CH 19

First, I dismissed the beastmen that were gathered here.

Chief Jiharu was worried about me being alone with the humans, so he insisted to stay until the end, but I said that I have my ways of self defense and sent him back.

So right now, there were only the three humans and me at the north gate.

*Cough*

I coughed without any meaning.

However, even though I didn’t do anything, they became scared. In their eyes, I, who was looking down at them on Catherine, was a very strong beastman. If I don't get rid of their fear, we might not be able to talk calmly.

That’s why I removed the helmet, goggles, and face mask.

“A... Aahh..!” The blond man’s voice trembled with delight.

The eyes of the other two became round with surprise and delight.

“A-Are you a human!?” The blond man asked excitedly.

“Yes. My name is Fujiwara. I am the head of this town.” I replied.

“Aah... It feels like the rain after a drought..!” The tall blond man clapped his hands together and prayed to the heavens. The other two people had glowing faces too.

“And you are..?” I asked.

“Ah, how impolite of me. My name is Frost, a geographic researcher from the Sandra Kingdom.” He stated. “These two are my apprentices... Hey, introduce yourselves.”

The other two introduce themselves to me.

I nod in return.

“Now then... Even if I give you food here, you will just be attacked by lynxes again on your way back.” I explained.

“Uurgh... That’s true.” Frost scowled.

“Did you come here unarmed?” I questioned.

Upon hearing this question, the apprentices’ faces became red.

“The two of them can use the bow, however, we were attacked suddenly. So, all we could do was escape while leaving the bows in the carriage. Augh, so embarrassing...” Frost bashfully confessed about what had happened.

He doesn’t seem to blame his apprentices… Frost really has a big heart, huh?

“Anyway, you must be tired. How about you rest up at this town first? I will escort you to a place without lynxes later. Naturally, I will give you food too.” I told them of my plans.

“Ooh! I am thankful for that.” Frost smiled widely.

There is no way I can let them die at a place where I can see. But, I don’t intend to give it to them free of charge.

First, I will squeeze information out of them. Then, as a token of friendship, I will make them swear to not tell anyone about this place. I need to protect this place by all means.

[TL: dude you are too naive.]

[ED: yeah… the town will probably be destroyed once in the future or something…]

In case something bad happens to these humans... I need to prepare for it.

“This is an important point if you want to enter the town. I think you already know that the residents of this town aren’t humans.They are beastmen who were driven out of their lands by humans. Please DO NOT provoke them. If anything happens to you because of that, I will not take any responsibility for it.” I instructed them sternly.

“I... I understand... Are you guys also alright with that..?” Frost turned to ask his apprentices.

“Y-Yes.” One of them nodded.

“I...I understand.” The other nodded as well.

“Then, please follow me.” I requested.

Thus, I led the three of them into the town.

As we went past the gate, their gazes wandering all over, perhaps because their curiosities were provoked by the Japanese-styled townscape.　

After a while, we finally arrived at the inn which was usually closed.

I opened the door and entered the building.

“Please enter. Please take off your shoes as well.” I told them.

This place was cleaned with the help of the townspeople once a month, so the inside was relatively clean. However, there was still a little bit dust at the entrance.

I opened the windows one by one to let the sunlight pour inside. Then, I guided them to one of the guest rooms. There was nothing inside besides the tatami mats and a desk. 　

“Please, sit down.” I gestured.

“Th-Then…” Frost did so nervously.

When he sat down, his apprentices followed suit. They seemed curious about the tatami mat as they used their hands to touch it.

“I was intending to prepare a drink, but perhaps you’ll prefer a meal more?” I offered.

Then, a growling sound was emitted from the stomach of one apprentice.

“I will bring the meal then.” I stated evenly.

“Ah, because my apprentices can use water magic, can you just give us some glasses? We’re not sure if the water from this place will suit us or not, so...” Frost requested uneasily.

“Alright, I will do that then.” I nodded.

“I apologise for our selfishness.” He frowned.

“No, that’s alright. It’s natural.” I assured them.

I left the room and summoned Town Data as I walked to the first floor.

Now then… What should I give them? If I provide a dish using ingredients that they don’t know of, it might be troublesome if they became interested in this place. It's better to provide them with dishes made from cheaper and more common ingredients if possible.

