Welcome to my shop.

After handing over the pirates to the guards, I came to his shop, where Seibei-san told me he wanted to thank me again.
The shop was very large, and it was clear that Seibei-san was the owner of the big shop.
And on the signboard was written "Echigoya" in the eastern language.

'Echigoya...?'

Welcome to 'Echigoya', Mr. Lex.

Huh?　I'm pretty sure that's the name of the store that will receive the goods from the request we received.
　I took out a memo with details about the request from my pocket and confirmed the name of the store, then I held out the letter given to me by the guild to give to my business partner.

''Um, actually, I came to this store on an errand.''

'Oh, you did!　I didn't expect our store's customers to save my life and products, this is fate!

　Oh, no, no, no, no. That's a big deal.

"Come on, we're not just standing around here. Come on in.

　Seibei-san receives the letter and leads me inside the store.

''Welcome home, sir.''

　Once inside the store, the shopkeepers bowed their heads in unison after confirming Seibei-san's appearance.

''Hey, I just left.''

Sir!

　And from the back of the store comes a man who looks flustered.
　His figure, which is more dignified than the other shopkeepers, is probably the shop's heavyweight?

I was worried that you were coming home so late.

'Oh, I'm sorry, Yokichi. We had a storm and our ship was about to be wrecked.

''What did you say?!''

　The man called Yokichi paled as he heard the situation from Seibei-san.

'Yeah, and the ship?　What about the young men!　What happened to the cargo!

"Don't worry, Mr. Seibei. "Don't worry, thanks to Mr. Lex here coming through, everyone is safe and sound.

'Oh, oh!　Thank you for that...?

　And Yoyoshi-san, who turned to me and thanked me, was cut off at the end of his speech and looked around.

''Uh........''

'Yoyoshi, this is the one for sure. Lex-san is an excellent young wizard.

"What?　Hey, my apologies for this!

　Knowing that it was a young man like me who saved the ship, Yoyoshi-san apologizes with a pale face.

You're not. It's time for you to stop judging things by their appearance. I'm sorry, Mr. Lex. This guy is still inexperienced.

No, don't worry about it. I've only been an adventurer for a short time myself.

Adventurer, I think it's the continent's most famous jack-of-all-trades, isn't it?

　By continent, I mean does this country not have a concept of adventurers?

'Excuse me, Mr. Lex. Please wait in the back guest room for a moment while I review the letter you gave me and give instructions to my men.

I understand.

Hey, you, take this one to the drawing room. We owe you a debt of gratitude. Do it respectfully.

Hey, hey!　This way, sir. Please remove your footwear here before you go up.

　A young clerk, directed by Seibei, shows me around.

'Please wait over here,'

　The room we were shown was an unusually decorated room with only a low table and cushions around it.
　Instead, the walls were wide open and a neatly arranged garden spread out like a painting.
　To be able to maintain a garden like this for a commoner who isn't even a nobleman, Seibei-san must be quite a skilled merchant.
　As soon as the shopkeeper who was guiding me stepped down, a young female shopkeeper came to me with tea and sweets.

'Coarse tea, sir.

Thank you.

　The tea and sweets that were prepared for me were so delicious that I was unconsciously relieved.
　The sweets are modest, but you can feel the sweetness of the sweets, you can tell that they were prepared for you in a very high class.

　To be honest, it feels even better than when I was invited to a nobleman's mansion in a previous life.
　Back then, I could see through the desires of the person I was having tea with, so I didn't get to enjoy the meal.
　A beautiful view, good tea and sweets, this is top-notch hospitality!

Here you go.

　As we are drinking tea and enjoying the scenery, Seibei comes in.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, sir, but it's going to be a while before I can stock up.

Not at all. My client told me that's what he expected.

　I'm getting more money for that.

'Thank you for your understanding. As an apology, you'll have to stay with us until we stock up on the goods.

'What?　That's bad.

　As expected, I can't be that lenient. And I'm getting the money for my accommodation from my client.

''No, Lex-san saved my men and my cargo. I'd like to thank you for that.

　Hmm. We were just passing through, so I shouldn't have worried so much about it.
　Honestly, I feel like the tea and sweets and the scenery of the garden that was served to me was enough of a thank you.
　What should I do......Oh, yeah.

