NOVEL NEXT Chapter 36: The Pets and a Scam
Kazue POV
Artesia Empire, the empire that summoned me and my classmates into a parallel world.
This world is also called earth but the world itself is not similar in any way.
One difference is the existence of monsters and magic.
This world fundamentally works differently from our world.
In some way, it will remind you of some online games where Level, Job, Skill, Stats, titles, and many other games aspect are in effect.
Another difference is geography.
None of the places here exist in our world.
The world map itself is different from the world map we know.
Artesia Empire, the Glasies Empire, the Ecclesia Empire, and the Great Nation alliance, are the four major superpowers of this world.
Artesia Empire holds the largest military force and total mass of land, making it known as the strongest Empire.
The country’s architectural designs are reminiscent of the medieval European Era.
A country that believes that everyone should be treated equally, and values freedom and fairness.
And to have no prejudice against other Races, that include Demi-human.
An empire that has a liberal belief comparable to our modern world.
This country was founded by the 1st hero who came into this world and became the first emperor of the empire.
There is also,
The Glasies Empire, also known as the northern continent.
It is a mass of land similar to that of the north pole.
A land ruled by a person known as the Dragon Emperor.
The Dragon Emperor is an “Otherworlder” like us.
The former party member of the current demon lord.
The stand of the country is Neutral, it does not care about other countries and does not care even if the demon lord conquers the entire world other than itself.
It was said that the Dragon Emperor is the second most powerful being in this world,
It was said that he can fight the Demon Lord on equal footing.
Glacies is a landmass covered by ice.
It is a very secretive nation that never tries to interact with the world.
The country’s architectural design and culture are reminiscent of the ancient Chinese dynasty.
Next is,
The Ecclesia Empire, also known as the southern continent.
Like Glacies, it is a mass of land similar to the south pole.
An empire that believes in the God of Light, Luminos
A country that believes that human is the only race blessed by God, thus having a racial bias against other races aside from human.
They believe that Demi-humans are monsters and should be exterminated for they are the source of evil and should not be treated as an individual.
They are not on good terms with the Great Nation Alliance and Artesia Empire who support the idea of treating the demi-human as equals.
This was mainly because of their belief.
This country was also founded by another hero from the past.
[That hero must have hated demi-human]
They are religious fanatics; they would do everything and anything to prove their belief.
The country’s architectural designs are reminiscent of the Ancient Roman Empire.
And lastly,
The Great Nation Alliance, also known as the alliance of the 5 Demi-Human Nations.
Country of the Beastmen, Kingdom of the North – Triana.
Country of the Salamanders, Kingdom of the West – Claren.
Country of the Fish People, Kingdom of the East – Pheono.
Country of the Half-Bloods and Demons, Kingdom of the South – Riles.
Country of the Dragonutes, Central Kingdom – Marizen.
The Great Nation Alliance have diverse cultures and race.
The structures found in this place are varied and "very unique" it was nothing like I’ve seen in our world
Aside from the country of Riles, which resembles the cultural and architectural setting of that of the Artesia Empire, Triana, Claren, Pheono, and Marizen had a "Fantasy" feel to them.
As I’ve seen in pictures of their lands from the books Shaina showed me.
Triana is mostly filled with flatlands, the houses are based on animal-looking inspired architectures, where the structures are patterned to have animal shapes.
[It looks quite cute if you ask me]
Claren is filled with volcanoes, mountains, and drylands.
The houses and buildings are built from dried mud while using crystals as decoration giving the structures prestige and nobility.
Pheono is a place filled with marshes, wet forests, and the sea. Houses are built over the wetlands, over and underwater, or high up in the trees.
Marizen, on the other hand, is filled with castles built upon a floating mass of land where dragons, wyverns, and other flying creatures are dancing in the sky.
The entirety of the great Nation Alliance is so unique, a collection of unique and mysterious lands making you realize that you are in an alternate world where monsters and magic exist.
In this world, the other domains are not affiliated with any of these four superpowers.
For example.
At the center of the continent where The Great Forest of Giah is located is where the Elves live.
The forest of Giah is also informally known as the country of the elves.
The same place where Hano and his party members plan to go.
It is the place where the elves are protecting the Holy Sword.
In the direction, Southwest of the Great Forest of Giah is the Kingdom of Marcial.
The kingdom where the “Undead King’s Lair” is located.
There are lots of other places that I love to hear about but my focus right now is the country of Riles.
I am planning to go to the Country of the Half-Bloods and Demons, the kingdom of the South, Riles.
