655 Architects of the Kingdom of the South (below)

"I see. Was that the kind of noise?"

The next night, Balan was spending time in the tavern.

I haven't been back to Nerwia in three months, and I've been greeting people everywhere during the day. So they handed me a copper coin that I should eat properly at night, so I was supposed to settle down in a tame tavern.

but it wasn't friends acquaintances, business opponents, etc. I haven't seen in three months who were choosing a drink cup, it was Aldas and Mayton who had been acting with me all along the road. Once again, we were supposed to celebrate a safe return with them who were also there to greet us.

"But, well, we had a similar appearance. A fuss because Giva's meat tastes yummy. Isn't that a lie in every house?"

It was Mayton who stated it that way. My face is already dyed red with sparkling liquor.

"I followed up and said back that this is not the kind of Giva dish I eat in Genos. My daughter-in-law can see me with a strange eye, and I'm already scattered."

"That's your fault. It's a matter of being a pawnbroker, not a daughter-in-law.

Laughing luxuriously, Aldas has a stronger distillery than sparkling liquor. In this, only Aldas did not marry his partner.

"Well, I think Giva's dried meat tastes so much better broiled and chewed with fire than simmered. That intestinal meat was extraordinarily tastier to simmer."

"Aldas is fine. Because you can have all the pieces of Gibba meat."

"Huh. I'm redeeming my whole life for happiness with my daughter-in-law and son. You deserve as much as this."

"My daughter-in-law and kids aren't even thankful when I'm old. Look at all this noise. You know what I mean?

"So that's because you didn't do well."

The people of Jagal have frankness as a virtue, so it is an exchange of words that is not hesitant. But Aldas and Mayton, two decades of work companions, looked like they were having so much fun. The least pleasant part would have been Balan.

"... so you still have the evil on your son's roots? What's wrong with that guy's mouth isn't what started right now, is it?

"I know that. But if a kid who doesn't know anything slaps me in the mouth, he'll be pissed, too?

"Yeah, well, especially if you cook giva. As an old man, you can't sit on your stomach."

Aldas, with his glass on the table, narrowed his eyes to miss something.

"But well, I think there's only one part of it. It's hard to imagine how delicious Asta's dishes are."

…………

"Besides, man, even Asta's cooking was evil at first. After all, it's a blood muscle."

"I get it. So... I'm so angry."

Balan mouthed sweet and sour Mammalian fruit liquor.

Would it be untrained to choose fruit liquor until you return to Jagal? In this land, Nyatta sparkling and distilled liquors are cheaper to buy.

"It's only been half a month since I left Genos. I feel like it's been months."

And that's what Mayton said in a smudged tone.

"This time, I've rebuilt Asta's house, been invited to a house by the woods, and even had another banquet to send you. It was so much fun... I felt like I had a hole in my chest."

"Oh, that feast was delightful. Whatever you ate, it was delicious."

Aldous also drinks with the same eyes.

Balan and in his heart were together.

In the light of the roaring fires, the figure of the people around the woods, shagging like children, is still burning in the back of his brain. As if they were wild beasts, they were fierce and powerful in the feast. That is too far from the Ballans - so they may have been fascinated by it intensely.

"That's right! I came up with one thing..."

And Mayton raised his voice and curled his eyes curly.

The gaze is directed behind the balan. Balan looked back, frowning.

"Hey, was it your brother after all? Much too shabby."

"You... Delus"

It was Dells, Baran's brother.

The face had changed a lot, but I can't go wrong with this face. As rare as the people of the south, Dells had big eyes and a huge nose like a dumpling.

"Has this been about fifteen years? You look good. Best of all, brother."

"You... what are you doing in a place like this?

"You wouldn't put it that way. Nelwia's my hometown, isn't she?

Balan knows best about that. But this Delus was expelled from his hometown after his parents had taken him for granted.

"What's home to you if you didn't even show your face at your father's or mother's funeral? Congratulations, you got a face before me."

