51－Ankwaal Archipelago
Feeling the light of the sun running into his eyelids, Kurando opened his eyes.
Although his clothes were already dried, the sand that found its way into his clothes was unpleasant.
When he felt so carefreely about that sort of thing, he felt extremely thirsty.
While slowly getting up, Kurando asked the Water Spirits and got some water, raised his face, and poured the water into his mouth.
The sky was blue, without even a single cloud.
WIthout minding that water was also flowing down on his neck, Kurando glugged it down like a dried sponge sucked up water.
Recovering from his thirst, he finally paused and surveyed the surroundings.
It was a sandy beach.
There was no one around.
In front of him, there was the sea, and beyond that, several islands could be seen.
Iraida and Yukishiro might have been washed up on other islands.
When he looked behind him, there were tall, turned and twisted trees and thick ivy that grew freely, and furthermore, the trees that grew from the edge of the sh.o.r.e and sea were grouped together, and turned into a dense jungle.
The blazing sun was also hot, but the humidity was also high to the point that he could feel it on his skin, and even the atmospheric temperature itself was.
「……Considering the number of days, this probably isn"t Saulan.」
There was naturally no one to answer Kurando"s monologue.
For the time being, Kurando decided to check his own belongings.
The weapons that he had on him were fine for now, but his trunk wasn"t there.
Since his food rucksack took the shape of an almost empty rucksack, he was able to wrap it around his arm, but it seemed to work and was safe.
「I guess the pictures are ruined……I guess the grimoire is too.」
Thinking that he would have to draw them again, Kurando breathed a sigh.
It wasn"t like Kurando remembered all of the Origin (original text).
He had stuck a memo in the magic textbook that was in his food rucksack. This was something like a loophole that Kurando discovered by accident before, and if it was something at the level of a memo, then he could stick it in the magic textbook, and put that into the food rucksack.
In other words, this also went for the bills that were also paper.
Since 10,000 Rodo, which was half the fare for two people, was paid in advance to the captain, the money that Kurando had on hand, including the remaining 5,000 Rodo after he split the money with Iraida, was 15,000 Rodo.
Since he didn"t know where a guild might be, these were important funds.
Then again, that was only if he was able to use the bills.
「Nonetheless, since I have neither paper nor a brush, there"s nothing I can do about it.」
After staying here for a while and getting sun dried, Kurando stood up.
Rather than getting worried about and searching for Iraida and Yukishiro who were far stronger than himself, it would probably be faster to search for a town.
Thinking that Kurando started walking along the sandy beach.
First of all, he didn"t know where this place was.
As he kept walking on and on, it was just the sandy beach, the sea, and the tropical forest.
The search result of using his own feet and Wind Spirits was only that it was a small island that could have a lap made around it in one day, and there were no human-like figures.
Kurando stopped and took out a kukuri blade and the magic gun.
He was already surrounded.
Since his magical power wasn"t infinite, he was unable to be constantly vigilant with Wind Spirits.
――Uoーーーーn.
The sea and the jungle, howling could be heard from both sides.
Matching with that, something came rushing out from the jungle, and then from the sea.
They were magic beasts similar to wolves.
Their faces and body type were a sharp, aerodynamic shape overall, and if described as dogs, they were close to being borzois but were much more wild, had body hair and a flat tail like that of a platypus which were a mix of blue and green in color, and the ends of their feet were like that of wolves but had short fur and web feet.
There were about ten of them, and they had splendidly surrounded Kurando.
In regards to the wolf magic beasts that were on the seaward side, they could walk on the surface of the sea just like it was land with their long and slender limbs, and they slowly contracted the ring surrounding Kurando.
Even Kurando, who thought that he had finally gotten used to the fantasy setting of this world, was bewildered by this.
Behind the small-sized and medium-sized wolf magic beasts that surrounded Kurando, there were two large wolf magic beasts that surpa.s.sed Yukishiro if it was only in terms of height.
Were they all a family?
「You don"t plan on letting me go……do you?」
Kurando tried talking to them just to try it out, but they made no response.
