Chapter 16
h.e.l.lo 2018!!! ヾ（〃＾∇＾）ﾉ I’m only 40 or so minutes late!
Thank you for the past year and I hope you’ll continue reading this novel this year .
これからもよろしくおねがいします。m(_ _)m
I don’t really have anything else to say this time but I wanted to ask, is the snow really distracting? You guys don’t have OCD or something like that, do you?
Disclaimer: I can"t guarantee that this is 100% accurate . Please let me know if there are any mistakes in my translations .
Chapter 16: That time when I went to town for the first time (Part 1)
It seems like this village has an event that’s similar to a school trip .
It has been half a year since our first subjugation training ever since we became second graders .
「Everyone is already on their second year so it’s time for you to be aware about matters outside the village . Because of that, we are going to be staying at the town until just before the harvest festival . It’s scheduled for three days . 」
To summarize, it’s not really a busy period in the month before the harvest festival is held so it seems like we’re going to the neighboring town .
First day: Travel, reach the halfway point by noon, enter through the checkpoint and go to our designated inn . Second day: Free time . As long as we don’t do anything bad, we’re free to do what we want . Third day: Going home .
We’re not being restricted with what we do during the evening of the first day but it seems like we need to be careful since the public order’s bad with the various entertainments at night . It seems like there’s a red-light district as well . Well, my appearance is that of an adult so I can drink and I don’t really have problems with things like brothels but there are various things that I’m afraid of, like catching various diseases for example . Or Suzuran to be more specific!
For that reason, I thought that I needed to make thorough preparations . I was already gathering preserved food and other cuisines in my room a week before our departure date . Since I’ve been regularly earning pocket money, I bought another rucksack that’s different from what I used during last time’s subjugation training . This one is bigger and I made some modifications to make it look like a modern-day military-grade rucksack similar to a MOLLE .
I sewed several pouches for small articles using animal hide and some string to attach to the bag . I padded the area around the shoulders with cotton and added a belt around the waist area to complete it . I adjusted it so that it could carry approximately 25kg of load .
・Main large part Two days worth of change of clothes placed in a leather bag Several sheets of towel placed in a leather bag Hemp cord Food pack: Five days worth of food . Small pack #1: Filled with preserved food and three days worth of salt and sugar Small pack #2: Candle, some tinder and matches placed inside a leather bag Blanket Rain gear at very top so that it’ll be easy to take out
・Four pouches for small articles Left side pouch: Small pack #3: sugar and herbs that I frequently drank in the village placed inside a leather bag Right side pouch: Small pack #4: Needle and thread, spoon and fork, a whetstone and a fish hook Front pouch, center: A box filled with all kinds of medicine . I haven’t seen any recovery medicines in liquid form in this village but if I ever see potion types in the future then I’ll use those . Front pouch, upper mid: This one has the capacity of the first three combined . There’s nothing in it right now but I think I’m going to change its contents depending on where I would go .
・Hanging outside of the bag: Frying pan, kettle, a single-handed pot, a worn out blanket on top of small pack #4, and a water pouch
After making sure that this won’t make a sound while I’m running or jumping, my preparations are already complete . I equipped the shovel in my hands and placed the crowbar by my side and everything was pretty much perfect .
If I was travelling long distances or if I’m going out at night then my luggage would increase because I’ll need to add a lamp, some oil and even a sidelight . I would have been fine just to use light and water magic to take care of those but there might be a possibility that I won’t be able to use magic . Thinking about that, I want to be prepared for such a possibility . Because a candle and a match isn’t really heavy, I can always have it in my rucksack inside a leather bag to waterproof it .
The concept I had while making this was, “If you have this then you would probably be fine even if you get isolated for a week, right?” .
In my previous life, because of the phrase ‘always be prepared’, I also had a rucksack prepared and is sitting at my house’s entryway . It was narrower but it had a higher capacity . If I took it out as is, I would probably be severely scolded by the police if they saw me carrying a hand axe, a survival knife, a foldable shovel and a crowbar . They would have probably let me off during emergency situations, right? I don’t know what happened after my death but I hope my father was able to deal with the circ.u.mstances surrounding that .
Then, the appointed day came . I have also previously made something similar to a tool belt beforehand so I attached that to my waist, inserted the crowbar into the belt and just kept the shovel in my hand . I also attached the scabbard of my knife into the shoulder strap of my rucksack so that I can easily access it .
Before I left, my mother gave me three days worth of preserved food and brown bread while saying
「I don’t need any souvenirs, you know~」
Meanwhile, my father said,
「You’re carrying too much luggage . Don’t let yourself loose just because this is your first town」
At our meeting place, as expected, Suzuran didn’t arrive . Couldn’t she stop oversleeping in times like this?
