Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion - Volume 13 - Chapter 2

2. The Distance from Where We are Now

Whatever the case, first they had to get back to Alterna.

However, the distance from Vele to Alterna as the crow flew was still five hundred kilometers, so they weren’t close; they were actually rather far.

Naturally, considering the topography, they couldn’t travel in a straight line, so it would be a journey of six to seven hundred kilometers. If they estimated six hundred for now, and then did their best to walk thirty kilometers a day, it would still be twenty days.

That was a fair distance. It was really far.

The area north of Vele was under the control of orcs and undead, but Alterna was southwest, so they wouldn’t be traveling through enemy territory. However, they had no knowledge of the local area, and didn’t even know the general route back, so it might be hard to get back to Alterna on their own.

They had money. They had the one hundred platinum coins they had received as payment from the K&K Pirate Company. It was worth an incredible one thousand gold. It was so much money that, honestly, it didn’t feel real.

Even though Haruhiro had a hard time believing it, they had the genuine article in their hands, so they considered hiring a guide, but he felt like they’d be taken advantage of. Well, they had a whole thousand gold, so it wouldn’t matter how much they were overcharged, but it would be hard to tell who they could trust.

If people learned how incredibly rich the party was, it was possible that no end of people might plot to relieve them of that wealth, so it was best to pretend they were poor volunteer soldiers. They had to be at least that cautious.

Apparently merchants traveled between Vele and Alterna. If they looked around, there had to be a caravan or two looking for guards.

Or so he hoped.

“Am I maybe... being a little overly optimistic?” Haruhiro murmured.

He and the party gathered information from the proprietors and customers of stalls, as well as friendly passersby, and they finally ended up at Winged Ogrefish Street.

The entirety of the large, covered street was a marketplace, but there were hardly any shops with wares on display. It was primarily a place for the merchants to trade with each other, so it was lined with the offices of trade associations and companies.

It turned out there were multiple trade caravans going to Alterna. But when they asked the merchants leading them if they were in need of guards, none of them were friendly.

“Guards, you say?” One pudgy merchant with a marvelous mustache looked dubiously at the party with a nasal laugh. “Do you take me for an imbecile? If you ever do find a man who is fool enough to take on total unknowns such as yourselves, do tell. I am sure his idiocy would make a fine story to contemplate over a drink sometime.”

That was harsh.

Kuzaku came close to snapping, but looking at it from the merchant’s perspective, it was a reasonable stance to take. For the same reason that the party couldn’t hire a guide so easily, the merchant wanted people he could trust as guards.

Looking more closely, there were many merchants traveling with well-armed men and women, and any proper caravan likely had mercenaries on retainer.

It didn’t look like things would be as simple as expected, but, well, there was absolutely no need to rush.

They had money. Honestly, having money was wonderful. It gave them room to work with.

Haruhiro managed to secure some pretty nice lodgings for the party before sundown, and then they headed back out to get dinner together.

“Let’s go to the Stormy Petrel Restaurant,” he suggested.

In the process of gathering information, that place had come up a number of times as having good food.

When they arrived, they found that the Stormy Petrel was an outdoor eatery with over a hundred tables, but not a single chair. Customers were apparently supposed to buy food and drink at one of the numerous stalls nearby, then stand to eat and drink wherever they liked. There was a wide variety of dishes available, and they could get alcohol, too.

It was awfully busy considering the sun hadn’t gone down yet, and the tables were nearly all taken.

Kuzaku and Setora were tasked with buying food, while Haruhiro, Shihoru, and Merry stayed at the table they chose. Kiichi went with them.

The gaps between tables were relatively small, and it was pretty noisy, so it was hard to relax when the place was so crowded.

“Should we have gone somewhere else?” Merry asked casually.

“Hmm.” Haruhiro scratched his head. “I wonder. I mean, right now, we could go to the kind of luxurious restaurants we’ve never been in before. Like... I dunno. Something more quiet? Maybe?”

Shihoru ducked her head a little and smiled wryly. “I feel like it might be hard to relax there, too...”

“Yeah. You might be right. We’d be out of place. Clearly.”

“Not good enough for a dragon rider?” Merry asked with a teasing smile.

“Lay off with that, please...”

“It’s how we got rich, though.”

“It was pure coincidence. I didn’t even ride the dragon, okay? I was just holding on for dear life. I mean... I’m shocked I didn’t fall.”