After making a small tongue click, as if to say that the one who makes the first move wins, Kurando vigorously flung up sand and broke into a run.
The way he went to, was the seaward side.
Maybe because they never thought that a Human would run away towards the sea, the wolf magic beasts had a slightly delayed reaction.
The jungle side wolf magic beasts rushed in defiance of the flung up sand, but as if to match with that, a gunshot roared.
――*Gyan*
There were two small-sized wolf magic beasts that rushed into the cloud of sand, and after they were pierced by stakes of sand that were prepared in the cloud of sand, they were completely showered by the three-shot type Magic Gun that Kurando fired behind him without even taking aim.
If the Magic Gun was able to fire with air just like how Alice had done, then it was also able to fire with an explosion of Fire Spirits. Its power could be considerably increased depending on the magical power, but it was unable to do rapid fire pa.s.sed its maximum of three shots. If they were all shot, then it would be out of ammo. And it would take time to reload it.
While putting the Magic Gun away at his waist, Kurando put his strengthening to the maximum and ran all the way to the sea.
Every time Kurando took one step onto the surface of the sea, there would be a plank of ice there.
The planks of ice that were the size of a single tatami mat that floated on the sea broke one after the other right after Kurando ran on them.
Something that durable wasn"t necessary.
However, the wolf magic beasts that sprang at them did not know about that, and fell into the sea that the broken boards of ice floated on.
When they did, the wolf magic beasts that should have been able to swim drowned.
The broken boards of ice clung onto the limbs of the wolf magic beasts, and froze them. With there not being any ice in the southern lands, the wolf magic beasts seemed to be in complete chaos from their first experience with it.
Kurando, as if drawing a semicircle, returned to the water"s edge.
It was there that a medium-sized wolf magic beast that came from the jungle side sprang at him, but Kurando forcefully knocked it away with his shield.
――*Gyan*
Its snout was frozen together with the impact, and having learned of the freezing phenomenon of being hot even though it was cold with its body, the wolf magic beast went *kyain kyain* and rolled on the ground.
Kurando used all of his might to tear apart that wolf magic beast with his kukuri blade.
Has there been around three of them that were killed?
Kurando thought that while he ran.
But that wouldn"t do.
From behind, a medium sized wolf magic beast bit the arm that was holding the kukuri blade.
It wasn"t strong enough to pierce through the Giant"s Glove, but having his body"s freedom taken away, Kurando"s legs weakened.
At that moment, a wolf magic beast rushed in.
This time, it bit his right leg.
Perforating his leather pants, the sensation of fangs piercing his calf was something that didn"t feel all that good. A sharp pain ran through him.
Furthermore, wolf magic beasts stabbed their fangs into his left arm and left leg.
Maybe thanks to the strengthening, he didn"t end up collapsing, but his movements were completely sealed.
The remarkably large wolf magic beasts, as if saying that their children had done well, were approaching while relaxedly swinging their tails.
However, Kurando sneered.
Against a Human that can handle ice, that was a bad move.
Kurando, in an instant, froze the wolf magic beasts along with himself.
At the water"s edge, a large sculpture of ice was made.
The t.i.tle of the sculpture was something like, A Hunter and Wolves.
A medium sized wolf magic beast resolutely leapt upon the ice sculpture, but its fangs could only scratch the ice, and the whole thing wouldn"t move.
Both the remaining wolf magic beasts and large wolf magic beasts, they didn"t know what to do, and stopped moving.
Only Kurando moved within the ice.
With the four wolves still frozen, he tore off only the parts where he was being bitten.
They seemed to still be alive so the fangs were firmly biting into him, but after p.r.i.c.king their snouts with a knife, they also gradually weakened.
Finished with tearing the wolf magic beasts off, Kurando broke out from the ice alone. The magic beasts that remained in it should eventually either suffocate or freeze to death.
How he felt that the eye color of the two large wolf magic beasts had changed was not Kurando"s imagination.
The remaining wolf magic beasts withdrew, and the two large wolf magic beasts took positions so as to hold Kurando in between them.
If it was the two of them, they had an impressiveness that could rival that of the Atorabashiku (large thorn earth spider).
