155-Chapter 9-14 Black souvenirs

"Temma, there.

On my way back from the hidden village, just as it was about to get dark, Amur, who was lying on the roof of the carriage, noticed something and informed me, who was sitting in the coach seat.

'Is there a demon in here?'

He's a monster, but he doesn't look wild.

Hearing those words, Amour looked towards the direction he was pointing at, and saw a large bird flying in the sky far away. Moreover, there appeared to be a person hanging from the bird's leg.

''That's........Ted, isn't it?''　

After checking in "Search" and "Appraisal", we found out that it was Ted and his household, Thunderbird. I may be leaving after work, but it would be strange to see someone I know here and not call out to them, so I decided to let them know that we were here.

'Amour, keep your eyes closed don't ever open them. That's it!

With a shout, I threw a magical ball of light into the sky. The ball of light rose about 50 meters into the sky and bounced. At the moment it burst, the ball of light emitted an intense light and illuminated the area. This is a modified version of the 'light' that I used on Ash in the martial arts tournament in the royal city before, a magic like stun grenade without sound. I'm not sure I'm going to be the only one who can do that. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for. But if you mix the magic power of other attributes, the difficulty level of the magic increases dramatically, so if you're going to use it as a signal bullet, it's more convenient to leave it as a white light and it's easier for the opponent to see.

''What's going on!''

Surprised by the sudden light, Grandpa and the others rushed out and looked around, but the only thing that had changed nearby was Amur rolling around on the ground. Amur held his eyes, "My eyes, my eyes! And he was screaming like some colonel.

'Sorry, I saw Ted in the distance, so I used my magic to let you know.

''That's right. I was surprised to see an enemy on the scene... by the way, what is she doing here?

Hana, who showed a relieved expression, looked curiously at Amour, who was still rolling around.

''Apparently, I think I saw the light directly now. I nailed him not to look, but I think his curiosity got the better of him and he's doing that.

The sun was starting to go down and my eyes were just beginning to deal with the darkness, and I think the intense light I saw took away my vision temporarily. I don't think he's going to go blind, but there's a chance that his eyesight will be damaged if I leave him alone, so I put a restoration spell on both of Amur's eyes.

''Oi~, Temma~''

Ted, noticing the light, approached with a wave of his hand as Thunderbird grabbed him by both shoulders and hung him up.

'Is this the work of a 'courier' to this place?'

When I introduced Ted to Hannah, who landed near the carriage, and then asked him what he had come to the South for, Ted took two letters from the magic bag on his shoulder and handed them to me.

'Sure, it's business, but the person you're talking to is Temma. The sender is Jeanne and the Queen.

When I heard the sender, I thought something was wrong, so I took the letter from Ted halfway through and read the contents...

What is that...

It was a letter in which words like "What did it say?

What did it say? Well.........that's certainly a 'what's that'.

When I handed the letter to my grandfather, he read it inside and he felt the same way I did. However, Hana-san and Blanca, who heard the contents of the letter, said it was natural. The contents of the letter were........

My neighbor's house burned down in a fire. You wouldn't think that would cause a riot over the site.

The house next to the mansion in the king's capital (with whom I have almost no association) burned down the house in a negligent fire and had to give up the land, and it was good until the buyers of the site were quickly gathered together, but apparently dozens of people came forward as buyers because it was next to our house. Then the neighbor got greedy and raised the price of the land, and when the price finally rose to ten times the usual level, the king waited for them.

By the way, it seems that the only buyers who showed up to buy dozens of people were aristocrats and merchant families of big stores who had some kind of a plan because the fire was negligent and our house was also damaged by the jumping fire that broke the wall that separated our house from the next one. or that the trees and lawn near it were burned to the ground. Therefore, they decided to stop buying and selling the land until the magnitude of the crime was determined.

Moreover, it seems that if the situation continues as it is, there is a high possibility that the neighbor's land will be in the custody of the state.

It's a waste of burnt trees and lawns, but it's not much of a problem because we can just go into the forest and plant trees from the forest and the fence can be magically fixed in no time.

That's right. As for the trees, you can dig up some good ones when you go to the forest and carry them in your magic bag or something, and for the walls, I've made similar ones many times in dungeons. In other words, except for the burnt grass, it can be fixed for free.