"What, my father and mother have returned their souls? But they kicked Nelwia out. Then you don't have the means to know that, do you? If you don't know, you can't even rush."

Dells has not looked bad at all and has been sitting down on the same table.

Aldas and Mayton are watching this uninvited guest with a really complicated face.

"Is that your brother? I heard rumors, but this must be your first time worshipping your face."

"Oh. I wouldn't look familiar if I were you. You're my brother's work buddy, aren't you?

"Oh. The father you pissed off is a master to us. You took the money out of the house without even working, and you walked into the casino."

When Aldas said that in a strange tone, Dels snorted "Humph".

"Bad rumors don't go away. Well, change your mind now, I encourage you to do business every day. When it comes to Cornelia's Dells, he's got a little face."

"... you lived in Cornelia"

It was the town of Jagal, known as the famous place for tau beans. From Nerwia, it is about three days away in Totos.

"I also wanted to show my father and mother that I had changed my mind. Then I'll give this to my brother."

That said, Dels took a big wrap out of his nostalgia.

Balan glanced at him and said, "What is that?" Question.

"You can guess. It's the money I wasted on the house. I'm prepared to double what I've wasted, even with a small quote."

…………

"That architect, he succeeded you, didn't he? Then my brother deserves to receive it."

"Hmm. Qualifications If you mean nagging, do I deserve to give you something like this?

Balan pushed back its slender wrap on the top of the Buddha.

"First, wish for the soul rest of your father and mother. I don't even feel like talking to you until I've done that."

"You're as solid as ever. You look exactly like my father."

When Dels called the shopkeeper to carry the distilled liquor, he draped about two drops of it on the back of his hand and rubbed it against his forehead.

"Derus, the people of Jagal, desires the soul rest of his father and mother.... Can you listen to me now?

"Hmm. Still, I don't feel like accepting something like this."

"Take it. If you don't want to take it home, you can pay for the liquor of the people who stayed at this tavern. Everyone will be thrilled."

That said, Dels poured the distilled liquor into his mouth.

"Hmm... well, let me get down to business then"

"You think that's the point? Didn't you come to the house to give this guy back?

"That's one of them. I need to talk to my brother."

Dels embarks on herself as she rubs her big dough nose. It was a habit that Dells showed when he was passionate about something.

"My brother goes out to Genos every year, doesn't he? Then you also know about a cook named 'Asta' who's gaining a reputation over there?

"... what?

Balan shut his mouth carefully.

but Mayton makes me sound more surprised.

"Hey, how do you know Asta's name? What the hell are you talking about?

"Oh, is that mouthful familiar? Then it's more and more convenient."

Dels grinned contentedly at his mouth, hidden in a rich beard gap.

"That Asta has a little reputation in Cornelia, too. Rumor has it, I gave you back the nobility of Genos you've been playing with, you used the people by the woods to make a huge success in the business of giva meat... is that a true story?

"That's kind of a rhetoric I don't care about. Then it's like Asta used the forest people."

"No, no, no," Dells waved as anger raged over Mayton's voice.

"I'm running into Cornelia. I'm just keeping rumors to myself. If he's wrong, tell me the right story. And now the right story will spread."

"Asta herself is a forest folk. That's why I joined forces with my fellow Moribe brethren to beat up the nobility and successfully commercialize Giva meat with them. Tell those folks who spreaded stupid rumors,"

"Wait a minute. Still won't have enough words. It shouldn't be a good idea for such rumors to spread that the people of the woods beat up the nobles"

And, Aldas broke in with a calm voice.

"The people of the King's Capital in the west have been obsessed with the people by the woods. In the first place, it shouldn't be like we're making a scene being Jagals."

"But I can't stand a door in people's mouths. In fact, that's what's happening in Cornelia."

To Dells' words, Aldas was also to frown.

"How did you get such rumors to spread to Cornelia? Are the Cornelia guys connected to Genos in any way?

"That's right. Speaking of Cornelia, you're a tau bean, right? A pedestrian comes and goes to sell tau beans and tau oil. These people are spreading rumors about Asta with the forest people."

