Volume 7 - CH 4

Chapter 4: To Know a Person 

When negotiations were finished, it was decided that a meeting would be held ten days from now, with the utmost secrecy, at the inn where we were staying in Noblebeppu. 

The reasons for the secrecy were the issue of security and the fact that to hold open talks would require the approval of the Council of Chiefs. If we took our time, that permission would likely be given, but we didn’t want to go to the trouble. 

Regardless, a date was set, and Hakuya and Kuu’s father would hash out the rest of the details between themselves. 

As for us, we had nothing in particular we needed to be doing until then, so we decided to explore the country as planned. Kuu had already volunteered himself as a guide, after all. 

That was why, today, we had come to Moran, a fishing port near Noblebeppu. 

The seven members of the group included me, Aisha, Juna, Roroa, Tomoe, Kuu, and Leporina. 

Hal and Kaede said they would be at Taru’s workshop, checking out a weapon for Hal to use, and they went off on their own. 

Now that he was a dragon knight, Hal was the ace of the Defense Force. Because there was great meaning in Hal having a weapon that would let him exercise his valor to its fullest, I was happy to give him permission to break off from the group. 

“Wow...” Tomoe cried out as she walked through the town of Morlan. “Big Brother! There’s a really big person!” 

It was true. As we walked through the town, we would occasionally see extremely large people. They might have been over two meters tall. 

In addition to a height that would cause their head to burst through the roofs of the average house, they all had a roly-poly physique, like they were heavyweight sumo wrestlers. 

Anyway, even just walking around, they made a strong impression. It made me worry they might crush little Tomoe underfoot. 

Seeing how startled we looked, Kuu laughed in amusement. “Oookyakya! It’s a surprise, seeing them for the first time, huh? They’re members of the walrus race.” 

The walrus race, huh... 

Now that he mentioned it, the large people who happened to be men had two tusks growing out of their mouths. With the women, I only ended up thinking, Their canines sure are long. 

“Members of the walrus race make their living in the fishing industry,” said Kuu. “Members of the snow bear race like Taru are good swimmers, too, but they’re no match for the walrus race. These are people who, when the water’s frozen over in winter and they can’t take the boats out, break through the ice to dive in and go fishing, after all.” 

Diving in the frozen sea?! That was incredible. Nobody had dry suits in this world, so it was amazing they didn’t freeze to death... 

Oh, wait, I get it. That’s why they’re built like that. 

The blubber beneath their skin provided increased insulation, making them a race specialized for acting in frozen water. Was that a result of evolving to adapt to their environment, or did only races that were adapted to the environment manage to move forward? The question fascinated me. 

When we followed Kuu over to the beach, we could see a group of walrus race people gathered around a fire. 

Kuu walked over and called out to them. “Hey, you guys! Having a cookout on the beach?” 

“Oh! Young master,” a man said. “Yeah. We brought in a big haul of shellfish, shrimp, and the like today, so we were just saying how were gonna let loose and party all day.” 

On further inspection, there was a net laid over top of the walrus men’s campfire, and a variety of shellfish were roasting on it. There were clam-like bivalves that had opened wide, and bubbles escaping from the valves of a spiral-shelled variety that resembled the turban shell. Combined with the scent of the sea, they looked incredibly delicious. 

Looking at them, Kuu laughed happily. “Oookyakya! That’s nice! I’m actually showing some guests from abroad around right now. We’ll provide the booze, so let us join you.” 

The men cheered when they heard Kuu’s proposal. 

“Oh, you mean it?” 

“All right! We can drink lots now!” 

Kuu turned back, pulled a pouch from his pocket, and tossed it to Leporina. It was apparently his wallet. “Leporina! Get us a barrel of potato vodka with that.” 

“Whaaaaaa?!” Leporina blinked at Kuu’s order. “A barrel...? That’s too much! It’ll be too heavy for me to carry back by myself!” 

“If it’s too heavy, roll it.” 

“No faiiir...” 

Leporina was at the mercy of Kuu’s sudden ideas. 

I felt bad seeing her run ragged by her boss, so I decided to offer a bit of help. “Aisha. Sorry, but could you go with Leporina and carry the barrel for her?” 

I felt bad making someone else do it, but Aisha could probably lift a barrel or two with ease. 

She pounded her breastplate proudly. “Leave it to me. Now, let’s go, Madam Leporina.” 

“Whuh?!” 

Aisha dragged off the still-dumbfounded Leporina. 

Watching them go, Kuu chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure that dark elf girl can heft a barrel of liquor or two without any trouble.” 

“You can tell?” I asked. 

“Well, yeah. I think even I could put up a good fight against your red-haired buddy, but... that girl feels like she’s in a different dimension.” Kuu spun his arm around in circles. “At the very least, that’s not a level of power an ordinary adventurer has. Is she a military commander in the kingdom, or something?” 

“...No comment.” 

“I want her as a vassal myself...” 

“You can’t have her.” 

“Oookyakya! Oh, yeah?” 

While we were talking, the shells kept roasting. Then one of the walrus fishermen took something that was a milky white color out of a jar and put it on the seashells. 

