Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The City of Solkalis

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

We didn’t have any particular problems after leaving Rahon… Uh, except for the visit from Bart, but… Well, like I was saying, we got to Solkalis without any trouble.

“Wooah…”

“Yuuri, close your mouth. I do understand how you feel, though.”

My master gently lifts my dropped jaw and closes my mouth.

The view spread out before my eyes was just that amazing.

It had a much more rustic atmosphere than the mining town among the mountains image I had, but… It’s huge!

The main street is wide enough for two more of these large carriages. To our sides are the eaves of large shops one after another, and in the plaza are stalls lined up in neat rows.

Outside the city, thrusting into the sky like a gigantic stone pillar, rises the steep mountainside of Solkal mountain, while a bounty of liquid creates a waterfall down its face. It’s like a picture from a fantasy world.

And set in a circle beyond that insane view is a distant view of the World Tree. The top of it is taller than the mountain’s, and grows hazy in the sky, it’s more than I could have hoped for.

“This is… Amazing…”

“That’s one thing it’s famous for. It’s a collaboration between Solkal mountain and the World Tree.”

“The city is big too!”

“It needs to be so they can transport the ore. They make the roads wide to deal with large amounts of exports.”

“It’s bustling!”

“That mountain contains the most veins of ore on the entire Garm continent. Of course it’s bustling.”

I bounce around in excitement on the carriage, expressing my surprise.

I wonder how many times my master has been here? He seems quite calm about all this.

“Hm, I’ve been here so many times already. It’s mostly a mining area, and I’ve had my fill of the red light dist—“

“… Master?”

“Uhh, ahem. It’s nothing.”

I spice my voice with a bit of threat, and my master tries to smooth things over by clearing his throat.

Well, my master is a guy, right? I mean, I understand that he has his needs… But I don’t feel very satisfied by that, of course.

“Putting people in that profession aside, you’re not allowed to lay a hand on any of our fellow travelers, alright Master?”

“I know, I got it. I’m not that much of a philanderer.”

There’s miss Bella, and miss Ceder… There are people of age around, and it worries me.

I pour an icy glare on my master, and he hurriedly puts on an oblivious face. Well, this is… fun in its own way.

But if I do this too much, then he might stop liking me, so I’ll stop this for now.

I lightly entwine arms with him and return to viewing the town. My master gave off an overt air of relief.

~*~

After proceeding into town a ways, the leading carriage came to a halt. Have we reached our destination?

My master also stops our carriage, and heads over to where mister Elric is.

“Ah, thanks for all the help mister Haster. This will be the inn where I sojourn. In other words, the escorting ends here.”

“Ahh, right. A pleasure working with you. I’m glad we arrived safely.”

“Forest Bear and Wild Horse, thanks for all your help as well. Now for your payment. Here, it should all be there.”

“Yeah, thanks. If you need anything else, remember to call on us.”

“I kinda feel bad for basically just tagging along.”

In contrast to my polite master, mister Jack and mister Ayl respond.

Having nothing happen as an escort is the absolute best outcome though, mister Ayl?

“Hm, there’s more than I expected.”

“It’s because of everything that happened along the way. I added a little bonus. I’m also taking this opportunity to curry favor with you should fate have us cross paths again.”

“You’re being quite honest about it. But I don’t have a problem with that. I’ll gladly accept it.”

We were supposed to get 6 gold coins for each worker, for a total of 12, but the bag handed to us had 20 gold coins in it.

Mister Elric is splurging on us.

“Thanks again, and if possible, I’d like to request your escort on the way back, too…”

“How long are you planning on staying here?”

“Let’s see… Bringing in the products, and buying… around 2 weeks I suppose? Well, I can see how that would be too long to ask you to wait.”

“Sorry, we’ve only made arrangements for 3 days, so unfortunately that won’t work.”

“No, think nothing of it. I’m asking too much.”

Maybe we should have expected that he would try to make immediate plans for his escort on the way back?

“Bro, you’re only here for 3 days? Stay a little longer!”

“Can’t, our inn vouchers only go that long. One night at the place is supposed to cost 10 gold coins.”

“Whoa, don’t tell me, the Heaven’s Echo Inn?! The place rumored to have the best cuisine in Solkalis?!”

“Oh, does it? It only said that it’s a luxury inn, so I don’t really know much about it.”

“Jack, forget that, and split up the pay. I can’t go drinking without it.”

Mister Kale grabbed mister Jack by the back of his collar and dragged him off.

“Well then, it’s been great, “Sage of Wind”. Should we get the chance, let’s meet again.”

“Yes, and mister Bhav, be nice to miss Bella, okay?”

“Stupi-, we’re not like that!”

“Well, Bhav may not hold a candle to mister Haster, but the rest is in how he’s trained I suppose?”

“Next time, when we’re not on the job, I’d like to talk more about magic theory with you.”

Just how much of a magic nerd are you, mister Oreas?

They really are a lively group to the end. I wonder if we’ll meet them again some time?

“Well then, we must also part here. I hope that you have safe travels.”

“Marle, regrettably, this is good bye. Let’s meet again sometime.”

Miss Leche hugs Marle and reluctantly bids her farewell.

“And miss Yuuri… I would be happy if you let me touch you next time.”