The question is, who owns (...) the land over there?

Even if no financial damage was caused (we're just special), there is a possibility of trouble in the future depending on who gets that land next. Even if the state manages it, they shouldn't just let the land in the royal capital to play around, so some kind of facility or other will be built. In that case, it could be more noisy than before. Other than that, even if the country sells the land, the buyers will be people who want to get to know us well, and in the worst case scenario, someone who wants to use us could buy the land. It won't cause much direct damage, but it could be a stressful life.

''At least, it would be nice if someone related to the royal family or someone like the Duke of Sangha or the Marquis of Samoens would buy it, but... it's hard to do.

You're right. If the royal family or high ranking aristocrats were to use their power to buy the land, I am sure they would be criticized by some people. Moreover, if they wanted to acquire the land, they might make it look like an accident and start a fire.

Most people wouldn't believe such a rumor, but if they are close to the reformist ideology, they could conceivably use it as an attack material. They wouldn't want to go to the trouble of having them create an attack material even though they don't have much to gain (if you're related to the royalty or the Duke of Sangha and the Marquis of Samoens, there's not much need to go to the trouble of securing the land next to ours). Even though it's said that the relationship between the two of them is a good thing........

'For the time being, since the kings have seized the land, there's no need to rush back that fast, is there? I'll write a letter to them, though.

I concluded that I would hire Ted to bring the letter home with me. However, it was going to be dark soon, and it would be impossible to fly the Thunderbird, which could not see at night, so Ted decided to have him fly to the royal capital early tomorrow morning. He had planned to do so himself, so he got a hotel room as soon as he arrived in Nanao. So he suggested that we give him a letter tomorrow to coincide with his departure.

'Well then, let's get back to Nanao. Ted will ride with us, right? It's about time for the Thunderbirds to become inactive and...

And then Ted said thank you and went into the carriage. Thunderbird is going to put it in Ted's dimension bag. However, Ted's Thunderbird was quite reluctant to go into the dimension bag, as he didn't seem to like it very much, but when Ted got mad at him, he went in.

'A lot of bird-shaped demons don't like a space like a dimension bag... unless it's as big as the one Temma has, but mine isn't that big, so it's too much.

Apparently, bird-shaped demons don't like spaces where they can't fly freely, and large demons like the Thunderbirds are especially prone to this. Hearing that, I was curious about Amy's eee-chan, but I was told that if you let her get used to a small space from when she was a chick, like those two chicks, she will often be quiet even when she grows up, so there's no need to think too much about it for now.

'Well, unlike ours, a rockbird won't have much of a problem if you leave it outside. Most of all, though, you'll have to be careful not to mistake them for prey.

Intentionally hurting or killing another family member can result in a heavy punishment for the attacker, but if the attacker is not clearly identified as a member of the family, he or she may be innocent. The bad news is that some people try to take advantage of this by killing other people's family members to get their materials, so be careful.

I'm sure you're aware of the fact that you're not the only one who has tamed the same bird-shaped demon, so when I'm not around, Amy often asks me for advice on how to raise the two birds and what to do. And thanks to the fact that we often met up, Eichan and Ted's Thunderbirds got along very well with each other. The problem is that to others, they look like complete predators and prey...

Since I hadn't had a chance to talk with Ted for this long before, I was able to tell him some interesting stories other than those about Amy. I've been to many places as a 'courier', so in a way Ted knows more about things than my grandfather. The first time I visited the place, it was a long time ago, so there was a difference in the freshness of the information.

It's a good thing that we've never traveled far since shortly before we met Tenma. This is the first time for Nanao to do so.

Grandpa had come to the South once before, apparently, but he had turned back long before Nanao and had never set foot in the South since then.

'That's a pity. If Master Merlin had met my grandfather then, I'm sure they would have hit it off.

When Hana-san said that, Blanca nodded. If Grandpa Kay is as I expected, I certainly feel like we'd be on the same page, but when Blanca said afterwards, "Grandpa Kay was a dynamic person, but he was also a serious and hard-working person with serious roots. I heard that Merlin-dono also struggled a lot in the past, so there might be a lot of sympathy for him," he said, and I feel like he doesn't fit the image of the person I'm expecting... Most of all, the person I'm expecting is based on stories and tales that have been passed down to future generations. So it's unclear whether he was really the right person.

