CH 79.5

The next day, my friends and I started asking around in the streets for information on the oden stall.

My friends were grumbling, “What’s the point of doing this?” but we couldn’t think of any other idea so we did it.

The wall painter, a catkin, a neechan with long bangs at the fish farm, the princess of the adventurers group, Pickles-san…..

We were showered with suspicious glares from various people when we asked them when and where they had seen the oden stall.

I really wish I could write at times like this.

Until we get to a friend who can write, we have to remember everything we heard by chanting them out repeatedly.

「So, so, how many people have we asked….around, this much fingers?」

「Well, wait a minute, more than ten, I’m sure of it.」

「You two, let me borrow your fingers so I can count more.」

「Wouldn’t it be quicker if we show it to Casio boy instead of doing that?」

「Right」

I let my two friends wait for me at the bar and I walked back to my room with Casio in tow, walking through the city at dusk.

White snowflakes fluttering down from the sky sparkle in the light of street lamps.

It will be a disaster if it snows, right?

If it’s this cold now, perhaps snow will pile up on the roads after the new year.

The hot water in my hot water bottle was getting cold and the tip of my tail, which was tucked into my clothes, ached.

「Welcome in spite of the cold, Casio. You can order anything you like.」

「The specialty here is fried chicken with ginger. The alcohol is watery though.」

「Thank you, Dutch-san, Marcas-san.」

My friends and Casio have known each other for a long time.

They have even gone fishing together.

In Schenker, roommates are brothers and although Casio is not a scalekin, he is a brother to us.

「By the way, I prepared a map.」

Casio took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it to reveal a map of the city, drawn in fine lines.

The map is much simplified, but it seems to include all the main roads in the city.

「That’s amazing. Did you draw it yourself?」

「Yeah」

「Even the scouts of the adventurers department would run away barefoot if they saw something like this. So, what are you going to do with it?」

「I’m going to put down all the information you gathered here.」

「Oi, Dutch, your note.」

「Areh? Where?」

「You were saying something about stretching it’s wrinkles.」

「Ah, right, I put it on my butt, hehe」

Casio rolls up a very nasty, warm looking scribble with his small hands and marks the map with a red pencil.

Red lines were drawn to connect the marks, forming a bizarre shape like a mage’s magic circle from the play.

「Well done, you can see it all this way.」

「Eh? What did it show?」

「What does this tell you?」

「Oi, if you don’t understand, just shut up.」

「You shut up」

Casio pointed to the center of the magic circle and tilted his head a little.

「Perhaps this place is the starting point……」

「What!?」

「Really!?」

「That place, isn’t that the base in the south city?」

The small finger was pointing to a place just a little south of the center of Torquiva.

It was close to the drinking district where food stalls are everywhere.

「How can you tell?」

「The stall seems to go out every day in a different place but uses the same route and seem to come from that place.」

The three of us nodded our heads together but I’m sure none of us understood.

「So, if we assume that the time to depart is the same every night and day, then it would make sense for it to come from this place.」

The three of us said “I see” in unison but I’m sure none of us understand.

「So, well, I suspect a dormitory or something around this place was the source. Get it?」

「Got it」

「Of course」

「I agree」

I don’t really know but he’s probably right.

-0-

The next day at noon, me in my woolen hat and Casio in his Schenker Scorpions red hat were hanging out in the south city with a clay pot.

We decided to keep an eye out for suspicious looking places in the daytime because if we came here after work, the food stall would have already left…..

The others have to work this day so it was only me and Casio.

Anyway, we decided to find the stall, buy a pot of food, and bring it back home for everyone to eat.

This was Casio’s idea too.