreement.

"Hmph, all of you are so mean."

I don’t know what part of that she thought would fly, but Myra sulked. I was starting to think that if we continued this conversation, we’d never decide on a name, and we’d just end up on bad terms with each other.

"Perhaps it is best if Master decides after all?"

Famu tried to pass all the responsibility to me.

"Sorry, I can’t do it. Mizuki, please, one more try."

"Okay. This is just my personal feeling, so I’m sorry, but… from the poem, ‘When the east wind blows, send me your fragrance, O plum blossoms. Though your master is gone, do not forget the spring,’ I want to use ‘East Wind’."

I wondered why she was quoting Sugawara no Michizane, but perhaps it reflected her current state of mind. But the scent of Kyoto’s plum blossoms wouldn’t reach this world. We were much farther away than Dazaifu. It seemed Mizuki still wanted to return to our original world.

"Got it. In that case, how about Levante?"

I suggested, giving it a European feel since it sounded cool. Everyone nodded, so it was decided.

As promised, I had Beers freed at the slave trader. I gave him two gold coins before we parted ways. He shouldn’t have any trouble getting by for a while. Cecily and Aira went to Reed’s place to pick up their belongings, while me, Famu, Mizuki, and Myra headed to the Mateo Trading Company. At the trading house, we were shown to the same room as before, and Mateo appeared.

"Hey, I was at the arena watching, too,"

Mateo said as a greeting, referring to yesterday’s duel. We sat on sofas around a low table, with Mateo across from me and Famu, and Mizuki and Myra on either side. A fragrant tea was served, which Mizuki sipped appreciatively.

"You bet on us, of course."

"Yeah, of course… so, what can I do for you today?"

His eyes were darting around. He bet on Reed, didn’t he. Looks like he lost a pretty penny.

"We want to go to Miglutt. If there’s a caravan heading that way, I’d like an introduction. We want to be hired as guards."

"When?"

Mateo asked for confirmation.

"As soon as possible. If we can’t find one, we’ll just take a series of shared carriages."

Mateo tilted his head and stroked his beard.

"What are you going to do there?"

"Be adventurers. Dungeon diving would be good, too."

"I see. Are you coming back to this city?"

"No, probably not,"

I replied. What kind of interview was this?

"Wait here a minute."

Mateo left the room. With nothing else to do, I leaned over and whispered to Famu, who was sitting primly beside me.

"Are you wearing your own underwear today?"

"Um…"

Famu hesitated. I could tell Mizuki and Myra were pretending to drink their tea while eavesdropping. Further conversation seemed impossible.

"It’s the polka-dot one,"

Famu whispered back in my ear. Mizuki’s panties from yesterday. I’ll have to get a peek later.

Mateo returned. He brought a young woman of about eighteen with him. She was petite with short hair, and her chest and hips were modest. But on her back were a pair of small wings.

"This is Claire. She’s the daughter of one of my mistresses. She’s a small winged person."

According to Myra, that meant a human and a bird had once interbred. I couldn’t imagine what kind of lovemaking went on with an oviparous animal. What a challenger. I had to learn from that. I wondered what kind of bird it was. I’ll have to ask Myra later. Claire bowed in response to Mateo’s introduction. Mateo and Claire sat down on the sofa.

"Can you fly?"

"No, I can’t fly. But I can flap them."

Claire stood up, turned her back to us, and fluttered her wings. The gesture was strangely cute.

"I’m thinking of putting her in charge of the Miglutt branch."

"Is that so?"

I couldn’t see where this was going.

"If you can wait five days, our caravan can depart. Claire will be accompanying you. 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 form a caravan just for me? Something felt off.

"Mizuki-san, Myra-san, Famu-san, was the tea to your liking?"

Claire asked.

"Y-yes,"

Mizuki answered for them.

"In that case, allow me to give you a small amount. This way, please."

There was a sense of finality to her words. It seemed Mateo wanted to talk to me alone. Mizuki, Myra, and I exchanged silent glances, and in the end, the two of them decided to go with Claire. Mateo looked at Famu, who remained, with a slightly displeased expression.

"Mateo, it’s fine. Just pretend Famu isn’t here. I haven’t been able to follow what you’re saying. I just want a guard job if there is one. But you make it sound like you’re forming a caravan to fit my schedule."

"Heh heh, I’d like a little bit of the goddess’s blessing for myself, you see. I was skeptical, but Myra is with you. You may not know this, but the only person who can walk around this city with her is a priest. It’s not that her rank within the church is high, but she’s not of a status where she would just pop into a trading house like this."

So that was it. I wondered if the inn this morning had been okay.

"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 grinned.

"We’re not planning to use you for blatant advertising. We won’t spread any rumors ourselves. It’s enough if you continue to patronize us in the future."

Even without any advertising, the rumors would spread on their own, and the fact that we were connected to the Mateo Trading Company would be enough to get the message across to customers and other companies.

"Also, you can do whatever you want with Claire. I’ve already gotten her consent. If she has a child, we’ll take care of it over here, so you don’t have to worry about that either."

I swallowed hard. 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, the successor to a human is a 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 the direct lineage. It would be an effective method for someone he wanted to have a connection with. In this case, me. It was an unpleasant thought, but it was possible he had several ‘spares’ like Claire ready. I felt like I had seen a dark side of this world. I felt sorry for her, but since it seemed I could have some fun, I kept my mouth shut.

"We’ll decide the size of the caravan from here. We’ll arrange for guards as well, but you all are confirmed. Come to the trading company on the morning of the fifth day from now. We’ll cover your food and lodging along the way. How about a daily wage of fifteen silver coins per participant? If there’s combat, we can discuss the costs on a case-by-case basis."

Mateo and I shook hands.

I relayed what I’d discussed with Mateo to Mizuki and Myra, who were clutching bags of tea.

"…What are you going to do about Claire-san?"

Mizuki asked.

"I plan to accept her, of course."

"…"

Mizuki fell silent.

"…Mash, are Famu and I not enough?"

Honestly, Famu and Mizuki were more than enough. But I also wanted to believe in my own potential.

"N-no, no kids, okay?"

"I know. Famu is first."

"Wha—? Wh-what are you talking about?"

"You’re next, Mizuki."

"…I see. Okay."

What did she see, and what did she understand?

"Mizuki, your big sister is also Master’s lover."

"What?"

Mizuki looked at Myra in shock.

"Are you as well, Mizuki?"

Myra was surprised too.

""Since when?""

Mizuki and Myra said in unison.

"Myra, since last night. Mizuki, since this morning."

"Um, this is really hard to ask, but Mizuki-san, did you… um…"

The blush that spread across Mizuki’s face was more than enough to answer Myra’s question.

"I will do my best, too."

It seems Myra would be doing her best. I also wanted to touch Myra’s boobs soon.

"Master, what are we doing 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 all of you better. I saw the duel yesterday, of course, but…"

Myra said. In yesterday’s duel, all I did was say "Goddess Summon."

I could understand why she’d be anxious about our actual abilities.

"I don’t mind, but the story about us running away from the third floor is true. I won’t let you leave even if you’re disappointed."