They might not actually be that strong, but to Kurando, they were all the same.
「……They got me.」
Kurando muttered that before he knew it.
It was at that time.
Spears, arrows, and magic came flying in at the two wolf magic beasts.
After the two promptly withdrew, they looked around for the new opponents, and then howled.
――UOoーーーーーーn.
The remaining four wolf magic beasts that heard that howl vanished into the jungle, and after confirming that they did, the two large magic beasts also immediately turned around and vanished into the forest.
What drove away the wolf magic beasts was a small boat floating on the sea.
The three people on board the small boat turned this way, and waved their hands.
It was then that Kurando finally relaxed and put his kukuri blade away.
「You saved me, thanks.」
Kurando gave his thanks to the man who got down from the small boat that had ran up onto the sandy beach.
The man, going by his appearance, seemed to be of a race with darkish skin.
「We merely came because we heard the sound of an explosion. Who are you?」
It seemed that they heard the gunshot and came running.
「A Hunter, a 『Konbajira (eight-star)』.」
The man made a slightly surprised face.
「I see, so you"re someone in the same business. It"s rare to see a Hunter that is of an unmixed race around here, see. Just to check just in case, let me see your tag. Ahh, sorry. I am called Chai. The other two are Pan and Kun.」
The man showed his own tag while introducing himself.
On the tag, there was the crest of the a.s.sociation and seven stars, and then, just as he introduced himself as, the name Chai Kaosai was engraved on it.
Kurando also did as he was told and pulled out the tag that hung around his neck and showed it.
「I"m Kurando. I don"t mind if you don"t add anything to it.」
「So you really were a 『Konbajira (eight-star)』. No, I mean I thought that you would be much higher. So, what"re you doing in a place like this? This area is the domain of the Taalemaapa (sea wolf). Let alone fishermen, it"s a place that not even Hunters get close to outside of for a subjugation quest.」
「Ahh, a ship going from Oslon to Saulan had sunk from a Spirits" prank, see.」
Chai made a face that seemed to pity him.
「I see. So your companions aren"t here……Whoops, we don"t want to stay here for very long.」
「……Is it because of the magic beasts from earlier?」
Chai nodded with a serious face.
「I don"t think they will be attacking anymore, but I would like to be careful just in case.」
「Got it. Could I also ride with you? If possible, I"d like to be taken to the nearest a.s.sociation.」
「Yeah, that"s not a problem. That"s what we intended on doing. By the way, what will you do about the Taalemaapa (sea wolves) that you defeated?」
The two turtle-type Beastmen that had dark skin and carried sh.e.l.ls on their backs gathered the dead Taalemaapa (sea wolves).
「If they have a fair amount of value, then take them.」
Kurando stopped his honorific speech. He thought that there was the possibility that he would be exposed because of it.
If he were on some snowy mountains, he wouldn"t have to worry about that, but as long as he was dealing with people, it would be best if he didn"t do anything like a j.a.panese person as much as possible.
Hearing Kurando"s words, Chai made a surprised looking face.
「A pack of Taalemaapa (sea wolves) is an opponent that would need Hunters that were either『Rubinichia (seven-star)』 or higher would gather up to hunt, and although there"s nothing but first year and second year pups, they have a fair amount of value despite that. Are you sure it"s fine?」
Kurando nodded. He would be troubling them from now on, so this much wasn"t a problem.
Seeing that, the remaining two others started skinning them with delighted looks.
There were about seven corpses, but as expected of local Hunters, they stripped the corpses one after another in no time at all.
Seeing that, Chai made a wry smile.
「Sorry about that. They"re 『Konbajira (eight-stars)』 that I"m looking after. Today"s game ended up being a swing and a miss, and since our livelihood isn"t going that easy, this really helps.」
「No, the one that was helped is me. It would be nice if I could do something as thanks though.」
「No, no, the Taalemaapa (sea wolves) really are plenty enough. Besides, it"s only natural for Hunters to help out other Hunters. One of those "tomorrow it might be me" things, see.」
They might fundamentally be people with good personalities. Seeming like that really was plenty enough, the three of them didn"t look dissatisfied at all.