As expected, it should be bread. I heard that the humans of this world usually eat bread. However, I need to pay attention to the quality of the bread. Since the bread in my original world was invented in modern time, there is a possibility that that kind of bread has not been invented here yet. In that case, it will be troublesome if they tried to ask about the recipe. Would it much better to dish out naan, a type of flatbread that is easy to make to them?

I operated the screen and purchased naan, boiled eggs, and salt.

This should be good. I will serve them vegetables for dinner. I will ask the goblin and kobold tribes what humans eat before I take it out to them later. After waiting for some time for the dishes to cook, I brought the dishes to their room.

Afterwards, I explained to them about how to use the toilet and heat up the bath water, prepared a change of clothes, and consoled them as much as possible.

Everything was done by me alone. It might be my first labour since I arrived in this world.

After they cleaned up, we had a late dinner. Then, I served meat, vegetables, as well as liquor for dinner.

After dinner.

“Ah, thank you very much for saving us today.” Frost smiled at me as he held a cup of sake in his hand.

His apprentices weren’t present in this room. It seemed like they felt uncomfortable to be in the same room as their teacher, so I prepared another room for them.

“No, please don’t mind it.” I assured him.

“Still, this town is amazing. I have never seen this kind of unique architecture before. It feels so refined and impressive! Was all of this built by you?” He asked.

“Yes. All of the construction techniques were from me.” I lied with a poker face.

To the real inventors, I am truly sorry.

“I see... To have such a deep insight... I can understand now why the beastmen obeyed your orders.” Frost nodded. “As expected of this world’s wisdom. The intelligent people always stand at the top. Even in a country, they will be able to lead people at ease. Don’t you think so?”

I see. Being intelligent is something to be proud of here. I can understand if there is a such place. However, I am not really that good at using my head.

But, I don’t correct Frost.

“That’s right. If I may add on, it should be wisdom and sincerity. If they have these two, ordinary people will be able to find happiness.” I stated.

“Oooh, as expected! You are an intelligent person!” Frost gushed.

For some reason, I was being praised.

“No, I can’t match a scholar like you.” I smiled back politely.

“You are just too modest.” He grinned.

While praising me, Frost held out the brown sake bottle to me, wanting to pour me a drink. When I lifted my empty sake cup to receive it, I also grabbed another sake bottle and offered it to him.

“By the way, did you come to investigate the geography here because of the earthquake, or did you come here to investigate the minerals and vegetation around here?” I asked.

“That reminds me, I haven’t talked about the detailed objective of our trip.” He looked embarrassed for a moment. “Do you know if there is a desert south of here?”

“Yes, of course I know about it since I live here.” I replied.

“Then, what about what’s in there?” He asked.

“I don’t know, unfortunately...” I shook my head.

“We came here to check what’s in there!” Frost suddenly snorted in excitement.

“However, since there is only desert there, nothing might be there.” I cautioned.

“That may be so, but, there is still a possibility that something is there! It’s important for me to see it with my own eyes!” He shouted enthusiastically.

“I see. Certainly, it is as you’ve said.” I nodded.

Not only is he smart, but his adventurer’s spirit is also praiseworthy.

“However, it will be dangerous, as expected. I don’t think the horses from the north can tolerate the heat from desert. The horses’ hooves will sink into the sand, which will sap their stamina.” I mused aloud. “Wait, you said that you used a horse carriage right? If you used it in the desert, will not it feel like riding in the swamp?”

“Uuu... Actually, I have never seen a desert before. That’s why I didn’t know it was filled with sand all these years. That’s why I didn’t know whether the earth was hard or soft...” Frost’s voice gradually became softer and softer, probably because he was ashamed with himself.

“Is that so? Well, anyway, I’m glad you’re safe. Here you go.” I poured him some sake.

“Then please excuse me.” Frost drank the sake immediately.

Immediately after this, I receive another pour of sake from him too.

Now then, we should talk about the main subject now.

“How’s your city doing right now?” I tried to ask about the Sandra Kingdom ambiguously.

Since we have a lot of beastmen here,he might become suspicious if I ask straight out. Therefore, I used a vague word like city. I intended to expand the talk from here.

[ED: Tiny naive child…]

“The city? Aah, Sandra Kingdom, huh? To be honest, it is not good or bad.” He sighed.

Bingo. Frost didn’t even mind about my use of the word ‘city’. He just concluded that city meant Sandra Kingdom itself.

“Not good or bad? For me who is living in the countryside, it will be quite troubling to make something of that.” I pretended to be confused.

