Vol. 2 Chapter 4 – Part 2(WN)
After breakfast, Schnee and Tiera were in charge of cleaning up and Shin headed toward the blacksmith’s workshop in the inner part of Tsuki no Hokora. Yuzuha, who was probably curious about it, came along with Shin.
âWhat is in there?â
âItâs my warehouse and workshop, and the warehouse is a little special. It has considerable more capacity than it looks.â
The storehouse of Tsuki no Hokora was not as big as a guild house, but quite a lot of items were stored inside. Since it was Shinâs personal warehouse, its contents were inclined to be weapons and armor.
They were making a little detour in response to Yuzuhaâs comment, âI want to see itâ. The appearance of the warehouse was a normal door with a hanging lock. However, it was so tough that even Shinâs strongest attack in the game era couldnât break it. It was said that nothing could break it physically.
âJust pour a little magic power, and done.â
When Shin poured magic power into the lock, a light âclickâ sound was made, and the lock came off. This type of lock was opened by using magic power recognition. The door wouldnât open no matter how much someone fiddled with the fake keyhole.
He pushed open the door and they entered inside. There, it was overflowing with lines of armor and weapons side by side.
There were swords, katanas, spears, bows, daggers, large hammers, halberds, flails and all kinds of weapons displayed. In a different location, there were full body armors for warriors, gauntlets that were thought to be custom-made, and shields alongside it all. Naturally, everything was valuable, starting from ăUniqueă grade to ăLegendă grade, ăMythologyă grade and finally, ăAncientă grade.
A person would feel an enormous amount of pressure the moment they entered the room, even if the person was not sensitive to magic power. Although the quantity and the quality of each item was different, the overwhelming magic power given off was similar to the feeling of abnormal tepid water according to a dweller of this world.
If even one of them was put up for sale, many countries would have piles of their weapons lose their value when compared to its prestige. A warehouse that had a large quantity of these kinds of things for sale already felt like a âwarehouse clearance saleâ.
âAmazing! But, somehow I feel hot~â
âIt is because this place is filled with magic power. You better not enter if you are not strong-minded.â
âYuzuha is okay for this much!â
The Element Tail was indeed one of the strongest species even if it was young.
Rather than being overwhelmed by the magic power pressure emitted from the arms, Yuzuha was looking curiously around the warehouse. Even though its tail fur was fully bristled up, there are some things that are better left unsaid.
âItâs fine if you only look at it, but donât touch without permission, okay? There are some cursed arms here.â
âIs it dangerous?â
âAh, I just donât want you to get hurt. There is a seal function attached to the containers, but there are several of them that you might able to break.â
âMuu, Yuzuha donât do things like that.â
While apologizing to Yuzuha, who puffed its cheeks, they headed off to the blacksmith’s workshop. Even here, it was in a perfect state without change, waiting for its master to return.
âThereâs no problem at all. It seems like I can use it right away.â
âTo do what?â
âIâm making swords and armor here. But before doing it today, I have to ask you something, Yuzuha.â
âWant to ask me something?â
âThere is a lot I want to ask. Well, lets return to the living room for now. After that, we will talk. As for forging a sword, thatâs for later.â
âThen letâs go quickly. I want to see Shin forge a sword!â
They returned to the living room and Yuzuha had sparkling eyes with anticipation. Even though Shin didnât know what Yuzuha was looking forward to so much, he lightly checked the tools and followed after Yuzuha. As for Schnee and Tiera, who were taking care of the cleaning after the breakfast, it should be done soon.
When he returned to the living room, the three of them already surrounded the table. He sat down on his seat while smiling wryly at Yuzuha, who urged him on with âquickly! quickly!â.
âWhat did Shin want to ask?â
âFirst of all, why were you in such a weakened state in that Shinto shrine. And, did a large amount of people disappear around 500 years ago? If you know something about it, then please tell me.â
When Shinâs question was heard, Yuzuha closed its eyes and folded its arms like it was thinking about something. After several seconds like that, Yuzuha began to talk.
âWell, err… When Yuzuha was there, I was having the most painful experience from the inside. It was very painful, so much that I collapsed.â(T/N: Yuzuha sometimes refer itself as âYuzuhaâ when talking.)
âIs that so? Did you understand the drawing on that floor?â
âNo~, I didnât know it.â
Shin thought it was some sort of relief feature that delayed the condition, but Yuzuha didnât seem to remember it.
âI understand. How about the people who had disappeared?â
âI donât know. People didnât come very much.â
âNow that I think about it, there was some kind of erected barrier that made people stay away from there.â
Shin remembered that a barrier, around the Shinto shrine, affecting oneâs mind had been erected. A person might not come near it because of that.
