Isekai Izakaya Nobu

The witch hunt had begun.
This rumour started to spread one drizzling autumn evening.
People witnessed a carriage with the Archbishop’s crest carrying people out of the alleys of Aiteria, one after another. The shadows of pa.s.sersby became spa.r.s.e, and even thugs were nowhere to be seen.

It wasn’t just one or two people who had disappeared. There were rumours that more than ten people had already been transported to an empty residence in the outskirts of Aiteria.
Even though the Grand Bazaar festival was drawing near, Aiteria was enveloped in a strange atmosphere.

「You had better be careful too, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan.」

Lorentz, the gla.s.s smith, said as he tilted his mug. There was a bruise around his eye that was said to have been caused by his son, Hans, during a big fight.
It was amazing enough to fight with Hans, who had been drilled by Berthold in the sentry corps, but it was even more amazing that it had resulted in a draw.

The appet.i.tes of the parent and child had probably been ignited after not fighting for a long time.
The warm, wet hand towel cooled down as he ate a tempura appetizer and drank seven gla.s.ses of beer.

「Be careful of…the witch hunt?」

「Yes, yes. There are rumours that it’s being done at random.」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu placed her finger on her chin to think while secretly controlling Lorentz, who was demanding his eighth cup.
‘What is the purpose of the witch hunt? I’ve heard from the stories that it has not been done in about a hundred years. I’ve lived in Aiteria for almost a year, so I feel like I understand the situation fairly well, but I don’t understand the religion’s influence at all.’
She thought it was like the religion she had learnt from history cla.s.ses, but it seemed to be quite different when she asked about it.

「Where’s gramps Edwin at a time like this?」

Nikolaus, who was drinking hot sake and eating gyusuji doteyaki, looked at a seat in the corner of the counter, which was reserved for the deacon, while grumbling reproachfully.
After the Archbishop came, Edwin had suddenly disappeared. If that easygoing deacon was around, Nikolaus had a feeling that he certainly would have taken some precautions.

「This witch hunt sounds dangerous somehow.」

「Everyone is afraid they will be next. Also, I want another plate of Napolitan.」

It seemed like Gernot’s tone was the same as always, but he was angry that the City Council’s complaint to the Archbishop was not going well. It was like throwing salt into the sea, a waste of effort.
It was impossible to confute with the opponent if the other party did not come to the negotiation table.
He was probably also slightly irritated that he had added more tabasco than usual into his Napolitan, which he revered for its harmony above anything else.

「Can’t you stop it somehow, Gernot-san?」

「We’re protesting, but the Archbishop’s side is feigning ignorance. Normally, since Aiteria is a territory under the direct control of the Empire, the Archbishop can’t interfere at a moment’s notice. If the discussions get bigger, it will become a political matter between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom (Rupsia). Perhaps he is playing his game of witch hunt outside the castle walls, where the ruling power of the city council is in the grey area, because he knows this.」

During Bachschouf’s era, when he was the president of the City Council, there had been a motion for the Archbishop to serve as the head of the church in Aiteria. That way, the Archbishop, who had no jurisdiction in Aiteria, would be able to exert his influence and gain huge influential power in Aiteria.
It seemed that there had been strong appeals from the Archbishop, but it was the

usual example of a case where the verdict was suspended.
Looking back on it now, suspension was probably the right answer. If that motion had been approved, the witch hunt might have happened earlier.

「How about requesting help from the lords ruling outside the city wall?」

「The great Lord of Sachnussenburg has a lot of influence on the Magisterium. If the rumors are true, then you can be a.s.sured that it would be about time for him to put things in order, but…there were rumours that he’s bedridden with sickness.」

「Things won’t run smoothly in any way, huh.」

n.o.buyuki leaked a sigh lightly.
When the commencement of the witch hunt had been at the rumour phase, n.o.buyuki had sent Helmina and Eva home. He judged that it was better for the two of them to stay in their houses until the situation settled. During these dangerous times, one shouldn’t go out too much.