「Nevertheless, you"re also a 『Konbajira (eight-star)』 , aren"t you. Although they were a Family-cla.s.s pack, to turn the tables on them and take down seven of them by yourself, that"s amazing, isn"t it.」
「It"s because the magic beasts of this area aren"t familiar with ice, and that seemed to have saved me.」
「Ice? There aren"t any Ice Spirits during the day around this area, you know?」
Chai made a curious-looking face.
「Ahh, it"s because I have a monster"s shield.」
Kurando raised his arm and showed the shield.
Chai nodded with consent.
「Well then, I guess we should go.」
Having quickly finished the skinning, the other two were already waiting in front of the small boat that they had piled the stripped off pelts on.
The small boat was made of wood, and it even seemed to be something made by hollowing out a tree.
Seeing at Kurando"s uneasy-looking face, Chai laughed and spoke.
「It"s fine. Even in the unlikely event that you fall off, everyone here is a variety that specializes in swimming, so we"ll save you.」
「It"s not that I can"t swim, but I"m just not used to ships.」
While saying that, Kurando got on board the small boat.
With it shaking violently, he felt its instability.
Firmly suppressing the unease that he felt, Kurando lowered his waist onto the small boat.
「What did you mean when you said that everyone was a variety that specializes in swimming? You don"t look like a Beastman though.」
「Ahh, I"m a half turtle-type Beastman. I don"t have a sh.e.l.l but, look.」
Saying that, Chai showed off the palms of his hands.
There were proper webs in between his fingers.
He didn"t know why turtles would have webbed feet, but thinking that was probably the way things were, Kurando swallowed his question.
「Now then, here we go.」
Saying that, the two turtle-type Beastmen pushed the boat towards the open sea.
The small boat traveled the surface of the sea as if sliding on it.
As they travelled, it was stable to the point that Kurando couldn"t feel the unease that he was worried about.
「Where is this place?」
「This place is part of the Ankwall Archipelago alliance, the Rattana Kingdom. The place we"re going to from here on is Yaarakanchana. It"s the next biggest town after the royal capital.」
Having been carried quite far south, Kurando remembered the map.
If his memory wasn"t mistaken, that should have been on the southern tip of Elrodriana, the continent that Albaum was on. This continent had an axe-like shape, became long at the south, and if this was the southern tip of it, it mean that he was quite far away from Albaum.
Chai reservedly asked a question.
「……Do you not have any companions?」
「They"re probably, washed up somewhere. We were carried here in a boat of ice, but our magical power ran out when I just barely saw land.」
「I see. I"m sure that there"ll be a message for you at the a.s.sociation.」
After the being rocked by the boat for about an hour, right when it felt like Kurando"s seasickness was going to return, they arrived at Yaarakanchana.
Within the town of Yaarakanchana, having developed with traveling done by boat, it was possible to ride up to the a.s.sociation by boat.
Kurando was worried about the state of the town which was overflowing with liveliness despite being disorderly, but after saying his thanks to Chai, he hurried towards the a.s.sociation.
If he had to say, Yaarakanchana"s a.s.sociation was closer to being like the one in Sarehado[1] rather than the one in Oslon, but it was a wooden, raised-floor-style building, and although it had a disorderliness to it, it was quite open.
While taking out his tag, Kurando asked a question to the receptionist.
「I"m called Kurando. Is there a message for me from Iraida Baagin?」
Although they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the Human race, the staff member said "please wait a moment" while moving their dog ears, and went somewhere to check.
「――I understand that you"re worried about your companions, but don"t be so impatient. If you saw land while on the sea, then they should definitely be on some island.」
Chai, who chased after him from behind, said that.
When he looked around, Pan and Kun were holding the stuff they stripped from the Taalemaapa (sea wolves), and were lined up at the purchasing desk.
「……Sorry about that.」
「――Kurando-san, there is one.」
Kurando turned around hearing the staff member"s voice.
