kscans

1

Bard pushed open the double doors and entered the inn.
A man who appeared to be the owner was chopping ingredients behind the counter.
He glanced at Bard, but continued his work.

It is inappropriate to greet a knight, or in other words, a nobleman.
Although he had a sword hanging from his waist and was wearing leather armor, they were old, dirty, and shabby.
It’s not surprising that he did not look like a man of status.
Bard, too, does not want to be noticed.

This city is not far from the Pakula territory, but he had never been here before.
He wanted to see what the city was like before he traveled far away.
It would have taken him less than five days had he come straight from Pakula, but it took him a month to get here because there were many other sights he wanted to see.
Even though it’s so close to the rift in the “Great Barrier”, this village is strangely peaceful.

Bard showed the man two Koll roosters and began to negotiate.
The man was, after all, the innkeeper.
Koll Roosters don’t smell, which is unusual for wild birds, and they are very tasty.
They are very rare and cowardly birds, so they are hard to catch.
The beautiful feathers are said to be highly prized in the city as material for clothing.
Two fat and plump Koll Roosters.
There are few wounds on them.
They had been drained of blood.
After a short negotiation, he gave them to the owner in exchange for two nights’ lodging, food, wine, plenty of hot water to wash his body, food and water for the horse, dried meat, and dried bread.

This was a communal dining hall and inn called Gants.
Gants is made by the owners of mines and farms.
Sometimes, influential people in the town pool their money to make it.
Workers can eat there a fixed number of times a day.
Travelers can stay and eat there for a reasonable fee.

「Sir.

　Before you go up to your room, clean yourself up.」

Said the owner. Bard went outside.
A girl of 13 or 14 years old followed him out, and began to dust off his clothes.
He had been traveling in the mountains and wilderness for the past month, so there was a lot of dust on his clothes.
His shoes were also dirty and muddy.
With the girl’s help, he cleaned off enough of the dirt to get into the room.

The guest room was on the second floor.
He carried his luggage up the stairs and entered the room assigned to him.
He put his luggage on the floor and removed his cloak and leather armor.
He sat down on the bed and took off his boots.
He began to massage his legs slowly.
The pain and exhaustion slowly seeped in as the blood coursed through them.

He travelled with horse, but he rarely ride them.
He towed the horse with the load on its back.
The horse was even older than Bard.
It’s a horse that had been retired from active duty many years ago.
If he had left it behind, the horse would have been slaughtered for the meat.
So, he chose this horse to be his companion on the journey.

2

On the eastern frontier of the continent, the Gwendell and Noura families have long fought to become the overlord.
Recently, the Gwendell family triumphed over the Noura family, and they now call themselves the Great Lords of Giguenza.
The Tercia family, whom Bard served, could not help but acknowledge this.

The Gwendell family held a lords council and forcibly decided that for the next ten years, the revenue from the Zariza silver mine would be used to restore the war-torn region.
It was an absurd demand.
The Zariza silver mine and the Lipozia copper mine had long been the property of the Tercia family.
This is because the Pacula territory, which is governed by the Tercia family, is located at the end of the “Great Barrier” and has served as a blockade against the invasion of magical beasts.
It doesn’t make sense to deprive the Tercia family of its financial resources while leaving the job to them.
Moreover, it was laughable to use the excuse of rebuilding the region after the war, considering that it was the Gwendell family who devastated the area.

However, they had no choice but to accept the Gwendell’s insistence in silence.

Bard served four generations of Tercia family head and deeply respected their high aspirations.
Each successive head of the family rewarded Bard generously for his bravery and loyalty too.
He was offered a share of the territory many times, but he refused.
He had no family.
He never married.

Upon hearing the decision of the council of lords, Bard wrote a letter expressing his wish to retire, and he delivered it to family head with a note stating that he would return his residence and property.
Without waiting for a reply, he gave each of his servants a consolation prize, took care of his affairs, and set out on his journey.
With the fortune Bard left behind, the Tercia family should have a moment of relief.

There is no destination on this journey.
It is a journey to the end of his time.

