0687 A Fine Inn and Visitors
“The straw bedding was clean, and Andalusia and the others looked comfortable too.”
“Yeah. You can tell whether an inn is good or not just by looking at the stable.”
“Thank you very much.”
Ryo praised it, Abel agreed, and the inn attendant guiding them smiled and bowed.
Ryo, Abel, and their beloved horses had managed to secure lodging in the town of Chuarow.
And not just any lodging.
The finest inn in town.
That was the result of Ryo asking a fruit seller at a street stall as soon as they entered town.
Surely it was only his imagination that the fruit seller’s face had twitched under the invisible pressure radiating from the gigantic s...
The inn the fruit seller nad was called Blossom on the Ridge.
“And about these s... they’re sowhat oversized luggage, but is there anywhere we can leave them?”
“It would be difficult to place them indoors, but would outdoors be acceptable? We could cover them with a large waterproof sheet.”
“Ah, outdoors is fine. There’s no need for a waterproof sheet either, just let us leave them as they are.”
“In that case, to the back yard. This way, please.”
When Ryo asked where he could leave the four s, the attendant led him to the back yard.
A luxury inn can answer every request a guest may have.
That is precisely why people stay there, even if the price is a bit high.
Even when sothing is physically or logistically impossible, the response is not “We can’t do that,” but rather, “Would this thod work instead?”—a proposed solution through so other ans.
A true triumph of staff training!
That night, the two of them went into the inn’s hot spring.
Yes, a hot spring!
“I never imagined there’d be a hot spring here!”
Ryo ca back from it excited all by himself.
To be honest, Abel’s calmness—he could not really tell the difference between this and an ordinary bath—stood in sharp contrast to that excitent.
“Co to think of it, I heard there was a hot spring area near Hanlin, the Imperial Capital, but in the end we never went. So getting to try one here was lucky!”
“R-right.”
“And if it’s a hot spring inn, then the food has to be good too!”
“Is that how it works?”
Ryo declared it flatly, and Abel asked the question.
“As far as I know, the odds are high.”
“Well, the fruit seller did say this was the finest inn in town. Let’s look forward to it.”
That night, the two of them could be seen savoring an excellent dinner in the dining hall of the inn Blossom on the Ridge.
“That was good!”
“Yes, it really surprised . Especially the mapo tofu... or was it called mapotof? It went well past rely spicy and into truly fierce territory, but it was sohow addictive.”
“Yeah, that one. It was like the deliciousness kept coming in waves between the bursts of heat.”
“As expected of you, Abel, that’s a fine way to put it!”
Both Abel and Ryo thoroughly enjoyed the dinner.
And so, after the two of them had finished even dessert and were slowly drinking their after-dinner tea, the inn attendant ca over.
“Was dinner to your liking?”
“It was good.”
“It was exquisite.”
Both Abel and Ryo answered with satisfaction to the attendant’s question.
“That is wonderful to hear.”
The attendant said so with a smile, and then spoke words that made very little sense at first.
“Soone from the magistrate’s office has co asking for the two of you.”
“The magistrate’s office?”
“Why would they want us?”
Both Abel and Ryo tilted their heads.
“Sorry, but isn’t there so kind of mistake?”
What Abel asked was only natural.
They knew no one here...
“They confird it after seeing the four large pieces of luggage placed in the back yard.”
“Ah... those are definitely our things.”
Ryo admitted it, but still tilted his head.
“Well, let’s et them.”
“There’s not much else we can do.”
Abel and Ryo followed the attendant out of the dining hall.
They were led to one corner of the lobby, where chairs had been arranged so that guests could pass the ti at leisure.
There, about ten people were seated.
When they saw Ryo and Abel arrive, the ten people stood up.
“These are the people from the Chuarow Magistrate’s Office who have co to see you.”
After introducing them like that, the attendant bowed and withdrew.
“I am Hyuran, Deputy Magistrate of Chuarow. But before that... well?”
The Deputy Magistrate Hyuran, who looked to be in his mid-forties, said that and turned to the five who stood behind him, n who were obviously adventurers at a glance.
“No mistake. It’s those two.”
One of the adventurers answered like that.
Ryo and Abel flicked a glance at each other.
Both of them had noticed.
The five adventurers were the sa people who had stood there with annoyed expressions during the caravan brawl earlier that day.
In other words, the adventurer guards hired by those caravans.
Deputy Magistrate Hyuran gave a single nod, then spoke.
“I’m sure this is sudden and has taken you by surprise. Let’s sit and talk first.”