âEventually, what was Yuzuha doing in such place?â
âUhm, I was basking under the sun, when suddenly the ground went âbamâ, the wind blew âbyu byuâ and the mountain went âclangâ. Yuzuha was surprised and jumped. After that, I tried my best so that the ground would not be wrecked apart.â
â…In other words, the natural disaster occurred, and you tried to suppress it?â
âIt is likely so, I have no doubt if it is Yuzuha.â
âEh, is that true?â
When Schnee chimed in with an agreeable response, Tiera was amazed and had wide eyes.
Though Shin didnât know what kind of technique Yuzuha used, the Element Tail was a monster that corresponded to all attributes. The possibilities of interfering with the natural disaster by some special method was high.
âA lot of power was used while I kept at it, then I took a rest in the Shinto shrine. Because my power could not be held in my body then, I thought I was gonna die soon when Shin came.â
âIt was just at the last minute when I came, huh?â
âWhen the unpleasant wind blew, I was scared.â
When he heard about unpleasant wind, Shin was reminded of the miasma. Perhaps both of the ăCurse ⢠⠊ă and the ăPoison ⢠⠊ă at that time, were caused by the miasma. A number of monsters and levels were increased in an area with a lot of miasma during the game. Moreover, to a player, it was a troublesome way to be given an abnormality state responding to status at a regular intervals. Apart from the monsters, they had to drink potions regularly because of the abnormality state, although it didnât affect high-ranked players too much.
âIt was thanks to Millie that Yuzuha was saved. I wouldnât have gone there if not for Millieâs advice.â
âI will give thanks when I meet Mi-chan again.â
âThatâs right, letâs take some souvenirs.â
Because of the forecast ability, Shin couldnât say it clearly. Whether Yuzuha understood it or not, it matched with Shinâs way of talking.
âHey, who is Millie?â
Tiera looked puzzled.
âSheâs a child who lives in the orphanage of the kingdom. I happened to meet her by chance. If you know Wilhelm, think of the orphanage he is protecting and you will understand.â
âAh! that guy.â
âYou know Wilhelm?â
âHe comes over once a while to meet master. But I rarely meet him. However, I thought it was strange that he bought sweets while he was here on occasion. I wonder if he was going to the orphanage, if so, it is understandable.â
Wilhelm seemed to buy the cakes which Tiera made.
âIt is because the cakes that Tiera makes are delicious, right?â
âNo, it is because itâs cheap. Masterâs cake are more delicious. Even the kingâs messenger has come to purchase it. Because I learned mine in an elfâs village, it is only fine.â
They praised each other, although both of them seemed delicious.
âWhen you said learned it in an elfâs village, which one was it?â
âUhm, itâs a baked confectionery called Cayfal, have you heard of it?â
âNo, I have never heard of it.â
In the first place, he didnât remember any kind of setting called skillful bakery in any elfâs village. Because cooking was not his specialty, there were many dishes which he couldnât cook or make, even if he had the recipe.
âThat Cayfal is like a financier*, huh? It will be nice to distribute it to children because the cake is as big as a mouthful.â (T/N: Financier is a small French cake)
âThough I displayed it on a whim, one or two sale items have to compete at the present time. Because I originally lived in the forest, my strong point is making cake using honey.â
âIs that so? But wait, since Tsuki no Hokora is not a store that mainly sells foodstuff, are there any other sales?â
Shin looked at Schnee while asking that.
âBecause Shin was absent, there are a few items for sale. I am an amateur with smithery, and for replenishing the goods, only Shin can open the storehouse where the arms were kept.â
Therefore, Schnee had to replenish unskilled stock from somewhere, and it seemed difficult to replenish goods because of competition over that right. It was only natural that if the maker went missing, there would be a shortage of inventory.
âHow should I say it…Iâm sorry. Schnee is doing a good job to keep the store open.â
âEven if it is open, there arenât many things that are able to be put up for sale.â
â…Thatâs true. Even if itâs open, it wonât solve anything.â
During the game era, the store was barely continuing in business. It was no wonder.
âWhen I have time, I will replenish the stock with the ones I have saved.â
âRoger that. By the way, the talks have derailed from the subject. Yuzuha, can we continue?â
âYup. But, because I was in the Shinto shrine the whole time, I donât know more than you already know.â
The interference to the natural disaster, it seemed to be an impossible task, even to an Element Tail. Although it said that it didnât know about the worldâs situation, because it made a great effort to decrease the damage of the natural phenomenon since the Dusk of the Majesty, thereâs no reason to blame it.
