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Frontier Lord Chapter 022: After the trade

Chapter 022: After the trade

After handing the dragon’s materials over to Peijin, we told him what goods we wished for him to bring on his next visit. We then requested that he spread the word of our village. With that, our first trade with him was brought to a close.

We had obtained quite a variety of goods. And though some things hadn’t exactly gone according to plan, it had, all in all, not been a bad trade.

Peijin was in a hurry to leave as he had something to attend to, so we helped him to pack up. I accompanied him to the edge of Iruk village. Once I saw that his carriage had faded into the distance, I returned to the storage yurt with Francis and Francois trotting along at my feet.

Nothing had changed in the short time that I was gone. Aruna, Klaus and the old ladies stood next to the piles of goods stacked in front of the storage yurt. They looked at the expressionless twins who had neither uttered a word nor moved an inch, wondering what to do with them. It was to be expected for Aruna and Klaus, but for old lady Maya to be not so good with children… I was surprised.

「Put this away for me, Klaus」, I said, handing him my battleaxe.

I approached the twins and scooped them up using both arms. Holding them close enough to each other that their faces were almost touching, I looked at the child on the right, then the one on the left and then back at the former.

「You’re three… or four years old, maybe? Both of you are really skinny, so make sure you eat your fill today! Look forward to Aruna’s cooking, okay? It’s really good… oh yeah, I’m Dias. What about you?」

「…」

「…」

Their expressions remained blank, and their green pupils stayed motionless. I did not give up, however. My previous experience with orphans had taught me not to throw in the towel so easily. Taking care to maintain a smile on my face, I continued to ask them questions like the following:

What do you like to play? What do you like to eat? What are your names?

What are your favourite songs? What stories do you like to hear? Again, what are your names?

「You’re so quiet! Could you not have names? If that’s the case, then I’ll be the one to name you! Relax, okay? It’s not my first time naming children. Now, then… I wonder what I should name you? Both of you are girls, so you should have cute names, right?」

I detected the tiniest bit of movement in their pupils. There was no way their parents, who had loved them to the extent of leaving everything behind and fleeing their village, had not given them names. This was why I had chosen my words in that specific manner — if their parents had loved them, then they had loved their parents. And how could they have already lost the names given by those parents?

「…No!」, exclaimed one child.

「…I don’t want one」, declared the other.

Hearing that, the smile on my face was no longer one specially contrived for these children; it now came from the bottom of my heart. I could think of two possible reasons why they had previously chosen not to move or speak. The first was that they had despaired after losing their parents. The other was that they didn’t want us — adults other than their parents — infiltrating into their personal bubbles.

I had met a few children like that in the past. They had chosen to withdraw into their shells and, over time, become unable to come out again. Most of their lives had ended tragically… but the twins in front of me had, through their love for their parents, overcome the odds. Suppressing the feeling of triumph that washed over me, I spoke to them again.

「I see, I see, you don’t want me to name you, eh? Then could you tell me your names? If you don’t, we’ll have a hard time figuring out what to call you!」

「…Senai.」

「…Aihan.」

「Senai and Aihan, right? Okay! Thanks for letting me know — those are cute names, aren’t they now? Listen, Senai and Aihan. That man you see over there, Klaus, and I have to sort these goods out. While we do that, how about you wash yourselves with Aruna-neesan and old lady Maya? They’ll give you a change of clothes and a bite to eat. Think you could do that?」

I glanced at Aruna and the rest. Though their mouths were drawn into a pout, they nevertheless nodded slowly. Assured that everything would be fine, I gently placed Senai and Aihan onto the ground. I asked Aruna and old lady Maya to do what I had mentioned above. They were shocked and seemed like they had something to say, but were aware that the children took priority. Holding the twins’ hands, they spoke kindly to them as they started walking away.

Klaus, who had watched everything while holding my battleaxe as if it was the most precious thing in the world, came over and spoke with a smile on his face.

「Well, that was surprising. Never knew you were good at handling children, Dias-sama.」

「I might not have told you this before, but I was kind of a manager for orphans before the war. What you just saw was a slipshod method I pieced together through experience. Back then, I often acted as a parental figure for orphans, and even took care of a newborn child.」

「Ah, I see」, replied Klaus. 「Did you name that child, then?」

「I did, and I named other children too. There were many reasons why I needed to do so, including their desire to forget their own names or the fact that they had simply forgotten them. I believe I named around ten children in total… if only they were still alive and well today…」

「What happened to the children when you left for war?」

「There was another man helping me at the time, so I entrusted him with the task. I told him to move somewhere far away as the war was approaching that area, but I wonder what he’s doing now.」

「If he’s doing well, he might catch wind of you someday and make his way here.」

「I can only hope that’s the case…」, I said. 「Anyway, let’s get these goods sorted. Looking at Peijin’s records, we might not be able to finish this by sunset if we don’t make haste.」

Klaus hurriedly went to the yurt to put the battleaxe away, then returned.

