301 - - 二百九十九話 子供達への依頼

After treating a large number of patients, I asked Jude about eels. Apparently, eels have a low reputation even in the slums, which is a bit sad. Well, the lower the rating, the bigger the surprise, so there's that.

"Well, anyway, eels are my favorite food. Please take me to a place that sells eels. And do you sell eels alive?"

"......There is no such thing as a store that sells eels. Basically, catching eels is a job for children, who trap eels from Lake Beryl and sell the surplus on the street. It may be difficult to do it now. Also, the eels are killed as soon as they are caught, so you can't get live eels.

Seriously, not being able to get eels on the first day is quite a pain. Considering all the mud removal and such, I guess we'll just have to bring them back alive. Then we'll have to ask the kids who catch eels to help us.

"Can you take me to the kids who are catching eels so that I can ask them to do a job for me?"

"Do you really need eels that badly?　If you want, we can prepare salmon, a specialty of Lake Beryl, ......."　

We've got enough salmon, don't worry. What I need now is eels.

"Okay. I'll take you there.

Jude responds to my passionate words with a slightly withdrawn expression. It's hard not to be understood. Jude leads me out of the boss's mansion.

There are still many people gathered in the square in front of the house. There seems to be a lot of people left who are eating soup from the soup kitchen, because they are eating soup all around. Maybe people other than the ones I treated have also come. The dishes have been brought out, but there seems to be no one who has not eaten. Maybe that's because they said they would bring out dishes from my boss's house.

"Oh, just in time. The kids gathered over there are the main group catching eels.

"Are there any adults here?"

Yes. Those children are the ones who lost their parents and drifted to the slums. The bosses help them by renting them houses and letting them live in groups. Well, as a boss, I can't be too hard on them, so I just give them the bare minimum of support.

It seems that the boss is a very compassionate type of person. The people gathered here don't seem to be afraid of him or his henchmen, and they seem to love him. It's a little hard to believe since he was the one who woke up and was about to attack us.

I approach a group of children in the corner of the square with Mr. Jude, who are devouring soup. There seem to be more than ten of them. They range from middle schoolers to kindergartners.

"Hey guys, your uncle has a favor to ask you, can I have a minute?"

...... Jude, you go back to your goofy, smelly mood when dealing with kids.

"Oh, Jude's brother!　Can we help you?"

When Mr. Jude called out to him, a boy of middle school age, who seemed to be the oldest in the group, answered. I think that boy was the one who had been injured in various places.

I thought he must be a naughty boy, but if he was leading that group, he might have been doing his best to protect them. I don't know, I'm getting a little emotional. I'm sure he's not old enough to cry easily yet.

Also, I love the way Jude calls himself "uncle" and you call him "big brother". If I were his age, I would have called him uncle.

"Oh, this teacher here ...... has a favor to ask you guys. If you could just listen to me for a minute, Uncle, it would be a big help."

It's like you said "teacher" and then remembered I was wearing a hood, so you had to rephrase it. But if he said that much and then rephrased it, it would look suspicious.

"Someone outside ...... wants to see us?"

They're getting cautious. And how did you know I was from the outside?

"Oh, I'm not asking you to do anything crazy, don't worry. I'm just going to make a few modifications to your usual work."

We don't do killings!

...... What is your normal job?　Something that, with a little tweaking, could turn into a murder?　I can't help but stare at Mr. Jude.

"No, well, it's a place like this, there's a lot going on. A lot of things ......."

Jude, the word "various" is too scary. You may say you're a man of principle, but you do some scary things. Well, even in the slums of the labyrinth city where conditions seem to be better than here, there's been a lot of crime, so it's not my place to say anything.

"Well, I want eels. My regular job is to catch eels."

"Eels?　...... eels, depending on the results of the fishing, but if there are any left over, we can share them with you."

The boy, who had been on the lookout, gave me a frightened look and then, perhaps understanding that it was no big deal, offered to share with me.

"Thank you. So, just in case, can you show me the eels?　I just want to make sure it's the eels I know."

Well, from what Sylphy said, I'm sure it's OK, but I'll be disappointed if it's not the Japanese eel I know, but one that looks like it belongs in a big tropical country or something. Still, I'd like to try them and I'll buy some to take home.

"Okay. "Okay, hold on a minute."

A boy of about middle school age gave instructions to the children with him, and they started to run. They probably went to get eels. They seemed to be in control. After waiting for a while, the kids came back.

"Here it is!"

The boy comes back and shows me the eel. I'm surprised that he grabs the eel with his bare hands. ...... It doesn't look good, but it's exactly the eel I thought it would be.......No, I've never seen an eel that clearly before, so I can't be sure, but it's probably all right.

"Yeah, that's the eel I want."

Then we can split the extra.　

"Thank you. So, back to the little tweak. I need live eels. I need you to put the eels you catch in clean water and keep them alive, changing the water often. Can you do that?"

"Alive?　I can change the ...... water, but I can't because I don't have a container to keep the eels alive."