âI see, tell me when you recall something, just in case.â
âYes, I understand~ Umm, Tiera-onee-chan, that Cayfal just now, is it done yet?â
When the conversation settled down, Yuzuha asked about the pastry matter to Tiera. Was it interested in it that much? Even the things about the smithy was forgotten. As Yuzuha approached Tiera, its tail shook with flutters.
Such an appearance also suited its age.
âExcuse me, but there is one more thing. I have to talk to Shin.â
â…What?â
Though Schnee was in a serious mood; it was different from a while ago, as she put a stop to the air trying to clear.
She appeared to have been looking for the right time to begin the talk.
âActually, there is a person I would like you to meet. I understand that you may have various things to investigate, but please make this the first priority this time.â
âThen, who is this person you want me to meet?â
Shin felt like it was a rush from Schneeâs tone. It was like something was running out of time, such a feeling of impatience.
He corrected his sitting posture, and waited for Schneeâs words.
âI didnât think it was a good idea to meet again immediately so I didnât talk about it yesterday, but the person I want you to meet is Girard.â
âGirard huh?…No, wait, is it really Girard?â
Girard was the no. 3 support character of Shin. A High Beast. But, it was more than 500 years since the Dusk of the Majesty, it should be impossible to meet Girard.
â…Is he still alive?â
Although he was called a High Beast, he didnât have a long lifespan. Humans, Beasts, Dwarfs were said to live a long life if they lived for 100 years.
In contrast to these 3 races that have short lives, such races like Elves, Pixies, Dragnils and Lords were said to be a long-lived species.
Even though High Beasts and High Dwarfs were a superior race, still, it should be 150 years at most.
Although a beastâs length of life depends on the animal which became the model, Girardâs model was a relatively orthodox wolf among the choices. It wasn’t a model for long living especially.
Certainly, he heard the thing about Girard becoming a king. However, because that was a fairly old story, Shin never thought that Girard was still alive.
âYes. But…I think he has a few days left and it will not be that much longer anymore.â
Schnee personally didnât know why Girard was still alive until today.
But she was certain about one thing.
âHe too, was waiting for Shin.â
As Schnee was, Girard also was waiting for Shin.
âHe himself doesnât know how he could live this long. There is likely some meaning, since he is alive.â
He didnât seem to feel too much fear from the approaching death either since his body should already be dead.
âActually, even if thereâs no Girard, the alliance can continue functioning. The current beast king is the eighth generation, that not only has military power, but he also has the ability as a ruler.â
Falnido Beast Alliance was formed by bundling up every beastman tribe. It was built by Girard during the confusion that struck the world.
And then, as for the first beast king, it was Shinâs support character, a no. 3 of High Beast origin.
Girard Estaria.
The appearance that Shin remembered, when he was in a normal human form, was a man of about 40, characterized with an unkempt beard and brown hair that was trimmed short. Handsome men and beautiful women would be wretched, because this appearance of a wild middle-aged man was good. When Girard was fully armed, the charisma that was felt around him could be called a veteran warrior, Shin took pride at that time for not making a wrong choice.
When in combat, Girard went into werewolf mode, a figure that swooped down upon his prey, exactly like a hunter.
He specialized in close ranged combat and paired up with the no. 4 support character, Shibaid, a High Dragnil, to serve as an advance guard party. Although his offensive power from magic skills was low, it was compensated with agile movement, and perfected with hand-based martial arts skills. He could fight on par with Schnee, and would win under certain conditions.
The figure that used to strike his fist against enemies with a roar, was reproduced instantly in Shinâs mind, as he remembered it properly.
âAfter hearing that, we canât afford not to go. Where is Girardâs place?â
âWhen we exited from the Wraith Plains the other day, just go further north ahead instead. The alliance extends over the plains and forest area, it is next to a capital city that is said to be ruled by a human king. There are 4 big villages like the capital city, and the Girard is in the village of the dog clan where the current beast king is.â
âI see. Although I heard it roughly, there is no danger before arriving there, right?â
âYes, I think it will be safe for at least another several more years. Because the person in question has not weakened that much too.â
âThen, should I go normally?â
Shin was going to use his trump card for long-range transfer if he was really driven into a corner, but it somehow seemed to be all right.
âThen, because there are several things I want to check, letâs leave after I am finished. I have to be ready too, will both of you be alright for tomorrow?â
âIâm all right anytime~â
âI wonder if Iâm good since Iâve always been the sort of âstay at home caretakerâ.â
Shin asked Yuzuha and Tiera, who had taken the role of listener. Basically, Tiera was entrusted for house-watching because of Schnee always being away from home, and she thought she would do the same this time too.