"I see... so how do you know we're in business in Genos? When you stayed home, you didn't start doing business in Genos yet."

"That's why I asked the pedestrians, too. You guys use an inn called" The Great Tree Pavilion of the South "in Genos, right? There are a bunch of pedestrians who use the same accommodation."

Indeed, it is not uncommon in an inn to drink with a doomed opponent. Moreover, the Ballans were rushing to their quarters in large numbers of twenty, so they should have stood out a lot on the spot.

"... so what are you trying to listen to Asta for?

While suppressing his inner mistrust, Balan made him ask in a low voice.

"If you have feelings for Asta... the three of us will be dealing with her."

"What an out-of-heartedness. If Asta is the guy with the reputation, I want to bring him a lot of money."

"... that it's a money-making story?

"Oh, I'm so excited to have that famous cook use my prized ingredients."

Mayton laughed, "Hang on."

"You can use both tau oil and tau beans all you want in Genos right now. I don't know if Asta would be interested in that."

"Even I don't think that would lead to a money-making story. What I want to sell is a better substitute."

So Dels smiled, not much.

"I can't reveal it to you on this occasion because it's mine. First of all, I want you to know if that Asta is someone you can trust."

"Do you speak of people's credibility? You've gotten a lot better, Dels."

"Oh. I told you I switched my mind. I'm not an asshole right now, I'm a merchant trading in silver coins."

Dels started rubbing his big nose in a more rude move than he had just done.

"I was originally prepared to bring business to the King's Capital in the west. But if it was Genos, I'd be halfway there. Which day would I go out, so if I could do business that way, I'd make twice as much money? Besides... there will be fewer royal spears than the King's capital."

"Horizontal spears of nobility?

"If you bring in the fine ingredients, the nobles will squeak out at the end, won't they? When they tease, we usually see them cry. I'm not doing business with nobles anymore."

"Heh. It's as if you've ever dealt with a nobleman."

To Aldas' words, Dels shrugged his shoulders, "Well," he said.

"It wasn't an ingredient back then, it was another product, and the other guy was a nobleman in the south, not in the west. At the end of the day, they did what the nobles did. … so this time, I was looking for a business partner who wouldn't give in to noble cross spears."

"So you laid eyes on Asta?... What's wrong with this guy, man?

Balan dampened his mouth with fruit liquor before embarking on himself over Dels.

"Already, let me ask you something. You're not trying to get Asta into business, are you, Dels?

"Oh. If that's the cook as rumored, he should be able to use the ingredients I bring in to bring in more reputation, right?

Dells' eyes stroking his nose had never been more serious light.

If this fool's brother had any serious feelings, he could be one or which person - and he was always thinking of Balan. Apparently, it took him fifteen years to become a man of credit.

"... then let me say one thing first. Asta and the people by the woods are in no way hostile to the nobility of Genos. On the contrary, as rare as a citizen of the city well, he should be making love to the nobles."

"Oh. Anything, as much as they sometimes cook in Castle Town? Is that a true story, too?

"True. Besides, he also took on the role of listening to wishes from the nobles and spreading the ingredients of the castle towns to the boarding towns. Now the people of the woods are doing their best to deepen their rightful bond with the nobility because they once had a quarrel with the nobility."

"I see. If Asta's gonna stand between us, I can do business with the nobles. If you can do business with a nobleman, that's what's best for you."

Then Aldas came up with himself, too.

"Let me tell you one thing, too. Sure, Asta seems to connect the aristocracy to the people by the woods, but she's only one of her family. It's the forest chiefs who decide everything, so if they don't like you, they can't even do business with Asta."

"Yeah. I don't have a crush on me, I don't even hate you... but people by the woods are a family of traitors who abandoned Jagal, right? You don't resent the people of Jagal?

"Don't you resent me? The folks by the woods are so innocent because they're people in town."

Mayton, no other HR on the matter, said so in a powerful tone.