“The king is indecisive and ignorant of politics. When the church forbid war, peace gradually came. But, because he is being misled by traitorous ministers, the gold inside the treasure doesn’t increase.” Frost sighed again. “Because the misgovernment isn’t too extreme, as long as there is no big disaster, the people will not starve. That is why I can’t say whether it’s good or bad.”

The church was of the Rashia religion, the number one religion in this continent. The goblin and kobold tribes said that humans were the first believers of this religion.

“Didn’t you say that they forbid war? I heard that the beastmen were being driven out by humans. Does it not apply to the beastmen?” I asked.

One of Frost’s eyebrows twitched.

“I am sorry. I am ignorant about human society for a long time because I’ve lived in this place for years, so...” I hastily added.

This type of reply shouldn’t be strange, I hope.

Frost seemed to understand, and he began to speak carefully.

“The church forbid war between nations. No matter what the reason was, the person who started the war will be excommunicated. Until now, every country was in a war, so they tried to find an advantage outside all the time. However since they can’t do that anymore, their attention turn inwards.” He paused for a moment. “There was some land where the beastmen lived. Because it was small, it should have been overlooked. Even though it was small, but, if many were to be collected, it will become a lot. It was something like that.”

After he finished, Frost placed his cup on the desk with loud clink. His cheeks were rosy,  but his eyes seemed to be peeking at me.

“I understand your real intentions. I would be worried about this town too.”

It was a bullseye. I was shaken, for him to be able to guess my real intention with only two question… But, I still smiled while grasping the sake cup with one hand.

“I can guess why you were building a town in this place, and why you were accompanied by beastmen. ...Do you want to hear about it?” He asked.

“Please.” I nodded.

“You sympathized with the beastmen who starved and have lost a place to go to. Isn’t that why you made a town for beastmen? You said the things necessary for a person to govern were wisdom and sincerity. Weren’t you talking about yourself?” Frost laid everything out.

No, you’re wrong. The reason why I made this town was for me until the end. But, because of that, I was able to rescue the beastmen. I was honestly happy about it.

Bond. In my original world, this word was a cliche that was used at every opportunity, but in this world, I was able to feel the bond with the beastmen in this town.

Of course with Catherine, we are already connected by a bond that was like a chain that can never been untied any more.

[TL: *vomit]

[ED: beastiality OAO]

“That’s right. I made this town for the beastmen. At this place where humans can’t live, our only wish is to live quietly. Therefore, even if you return to your country, can you please not tell anyone about this place?” I used pleading words and lowered my head to him.

[TL: naive! Too naive!]

[ED: I can hear the sounds of a human army marching over alr lol]

“Please stop this. If you want to silence us, you can just kill us and be done with it.

However, you didn’t do that. So, why should we ignore your request?” He quickly stopped me.

Afterwards, because Frost said I that I could ask about anything, I asked about this world without restraint. First, I asked about the Sandra Kingdom. Then, I brought out a piece of scrap cloth to draw a map of this world, and learn about the situation of this world.

We continued to talk until late into the night. He seemed eager to tell me more and more about the world.

When day broke, Frost was still asleep, so they decided to stay for one more day, and so, we talked again from noon till night.

Then, on the third day since Frost and his apprentices had arrived.

“Well then, I will entrust the city to you, Chief Jiharu.” I told him solemnly.

“Yes, leave it to me.” He replied seriously.

I leave the town to Chief Jiharu, and went to send off Frost and his apprentices. Originally the plan was to part ways after we went past the territory of the lynxes, but we didn’t since they also taught us about the other side with good intentions too. That was why I decided to escort Frost and his apprentices to the vicinity of the human village.

Even though it was short, Frost was my teacher, and I, his student.

At the same time, the escort also included four people from the wolf tribe. All of them were riding camels.

There were five camels, including Catherine. Three of the camels were used by Frost and his apprentices, while the people from the wolf tribe rode the camels in pairs.

Humans and wolfmen…

It felt awkward at the beginning, but after they got used to each other, it didn’t bother anyone anymore. Also, I’ve told the wolfmen beforehand that the humans were guests.

In the middle of journey, the lynxes approached the group after seeing that there were only a few of people in the group. But, they were easily killed by the wolfmen with bows.

On the ninth day of the journey, we parted ways with Frost and his apprentices and returned to the town.

It was on the sixteenth day after we left the town that we safely returned to the town once more.

On our way back, the bodies of the lynxes disappeared one by one.