Okay, okay, well, so let's stop talking about the Ancient Kaiju Tribe.
　Since then, Elnakotta, who had been persistently demanding the handover of the two ancient monster tribe members under the guise of protection, abruptly withdrew his offer during the prolonged discussion.

　Up until then, he had been making numerous demands, changing hands and even threatening at times, but the fact that he suddenly and unconditionally withdrew this proposal took me by surprise for a moment...


Come on.


　Oh, I knew it.
　I didn't think he was going to pull out without any kind of compensation, but I knew he was going to demand an alternative.

　Even though it was expected, I once again braced myself and listened to Elnakotta's story.
　To me, Elnakotta said.
Oh, don't be so sure. You just need to do me a favor.
　I said, and once I exhaled the smoke from my cigar.
　And then Elnakotta, who once again turned his gaze back to me
You're having a summer festival, right?　Let me open up a store.
　Then he chuckles.
'Not a bad story, is it?
　We'll take care of all the expenses for the stall.
　I'll pay for everything, if you want to pay the entry fee.
　Oh, but....
　And so, here's where El Nacotta said, with a smirk
''I'd like to take this opportunity to start trading with that city while I'm at it.......like the dragon scale armor.......''
　Then he looks into my face.

　However, this offer is to be expected.
　I had already predicted that El Nacotta would talk about this when they unofficially asked me to set up a stall at the festival, and I've already discussed this with everyone at the town hall about how to handle it...

You are welcome to set up your own stall, but we would like to make sure that it is clear who will be transporting the goods and who will be coming in and out of the stall.
　As for trade, we can't give our consent for this event until we have signed a new contract.
　Yes, I tell him my conclusion at Liberty.
　Then El Nacotta frowns.
'What?　I'm tired of it. It's a good thing that this El Nacotta-san has conceded so much, so don't just allow it to be a privilege to trade.
　Then he laughs again with a nimah.

　But I don't back down.

"We've done it with other cities. We can't be the only ones to do this.
　Yes, I say back firmly.

　El Nacotta is.
　He stares at my face.

　For a long time.

Ha-ha, little boy, you did pretty good.
　With that, Erna Cotta got up from her seat.

　Looking down at me, Erna Cotta said
There will be two stalls. I'll give you written notice of the number of people coming in and out. If any suspicion arises, it's fine to cancel your stall at that point.
　
　He walked towards the exit as he said this.
I'm done with what I have to say. Just talk to him.
　After saying that, Elnakotta left the room with a yawn.

　Incidentally, this is the person that Elnacotta called "that guy".
　He's one of the men who's been standing behind Elnacotta throughout the entire discussion up to this point.
　This man was the mayor of this Urinacombe town.

　This city manager.
　El Nacotta's words, and he immediately sat down in front of me and Gerther.
Now, let me just fill in the rest of the story...
　And I reaffirmed what Elnakotta had said earlier when I left, and documented it.

　I, Gelter, and the three of us, this city's chief, confirmed the contents of that statement.
　We each signed three documents of the same content, and each of us was to own one of these.

　As for the unexpected, neither I nor Guelter had anything special to say about it...or rather, since Elnakotta had left the room, we had the thought that we wouldn't be able to have any more in-depth discussions about it.

　The time period that El Nacotta was there seemed to be longer than it was.
　After she was gone, it felt like the time really flew by.

　The two of us, Gelter and I, shook hands with the man who was the mayor of Urinacombe, and then we left the house.

　The luggage of the inn was already loaded on a wagon, so we went back home along the road to Urinacombe.

　When we left the walls of Urinacombe, I let out a sigh of relief.

　Gelter smiled at me and said
'Lords, you know, sometimes lords have to face negotiations like this... especially in a city that's in a position like you and I are in.
　That's what I said.

　Indeed.
　With the dark side of the city, Urinacomb, just a stone's throw away.
　I, too, will, by necessity, be involved with this city in the future.

　They say you can't choose your neighbors, but that's exactly what I thought.

　Then.
　Once I stopped in Batcombe, I hoped to have a dinner with Geltor there to discuss the matter.
　Because it was past noon when we left Urinacombe, the sun had set here.

　Since we left the Urinacombe in a hurry, all of us had to skip lunch, so I think we ate a generous amount of dinner.
　I'm not usually a big eater, but I ate a second helping.

　I was allowed to spend the night at the guest house in Batcombe that night.
　just as expected
Safate, I need to have a word with you...
　And so, here comes Biblina....

　Initially
　I'm going to bed.
　Biblina was sitting in a chair and we were having a conversation.

　The topic of conversation was still Urina Combe, and
I knew she was going to be hard to deal with.
　And Biblina seemed somewhat frustrated, but in the middle of that conversation, Biblina suddenly stood up and
Well, as I've said before, I like you and I'm well aware that you have a fiancée named Erdena, but I want you to remember this feeling.
　Then she kissed me on the cheek and left the room quickly.

　To be honest, I don't have an answer for how I should respond to Biblina's feelings right now, and....
　Nope.
　Well, to be precise, there's an answer to that question because as far as I'm concerned, I'm not going to betray Erdena, so...

　But there is also a part of me that doesn't want to break the friendly relationship with Vibrina.

　Maybe even the Biblina I mentioned earlier.
　He knew that if I came to a conclusion now, he would break up with me, and that's why he just told her how he felt and left immediately...

　After all, that night.
　I was thinking about so many things that I couldn't fall asleep.

◇ ◇.

　the next morning

Yes, it's a good morning.
　And Vibrina appeared at the breakfast table as if nothing had happened last night, sounding cheerful.
　She was probably in high spirits, but I was relieved to see her cheerfulness.

　That thing yesterday.
　I thought it would be a bit sad if I were to be strangely distant or avoided.

　After I finished my breakfast at Batcombe, I was
　At this point, I split up with Gelter and headed back to Liberty.

　Biblina will also accompany me as my escort as she continues to work at the Batcombe Branch in Liberty.

　During the trip, Vibrina looked out the window of the wagon and peered inside from her horse.
Safate, keep up the good work, will you?
　That's why I smiled at him.

　
　I can't help but feel that my relationships with women are getting more and more complicated or serious...


　Before I had a slight headache.
　The walls of Liberty were fast beginning to appear in the distance, and...