'I'm sorry, but I need to find my companions who got lost in the storm.

I'm looking for one of your people?

Yeah.

　If it takes time to stock up on goods, then in the meantime, let's go around the nearby towns and villages to find Liliella and the others.
　Maybe they have already reached the nearest town or village.

''I see, in that case, I'll let my shopmates find them!

What?

'Perhaps Lex's friends are looking for him too. If that's the case, then if we all move around looking for each other, we could get lost.

　Well, that's certainly true.

But this is the town where the ship you came in arrived. Because of that storm, ships from foreign countries rarely come these days, so this town will be a good landmark for the foreign ships to reach safely.

　I see, if that storm was indeed the reason why the ship I heard about in the Adventurer's Guild didn't come back, it could certainly be a great marker for everyone.

''By the way, what exactly is that storm?''

　I asked Seibei about that storm.
　Because I felt that the unnatural storm was man-made.
　By whom and by what intent was it caused?
　If we don't know the circumstances of the storm, the ships coming to the East Country will keep getting hit by the storm.

''That's what we don't know either.

Don't you get it?

'Yes, sir. 'A few months ago, a boat left the harbour and had just reached the coast when suddenly there was a storm. At first we decided to give it a day to go out again, saying it was bad luck, but then the storm happened again. I thought at the time that bad luck would continue to happen, but then we realized that it wasn't a coincidence because no matter how many times we tried to sail out after that, when we got to a certain point, the storm happened.

　The fact that Seibei-san and the others thought so too, it seems to be intentional.
　It's difficult to know the cause of the storm.

Moreover, the storm seems to be occurring not only in this area, but in the whole country's seas.

The whole country?

　That's outrageous!　Even so, the east is not a large island nation, but it's still a big enough to be called a country. It's a lot of work to cover it all!

It's the same with the ships coming in from the outside, our country can no longer enter or leave. The only thing we can do is to move around the country's ports while maintaining just enough distance to avoid storms. Thanks to you, business with foreign countries is a bummer.

　Apparently, Seibei-san's store also does trade.
　But right now, they are only able to transport and sell domestically.

Isn't anything else happening?

　Is there any other trouble that might be involved in causing the sea to be rough?

'Well, other than the sea being rough, nothing in particular troubled me... oh yeah, there was one major incident.

What's that?

　Seibei-san doesn't seem too keen to tell me about the incident.

'As expected, I don't think this has anything to do with it. I don't think it has anything to do with this. Our shogun has.''

"General?　What country's general?

　Was it some kind of military operation that caused the storm to happen?
　Hiding doesn't seem to mean missing... well, from the expression on Seibei's face, it doesn't seem to mean what the word says.
　It probably means dead.

''No, our country's general is like a king to you exotic people.

The king of this country?

Not strictly speaking, but it's pretty close.

　Oh, I see. The king is dead. That's certainly a big deal for the people of this country.

But it doesn't seem to have anything to do with why the sea is in turmoil.

'Yes,'

　Hmmm, I don't think this is particularly relevant?

Moreover, our young master went missing right after the general went into hiding, and the higher-ups are in a panic. Therefore, I think it is better for our young people to search for your friends in order to stock up on them, rather than for Lex to move around.

Well....

　Seibei-san offered to prepare a room for me because he didn't want me to be suspected by the officials.
　I can't wait to go and find everyone, but I think it is more likely that I will be able to find them sooner if I have the help of someone who knows the area.

I understand. Well, in that case, I'll take care of you.

'Oh, thank you for that!　I'll order the young people to find your people and show them immediately!

　After arriving at the Echigoya, I decide to look for the stragglers with the help of Seibei.
　I hope everyone is safe.
　But it's also boring to wait around for that long.

◆Gyro ◆

''Daryaaaah!''

　I cut the huge demon that was attacking the village in half with my magic sword, which was enhanced with the attribute of fire.

''It's all right now!''

　I call out to the girl who was dressed in all white and shivering.
　This girl is the sacrifice that was offered to protect the village from that monster.
　Apparently, this village has been raided by demons for years.