As I was thinking about this, the carriage had arrived in Nanao before I knew it, and it had just stopped in front of the Viscount's house. Hana-san invited me to have dinner with her, but I refused because of the letter, and decided to settle for a ready-made meal that was in a magic bag in my room. Incidentally, Ted was also invited by Hana, but he refused, saying that he would be uncomfortable in his absence and that he would have to take care of Thunderbird.

Early the next morning, I gave Ted the two letters I'd written late into the night and the money for the trip and asked him to leave. In the meantime, I had no particular stops on the way back, so I would be arriving in Seigen in about two weeks. We want to leave as soon as possible, but the souvenir we ordered from Sanna will be ready the day after tomorrow, so we'll have some free time until then. In the meantime, we checked the carriage and made sure that we hadn't forgotten to buy anything else, and also decided to get some additional items (mainly soy sauce and miso) that we wanted to buy in the meantime. Once that was done, the rest of the day was spent making the rounds of greetings to our acquaintances, but since there were only the barons and the people from Lyuusaiken (the southern overlords had already returned to their villages and towns), we had to make sure that the people from Lyuusaiken were informed of the banquet that would be held on the day of our departure, and the barons on the night before and at the time of our departure. If we say hello at times, there will be no problem. For the time being, for today, we'll start with an inspection of the carriage.

At the banquet on the night before the departure that was welcomed like that, all the people involved in the Viscount family (with a very few exceptions) were enjoying themselves, as they were sending off Amur.

''Come to think of it, Temma is using a sword as a weapon, right? Where did you find out?

When the party started and a few drunks began to appear, Hana-san asked me about my sword, as I remembered.

'You see, in the south, but in other places, swords are minor, and it's faster to find a good sword than it is to find one.'

Grandpa and Blanca seemed to be interested in hearing Hana-san's question, and they were staring at me.

'To put it simply, the swords were easier to use. The only swords in Kukri village are adult swords, which were difficult for me to use as a child, so when I would go into the forest, I would only bring large knives instead of swords, but as I did so, I became accustomed to single-edged blades, and I learned about the existence and characteristics of swords from my father. I'd heard about it, so I started using it, like I could use alchemy and make my own, but you know...

What's going on?

Actually, it's not a real sword I'm using.

At my words, they all looked at me in wonder at the same time.

'Do you know how to make a sword, Hana-san?'

Hana-san nodded and answered my question, but she had a look on her face as if that was what was wrong with her.

'No matter how much magic I can use, I can't recreate such a complicated process. What I'm using is a 'sword in the shape of a sword'.

I know how to make a rough sword because I studied Japanese martial arts in a past life, but I know very little about the important parts. So my sword is like a 'single-edged, slender sword' that is forcibly shaped into a sword by pounding hot metal... well, it's a pain in the ass, so I call it a sword.

It's certainly not the traditional way of making a sword. But recently there are more and more artisans who are making their swords the same way as Tenma's swords, so calling them swords is not too much of a problem.

Even skilled swordsmiths find it difficult to make swords with metals such as orichalcone and baboon kane using the traditional method (they are too hard to turn over properly, and if they are forced to do so, they lose strength compared to the original lump of metal), so they cast them and then beat them to make them stronger. Some other craftsmen who make mass-produced swords are said to sell their cast swords by grinding them.

Some old-fashioned artisans don't like the idea of a craftsman who does nothing but cast, but in the end, there are artisans who do nothing but cast because the demand is there.

If it's a cast sword, it's cheaper to buy than a forged sword, and if you can use enhanced magic, it can last longer than a forged sword. It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of it.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of it. It's true that it's easier to produce a high-quality sword by forging, but...

In the southern part of the country, the home of the sword, there are two groups of people, one that calls a sword a forged sword and the other that calls a sword a sword according to its shape, and it is said that there are heated discussions among the craftsmen.

"If you want to learn the proper technique, I'll introduce you to a craftsman I know. Hana-san asked me if I wanted to study, but I refused because I didn't think I would have enough time to learn properly.

After that, the party continued until late, and I returned to the inn probably around the time of the change of day. Even though we would be leaving Nanao the next day, the heat of the Viscount's vassals, who had been reluctant to part with Amour, had not cooled down, and this was due to the fact that there were only a few more things left to do, many times.