Besides, there was no need to worry about the shortage of hands.
It would normally not be surprising if the shop was full at this time, but there were only three regulars here today.
As expected, the people of Aiteria did not feel like drinking carefreely in this kind of atmosphere.

「Speaking of witches, there are no mushrooms among the tempura, huh?」

「We can’t be careless.」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu responded to Lorentz, who muttered as he separated the shrimp kakiage into halves.
The other day, they had heard about the custom of abstaining from mushrooms because of the witch hunt in Aiteria long ago.
Autumn was when mushrooms were delicious, but it was better not to serve it in this situation.
Everyone felt uncomfortable for no particular reason.
s.h.i.+n.o.bu was no exception. She did not understand the criteria for the people who were being arrested as witches, nor the witch hunt itself.

If there was any consolation, the residents of AIteria were also uncomfortable about the witch hunt.
No one had approved of the witch hunt, including the regulars. It was old-fas.h.i.+oned, and they thought of it as a shameful past.

「s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan, are you all not going back to your hometown?」

Nikolaus asked as he pecked at the doteyaki.
After hearing it for the first time, s.h.i.+n.o.bu herself was surprised, as she hadn’t had plans to withdraw to j.a.pan. Even though she had thought about it during the ‘Toriaezu Nama’ uproar, it seemed she had come to like Aiteria a lot. She had never thought about it as an issue of another world.
Furthermore, even if she returned to j.a.pan, it wasn’t returning home in the truest sense anymore.

「My hometown is far away. Extremely far.」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu vaguely smiled without emotion.
It seemed n.o.buyuki had shrugged his shoulders, but it might just be her imagination.

「I’ll be here to continue running the store. Perhaps the uproar about witches will suddenly stop.」

「There’s that, too. I’m worried about those who are caught, but it will be over soon.」

Lorentz, whose eighth cup was poured by n.o.buyuki, laughed heartily.
When s.h.i.+n.o.bu was tempted to laugh along, the plate she had been wiping made a loud noise on the floor. The plate had broken. It had been a cheap plate, but she had really liked it.

「Are you okay?」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu crouched down to pick up the fragments and nodded lightly to n.o.buyuki, who peered in.
When she looked at her finger, which stung in pain from a p.r.i.c.k, she saw blood seeping out. This was unusual.
With her index finger in her mouth, s.h.i.+n.o.bu felt a strange welling up of anxiety that weighed down on her.
The night in Aiteria quietly went on. Dawn was still some time away.

♦♦♦♦♦

The rain that had begun to fall since dawn had turned into wet snow before anyone noticed.
Somewhere in the snow, a raven cawed.
The wheat seeds sowed during autumn laid sleeping in the ground, covered by a layer of white from the snow that fluttered down.

Even the black soil field, which extended as far as the eye could see, was still not enough to feed the stomachs of the people in Aiteria. In order to sustain such voracious appet.i.tes, Aiteria purchased various goods from the outskirts.
For that purpose, the highway was well maintained, and a horse-drawn carriage painted black travelled calmly on it.
The crest on it indicated its owner, the District Archbishop. When a crossing farmer saw it, he would bow down respectfully.

However, the Archbishop who would normally receive the homage was not in this carriage.
Presently, it was a small man called Damien who was driving the carriage.
Everything was going well.
Some might say it was going too well. By using the Archbishop, the witch hunt had been revived in Aiteria.

His only aim was the annoying Izakaya n.o.bu.
Baron Branton and the Bachshouf Firm. He had lost two jobs, all because of that pub. A half-hearted revenge was not enough.
The horse-drawn carriage pa.s.sed smoothly under the main gates and pulled into the main streets of Aiteria.
With the District Archbishop’s crest, there wasn’t any unnecessary people asking for ident.i.ty.

The horse-drawn carriage drove along the stone pavement road.
At the heart of Aiteria, near the sandbanks, the horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the most prestigious inn in AIteria, the “Four-Winged Eagle.” If he had been with Bachschouf, who was implicated of a crime and a wanted man, he would have been turned away by the inn, but naturally, when they saw Damien’s face, they welcomed him.

