Volume 6 - CH 19

Chapter 19 – Information On the On-Site Inspection and the Demon Forest

We arrived at the open sea near the Kingdom of Jerah. Before heading to land, I finished disguising the Lutto… If I change the appearance of the ship too much, it will be hard to tell which one is which.

The interior of the ship will be disguised as well, and the shower room and toilet in the owner’s room can be made into a secret room by integrating them with the wall at any time. This should make it undetectable for on-site inspections.

…It’s going to look suspicious if we don’t have any cargo; I’ll put out some wine from Palermo and some distilled liquors from the southern continent. If I loaded pepper, they’d be suspicious.

“Then we’ll head for land. Is the town of Carpi, where Alessia-san and the others are going to gather information, close to the border between the forest and the plain?”

“Yes, it’s the closest in terms of distance. If we enter the harbor, there is another way, but it is troublesome for non-humans to enter and leave, so let’s make the border with the forest our meeting place. I heard that it would take at least three days to go there and back.

Considering the time it would take to gather information, please pick me up at this location on the evening of the fifth day. If I’m not back by then, you can expect me in three more evenings, and if I’m not back in eight days, for whatever reason, you can assume something has gone wrong and contact the adventurers’ guild.”

“I understand. But is the town of Carpi in danger from which you might not be able to return?”

“No, I haven’t heard anything about that. Just in case. You never know when something unforeseen might happen.”

An unforeseen event that could happen to an A-rank adventurer, huh…? That town is going to be a terrible place to be.

“Yes, but you have to be careful.”

“Yes, I’ll be careful enough, don’t worry.”

Well, is it strange to say that I worry about A-rank adventurers gathering information about no particular problem in the town? Let’s wait and see with peace of mind.

Arriving at the border with the forest, Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, Marina-san, and Fuu-chan depart for the town of Carpi. But no matter how you look at it, it looks like an ordinary forest. I had an image that there was some kind of mysterious atmosphere or some kind of strange gas emanating from it.

Since there was nothing to do for the next five days, I decided to summon Stronghold in the open sea and wait leisurely for Alessia-san and the others, though I felt bad for them.

I feel like most of what I’m doing these days is the same, although I’m changing my focus to movies, DVDs, manga, baths, buffets, having a lovey-dovey, and switching to the Fortress and the Hideaway.

I still want a luxury liner. If I could get one, I could enjoy more variety… Creation God-sama, am I crazy to think of having fun on a luxury liner, and all I can think of is Ines?

It seems to me that the level of sexuality has only been enhanced with the increase in levels. When I came to the other world, I must have been more stoic… maybe…

So 312 platinum coins left until the luxury liner. Assuming a minimum of 72 platinum coins for each wholesale pepper and 360 platinum coins for five wholesales of pepper…that’s ten months since I’ll be spacing them out by two months… that’s a long time. I could hold out for ten months, or I could increase the amount of pepper I wholesale a bit or shorten the intervals between wholesales… I’m not sure; I’ll think it over.

………………

Five days later, in the evening, I went to pick up the three girls at the border with the forest and was able to meet up with them without incident. I talked to them as we returned to the open sea.

“Thank you all for your hard work. Did you have any problems?”

“Yes, we were able to get some information, and no problems occurred. But for Wataru-san, there is some information that may make you happy and some information that may not.”

I’m glad to hear that everyone seems to be doing well, but… not-so-happy information? Well, I don’t know which one she’s talking about because there have been so many troublesome things lately. Is the forest too dangerous, or is there something mage-related going on?　

“It makes me afraid to ask, Alessia-san, but what is this information?”

“Master! A ship is approaching.

Eh? What?

“Ara… it’s probably an on-site inspection. Wataru-san hides the five of them and stops the ship. Oh, and you’d better hide Rimu-chan and Fuu-chan, too.”

“I understand.”

An on-site inspection out of the blue? I’m very concerned about the information that I’m not happy about, but I want them to read the air. Five people, Rimu and Fuu-chan, with their luggage, go into the bathroom and shower room, and I disguise the entrance so that it becomes one with the wall. No amount of on-site inspection is going to break the wall to check it out… though it won’t break.

As soon as I stopped the ship, a soldier called out to me from the magic boat that had come alongside.

“It is an on-site inspection of the Kingdom of Jerah. Everyone on board must line up outside.”

We did as he said and lined up on the rear deck. Suddenly, three soldiers came aboard. Whew, just in time to get permission to come aboard. I wish they had boarded after I called out to them. If they get bounced around by the barrier, there will be more trouble.