　I was surprised to hear that this country doesn't have an adventurer's guild, so they can't hire adventurers for the village.
　I've heard that if they are attacked by a monster, they have to leave it to the lord, but the lord in charge of this area is a coward, and after he lost a battle against this monster, he's ignored all the calls for help from the village for whatever reason.

I can't keep quiet when I hear that!　I just heard that today is the day of the sacrifice, so I've been hiding and waiting for the demon to come.

But it's not much of a demon. It's nothing compared to dragons and demons.

'Oh, um ... oh, thank you. I ... me.

　The girl who was sacrificed chokes on her words with tears in her eyes.
　Well, until just now I was desperately trying to resist being eaten by a demon. It's no wonder I can't get my mind in order.

Don't worry!　I took care of that street monster myself. You don't have to worry about it anymore!

　I pull the girls into a hug and pat them on the head.
　I'm scared and the crying gangbusters would have calmed down in time if I did this.
　Sure enough, this little girl, who had been crying furiously for a while, calmed down after a while.

I'm sorry. I'm always a crybaby.

　To the shy girl, I say.

"I don't think so," I say to the embarrassed girl. I hear you said you were going to sacrifice yourself. To protect everyone in the village. That's great! Most people wouldn't be able to say that. You are definitely an amazing person. So don't be shy about anything!

And yet, in the end, I can't do anything...

It's not a question of getting anything done!　It's all about what you moved to do!　You did what you had to do to protect us all!　You can't pull off anything like that.　That's why I wanted to protect you, too!　Confidence!　You're a great guy!

Yes.....

　Maybe she's not used to being praised, but the girl turns down with a bright red face.
　Hehehe, because I know exactly how hard you're working!　Don't be so mean!

　You're not going to be able to do that.

'Thank you!　Thank you!

　All the people in the village came together and bowed to me.

"Don't worry about it. We're just making fun of an overzealous monster.

　Then the village chief offers me something.

'Hate to say it, but that's about all we can do for you...'

'Oh, it's fine, it's fine. This time I didn't take the job, it was my own doing.

'What?　It's good, isn't it, kid? It's a fair compensation. Let's get it.

Don't call me a kid. You're just hiding from the world and not doing anything!

　I slapped the head of the pirate underling who told me I should get a reward.
　This guy was really hiding in a bull.

"Most people wouldn't take on a monster like that head-on. And all by themselves.

What the hell are you talking about? If I was you, I'd be killing bigger monsters all by myself.

I've been wondering for a while now, is that man really human?

Hmmm, I think it's a person.

　Well, it's true that my brother is inhumanly strong, but the important thing is that he's a man I can respect!

All right, let's go. I gotta go meet my brothers.

Hey, hey!　Oh, what a waste.

　You're still saying that?

Oh, um!

　And the girl who had been a sacrifice came to me, breathless.

'Ho, thank you so much!

It's fine. It's just what I did.

As far as I'm concerned, I can't thank you, but here, take this!

　That said, what was offered to me was a bag of food from the East.

''Did you make it for me?''

But I worked really hard on it.

　He must have come in a great hurry. The girl's face is bright red.

'Thank you!　Best thanks ever, man!

　You were just hungry!
　I quickly eat the rolled up white food.

'Yes, it's good!'

Good, good...

　It's delicious. A hint of salt. It's just right.

Please come back again. Then I will cook for you a lot of things!

Yeah, I'm counting on it.

　After making such a promise to a woman who was still blushing, we left the village.

''No, I'm looking forward to the next time I'm in this village!

"...Huh, little boy, you don't understand what she said, do you?

So don't call me a little boy!　I mean, what's the point?

Oh, no, that's okay. If you don't understand, well, it's not for me to say.

What's that?

　I don't know what happened to him.
　I don't care. Anyway, the priority now is to find my brothers.
　If I keep playing this game, my brothers will hear about my exploits and it will be a landmark for me.

"This is everywhere I go. How many girls do you have to confuse, this little guy...

　Norbu.

Yes, we're all done here.

　As I finish my treatment, I call out to the girl who was cowering in front of me and meditating.

'Is it over already?'

　I nod quietly to the girl who comes to visit me with a frightened, prying voice.

Then I urge the maidservant who was waiting beside me, and the maidservant looks at the girl's face.

"...........　Miss!