「What’s going on, Damien? What’s going on?」

As soon as he entered the room, Enrico flared up.
His head was pretty good, but he was devoted to his strange divination. That was why the Archbishop had picked him for this unimportant job of arranging the gathered information.

「What’s the matter, Enrico-dono? You are in the presence of His Holiness, the Archbishop. Calm down.」

「How could you calm down in this situation? There are rumours on the streets that the witch hunt has begun, Damien. There is also the protest by the City Council of Aiteria.」

「Rumours are merely rumours. It has not actually begun.」

It was true that people had been gathered in an old residence in the outskirts.
It was true that it was made to look like a witch hunt. By fueling the anxiety, the eyes of suspicion would be turned towards Izakaya n.o.bu. Although the aim was to cause damage to its reputation through rumours, it seemed that it was not going too well. It was difficult to deal with a restaurant that had many regulars.

However, Damien was not so foolish as to start a witch hunt on his own, without support.
The witch hunt was being carried out under the Archbishop’s authority. It couldn’t run without his approval.

「Then, where’s His Holiness?」

「It’s time for wors.h.i.+p. He should be before the G.o.ddess statue. But, he should be done soon.」

Damien lightly shrugged his neck, brushed off the snow on his shoulder, and sat down on the couch.
The firewood popped.
The fire in the golden fireplace burned with a dazzling flame.
Even though the buildings around here were built for harsh winters, it seemed that it was still very cold for Enrico, who had been born in the Holy Kingdom. He wore thick clothes that were unbecoming for his skinny body. It was only autumn now. What would he do when winter came?

It was also true of the Archbishop.
He had been born and raised in the Holy Kingdom. The Archbishop, who had grown up in the warmer lands in the south, would surely be affected by the cold. The Archbishop’s desire to leave this place as soon as possible had become a source of power for Damien.
After the lager smuggling incident, Damien, who had lost his patron, became dependent on the former Archbishop.
He tried to blackmail one of the Archbishop’s subordinates who had defaulted on his debt from the Bachschouf Firm, but surprisingly, he was employed without trouble.

A starving dragon would even eat a cornered bird. (TL note: This probably means along the lines of “a drowning man will clutch at a straw.)
He reckoned that he could escape the government officials if he left Aiteria, and escape the pursuit by seeking refuge under the Magisterium.
He had immediately realised that the clergy, who was born in the Holy Kingdom, wanted to return home.

Rather than it being because the place lacked glamour, the reason was because of the cold temperature and the food.
For the Archbishop, who was used to luxury, it seemed living on potatoes in the northern part of the Empire was like living in h.e.l.l on this world.

「Oh, Damien. You’ve come?」

「It is my pleasure to receive your countenance.」

Archbishop Rodrigo, who came out from the specially arranged wors.h.i.+p, was huge.
To Damien, who was not very tall, he looked like a giant. Even though he had a considerable width, he had height as well. It had probably been torturing indeed to only eat potatoes with that kind of body.

「I believe I heard from Enrico that there is a search for a witch. 」

「Yes, it is a worry even though it’s a groundless rumour, Your Holiness. I’ve also explained to Enrico that it is just a rumour. It probably looked that way to the populace when people were gathered in a residence in the outskirts.」

「Is that so?」

The Archbishop nodded as he immediately helped himself to some mulled wine.
Rather than wanting to get drunk, he probably wanted to feel the heat.
The cup, which had lead coating the inside, was a gift from Damien. It seemed that the Archbishop liked the sweet and mellow taste of the wine in the Empire, even though it was poorer in quality when compared to the ones in the Holy Kingdom and the Eastern Kingdom (Oiria).

Damien mentally sneered at this easygoing att.i.tude.
This Archbishop might be an excellent scholar, but he was not good at being a plotter.
When Damien wanted to search for witches on behalf of the busy Archbishop, the Archbishop had gotten on board willingly.