âTiera, you will also go this time.â
âEh! Me too?â
Tiera was surprised to hear from Schnee that she was also going.
âBecause Shin has returned, thereâs no need to stick to this place anymore.â
âYeah, itâs the strong point of owning a personal store.â
âUm, is it okay to leave this store alone?â
Schnee smiled wrily at Tieraâs question.
âNo problem. Because he will carry it away.â
âCarry it…away?â
What did she say, Tiera had an expression of not understanding. Surely, there were few people who could understand immediately when Schnee said, âCarry the store.â
âI can take it. This store.â
â…Eto, what do you mean by that?â
It was understandable that Tiera couldnât comprehend what Shin was trying to say. No matter how one looked at it, he couldnât easily carry the store, was what she was probably thinking.
âIs it unusual now? To carry a store or a house?â
âItâs not nonexistent, but without an expert in that field, it would not be known. As far as I know, it needs quite a large sum of money to be attached even to a small hut.â
Although it was common technology during the game era, as usual, Shin didnât know what happened under the present situation. When he heard about it from Schnee, he understood that it was treated like a special technique.
From seeing Tieraâs reaction, the production skills seemed to have suffered a steep decline.
âIndeed. Then, itâs only natural that Tiera doesnât know about it, huh? Then, are arts more mainstream than skills now? Is the production system too?â
âYes. The production system is also divided by arts and skills. After the Dusk of the Majesty, people tried to restore the skills, and from trial and error, arts were born. Itâs the same as the combat system, where the effects are lower than a skill.â
âI knew it.â
If it was said in a game style, they were trying to reproduce the skill without the system assistance. Normally nothing would happen, but here was a different world. Perhaps, an effect, such as a portion of the skill was produced, and it was called arts. As for a blacksmith, because there were techniques that could never be reproduced by simple physical work, it must not be an âoff the markâ guess.
âSince the new generation, like me, thought arts were the standard, itâs deviated from Shin and Master by all means. Were people with the same class as Master common before the Dusk of the Majesty? I canât imagine what kind of world that was.â
âWell it had its own way, but there were not many people who had the same class as Schnee, right?â
âStill, it canât be counted with the number of fingers on both hands, donât you agree? It was so beyond scary that Iâm amazed from that time. Those kind of people fighting were heard everywhere, and how such a society was able to maintain itself in such situation.â
âIn that situation, it was managed properly, and when a guy went too far they would get expelled.â
Malignant players were reported to GMâs and had their account deleted, but because he couldnât say that, he got by with similar words. If there really was such a world, it ought to have perished a long time ago.
âHow was it able to be managed?â
âThat was because there were various people cooperating in that situation. Leaving that aside, what do you mean by a ânew generationâ that you said a while ago, Tiera?â
âAh that matter? Itâs simple. It is a ânew generationâ for people who were born after the Dusk of the Majesty, a person who was born before the Dusk of the Majesty and is still alive is called the âold generationâ. It was first said by someone when the country was founded after the Dusk of the Majesty, and lasted until now. Though I think as a new generation, I obviously feel inferior when I see Master and other older generations.â
As Tiera said, an old generation was certainly superior when looking at the ability.
Shin and Schnee were good examples. However, if the skill was excluded, it didnât mean that the old generation was high in ability.
âThere are gaps in ability between the different generations, but Iâm not too conscious of differences between the old and new. However, I clearly feel the generation differences from Shin and Master.â
âNot generation differences!â
To tell the truth, a piece of the generation differences didnât make sense to Shin.
âSuch recognition is all right I guess.â
Since it was already established, there didnât seem to be any harm or anything. Although it appears to have some exceptions.
âLetâs return to the talk that had derailed away for the time being. I said it a while ago here, but Tsuki no Hokora is a store that can be moved. Because of that, I intend for the two of you to act together. In addition, Tiera is able to go out without much trouble now and I thought it would be good to take a trip. Ah, of course there is a choice, do you want to stay?â
He wouldnât force her, against her will, to come along with him. And there was no reason he must take Tsuki no Hokora with him.
âIf thatâs the case, I will follow you. Though I did go out from here several times, it was still a little scary for me to enter the kingdom yet. But I think itâs all right if it were with Shin and Master together.â
âItâs decided then.â
âEveryone will be together~!â
All of them nodded at Yuzuhaâs remark.
âLetâs move for preparation immediately!â
In addition to Tiera and Schnee, they aimed to meet an old friend at Falnido Beast Alliance.
The anticipated reunion and parting, Shin has decided the destination.
What was waiting for them thereupon, no one knows.