“Who is the representative?”

“Oh, it’s me.”

I’m getting nervous. Even if I’m not doing anything wrong, I get nervous at times like this. I’ve been doing bad things; I’ve been getting Ines and the others to hide from them. Oh, by the way, Ines and Felicia are slaves, but does it still matter? …Well, I guess I shouldn’t bother being a jerk about it, or it’s a good thing I got them to hide.

“Show us your ID.”

“An F-ranked merchant… Why is an F-ranked merchant sailing on a magic ship? Moreover, it’s almost sunset, and you’re running towards the open sea… and there are too many suspicious places.”

I didn’t raise it because there was no particular disadvantage in F-rank, but I didn’t know there would be a disadvantage in a place like this. I hadn’t even thought about why I was running toward the open sea; I had to come up with an excuse.

“Oh, I’m F-ranked because I have my own route and don’t need to raise my rank. I wasn’t heading for the open sea; I was leaving because when I tried to anchor, I could see the Demon Forest, and it was creepy.”

Is that too unreasonable?

“Hmm, I’ve heard of such stories. Having a magic ship must be a profitable route. I envy you. However, it would be too cowardly to leave by ship because of the eerie forest.”

“I believe I survived because I was a coward.”

“…Well, maybe that’s true. But we will have to identify these women and examine the ship’s contents.”

“Y-yes.”

Alessia-san and the others are also showing their guild cards. Speaking of which, should I give them a tip under the sleeve in a situation like this? …I should have asked. I thought I was prepared for the inspection, but I wasn’t at all.

“It’s rare for an A-rank adventurer to escort… It seems true that you are making a lot of money, but it doesn’t feel right. The next step is to inspect the ship. First, show us the cargo.”

“Yes.”

They seem to be very suspicious of me. I want to start over from the beginning… But we’ve come this far; we have no choice but to go through with it. There’s nothing suspicious, so I’m going to trust that everything will be fine. I show the soldier the alcohol I’ve prepared.

“Wine from Palermo… What’s in this barrel?”

“That barrel is said to be a liquor from the southern continent. It is rare, so I stocked it.”

“But it is not much, is it? The merchant is supposed to load the cargo to the limit. Would you like to explain this to me?”

“Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I have my own route. I can make money just by wholesaling the goods, so I only bought the wine on the side…”

“Hmm, what is the product?”

“Do I have to tell you?”

“You are free not to tell us, but you are left with a question. As long as I am not convinced, I will not let you go.”

Hmm, should I say pepper? I’ve been hiding it because it’s going to be a pain in the ass, but unless I say something convincing, they’re not going to let me go. …Since the actual pepper has been repatriated, should I say that all of it is now sold?

“…I understand. I trade pepper.”

“Pepper! You have pepper?”

“No, I don’t have any pepper left because I sold it in Palermo. I do have one assortment of spices for personal use if you would like to see it.”

“Umu.”

I hand him the set of assorted spices in the kitchen. After carefully inspecting it, he holds it in his hand and does not return it to us… Does this mean he wants me to give it to him?　

“Sorry to say I’m running low, but if you don’t mind, please take it home with you.”

“Hmm? Is that so? Well, if that’s the case, I’ll take it.”

After that, he looked around the ship lightly and left easily. I caught a glimpse of the dirty world of adults. I guess I am one of the dirty adults for bribing them.

“When those people came to me at the on-site inspection, they said many things that were suspicious and questionable, but was the bribe their goal from the beginning?”

“Fufu, that may be so. Wataru-san, isn’t it time to let the five of them out?”

“Oh, that’s right. I’ll go get them out.”

The disguise is lifted, and the five are let out. Everyone looks happy to be released from their cramped quarters. I knew they didn’t want to go to the bathroom. Should I think a little more about where to hide? But it’s a small ship, so any other place would be uncomfortable. I hugged Rimu, who jumped on me.

“Rimu, are you all right?”

“Fine.”

“I’m glad.”

Felicia came to talk to me as I was rubbing Rimu.

“Master, did the inspection go well?”

“Hmm, can I say it went well? Well, they took one of the used ones from the assorted spice set, but…”

“Well, I think it’s safe to say it went off without a hitch, don’t you?”

Felicia also has a subtle expression. They took the spices, and it’s a loss, but they only took one used set of stuff to give away as a souvenir, so there’s hardly any pain… Let’s just say it went off without a hitch.