"Well, you're also a family of hunters hunting for gibberish. If you have feelings, you're more scared than you are of turning nobles against your enemies, aren't you?

"Huh. You're not the one who gets angry when they bring in a money-making story. If you think about the beauty of the ingredients I sell, you'll thank me in tears."

"... it's a sight to see how you expose yourself to the hunters by the woods."

Balan opened the fruit liquor again before turning to Delus for each body.

"Then, Astas, let me tell you from one to ten how the people of the woods do business in Genos. If you get tired of it along the way, you can't go home."

"Oh, come on, you okay, man? I'm sorry, but I still don't trust this guy, do I?

"Then we'll just have to talk about it and make him listen. Sooner or later, he'll come to Asta and give me my name. You should tell them everything correctly before they imitate you."

To Balan's words, Dels smiled, "I don't appreciate it."

"Still, your brothers seem to be putting a lot of shoulders in those guys. It's perfectly comforting to miss a stubborn man like your brother."

"Shut up and listen. On top of that, think again about whether you deserve Asta or not."

And Balan was to speak.

It is a memories of long days spent with Asta and the people by the woods. It felt as if it was rebelling memories of pleasure.

When Balan breathes, Aldas and Mayton supplement him from the side. So it seemed to take plenty of moments to finish telling everything.

"I see. It's more interesting than hearing rumors. The people who spread the rumors in Cornelia are so bad at talking."

"Instead, no one is as cordial with the Astas as we are. Whatever it is, we are the first people of Jagal to be invited to the woods."

Mayton, who has been around a lot drunk, said so freshly, moisturizing his eyes. "Humph," Dels laughs as she rubs her nose.

"Precisely the first time you've been invited as a guest, right? Soon after you moved to the woods, you invited the people of Jagal to the settlement and learned how to build a house."

"Let it go. I don't care about this! Anyway, we made friendships with the people of the woods!

"Oh, I got it heavy. I never thought my brothers would be that close to the forest people. This guy came all the way out to Nelwia for what he deserved."

Dels wandered his nostrils and placed the three white copper coins he had removed from it on the table.

"What is this? You've already received the Apologetic Copper Coin."

"My apologies for ruining the time for a good conversation, and then I'm grateful. Make him pay for today's booze."

Hands off his big nose, Dels grinned invincibly.

"This guy is going to be a big business. The next time you head out to Genos, you'll be able to eat more fine Giva dishes than ever before, so look forward to your brothers."

"Hmm. Any crude ingredient would make a fine dish for a forest folk."

"See if it's crude, with your own tongue. Bye. You're old enough, so don't force yourself to fall off the roof."

Leaving those words behind, Dels walked away.

After dropping off that back, Aldas shrugs his thick shoulders.

"I haven't seen you again in 15 years, but you're a lot lighter. Are you glad you didn't pull it off?

"Hmm. I don't have any errands. I'm just glad they didn't tell me to stay home."

Balan threw a glass of fruit liquor into his mouth that he didn't even know how many more.

Aldas narrows his eyes for a bit of fun.

"Well, if my brother who got kicked out of the house grew up to be a fine person, you'd be happy to be one too. And then we'll see what we can do."

"Even if he was a squid bastard, people by the woods would be fine. If you have to, Donda-Lou or Ai-Fa will bust you."

Ever since I mentioned it that way, Mayton has embarked on himself.

"But you're in a hurry to leave him alone for a year to figure out what kind of business he's going to do. Before we do that, why don't we head out to Genos at the top?

"Till Genos? It'll take a month to get back and forth, so you won't be able to get through that easily."

"No, no, no," Mayton waved to Aldas' words.

"I've been trying to tell you that since before he showed up. I got in the way, but I got more reasons to get to Genos, so that's a good story."

"That's a cool story. Well, whatever. Let me ask you something."

"Oh. You talked about making a scene with your wife and kids over Giva food, didn't you? At that time, I was told that it was sloppy to eat all the delicious food. So... I figured out what would happen if I took them to Genos."