“I belong to my master, so I can’t let just anyone touch me. But…”

I gently hugged miss Leche around her waist. Due to the height difference, I always end up around there.

“—Just for you, miss Leche, I’ll let you this once.”

Miss Leche’s face stiffens in shock, then slowly changes to a smile, as she softly hugs me back.

Her fragrance reminded me of my mother, who I haven’t seen in so many years.

Though I don’t recall ever being hugged like this…

“Let’s meet again. Definitely.”

“It’s a promise.”

My master looked on us with an affectionate expression.

And so, we parted ways with our more than two week long traveling companions.

~*~

At the Heaven’s Echo Inn, my master presents our certificates to the person at the counter.

To be blunt, the place was extremely luxurious from the very entrance, so even walking in took a lot of courage.

“There are four of us, but these cover it right?”

“Three nights I see. Yes, these will cover your stay. Thank you very much.”

“Also, can we keep our large carriage outside here? We have important materials loaded on it.”

“There is an area behind the inn designated for carriages, so that will be fine. We have guards stationed as well.”

“Great, thanks… And also, this little guy…”

“Agya!”

Yig gives an energetic reply to my master’s call.

“A… Winged lizard?”

“Well, something like that… I guess.”

“Potty training would be…”

“No problems there.”

“In that case, we can accommodate you. However, an additional fee will be added if you would like us to provide food for your pet.”

“That’s no problem, please do.”

According to our certificates, morning and evening meals, three nights stay, and the affixed open air bath are included free of charge.

30 silver coins were tacked on for Yig’s food, and we were guided to our rooms.

There were two rooms, two people each, prepared for us. We divided the rooms with my master and I in one room, and then Alec and Marle in the other.

My master strongly insisted that we should divide the rooms between the boys and girls, but us girls pushed against him. Alec’s opinion? We never paid attention to that.

We were guided to the fourth floor, which only had four specialty rooms. Upon seeing them, my jaw dropped once again.

“Isn’t this room bigger than our cottage…?”

“It is certainly spacious, and luxurious to boot. Selling this carpet alone would net 3 years worth of living expenses. Is it even okay to walk on this?”

“So it’s your first time in a room like this too, Master?”

“A more modest room would actually be more comfortable for me. I tend towards frugality.”

The fluffy carpet’s strands are long enough that they almost go up to our ankles. The bed has a canopy. The sheets have a 100% silk sheen to them.

Valuable looking paintings hang on the walls, and even the vases have beautiful patterns glazed on them.

At the back of the vast room is an astonishing bath for personal use installed. This is the 4th floor you know?

It would seem they have some way to pump hot water up from the water source on the 1st floor.

In any case, we shake the dust off from our journey, and change to house wear.

“Whoa, it’s so soft and fluffy.”

“Ooh, this is pretty nice…”

… Suddenly I thought of stepping on the carpet barefoot, and the sensation was enchanting.

The feeling of the fibers tickling my soles is pleasant. My master is in a similar pose as me, getting his fill of the sensation in the same pattern.

“This is bad. The temptation of the carpet is too much. Aaah… I want to roll around on it…”

“Stop, you can roll on the bed anyway.”

“Naturally, I’ll get my fill of that too.”

“Before that, what should we do for food? The inn only provides dinner and breakfast, so should we grab a meal in the dining hall on the first floor, or go out somewhere?”

“If we’re gonna do that, then we need to call Alec and Marle over too.”

“I did at least give them half the travel expenses…”

Hm, in that case, could we also eat alone…? We can!

Speaking of which, we had changed out of our traveling clothes, so changing clothes again would be a pain. In which case, maybe we should go to the inn’s dining hall?

Huh? Come to think of it…

“Oh right, where did Yig go?”

“Ugyuu~”

I could hear a somewhat bewitched voice coming from the direction of the bath.

Going to take a peek, Yig was soaking in the bath tub, wearing a melting expression on his face that couldn’t be aired on public broadcasting.

So do dragons like hot springs then?

“Would it be best to leave him?”

“Maybe… yeah. Let’s at least open a window. So he can get in and out if he wants.”

“Thieves would be… actually, that should be fine. This is the 4th floor.”

Master, you didn’t forget that you can fly, did you?

“Let’s take our valuables with us. It’s an ironclad rule for traveling.”

“Is it now? Except we don’t really have anything valuable with us.”

“What do you think you’re wearing right now?!”

“Oh…”

My master is wearing the Fafnir scale mail. When it comes to buying it, I’d say it might cost as much as a whole castle?

Besides that, the [Ring of Mental Resistance (Enhanced)] is normally worth 120 gold coins. If it was Japanese yen then it would be about 1,200,000 yen in value.

“You’re so forgetful, Master. Who knows what would happen if I wasn’t here.”

“Certainly that was a lapse on my part, but… No, actually I would be more worried about you.”

“When it comes to economic sense, I’m way better than you, Master!”

Hmhm! I brag as I puff out my chest. My master’s sense of economics is bankrupt.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m counting on you, oh great “Sage”.”

“Well then, I’m gonna go tell Alec, and then let’s get going. Yig, take care of the place while we’re out, okay? Don’t go wrecking the place, got it?

“Agya~”

Hearing the sloppy reply, we head out for lunch together, just the two of us.