Kansutoppu Chapter 81 (Patreon)

The Land of the Rising Sun, Part 1

-Azuma Tsukiba Port-

How many days has it been since I left Avangard? Probably close to a month. I left the port of the kingdom of Avangard by ship to the Ballard continent, and from there I took another ship to finally arrive at this port of Tsukiba. Roel is having a good time speaking with the other passengers, but for me, the boat ride is a hell. I apologize for the others, but it would be less boring if the demons attacked us.

But I've actually had that happen only a few times, and they were only weak demons compared to the ones in Doridon. In addition, the people who were escorting us this time were strong, and by the time I woke up from my nap, it was all over. I'm not saying that the boatmen were weak, but those guys seemed to be even more adept.

They had never registered as adventurers and had never measured their levels. It was true what they said, that there are many non-adventurers in the world.

Incidentally, I asked them about the one-winged devil, but as expected, they had no idea.

"Ahhh, we're here at last!"

Like Roel, I took a big step back. It had been a long time since I had set foot on land.

And there it was, an unusual sight. The wooden boats were just as I had imagined at first, and the roofs of the buildings were made of layers of black planks. And the clothes of those people, they all look alike and cold. Yes, I remember that Zangiri, whom I defeated, was wearing the same kind of clothes.

Oh, but that woman's clothes look kind of hard to move around in. She has a futon-like covering wrapped around her stomach, and her feet are completely hidden, so I don't think she could run.

"That roof is called a tiled roof," she said. It's very unusual, isn't it?"

"Those people look kind of cold. Oh, those people over there are walking around with something like a barrel hanging from a pole. I wonder what they are doing."

The more I looked around, the more interested I became. The port of Avangard was bustling with activity, but what a lot of enthusiasm over here. I could hear cheerful voices coming from all over the place, and it was even noisy. Over there, they were doing something with a lot of fish spread out, and it was spectacular how different things can be just by being in different countries.

"Roel, let's go to the Mountain of the Great Gods as soon as possible."

"Umm, yes. I'll have to ask where it is first. Um, excuse me. Excuse me, do you have a minute?"

Roel called out to the person, but the person walked away without answering. Maybe he didn't hear her. Now Roel calls out to another person.

"Hey, do I have to speak louder? Excuse me!"

"...tsk."

This time, the man I spoke to just clicked his tongue and went away at a fast walk. Undeterred, I called out to him one after another, but no one would take me up on it.

"I'm busy, Kocha! I don't know if you're sightseeing or what, but get out of my way! Shoo! Shoo! What the hell, it's not even a festival, and you're dressed like an idiot..."

I wonder if this is what they mean when they say they are pissed off. I was ticked off.

Roel, there have been nothing but strange people here since a while ago!"

"Well, from their point of view, I guess we are the weird ones. And they've been staring at us since a while ago..."

It's true, everyone is walking away while looking at us with a jittery look on their face. They are whispering to each other if they are saying something bad about us.

Thinking back, it was the same when I first came to Quimir. I wonder if people don't want to get involved with someone just because they are a little strange. Just like that time, I felt some tears of frustration.

"Let's walk some more."

As Roel suggested, we decided to leave the port. There are probably many people working here and everyone is busy. That's why everyone is on edge. That's what I decided to assume.

-Azuma Tsukiba Town-

As we left the harbor, we came to a row of buildings that we could not tell if they were private homes or stores. All the buildings had an unusual atmosphere with their entrances left open. There, people are sitting on red stands eating a series of round things stuck into something.

"Oh, that! They call them dango! It's called!"

No wonder why Roel is licking her lips. According to Roel, they are called anko (sweet bean paste).

"Mmmm! Yummy!"

"Wow, this is delicious..."

I immediately bought one and tried it. The exquisite sweetness spread in my mouth and seemed to become a habit. And 100 gold for a set of three is too cheap. I heard that Kirkton is not so kind to strangers, but that's not true at all. It is true that the people I met earlier gave me the cold shoulder, but as long as I pay for the food, they let me eat delicious food like this. I wonder if there are still more mysterious and delicious foods out there.

Azuma is a nice place, I think, even though I'm not Roel, I'm going to be a bit greedy.

"Dumplings, please."

Yes, three for three gold."

When the two of us looked at the shopkeeper, we could clearly hear him whisper, 'Shit. Why did he sell it to that guy for 3 gold, but only us for 100 gold?

I asked the shopkeeper why, but he ignored me and quickly went back into the store. What is this?

I heard that there are stores that sell to tourists who don't know anything at higher prices than usual. We were beaten to a pulp."

"What's that! I can't stand that guy!"

"He's just so conspicuous, don't give him any trouble, Ryua-chan."

In the end, we both had to sigh. Then we trudged on, but no matter who we talked to, they ignored us, and we still felt their eyes on us, so we were at a loss as to what to do.

"Roel, what should I do?"

"Hmm, I'm almost there, I think I have a better idea..."

"You got it?"

"Just a little more."

"We there yet?"

"Not yet."

"Quickly."

"Moo! Shut up!

Are you two lovely ladies here from another country, perhaps as tourists?