We'll get you a container. I leave King's Landing the day after tomorrow after noon. There's no upper limit. Catch as many as you can before then. I'll pay you 1,000 elt for each live eel.

"A thousand elts a fish!　Really? !"

Yeah, I'll pay you for sure. Ten or a hundred, no limit. It's time to make some money!

I'm not saying it myself, but it smells fishy.

"Mister, that's too expensive. Maybe it's sympathy, but too much sympathy is not good for these girls."

Mr. Jude interrupted me as if he were troubled.

"It's not pity. It's because I think a live eel is worth it. I'd rather pay less. If it's too risky to let the children have so much money, could you take care of it at your place?"

Well, in terms of Japanese prices, a wild eel costs 1,000 yen. It is so cheap that I feel sorry for it. But in this world, it must be a very good price.

"If that's the case ......, but are eels worth that much?"

Yes, I think it is worth it. The slums have secured the right to catch eels now, haven't they?　If the value of eels spreads, there is a possibility of infringement of the right. You might as well secure your rights while you still can. Oh, and be sure to protect the rights of children. It would be awkward if the children are inconvenienced because they can no longer catch eels."

"......It's hard to believe, isn't it?"

It would be to my advantage not to spread the word that eels are tasty, but I don't like the fact that people think eels are tasteless either. I have mixed feelings about it.

"Are they really willing to buy as many eels as they can for a thousand elts each?"

The boy asks me with a half expectant, half skeptical look on his face. I feel like I should give him the money up front, but it's a fishery, so if I don't catch more eels than I paid for, I'll have to ask for my money back from these boys. That would be awkward, and Mr. Jude might stop me from giving them the extra money.

"I'll buy them, but I'm not sure if I'll get paid properly. Then, I'll leave the money with Mr. Jude. Does this give you some peace of mind?"

"Oh, yeah. That's a relief."

He seems convinced, though he is acting a little suspicious. He hands 100,000 elts for 100 animals to Mr. Jude right in front of the boy.

"Okay. I'll make sure to catch lots of eels. The day after tomorrow at noon."

The boy, perhaps feeling a real sense of accomplishment after seeing the money, takes the job with a serious expression on his face. I think I can handle the eels now.

"Thanks for your help. For now, please put the eels in this box. I would appreciate it if you could keep track of the day they were caught.

With that, he takes out five empty barrels from his magic bag. It will be hard to change the water, but I will be glad if you catch more than you can hold.

The boy, perhaps fired up by the sight of the empty barrels, gives instructions to the children who are still shoveling out the food. It seems that he is going to start mass-producing traps to increase his income. I wish him the best of luck.

A corner of the plaza is now in a flurry of activity after the boy gives his instructions. While I was watching him, a boy of about the age of an elementary school student approached me.

He said, "Uncle, thank you for fixing my injury.

Oh, man, my lacrimal gland is about to burst. I don't even mind calling him "Uncle". A genuine thank-you in the most unexpected place is dangerous, especially when it comes unexpectedly.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're all right. But how did you know I fixed it?"

"What?"

The boy answers me with a twist of his head. He didn't change his voice. Well, it's not like I want to hide it by any means, so I don't mind. You pat the boy on the head and urge him to return to the group.

We check the time and place of the eel pickup, and part ways with the children. It hurts my feelings that we did not get the eels today, but the motivated kids are going to collect a lot of live eels for us. It turned out to be a good thing, I guess.

"Sir, what's next?"

You're back to calling ...... teacher. Well, I haven't introduced myself yet, so I guess it can't be helped. The only thing I want to do in the slum is to eat eels, and the rest is just a night out.

Come to think of it, we haven't gotten the information on where to play yet. Just in time, let's get some information from Mr. Jude. He is an organization close to the underworld, so he should be familiar with the nightlife.

"My business here is done, so I guess I'll just go home. But I'm planning to have a night out today, so I was wondering if you could give me some information about the nightlife in King's Landing.

"......You really came into the slum for eels, didn't you?"

I'm being extremely dumbfounded. Well, the day after tomorrow we'll reevaluate the value of eels. And when they do, they'll be in a big hurry to secure their rights. You'd better be prepared.

"Eels are delicious. But more importantly, please give us information on the nightlife.

"Nightlife? You are hiding information about yourself, aren't you, doctor?　The nightlife has its own share of underworlders. He's such a powerful man. The church will be looking for him, and there's a chance they'll find out who he is. He is a benefactor of the slum. We'll give him our best hospitality, how about that?"

...... something about being targeted by the church. I've asked him to spread some strange rumors, and I think Jude thinks I'm a fugitive from the church.

"Well, I'm hiding my identity, but I'm not being targeted by the church. If I were, I wouldn't come in here with my face on display, and I wouldn't be doing such conspicuous things as treating people and eels. Hiding your identity is not an exaggeration, but a personal matter."

I just want to have a night out without worrying about the public eye. I came to a faraway country just for that. That's really the only reason I'm hiding my identity. I'm sorry.