And so Deputy Magistrate Hyuran, five n who appeared to be his subordinates, the five adventurers, and the two of them, Ryo and Abel... all twelve sat down in absurdly comfortable chairs.
“These five are Winter Thunder, a Third-rank adventurer party based in Chuarow.”
Deputy Magistrate Hyuran introduced the five adventurers.
The five gave light nods.
“May I ask your nas?”
“Sixth-rank adventurer Abel.”
“And likewise, Sixth-rank adventurer Ryo.”
Both Abel and Ryo answered Hyuran’s question plainly.
There was no particular reason to hide it.
For so reason, upon hearing that, the five from Winter Thunder nodded.
“Hm. So, as Winter Thunder said, you really are adventurers. When I saw you transporting those great loads, I thought you were rchants.”
“You saw us transporting them?”
“Yes. We happened to be coming up from behind when you passed the disturbance. Those loads were so enormous that they left an impression.”
Deputy Magistrate Hyuran answered.
At that, Ryo’s eyes widened dramatically.
He was muttering things like, “That’s impossible,” and, “I was trying to keep from standing out.”
In response, Abel... rely gave a small shake of his head, and by now said nothing at all.
“I would like to confirm sothing. At the ti of that disturbance, it was water-attribute magic you used to get past it, correct?”
“Uh...”
At Deputy Magistrate Hyuran’s question, Ryo hesitated just a little before answering.
Questions like this were always bound to drag him into trouble.
But...
“Y-yes, that would be the case.”
He did not think he needed to lie outright to conceal it, so he answered honestly.
“If you are a water-attribute magician and an adventurer, then this is simple.”
Deputy Magistrate Hyuran leaned forward and began to explain.
Put simply, he wanted Ryo to help with the flood-control works that the magistrate’s office was overseeing.
To alter the course of a river that flooded whenever heavy rains ca—one of those “common examples” in all tis and places where the intentions of the people and the administration largely aligned.
Ryo, being a water-attribute magician, would indeed be useful.
But there was sothing strange about it too.
“Up until now, haven’t flood-control works been carried out just fine even without any water-attribute magicians?”
Ryo voiced the simple question.
Yes.
Flood-control works were carried out even without water-attribute magicians.
All over the world.
In every age.
Why, even on Earth—where there was no magic... no, according to Michael (temporary na), where magic had ceased to be used—there had still been countless flood-control works without magic.
And now Ryo was necessary for one?
“When you say flood-control works, do you an a riverworks project? Diverting the river’s flow and such?”
“No, what is being done this ti is the relocation of a lake.”
“The relocation... of a lake?”
Ryo was startled by Deputy Magistrate Hyuran’s answer.
Riverworks projects that altered the course of rivers had been carried out often enough in every age and place.
But artificially “relocating a lake” was not sothing one heard about very often.
Usually, when it ca to lakes and ponds, they were not relocated—they were simply filled in.
Deputy Magistrate Hyuran was an experienced administrator.
He naturally understood that a project like “relocating a lake” was almost unheard of.
That was why he seed to feel he ought to explain in more detail.
“It is an old lake called Sweet Dew Lake, but we absolutely had to cut into it for the flood-control works this ti. However, that brought about fierce opposition from the local people... In the end, we were only able to win their understanding by agreeing to relocate it about one kiloter away and run a branch channel for a newly dug irrigation canal through the new site.”
Deputy Magistrate Hyuran explained it with a bitter smile.
In most cases, large-scale public works moved forward while simply ignoring the wishes of the people...
Ryo’s opinion of Deputy Magistrate Hyuran rose at once.
At heart, Ryo was basically a good person, and seeing soone in trouble made him want to help.
“The new Sweet Dew Lake basin has already been prepared. So we tried to stop the inflow into the old Sweet Dew Lake and connect a drainage channel to empty the water from the lake, but...”
“But?”
“For so reason, every ti, before work can even begin on the final section of the drainage channel, the tools are broken, and during the night the embanknt that blocks the inflow is destroyed.”
“What...?”
Hyuran looked troubled, and Ryo looked astonished.
Abel remained silent, but his brow had tightened.
Ryo was the sort of soft-hearted person who, when he saw soone in trouble, wanted to help.
Even so, this...
“That... doesn’t really seem like it has anything to do with a water-attribute magician...”
“That may be so. But since it is happening around the lake each ti... it was decided that we should at least have an excellent water-attribute magician look at it once. However, there is not a single water-attribute magician registered with the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Association here in Chuarow.”
“Ah...”
