NOVEL NEXT Chapter 173
Chapter 173. Helping The Koboko Family And Faf
From the morning, we had been dealing with an annoying unexpected guest. But after pulling myself together, I headed to the Adele Trading Company, where several mirrors had already been delivered.
“They were delivered with the sunrise,”
said Lotton. I had left the warehouse watch to Hagg, but… oh, so Hagg gave the go-ahead. When you think of dwarves, you often imagine them as muscle-headed, but he’s quite flexible and accurate in those matters. In fact, Yaralai might be the more muscle-headed of the two.
…I could never say that to him, though.
“Are there any losses?”
“No, not today. They’ve been handling things with much more care than usual.”
“Well, that’s good. By the way, I’m sorry, but I haven’t been able to meet with them yet. Could you pass their pay along for me?”
“Of course, no problem.”
Lotton handed me the coins, which totaled 2,990,000 yen after deducting 10,000 yen from the mirror payment. They were heavy.
Remaining balance: 1,676,422 yen.
Quest: 5,031,010 yen.
Since there was no response from the SHOP, it seems that nothing will happen unless it exceeds 7 million. I wonder what the new item is?
Well, I should be able to confirm it by tomorrow. Please don’t let it be more firearms…
I still don’t understand the approval criteria for the SHOP. Thanks to my higher level, most items get approved now, so it’s not a problem anymore.
After some casual conversation, I returned to the slums. At the base, which Hagg had expanded, Viola, the widow, and Lalaila were caring for the women who had become their vessels.
“Oh, Akira-san!”
“It’s fine. Keep going. Sorry for leaving it all to you.”
“No, it’s okay. Viola-san is helping too, so don’t worry.”
Viola turned to face me and bowed. It seemed like she was offering some of the leftover rice from the community kitchen as a token of thanks. I can’t show extreme favoritism, but this much should be acceptable.
If I favor too much, I might isolate myself within the slums, though. I’d like to think the kids are an exception.
“I’m doing a lot of things right now, so please bear with me for a little longer.”
“Yeah.”
Lalaila smiled, probably so I wouldn’t worry, her beauty softening my heart. What a good girl.
I went into the back room, where Hagg was writing in a notebook in front of a disassembled treadle sewing machine.
“Hey, how’s the progress?”
“Hmm? It’s all set, I can go anytime. The blueprint is already finished.”
He showed me his system notebook. Flipping through it, I saw detailed diagrams, notes, measurements, and some specifications I couldn’t quite understand.
…Looks like he could use a second notebook. I’ll buy another one for 1300 yen and put it in the container.
Remaining balance: 1,675,122 yen.
Quest: 5,031,010 yen.
I transferred only the necessary pages from the notebook I had given Hagg. Most of it was just reminders. As for the work-related pages, I had long since burned them in the campfire. I never want to see that again.
“What were you working on just now?”
“I just added a few things I noticed. How about your progress?”
“Eh, so-so. Since we’re at it, let’s go visit the head of the tailoring guild. If the blacksmith guild is informed, we can head there directly.”
“Hmmm, sounds good. But what about the defense here?”
“Ah, that’s a problem…”
I know Lalaila is strong, but I can’t leave her alone. That’s the main reason I didn’t move Hagg from the base.
“Heh heh… then I’ll stay and watch over it for you.”
“Faf…”
Without any warning, Faf, the tan-skinned, horned loli girl, was standing there. She’s actually older than Yaralai, and her race is a mystery. She’s also a martial arts master who can easily outmaneuver both Hagg and Yaralai.
“Well, if you’re staying, I guess I can relax…”
But I still can’t fully trust her, who loves to move freely.
“Heh heh… of course, I’ll require compensation. How about that dwarven-approved liquor?”
“What!?”
Hagg responded loudly.
“Ah… Well, if you’ll provide proper security, I’ll give it to you.”
Considering it as an escort fee, it’s cheap. Plus, it’s like hiring both Hagg and Yaralai.
“Heh heh… well, we’re family, right?”
“In that case, don’t ask for a reward.”
“Heh heh… that’s exactly why.”
“Fine, if it’s Faf, I’m sure she can handle even a stray buffalo easily.”
“Heh heh… that’s nothing. I could do it with a finger.”
I’m honestly scared she’d actually do it.
I bought a bottle of 12-year-old single malt for 29,800 yen from the SHOP.
Remaining balance: 1,645,322 yen.
Quest: 5,031,010 yen.
“Heh heh… just one bottle?”
Her mocking gaze made me sigh.
“Fine… when we’re gone, you’re in charge.”
Remaining balance: 1,615,522 yen.
Quest: 5,031,010 yen.
With another sigh, I bought another bottle and handed it to her. Faf quickly climbed up onto the camper van and started drinking.
As I looked up at the sky, I noticed clouds drifting by. It must be a very different climate here compared to the westernmost regions, where I’d never even seen clouds. Despite the intense heat, she looked so calm atop the scorching van.
Piiiyoouu!
Just as I was about to look away from the sky, I heard a bird-like cry from above and quickly looked back up.
“What’s that?”
Something with huge wings crossed over the town. It was flying low, probably landing just outside the town.
“That’s a griffon. It had a saddle and a flag. That was a griffon delivery.”
“Ah, so that was…”
I remembered something Leitia had mentioned about using griffon delivery to communicate with the Earth Mother’s temple in Pilatus Kingdom. It made sense—flying mail would certainly be faster.
Apparently, the griffon delivery service operates closest to Pilatus, in this country, Sebites. So, they must have carried the letter by horse to here, and then used the griffon to send it further. It’s no wonder it takes so long. We drove here so quickly that I hadn’t really thought of the distance.
“There are other flying beasts people can tame, but griffons are the most common because they can endure both heat and cold,”
“It’s a good system.”
I had just re-realized how different this world is. The griffon had the body of a large beast like a lion or tiger, but with wings. How does that even work aerodynamically?
“Are there many dangerous creatures like that in this world?”
“Huh? Well, it depends on the area. Forests and mountains have fierce predators.”
“Like buffalo?”
“Buffalo? That’s a mild example.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. That’s why I’ve been training you.”
Hagg said it with his arms crossed, as if it were obvious.
“Is that so…?”
I feel like ordinary people would be much weaker than I am now, but I suppose it’s a good thing to be able to protect myself. Even if that special training went overboard.
I decided to stop thinking about those trivial things and head to the tailoring guild.