CH 316.1

I came to a mountain village northwest of the royal capital to exterminate magical beasts.

(I’m starving… and my throat is dry.)

After enjoying the 『Hana Odori*』, I went to the village chief’s residence ahead of the others.

Although it was a festival, there were no stalls, so I was not able to get some snacks.

「*TL Note: Flower dance.」

「It is also the dancers who man the store after all. As expected they don’t have the manpower to do both.」

These were the words of the village chief who returned late. The drumming had stopped, so the festival must have been over.

He is about to have dinner, so I accompany him with a cold glass of sparkling wine. We enjoy conversation over grilled river fish skewers.

「The festival will last until tomorrow evening, right? Will there be food stalls lined up in the plaza where everyone was dancing earlier?」

To my question, the village chief with a protruding belly, gave me a vague look. It was as if his gaze was saying, 『Please don’t expect anything great』.

Although there would be stores, that was all, no special events. The festival had essentially ended a short while ago.

(So the eve of the festival is the main event, like Christmas, huh.)

The village chief spoke to me who was thinking of such a thing.

「By the way, Tauro-sama, are you not married?」

If so, he said, he would introduce me to as many women as I wanted. He even told me that he would prepare a house and farm for me if I would be his son-in-law in the village.

「I’m single, but I have no intention of getting married as of now.」

When I refused, the old man with the protruding belly simply retracted his offer. He’s probably asking this on a whim just because I’m a pilot from the royal capital.

(Still…)

My brow wrinkles vertically.

(Just what is the meaning of 『Marrying』 in this world?)

The couple goes to a brothel and enjoys themselves separately. And the custom to express their impressions of each other’s experiences over dinner afterward.

I honestly don’t know what the purpose of marriage is here.

(I want to ask, but I don’t know how.)

I couldn’t tell him that I was a person with a previous life, and they would think I was suspicious if I was too unscrupulous.

Fortunately, the village chief’s next words made it possible for me to guess.

「I guess you wouldn’t unless you started to want a child.」

After a casual session of questions and answers, I discovered that in order to have a child, one has to be married.

The reason, it seems, is to be able to raise the child even if one of the parents disappears.

(A big city like the royal capital aside, the activities in this world are so close to death after all.)

Attacked by a magic beast while going to work on the field. Such endings of life are common in this world.

If all that was left at home was an infant, this one would also end in time.

(Single engine is no good huh? It has to be at least a two or twin-engine I guess.)

I thought of jet airliners and nodded my head.

In the past, long-haul flights were not permitted, even the twin-engine ones. Only aircraft with four or three engines were allowed to enter service.

Later, this was relaxed as the reliability improved, but the reliability of the lives of people in this world would never be high.

(Married people have children. Now that I think about it, all of them do, huh.)

The Santa Claus-like vice guild leader has a wife and grandchildren. The tough-looking chief also has a daughter. And the herbivorous mechanic is definitely single.

(The guild master… I wonder if he has either.)

I think of the small old man who looks like a goblin, but both seem unlikely. I stop thinking about it and shrug my shoulders toward the village chief.

「I just can’t imagine it now. But maybe there will come a time when I will want to have children in the future.」

I said, and the village chief nodded and lift the corners of his mouth into a smile that grandpas would usually make.

***

The next day after dawn. I woke up late and wandered around the village plaza.

The tower had been dismantled in the morning, and a fair-like stall had been set up in its place.

There are a few people here and there, but it is not crowded. It is a village, so I guess these many people are appropriate.

(Hoo… This is quite delicious.)

I take a bite of an adoringly extra-thick sausage that has been skewered and grilled.

It’s just a mixture of ultra-coarse minced meat that could be suspected of being not nicely grounded, and the seasoning for the meat is just pepper as it is. But the taste of the juices oozing from deep within the meat and the texture of the crushed pepper grains is irresistible.

(And this one is boiled corn, huh.)

After finishing the sausage, I bought some and took a bite.

(….Hmm, it’s not sweet enough.)

Although I was momentarily confused by the difference from what I expected, this is not so bad. It is crunchy and has the feel of a staple food instead of a snack.

My stomach is full, and I have had plenty of sleep. So the next thing is the desire to explore and the desire to have sex.

In search of these two things, I head for a stall that looks like one. It seems that there is a mix of both men and women here.

(Hm?)

The first thing I noticed was a beautiful boy playing a three-sided game of something like chess with a group of young girls.

He has wavy hair and a smart-looking face and was probably in his early teens.

『You can play with me if you win. Five stone coins.』

The sign on the signboard is really straightforward. I don’t know how to play the pieces in this world, but I’m sure he’s strong.

Right next to it is a store specializing in kissing. A slender, handsome young man was kissing an old lady with his lips.

(It looks the same as the ones in Holy City. Everything here is soft-level play.)

The Holy City is the temple of the God of Business. The area you have to be an E-rank merchant to enter is authentic, but the F-rank is more mild and cheaper.

I have never entered the women’s area, but I imagine this is what it is like.

『Handjob Challenge. I will eat you if you managed to hold until the time runs out.』

This one is also a signboard. But I don’t know what it means.

(Ahh, so that’s how it is.)

Understanding what it is, I lightly tapped my fist into my palm. There, an older sister with her breasts fully exposed was squeezing two boys with each hand.

The way her hands moved was just like skilled milk squeezers. She was pointing down just in front of them, and letting them shoot their milk into the bucket to prevent it from splattering around.

「Ah, too bad. It was close.」

She flipped back the hourglass, so that must be the timer to 『Endure』.

「Hey, sis! All of the sand in the hourglass fell!」

It was the boy on the right hand side who raised his voice in an impatient manner.

The sister praised the boy and said 『Good job, I’m going to eat you now, alright?』 and put it in her mouth. This must have what the sign 『I will eat you』 means.

「Ah!」

After a short pause, the boy looked upward while holding the older woman’s head as his body shook. Her throat is moving, so she must be drinking the boy’s milk.

(Including the reward, it’s three at once huh? How well thought.)

The festival is ingeniously designed to accommodate a small number of stalls, like this three-sided chess.

After that, I continued to tour the plaza, but all of them were just mild stalls. It is not impossible to play, but you have to win in each mini-game.

(…..I don’t think I want to go that far.)

I thought while looking at the boys playing games with serious expressions on their faces.

I’m sorry but, there was nothing that could make my blood boil.