by Hiro Ainana
“Sir Satou!”
Just then, Princess Menea dragged Miss Karina over to me.
“Come, Mistress Karina, give Sir Satou a farewell embrace.”
“Oh, I, um…ah!”
Karina hesitated, so Princess Menea pushed her forward.
Just like that, her voluptuous body was pressed against my chest.
Wow, that is soft.
“There!”
Menea embraced Karina and me with a bright smile.
Her chest felt pretty large for her age, too, though hers could not compare to Miss Karina’s.
Based on this scene alone, you’d think I was the protagonist of some harem series.
“Sir Satou, if you do marry Lady Karina and become a viceroy, please make me your second wife, okay?”
Menea’s voice was playful as she whispered in my ear.
I didn’t know how serious she was, but I hoped she would become good friends with Miss Karina, even if it was partly motivated by ambition.
“Excuse me! That’s way too close, even for a farewell scene!”
“Mm. Guilty.”
“Hee-hee, I’m sorry.”
At the iron-wall duo’s complaints, Princess Menea politely withdrew and apologized to them.
Miss Karina, on the other hand, was in a full-blown panic; her face was bright red and her eyes dazed, as if she was about to collapse.
Between her androphobia and her social awkwardness, that must have been too much for her to process.
Luckily, her maids came rushing over to take care of her.
“Well, have a safe trip.”
“Thank you, Sir Satou. Once you find a place to stay in Labyrinth City, please do write to me at the royal academy. I shall be sure to reply.”
“All right, I promise.”
I agreed to Princess Menea’s proposal, since that way I could also find out how Aoi and Yui were doing.
Overhearing our conversation, the revived Miss Karina came flying over.
“P-please write a letter to me, too…at Muno Castle. You simply mustn’t forget!”
“I won’t—don’t worry.”
I’d already planned to send letters to Baron Muno and Magistrate Nina once we got to Labyrinth City, so I could easily include one for her also.
“W-well then, I’ll be on my way. Satou, when you finish your business in Labyrinth City, please come back to Muno City— No, I know! I, too, shall obtain permission from Father and come to train in Labyrinth City myself!”
“Certainly. If the baron permits it, I would be happy to see you there.”
I barely disguised my surprise at her sudden declaration.
I doubted that Baron Muno would allow his precious daughter to go to such a dangerous city, but there was no point in saying that now.
Instead, I smiled warmly as Miss Karina, Princess Menea, and the others waved to us from the deck of the airship.
“Sold! The Magic Spear Ikazushi goes to bidder number seventeen for two hundred and one gold coins!”
After I saw off Miss Karina and the others, I went back to the dark auction alone.
Unlike the other day, I was in disguise and wearing a grade-9 recognition-inhibitor mask I had in Storage.
I even painted my skin in case someone tried to catch a glimpse under my large, unfashionable hood.
“Magic Ax Inazuma goes to number seventeen for two hundred and seventeen gold coins!”
The items selling for truly ridiculous prices were magic weapons I’d brought in.
This time, I’d brought only four: the two already mentioned, plus Magic Sword Akatsuki and Magic Sword Hibiki.
These names were gleefully given by Arisa, who said they were based on destroyers from the old Japanese Army. As usual, she was very knowledgeable about weirdly specific things.
Both the swords were simple ones with good magic power conduction. If charged with magic, the blades of the spear and the ax would become electrified and could knock out opponents with an electric shock.
They didn’t have flashy lightning-bolt effects like Miss Ringrande’s lightning broadsword did, but I guess the stun function alone was enough to make them sell for a high price.
The Magic Swords sold for 156 gold coins and 152 gold coins, respectively.
That made 726 gold coins in all… There were still the fees and taxes, of course, but at that rate, I could make a comfortable living just selling Magic Swords.
“You’re the best, sweetie!”
“We’re dancing again for the next intermission.”
“Make sure you watch us!”
I was impressed by the dynamic dancing of the half-naked ladies during the intermission, so I gave them a tip and was rewarded with a shower of kisses.
Sadly, I had to experience this through the recognition-inhibiting mask.
I should’ve worn one that left the lower half of my face exposed, like yesterday…
Once the beauties danced off the stage, they were replaced by a well-dressed auctioneer.
“Now it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Our next item is none other than a Gift Orb!”
At that, cheers arose from the audience.
“In case any of our esteemed visitors are unfamiliar with these orbs, allow me to give a humble explanation.”
To summarize the points the auctioneer made through the impatient heckling of the crowd:
1. When you use a Gift Orb, you can learn the skill it contains.
2. Gift Orbs are one-use-only.
3. If it goes unused for more than ten years or so, the orb will lose its blessing.
4. They are found extremely rarely in labyrinth treasure chests.
That was pretty much it.
There were three Gift Orbs to be auctioned off: Farming, Horticulture, and Fire Magic.
