kscans

Chapter 81 - Two Friends, or a Friend Comes From Afar (Part 1)

"Thank you for introducing me to such a fine talent, Audel."

That night, Adon and Old Man Audel were in Adon’s private room, sharing drinks and warming their old friendship.

"It seems he’s a bit more than just a fine talent."

"Indeed... I felt that keenly... To think, bathing every other day..."

"He seems to think it’s perfectly normal. I wonder what kind of upbringing he had..."

"According to you, he was traveling with his grandfather?"

"That’s what I heard. I doubt he could bathe so often while traveling, so he must have picked up the habit after settling in that ‘village’..."

"Still unnatural... you think so too?"

"He’s hiding something, that’s for sure. But... what is he hiding? ...It’s almost as if he has no serious intention of hiding it..."

It wasn't that the two worldly-wise old men could see through Yuri’s clumsy lies... rather, they seemed perplexed by Yuri's oddly inconsistent words and actions.

"...True. If he intended to hide it, he wouldn’t have brought up bathing in the first place."

"Before that, he wouldn’t have shown us how he can take down a Greed Wolf so easily."

In truth, Yuri, who stubbornly believed his own abilities were at the very bottom tier, simply didn’t think Greed Wolves were that troublesome of a monster. After all, even someone at the "bottom tier" like himself could handle them.

"His earth and water magic that handled the Greed Wolves were one thing... but was that Perception? He seemed to have detected the Greed Wolves and wild dogs from quite a distance."

"I knew about his earth magic... but you have a point. During the bandit incident as well, he seemed to be aware of the movements outside."

"...Actually, it seems the guards at my mansion tried to use Appraisal on Yuri-kun out of caution."

Hearing something that was not exactly praiseworthy in terms of etiquette, Old Man Audel raised an eyebrow.

"Don’t make that face. I’ll have you know, I didn’t order it. Anyway, according to the guards, he noticed every time they tried to use Appraisal, and they couldn’t get a reading."

"Ho ho..."

"When I told them about his comment on dismantling the bandits on our way here, they said they’d never try it again."

"As they shouldn’t."

Yuri, for his part, had seen it as a good opportunity to test the forgery effect of his Status Board and had been rather looking forward to it.

"...Including that, it’s strange how he doesn’t try to hide his abilities..."

"...Well, there’s no need for unnecessary prying. I’ve had a chance to see his character on the way here."

"Hmm... so, what do you think?"

"He’s fundamentally a good person. But there’s a sense that he finds socializing troublesome, and a hint of caution about him."

"You saw that too, did you?"

"I did... At his age, I don’t know what could have happened to make him grow up like that..."

"Speaking of things we don’t know, there’s Yuri-kun’s knowledge. He knows a mountain of things that even I don’t. From whom... is what I’d like to say, but..."

"His grandfather... that was the story, wasn’t it?"

"Yes. It’s impossible for a child his age to live alone in Salt-Sour Mountain, so it’s certain he was with his grandfather. In that case, the story that he was taught by his grandfather probably isn’t a lie."

In fact, that was the biggest lie of all.

"If that’s the case... then his grandfather must have been a gentleman with an incredible breadth of knowledge?"

"A sage exiled from his country... is something like that conceivable?"

Adon gasped at the unexpected suggestion, but...

"...It’s not an impossible story. Above all, the characters he was writing were like nothing I’ve ever seen..."

It was Japanese.

"Indeed. They were incredibly complex characters. It seemed there was an immense number of them, too."

They were kanji and hiragana.

"...Well, enough of that. To sour a business partner’s mood with unnecessary prying would be a failure as a merchant. At the very least, he seems to be a sincere business partner."

"Hmm... so, what do you plan to do with the goods Yuri-kun brought?"

"That’s the problem. He has a collection of items that could cause a huge uproar if handled incorrectly."

Adon took a swig from his cup, poured a new one into the empty vessel, and continued, frowning slightly.

"The farm produce is still manageable. It’s high quality, certainly, but not that rare."

"It may not be rare, but the quality is good. Where do you plan to sell it?"

"About that... I’m thinking of using it in-house instead of selling it elsewhere. I want to check the quality myself before offering it to customers."

"I can vouch for its good quality."

"I don’t doubt that it’s good. The problem is whether it might be too good. Think about it. These are crops from that Salt-Sour Mountain, from that Yuri-kun. They’re the same things that he, that Yuri-kun, eats on a regular basis, aren’t they?"

"Mmm..."

Put that way, Old Man Audel could guess his old friend’s concern.

"In short... you’re worried that eating them might make one too energetic, is that it?"

"I think the possibility is low... but it’s better to be sure, don’t you think?"

If the commotion grew too large, the local lord might get involved, and that would be a problem for your side as well... When Adon put it that way, Old Man Audel had no choice but to agree.

"...You’re right... That would be for the best."