Chapter 938: How to Spend the Year-End and New Year Holidays 7
Although there are hardly any tall buildings in Talc, its vibrancy rivals, if not surpasses, that of the royal capital of Trot. There are the dark elves, who boost business with their intellectual yet cheerful dispositions and striking good looks, and the ogres, who struggle to channel their massive frames, brute strength, and a tendency toward reckless haste. By leveraging each other’s strengths, this city achieves all sorts of things that neither could accomplish on its own. I can’t help but think something like this would be difficult in Trot. There are ogre colonies in Trot as well, but it’s rare for ogres to venture out from them with a positive attitude. This is probably because, as different races, humans and ogres find it difficult to strike a balance. While ogres have a clear strength, their physical power, humans have few strengths that can openly match it. If I had to name some, I suppose I could say humans can increase their population more easily than ogres (though not because they’re stronger in terms of reproductive ability, it’s just that ogres, due to the sheer amount they eat, often can’t raise all the children they’d produce if they had them recklessly) and that they’re more rational than ogres…….but if you try to maintain balance based solely on those points, it ultimately boils down to the 「Logic of numbers」or, to put it bluntly, countering them with exclusion and discrimination. While it may be unavoidable, that’s hardly a healthy relationship. It makes me think that, in this regard, the human race really is weak. It would be great if, like Carlos-san on the night of the Tower Uprising, individuals could stand on equal footing.
“I had this image of Talc being mostly ogres and dark elves, but there are actually quite a few humans here too”
Anzeros murmured as he browsed the town’s street stalls. Technically, Talc is classified as a 「Mixed colony」 because, according to the rules, it has a strong racial identity. However, since it’s a town on easily accessible flat land, there are naturally plenty of other races living there as well. Even in Celesta, there aren’t that many colonies that consist of a single race. Colonies deep within desert labyrinths, in mountainous regions, or deep in the jungle naturally become single-race, but many merchants from other races are eager to break into colonies in prime locations, even if it means following somewhat rigid racial rules, to do business.
“This isn’t even their hometown, yet even with all that commotion, they have no intention of closing up shop and leaving……they’re quite resilient, aren’t they?”
“You saw Aurora with your own eyes, didn’t you? ……Was it really that bad?”
“As bad as Rennesto”
“……That’s terrible”
Rennesto, where skilled outlaws constantly pour in to cause trouble. Its poor public safety is on par with the headaches Anzeros and the others face every time they visit. Hearing it put that way really drives home just how much everything had fallen apart.
“It’s not like all orcs are roughnecks, though. Like Goto and Boyd”
“Even they might have turned out that way if they’d been raised in a place like this”
“If they’d been raised here, huh……”
If you don’t make sure people don’t look down on you, you’re the only one who loses out. Living in such a rough-and-tumble place, you can’t avoid violence and intimidation. Even in the capital city of Trot, where I spent my youth, that kind of atmosphere lingered the moment you turned down a single back alley. The fact that they’re cheerful and gentle might just be because they happened to live in an environment where they didn’t have to endure that kind of life. ……If that’s the case, then I guess I’m lucky to have had so many connections with orcs like that, including Jackie and Isaac. If it weren’t for that, I might have thought of orcs as nothing but terrifying creatures. Just like so many people in Trot do.
“Well, let’s put that aside for now. We’re here to have fun, after all”
Anzeros makes a conscious effort to change the mood. There’s no point in getting into such heavy topics right in the middle of the bustling streets of Talc. She’s probably figured that it would be a waste of time if we got called out on it and ended up in a fight with the ogres.
“Want to do some shopping? I heard from Nancy-san a little while ago that if we go a bit further down this street, there are plenty of shops that’ll happily do business with travelers”
“I’ve got a budget set aside”
“Oh, splurging on a girl’s money doesn’t exactly feel right, though……”
That said, this is the country of commerce, the capital of commerce. It’d be hard to have fun without spending any money. ……For today, at least, I’ll skip saying 「This sort of thing is on the guy’s tab」 and just go along to keep them company while they shop.
“Then show us around, Anzeros”
“It’s not exactly a guided tour, though. The districts in Talc are well-organized, so……”
Anzeros, Aurora, and me. The three of us decided to enjoy Talc on the eve of the festival.