“What’s that?” I asked. 

“Butter made from the same yak milk we use to make fermented milk,” the man said. “When we eat seafood around here, we pour alcohol over it as it cooks, then put this stuff on top when it’s done.” 

That made sense. Butter, huh. Like with butter-fried scallops or short-necked clams. Shellfish and butter were a good match. 

The fisherman went on to chop up some shellfish that were probably scallops with butter on them. He offered them to Kuu and me. “Go ahead, young master.” 

“You visitors, too,” another man said. “Don’t hold back. Eat your fill.” 

“Sure thing!” Kuu cried. 

“Thank you,” I added. 

We thanked the fishermen and accepted them. Immediately, the scent of the sea and the aroma of butter tickled my nostrils. 

Oh, I don’t know how to describe it... It was a very nostalgic experience. It reminded me of the whelk skewers they sold at little stalls at festivals. I’d never thought I wanted to eat them regularly, but when I passed by those stalls and smelled that aroma, I couldn’t help but stop. That was the feeling I was getting now. 

I used the fork I was given to eat them. Yeah, these were butter scallops. The taste of both the butter and the scallops were intact, and these were the best butter scallops I had ever had. 

I let out an unintended groan of appreciation. “They’re good...” 

“I know, right?” Kuu happily agreed. “Frying them up on the beach and then eating them with butter is a proud part of our food culture.” 

“I see.” 

Food culture, huh? Well, I wasn’t going to let him outdo me. 

The party in Moran continued until late in the evening, and we ended up staying there overnight. That was because nearly everyone was totally sloshed, and while it was nearby, it was still far enough that we would have to use carriages to return to Noblebeppu. 

In the end, we all ended up sleeping on the floor in the great hall of an inn that Kuu used his reputation to get us into. 

Those difficulties aside, the next day came. 

When the afternoon rolled around, the hungover members of the group started to feel a lot better, so we decided to return to the town of Noblebeppu. It was already evening by the time the rocky carriage ride came to an end. 

Kuu was saying we’d have another party tonight, but since most of us hadn’t fully worked last night’s alcohol out of their systems, we politely declined and decided to let our stomachs and livers rest for the night. 

The shaking of the carriage had aggravated Roroa, Hal, and Kaede’s hangovers, so they went to their rooms as soon as we got to the inn, and went to sleep without dinner. 

Aisha took Tomoe out to walk around the town at night. They were apparently going to look at souvenirs. 

Left behind, Juna and I talked about nothing of real consequence and relaxed. 

Eventually, while I was thinking that all there was left to do was take a bath in the hot springs and go to sleep, suddenly Juna said, “Oh, I just remembered something I need to do. Excuse me,” and left the room. 

She had business to attend to at this hour? 

Had she gone to look for Aisha and Tomoe, maybe? 

Having been left behind all by myself, I had nothing to do, so I decided to take a bath. This inn just had one large open air bath fed with free-flowing water that was partitioned into men’s and women’s sides. 

I was still dumbfounded by this sudden occurrence when Juna laid down the tray and began pouring hot water over herself. 

“Excuse me while I get in beside you,” she said as she got into the bath. Then she sat down so close to me that our shoulders were touching. Her soft, white flesh was right next to me. 

Once she had soaked up to her shoulders, she let out a breath. “Whew!” 

That sexy sigh finally brought me back to my senses. “U-Um... Juna? This is the men’s bath, you realize?” 

“I asked the innkeeper to reserve it for us for an hour or so. So it’s fine.” 

Now that she mentioned it, Roroa had been saying there was a system like that. 

“No, but it’s still embarrassing...” 

“Hee hee! Where’s the harm? We’re a couple, after all.” With that said, Juna leaned against me. “So, please, feel free to call me by a pet name now, darling. We’re all alone, so I don’t want you to be so formal.” 

“With you, being polite just feels natural, though,” I objected. Still, I tried to loosen up, like she wanted. Hmm, yeah, this was embarrassing. “I actually have to actively try to speak less formally.” 

“I think, in terms of our positions, it’s only natural for you to speak informally,” she told me. “I know you said you feel tense around older women, but you call my grandmother Excel, don’t you?” 

“That’s because I have a stronger sense of Excel being my vassal. I need to make it clear who’s the master at all times, or that woman will run me ragged. But with you, I just feel like being extra polite. Naturally, that’s not an attempt to set you aside from my other fiancées or anything like that. You’re like my reliable older wife.” 

“Hee hee! Am I?” Juna watched me with a calm smile as I did my best to explain myself. 

Juna pulled over the tray she had brought. The tray had two small glasses, and a pale yellow bottle on it. 

She passed me one of the glasses and held up the bottle for me to see. “First, a drink.” 

“Is it alcoholic?” 

“No. Considering last night, I decided on juice instead. This juice is made by almost the exact same process as a cherry wine that Leporina said she likes. It seems the only difference is whether you add water or alcohol to the syrup produced.” 

With that explanation, Juna poured me a glass. 

While it was juice, it felt like alcohol, so I poured Juna’s drink for her in return, as was common courtesy. 

