Do Lalabelle and her friends wear hoods?

'We're what we look like. As we walk along, some of them talk behind our backs, which is not important. In King's Landing, most of them take into consideration that I'm a princess at least, but this is practically a different country.

It's the wisdom of avoiding unnecessary friction.

That's what's wrong with this world.



　We arrived safely at the harbor in Old Town and disembarked after depositing the boat.
　We discussed looking around the town first, but Larabelle and her friends, without being told by anyone, covered their faces with large hoods.
　They said it was to prevent people from making fun of them because they looked so awful when they walked around town as it was.

　At the same time as I thought it was a terrible story, I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, or rather, doubtful.
　No one in Japan is that blatantly cursing about women's looks in the city.
　Lalabelle and her friends are treated as dobs, which is hard to see in this world, but even so, the reaction is too strong.
　Maybe this entire world, maybe only in the territory of the Bart Kingdom, but isn't there some special bias?
　Or is this world, excuse me for saying this, but there are many parts of it that are uncivilized compared to modern Japan.
　Is there a tendency to have a tendency to have no problem publicly ridiculing women with poor looks due to low moral standards?
　Either way, perhaps it's best to keep that in mind for a moment.

'Lord Taro, I'm glad you're angry at the unreasonableness that befalls us, but this is also to avoid needless friction.

'That's right. We always get Taro-san to tell us that we are beautiful and love us, so this is not a problem at all. It's just that the insects around us make a lot of noise with their wings, so we're trying to keep them out.

Okay.

　As I thought, this world is a bit strange.
　I have a feeling that there is something secret, including the matter of summoning the "Changer".
　What is it........let's think about ourselves first.

''........''

What's up?　'Frau'

'It's nice to be newly married. I want to get married too.

Isn't it too early to tell?　Because Frau is twelve.

That's a long time.

　I see.
　Could Frau also be married when she comes of age?
　What kind of person will she marry?

Master Taro, let's get going.

'Mr. Tallow, let's start off by heading to the council hall in the center of town and the Hunter's Association Old Town Branch. It's a very old building, so it's famous for being a tourist attraction, and hunters need to register in advance to dive into the dungeon.

Mew must know a lot about this.

'I've heard from a hunter living in King's Landing who has dived into the dungeons of Old Town.

I've never been to an outdoor city before.

　The four of us got off the boat and headed to the center of the town.
　As expected of a dungeon town, I should say that it is a town where hunters gather to catch a fortune, or perhaps the main street of the town had a lot of people walking around.
　After all, there are many hunters, and there are also other figures of well-dressed men and women who seem to be on their honeymoon.
　Since they are coming to another oasis for their honeymoon, is it natural to have money?
　

'A lot of shops, casinos and hotels, how upscale they are too.

'The hard-earned hunters' pockets are loose. "The money they earn loosens up the pockets of their hard-earned hunters, and they become stressed out if all they do is kill and cut back. They have a lot of business to do with their money, and that's where the tourists are coming from.

　To be clear, it was more prosperous than the royal capital of the Bart Kingdom.
　It seemed like it would be difficult for that king to take over this Old Town and bring it under his control.

''Also, there are a lot of women in hoods........oh!

Mr. Tallow, how can I help you?

He's got long ears.

　Isn't this the 'elf' race that is often mentioned in the games and novels I loved from my childhood to my school days?
　Even though he was wearing a hood, he was still surprised to see a product of his imagination in front of him.

'In Taro-sama's world, elves are an imaginary race. They were mentioned in a book I've seen before.

''I see. In this world, "Desert Elves" are not so rare. Though they are said to be the ugliest race of women in this world.

'Yeah, well...'

　I see.
　In this world, elves who are supposed to be beautiful are treated as ugly........
　

'All elven women, without exception, are ugly and are as thin as a chicken rattle, so there are many humans who abhor them. That's why many of them are in hoods like us in mixed human lands.

　So, like Lalabelle and the others, this is to avoid unnecessary backbiting and friction?

''I guess I'm a long-lived person after all?

'The elves live long?　They are just like humans. Many of them are agile and smart because they are thin, dexterous and good at magic. They're not as strong as they should be, and their bodies aren't as robust.

"The long-lived elf you speak of, Lord Taro, is the 'Forest Elf', is it not?　Some say they perished long ago, while others say that a small number of them live in hiding in the few remaining forests of this world. We don't know the facts, but...

　The elves I envision are called 'forest elves'?
　He said they may have died out or a few may be living in hiding.
　For some reason, it seems that the 'desert elves', whose lifespan is about the same as humans, have become the mainstream.

In addition to the elves who show up at the oasis where humans live to hunt and trade, there are also many elves who build villages at the oasis and live in the ancient heritage and mobile cities where they are based.

'I hear there are several mobile cities in the desert west of this Old Town. I heard that they occasionally trade in potions and other specialties. I hear there are quite a few mobile cities in operation in other countries as well.