Ryo gave a small nod.
He had heard that even the Mutual Aid Association in Hanlin, the Imperial Capital, barely had any water-attribute magicians.
To begin with, water-attribute magicians did not beco adventurers...
“To be honest, I don’t really understand it myself, so...”
Ryo said that much, then glanced at Abel.
Abel nodded silently.
Which ant: all right.
“Still, I’d like to take a look at the site tomorrow, if possible.”
“Oh, thank you!”
At Ryo’s words, Hyuran nodded happily.
“Um, whether I accept the request or not would co after that...”
“That is fine. We will arrange for the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Association to pay a reward just for coming to inspect it. Of course, if you accept it, there will be more.”
“Ah, yes...”
Pressed by Hyuran’s montum, Ryo nodded.
They made arrangents for soone to co pick them up at eight the next morning, and then Hyuran and the other ten left.
After the ten had gone, Ryo and Abel returned to the dining hall and drank tea once more.
“I have a bad feeling about this request.”
Ryo muttered it with a grave expression.
Abel looked at him sidelong.
But his eyes were flat and dubious.
Apparently, he had seen through sothing.
“What is that look, Abel?!”
Ryo protested.
“No, you just said that at random, with no basis at all, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
At Abel’s pursuit, Ryo’s eyes darted away.
“It was just one of those convenient lines where you say sothing like that so you’ll look thoughtful, right?”
“How was I found out...?”
“It just felt like the kind of thing you’d do, Ryo. I’ve started to understand.”
“Damn... one by one, the techniques I’ve polished over ti are being seen through. It feels like I’m an onion being peeled layer by layer.”
“What kind of comparison is that?”
Abel shrugged at Ryo’s strange taphor.
Ryo recovered himself, took a sip of tea, and then opened his mouth again.
“Abel, you are, at least technically, His Majesty the King, right?”
“That’s right. Technically, I am the king.”
“So that ans you ought to know a lot about the kind of flood-control works carried out in the Knightley Kingdom too, right?”
“I don’t know whether I’d call it a lot, but... I studied what was necessary.”
In response to Ryo’s slightly barbed way of speaking, Abel answered without feeling the slightest sting from it.
Habit was a terrifying thing.
“Within all that rich experience, have you ever seen a case like this?”
“No. To begin with, no one relocates a lake.”
“Exactly.”
Ryo nodded vigorously in agreent with Abel’s answer.
Yes.
That was the first problem in the first place.
“As for the kinds of trouble that co up around flood-control works... there are land rights issues, I suppose. But those are settled before the project begins, and only then does the construction start.”
“The kind of thing you solve with money, then.”
Ryo nodded at Abel’s explanation.
If you piled up enough money, most problems could be solved.
That was public works...
Apparently, the region of Ryo’s mory concerning public works had beco sowhat distorted.
“Still, if the tools are being broken, then it has to be sabotage by soone. The question becos: who?”
“I think it’s lake bandits.”
“Lake bandits? What is that?”
Ryo answered with total confidence, and Abel frowned.
“The bandits that appear in the mountains are mountain bandits. The ones that appear on the sea are pirates. This ti they appear on a lake, so they’re lake bandits.”
“I’ve never heard of such bandits. What kind of people are they?”
“How should I know?”
“Hey...”
“I only just thought of them.”
“I was wrong to expect anything.”
Abel let out a trendous sigh.
Even with familiarity, it seed perfection remained out of reach.
“It’s possible they have a secret base... a stronghold... hidden inside the lake.”
“What?”
“And every night, the lake splits apart, and a lake-bandit-exclusive airborne assault battleship rises into the sky.”
“That’s just your imagination, right, Ryo?”
“Yes, of course it is!”
“You really do co up with all kinds of things.”
Ryo puffed out his chest and declared it proudly, while Abel had gone past exasperation and was beginning to feel impressed.
Imagination was a precious thing.
“But if you think about it that way, everything fits together, doesn’t it?”
“It only fits together.”
“Well, whatever. I’ll make them righteous lake bandits and introduce them as Abel’s rivals in the sequel to That Abel, the Hungry Swordsman.”
“What?”
“They might beco Abel’s eternal rival!”
“What kind of reaction am I supposed to have to that...?”
Abel gave a small shake of his head.
In the end, it was his usual reaction.
Early the next morning, Ryo and Abel woke up a little sooner than necessary.
Naturally, it was to go into the hot spring.
And when they ca back out...
“A morning hot spring really is good!”
“Right?”
At Abel’s lively, invigorated words, Ryo nodded as if Abel had at last understood his heart completely.