Too bad… A Chant orb would’ve been nice.
Curious, I searched the entire scope of my map, but the only Gift Orbs were the three being sold here.
They must have been a very rare item indeed.
“Sold! The Fire Magic orb goes to bidder number three for two hundred and five gold coins!”
The first one fetched a pretty high price. I’d been thinking of going for it myself, but the other bidders seemed so desperate that I decided to hold off.
I knew the price would vary based on the appeal of the skill, but I was still surprised when Farming sold for just one gold coin and Horticulture for thirteen.
After another round of dancing and more auctions, we finally came to the last few items.
“Now, this next item is so mysterious that even our appraisers could not identify it. Take a look at this strange treasure of an ancient magical empire.”
…A smartphone?
Just as the man said, “Analyze” didn’t show any information about it. All I could see in the AR was its model number.
I, along with a number of other dilettantes, bid on the item.
Although it would probably be locked with a PIN.
“Sold! The ancient magic treasure goes to number nine for eighty-five gold coins!”
After a fierce bidding war, I managed to emerge victorious.
Bidder number three, a baron in the VIP seats, scowled at me furiously.
He was wearing a recognition-inhibiting mask, too, but it was no match for my “Analyze” skill and AR display.
“The next item is another collection of Nipanese writing from the home country of the hero, like the memos from yesterday. What secrets could be hidden in this mysterious book provided by a certain merchant? Only the winning bidder will know! Let’s start the bidding at one gold coin!”
The auctioneer was holding a notepad about half the size of a paperback book.
Judging by the glimpse of handwriting on the cover, it was the same author as my pottery memo.
Which meant it was definitely a treasure trove of knowledge.
I had to win this auction, no matter what.
“The mystery book goes to bidder number nine for thi
rty-seven gold coins!”
It was bidder number three who drove the price up so high.
If it hadn’t been for him, I probably could’ve gotten it for around three gold coins, but that didn’t really matter, since I would have bought it even if it took a thousand.
“The Magic Bag goes to number three for one hundred and thirty-five gold coins!”
“Yeeeeeeees!”
I drove up the price on the final item, a Magic Bag, then made a show of losing dramatically to bidder number three. That way, number three seemed satisfied, and whoever sold the item got a high price, too.
“That was too bad…”
The dancer ladies invited me to spend an evening with them, but since I was in disguise, I unfortunately had no choice but to decline.
My plan was to return to the city by using “Skyrunning” under cover of darkness, so I walked toward the exit on the east side of the black-market district.
One section of the wooden outer wall was completely destroyed.
“You there. Do you know what happened here?”
“You haven’t heard? It happened yesterday when a black dragon was chasing some stupid mon hunter. See how that area is black from the dragon’s breath? A buncha knights were investigating all day.”
I handed the friendly young boy a few coppers as thanks for the information, then headed over to the thoroughly charred building.
The black dragon I’d fought with Hayato crossed my mind, but it couldn’t have been that one.
Otherwise, this whole town would’ve been burned to ash.
It must have been either a lesser dragon, a young dragon, or a demi-dragon. I searched the map, but I didn’t see any dangerous high-level monsters in the area.
After that, I spent the next few days touring workshops and socializing with old-capital nobles.
I received the scrolls I ordered, so now my business in the old capital had concluded, and we planned to leave the day after next.
I was even able to get the Holy Swords and Scriptures book from Mr. Kikinu’s magic store.
There was also a public execution of the demon lord–worshipping Wings of Freedom cult members who’d been imprisoned in the castle dungeon, but I had no desire to participate in such a barbaric event.
In the case of upper nobles like the duke’s third son and the former Count Bobino, they appeared to have been dealt with quietly, with the official story being that they’d died of illness.
Since the current Count Bobino was essentially a patron of the Wings of Freedom, he was supposed to pass his title down in the near future.
However, the family’s misfortune continued. The eldest son, who’d been serving as viscount in Sutoandell City, was attacked and killed by a monster on his way back to the old capital.
On top of that, the second and third sons died in equally unfortunate circumstances, until finally the position was offered to the fourth son, the temple knight Sir Keon.
I’d exchanged a few words with Sir Keon when he was serving as Sara’s guard in Muno City, but he didn’t leave much of an impression.
Rumors on the street suggested that he’d killed his brothers to inherit the countship.
Really, I wished that sort of violence would only happen in murder-mystery shows.
“Sir Satou! We’re going out drinking!” At that invitation from Tolma, I was pulled into an excursion to a shady shopping district with him, Mr. Kikinu, Orion, and a few of Orion’s young male noble friends.
While I was away from the mansion, my traveling companions and the housemaids said they would have a girls-only pajama party.
This sounded like a recipe for chaos to me, but since I forbade them from drinking alcohol, it would probably be fine.
Tolma had insisted that he’d chosen a tamer route, since there were minors with us this time, but this seemed pretty hard-core to me.