Finally, with me having gotten used to the sight of Juna’s white skin... well, I wasn’t tired of seeing it, of course, I just was able to keep myself under control a little better... we had a toast. 

Then, soaking in the bath together, we drank together, with juice taking the place of wine. 

During that time, I couldn’t help but glance at those swells which were larger than Liscia’s. Her wet skin had a glossy shine to it. 

Juna noticed, of course. “Hee hee! You can go right ahead and look.” 

“Please... spare me,” I murmured. 

The juice shouldn’t have had any alcohol in it, but I was feeling woozy. I was going to get dizzy from the heat in no time. There was an epic battle between lust and reason being waged inside my head. 

“Is there something you’re thinking about?” Juna asked suddenly. 

I was on edge, thinking she’d realized how full of lustful thoughts my head was right now, but Juna had a serious look in her eyes. 

“Ever since the cookout on the beach, you’ve had something on your mind. Today, too... your mind seemed to be somewhere else.” 

“You noticed that, huh?” 

It was true, there was something I’d had on my mind since the cookout. No, it might be more appropriate to say I was confused about it. 

Juna leaned her head on my shoulder and spoke to me with downturned eyes. “It may not do any good to tell me what it is. Still, if telling someone will lessen your worries any, please, darling, do not bear the burden alone. You have partners, including myself, with whom you can share anything.” 

“Juna...” 

Among all my fiancées, Juna was the one who was always taking a step back to look at the big picture. It was fair to say that she was the best of all of them when it came to showing careful concern. That’s why she’s easily seen through to the worries I thought I was hiding. 

Then Juna took on a tone like a sullen girl. “I thought you would tell me on your own once we were alone, you know? Despite that, you’ve said nothing. This is why I arranged for us to be together like this. In a place where nothing is hidden, I thought you might bare your heart to me, as well.” 

“You did it all with that in mind, huh?” I commented. “I really am no match for you...” 

“Hee hee.” 

She looked cute when she was sulking, so I stroked her face, and she gave me a happy smile. She had seen through everything, but seeing Juna’s smile wiped away any frustration I had over that. 

That was why I revealed what was concerning me. 

“Juna... what do you think about Kuu?” 

“Sir Kuu? He seems a bit boisterous, but I find him to be an affable young man.” 

“Yeah,” I nodded. “He’s got a mysterious ability to attract people, too. He’ll be a good ruler someday, I’m sure. If he were an expansionist, he’d be an enemy we couldn’t afford to underestimate, but Kuu is satisfied with internal development. He’s the kind of ruler I’d want to see in a neighbor.” 

“None of this sounds bad, though.” Juna tilted her head to the side. 

It was true, it wasn’t bad. 

“If he’ll become my sworn friend, there’s no one more reliable,” I said. “Having the illegal fishing problem with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union to our east, the Union of Eastern Nations struggling with the Demon Lord’s Domain to our north, and the unpredictable Mercenary State Zem and the theocratic Lunarian Orthodox Papal State to our west, it would make things a lot easier if we could have amicable relations with the Republic of Turgis to our southwest, at least. It’d give us a land connection to our secret ally, the Gran Chaos Empire, too.” 

She listened silently. 

“However, we haven’t formed an alliance yet. I learned too much about Kuu before that happened.” 

When I came to, I was on top of the bed in the room where I was staying. 

Erm... I passed out in the hot springs, right? 

I was... not naked now. 

Had Juna carried me back and dressed me? 

I felt a gentle breeze on my face. Looking next to me, Juna was sitting on the edge of the bed and fanning me. 

“Juna?” I asked. 

“Oh, you’ve come to?” Juna said with a look of relief. “You passed out in the hot spring, so I had the inn staff help me carry you back to your room. The outside air was too cold to pull you out of the spring and treat you there, after all.” 

“Sorry. That was embarrassing of me.” 

“Don’t worry about it. It gave me the chance to look over your body.” Juna brought a hand to her cheek and smiled mischievously. 

Urkh... Even if it had been in the hot spring, I was really embarrassed to think she’d seen so much of me while I was unconscious. 

As if she saw through to my innermost feelings, Juna giggled. “By the way, are we already back to you being so polite with me?” 

“Ahh... Yeah, this just feels more natural.” 

“I see,” she said. “Then let’s have you loosen up with me when it’s just the two of us alone.” 

“It’s embarrassing to have you put it that way, but... let’s do that.” 

Talking differently when we were alone together. I thought that might be okay. 

“By the way, are Aisha and the others back yet?” she asked. 

“No, not yet. You were only out for about ten minutes.” 

“I was...?” 

“Yes. So we can do things like this.” 

Juna leaned in, brushing back her beautiful, blue hair, and pressed her lips against mine. Then she pulled her face back and giggled. 

“Shall we keep the fact we took a bath together our little secret for a while?” 

“Huh?” 

“If Aisha and Roroa hear, I’m sure they’ll get jealous and want to join you for one, too. I want you to be able to rest, darling.” 

I understood her meaning. So, for now at least, let it be our secret.