3

The girl called when the hot water is ready, so I went downstairs with my luggage and went around to the back side of the gants.
There was a pebbled washing area by the well, and behind it is a large barrel filled with hot water.
To my delight, it seemed that one could wash oneself in the bathtub.
This is a blessing.

I put my sword up against a small fence on the side and took off my clothes.
Then, the girl offered me a dipper, saying, “Use this.”
I scooped the hot water from the large barrel using the dipper and poured it over my head.
The feeling of the hot water running through my hair, beard, and body was very pleasant.
I scooped the hot water again and poured it over while rubbing myself.

Then I soaked my body into the hot water.
Since I was huge, a lot of hot water overflows.
“Wow, grandpa, you’re big” the girl said, rolling her eyes. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
My legs, hips, spine, and shoulders relaxed while making a creaking sound.

Enduring hardship and pain is one of the most basic qualities of a knight, but at my age, a month on foot in the camp would take a toll on my body.
The pain that had been suppressed, ignored, and forgotten resurfaced throughout my body.
But this is what it means to be alive.
Bard grimaced at the surging pain as he relished the happiness of healing his fatigue in the bathtub.

“Does it sting?”
Bard had a lot of scars on his body.
She was worried about whether the hot water might sting his wounds.
Bard smiled softly,

“The wounds are all old, and they don’t hurt now,” he said.

“The water feels so good that my body is startled.”

He answered the girl.
There was a scrubber made from dried Porpoise fruits on the floor, so I rubbed my whole body in the bathtub.
The water was getting dirtier and dirtier.
I felt sorry for the girl, thinking that it would be hard to clean up afterwards.

The girl was washing my boots and underwear on the pebbly floor.
As she scrubbed the boots, she asked me the name of the horse.

“Stavros” I replied.

“What does it mean?”

“It was given to me by a friend of mine.”

“I don’t know what it means,” he answered.

“I gave Stavros food and water, and I’ll wash him later. His horn is short but it’ll be fine.”

Not only horses, but most domestic animals have horns on their foreheads.
The horns grow smaller as they age, but when they become too small that you can’t see them, they can become violent.

“Don’t worry,” Bald replied.

When the bottom of the bathtub was covered with mud and grime, she opened the plug, drained half the water, and poured in fresh hot water.
It was a refreshing sight to see her carrying the tub back and forth from the back door of Gants with her sleeves rolled up.

“Well, it’s nice hot water.”

“Hahahahaha.”

The girl also looked happy to see Bard enjoying himself.

After getting out of the bath, I returned to my room, lay down on the bed, and immediately fell asleep.

4

The first floor was crowded with customers.

Bard went downstairs with his sword and took an empty seat.

Soon after, the host served him stew, bread, a bottle of wine, and a bowl.

Surprised at the generosity of a whole pot, he poured the liquor into the bowl and gulped it down.

The distilled liquor burned my throat and sank into my body.

Soon, a warm heat forms at the bottom of the abdomen and his stomach begins to jerk.

The stew are filled with meat and freshly picked vegetables give off an appetizing smell.

He scooped it up with a wooden spoon, took it to his mouth, and savoured it thoroughly.

“Yum.”

Koll Rooster meat.
It was very tender and well-cooked.
The more you bite into it, the stronger the flavor.
The vegetables, too, were well seasoned, but had a nice crunch to them.
It was a perfect dish.

A man sitting across from Bard turned to the owner and said,

“Give me some of that too”.

The owner told him that it was a special dish and that he would have to pay extra for it, and told him the price.

The man said, “Hey, that’s expensive!”

Bard takes another mouthful of the stew, this time stirring up the liquor before it has lost its flavor.
The stew’s deliciousness complements the taste of the sake.
He feels an indescribable sense of happiness,

“Whew!”

A man sees this and gulped,

“Damn it, get me that stew!”

He shouted.

Prompted by this, voices came from all over the hall, ordering the stew.
A girl busily ran around handing out stew and accepting money.
It wasn’t long before the innkeeper announced that the stew was sold out.