“Sir Tolma, those ladies aren’t wearing any clothes!”
“Well, yeah. It’s called stripping.”
The young nobles’ jaws almost hit the floor as they stared at the beautiful woman onstage.
She had a remarkably well-toned body, mixing beauty and sexuality in the best possible way. Truly a sight for sore eyes.
“S-Sir Kikinu! Why are all the women in this restaurant p-pushing out their chests?”
“Because it’s a gentlemen’s pub. Just give them a silver for a tip.”
This next place was staffed entirely by large-breasted women. It was a pillowy paradise of prodigious proportions.
The third stop was another of Tolma’s favorites, but this place was a bit different.
“S-Sir Pendragon, isn’t there something strange about the women here?”
“Well, about that…”
He probably meant because all the companions in this place were drag queens.
At a glance, they looked like women, but you could tell from their physique and Adam’s apples.
I didn’t even need my AR display or “Analyze” skill.
When I was in college, my friend who moonlighted as a drag queen taught me all the telltale signs.
Tolma’s parade of pubs went on for a while, so Orion and I got to know each other a little better. We might not have been close friends, but I thought we reached the point where we could have a normal conversation without formalities.
I left the drunken Tolma and Mr. Kikinu in one of the pubs, then called a street carriage and hustled Orion and his friends into it.
Now I just had to get the two drunks inside back home.
“Aaaargh!”
“Leggo a’ my baaaaalls!”
Hearing a commotion, I turned to see several men getting into a scuffle.
It looked to be a spat between criminal guilds.
“Eek!”
“Gramps! Outta the way!”
One of the criminals raised a club to strike a homeless old man who’d been caught in the crossfire.
As I was taking a piece of gravel out of Storage to knock the club away, a shadowy figure kicked the would-be attacker down.
“Are you all right, sir?”
According to the AR label, the shadowy figure—actually a man in a hooded black robe—was the orc alchemist I’d found in my map search before.
Orcs had a reputation for being rather nasty, but this one seemed to be quite a gentleman.
“The guards are comin’! Let’s scram!”
One of the criminals shouted when he saw a group of city guards approaching, and all of them scattered in a panic.
In all the commotion, the orc alchemist disappeared, too.
I entrusted Tolma and Mr. Kikinu to another street carriage, then headed to the underground tunnels of the old capital.
I wanted to talk to that orc alchemist from before.
For some reason, the sewer system that led to where the orcs were located was inhabited by a great deal of crocodiles.
The white crocodiles I occasionally saw among them seemed to be working for the orcs; as I passed them, they splashed their tails against the water, like they were sending a signal of some kind.
Maybe they were like alarm bells.
As proof of my theory, an orc who wasn’t the alchemist was sprinting toward me from the open space ahead.
If I’d used some of my stealth skills, I could have gotten by the white crocodiles easily, but this wasn’t an infiltration mission.
I kept heading toward the open area, and soon the orc appeared in the shadows before me.
Their outline seemed rather blurry. My AR display informed me that the orc was fully loaded with stealth-related skills and magic tools.
Of course, they still came up perfectly on my radar.
“Good evening to you.”
“Mashette!”
I spoke in a friendly voice, but the orc panicked and ran away.
That was understandable, since I’d seen through their elaborate stealth system so easily.
> Skill Acquired: “Orc Language”
I enabled th
e skill so we could communicate.
The orc language seemed to be a subset of the language of the elves, but I didn’t understand the word the orc had said, so they must have branched apart long ago.
As I opened the hidden door that led to the larger space, avoiding the trap, my “Sense Danger” skill warned me of danger beyond the door.
Peeking in through the door, I saw an enormous magic device shaped like a torii shrine gate glowing bright red.
“
Standing in front of the magic tool, the orc alchemist muttered cryptically.
Judging by the AR display, the torii was in a very dangerous state of Magic Power Overload.
If I didn’t do something, this area and the old capital above it would be in peril.
With the help of my “Quick Change” skill, I transformed into Nanashi the Hero and sprang into the room.
“
He would have to save the rest of his would-be final words for later.
I used “Warp” to instantly arrive in front of the magic device and quickly absorbed all the magic without a word.
The Holy Sword Excalibur was already at its magic power reserve limit, so instead I siphoned it into the Holy Sword Caliburn.
Once the magic had been drained from it, the device turned from red to gray.
It looked exactly like the broken travel gates we saw in Seiryuu County.
“
“
The expression of peaceful martyrdom slowly faded from the orc alchemist’s face when I spoke to him.
“<…Impossible. You’re saying you stopped a travel gate that was running in overdrive?>”
The orc alchemist’s gaze swiveled frantically between the magic device—the travel gate—and me.
“No art of man should be able to dispel that much magic power in an instant. Are you a god? Or a god’s apostle?”
After a quiet sigh, the orc alchemist switched from his own language to Shigan.