We head out to the open sea again, re-set the autopilot and head back to the living room. Over a cup of tea, I tell the five of them about the on-site inspection. All five of them are not sure what to say to the subtle bribe. It’s expensive because it has pepper in it, in case you’re wondering, right? …There’s a lot of rotten stuff in there.

“Speaking of which, what’s that information that doesn’t make me happy?”

“Eh? Oh, we were just talking about the Demon Forest.”

I guess Alessia-san forgot all about it. I would have forgotten about it, too, if I hadn’t been told that it wasn’t good information. I’m always thinking about the things I don’t like.

“We gathered information about the Demon Forest, too, and among them was a story about a large number of insect monsters attacking the area. That’s not good news, is it?”

“…Felicia, I’m sorry. Let’s look for another forest, everyone.”

“Wataru-san, I know how you feel, but all forests have more or less insects, you know?”

I guess so. Alessia-san, you’re right; it’s a forest, so there will be bugs. …Should I decide after listening to it a little bit more?

“…I guess so. Please continue.”

“Well, I’ll put together all the information I’ve gathered and tell you.”

………………

According to the information from Alessia-san, Dorothea-san, and Marina-san. It is said that there are few powerful monsters in the Demon Forest, but D- and C-rank monsters are attacking in large groups.

There are three groups: insect monsters, frenzy monkeys, and vindictive wolves, and it is said that when some trigger is turned on, they will not stop until the intruder runs away from the forest or dies.

Frenzy means upset or madness. Vindictive means either obsessive or vengeful… Upset monkey or frenzied monkey? Vindictive wolf or revenge wolf? I’d like to refrain from using any of the above.

We don’t know why they become triggered, sometimes it happens as soon as someone enters the forest, and sometimes it doesn’t happen even after someone enters and kills a bunch of monsters.

Moreover, it is not known which group will be triggered, and even if you can withstand one group, another group may be triggered, and all three groups may attack you.

The power of individual monsters is said to be at a level where a B-ranked person can easily defeat them, but once the trigger is turned, almost all the monsters in the vast forest will attack, and it seems that not only the adventuring party but also the military cannot withstand the attack and cannot develop the area.

Insect monsters are particularly troublesome, and it is said that a wide variety of insect monsters, as well as ordinary insects of the same species, can be controlled and that insects of all sizes attack without a gap and without ceasing. Just hearing about it gives me goosebumps.

Even some of the dangerous monsters in the forest are no match for a group of triggered monsters, and sometimes the monsters escape from the forest, and some of them have been confirmed to be A-ranked monsters. Strength in Numbers, huh…? Not even S-ranked adventurers can do that?

The Kingdom of Jerah has failed many times to develop the forest, but if it can develop the Demon Forest, there are many advantages, such as the establishment of a route to neighboring countries divided by the vast territory and the Demon Forest, and they are trying to develop the Demon Forest because they cannot give up.

It is said that the reason why the Kingdom of Jerah has turned to human supremacy is to force the use of beastmen in order to develop the Demon Forest. In fact, experimental pioneering has been conducted with the beastmen, and it is said that the more times the pioneering has been conducted, the less damage has been done and the more time they can withstand attacks from all three groups.

I would prefer not to go into the forest, but Alessia-san says that if we have the ship summoning, we can explore the area without problems. If we can take a break, eat, and sleep, we can proceed while blowing away the monsters, no matter how many there are.

I don’t want to be surrounded by monsters and insects, and when I asked about the toilet, I was told that if I had a rubber boat, I would have no problem acting alone… I can’t do it; I’ll think about summoning the Lutto or Hideaway on land.

The reason why I’m thinking positively about exploring the Demon Forest has to do with the positive information Alessia-san gave me. That is that arrows and traps have been found in the Demon Forest, which are clearly different from those in the Kingdom of Jerah.

Arrows and traps in the forest… It is possible that someone is living in hiding. Adventurers almost never go in to search for them, and they don’t do that when they can’t retrieve the traps they set.

It could be a beastman who escaped from the Kingdom of Jerah… but I think it’s a dark elf just because there are traces of people. If it’s a beastman, we’ll think about it then.

If we can get the dark elves to migrate at least once, we should be able to solicit them when we meet them. Even if there are insects that I don’t like, I would rather achieve my goal the first time in the Demon Forest, which has a higher probability of success, than go exploring in a different forest again and again.

After a long discussion, tomorrow, we will start our search in the Demon Forest. I hope we can find them easily.