「It seems that we just got the message, and it says that Iraida Baagin-san is safe. Also that the hunting animal called Yukishiro is with her and safe. If you receive this message at the a.s.sociation, message me your location, and we"ll head over to you, is what it says.」
Kurando was greatly relieved.
「That"s great, isn"t it.」
Kurando nodded at Chai"s words.
「Where is Iraida now?」
「Looks like this came from the capital city of the k.u.mejia Republic.」
「I see, then――」
「No, hold on a sec. If she"s coming from k.u.mejia"s capital city, it would be better to meet up at the royal capital"s a.s.sociation. This must also be some sort of fate. I"ll take you there.」
From the side, Chai said that.
Kurando looked at Chai with a puzzled face.
「Ahh, my house is in the royal capital. My wife will get mad if I don"t return soon, see. So this will just be while I"m doing that.」
「……So that"s how it was. In that case, I"ll ask you to do it.」
Kurando determined that a fellow Hunter wouldn"t deceive him while in front of a Hunter a.s.sociation staff member.
「And so that"s how it is. Please send a message saying that we"ll meet up at the royal capital. How much will it be?」
The staff member shook their head.
「Since this is an emergency, according to the rules, it will be free of charge, so it won"t be a problem.」
「I see. Thank you. By the way, what day is today?」
「Today is the twenty-sixth day of the Scarlet month.」
While saying his thanks to them, Kurando felt a strange creepiness over how things were advancing so smoothly.
Thinking that it seemed that his experiences in Sarehado had adversely affected him at some point, Kurando made a wry smile.
「The royal capital is close from here, so we should get there within the day and……Nn, what are you suddenly smiling for.」
「No, well. Just before all of this, I was in a frontier called Sarehado, see.」
Saying that, they headed to Chai"s boat while Kurando talked about the things in Sarehado.
「That"s pretty terrible. Well, since I can"t say that Ankwaal doesn"t have that sort of stuff as well, I can"t really say much about it though.」
Chai made a wry smile while rowing the boat"s oars.
Since Pan and Kun were locals of that area, it seemed that they parted at the a.s.sociation.
「Is that so? Even at the a.s.sociation, there weren"t any strange parts to it though.」
「That goes for Yaarakanchana and the royal capital, see. Other than those, there"s no telling what they do. Ahh, the front line is different. It"s because that place doesn"t reject anyone that comes.」
「I don"t think I"d want to go there.」
「For the front line, it seems that unless you"re a Tsubegaara (five-star) or higher, you won"t come back alive.」
「……Just who in the world would go to a place like that.」
「Generally, it"s people that are aiming for money, fame, rank, or land. Also, people like hooligans.」
「I can understand the rest, but land?」
「Yeah, you can receive a bit of the reclaimed land. Though achievements will be needed.」
Kurando went *he~* and felt impressed but,
「It"s just, it seems that the Heroes have started partic.i.p.ating in the reclamation recently, see. They say that the land is being reclaimed pretty quickly.」
When Kurando heard that, he felt like his forgotten seasickness had returned.
「……Uepuh」
「Oi oi, don"t do that inside the boat. Pour it into the sea.」
Looking at Kurando as he threw up into the sea, Chai thought that he didn"t look like a man that could drive away Taalemaapa (sea wolves) alone, and made a wry smile.
In about three hours, uneventfully, they arrived at the back of the royal capital Rachasamutto"s a.s.sociation main office.
Maybe due to his nervousness, Kurando"s seasickness didn"t get all that bad.
「From k.u.mejia"s capital city, it will take three or four days. Until then, you"ll have to find an inn somewhere but, do you have any money?」
Kurando nodded to Chai"s unreserved words.
「I only have Rodo though.」
「You can get the money exchanged at the a.s.sociation, but if you plan on making large purchases, there are cases where it"d be better to leave it like that too. Well, just think about it on a case-by-case basis.」
「……Are the prices here lower than in Oslon?」
「Yeah, when compared to Elrodriana, the prices are about a tenth of that. Also, it"d be best to be careful of pickpockets and luggage thieves. Plus, everytime you come in or leave, a small sum would do so slip a bribe to the gatekeepers. They"ll shut their eyes to some things.」
Chai said that, and once he escorted Kurando to the a.s.sociation, he gave a warning to Kurando right at the end.