We got to work right away.

Most of the goods were, according to the records, food. As there was no time for taste-testing, we simply opened the lids of the various barrels and boxes and peeked inside to confirm their contents. There was dried meat, dried fishes and even dried grapes. I counted ten bags of flour and marvelled at the fact that there was even a barrel of walnuts complete with their shells.

Noticing a barrel that contained wine, I hid it in the storage yurt away from Aruna’s eyes.

We found tanned hides and mineral ores. There were three barrels filled with salt, which I assumed contained sausages. When I saw that we had received cheese as well, I made a mental note to let Senai and Aihan have it later as it would be nutritious for them.

Once we had verified that every item was present, we placed the non-food items, as well as non-perishable food, at the back of the storage yurt. The food that needed to be consumed quickly was placed near the entrance. We still had leftover dragon’s materials, which meant that the yurt was steadily growing more and more cramped with each item we put away. I probably had to get people to expand it soon.

Okay, we’re finally done, I thought.

That was when I noticed a small wooden box.

There was no inventory number written on it… hasn’t every item already been accounted for and stashed away? I looked at Peijin’s records, then back at the box. Klaus came over, peeked at the records in my hands and was just as confused as I was.

「What’s with this box, Dias-sama?」, he asked.

「I’ve no clue either. There’s no trace of it on Pejin’s records… but I’ve never seen this box before, so it must have, without a doubt, been from him. Anyhow, let’s see what’s inside.」

With a nod, Klaus insisted on opening it himself to ensure my safety. He gingerly stretched his hands towards the lid… and lifted it, revealing the contents beneath.

It was filled with all sorts of small, miscellaneous items.

「Ah, I see」, I said. 「So all of his small items were contained inside this box. Since they’re not accounted for in the records… I assume they’re not of high value?」

Klaus gave me another nod and wordlessly began taking the items out of the box. There were round items, rectangular items and cylindrical items, most of which I had never seen before. How exactly were we supposed to use these?

「I know what this is」, explained Klaus as he lifted a black tube. 「This is a telescope. There’s a special piece of glass in here that, when looked through, allows you to see things from afar. The knights back at the royal capital use it, so it’s a pretty pricey item… oh, there’s two.」

What a convenient item to have, I thought.

「Next up… this spinning needle in a glass case… is a compass, isn’t it? The needle reacts to metal around it. Oh look, a map of this locale — much more detailed than what I saw at the capital. Paper, pen, ink… and this narrow, twisted piece of metal could be a… lockpicking tool, maybe? There’s even a pair of metal handcuffs.」

These items really had nothing in common, especially the lockpicking tool. Wasn’t it an item that could, when presented to customers, induce anger? I wondered if it was okay for Peijin to be handling such items.

「A narrow file and a pocket knife that can be hidden in a belt buckle… these are pretty troublesome items. This isn’t good. I have no idea what half of these items do… or what they’re capable of.」

「We’ll leave such items in the box for now and ask Peijin what they’re for the next time he shows up. We can carry the telescopes around with us since they’ll be useful in many circumstances. Lastly… we’ll put the map in the yurt so anyone can look at it whenever they want.」

Klaus indicated that he understood and shut the lid firmly. He told me that he would put it into his own yurt so that the children would not chance upon it. Just as we had finished our stocktake, Aruna and old lady Maya approached with Senai and Aihan who now looked neat and tidy.

Their shirts were simply Meia wool with holes cut into them secured by a cord at the waist. Much better than those filthy rags, I thought. They also had cloth wrapped around their feet which served as shoes. It was fine since there was nothing particularly hard on the grassland.

I was about to lift the twins again, when…

What’s wrong, Aruna? Why are you putting yourself between me and them?

「You might not have noticed it yourself, Dias, but your clothes are filthy both from picking them up earlier and sorting the goods out. Senai and Aihan just washed up, so the least you can do is to not dirty them again.」

I looked at my clothes and my arms… and realised she was right. I told the rest that I was going to bathe, then headed to the creek with the Meias. When I glanced behind, I saw that Aruna seemed to have broken the ice, if only a little, between her and the twins. Senai and Aihan were talking to her with the slightest smiles on their faces…

Isn’t that great, I muttered to myself before I realised it.

No, I truly feel that way… it’s not like I’m jealous or anything. You don’t have to comfort me, Francis and Francois. That’s why you’re rubbing your bodies against me, aren’t you?

Okay, uh… it’s the thought that counts. I appreciate it.