The next day ... or rather, a few hours later, we came to the entrance of Nanao to thank the people of Ryushaiken for their hospitality. Hana-san and the others were already waiting there, and for some reason I could see the higher-ups in the south. I heard that as soon as my departure was decided, I sent people over to talk to them, and they all came to Nanao. Some of them came back to Nanao without unpacking because the messengers arrived at their village at about the same time as they arrived there.

Thank you for seeing me off.

'So, I have something for you to take back, though it's not a souvenir. Hold on a minute, goof!　

The moment one of the higher-ranking players looked into his dimension bag, a black lump flew out of the bag. The lump hit the bag's owner and then fled from the scene with a swift movement. Then, following the black lump, another black lump came out of the bag, but it was slower than the one that came out first, and for some reason it advanced toward me and tried to pass between my legs.

'What is this ... a black sheep?'

I grabbed the black lump that had been stuck between my legs and lifted it up, and I saw that it was a black lamb. The lamb looked like it didn't know what was going on for a little while after I was lifted up, but when it realized that it had been lifted up into the air, it suddenly started to flail about. The most important thing to remember is that even though he was acting out, his movements were too slow, so although he may be desperate, looking at him from the side, it looks like he's just moving adorably.

"Meh~~!

When the lamb I lifted up was tired and limp (I think the rampage lasted a minute or so), the black lump that had escaped earlier... the other lamb, the one that had escaped earlier... the other lamb, lunged toward me, screaming in anger. Was that move the same creature as the lamb in my arms? It was quite agile and had quite a bit of speed, which made me suspect that it was a very agile move. It would be so powerful that if it were to be collided with at this rate, it would be lightly blown away.

''Gawp!

'Meh! Meh~~~

Just at the moment the lamb hit me, it hit Shiroumaru, who intervened between us and was sent flying backwards. But to my surprise, the lamb that was sent flying landed on its back the moment it hit the ground, bouncing like a ball and landing cleanly off its feet.

'Garou.'

'Meh! Meh! Meh~!

Even more surprisingly, the lamb is not frightened by Shiroumar's threats, but on the contrary, it is screaming at the top of its lungs. If Shiroumar was serious, the lamb would be dead within seconds, but the lamb does not seem to want to back down.

"Shiroumar, step back. You're worried about this one? Sora.

I checked behind the lamb and then lowered the one I was lifting to the ground. Then the one lamb that had been threatening me earlier said, "Come on! I let out a cry and called out to the lambs who came running up to me (I'll tentatively call the one who was threatening me Lamb I and the one who was holding me Lamb II because it's complicated).

'Meme!'

'Meh! ........meh!

Lamb II was rushing towards Lamb I with tears in his eyes, but to his surprise, Lamb I head-butted Lamb II. Then, after letting out a single cry, he tried to run away with Lamb II.......but they were both easily captured together by Slarin, who was creeping up behind them.

'So what are these guys?'

In my village, wool is one of their specialties. Every year a lamb is born. But our wool is white, and we can't sell the black ones. So we sell the black lambs to other villages for meat, but these two... or rather, the one that was threatening me earlier was so vicious that I kept it in my own sheep pen. I brought it with me for food for the Temma and the others on their journey.

So, good riddance, as in good riddance.

You could say that.

The superior who had been head-butted by the lamb said such a thing without offense. I thought it would be better to bring a dead lamb, but he told me that in his village the best lamb was the one that was dripping blood, so he had to leave it alive.

It seems to me that he thought I would have no problem dealing with the rambunctious kid, but I'm not so desperate for food that I would kill a lamb to eat it. When I was thinking about that.

Me..........me......me.

Lamb I began to bleat in a different voice than before. It's a voice that sounds like it's trying to flirt with me.

"Well, let's take her home for now....

It's quite a bruise on the sheep's habit, but since I feel some guilt after being taken this far, I decided to take them to the mansion in the royal capital for now. The lamb II seems to have a much more laid-back personality and won't cause any problems. At any rate, I don't know if he gave up after being captured by Slarin or if he's simply tired, but he's even sleeping with a calm face next to Lamb I's flirtatious face.

'And that's what you asked for.