My reason for that is; for me to find out about the existence that the people of this world call the “Oracles”.
Shaina had been lecturing me about the world for hours.
We also wasted a lot of time as I asked questions about things that interest me.
Then Shaina said.
“If you’re that curious then you should have stayed in the castle to learn about stuff like this! I know that those people in the Castle would love to teach you about this---” <Shaina>
“Uhhh, about that… You know that I’ve left the castle on a whim, right? At that time, I was thinking that I could somehow manage to learn on the way. Now that someone is explaining things to me, I could not help but ask questions. Also, I do feel shy to go back there and say “Hey I want to learn common sense”.” <Kazue>
Shaina looked at me with a face that is telling “are you being serious?”
I could only smile at her.
“You do know that I am a blacksmith and not a teacher… this is not my job. Well, it is also my fault for trying to explain things to you. But still, you should have at least gathered information before you left the castle right? I mean that is common sense for human survival and being an "otherworlder" had nothing to do with this.” <Shaina>
“Aha, ~ is that so?” <Kazue>
I answered as innocently as I could possibly can
[I am the type of person who never pays attention to the “tutorials” or "Manuals". If there is an option for me to skip such a bothersome task, I would love to skip over it and get over the real thing. I find things more interesting that way. I know, I know, games and real life are different but at that moment I think I was caught in the jiffy and just pushed through. Do I regret doing that? NO! Not at all, I think I had fun piecing things together as I go.]
“--- HEY!” <Shaina>
“Ah! What?” <Kazue>
“As I thought you’re not listening to me. -sigh-.“ <Shaina>
[Not to brag, but I’ve been dealing with Chiho all the time in our world, and ignoring a scolding is one of my greatest skills.]
As we are having this conversation throughout the afternoon.
Reno and the other two girls came.
Reno, Emika, and Akemi handled the store while the two of us were talking inside her workshop.
A knock came knocking on the door.
I did not notice it but when I realized it.
It was already time for the Scale Atelier to close for the day.
If I were to guess the time, it was around 10 or 11 PM.
I was in a trance listening to her lectures, time flew by so fast.
The door opened slightly and behind it was Reno.
“Shaina-sama, Kazue-san I am sorry but it’s about time for us to close the store.” <Reno>
“Oh! Sorry! I did not realize that it was that late.” <Kazue>
“I guess, we discuss almost everything that you need to know before going to Riles. That will do!” <Shaina>
Shaina said as she stretches her arm up
I prepared myself to leave and stretched my arms up as Shaina did.
We fixed our things and left the store soon after.
Reno, Emika, and Akemi went together while I followed Shaina to get Isamu, Hayate, and Kaori, my lovable pet wolves.
We walked for about 20 minutes and arrived at Shaina’s place.
It was a rather nice home located in a residential area.
But since it was in a residential area, the home only has a small lawn in front of the house.
There I saw my precious partners lying on the floor.
As if noticing my scent, the three stood up after sniffing something in the air.
Right away Isamu, Hayate, and Kaori welcomed me when Shaina opened the gate of her house.
After fetching my pets, I went straight to the inn where I stay.
It was a nice inn that is about a 5-minute walk away from the adventurer’s guild.
The place charges 20,000 Dal a day.
To be honest, it was quite expensive if you ask me, but it was the only inn that I saw that allowed my pets to stay with me.
And so, I spend the night snuggling with my cute pets.
**************************
I’ve decided to stay here in the capital for 1 week before going on a journey.
I thought that I needed to rest my body.
After all, I’ve been through some rough times in Altus.
Throughout this week I’ve been doing my usual routine of clearing quests from the guild.
The only difference was that I took more E-ranked Quest now.
Too bad that the E-ranked quest takes more time to finish compared to the F-ranked quest I usually take.
It was obvious but deep down I thought that since I am now an E-rank adventurer I hoped that clearing an E-ranked quest would be as easy as me finishing an F-ranked quest.
But the reality was not that easy.
[well let’s look at the bright side of what happened during the week.]
It had been fun.
Why?
Well…
“Kaori! Use "water gun!".” <Kazue>
A ball of water flew toward a monster called “Hunter Spider”
To be honest, all I see is a giant spider, it’s quite similar to the appearance of the “Huntsman Spider” rather than that of a “tarantula”.
Its legs are longer and thinner, its abdomen smaller and it was not covered with hair it was about the size of a large dog.
I remember the first time I saw this creature the hairs on my body stood up from disgust.
This monster is one of the stronger E-ranked Monsters in Great Artesia Forest.
