100 - - a suspicious merchant in a neighboring country






 We came back to the chief's house.

 There were what appeared to be a group of merchants with a large baggage.



 When I came to this village, there were no footprints on the snow.

 I don't think it has snowed that much in the last few days. ...... I wonder how long this group has been in the village.



 A man who appeared to be the leader of the group approached the village head with a smile.



"Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for your hospitality.

"No, no, I'm sorry to hear that you are leaving.



I will be back soon. This is truly the best village I have ever been to.

I am honored to hear you say so.



 I was distrustful of the fact that the village chief, who is not very friendly to outsiders, was smiling so much, but I also wondered why the merchants kept coming back so often.



 And even if they were said to be merchants ......, the guards surrounding them looked like mercenaries or a group of soldiers.



 Their movements were so sophisticated and detailed that they did not look like hired adventurers.

 They looked like soldiers.



 And the man greeting the chief had a sword in his hand and a wizard's staff at his waist. Is he a merchant, a swordsman, or a magician?



 His beaming smile was very suspicious.



"By the way, there seems to be an unusual person in this village.

By the way, there seems to be an unusual person in this village. This is Mr. Locke, an adventurer. He heard about this village from Colon Village and came all the way here in the snow to buy a snow stone.



"I see. We are always grateful to adventurers. My name is Karl Feldt, and I am a merchant. I am a merchant myself, Karl Feldt, and I am here to purchase snow stone.



"Nice to meet you. I am Rock. I am also a frequent customer of the merchant. If you would like, I would be happy to provide escort services or any other services, and I would appreciate it if you would ask me to be appointed somewhere. Mr. Karlfeldt, what city are you a merchant from? I am from the town of Brandon, so if you are close to me, please contact me at ......." 



"Oops, that's too bad. We're from the magic road Suiju.

We came from the magic road Suiju! That's a long way. It's difficult to cross the mountains this time of year.



"Yes. ...... Well, that's about it. But I guess you must be a great adventurer to come here alone to buy a snow stone, Mr. Locke. Please let me know if you are interested in becoming an adventurer in Mamouswiju.

Thank you very much.

"Mr. Karlfeldt, ......, I think it's time for you to leave. ......"



 His man interrupts our conversation just in time.

 Hmm? If you look closely, you can see that they are heavily armed. They were not dressed as if they were about to go into the snowy mountains. I knew something was wrong.



"Yeah, I know. McFarlane. My wife will get mad if I don't hurry home, right? You're always so punctual. If you'll excuse me now, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Locke. May the Goddess of Joy grant you many blessings."

Thank you for the compliment.

 The man called Macfarlane bows his head.



"Mr. Karlfeldt, I'll take you there. Mr. Locke will wait here.

"Yes, sir."

 I watched them walk out of the room and was left alone in the chief's house.

 If nothing is going on, nothing is going on. But I have a bad feeling about this.



"Ciel!"

 Ciel jumps out from the box garden and flies around the room, stopping at my shoulder and rubbing his face against my cheek happily. You always look so cute.



"Thank you for everything. Ciel, I want you to go after those merchants who just left. I want you to find out where they are going.



 I opened the window, and Ciel gave me another kiss and took off into the sky. Ciel shines in the sunlight.



 Ciel looks cute in the box garden, but outside in the sky, she looks majestic.

 She is like the king of the sky.

 As I watched Ciel fly away, And came back to the house alone.



"Aren't you cold with the window open?"

"I was just trying to get some air. What's wrong with And?



"The head of the village asked me to tell you that they have a log cabin for visitors here tonight. They have recently started coming to the village, and they are our clients who buy our goods at a very high price. The chief is busy trying to keep them in a good mood.



Can I stay here?

Of course. Of course. The dragon's seal won't be easy to put up with.



 We were shown to a large log house on the outskirts of the village.

 It was large enough to train martial arts inside.



"I didn't know there was such a large house in this village.

"You'll be surprised at how spacious the bathroom is.

 He took me to a place with a bath large enough to accommodate Lucky and all of his followers.



"I know they say this is a guest house, but it was built for all of us to stay here a few times a year," he said. It's like a festival where a lot of people get together to drink, talk all night, and unite the village.

"That sounds like fun."



"It's a lot of fun. There's not much entertainment in the village, but when we bathe together, drink together, and make a lot of noise, we discover new things about our neighbors. I've made some mistakes with alcohol, but we laugh about it."



 And was talking about it in a very happy way.

 It seems that drinking mistakes are everywhere.



"Also, the bath is running hot, so you can take it anytime you want. If it's too hot, you can put snow in it, or there is a small river next to the bath to adjust the flow. Also, the mayor of ...... says not to leave the house at night."

"It's a pity, because I wanted to see the sights."






"Well, there are a lot of strange people in this village, so I think it's meant to protect Locke and the others. Because the village is so close-knit, they are cold to outsiders. This is especially true for the older generations.

"While the people of the magical Suiju country are fine with it?"

"That's because of the ...... chief's favoritism. I'd better get back to work. I can't prepare a meal on short notice, but since you're an adventurer, do you have any emergency rations? I'll bring some simple food, but I don't ...... think I'll have anything too tasty."



 And did not seem to want to talk about the people of Suiju.

 It was a surprise to have people from another country in their closed village. As long as it doesn't cause any problems, that's all that matters, thanks .......

"Don't worry about the food. We'll prepare our own food."

"That's good. We'll still pick you up in the morning. You just relax until then.

"Thank you."

 AND left, and I decided to go inside the box yard.

 Let's relax in the box yard for a while.

 I'm going to take a relaxing hot spring bath.