When me and the higher-ups were done talking, he brought out the cloth that wrapped the shawl that Sanna had asked for. I checked the inside of it and everything seemed to be fine.

''Thank you,''

As I was taking the shawl from Sana and putting it in my bag, Slarin came up to me holding (and taking in) the two lambs. When I told Slarin to release the lambs on the spot, the freed Lamb I appeared to run away for a moment, but gave up when he saw Lamb II, who was sleeping next to him, and said, "I don't know what you're talking about, but as long as you don't run away, I'll take care of you.

'I don't know if you understand the language, but as long as you don't run away, you won't be harmed. However, even if you run away and live in the wild, you will only be food for the demons. Most likely, though, there's a good chance you'll become meat here before you become food for demons in the wild.

When Lamb I made a pretense of escaping, the higher-ups who brought these two animals were about to pull out their knives and pounce on them, so they wouldn't be able to escape for sure. It seems that as a high ranking person in the south, they want to avoid the disgraceful title of being able to run away with the food they brought as a souvenir.

''Meh!''

It wasn't as if words were understood, but Lamb I seemed to realize something when he saw the superior who had his hand on the handle of the knife and responded with a spirited whine. And Lamb II, who heard Lamb I's cry, opened his eyes dimly, but soon fell asleep again... Lamb I, who tried to oppose Shiroumaru, might be a big guy, but Lamb II might be a bigger guy than expected.

I decided to keep these two animals (especially the Lamb I one) in the dimension bag that Shiroumaru and the others were in until we arrived at the mansion, since it was likely that if we put them in the carriage, they would have escaped before we knew it or something. Lamb I was quite resistant when I put them in the bag, but when I put Lamb II inside first (Lamb II went in plainly, without any suspicion), he went into the bag as if he had given up. There must be a clear hierarchy between the two animals, because before they closed the mouth of the bag, they could hear Lamb I thrusting at Lamb II.

''You mean you can't go against the top.......just like some sisters.

Sisters? Those two animals are not related by blood. And the one who was pissed at you is a female and the one who was pissed at you is a male.　

'You're going to get your ass handed to you now........'

This was the moment when he decided to be a little gentler when dealing with Lamb II in the future.

''Temma, it's time for us to leave.

Grandpa said that at the guru's table, so me and Amur said our goodbyes to everyone and then climbed into the carriage. Slarin went inside with us at that time, but Shilomar and Solomon were going to follow the carriage with some exercise, so they stayed outside.

Thanks for your help. The next time you come to the capital, you should come to my house. ─ Next time you come to the capital, come to my house and I'll make sure someone is there even when we're not.

As soon as the words were finished, Grandpa instructed Raiden to move the carriage forward.

The people who had come to see him off waved and called out to him thoughtfully, but among them, the Honorary Viscount Lobo was in a state of half-crying and waving his arms as if he was going to be cut to a thousand pieces.

''I don't care when you come back! I mean, I'll be the one to see you~!

You don't have to come. I'll come show you after the baby is born.

'No~~~!　

I responded briefly to the words of the Honorable Viscount Lobo as I leaned out of the Amur window and spoke of my unplanned desires. The Honorable Viscount Lobo screamed upon hearing those words, falling to his knees and expressing his despair with his body.

Since my schedule was undecided, and there was no such thing on my schedule to begin with, I stuck my face in as far as I could to see the two lambs in my bag and pretended I didn't hear them.

In the bag I poked into to pretend I didn't hear, Lamb I seemed to have messed with Gol and Jill and was being rolled around in a circle with strings. And Gol and Jill are performing a mysterious ritual of walking around Lamb I, doing a strange dance. Maybe they thought they were mistakenly thinking that the two lambs had been put in a bag as their food.

'Gol, Jill, you're our new friend, don't eat it. You can eat this instead.

They looked a little disappointed at my words, and they received the shreds of spear elk I offered them and ate them before releasing Lamb I. For now, the lambs were no longer being eaten, but it was the moment I was convinced that Lamb II, which was still sleeping even after being certified as food, would certainly not be able to survive in the wild.

''Meh~, meh~, meh~''

Later, Lamb I, who had been wrapped in spider silk, was rescued by Slarin, who noticed something wrong. After being rescued, Lamb I seemed to understand that the only one weaker than him in this group was Lamb II, and he was relatively quiet.