The two of them then ate breakfast in high spirits.
After the two n, brimming with energy, returned to their room once, they looked down into the lobby from the top of the stairs at exactly eight o’clock, and saw that their escort had already arrived.
They had arrived, but...
“That’s only the adventurers from yesterday, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Just the five from Winter Thunder. Deputy Magistrate Hyuran isn’t here.”
Though tilting their heads, Abel and Ryo went down the stairs.
The five from Winter Thunder bowed.
The man in the center, who appeared to be the spearman, opened his mouth and explained.
“We’re Winter Thunder, the ones introduced yesterday. I’m the party leader, Kyunrai. This is Ranwu, our scout, Go, our earth-attribute magician, Ma, our fire-attribute curse-arts user, and Feiwei, our healer.”
The spearman, Kyunrai, introduced them briefly.
Ryo and Abel had already given their nas yesterday.
But there was still a question to ask, and in situations like this Abel was always the one to speak first.
“The Deputy Magistrate Hyuran who ca yesterday isn’t here? From the way he spoke yesterday, I thought he’d be coming to et us too.”
“Yeah. Apparently so kind of strange occurrence happened at the site, and he’s been over there since the middle of the night. Soone from the magistrate’s office ca and told us. So the five of us ca to pick you two up on our own.”
“A strange occurrence?”
“We were only told the word ‘strange occurrence’ ourselves, so we weren’t told the details. Sorry.”
Even the spearman Kyunrai had no answer to Abel’s question.
He could do nothing but shrug.
Abel had already noticed the water-attribute magician beside him shifting restlessly.
But since Abel and Kyunrai had been talking, apparently he had dutifully waited for them to finish.
“Ryo, is there sothing bothering you?”
“You asked exactly what I was hoping you would, Abel. I have a question for Go and Ma!”
“Huh?”
At Ryo’s words, both the magician Go and the curse-arts user Ma answered at the sa ti.
The two of them looked very much alike.
More than that, they were probably twins.
Go wore ocher-colored clothes, while Ma’s were a dark crimson...
“First, I have a question for you, Ma, as a curse-arts user!”
“Yes?”
“Do curse-arts users also have attributes?”
“Yes, we do.”
“Ohhh...”
Ryo was visibly surprised by Ma’s answer.
He simply could not recall ever having asked about that explicitly before.
Curse-arts users used curse talismans.
And curse talismans could release magic of the four attributes... but viewed at the level of “magic power,” that power itself was not divided into attributes.
For example, just because an ice spear was fired from a curse talisman did not an water-attribute magic power had been used.
Ryo was certain of that because he himself had tested it previously in battle against curse-arts users.
“It is said that each person’s attribute is sothing determined from birth. So whether one is a curse-arts user or a magician, the attribute one can use is fixed.”
“Ah, true.”
Ryo nodded vigorously at the curse-arts user Ma’s answer.
As for it being fixed from birth, Ryo rembered hearing that from Michael (temporary na), the administrator-like being of this world, Phi.
Thinking of it that way, perhaps it was only natural that curse-arts users also had fixed attributes.
Rather, the thing that was unusual was ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) probably the curse talisman itself.
“So the curse talismans themselves really are unaligned...”
Only Abel, standing beside him, heard Ryo’s muttered words.
“Ah, right! Just one more thing—this ti for both of you, Go and Ma.”
“Yes?”
“If the two of you fought, which one would be stronger?”
“.”
The one who answered Ryo’s question without the slightest pause was the magician Go.
“Ohhh!”
As a magician himself, Ryo felt a small surge of delight.
“No. Depending on my condition, I would win, so there is hardly any difference between us.”
That retort ca from the curse-arts user Ma.
“Ohhh...”
Ryo was startled by the force of that reply.
“Ma... my win rate is higher than yours, isn’t it?”
“Brother, at best it is only around sixty percent. That is barely a difference.”
The dispute between Go and Ma... was quickly settled.
“You’re both weaker than I am. We’re going to the site.”
The spearman Kyunrai stated it clearly and decisively.
Go and Ma turned resentful eyes toward him.
“So magicians and curse-arts users both have front-line fighters as their eternal enemy.”
Ryo nodded grandly as though he had arrived at a profound understanding, while Abel, himself a front-line fighter, rely shrugged.
All the while, the two won, the scout Ranwu and the healer Feiwei, had remained silent.
But Abel had seen it.
He had seen their lips move soundlessly, forming the words: “Again?”
User Comments
0 comments from readers