　The girl who was called "Miss" trembles at the startled voice of the handmaiden.

''Ya, I knew it was no good........wasn't it?''

'On the contrary, sir!　You're hurting me!　The scars are cleaned off!

...What?

　At the words of the maidservant, the girl blinks her eyes for a moment, not understanding what she was told.
　Then she shakes her body with a jolt at the mirror that the maidservant presented to her, and slowly turns her gaze to the mirror with a hint of trepidation.

''Ah....

　You can feel the emotion of incredulity in a single murmur.
　Next, a trembling voice leaks out as you touch your face with your fingers.

"The wound ... is ... healed.

　This girl is the daughter of a lord.
　She was attacked by a demon, which caused her to get a big wound on her face.
　Worst of all, the demon was poisonous. And it took too long to get it to heal me with its recovery magic.
　Because of that, she was able to heal the poison, but not the wounds on her face.

After that, she locked herself up in her room and never came out.
　How painful it is for a nobleman...well, for a girl before her marriage to have a scar on her face.
　As a man, I can't properly understand that, but even so, I have no doubt that she was quite sad and distressed.

　It's that time.
　The lord heard that an exotic user of recovery magic had appeared in the town and was healing many people.
　Yes, it's me. I was healing the townspeople with my recovery magic to earn money and gather information to meet up with you all.

　The lord thought that the exotic recovery magic I use might be able to heal his daughter's wounds, so he called me to his mansion.
　Oh, I told you that the pirate I rescued at sea is my follower.
　If they found out he was a pirate, they would immediately hang him, right?

　That's why I'm going to treat the young lady, but.......

I'm healed.

Yes, yes, well, you are welcome, Miss.

　The maidservant called Oshizuka is crying together, rejoicing as if it's my own affair.
　Hmm, I'm really glad.

　Honestly, if it was my recovery magic of the past, I would never have been able to cure it.
　That's also thanks to the various recovery magic that Lex-san taught me.
　I really have nothing but gratitude for the encounter with Lex-san.
　........Although I hesitate to thank you only for the training that increases the amount of magic power like hell.

''Ah, thank you, Jutsu-sama.......''

　As I was thinking about this, the young lady thanked me for my help.

'I'm glad my help was helpful to you,'

　That was really good.

　

No, you've been really helpful.

　After we finished treating the young lady, we received a word of thanks from the lord as well.

'I'm glad that the strength of an inexperienced person can help you.

'Ha ha ha, you're the one who healed my daughter's wounds that all the healers in the country threw away, and you're the immature one!

　The lord-sama seems to be in a great mood and has been laughing since a while ago.
　Since my beloved daughter's serious injury has been healed, it's only natural.

''Let's play the reward well enough as promised. No, you can take it up as my direct subordinate!

'No, no. I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm still in training.

　In fact, I am a novice, both as a member of the church and as an adventurer.
　I still have a lot of training to do.

That's a pity. It's a shame that you have to stay in an unfamiliar place, but it's also a shame that you are a foreigner. I'm sorry. I guess I got carried away too. Forget it.

　Perhaps it was a social call. The lord easily withdrew his proposal.

''Well, you're looking for a stray companion, aren't you?

Yes, sir.

　When I received the request from the lord, I also made it a condition of accepting the job to gather information on Jairo-san and the others.
　That was my main objective to begin with.

''I had my vassals look into it, and I got information on what I thought were the people of a foreign country.

Really?

Yeah, but...

　And there, the lord-sama's expression clouds over.

'It's a bit of a wild report. It lacks credibility.''

Ridiculous...?

Hmm. The story goes that a flying ship with a bunch of aliens has come into the harbor.

Oh, I'm pretty sure that's someone I know.

''Yes. I can't believe such a wild story, no matter how many times I've heard it... what?

　My lord nods his head at my words, blinking his eyes.

'The alien who came on that flying ship is an acquaintance of mine.

...What?

　Yes, I understand that feeling very well.
　But the only person who can do that is Lex-san.
　Or, is it correct to say that if such a rumor were to appear, I can't help but doubt Lex-san's existence?

　At any rate, it's a good thing that I got the information about my friends.
　I hope the rest of the day goes by without a hitch and we can meet up with everyone.