Chapter 813: An Era of Upheaval and the Life of the Common Man
Visiting the Dragon Palace was a new discovery for me personally, and it seems it was a stimulating experience for Princess Ran as well. From the next day onward, Princess Ran began spending all her time in the study of the Baron’s mansion, which Irina occupies as the embassy. Apparently, she started eagerly pestering Irina and Christie about something. Of course, I’m not stationed at the Baron’s mansion or watching over the princess, so this is hearsay. Fennel told me.
“Are they talking about the Elven territories?”
“No. It seems to be mostly about Master……”
“……Do I really have that much material to talk about?”
“I think there’s plenty”
The past two years have certainly been packed with highs, lows, eroticism, and battles, but even so, would it really take that many days to recount everything……? Or maybe not?
“How Master met each female slave, how he charmed them, and what achievements he left behind for Trot, the Elf Territory and Kalwin……especially since the princess knows next to nothing about the culture and history around here, starting from there would provide endless topics”
“Ah……I see. The background of the countries and the racial relationships must be new to Princess Ran……”
That girl can converse fairly smoothly, so I tend to assume she knows everything and talk freely. But really, she’s just reading the room and going with the flow—there are probably many things she doesn’t truly understand. Is that kind of 「Good Listener」 quality part of royal etiquette? To set that aside and have a deep, probing conversation, someone like Irina is the right choice—equal in status and stature, so there’s no awkwardness, and her intelligence is outstanding.
“Relying on the Princess’s generosity to give a sloppy tour feels kinda bad……I guess I need to make an effort too”
“I think there are plenty of people who could stand by the Princess’s side and fill in for you, Master……”
“But Tetes and Naris said Southern dialect isn’t that hard if you know Valerian. Considering the future, it probably wouldn’t hurt to learn it”
Anyway, language comes first. It’s becoming clear this won’t end simply with restoring the princess’s health. We might need to head into Saint Gardo and take some kind of action. Plus, having to rely on an interpreter every time I talk to the female knight Fiona is quietly annoying.
“But I’m not fluent in Southern……I’m sorry I can’t be of help”
“Ah, no, I know a few people who seem to have free time. Anyway, Fennel, you better work hard”
Waving to Fennel, I left the Baron’s mansion. As for Dianne-san……she’s busy with Fiona’s intensive training, so I’d better not interrupt. The dark elf sisters, Mira and the others, are undoubtedly fluent. Sharon, being from there, goes without saying. But when it comes to someone I can truly relax around, it’s Naris.
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So, I visit Naris. Today, she was playing catch with knives in the cat beast mansion’s garden, still wearing her bathrobe after her bath. Normally, one might worry about such a dangerous stunt……but both Naris and the cat beasts are accustomed to handling blades. For the cat beasts especially, touching blades is crucial to keep their hunting skills sharp. A dedicated target had been set up quite some time ago. And, with her characteristic dexterity, Naris hits every shot right in the target’s high-score zone, earning the cat beasts’ respect. I approach her with my request.
“Hohou. So you wish to learn Southern dialect from me?”
“Why do you look so pleased……”
“Huhuhu. Well, it’s quite rare for me to be in a position to teach anyone, you see”
“You’ve lived such an eventful life, yet how much do people underestimate you……”
Naris, an adventurer and knight over 100 years old, has experienced many things due to her chronic poverty. She’s approachable and should be the perfect person to ask for know-how, yet it seems no one ever relies on her. ……Well, maybe opportunities to teach are scarce in Renfangas.
“Very well, I’ll teach you. Though honestly, the fastest way is to just interact with someone who only speaks Southern”
“That’s true, but……it’s exhausting”
When neither party understands the other’s language, you naturally start using simpler words and relying heavily on gestures to communicate. That forces you to focus intensely on what each word means, making it easier to learn the language. That’s pretty much how I picked up Valerian. In places like Catalina or Rennesto, you often had no choice but to talk to outsiders, so that was the only way. But this time, I probably don’t need to go that far.
“Alright, starting with everyday conversation. The Saint Gardo greeting is ridiculously long—I haven’t even memorized it all myself—so we’ll skip that. Let’s start with the basic 『Good Morning』 you’d use in any country. Repeat after me, okay……”
Naris’s southern dialect lesson, commencing. The cat beasts playing with Naris had somehow lined up behind me, and soon they were chiming in more enthusiastically than I was.
“Nyaa. Easier than elven language”
“Yeah!”
“Hey! I’m not teaching you guys, okay!? 10-man Captain Smithson! Stop spacing out and pay attention properly!”
“Ah, well, but it’s easier to learn together”
“And if you end up being the slowest to pick it up, that won’t be funny at all!”
“Well……but it’s kind of inevitable that I’m slower than the young ones……”
“Show more sincerity to me, who’s focusing all my attention on teaching you!”
A fun late-summer lesson under the blue sky. Maybe Naris is surprisingly suited to being a temple teacher, I think. Well, as a knight from another country, I probably won’t be teaching kids like this again. Honestly, I doubt I’ll grasp Fiona’s way of speaking in just a day or two, but if I follow Irina’s advice, I have some leeway. I’ll learn it slowly.