It seems Naris and Tetes went to tour the facilities at 「Cosmos Main Store」 while dropping off the courtesans there. Since the princess’s entourage includes Dianne and the others, there’s no need to worry. As for Neia and Beatrice……they were snacking right on the street we were heading down.
“You two are always snacking whenever you have a free moment, aren’t you?”
“Food’s the easiest thing to buy, so what can we do? Besides, I don’t even know what most of the stuff they’re selling is”
Beatrice pouted, half-heartedly hiding a roasted corn cob behind her back.
“The writing around here is hard for Beatrice and me to read, so……”
Neia also had grilled corn and skewered meat in both hands. ……It doesn’t really matter, but since they’re both short, when they’re wandering around like this without weapons, they look just like a pair of middle-teen friends, it’s cute. Neia’s supposed to be a bit older, but when they stand side by side like this outside, you don’t really feel the age difference.
“The writing around here……was it the kind that’s kind of hard to read?”
And since Anzeros looks about the same age as Neia and the others, I can imagine that probably only Aurora and I look older. Like, a young married couple, me and Aurora and their younger sisters……? ……Ah, right. I don’t look young enough to naturally match Aurora, do I? I got a little carried away, even though I’m 27.
“We’re not used to Northwestian……so even the slightest quirk in the script is too much for Beatrice and me to handle”
“Ah……wait, so Beatrice can actually read it, at least a little?”
“……I can only read numbers”
“Ah”
That said, until fairly recently, Beatrice spoke only Kalwin´s language and was shaky on Northwestian itself, so the fact that she can now handle simple conversations is a sign she’s really trying her best. It’s understandable that she can’t read the script yet.
“Books are out of the question, I don’t know what most of the everyday goods are for, and I don’t know how to wear or use clothes or accessories……come to think of it, does that mean the only thing I can buy is food?”
Anzeros scanned the street, counting on her fingers the stalls that might be fun for Neia and the others. ……That’s certainly true. With goods from other countries, there are often many things you don’t know how to use. She remembered a time long ago when she didn’t know what a pitcher-shaped oil lamp was for. Trot didn’t have anything like that. Especially in Kalwin, where everything except weapons and armor was so sparse, seeing these goods here probably just confuses her, rather than being interesting, most of them are just baffling. The same goes for clothes and accessories. Since she’s not used to those styles, even if she spreads them out, she has no idea how to put them on. That said, she can’t very well ask for a detailed explanation of every single item, and Beatrice probably wouldn’t be able to follow even the slightest bit of a complicated explanation.
“We don’t even know what this is for, do we?”
I leaned in close to examine the strange accessories at a nearby stall. Hmm. I have no idea. Just then, the bearded human merchant sitting at the stall spoke up.
“This is a horn ornament for ogre girls”
“……A horn ornament?”
“You thread your left and right horns through this ring, so it hangs down like a banner. Unlike the wrapped-style headbands, it doesn’t get in the way at the back of the head, so it goes great with an updo. It’s originally designed for two horns, but with a little tweaking, it works for three horns too. How about it? If you give this to an ogre girl, she’ll definitely fall for you. Those girls live and die by horn fashion, so if you show an appreciation for that, they’re a piece of cake”
“You’re exaggerating”
I wave my hand with a wry smile. I don’t have anyone in mind to give it to.
“……What did you just say?”
Beatrice asks me in a whisper, so I explain it to her just in case. As expected, she couldn’t keep up with the conversation and apparently only caught about half of it.
“……It might be interesting if I actually understood all that explanation”
Seeing Beatrice mutter that with a slightly sulky, lonely look, Aurora, Anzeros, and I shared a wry smile.
“Alright. Well then……we’ll ask about everything for you. Today is Beatrice’s day”
“Eh……wait, no, really, it’s fine”
“It’s rare to find a town with such a wide variety of tools from so many different races. There are plenty of things even I don’t know about. Let’s go ask around about everything”
I took Beatrice by the hand and wandered from one general goods stall to the next, killing time. Beatrice, who had been hesitant at first, soon began asking questions enthusiastically, 「What’s that? And what about over there?」and we spent the rest of the day satisfying our curiosity until sunset.
……Neia, who was tagging along with us, never stopped snacking. Technically, we’d be having dinner at Carlos-san’s place too……but oh well.