Aldas rounded his eyes properly. Frowning, Balan is in the same mood.

"That's a lot, that's a fancy story. If I'm gonna take you to your family, you're gonna have to increase the number of escorts, and if you don't, you're gonna be unable to work for at least a month, right? You're saying you have enough savings to enjoy such a long journey?

"Well, you'll need a bronze coin to enjoy the journey. He's going to have to make money first."

"On the way?... Oh, you're talking about taking my family to Genos next green moon too?

"No, no. Then all we enjoy is family, and we're stuffed for work. Besides, you can't afford to spend as much time in another town as you want."

"No. I have no idea. When, and how, are we supposed to take our family to Genos?

When Aldas gave the sound, Mayton had embarked on himself in such an enthusiastic manner.

"Going to Genos is the middle of the purple moon. In other words, we're going to enjoy Easter in Genos."

"Have Easter? What a fool -" Ardus became a thought-provoking face.

"... well. We didn't do any work during Easter either."

"Oh. If you're not working anyway, you wouldn't have a problem leaving Nelwia, would you? Still, with a little work in Genos, you'll be able to earn about your travel expenses. There won't be any architects working during Easter, so there won't be any trouble at work."

With that stated, Mayton comes to see Balan better.

"Hey, what do you say? You were stuck with your last daughter, weren't you? And remind the lad in the barn of the deliciousness of Giva cuisine, isn't this a good opportunity? It'll only take five more years for that kid to get to Genos."

"No, but... Easter would be what you spend with your family in your hometown?

"That's not true. What kind of father of a lumberjack tells me he goes to King's Capital in the south every Easter? If we take the whole family, we can cross the years together."

Balan was to think aloud.

I can't imagine anything at all about spending Easter in that noisy Inn Town of Genos, etc. Whether or not the couples and children would be happy with it was also a disconcerting matter.

But in Genos, there are people by the woods. At the last Easter, however, it was a story of a large number of forestside people going down to the Inn Town to deepen ties with the people of the town.

Imagine a diagram of your own companions and children eating Giva dishes, smiling and talking to the people by the woods - somehow their backs were mumbling.

"Hey, what do you say? Speak to the others. We'll all be able to handle the cost of the escort. When you get over there, you just have to work half the day and enjoy the festival the other half. You might get a leg out of it, but you can do your best when you get back to Nelwia."

"Dude, Mayton is totally willing to do that. Aren't you just mouthing your thoughts with the booze momentum?

After stating it that way, Aldas relieved himself of his mouth with pleasure.

"I'm a casual bachelor. There's no reason to say no to Easter because he's either disturbing your house or drinking at this tavern."

"Then the rest is goodbye! Oh, I'm sure the others will agree with you!

Staring from left to right at Mayton and Aldas, Balan became so distressed.

"Uhm, but... I don't really like it."

"Why not? You want to meet the Astas, don't you? I care about that Dells guy."

"But... we've been saying goodbye to 'See you next year', haven't we? That means you'll be looking at each other again before the year goes by... how dare you get dressed?"

Mayton and Aldas had a good time before exploding their laughter.

"Is that what you were worried about? I have no idea. You're a man."

"Oh. If I could see you again sooner than I thought, the Astas would be happy."

Listening to the laughter of the two, Balan was to rot infidelly.

But when I put my thoughts on the way ahead, my back becomes swollen again. What the hell kind of face would you look like if your partner or kids mouthed the Giva dish of Genos? To Balan, I had no idea.

There's just one thing I know.

Since last night, I've been obsessed with it in my chest the whole time, this unintelligible feeling - this I had a feeling would disappear beautifully and refreshingly if my family even ate Giva food in Genos.

(But is it a good thing that, for all that reason, I imitated such a big deal)

Now, around the middle of the White Moon - until Easter arrives, only four months remain. By then, I didn't know what decisions I would make, nor did Balan.

Just in the back of my brain, there's a face-to-face smile around the woods, starting with Asta. Unless Balan made his decision, it should never have seemed like those phantoms would leave his head.