「While you’re in town, don’t bring her to your room for some kind of rendezvous, capiche?」
Ichii-san was laughing but his eyes were serious while he was saying that so I replied,
「Everyone will be there as well so I won’t be able to bring her there」
while trying to dodge the topic .
According to this time’s leader, Fig-sensei, we’ll be having three breaks before we arrive at the town . And of course, we’re not going to take a carriage .
When we arrived at school, Wurst was the first one to say,
「Your rucksack seems convenient and looks cool!」
That’s because I made it by relied on my previous life’s memories . This was by no means the only large pack . It was surprising that the girl’s group didn’t only have a little luggage . When I attended our school trip or when I stayed at school overnight in my last life, I was the kid who had a lot of stuff . I thought that wouldn’t apply to this world but when I looked closely, I was the one who had the largest amount of luggage . How did this happen!
◇
Although we had to find a place to rest and eat our meal, we were able to reach the protective wall that’s surrounding the town . We haven’t encountered any particular monsters on the way so we were able to arrive safely . How should I put this… this town is big!
Sensei went to the gatekeeper and said,
「These are Beryl(ベリル) village’s pupils」
Oohhhh . Isn’t this the first time I’ve heard the name of our village?
「Welcome to Edgelin(?エジリン) . Please deposit them when you arrive at your inn since carrying weapons is not allowed . And then, please tell me each of your names one by one to receive your entry permit . Normally, we would need to collect a toll fee of five large copper coins but, as this is an event that is held by the village annually, we won’t be asking for that this time you can be at ease . 」
After receiving an explanation from the gatekeeper who seemed to have memorized it, I proceeded to wait for my turn .
「Your name?」 「It’s Caam」
With that said, the gatekeeper looked at me and quickly wrote something on the paper . I wonder if they’re writing down my physical characteristics . After a short while, I was made to write my name and something like a signature on a paper treated with magic to prevent it from tearing and then pressed a seal with a small and complex pattern on it . I guess there is something like a tentative security measure in this .
「Make sure not to do bad things like theft or murder since you can be punished for it . And also, because this pattern would show the duration of your stay, the number of times you visited and your criminal record if you put magic power into it, make sure not to lose it since it can still be used next time you come here」
After he said that, we entered the town . I wonder if they inform every one of that feature? I mean, this is a rather convenient . I waited of the others to finish but I didn’t really need to wait that long .
「Well then, let us head for the inn . The payment has been collected from your parents beforehand so you don’t have to worry about that . By the way, the standing of the inn we’re saying is around the lower-middle cla.s.s among those in the town so you can be at ease . Look, there is our inn」
She pointed at a large building 500 meters ahead .
「It’s huge!」
I let that comment leak out .
「Then, the boys will take four person rooms while the girls get the twin rooms . Dinner would always be served after the sun sets . Alcohol expenses were not included in the lodging fees so pay with your own money if you want to drink . After you deposit your weapons, you are free to do what you want . A roll-call will be held on the morning the day after tomorrow in front of the gate so make sure not to be late」
While thinking that I was kind of expecting it, I was placed at the same room as the three idiots .
「What do we do? What do we do after this?」
Wurst asked that while feeling restless .
「Ahー let’s just roam around . It will be time to eat dinner soon so let’s just try walking around a bit . I was surprised that it was this big so I’d like to explore the town」 「We just want to relax though」
Said Sc.h.i.n.ken and Speck .
「Hm, then I’ll accompany Caam」
With that, the guys who are going out and those who will be lazing around in their rooms split up .
「Make sure to come back before dinner」
After being told that, Wurst and I went out for a walk . The time was around three o’clock I guess .
Starting from the gate we arrived at, we decided to go around the center of the town while walking towards the other gate . While leisurely walking around with Wurst, I took down notes of the various ways the words of this world were written and converted them into j.a.panese in my memo . When I was asked what I was writing, I replied,
「Hm? I was comparing the differences in price and deciding which place to buy . Look at that meat for example, if it was at our village, wouldn’t it be slightly cheaper? There are items here that are cheaper compared to the village as well」
Seeing my memo, he asked
「Hey, what are those symbols? I can’t read it at all」 「This is just a code I came up with . Next to it is what it means」
That was just the excuse I came up with .
As we continued our walk, we engaged in various conversations like, “Compared to the stall earlier, this one’s cheaper” or “The items here are good” . After arriving at the other gate, we decided to return to our inn . We also decided on the way back to eat our dinner together .
Wurst asked if I wanted to have a drink but I told him I’m going to pa.s.s for today . The taste of our meal was okay . There wasn’t anything bad about it but it was also not that impressive .
I guess I should properly explore the town tomorrow .
AN: It would still take a while before our protagonist reaches the demon lord cla.s.s . Let’s just take things easy . I hope you were able to properly imagine the protagonist’s modern-day military-grade rucksack .