It might be a miscalculation to report that there might be a witch in Aiteria, but it was a surprise. The present purpose of the Archbishop was to find a witch. Although he had not heard about the details, it was probably going to be about witches occurring again due to the corruption of the Magisterium. If Damien was in the Archbishop’s position, he would certainly do that.

Find a witch and return to the Holy Kingdom.
Damien didn’t know whether could accomplish such a thing, but the Archbishop’s enthusiasm in his search for a witch was real. The amount of money spent in this investigation was not low either. Of course, Damien was getting plenty of sweet juices from there. (TL: embezzling money)

Presently, the one holding the most power in the Holy kingdom was Hürghigegot, a considerably sharp and able man with reputation. It did not seem possible for Rodrigo to fight him just by finding the witch alone. It might even be difficult to ascend to Cardinal, even if there was an empty seat.

「So, Damien. I understand that the witch hunt is an unfounded rumour from the sparrows tweeting on the streets. So from this point onwards, how will the witch search work?」

「There is a store suspected of being a witch’s lair. We will strike there.」

「I see, a witch’s lair, huh. Will the witch be there?」

The Archbishop stroked his chin while Enrico cut off his words.
Enrico was not too eager about the witch hunt itself, so he seemed to be trying to object to it.

「Do not worry. It is a shop with a lot of suspicious rumours. There will be a witch.」

「Don’t get me wrong, Damien. As a priest, I pray there is no witch. If the shop isn’t a witch’s lair, it is a good thing.」

「I agree wholeheartedly.」

While responding, Damien mentally cursed the Archbishop as a half-witted giant.
There was no meaning in keeping up appearances at a place like this. It had been an open secret for many years that the Archbishop was looking for a witch. Did his blood have trouble reaching his brain in that body? (TL: basically saying, his big body made him stupid) It would be easier for someone to carry the head of a palanquin, which was lighter, but he was troubled about how to he should handle this fool.
He didn’t mind the fact that the Archbishop was a fool, but he might suffer disadvantages if he got involved with this fool further.

However, he had not forgotten to prepare for that.
The people gathered in the outskirts were prepared to escape if something came up. He had already had secret talks with the Princess of the Eastern Kingdom in the Regent Palace. As long as he crossed the border, everything would become history.

Of course, it would be good if nothing went wrong.
It would be amusing to get revenge on Izakaya n.o.bu and stay in Aiteria with the Archbishop as well.
Even though the unity of the City Council was strangely strong, it could always be broken from the inside.
His sweet delusions were broken by unexpected words from the Archbishop.

「Now then, Damien, why don’t we go to the shop called Izakaya n.o.bu now?」

「Now, you say?」

Damien felt faint at Rodrigo’s carefreeness. The man looked like he was about to hum a tune.
He had arranged to lay out traps in sequence from here onwards for n.o.bu, so that they could not talk their way out.
Making use of thugs, faking a food poisoning case.. he would keep piling up evidence that could not be explained away, such as mushroom dishes being served in n.o.bu and fraudulent seditious doc.u.ments concerning witches appearing.
Causing unrest in the city by spreading rumours about the witch was the first step. This was only the preparation phase.

「But Your Holiness, isn’t it a little too early?」

The Archbishop frowned at Damien, who strained his voice to speak.

「Isn’t it better to ascertain whether there is a witch or not as soon as possible?」

「Ah, yes, but..」

「It seems you’re busy with something. If you shut yourself up in the mansion in the outskirts, you might end up only eating potatoes? It’s better to finish up difficult jobs as soon as possible. So, let us go now. We have a carriage too.」

In his position, Damien could not move when the Archbishop was personally leading the way.
He involuntarily grounded his teeth as he stood up.
It would be alright. He was on the offensive. Izakaya n.o.bu was the witch’s store. Damien told himself this as he boarded the carriage.
When he boarded alongside the large Archbishop, the scenery looked quite different, although it was still the same carriage as before.
WIth impatience and vexation onboard, the black-coated carriage smoothly began to move.