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As the day ended, I decided to visit the men’s bath for a change. Lately, I’d mostly been using the secret hot springs, but Polka residents really do bond over baths. Not just through peeping or pervy interruptions, mind you. For women too, baths are crucial places where residents of different statuses gather and talk. Thinking that, I entered the bath only to find the Masturbation Brothers, who felt like I hadn’t seen them in ages, along with Keiron, Jackie-san, and Old Man Dan.
“Oh, 10-man Captain Smithson”
“Didn’t you bring any snacks today?”
“When did I ever bring snacks……”
I feigned exasperation at the Masturbation Brothers, but upon reflection, bringing those perverted slave girls who strip immediately did seem to fit the phrase 「Bringing Snacks」. And if that was the case, I had quite a few memories of it. Clearing my throat.
“Don’t you lot have anything else to say to your superior officer you haven’t seen in a while?”
I tried to act superior. In the military, superiors are important. It’s not something you can be rude about. Well, they do get pretty tough on you, but you do have the authority to correct that sort of thing. ……Or so I thought, but the Masturbation Brothers just grinned in unison.
“Huu. How long do you plan to keep acting like a superior officer?”
“You won’t be able to call yourself a 10-man Captain for much longer”
“Well, that’s true, but right now, we’re technically superior and subordinate, right?”
I hadn’t expected them to rebel, so my reaction was a bit flustered. But the two didn’t flinch.
“Actually, our retirement has already been accepted”
“Or rather, we got the letter confirming it yesterday. And our household registration transfer application was approved too”
“Seriously!?”
Neither should have been easy. Especially the household registration. There’s talk of making Polka a special district, but even if a declaration were made in the capital, the actual implementation would still take considerable time. For now, they’ll simply naturalize as citizens of Trot. From Celesta’s perspective, Trot is effectively a vassal state, but its feudal system still functions solidly, and its household registration isn’t lax. It shouldn’t be easy to move between them.
“It’s all thanks to 100-man Commander Diane and 100-man Special Duty Commander Becker”
“They put in a good word for us and had it relayed to the Queen”
“You two actually went that far……”
They’ve always been bold, but this takes guts to a whole new level. Do they really want to bury themselves in that open-air bath peeping paradise that badly?
“So, our current superior officer—no, our sovereign—is the Baron”
“From now on, we won’t let 10-man Captain Smithson act all high and mighty……in fact, we’re the ones with the power, the enforcers”
“Wh……What?”
These guys are the enforcers……? My brain can’t keep up. What exactly can they enforce? While I trembled in shock, Jackie-san, washing Old Man Dan’s back, said cheerfully.
“Well, especially Goto-kun is the young fighter we’ve been waiting for. When monsters came out of the forest, Johnny-kun and Keel-boya were useless, so I ended up swinging the spear myself”
“Well……now we have elves and dragons, so I doubt these guys will get much use”
Besides, despite appearances, Goto isn’t that strong in close combat. Well, he’s certainly not weak enough to lose to someone like me, but compared to Isaac or Boyd, he’s definitely a weakling. ……But Jackie shook his head.
“You never know how long the dragons and elves will stay allies”
“At least while I’m around……”
“Young master”
Jackie-san shakes his head again. ……And I vaguely understand. Right. Well……yeah. That’s true. I……right. ……Grandpa Dan sums it up slowly in his deep, low voice.
“The burden you carry is simply too great, master. ……I don’t know what you intend to do. But the folks living in this town can’t believe this situation will last another ten or twenty years”
“…………”
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on me. ……Yeah, that’s right. I suddenly got my hands on something too big……and I believed in my own future far too innocently. The people of Polka can’t trust me enough to think about the future in sync with that. It’s not that it’s their fault for not trusting me. I’m not, and never intended to be, this town’s 「Hero」. There’s no reason for the townspeople to assume that the cooperative relationship with the dragons and elves, centered around me, would last forever. It’s only natural. There’s no guarantee I won’t leave someday for some reason unknown to the townspeople, and no guarantee the elves won’t change their stance again in response. The dragons, of course, go without saying. If that’s the case, we can’t let go of the mindset of 「Protecting the town ourselves」. ……Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. Somehow, the gap between my understanding of the situation and the townspeople’s mindset felt inexplicably guilty and lonely. ……But.
“Well, I think it’s useless junk. This place is important to both the Trot Royal Family and Celesta. So, the plan is for us to be protected so thoroughly that we won’t even need to rely on Goto or Lantz’s military force anymore. At least, that’s the plan from above”
Keiron says casually, sighing as he enjoys the hot spring. That reminds me. ……I do have many allies, and they are trying to let me live as myself.
“Well, that’s certainly preferable. After all, the peeping culture is the very reason we moved here”
Goto crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. Wait a minute.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the one enforcing the rules?”
“It means I won’t be the one being enforced upon”
What utter corruption. Well, what can you expect from a Baron like that?