“That was—” Merry puffed up her cheeks almost like Yume for a moment. It was only a moment, though. They quickly deflated, but Haruhiro thanked the heavens he hadn’t missed that moment.

What were the heavens? Like God, or something? He didn’t really know. But it was a good face she’d made. Like a reward to him.

—Wait, how was it a reward?

“You get one demerit,” Merry said harshly.

“...I’m sorry.” Haruhiro bowed his head.

He’d had the feeling he’d been given a demerit once before. Did that mean he had two demerits now? A thought occurred to him. What would happen if he kept accruing demerits?

“Hey, pardon me!” There was suddenly an awfully loud voice, and someone slammed a mug down on their table.

It wasn’t Kuzaku, or Setora, and it obviously wasn’t Kiichi. It was a man with strangely hard hair. He wore glasses, and carried a large backpack. He had the well-worn clothes of a traveler, and his boots were filthy, too. He looked human.

“...Huh?” Shihoru looked frightened. It seemed, at the very least, Shihoru didn’t know who this guy was.

Well, of course not. If this were Alterna, maybe, but this was Vele.

Merry pulled Shihoru closer to protect her, glaring sharply at the man.

“Hm? Is something wrong?” The man’s large eyes blinked behind his glasses. He had a snub nose, and his angular face was distinctive, in a way, but Haruhiro really didn’t recognize him.

“Um... Who might you be?” Haruhiro asked hesitantly.

The man lifted his mug, chugged his foamy drink, and exhaled contentedly. “Me?”

“Well, you and we are the only ones here...”

“Wahahaha! We are, indeed! We are, indeed! I, you see, am a humble trader by the name of Kejiman. There were no seats to be found, and you people, you don’t seem to be a large party, so I figured you wouldn’t mind sharing the table. Look, it’s just me by my lonesome. I won’t get in the way. Right?”

“No, I’m not so sure about that...”

“You said it!” Kejiman laughed raucously again, then took another sip of his drink.

His laughter was mildly annoying. Also, it was sort of aggravating to see a little foam left around his mouth. It would have been fine to tell him to wipe it, but Haruhiro felt like that would be admitting defeat.

“We have more friends with us,” Merry told him in an incredibly cold tone.

But Kejiman assured them with a seemingly endless supply of cheer, “It’s fine!”

If he wasn’t even flinching at Merry’s rejection, he was tough. This guy, he had way too much mental fortitude. Was it that, or was he simply insensitive?

“You say you have friends, but it’s not like it’s ten or twenty people, right?” he asked. “In that case, I see no problem here. I mean, look at this table. Seven or eight people can use it, maybe even ten if you stretch it. How many friends do you have? One? Two? Three, maybe? Ohh, two! It’s all good, then!”

Not good. Haruhiro was getting steamrolled here. If only Kuzaku or Setora were around. But those two weren’t back yet. Haruhiro had to shut this guy down somehow.

—But wait.

“...A trader, you say?” he asked cautiously.

“Yes. Why do you ask?” Kejiman still had foam on his upper lip.

Damn, thought Haruhiro. I lose.

“Um... There’s foam on your upper lip.”

“Whoooooooops!” Kejiman wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, on which he wore a fingerless leather glove, his face turning red with embarrassment.

That embarrassed him? That was a long “whoops,” too. Way too long.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kejiman said. “And? Where were we? Oh, right, I’m a trader. What about it? From the looks of you, you’re volunteer soldiers from Alterna. Am I wrong?”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I knew I could trust my eyes. Or my glasses, at least. They’re not just for show, you know. They’re prescription. And? What? Were you interested in business?”

“Not particularly...”

“Oh, I see. It happens sometimes, you know. Former volunteer soldiers trying to go into business. The amateurs. I know a number of them. Well, it never works out, though. Serves them all right! Diiiiiie!”

“Isn’t that a bit much...?”

“Sorry, sorry! I can’t help it! The resentment builds up over time, you know!”

Slowly, Haruhiro asked, “Have you ever been to Alterna?”

“I have. I have. This is just between us, but I’m about to go again, too.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, what do I have to hide? I’m making good money trading with Alterna!”

“The way you’re shouting, I don’t think you’re hiding it at all...”

“Oh, that’s just a thing I say sometimes. ‘What do I have to hide?’ It’s a convenient expression. In other words, I’m the one who makes a quick buck on niche products no one else will touch! The great Kejiman, that’s me! Wahahaha!”