　The mobile city is said to be a legacy of an ancient civilization that died a long time ago.
　It is said to be powered by magic, and Larabell told me that everything used to come to a complete standstill before, but the desert elves who were chased out of the oasis by the humans managed to get there and get it up and running with their own technology.

'Mobile cities, I love the romance of it,'

So you were a man who wanted to be romantic, Lord Taro.

　Also, it's not a bad idea to live there if you can get a small one.
　Because it's true that living on a boat, even if it's easy, is inconvenient in many ways.

'A mobile city?　I've heard that quite a few are still in a state of shutdown and remain in many parts of the desert. I've heard that many of them are in poor condition, and that even the desert elves have decided it's impossible to restart them, so they've been abandoned...

'We're talking about hoping to get it someday, and for now we'll enjoy the sights of Old Town.

That too, I suppose.

　Then we toured the council hall, which seemed to be quite old, and lingered around the square in front of it, drinking the fruit juice water we had purchased.

'Don't let the cold fruit juice water seep into your body,'

'It's an easy job for someone who can use ice magic to make money. However, wizards with a lot of magic power can make more money defeating sand beasts, though.

　It's not that there aren't refrigerators in this world, but they are very expensive and difficult for the common people to get to.
　So it's a common business for people who can use ice-based magic to sell cold water, juice and shaved ice.
　Since most of this world is a desert and very hot, it's a relatively easy product to sell in numbers everywhere.

　On the other hand, though, he says hot drinks don't sell so well.

'The Hunter's Association building is next to the council hall... that one?

'The process itself will be easy. After all, there are a lot of hunters out there.

　Miu was right, the procedure only took a few minutes.
　It was because all I had to do was write my name on the permission slip to dive into the dungeon.
　Moreover, they don't mind if you use a fake name.

''As for the dungeon you're going to dive into, I think it's best if you check the information in the archives next door first. This is so that the hunters themselves can dive into the dungeon that best suits them.

　Is it because it's dangerous to dive into a dungeon that is full of weak but strong sand beasts, or is it because it's dangerous for a master of ice magic like Mew to dive into a dungeon that is full of sand beasts that are strong against the cold?
　It is important to confirm which dungeon you are going to dive into beforehand.

''It would be a loss if you die for no good reason.

That's what I mean.

　And the receptionist who explained to us that she was a beautiful woman by the standards of this world.
　So every world tends to have beautiful women at the reception desk.
　From my point of view, with all due respect, I feel quite uncomfortable, but when you put a woman like Larabell in this world, this is a different kind of friction.......

''Let's go to the archives next door and look at the information about the dungeon.

　At Miu's urging, I headed to the reference room, where I borrowed a book called a thick dungeon book.

''It's so thick...''

They're getting thicker and thicker as they find a few new dungeons every year.

'Isn't it funny that we're talking about finding that undiscovered dungeon?

　I don't think there's enough space to find that many dungeons, no matter how much of an oasis Old Town is a thriving oasis.

''That is. That's because the interior of each dungeon is connected to a different space. Taro-san, you've identified the huge rock pile on the east side of Old Town, right?

There it is. It's a big pile of rocks.

The entrance to the dungeon will be excavated on the slope of the rocky mountain. But the interior of the dungeon is not inside the crag. It's connected to another space, so every year a new dungeon entrance is found.

I see. It's because it's connected to another space.

　So the only thing you can find on the slopes of a rocky mountain is the entrance to a dungeon.
　So new dungeon entrances are regularly found on the slopes of rocky mountains that have not been excavated.

These newly found dungeons are listed in this book.

　I flipped through the pages a bit and found a detailed map and the types of sand beasts that appeared.
　Dungeons for beginners, intermediate and advanced players, dungeons to dive into when you want special materials, etc.
　The data was very well organized.

''There's a big difference in popularity and unpopularity between different dungeons.

　As of now, there are over a thousand dungeons found.
　From dungeons that are packed with hunters to dungeons that are too unpopular for anyone to enter.
　It was also interesting to note that the dungeon popularity rankings were even written.

''Wouldn't it be better if it was an unpopular dungeon?''

　In our party, when we defeat the sand beast, there is no material left.
　Or rather, it would be converted into Eidolk on its own.
　It's not like the other hunters will see it.

''There's that. Then it's fine to have a dungeon that only has this sand golem in it.''

　Many of the sand beasts that inhabit the dungeons of Old Town are said to be of a monstrous variety, like the sand golem, which is out of the bounds of living things.
　Sand golems are literally sand golems, so when you defeat them, you get sand.
　The book said that when you get sand in the desert, no one buys it, and the divine coins that drop are small for their strength, so no one enters the Sand Golem dungeon, the book said.

''So it's treated as a hazmat dungeon? Well then, let's start the hunter business there.''

I like that.

I think so.

I am only obedient to the orders of Master Taro.

　Larabell and the others agreed with me and decided to dive into the Sandgolem's dungeon first.

''Ah, but first........''

You're a tourist.

You're a tourist.

I'm looking forward to seeing the sights.

　In the evening, we enjoyed sightseeing in Old Town to the fullest until we decided on a permanent home.