「Also, there are slaves in this country. It has turned into a bit of a unique system, so you should review it at the a.s.sociation. I"m sure that it"s a system that people of the north aren"t used to after all.」
「Sorry for all the various ways you"ve had do take care of me in.」
「What, don"t worry about it. Hunters should mutually a.s.sist each other. If you"re within this country, just tell me if something happens. Ahh, that"s right. It has a bit of a distance from the a.s.sociation, but you should stay at an inn called Sukootai (the blessed dawn)[2]. What, my relative runs it, so if you tell them the name Chai, then they"ll understand.」
Saying that, Chai waved his hand, and left on the boat.
Kurando could be said to have some suspicion towards how he had arrived at the a.s.sociation without incident.
Enough that he checked the signboard on the entrance to see if this place really was the a.s.sociation.
However, this place was without a doubt the Rattana Kingdom Hunter a.s.sociation Headquarters.
Entering the a.s.sociation, he talked about his circ.u.mstances to a staff member.
「I understand. And which inn do you plan on staying at?」
「I was recommended the inn called Sukootai (the blessed dawn) by Chai, but do you know where that is?」
「If it"s there, then it won"t be a problem. Once Iraidsan arrives, I will contact the inn. As for its location, I believe you will see the signboard if you walk down the straight path in front of the a.s.sociation. It"s fine during the day, but since it becomes a road of temptation at night, please be careful.」
「Road of temptation?」
「Ahh, you are someone from a foreign country, weren"t you. What I mean by road of temptation is that at night, it will become a path where prost.i.tutes and slaves will call out to you.」
「I see. Also, is there a book about the slaves……no, about the juristical things of this country including the slaves? Incidentally, a book that"s related to the magic beasts of this country too.」
「There is a reference room on the second floor of the a.s.sociation, but please be careful as they are prohibited from being carried out.」
「Thank you.」
Kurando said that and was about to go to the second floor, but then he realized that he had nothing to take notes with.
Thinking that it was nothing to be impatient over, it was here that Kurando finally took a breather.
As he did, he thought about Iraida"s group, and then came to see the scenery that he hadn"t really paid attention to.
Being the same as Yaarakanchana"s a.s.sociation, the Headquarters was also a raised-floor-style wooden building.
The windows were large, there was a sense of s.p.a.ce, and wind was blowing within the building.
The balcony that jutted out around the outside of the building was a cafe, and Hunters were sitting there.
Kurando also sat at the cafe counter that was inside the building.
A cheerful-looking orange tabby cat-type Beastman girl turned a cheerful smile towards him.
「Welcome. What will you have?」
「Ahh, yeah.……The payment for this place is――」
「It"s fine if you use your tag. We"re within the a.s.sociation after all.」
「I see.」
Kurando suddenly noticed that he was hungry. Come to think of it, he hadn"t eaten in a while.
That being said, since there wasn"t a menu or anything, he didn"t know what he could order.
「Something filling, and a drink without any alcohol.」
「Is there anything that you can"t eat due to your const.i.tution?」
When Kurando said that there wasn"t, the cat-type Beastman girl made a pleasant smile, called out to the kitchen at the back, and then started doing her own work.
The drink came out right away.
When he tried drinking it, it was a sweet oolong tea.
Thinking that it was lukewarm, Kurando cooled the tea along with the wooden cup that was like a tankard using his shield"s Ice Spirits.
After all, this country was hot. He was sweating even now.
Taking that nice cool drink, Kurando poured it into his throat.
When he suddenly felt a gaze and raised his head, he saw that the cat-type Beastman girl was looking at Kurando"s cup with an immensely curious look on her face.
「……If you"re going to drink, should I chill it for you?」
While making a face that went "huh?", the cat-type Beastman girl timidly held out a cup similar to Kurando"s cup. He saw that her tail was swinging back and forth behind her.
While thinking that she was the same as Yukishiro, Kurando chilled the contents of the held out cup.