The man who approached me unexpectedly was beaming. Both Roel and I were at a loss for words because of the suddenness of the conversation after having been ignored all this time.

Perhaps sensing this, the man smiled again.

"Ah, yes. Yes, that's right. Um."

"I knew it. You seem to be in some kind of trouble. Most of you haven't even found a place to stay for the night, have you? There are many inns in this town, but there are also many malicious places that offer usury to tourists. If it is all right with me, I can show you a good place to stay.

"Really? Thank you!

"Oh, well, follow me."

What a nice guy you have there. Roel and I looked at each other in relief.

Azuma Tsukiba Harbor cul-de-sac.

I followed him, but we kept walking into more and more unpopular places. I wondered if there really was an inn in such a place, but finally we hit a dead end.

Even I could tell that I had been tricked. The man kept his back to me and said nothing.

"Um, the inn...?"

You guys, you're up."

The man gives instructions in a low voice that sounds like a different person than before. Then five men appeared behind us. They had square, angular faces and stocky bodies. A slender man with narrowed eyes. All of them had evil looks and did not look like very nice men. All of these men wore weapons on their waists.

And when the men pulled them out, thin, easily breakable swords came out. Yes, Zangiri was using that same weapon. It is a weapon called a sword.

"Um, where is the inn?"

"You stupid little girl. You are a stupid little girl, you still don't know you have been cheated. If you don't want to get hurt, grow up."

"Ryua-chan, I knew they were bad people..."

"Hah, what's really going on in this country... it's so different from Wizard Kingdom."

"Heh heh heh, exotic girl, she's pretty good, isn't she?"

One of the men chuckles and nips at me. The sound of him drooling is absolutely disgusting.

I can't help but sigh, what have we done? We didn't come all the way here to deal with this. If we behave, will they let us off the hook? No, I'm sure they're thinking of some crazy shit. Enough, I'm going to let them all sleep.

I'm going to...

I'm not...

I…

"Ka-ha..."

We start to walk away from the men who are writhing in agony, their bodies bent over. I don't regret it too much because I was really frustrated. One of the men, who was pale and in agony, was hit in the lower part of the stomach with the tip of Roel's fire rod.

The look on his face was out of this world, and I can tell that it must have hurt him to death. I felt a little sympathy for him as he struggled to hold his stomach and groin area.

Before I took him down, I asked him about the Mountain of the Great Gods, but he didn't tell me. From their point of view, I guess they had every right to be angry because we were in a desperate situation, and they were leisurely asking me such a question. That's why they attacked us, and that's how it ended up like this.

Let's look for a place to stay..."

"I just had an idea. You know..."

Roel's idea, which was a surefire way to get the location of Mountain of the Great Gods from the people of this town. I was worried about whether such a thing would work, but Roel was so confident that it was okay.

-Azuma Tsukiba Town of Hototogi-

"Hoh! You brought Daigami-sama all the way from a foreign country! That's impressive! That's nice, you should stay the night!"

The overweight, unfriendly innkeeper, who had ignored us when we came in, was now in a good mood. In other words, Roel's idea had succeeded, but am I the only one who feels a bit sorry?

"Yes. We've been intrigued by that for quite some time in Azuma's Daigami-sama and his beliefs and influence. So, when we finally had enough money, we came all the way here. When I saw the country in person, I was amazed at how wonderful it was, even more so than I had imagined. I guess it was thanks to the blessings of Lord Daigami after all."

"Well, hey! This year's bumper harvest is all thanks to Daigami-sama! This country's abundance is due to Daigami-sama."

I once again respected Roel for being able to speak so thoughtfully. I had never heard of Daigami-sama until I asked the king about it, and I have no interest in him. The point is that I should be interested in Daigami-sama even though I don't know anything about him yet.

If I told him that I was currently researching, my lack of knowledge would be exposed, and I might get in trouble. So, when she told me in a strong tone that I should just be a casual tourist, I knew I would never be able to beat Roel. Yes, I need Roel. I want to stay with her. I would rather follow her.

"First, you're going to the capital east of here. There you can visit the Daimeikou Shrine, which is good for health, business, and marriage. The mountain of the Great Gods, where Daigami-sama is enshrined, is just around the corner."

In addition to putting me in a good mood and giving me almost free lodging, dinner was a feast I had never seen before. Among them was a surprisingly tasty, salty brown soup. However, the name "miso soup" doesn't sound delicious.

I was surprised at the first thing when I came to this country. That is that there are no demons in this country.

Mamono? What's that?"

He explained that this country is protected by Daigami-sama, so there are no such unholy beings. This means that, unlike other countries, anyone without the strength to fight can walk around without worry, without having to hire an escort. This is a pretty amazing thing, isn't it?

Of course, how outstanding was the existence of Daigami-sama. If this god really exists and has eliminated the existence of demons, I wonder how powerful he was. With what kind of power, and how powerful it would be? I wonder if that Vandalcia could do the same thing.

"Before I go to bed, I should thank Daigami-sama that I was able to spend another day in good health. Don't you guys forget that."

Maybe even the Demon Army can't touch this country.