It does move quite fast and it has the skill (Burst) but it’s not “tanky” enough.
Compared to a ghoul it’s so much easier to cut through its armor, I don’t even have to use an Aura blade.
As long as you’re prepared to face it it’s not a threat.
The Hunter Spider jumped toward me at great speed.
It jumped into the air.
“Isamu! Use Tackle!” <Kazue>
The spider thrashed away from me.
I pumped my fist.
“Now Hayate! Use Quick Attack!” <Kazue>
Two of the four legs of the spider on its left side were bent in ways that it shouldn’t bend.
“Isamu hold it down” <Kazue>
“Hayate make sure it won’t be able to escape! Break the other legs!” <Kazue>
“Now, Kaori finish it off! WATER GUN” <Kazue>
A fast-moving ball of water pierced through its body.
Brown liquid spewed over the place.
The hunter spider fell lifelessly on the floor.
I took the fangs of the spider and placed them in my bag as proof of subjugation.
Yes, the bright side of things is that Isamu, Kaori, and Hayate.
The three wolves that follow me around officially became my tamed beast.
Because of that, they seemed to have gained some abilities.
How?
After reuniting with my pet wolves and waking up the next morning.
I noticed that for some reason I could hear the voices of children in my head.
At first, I thought that I was hearing a ghost,
I hear things like “Mother, we’re hungry give us food”
I tried to look around to find some kind of apparition, but I found nothing.
Then I thought I was getting crazy,
But then I thought, there’s no way crazy people know they are crazy, therefor I’m not crazy.
I thought for a while and checked my status with the wooden guild ring.
“uwah~”
[Look at all of that information, I feel stronger just by looking at it.]
I notice one skill that I never have seen there before; a skill called “Wolf Pact Mother”.
[Is that related to my Alpha Dog title or something?]
Then I realized, the voices were coming from Isamu, Hayate, and Kaori.
Once I realized this, I asked myself a question about my pets.
“Just to be sure that I am not losing screws in my head, are these voices coming from you three?” <Kazue>
“”” Voices?”””<Voices>
[Oh, dang! Did they respond? Just to be sure…]
“Uhmm… are you guys hungry?” <Kazue>
“”“ YES!!!””” <Voice>
The wolves began panting as if excited.
“Uwah~” <Kazue>
[There’s no doubting it. It’s them…it’s their voice.]
Isamu’s voice in my head was a lively kid with so much enthusiasm.
Hayate had a voice perfect for a reserved silent kid.
While my impression of Kaori’s voice was that of a clumsy girl.
Throughout the week I hunted monsters with them and once again I was surprised.
The three of them learned "Skills” on their own.
Kaori learned a magic skill “Water Ball” the same magic Charlotte uses.
Hayate learned “Stealth” and “Critical” the same magic Rio uses.
And Isamu learned (Fortify), (Bulk up), and (Howl).
(Fortify) is a skill that makes one’s body gain resistance against any kind of damage.
(Bulk up) is a skill that makes one’s strength be boosted for a short period of time.
(Howl) is a skill that amplifies the user's mental resistance and its allies.
To be honest I have no idea what those skills do at first but thankfully Hayate, Isamu, and Kaori know.
How?
Apparently, they just do.
They learned the skill and then they just know how to use it and what it's for.
It doesn’t make sense?
Don’t ask me, good luck asking the wolves, it’s the answers that I’ve got after asking them.
I had fun hunting monsters with them in the forest.
Since I was bored, I started teaching commands that resemble some "Nokemon" moves.
Since Kaori can use (Water Ball), I renamed it “Water Gun” instead.
Since Hayate can move fast and agile I call his attack “Quick Attack” but in reality, it’s just a simple scratch, bite or bump while moving quickly on his feet.
And of course, let’s not forget Isamu’s “Tackle” move. It’s just a simple tackle, nothing special.
[I wanted to have pets like Nokemon, I remembered playing several versions of it when I was younger with my brother. I do know that’s a little bit childish but who cares, no one will know I referenced Nokemon moves for their attacks, there’s no such thing as Nokemon in this world after all. If they do I would question the mind of the god who created this world.]
[Now for the darker side of things that happened this week.]
When I tried to boast about the things that Isamu, Hayate, and Kaori can do to Shaina, Reno, Akemi, and Emika at the Scale Atelier they were also as impressed as I was.
I remembered something.
The performance of the equipment Shaina made for me is beyond what I could wish for.
I feel light on my feet, I feel stronger, and I could feel the difference it made compared to the one I have before and for that, I wanted to thank her.