Shyly, the cat-type Beastman girl brought it to her mouth.
Her tail went straight up at the unexpected coldness of it.
「So it becomes this delicious when it"s cold. Thank you very much.」
Making another pleasant smile, she gave her thanks to Kurando.
It seemed that the people of this country were basically honest, and good-natured people.
That might only apply to Chai and this girl though.
While waiting on the stuff that he ordered, Kurando turned his back to the counter, and surveyed the surroundings.
When he looked around with attention, he saw that there were mostly different types of Beastmen in the a.s.sociation, and there were seldomly any human races, but he could see that they were making it so that they didn"t intervene with each other all that much.
For Kurando himself, he wasn"t aware of having received any discrimination-like discrimination ever since he came to this country.
Kurando turned around and faced the counter.
「Is there something between the Beastmen races and the human races of this country? Ahh, if it"s something hard to say then you don"t need to say it.」
The cat-type Beastman girl made a slightly troubled face, had her light brown cat ears twitch, and then started talking with a low voice.
「……Erm, about that, I believe that you know that there was a world war that happened two hundred years ago, but until the last stages of the world war, the Ankwaal Archipelago was dominated by the northern countries of the continent which were represented by Albaum. That"s why we don"t really get along with the human races that took up permanent residence in this country. Even so, this country is still one of the better ones, since it"s the only one that didn"t get dominated after all.」
Going "so that"s how it is", Kurando understood.
「Ah, here"s your meal.」
Saying that, what the cat-type Beastman girl presented to him was a rice dish.
Kurando accepted it, and held a spoon.
It was an unexpected encounter.
But, Kurando endured his feeling of naturally putting his hands together.
It was because he hadn"t seen any Humans that did that when they ate.
The dish was a rice dish that looked like a heap of fried rice, and a grilled bird leg was imposingly enshrined on it.
Kurando silently started on the dish.
The rice was in large grains and crumbly, but it was spicy and light. The bird meat was spicy and rich. Both of them were spicy, but when he drank the sweet oolong tea whenever it got too spicy for his mouth, it became just right, so it was superb.
His stomach was full.
Having had rice after such a long time, Kurando"s mind and body were satisfied.
「That was delicious.」
Saying that, Kurando handed over his tag.
「Thank you very much. The Ting will be one Pamitto, and the Guaikaao will be five Pamitto.」
The cat-type Beastman girl quickly did something to the tag she received, and then immediately returned it to Kurando.
That rice dish is Guaikaao, that is what Kurando properly remembered.
Kurando went to the a.s.sociation reception desk once again, and asked to do a money exchange.
「I"ll be staying at the inn for several days, so about how much will I need to live normally?」
「Let"s see. It will depend on the grade of the inn.」
「I plan on staying at an inn called Sukootai (the blessed dawn).」
「In that case, one night will go from twenty Pamitto to fifty Pamitto. Even if you do a rather large exchange, I believe that two hundred Pamitto a day won"t be a problem.」
「Can I do a money exchange from my tag?」
「You can.」
Thinking that it would be a pain to have to take cash out from his rucksack, Kurando handed over his tag.
「So you use Rodo. One Rodo is ten Pamitto.」
「……For now, please exchange enough for two thousand Pamitto.」
「So I will be exchanging two hundred Rodo. Since I will be taking one hundred Pamitto as a handling charge, I will be taking two hundred and ten Rodo from your account.」
「That"s fine.」
When he said that, the staff employee started doing their work, but Kurando didn"t have to wait for very long.
「……Here it is.」
The staff employee handed over bills of various sizes.
「Since I believe that you will have more chances to use smaller bills, I went and broke it down.」
After Kurando said his thanks and put the bills into his pocket, he left the a.s.sociation.
The sun was still high. He decided that he would first go to the inn, get a writing brush and paper, then go to a blacksmith. And after that, he decided to check on things at the a.s.sociation.
Translator"s Notes:
[1] Original: サレハド, previously translated as Sarewado.
[2] Original: 幸福な夜明け, read as: スコータイ