When Bard had finished the stew and bread, the host brought a small plate.
It was a crispy Koll Rooster skin.
Bard ate a piece of it while the man sitting across from him stared at him.
Roughly salted with exquisite flavour, and the citrus fruit sprinkled on top helped to mask the oily smell and give the dish a pleasant aftertaste.
It was a perfect match for the wine.

The man across the hall asked about the price, and the owner told him a higher price than the stew he had just served.
He said it was because they used a lot of high quality charcoal.
The grilled skin was sold out faster than it took the stew.
The sake was also selling well.

Finally, the owner brought a small bowl of stew.
Bard didn’t know what it was, so he asked the innkeeper what it was, and he told him it was stewed Koll Rooster guts.
He wondered if such a dish could be eaten, but he had already seen the owner’s cooking skills, and the dish in the bowl looked delicious.
I ate a piece.

“This!”

No smell, no bitterness, nothing at all.

The lightly seasoned broth soaked into the dish well, making it an excellent choice for sake lovers.
He couldn’t help but take another piece.

“Mmmm!”

“The taste is different from the piece of meat I just ate.”

Totally different.

“The texture was different, and the juices that spread in my mouth were of a different quality.”

What more can he say?
It was a taste that permeated every part of the dish.

It was as if another part of Bard’s body was tasting this dish compared to the way he had tasted stew, bread, and roasted skin.

To Bard’s amazement, the host explains.

“You did a good job of draining the blood out of the meat, Sir.
I thought this would work.
I changed the water several times, and just kept on draining the blood out.
Of course, they’re entrails, so there’s a lot of stuff inside, but the trick is to clean them up.
Finally, the key to the flavor is the rock salt that is a specialty of this city.
Well, this dish will smell fishy depending on the ingredients.
I can only make a stew like this every once in a while.
The internal organ taste different from part to part.
This tiny bowl is filled with all kinds of flavours.”

A man sitting across from him orders braised entrails.
The owner told the price.
It was even more expensive than the grilled skin.
He says it is because it is a rarely eaten delicacy in its best condition.
The man doesn’t care and makes them bring the stew regardless.
He takes a bite and exclaims, “Yum!”. The orders start pouring in from all over the place.
The girl runs around briskly, and in no time at all, they are sold out.

The owner had a good business tonight.
Bard was pleased too.
Just as he was about to finish his meal, the bustling restaurant suddenly fell silent.

Everyone was looking toward the entrance.
Three men had just entered through the hinged door.
They looked and behaved like rough men.

Leading the group is a large, burly man.
His left ear is crushed and he has a large scar on his left cheek.
He looks around the store with a nasty look in his eyes.

“Oh, I’m glad to see you guys having a good time!”

He roared.

Then, he slammed the battle-axe in his right hand into the floor.

“Of course, no one is going to be late for work tomorrow just because we’re having fun, right?
Oh, yeah.
With all this energy, you’ll only have to take half your break tomorrow!”

He said, his face contorting in hatred.

One by one, the customers in the restaurant stood up and left.
The man with a battle-axe scoffed at one of the customers who was about to leave.
One of the rough men took that customer to a corner of the store and talked to him about something.
He seems to be talking about his debts, his sister tonight, or some other assorted nonsense.

The man with a battle-axe comes up beside Bard, who is sitting alone.

He glares at Bard’s face and the sword propped up beside him.
Bard sits shallowly in his chair, his left hand idle, ready to draw his sword at any moment.
The man with the battle axe then looked at Bard’s hands.

Knife and fork.

Most of the guests ate with their hands or with handmade wooden spatulas and skewers.
That is normal.
The one Bard brought was pretty fancy.
Both were made of metal.
The knife, in particular, was carved with intricate and beautiful patterns and shone with an elegant silver glow.
It was extremely out of place in such a rural Gants.

Unperturbed by the battle-axe man’s deadly presence, Bard calmly takes the last piece of stew into his mouth, gulps down the remaining wine and let out a puff.

Discouraged, the murderous man left the inn with his companion.