“Oh, before I forget, Shaina.” <Kazue>
“Hmnn? What is it?” <Shaina>
“The equipment you made is doing great! Thanks a lot.” <Kazue>
“Haha! Glad that you liked it. Don’t forget you owe me for that.” <Shaina>
“Yeah, I owe you. Thanks” <Kazue>
“No, don't thank me, seriously… you still owe me 90,000,000 Dal” <Shaina>
Shaina said while petting Isamu on the head.
I blinked several times at the amount I heard.
“Huh? 90,000,000? Huh?” <Kazue>
“What?” <Shaina>
“You’ll charge me for this?” <Kazue>
“Huuuh? Even though you’re a hero there’s no way I could just give that to you for free! I'm no charity you see. But since we're friends I gave you a discount” <Shaina>
“Eh, but 90M?” <Kazue>
I remembered, there was a price written in the catalog she gave me before.
I reviewed the content of the catalog.
I skipped most of its content and looked at the information at the bottom
.
.
.
TOTAL PRICE:
100,000,000 DAL
I made a facepalm.
I looked at Shaina who was smiling brightly at me.
[No way! I know that Shaina was sly about this kind of thing. I never imagined that she would actually do it to me. She really got me, No way…]
“Since you’re the Hero I gave you a discount of 1,000,000 DAL. Oh, bide away I already took 9,000,000 DAL from your account in the adventurer’s guild as a down payment…” <Shaina>
[That's just a 1% discount isn't it? No, no, no, that's not the problem here, she said what? she took 9,000,000 DAL from my account?]
“WAIT A MINUTE!!!” <Kazue>
I showed Shaina an open palm to stop her from talking.
[I need to gather my thoughts. 90,000,00?!]
“What’s with this ridiculous amount of debt? You said what? You already took 9,000,000 DAL from my account in the guild? HOW?!!” <Kazue>
“You’re asking some weird things; don’t you remember you already signed a contract yesterday.” <Shaina>
“HUUUHHHH??? What contract? I don’t remember signing any--- Ah...” <Kazue>
Something entered my mind.
I looked at Reno, Emika, and Akemi.
They are looking me straight in the eyes.
“You did sign the contract yesterday.” <Reno>
Reno said with a straight face.
I dig deep into my memory and from what I remember from yesterday.
When Shaina was explaining stuff to me, I do remember vaguely that she did make me sign something while we were at it.
It was during the part when she was explaining how to make contracts with others and made me sign a piece of paper as a demonstration.
She was talking about some payment for something.
I was not listening since I was more interested in what would happen after signing the contract.
[The papers glowed and a magic circle-like thing bound within me.]
I thought it was just an example but what if…
Shaina showed me the contract and a receipt.
“Thanks for the purchase” <Shaina>
“No way” <Kazue>
I thought for a second how much money 90,000,000 Dal was.
I subconsciously place a hand on my head as my head was spinning from the amount I now owe to Shaina.
“Don’t worry, you still have 5 years to pay that. So be sure to work well! I am looking forward to your next purchase, REMEMBER I AM YOUR PERSONAL BLACKSMITH, no I AM YOUR EXCLUSIVE BLACKSMITH FROM NOW ON.” <Shaina>
She said while doing an out-of-character cute girl impression on me.
“Hahaha, come on Kazue, just because you now owe me 90,000,000 DAL doesn’t mean that we’re no longer friends right?!” <Shaina>
“Shai… this is definitely a scam…” <Kazue>
I weakly replied to Shaina who was as energetic as ever.
“tsk, tsk, tsk,” <Shaina>
Shaina clicked her tongue while waving a finger at me.
Then she started spitting words at me.
“Kazue-chan… think of this as a lesson from your beloved blacksmith. There are a lot of people in this world that would even force you to become a slave after receiving such debt. Remember, not all people in this world are good people… LIKE ME. So be careful from now on. Also, this is not a scam. The armor that you’re wearing right now is worth at least that much. Don’t worry you’ll probably be earning millions by the time you become a B-ranked Adventurer! From what I heard from the guild, you have the potential to become at least an A-rank in the future. Remember, you said to me before that you have plans to become an S-ranked adventurer someday! I would call this an investment rather than a scam. Come on~ cheer up! I know that before you realize it you’ve already paid me in full.” <Shaina>
She slaps my back as she encourages me to cheer up.
-sigh-
[I guess, it's ok to owe something to Shaina,?? I guess??? I Hope??? She still leaves 1,000,000 DAL in my account at the guild right?]
Author Note:
This is the initial sketch of arc 2
